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Supplies 6 Months on the Oregon Trail for Survival with $ 420. total The US Government was already set up to ship goods to Mexico from Independence, Mo. Thus this town became the starting point in 1843 when the first 1,000 settlers set out for the west on the Oregon Trail. In 1850 the year after Gold was discovered, over 55,000 people made this same historic trek. The wagons carried their supplies and the Ox Teams provided the power. A Three man traveling team had to plan their supplies carefully for the six month trek, taking in to account the weight restrictions on the wagon and their budget. Here is the list of supplies and costs suggested by experienced pioneers : Covered Studebaker Wagon $ 85. ( 3’ wide and 10’ long ) 4 Ox ( 2 pair teams ) $ 100. Harnesses $ 12. 3 Rifles $ 60. 3 Pairs of Pistols $ 45. 30 lbs. Lead ( bullets ) $ 1.20 5 barrels Flour ( 1,080 lbs ) $ 20. 600 lbs. of Bacon $ 30. 100 lbs of Coffee $ 8. Tent ( 30 lbs ) $ 5. 50 lbs of Salt / Pepper $ 2. 50 lbs of Lard $ 2.50 5 pounds of Tea $ 2.75 150 lbs of Sugar $ 7. 75 lbs of Rice $ 3.75 50 lbs of Dried Fruit $ 7. Pots and Pans ( 30 lbs ) $ 3.50 Matches ( glass container ) $ 1. Candles / Soap ( 50 lbs ) $ 4. Bedding ( 45 lbs ) $ 22. Personal Baggage ( 150 lbs ) Total Weight 2,505 pounds The Oregon Trail ended officially in 1884 when the railroad was completed. Over 300,000 traveled the trail between 1843 – 1884, with over 30,000 losing their lives en route. The costs of goods if needed on the trail would cost 10 – 20 times the cost in the stores in Independence, Mo.

Robb and Trix Sagendorph founded Yankee Magazine in Dublin, New Hampshire, in 1935. Robb, a frustrated freelance writer believed that New England needed a magazine "for Yankee readers, by Yankee writers." The initial subscriber list totaled 614 names, of which 600 had been purchased from a fraudulent subscription agency that had simply picked names at random from the Boston telephone book. So it could be said that Yankee actually began with 14 subscribers. Fortunately, the couple was able to live off Trix's family money as the magazine developed. Trix was an accomplished artist, who contributed illustrations to the magazine and hundreds of Yankee covers, from the 1930s through the 1960s. In 1939 Sagendorph purchased the publishing rights to The Old Farmer's Almanac, and became its 11th editor since its first appearance in 1792. He immediately restored it to health, both financially and editorially. During World War II Robb Sagendorph continued to publish small editions of Yankee and to maintain the Yankee trademark. The scarcity of paper forced Yankee to trim its size to the unique 6 x 9-inch size for which the magazine became well known. In July 1945, Sagendorph published a slim, 10-page issue of Yankee with these opening words: "With this issue Yankee returns to the old stand. We are back because our faith in the simple, every day, honest things of life is as strong as ever." Soon, subscriptions reached 10,000. Circulation grew to more than 40,000 monthly during the late 1950s, but the principal money maker in those days still remained The Old Farmer's Almanac. For more information on Yankee Magazine – www.Yankeemagazine.com Image courtesy of Yankee Magazine

Make Way for Ducklings The Swan Boats are the harbinger of spring to native Bostonians. Famed in the stories Make Way for Ducklings and The Trumpet of the Swan, the Swan Boats are the only boats of their kind in the world! For over 120 years, the Swan Boats have appeared in Boston’s Public Garden, the first public botanical garden in the United States, established in 1837 This Boston tradition dates back to 1877 when Robert Paget was granted a boat for hire license by the City of Boston. He developed a catamaran which housed a paddle wheel arrangement that was foot-propelled. To cover the captain, Robert suggested a swan! The idea came to him from his familiarity with the opera Lohengrin. The opera is based on a medieval German story in which Lohengrin, a knight of the Grail crosses a river in a boat drawn by a swan to defend the innocence of his heroine, Princess Elsa. Robert lived only one year after the first Swan Boats were launched. His wife Julia, a young widow with four children, assumed full management of the new enterprise. In 1914, Julia's youngest son, John carried on the family tradition. The current fleet consists of six boats, the oldest of which was built by John in 1918. John and his wife Ella raised six children, all of whom spent many summers working on the boats. John’s son Paul took over the helm in 1969. The tradition, which began over 120 years ago, has grown to become a symbol of Boston and the city's unique blend of history and beauty.