tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68887353887091447752024-03-05T08:49:17.381-08:00Remember When...Remember ThenRemembering the good times...LADYHIGHTOWERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312545935427615347noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888735388709144775.post-5122553754880666192011-03-17T11:32:00.000-07:002015-09-25T16:53:06.932-07:00St. Patrick's Day-Why Green?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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LADYHIGHTOWERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312545935427615347noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888735388709144775.post-87609669082787391812011-03-05T17:59:00.000-08:002011-03-05T17:59:02.144-08:00This Day in History: Hula-Hoop Patented!<div align="center">1963 : Hula-Hoop patented</div><div align="center"><br />
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</div><div align="center">On this day in 1963, the Hula-Hoop, a hip-swiveling toy that became a huge fad across America when it was first marketed by Wham-O in 1958, is patented by the company's co-founder, Arthur "Spud" Melin. An estimated 25 million Hula-Hoops were sold in its first four months of production alone. </div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">In 1948, friends Arthur Melin and Richard Knerr founded a company in California to sell a slingshot they created to shoot meat up to falcons they used for hunting. The company's name, Wham-O, came from the sound the slingshots supposedly made. Wham-O eventually branched out from slingshots, selling boomerangs and other sporting goods. Its first hit toy, a flying plastic disc known as the Frisbee, debuted in 1957. The Frisbee was originally marketed under a different name, the Pluto Platter, in an effort to capitalize on America's fascination with UFOs. </div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">Melina and Knerr were inspired to develop the Hula-Hoop after they saw a wooden hoop that Australian children twirled around their waists during gym class. Wham-O began producing a plastic version of the hoop, dubbed "Hula" after the hip-gyrating Hawaiian dance of the same name, and demonstrating it on Southern California playgrounds. Hula-Hoop mania took off from there. </div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">The enormous popularity of the Hula-Hoop was short-lived and within a matter of months, the masses were on to the next big thing. However, the Hula-Hoop never faded away completely and still has its fans today. According to Ripley's Believe It or Not, in April 2004, a performer at the Big Apple Circus in Boston simultaneously spun 100 hoops around her body. Earlier that same year, in January, according to the Guinness World Records, two people in Tokyo, Japan, managed to spin the world's largest hoop--at 13 feet, 4 inches--around their waists at least three times each. </div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">Following the Hula-Hoop, Wham-O continued to produce a steady stream of wacky and beloved novelty items, including the Superball, Water Wiggle, Silly String, Slip 'n' Slide and the Hacky Sack.</div>LADYHIGHTOWERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312545935427615347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888735388709144775.post-75030016760848058762011-02-23T11:01:00.000-08:002011-02-23T11:01:36.052-08:00This Day In History-Guthrie Writes "This Land is Your Land"<div align="center">Guthrie Writes "This Land is Your Land"</div><div align="center"><br />
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</div><div align="center">Folk singer Woody Guthrie writes one of his best-known songs, "This Land is Your Land."</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">Born in Okemah, Oklahoma, in 1912, Guthrie lived and wrote of the real West, a place of hard-working people and harsh environments rather than romantic cowboys and explorers. Though he was a son of a successful politician and businessman, during his early teens his mother fell ill and the family split apart. For several years, Guthrie spent his summers working as a migrant agricultural laborer. When he was 15, he left home to travel the country by freight train. Among his meager possessions were a guitar and harmonica. Guthrie discovered an eager audience among the hobos and migrant workers for the country-folk songs he had learned in Oklahoma.</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">In 1937, he traveled to California where he hoped to become a successful western singer. He appeared on several West Coast radio shows, mostly performing traditional folk songs. Soon, though, he began to perform his own pieces based on his experiences living among the vast armies of the poor and dispossessed created by the Great Depression. While in California he also came into contact with the Communist Party and became increasingly sympathetic to its causes. Many of his songs reflected a strong commitment to the common working people, and he became something of a musical spokesman for populist sentiments.</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">"This Land is Your Land," reflected not only Guthrie's support for the common folk, but also his deep love for his country. The verse celebrated the beauty and grandeur of America while the chorus drove home the populist sentiment that the nation belonged to all the people, not merely the rich and powerful. Probably the most famous of his more than 1,000 songs, "This Land is Your Land" was also one of his last. Later that year Guthrie moved to New York where his career was soon after interrupted by World War II. After serving in the Merchant Marines, he returned to New York, where he continued to perform and record his old material, but he never matched his earlier prolific output.</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">Guthrie's career was cut short in 1954, when he was struck with Huntington's Disease, a degenerative illness of the nervous system that had killed his mother. His later years were spent in a New York hospital where he received visitors like the adoring young Bob Dylan, who copied much of his early style from Guthrie. Guthrie died in 1967, having lived long enough to see his music inspire a whole new generation and "This Land is Your Land" become a rallying song for the Civil Rights movement.</div><div align="center"><br />
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LADYHIGHTOWERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312545935427615347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888735388709144775.post-64297436901537306362011-02-04T07:43:00.000-08:002011-02-04T07:43:26.131-08:00Feb. 4, 1974: Patty Hearst Kidnapped!<div align="center">February 4, 1974 : Patty Hearst Kidnapped</div><div align="center"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">On February 4, 1974, Patty Hearst, the 19-year-old daughter of newspaper publisher Randolph Hearst, is kidnapped from her apartment in Berkeley, California, by two black men and a white woman, all three of whom are armed. Her fiance, Stephen Weed, was beaten and tied up along with a neighbor who tried to help. Witnesses reported seeing a struggling Hearst being carried away blindfolded, and she was put in the trunk of a car. Neighbors who came out into the street were forced to take cover after the kidnappers fired their guns to cover their escape.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Three days later, the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), a small U.S. leftist group, announced in a letter to a Berkeley radio station that it was holding Hearst as a "prisoner of war." Four days later, the SLA demanded that the Hearst family give $70 in foodstuffs to every needy person from Santa Rosa to Los Angeles. This done, said the SLA, negotiation would begin for the return of Patricia Hearst. Randolph Hearst hesitantly gave away some $2 million worth of food. The SLA then called this inadequate and asked for $6 million more. The Hearst Corporation said it would donate the additional sum if the girl was released unharmed.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.famouspictures.org/mag/images/0/02/PattyHearstRobsBank.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="320" src="http://www.famouspictures.org/mag/images/0/02/PattyHearstRobsBank.jpg" width="252" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">In April, however, the situation changed dramatically when a surveillance camera took a photo of Hearst participating in an armed robbery of a San Francisco bank, and she was also spotted during a robbery of a Los Angeles store. She later declared, in a tape sent to the authorities, that she had joined the SLA of her own free will.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">On May 17, Los Angeles police raided the SLA's secret headquarters, killing six of the group's nine known members. Among the dead was the SLA's leader, Donald DeFreeze, an African American ex-convict who called himself General Field Marshal Cinque. Patty Hearst and two other SLA members wanted for the April bank robbery were not on the premises. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtxeHP02awWk3bD2ptuDIjve5gcVf18ITkPI6UOgGwUm4NooKHr-E1DhItEjBDMM6zNLd-92LrpqNACgFDs-4ZYXW7Pfp_-J2ZlIwudjMBLXJV3LRL0QiKgzWK2MQ-5WnFpYX2xMCsBOQ/s1600/pattyhearsteyes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtxeHP02awWk3bD2ptuDIjve5gcVf18ITkPI6UOgGwUm4NooKHr-E1DhItEjBDMM6zNLd-92LrpqNACgFDs-4ZYXW7Pfp_-J2ZlIwudjMBLXJV3LRL0QiKgzWK2MQ-5WnFpYX2xMCsBOQ/s320/pattyhearsteyes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Finally, on September 18, 1975, after crisscrossing the country with her captors--or conspirators--for more than a year, Hearst, or "Tania" as she called herself, was captured in a San Francisco apartment and arrested for armed robbery. Despite her claim that she had been brainwashed by the SLA, she was convicted on March 20, 1976, and sentenced to seven years in prison. She served 21 months before her sentence was commuted by President Carter. After leaving prison, she returned to a more routine existence and later married her bodyguard. She was pardoned by President Clinton in January 2001. </div><br />
LADYHIGHTOWERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312545935427615347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888735388709144775.post-42798445265411682042010-12-30T13:29:00.000-08:002015-09-25T16:50:25.824-07:00A Christmas Truce 1914<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<strong><span style="font-size: medium;">A cross, left near Ypres in Belgium in 1999, to commemorate the site of the Christmas Truce in 1914. The text reads: “1914 The Khaki Chum’s Christmas Truce 1999 85 Years Lest We Forget.”</span></strong></div>
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Dec. 25, 1914 </div>
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<strong><em><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">The Christmas Truce</span></em></strong></div>
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The following story (and variants thereof) are being sent via email to people the world over. It may sound like an urban legend but according to Snopes and other reliable sources, it is absolutely true. From Snopes: </div>
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“SILENT NIGHT, HOLY NIGHT”</div>
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During World War I, in the winter of 1914, on the battlefields of Flanders, one of the most unusual events in all of human history took place. The Germans had been in a fierce battle with the British and French. Both sides were dug in, safe in muddy, man-made trenches six to eight feet deep that seemed to stretch forever. </div>
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All of a sudden, German troops began to put small Christmas trees, lit with candles, outside of their trenches. Then, they began to sing songs. Across the way, in the “no man’s land” between them, came songs from the British and French troops. Incredibly, many of the Germans, who had worked in England before the war, were able to speak good enough English to propose a “Christmas” truce. </div>
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The British and French troops, all along the miles of trenches, accepted. In a few places, allied troops fired at the Germans as they climbed out of their trenches. But the Germans were persistent and Christmas would be celebrated even under the threat of impending death. </div>
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According to Stanley Weintraub, who wrote about this event in his book, Silent Night, “signboards arose up and down the trenches in a variety of shapes. They were usually in English, or – from the Germans – in fractured English. Rightly, the Germans assumed that the other side could not read traditional gothic lettering, and that few English understood spoken German. ‘YOU NO FIGHT, WE NO FIGHT’ was the most frequently employed German message. Some British units improvised ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS’ banners and waited for a response. More placards on both sides popped up.” </div>
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A spontaneous truce resulted. Soldiers left their trenches, meeting in the middle to shake hands. The first order of business was to bury the dead who had been previously unreachable because of the conflict. </div>
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Then, they exchanged gifts. Chocolate cake, cognac, postcards, newspapers, tobacco. In a few places, along the trenches, soldiers exchanged rifles for soccer balls and began to play games. </div>
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It didn’t last forever. In fact, some of the generals didn’t like it at all and commanded their troops to resume shooting at each other. After all, they were in a war. Soldiers eventually did resume shooting at each other. But only after, in a number of cases, a few days of wasting rounds of ammunition shooting at stars in the sky instead of soldiers in the opposing army across the field. </div>
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For a few precious moments there was peace on earth good will toward men. All because the focus was on Christmas. Happens every time. There’s something about Christmas that changes people. It happened over 2000 years ago in a little town called Bethlehem. It’s been happening over and over again down through the years of time. God willing, it will happen again...</div>
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Just after midnight on Christmas morning, the majority of German troops engaged in World War I cease firing their guns and artillery and commence to sing Christmas carols. At certain points along the eastern and western fronts, the soldiers of Russia, France, and Britain even heard brass bands joining the Germans in their joyous singing. </div>
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At the first light of dawn, many of the German soldiers emerged from their trenches and approached the Allied lines across no-man's-land, calling out "Merry Christmas" in their enemies' native tongues. At first, the Allied soldiers feared it was a trick, but seeing the Germans unarmed they climbed out of their trenches and shook hands with the enemy soldiers. The men exchanged presents of cigarettes and plum puddings and sang carols and songs. There was even a documented case of soldiers from opposing sides playing a good-natured game of soccer.</div>
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The so-called Christmas Truce of 1914 came only five months after the outbreak of war in Europe and was one of the last examples of the outdated notion of chivalry between enemies in warfare. In 1915, the bloody conflict of World War I erupted in all its technological fury, and the concept of another Christmas Truce became unthinkable. </div>
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LADYHIGHTOWERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312545935427615347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888735388709144775.post-79369819817558178532010-11-27T13:56:00.000-08:002010-11-27T13:56:44.872-08:00Thanksgiving!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://emailupdates.history.com/History/history-news/thanks-header-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="http://emailupdates.history.com/History/history-news/thanks-header-5.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-size: large;">The History of Thanksgiving</span></em></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Early Puritans observed Thanksgiving days of prayer, but Sarah Josepha Hale's, the author of <em>Mary Had a Little Lamb</em>, crusade for a national day of thanks is what ultimately gave us Thanksgiving. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-size: large;">The Pilgrim's Menu</span></em></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Foods That May Have Been on the Menu</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Seafood: Cod, Eel, Clams, Lobster Wild Fowl: Wild Turkey, Goose, Duck, Crane, Swan, Partridge, Eagles Meat: Venison, Seal Grain: Wheat Flour, Indian Corn Vegetables: Pumpkin, Peas, Beans, Onions, Lettuce, Radishes, Carrots Fruit: Plums, Grapes Nuts: Walnuts, Chestnuts, Acorns Herbs and Seasonings: Olive Oil, Liverwort, Leeks, Dried Currants, Parsnips</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">What Was Not on the Menu</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Surprisingly, the following foods, all considered staples of the modern Thanksgiving meal, didn't appear on the pilgrims's first feast table:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Ham: There is no evidence that the colonists had butchered a pig by this time, though they had brought pigs with them from England. Sweet Potatoes/Potatoes: These were not common. Corn on the Cob: Corn was kept dried out at this time of year. Cranberry Sauce: The colonists had cranberries but no sugar at this time. Pumpkin Pie: It's not a recipe that exists at this point, though the pilgrims had recipes for stewed pumpkin. Chicken/Eggs: We know that the colonists brought hens with them from England, but it's unknown how many they had left at this point or whether the hens were still laying. Milk: No cows had been aboard the Mayflower, though it's possible that the colonists used goat milk to make cheese.</div><br />
