LIFE ON THE PLAINS – Entertainment: radio and early TV

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Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

Back in the 1950s and ‘60s, entertainment was a little different from today. Television sets were few and far in between around The Plains.

So, what did we do?

In our household there was no television back in those late ‘40s and early ‘50s. But we had a great RCA radio, with attached record player. Our dad, who was an amateur finish carpenter by hobby, build this beautiful cabinet where all the “modern electronics” of the time were kept. During the week, we didn’t listen to much radio because after supper, it was homework and then bedtime. I was less than 10 years old.

But come the weekend, it was a different story. I have to preface this by saying our mother held all the cards in this situation. What we got to listen to, and for how long, was determine by how we had behaved during the week. I have to confess that raising four boys was not an easy task, especially when five to six years separated the two older from the two younger.

Saturday nights were the favorite. First, there was Gunsmoke. Yes, that show existed back then, but only on radio. I don’t remember who played whom, or any of the actual story lines. I just liked to hear when Marshal Dillon prevailed over the bad guys. When were they ever going to learn you couldn’t beat Marshal Dillon?

Then came the darker side. The show was called The Inner Sanctum. It was a kind of horror show, and again I don’t remember story lines. The parts that intrigued me were the beginning and end of the show, when you would hear the squeaking door open at the start of the program, and close at the conclusion. I guess I was too young to realize the horror that took place in between.

Other times, the radio was on and music was played. The “Victrola” was used a lot, playing 78 rpm LP records.

On Sunday mornings, after church, we would go to our grandfather’s place, which was next door because we shared a duplex, and listened to the radio. His favorite show was a French version where they only played Canadian songs. The show, hosted by Edgar Poulin, was called La Melodie Francais, which translate to “French Melodies”. However, my grandfather would jokingly call it La Maladie Francais, which translate to the “French Sickness.” My grandfather would sit in his chair next to the radio, and actually dance in place with his feet, without leaving his seat. Quite a show!

And finally one day – I remember the date – it was my birthday in October 1958 when I turned 11 years old, my Uncle Gil came to the house and installed an antenna on the roof. Those were starting to sprout like mushrooms around the city.

In the living room, stood a 21-inch, Sears Silvertone, black and white television floor console, with its assortment of electrical tubes to power it. How many remember when a TV repairman would actually come to the house to replace them when one burned out? On the front of the TV was the on/off switch, and the dial to select the channel – there were three available (there were only 12 numbers on the dial 2-13). Also on the front were horizontal hold and vertical hold knobs to prevent the picture from rolling up and down or side to side. On top of the television set was a box with a dial that controled the antenna on the roof, to point in the direction from which the signal was coming. Quite an ingenius marvel back in the day.

Back then, most TV stations signed off at midnight. The list of shows my parents never missed were The Milton Berle Show, The Jimmy Durante Show (“Good night, Mrs. Callabash, wherever you are.”), Lawrence Welk (my mother liked the champagne bubbles), The Honeymooners (“One of these days, Alice, pow, to the moon!”)

Later on, you would be able to watch the Red Sox doubleheaders every Sunday, with stars like Ted Williams, Jackie Jensen, Frank Malzone – my favorite player – Jim Piersall, my second favorite player who I had the opportunity to meet many years later. Some football with the New York Football Giants – they were so referred to because, at the time, the New York Giants baseball team played at the Polo Grounds before moving to San Francisco. I remember Sam Huff – my favorite player – Frank Gifford, Kyle Rote, Roosevelt Greer, Y.A.Tittle, etc., and remember watching the “greatest football game ever played” – when the Giants lost to the Baltimore Colts in the NFL championship game in 1958.

As the years went on, we got our first color TV in 1964. Television had improved a lot by then, and the selection of channels grew to five.

Not much time was spent in front of the TV, as we were highly encouraged to play outdoors with our friends. The television was a treat, not an electronic babysitter.

Those were good years, something that will never be seen again, on The Plains.

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Sopranos Rosa Ponselle & Barbara Maurel; Composer Serge Prokofiev; Conductor Eugene Ormandy; Singer Gene Pitney; Remington

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Rosa Ponselle (left), Barbara Maurel (right)

Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Rosa Ponselle
Barbara Maurel

A 1919 Columbia ten inch acoustic 78 rpm shellac has a very lovely duet of sopranos Rosa Ponselle (1897-1981) and Barbara Maurel (1889-?) performing the very well-known funeral hymn Abide With Me, which was often sung as a special number on non-funeral church Sundays by my father and three of his brothers during the GOLDEN DAYS of my little boy years growing up on China Lake’s non-swimming East Vassalboro side.

