The National Cherry Blossom Festival along the Potomac River is back. The magnificent cherry trees are in bloom to announce the arrival of spring. They are early this year, perhaps in anticipation of an influx of tourists eager to see Congress in action, or maybe it is global warming. Who knows?

            Once many years ago, I visited Congress in session. I recall watching distinguished politicians, men and women, debating the important issues of the day. “My distinguished friend…”, or “The gentleperson from the great state of…” was the order of the day when addressing one another while considering important legislation.

            Watching Congress on C-Span now suggests that decorum is rare these days. Perhaps the tourists should just skip visiting Congress and seek out something more pleasurable, like the cherry trees.

            By the way, remember “Stumpy”? He/she lives, sort of. Back in 2024, the National Park Service planned on cutting down 300 trees including 158 cherry trees to make way for a new retaining wall along the river so Washington would not become a swamp. (Not sure that worked. But I digress, as I often do.) One of those trees was the popular “Stumpy”, long a favorite attraction because, though hollow and half dead, it continued to blossom year after year, attracting tourists from all over the world.

            The Park Service promised to take cuttings from old Stumpy and grow new offspring from the famous tree. And they did! (At least one government department keeps promises.) The National Arboretum has successfully grown “baby Stumpies”, clones which are flowering and will be ready to be planted next Spring. The tourists and the birds will be glad about that.

            Speaking of birds, do you remember the Bird Call Phones I wrote about last year? Dave Schulman, a violinist and audio producer in Maryland, turned an old phone booth into one that plays bird calls when you dial different numbers. It became very popular and he planned on expanding the idea to other cities. I know this because Mr. Schulman, who apparently reads The Wanderer, emailed me to thank me for mentioning his invention. How about that!

            Another phone booth of note you may have heard about is the “Call a Boomer” booth installed near the campus of Boston University. The phone is connected to a phone in Reno, Nevada, a popular gambling and casino venue, that sits in the lobby of a senior citizen housing complex. The idea is to encourage “meaningful” communication between generations. Do you think college kids are angling to get gambling tips from the senior citizens?

            Phoning strangers is not new. In 1948 a phone booth was installed in the middle of the Mohave Desert miles from the nearest paved road. Its purpose was to provide emergency communications for remote miners. After the mines were abandoned, the phone remained operational. A man discovered the phone booth on Google Earth, visited it and published the number. People from all over the world began calling it. Campers began setting up tents, and RVs started to arrive just to talk to anyone who called, and call they did. The number of people eager to talk to somebody…anybody, from somewhere else began to cause serious environmental issues on what was now the Mohave National Preserve. The booth was removed in 2000 and replaced by a “headstone-like” plaque. Much like “Stumpy” the saga of the Mohave phone booth was resurrected in the form of three films, a podcast, and a novel, proving that someone will monetize just about anything.

            Speaking of which, did you hear about Punch the monkey? Punch is a Japanese macaque who was abandoned by his mother and was rejected by his troop of fellow monkeys. Zookeepers provided Punch with a large stuffed orangutan that he quickly bonded with and refused to be separated from. This touching tale naturally became a worldwide sensation. The zoo, with increased attention and attendance, began selling Punch merchandise, profiting nicely. Even IKEA, the furniture giant, began selling stuffed toy monkeys with arms wrapped tightly around an orange orangutan toy.

            As for the real Punch, he has finally made friends and is living happily, still clinging to his orange friend.

            Mattapoisett resident Dick Morgado is an artist and happily retired writer. His newspaper columns appeared for many years in daily newspapers around Boston.

By Dick Morgado

            This week in Revolutionary War history, let’s check up on what was going on 250 years ago in New England and the northern Thirteen Colonies. Last week, Washington set off with many of his troops on the 200-mile journey to New York. Conversely, the British are regrouping in Halifax, taking stock of men and supplies, and planning their next move. A successful Continental Navy expedition also saw the acquisition* of scores of gunpowder from the Bahamas, with that fleet nearing Connecticut ports.

            On April 5, 1776, Washington has been on the road for one day when he reaches Providence, Rhode Island. he is met by Rhode Islander Major General Nathanael Greene, who makes a great effort to impress the general, throwing a large banquet in celebration of the liberation of Boston. The next day, Washington would write to Rhode Island Governor William Cooke, thanking him for the hospitality, saying he was “invited to an elegant entertainment at Hacker’s Hall, provided by the gentlemen of the town, where after dinner a number of patriotic toasts were drank”

            Also on April 5, Major General Charles Lee writes from Williamsburg, capital of Virgina. Lee is anxious as to the conflict and the lack of knowledge of British movements or targets. Much of the focus recently has been on the north, with Lee believe the south may be vulnerable. He says, “I am like a dog in a dancing school – I know not where to turn myself, where to fix myself – the circumstances of the country intersected by navigable rivers, the uncertainty of the enemy’s designs and motions who can fly in an instant to any spot they choose with their canvass wings throw me, or would throw Julius Caesar into this inevitable dilemma.” He concluded, desperate for updates, “I beg you will make somebody write to me from time to time.”

            Leaving Providence and heading along the Connecticut coast, Washington’s baggage train stretches for miles. He intends to visit various ports along the Long Island Sound to inspect their defensive readiness in case of Royal Navy assault.

            On April 7, Major General Philip Shuyler writes from Albany, pointing back toward Canada. he urges Washington to divert troops to the north, saying “our army in Canada will fall greatly short of what was intended.” Washington would only reply once he reaches New York, not himself sparing troops but instructing the Continental Congress to send what they can under command of Brigadier General John Sullivan, clearly showing the northern theater is not the general’s priority.

            The trip was rather uneventful through Connecticut, without many surviving sources. By April 11, Washington had made it to New Haven, just passing the halfway point of the trek. Though it may have been uneventful there, it was not in the south. In North Carolina, the Provincial Congress adopted the Halifax Resolves on April 12. This was the first resolution of its kind and is the first time a governing body in the Thirteen Colonies officially called for independence from the British Crown. It would read, “Resolved that the delegates for this colony in the Continental Congress be impowered to concur with the other delegates of the other colonies in declaring independency, and forming foreign alliances, resolving to this colony the sole, and exclusive right of forming a constitution and laws for this colony, and of appointing delegates from time to time under the direction of a general representation thereof to meet the delegates of the other colonies for such purposes as shall be hereafter pointed out.” With this monumental passage, the path towards independence has been paved.

This Week in Revolutionary War History

By Sam Bishop