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</div><div align="center">Thanks to History.Com</div>LADYHIGHTOWERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312545935427615347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888735388709144775.post-40886015228773984852010-10-24T14:44:00.000-07:002010-10-24T14:44:11.552-07:00This Day In History-Over Niagra Falls In A Barrel!<div align="center">October 24:</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtiDOLoWe_APYhz4P2YXZLh52Y__coTv5WK7mx9QDutZcFjfHxzB-NBJvhjqVGuGUWh8OhYu0C0k_l9wr92dFgMX2zYWhBs78OxONqt0XmSJmsQd_7Be-HpVTvZHYWp7TI5B_v8LB0s8/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtiDOLoWe_APYhz4P2YXZLh52Y__coTv5WK7mx9QDutZcFjfHxzB-NBJvhjqVGuGUWh8OhYu0C0k_l9wr92dFgMX2zYWhBs78OxONqt0XmSJmsQd_7Be-HpVTvZHYWp7TI5B_v8LB0s8/s320/images.jpg" width="264" /></a></div><div align="center">1901, First Barrel Ride Down Niagara Falls</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">On this day in 1901, a 63-year-old schoolteacher named Annie Edson Taylor becomes the first person to take the plunge over Niagara Falls in a barrel. </div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">After her husband died in the Civil War, the New York-born Taylor moved all over the U. S. before settling in Bay City, Michigan, around 1898. In July 1901, while reading an article about the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, she learned of the growing popularity of two enormous waterfalls located on the border of upstate New York and Canada. Strapped for cash and seeking fame, Taylor came up with the perfect attention-getting stunt: She would go over Niagara Falls in a barrel.</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">Taylor was not the first person to attempt the plunge over the famous falls. In October 1829, Sam Patch, known as the Yankee Leaper, survived jumping down the 175-foot Horseshoe Falls of the Niagara River, on the Canadian side of the border. More than 70 years later, Taylor chose to take the ride on her birthday, October 24. (She claimed she was in her 40s, but genealogical records later showed she was 63.) With the help of two assistants, Taylor strapped herself into a leather harness inside an old wooden pickle barrel five feet high and three feet in diameter. With cushions lining the barrel to break her fall, Taylor was towed by a small boat into the middle of the fast-flowing Niagara River and cut loose.</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">The first barrel trip over the Falls was made by Annie Edson Taylor, a school teacher from Bay City Michigan, on October 4, 1901. Annie's barrel was curiously constructed, tapered almost to a point at the bottom and bound with metal hoops. It was padded with pillows and had a 45.4 kg (100 lb.) anvil in its bottom to keep it upright as it floated downriver.</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">It had an air supply, "enough to last her a week", forced into the barrel with a common bicycle pump after the barrel's lid was closed. To ensure that the barrel would float down the river and over the Horseshoe Falls, it had to be set adrift in the Canadian current. It would have been impossible for Canadian authorities to stop her trip even if they had wanted to, because Annie's handlers towed the barrel from Grass Island on the United States side and into the Canadian current where it was set adrift at 4:05 p.m. Knocked violently from side to side by the rapids and then propelled over the edge of Horseshoe Falls, the barrel tipped slightly forward as it went over the brink of the Horseshoe Falls and disappeared behind the curtain of falling water. Seventeen minutes later it floated out from behind the Falls and was stranded on the rocks close to the location of the present day Table Rock Observation Platform. The barrel was opened and Annie Taylor emerged, delirious and with a slight cut on her jaw. </div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">Taylor reached the shore alive, if a bit battered, around 20 minutes after her journey began. She made the trip in an attempt to achieve fame and fortune. Taylor's fame cooled, and she was unable to make the fortune for which she had hoped. but achieved neither in her lifetime. She died in the poorhouse twenty years later. After a brief flurry of photo-ops and speaking engagements, she did, however, inspire a number of copy-cat daredevils. Between 1901 and 1995, 15 people went over the falls; 10 of them survived. Among those who died were Jesse Sharp, who took the plunge in a kayak in 1990, and Robert Overcracker, who used a jet ski in 1995. No matter the method, going over Niagara Falls is illegal, and survivors face charges and stiff fines on either side of the border. </div><br />
LADYHIGHTOWERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312545935427615347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888735388709144775.post-69328443906041162972010-10-06T10:30:00.000-07:002010-10-06T10:30:33.837-07:00This Day in History:Kennedy Urges Americans to Build Bomb Shelters-Oct. 6,1961<div align="center">Oct 6, 1961: </div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">President John F. Kennedy, speaking on civil defense, advises American families to build bomb shelters to protect them from atomic fallout in the event of a nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union. Kennedy also assured the public that the U.S. civil defense program would soon begin providing such protection for every American. Only one year later, true to Kennedy's fears, the world hovered on the brink of full-scale nuclear war when the Cuban Missile Crisis erupted over the USSR's placement of nuclear missiles in Cuba. During the tense 13-day crisis, some Americans prepared for nuclear war by buying up canned goods and completing last-minute work on their backyard bomb shelters.</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">On this day in 1961, President John F. Kennedy advised U.S. families to build bomb shelters to protect themselves from atomic fallout in the event of a nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union. In a speech on civil defense issues, Kennedy assured the public that the government would soon begin providing such protection for every American. </div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">Kennedy told Congress on May 25, on the eve of his Vienna meeting with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, that his “administration has been looking hard at exactly what civil defense can and cannot do. It cannot be obtained cheaply. It cannot give an assurance of blast protection that will be proof against surprise attack or guaranteed against obsolescence or destruction. And it cannot deter a nuclear attack.” </div><div align="center">Then, on July 25, after the Soviets imposed a blockade on West Berlin, JFK said in a nationwide televised speech that “in the event of an attack, the lives of those families which are not hit in a nuclear blast and fire can still be saved if they can be warned to take shelter and if that shelter is available.” </div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">The president went on say: “We owe that kind of insurance to our families and to our country. ... The time to start is now. In the coming months, I hope to let every citizen know what steps he can take without delay to protect his family in case of attack. I know you would not want to do less.” </div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">In the aftermath of Kennedy’s speech, Congress voted for $169 million to locate, mark and stock fallout shelters in existing public and private buildings. A year later, with the advent of the 13-day Cuban Missile Crisis, some Americans prepared for nuclear war by hoarding canned goods and completing last-minute work on their backyard bomb shelters.</div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TKywaDDe1tI/AAAAAAAAHaM/VD2Zy5He9L4/s1600/091005_fallout_ap_223.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TKywaDDe1tI/AAAAAAAAHaM/VD2Zy5He9L4/s1600/091005_fallout_ap_223.jpg" /></a></div><div align="center">Visitors to the California State Fair in Sacramento, Sept. 8, 1961, took a close look at this 3,000 demonstration fallout shelter. </div><div align="center">AP Photo </div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">This is what we were supposed to be sheltered from...</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TKyyFQf09hI/AAAAAAAAHaQ/Vn3i-ybmpxc/s1600/mushroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="233" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TKyyFQf09hI/AAAAAAAAHaQ/Vn3i-ybmpxc/s320/mushroom.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">Thanks to <a href="http://politico.com/">Politico.com</a></div><div align="center"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>LADYHIGHTOWERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312545935427615347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888735388709144775.post-21664025312369970452010-09-24T08:29:00.001-07:002010-09-24T08:29:20.752-07:00Today In History! The Bullwinkle Show! Remember?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://photobucket.com/images/bullwinkle" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Bullwinkle Pictures, Images and Photos" border="0" src="http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u93/rikkitikki1/bullwinkle.gif" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1961 - "The Bullwinkle Show" premiered in prime time on NBC-TV. The show was originally on ABC in the afternoon as "Rocky and His Friends." </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: cyan;">Show Summary</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Bullwinkle Show is a funny animated cartoon about a dimwitted moose (Bullwinkle) and his spunky flying squrriel friend (Rocky) getting in and out of adventures and foiling the plans of their archenemies (Boris and Natasha). Rocky is the smarter of the two. He likes to fly in the air and cook… More salami soufflé. Bullwinkle isn't the brightest star in the sky, he likes to hang out with his buddy Rocky. Boris is the short bad guy with the black suit and is the one with the "brains." Natasha is a tall skiny dark haired lady that assists in Boris's evil scheme. Both are sent to do evil plots by their boss, Fearless Leader. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> First airing on ABC in 1959 with Rocky and Bullwinkle, the show was called "Rocky and his Friends". At that time, the show was in black and white. Later in 1961, the show moved to NBC with Bullwinkle's popularity, the show was renamed "The Bullwinkle Show". Then, the show began to run in color. The show would always air with a Bullwinkle segment, the "Fractured Fairy Tales" then "Mr. Know-it-All", "Peabody's Inprobabale History" Another Bullwinkle segment and finally "Bullwinkle's Corner".</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"Hello poetry lovers" One of segments on the Bullwinkle Show...Bullwinkle's Corner Bullwinkle always tries to recite a famous poem, but stuff always happens: Boris wrecks the poem, Rocky doesn't do his part right, or it's just plain Bullwinkle's fault!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> Rocky and Bullwinkle have been on TV for more than 40 years throughout various syndication. The show started in black and white called Rocky and His Friends, then went to color called The Bullwinkle Show. TV-G</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: cyan;">Characters</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Rocket J. "Rocky" Squirrel</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> One of the main stars of the show. Rocky is just an all-american flying squrriel who wears a blue aviator's helmets.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Bullwinkle J. Moose</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> The Main Moose. Bullwinkle is a dimwitted moose who always goes anywhere without little buddy (Rocky). He and Rocky live in a little town of Frostbite Falls, Minnesota.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Narrator</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The guy who lets ya' know what's going on. When narrating, he uses awful puns or confused words that makes you wanna laugh or wanna make Rocky, Bullwinkle, and everyone else get sore.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Boris Badenov</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A Pottsyvainaian spy who is always wanting to "kill moose and squirrel" with his parter, Natasha.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Natasha Fatale</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Boris's partner in crime. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Fearless Leader</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> Boris and Natasha's boss and the one who comes up with the plans to defeat Rocky and Bullwinkle. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mr. Big</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A midget villain who wanted Bullwinkle's upsidasium. Then was sent to the moon, where he made metal munching mice to destroy American TV. He appears in "Upsidasium" and "Metal-Munching Mice".</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Captain Peter Wrongway Peachfuzz</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">One of Rocky and Bullwinkle's friends. His fullname is Wrongway Peachfuzz and no wonder because he does everything the wrong way. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Gidney and Cloyd Moonman</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> The moonmen duo and Rocky and Bullwinkle's friends. Gidney is the one with the moustache and Cloyd is the one with the scrootch-gun. They appeared in "Jet Fuel Formula" and "Metal-Munching Mice".</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Chaunzy and Edgar</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Two old timers that are frequently seen in the show. Usually you see them saying "Well there's something you don't see everyday Chauntzy" "What's that Edgar?"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Uncle Dewlap</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Bullwinkle's dead uncle who was twice removed, once for vagrancy, and the other for loitering.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Fairy </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">She introduced Fratured Fairy Tales and is always getting squished by the fairy tale book.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Edward Everett Horton</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The guy who let's you know what's going on in Fractured Fairy Tales.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mr. Peabody</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A Genius dog who can go back in time with his "WAYBAC" machine.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">SHERMAN</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">An orphan boy that Mr. Peabody adopted.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: cyan;">Other Minor Characters</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Dudley Do-Right</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> A mixed-up Canadian mounty who is "always there to save the day". He appears in Upsidasium, Buried Treasure and The Last Angry Moose.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Nell Fenwick</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> Dudley's vision of lovelyness. Nell is the daughter of Ispector Fenwick. She appears in Upsidasium, Buried Treasure and The Last Angry Moose.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Inspector Nathaniel Fenwick</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Inspector of the R.C.M.P. (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) and Dudley's role model. He appears in Upsidasium, Buried Treasure and The Last Angry Moose.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Horse</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> Dudley's horse that Nell love. He appears in Upsidasium, Buried Treasure and The Last Angry Moose.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Snidley K. Whiplash</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Dudley's archenemy and Nell's secret admirer. He appears in Upsidasium, Buried Treasure and The Last Angry Moose.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Aesop</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">An ancient Greek fableteller and alway's had a moral. He appears in Upsidasium, Metal-Munching Mice, Greenpernt Oogle, Rue Britannia, Buried Treasure, The Last Angry Moose, and Wailing Whale.