Thanks for the many kind words. If photologue was not a word before, I
think there's a good case for it. I'm sorry to hear that Stormfield is for
sale, but starting this week I will buy lottery tickets. Winning will be a
sign that Stormfield  should continue to be a welcome spot for those who
love Twain. The statues were at the library before, but this time I took my
'A' camera. I have a couple more shots as well, and I've been meaning to
create a panorama. Maybe this weekend I'll get to work on that. I now have
a new understanding of why Twain loved this area so much.


On Tue, Oct 29, 2013 at 5:37 PM, Arianne <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Thank you so much for sharing this visit.  I was thrilled to see the photos
> of the Walter Russell HUGE statue of Mark Twain and his characters.  Wasn't
> it not there when you first visited?
>
> Thanks to you, them, and FLIckr.
>
> Arianne Laidlaw
>
>
> On Tue, Oct 29, 2013 at 9:35 AM, Terry Ballard <[log in to unmask]
> >wrote:
>
> > In the last year I've shaken hands with two men who have walked on the
> > moon, but I doubt I'll ever have another day like the one I had last
> > Friday. In August we had driven down from Danbury and stopped in at
> Redding
> > on a whim to see the area of Mark Twain's final home - Stormfield. I
> wrote
> > a rambling and silly report to this Forum and got several responses -
> > invitations to do a proper meet up next time I'm in Redding. This
> included
> > the holy grail of Twaindom - a visit to the reconstructed Stormfield (the
> > original burned down in 1923).  With Redding just two hours away, how
> could
> > we resist? We began with a visit with Susan Durkee, an artist who owns
> the
> > 'Lobster Pot," a house purchased by Twain in 1980 for his trusted
> secretary
> > Isabel Lyons. The house and gardens are saturated with images and
> > references to Twain, and Susan was simply delightful.  I had read several
> > books that were quite critical of Lyons, and Susan suggested I check out
> > "Mark Twain's Other Woman" by Laura Skandera Trombley  (See
> >
> >
> http://www.amazon.com/Mark-Twains-Other-Woman-Vintage/dp/0307474941/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383063907&sr=8-1&keywords=mark+twain%27s+other+woman
> > )
> > After 90 minutes of talking her ears off, we were on to the Mark Twain
> > Library around the corner, where Beth Dominianni gave us the librarians'
> > tour. This library was founded by Twain just before his death as a
> lasting
> > memorial to his daughter Jean, who died at Stormfield, due to
> complications
> > from epilepsy. In all,  it is one of the most beautiful public libraries
> > I've ever seen, and Beth is justifiably proud of what they've done with
> it.
> > There are lots of Twain artworks here, but their prize is a portrait done
> > by an Italian artist, and rescued from the fire at Stormfield. After the
> > library, we had a little time before Stormfield, so we visited a nearby
> > graveyard (I can  never get enough of New England cemeteries in the
> fall).
> > Then we headed back down Diamond Hill Road to Mark Twain Lane. We were
> met
> > and welcomed by the first owner of Stormfield who did not have the motto
> > "Keep out or we'll shoot you." We were shown the deck area, which still
> has
> > most of the original stones from the mansion, and into the house, where
> we
> > ended up in the area that was said to be the billiards room in Twain's
> day.
> > The owner had bought the house years ago just because he loved the
> > facility, and since then he has picked up an interest in Twainian
> matters,
> > taking seriously his role as steward of a literary Mecca. The area is
> > covered with walking trails named after characters in Twain's books, and
> I
> > tried one briefly at the end of our stay.  When I came back, I was shown
> > the best way to get a look at the farm complex that Twain had bought for
> > Jean.   It was a day of incalculable warmth and good karma.  A photo
> > gallery for the day can be found at
> > http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryballard/sets/72157637048051944/
> >
> > --
> >
> >
> > Terry Ballard
> > Author and Leisure Studies Manager
> > http://www.terryballard.org
> > Author of the book "Google this"
> > http://googlethis.com<http://googlethisforlibraries.com/>
> >
> > "My memory has a mind of its own."
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Arianne Laidlaw A '58
>



-- 


Terry Ballard
Author and Leisure Studies Manager
http://www.terryballard.org
Author of the book "Google this"
http://googlethis.com<http://googlethisforlibraries.com/>

"My memory has a mind of its own."