Mystery & History In A Yard Sale Find - Part Two

I bought a few old books at a yard sale and found some interesting drawings inside. This is the second part of this story, who was F. Norton Hatch.

After I got the books home and found the drawings I was very interested in what happened to the artist. I was very impressed with the drawings and just assumed that F. Norton Hatch was an artist somewhere. So I began searching for him that way. However nothing was coming up. In the other book without drawings his mother had addressed him as 'Captain', that paired with the nautical drawings led me to believe maybe he grew up and enlisted in the Navy. So my next step was to search and see if I could find any record of F. Norton Hatch being enlisted. Again I came up empty handed.

Since I couldn't find any history of this person being an artist or having any kind of link to ships I decided to turn my search in a different direction. I then began to search for any kind record I could match to him and sadly I came up with something.

F. Norton Hatch was Frank Norton Hatch. His tombstone reads that he is the only son of Emily Norton Hatch and William E Hatch and that he died in July of 1900 at the age of sixteen years old. The drawing in the book I have was dated April 1900, Frank didn't grow up to be an artist because tragically he passed away at a young age. I wanted to know more though. I was so interested in this boy and his family. His tombstone is actually a shared tombstone of his mother's family. From that I was able to see, his mother had passed away in 1898, a year after she gave him the book with the inscription.

The father wasn't buried in the same cemetery and I didn't have much information to go on but his first name and middle initial. I decided to try searching census records to see if I could find any additional information about his family. Apparently the 1890 Census was mostly destroyed in a fire, so I was at a dead end there. I got lucky with the next census though. The 1900 United States Census was done on June 7, 1900 in Franks area, remember Frank passed on July 16, 1900 very soon after the census was completed. On that 1900 census he was listed as a boarder of the school, but it seems to be listed as a house. It has the headmasters name and family and the same boys names as were listed on the roster of the team sports listed in the back of the book I have. It was a match.

From this census I was able to learn that his father, William E. Hatch was born in Georgia. Every little bit of information was putting me one step closer to piecing this family together. I was able to learn that William E. was William Edwin and he lived until 1923 and was buried up in Maine. His tombstone lovingly memorializes the death of his wife and son, both buried in Connecticut.

Just another piece of the puzzle. Even though I knew that Frank Norton Hatch had died at sixteen, I didn't know where or how he died. Every time I learned a new fact I was able to adjust my searching and find out something new. I kept at it, all with information readily available online without paying to be a member to any genealogy site. Eventually I found what I was looking for.

I found the death record for F. Norton Hatch, Frank died at the young age of sixteen from a skull fracture and meningitis complications. I was also able to see that he died in Portland Maine. It doesn't tell me what happened to him that caused the skull fracture though. I'm assuming since it happened in Maine that he had come home for Summer from the Powder Point School which was located in Duxbury, Massachusetts. I don't know that for a fact though, it could have happened that he got hurt at school and was brought to Portland Maine afterwards. I might never know what actually happened to Frank.

What about those ships he drew, were they actually real ships? Who was Mr. Edward Barry of the Marcellus? What exactly was the Powder Point School? There was still more information that I wanted to know about these drawings in this old book. Stay tuned to part three for more answers.

Mystery & History In A Yard Sale Find - Part One

I am a lover of old things, I love history and I really love a good mystery. One of the things I enjoy picking up at yard sales and flea markets are old books. I like the way they look and use them as decor in my house. So when I found a few old books at a church yard sale I bought them for a dollar a piece. What I thought was just a normal old book that was going to look great sitting on my bookshelf turned into a wonderful surprise and a mystery once I opened the front cover and saw the inscription and drawings.

I've found books with inscriptions before because they were often given as gifts in the past. However, I've never found a book with drawings in them, especially as good as these. On the inside cover was the drawing with various guns and a pennant in the corner with P.P.S. and the year 1900 on it. The book has a published date of 1897 so I knew the drawing was actually from that time. On the first blank page next to the inside cover is the inscription: F. Norton Hatch Powder Point School Duxbury, Massachusetts April Fifth Nineteen Hundred. The drawings and inscriptions didn't stop there though.

