Tall Ships Celebration

Today, is the last day for Sail Boston, a maritime event that celebrated the 250th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. It went from July 11 to July 16 and featured over 50 international tall ships and military vessels. These ships had recently celebrated in NYC with the Parade of Sails for the Sail4th 250 event.

Yesterday, we went on a day trip to Boston harbor to view some of these magnificent tall ships. It was just in time as today, July 16, the ships will be leaving Boston throughout the day on their own schedules with no official schedule of the departures. Unfortunately, several ships left before our harbor tour including the USCGC Eagle, which left this past Tuesday.

Our trip, arranged by the senior center we're members of in Hudson, NH, included transport to and from Boston with a narrated harbor cruise followed by lunch. This was one of the most popular trips this season; two tour buses left NH before 8 am and returned by 3 pm. 

The harbor tour was completed on the Charles I, a custom designed 75-foot classic riverboat owned and operated by the Charles River Boat Company which provides narrated sightseeing cruises in Boston's inner harbor and the Charles River from May through October.

The Boston event began last weekend, Saturday, July 11, with a Parade of Sail led by the historic USS Constitution (Old Ironsides). The ships then docked at various Boston locations including the Seaport District, Boston Fish Pier and Charlestown. Many ships offered free, daily dockside tours. Unfortunately, our trip didn't include time for any ship tours.

Old Ironsides is the world’s oldest commissioned warship still afloat. Launched in 1797, this three-masted wooden frigate was built to protect American merchant shipping. It gained the legendary moniker during the War of 1812 when British cannonballs seemed to bounce off the ships incredibly thick oak hull. Today, the ship is permanently berthed at Pier 1 in Boston's Charlestown Navy Yard. It's a free public museum and an active-duty U.S. Navy vessel.

Lingering smoke from Canadian wildfires created hazy skies over Boston during our tour. Also, all of the sails were furled (stowed) on the ships while they were docked. Below and in no special order or identification are some of the tall ships viewed from our riverboat cruise.

The U.S. lightship Nantucket (LV-112) is a National Historic Landmark lightship that served at the Lightship Nantucket position. It was the last serving lightship and, at time of its application as a landmark, one of only two capable of moving under their own power. It has served as the lightship for notable vessels including the liners United States, Queen Mary, and Normandie.

Some folks opt for more modern ships like the one above. The Excellence is a massive and extravagantly costly $230-million, 262-foot super yacht owned by Boston billionaire and auto mogul Herb Chambers. It was built by German shipyard Abeking & Rasmussen and is easily recognized by its futuristic reverse bow and extensive mirrored glass. 

This megayacht is often docked in Boston's Seaport district when in the area. However, its schedule fluctuates as it often cruises along the New England coast and makes stops in Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, and Newport, RI. In case anyone is interested, when not being used by its owners, it's available for luxury charters starting at over $1.2 million per week.

Yesterday was a special day not only for the chance to see these beautiful ships, but also in celebration of my husband Patrick's (aka Grenville) birthday. He enjoyed this ice cream treat on another adventure last week. I also helped him enjoy it.

Friday Funnies

Many times, I've taken photos and saved them in a photo file for future. What seems like an ordinary photo can be used as a photo phunny (an intentional misspelling and misuse).

That said, here's a few of those photos; please excuse my phun captions. These photos were taken over the past several years in museums, flea markets and outdoors.

Ball and Chain is an expression that can refer to a heavy physical restraint often used on prisoners to prevent their scape. It's also become a figure of speech used to describe any heavy responsibility or obligation that restricts freedom and sometimes, rather derogatorily, it refers to a spouse or partner.

Hosed ?

Hosed, used informally, can mean that something is broken, ruined, or totally messed up. Unfortunately, it can also mean that someone has been cheated or treated unfairly or is in serious trouble.

Nailed It ?

Nailed it is a term often used to successfully complete, execute, or explain something. This can refer to doing something successfully like a job or test. It's also been used as a popular internet slang to jokingly highlight a failed task.

Busting Out ?

Busting out commonly refers to escaping from captivity or a confined space, like a jail or prison. It can also be used describe to suddenly start an action, like laughing, or quitting a bad habit.

Unseated ?

Unseated can mean to have someone removed from a position of authority or office. When used in a literal sense, it can describe a sudden fall or being physically thrown from a seat or saddle or falling off a bicycle.

That's all for this time, folks. I hope you’ve enjoyed and/or chucked a bit at these photo selections and interpretations. As always, feel free to add your own in a comment.

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

We're off on a short road trip and new-to-us NH experience.

