Mondo Lizzie Borden

On sale on eBay is the signature of William H. Moody, prosecutor in the Lizzie Borden trial and fomer Secretary of the Navy.

Here is the link to the sale.

MOODY, WILLIAM HENRY 1853 – 1917: born in Newbury, Massachusetts, son of Henry Lord and Melissa Augusta (Emerson) Moody. Educated in the public schools of Salem and Danvers. Massachusetts, he prepared for college at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, graduating in 1872. He continued his studies at Harvard University where he graduated third in his class in 1876. He studied law at Harvard and in the office of Richard H. Dana, Esq. and was admitted to the Salem bar in 1878. He then began a practice with Edwin N. Hill, Esq. in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Active in civic affairs there, he served ()it III(school board and held the post of city solicitor in 1888 and 1889. He was subsequently elected district attorney for Essex County, a position he held for six years. It was in this capacity that he was appointed by Massachusetts Attorney General Albert E. Pillsbury to serve on the prosecution in the Borden trial. He delivered the opening argument for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts vs. Lizzie A. Borden. In 1895, he was elected representative to Congress for the Sixth District, an office to which he was reelected in 1896, 1898 and 1900. In 1902, he was named Secretary of the United States Navy by President Theodore Roosevelt, succeeding Hon. John D. Long. He received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from Amherst College as well as one from Tufts University in 1904. That same year, he was appointed to the position of attorney general of the United States and remained in President Roosevelt’s cabinet until he was chosen to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court in 1906. He retired from the bench due to ill health in 1909 and was residing in Haverhill, Massachusetts, at the time of his death. The following year destroyer #277 in the United States Navy was named for him in recognition of his accomplishments when serving as secretary of that division of the armed forces.

Source: Commonwealth of Massachusetts VS. Lizzie A. Borden; The Knowlton Papers, 1892-1893. Eds. Michael Martins and Dennis A. Binette. Fall River, MA: Fall River Historical Society, 1994.

In 2004 and 2005 I was the invited speaker for the First Congregational Church and the Fall River Historical Society’s Lecture Series. The talks were given at the First CC on Rock Street, right across from the old Durfee High School. It was my pleasure to meet the church’s pastor, Rev. Robert P. Lawrence, and now I hear that he is retiring from his position next year.

A nice article appeared in The Herald News a few days back about how he received the Fall River Police Department’s Humanitarian Award, given at the Fall River Police department’s annual gala. It seems they tricked the Reverend into attending by asking him to give the opening prayer. They surprised him with the honor during the event.

A very funny brief “Lizzie Borden Sketch” appears on this site for streaming or download. It is the work of Dan and Jay’s Comedy Hour and is a cut from their “Shoestrings: the Demo” album. They are experimenting with sound effects and came up with this unique telling of the murders.

It is quite funny! And who knows, maybe they figured it out!

Thanks to Intrepid Reporter for the link.

In a recent article in InsideBayArea.com from the San Francisco area, the Travel Editor presents a nice write up on the Lizzie Borden B&B as a possible Halloween destination.

In case you are one of those people who likes to pack up and go elsewhere to observe and/or celebrate Halloween, and you haven’t decided where to go this year, here are some suggestions from the American Automobile Association, which recently compiled a list of “America’s Spookiest Travel Destinations.” Most are open year around so if you like to have spine-chilling experiences at any time — Groundhog Day, perhaps? — they’re there for you.

Also recommended are
The “Ghosts of Savannah” walking tours.
“Haunted History” tours in New Orleans.
Myrtles Plantation Mystery Tour in St. Francisville, La.
Emma Crawford Festival and Memorial Coffin Race and Parade in Manitou Springs, Colo.

They also feature a photo of the house to accompany the piece. Kewl!

“Black is Black” by Los Bravos.

According to Shirley Blackburn for The Tennessean, the Nashville Ballet’s rendition of the “Lizzie” was a smashing success.

In the finale, “Lizzie,” Vasterling showcased his strength as storyteller and choreographer. His spin on the life of Lizzie Borden, a Victorian spinster tried for but acquitted of the murder of father and stepmother, took the form of a dream.

This contemporary ballet, which had a folk feel, relied on effective lighting to set each scene.

