Author: Ms. R.

The grave of much-loved local character Walter “Snowy” Farr is located in the graveyard of St. Andrews Church, the grounds of which he lovingly tended for more than 30 years. Walter Reginald Farr was born in 1919. He came by the nickname “Snowy” because even as a child he had white hair. He worked as a street sweeper for many years and also cared for the grounds at the church. Snowy also raised tens of thousands for charity with his……

Read More

Once upon a time, four universes collided, converging at a point in Denver, Colorado. The disaster erased the memories of the inhabitants of these universes. Memories are bought and sold on the open market, and travel is controlled by the bureaucratic Quantum Department of Transportation. This is the lore behind Denver’s most unique art installation, Meow Wolf Convergence Station. Featuring the work of over 300 artists, the Convergence Station brings something new every time it is visited. One could,……

Read More

On a June day too dank for the beach, a three-generation carload of Goreyphiles—fans of the American author, illustrator, and oddball genius Edward Gorey—pulled into a small parking lot in Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts. The Edward Gorey House, a sea captain’s home the artist bought in 1979, is now a museum that welcomes visitors from April to December each year. Gorey slowly reclaimed it from rot and ancient plumbing, and lived and worked here until his death in 2000. I……

Read More

Though over 5,000 miles separate the Land of Make-Believe and Merchant City, they share similarities, especially when it comes to creating movie magic. Scotland’s largest metropolis has been a stand-in for Philadelphia in 2013’s World War Z starring Brad Pitt, and more recently served as the backdrop for Gotham in the closing scene of The Batman (2022). But there is another connection to old Hollywood that may go unnoticed by the untrained eye. Appropriately positioned down a dark alley just off……

Read More

Nestled in downtown Vancouver, Washington, Briz Loan & Guitar is not your usual hock shop. This pawn shop, which opened in 1995, only deals in music gear such as guitars and drum sets. Inside the shop you’ll find an ever-changing selection of rare and vintage used instruments and recording gear. You’ll also find a large collection of old-school concert posters from around the Pacific Northwest on display. The store is run by Vancouver local Matt Brislawn, who wanted to provide……

Read More

Tyrosemiophilia is a mouthful to pronounce. Breaking it down, the meaning is still murky: in ancient Greek, tyro means cheese, semio is sign or label, and philos is love. The term does not refer to savoring rich, creamy cheese. Rather, it defines a surprisingly popular hobby: collecting the cheese labels that have been affixed to French Camembert’s round wooden boxes for over 100 years. Each label is a miniature work of art. Themes run the gamut, from animals, flowers,……

Read More

The first ancient rock paintings discovered in Finland were found in 1911 by none other than the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. Situated in a beautiful cliffside spot, the composer stumbled upon them while visiting the nearby home of Finnish-American architect Eliel Saarinen. The prehistoric art decorates a stone ledge about 16 meters above the waves of Lake Vitträsk. When the paintings were first made, they would have been closer to the water, but due to glacial rebound over millennia,……

Read More

Sometimes, it takes a village to raise a mountain. In Catalonia, no festival is complete without castells, massive towers of humans that can reach jaw-dropping heights—the tallest on record had 10 levels. Castells go back to the early 18th century, and likely grew out of much older gymnastic and human tower–building traditions throughout Spain, particularly Valencia, to Catalonia’s south. Unlike many of these ancient sports, which have all but disappeared over time, castells have actually been gaining in popularity……

Read More

Council Grove, Kansas was the last stop for 625 miles along the Sante Fe trail. Pioneers would gather their provisions at The Last Chance store, gussy up, and perhaps mail a final letter to their loved ones before the trek to New Mexico and beyond. With no formal post offices, letters were placed in the knobs and holes of the 80-foot tall tree that shaded the main drag of Council Grove.  From 1827 on, travelers would leave trail condition……

Read More

Overlooking the city of Potsdam, Telegrafenberg (Telegraph Hill) has been a hotbed for astronomy since the 19th century. An observatory was founded in 1878, and the construction of the Großer Refraktor (Great Refractor) furthered the scientific endeavors at this site. Completed in 1899, the massive double refractor telescope featured two openings, one measuring 80 cm and the other 50 cm. Unlike most of its contemporaries, this telescope was made specifically for astrophysical studies, arguably making this telescope and the……

Read More

Built in 1890, Rudolph Ganz Memorial Hall was originally a banquet hall located directly above the Auditorium Theatre. Ganz Hall is a collaboration of some of the greatest minds of their generation including painter Albert Fleury, designers Louis Millet and George Healy, and architects Louis Sullivan, Dankmar Adler, and Frank Lloyd Wright. The Auditorium Building, designed by Adler and Sullivan with their apprentice Frank Lloyd Wright, was originally built as a five-star hotel and opera house. It was filled with……

Read More

When marine ships were smaller, this was the connection point where they moved between the Great Lakes.  Lake Huron and Lake Superior are different depths, and the locks are like a water elevator that allowed ships to move between the two. Think of it as a man-made replacement for a waterfall, where a ship can move in either direction. As a spectator standing at the top of the locks, visitors are at the level of Lake Superior looking down……

Read More