Portland, OR

Halloween 2009

The Pirate - George

The Rock Star - Rock-it!

The Cage Fighter - Lovie

The Referee - Flat Stanley

Niagra Falls

October 2009

Hello Marie,

Stanley loved seeing Niagara Falls so much from the Canadian side with your grandparents that he begged us to take him with us when we took a trip to the American side of the falls this past weekend. All of the photos are taken from Goat Island. The first three are above the Horseshoe Falls. The second one shows the boat, the Maid of the Mist, bobbing up and down in the swirling water. And, the last picture is over the American Falls on the other side of the island. Niagara Falls is an amazing sight. There was so much water in the air that Stanley felt he was taking a shower and so did we!

Love,

Aunt Jane

Boston

Hi Marie,

Here is a photo of Flat Stanley visiting your cousin, Denise, in Boston. They are standing in front of the Copley Fairmount Plaza Hotel. He enjoyed walking around the city. He is now vacationing with Suzi and her family in Maine.

Aunt Jane

Washington, DC

Assateague Island

April 2009

April 2009

Central America

"I'd swim, but I can't get my clothes off!"

(hotel pool) Copan, Honduras


June 20, 2009



"Here's where I like to 'people watch' in the hotel lobby."

Antigua, Guatemala

Hi, Marie!

We're home! We had a great time. Stanley survived and is now speaking fluent Spanish! He was a big hit with everybody. I will send the pictures after we take a few more shots of him on Long Island (so he will remember New York!). We have not even had time yet to download the pictures. I don't know how interesting they will be since, in most cases, Stanley was posing in front of Mayan ruins - if you've seen one you've seen them all! Anyway, he survived torrential rain, several sweaty treks through the jungle, a lightening strike during our flight to Flores, and an earthquake at Lake Atitlan. He also acquired a new friend on the trip: a retired teacher who was crazy about him. I had to take a couple of pictures of him with her and promise her that I would read the story about Stanley when I returned home.

Sincerely yours,
Barbara Carroll

"The flight to Flores was bumpy and the plane was struck by lightening. Otherwise, it was a piece of cake"

(Airport Guatemala City)

"Finally, I've found the perfect cave for a boy of my stature."

Mask Temple, Lamanai, Belize

"Hang on to me, lady! I'm not wearing my chute!"

Mask emple, amanai, Belize

Dear Marie, Stanley had a great adventure traveling along jungle trails and following the route of the Maya. Maybe you can read about the Mayan Civilization some time. The Mayan people today look, dress and live very much the way they did centuries ago. It was fascinating to learn about their culture.

One of our travel companions was a woman named Tran. She was born in Vietnam and migrated to the United States years ago. She became an elementary school teacher in Texas and then in Washington, D.D. When she saw Flat Stanley traveling with us she was so excited. She LOVES Flat Stanley! As you can see, she insisted on having her picture taken with him.

Stanley aquaried a couple of treasures along the way. You will find a piece of green jade in his backpack along with a pendant which depicts typical Guatamalan art.

Thank you for sharing Flat Stanley with us. He was a source of great fun. Everyone on our tour enjoyed his company.

Sincerely, Barbara Carroll

"They keep posing me on rocks! This is getting ridiculous!"

"I'm caught in a minnie bear trap!! So why am I still smiling?"

"At last, I'm packed up and ready to fly home."

Adios, Central America!

Belize, Mexico

July 19, 2009

Hello Marie -
I took Flat Stanley to a cave in Belize where he saw hand prints left by the Ancient Maya over 1100 years ago. If you have a map of Belize, look for a town named Teakettle on the Western Highway in the Cayo District. The cave is south of Teakettle on the Roaring River.
Tomorrow we fly to Beijing and Flat Stanley will go too.
Your first cousin twice removed,
Eleanor Larson

China

April 17, 2009

Hello Marie,

I took Flat Stanley to China where he saw the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. Somehow, we neglected to take him out of the suitcase to view the eclipse. The third picture shows us without Flat Stanley a few minutes after totality. The photos are attached. Your first cousin twice removed, Eleanor Larson

Eleanor Larson

Morrisville, PA

April 17, 2009

Dear Marie,

We finally took some pictures of Flat Stanley, but they are on Ellen's camera which has gone back to Maryland with her. I think Flat Stanley went back, too. I will copy Ellen on this email so she will know your email address so she can send you the pictures we took.

