Harrison County Master Gardeners

Grow This!

Doddridge County West Virginia April 11, 2017

There is a new program out called Grow This West Virginia and here is their Facebook link. Their goal is to challenge West Virginians to grow lettuce in the spring, cucumbers in the summer and kale in the fall. They have an additional challenge for kids in school to grow pumpkins in the summer. They even have a Kiosk design in the works to promote their efforts with a total annual budget of $32,600 (taken from their brochure which was sent to all Master Gardeners).

Here is my Harrison County Master Gardeners Kiosk 

for Grow This Clarksburg West Virginia Community Garden. It cost me nothing and it is made of steel; I salvaged it from the scrap metal pile (it was an old Western Union Kiosk)

Garden To-Go

FRESH, LOCAL AND....MOBILE! 

GARDENING INNOVATION ON YOUR DOORSTEP. LITERALLY. 

Garden To-Go was started by Create WV board director, architect and inventor Thom Worlledge, and Advisory Board member, industrial designer and former restaurant owner Das Menon. They wanted to provide an easy way for people of all ages and abilities to grow healthy, fresh produce at home, safely, and without the need to construct planting beds. The concept is simple. Ready to go, compact, self-watering vegetable gardens that are distributed on a seasonal basis and returned to a central facility for replanting.

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Franklin Farms owner David Franklin will be holding a plant your garden to go workshop at the Harrison County Senior Citizen Center. Working in conjunction with the Harrison County Master Gardeners Seeds To Go program. Which you may recall was very successful in 2016 at local area libraries. Franklin will also be working in conjunction with the Compost Department from the City of Clarksburg, WV for gathering garden waste at the end of the harvest season which is processed into compost. The City of Clarksburg's central facility processes the compost that will be used to fill the planters for the next season. It is a self-sustaining, closed loop organic gardening system. 

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Garden  To-Go, in technical terms, is a distributed community garden, but you can also call it a container garden. The planters are perfect for backyards, balconies, sun rooms and porches.  David loves the idea of reintroducing home gardening to people who think they don't have the energy, room or resources to do it, but this time, through the use of a simple organic gardening system. It will not feed an entire family but it will provide access to fresh produce and reconnect us to where our food comes from. 

The Gardens To Go program was piloted in Charleston, WV with a small church group, then applied for a micro grant of $2,500 from Try This West Virginia to expand into schools, senior centers, businesses. The program is available to apartment dwellers and other small groups.

The one-time investment for the planter and compost bucket is $65. It will cost $10 to replenish the planters each season. We meet three times per year to plant together.  If you are in the Clarksburg or Salem area of Harrison County West Virginia and are interested in starting a Garden To-Go community garden, contact David Franklin at TDavidFranklin@gmail.com

America's First Gay President

Boston. - Gay Veterans will March in the St. Patrick's Day Parade

Spring Forward: I didn't vote for TRUMP. I want a GAY PRESIDENT

Our country already has it's GAY PRESIDENT.

Franklin on Facebook

U. S. Ambassador Thomas David Franklin from West Virginia

U. S. Ambassador Thomas David Franklin from West Virginia.

A Carpenter's Son from Jerusalem

Tomorrow is Christmas Day

 when we celebrate the birth 

of Jesus Christ the son of a carpenter.

In 2016, the city of Jerusalem celebrated it's 3,021st birthday, but there's a tree that is even older. A Great Basin bristlecone pine in California's White Mountains has been determined to be 5,065 years old.

How are you heating your home today?

After I worked on my hillside today in rural West Virginia, I came inside after working up a good sweat. I could have just stayed inside and enjoyed the warmth without doing any work. The Associated Press sent me some Raw Footage of President Elect Donald Trump taking some meetings at his Mar-a-Lago Club during his Christmas holiday in Palm Beach, Florida. So I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the weather is fine in Florida right now and he doesn't have his heating system on. But I'm not worried about "The Donald" as he was once referred to by those in the media. I'm worried about you my friend.

Not only am I concerned about how you are going to pay your heating expenses, I have even been working towards lowering the acquisition costs for the U. S. Natural Gas Industry. That's right all my New England friends. Last year when Antero Resources wanted to pay me for the right of way to put in a very huge gas transmission line across my mountain my brother Randall and I agreed not to take any income.

I don't want your money, but you can still have your right of way across my mountain I told them and I put it in writing and signed the legal documents. 

