Friday The 13th And A Full Moon Tonight

There's a full moon in the sky tonight...

September's  Full Harvest Moon!
I just hope the overcast skies on this cool
and cloudy day will clear off and I will
be able to see the moon rise tonight!

And.. while I am in no way superstitious,

(there are some people who actually prize the

number 13 as lucky)  today also happens to
be Friday the 13th.

September's Full Harvest Moon rising above a cornfield

According to the folks at the Farmer's Almanac a full moon on Friday the 13th is

not as common as it can only happen between once to three times a year. The

last time there was a full moon on Friday the 13th was in January 2006.

The next one will be in August in the year 2049.

In the language of my Cherokee ancestors,  September's moon is

known as "Duliidsdi" or the "Nut Moon"

The Ripe Corn Festival was traditionally held at this time of the year,

as was the "Brush Feast Festival" when all the wild fruit and nuts of

 the bushes and trees of the field and forest were gathered at this time.

This was also considered the beginning of the fall hunting season.

Woodland Encounter

Jack Paluh

American Artist

The Number 13 and Mr. Boldt...

George C. Boldt

(1851-1916)

Prussian-American entrepreneur 

Once the proprietor of the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in

New York City and the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia,

Prussian-born American millionaire George C. Boldt simply did not 

 believe that any number was unlucky or could bring someone luck.

To prove his point, this successful late 19th-early 20th century businessman

deliberately used the number 13 on numerous occasions to prove that it

had nothing to do with one's success or failure in life. George came to

America when he was 13.  He once lived at the address 1313 Locust Street.

His office at the Waldorf was 13 West Thirty Third Street.

The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel was said to have had thirteen floors,
 thirteen elevators, and thirteen entrances. 

But perhaps Mr. Boldt's greatest undertaking was when he built

 a beautiful and romantic Rhineland-style castle on Hart Island in

Alexandria Bay, New York.  The castle was a labor of love for

his wife, Louise. Construction of the castle began in 1900

 and included a drawbridge, Italian gardens, 

as well as a stone playhouse for the Boldt children.

Scheduled to be completed and presented to Louise on

Valentine's Day, all construction on the castle came to

 an abrupt halt when she died suddenly in January 1904.

In his grief, George left Hart Island and the castle unfinished.

He never went there again.  He returned to New York City

and the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel where he died in 1916.

For the next 73 years, the unfinished castle stood as a neglected silent sentinel

on Hart Island, occasionally visited by curious sightseers who scrawled their

names and the dates of their visit on the walls and ceiling of one upstairs room.

This lofty graffitied chamber was a handwriting expert's dream come true!

When I was there in August 1990 I remember reading some of the names 

 and dates of the people who had visited the castle over the years.
  I left there that day wondering if this sad relic of the past 
and love lost would ever become the showplace it was meant to be.

Fortunately, since acquiring Hart Island in 1977, the Thousand Island Bridge Authority

has spent millions of dollars in repairing the damage to the castle and the grounds. 

Construction crews have painstakingly re-created the interior of the castle  

 into the beautiful Gilded Age masterpiece envisioned by George C. Boldt.

 Today Mr. Boldt's  fairy tale-like castle has been completely restored and

 is a favorite site to visit in season for those vacationing in the Thousand Islands.

In recent years, many weddings have also been planned and held at the castle

 grounds on Hart Island.  I hope I will be able to return to visit someday!

Boldt's Castle

Alexandria Bay, New York