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Junior</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Aesops's son. He appears in Upsidasium, Metal-Munching Mice, Greenpernt Oogle, Rue Britannia, Buried Treasure, The Last Angry Moose, and Wailing Whale.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: cyan;">History</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Rocky and Bullwinkle was originally to be part of the "Frostbite-Falls Revue." It was about a group of forest animals running a TV station. The group included Rocket J. Squirrel, Oski Bear, Canadian Moose (Bullwinkle), Sylvester Fox, Blackstone Crow, and Floral Fauna. The show was created by Jay Ward's former partner Alex Anderson, but it never sold.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: cyan;">Airing Format</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">From seasons 1-2 were formated as one Bullwinkle and Rocky cartoon, then a Fractured Fairy Tale (or Aesop and Son), Mr. Know-it-All, then Peabody (or Dudley Do-Right), another Bullwinkle and Rocky cartoon, and finally Bullwinkle's Corner. Season 1 and 2was in black and white, although, some syndicated stations play the colorized season 1 episodes, but NO ONE plays the black and white season 2 episodes.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">From season 3-5 were formated as one Bullwinkle and Rocky cartoon, Mr. Know-it-All, then a Fractured Fairy Tale, another Bullwinkle and Rocky cartoon, and finally Bullwinkle's Corner, and one last B&R cartoon.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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LADYHIGHTOWERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312545935427615347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888735388709144775.post-12250121597637125832010-09-24T07:17:00.000-07:002010-09-24T11:23:25.853-07:0010 Tips for Planning A Unique Baby Shower!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TJwC6LWTT8I/AAAAAAAAHRw/KnUfq5H6AR0/s1600/noah1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TJwC6LWTT8I/AAAAAAAAHRw/KnUfq5H6AR0/s320/noah1.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">When my son's wife was expecting my first grandchild, I decided to throw her a baby shower. The guest list had no limit. The baby wriggling around in there was a girl. That's where I started! So I'm going to give you all some tips for hosting a baby shower!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-size: large;">Tip #1</span></em></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TJwDdK-5pVI/AAAAAAAAHR0/_Uu6dGg2AWs/s1600/noah2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TJwDdK-5pVI/AAAAAAAAHR0/_Uu6dGg2AWs/s1600/noah2.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>Round up and corral some help! Do not try to do this on your own! You will be so tired and cranky you won't be able to enjoy the festivities! I recruited my mother and my sisters. While we went 'round and 'round about everything, having more hands is great!</em></strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>Tip #2</em></strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TJwD9dgSp1I/AAAAAAAAHR4/41YiRcOtFJg/s1600/noah3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TJwD9dgSp1I/AAAAAAAAHR4/41YiRcOtFJg/s1600/noah3.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>Decide whether or not you will have a general baby shower or a themed one. My daughter-in-law wanted to decorate the baby's room with a Noah's Ark theme, so away we went. Now I cannot begin to tell you just how many Noah's Ark gifts, decorations, clothing and housewares are avilable.</em></strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>Tip #3</em></strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TJwENsE1xUI/AAAAAAAAHR8/5FN461WfNcs/s1600/noah4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TJwENsE1xUI/AAAAAAAAHR8/5FN461WfNcs/s1600/noah4.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>Plan your shower well in advance. Don't wait till the last minute. Please do ont try and co-ordinate dates with everyone. You will lose your mind! Set a date and if someone really wants to come, they WILL show up, gift in hand!</em></strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TJwE91S5spI/AAAAAAAAHSA/dr5EhGRHzwY/s1600/noah6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TJwE91S5spI/AAAAAAAAHSA/dr5EhGRHzwY/s1600/noah6.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>Decide your budget for your shower, Including</em></strong></span><span style="font-size: small;"> <strong><em><span style="font-size: large;">food, drinks, tableware, decorations, and games. Your pocket book doesn't get hit so hard when you're sharing expenses with friends and/or relatives.</span></em></strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong><em><span style="font-size: large;">Tip #5</span></em></strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TJwFRtwG7LI/AAAAAAAAHSE/V-1xUhpkKKM/s1600/noah7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TJwFRtwG7LI/AAAAAAAAHSE/V-1xUhpkKKM/s320/noah7.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong><em><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Send invitations as if you are the recepient. Around 3-4 weeks in advance for the guests that live nearby. 4-6 weeks for those who live a long distance away. Make sure you add clear and concise directions. Also include several RSVP telephone numbers. Tiny Prints has some cute and fantastic <a href="http://www.tinyprints.com/baby-shower-invitations.htm"><span style="color: #1b48c3;">baby shower invitations</span></a>!</span></span></em></strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong><em><span style="font-size: large;">Tip #6</span></em></strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUTpm3evSF1d5uYe7fh-OfuhksEvlkPJ6AXpduYflqff9JO2mH8f9_ZqWen_pk4GGBoDEPhNO6BorlKKbDFBhyxFFxc1l9lwsPi1kIiv-9VijI5Pe0hFjr9VYcpBKYjT0LyHu_DF5yPVc/s1600/noah8.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUTpm3evSF1d5uYe7fh-OfuhksEvlkPJ6AXpduYflqff9JO2mH8f9_ZqWen_pk4GGBoDEPhNO6BorlKKbDFBhyxFFxc1l9lwsPi1kIiv-9VijI5Pe0hFjr9VYcpBKYjT0LyHu_DF5yPVc/s1600/noah8.bmp" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TJwF0lJ4wxI/AAAAAAAAHSM/8cKjZyeyVwA/s1600/noah9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TJwF0lJ4wxI/AAAAAAAAHSM/8cKjZyeyVwA/s1600/noah9.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>Plan your decorations, party favors, drinks and food. Try to stay within your budget. You are only limited by your imagination! For my daughter-in-law's shower we tied balloons to beanie baby animals and spread them EVERYWHERE. When you walked into that house, it looked like a fairyland! We used a diaper cake as a centerpiece on the table. Noah's Ark was around every single corner!</em></strong></span></span></em></strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>Tip #7</em></strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJHamyKacIkxhyEtc_nL3P4k2rgrlPfV3UTt3DPdMiGmzTvI9Jso2kX3jT0XU6_-GOJ92dHXExHbpLEKyWrxM4xOxEPGkNsFiMgn_NUK1YaiClhG9qNidKSbLbILKsFGwmAC91jwqQvSE/s1600/noah10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJHamyKacIkxhyEtc_nL3P4k2rgrlPfV3UTt3DPdMiGmzTvI9Jso2kX3jT0XU6_-GOJ92dHXExHbpLEKyWrxM4xOxEPGkNsFiMgn_NUK1YaiClhG9qNidKSbLbILKsFGwmAC91jwqQvSE/s1600/noah10.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>Greet all guests at the door as they arrive. It shows how much you care for them. Provide name tags so that everyone can identify other guests that they don't know. Introduce shower guests at the beginning of the shower. Having a seating arrangement helps by sitting people together who know each other or have something in common. Don't worry! Everyone will know each other by the end of the party!</em></strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>Tip #8</em></strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TJwHNkQjtTI/AAAAAAAAHSU/rhw4baCRQtU/s1600/noah11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TJwHNkQjtTI/AAAAAAAAHSU/rhw4baCRQtU/s1600/noah11.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>Right away as they enter the door, engage your guests in some games so that they can have fun and interact with each other. The entrance game we played was a blast! We had done our homework and come up with celebrities that were pregnant. We included celebrity husbands, too. Each guest had a celebrity name pinned to her back and each had to ask the other guests questions about the celebrities, trying to guess the identity.</em></strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>Tip #9</em></strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TJwHjmU9QDI/AAAAAAAAHSY/hQmz8auAhsY/s1600/noah12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TJwHjmU9QDI/AAAAAAAAHSY/hQmz8auAhsY/s1600/noah12.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>Be sure to have enough party favors! A few extra is good just in case! Get things moving on time nad keep the pace mocing at a good clip. Just how long does it take to eat, open presnets, play games, talk and eat cake? That's anybody's guess! Walk each guest to the door. I know that makes me feel special!</em></strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>Tip #10</em></strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR8dyJd_G0ZsyJZn96RJ0eoCXYcXSaD-LlUN-m95kNsvTzpTpzj68xqBMirV9oDabc_fbONa3hRv3IEPTF-12eXKoVeeVU9lvqCGr78hTSGmyJJUps3ZEx5igJ5ovTCQQZvIn3s4IKklw/s1600/noah13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR8dyJd_G0ZsyJZn96RJ0eoCXYcXSaD-LlUN-m95kNsvTzpTpzj68xqBMirV9oDabc_fbONa3hRv3IEPTF-12eXKoVeeVU9lvqCGr78hTSGmyJJUps3ZEx5igJ5ovTCQQZvIn3s4IKklw/s1600/noah13.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-size: large;">Understand that if you are hosting the shower you should show responsibility and consideration to everyone. The mom-to-be may be tired as well as excited. your mother may get on your last nerve!</span></em></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-size: large;">Your sister may be uber angry when someone YOU invited wins all the shower games and gets all the gifts (including the Champagne gift basket she donated).</span></em></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-size: large;">Just take a deep breath and relax...and swear you'll never do this again!</span></em></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">DISCLOSURE:I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Tiny Prints blogging program, making me eligible to get a Tiny Prints gift code worth $50, plus 25 FREE Tiny Prints greeting cards—a total gift value of $149.75! For more information on how you can participate, </span><a href="http://tinyprints.twittermoms.com/about" target="blank"><span style="background-color: white; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">click here.</span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">About Tiny Prints:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://tinyprints.com/">Tiny Prints</a> helps you get together, keep in touch and share your love—one little card at a time. Tiny Prints was started in 2003 by three friends and a dream. With a shared a love of babies and an affinity for beautiful paper, they set out to create a stationery company that would offer the experience of a local boutique with the ease of an online retailer. Specializing in the celebration of all of life's special occasions, we're thrilled to offer a fresh selection of exclusive designs, from birth announcements and baby shower invitations to personal stationery and more, delivered with the best customer service you can find online or in stores.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div align="center"></div>LADYHIGHTOWERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312545935427615347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888735388709144775.post-83955894927882129962010-09-10T07:49:00.000-07:002010-09-10T07:49:52.847-07:00Today In History-September 10, 1897-1st Drunk Driving Arrest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TIpCe0xxP3I/AAAAAAAAHFw/duqgZ0twrtA/s1600/drunk_driving_250x251.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TIpCe0xxP3I/AAAAAAAAHFw/duqgZ0twrtA/s320/drunk_driving_250x251.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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On this day in 1897, a 25-year-old London taxi driver named George Smith becomes the first person ever arrested for drunk driving after slamming his cab into a building. Smith later pled guilty and was fined 25 shillings.<br />
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In the United States, the first laws against operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol went into effect in New York in 1910. In 1936, Dr. Rolla Harger, a professor of biochemistry and toxicology, patented the Drunkometer, a balloon-like device into which people would breathe to determine whether they were inebriated. In 1953, Robert Borkenstein, a former Indiana state police captain and university professor who had collaborated with Harger on the Drunkometer, invented the Breathalyzer. Easier-to-use and more accurate than the Drunkometer, the Breathalyzer was the first practical device and scientific test available to police officers to establish whether someone had too much to drink. A person would blow into the Breathalyzer and it would gauge the proportion of alcohol vapors in the exhaled breath, which reflected the level of alcohol in the blood.<br />
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Despite the invention of the Breathalyzer and other developments, it was not until the late 1970s and early 1980s that public awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving increased and lawmakers and police officers began to get tougher on offenders. In 1980, a Californian named Candy Lightner founded Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or MADD, after her 13-year-old daughter Cari was killed by a drunk driver while walking home from a school carnival. The driver had three previous drunk-driving convictions and was out on bail from a hit-and-run arrest two days earlier. Lightner and MADD were instrumental in helping to change attitudes about drunk driving and pushed for legislation that increased the penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. MADD also helped get the minimum drinking age raised in many states. Today, the legal drinking age is 21 everywhere in the United States and convicted drunk drivers face everything from jail time and fines to the loss of their driver's licenses and increased car insurance rates. Some drunk drivers are ordered to have ignition interlock devices installed in their vehicles. These devices require a driver to breath into a sensor attached to the dashboard; the car won't start if the driver's blood alcohol concentration is above a certain limit.<br />
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Despite the stiff penalties and public awareness campaigns, drunk driving remains a serious problem in the United States. In 2005, 16,885 people died in alcohol-related crashes and almost 1.4 million people were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Text courtesy of <a href="http://history.com/">History.com</a></div>LADYHIGHTOWERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312545935427615347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888735388709144775.post-7081420510259581862010-09-04T19:40:00.000-07:002010-09-04T19:40:47.428-07:00USS Shenandoah (ZR-1)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">USS Shenandoah (ZR-1)</div><br />
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ZR-1 at the mooring mast.USS Shenandoah was the first of four United States Navy rigid airships. She was built from 1922 to 1923 at Lakehurst Naval Air Station, and first flew in 1923. She developed the Navy's experience with rigid airships, even making the first crossing of the North American continent by airship. She was destroyed in a crash in 1925.<br />
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Design and Construction<br />
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The Shenandoah was originally designated FA-1, for 'Fleet Airship Number One' but this was changed to ZR-1. The airship was 680 feet long and weighed 36 tons. She had a range of 5,000 miles, and could reach speeds of 70 miles per hour. The Shenandoah was assembled at Lakehurst Naval Air Station between 1922 and 1923, in the only hangar large enough for the ship to fit, Hangar Number One, built in 1921. (Her parts were fabricated beforehand at the Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia.) Lakehurst Naval Air Station had already served as a base for Navy blimps for some time, but the Shenandoah was the first rigid airship to join the Navy's fleet.<br />
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Construction of USS Shenandoah in 1923, showing the framework of a rigid airship.The design was initially based on the L-49 (LZ-96) Zeppelin bomber, which was downed during World War I in the American sector of France. The L-49 was a lightened "height climber", designed for altitude at the expense of other qualities. The design was found insufficient and a number of the features of newer Zeppelins were incorporated into the design, as well as some structural improvements. The structure was built from a new alloy of aluminum and copper known as duralumin. Whether the changes introduced into the original design of L-49 played a part in its later breaking up is a matter of debate.<br />