Once you turned the page was a very detailed drawing of a ship titled U.S. Converted Yacht Pathfinder. On the top of the page written in smaller print is Mr. Edward Barry U.S.S. Marcellus. I can just imagine this boy, F. Norton Hatch reading this book titled 'The Spy' and drawing and dreaming about ships.

There were still a few more writings and drawings left in this J. Fenimore Cooper book full of mystery. In the back of the book was one last drawing of a ship and the roster of pupils at the Powder Point School and also the members of the Football and Baseball teams for the year of 1899-1900.

The other book, another J. Fenimore Cooper titled 'Red Rover' didn't have any of the wonderful drawings that 'The Spy' had. Although it did have a simple inscription "Captain Norton Hatch' Christmas 1896 From His Mother.

I never imagined when I bought some old books at a yard sale that I would find a story in the book. Who was F. Norton Hatch. Who was Mr. Edward Barry? Is Captain Norton Hatch the same person as F. Norton Hatch. Was the Pathfinder a real ship? What was the Powder Point School? I had a ton of questions and wanted to find out more.

Exploring Florida - Salt Springs Recreational Area

Salt Springs Recreational Area is located in the Ocala National Forest in the heart of North Central Florida. Florida is home to many natural freshwater springs and they stay a constant temperature of seventy two degrees year round. Nothing beats jumping into a cool spring on a hot summer day and when you get out your skin feels amazing.

With crystal clear water Salt Springs is not only a great place to swim, it's also a great place to get out and enjoy nature. Fishing and camping are available here, you will need a freshwater fishing license though. The springs get really busy in the summer so if you are planning a trip I'd show up early to get a good shaded spot!

The grounds of Salt Springs are beautiful as well with large Oak trees that are picturesque. If you are coming for the day or longer you'll be sure to relax and enjoy the trip. With both tent camping and full RV hook-up this large campground is sure to meet your needs.

If you are looking for a trip this summer plan a trip to one of the many springs in Florida. Salt Springs can be found at 13851 Hwy 19N Ft. McCoy FL 32134.

Molasses Sugar Cookies

One of my all time favorite cookies is the Molasses Sugar Cookie. It reminds me of my childhood and they taste amazing! I wanted to share the recipe with all of you!

Ingredients:

3/4 Vegetable Oil

1 Cup of Sugar

1/4 Cup Molasses

1 Egg

2 tsp. Baking Soda

2 Cups of Flour

1/2 tsp. Ground Cloves

1/2 tsp. Ginger

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1/2 tsp. Salt

Small dish with sugar for rolling the dough in

Mix oil, molasses, egg and sugar. Beat well and then add all the dry ingredients. Mix well. Chill half an hour in the freezer. Form one inch balls and roll into granulated sugar. Place on un-greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for ten to twelve minutes. Place on cookie sheet to cool. Makes about three dozen.

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Potato Peeling Clean Up Hack

I peel a lot of potatoes in my house, not to mention all the other stuff I peel! Cleaning up after those peels can be a real pain in the bottom. You could use a bowl but who wants to wash anymore dishes then you have too? I've tried peeling right over the trash can but that never seems to work out very well. I end up picking peels off the floor and that sure isn't saving me any time or aggervation. I have a simple solution for you and it's super easy and you probably already have the solution in your house.

It's a plastic shopping bag! Plastic shopping bags seem to be everywhere. I try and use re-usable bags most of the time but we still end up with a pile of bags. I use them as garbage can liners for the bathrooms and a few other things but this might be my favorite use for them. Just lay the bag out on your counter or in the sink and peel whatever your peeling right over the bag. This makes clean up a breeze, just fold up the edges and carry to the compost bin or the trash can. Couldn't be easier!