If you heat your home with wood than perhaps you may have heard the story about my ancestor Dr. Benjamin Franklin and his designs for the Franklin Fireplace that he never patented and made available the plans free of charge.  I don't elaborate to much on the details sometimes because you are reading this on the internet and you can do your own research on many of the items I have already discussed.

You can Google it!

While your at it Google me "TDavidFranklin" or "Thomas David Franklin" that's your homework assignment.

Avoiding Mental Illness

This is not an advice column for all my true blue democratic friends who are fretting over the January 20, 2017 inauguration of Donald John Trump* ( a registered trademark) as the 45th President of the United States of America. Think of Avoiding Mental Illness as a true self help guide.

I write from experience and I will share some of my own life stories along the way to help illustrate my experience level so that you too will realize at the end of this journey why I am called Dr. Franklin by my peers. Today begins the summer solstice in the southern hemisphere as I write to you from high atop my remote mountain top farm in the northern hemisphere on this first day of winter. I want you to think about that thought today and reflect upon what that means.

It's summer in Australia and winter if you live here in the United States of America or Canada. I just finished reading a book called The14th Colony and returned my book to the Doddridge County Library, in West Union, West Virginia. What I remember from my World History classes at Dundalk High School in Dundalk, Maryland is that Australia was colonized by the English with their prisoner population in the United Kingdom. Think about that for a moment, reflect on that thought today as you go about your work. Are you a prisoner to your job just to keep a warm roof over your head. Or are you what I like to call A Lucky Sperm.

Donald J. Trump is A Lucky Sperm he inherited his seed money from his father and you don't need me to tell you anything more about that subject. Donald and I do share one very unusual factual record that very few people can boast. Both Donald and I have been declared bankrupt 4 times by a U. S. Federal Judge. However I believe I can confidently say with some certainty that I succeed him by not having any debt at all zero, zilch, nadda and every piece of real estate that I own is completely paid for with no mortgages, lines of credit or liens and furthermore the entire amount of any monies I have been owed by the U.S. government I have returned to the Bureau of Public Debt to reduce our nation's deficit.

Okay maybe you enjoy the cold weather the freezing ice on the roads and paying your higher than normal heating expense and you are dreaming of warmer days in your retirement years instead. When I moved to West Virginia from my penthouse condo in Waikiki, Hawaii I had realized that I too would once again become a suffering soul in the wilderness far away from the swamps.

But do not fear my friend I promised you that Avoiding Mental Illness was going to be a journey and a guide for helping you and I will make good on my promise when we meet again, you have some homework I want you to take out a sheet or folio of paper and discuss the pros and cons of living in a freezing climate during winter while on the southern hemisphere it is summer and there are no heating bills.

Your Friend
David

Exposure: SF

Save the Date April 2017

Dear Thomas,

I want to personally thank you for your kind donation to repair Benjamin Franklin's grave! We will be working with a local conservation team to repair cracks, reverse water damage, and make sure that Franklin's grave will be preserved for posterity. Ben Franklin was a man of the people and his gravestone belongs to all of us. Thank you again for helping us preserve the legacy of a man who did so much to found our great nation! We can't wait for you to see Franklin's repaired grave, which we hope to unveil by the anniversary of his death in April 2017! 

Thank you for being a part of history and thank you for your love for Ben Franklin!

Thank you,
Lauren Krupinski
Tourism Coordinator
Christ Church Preservation Trust

Benjamin Franklin's Gravestone Is Cracked

Was Benjamin Franklin rolling over in his grave over the last US Presidential election when Donald John Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States.?

Benjamin Franklin needs our help!

 His gravestone is deteriorating. 

 
Franklin died in April of 1790, and as requested in his will, a simple marble ledger tablet was placed over his final resting place in the corner of Philadelphia's Christ Church Burial Ground. 

Today, after centuries of weather exposure, a significant crack threatens the integrity of this grave marker. The Christ Church Preservation Trust --a nonprofit with a mission to preserve historic Christ Church and Christ Church Burial Ground--needs to repair the crack and restore other areas of deterioration, including the tablet’s marble face.  

In 1858, the Trust opened the Burial Ground's brick wall so that the public could see Franklin's grave from Arch Street. Each year, in honor of Franklin's adage "a penny saved is a penny earned," hundreds of thousands of visitors toss pennies at the grave for good luck. This practice has unfortunately pitted the marble surface.

