Our Day With Louise in Elmira, New York

Hi Blog! On Saturday, May 17, 2014, we got to spend the day with one of our Passover Cousins, Louise. She lives near Elmira, New York, which is not too far from where we are camping in Watkins Glen. Louise was kind enough to give us a lot of insider information on the Seneca Lake area - where to shop, what to see, where to eat, what wineries to visit.  You know, all the important stuff an RVer needs to know. Today, Louise agreed to be our tour guide and show us around Elmira. However, before we could begin our adventure, we spent a few minutes getting acquainted with her puppy, Leila. [Katie - don't show this picture to our grandpuppy, Maggie, she may get jealous when she sees Grandpop getting puppies kisses from another puppy.]

We promised Leila that we wouldn't keep her mommy out too late and off we went.  Here is Louise climbing aboard Great White.

Our first stop was Garcias Mexican Restaurant. After all, you can't have a grand adventure on an empty stomach. After filling up on chips and salsa, taco salad and burritos, Dave and Louise were inspired.  No need to say more.  This picture speaks for itself.

Having sated our hunger, it was time to get to know Elmira. We've seen Elmira referred to as a city and we've seen it referred to as a town.  As it turns out, it is both.  The Town of Elmira surrounds the City of Elmira on three sides and is home to 3,000 plus households. The Elmira area served as a transportation hub for New York's Southern Tier in the 1800s, connecting commercial centers in Rochester and Buffalo with Albany and New York City, via the canal system and railroads.

Elmira was also home to the Langdon family. Jervis Langdon was a very wealthy coal businessman and one of the founders of Elmira College. His daughter, Olivia, married Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better know as Mark Twain.

Our first stop on the Elmira Express was Woodlawn Cemetery.  There, we toured the Langdon family plot, where Mark Twain was buried along with his wife and daughters.

Within Woodlawn Cemetery is the distinct Woodlawn National Cemetery, begun with the interment of Confederate prisoners from the nearby Elmira Prison (dubbed "Hellmira" by its inmates) during the American Civil War.  Both cemeteries are still active and together were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

Our next stop - Elmira College. Founded in 1855, Elmira Female College was the first college in the world to grant a baccalaureate degree to women, equal to those granted to men. Elmira College is known as the "mother of women's colleges." (Elmira became co-educational in 1969 - yes, Laird, before Vassar.)

Jervis Langdon, a member of the founding Board of Trustees, purchased the East Hill property that became Quarry Farm. Elmira College alumna Olivia Langdon (Class of 1864) married Samuel Clemens and later, the Clemens family enjoyed many summers at Quarry Farm. During those summers, Clemens, writing as Mark Twain, penned the American classics, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, and many other great works.

In 1983, the Langdon family gave Mark Twain's study and the historic Quarry Farm to Elmira College. Now, Quarry Farm is used as a residence for visiting Twain scholars from all over the world. The study building was moved to the Elmira College Old Campus in order to protect it from vandalism.  Today, it sits in the center of the modern-day campus and has been well cared for.  Here we are, sitting on the steps of the study:

The college offers part-time jobs for students to act as docents.  Our tour guide, one of the student docents, explained all the pictures and history behind the study. He also told us about another exhibit on the life and times of Mark Twain located inside the newly renovated Cowles Hall and referred us to one of his associates there for more information on the author.

It was a short walk across campus where we met the other student docent. Our young guide was from Bangladesh, majoring in Social Anthropology and is hoping to go on for her doctorate.  She will be tranferring to Mount Holyoke College next year. She was excited about Mark Twain and eager to explain about the photos and artifacts.

However, she was more excited to take us on the tour of the newly renovated chapel. The stain glass windows represent various scenes from the history of the campus. Here is the window that represents the Flood of 1972:

In the days and weeks that followed the flood, the campus became a shelter for displaced residents. 

Elmira College seems to have adopted Mark Twain as one of its patron saints.  Here is his stained glass avatar:

Another avatar, the statue of Mark Twain which sits on campus, was a gift from the Class of 1934.  Made of bronze, the statue weighs 376 pounds.  From the base to the top of the structure, it is 12 feet high, which is two fathoms or, as riverboat pilots would say, "mark twain."  Get it? - Mark Twain.

After absorbing all things Mark Twain, it was time for a little whimsy.  Here we are visiting Brand Park and its 540-pound cast bronze sculpture of a Labrador duck by artist Todd McGrain. The last known spotting of the extinct bird was on December 12, 1878 at this location.

Here are Louise and Kathy on the banks of Chemung River in Brand Park (that's Elmira in the background):

As promised, we brought Louise back to Leila. As happy as she was to see Mom come back, she gave us the saddest face we have ever seen as we said our goodbyes:

Goodbye, Louise, and goodbye, Leila, we really enjoyed our visit and we hope to stop by again when we are through this area.