Duchess of Weaselskin

Bayfield, CO - Four days ago, with a lunch hour break and an airing out for our tomato plants, it took David and NW Okie (mostly David) working together from 9:45a.m. to a little after 5:00p.m., 24 May 2012, to assembled this polycarbonate, 6x8 greenhouse that we found on ebay for half the price it was selling at a local hardware store in Southwest Colorado.

This Sunday evening we had a hard freeze here in the Southwest Rockies of Colorado. It got down to 28F. Thank goodness for our new greenhouse to give our hanging potted plants to take cover.

We have seen lots of little and big green tomatoes on my "early girls" and "4th of July" tomatoes, as well as my "sweet 100s." They are not bushy like some plants, because NW Okie has pinched off the scorched leaf damage that occurred in "old" greenhouse. But the good side of that is we have seen new foliage sprouting since moving to new greenhouse. Our new polycarbonate greenhouse has a UV protection and two vented windows on the roof to keep it from getting too hot inside.

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100 Years Ago Today - 28 May 1912

America - One hundred years ago today and over a month after the Titanic sank, we found this headlines in The Evening World, dated 28 May 1912, out of New York: Blame Californian For Titanic Deaths and 1,500 Titanic Victims Perished by Neglect of the Californian.

It was reported by Chairman Smith reports to Senate that none would have been lost had Capt. Lord not ignored sisters signals. The Senate ordered a $1,000 Gold Medal presented to Capt. Rostron of Rescue Ship Carpathia.

Washington, May 28, 1912 -- "Teeming with eloquence, combining praise for heroism and scathing rebuke for negligence and cowardice of the most appalling marine tragedy of history, was the final and official requiem today in the senate for the victims of the Titanic. Senator Smith of Michigan, Chairman of the Senate investigating committee, summed up his views of the evidence developed."

The newspaper mentioned that everyone aboard the giant liner might have been saved but for the indifference, inattention and almost criminal neglect of Capt. Stanley Lord and the other officers of the Californian. It was reported as the most "startling charge Smith bitterly made."

Five hundred needless lives were sacrificed because of insufficient number of lifeboats that were not filled. There was findings of "obsolete and antiquated" shipping laws. The laxity of regulation and hasty inspection by the British Board of Trade was denounced by Smith. As a contributory cause, he named the indifference of Capt. Smith of the Titanic for ignoring ice warnings and moving the Titanic full speed through the northern waters.

Lack of discipline among the crew and cowardice of some of its members indicated after the crash was scathingly arraigned. To the two Titanic wireless operators, Phillips and Bride, the speaker paid a glowing tribute. He lauded Capt. Rostron of the rescue ship Carpathia and denounced Capt. Lord of the Californian. The Senator said the Titanic's distress signals were plainly seen from the deck of his vessel a short distance away.

The Senator asserted, "America would leave to England the chastisement of those guilty." The Senator quoted British law to show that Capt. Lord might be prosecuted for a misdemeanor. View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

NW Okie's Corner

Bayfield, CO - We Remember and Honor All Veterans of All wars! The photo on the left is a few photos of my Uncle Robert Lee McGill, who fought overseas during World War II. The photo in the upper-right of that same image may be a photo of my Grand Uncle Robert Lee Warwick, who enlisted in the British forces overseas and fought in World War I (1919).

In honor and respect for our ancestors, relatives and friends who fought in the Revolutionary War, World War I & II and All Veterans who served their country from then to the present day . . . Yes! We do remember, honor and stand with you then and now.

This week's newsletter takes us back to the 1850's when the filibuster began. It also takes us back to the 1950's thru the 1964 just after World War II during the industrious, baby boomer and desegration era. It was not a perfect decade, especially with the Civil Rights Movement for "desegregation."

We had some trouble with uploading and changing profile photos on Facebook this weekend. We were also unable to "comment" and "like" to due error in writing to Facebook database. So if you found "no" image profile associated with our Facebook page, that is why. Checking out Facebook's troubleshooting forum, I found others in the same situation. Did anyone else have any trouble?