This and two other recordings of it, the megahit Victor Red Seal 1915 shellac by soprano Alma Gluck (1884-1938) and contralto Louise Homer (1871-1947); and a 1997 YouTube by Leslie Garrett with a magnificently huge choir and orchestra can be heard via YouTube.

Serge Prokofiev

Serge Prokofiev

Russian composer Serge Prokofiev (1891-1953) struggled for well over 20 years with his opera War and Peace and subjected it to frequent revisions, especially when cordially requested to do so by the Central Committee of the Stalinist Soviet Union; portions of it were performed a few times in both small and large halls but a full-scale production was delayed until six years after Prokofiev’s death when a 1959 Bolshoi Opera premiere occurred.

A friend, cellist Mstislav Rostropovich (1927-2007), premiered the Cello Sonata and a couple of other pieces. By 1970, Rostropovich had also taken up conducting and, during the mid-1970s after he and his family had been forced to leave the Soviet Union because of his friendship with the exiled novelist Alexander Solzhenitsyn, he was appointed music director of the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington DC.

In 1986, Rostropovich recorded the complete War and Peace in Paris with a cast that included his wife, soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, in one of the lead roles on an Erato set of four compact discs. The music is wide-ranging in its emotions with a massive orchestra augmented by extra brass, percussion and simulated artillery fire sound effects in its depiction of Napoleon’s early 1800s invasion of Russia. There are grand marches, choral numbers, moments of sublime beauty, and the colorfully abrasive rhythms and sonorities that exemplify Prokofiev’s compositional genius.

Eugene Ormandy

Eugene Ormandy

A 1957 Columbia Masterworks monaural LP, ML 5261, features the consistently great Eugene Ormandy (1899-1985) conducting the Philadel­phia Or­chestra in a group of colorful show pieces of classical music- Smetana’s Moldau, Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz, Weber’s Invitation to the Dance, and three excerpts from Berlioz’s Damnation of Faust. The record has been out of print for decades but its contents can also be heard on YouTube.

Gene Pitney

Gene Pitney

Singer Gene Pitney (1940-2006) achieved much success among adolescents with such early ‘60s rock and roll hits Town Without Pity, and Only Love Can Break A Heart. His 1966 LP Blue Gene (Musicor MM 2006) has his rough-edged but riveting renditions of Burt Bacharach’s 24 Hours From Tulsa – for me, the best item on the album with Bacharach doing the arrangement; the very high quality title song; and covers of I’ll Be Seeing You, Autumn Leaves, Answer Me My Love, Maybe You’ll Be There (a hit for Gordon Jenkins in 1948 on a Decca 78) etc.

Remington

Remington was the first inexpensive classical record label and started issuing its $2 releases in 1951. A 1952 three record set of Verdi’s opera Rigoletto was taped in Florence by names known only to opera buffs but ones who were very good – baritone Ivan Petroff as the hunch-backed, vindictive title character, soprano Orlandina Orlandini as Rigoletto’s daughter Gilda, and tenor Gino Sarri as the Duke who comes courting Gilda on the sly because he is detested by her father.

It is also an opera breathing with phenomenally beautiful arias and other set pieces and choruses and its story line gets on with it.

Erasmo Ghiglia conducted the ensemble of soloists, choristers and orchestral musicians in Florence more than 70 years ago and it too is available for listening on YouTube.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: Let’s talk weather predictions; how do they come up with it?

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Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

Let’s stray off the beaten path this week and talk about the weather. Everybody does. Especially forecasts in particular, and those people who tell us what to expect, and are very often wrong. Or are they?

A group of us were recently talking about weather forecasts and what they mean. If you asked three people what a 50 percent chance of rain means you’ll potentially get three different answers. The chance for rain (or snow) is probably the most misunderstood part of the weather forecast. In meteorology they refer to the chance for rain or snow as POPS, or probability of precipitation.

A rain chance – also known as a PoP (probability of precipitation) – is often expressed as the coverage of showers and storms in a given day and describes the chance of precipitation occurring at any point in a selected area.