Easy Pork Dinner

Like in many other states, we've had a hotter-than-usual summer in terms of temperature and humidity. That means easy at-home delicious meals are favorites with us.

And, this one is not only easy, delicious and economical as well.That's why we buy a couple of pork tenderloins when there's a sale at the local supermarket and that happens quite often. 

The recipe is very easy in terms of ingredients, prep and cooking times. It requires a high cooking temperature, which could be something to avoid on a really hot day. Be sure that the kitchen exhaust fan is turned on. Thankfully, the cook time is short.

Seasoned Pork Tenderloin

• 1-1/2 lb pork tenderloin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 TBSP brown sugar
• Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

1. Mix together dry ingredients in a separate bowl until well blended. Rub seasonings over the tenderloin on both sides, pressing so seasoning adheres well to the tenderloin.
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and heat. Add the minced garlic and sauté, stirring, for 1 minute. 
3. Put tenderloin in skillet and cook for 10 minutes, searing each side; use tongs to turn it.
4. If the skillet is oven safe, transfer it to oven; if not, transfer to a roasting pan and bake for 20 minutes to 145 degrees. 
5. Let meat rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.

I was busy preparing this meal and forgot to take photos. But, that would have been difficult once I was rubbing the spices on the pork. (Your hands become colorful and messy.)

Speaking of colorful, the tenderloin was served with a medley of zucchini, yellow squash, red and yellow peppers and onions. 

Veggies were cut into chunks, tossed with seasonings of thyme, rosemary, sage, kosher salt and pepper, and roasted at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. (Hint: start veggies 10 minutes before the pork is put in so the meal will be cooked and ready to serve at the same time.)

Grenville declared this meal a keeper with a forks up. And, we had leftovers, much appreciated, especially in summer. At times, to avoid lighting the kitchen oven, I've skipped the searing and cooked it in a countertop toaster oven.

A great thing about pork tenderloin is the variety of ways it can be prepared and cooked. besides being roasted whole, it can be cut in pieces creating pork medallions which can then be seasoned, cooked on top of the stove and served with a quick pan sauce: after removing the pork, deglaze the hot skillet with chicken broth or white wine to stir up the browned bits. Turn the heat to low and whisk in some butter and a dash of Dijon mustard for a quick and easy sauce.

Lighting the Sky

There’s only one official July 4 fireworks display in Nashua, NH. It caps off a full day of events at historic Holman Stadium, a local baseball field. In previous years, we've joined neighbors at nearby Renaissance Park to watch them. But, this year, the holiday ended on a hot and humid night, so we watched the display from our apartment. It started about 9:15 pm.

Despite the heat, we did see that folks had gathered in the nearby park and along the riverwalk. This photo was also taken from our apartment window.

Admittedly, I don't have good results when photographing fireworks. This time, I took videos with my cell phone, then extracted some screen shots. The smokestack could have been removed afterwards, but these are SOOC (straight out of camera).

To varying degrees, certain types of fireworks are legal in 49 states, plus Washington, D.C. 

Yet, you wouldn’t know that from national sales for Fourth of July fireworks which were up in many places this year, including in New England. The state of New Hampshire ranks 12th in U.S. fireworks sales per capita and is the leader in New England. Also, the absence of a state sales tax pulls in cross-border traffic from neighboring states.

I read an online article about Phantom Fireworks in Hinsdale, NH, which reported that the holiday’s top spender came from Massachusetts and spent over $6,000 in fireworks. That was interesting as MA is one of 4 states that bans the sale of consumer fireworks; however, it allows professionals to use them in approved displays. 

Four U.S. states have a ban on the sale of consumer fireworks: Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Delaware. But, Massachusetts is the only state with a complete ban on all where a law prohibits the sale, possession, and use of all fireworks by private citizens, even sparklers and firecrackers and even if legally purchased in another state. Vermont and Illinois have strict laws as well. In those states, only sparklers and "novelty" smoke devices can be sold to the general public. 

The states of Indiana, Missouri and Wyoming have some of the most lenient fireworks laws in the U.S. allowing nearly all types of consumer fireworks (including aerial and explosive devices) with minimal restrictions on their sale and use, although city and county ordinances may apply.

Did you know that Missouri is the top state in setting off the most fireworks in the U.S in total volume and per capita? Other states with the highest per capita firework usage are Nebraska, Kansas, Alabama and South Carolina. Lower population density and relaxed state laws generally drive these higher volume numbers. In contrast, states with dense populations and high wildfire risks like California (or those with total consumer firework bans) set off far less.

Your turn — Did you watch any fireworks displays in your area?

