Memories of lost words and phrases of the past by Elton Slusser  for the Times West Virginian  April 23, 2017  I recently received an email from a dear friend the contents of which, depending upon your age, may bring a smile, tear or just a remembrance of days gone by.  Would you recognize the word “Murgatroyd” or the phrase “Heavens to Murgatroyd”?   The other day, a not-so-elderly 65-year-old lady said something to her son about driving a jalopy, and he looked at her quizzically and asked, “What is a jalopy?”  I hope you are “hunky-dory” and that you chuckle after reading these thoughts by Richard Lederer which were included in my friend’s email message.  (I have added a few comments to his observations, hoping that they do not distract from his intended purpose.)  Back in the old days, we had a lot of moxie.  We’d put on our best “bib and tucker” to “straighten up and fly right.”  Heavens to Betsy!  Gee willikers!  Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat!  Holy moley!  We were “in like Flynn” and “living the life of Riley.”  Even a “regular guy” couldn’t accuse us of being a “knucklehead,” a “nincompoop,” or a “pill.”  We awake from, what seems to be, a short nap and before we can say, “Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle” or “This is a fine kettle of fish,” we discover the words we grew up with, the words that seemed omnipresent as oxygen, have vanished with scarcely a notice from our tongues, pens and our keyboards.  Long gone are “Pshaw,” “The milkman did it,” and “Hey! It’s your nickel.”  “Don’t forget to pull the chain,” “knee-high to a grasshopper,” “Well, fiddlesticks,” “going like sixty,”  “I’ll see you in the funny papers,” and “Don’t take any wooden nickels” are only a few of the endearing and fondly remembered vanished phrases of our past.  The email writer signed his comments with, “See you later, alligator.”  https://www.timeswv.com/opinion/good-morning-memories-of-lost-words-and-phrases-of-the/article_7b165cc8-27f2-11e7-bcba-6b68597f0d53.html  See also Old Words And Phrases Remind Us Of The Way We Word  by Richard Lederer  January 3, 2015 (and link to Richard's weekly columns, Lederer on Language) at http://verbivore.com/wordpress/old-words-and-phrases-remind-us-of-the-way-we-word/

Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812–1852) was an English architect, designer, artist, and critic who is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival style of architecture.  His work culminated in designing the interior of the Palace of Westminster in Westminster, London, England and its clock tower, later renamed the Elizabeth Tower, which houses the bell known as Big Ben.  Pugin designed many churches in England and some in Ireland and Australia.  He also created Alton Castle in Alton.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus_Pugin

Augustus Pugin popularized an updated, romanticized version of medieval design, helping to establish it as the national style in Victorian Britain.  The Toledo Museum of Art at 2445 Monroe Street, has a Pugin piano in Gallery 32.  This piano, with its carved oak Gothic motifs and tracery, is probably one of two Pugin-designed pianos displayed in the Medieval Court at London’s Crystal Palace Exhibition of 1851, the first World’s Fair.  The pianos demonstrated that Gothic design could be successfully applied to modern forms of furniture.  MANUFACTURER(Instrument Fitters) Burns & Lambert  MANUFACTURER(Case maker) J. G. Crace  H: 65 1/2 in. (166.4 cm); W: 53 in. (134.6 cm); Depth: 29 3/4 in. (75.6 cm)  http://emuseum.toledomuseum.org/objects/55954/piano;jsessionid=F367EB94CB5C02227E5F70E08C0C3BC5

During its first decade in existence, The Dayton Art Institute outgrew its original home, a mansion located on Monument Avenue in downtown Dayton.  Mrs. Julia Shaw Carnell, a prominent community leader, pledged to construct a new museum if the community would then endow and pay for its operations.  Mrs. Carnell’s generosity of nearly $2 million created the landmark building that still houses the museum. Completed in 1930, the building was modeled after the Villa d’Este near Rome and the Villa Farnese at Caprarola in Italy, both examples of sixteenth century Italian Renaissance architecture.  The museum facility was designed by prominent museum architect Edward B. Green of Buffalo.  Today, The Dayton Art Institute's architecturally and historically significant facility is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Sitting atop a hill on the edge of the Great Miami River, overlooking downtown Dayton, the striking building of nearly 60,000 square feet soon became known as “Dayton’s Living Room.”  http://www.daytonartinstitute.org/about-dai/history/building   Dayton Art Institute  456 Belmonte Park North  937-223-4278

The Contributions and Legacy of Bob Hines by John D. Juriga  Robert W. ("Bob") Hines (1912-1994) was a self-taught artist who specialized in wildlife and sporting art.  He began his career at the Ohio Division of Conservation and Natural Resources in 1939.  While living in Columbus, his Redhead design was chosen to grace the 1946 Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp.  Hines later joined the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as staff artist in 1948.  https://www.friendsofthestamp.org/stories-photos/more-stories/the-contributions-and-legacy-of-bob-hines/  See pictures of duck stamps by Bob Hines and other artists at https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibits/past/artistic-license.html

Although not nearly as well known as Amelia Earhart, Jerrie Mock of Bexley, Ohio achieved a remarkable aviation first in 1964.  In her single-engine Cessna 180, the Spirit of Columbus, Jerrie Mock became the first woman to fly solo around the world.  Mock flew 22,860 miles in 29 days, landing on April 17, 1964, at Port Columbus Airport.  Her adventure is told for young readers by Plain City author Nancy Roe Pimm in “The Jerrie Mock Story,” published by Ohio University Press.  Pimm follows young Geraldine Fredritz from her childhood in Newark through to a detailed account of her record-setting flight and her exploits after, including a variety of speed records she set flying in the late 1960s.  But her circumnavigation of the world is the meat of the book, researched by Pimm through published accounts as well as interviews with Mock, who died in 2014.  Mock and her small plane overcame thunderstorms, sandstorms, faulty brakes, a broken long-distance radio, and the constant threat of her competitor, California aviator Joan Merriam Smith, who also was chasing the women’s solo flight record.  In Saudi Arabia, where it was illegal for women to drive a car but not fly, she was greeted upon landing by the Royal Arabian Air Force and a man who sneaked past guards to look into her little plane and confirm, “There is no man!”  In Egypt, she accidentally landed her plane on April 1 not in Cairo, but on a secret air force base where she was met by soldiers and guns and taken into custody until she could prove who she was.  She later called this her “April Fool’s Landing.”  https://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2016/05/08/1-the-jerrie-mock-story-bexley-pilots-adventures-made-history.html

Poilane by David Lebovitz   One of the reasons I moved to Paris is that I could, whenever I wanted to, go to Poilâne and buy myself a nice chunk of pain Poilâne.  There’s something special about the bread at Poilâne--it has a certain flavor, just the right tang of sourdough, dark and husky--that makes it the perfect bread for sandwiches, to accompany cheese, or as I prefer it, as morning toast with little puddles of salted butter collecting in the irregular holes and a thin layer of bitter chestnut honey drizzled all over it.  See beautiful pictures at https://www.davidlebovitz.com/poilane-bakery-cuisine-de-bar-paris/

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2044  February 15, 2019