The National Weather Service defines PoP in the following way: PoP = C x A where “C” = the confidence that precipitation will occur somewhere in the forecast area, and where “A” = the percent of the area that will receive measurable precipitation, if it occurs at all. So… if the forecaster knows precipitation is sure to occur ( confidence is 100 percent), he/she is expressing how much of the area will receive measurable rain. ( PoP = “C” x “A” or “1” times “.4” which equals .4 or 40 percent.). Another way to explain this, is that if there is a 50 percent chance of rain in 80 percent of a given area, there is a 40 percent PoP.

This means that PoP is an expression of both confidence and area. If a forecaster is only 50 percent certain that rain will occur over 90 percent of the area, then the PoP is 45 percent (because POP in this instance would equal 0.5 x 0.8).

Let’s say tonight’s forecast calls for a 50 percent chance of rain. It does not mean, 1. that 50 percent of the area will get wet; or 2. that it will rain 50 percent of the time.

According to meteorologists, a 50 percent chance of rain means there is a 50 percent chance for any one spot in the forecast area to get wet during the forecast period. So what’s the forecast area and forecast period?

A UGA study surveyed 188 meteorologists and broadcasters and found that respondents expressed a range of different definitions of PoP, and that each person was highly confident in their definition. The expression given above (PoP = Precip X Area) is one of the most common, while another common interpretation of PoP focuses on a specific point instead (PoP = Precip X Point).

Nearly half of those involved in the survey also felt there was little consistency in the definition of PoP, and the study concluded that it was evident that we need to work together as a community to establish clear and consistent messaging involving the communication of uncertain information. However, to be clear, none of the interpretations of PoP reference the intensity, amount, or duration of precipitation. You can still see flooding with a 30 percent PoP, and there could also be a day with 100 percent PoP that results in little accumulation (such as a day when meteorologists are anticipating a few hours of drizzle everywhere). Planning a beach day and see an 60 percent chance of rain? Dive deeper – don’t let it ruin your fun at first glance! It could mean that there is a high likelihood of a 30-40 minute storm, versus an all-day event. This is why context is critical when consuming any kind of information – especially a weather forecast.

Fortunately, even if everyone isn’t on the same page of what PoP means, they’ve likely adapted their own internal definition of it. If you see an 80 percent chance of rain, you’ll likely remember to grab a rain jacket or umbrella on the way out the door, regardless if you think the 80 percent is referring to how much rain your area will receive or how long it will last. A quick glance at the forecast for PoP is generally all people need to know if they need to grab their rain gear, but if you have plans outdoors, be sure to take a closer look at the forecast.

At no time does a percentage given in a forecast tell you how long it will rain, how much rain is expected, what time the rain will arrive or what the potential impacts are to you.

Confused yet?

There is a lot of confusion around what rain chances actually mean; simply put, the percentage given in a forecast is the coverage of people in the coverage area they think will see wet weather.

Unfortunately, POPS is a very subjective topic. Let’s say your county is the forecast zone and it has a 50 percent chance for rain today. If it rains in just one spot sometime during the afternoon then the forecast is verified, regardless of where the rain fell within the county.

The above scenario happens a lot. It might rain in a rural or unpopulated part of the county, missing the bulk of the population. Because the main population center missed out, most will think “they were wrong again,” referring to the local meteorologists, despite the forecast really verifying, because it did indeed rain within the forecast area during the forecast period.

My mother had two methods to predict rain. One, she would look at the silver maple tree outside, when the green leaves turned over to display the silver on the back side; two, or – we lived on the west side of the Kennebec River, in Waterville, and Hollingworth & Whitney (Scott Paper Co.) was on the east side, in Winslow. Whenever we got a strong scent of sulfur from the mill, and the wind was coming out of the east, on both occasions, she would predict rain – and was right 100 percent of the time.

OK, Mr. weatherman, with your Doppler radar and computer models, when will you be able to tell us which part of a given area will receive 100 percent of the rain?

So, here’s my solution. I have a rock in my backyard that I look at every day. If it is wet, it’s raining; if it is white, it’s snowing; if it’s dry, then it’s a nice day. Best of all, that rock is never wrong.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

What Hall of Fame defenseman, who played 21 seasons for the Bruins, logged the most career games in franchise history?

