Dear Duchess

Happy Mothers Day to All those mothers out there! It is good to be back in cool, SW Colorado mountains again!

Saturday afternoon one of our Pine Siskins invited it's way into the house through an open patio door that NW Okie left open for us Pugs to go in and out of here in SW Colorado.

We did finally get it outside safely, but not before NW Okie snapped this photo of the Pine Siskin perched on a basket on the kitchen shelf.

We have began again filling our wildbird feeders and the Siskins and other birds and grey squirrel are slowly finding their way back to our feeding ground. Even a juvenile raccoon did a trapeze act on the railing around the back patio one evening that awoke us Pugs from our nightly snooze.

The hummers are gradually partaking of the hummer juice that NW Okie made up. So far we have seen a Ruby-Throated and a Rufus. BUT ... the strangest thing is the Ruby-Throated has become the aggresser and chased the Rufus away from the feeders. Usually it is the other way around, isn't?

You can catch our Hummingbird feeders on our webcams at the the following links, but there is not much action this week. Once the word gets out I suppose the action will pick up to some extent. OkieLegacy Webcams: SW Colorado Backyard Cam I - SW Colorado Backyard Cam II - SW Colorado Frontyard Cam.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all those mother's out there on this second Sunday of May 2009!
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Insight Into Grandma

This week our "Insight Into John & constance takes us back to July, 1904 with the letter postmarked July 5, 1904, 10am, Quincy, Ill -- John C McClure's letter to Miss Constance Warwick in Alva, Oklahoma Territory was received two days later, July 7, 1904.

This week's letter is not handwritten, but is a two-paged, typed and dated July 2, 1904, Quincy, Ill., Miss Constance Warwick, Alva, Okla.

This week we find out that the Nellie John has been talking about in his letters is his cousin. It is the coming of the fourth of July with prize-fights and picnics.

"Dear Friend: I will endeaver to answer your most welcome letter I received a few days ago. It has been nice and cool for the past week; nice weather to go to school. Well the big forth is nearly here, but I don't believe that I will do any very big celebrating. There are to be several big prize fights here, several picnics and I guess that is about all.

"I believe if I were you I would quit teaching school and take shorthand some where; you will find it much nicer work and your patience will not be tried half so much. The Gem City Business College never closes. The attendance of course is not nearly so large as in the fall and winter but I think the attendance, now, must be at least 300. This school does not guarantee positions, but on the other hand they are always placing their graduates in positions.

"If you are writing to them you might make some kind of a proposition to them, as to guaranteeing you a position, but if you have not written to them yet, let me know and I can perhaps give you a bit of advice. I think myself, it is a bad policy for any school to guarantee positions, for you know what kind of kids some times drift in a business college, some are good for nothing.

"I don't expect to finish before Sep. 1st. Spelling is really the main thing in shorthand, and I am sure your knowledge of grammar would help you out grandly.

"You talk about those ikey looking boys down there; well you can nearly see anything you want to here. I must tell you what I saw least night. I was down in the park, and there was sort of a crazy man down there. He was an Irish man and appeared to be a hard working man. Well, he went running around jumping over the seat, then he would stop and jump up in the air and whirl around just like a soldier. It was the funniest thing I had seen in a long time.

"I suppose Alva will have a big time the forth (sic). I wish I could be there, for I expect Nellie will be there, and all of the others. My cousin Nellie and her husband are visiting at our home. I don't know whether they are coming through Quincy to see me or not. That Mrs. Adams who is from Alva and attending school here went to Ohio the other day. She is coming back in Sep. to finish the shorthand course.

"Well I guess I had better close for this time for I am making all sorts of mistakes, writing words twice spotting over letters and every thing else. I am not used to writing with out notes. Write soon. Yours ylgnivol (lovingly backwards), John C. McClure.
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July 7, 1904 - Oklahoma News

Back in July 1904 these are some of the headlines you might have been reading in the Oklahoma newspaper:

National Convention Has C, Keynote sounded, John Sharp Williams Made the speech outlining party policies, Cheers for Cleveland, Eastern delegates and others howl at mention of his name -- Bryan's following also aroused to a demonstration.ommenced Its Business, Democratic Convention Appointed to Report on permanent work of the body; Bailey Declines, he will not take the position of permanent chairman; Japanese Continue to press toward Mukden; A hurricane In Colorado; Hole Sawed in bottom of cell; Williams' speech.

A Hurricane In colorado - Severe Storm In Vicinity of Telluride Kills One and Causes Considerable Damage. July 7, 1904, The Oklahoman, frontpage headlines.

Trinidad, Colo., July 6 -- "A hurricane tonight caused the death of Louis Lucio, 5 years old, and destroyed much property. A number of buildings were wrecked. Roofs were torn from other buildings and trees uprooted.

"Lucio was killed by a corrugated iron roof, blown from a shed at the Santa Fe roundhouse, crushing him. The hurricane was followed by terrific rain and hail. Hail as large as walnuts fell, breaking many windows. The rain washed out the tracks of the Rio Grande and colorado Southern roads near their respective depots.

