Two Spotted at an Ice Cream Stand in Sterling, Massachusetts - Weathervane Wednesday!

Today's two weathervanes were spotted over the Rota Ice Cream Stand in Sterling, Massachusetts.

Two versions of dairy cows on two weathervanes above the ice cream and farm stand. 

The Rota Spring Farm was established by Giovanni Rota in 1911 in Sterling, Massachusetts. After staying in the family for three generations, the farm and ice cream stand was opened in 1998 by a grandson.  The farm suffered a devastating fire in 2018 and lost a two story barn, but no animals were lost.  You can visit the farm animals, and there are hay rides and pumpkin picking seasonally.

There are two small weathervanes above the ice cream stand.  Both are dairy cows.The black and white cow on the taller cupola stands out against the sky better, and you'll probably notice it first.  The other shiny, metal cow is harder to spot.

This farm produces its own ice cream in delicious and unique, seasonal, and local flavors such as lavender, pumpkin, and peach.  It's delicious!  I grew up in Holden, a contiguous town, and my Mom still lives nearby.  We like to treat her to a drive to the Rota Farm for ice cream in the summertime.

The Rota Family Tree:

Generation 1: Ferdinando Rota, born about 1860 in Italy, married Maria.

Generation 2: John (Giovanni) Rota, born 10 October 1881 in Almanno, San Bartolomeo, Bergamo, Italy, died 24 February 1938 in Sterling, Massachusetts; married to Marcella Massonlini. Three children:  Ernesto Pietro Rota (1914 - 1970), Gino Rota (1922 - 1922), and James Henry Rota (1925 - 1988).


For the truly curious:

Rota Spring Farm Homemade Ice Cream  http://www.rotaspringfarm.com/

Rota Spring Farm Ice Cream Facebook page   https://www.facebook.com/Rotaspringfarmicecream/

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Cite/Link to this post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Two Spotted at an Ice Cream Stand in Sterling, Massachusetts - Weathervane Wednesday!", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 9, 2020, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2020/09/two-spotted-at-ice-cream-stand-in.html: accessed [access date]).

Not so Wordless Wednesday - "Mary Had a Little Lamb" is 180 years old today!

The Lamb, Sterling, Massachusetts Town Common

Sarah Josepha (Buell) Hale shares my birthday. She was born on 24 October 1788 in Newport, New Hampshire, daughter of Captain Gordon Buell and Martha Whittlesay. She is the author of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, campaigned with Abraham Lincoln to make Thanksgiving a national holiday, and was on the committee to complete the Bunker Hill Monument. Sarah was also the editor of Godey’s Lady Book, the most influential woman’s magazine of her time. I’ve always admired her, and considered her a kindred spirit. The New Hampshire Mayflower Society is having a re-enactor portray Sarah Josepha Hale on November 6, 2010 at the Chateau Restaurant in Manchester, and she will discuss Hale's role in Thanksgiving becoming a national holiday.

When I was growing up in Holden, Massachusetts, we used to visit Sterling Town Common, which is the town next door. On the village common is the statue of Mary’s little lamb, and a memorial to the schoolhouse which once stood nearby. The schoolhouse, which was built in 1798, was bought and moved by Henry Ford to Longfellow’s Wayside Inn in Sudbury, Massachusetts. This is similar to what happened to Ocean Born Mary’s house in Londonderry, which was sold and relocated to Little Compton, Rhode Island - causing the organization of the Londonderry Historical Society, founded to protect Londonderry’s historic resources. See my blog post http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/10/ocean-born-mary-londonderry-character.html

The poem was published on 1 September 1830 in the children’s journal Juvenile Miscellany. It was set to music later that decade by Lowell Mason, and the lyrics are similar to the original poem. Today the poem is celebrating its 180th birthday. The original lamb statue I remember from my childhood was replaced in the 1980s by a new one made of bronze. To see the lamb statue, visit the Sterling Town Common at the intersection of routes 12 and 62 and Meetinghouse Hill Road.

It is believed that the Sterling schoolmaster, John Roulstone, wrote the first few lines, and that Sarah Josepha Hale completed the rhyme and the other stanzas for publication. The plaque on the statue has the first four lines of the poem and the name John Roulstone as the author.

Mary had a little lamb,

Its fleece was as white as snow,

And every were that Mary went,

The lamb was sure to go.

He followed her to school one day;

That was against the rule;

It made the children laugh and play;

To see the lamb at school.

And so the teacher turned it out;

but still he lingered near;

And waited patiently about;

Till Mary did appear.

And then he ran to her, and laid

His head upon her arm,

As if he said "I'm not afraid,

You'll keep me from all harm."

'What makes the lamb love Mary so?"

The eager children cry;

"O, Mary loves the lamb, you know,"

The teacher did reply.

"And you each gentle animal

To you, for life may bind,

And make it follow at your call,

If you are always kind."

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Not so Wordless Wednesday -  "Mary Had a Little Lamb" is 180 years old today!", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 1, 2010, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/09/not-so-wordless-wednesday-mary-had.html: accessed [access date]).

Tombstone Tuesday- A Leg Cemetery?

Leg Cemetery, Sterling, Massachusetts

I don't know if Leg is a surname, or perhaps the cemetery is only for body parts? I giggle everytime I pass by this cemetery located on Redemption Rock road. One famous person buried here is Robert B. Thomas (1766 - 1846), publisher of the Old Farmer's Almanac. He taught school in Sterling.

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Copyright 2010, Heather Wilkinson Rojo