Answer
Ray Bourque, 1,518 games from 1979 to 2000.

FOR YOUR HEALTH: What to Know About Pneumonia

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Doctor In Surgery Giving Male Patient Injection

Vaccine protection can substantially reduce your risk of contracting pneumococcal pneumonia.

(NAPSI)—Many people think of pneumonia as a disease to worry about only in the fall and winter, but the truth is, pneumonia can reach you any time during the year.

The Problem

Contracting pneumonia can be especially concerning for older adults whose immune systems have begun to wane. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every week at least 1,000 Americans die from pneumonia.

There are several risk factors that can make you more susceptible to contracting pneumonia including age (being 65 and older or 5 years and younger), behavioral factors such as smoking cigarettes and the presence of chronic conditions like asthma, diabetes or heart disease.

An Answer

The good news is there are recommended vaccines that can help build your immune system and protect you from pneumococcal pneumonia, a common type of the disease caused by bacteria. This is important because having pneumococcal pneumonia even once increases your chances of contracting it again.

In 2021, the FDA approved new pneumococcal pneumonia vaccines that cover more forms of the disease than previous versions. Even if you are 65 years and older and have already received a pneumococcal pneumonia vaccine, you are now eligible for one of these new pneumococcal pneumonia vaccines.

Unlike the flu vaccine, you do not have to wait until the fall to be vaccinated. Just as you can be infected at any time during the year, you can also receive a pneumococcal pneumonia vaccine at any time, regardless of the season. Medicare and most insurances now cover the full cost of a pneumococcal pneumonia vaccine for seniors and at-risk populations.

Learn More

The National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs, in partnership with USA Boxing and the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP), created a document outlining the five things to know about pneumonia to help spread the word about this important opportunity to protect the health of older Americans. English and Spanish versions can be found at: https://www.nanasp.org/vaccines.

Talk to your doctor to determine whether you are eligible for a pneumococcal pneumonia vaccine.

I’M JUST CURIOUS: Wow! It is a hot summer!

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by Debbie Walker

I have been in Florida for about 39 years. How did that happen, I thought I was still only 34 years old. I am not sure what is going on, why some things are almost impossible to do. My family loves to tell me it is because I am getting older, they must be mistaken.

As I was trying to say it is one burning hot summer! Poor David is suffering and wondering if Florida was as good an idea as he first thought. There is no convincing him that it is going to get better. He will just have to stay here for the winter with no snow work to do!

I want to pass on a few things that might make your hot spell just a little easier for you. Let’s start with BUGS:

Did the mosquitoes find you outside trying to enjoy yourself? They will find you and you can relieve yourself with banana peels. Rub the inside over your bite for about a minute.

Are you like me and lost the screw from the frame of your sunglasses? I have three kits to repair glasses at home. Of course, I never loose the screw when I am at home. Well, get a toothpick and slip it in where the screw goes. It works. Saves buying new glasses immediately.

Gardening your thing? It can be great for the mood but can cause some ‘ouches’ to your body. I’d like to share a few more ideas from Woman’s World.

Hand pain: Fix hand pain with a sponge: Use a rubber band to wrap the sponge around the handles. Much easier on your hands.

Mowing: Sidestep mowing stickies: The reason behind the sluggish mower is likely grass gunk collecting on blades. Turn the mower and swipe the blades with a rag dipped in white vinegar. It will remove buildup, so your mower glides easily. (Make sure you turn off the mower first.)

Kids or no kids: If you work outside, you need one of those smooth, round bottom, sled. It would be cheap, and you can pile your tools or plants, etc., on it and drag it around the yard. It’s easier than rolling a wheeled cart.

Wrist strain: A regular, adult watering can is a bit hefty to handle. I love this one. Get a child’s watering can. Also, if you are buying dirt, buy the smaller, to be less strain for you to handle.

Make a pillow for your knees with pool noodles. Cut the noodles down to the right width to put your knees upon. Attach them together with rubber bands and enjoy some comfort, cheaper than buying one especially in the garden department.

Banish weeds cheap: Low cost, all-natural way to banish pesky grass killer: Mix ¼ C of salt, and 4 C of white vinegar in a spray bottle and spritz on weeds. Don’t spray this near your flower plants. Come to think of it, I am going to hit my weeds. They need to go.

