79 bar steady 29.90 1mph NW dew-point 53 Summer, warm and sunny
First Quarter of the Thunder Moon
Research this morning on UU history in the Twin Cities. The liberal religious tradition, as represented by the Unitarians and the Universalists, came here, at least it appears at this point in my reading, with Yankee businesspeople. Lumber and land were the initial draw. The Unitarians were an educated group who believed in education. The Universalists were lumber folk initially.
Both groups had the stamp of privilege, what one author calls Old Stock American, early residents of the colonies whose culture bore, for the most part, the stamp of Great Britain. One article on the Bisbee/Tuttle controversy referred to Minneapolis as a Universalist town.
I enjoy this kind of research, just as I enjoy the art history research. As I have collected data over the years, each new accrual both gains from and adds to the context, the rich web of history, philosophy, literature, paintings, sculpture, theatre and political analysis that remains from years of study. This gathering of threads together is one of the chief benefits of aging.
The garden has finally gotten its heat and the vegetables have jumped up in response. The squash have spread, the beans have climbed, beets have pushed above the surface and the corn has begun to reach for the sky. The firecracker lilies and other Asian lilies have also opened and the first hemerocallis, too. Soon the liguria and the clematis. This is the true independence day celebration, the kind of fireworks I like best.