Friday, April 16, 2010

a new take on the spinning jenny

Come along with the field trip chaperone maven and let me infuse you with some knowledge.

Knowledge is power, you know.

I spent the day in Old Sturbridge Village with three busloads of third graders yesterday.
This educational and operation village, set in the 1830s is a treasure trove.  It happens to be one of Dub's favorite places on the planet.  He usually goes on ONE fieldtrip per child's educational experience, and this is it.  Sadly (for him) he was traveling during the week that Leeli got to go, so I went in his place.  As an aside, I will admit that coming on the heels of chaperoning that trip to NYC, this just about did me in.

 In one of the exhibit buildings, this caught my eye:

The spinning jenny is a multi-spool spinning wheel

It was invented c.1764 by James Hargreaves

James Hargreaves was a weaver, carpenter and an inventor in Lancashire, England.

The device dramatically reduced the amount of work needed to produce yarn, with a single worker able to work eight or more spools at once. A word 'ginny' or 'jenny' is an early abbreviation of the word 'engine', simply referring to a machine or device.

Here's MY take on the spinning jenny, some 200 years later:
Born in 1964 to some intelligent and industrious parents

She infuses drama into the everyday.

The woman is able to single-handedly work eight or more peoples' schedules at once.
Jenny IS a machine.

[in my humble opinion]
*GRIN*
COMING ATTRACTION: fieldtrip pictures.

5 comments:

mckell.b.p.55 said...

Oooh, I love Sturbridge Village! I can see why Dub loves it so much.

LL said...

are you kinda like the machine that PULLS the honeywagon (or whatever LaDawnda was talking about) :)

Unknown said...

LL: we seriously need to take a fieldtrip together.

LL said...

let's.
a field trip where we learn of honeywagons and hairy feet :)

Anonymous said...

i need to visit ...garth isaacs(hargreaves)