Tell the GOP, "Stop the War On Women & Obstructionism! Let us move FORWARD with solutions and equality for all!"
Good Night & Good Luck searching your family ancestry! View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

Highland County Virginia - The Highlander Abroad

Highland County, Virginia - In chapter XXII, History of Highland County, we come upon the Highlander abroad and their call of the West; their extent of emigration from Highland and the prominent emigrants and letters by Highland Emigrants.

The older states of the Union peopled newer states, but the Old frontier, which rested along the entire Alleghany front, was foremost in this movement, and contributed very heavily to the settlement of the Mississippi basin.

It was in 1783, after Highland had been settled almost forty years, there were yet but 10,000 people west of the Alleghanies. Seven years later there were 100,000 beyond the mountains, three-fourths of them in Kentucky, and nearly all these from Virginia. Up to 1847 it was estimated that a third of the emigration to the West had gone from the Old Dominion. The census of 1860 found 400,000 people of Virginia birth dwelling in other states. This was equal to a third of the white population remaining in the state.

The people of Highland have swarmed outward in great numbers. Families once quite numerous were now slimly represented or not at all. Occasionally a family name had scarcely more than maintained a foothold, even from the coming of the pioneer himself. Only leaving a few remaining in the old homesteads as the others had gone westward.

For many years the outflow from Highland was almost exclusively westward. The westward current first occupied the upper section of the Greenbrier Valley. Then it moved onward in a widening stream, scattering Highland surnames very widely in what is now West Virginia. It crossed the Ohio, keeping step with the opening of the country to settlement, and never halted, except for the waves of the Pacific Ocean.

There was an early rush into Kentucky, as it dispersed widely over the Southwest. The depleting of the East and the ultimate exhaustion of desirable land in the West, together with the changes wrought by the new industrial conditions, have caused the seaboard states to present a measure of attraction which once was unthought of and did not truly exist. Highland people had been moving somewhat into the Valley, pushing across the Blue Ridge into the counties of Piedmont and Middle Virginia.

There was not a Highland family but had kinsfolk abroad. Many were born abroad, having never seen their ancestral county, and were strangers to its people. There were nearer relatives, native to the county, who had migrated in all directions. Highland was represented throughout by two classes of people: 1) those of Highland birth and 2) those of Highland ancestry only.

They were to be found from New York to San Francisco and from Chicago to Mexican border. Some amassed wealth in industrial occupations. Some had gone into professional careers. Some had been judges and legislators. Even a governor's chair or a seat in Congress with a national reputation has not proved beyond the reach of the man of Highland birth or parentage.

In the broader field of opportunity which was outside of the little mountain valleys, the emigrant from Highland had made good. They were shown the capabilities of their stock, and had competed on even terms with Americans of other localities.

It was the Highlanders of parentage only of whom the residents of the county know the least. The larger share of these had been quite lost sight of. Yet several were known to have attained eminence.

The late John G. Carlisle of Kentucky, Senator and Cabinet officer, was a son of Robert and grandson of James, of the Bullpasture. His father left Highland in childhood and married a wife of Connecticut birth.

Joseph Benson Foraker, ex-governor of Ohio and ex-senator, was of the Bensons of Highland and had near relatives here.

Professor Robert A Armstrong, of the University of West Virginia, so well and favorably known in the educational circles of his state, was a scion of the Armstrongs of Doe Hill.

Benjamin Estill, Jr., of Washington County, Virginia, possessed an eloquence that matched his commanding presence. He served in Congress in 1824-6. His father's name was commemorated in Estillville, a town of this state, as an uncle's name was in that of Estill county in Kentucky. The name of General Knox, reared on the Cowpasture, was given to the metropolis of East Tennessee.