As usual, I am just curious if you will try some of these. I am going to do the weeds tonight. Contact me with comments or questions anytime at DebbieWalker@townline.org . Have a great week!

P. S . Remember most of these ideas come from Woman’s World or FIRST magazine. Great magazines!

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Music Potpourri

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Frederic Chopin

Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Frederic Chopin

Polish-born Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) composed his incredibly beautiful two Piano Concertos when he was 20. The first one was my favorite of the two for decades while the second didn’t particularly thrill me until more recent years.

As usual with my favorite pieces, I have collected duplicates of the two Concertos and one in particular of the second stands out. It is a Columbia Master­works LP , ML 4135, the first American release of a 1946 English Columbia recording featuring two Polish artists, pianist Witold Malcuzynski (1914-1977) collaborating with Paul Kletzki (1900-1973) conducting the then-newly created Philharmonia Orchestra of London which producer Walter Legge (1906-1979) assembled mainly for recording purposes.

The second movement Larghetto is one of my top five favorite piano concerto second movements for its exquisite notes – the other four being those of the Brahms 1st Piano Concerto, the Beethoven 3rd and Emperor and the Rachmaninoff 2nd. Malcuzynski and Kletzki conveyed a feeling they were laying their hearts and souls out there with just how closely they submitted to communicating its divinely inspired ebb and flow.

In 1940 Malcuzynski and his wife escaped from Nazi-occupied France to Portugal in a sealed train car; Maestro Kletzki left Poland during the early 1930s but lost his mother and two sisters during the Holocaust.

A biographer of Chopin, James Gibbons Huneker (1857-1921), wrote the following about the music from the composer’s last years of failing health: “Forth from his misery came sweetness and strength, like honey from the lion.”

Bob Crewe

Bob Crewe

Singer Bob Crewe (1930-2014) raised a large sum of money to finance his first record of two quite forgettable songs, Don’t You Care and Pride, with arranger Gil Evans and his orchestra, which was released as a ten-inch 78 rpm in 1953 (BBS 118).

Crewe later achieved fame as a songwriter of late ‘50s hits such as Silhouettes, Walk Like a Man, and Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You. He also produced a batch of songs for the Four Seasons. In 2014, he died in a nursing home in Scarborough.

Evans later arranged for jazz trumpeter Miles Davis.

Haydn Symphonies

Vilmos Tatrai

A pair of Haydn Symphonies, Numbers 7 and 49, were given very sprightly performances by Vilmos Tatrai (1912-1999) and the Hungarian Chamber Orchestra on a 1967 LP on the high quality Qualiton label (LPX 1103). Qualiton records had a huge distribution center in Queens, New York, which was started by a Hungarian lawyer named Otto Quittner (1924-2011) who supplied me with a number of review copies for my columns in the now-defunct Sweet Potato music publication in Portland before I moved to Houston in 1980 for 16 years.

Connie Francis

Connie Francis

The Very Best of Connie Francis (1937-) features 15 of her megahits from the late ‘50s to the early ‘60s, including, of course, Who’s Sorry Now, Among My Souvenirs, Where the Boys Are, Second Hand Love, My Happiness, etc. Despite the sticky sweet sentimentality of some of these songs, she sang them beautifully and received good arrangements.

 

 

 

 

 

VETERANS CORNER: Community living center needed at VA — Why has construction stalled?

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by Gary Kennedy

If you’re watching television you will see that the entire world is uneasy. That being said, you can imagine how our veterans must feel. You know, if you aren’t a veteran then perhaps you don’t really know how our veterans are feeling. The old expression, “the natives are restless”, is very true for them. For many vets right now, the smell of gun powder permeates the air. Ex-soldiers as well as avid gun enthusiasts know what I am referring to. In the military, as well as on the rifle range, there is a strong smell of gun powder. However, the non-veteran actually enjoys the smell of gun powder as it indicates fun on the range. To the veteran it’s quite another thing. For those who have seen action it is indicative of war, fear and death.

This war in Ukraine bothers them deeply. They can visualize the aftermath of battle. Men, women and children are scattered on the ground; some dead and some barely alive. Once you’ve tasted battle its image never leaves you, thus, P.T.S.D. Anything else is either a nervous condition or anxiety. In any case, in the past, they have been treated the same. The powers that be are beginning to realize that although they are treated relatively the same they have different origins. If you give it some thought you can see the difference. So when a veteran says to me, “I’m OK”, but in all actuality they aren’t, I feel they are living in denial or they just don’t understand why things end up the way they do. Help is needed.

This problem is often times brought to the front by the wife or a significant other. This is bad in several different ways, (1) life is not good; (2) the other part of significant is not being treated well; (3) denial negates help and; (4) help and benefits are not supporting the family unit. We all know when something is not right; it’s just a matter of facing it and asking for the help one needs and deserves. It doesn’t take much to set a veteran’s dark side off and some of us talk about it every week. I will try to give you some examples in Veterans Corner section of the past few weeks, which actually harbor beginnings of several years ago.

Several years ago (four – five) the United States government put a lot of money aside for the building of a Community Living Center. This was needed by veterans with serious problems for shelter and medical help of a long term nature. It’s been more than four years now and all that has been accomplished is some excavation by McGee Construction and some pipe laying of some sort by Williams Construction Company. The VA campus is riddled with plastic pipe and storage trailers. For those of you who go there often it is viewed as a real mess. The sign that proudly announced the advent of this wonderful project was taken down after two years. This was a blow to the vets who really needed it. At a recent get together it was stated, “Where is the money”? I think that is a good and valid question that should be asked and hopefully answered. Most employees do not have any knowledge about this situation, and VA doesn’t share with us vets.

Another issue that was brought up was the bottle neck the Fisher House has caused. If you remember one of my articles of a few years ago I mentioned tight parking, close proximity to the Emergency Room and it being built on protected land, right beside of the duck pond. I took this problem to the state, had a meeting and filed a complaint. I guess my words fell on deaf ears. The ducks and people on the park bench would have to share the wet land.

Our gathering of last week was interesting when someone spoke out and said, “The Fisher House is sinking”. If true the Fisher House is sinking into the wet land. I haven’t visited that yet but I’ll check it out next week. Next, came a comment on lack of police attentiveness of the hospital front door, Building 200. People pull up under the canopy and park causing a jam. This is not only inconvenient for those with spinal conditions and chemotherapy appointments but it causes anger among some of the veterans. I called the police one day myself as I was trapped in that section by vehicles front and rear. It took them 10 minutes plus to come to the scene and speak with the people. There is plenty of parking on the campus and a mini taxi to give them a free lift. There is no need for that sort of dangerous situation. An ambulance could not have gotten in. The patient would have to be carried from the street. After all, there is 500 acres of land there. Instead of security inside they should be directing traffic. Catching speeders is important but securing the facility is more important.

Another issue that came up was, the covid restrictions were lifted and security was removed from the doors. However, the Administration has only released two doors. All the remaining doors remain locked forcing our wounded warriors to take the long walk or have their caregivers push them throughout the hospital and/or administrative building. VBA is where a veteran would go to file a case or seek advice. It is located in Building 248. That is in the middle of the campus on the second floor. They have a direct door. That door is locked. You would have to go to Building 200 or 205 to begin your journey. That is inflicting unnecessary hardship on disabled veterans. I have been entering those doors for 47 years, so I know it’s hard on some who have no help and perhaps are not as strong anymore. Obviously, it is not veterans running the VA. Last but not least is the work at home program which I will try to address at another time.

These things don’t only affect those with PTSD but also those with other medical conditions. Veterans know when they tell me, these things I will not only address but also share. This is how we make things better. You can send your comments to garyek55@gmail.com. God bless. all my brother and sister-veterans. There are always others who will help.

SMALL SPACE GARDENING: Plant now for a bountiful fall harvest

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Floating row cover

by Melinda Myers

Boost your fall garden harvest with some midsummer plantings. Fill vacant spaces left in the vegetable garden after harvesting lettuce, spinach, and other early maturing crops. Expand your edible plantings to other vacant spots in flowerbeds, mixed borders, and containers.

Sow seeds of beans, cucumbers, carrots, beets, and other vegetables that will have time to reach maturity before the end of your growing season. Simply count the number of days from planting to the average first fall frost in your area. You’ll find frost dates for your location on the internet, extension publications and other gardening resources. Next, check the back of the seed packet for the number of days needed from planting until harvest. As long as you have enough time for the seeds to sprout, grow and produce before the first frost, they can be added to the garden.