Friday Funnies

This weekend is a BIG birthday celebration here in the states. July 4, 2026 marks not only Independence Day but the historic 250th anniversary (semiquincentennial) of the U.S. and the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Maxine was ready and decked out in her colorful finery at the senior center earlier this week minus footwear.

A jewelry store in downtown Nashua, NH, always has a holiday window display featuring tiny mice figurines appropriately garbed for the holiday. What makes these rather special on this holiday weekend is that they are all created and produced in the U.S. and remain a family business in the state of Massachusetts.

Some of these tiny figures even had some sweet holiday baked goods which seemed larger than the mouse.

These mini mice are very collectible and known as Wee Forest Folk® and are natives of New England! They were started by the Peterson family in Massachusetts in 1972. Today, a mouse figure begins as an original clay piece which is hand sculpted by one of three sculptors in the family. The finished sculpture is molded and hand cast at the "mouse factory" in Carlisle, MA. After, skilled artists hand paint each piece to create a unique mouse personality. 

Some of these tiny mice can cost upwards of several hundred dollars depending on the piece and the holiday. That's why, I continue to admire them in the downtown window display.

Wall mural in downtown Nashua, NH

Enjoy the 🇺🇸 Holiday Weekend, Everyone

It's been a hot 🥵 week in NH & no travel plans for us. 

We'll stay home and watch a local fireworks display.

Barges and Cranes

Bloggers often have posted photos that have been sitting in computer limbo for a while. The same is true for myself, since I'm blogging less often than others and this one has been in computer limbo.

Some rivers have cruise ships, but for most of last summer, there were barges on the Nashua River barge. The one below was the largest.

This barge went across both sides of the river bank on a daily basis wasn't for passengers. It was being used to transport heavy equipment and materials that were being used for construction of the recently opened riverwalk and Renaissance Park along the Nashua River on Memorial Day weekend within walking distance of our residence, Clocktower apartments.

There were several cranes loaded on it during the coarse of construction. These photos show the barge with pieces of equipment on board and construction that was being done. 

Several of these large cranes made for a photo opps collage.

There's also another type of crane. This Great Blue Heron has become a regular visitor to the Nashua River during warmer months.

For several months this past spring, there was a large crane in use right below our 5th floor apartment window. We watched daily as the one above moved materials being used to replace a wooden bridge. The bridge was in back of the mill apartments and heavy use by disposal and recycling trucks were causing strain on it. 

After several months, work has been completed on a new cement bridge and safety railing. As interesting as it was to watch the progress, it's much quieter below our window now.

Happy 🎂 to friends in Canada 🇨🇦 and welcome to a new month for everyone.

Thanks for your comments on my recent Friday Funnies post about Plainfield Teachers College, the nonexistent college and its winning, but also fake, football team. Like many others, I was fascinated and amused that this sports hoax fooled prominent media. outlets.

Friday Funnies

This is a lengthy Friday Funnies, but what's not-so-funny is that the story is absolutely true. Not only did it fool various media 85 years ago, but it's connected to my NJ hometown.

A newspaper story about the college and its star halfback

That's because, in 1941, one of the oddest sports hoaxes of all time was about a football team based in Plainfield, NJ. I learned of this notoriety several weeks ago through a small book, The Book of the Bizarre, Freaky Facts & Strange Stories a small 300-page treasure trove of unusual, stranger-than-fiction stories, usually limited to a page or less. 

One of these titled Don't Believe Everything You Read told the story of Plainfield teachers College football tea, that in 1941, had both a winning season and a star quarterback with its wins published in major newspapers. The problem was that the college and its team were the creation on a prankster NY stockbroker.

The story remains a legendary example of early 20th-century sports journalism, highlighting how easily made-up info could be accepted as truth. Somehow, it seems not dissimilar to current day AI.

While the book provided highlights, I wanted to learn more about how a NYC stockbroker fooled well-established newspapers and other media into printing the winning scores of a bogus football team. The school's star player, a fictional Chinese-American halfback, was described as a touchdown-scoring machine.

For 3 weeks, New York and regional Philadelphia newspapers published fabricated, winning game reports about this non-existent NJ team and its star player reporting the college's dominance in football games. Surprisingly, the reports were widely believed.

Who Started the Fantasy Football Team?

Morris Newburger, circa 1926

That distinction belongs to Morris Newburger and his business friends and co-conspirators, Lew Krupnick and Alexander Dannenbaum Jr.