"A Colorado Southern passenger train from the south passed through a terrific hail storm ten miles out. Many windows in the coaches were broken. None of the passengers were injured. The storm was general in the section and much damage to crops was caused."
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July 6 1904 - Kansas River On Rampage

On page 2 of The Oklahoman, dated July 7, 1904, were the headlines: "Kansas River Is On the Rampage" - "large Portion of North Topeka Is Flooded and People are moving for safety."

Topeka, Kans., July 6, 1904 -- "The Kaw River broke out of its banks at 11 o'clock tonight and joined with Soldier Creek. A large portion of North Topeka is flooded. The stream is rising at a rate of 2 inches an hour and will keep it up all night.

"Every conceivable vehicle is being used by the North Topeka people in transporting their goods to the south side, and north Topeka is being deserted as fast as possible. The refugees are being quartered in the state house and other public buildings. Rains are reported in all the tributaries upstream."
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1904 Edition - The Virginian by Owen Wister

David and I went to an auction last Saturday morning in Alva, Oklahoma and bid successful on a 1904 edition of "The Virginian." This 1904 edition of "The Virginian" was entitled The Horseman of the Plains. Its published information stated: "New York The Macmillan Company, London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd. 1904.

It was copyright 1904 by Macmillan Company. It also mentioned, "Set up, electrotyped and published April 1902. Reprinted June twice, July four times, August three times, September twice, November twice, December twice, 1902; January, February, August November 2903; February 1904; special edition in paper covers, May, December 1904. Norwood Press, J. S. Cushing & Co. Berwick & Smith Co., Norwood, Mass, USA."

Owen Wister was also author of "Red Men and White" - "Lin Mclean" - "U. S. Grant: A biography."

There was a dedication: "To Theodore Roosevelt -- some of these pages you have seen, some you have praised, on stands new-written because you blamed it; and all, my dear critic, beg leave to remind you of their author's changeless admiration."

Owen Wister was born July 14, 1860, in Germantown, PA, as an only child. The scion of a wealthy Germantown family, Owen Wister was born in 1860. The future novelist first showed promise as a musician, though his father directed him into a career in banking and then in the law. Plagued with neurasthenia, Wister took a variant of the “rest cure” of Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell, traveling to Wyoming on Mitchell’s advice. From these experiences, Wister began to write short stories of the West. His Western writing culminated in the 1902 publication of The Virginian, the most popular Western ever and the beginning for westerns that followed.

During his career, Wister would publish another novel, many short stories, an opera, three biographies, and a number of political pieces. Owen Wister died at his summer home in Saunderstown, Rhode Island, in 1938. -- Owen Wister, author.
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Charleston, OK 1901

On the way back to Colorado this week, we passed through Harper County, in Northwest Oklahoma, just before you get to the panhandle (or No Mans Lands). What we found in Section 10, along highway 64, was this historical marker that read:

"The East-West section line one mile South of this marker was formerly Locust Street in Charleston, Okla. The first post office was established June 18, 1901, approximately one and one-half mile south and one-half mile west of here near the center of Section 10.

It was named after Charles J. Eilerts on whose homestead it was located and who was the first postmaster and merchant in the area. The Charleston school district was organized March 27, 1902 and the first school was taught in a tent approximately two miles west of here by Edna B. Coffey.

"Travel from this area to the nearest railroad took all day with a team and wagon loaded with wheat or livestock for the market. Community roads were little more than traces in the grass, and visiting between neighbors accordingly was limited.

"A trip to town on Saturday was a social event as well as a shopping chore. However, the wagons that brought homesteaders into the territory carried musical instruments and books as well as plows, so that social progress was rapid. Before statehood in 1907 the community came to enjoy civic opportunities afforded by a lodge room, a race track, and a brass band. continued on back."

That was all on the front side of the marker. I did not get a photo of the backside of the stone marker. I will need to do that next time I'm back that way in northwest Oklahoma. OR ... If someone is out in Harper County, on Hwy 64, in Northwest Oklahoma, stop beside the highway if you see this marker and take a digital photo and send us the rest of the story.

All I could find online at Wikipedia was, "Charleston is a ghost town in Harper County, Oklahoma, United States. Some of its buildings were moved to the nearby communities of Buffalo and Selman; others remain."
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Marvin's Hummingbirds

Marvin Henry says, "Our hummers began appearing in the latter part of March. By mid-April, we were probably at our peak. As to a number, haven't a clue! We had five feeders, and were filling daily.



"At present there are six feeders, and probably have to refill four each day. There are a couple of videos, taken on two different evenings. There is not a lot of color as the best view was from the dining room window, which is on the east side of the house. The feeders on the west were equally as busy, but it was more difficult to get the video without spooking the hummers. The videos are posted at Marvin's Photo Album along with other videos."
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Playing For Change - Song Around The World "Stand By Me"

Playing For Change Song Around The World "Stand By Me" from Concord Music Group on Vimeo.
Charles Cook says, "Grandpa Elliot is a standard fixture in the French Quarter in New Orleans. I've seen him every time I've been there for some years. His is blind! This is cool music!"
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SE Corner of Crete

Al says, "So we're here in the midst of 6,000 years of history, looking forward to understanding several epochs. I'm attaching a few photos of the sea on the south of the island, as seen from the road behind our condo.