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The Shenandoah had a significant edge in safety over airships that came before it in that it was the first rigid airship to use helium rather than hydrogen. A similar precaution might have prevented the Hindenburg disaster twelve years later, had American authorities been willing to export the national resource to the Zeppelin company. Helium supplies were relatively rare at the time, and the Shenandoah used much of the world's reserves just to fill its enormous volume. The USS Los Angeles (ZR-3), the next rigid airship to enter Navy service, was at first filled with the helium from the Shenandoah until more could be procured.<br />
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The first frame of the Shenandoah was erected by 24 June 1922; and, on 20 August 1923, the completed airship was floated free of the ground.<br />
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Flight test run, steep angle docking at St. Louis on October 2, 1923.<br />
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After docking at St. Louis, Cmdr McCrary stepped out to meet Adm Moffet and Mayor Kiel; shown still inside the Control Car are Anton Heinen (German test pilot and consultant in the construction of the ZR1) and Cmdr Ralph D. Weyerbacher (design/build).<br />
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She was christened on 10 October 1923; sponsored by Mrs. Edwin Denby, wife of the Secretary of the Navy; and commissioned on the same day, Commander Frank R. McCrary in command.<br />
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Early Naval Service<br />
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USS Shenandoah took to the sky for the first time on September 4, 1923.<br />
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USS Shenandoah.Shenandoah was designed for fleet reconnaissance work of the type carried out by German naval airships in World War I. Her precommissioning trials included long range flights during September and early October 1923, to test her airworthiness in rain, fog, and poor visibility. On 27 October, Shenandoah celebrated Navy Day with a flight down the Shenandoah Valley and returned to Lakehurst that night by way of Washington and Baltimore, where crowds gathered to see the new airship in the beams of searchlights.<br />
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ZR-1's bow following the January storm.At this time, Rear Admiral William Moffett, Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics and staunch advocate of the airship, was discussing the possibility of using Shenandoah to explore the Arctic. Such a program, he felt, would produce valuable weather data as well as experience in cold-weather operations. With her endurance and ability to fly at low speeds, the airship was thought to be well suited to such work. President Calvin Coolidge approved Moffett's proposal, but on 16 January 1924, Shenandoah was torn from her Lakehurst mooring mast by a gale, and her nose was damaged. She rode out the storm and landed safely, but a period of repair was needed, and the Arctic expedition was dropped.<br />
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Shenandoah's repairs were completed in May, and she devoted the summer of 1924 to work with her powerplant and radio equipment to prepare for her duty with the fleet. On 1 August, she reported for duty with the Scouting Fleet and took part in tactical exercises. Shenandoah succeeded in discovering the “enemy” force as planned but lost contact with it in foul weather. Technical difficulties and lack of support facilities in the fleet forced her to depart the operating area ahead of time to return to Lakehurst. Although this marred the exercises as far as airship reconnaissance went, it emphasized the need for advanced bases and maintenance ships if lighter-than-air craft were to take any part in operations of this kind.<br />
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Flight across North America <br />
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The USS Shenandoah moored to the USS Patoka.In July of 1924 the oiler Patoka (AO-9) put in to Norfolk Navy Yard for extensive modifications to become the Navy's first Airship Tender. An experimental mooring mast some 125 feet above the water was constructed; additional accommodations both for the crew of Shenandoah and for the men who would handle and supply the airship were added; facilities for the helium, gasoline, and other supplies necessary for Shenandoah were built; as well as handling and stowage facilities for three seaplanes. Shenandoah engaged in a short series of mooring experiments with Patoka to determine the practicality of mobile fleet support of scouting airships. The first successful mooring was made 8 August 1924. During October of 1924, Shenandoah flew from Lakehurst to California and on to Washington to test newly erected mooring masts. This was the first flight of a rigid airship across North America.<br />
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Later Naval careerThe year 1925 began with nearly six months of maintenance and ground test work. Shenandoah did not take to the air until 26 June, when she began preparations for summer operations with the fleet. During July and August, she again operated with the Scouting Fleet, successfully performing scouting problems and being towed by Patoka while moored to that ship's mast.<br />
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Wreck of the Shenandoah <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TIMCguoS0lI/AAAAAAAAG9c/yUv780sw354/s1600/FabricFromAirshipShenandoah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" ox="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TIMCguoS0lI/AAAAAAAAG9c/yUv780sw354/s400/FabricFromAirshipShenandoah.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Fabric from the airship USS Shenandoah, recovered from the crash site.</div><br />
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On 2 September 1925, Shenandoah departed Lakehurst on a promotional flight to the Midwest which would include flyovers of 40 cities and visits to state fairs. Testing of a new mooring mast at Dearborn, Michigan was included in the schedule. While passing through an area of thunderstorms and turbulence over Ohio early in the morning of the 3rd, the airship was torn apart and crashed in several pieces near Caldwell, Ohio. Shenandoah's commanding officer, Commander Zachary Lansdowne, and 13 other officers and men were killed. Those killed were:<br />
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LCDR Zachary Lansdowne, Commanding Officer, Greenville, Ohio <br />
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LCDR Lewis Hancock Jr., Executive Officer, Austin, Texas, <br />
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LT. Arthur Reginald Houghton, Watch Officer, Alston, Mass. <br />
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LT. JG Edgar William Sheppard, Engineering Officer, Washington D. C. <br />
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LT. John (Jack) Bullard Lawrence, Watch Officer, St. Paul, Minn. <br />
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CPO George Conrad Schnitzer, Radio Officer, Tuckertown, N. J <br />
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AMM1C James Albert Moore, Radio Generator, Savannah, Ga <br />
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AR1C Ralph Thomas Joffray, Rigger, St. Louis, Mo. <br />
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AMM1C Bartholomew (Bart) B. O'Sullivan, Lowell, Mass <br />
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CPO James William Cullinan, Binghampton, N. Y <br />
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CPO Everett Price Allen, Chief Rigger, St. Louis, Mo. <br />
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AMM Charles Harrison Broom, Tom’s River, N. J. <br />
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AMM Celestino P. Mazzuco, Murray Hill NJ <br />
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AMM William Howard Spratley, Venice, Ill. <br />
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Twenty-nine survivors succeeded in riding three sections of the airship to earth. The survivors were:<br />
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Louis E. Allely <br />
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LT. Joseph B. Anderson <br />
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G. W. Armour <br />
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LT. Charles E. Bauch <br />
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CBM Henry L.Boswell <br />
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CBM Arthur E. Carlson <br />
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Warrant Officer Chief Gunner CWO Raymond Cole <br />
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Lester Coleman <br />
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James E."Red" Collier <br />
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Mark Donovan <br />
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John J. Hahn <br />
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Col. Chalmers G. Hall <br />
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Chief Machinist CWO, Shine S. Halliburton <br />
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Thomas Hendley <br />
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Benjamin O. Hereth <br />
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Walter Johnson <br />
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Aviation Machinist's Mate Ralph Jones <br />
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MM2C Julius E. Malak <br />
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CPO Franklin E. Masters <br />
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ACR, Chief Rigger John.F. McCarthy <br />
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LT. Roland Mayer <br />
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ACR Frank L. Peckham <br />
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ACMM August C.Quernheim <br />
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LT. Walter T. Richardson (Naval Reserve, traveling as a civilian observer) <br />
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LCMDR Charles Emery Rosendahl <br />
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ACMM William A. Russell <br />
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AMM1c Joseph Shevlowitz <br />
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Charles Solar <br />
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CBM Frederick J. "Bull" Tobin <br />
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The fatal flight had been made under protest by Cmdr. Lansdowne (a native of Greenville, Ohio), who warned of the violent weather conditions which were prevalent in the area and common to Ohio in late summer. His pleas for a cancellation of the flight only led to a postponement. His superiors were keen to publicize airship technology, and justify the huge cost of the airship to the taxpayers, so publicity, rather than prudence won the day. This event was the trigger for Army Colonel Billy Mitchell to heavily criticize the leadership of both the Army and the Navy, leading directly to his court-martial for insubordination and the end of his military career.<br />
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The survival of the 29 survivors has been attributed to the fact that the airship contained helium, which does not react chemically with air. If hydrogen had been used, the ship probably would have burned - as the LZ 129 Hindenburg would twelve years later.<br />
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Shenandoah Elementary School and Shenandoah High School in Noble County, Ohio, where the crash occurred, is named in honor of the ship and crew. Its sports teams are nicknamed "The Zeps".<br />
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A truck stop, Shenandoah Plaza, located in Old Washington, Ohio was built in the early 1970's in memory of the airship.LADYHIGHTOWERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312545935427615347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888735388709144775.post-36988693533838995992010-09-02T15:04:00.000-07:002010-09-02T15:04:48.954-07:00Love After Love by Derek Walcott (1930 - Present)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TIAcGKqxA2I/AAAAAAAAG8U/EAXPMfm4HPc/s1600/derek_walcott.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" ox="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TIAcGKqxA2I/AAAAAAAAG8U/EAXPMfm4HPc/s200/derek_walcott.jpg" width="164" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Love After Love</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The time will come</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">when, with elation</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">you will greet yourself arriving</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">at your own door, in your own mirror</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and each will smile at the other's welcome, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and say, sit here. Eat.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">You will love again the stranger who was your self.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">to itself, to the stranger who has loved you</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">all your life, whom you ignored </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">for another, who knows you by heart. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Take down the love letters from the bookshelf, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the photographs, the desperate notes,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">peel your own image from the mirror. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Sit. Feast on your life.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Derek Walcott was born in 1930 in the town of Castries in Saint Lucia, one of the Windward Islands in the Lesser Antilles. The experience of growing up on the isolated volcanic island, an ex-British colony, has had a strong influence on Walcott's life and work. Both his grandmothers were said to have been the descendants of slaves. His father, a Bohemian watercolourist, died when Derek and his twin brother, Roderick, were only a few years old. His mother ran the town's Methodist school. After studying at St. Mary's College in his native island and at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica, Walcott moved in 1953 to Trinidad, where he has worked as theatre and art critic. At the age of 18, he made his debut with 25 Poems, but his breakthrough came with the collection of poems, In a Green Night (1962). In 1959, he founded the Trinidad Theatre Workshop which produced many of his early plays.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Walcott has been an assiduous traveller to other countries but has always, not least in his efforts to create an indigenous drama, felt himself deeply-rooted in Caribbean society with its cultural fusion of African, Asiatic and European elements. For many years, he has divided his time between Trinidad, where he has his home as a writer, and Boston University, where he teaches literature and creative writing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Biography from: <a href="http://nobelprize.org/">nobelprize.org</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>LADYHIGHTOWERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312545935427615347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888735388709144775.post-23257731656318826072010-08-31T23:02:00.000-07:002010-08-31T23:02:57.626-07:00Romantic Poem Series- Poem #1 Edgar Allen Poe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAATf0Hvk3I4fEpyh0yqFWSmbl_zvO6PCDh676nAueq-4eslDG3UI-7x_FA4iIPTII_7sa1oYfpzzEX0YrfR3NZx4EOJxbLFwpCB0FOXye1ZUrMUCG-KsN8JhtUp2IQ9h2rSxoaCfewAI/s1600/1aaabouquetgfairy004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAATf0Hvk3I4fEpyh0yqFWSmbl_zvO6PCDh676nAueq-4eslDG3UI-7x_FA4iIPTII_7sa1oYfpzzEX0YrfR3NZx4EOJxbLFwpCB0FOXye1ZUrMUCG-KsN8JhtUp2IQ9h2rSxoaCfewAI/s320/1aaabouquetgfairy004.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Romance by Edgar Allan Poe</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Romance, who loves to nod and sing</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">With drowsy head and folded wing</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Among the green leaves as they shake</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Far down within some shadowy lake,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">To me a painted paroquet</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Hath been—most familiar bird—</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Taught me my alphabet to say,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">To lisp my very earliest word</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">While in the wild wood I did lie,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A child—with a most knowing eye.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Of late, eternal condor years</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So shake the very Heaven on high</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">With tumult as they thunder by,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I have no time for idle cares</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Through gazing on the unquiet sky;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And when an hour with calmer wings</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Its down upon my spirit flings,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">That little time with lyre and rhyme</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">To while away—forbidden things—</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My heart would feel to be a crime</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Unless it trembled with the strings. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TH3rrlUgfWI/AAAAAAAAG2s/EIEj1A-vT98/s1600/edgar_allan_poe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TH3rrlUgfWI/AAAAAAAAG2s/EIEj1A-vT98/s320/edgar_allan_poe.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1809-1849</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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EDGAR ALLEN POE was born in Boston, January 19, 1809, and after a tempestuous life of forty years, he died in the city of Baltimore, October 7, 1849. <br />
