The Hiker - Spanish American War Memorial - Baltimore

The Hiker - Spanish American War Memorial in Baltimore
E Fayette Street & N Lakewood Avenue (Street View)

I love monuments and memorials. When I travel if I see a monument  I have to take a photo of it. When I return home and start to label my photos I then take time to research the monument.  I have a learned a lot of history that I never saw in  a text book this way.  I've decided to so a series of blogs on some of the monuments from my home city of Baltimore.  One of Baltimore's nicknames is The Monumental City because of the number of monuments located here.  Some have become hidden or forgotten over the years.  But each is fascinating and has a unique story to tell.

"The Hiker depicts a hero stripped of his parade uniform and shown as a soldier reacting to the challenges of the battlefield."

This statue has a rich history that does not start with Baltimore.  The original statue  was created by Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson.  She created the statue to honor the American soldiers who fought in the Spanish-American War, the Boxer Rebellion, and the Philippine-American War.  The original statue was created for the University of Minnesota in 1906.  It became a very popular statue and copies have been made and placed in over 50 locations in the United States.  The one in Baltimore was dedicated on June 11, 1943 quite a few years after the original statue was created.

Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson was born in Massachusetts.   She was the student and wife of artist Henry Hudson Kitson.   She studied in Paris and became known for her work by the age of nineteen. The Hiker became her most famous work.

The statue stuck a cord with people.  Due to it's popularity in 1921 the Gorham Manufacturing Company in Providence, Rhode Island bought the rights to the statue.  They eventually cast at least 50 statues over the next 44 years including the one here in Baltimore.  

The Spanish-American War only lasted for ten weeks and is primarily remember for Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders.  However the conflict did spread to the Spanish owned Philippine Islands and the island of Guam.  The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1898.  It gave the United States temporary control of Cuba and ceeded ownership of Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippine island to the United States.  So for me personally, with the historic reopening of diplomatic status with Cuba in 2015, this monument has great interest to me.  I am hoping to travel Cuba in the near future and explore the culture we have long ignored. 

Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson died in 1932 eleven years before the statue was dedicated in Baltimore.

The statue is 9 feet (2.7 m) tall and stands on a 6-foot (1.8 m) granite base, depicting a soldier clad in a period uniform with a campaign hat and a Krag-Jorgensen rifle

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"The Hiker depicts a hero stripped of his parade uniform and shown as a soldier reacting to the challenges of the battlefield."

Bucket List - Visiting Tallulah

Talking a selfie at Tullulah Bankhead's grave side

I love the internet. I learn little bits of unimportant information almost daily that sudden become important to me.   Several years ago on one of my internet searches I learned that Tallulah Bankhead was buried in Maryland.  Suddenly this little morsel of unimportant information became a fixation for me.  I wanted to find her grave and visit it.  So with a little more research I found out that she was buried in Rock Hall, Maryland. I talked for several years about taking the drive from Baltimore across The Bay Bridge to find the grave but never made the journey.  Last year Mark and I went to see Stephanie Powers in the play Looped.  It's a very funny play about Tallulah Bankhead looping her voice for her for a scene in the movie Die Die My Darling.  While Stephanie was in Baltimore doing the play she took the cast down to Rock Hall to visit Tallulah's grave.  Once again I read this on the internet.  I thought it was a very classy thing for Stephanie to do.  I am a huge fan of Stephanie Powers.  I met her back stage years ago here in Baltimore when she was touring with the musical Applause.  Because I had made a donation to the William Holden Wildlife Fund I was allowed to meet her back stage, have a brief moment to speak with her and received a personalized photo from her.  I was thrilled.  Everyone in front of me was telling her how much they loved her in Hart To Hart.  When I got my turn I told her I was a fan from way back.  I told her how I had first seen her in Palm Springs Weekend and loved her on The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.   She smiled graciously and replied "Oh that makes you a true fan."   The fact that Stephanie visited the grave of Tallulah renewed my interest in visiting the grave also.