Newburger was a senior partner at the family's Wall Street investment firm of Newburger, Loeb & Company and a 1926 graduate of Harvard University. The company dated to the 1860s when his grandfather (Morris Newburger) started a wholesale clothing business which transitioned into the securities business and continued until its 1974 bankruptcy.

Two of his passions were sports and pranks. Krupnick ran the mail room at the company. Dannenbaum, a friend of Newburger’s, was in the broadcast business in Philadelphia.

On Sundays, Newburger, read college football scores in NYC papers including those for small colleges like Slippery Rock State Teachers College in PA. He wondered if such colleges really existed or if a sports editor had invented them and printed game scores to fill up space. (Slippery Rock is an actual college founded as the Slippery Rock State Normal School in 1889, renamed Slippery Rock State Teachers College in 1926, and is now Slippery Rock University located in western  PA.)

Newburger soon realized that there was no way that reporters from any of the major NYC papers could attend any of these obscure games and that they depended on a school representative calling in game results every Saturday night.

That fact gave him an idea to phone in a score for a fictional school. He wanted to find out if it would get printed. So, on an Saturday in the fall of 1941, he called the sports desks of The New York Herald Tribune and told the reporter who answered that he was reporting a small-college football score: Plainfield Teachers College, 27 vs. Winona College, 3.

The call didn't arouse undue suspicion as it wasn't uncommon for smaller schools to phone in scores because of the lack of telegraph facilities. (Back then, New Jersey had actual teacher colleges in Jersey City, Newark, Paterson, Montclair, Glassboro and Trenton; none had a football team.) 

To Newburger's amusement, the score for Plainfield vs. Winona appeared in major papers the next day. The New York Times had the Plainfield-Winona score, on the first page of the sports section, near accounts of wins by Fordham, Army, Notre Dame and Dartmouth listed in alphabetical order. Plainfield-Winona was listed below Penn State.

Newburger set the teacher's college in Plainfield as it was hometown to his secretary. Another part of the prank was that teachers colleges back then were predominantly female, which made it unusual for one to have a powerhouse football team. 

The easy success of the hoax made Newburger believe that Plainfield Teachers College should continue its football season against nine also fictional teams. For the next few weeks, he called the sports desks of the papers every Saturday and, sure enough, scores for "Plainfield T." would appear in papers the next day. Plainfield was always victorious, crushing opponents in lopsided wins.

Based on these positive responses, Newburger soon recruited the help of Dannenbaum, who lived in Philadelphia, to phone scores in to the Philadelphia Record. At first, the they didn't coordinate about what team Plainfield had played. Sometimes, it had played a different opponent in Philadelphia than in New York so early reports in Philadelphia and New York papers had conflicting scores. Soon, they coordinated their reports and the reports matched.

The Team Gathered Strength

Newburger's ambitions for the Plainfield Teachers grew bigger as it now had a PR spokesperson, Jerry Croyden, actually Newburger. who installed a special phone line in his office to communicate with the papers about the team. The fictional Croyden was named after the Croyden Hotel in Manhattan.

As Croyden, Newburger sent news releases on newly-created Plainfield Teachers College stationery thanks to help from his mail room friend, Lew Krupnick. The team was named the Lions. Its coach was Ralph “Hurry Up” Hoblitzel who had once been a star player for another seemingly fictitious school, Spearfish Normal. This was actually a real school. Located in Spearfish, SD, it was renamed Black Hills Teachers College in 1941, became Black Hills State College in 1964, and was renamed Black Hills State University in 1989.

In the releases, Croyden went into detail about the team, noting its team colors (mauve and puce) and adding biographical information. He wrote that coach Hoblitzel had a unique offensive strategy, the "W" formation, in which when Plainfield players lined up with the ball in their possession, the two ends would face their own backfield so that they could "see immediately who has the ball." (I know zero about football and have no idea how this could work, but suspect it's a made-up play.)

Croyden/Newburger detailed games that Plainfield Teachers College had played earlier in the season, revealing that the team was unbeaten and untied. He created a made-up schedule of games for the 1941 playing season, including those before the first called-in win.

Sep 27: Plainfield vs. Benson Institute, 20-0

Oct 4: Plainfield vs. Scott, 12-0

Oct 11: Plainfield vs. Chesterton, 24-0

Oct 18: Plainfield vs. Fox (no known score)

Oct 25. Plainfield vs. Winona, 27-3

Nov 1: Plainfield vs. Randolph Tech (Away), 35-0

Nov 8: Plainfield vs. Ingersoll, 13-0

Nov 15: Plainfield vs. Appalachian Normal (no known score)

Nov 20: Plainfield vs. Harmony Teachers (Homecoming)

After decided to share his prank, Newburger asked fellow stockbrokers to come up with names for the players. The tall pass receiver was named "Boarding House Smithers" and the right tackle was  "Morris Newburger" who would prove critical to the team’s incredible success and ultimate downfall.