Thanks for stopping by Things I Never Learned From My Mom! We'd love to hear any of your favorite tips or ticks to make your life easier!

Devil's Hammock Wildlife Management Area

Devil's Hammock is a wildlife management area located near the town of Bronson, Florida in Levy County. It's over seven thousand acres open to the public for hunting, fishing and exploring. The Wacasassa River and Otter Creek run through Devil's Hammock. I would suggest if you are going to visit to have a four wheel drive vehicle to do your exploring, especially if there has been a lot of rain.

If you want to get out in nature and see the real Florida this is the place to do it. I don't think we even saw another person while we were out and about exploring the back roads through Devil's Hammock. We did see an alligator, a deer, pygmy rattlesnake and lots of birds! I observed lots of beautiful flowers and trees, including tons of cypress knees!

If you plan on hunting you will need a Florida Hunting License and a Wildlife Management Area stamp, however you don't need any kind of permit to hike and explore. If you have a freshwater fishing license you can drop a line in the water. Mostly I just enjoyed driving the Jeep through the back roads and puddles and nature watch.

Bring the four wheel drive and a good pair of shoes and come on out to North Central Florida and explore. If you already live here and have never been it's worth a trip! While you are in the area cool off at Bronson's Blue Springs, a freshwater spring that stays a cool seventy two degrees year round! Get down a back road and explore in your own backyard if you can't make it to Devil's Hammock!

The Canyons Zip Line And Canopy Tours

Have you ever been on a zip line? If the answer to that question was no, then I have the perfect place for you to try it out. The Canyons Zip Line and Canopy Tours, it's located in Ocala, Florida and you can find them on the web. We had some friends give us a gift certificate for the expres tour, which lets you do five of the nine zip lines they have. It was a great way to try out zip lining to see if we liked it. Seriously though, what's not to like. We had an amazing time and can't wait to go back and do it again.

Let me tell you a little about the tour in case you've never been on a zip line before, this was my first time! When you first get there you fill out all the paperwork and then you wait for your tour time. The area is beautiful and the zip lines were built over old limerock pits. When it's time for your tour to start your guides get you all dressed in your safety gear to keep you safe while zipping! This process was easy and comfortable and didn't take up too much time. They also go over all of the safety instructions and everything you're going to need to know on your adventure. Next you do a little hands on training, you practice zipping along a line that isn't far off the ground, just so you get the hang of it.

Once the group has all had a chance to learn about zipping you move on the first zip line. The whole process is very safe as you are clipped in when you are up high. There are two guides with you, so one goes first to be waiting for the first person on the other side. They take turns on who goes first and it seems like everyone got that honor at least once, my time to go first was on the longest zip of the tour, about one hundred feet high and six hundred feet long. You can't have your camera or phone's during the tour but they do take photos of you one the last zip, that you can purchase.

The Canyons is right off I-75 in North Central Florida so it's very easy to access and not too far from the theme parks. You should probably reserve your tour ahead of time to avoid waiting. If you aren't brave enough to try the zip line fun then the horesback riding they offer might interest you. Either way The Canyons Zip Line and Canopy Tours is a super fun way to spend a couple of hours!

Flea Market Treasures

One of my favorite things to do on the weekend is to stroll around a flea market or thrift store looking for treasures. I love old things and learning about the history of an item. You just never know what you are going to find out there in the land of thrift and finds. I've managed to decorate a lot of my house with these interesting items I find.

This pewter flask I found at a local flea market, on the table of an older gentleman. He had all sorts of old items but this thing caught my eye right away. Mostly because it had my name engraved on it already! Amanda is a pretty common name but I can never seem to find it on any of those trinkets that are personalized like keychains you see while on vacation. So finding this was a real treasure.

This pewter flask is pretty heavy for it's size and is really unique. It has a beautiful border around the front with my name, Amanda, right in the center, in an Old English font. The back is curved to fit your hip or thigh I imagine, I'm not much of a flask user. The back is stamped in small print 'Royal Selangor' and after a Google search I found they were still making flasks today. They were founded way back in 1885 though, which means they've been making flasks an awful long time!