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His father, the son of a distinguished officer in the Revolutionary army, was educated for the law, but having married the beautiful English actress, Elizabeth Arnold, he abandoned law, and in company with his wife, led a wandering life on the stage. The two died within a short time of each other, leaving three children entirely destitute. Edgar, the second son, a bright, beautiful boy, was adopted by John Allen, a wealthy citizen of Richmond. Allen, having no children of his own, became very much attached to Edgar, and used his wealth freely in educating the boy. At the age of seven he was sent to school at Stoke Newington, near London, where he remained for six years. During the next three years he studied under private tutors, at the residence of the Allen's in Richmond. In 1826 he entered the University of Virginia, where he remained less than a year. <br />
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After a year or two of fruitless life at home, a cadetship was obtained for him at West Point. He was soon tried by court-martial and expelled from school because he drank to excess and neglected his studies. Thus ended his school days. <br />
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In 1829 he published "Al Aaraaf, and Minor Poems." "This work," says his biographer, Mr. Stoddard, "was not a remarkable production for a young gentleman of twenty." Poe himself was ashamed of the volume. <br />
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After his stormy school life, he returned to Richmond, where he was kindly received by Mr. Allen. Poe's conduct was such that Mr. Allen was obliged to turn him out of doors, and, dying soon after, he made no mention of Poe in his will. <br />
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Now wholly thrown upon his own resources, he took up literature as a profession, but in this he failed to gain a living. He enlisted as a private soldier, but was soon recognized as the West Point cadet and a discharge procured. <br />
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In 1833 Poe won two prizes of $100 each for a tale in prose, and for a poem. John P. Kennedy, one of the committee who made the award, now gave him means of support, and secured employment for him as editor of the "Southern Literary Messenger" at Richmond. After a short but successful editorial work on "The Messenger," his old habits returned, he quarreled with his publishers and was dismissed. While in Richmond he married his cousin, Virginia Clem, and in January, 1837, removed to New York. Here he gained a poor support by writing for periodicals. <br />
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His literary work may be summed up as follows: In 1838 appeared a fiction entitled "The Narrative of Arthur Gorden Pym;" 1839, editor of Burton's "Gentleman's Magazine," Philadelphia; next, editor of "Graham's Magazine;" 1840, "Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque," in two volumes; 1845, "The Raven," published by the "American Review;" then sub-editor of the "Mirror" under employment of N. P. Willis and Geo. P. Norris; next associate editor of the "Broadway Journal." <br />
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His wife died in 1848. His poverty was now such that the press made appeals to the public for his support. <br />
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In 1848 he published "Eureka, a Prose Poem." <br />
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He went to Richmond in 1849, where he was engaged to a lady of considerable fortune. In October he started for New York to arrange for the wedding, but at Baltimore he met some of his former boon companions, and spent the night in drinking. In the morning he was found in a state of delirium, and died in a few hours. <br />
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The most remarkable of his tales are "The Gold Bug," "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Murders of the Rue Morgue," "The Purloined Letter," "A Descent into Maelstrom," and "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar." "The Raven" and "The Bells" alone would make the name of Poe immortal. The teachers of Baltimore placed a monument over his grave in 1875. <br />
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Poe has been severely censured by many writers for his wild and stormy life, but we notice that Ingram and some other prominent authors claim that he has been willfully slandered and that many of the charges brought against him are not true. His ungovernable temper and high spirit led him into disputes with his friends, hence he was not enabled to hold any one position for a great length of time. Like Byron and Burns, he had faults in personal life, but his ungovernable passions are sleeping, while the sad strains of "The Raven," the clear and harmonious tones of "The Bells," and the powerful images of his fancy live in the immortal literature of his time. <br />
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Biography from: <a href="http://www.2020site.org/literature/index.html">http://www.2020site.org/literature/index.html</a><br />
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LADYHIGHTOWERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312545935427615347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888735388709144775.post-66646374504211261202010-08-31T22:35:00.000-07:002010-08-31T22:35:47.937-07:00Marathon of Hope<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TH3lMlC8dbI/AAAAAAAAG2U/5cxFU7wkSvg/s1600/TerryFoxToronto19800712.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" ox="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TH3lMlC8dbI/AAAAAAAAG2U/5cxFU7wkSvg/s400/TerryFoxToronto19800712.jpg" width="185" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Marathon of Hope</div><br />
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Terry FoxThe Marathon of Hope is a name given to the cross-Canada run undertaken by cancer patient Terry Fox in 1980. It is commemorated each year with the Terry Fox Run which is an international event that raises money for cancer research.<br />
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The initial goal of the run was to raise $1 million to be used for cancer research. After running through Port-Aux-Basques, Newfoundland, Terry changed his goal from raising $1 million to raising $1 for each person in Canada at the time ($24 million).<br />
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Beginning in Newfoundland Terry Fox was to run across the country ending on Vancouver Island - a distance of 5,000 km (3,107 miles) at a pace of 42 km (26.1 miles) a day. Unfortunately, Terry Fox's cancer returned while he was in Northern Ontario, and he had to stop the run on September 1, 1980, just outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario.<br />
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The goal of the run was to raise money and awareness for cancer research. In order to get the Canadian Cancer Society to support him he had to get corporate sponsorship for the run. Terry Fox sought no personal or financial gain for his efforts. His run was also a 'true' run across Canada; not taking the fastest route, he made sure that he would pass by the most populous regions of the country.<br />
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The run begins<br />
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Terry Fox began the marathon on a foggy April 12, 1980 from St. John's, Newfoundland. He started by dipping his artificial leg in the Atlantic Ocean. The beginning of the run was marked with little fanfare; only one camera crew from the CBC Television was there to witness his start. He was joined that first day by the mayor of St. John's, who ran for a portion of the marathon.<br />
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While running through Gambo, Newfoundland on April 21, Terry was quoted as saying:<br />
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"It was an exciting day in Gambo. People came and lined up and gave me ten, twenty bucks just like that. And that's when I knew that the Run had unlimited potential." <br />
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Two weeks later while in Port-Aux-Basques, Newfoundland, Terry's idea of raising $1 for each person in Canada was born. In less than 2 hours, the community of 10,000 people, raised $10,000, equal to one dollar per person. Several weeks after Terry left Newfoundland, he found out that this total increased by another $4,000.<br />
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The run enters Central Canada<br />
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On June 10th Terry entered the Province of Quebec. Still largely unknown, he found it difficult as rude drivers honked their horns or nearly ran him off the road. Some thought he was a hitchhiker and offered to give him a ride. Since he spoke no French, he found it difficult to communicate with Quebecers. As he made his way to Montréal, he garnered more attention from the media and the general public. In early July, Fox arrived in the national capital of Ottawa, where he met with Governor-General Ed Schreyer. On July 4, he met with Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, but the meeting was awkward because Trudeau had returned from a trip to Europe and was not briefed on Fox's situation.<br />
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Into Toronto<br />
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By the time Terry finally reached Toronto, he had become a media sensation. The streets of the city were lined with thousands of supporters, and a public rally at Toronto City Hall had a crowd of over 10,000. His achievements also began to gain international attention. He was interviewed (while running) by the then popular American current events show That's Incredible!.<br />
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The run ends<br />
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Statue of Terry Fox overlooking the Trans-Canada HighwayOn September 1, 1980, his run stopped just northeast of Thunder Bay. Poor breathing prevented him from running further; Terry visited a local hospital, where he discovered that his cancer had spread to his lungs. Due to his poor health, from both the return of the cancer and the grueling pace of his running, he had to stop his journey across Canada. By this point he had run for 143 consecutive days totalling 5,373 km.<br />
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He returned to British Columbia for further medical treatment. While in hospital, Terry received a telegram from Four Seasons hotel executive Isadore Sharp (who had recently lost his own son to cancer) telling him that his Marathon of Hope would be continued in his honour with an annual run, and that they would not stop until Terry's dream of beating cancer was realized.<br />
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Today, a life sized bronze statue of Terry Fox in motion is located in a memorial park along the Trans-Canada Highway, overlooking the spot where he had to end his run.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TH3l4HBJ4aI/AAAAAAAAG2c/UMkDwxSbs9Y/s1600/Terry_Fox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TH3l4HBJ4aI/AAAAAAAAG2c/UMkDwxSbs9Y/s320/Terry_Fox.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>LADYHIGHTOWERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312545935427615347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888735388709144775.post-28695322885067140722010-08-31T20:36:00.000-07:002010-08-31T20:36:57.217-07:00c.1905 Edison Phonograph w/HP ROSES MORNING GLORY HORN-Exquisite!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhufBRPGapxLPUaI3-aJrbSeZsRtJrVSpNpeECZgURUu6TlhpkPmM2diR98iJw1MUzXAwLTdPLp8VPtcJZaYmp9n_W0r-f8sZDw8gaPuneSmKo1hjm6lU2tMqKMk0v1BMNmpDcjOP6yWP4/s1600/My+Pictures31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhufBRPGapxLPUaI3-aJrbSeZsRtJrVSpNpeECZgURUu6TlhpkPmM2diR98iJw1MUzXAwLTdPLp8VPtcJZaYmp9n_W0r-f8sZDw8gaPuneSmKo1hjm6lU2tMqKMk0v1BMNmpDcjOP6yWP4/s640/My+Pictures31.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e69138;">I came across this beautifully exquisite 1905 Edison Phonograph! I was on Google looking for Morning Glory photos and this site popped up with all these gorgeous photos and descriptions. The site I landed on was selling this vintage piece, but the listing had ended and it wasn't sold. Oh, how i would love to have it, but it is out of my price-range. So at the end I will include all the info and if any of you are interested, you'll have the contact info!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e69138;">Description</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e69138;">c.1905 Edison Phonograph w/HP ROSES MORNING GLORY HORN</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is the Edison Home Model (B?) with model C reproducer and was manufactured by Edison's National Phonograph Co. We believe it dates from 1905 to 1911. (Prior to 1905 the decal was small and on top of the case.) (The history and additional information about this gramophone can be found on pages 105 to 107 of the "Edison Cylinder Phonograph Companion" book by George L. Frow.) Exquisite beautifully handpainted horn. Oak base with dovetailed rounded corners and fancy "Edison Home Phonograph" decal in Excellent condition (vertical streak in photo is a reflection from camera).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Floral detail and gold striping on horn is in very good to excellent condition, with some paint loss generally restricted to the background painting around the opening and on the outside of horn. Gold designs are bright and clear with only the center part of outer line behind the crane showing wear from use. Overall, the florals are vibrant and fresh as the day they left the factory -- extraordinary condition for an all original antique. We did not see any dents or damage to the horn itself. (We like the character of the aged look but if you wish, with a little retouching this would look like new!) The serial number is 152832.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is all original as far as we can tell but we think the tube at the base of the horn that connects it to the machine may have been replaced at some point. Finish, paint, decal and all other parts, including case, base, decals, motor, winding shaft, weights, springs, and lid, as far as we can determine, are all original, clean, and in close to mint condition. Includes front-mount horn crane, with original foot and chain. As you can see in the photo, the black plate is exquisitely detailed in gold and shows minimal wear. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is a beautiful Victorian style horn that looks like it came straight out of "Dark Shadows" or a Victorian Gothic tale. Plays 2-minute black wax cylinder type recordings, not records. It is super clean. We do not have any cylinders, but a friend who owns a similar machine tried one of his cylinders on it and it did work. We will include a copy of the original instruction booklet that came with the gramophone. (We do not have an original - only the copy, but we will give it to the lucky new owner of this fabulous piece of history and art!)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Dimensions: Base measures 16.5" wide, 9.5" deep, and 12" high. Horn is about 20" </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Visit Websites at:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.oldhouseinteriors.net/">http://www.oldhouseinteriors.net/</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.restorationfabricsandtrims.com/">http://www.restorationfabricsandtrims.com/</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And follow us on twitter for news and advance sale notices:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://twitter.com/oldhousedecor">http://twitter.com/oldhousedecor</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e69138;">How I hope whoever buys this piece or who has already acquired it enjoys this bit of history!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<span style="color: #e69138;"></span> LADYHIGHTOWERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312545935427615347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888735388709144775.post-28076918741069660502010-08-30T20:15:00.000-07:002010-08-30T20:15:39.331-07:00Fort Mims Massacre 1813<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Fort Mims massacre</div><br />
