Spreading the News About Flat Stanley-Whitman's Visit to Boston

Nickname: The Bay State, but during the eighteenth century became known as the “Cradle of Liberty”
Capital: Boston
Admission to the Union: February 6, 1788



Like so many New England families, Flat Stanley-Whitman's heritage can be traced back to Cambridge, England, Massachusetts Bay Colony, and ultimately the Puritan haven for nobleman, River Colony (known today as the state of Connecticut). Both the Stanley and Whitman families are among the most dignified when ranked by the Farmington church of old. Still, Flat Stanley-Whitman enjoyed exploring Boston in his geneologoical quest.

Built in 1798, the “new” State House is located across from the Boston Common on the top of Beacon Hill.  While visiting Boston, he hiked the Freedom Trail, a 2.5 mile red brick walking trail that leads you to 16 nationally signifcant historic sites. Dedicated by the citizens of Boston in 1958, the Freedom Trail is a unique collection of museums, churches, meeting houses, burying grounds, parks, a ship, and historic markers that tell the story of the American Revolution and beyond.

He also enjoyed strolling the Public Garden and riding the Swan Boats.The Public Garden, also known as Boston Public’s Garden, is a large park located in the heart of Boston and adjacent to Boston Common. From the start, the Public Gardne was fancy and flowery and the Common was rustic and practical. The Common Walkways were for crosstown travel, the Public Garden’s paths for strolling. The Common was America’s first park (1634), the Public Garden its first botanical garden.  was created in 1837, Boston Common in 1634.


For over 130 years, the Swan Boats have been a part of the Boston experience. Each Spring they come out and grace the waters of the Boston Public Garden. The Swan Boats became famous in the stories Make Way for Ducklings and The Trumpet of the Swan.

The John Hancock Tower was built in 1976 and at 241 meters (790ft), it is still the tallest building in Boston. The construction of the modern 60 story skyscraper at Copley Square, creates a glass curtain wall reflecting the more historic surrounding buildings.


Helping Flat Stanley-Whitman find out about his ancestors was an interesting and educational experience. Now he's heading back home, to Farmington, Connecticut, where he can reflect on the many places he's been.


Kim Pelletreau and Nicole Barbuto

Making Our Way Around the Concrete Jungle - New York City

About three years ago, when I came to this great nation from India, I had the pleasure of coming to stay in the city commonly known around the world as "the city that never sleeps" - New York City.

New York City has a cool, humid climate since it falls on the North-Eastern Coast of America. On average, it has about 234 days with at least some sunshine annually. Summers are typically hot, with temperatures averaging in the 80s, while winters are quite chilly, with a lot of precipitation. New York City is often called ‘the concrete jungle,' and for good reason. New York consists of several islands, covered with gigantic, high-rise buildings. The city can be best described geographically as an archipelago, with the Hudson and East rivers running through it, and emptying out into the Atlantic Ocean, forming
several natural harbors, and making New York City a primary trade center. 

New York’s current culture can best be described as mixed and integrated. It’s a thriving city with over eight million residents from hundreds of different backgrounds, and the city can be compared to a melting pot. Indeed, New York City is the most linguistically diverse city in the world! Other than that, New York is also considered the financial capital of the world, and all kinds of jobs are available. It is a place with abundant well-paying, job opportunities and people come from all over the world in pursuit of money and careers.

 
Probably the most important tourist attraction of New York is the Statue of Liberty, situated on Ellis Island, just off the coast of the mainland. However, New York is home to several world class museums (MOMA, Museum of Natural History) and the island of Manhattan is frequently enveloped with tourists, who come to New York to witness the man-created wonders of the city. All of New York itself is unique, since it is a city like no other. However, a few distinctively unique events are the U.S. Open, hosted in Flushing Meadows, the New Year's ball-dropping in the electric Times Square, and the world-famous Broadway musicals that have adopted Manhattan as their home.

So there you have it, Flat Stanley-Whitman, New York in a paragraph. There are countless secrets of the place that cannot be described, only be witnessed first-hand. Thanks for coming to New York City with me, a fascinating place that I admire to this day.

Archit Parikh

Exploring the Seacoast Region of Hampton, New Hampshire

We are happy to have Flat Stanley-Whitman visit us in Hampton, New Hampshire (population 15,000), a town in an area commonly referred to as the Seacoast region. The New Hampshire seacoast borders Massachusetts to our south, and Maine to our north, with the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Interestingly, with only 18 miles of coastline, New Hampshire has the shortest ocean coastline of any U.S. coastal state. 

Our town of Hampton is home to Hampton Beach State Park, the state’s largest beach with a huge, long sandy beach, a boardwalk with all kinds of amusements such as arcades, fried dough and lots of T-shirt and gift shops, to name a few. Every Wednesday night during the summer is just like the Fourth of July at Hampton Beach because there are awesome fireworks. And there is a band shell where nightly outdoor concerts are held. Every year in June, there is a sand sculpture contest and in September, the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival is held. There are also eight other beaches and waterfront state parks along the coast.
 
