Sunday, July 26, 2015

Larz Anderson

I haven't been home much this passed week. There were 3 days of work and though I officially retired 16 months ago when I work I work 3, 8 hour days. so for a bit of time it seems like nothing has changed except I'm making substantially less money. The less I work though, the less I want to work. Now I know I'm whining a bit, because all in all I'm fairly comfortable. There are many people in much worse shape than I. Still I haven't fully adjusted to the extra free time. I have been working fulltime for 46 years. 43 of those years with the same company though they have had many different owners. Now  it's been about 16 months since I went part time and I'm still adjusting to a slightly different lifestyle. I admit there are days when I don't mind just hanging around and amusing myself in various ways. One thing I haven't done is watch much television. I have been working on a little tune for our friend Beth but it's still not quite right yet. It's really simple and not very long but it is an expression of how much I miss this dear lady. When I'm done with it I will post it. Oh there's no singing. Just guitar. I'm still not sure which guitar I, going to play it on. Electric, nylon string classical or steel string acoustic.
 
So I knew Saturday was an off day for me. Arlene, who also retired and is just working part time had an evening shift. So I called my friend Dave and asked him if he would be interested in going to an auto museum in Maine. It is about an hour and a half drive from here. I was all set to go except we found out it's only opened one weekend a month and that weekend was last weekend. The closest one is in Brookline , a city that borders Boston on the southern side. It is a beautiful city and home to very well heeled citizens. I was driving or I would have snapped pictures especially as we drove home. All these beautiful homes set back from the road, blocked by walls or high wooden fences and long driveways up to the homes. We also ended up driving right by Fenway Park so the streets were packed with people walking to the park. These too would have made some nice shots as we drove by the ball park. I used to work very near there back in the 80's but things have changed. Boston and the surrounding area is full of construction. We went by the old rock club, The Tea Party where I saw many big name acts back in the late 60's and early 70's including Led Zepplin, Eric Clapton, Jethro Tull, The Who, who did "Tommy", The Grateful Dead (not a favorite of mine) and several others.
 
But that was on the way home. We went to the Larz Anderson Auto Museum. It's on 67 acres originally owned by the Weld Family who developed it as a farm. A descendant of that family was the governor here from 1991-97. It was sold to a Weld relative, socialite heiress Isabel Weld Perkins who later married Larz Anderson, a wealthy businessman. Larz Anderson was a diplomat serving in London, Rome, and finally being appointed to ambassador to Japan by the president.
 
 So old Larz liked to collect cars. The original mansion on the property burned down. The cars, and motorcycles, are on display in their former carriage house. The cars, all of which are not on display, range from 1899-1926. The grounds are beautifully maintained. When Isabel Weld Perkins Anderson died she gave the property to the city of Brookline. Below is a somewhat shake and brief video of the grounds. Not my best, as with some of the pictures, It's the camera I took. The button to take the picture is gone and I had to use the remote that came with the camera to shoot. Also on the property is a school house built in 1768 to educate the children of the local farmers.
 When we entered to buy our tickets, the lady asked Dave if he was a senior because instead of $10 it's $5. She never even asked for an ID. So I asked the lady how old you had to be to get a senior discount.
She asked me how old I was and I replied 63, to which Dave said, "63 and a half!" So we all had a little chuckle.     
   
 
You also weren't allowed to use a flash in the building. Of course I'm referring to a flash on a camera. Some pictures are a bit blurry but it is what is.
 
This is the carriage house.


















An autographed picture of Evil Knevil.









Now here's an option you don't see anymore. Unfortunately the picture posted on it's side.



 
So thus ends a fairly busy week, granted a semi retired busy week.
The hot and humid weather returns Tuesday with temperatures in the 90's again. Thinking about the cooler temperatures come September and spending one more week on that lovely little island. Now it's time to play catch up with everybody.
I'm outta here. 

3 comments:

  1. I could live in the tower of the carriage house! The history was quite interesting. A car with a toilet! Zing! Please send me the name of the background music of your video. It almost put me to sleep!

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  2. What wonderful photos, and great thoughts. Thanks for sharing!

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  3. Boston Boy, I am behind viewing blos...so sorry. I am glad I did not totally miss this one. I love old cars. I Have gone to the Auburn, Cord, Dussenburg museum in Auburn Indiana, I can not believe how big those old cars are. I love the motorcycles. The red one with the side car looks fun. Isn't it just plain crazy how rich some people were? The grounds of that place are huge. I love reading about what you have been doing. I miss Beth. I did not know her as long as you did, she was so nice. Blessings to you, xoxo,Susie

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