In first grade I saw the Walt Disney movie, Johnny Tremain, based on Esther Forbes Newberry Award winning book from 1943.
Creating my fascination with the 18th century, the movie also inspired my trip to Boston!
We experienced the two parts of the movie in reverse order on this trip.
The day before we toured the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
Today would be hints of the Boston Tea Party, and more.
If I wasn’t so overwhelmed by all the cars rushing past me, (one if by foot and two if by car…hey, wait, where is Michael the friendly cop to help us safely cross the street?) I would have walked through town marching and singing like the Liberty Boys:
Plant the seed in our homeland, boys.
Let it grow where all can see.
Feed it with our devotion, boys.
Call it the Liberty Tree.
It’s a tall old tree
and a strong old tree
And we are the Sons
Yes, we are the Sons
The Sons of Liberty!
Save it from the Storm, boys.
Water down its roots with tea.
And the sun will always shine
on the ole Liberty Tree.
It’s a tall old tree
and a strong old tree.
And we are the Sons
Yes, we are the Sons
The Sons of Liberty!
March along with the piper, boys.
We were born forever free.
Let’s go pay the piper, boys,
beneath the Liberty Tree.
It’s a tall old tree
and a strong old tree.
And we are the Sons
Yes, we are the Sons
The Sons of Liberty!
Pay the price their asking, boys.
Always pay the tyrant’s fee.
Never give up the struggle, boys.
Fight for the Liberty Tree.
It’s a tall old tree
and a strong old tree.
And we are the Sons
Yes, we are the Sons
The Sons of Liberty!
Stand for the rights of man, boys.
Stand against all tyranny.
Hang the lamps of freedom, boys,
High on the Liberty Tree.
It’s a tall old tree
and a strong old tree.
And we are the Sons,
Yes, we are the Sons,
The Sons of Liberty!
N’ it will grow as we grow, boys.
It will be as strong as we.
We must cling to our faith, boys-
Faith in the Liberty Tree.
It’s a tall old tree
and a strong old tree.
And we are the Sons,
Yes, we are the Sons,
The Sons of Liberty!
Although I did not see Johnny Tremain anywhere in Boston, I imagined him quite a bit, walking through the streets, looking for a job after he injured his hand, running errands for the Sons of Liberty…among the many sites on the Boston Freedom Trail.
After a lovely detour to the 19th century Public Garden, we crossed Charles Street (the former ropewalk) to the 17th century Boston Common, with my new Boston Freedom Trail guidebook in hand.
LAFAYETTE SIGHTING AT BOSTON COMMON
On this Memorial Day weekend, we saw a grand display of American flags to honor those who gave their lives so we can be free.
Established in 1634, Boston Common is America’s oldest park, while the second oldest is the Public Garden.
At the Boston Common, I was especially interested to read that while Lafayette visited there on his 1825 Grand Tour, the Boston schoolchildren sang for him the French anthem, La Marseillaise.
Not far from here the Liberty Tree once stood. The Liberty Tree was the scene of a Stamp Act protest where the stamp collector was burned in effigy. Apparently, the Sons of Liberty did hang lanterns in the tree. Due to its symbolic nature, the British eventually chopped it down.
GRANARY CEMETERY
Established in 1660, the cemetery’s name was derived from the nearby granary.
Because Puritans didn’t believe in religious imagery, the extent of artistic expression resided in etches on the otherwise plain tombstones.
Slanted by the winds of time, we walked among the graves to find the resting places of Sam Adams, James Otis, Paul Revere, and John Hancock.
OLD CORNER BOOKSTORE
When we walked past the Old Corner Bookstore, I recalled Nathaniel Hawthorne telling us about his publishers, Ticknor and Fields, who worked here.
Eventually becoming Houghton and Mifflin, the Old Corner Bookstore published books for Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Julia Ward Howe.
Humorously, Borders built their modern bookstore across the street.
OLD SOUTH MEETING HOUSE
Built in 1729, the Old South Meeting House is portrayed in the Johnny Tremain movie on the night of the Boston Tea Party.
The building, packed to capacity by 5,000 men, debated the tea tax of which Britain refused to compromise.
