Today, first-time History Buzz contributor Doug Cooper takes a deep dive into an architectural feature of the Blanchard barn, pigeon-fancying, and dining.
This story reminds me of when I taught third grade in Jacksonville, NC and my husband was stationed at Camp Lejeune. My class had many Marine children as well as tobacco farmers' children. One day a precious boy came in very excited and could hardly wait to tell me that his family had a big dinner with sparrows for meat which made me wonder how many they ate and how they were caught or maybe they raised them. Teachers could write books,
some funny or some sad as in the case of this one.
Great article, Doug. Every time I give a tour of the Barn, I wonder about that dovecote. Sometimes there just isn't a definitive answer. But there's a great story here. Welcome to being a History Buzz author!
One mans pigeon is another mans fancy. Your article caught my interest about pigeons. I had to laugh though that you thought it was only a hobby of the lower class, and that your subjects didn't or you couldn't find any proof that they were pigeon fancier's. Well I found proof of my ggrandfather Louis Thiel aged 56 at this time, hobby a pigeon fancier right here in Boston MA. My mother was his granddaughter. I found a book researching on google many years ago about him as an actor in a local Boston theater troupe. Well at the end of his bio it noted him to be a pigeon fancier. I then researched the Boston papers for any articles and sure enough I came across this one, which I will email to the Museum for your reading enjoyment. The date was Jan 3, 908.
I was fancied by the fact that he and his homing pigeons had made history with the traveling message route from Minnesota to Boston. "The Boston Hearld, Jan 3, 1908.
My mother's childhood story was " yeah my grandfather had homing pigeons, he raised". " We would eat pigeons for our Sunday meal." So there you go, never dismiss a family story.
I really enjoyed this article. I am an artist and I have a fifth floor studio in Lowell with a tremendous amount of pigeon activity out my window where I get a close up, “birds eye view” of the growth stages of these fascinating birds. I also did an oil painting on location from across the street in 2015 that matches the vantage point of the photo of the barn and house.
This story reminds me of when I taught third grade in Jacksonville, NC and my husband was stationed at Camp Lejeune. My class had many Marine children as well as tobacco farmers' children. One day a precious boy came in very excited and could hardly wait to tell me that his family had a big dinner with sparrows for meat which made me wonder how many they ate and how they were caught or maybe they raised them. Teachers could write books,
some funny or some sad as in the case of this one.
Welcome to the Buzz, Doug! This was such a fun post.
Nice article Doug. I wish the holes would show from the exterior too!
Great article, Doug. Every time I give a tour of the Barn, I wonder about that dovecote. Sometimes there just isn't a definitive answer. But there's a great story here. Welcome to being a History Buzz author!
One mans pigeon is another mans fancy. Your article caught my interest about pigeons. I had to laugh though that you thought it was only a hobby of the lower class, and that your subjects didn't or you couldn't find any proof that they were pigeon fancier's. Well I found proof of my ggrandfather Louis Thiel aged 56 at this time, hobby a pigeon fancier right here in Boston MA. My mother was his granddaughter. I found a book researching on google many years ago about him as an actor in a local Boston theater troupe. Well at the end of his bio it noted him to be a pigeon fancier. I then researched the Boston papers for any articles and sure enough I came across this one, which I will email to the Museum for your reading enjoyment. The date was Jan 3, 908.
I was fancied by the fact that he and his homing pigeons had made history with the traveling message route from Minnesota to Boston. "The Boston Hearld, Jan 3, 1908.
My mother's childhood story was " yeah my grandfather had homing pigeons, he raised". " We would eat pigeons for our Sunday meal." So there you go, never dismiss a family story.
I really enjoyed this article. I am an artist and I have a fifth floor studio in Lowell with a tremendous amount of pigeon activity out my window where I get a close up, “birds eye view” of the growth stages of these fascinating birds. I also did an oil painting on location from across the street in 2015 that matches the vantage point of the photo of the barn and house.