A.G. Whitney home

The A.G. Whitney home

Alice Whitney promoted values of civil advocacy, philanthropy, education and social awareness. These values shaped the foundation of Alice Whitney’s character and the home her family lived in – the A.G. Whitney home. The structure of the home is built with physical materials, but the principles in which Alice Whitney lived by are not. Alice lived her life pursuing efforts that made her one of the most respected and well-known individuals in the St. Cloud area during her lifetime. Mrs. Whitney hosted many guests, from the disenfranchised African-American performers Marian Anderson and Roland Hayes, to the most influential first lady of the era – Eleanor Roosevelt. The impact of Mrs. Whitney’s hospitality resonates through the walls of the A.G. Whitney home and left a lasting impression on her character to central Minnesota.

The A.G. Whitney home is an impressive structure. The beautiful brick exterior presents the colonial-style architecture of the home. The exterior bricks are built of hollow tile veneered with Oriental autumn leaf brick. Shuttered windows surround the external walls of the home, meanwhile a small classical portico with columns and entablature detail the entrance of the Whitney residence. The colonial design of the A.G. Whitney home resembles the Georgian mansions of Tidewater, Virginia – the Georgian Revival style. The house covers a surface area of 80 by 57 feet and was worth $30,000 in that time period. As a guest would enter through the front door of the A.G. Whitney home, inside they would find high ceilings, a large staircase for family members and guests and many large walls. These old, mansion walls have stories to tell.

Stories begin with the guests that stayed at the A.G. Whitney house while they were performing in the St. Cloud area, promoting a cause or simply looking for a place to stay for the evening. Mrs. Whitney was a hospitable woman who did not let prejudices and racial stereotypes waiver her welcoming spirit. The African-American vocal performers, Marian Anderson and Roland Hayes were the first famous guests to stay at the A.G. Whitney home. Both individuals were not allowed to stay at any of the hotels in St. Cloud during the time period due to their ethnicity. Consequently, Mrs. Whitney learned of their denial from the local hotels and offered up her home to the performers. While many criticized her actions for supporting racial integration, Alice paid them no mind. She judged people by the content of their character and not by what skin color they were. She welcomed each guest with open arms and made sure their stay in St. Cloud,Minnesota, was exceptional.

Marian Anderson and Roland Hayes were well known vocal performers of the time period and guests to the A.G. Whitney home; however, they were not the only famous people to stay at the house. Another prominent and inspiring visitor to the A.G. Whitney home was Eleanor Roosevelt. Eleanor visited St. Cloud, Minnesota, to promote education and stayed at the A.G. Whitney residence. Eleanor and Alice had similar interests; they both had a vision for strong, quality education. Like Eleanor, Mrs. Whitney was involved in many clubs, societies and causes which promoted civil advocacy, philanthropy, education and social awareness. On the national level, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was a strong advocate for human rights and promoted her causes through public awareness and philanthropic efforts. The striking resemblance between these two strong woman figures of this time is remarkable. Both women had a strong willpower and were driven to make a difference throughout their lives.

As I toured the A.G. Whitney home, I tried to imagine the dialogue between Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt and Mrs. Alice Whitney. This beautiful home in central Minnesota hosted two powerful women of the time period who shared similar interests in civil advocacy, philanthropy, education and social awareness. Each woman had a great vision for a better nation and most likely shared that vision with each other during their time together. When I stepped foot on the front steps of the entrance to the A.G. Whitney home, I was caught in a historical moment. I closed my eyes to picture the very steps that First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt once stood on – the thought of sharing steps with one of the most influential woman in history was empowering. Eleanor Roosevelt was a model citizen with strong character. She fostered ideas that were essential to living a life of dignity and respect. During the time period, many people believed in her as much as she believed in herself and the causes she promoted.