Our climate in Hampton is much like your climate in Farmington. The summer is warm and humid and the winter is cold, snowy and wet. Usually, it is cooler along the coast than it is inland. For example, yesterday it was 52 degrees in Hampton, but it was 80 degrees in Manchester, New Hampshire’s
largest town, which is about 30 miles inland.

The Seacoast region of New Hampshire is just one part of our large state. There is also the Lakes region, the White Mountains region and the North Country, to name a few. So much to explore and do! Did you know that New Hampshire was the ninth of the original thirteen colonies? And New Hampshire has the coolest state motto in the whole United States, if I do say so myself: "Live Free or Die."

The Anastasia family, Hampton, New Hampshire, (Aunt, Uncle and cousins of Erik I.)

Experiencing Oregon with Alex A.!

Thank you for sending me Flat Stanley-Whitman. I had so much fun taking him around. I first started at the Oregon Vortex. It is a mystical place that makes everything appear different than it really is. www.oregonvortex.com

Next we headed to the coast. One side of Oregon is met by the Pacific Ocean. The water is cold and the beach has big rocks to climb on. We stayed the night and made a big fire by the beach. I found this cool starfish during low tide in the morning. http://www.brookingsor.com/  I then drove down to California to the Redwood Forest. We saw trees that were over 300 feet tall and 1000 years old. http://www.treesofmystery.net/

The places I went are all close to the town I live in called Medford, Oregon. http://www.city-data.com/city/Medford-Oregon.html I really like it here. It is pretty nice weather most of the year. It does not rain too
much. We go on lots of hikes. This weekend I am going to a cool place called Crater Lake.

Thanks again for the letter. I hope you are all doing well. I miss you
all.  Alex A.- former Noah Wallace School student

Visiting Brooklyn, New York: A Kaleidoscope of Languages and Cultures

Your friend, Flat Stanley-Whitman, came to visit me. I met him in Northport Village, across Long Island Sound from Norwalk, Connecticut. Did he sail across or did he row across the Sound? Either way he was tired after such a long journey – it was about 20 miles!


Northport Village is located in Suffolk County Long Island. Did you know that Long Island is the longest and largest island in the contiguous United States? It is 118 miles long and 23 miles wide at its widest point.


The next day Stanley and I drove to Brooklyn where I work. Technically, Brooklyn is considered to be part of Long Island, but today it is one of the five boroughs that make up New York City. We drove through many different neighborhoods, a kaleidoscope of languages and cultures: Caribbean, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Chinese and Orthodox Jewish; each with their own style of dress and customs! Stanley was surprised to see so many different people living close together. How different this was from his home in Farmington, Connecticut!


I work near the Brooklyn Bridge, one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. It was completed in 1883 and has a pedestrian walkway that allows people to walk or cycle across the bridge, high above the East River, from Brooklyn to Manhattan. Walking along the Promenade, we marveled at the Statue of Liberty and the tall buildings on the other side of the river that makeup the beautiful Manhattan skyline. We also sadly remembered the Twin Towers that no longer rise majestically across the way.


Soon it was time to return home. On the way back to East Northport, we stopped by to visit the home of another Whitman: Walt Whitman, the famous American poet who was born on Long Island and wrote poems about the beauty of nature. I wonder if they are somehow related? Perhaps a distant cousin decided to seek his fortune in New York and settled in the west hills of Suffolk County Long Island? Walt Whitman also traveled to Brooklyn and settled there. In fact, he was living in Brooklyn when the Brooklyn Bridge was built! Brooklyn was very different then, mostly farms and orchards.


Stanley was amazed at how the world has changed. And yet, some of the simple pleasures that Stanley, and then Walt Whitman, enjoyed we also enjoy: walking in the woods, listening to the birds, watching the waves along the shore. These are life’s simple pleasures that give us peace and joy. Walt Whitman captured these images beautifully.


Stanley is on his way home now. I hope he enjoyed his visit. I certainly enjoyed showing him where I live and work!
Submitted by Mimi, friend of Adria

Finding Finance and Fun in Chicago!

Chicago is located in northeastern Illinois at the southwestern tip of Lake Michigan. Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Lake Michigan is the only one of the Great Lakes wholly within the borders of the United States; the others are shared with Canada. The city’s lakefront allure and socially-active arena attracts residents and tourists alike.


Chicago is also a major world financial center, with the second largest central business district in the United States. Manufacturing, printing, publishing and food processing also plays major roles in the city’s economy.


Chicago city lies within the humid continental climate zone, and experiences four distinct seasons. Summers are warm and humid with average daytime high temperatures of 80 to 85 degrees Farenheit and nighttime lows of 61 to 66 degrees Farenheit. Winters are cold, snowy, and windy, with some sunny days, and with temperatures (particularly at night) below freezing. Spring and fall are mild seasons with low humidity.


When Chicago was incorporated in 1837, it chose the motto "Urbs in Horto," a Latin phrase which translates into English as "City in a Garden." Today, the Chicago Park District consists of 552 parks with over 7,300 acres of municipal parkland. There are 33 sand Chicago beaches, a plethora of museums, two world-class conservatories, 16 historic lagoons, and 10 bird and wildlife gardens.


Karthi Narayanaswami & Kalpana Muthusamy, friends of Afzal A.