Ellen and her daughter Skyler (10), her son Otto (4), and I may all be in some of the pictures. Her husband Garrett, too. One picture is of the house your grandfather/father grew up in on Hendrickson Ave. in Morrisville. We took the picture so it also includes the Cooley house next door where Kristen's grandmother and beloved aunts Rita and Alice lived. Ellen's husband might be in that picture.

We also took some pictures of the rock monument in Edgehill Gardens, just across the Morrisville-Lower Makefield boarder. The monument marks the spot where the "Walking Purchase" began. This was a deal between William Penn, founder and governor of Pennsylvania, and the local Indians. The territory that became Pennsylvania was given to Penn's father by the king of England in settlement of a debt owing to him. The father never came to Pennsylvania, which mean Penn's Woods, but his son William did. William Penn had a country house just down river from Morrisville. The rebuilt mansion with outbuildings is a nice place for visitors to this area. I'm sorry we couldn't get down there to get a picture of Flat Stanley, too.

The "Walking Purchase" was the first purchase of land from the Indians in our country. Prior to that, I guess the settlers just took the land after the Indians left or were forced out. The agreement was that the Indians would sell Penn the land land a man could cover in one day while walking. (Thus the name "Walking Purchase".) As I got the story, the settlers cheated by having their man run, and maybe also by having men run in relays so they could cover more territory, but I don't think that was William Penn's doing. I believe he wanted good relations with the Indians. He was a Quaker and basically peaceful and honest.

Right across the street from the monument is a very big rock left over from the Age of the Glacires that we took a picture of, too. It is called Greystones.My grandchildren love to climb on it. I'll bet Frank Bentz used to come there sometimes and climb on it when he was a boy, too. The rock is on the edge of a "first growth" forest that is now a small park that goes down to the canal. "First growth" forests have never been cut for farming or settlement, nor have they been planted. So they are in a very natural state. Some of the trees in this little forest/park, also called Greystones, are hundreds of years old. The big rock formation is actually part of a geological formation that can be seen in the nearby Delaware River. This same formation runs about 10 miles or so out to the big mall. It probably went farther originally before development blasted it away. That is what happened to the rocks when they dug the Delaware Canal, which runs along the Delaware River. Greystones Park runs down to the Canal, which was built in 1831 and was used for about 100 years to transport products by barge from Easton down to Bristol along the River. That was before trains and trucks. Barges pulled by mules were a great way to transport products down river to the point where the river became navigable by boat. The rocks in the river prevented boats from going above the lower part of Trenton. Products not going further by boat would be hauled on horse drawn wagons over rough roads to other areas where people lived throughout the area.

We also took a picture of the Delaware Bridge that goes between Morrisville and Trenton. The Delaware River divides New Jersey from Pennsylvania. The bridge is called the Calhoun St. Bridge for the street on the other side in Trenton. We have 4 bridges over the river between Trenton and Morrisville, as many a between the big city of Philadelphia and Camden! We have two free bridges, one toll bridge, and a railroad bridge. No wonder the people who live in Morrisville don't want anymore bridges through our little borough. We are only about a mile and a half long!

I'm not sure if we got a picture of the dike along the River between the free bridges that keeps the River from flooding. It used to flood often before the dike was built. The dike was put up during the Great Depression (Marie, ask your mother about that) by the WPA, the Works Progress Administration. The WPA did public works all over our country. It was a project to provide jobs for many man who could not find work in those hard days and at the same time complete projects like damns, roads, and public buildings that would be a lasting asset to the community. I think it was a great idea. The dike was built more than 60 years ago and it is still protecting our community from floods. President Obama's stimulus project aims to do some of those things today.

About 12 miles up the river is the place, now called Washington's Crossing, where George Washington marshaled his rag-tag army to cross the river on a stormy winter Christmas night in 1776 and march down to Trenton where he surprised the British forces (actually German mercenaries fighting for England. They came from Hess in Germany, so they were called Hessians.) The Americans defeated the Hessians that day, Dec. 26. It was the first victory Washington had won, and it was considered the turning point of the war.

The final picture we took was of the Battle Monument in Trenton. This was erected in 1893 to commemorate the battle of Trenton. It is on the site where there battle began.

