TODAY IS DAYLIGHT SAVINGS and JOHNNY APPLESEED DAY!

[Party Plan Girl]

Today is Daylight Savings and Johnny Appleseed Day!

From: http://grayslake.patch.com/articles/spr ... y-23347ad9

Spring Forward: Daylight Saving Time 2012 Begins Sunday

Don't forget to 'Spring Forward' this weekend.
At 2 a.m. Sunday, March 11, we'll be springing our clocks forward for daylight saving time. The bad news: we'll lose an hour of our day. The good news: sunset will be an hour later.

You may have noticed the annual tradition of daylight saving time has crept forward a bit. We used to spring forward on the first Sunday in April and fall back on last Sunday in October. But a couple years ago, Congress changed the date â?? adding more daylight saving time to the calendar. This year, it will run from March 11 until Nov. 4.
Unless you're in Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands. They don't do daylight saving time.

Around the world, about 75 countries and territories have at least one location that observes daylight saving time, according to www.TimeandDate.com. On the other hand, 164 don't observe the time change at all.

Brief History:
According to a Huffingyon Post report, Benjamin Franklin has been credited with the idea of daylight saving time, but Britain and Germany began using the concept in World War 1 to conserve energy, the Washington Post observes. The U.S. used daylight saving time for a brief time during the war, but it didn't become widely accepted in the States until after the second World War.
In 1966, the uniform time act outlined that clocks should be set forward on the last Sunday in April and set back the last Sunday in October.

That law was amended in 1986 to start daylight saving time on the first Sunday in April, though the new system wasn't implemented until 1987. The end date was not changed, however, and remained the last Sunday in October until 2006.

This year, daylight saving time begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.


From: http://cleveland.about.com/od/peopleand ... leseed.htm

Who Was Johnny Appleseed?
By Sandy Mitchell, About.com Guide

One of Ohio's most colorful--and beloved--legends is that of Johnny Appleseed, the kindly and eccentric farmer who spawned the apple industry in Northern Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, and throughout Indiana.

Johnny Appleseed was a real man, named John Chapman, and his real story is only slightly less sensational than the legend.
Early Life:

John Chapman was born in 1774, in Leominster Massachusetts, the son of a farmer and Revolutionary soldier, Nathaniel Chapman. His mother died during the war of tuberculosis. When he was a young man, Chapman's farmer apprenticed him to a local orchard, which is where he learned all about apples. When he was 18, he left Massachusetts for Western Pennsylvania.
Johnny and the Apples:

Although the popular legend has Johnny Appleseed spreading seeds throughout the Ohio Valley as a random act of generosity, the truth is that Chapman grew his apple trees for profit, albeit a slender one. His aim was to anticipate the arrival of large communities of settlers to what was, in the early 19th century, the western frontier of the United States. He'd establish a stand of one to two-year-old apple trees and sell them to the settlers for six cents a tree.
Chapman established a few bases for his operation, in Western Pennsylvania and later in Richland County Ohio. He'd travel back and forth across the Ohio Valley, planting and tending to his orchards.
Johnny Appleseed in Ohio:

Johnny Appleseed and his apple trees touched much of northern Ohio. His early efforts were based in eastern Ohio, along the Ohio River, but during his lifetime he spent much time in Columbiana, Richland, and Ashland Counties as well as Defiance County in Northwestern Ohio.
Johnny and Religion:

John Chapman ascribed to the pacifist religion of the Church of New Jerusalem. This Christian sect, based on the writings of Edward Swedenborg, promoted simple living and individualism. In keeping with these tenets, Chapman is said to have dressed in clothes made of sacks and used a cooking pot as a hat, living off of the land as he traveled. He was also one of the country's earliest vegetarians.
Death and Burial:

John Chapman died suddenly of pneumonia on March 18, 1845 at the home of a friend. He is buried just outside of Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Johnny Appleseed Today:

The life and work of Johnny Appleseed are still celebrated throughout the Midwest. During the summer months, the Johnny Appleseed Heritage Center in Ashland produces an outdoor drama about the legend of Johnny Appleseed. (this production has been suspended temporarily; the center hopes to reintroduce it in the future.)

In addition, several cities host Johnny Appleseed festivals each September. The largest of these is the festival in Fort Wayne, Indiana, near the arborist's grave. Near Cleveland, Lisbon Ohio, in Columbiana County hosts an annual festival.

Sources:
"Johnny Appleseed: a Pioneer Hero", Harpers Magazine, November, 1871
"What's the story with Johnny Appleseed" The Straight Dope, January 20, 1994
Johnny Appleseed Heritage Center Web Site, October 15, 2007
(updated 10-15-11)


From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Appleseed

Johnny Appleseed
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Johnny Appleseed (September 26, 1774 â?? March 18, 1845), born John Chapman, was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced apple trees to large parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. He became an American legend while still alive, largely because of his kind and generous ways, his great leadership in conservation, and the symbolic importance he attributed to apples.

He was also a missionary for The New Church, or Swedenborgian Church, so named because it teaches the theological doctrines contained in the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg.