Saving America’s Great Places

Our National Parks and Monuments represent a triumph of all Americans over the private interests of a few.

By Jill Richardson

Grand Canyon National Park

I’m writing this from Yellowstone National Park. Established in 1872, this was our first National Park. The world’s first, in fact.

In an interesting window into how politics worked then (and now, arguably), Congress agreed to preserve this land only after being assured that it was entirely “worthless.”

Of course, that was an utter lie. But for once in our nation’s history, lying in politics did some good.

The real value of this park wasn’t known then, you see. Nobody knew that it set a precedent for the establishment of an entire National Park system that would encompass a network of public lands across the country.

Nobody knew yet that the animals on this land would become rare outside it — and might’ve been lost for good if they weren’t allowed to roam free here.

For that matter, nobody would know for a long time to come that predators are important to ecosystems. Even after the establishment of many National Parks and the protection of wildlife therein, park personnel actively killed predators within the parks’ borders.

Memorial Day Photo Feature - the air crews of Charlestown NAAF

Charlestown does its bit
Photos from Larry Webster and Frank Glista's collection

MEMORIAL DAY: Finding a home for our history

The struggle to keep memory alive

By Will Collette

Before restoration

Each year, we have ended this series on Charlestown’s major role in World War II as the host to the Ninigret Naval Auxiliary Air Field (NAAF) with an essay by Frank Glista on efforts to keep those memories alive.

Frank had secured and restored one of the most iconic relics of the NAAF, a large practice “bomb” that was used to train flight crews in the delicate art of loading aerial bombs onto the craft that Naval flyers were being taught to fly.

The "Ninigret Bomb" in its new home.

The bomb was never filled with explosives. Unless it fell on top of you and crushed you with its weight, it posed no hazard to human life.

The Ninigret Bomb is an important artifact of that period. In fact, its appearance in many photos taken in that era seems to show the pilot trainees thought it was an important symbol of their mission.

But year after year, no one would allow Frank to donate the Ninigret Bomb for display. Read about his quest for a “forever home” for the Bomb by CLICKING HERE.

Thanks to the Charlestown Historical Society, the Ninigret Bomb has now found a forever home at the Society’s main building on Old Post Road (next to the library), as part of a growing collection of NAAF articles on display.

Terrorism trash talk

For more cartoons by Ted Rall, CLICK HERE.

Thumbs up doesn't mean what you think it means

Trump ignores warnings that the sign is offensive in many countries
By Will Collette

Photograph: Andrew Medichini/AP

Before he left on his first foreign trip, Donald Trump was briefed by his advisors on various cultural taboos, an exercise in futility.

Among them, Trump was warned that his favorite "thumbs up" signal is considered obscene in the Middle East, Greece, Africa and elsewhere. Generally, thumbs up is interpreted to mean "up yours" or "sit on this" in other cultures.

In the photo above, taken in Italy on May 27, Trump does it again. Note the guy right next to him does it too,,,but I am willing to bet his sign didn't carry the same message as Trump's.

I mean, look at the expression on the guy's face. And the glee in the face of the guy right behind them. I have to believe they're thinking, "we just told Donald Trump to 'sit on this.'"

Yes, another example of how our orange buffoon is making America great again.

Land shaped by glaciers and the Navy

Charlietown (a.k.a. Ninigret Wildlife Refuge) Winter Walkabout

Text and photos by James Bedell

The sun was warm on my face, not a cloud in the sky, a little grey bird hopped alongside me, and I could almost hear winter sigh as it was letting go of our part of the world. It was hard to imagine that sixty years ago this same place was alive with the sounds, smells, and deadly preparation of machines of war.

About a mile west of the intersection of Route 2 and Route 1, the entrance to the Ninigret Wildlife Refuge leaves the north bound lanes of Route 1. It is adjacent to Ninigret Park which is owned by the town of Charlestown.  Both were created in 1970 when the properties were released from federal property roles.

1st anniversary of new sign and display honoring NAAF

Sign Dedication Ceremony Speech

By Brandon Perrone

Photo by Will Collette

This memorial is dedicated to the sixty-two men who trained at this airfield and made the ultimate sacrifice, and it is also for all members of the military to show them we appreciate what they do for our country every day.

Now, I ask that you all take a look around. Imagine runways, hangars and control towers.

Imagine Hellcats and Avenger fighter planes roaring overhead, and the bravest, most skilled airmen in all of New England training to defend freedom.

This was Charlestown Naval Auxiliary Air Station, as it was known at the time, and former President George H. W. Bush trained here before flying in the Pacific in World War II.

This area we are sitting in has some of the richest history in all of Rhode Island.

I was fortunate enough to see some of this history when Mr. Larry Webster, a local Aviation Archaeologist, invited me to his home to see some artifacts from the time period.

Mr. Webster is one of those exceptional people who does not want the memory of the airfield to fade away, so he does a great deal of work to make sure all artifacts from this area are found and preserved for future generations.

A lot has happened here in the past seventy-three years. 

Memorial Day Photo Feature - Before there was a Ninigret Park

Charlestown trained Navy fliers

Photos from Larry Webster, collected by Frank Glista

Today's Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge and Charlestown's Ninigret Park was once covered by a Navy pilot
training base built during World War II and decommissioned in 1974

Ensign Coy Stephenson, killed in action

Part 2: Memorial Day Feature - Charlestown's women do their part in the war effort

PART 2 - NAVAL AIRFIELD MEMORIAL

By Frank Glista
Photos from Larry Webster

Practicing mock carrier landings at Charlestown NAAF in the 1950s

At war's end, great reductions in Naval Aviation forced the closing of all the airfields in Rhode Island except Quonset Point and Charlestown.  By early 1950 the base was quiet and nearly closed during its caretaker status.

The Korean conflict forced the Naval Auxiliary Air Field (NAAF) to re-open and was re-designated as the Naval Auxiliary Landing Field (NALF) at Charlestown in 1951.  On January 30, 1974, NALF Charlestown was decommissioned.

Priorities: the means, not the ends

New footage of Trump's meeting with Pope Francis

Memorial Day photo feature - Navy pilots flying out of Charlestown

Scenes from Charlestown's Naval Auxiliary Air Field during World War II
Once a vital training base for Navy aviators, now a Park and a wild life refuge
Photos courtesy of Larry Webster
Collection assembled by Frank Glista

Brothers in arms - Naval aviators in training at Charlestown's NAAF

Training flight over Charlestown

Continue for more photos

I hate ticks: tick tips

Tick-Borne Diseases

From the Rhode Island Department of Health

Classic bulleye from a tick bite BUT not all bites
will cause this kind of rash.

Tick-borne diseases are transmitted through the bite of an infected tick. 

These include Lyme disease, Anaplasmosis, Ehrlichiosis, Babesiosis, Powassan (POW), and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. 

Ticks can be infected with bacteria, viruses, or parasites. 

When an infected tick bites the human host, the human may become infected.

Symptoms

If you have been bitten by a tick, there is a possibility that have become infected with one of these diseases, but not every tick is a carrier.

If you have become infected, symptoms can present themselves between a few days and a few months later, or may not appear at all.

The type and severity of symptoms vary with the specific disease, but there are some common symptoms, which include tiredness, body/muscle aches, joint pain, fever, rash, stiff neck, and facial paralysis.

Early diagnosis is helpful in successfully treating tick-borne diseases, so it is important to contact your healthcare provider if you are experiencing symptoms.

Part 1: Memorial Day feature - Charlestown and World War II

PART 1 - Charlestown and World War II

Ninigret Navy air field during World War II. For great photos of
old Rhode Island air fields, click here.

By Frank Glista

"GERMAN ARMY ATTACKS POLAND" was the New York Times headline on September 1, 1939.  Those words set the stage for what would soon become World War II.

In our country, every city and town has its own story of heroism and sacrifice given by their citizens during that time.  Charlestown Rhode Island was among them as it played an important role in our nation's success to defeat the threat from overseas.

Once again, in honor of Memorial Day, a series on the history of the Ninigret Naval Auxiliary Air Field

Reprint and update of popular Charlestown history series

By Will Collette

In past years, we took a break from the mundane town battles  to honor Memorial Day with a history of the Ninigret Naval Auxiliary Air Field (NAAF).

That air field not only trained thousands of Navy aviators to fight during World War II (including the senior President George Herbert Walker Bush), but has also had a profound impact on Charlestown's landscape, life and culture.

The series was written by Frank Glista who had a personal connection to the air field that you'll read about in the series. It spans six segments with several of them comprised entirely of vintage photos.