"Well, Candace and I are here at Villea Village on the Southeast corner of Crete. We have a Michelin green guide to Greece, and it has a translation of Greek to Latin alphabet so I can now mispronounce the place names more precisely. The island has a rich history. The Minoans were here in 2800 BCE, and supposedly Zeus was born here - if you believe Homer and Hesiod.

The Minoans colonized Santorini (Thera) and Cyprus, and all disappeared about 1530 BCE. In contrast to my first home in Oklahoma, they had indoor plumbing and flush toilets. But I'm not jealous.They had human sacrifice and I just had to go to the Baptist church. Some scholars believe they are the Pharisees of the New Testament.

The Minoans had two cuneiform alphabets, linear A and B. B was translated in 1952, and A is as obscure as the concept of a quark. So we're looking forward to seeing Minoan palaces, Roman ruins, Byzantine relics, the trail of Titus, life under the Venitians (who may have ruled blindly), and, post Constantinople Greece. The people of Crete fought the Turks until 1878, when they won a measure of independence. War continued intermittently until 1941, when the Germans sacrificed 3,000 of their best to take the island."
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The Most Dangerous Cake Recipe

Have you ever had a hankering for a piece of chocolate cake, but did not want to make a big cake? Just wanted a slice or two? I had to try this for myself. The photo shows the one I made this Sunday morning. Tell me, though, at higher altitudes does it call for more liquids and less oil? OR ... is it the other way around?

This Mug of Chocolate Cake is for you if you are in need of a chocolate cake fix! A Southern Oklahoma historian had this in his Newsletter (This & That) a couple of weeks ago. I asked if I could share it with you all this week.

Butch says, "Sure! Put it in your ezine. A lady on B Street SE here in Ardmore sent it to me last week."

The most dangerous cake recipe
5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar (decrease by a Tbsp for higher altitudes)
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk (increase extra Tbsp for higher altitudes)
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (melted, optional)
a small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high). The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!

Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!
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Inquiry: W. H. Brown Family

Bev Skiles says, "Dear Friend, I am Beverly Brown Skiles. I am from the side of W.H. Brown which was a brother to Orvel Brown. My father was Russel Brown who was a son of W.H. Brown.

I am trying to locate more information on Martha Brown that married and later or sometime went to Nebraska. Seems some of these people just dropped off of the face of the earth. Our side stayed in Missouri.

I am not clear at all why there was the big shift to Oklahoma on the part of some and some remained in Missouri.

I am a missionary in Taiwan. I am very curious. I did see the Okie’s Heart Vol. 5, Iss 27 but can’t seem to get past that -- Brown is so common it is hard to find good leads. I have been in contact with Scott Downs, also, but not much info on Aunt Martha. She would have been my great aunt. Thank you for your time."
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Looking Back ... To the Future

Vester Tobias Brown (1890-1918)... "I am trying to locate information on the two individuals in this picture. The gentleman is Vester Tobias Brown, my great uncle.

Here is what I know about him: Born 10/25/1890 in Miller County, Missouri. Moved to Waynoka, Oklahoma, at age of 17. Enlisted in the US Army, April 26, 1918. Spent two months in training at Camp Travis, Texas. From Texas, transferred to New York and sailed to Brest, France.

He was killed October 23, 1918, in the Argonne Forest, 344 Machine Gun Batallion, 90th Division. Burial place unknown. Vester was the son of James F. Brown and Harriet Elizabeth Woolsey Brown, who were both born in Missouri. His siblings included William Brown, Daisy Brown, Joe A. Brown, Martha Brown, Melvin Brown, and Orvel E. F. Brown (my grandfather).

I don't know if you'll be able to see it, but on Vester's hand is a ruby ring. I started wearing that ring in high school after my grandfather's (O. E. Brown's) death. I wear it to this day, MANY decades later.

I am curious who the lady is in the picture and I am curious if anyone else knows anything further about Vester. Vester never married, and the inscription on the back of the picture only says, Uncle Vester and friend. If anyone has any info, please write me at scott@scottdowns.net. Thank you!" -- Scott - email: scott@scottdowns.net
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MacGill / McGill Coat of Arms & Tartan

We found the following MacGill / McGill Coat of Arms, McGill Tartan and McGill Motto [Sine Fine - Without End (also translated: Always and Forever)] at the following mcgillsociety.org website.

The Coat of arms is similar to what my Dad had purchased a copy of many years ago before he died.

While Gene was over in England he purchased material with this McGill Tarton design. Not sure where that material ended up after the settlement of his probate estates, though.

The Makgill/Macgill Tartan is a beautiful tartan consisting of a sett of six colors: red, green, black, white, yellow, and blue. The registered MacGill tartan may be worn by several Scotts families: McGill, Gill, Cargill, gillen, Glen and Cairnes.

The Clan Badge image -- On the Clan Badge it shows the crest as a phoenix in flames Proper. In view of the revival of the title in 1977 this is a singularly appropriate crest.
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