Highland had furnished a congressman who grew to manhood on its own soil. General William McCoy removed from Doe Hill to Franklin about 1800, where he went into the mercantile business. He was also a large landholder, and possessed a well-stocked farm. In 1811 he was elected to Congress for the district comprising the counties of Augusta, Rockingham, Bath, Pendleton and Hardy. His majority was 135, though he carried but his own county and Rockingham. He was re-elected for ten more terms, serving until 1833. He was a trusted friend of Andrew Jackson, and in Congress was a man of influence. For a number of years he held the important position of chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of Virginia in 1829. General Mccoy is scarcely remembered by any person now living, although he was known to have been tall and spare and of commanding presence.

This is just a few Highland men abroad that had varying instances of success:

• Adam C.Snyder, judge of court of appeals of West Virginia
• Dr. J. R. S. Sterrett, accomplished scholar and professor in leading American university, traveled extensively in Europe and the Orient. He knew sixteen tongues and conversed in several. His mastery of German being so complete as to cause him to be taken for a native German by the Germans themselves.
• Rev. Robert H. Fleming, D. D., was at the head of the Presbyterian Orphanage at Lynchburg.
• William and George M. Life were also thoroughly educated divines, and the former founded Rye Seminary in New York.
• Professor Thomas H. Jones holds a prominent position in the Randolph-Macon system of secondary schools.
• Clifton E. Byrd and William H. Keister were superintendents of city schools at Shreveport, Louisiana, and Harrisonburg, Virginia, respectively.
• Charles S. McNulty was a leading attorney of Roanoke.
• Henry Jones, who went to Texas bout 1825, left a million to his daughter.
• Jacob W. Byrd, and original "Forty-niner," narrowly escaped being lost in his journey across the western plains. He reached El Dorado in safety and dug a competence out of its golden sands.
• Edward C. Rexrode is a high-salaried salesman in a produce house of the city of New York.
• Charles A. Bradshaw was a very successful insurance agent of Bluefield, West Virginia.

History of Filibuster Dates Back To 1850's

America - According to the United States Senate archives & history, the delay or blocking legislative action using the filibuster has a long history. The term "Filibuster" is from a Dutch word meaning "Pirate." It became popular in the 1850s, when it was applied to efforts to hold the Senate floor in order to prevent a vote on a bill. It seems today the present Congress has moved away from the debating part of the filibuster.

In the 19th century, the early years of congress, representatives and senators could filibuster. Revisions to the House rules limited debate, as the House of Representatives grew in numbers. While in the Senate the unlimited debate continued on the grounds that any senator should have the right to speak as long as necessary on any issue.

It was in 1841, when the Democratic minority hoped to block a bank bill promoted by Kentucky Senator Henry Clay. Clay threatened to change Senate rules to allow the majority to close debate. It was the Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton, who rebuked Clay for trying to stifle the Senate's right to unlimited debate.

It was in 1917, Senators adopted Rule 22, at the urging of President Woodrow Wilson. Rule 22 allowed the Senate to end a debate with a 2/3 majority vote, which was known as "Cloture." This senate rule was first put to the test in 1919, when the Senate invoked cloture to end a filibuster against the Treaty of Versailles. With the new cloture rule, filibusters remained an effective means to block legislation, with a 2/3 vote being difficult to obtain.

It was over the next five decades, the Senate occasionally tried to invoke cloture, but usually failed to gain the necessary 2/3 votes. Southern senators found the filibuster particularly useful and sought it out to block civil rights legislation, including anti-lynching legislation, until cloture was invoked after a 57 day filibuster against the Civil Right Act of 1964.

It was in 1975, when the Senate reduced the number of votes required for cloture from 2/3 to 3/5 (60 of the current one hundred senators).