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Part of Creek War <br />
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<span style="background-color: #ffd966;">The Battle</span> <br />
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Date August 30, 1813 <br />
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Location 35 to 40 miles north of Mobile, Alabama near Bay Minette, Alabama <br />
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Result: Red Stick Victory <br />
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<span style="background-color: #ffd966;">Belligerents</span> <br />
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Creek Indians<br />
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(Red Sticks) American Settlers <br />
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Peter McQueen<br />
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William Weatherford Daniel Beasley <br />
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Captain Bailey<br />
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800 Red Stick Creek 175 militia<br />
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375 non combatants <br />
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200 killed 400 to 500 killed <br />
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<span style="background-color: #ffd966;">Creek War</span> <br />
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Burnt Corn - Fort Mims – Tallushatchee – Talladega – Emuckfaw and Enotachopo Creek – Horseshoe Bend <br />
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The Fort Mims massacre occurred on 30 August 1813, when a force of Creeks, belonging to the "<a href="http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Red+Sticks">Red Sticks</a>" faction under the command of Peter McQueen and William Weatherford "Red Eagle", his cousin by marriage, killed hundreds of settlers, mixed-blood Creeks, and militia in Fort Mims.<br />
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BackgroundAt the start of the Creek Civil War, settlers north of Mobile, Alabama, particularly mixed-blood Creeks from the lower towns, began to take refuge with the American settlers in the stockades of Fort Mims. About 550 settlers, including 175 armed militia, were gathered at Fort Mims, which was located about 35 to 45 miles (50-70 km) north of Mobile on the eastern side of theAlabama River.<br />
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Upon learning that Peter McQueen's party of Red Sticks were in Pensacola, Florida, obtaining arms from the Spanish, Major Daniel Beasley, Captain Dixon Bailey, and Colonel Caller, led a disorganized force to intercept the Red Sticks. The resulting ambush is known as the Battle of Burnt Corn.<br />
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Weatherford eventually agreed to take part in the attack, with the hopes of preventing a slaughter of the women and children in the Fort, and to seek vengeance upon his personal enemy, Captain Dixon Bailey. Captain Bailey, a native of the town of Auttose, was a half-breed Creek, who had been educated at Philadelphia under the provisions of the treaty of New York of 1790.<br />
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Alabama Historical Association Fort Mims marker.<br />
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Impending Doom<br />
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On August 29, 1813, two African American slaves who were tending cattle outside the stockade reported that "painted warriors" were in the vicinity. However, mounted scouts from the fort found no signs of the war party, and Beasley had the second slave flogged for raising a "false alarm".<br />
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The Attack<br />
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Although Major Beasley, the commander, stated that he could "maintain the post against any number of Indians", the stockade was poorly-defended, and at the time of the attack, the East gate was partially blocked open by drifting sand. According to anecdotal evidence the gate was open "...when the officers all got drunk and were playing cards and left the gate open, and it rained and washed the sand in the gate so it could not be shut and Father left with Mother and the children, and the Indians killed all that stayed."<br />
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The attack occurred the next day during the mid-day meal, when no American scouts were out. The "Red Sticks" rushed the fort and tomahawked Beasley, who was desperately trying to close the blocked gate.<br />
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Inside Fort Mims looking at the West wall and gate.They then seized the loopholes and the outer enclosure. The settlers, under Captain Bailey, held the inner enclosure, and fought on for a time. However, the Red Sticks set fire to a house in the center, which spread to the rest of the stockade.<br />
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The warriors then forced their way into the inner enclosure and, despite the attempts of William Weatherford, massacred most of the mixed-blood Creeks and white settlers. 500 people were dead, and 250 scalps had been taken. Most of the African Americans were spared, to become slaves of the Red Sticks. About 15 people escaped, including Bailey, who was mortally wounded.<br />
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Aftermath<br />
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The Red Sticks' victory at Fort Mims spread panic throughout the Southeastern United States frontier. The massacre marked the transition from a civil war within the Creek tribe (Moscoge) to a war between the United States and the Red Stick warriors of the Upper Creek Nation.<br />
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Since Federal troops were occupied with the northern front of the War of 1812, Tennessee, Georgia, and the Mississippi Territory mobilized their militias to move against the Upper Creek towns that had supported the Red Sticks' cause. After several battles, the Battle of Horseshoe Bend ended the Creek War.<br />
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Today the site is maintained by the Alabama Historical Commission.LADYHIGHTOWERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312545935427615347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888735388709144775.post-72113850506669384082010-08-20T20:03:00.000-07:002010-08-20T20:03:18.819-07:00Just A Pickin'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TG84EAFh4CI/AAAAAAAAGrk/XYjN3DoxWEs/s1600/Wild+Blackberries+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TG84EAFh4CI/AAAAAAAAGrk/XYjN3DoxWEs/s320/Wild+Blackberries+2.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Many, many moons ago when I was a child, I would disappear into the woods and thickets surrounding my home. I was fearless! Nothing delighted me more than being outside by myself. Those glorious August days when the wild blackberries and dewberries were ripe was nothing short of miraculous to me! The scratching of the thorns did not bother me at all. And in that wild patch of heaven those berries were as big as my thumb! With all those wonderful memories available to me, I decided I'd share that bit of my childhood with my daughter, Gracie!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3-dSUzSko94qW4WqXYxVWmpJ5_42Vl7ATTD686Sn4UjsH-ZGTL4iqjG6ZWyUEJO8PIr1cKgOo6_LQH7V_bJ9MBhWKhYR65VE5MFj9iq0UL638YDdI2RmGdUVvCordVAWgv4jZLXG9Yc/s1600/GetAttachment_aspx2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3-dSUzSko94qW4WqXYxVWmpJ5_42Vl7ATTD686Sn4UjsH-ZGTL4iqjG6ZWyUEJO8PIr1cKgOo6_LQH7V_bJ9MBhWKhYR65VE5MFj9iq0UL638YDdI2RmGdUVvCordVAWgv4jZLXG9Yc/s320/GetAttachment_aspx2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Now, this 7 year old daughter of mine is a girly-girl through and through! Luckily, blackberries grow in abundance all over our town of Issaquah, Washington. So we wouldn't be battling our way through a never-ending thicket of thorns! You can't walk more than half a block without seeing blackberry bushes along the sidewalk! In Washington state these <a href="http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/animalsAndPlants/noxious-weeds/weed-identification/blackberry.aspx">Himalayan and Evergreen blackberries</a> have been declared a noxious weed! They were originally introduced from Europe for fruit production, but have</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">naturalized. Because of Washington's mild climate and plentiful rain these bushes have taken over!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">But I will admit that it is wondrous to me to walk down a city sidewalk and to be able to gather a basket of berries! Be still my heart!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TG8__wpoTFI/AAAAAAAAGr0/zBuHJgBQU8w/s1600/Wild+Blackberries+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TG8__wpoTFI/AAAAAAAAGr0/zBuHJgBQU8w/s320/Wild+Blackberries+3.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Gracie started out very excited about what we were doing, but my girly-girl didn't like the thought of spiders and webs! Oh , don't get me wrong! She picked and picked, but first she had to knock the spiders and webs away with my cane! and of course she ate as many as she put in the basket!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1tysRyM7uN4VwCG9jusimmWKlAzzHgtSp5E62oPlk0sjZvlsyq99XSeIeljO6Pgw2l9loeEzE7x3o0sowYKsBI8tSBGNPHDzjVsBy4D1qLneyf2luMdk1ACAkBzDfPOLqCjFNizMWC08/s1600/Gracie+Eating+Blackberries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1tysRyM7uN4VwCG9jusimmWKlAzzHgtSp5E62oPlk0sjZvlsyq99XSeIeljO6Pgw2l9loeEzE7x3o0sowYKsBI8tSBGNPHDzjVsBy4D1qLneyf2luMdk1ACAkBzDfPOLqCjFNizMWC08/s320/Gracie+Eating+Blackberries.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Yes, she wants to go berry-picking again soon!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Take a gander at what we picked in a distance of 1/2 block along the sidewalk!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Like I said! Be still, my heart!</div>LADYHIGHTOWERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312545935427615347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888735388709144775.post-78422408930303359462010-08-19T15:13:00.000-07:002010-08-19T15:13:03.971-07:0075-Yr Old Mystery: 2 Fetuses Found in U.S.<div style="text-align: center;">75-year-old mystery: 2 fetuses found in US</div><br />
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On Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2010 property manager Gloria Gomez holds objects found stored in a steamer trunk along with two infant skeletons in Los Angeles. Gomez and the property owner found the remains wrapped in 1930s newspapers, as they were cleaning out the basement Tuesday. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)<br />
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LOS ANGELES, Calif. - As Yiming Xing peeled back the tattered Los Angeles Times papers from a small bundle, hoping to discover well-preserved antiques beneath the 1930s newsprint, she found instead the remains of two human fetuses.<br />
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The bundles had been placed in doctor's bags inside an unclaimed green steamer trunk from the 1920s. They had been there for more than 75 years in the basement of Xing's apartment complex, a four-story brick building in Los Angeles' Westlake district, a once-elegant early 20th century neighbourhood west of downtown.<br />
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The Glen-Donald building was home to doctors, lawyers, writers and actors when it opened in 1925 and the basement had once been a ballroom and the site of elaborate galas.<br />
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Xing was helping her friend, Gloria Gomez, the building's onsite manager, clean out the basement late Tuesday when she made the discovery.<br />
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The trunk was inscribed with the initials JMB and also contained a certificate giving "Miss Jean Barrie" membership in the Peter Pan Woodland Club mountain resort, which burned down in 1948; a typing manual bearing the signature "Jean M. Barrie;" ticket stubs from the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games; wedding photos and other items.<br />
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The women called 911 after discovering the first mummy-wrapped skeleton. Coroner's officials began investigating, leaving residents to speculate about the trunk's owner, the possibility of secret abortions in an era before the procedure was legal and an odd fact: Peter Pan was created by Scottish author James M. Barrie, who died in 1937.<br />
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"This building is a historic building. It has a lot of stories there and now it's getting more interesting," said Xing, 35, a six-year resident and genetics researcher.<br />
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Faced with a mystery three-quarters of a century old, however, no one could immediately say whether there was a connection between the unknown Jean M. Barrie and the fetuses, whether someone else might have hidden them in the trunk, and whether the Peter Pan connection was anything more than a coincidence.<br />
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"We're trying to piece all of the parts of the puzzle together," coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter told news radio station KNX-AM. He described the remains as fetuses and said they were wrapped in newspapers dated 1933 and 1935.<br />
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Building residents were given until Aug. 14 to claim their items in the communal storage space, and the condo board told Gomez she could have anything that was left.<br />
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While cleaning, Gomez and Xing had tried several keys on the steamer trunk but finally had to pry it open with a screwdriver. The drawers were full and they found items that included a pearl necklace, a girdle, a bowl, a toilet figurine, books, photos, documents and a cigar box painted with pictures of saints.<br />
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Then they found the two black leather doctor bags.<br />
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Xing opened the first soft bundle and found what looked like a piece of brown, dry, very old looking wood.<br />
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Coroner's investigators unwrapped the second bundle to find the larger set of remains.<br />
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Xing said those remains "looked exactly like a baby" with a head and hair "and looked very developed."<br />
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Coroner's investigators took the remains, drawers, medical bags, photos, personal letters and postcards, Gomez said.<br />
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Former building manager John Medford, 68, who has lived there for 22 years, was among those speculating that the fetuses were from abortions.<br />
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"In 1936, abortion was illegal," he said, recounting the era of back-alley procedures. "Women were in desperate straits then."<br />
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Police were awaiting results from the coroner's office.<br />
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"We'll try to reconstruct the circumstances based on what the coroner tells us, based on the history of the residence and based on science," Chief Charlie Beck told the Los Angeles Times. "We have many more tools and technology available to us than before, which may allow for identification of the victims and closure to any family members."<br />
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The 94-unit Glen-Donald building, which has elaborate interior woodwork and a grand lobby, is being converted from individually owned apartments to condominiums.LADYHIGHTOWERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312545935427615347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888735388709144775.post-64551481428023484702010-08-10T13:25:00.000-07:002010-08-10T13:25:36.009-07:00This Day In History August 10, 1977- "Son of Sam" Arrested!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TGG0L7w2HNI/AAAAAAAAGUk/Zlu6NMsteFw/s1600/berkowitz_david.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" mx="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TGG0L7w2HNI/AAAAAAAAGUk/Zlu6NMsteFw/s400/berkowitz_david.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: red;">Aug 10, 1977:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="background-color: white; color: red; font-size: large;">Son of Sam Arrested!</span></em></strong> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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On August 10, 1977, 24-year-old postal employee David Berkowitz is arrested and charged with being the "Son of Sam," the serial killer who terrorized New York City for more than a year, killing six young people and wounding seven others with a .44-caliber revolver. Because Berkowitz generally targeted attractive young women with long brown hair, hundreds of young women had their hair cut short and dyed blond during the time he terrorized the city. Thousands more simply stayed home at night. After his arrest, Berkowitz claimed that demons and a black Labrador retriever owned by a neighbor named Sam had ordered him to commit the killings.<br />