Some plants like collards, kale and broccoli tolerate, and even taste better, after a light freeze. This makes them great choices for a fall-harvested garden. Some garden centers sell transplants of these and other vegetables suitable for summer planting. Check the plant tags for the number of days needed for transplants to grow and start producing.

Extend the harvest season by providing frost protection in the fall. Cold frames and cloches that act like mini greenhouses for individual plants protect the plants from frost. Vent them on warm sunny days and close the lids when frost is in the forecast.

Use floating row cover fabrics for an even lower maintenance option. They are designed to let air, light, and water through to the plants while protecting them from frost. You will find row covers available in various weights that provide different levels of cold weather protection. Select the one best suited to your climate and the vegetables you are growing.

Loosely cover the plants with the fabric and anchor the edges with stones, boards, or landscape pins. Just lift the row cover to harvest, recover, and leave it in place until the harvest is complete, or the temperatures drop below what the row cover and plants can handle.

Wait for the soil to cool before planting lettuce, spinach, and other vegetable seeds that require cooler temperatures to germinate. Increase germination success by planting the seeds as directed, watering them in, and covering the row with a wooden lath to keep the soil cooler. Remove the lath as soon as the seeds sprout. Or start the plants indoors and move them into the garden as transplants. Then help keep the soil cool throughout the remainder of summer by mulching with leaves, evergreen needles, or other organic mulch.

Increase the health and productivity of your second planting by preparing the soil before planting seeds and transplants. Mix an inch of quality compost into the top six inches of soil or fertilize with organically rich low-nitrogen fertilizer.

Once your seeds and transplants are in the ground, be sure to water them properly. Keep the seedbed and roots of transplants moist for the first few weeks. Gradually reduce the watering frequency as seedlings sprout and grow, and transplants become established. Most plants need about an inch of water each week. Water thoroughly whenever the top few inches of soil are crumbly and slightly moist. Adjust your watering schedule based on your weekly rainfall, soil type, and air temperatures.

Harvest vegetables when they are at their peak of ripeness and early in the morning after the dew dries whenever possible. Regular picking avoids waste and results in a bigger harvest of flavorful and nutritious vegetables to enjoy throughout the fall.

Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books, including the recently released Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, 2nd Edition, and Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” instant video and DVD series and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment TV & radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and her website is www.MelindaMyers.com.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: Where have all the insects gone?

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Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

While sitting around a campfire a couple of evenings ago, someone asked the question: Where have all the bugs gone?

We began to discuss how few black flies, mosquitoes, June bugs, etc., we have seen so far this spring and summer.

Bugs are an interesting subject.

If a dollar value was put on the services insects provide, this would equal roughly $70 billion in the U.S. alone.

With an estimated 5.5 million species, insects are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. More than one million have been named by scientists — and many more have yet to be discovered. In fact, insects account for 80 percent of animal life on Earth.

But, both the number and diversity of insects are declining around the globe due to habitat loss, pollution and climate change. Without widespread action, many of these important creatures face extinction within the next few decades.

For instance, worldwide declines in insect populations have sparked considerable concern. To date, however, significant research gaps exist, and many insect threats remain under-investigated and poorly understood. Example, despite their charismatic bioluminescent displays and cultural and economic importance, the 2,000-plus species of firefly beetles have yet to be the subject of a comprehensive threat analysis.

Writing in BioScience, Sara M. Lewis, of Tufts University, and her colleagues aim to fill the gap with a broad overview of the threats facing these diverse and charismatic species – as well as potential solutions that may lead to their preservation into the future. Lewis and colleagues catalog numerous threats, foremost among them habitat loss, followed closely by artificial light and pesticide use. The future is not bleak, however, and the authors describe considerable opportunities to improve the prospects of bioluminescent insects, including through the preservation of habitat, reduction of light pollution, lowered insecticide use, and more-sustainable tourism.

By making a few small changes in your life, you can help curb this worldwide problem. Insects are crucial to life on Earth and what you can do to help save these amazing creatures.

The question that is always raised is why should I protect insects?

While many insects can seem like pests, they provide a wide range of services to other plants and animals in our environment. In fact, a diverse range of insect species is critical to the survival of most life on Earth, including bats, birds, freshwater fishes and even humans! Along with plants, insects are at the foundation of the food web, and most of the plants and animals we eat rely on insects for pollination or food. For example, 96 percent of songbirds feed insects to their young.