During the 1930's, Senator Huey P. Long frustrated his colleagues while entertaining spectators with his recitations of Shakespeare and his reading of recipes for "pot-likkers." Long effectively used the filibuster against bills that he thought favored the rich over the poor. Long once held the Senate floor for 15 hours. The record for the longest individual speech goes to South Carolina's J. Strom Thurmond, who filibustered for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1957. View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

Rock n Roll Classic of 1950-1960's

America - This should jog some of those "baby boomers" memory cells and get you rocking and rolling once again, if only with your walking cane or tapping of your feet or hands. This 1950's and 1960's video mix, "America Never Stops Dancing," was edited by Ivan Hernandez as a 2010 tribute to all Rock and Roll singers and performers whom made the 50's and 60's unforgettable decade.

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After World War II

America - After World War II, the 1950's saw a very industrious decade with great inventions, the suburbs and baby boomers. But that was not all that happened. The 1950's was not a perfect decade, though. There was the fight for desegregation.

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1950's Car Culture Video

America - We found this short video about the automobile culture in America in the 1950's, how it impacted the country in many ways. See if this jogs some of those memory cells of the 1950's for you. It seems in the mid-1950's the McGill family had a Plymouth station wagon they hooked a tear-drop trailer, taking in an adventure to Yellowstone and Alaska.

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History of the Graf Zeppelin

Germany - It was in 1929, the first time in history a Graf Zeppelin circumnavigated the globe. It was a 21-day voyage, among them the young journalist Lady Grace Drummond-Hay, reporting for the Hearst media empire. The BBC Four website has a documentary about this "Around the World by Zeppelin" that documents the Graf Zeppelin airship.

Besides the Hindenburg, there were other zeppelin's. The most successful zeppelin ever built was the LZ-127 Graf Zeppelin airship that flew more than a million miles on 590 flights, carrying over 34,000 passengers without a single injury.

Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin began construction of his first airship (LZ-1) in 1898, June in a floating wooden hangar on the Lake Constance (Bodensee) at Manzell (Friedrichshafen) in Southern Germany, not far froth Swiss border. It was the movable, floating shed that allowed the ship to be positioned into the wind to enter or leave its hangar. It was competed in the winter of 1899, but it was the summer of 1900 before they attempted to fly zeppelin's invention. It was inflated with hydrogen gas in June and made it maiden flight on 2 July 1900. The flight lasted about 18 minutes and covered about three and a half miles over the lake.

The Luftschiff Zeppelin 1 was 420 feet long, 38-½ feet in diameter, containing approximately 399,000 cubic feet of hydrogen in 17 gas cells made of rubberized cotton fabric. Two metal gondolas were suspended below the ship (aft and forward) and each gondola housed a 4-cylinder water-cooled Daimler gasoline engine, which put out 14 horsepower. View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

The Virtual Wall - Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Washington DC - The Virtual Wall - Vietnam Veterans Memorial -- Vietnam War casualties are listed by "Home of Record" on these index pages linked here. You may click "Find a Name" in the drop down window at the top-left.

The Vietnam War was a hard, long war for all and we can remember them and keep their memories of them alive through "The Virtual Wall." You can click on a state name to see the personal memorial pages of casualties from that state. you can view panels of the Wall by date, Highest Military awards, alphabetical by last name, photograph index and indexes by military unit.

The "Photograph Index" shows the faces of those who died in the Vietnam War. By clicking on a photo it will display that person's complete memorial page. The Virtual Wall which does not yet have photos has poems, letters and stories. Photos were sent to the Virtual Wall by friends and relatives of the fallen.

If you find your relative or friend and it does not have a photo and you want to submit a photo, here is information on how to submit your photo. They are asking for scanned images set to 300 dots per inch (dpi) or higher and save to JPEG (JPG), PNG, TIF or BMP. Send the image file as an email attachment, with the name of the person(s) in the photo. Click the link above for more information about submitting photos.man View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

SpaceX Dragon Capsule Launch

World - Latest breaking news on SpaceX Dragon capsule launch - breakingnews.com -- Did you get to see the astronauts and cosmonauts grabbing a Dragon spacecraft sent to them with food, clothes and supplies? It was a fantastic watch as the astronauts and cosmonauts living aboard the International Space Station hooked the SpaceX Dragon.



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