Abby Epplett, Historian

Just before leaving the Cape after my five-day adventure back in August 2024, I made a few quick history stops in Bourne before crossing its infamous bridge. Historic buildings included a restored home, a church, a blacksmith shop, a reproduction carriage house, and a public library, while the most unique discovery of the day was an amphibious vehicle used during World War II.

During my relaxing winter break, I began reading through my stack of history-themed books that I accrued throughout the year. The first book I completed was A Pictorial History of Costume by Wolfgang Bruhn and Max Tilke, which I found for a mere $7.00 at the Book Barn in Niantic, CT . The book combined a pair of earlier books: Deutsche Kultur-Bilder: Deutsches Leben [ German Culture Pictures: German Life ] published by Bruhn in German in 1934, and Kostümschnitte und Gewandformern [ Costume Patterns and Garment Designs ] published by Tilke in German in 1948. I read the 1988 English language edition with a publisher’s note on the “archaism” found within the book, a polite way of warning readers that some depictions would not be politically correct. The book was divided into two sections. In the front half were written descriptions of the costumes, which include information on the culture represented through clothing, famous people who might have worn the clothing, and o...

In my first essay after my winter holiday hiatus, I begin a new chapter to Lord of the Rings: The Animated Musical where I describe the process of research and producing a hypothetical adaptation of the bestselling book series by British linguist J.R.R. Tolkien. At last, I will begin presenting selections of dialogue and music to accommodate the concept art that I began creating in 2024. Composers commonly make demo recordings of their work using themselves or their friends as the performing artists, from “I’m in the Middle of a Muddle” for the 1950 Disney animation Cinderella sung by middle-aged male songwriters Mack David , Al Hoffman , and Jerry Livingston instead of a peppy young woman like the title character, or an early version of “How Far I’ll Go” for the 2016 Disney animation Moana sung by Broadway star Phillipa Soo , a close friend of its songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda , since her voice perfectly matched the protagonist. But before I reveal my own demo reel, I ne...

During my Cape Cod Adventure back in August 2024, I made several quick history stops around Falmouth, MA. Besides my usual rounds of historic buildings, walking trails, and memorials, I discovered a tiny carousel, a unique traffic light, and a beautiful nature preserve. The steady rain that had intermittently plagued my trip even began to clear towards the end of the day.

I have a few tales remaining from my Cape Cod adventure back in August 2024. On my final day, I visited Museums on the Green, the property of Falmouth Historical Society in Falmouth, MA. While steady rain and lack of signage initially derailed my visit, I had an enjoyable tour upon finding the visitor center. The property includes several historic buildings along with ample lawns and gardens. It is conveniently located near the downtown area, allowing for relaxing strolls in sunnier weather.

Look who’s back after the holiday break! For the new year, I am changing my posting schedule to include reviews of the podcasts, books, documentaries, and more that I absorb in preparation for my travels and essays. This style of post will typically appear on Mondays when I am not posting a blog roundup to LinkedIn. My first review of 2025 is on the episodic podcast Mobitituaries hosted by Mo Rocca . Rocca is a humorous correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning who got his start in television as a writer on the PBS children’s show Wishbone , which received its own episode . During each episode, he speaks with experts to uncover the story of a forgotten person, thing, or idea mostly in modern American history, although a few episodes cover Europe and East Asia, and one episode focused on prehistory. Topics might be serious, such as overturning bans on interracial marriage in the United States , but they are equally likely to be frivolous, like the cancellation of the Lawrence W...

This week is my third and final installment about Valar, the archangels or major gods of Tolkien’s Legendarium, along with my last blog post before my winter break. In the first post of this mini-series, I covered five of the most powerful Valar, also known as Aratar: Manwë, Varda, Ulmo, Yavanna, and Aulë. In the second post, I reviewed the three final Aratar and their spouses: Mandos, Vairë, Nienna, Oromë, and Vána. This week has no Aratar, but that does not make these Valar any less fun. This quintet represents dreams, health, wrestling, dancing, and chaos. Just as during the last two installments, each of these characteristics appeared in pagan pantheons of the Western world along with religions across the globe and even modern pop culture.