We have secured foundation grants to help finance this preservation project, but we need an additional $10,000 by December 31 in order to have Franklin's grave preserved by the anniversary of his death in April 2017. Please  contribute to the conservation of a national shrine!

Update 1
Posted by Christ Church Tourism
8 days ago
 Tossing a penny for good luck on Ben Franklin's grave is a beloved Philadelphia tradition, but did you know that it is actually causing damage to the gravestone? Part of the goal of our GoFundMe campaign is to reverse the damage the pennies have caused and protect Franklin's grave in the future! Please considering donating to Ben and please share our campaign using #savebenfranklin

Update 2 
Posted by Christ Church Tourism 

4 days ago

 Please remember Ben in this week of election coverage! He needs your support!

Update 3 

Posted by Christ Church Tourism 

17 hours ago

 

 We are so thankful for everyone's generosity so far in our campaign! For anyone local, we will be live on Fox29 News tomorrow morning at 9:15 AM! #SaveBenFranklin

Update 4 
Posted by Christ Church Tourism 

13 hours ago

 

 

Hello everyone! Some of you have already done this, but we encourage you to type a little note to Ben Franklin along with your donation to him. It can be anything from a little thank you note to what you most admire about him. What do YOU love most about Ben Franklin? 

Update 5 
Posted by Christ Church Tourism 

12 hours ago

 

Thank you Philadelphia & Friends of Ben. Please keep giving! We at Christ Church Preservation Trust do not get any government support to keep Ben Franklin's marker accessible to the public. 

The Christ Church Burial Ground is a living reminder on America’s most historic mile of the heroes who built and protected the nation. Benjamin Franklin's grave is a visible testimony to them all.

Additional funds raised will go DIRECTLY into a restricted fund that will exclusively support any preservation issues at his gravesite.

Take a look at these roofs

7,255 Emails Being Archived for Public Viewing

In anticipation of a run for President of the United States I have archived all 7,255 of my emails and have stored them in the cloud so that everyone can see them when they are visiting the Franklin Presidential Library* to be constructed in Clarksburg, West Virginia. No emails whatsoever will be deleted, however they will be sorted and rated similar to the Movie rating system (G, PG, PG13)

*Note: If you have ever sent me a unsolicited pornographic photo of yourself and you do not respond to the advance opening notice of the Franklin Presidential Library (scheduled opening November 2017) your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and others might be talking about your family jewels behind your back. Advanced Opening Notices will be handled privately and confidentially in the near future to protect your identity to the general public. If you have moved and or stopped using an email account or an alias name and do not receive this public notice and thought your public identity was unknown THINK AGAIN.

THINK AGAIN because several Franklin family members did actually wire The White House computer room and the FBI center in Clarksburg, West Virginia. FACT. Long before Al Gore lost his emails.

Worlds Longest Reigning Monarch

Salem, WV 2016-10-14

I was saddened today for my friends in Bangkok, Thailand at the loss of their constitutional monarch. King Bhumibol Adulyadej (pronounced poo-mee-pon ah-dun-yaa-det).

"the king is survived by his 84-year-old wife Sirikit who herself has been ailing and rarely seen in public in years. The couple has three daughters — Princess Sirindhorn, the most beloved royal after her father, Princess Ubolratana and Princess Chulabhorn Walailak. Sirindhorn is unmarried; Ubolratna is divorced from her American husband and their two daughters live in the U.S.; Chulabhorn is also divorced and has two daughters." Source The New York Times.

I had the opportunity to meet  her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn in November 2003 when I was working with the National Library of The Blind in Bangkok. Her book Tales from Foreign Lands was one of the first books that had been converted to the new Daisy format for blind readers. Daisy stands for (Digital audio information system).

According to the Associated Press: "Most Thais had known no other king as Bhumibol, the world's longest-reigning monarch, had been on the throne for 70 years."

December 2003 While working on similar projects for the blind and Project Gutenberg while living in Hawaii I also helped to bring The Hawaiian Romance of Laieikawai to the digital format. It was the very first book in the Hawaiian language to be part of the program. The book is about Princess Laieikawai and her quest to find a "proper mate" for a magical princess who lives in a Puna home thatched in gold o'o feathers.

US Postmaster General

The greatest benefit of being the United States Postmaster General is meeting the citizens that make this country of ours great; not at some partisan political event but meeting them right in their own community where they live and fellowship with their friends families and neighbors. Where they exchange smiles face to face with the folks they do their merchandising with on the streets and sidewalks where they meet and great each other with a smile, a handshake, an embrace.
THOMAS DAVID FRANKLIN in Salem West Virginia Sunday October 9th 2016.

I am fortunate that an industrious life early on in my youth has afforded me the privileges that accompany such an accumulation of wealth however when I was faced with the consequences of having to pay the United States Government an additional unfair amount of taxes on my newly earned wealth so late in the calendar year I did something about it unlike anything ever heard of among Millionaires and Billionaires.

I gave away my entire fortune rather than have the government squander it away in taxes.
T. David Franklin in Portland, Maine.

This account of my life has been well documented in the past and chronicled in the newspapers and media from our country and around the globe in the days long before mobile cell phone use and internet access had become an essential tool to everyday life. Before there was Google, YouTube and Facebook we had Cable TV and thought that was great until Netflix arrived on the scene. Today's youth don't recall what is was like to use a printed Readers Guide Index to the printed news.
See Readers Guide Index: Millionaires and Billionaires.


When I am asked: "Of all the United States Post Offices in the USA which one do I like the best the best?" I tell folks "I like my hometown Post Office the best".

So what is your hometown Post Office Mr. Franklin?

Hickory

The name "hickory" is from pawcohiccora, the American Algonquian Indian word for the only food removed from pounded kernels steeped in boiling water. This sweet hickory milk was used in cooking corn cakes and hominy. Pioneers made a yellow dye from the inner bark. The nickname "Old Hickory" was given by the backwoods militia to General Andrew Jackson, (afterwards our seventh president) because he was "tough as hickory."

Early settlers used oil extracted from the nuts for oil lamps; they also believed it could cure rheumatism.

Bitternut
Mockernut
Pignut
Shagbark

Source: The Audubon Society Nature Guides EASTERN FORESTS ISBN 0-394-73126-3
The National Audubon Society, 700 Broadway, New York, New York 100003 (212) 832-3200

Also see: Old Hickory
Recipes for: Hickory Soup

Alphabet Community Center

James Franklin Sr.

"The first record of James Franklin is found in Oct. 9, 1675 when he enlisted in Capt. Saml. Moseley's Company of Dedham, Mass. for service in King Philip's War. He served during 1675 and 1676 in the Narangansettes campaign. He settled in the town of Dartmouth, Mass. where he took the Oath of Fidelity in 1686. He was born no later than 1650 and would seem very probably to be related to the other Franklins of Boston and vicinity, from whom Benjamin Franklin was descended. Pres. Calvin Coolidge was descended from this James Franklin." Occupation Soldier in Massachusetts Militia, Cordwainer Notes N143 Soldier in the Massachusetts militia and fought in the Great Swamp Battle of King Philip's War in December 1675 under Captain Samuel Moseley. Complete file on Franklin ancestry from Nona I. Bassett, P.O. Box 1445, Merced, CA 95341-1445 6/93. " Soldier in King Phillips War - 24 Aug 1676, he was Capt. Thomas Brattle's Co.; on 9 Dec 1675 was of Capt. Mostley's Vol. Troopers,; present at Great Swamp Battle on 24 Aug 1672. His pay was assigned at Braintree, Mass. Was in R.I. Oct. 1693; bought land at Rehoboth in 1706, was at Swanzey in 1710, styled cordwainer; and at Rehoboth by 1716 had ret. to Swanzey. M. 2nd 17 Apr 1695, Swansey, MA Elizabeth Hammond, dau. of Capt. Lawrence and Abigail Hammond." "Brother John of Swansey, cordwainer, wife Ruth, sold land 1717, James was a witness." NEHGS record of Ralph M. Stoughton - "1. James of Dartmouth, Mass." Major Franklin Genealogy received 6/97 from Kay Franklin, Brier, WA (425)774-2226. She supplied name of first wife, death info. and name of father.She also sent a copy of relevant pages from the Franklin Genealogy by desc.William Lewis, 1954, from the Lacawanna Historical Society, Scranton, PA929/F854/1791 See Indian Wars of New England from the Lacawanna Historical Society, Scranton, PA 929/F854/1791

Tour of Washington DC

George Washington for President 2016