I think my interest in Tallulah Bankhead goes back to my childhood.  For some reason my mother used to sing with a Tallulah Bankhead voice to  entertain me.  It always made me hysterical.  Even as I got older I still loved to hear her sing like Tallulah Bankhead.  She also used to sing like Marlene Dietrich sometimes also.  I am not sure why she did this.  Most kids that age have no idea who Tallulah Bankhead is in the first place. Or Marlene Dietrich for that matter.  I can remember watching Jack Paar with my mother when I was very young.  Dad would go to bed because he had to go to work in the morning and Mom and I would stay up to watch The Tonight Show with Jack Paar.  I can remember watching Tallulah Bankhead on his show.  I didn't understand most of what she talked about but I was fascinated with her voice and mannerisms.  I was introduced to so many fascinating characters watching Jack Paar with my mother.  Bette Davis, the writer Alexander King, humorist Jack Douglas, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Genevieve a French chanteuse.  I always loved to her Genevieve speak.  She had terrible broken English, which I am sure was all part of her act, and her accent fascinated.   To this day French is my favorite language and I am fascinated by all thinks French.  This all must go back to those childhood nights watching Jack Paar with Mom.  I have a photo above of Jack Paar and one of Genevieve.  Funny but when I look at her photo I can still her voice in my head.

So thanks Mom for the introductions to a strange world of celebrities.  And thanks Tallulah for keeping me fascinated all these years and making it to my personal bucket list.

Still Shining - Concord Point Lighthouse - Havre de Grace, Maryland

This says Hometown to me - Concord Point Lighthouse - Havre de Grace a photo by litlesam on Flickr.

I have seen the Eiffel Tower. I have been to Ushuaia, Argentina the southern most city in the world. I stood in the magical Incan city of Machu Pichu in the Andes. I drank Sangria in Barcelona, and ate perogies in Warsaw, Poland. But if you ask me where is my favorite place Concord Point Lighthouse in Havre de Grace, Maryland would be the answer. This lighthouse's history dates back to the War of 1812 and it still stands today as a symbol of the small town of Havre de Grace.

I was born in Havre de Grace and lived there for the first forty years of my life. I spent many hours with this lighthouse. I lived just one block away from Corcord Point when I was a child.  I played in the marshy swamps around the light house for hours. I used to go fishing behind the lighthouse with my Aunt Louise and her cousin Mary when they had their one week vacation each year from the local shoe factory. They worked very hard on the assembly line at Bata Shoe Factory and earned that week off with their sweat. So this week was always special to them and to me. My Aunt Louise was also the lady who bought me first camera.

My mother did not allow me to play down by the river when I was young. Her first husband had drowned in the river not far from this lighthouse, so her fear was honest. But it was not appreciated by this young boy. So although I wasn't allowed, I still spent many hours playing behind this lighthouse and along the water front. Today this location is very popular park with a boardwalk filled with town folks and tourists walking around daily. It was isolated when I was a kid and made for a great place to go skinny dipping. It was a different time. The town was very small. Parents were not afraid to let their children leave the house in the morning and not return until time for supper. Of course if my mother knew I was skinny dipping behind the lighthouse,she might not have felt so safe about letting me run free everyday.

I would never want to return to Havre de Grace and live in a small town again. But when I visit and see this beautiful lighthouse the magic of life in that small town returns.

The Real Braveheart

William Wallace Memorial in Baltimores Druid Hill Park a photo by litlesam on Flickr.

The Real Braveheart

I am not a fan of Mel Gibson. My Scottish friend Gillian has told me that most Scots are not fans of Mel Gibson either. His portrayal of William Wallace insulted many people in Scotland for its historic inaccuracies. But that’s Hollywood. Historical epics are not made to tell history, they are made to make money. While in Scotland in 2009 I was able to visit Sterling Castle and see the fields where William Wallace led the battle for Scotland’s independence. It brought back to memory the statue of William Wallace I had seen here in Baltimore in Druid Hill Park. I told my friends in Scotland about the memorial here in the park. That’s part of my love of travel, to be able to visit other countries, meet friends, and then be able to make a connection with something familiar back home.

After returning from Scotland I drove over to Druid Hill Park to take some photos. The William Wallace Memorial in the park was created by artist David Watson Stevenson, who was a member of the Royal Academy of Scotland. The monument was presented to the city of Baltimore in 1893 by William Wallace Spence. It was then rededicated one hundred years later by the St. Andrew’s Society of Baltimore. I really like the way the statue stands with his sword lifted facing the skyline of Baltimore.

Having been to Sterling and seen the castle and the battleground there, this monument has a special connection for me when I see it. Another connection is the fact that for the past few years Baltimore’s Gay Pride Festival has been located in Druid Hill Park. William Wallace now stands surrounded by the GLBT community each year in the park. The state of Maryland is now involved in a large battle for marriage rights. The battle for freedom continues today. I find it appropriate that he stands here today representing the fight for freedom. Move aside Mel Gibson. Here is the true Braveheart.