I was able to snag this awesome personalized flask for $7.50 a steal compared to what they sell for new or used! I have it displayed on a bookshelf in my living room so I can enjoy it all the time. It's not everyday that you wander through a flea market and find something with your name already on it!

Why Are There So Many Litterbugs?

It's hard to go outside any more without be bombarded by bugs, Litterbugs! The fact is we only get one planet Earth and we seem to be trashing it at an alarming rate. I was taught by my mom and dad to 'take only pictures, leave only footprints' and that is something I follow and teach my daughter as well. When I'm out and about traveling around or even just walking the dog I pick up trash that I see laying around. In this picture I found an aluminum can and a cookie wrapper. If we all just pitched in and picked up trash we saw imagine what a difference that would make. Aren't those images of all the plastic trash washing ashore on beautiful beaches tragic? Well the good news is we can do something about it.

There are plenty of things in life we can't change but the amount of trash in our neighborhoods can be reduced. You can help and you can teach your children to help. If you really want to get involved you can get your community to have a trash pick up day. It's also as simple as while you are out walking the dog to bring a little bag and pick up any trash you find. I don't know about you but I sure don't like driving down my street and seeing litter laying everywhere and we all know it isn't good for the enviroment.

So if we can't change the fact that people will litter, dogs will knock over trash cans and the wind will scatter it around, we can all pitch in to help keep our Earth a little cleaner. How about we all commit to picking up the trash we see in our daily lives? You don't even have to go out of your way, even just the walk from work to your car you'd be sure to find some trash. Pick it up, snap a picture and share on social media. Let's get something that is important and easy to change go viral instead of some of the other 'garbage' that get's so much attention. Get your friends and family to help as well. Share your trash pick up pictures with the hashtag: #LitterPatrol! We can 'Be the Change' and we can help to keep our Earth clean!

A Taste Of Florida - The Yearling Restaurant

Located in Cross Creek Florida The Yearling Restaurant has been serving up a taste of Florida since they opened back in 1952. The restaurant is famously named for the book of the same name written by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. In fact her home site is located just down the road and I would highly recommend a visit while you are in the area. Look for an upcoming post about my recent visit to her place!

The Yearling offers up local Florida cuisine that might seem a bit exotic to some, I'm talking Frog Legs, Gator and Venison! Don't worry though if you want something a bit more traditional they have an amazing burger and fries. At the end of our meal the waitress brought out this amazing slice of pie. I was stuffed but how could I resist pie?

The very best part of your dining experience at The Yearling is listing to Willie play the blues. He plays daily and I'm telling you it really makes the experience. You can also pick up one of his CD's before you leave.

The Yearling Restaurant is worth a trip and isn't too far off the beaten path, you can get to the interstate in Gainesville or Ocala about twenty five miles away. If you want to stay awhile they have some cabins available for rent as well. While you are there you can explore the surrounding lakes of Orange and Lochloosa. The Yearling Restaurant is really worth the trip!

Exploring Florida - Kayaking The Waccasassa & Wekiva Rivers

Living in Florida we are pretty blessed to be surrounded by water, giving us mulitple oppourtunities to explore. Whether you like the Ocean or Gulf or rivers or lakes, Florida has it all. We just recently got a pair of kayaks and have enjoyed not only scouting for launch spots but exploring areas you wouldn't normally get to see.

On this kayaking adventure we decided to put in at the public boat ramp on the Waccasassa River located in Levy County, off of county road 326. This boat ramp gets quite a bit of action with people putting in and going down river to the Gulf of Mexico. Kayaking on a river means there is a current, so we put in and went up river as to do all the hard paddling first and then the return trip is basically letting the current take you back.