The specters of her past described not only the emotional and physical brutality of her life but also the times of joy. McNamara as Lizzie with Upleger as her father and Christine Buttorff as her stepmother produced formidable performances.

Upleger and Buttorff never broke character in the modern movements that brought out the evil in their characters. McNamara danced the joyful and the tormented sections of this dance with equal facility.

Vasterling is at his best when he blends theater with dance. “Lizzie” is no exception.

Another great review of the show is here. From The Nashville Scene online.

From the IndyStar.com:

They have a killer evening planned at the Morris-Butler House in October. Seventeen characters from fact and fiction will join forces to help solve a whodunit in the progressive mystery play “From Dark Pages.”

Shannon Borbely, administrator of the 1865 mansion museum, says the interactive play has been presented — with changes in the script — nearly every October since 1992.

“It’s a smart show. You’re interacting with great real-life and figurative characters from the 19th century,” she says.

They include Dracula, Edgar Allan Poe, Lizzie Borden, Queen Victoria and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

“Jack the Ripper is on the loose somewhere in the house. Sherlock Holmes is tracking him, and the audience gets to move from room to room with the action.”

Joan Rapkin, who plays Queen Victoria, broke a bone in her foot in a car accident on the way home from a rehearsal and has something to hide — her cast. “It’s purple. I asked them for the darkest color they had,” she said.

Nine of the home’s 16 open-to-the- public rooms are used in the 45-minute production; stair-climbing is required. Friday and Saturday shows in October are at 6:30, 7:30, 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. To reserve $10 tickets, call (317) 636-5409.

In an article that appeared in the Tennessean.com, Nashville Ballet artistic director Paul Vasterling admits that “After endless research — and numerous worrisome nights — he’s created ”Lizzie,” his own interpretation of the events that set Victorian society on its ear.”

Vasterling’s theory is that Lizzie committed the crimes and was a victim of incest by her father Andrew. In order make the theory match the evidence, he also believes that Lizzie was nude during the murdering. To that end, his ballet of Morton Gould’s Fall River Legend includes a nude scene.

Principal dancer Jennifer McNamara says

”I am nervous about that,” said McNamara, 36. ”It’s not so much what the audience will think; I believe they’ll be so involved in the piece that it won’t be gratuitous.” Instead, it’s the other members of the company and the students she teaches through the ballet’s school that she’s concerned about. For the younger set, she plans to individually address her classes and answer any questions the students might have.

But more than anything, she hopes anyone who watches comes away with a view of Lizzie as ”a really strong woman for her time.”

Check out the Nashville Ballet site for a great flash ad for the ballet!

WHAT: Nashville Ballet’s Fall Series, including the world premiere of “Lizzie”; The Nashville Symphony accompanies.
WHEN: October 6-8. Performances at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Oct. 8
WHERE: TPAC’s Polk Theater
TICKETS: $19-$52 through the TPAC box office downtown or at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in the Mall at Green Hills; Ticketmaster outlets; 255-ARTS (2787); or www.ticketmaster.com. Groups of 10 or more receive a 20% discount.
CONTACT: www.nashvilleballet.com

The Herald News reports that the 125 year old Borden Flats Lighthouse is up for adoption.

The lighthouse, which stands off-shore where the Taunton River flows into Mount Hope Bay, is being offered by the U.S. General Services Administration to local, state or federal agencies, non-profits, or historical or preservation societies.

Lighthouses like Borden Flats are offered for availability if the Coast Guard finds them unnecessary for navigational aid, said Jeff Gales, executive director of the United States Lighthouse Society, based in San Francisco.

“It’s quite common actually,” Gales said. “In earlier days, lighthouses were required to go to the highest bidder. In 2000, the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act was passed, which says that it can’t be sold to the highest bidder.”

Any group which adopts the lighthouse must be able to financially maintain it.

The Borden Flats Light was commissioned in 1875 and built six years later at a cost of $24,000 to warn passing ships of underwater jags. It was built with sensors to pick up humidity and fog to activate the foghorn and bell.

It was staffed by a lighthouse keeper around the clock for much of its life. The lighthouse was electrified in 1957 and became fully-automated in 1963. Its light was originally a kerosene lamp, but was updated to a plastic lens in 1977.

Much of the original living quarters have been removed, and only a staircase to the light remains. The 50-foot structure reportedly has been leaning since a hurricane in 1938.