The A.G. Whitney home was structured on the strong personal values of Mrs. Whitney and her family. Although the magnificent architecture established the A.G. Whitney residence as one of the most beautiful places in St. Cloud at the time, the external beauty does not resonate as well as the old walls of the home. The old walls have stories to tell of popular guests, social awareness and racial tolerance. Mrs. Whitney was always interested in civic and church affairs and put her heart and soul into each cause. Alice believed in the city and people of St. Cloud and gave her loyalty and devoted service to the city through her philanthropic efforts. Mrs. Whitney possessed an amazing vigor in her personality which is hard to emulate. The A.G. Whitney home stands today because of the strong material foundation that supported it over the years; Mrs. Whitney remains a legacy today for the principles she promoted and followed throughout her life.

Personal Narrative Revisited

The tree house sits atop the large willow tree in the backyard. When the tree was full grown and healthy, its branches would hang to the ground and cover a vast area in the southwest corner of my large backyard. Once the tree house was built, it slowly started to weaken the vibrant tree. Soon thereafter, the tree house depreciated as the tree lost its strength. This tree house was one memorable aspect of my childhood, a place to have fun away from everyone else – a secret place.

My childhood consisted of much more than the secret place. It was filled with many adventures, which took place on the family farm in rural Iowa. I loved the farm life. I helped my Dad with chores, I enjoyed the freedom the farm offered, I enjoyed the activities played with my brother and sisters and I enjoyed the opportunity to learn from the outdoors – not in front of the television. I spent a majority of my childhood in the large green space in my backyard. I would consider this space my power spot. This power spot was a special place where everyone would gather to play sports and have a good time.

The large backyard provided expansive recreation area. Each side of the ‘playing field’ consisted of giant ash trees. These trees lined the field and took on the role of out of bounds lines if the game required them. Most of the time, my large backyard was used for games of football, softball or baseball. More frequently, softball and baseball were played. My sisters and I spent hours on the field working on our games: fielding, base-running, pitching and batting. We helped each other become better ball players and continue to love the game today. I recognize the large backyard as the power spot, but it was also my favorite place. Without the many pick-up baseball and softball games or the competitive touch football matches on crisp, autumn days, this place would not be my favorite. A favorite place is considered the enjoyable and stress relieving location – my huge backyard was that location.

The hog buildings on the farm offered a different perspective of farm life. Often times, I helped my Dad with farm chores. My duties consisted of feeding the sows in the gestation buildings, looking for new baby piglets and helping Dad with the breeding process. While it sounds like mundane work, it was never a dull moment and was always something different every day. The best part about being a farmer with my Dad was that he let me work alongside him. He knows farming is hard-work and he taught me the importance of it at a young age. Ever since my days on the farm, I have always fostered the idea of hard-work in anything that I am involved in, from schoolwork to sports to music. With the hard-work that depicted the hog buildings, there was also danger and this was considered the danger spot on the farm. Being around large animals and working close to manure pits was dangerous. My Dad kept a close eye on me while I helped him outside and never let me be in a building by myself until I was older. Regardless of the depiction as the danger spot on the farm, the hog buildings also symbolize the successfulness of the farm. When every integral part of the hog building is running smoothly, then the farm is successful.

Lastly, my farm had a place where something happened. This location was the machine shed. Year round farm machinery is used for a variety of tasks. During planting season, the tractors and implements are used to plant the crop and apply fertilizer to the fields. At harvest time, the combine collects the grain then the truck hauls the grain to the grain elevator or the holding bins. Regularly, the machine shed was used to repair or maintenance equipment. Throughout the year, my Dad spent a great deal of time in the machine shed repairing anything from cars to tractors. He also did a lot of welding and woodworking projects in the machine shed. I consider this location to be the place where something happened because it is an accurate illustration. I, also, spent many hours in the machine shed working on random projects or helping my father. I see the machine shed as the epitome of hard-work. A hard-working individual toils in the machine shed to make sure all of the equipment used on the farm is in proper working order.

When a person reflects on a personal experience or special location in their life, it easily becomes a topic of many words. When I reminisced about my family farm in a personal narrative, I found it very nostalgic as I thought of the many things I did on my farm and what each place meant to me. Without the large green space in my backyard, the tree house, the hog buildings or the machine shed, my farm life would not be the same. These locations helped shape my childhood as each place had a different impact on my life. I vividly recall the ‘secret’ tree house in the corner of my backyard. It provided a place to have fun away from everyone else. Although the structure remained standing for a short while, the memories of the tree house and the other places on the farm will remain standing for a lifetime.