Our destination is the clear waters of the Wekiva river, located up the Waccasassa river a ways. Neither the Waccasassa or the Wekiva are very wide and in some places the Wekiva gets very shallow. The water of the Waccasassa is a dark brown but the Wekiva is clear as can be and you can see fish swimming under you as you paddle around. On this trip we saw a few deer eating along the banks and lots of owls. We paddled for about two hours up river till we got tired and the river got narrower and the current was stronger. Eventually the Wekiva ends at a spring that is closed to the public because they bottle water there. There are a few houses along the river but for the most part it's just nature, the way it was years and years ago.

One thing that really interested me was this old boat and boat house. It looked like the boat was parked fifty years ago and never touched since! There was also a neat old house along with it and a wonderful sea wall with docking cleats on it. You could really tell that at one time this place was centered around the rivers. The river must have been a lot deeper at one point in time, this boat is way to large to get down this river now! It's amazing how time can change water levels and the lay of the land. There was another large boat house we had passed as well which again leads me to believe that this river was deeper at one point in time.

This kayaking trip on the Waccasassa River was filled with nature and enjoying the Old Florida. If you are going to plan a kayaking trip here I would make sure you bring a snack and plenty of water. Don't forget the sunscreen either! Keep in mind that Florida has those pesky afternoon thunderstorms that tend to pop up in the summer, so if you are planning a trip keep a close eye on the weather. You wouldn't want to be two miles up river with a thunderstorm brewing! Kayaking is great exercise and really can take you some places that not many other people have been. So get out there and enjoy nature and make some memories! Just remember...take only pictures..leave only footprints!

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Keep Your Shirts From Sliding Off The Hanger

Doesn't it seem like there is always that one shirt that does not want to stay put on the hanger? It sure seems that way to me. I have one in particular that spends more time on the closet floor then it does on the hanger. The good news is that there is a simple and cheap way to keeps those shirts where they belong and keep your closet looking neat and organized.

It's pretty simple and you probably already have the solution in your home. So what's the magic trick? Rubberbands! Yes, you heard me right. Rubberbands, those tan ones you have laying around your office. All you need to do is wrap a rubberband around the end of each side of the hanger as pictured. The rubber will keep your shirt in place and from sliding off. Simple, easy and best of all it works!

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Exploring Florida - Cedar Key

At the end of Levy County's State Road 24 you'll find the island town of Cedar Key, Florida. A small town with no traffic lights but lots of Gulf coast charm. In the off season you might see more Pelican's then people but on busy day's you're lucky to find a parking spot! Cedar Key is a fishing town with a lot of character. The island community hosts a few events each year that really bring in the crowds, if you're planning to attend make sure you book your lodging well in advance! Some of these events are the annual Seafood Festival, an Art's Festival and a newly founded Pirate Festival including a fun Pirate parade down Dock Street. Not to mention the Fourth of July festivities with Fireworks over the water! Bring your pup too because Cedar Key is dog friendly!

Cedar Key is still recovering from the damage caused by Hurricane Hermine, a Category 1 storm that hit the island in September of 2016. It's amazing how much damage can be cause by the water that makes the town thrive, however the residents are a tough lot and are rebuilding and bouncing back stronger than ever.

If you are planning a visit to Cedar Key be prepared to relax, un-wind and be on island time. There are plenty of things to keep you busy during your stay. Plan on renting a kayak or canoe and paddle around the islands. Not up to paddling? Hire one of the fishing charters in the area to take you out for a day on the water. If you just want to relax and people watch head on over to the beach, located at the City Park. Watch the waves roll in and the people stroll by. There are also two museums in Cedar Key that are pretty neat and will fill you in on all the local history of the area.

Hungry after all that sightseeing? Try some Clams, Cedar Key is known for them. Stop on into Tony's for some world famous Clam Chowder. If you want to eat right on the water and enjoy the views try 83 West or Steamers both are good choices! Any of the places on the island are great though, so just pick a spot and enjoy! If you are looking for an out of the way place to spend a little downtime then head on over to Cedar Key!