EW Hobbs

I'm amazed at that fact that they have been in business for such a long time (over a hundred years). Even more amazing is that they have always kept the business in the family. Nowadays traditions seem to be a dying thing. I loved the feeling that I was getting quality popcorn that has been perfected over many years. I got a very homey feeling from that part of the park.

One of the things that surprised me the most about what Uncle Charlie said was that Salem Willows used to be the home of a small pox hospitals in the 1800s. Apparently the park got its name from the willow trees that were planted for the patients to walk by. From hospital grounds to an amusement park Salem Willows has come far. Hopefully people will still come back for their popcorn for years to come.

 Their Facebook Page

National Park Service Trip

The Salem Maritime National Historic Site tour was very informative and educational. I learned of how popular Pepper was and that it was the most smuggled spice. I also had no idea that customs officers had really good wages just about $3 a day (which apparently was really good back in those days). 
 
I also enjoyed being able to see where a middle/lower class citizen would have lived back in those days. It's nice to see the efforts that are made to preserve as much History as possible.
  
Apparently the wall paper dates back to the 1800s!
One of the things that I found the most fascinating was that the Gold eagle on top of the Custom House is not the original, but a duplicate made in order to conserve the other one.
           
The eagle is very patriotic and I find the eyes quite terrifying.
Overall Tracys (park ranger) facts and stories helped me get a picture of how important Salem's Maritime history was the contribution of making America the nation that it is today. It's also good to see that theres more to Salem than Witches and Halloween.
My nature Journal of the maritime historic site. 

Final questions; Is there more to the history in Salem that doesn't involve witches nor maritime? did any other significant events or people took place here?

Option #1

• Preparing for the talks helped because it gave us some insight in who was coming and what they were going to be discussing. It made their talks more interesting beacuse we had an idea of the subject line of the topics were. We new what to listen for and what type of questions to ask.
• I could really connect to speaker #1's idea of his sense of place in Salem in the way that he stumbled upon Salem and his career choice. I hope to stumble upon my career path like he did. I also connected to him and in the way that he talks about the importance to preserve some of the traditional customs and places in Salem. Both visitors' talks were effective beacuse in some way we could all relate to the uncertainty they all felt during their college years. 
• I feel as though I was very engaged in their conversations I responded with a nod or another gesture when prompted with a question. I was respectful and mindful during their talks. overall i would rate my engagement between 1.5 and 2 because I didn't ask the speakers any questions.

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Visitor #1

  
Visitor #1 had lots of greats things to say about Salem. He shared some of his wonderful memories of experiences in this city! one of the things that i found the most amusing was that it took him a long time (I believe he said 3 years) to find Salem Willows park and discover the magic of E.W Hobbs popcorn. It's funny because he lived on the street that takes you directly to the park! I did not ask him any questions because he answered most of them while telling his story. The funniest response he gave to someone was regarding his usual order at Reds. He said he basically ate dinner for lunch and did not recommend us to do the same 😂. I wish that he would've told us a little bit more about what Salem was like before they turned Halloween into a month long celebration.