Persuasive Essay: Volunteering

Volunteering is a fulfilling experience. Many people do not take the opportunity to pursue volunteer pursuits for a variety of reasons. In fact, for most people, it is a time-consuming endeavor. Personally, I began my volunteer experience while I was a high school student as a reading tutor for elementary students. Ever since that first volunteering experience, I pursued any volunteer opportunity available to me – from helping Somalian students with homework to being a Big Brother to a fourth grade student. So why should we volunteer? Why should we involve ourselves in an experience that does not have any financial value, is time-consuming and the motives are generally negative and wrong? The answer is clear: We should volunteer to support the general welfare of our communities and world.

First, we should volunteer so we can garner the benefits through community involvement. Volunteering is not just a fulfilling experience - it is a chance for an individual to be a part of their community. Community involvement is a great way to build a resume and volunteer positions can be a great form of on-the-job training. Many skills can be obtained through the wide variety of volunteer opportunities available. Another positive to volunteering is the chance to learn about the diverse communities in our society. Tolerance is bred through understanding. When we understand the different cultures in the communities around us, then we are able to accept the differences between us. Also, a volunteer can bring their personal skills and enthusiasm to community sites, which in turn will positively impact other lives, as well as their own. However, some communities do not offer the unique diversity setting as a volunteering option; therefore a person must look to other positive qualities to volunteering.

Another positive of volunteer work is the enhancement of education and development of a career network. One of the best ways to learn is through experience; as a result, volunteering is a great way to enhance skills. There is no better way to gain knowledge than to work at an organization hand-picked to fit personal needs and interests. Many educational experiences cannot be taught in a classroom. Additionally, a career network can be established through volunteering. Networking is an incredibly important part of searching for jobs and building careers. Community involvement is one of the best ways to make connections and foster relationships that do just that. Not only will a network be formed, many people who volunteer at an organization are offered permanent positions. If the volunteer is a student who recently graduated from college, this is an excellent way to start a career. However, if the lack of pay is a drawback; consider one more thing – variety.

The variety of volunteer opportunities is endless. Volunteering can range from reading to non-English speaking children to building houses for the poor and disenfranchised. Natural disasters create many volunteer experiences in which an individual can travel to remote locations in order to clean up after a disaster, meanwhile creating relationships with a variety of people. Long-lasting friendships are created through volunteering because each person values their rewarding work. Volunteers are surrounded with like-minded people and see the positive change they are making on their society and world. Although volunteering is not a paid position; it is evident that many life skills are gained from volunteering which wealth cannot provide.

Yes, work without pay can be a hard thing to do. However, the experiences gained from volunteering should off-set that disadvantage. From community involvement to development of a career network, it is clear that volunteering is a fulfilling experience. Creating long-lasting friendships, traveling to remote locations and seeing the fruits of your labor are additional reasons why volunteering is something to consider. The volunteer opportunites are endless as long as the personal motives are positive and good. As Mahatma Gandhi said: "Be the change you want to see in the world” – be that change.

Writing Process

My writing process is that of a fine wine, it gets better with age.

The unity, clarity and depth of my writing have improved each year. When I was little, I started with a main idea and used that idea to create a story. Often times, my stories would contain a lot of words, but not a sense of clarity or cohesiveness. My tendency was to ramble on about many different ideas that pertained to the main idea; however, my writing barely scratched the surface on successfully conveying the main idea to my audience. As I grew older, the main idea became clearer, but still needed work.

I view my writing process through this metaphor because it paints an accurate picture of my “writing journey”. Looking back at previous writing endeavors through free time and for class, I can see my writing becoming better with age. My writing journey evolved from a style of poor mechanics and incoherent sentence forming to a style that thrives because the efficiency of my writing is apparent and the mechanics are improved. However, my journey has just begun. Writers begin their campaigns at different stages. Some writers are naturally gifted, while others need time and practice to perfect their craft. I see my craft taking shape and getting better every day; much like a fine wine gets better with age.