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David Berkowitz was brought up by adoptive parents in the Bronx. He was traumatized by the death of his adoptive mother from cancer in 1967 and thereafter became more and more of a loner. In 1971, he joined the army and served for three years, where he distinguished himself as a talented marksman. In 1974, he returned to New York and worked as a security guard. His mental condition began to severely deteriorate in 1975 (he would later be diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic). Feeling isolated from the world around him, he became an arsonist and set hundreds of fires in New York City without being arrested. He began to hear voices of "demons" that tormented him and told him to commit murder. On Christmas Eve, 1975, he gave into these internal voices and severely wounded 15-year-old Michelle Forman with a hunting knife.<br />
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In January 1976, he moved into a two-family home in Yonkers, a suburb of New York. Berkowitz became convinced that the German shepherd that lived in the house and other neighborhood dogs were possessed by demons who ordered him to murder attractive young women. One of the neighborhood dogs was shot during this time, probably by Berkowitz. He also began to see his neighbors as demons.<br />
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In April, Berkowitz moved to an apartment house in Yonkers, but his new home also had dogs. His neighbor, retiree Sam Carr, had a black Labrador retriever named Harvey, who Berkowitz believed pleaded with him to kill. He also saw Sam Carr as a powerful demon and was referring to him when he later called himself Son of Sam.<br />
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On July 28, 1976, Berkowitz quit his job as a security guard. Early the next morning, he walked up to a parked car in the Bronx where two young women were talking and fired five bullets from his.44 revolver into the vehicle. Eighteen-year-old brunette Donna Lauria was killed instantly, and her friend Jody Valenti was wounded. Police could find no motives or leads in the shooting.<br />
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In the early morning of October 24, Berkowitz struck again, critically wounding 20-year-old Carl Denaro as he sat in a car and talked with a female friend in Queens. A little more than a month later, on November 26, 16-year-old Donna DeMasi and 18-year-old Joanne Lomino were shot and seriously wounded in the street on their way home from a movie. On January 30, 1977, Berkowitz fatally shot Christine Freund as she sat in a car in Queens with her fiancee. Police began to suspect that these crimes were perpetrated by a single killer, but few bullets were found intact to confirm the assumption.<br />
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On March 8, 19-year-old college student Virginia Voskerichian was shot to death as she walked home in Manhattan. A bullet was found intact, and it matched a bullet found at the scene of Berkowitz's first murder. The New York police announced that a serial killer was on the loose, known to be a white male in his 20s, with black hair and of average height and build. A large group of detectives was organized--the "Omega" task force--to track the killer down. On April 17, 18-year-old Valentina Suriani and 20-year-old Alexander Esau were shot and killed by the same gun as they kissed in their parked car near the Hutchinson River Parkway. This time, the .44-caliber killer left a note in which he referred to himself as the Son of Sam.<br />
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On April 29, Berkowitz shot Sam Carr's Labrador retriever. He had previously sent an anonymous, threatening letter to Mr. Carr concerning the animal. The dog recovered, and the Yonkers police began an investigation. Meanwhile, Berkowitz began sending bizarre letters to other neighbors and his former landlords. These individuals began to suspect Berkowitz to be the Son of Sam and reported their suspicions to local police. The Omega task force was subsequently notified, but the detectives had received thousands of reports of Son of Sam "suspects" and were having a difficult time sifting through all the dead-end leads.<br />
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On June 26, the Son of Sam struck again, wounding Judy Placido and Sal Lupo as they sat in their car after leaving a Queens disco. Public concern over the rampaging serial killer grew to panic proportions, and New York nightclubs and restaurants saw a dramatic drop in business. A blistering heat wave and a 25-hour blackout in mid-July only increased the tension. On July 31, just two days after the anniversary of his first killing, Berkowitz shot a young couple kissing in a parked car in Brooklyn. Twenty-year-old Stacy Moskowitz was fatally wounded, and her boyfriend, Bobby Violante, lost his left eye and nearly all the vision in his right eye.<br />
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A few days later, a major break in the case came when an eyewitness came forward to report that she had seen a man with what looked like a gun minutes before the shots were fired in Brooklyn. Her information led to the first police sketch of Berkowitz. More important, she reminded investigators that two police officers had been writing parking tickets on her street that night. A search of tickets issued eventually turned up Berkowitz's car.<br />
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At the same time, Yonkers police investigated Berkowitz after he escalated a harassment campaign against one of his neighbors. Convinced he was the Son of Sam, they informed the Omega task force of their findings. The Omega detectives finally put two and two together, and on August 10 David Berkowitz was arrested while leaving his Yonkers home. He gleefully admitted to being the Son of Sam. On his person was a semiautomatic rifle, and he explained he was on his way to commit another murder. The .44-caliber revolver was also recovered.<br />
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There was some question about whether Berkowitz was mentally fit to stand trial, but on May 8, 1978, he withdrew an insanity defense and pleaded guilty to the six .44-caliber murders. He was given six 25-years-to-life sentences for the crime, the maximum penalty allowed at the time. He has since been denied parole. Since 1987, he has been held at the Sullivan Correctional Facility in upstate New York, where he allegedly converted to Christianity.<br />
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<div align="center">Thanks <a href="http://history.com/">History.com</a>!</div><div align="center"><br />
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</div>LADYHIGHTOWERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312545935427615347noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888735388709144775.post-89103543554308066942010-08-08T20:51:00.000-07:002010-08-08T20:51:36.252-07:00Henry Starr-The Cherokee Badman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TF9q5x_hgqI/AAAAAAAAGNI/VpkwHEXy-_w/s1600/starr1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TF9q5x_hgqI/AAAAAAAAGNI/VpkwHEXy-_w/s400/starr1.jpg" width="313" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Henry Starr is no doubt one of the most interesting characters who ever came out of the Old West. During his 32 years in crime, he claimed he had robbed more banks than both the James-Younger Gang and the Doolin-Dalton Gang put together. However, in all of his life as a criminal he only killed one man, a U.S. Deputy Marshall who was about to arrest him. He started robbing banks on horseback in 1893 and ended up robbing his last in a car in 1921. He was the first bank robber to use an automobile in a bank robbery. A total of 21 bank is what he is alleged to have robbed. If he did pull all of those robberies, he would have made off with nearly $60000.00. </div><br />
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Henry Starr was born near Fort Gibson, I. T. on Dec. 2, 1873 to Tom Starr and Mary (Scott) Starr. His uncle was the notorious Sam Starr who was married to Belle Starr, the "outlaw queen". He was 1/4 Cherokee. His father died at an early age and his mother remarried a man named C. N. Walker. Henry hated his new stepfather and this caused a lot of hard feeling and was the driving force of Henry leaving home at an early age. <br />
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Henry was working on ranches near Nowata, I. T. when he had his first run-in with the law. He was driving a wagon to town one day when two deputy marshals caught him with whiskey and arrested him for "introducing spirits into territory." He went to court and plead guilty to the offense, although he always maintained that he was innocent because he had borrowed the wagon and didn't know the whiskey was in it. He was only 16 years old. <br />
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Henry found himself back at Nowata, working as a cowboy, when his next brush with the law came. He was arrested for horse theft, another charge he denied, and was thrown in jail at Fort Smith, Ark. His cousin paid his bail, and Henry was out. The problem was he wasn't going back. He jumped bail. <br />
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The path was clear to Henry now, and there was no turning back. He joined up with Ed Newcome and Jesse Jackson and went on a tear robbing stores and railroad depots. However, the law was after him now. <br />
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U.S. Deputy Marshals Henry C. Dickey and Floyd Wilson were hot on the trail of Henry near Nowata, when the event that would nearly cost Henry his life, twice, happened. In a shoot out with the marshal, Henry killed him. He was now wanted for murder. <br />
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With the law on his trail, Henry's Gang became more bolder, as they started robbing banks. On March 28, 1893 they robbed their first bank in Caney, Ks. Then they robbed the bank in Bentonville, Ark. But it was heating up for them in the territory, so Henry and Kid Wilson made tracks for California. They were captured in Colorado Spring, Co., and returned to Fort Smith to stand trail. <br />
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Henry stood trail for the murder of Floyd Wilson in the court of Judge Isaac Parker. Although he maintained it was self defense, because he didn't know that Floyd Wilson was a marshal with a warrant for his arrest, he was found guilty and sentence to hang. His attorney appealed his case to the U.S. Supreme Court which overturn Parker's decision and granted Henry a new trail. The second trail ended with the same results, Henry was guilty and he was sentence to hang. His attorney once again appealed and won him a new trail. At the third trial Henry plead guilty to manslaughter, and was sentenced to 25 years in the penitentiary. <br />
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It was during his stay in jail at Fort Smith, awaiting trial, that one of his most amazing deeds was accomplished. Fellow prisoner, Cherokee Bill attempted a prison break with a gun smuggled him by a trustee. There was a gun battle between Bill and the prison guards, in which one of the guards had been killed. However, the guards were unable to disarm Bill and it was stand-off. Henry was a friend of Bill's and offered to disarm him if the guards would in turn promise not to kill Bill. The promise was made and Henry entered the cell where Bill was at, and retrieved the weapon. <br />
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It was this incident that would secure Henry his freedom. When Henry, with help from his family and the Cherokee Tribal Government, applied for a pardon in 1903, President T. Roosevelt admired the man for his courage in the Cherokee Bill incident so much, that he reduced his sentence and Henry was released from prison in 1905. <br />
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After his release from prison, Henry returned to Tulsa, I. T. and worked in his mother's restaurant. It was here he met and married his first wife, Miss Ollie Griffin, shortly after his son, whom he named Theodore Roosevelt Starr, was born. Henry manage to behave himself until 1908, when Oklahoma became a state. Under the fear of being extradited to Arkansas, he took to the brush of the Osage hills, and fell in with his old partners. <br />
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On March 13, 1908, Henry and his gang crossed the Kansas border and robbed the bank at Tyro, Ks. With the law hot on his tracks again, they fled Oklahoma heading west. Their next job was the bank in Amity, Co. From there Henry fled to Arizona, where he was captured by the law and returned to Colorado to stand trial. <br />
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In November of 1909, Henry plead guilty to robbing the Amity, Co. bank and was sentenced to 7 - 25 years in the Canon City Prison. It was during his stay at Canon City that Henry not only work as a trustee, he study law in the prison library, and wrote his autobiography, <span style="background-color: #e69138;">Thrilling Events, Life of Henry Starr</span>. On September 24, 1913 he was paroled by the governor and free again. <br />
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In the autumn of 1914, the first in the worst series of bank robberies in the Southwest occurred in Oklahoma. Between Sept. 14, 1914 and Jan. 13, 1915 a total of 14 banks were robbed. At first officials were at a lost to figure out who was committing the crimes. Then one of the victims was able to identify a picture of the bandits. Henry Starr was back to his old tricks. A $1000 reward was offered the governor of the state, for Henry. The reward was payable "Dead or Alive". <br />
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It was during this time Henry pulled one of his slickest moves, while the law was searching all over the brush of the Osage hills and other known hideouts for him, Henry was living in the heart of Tulsa, at 1534 East Second Street, just two blocks from the Tulsa county sheriff and four blocks from the mayor of Tulsa. <br />
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Then on March 27, 1915 Henry and six other men rode into the town of Stroud, OK. and proceeded to rob both banks in the community. Word of the holdup spread throughout the town and the citizens quickly took up arms against the bandits. Henry and another bandit named Lewis Estes were wounded and captured in the gun battle. The rest of the gang had escaped with $5815, thus pulling off a double daylight bank robbery. <br />
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Once again Henry found himself in jail, on August 2, 1915 Henry entered a plea of guilty in the Stroud robbery, and was sentenced to 25 years in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester, Ok. On March 15, 1919 he was paroled and released from prison. <br />
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Upon his release from prison, Henry returned to Tulsa, and with the urging of friends entered the motion picture industry. Henry produced and starred in the silent movie <span style="background-color: #e69138;">A Debtor to the Law</span>, which was a movie about the double bank robbery in Stroud, Ok. The movie was an immediate success. For his part Henry was alleged to have netted $15,000. He went on to star in a couple of other movies, and was offer from Hollywood to do a movie out there. He turned it down from fear that if he went to Hollywood the authorities in Arkansas would try to extradite him for his part in the Bentonville robbery. It was during his time in the movies that Henry met and married his second wife, Hulda Starr from Salisaw, OK. They were married on February 22, 1920 and moved to Claremore, OK.<br />
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On Friday morning, February 18, 1921, Henry and three companions in a high powered touring car drove into Harrison, Ark. They entered the People's State Bank and robbed it of $6000. During the robbery, Henry was shot in the back by the former president of the bank, and his partners fled leaving him to face the music alone. He was carried to the jail where doctors removed the bullet. However, on Tuesday morning, February 22, 1921, Henry died from the wound. His wife Hulda, his mother, and his 17 year old son were at his side. <br />
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Henry had died as he had lived in a violent manner, but true to the code of the outlaws, he never revealed a single partner in any crime. He never shot anyone in the commission of a crime, and served his time in jail like a man. He had succeeded where others had failed by robbing two banks at once, and by robbing more banks than any others. <br />
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A little proud of his record, he boasted to doctors at Harrison the day before he died: " I've robbed more banks than any man in America."<br />
