I lift my lamp
This last weekend, while Sara was at Toy Fair, I spent a few days showing the kids New York City. It was a whirlwind (and kinda cold) but we had a blast!
One of our many stops was the Natural History Museum. As we wandered the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall, I thought about how upset I would imagine the former president would be about attacks on his beloved National Parks. When we visited the Statue of Liberty, I tried to thank the Park Rangers I saw as we climbed to her crown. It was easy to tell how much they each enjoyed their work and the story of America they were trying to tell with sincerity. To be honest, I found our visit to Liberty Island inspiring…but also heartbreaking.
I wish we were collectively living up to the ideals the beautiful copper colossus represents. As the Emma Lazarus poem goes:
"Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Our parks are intended to help us remember our past. They remind us of who we are as a people. They hold and preserve space for all to enjoy. They tell our collective story. That is true both of our National Parks and Monuments as well as our local parks.
Monday night, the Harbor Springs Historical Society gave the City Council an update on the efforts to restore a Shay locomotive. It is to be placed near the Aha steel yacht in Shay Park. Both the boat and the engine are part of our community's story. It is exciting to think about future generations who will learn about the innovations inspired right here in our little town on the harbor. The Shay engine is one of just a few that remain in the world. It has been undergoing restoration since November of 2021 by students at the Industrial Arts Institute in Onaway.
It sounds like the Shay locomotive should be in place in Shay Park between Main and Bay in time to celebrate the summer with us here in Harbor. I am excited to have a new neighbor! And I am looking forward to learning more about the impact Shay's ingenuity had on our city and the nation.
On a related note, tonight, the Middle School is hosting its Student Showcase. The event is a chance to spotlight what the kids have learned this year. I wonder which Harbor Springs students will be the next to change the world!
The work the City and Historical Society are doing along with our great schools and teachers will help to inspire the next generation of Harbor inventors and leaders.
Hope to see you at Showcase or around town soon.
(While in New York, I took a picture of a few of Lil' Nubbins cousins at the Natural History Museum. Go Rams!)