Johnny Chung cartoon

But, the most interestingly named player was sophomore star halfback, Johnny Chung, a 6-foot-3, 212-pound full-blooded half-Chinese, half-Hawaiian halfback called The Celestial Comet, who averaged an astounding (and record-breaking) 9.3 yards per carry. Chung reportedly ate rice at halftime to boost his strength and seemed destined for a future as an All-American. By today's standards this would be considered a racial stereotype. It was the last name of someone Newburger knew, a dry cleaner.

One of Croyden's fake press releases was passed to New York Post reporter Herbert Allan, who wrote glowing lines about Chung in aNovember 8, 1941 Saturday College Grapevine column: John Chung, Plainfield Teachers' Chinese sophomore halfback, has accounted for 57 of the 98 points scored by his unbeaten and untied team in four starts.

Press interest was growing steadily about this small town college football team with speculation that Plainfield might secure a bid to a small-college bowl game. This wasn’t a problem.Newburger was ready and planned for the team to play in the non-existent Blackboard Bowl in Atlantic City, NJ, at the end of the season.

Newburger managed to get Plainfield's scores into papers for several consecutive weeks. After defeating Winona, it continued its undefeated season on November 1 by crushing Randolph Tech 35-0 and followed this up with a November 8 win against Ingersoll 13-0.

The Whistle Was Blown — Who Did It?

Newspapers published the fabricated scores without fail for weeks as the team's popularity grew. By now, Newburger had started believing his own fantasy, and was talking freely with friends as though the college was a reality. Others also heard about what was going on.

But that popularity brought doubt as well and that started investigations into the school's legitimacy. It’s unclear exactly how the hoax was exposed or who was responsible.

One story is that a disgruntled Wall Street broker called The Herald Tribune and said: I'll give you a tip. There ain't no such college as Plainfield Teachers. Bunch of fellows down on Wall Street are kidding you.

Another is that Time magazine learned of the hoax, but as a weekly publication, its Sports Page Error story didn't appear until Monday, November 17, 1941, three days after it broke in the newspapers.

Meanwhile, Irving Marsh, assistant sports editor at The Herald Tribune, had called the Board of Education in Plainfield, NJ, and learned it had no such college. Reporter Caswell Adams, wrote about the hoax on Friday, November 14. His article, Brokers Find Phantom School Easy to Sell in Football, included the words: Perfect record made on paper. Hail to thee, our ghostly college, product of a dream!

That same week United Press sent the following cryptic message to client newspapers: Plainfield (NJ) Teachers College has abandoned football. They not only are unbeaten and untied. They are unreal.

After its unveiling, the hoax was surprisingly well received and several papers that had reported on the fictional school published tributes. After the hoax was traced to Newburger, he reportedly asked The New York Times to allow Plainfield Teachers to finish the season and play in the Blackboard Bowl. He said that Plainfield was set to face Appalachian Tech that week followed by Harmony Teachers for the Homecoming game on Thanksgiving Day after its undefeated season.

However the paper refused to play along and its November 17 issue had a statement: For three weeks running, the sports page of the New York Times has dutifully recorded the football victories of Plainfield (NJ) Teachers College. The Philadelphia Record and other papers also took notice of unbeaten Plainfield Teachers. The only error in all the reports was that Plainfield and its opponents were nonexistent.

In response, Newburger, as Croyden, wrote a final press release describing how the team had to forfeit its remaining games since so many players had failed their midterm exams, including Johnny Chung, adding that the team would not appear in the Blackboard Bowl.

That release was never printed, but The Philadelphia Record, which also had bought into the hoax, took a seemingly disappointed attitude that Plainfield Teachers College was gone. In an unsigned item titled Football Casualty was the wording that the newspaper regretted the passing (of Plainfield Teachers). We don’t see why exposure of the gag should have to end the team’s career. It should keep playing the rest of the season. We want to know how it made out with the now-cancelled games and if the Celestial Comet could have made All-American.

Perhaps, the hoax had provided some needed levity as it ended a few weeks before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Newburger and Dannenbaum both served in WW II as officers with the Army Air Corps and Signal Corps. No information was available on Lew Krupnick.

And now myself and all of you know the rest of the story. Plainfield Teachers College will always be remembered as having been unbeaten, untied and definitely unreal.

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

It's a rainy start in Nashua, NH, with summer heat returning next week