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Thanks to <a href="http://gunslinger.com/">The Wild, Wild West!</a>LADYHIGHTOWERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312545935427615347noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888735388709144775.post-11650806951170472262010-08-06T12:51:00.000-07:002010-08-06T12:51:21.505-07:00This Day in History -65th Anniversary - The Bombing of Hiroshima<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Today marks the 65th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima by the United States during World War II, which was the first use of this weapon of mass destruction. <a href="http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=president+truman+and+the+atomic+bomb&go=&form=msnhal#">Watch clips</a> of President Harry Truman discussing his decision to use nuclear force. On Aug. 6, Hiroshima (get facts about the city) was destroyed.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilZ7cDm3i62wvFCP6ixnA9NJn8ozY8cfs_u8zO6ilq0v5tfb4mPuwj54KgK4ifHEZuNBIagIGryOZFdiqyERGOguFZ8HGLYtzpKS_CxDz1WW5xM_slT_I_4V-QHc8vg3xEQqGQhtZfc-4/s1600/103266136.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilZ7cDm3i62wvFCP6ixnA9NJn8ozY8cfs_u8zO6ilq0v5tfb4mPuwj54KgK4ifHEZuNBIagIGryOZFdiqyERGOguFZ8HGLYtzpKS_CxDz1WW5xM_slT_I_4V-QHc8vg3xEQqGQhtZfc-4/s400/103266136.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Paper lanterns float in the Motoyasu River in front of the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 2010, to mark the 65th anniversary of the World War II atomic bombing. Representatives from more than 70 nations, including for the first time the United States, joined tens of thousands at the emotional event. <br />
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Days later, a second city was wiped out. Thousands of lives were lost in the bombings, documentaries were made detailing the accounts (watch clips), words about that day are still etched in American history, and a Peace Memorial Museum was built in memory of the dead. This year, the United States will pay its respects. <br />
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Here's a look at the facts about the Hiroshima bombing and a man who captured snapshots of one of the most infamous days in history.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The History of the Bombing </div><br />
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The dropping of the first atomic bomb (what was its nickname?) was a deliberately exclusive mission assigned to just three U.S. planes, including this one, which carried the ordnance the morning of Aug. 6, 1945, and two other B-29s that followed at a safe distance to record the effects of the blast. How much did the uranium bomb weigh? <br />
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Other Allied aircraft were barred from the area of southern Japan, mostly because scientists who built the bomb didn't know exactly what it would do. What was the code name for this plan? <br />
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But there was one more B-29 in the sky over Hiroshima at the moment that the bomb was dropped, and its crew witnessed the event that helped end World War II.<br />
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The photographer who captured it all<br />
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The iconic image that comes to mind about the bombing of Hiroshima is that of a mushroom cloud of smoke (<a href="http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Atomic+Mushroom+cloud+&go=&form=msnhal#">see pictures</a>). <a href="http://www.bing.com/search?q=John+McGlohon+hiroshima&form=msnhal">John McGlohon</a> and his 10 Army Air Force crewmen are now credited with snapping those shots. When the bomb blew up, they didn't get the order to stay away from Hiroshima. Instead, they continued on a routine photography reconnaissance mission. (<a href="http://www.bing.com/search?q=John+McGlohon+hiroshima&form=msnhal">Check out some of the squadrons</a>).<br />
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Because McGlohon's plane wasn't supposed to be in the area, lab techs would not have known he took the picture. So, it was credited to <a href="http://www.bing.com/search?q=20th+Air+Force+&go=&form=msnhal">one of these planes</a>, which was miles away at the time. <br />
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McGlohon's adventures in photography didn't stop with the Hiroshima photos. He helped map what would become <a href="http://www.bing.com/search?q=Alaska+Highway+&go=&form=msnhal">this scenic route</a> and this part of the Himalayan Mountains. The man who captured shots of Hiroshima became fire chief in this Asheboro, North Carolina town and served on the city council. But it is that day in August that will always be etched in his memory.<br />
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"We saw cities burning every day," McGlohon says.<br />
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<div align="center"></div>LADYHIGHTOWERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312545935427615347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888735388709144775.post-18732791211361556042010-07-31T21:56:00.000-07:002010-07-31T21:56:49.906-07:00Mystery of The Mary Celeste<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TFT99aNbiLI/AAAAAAAAF8Y/ttwSA4-BDps/s1600/images44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TFT99aNbiLI/AAAAAAAAF8Y/ttwSA4-BDps/s320/images44.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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The Mary Celeste<br />
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On a wintry November morning in 1872, Captain Benjamin Briggs, his wife Sarah, their two-year-old daughter Sophia and a crew of seven set sail from New York Harbor on the Canadian-built brigantine Mary Celeste, bound for Genoa, Italy. The ship’s hold contained 1,700 barrels of industrial alcohol intended for fortifying Italian wines. Despite the late time of year and reports of bad weather across the Atlantic, Briggs had high expectations for the journey, writing in a letter to his mother, “Our vessel is in beautiful trim and I hope we shal [sic] have a fine passage.”<br />
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The “fine passage” quickly turned into one of history’s most chilling maritime mysteries. On December 4, some 600 miles west of Portugal, the helmsman of the Canadian merchant ship Dei Gratia spotted an odd sight through his spyglasses: a vessel with slightly torn sails that seemed to be careening out of control. The Dei Gratia’s captain, David Reed Morehouse, immediately identified the ship as the Mary Celeste; in a strange twist, he and Benjamin Briggs were old friends, and had dined together shortly before their respective departures from New York. When a crew from the Dei Gratia boarded the Mary Celeste, almost everything was present and accounted for, from the cargo in the hold to the sewing machine in the captain’s cabin. Missing, however, were the ship’s only lifeboat–and all of its passengers. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TFT8VycKneI/AAAAAAAAF8A/4UK7YrMSCIk/s1600/images77.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="261" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TFT8VycKneI/AAAAAAAAF8A/4UK7YrMSCIk/s320/images77.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Where happened to the Briggs family and the Mary Celeste’s crew members? Some have suggested that pirates kidnapped them, while others have speculated that a sudden waterspout washed them away. Over the years, the search for a true answer to the Mary Celeste puzzle has come to center on the ship’s cargo. Industrial alcohol can emit highly potent fumes, which may have led the crew to fear an explosion and temporarily evacuate into the lifeboat. At that point, a gale may have swept the ship away, leaving its former passengers stranded and cementing the Mary Celeste’s reputation as the archetypal ghost ship.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TFT9BgwdoWI/AAAAAAAAF8I/WGODGzmjUI4/s1600/untitledhhhh.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TFT9BgwdoWI/AAAAAAAAF8I/WGODGzmjUI4/s320/untitledhhhh.bmp" /></a></div>LADYHIGHTOWERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312545935427615347noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888735388709144775.post-52742504752396317502010-07-29T23:59:00.000-07:002010-07-29T23:59:00.758-07:00Maria "Belle Boyd"-Spy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TFIRNIVWdXI/AAAAAAAAFxA/CGT7et_VxmQ/s1600/csa-3rd-national-flag.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3QlsQb1rEfo/TFIRNIVWdXI/AAAAAAAAFxA/CGT7et_VxmQ/s320/csa-3rd-national-flag.png" /></a><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">Maria "Belle" Boyd-Spy</span></em></strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>May 4, 1844 – June 11, 1900 <br />
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Maria "Belle" Boyd, Confederate spy. (Courtesy of the Library of Congress.) Isabelle "Belle" Boyd was one of the Confederacy's most notorious spies. She was born in May 1844 in Martinsburg, Virginia (now West Virginia) to a prosperous family with strong Southern ties. During the Civil War, her father was a soldier in the Stonewall Brigade, and at least three other members of her family were convicted of being Confederate spies.<br />
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Following a skirmish at nearby Falling Waters on July 2, 1861, Federal troops occupied Martinsburg. On July 4, Belle Boyd shot and killed a drunken Union soldier who, as she wrote in her post-war memoirs, "addressed my mother and myself in language as offensive as it is possible to conceive. I could stand it no longer...we ladies were obliged to go armed in order to protect ourselves as best we might from insult and outrage." She did not suffer any reprisal for this action, "the commanding officer...inquired into all the circumstances with strict impartiality, and finally said I had 'done perfectly right.'" Thus began her career as "the Rebel Spy" at age 17.<br />
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By early 1862 her activities were well known to the Union Army and the press, who dubbed her "La Belle Rebelle," "the Siren of the Shenandoah," "the Rebel Joan of Arc," and "Amazon of Secessia." In fact, the New York Tribune described her whole attire, "…a gold palmetto tree [pin] beneath her beautiful chin, a Rebel soldier's belt around her waist, and a velvet band across her forehead with the seven stars of the Confederacy shedding their pale light therefrom…the only additional ornament she required to render herself perfectly beautiful was a Yankee halter [noose] encircling her neck."<br />
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Boyd frequented the Union camps, gathering information, and also acting as a courier. According to her memoirs (which were exaggerated) she managed to eavesdrop through a peephole on a Council of War while visiting relatives whose home in Front Royal, Virginia was being used as a Union headquarters.<br />
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Learning that Union Major General Nathanial Banks' forces had been ordered to march, she rode fifteen miles to inform Confederate Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson who was nearby in the Shenandoah Valley. She returned home under cover of darkness. Several weeks later, on May 23, when she realized Jackson was about to attack Front Royal, she ran onto the battlefield to provide the General with last minute information about the Union troop dispositions. Jackson's aide, Lieutenant Henry Kyd Douglas, described seeing "the figure of a woman in white glide swiftly out of town...she seemed...to heed neither weeds nor fences, but waved a bonnet as she came on." Boyd later wrote, "the Federal pickets...immediately fired upon me...my escape was most providential...rifle-balls flew thick and fast about me...so near my feet as to throw dust in my eyes...numerous bullets whistled by my ears, several actually pierced different parts of my clothing." Jackson captured the town and acknowledged her contribution and her bravery in a personal note.<br />
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Boyd's flirtations with Union officers, however, were her strongest source of influence. Contemporaries noted that "without being beautiful, she is very attractive...quite tall...a superb figure...and dressed with much taste." On one occasion, she wooed a Northern soldier to whom, she wrote, "I am indebted for some very remarkable effusions, some withered flowers, and last, but not least, for a great deal of very important information...I must avow the flowers and the poetry were comparatively valueless in my eyes." Boyd continued, "I allowed but one thought to keep possession of my mind—the thought that I was doing all a woman could do for her country's cause."<br />
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Boyd was arrested six or seven times, but managed to avoid incarceration until July 29, 1862, when she was finally imprisoned in Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C. She was released after a month as part of a prisoner exchange, but was arrested again in July 1863. Boyd was not a model inmate. She waved Confederate flags from her window, she sang Dixie, and devised a unique method of communicating with supporters outside. Her contact would shoot a rubber ball into her cell with a bow and arrow and Boyd would sew messages inside the ball. In December 1863 she was released and banished to the South. She sailed for England on May 8, 1864 and was arrested again as a Confederate courier. She finally escaped to Canada with the help of a Union naval officer, Lieutenant Sam Hardinge, and eventually made her way to England where she and Hardinge were married on August 25, 1864.<br />
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Boyd remained in England for two years writing her memoirs, Belle Boyd in Camp and Prison, and achieving success on the stage. She returned to America, a widow and mother, in 1866 where she continued her stage career and lectured on her war experiences; she billed her show as "The Perils of a Spy" and herself as "Cleopatra of the Secession."<br />
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In 1869, she married John Swainston Hammond, an Englishman who had fought for the Union Army. In November 1884, sixteen years and four children later, she divorced Hammond. Two months later she married Nathaniel High, Jr., an actor seventeen years her junior. She died, in poverty, of a heart attack at age 56 on June 11, 1900 while on tour in Kilbourn (now Wisconsin Dells), Wisconsin. She is buried there, in Spring Grove Cemetery.<br />
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By Mary Lou Groh. Sources include Belle Boyd's autobiography, Belle Boyd, In Camp and Prison; Spies of the Confederacy by John Bakeless, published by J. B. Lippincott Co.; The War the Women Lived by Walter Sullivan, published by J.S. Sanders & Co.; Spies and Spymasters of the Civil War by Donald E. Markle, published by Hippocrene Books; Mighty Stonewall by Frank E. Vandiver, published by Texas and A&M Press; and The Secret War for the Union by Edwin C. Fishel, published by Houghton Mifflin Co.LADYHIGHTOWERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09312545935427615347noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6888735388709144775.post-26458317519485219242010-07-29T15:39:00.000-07:002010-07-29T15:39:00.324-07:00Dorothy! We're Not In Kansas Anymore!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfgplfhdKh9dmQjRrUlhBVxtXxomkkh3t9rNyPj3aMZPjURqrBlY9tQLJqB7WD9Z8rGHf8Y4yeMQzt-Qr0cGEAJXzHXps7TpwYTVynFz-46gQyYc09iCb_RJzXTRUk9sjRQUHNSIupq7A/s1600/tornado.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfgplfhdKh9dmQjRrUlhBVxtXxomkkh3t9rNyPj3aMZPjURqrBlY9tQLJqB7WD9Z8rGHf8Y4yeMQzt-Qr0cGEAJXzHXps7TpwYTVynFz-46gQyYc09iCb_RJzXTRUk9sjRQUHNSIupq7A/s400/tornado.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiputukFTFeqQpoot0fcfLo9YGrKsd92AvB61rxAyhHtw8jyGrQCYaXRnsGEzffjeD5r0p1Kd1ysV3llA_PwPx141DAnt-r5YCueqRilXPdrV0stfs8kL0Idd2UWLdhXocJQRi_0ZtWyMw/s1600/untitledga.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiputukFTFeqQpoot0fcfLo9YGrKsd92AvB61rxAyhHtw8jyGrQCYaXRnsGEzffjeD5r0p1Kd1ysV3llA_PwPx141DAnt-r5YCueqRilXPdrV0stfs8kL0Idd2UWLdhXocJQRi_0ZtWyMw/s400/untitledga.bmp" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8htL_hjTng7jC1Qr9GJEYRu4qZ75h5-6FmyHQ_wJlkU9yx5ah0F2orUF9Ns_TxBr60d-hVEABtTZJTz0JIvWKfw5CJq6GOOqvFCUNmGBbeh5bXSS2JA_iZu7YphLhHhSQLDHmpmxqvSc/s1600/untitlednnn.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8htL_hjTng7jC1Qr9GJEYRu4qZ75h5-6FmyHQ_wJlkU9yx5ah0F2orUF9Ns_TxBr60d-hVEABtTZJTz0JIvWKfw5CJq6GOOqvFCUNmGBbeh5bXSS2JA_iZu7YphLhHhSQLDHmpmxqvSc/s400/untitlednnn.bmp" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtvUlBc6ob7dOfzPtaMoiLvckqG-lGwh2lLxXU6puYrFEMcHhfrvZ7bwL9-OPMdy90O0czaYB5g3P4lPhOGtNFxu-vrtDYN25ZMjtKjL_rQz45DjcbYM3XbIuGZDRCsA9pWCTOmq-OztM/s1600/multiple_tornadoes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtvUlBc6ob7dOfzPtaMoiLvckqG-lGwh2lLxXU6puYrFEMcHhfrvZ7bwL9-OPMdy90O0czaYB5g3P4lPhOGtNFxu-vrtDYN25ZMjtKjL_rQz45DjcbYM3XbIuGZDRCsA9pWCTOmq-OztM/s400/multiple_tornadoes.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">My Worst Nightmare!</span></em></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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