Thus Sam Adams spoke pre-established code words in front of a crowd, signaling to one of the Liberty Boys, Johnny Tremain, to blow his whistle to alert the Indians.
(Although Sam Adams existed, Johnny Tremain is a fictional character set in historic events.)
Although a tour of the building was available, unfortunately, we were pressed for time.
OLD STATE HOUSE
Built in 1713, the Old State House is the oldest public building in Boston.
The oldest building in town served as backdrop to the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770, which fueled the American Revolution.
Involved in the mob scene were some ropewalk workers, two of whom died: Samuel Grey and Crispus Attucks
In a previous post I detailed the ropewalk trade in the beginning formation of the Public Garden.
With tours and a museum, this was an opportunity we had to reserve for another day, since we were pressed for time to conquer the Freedom Trail.
FANEUIL HALL
Finally, we reached Faneuil Hall, which meant lunchtime!
Built in 1741 as the center of commerce, it continues that role today with a busy hive of food courts.
PAUL REVERE SITES
Refueled and reenergized, we headed to the spots I was most looking forward to, all related to Paul Revere.
The Paul Revere House and Old North Church are in the North End which felt a long way from the previous parts of the Freedom Trail.
Now we were entering a time-portal, as the modern paved streets turned to cobblestone as we neared the Paul Revere House.
After touring his home we crossed the massive Charles River.
Once in Charlestown, we looked for the Old North Church…one if by land, two if by sea.
Hmmm, not quite the setting Paul Revere had the night of his midnight ride.
LAFAYETTE SIGHTING AT BUNKER HILL
While on his Grand Tour in 1825, Layette helped to lay the cornerstone.
He also took home to France some soil from Bunker Hill.
Later when he died, he was buried with that soil.
Because the area is surrounded by so many modern buildings, it is difficult to imagine what the battle must have been like.
While the Redcoats occupied Boston, the patriots occupied the hill across the river in Charlestown.
General Knox decided to transport cannons from Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York over the mountains, in the snow, to set up on Bunker Hill, which he accomplished with his men.
The British woke up the next morning with cannons staring them down, so they fled the city!
Now that we had reached the end of the Freedom Trail, we returned to Boston by crossing the Charles River.
USS CONSTITUTION
Now we had more time to ooh and aah over the USS Constitution, which we didn’t realize we would see.
Since it was nearly 4pm, so we did not do the tour or museum.
Docked for reconstruction, we were perusing the huge ship from the Charles River Bridge when my eye caught sight of this flag.
It’s the one I sewed for my son as a prop when he portrayed Oliver Hazard Perry in one of our Becoming History presentations.
MIKE’S PASTRY SHOP
A friend from Boston highly recommended we grab a cannoli at Mike’s Pastry shop, which was somewhere near the Paul Revere House.
Returning to the North End from the Charles River bridge, we wondered where to go.
Well, if you walk, they will come.
Noticing someone carrying a box that read, Mike’s Pastry, I asked for directions.
Not quite remembering all the twists and turns, we had a rough idea.
Continuing along we randomly saw more of Mike’s pastry boxes carried by passersby.
The closer we got, the population density of more boxes walking the streets grew!
Walking past many empty Italian pastry shops, we found more and more people walking by with Mike’s pastry boxes.
Finally, we found a building full of people crowding the for cannolis!
Dating back to 1946, Mike’s Pastry was opened by Italian immigrants with a unique cannoli recipe.
At the age of 12, Mike arrived in America with his family from Italy.
Mike learned the pastry trade from his cousin’s pastry shop next door.
Since I don’t have any photographs of all the pastry boxes from Mike’s, the following quote from the Mike’s Pastry website supports my testimony, that I wrote above:
Mike’s has a signature white box with bright blue font tied with a string bow, which you’ll see pedestrians holding as they explore Boston and take their pastries to go. -Mike’s Pastry
Although the Mike’s infamous canolli was highly recommended to me by my friend, I was so hot that afternoon, I refreshed with some amazing Italian gelato. Yum!
I hope to return on my next trip to Boston to try that canolli!