According to the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service, roughly 35 percent of the world’s food crops depend on pollinators to reproduce. That means you can thank a pollinator for about one of every three bites of food you eat. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, more than 100,000 different animal species play roles in pollinating the 250,000 kinds of flowering plants on Earth, with insects like bees, wasps, moths, butterflies, flies and beetles being the most common. Additionally, some insects are natural predators to pests that may harm food crops.

Some insects are known as decomposers, meaning they break down dead materials like fallen leaves and animal carcasses and turn them into simpler materials, making nutrients available to primary producers like plants and algae. In other words, decomposers are nature’s own recycling system.

Only a very small fraction of insects in the world are considered by humans to be pests, meaning they cause harm to people, plants, animals and buildings. While insect pest control costs the U.S. economy billions of dollars annually, this number would be much higher if it weren’t for the countless beneficial insects that serve as natural predators to pest species, like fire ants and mosquitoes. Additionally, some parasitic insects like small wasps lay their eggs inside pest species, driving their population down. To adequately control pests, we need beneficial insects.

Insects are the primary menu item for many reptiles, birds and amphibians. If insect populations continue to decline, some food webs might collapse entirely.

We also depend on insects for silk, dyes, honey and medical and genetic research. But, aside from the services insects provide, they are simply fascinating animals that spark curiosity in humans, especially children. These incredible creatures exhibit many extraordinary behaviors that are unthinkable in other forms of life and have inspired technology that we use today, like drones! Take some time to really observe the insects in your backyard, what behaviors do you see that captivate you?

Since many insects have yet to even be discovered, there may be benefits we don’t even know about yet!

So, the next time you think about swatting, spraying or crushing, maybe, just maybe, that creature can serve more benefits to you alive than dead.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

A large brown bear named Blades is the mascot of what Boston professional sports team?

Answer
The Boston Bruins.

LAKE LIFE TODAY: While planning for the Future, part 7

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by Elaine Philbrook

Lake Life Today is a series of articles that are hoped will inspire you to see how, by taking just a few steps, you can make a difference and help preserve the quality of water in our lakes for future generations.

These articles have been collected and organized by LakeSmart Director Elaine Philbrook, a member of China Region Lake Alliance (aka “the Alliance”) serving China Lake, Webber Pond, Three Mile Pond, and Three-Cornered Pond. The Alliance would like to thank our partners at Maine Lakes and Lakes Environmental Association (LEA) for information to support this article.

[See the rest of the series here.]

Pathways

Do you have a pathway from your home to the lake’s shore? Chances are you do. Water flowing over improperly designed paths and walkways is one of the ways pollutants find their way into our lakes and waterbodies. Properly designed pathways for foot traffic minimize compaction to soils in surrounding areas, help to absorb water, reduce the rate of stormwater runoff flow, protect soil from erosion, and prevent pollutants such as sediments from entering the lake.

What does a properly designed path or walkway look like?

Properly designed pathways are meandering, shed runoff regularly preventing erosion, and stabilize high traffic areas. Stormwater runoff should be directed into adjacent vegetation.

Ideally, paths should be no more than three – four feet wide. The walking surface should be covered with 3 – 4 inches of material such as Erosion Control Mix (ECM), pine needles, wood chips, crushed stone, or other material. This will well-define the path, guide foot traffic, and reduce soil erosion.

Steeper slopes may require water-bars to divert stormwater runoff to vegetated areas, or infiltration steps. These topics will be covered in future articles. Whenever possible avoid steeper slopes for your pathways.

If new pathways are not clearly defined, they can be marked with strategic plantings, stones, solar lights, etc., along the edges. This will show the preferred route for foot traffic.

It is important to maintain your pathways by periodically removing accumulated debris from the surface. Mulched pathways may need to be re-shaped and additional material may be needed to replace what has washed or worn away.

For more information about pathways take a moment to read this helpful information sheet: https://dec.vermont.gov/sites/dec/files/documents/LakeWiseInfoSheet_PlanningPathways.pdf.

If you have any questions about what you can do to ensure the integrity of your valued lake or if you would like a free LakeSmart evaluation you can reach Elaine Philbrook by email at chinalakesmart@gmail.com and follow-up to read the next Town Line Newspaper.

Live lightly on the land for the sake of the lake (LakeSmart).