During my five-day adventure on Cape Cod back in August 2024, I brought my bike for fast touring around town. I did bike the path along the Cape Cod Canal, last covered on this blog in August 2022 , and my new place of exploration was the Shining Sea Bikeway in Falmouth, MA . The name referred to a final line in the patriotic song “America the Beautiful” written by Falmouth native Katharine Lee Bates . A nearby memorial was dedicated to the songwriter and educator. This unique pair of plaques contained the words to “America the Beautiful” along with engraved and painted American symbols including the Liberty Bell, Mount Rushmore, the Statue of Liberty, an American flag, Mayflower, Golden Gate Bridge, and signing the Declaration of Independence. It even described Katherine’s inspiration for her song, which came to her as she climbed Pikes Peak. The panoramic views on Shining Sea Bikeway proved the trail worthy of its name.

Do you love mill stones and anchors? Charles “Charlie” Dolbeer “Doddie” Spohr and Margaret Ellen “Skip” King Spohr sure did. Spohr Gardens in Falmouth, MA holds their lifetime collection of mill stones, anchors, and a few ship bells along peaceful walkways lined with plants. While I arrived past flower season during my five-day trip to Cape Cod in August 2024, I could still enjoy the solitude of a walk beside the quiet lake.

In August 2024, I went on a five-day trip to Cape Cod, MA where I visited many museums and cultural organizations, along with quick history stops and trails. I drove across the bridge to the town of Wareham, which proudly calls itself “The gateway to Cape Cod” to visit a few sites owned by Wareham Historical Society . I took a guided tour of the Fearing Tavern Museum and made quick history stops at the Old Methodist Meeting House, the One-Room Schoolhouse, and the Union Chapel. I also saw the towering Wareham War Memorial and smaller Wareham World War I Memorial in Center Park, the town green.

This is my second week talking about Valar, the archangels or major gods of the Legendarium. In this post, I will cover the final three Aratar or most powerful Valar along with their spouses: Mandos, Vairë, Nienna, Oromë, and Vána. This quintet of Valar is less happy than the set from last week. While the previous five represented kings, queens, the sea, nature, and smithing, this new group personified death, fate, grief, hunting, and more nature. Each of these characteristics were found across Western pantheons in the years before the Christianization of Europe, and many occur in religions outside the West. The popularity of these somber deities showed how people from any walk of life must face its grim realities: everyone will eventually die. Mandos As the Vala who kept the Houses of the Dead, Mandos or Namo was Aratar #6. His “family” was larger than most Valar, since he had a younger sister Nienna and a younger brother Lorien. The brothers even had a special na...

In August 2024, I went on a five-day trip to Cape Cod, MA where I visited many museums and cultural organizations, along with quick history stops and trails. On day four, I went to Highfield Hall & Gardens in Falmouth, MA. The museum delivered on the name and more with art galleries, a guided highlights tour, and nearby walking trails. Although I did not get a chance to see a play during this visit, the property also hosts the Falmouth Theatre Guild .

In August 2024, I went on a five-day trip to Cape Cod, MA where I visited many museums and cultural organizations, along with quick history stops and trails. The charming town of Sandwich, MA boasts a self-guided historical walking tour curated by the Sandwich Historical Commission and Sandwich Community Media , along with plenty of plaques and memorials. Despite the cloudy weather, I enjoyed my stroll down historic Main Street.

I previously created illustrations for some Maiar, who act as a combination of angels and minor gods in the Legendarium. This week and for the next two weeks, I will talk about Valar, similar to archangels and major gods. This is a slight deviation from what I originally mentioned at the end of “Appendix F, II On Translation” but between the essays getting a bit too long of late, the end-of-year holiday season in full swing, and having an actual job plus side business, I thought a more relaxed pace would be a decent course of action. While only a few members of this race were mentioned in The Lord of the Rings , much information on Valar comes from “Valaquenta” in The Silmarillion . Some groups of Valar considered themselves siblings, perhaps because they were made by Ilúvatar at the same time or with a similar appearance. Spouses apparently did not consider themselves siblings, unlike Greco-Roman gods who had no issue with incest. The top eight Valar were called the Arata...