
Strip District, Pittsburgh

Places and Their People, History, and Lore
Here are some photos that I took of the damage from the severe storm that hit New Kensington early this morning.
Yesterday, I viewed an online training session. The host joked that “everybody” is now producing “quarantine podcasts” since most of us are now living under “Shelter in Place” orders.
Now, I received podcasting equipment for Christmas a year and a half ago. I haven’t used it as much as I had hoped. So, I’m going to take another shot at creating a podcast series about folklore and history, mainly in Western Pennsylvania.
So, this new series will be my personal “quarantine podcast.”
I don’t expect to make any money from my upcoming podcast. I’m not trying to take anything away from the people who already create podcasts – or give ghost tours – as their bread and butter. I’m just working on this to have a little bit of fun. So please be kind when I finally post an episode.
(If you get all snarky about me anyway, then I guess that I deserve it.)
In the meantime, here is a virtual flower show for you to enjoy.
Here is a photo of my husband Jonathan taking a photo at Phipps Conservatory, Pittsburgh:
Here is another photo from Phipps Conservatory:
Here are some photos that I took when I visited Longwood Gardens during a rainstorm and a flood warning:
I bought a copy of The American Girls Handy Book, by Lina Beard and Adelia Beard, copyright 1887.
The Victorian-era Beard sisters were born in the 1850’s in Kentucky. Their family moved to New York City in the 1860’s. The sisters wrote The American Girls Handy Book several years after their brother wrote a similar book for boys.
(FYI all of you English teachers and grammar snobs: I confirmed that this book possesses no possessive or plural apostrophe in the word Girls. So there.)
Chapter 1 is titled The First of April. The sisters began with these April Fools’ Day bits of lore:
1.) England: “Early Christians” referred to the day as “Festum Fatuorum” or “Fools’ Holiday.”
2.) France: The Beard sisters claimed that mackerel are easily caught on the French coast and that the fish have a reputation for low intelligence. Thus derives the term “Silly Mackerel” or “Poisson d’Avril” (French for “April Fish.”
3.) Scotland: The word “gowk” referred to a “cuckoo,” a bird that does not have the knowledge to build its own nest.
4.) India: The Huli Festival, held on the last day of March, encouraged celebrants to prank their friends.
One of the Beard sisters (the book doesn’t specify which one) then explained that one year she invited friends over to her parents’ house for a candy-pull to celebrate her April 1st birthday.
Then it hit her. What if everyone thought that this was a joke? What if nobody came? She worried. Then – all of her guests showed up at the same time. They arrived as a group so that nobody would look individually foolish if this were a prank.
5 Fun Pranks for Your April Fools’ Party
So, if you do hold your own “First of April” Party, the Beard sisters offer this advice: first assure invitees that your party is not a hoax. Then, they suggested these fun games:
1.) Who’s the Fool Now?
2.) The Chair
3.) The Premises Liability Claim / Future Lawsuit
4.) Noah’s Ark Peep-show (That’s the actual name of this prank!)
5.) The Cookie Table
The Beard sisters ended the chapter by reminding us to “keep the jokes entirely harmless.”
“After all,” they concluded, “the spirit of mischief must be kept within bounds even on All-Fools-Day.”