Ellen was here for Easter, and it was a pretty busy time. So we didn't get to do more pictures. I would like to have gotten one of our Morrisville Historic home in which 3 signers of the Declaration of Independence lived: Robert Morris, the financier of the Revolution, George Clymer, and William Barclay. George Washington stayed in the house for a few nights on his way from Trenton to Washington's Crossing where his troops were camped for several days before they crossed the river and headed down for the Battle of Trenton.

I think this is about it for Flat Stanley and Morrisville/Trenton! Unfortunately, as I said, I think Flat Stanley went to Maryland in Ellen's or Garretts's pocket because I can't find him here. It is especially sad because after Ellen and her family left Mary and her daughter fKelly (11) were here for a few days and we went to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. We could have taken F.S.'s picture there if we had had him. We saw one lady taking a F.S. picture at Ellis Island.

I hope Ellen send you the pictures soon, although she is about to start a new job on Monday. I wonder who else you sent a Flat Stanley and where he has been. Maybe some day your family will come back to Morrisville and you can see all these things for yourselves. Let's hope so!

Love, Mary Ann Bentz

Flower Mound, Texas

April 17, 2009

Hello Marie, The picture of Flat Stanley is behind our house at Lake Grapevine. We have been going to the lake to walk and sometimes swim since we were younger than you are now. We used to find dinosaur boned and fish skeletons at the lake and figured it would be the best place for a picture with Flat Stanley.

Love, Laura and Charles Bentz

Astoria

In Astoria this weekend, this is the Columbia River

Pacific City, Oregon

Stanley in Pacific City Oregon this weekend, had a fabulous time with 5 girlfriends and 6 doggies!!

Columbus, GA

Dear Marie,
Thanks for letting Flat come and stay with us for the weekend. We stayed up late on Friday night talking. He told us about you carrying your dog around in a pouch and how much Burton loves airplanes.
Saturday morning, we got up early and went to my shop, where I am building a small John Deere tractor for my grandchildren. I was really surprised that he could drive the tractor so well. He is probably going to want one when he gets home!
Saturday at lunchtime, we went to my granddaughter's house to celebrate her 5th birthday. As you can see, Ellie and all her friends were dressed as cheerleaders. In this picture Flat was eating birthday cake and icecream. He tumbled on the mats and jumped on the trampoline. Everyone was sad when Flat had to leave the party.
Saturday afternoon, we went to Albert and Debra's wedding. Albert is our oldest son. He and Flat really liked each other. Albert liked Flat so well that he asked him to be the ring bearer. Flat smiled real big and said this was the first wedding that he had ever been in. He really enjoyed the wedding cake. Instead of throwing rice after the wedding, everyone blew bubbles. Again, Flat had a ball!
Bedtime came early Saturday night because Flat was really tired. We hope next spring break you will let Flat come and visit again.

Thanks,
Don and Faye

Seattle, WA II

Stanley went to Seattle with me and met a rock star!! Bibi Mcgill, the coolest chic ever!!

Potsdam, New York

Aunt Jane and Flat Stanley stand next to a maple tree as the sap slowly drops into the collection bucket. YUM! The maple syrup will be delicious!

This is taken at Lake Champlain, which is between Vermont and New York State. Returning to the North Country, Aunt Jane and Flat Stanley feel the ferry shake and listen to the ice break as the fery leaves the Vermont shore.

Sarasota, Florida

Aunt Jane and Flat Stanley in front of a large statue of a sailor and a nurse celebrating the end of World War II.

Aunt Jane and Flat Stanley are enjoying the view from the 21st floor of a friends condo in Florida.

Aunt Jane and Flat Stanley loved swimming in the warm water in Key West, Florida!

Macon, GA Cherry Blossoms

Dear Marie,

Thank you for sending Flat Stanley to visit with us. We took a picture of Flat Stanley with the cherry blossoms. Macon, Georgia is the "Cherry Blossom Capital of the World"! Sorry I could not climb higher with Flat Stanley so we could show more of the cherry blossoms.

Love, Gramps and Grammy

Abilene, Texas

Flat Stanley visited the prairie dogs at Redbud Park in Abilene. Poor Stanley wasn't so flat after being in windy Abilene, so Josh copied him and made him flat again!