Duchess & Sadie's Snowy Domain

Bayfield, Colorado - With five days until Christmas, this last Saturday NW Okie finally made it in to Durango, Colorado to finish up some Christmas shopping and snapped this image of the 482 Durango-Silverton narrow gauge steam locomotive that was coming into the Durango Railroad station in the early afternoon hours on Saturday, 18 December 2010.

The Polar Express


The Polar Express Narrow Gauge Railroad & Museum at Durango, Colorado, has an award winning book that comes to life on a magical journey, beginning November 19 and running through December 28, 2010. I have never taken this magical journey to the North Pole that picks up Santa, on The Polar Express, Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge. It looks like a magical journey for the humans of the young at heart, but what about the four legged creatures such as myself and Sadie, the Pugs?

The journey begins November 19 and runs through December 28. All passengers will enjoy hot chocolate and a treat served by your personal chefs who will also read the Polar Express story on the way to the North Pole to pick up Santa! While Santa visits each car, your chefs will lead you in specially selected Christmas carols on the return to Durango. All the kids aboard the train will receive a special gift from Santa!

Happy Hanukkah! Merry Christmas! AND ... Happy Holidays! View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

Home Comfort Cookbook (1934) - Evolution of the Home Comfort Range

America - On page 15 thru 20 of my Wrought Iron Range Home Comfort Cookbook, it shows series of illustrations of the evolution or progressive development of the Home Comfort Range, beginning without he "Farmer" cook stove, the first stove manufactured and sold direct to the home by the founders of the Wrought Iron Range Company in 1864.

It goes on to state, "With this modest beginning, came the building of the Home Comfort -- the First Family range ever manufactured. With the adoption of Malleable Iron in its construction, this range became the First Malleable Iron Range ever built. Then followed a half century of further Home Comfort development as shown in the following progressive illustrations, leading up to the present beautiful Enameled Master-Model of today."

The next few pages of the PDF file show photos of the Home Comfort stoves from 1870 thru 1933. I have also included the sectional parts of the Home Comfort range for those interested in restoring, or looking for parts. of the Home Comfort range. CLICK HERE! View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

NW Okie's R & R In San Juan Mtns

San Juan Mtns, Colorado - With eleven days left of 2010 we find ourselves reaching the end of this year's Volume 12 of the OkieLegacy Ezine, beginning Vol. 13 next year for 2011. AND ... Only five days until Christmas! Where has the time gone?

We have had cloud covers for the last few days with a mixture of snow and rain accumulations in the San Juan mountains (approx. 7-inches so far) with 18 inches added on to the Wolf Creeks Ski base in the last few days Making a 52-inch base).

A rare occurrence that does not happen very much is happening tonight! According to NASA, tonight's occurrence may be only the second one in the last two millennia where a full Lunar Eclipse on the Winter Solstice takes place. The first was back around 1638.

Geoff Chester of the U.S. Naval Observatory, who inspected a list of eclipses going back 2,000 years, said on NASA's Solstice Lunar Eclipse page. The next lunar eclipse on the winter solstice won't be such a long wait, though. It's expected in 2094.

For those who watch the skies, the eclipse should occur over a three and a half hour period, starting at 10:33 p.m. PT and ending 2:01 a.m. PT tomorrow. They say the Earth's shadow will completely cover the moon for about 72 minutes, and is likely to have a reddish hue.

For those who do not watch the skies and universe, they say a lunar eclipse happens when the sun, Earth and moon align with the Earth in the middle. There is always a full moon during a lunar eclipse. The lunar eclipse is viewable for quite some time and is safe to view, unlike a solar eclipse.

From beginning to end, the eclipse will last about three hours and twenty-eight minutes. For observers on the east coast of the U.S. the eclipse lasts from 1:33 a.m. EST through 5:01 a.m. EST. Viewers on the west coast will be able to tune in a bit earlier. For them the eclipse begins at 10:33 p.m. PST on December 20 and lasts until 2:01am PST on December 21. Totality, the time when Earth's shadow completely covers the moon, will last a lengthy 72 minutes.

Here in Southwest Colorado, we hope the clouds will disperse and open to clear skies for this second Lunar eclipse to correspond with the Winter Soltice.

Good Night & Good Luck! View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

Pittsburg, KS High School

Pittsburg, Kansas - One of our OkieLegacy readers mentions, "The (Pittsburg, KS) high school still stands. It has been converted to a middle school. I currently go to the new high school."

For information about the Pittsburg, Kansas High School old 2-cent postcard present in our OkieLegacy, check out our OkieLegacy Vol. 6, Iss. 25. View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

Oklahoma, The Next Star on the Flag

Oklahoma - The Oklahoma Book - Oklahoma The Next Star on the Flag, feature from OkieLegacy, Vol. 6, Iss. 43, brought the following comment from Anrew, "Do you know the copyright date on this book???"

NW Okie's answer to that is, "I do not know for sure!" It had this following photos in it of Northwestern State Normal School (Castle on the Hill). View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

Col. Kirkbride's Peanut Brittle

Alva, Oklahoma - For this week I thought I would look up my cousin, Stan Paris' variation of Col. Kirkbride's Peanut Brittle that he made every year for people around the northwest parts of Oklahoma way back when. You can also find this Peanut Brittle recipe in MyCookbook menu at the top of the page, listed under Sweets."

Peanut Brittle (Sweets)

1 cup water
1 cup White Karo
2 cups sugar
2 cups Raw peanuts
2 T. butter heaping
2 tsp. baking soda heaping
1/2 tsp. salt heaping

Mix Butter, Baking Soda & Salt into a ball and set aside. Mix Karo in hot water and add to sugar in pan. Cook over high heat until boiling. Add peanuts and cook to hard crack 295 Degrees. Quickly, BUT Thoroughly, stir in butter & soda mixture. The ORIGINAL Recipe did not call for heaping portions, but Stan Paris thought it enhances the flavor. Spread thinly, evenly on 14-1/4 inch x 17 1/4 inch buttered pan or aluminum foil. We put in more peanuts in our version.

How did Neuman's Boys Choir annual Christmas peanut brittle turn out? Do they still do that any more? View/Write Comments (count 3)   |   Receive updates (2 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

This Day In History (Dec. 20)

Tennessee - Do you remember the Rock-n-Roll star, Elvis the Pelvis, from the 1950's?

On this day in history, December 18 1957, Rock-n-Roll star, Elvis Presley, while spending the Christmas holidays at his newly purchased Tennessee mansion (Graceland), lost his sideburns and pompadour hairstyle when he was drafted into the United States Army.

After six months of basic training, including an emergency leave to see his beloved mother (Gladys) before she died in August 1958, Presley sailed to Europe on the USS General Randall.

For the next 18 months, he served in Company D, 32nd Tank Battalion, 3rd Armor Corps in Friedberg, Germany, where he attained the rank of sergeant. For the rest of his service, he shared an off-base residence with his father, grandmother and some Memphis friends.

After working during the day, Presley returned home at night to host frequent parties and impromptu jam sessions. At one of these, an army buddy of Presley's introduced him to 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu, whom Elvis would marry some years later. View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe