History | dual personalities

February 15, 2016

Meet, right and our bounden duty

by chuckofish

Sunday was the first Sunday in Lent so we had the Great Litany at the beginning of our service–you know, that’s the one where we implore Christ to preserve us from evil and wickedness, from sin, from the crafts and assaults of the devil, and from everlasting damnation, etc, etc, etc.

We also switch to Rite I in our church so we go back to “and with thy spirit” and “we most heartily thank thee for that thou dost feed us, in these holy mysteries.” Of course, I am one of only a handful of people that probably enjoys this, but oh well, c’est la vie.

It snowed Sunday morning, so a lot of people stayed home, and I might have myself but for the fact that I was reading. It was a good reading too: Romans 10:8b–13

The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach); ⁹because, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved.¹¹The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” ¹²For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and bestows his riches upon all who call upon him. ¹³For, “every one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”

After church, I had to go to the grocery store to pick up the cake for the baby shower I was co-hosting with Becky. The driving was worse than ever, but I got the cake and made it home. Then the OM drove me over to the baby shower and dropped me off with all my stuff. It was a fun party and the mama-to-be received a lot of presents.

Daughter #1 sent her a present from NYC and it was a big hit.

Ah, sunrise, sunset. And now it is Monday and I don’t have Presidents Day off. Hats off anyway to Washington and Lincoln, Rutherford B. Hayes

and cousin Lyss

et al. Huzzah.

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February 11, 2016

A contant romance

by chuckofish

As we look into the open fire for our fancies, so we are apt to study the dim past for the wonderful and sublime, forgetful of the fact that the present is a constant romance, and that the happenings of to-day which we count of little importance are sure to startle somebody in the future, and engage the pen of the historian, philosopher, and poet.

–William “Buffalo Bill” Cody, preface to The Old Santa Fe Trail by Colonel Henry Inman

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January 29, 2016

Born and bred in the heart of the western wilderness

by chuckofish

The title of today’s post refers, of course, to…the Wizard of Oz, who you will remember was from Kansas.

Well, today is the 155th anniversary of the day Kansas was admitted as our 34th state in 1861.

Abolitionist Free-staters from New England and pro-slavery settlers from Missouri had rushed to the territory when it was officially opened to settlement by the U.S. government in 1854 in order to determine whether Kansas would become a free state or a slave state. The area became a hotbed of violence and chaos in its early days as these forces collided, thus earning it the name Bleeding Kansas. The abolitionists eventually prevailed. Kansas entered the Union as a free state and the Civil War followed.

After the Civil War the population of Kansas grew rapidly when waves of immigrants turned the prairie into farmland. It also became the center of what we think of as “the Wild West,” what with cattle drives on the Chisholm Trail moving through the state to railheads there. Cattle towns like Abilene, Wichita and Dodge City, flourished between 1866 and 1890 as railroads reached towns suitable for gathering and shipping cattle. All the famous gunslingers and lawmen like Wild Bill Hickok, Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp worked on one side of the law or another in Kansas.

Things eventually calmed down in the state and since the turn of the 20th century people have generally regarded it as one of those states where not much happens.

We who live here in flyover country know that is decidedly not true. Kansas is a big, beautiful state where the weather can be quite severe and the sky is large.

“The High Plains” by Thomas Hart Benton, 1958

Lots of famous (and infamous) people have started out life in Kansas. For instance, did you know that Mabel Walker Willebrandt (1889-1963) was from Kansas? She was the U.S. Assistant Attorney General from 1921-1929 and the highest-ranking woman in the federal government at the time and first woman to head the Tax Division.

She vigorously prosecuted bootleggers during Prohibition–in fact, she was the one who came up with the idea that illegally earned income was subject to income tax. That’s how they got Capone, you know. She is one of those amazing women who nobody knows about–probably because she was a Republican and campaigned vigorously for Herbert Hoover.

Anyway, I watched the movie Dodge City (1939) with Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland fairly recently, so I will recommend instead watching Red River (1948)–a movie about a cattle drive on the Chisholm Trail which ends dramatically in Abilene, Kansas. It is not one of my favorite westerns, but it is well worth watching for John Wayne, Walter Brennan and Montgomery Clift, who is surprisingly effective as a cowboy.

Well, as you know, that is how my mind works.

P.S. Did you know that Home On the Range is the state song of Kansas? How freaking awesome is that?!

Have a good weekend!

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January 27, 2016

Can I get an amen?

by chuckofish

President Theodore Roosevelt on a horse in Colorado; Photographer unknown; Around 1905

President Theodore Roosevelt on a horse in Colorado, c. 1905

“There were all kinds of things of which I was afraid at first, ranging from grizzly bears to “mean” horses and gunfighters; but by acting as if I was not afraid I gradually ceased to be afraid. Most men can have the same experience if they choose.”
―Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt: An Autobiography

Agreed, but I will always be afraid of grizzly bears no matter what and always.

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January 13, 2016

Wednesday optimism check

by chuckofish

np1-02-normandy-landing-beaches

“No matter how bad things got, no matter how anxious the staff became, the commander had to “preserve optimism in himself and in his command. Without confidence, enthusiasm and optimism in the command, victory is scarcely obtainable.” Eisenhower realized that “optimism and pessimism are infectious and they spread more rapidly from the head downward than in any other direction.” He learned that a commander’s optimism “has a most extraordinary effect upon all with whom he comes in contact. With this clear realization, I firmly determined that my mannerisms and speech in public would always reflect the cheerful certainty of victory—that any pessimism and discouragement I might ever feel would be reserved for my pillow.”

–Stephen E. Ambrose, D-Day, June 6, 1944: The Battle for the Normandy Beaches

Leadership 101, guys. Now, go out there and SMILE!

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October 28, 2015

As the French would say, “de trop”*

by chuckofish

Fifty years ago today, the Gateway Arch was “topped off” when the final section was inserted on October 28, 1965.

Hubert Humphrey, V.P. of the U.S., watched the proceedings from a helicopter which hovered nearby. The ceremony had been postponed, so I guess the President was busy.

Today there will be a celebration, but it seems to me, it is being downplayed. Cupcakes will be served.

Anyway, the Gateway Arch (630-foot, 192 m) in Saint Louis is the nation’s tallest monument and has welcomed visitors for fifty years with its iconic, awe-inspiring shape. As envisioned by renowned architect Eero Saarinen, the Arch represents the westward expansion of the United States and typifies “the pioneer spirit of the men and women who won the West, and those of a latter day to strive on other frontiers.”

Pretty cool.

I was in the fourth grade at the time and I honestly have very little memory of the proceedings. Now a project to renovate the arch grounds is underway and will, we hope, be completed by 2017. Stay tuned.

*Cole Porter, You’re the Top

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October 15, 2015

“The Blue and the Gray collided one day”*

by chuckofish

The Battle of Glasgow was fought 151 years ago on October 15, 1864 in and near Glasgow, Missouri as part of Gen. Sterling Price’s Missouri Expedition during the Civil War. A Union garrison of 800 men was located in Glasgow, under the command of Colonel Chester Harding. The size of the Confederate forces was reported as being between 1,500 and 1,800 troops.

General Sterling Price

Although the battle resulted in a Confederate victory and the capture of significant war material, it had little long-term benefit as Price was ultimately defeated at Westport a week later, bringing his campaign in Missouri to an end.

Glasgow is halfway between St. Louis and Kansas City, about 35 miles north of Columbia. Early in its history, Glasgow was a mecca of commercial activity, shipping vast quantities of hemp and tobacco from its steamboat port. Glasgow now ships large quantities of corn by river barge and rail line. Shipping by river is still possible because Glasgow is one of the few towns left with its commercial business district right on the river bank. Many river towns were left stranded, miles from the fickle path of Missouri River.

It definitely looks like a place to add to the itinerary of my imagined car trip to Kansas City!

*Eugene Field

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October 8, 2015

Home, home on the range

by chuckofish

The OM and I have been watching Longmire, season 4 on Netflix for several days in a row.

We have enjoyed it a lot, but then it ended precipitously after only 10 episodes. Now we will have to wait until they come up with season 5 to see what happens. That is the trouble with binge-watching one show.

Modern problems.

Anyway, all of this Longmire viewing with its myriad plots and sub-plots involving Native Americans leads me to my next subject.

Did you know that Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a holiday celebrated in various places in the U.S.? It was begun as a counter-celebration to Columbus Day, which, as you know, is coming up next week. The purpose of the day is to promote “Native American culture” and to commemorate the history of Native American peoples. At least four states do not celebrate Columbus Day (Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, and South Dakota) with South Dakota officially celebrating Native American Day instead. Various tribal governments in Oklahoma designate the day “Native American Day” or name the day after their own tribe.

Well. I would just as soon celebrate Native American Day as Columbus Day, but I would no doubt do it by watching John Wayne movies or something equally offensive to Indians. (Not that it should be.)

Another way to celebrate would be to head out to Kansas City to see the ten decorative panels which were installed on the new Red Bridge in Kansas City in 2011. Each panel represents an individual who has ties to the area as part of the Three Trails Crossing during the westward expansion of the 1800s. (The area around Red Bridge is historically significant as the crossing at the Blue River was the only location where the Santa Fe, California, and Oregon Trail intersected. From approximately 1821 to 1880 it is estimated that thousands of travelers crossed the Blue River near the current bridge.) It is a very ethnically-diverse group and the Native American represented is my great-great-uncle, John Prowers’s, wife, Amache Ochinee Prowers! Pretty cool, right?

Amache is usually recognized as someone who bridged the two cultures–Indian and white–successfully. As I have noted previously, she and John had nine children together who, it would appear, were whole-heartedly welcomed into the mainstream of Colorado society. You can’t believe everything you see in the movies.

Someday I will head out to K.C., but not this weekend. I don’t even get Columbus Day off, so what am I talking about?

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September 8, 2015

Thy daily stage of duty run

by chuckofish

I labored all weekend to get things ship-shape in my newly painted and papered master bedroom/bath and everything looks great.

I am very pleased. Unfortunately my photography skills are lacking, so you’ll just have to take my word for it. My wallpapered accent wall is fabulous. Everything else is clean and bright and creamy white.

Our Labor Day bar-b-que went well, but I forgot to take pictures.

Well, three day weekends are the best, right?

Now I have a two-day work week and then I head up to NYC to celebrate daughter #1’s birthday. We are going to walk around Central Park, see The King and I at Lincoln Center, check out the John Singer Sargent exhibit at the Met, take the ferry to Governor’s Island and the Brooklyn Ferry to Brooklyn where we will check out the Plymouth Church, and go to Dear Irving for birthday drinks with D#1’s friends. She has the itinerary all worked out (with naps scheduled in) and places to eat and drink. I love when someone else figures everything out for me!

In the meantime let’s not to forget to raise a toast tonight to the great man Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (September 8, 1828 – February 24, 1914) whose birthday is today.

And take a minute to listen this Steve Earle song about ol’ Col. Chamberlain and the 20th Maine.

Enjoy your Tuesday!

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September 1, 2015

Postcards from Lincoln Land

by chuckofish

Although Abraham Lincoln spent most of his formative years in Indiana, he lived for 24 years in Springfield, Illinois. So if you are an admirer of our 16th president (and who isn’t?) you ought to avail yourself of the opportunity to visit this small city and state capitol.

The layout of the town is based on a grid street system, with numbered streets starting with the longitudinal First Street which leads to the Illinois State Capitol. The cross streets are named after presidents: Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Madison and so on just like the town I live in. We could walk everywhere from our centrally located hotel. Luckily the weather was balmy and the temperature moderate for August.

We went to the magnificent Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

I was impressed. You start your tour in a replica of the log cabin Abe grew up in

and end up at the White House. In between there are many vignettes,

complete with sound effects, music and characters speaking. By the end Lincoln has been shot at Ford’s theater and is lying in state. It is an incredibly moving experience. I seriously was close to tears several times.

There is also a cool hologram presentation and a movie–all very well done. It was “experiential”–but not interactive (which I loathe).

Usually I like Museum gift shops, but I was turned off in this one by the crass commercialization of our most revered president.

Really? Couzies with the Gettysburg Address? I mean really, there was Abe Lincoln everything. Good grief, Charlie Brown!

We also visited the only home he ever owned, which is open to the public and operated by the National Park Service.

There are several other houses to visit in this park and you really do get a sense of what the town must have been like in the mid-19th century. To me it was awesome to stand in the great man’s lovely home.

As always, it was fascinating to see the other people who made the pilgrimage to Springfield. They ranged from classy Japanese tourists

to this guy.

But whoever and whatever their reasons–I am always pleased to see people visiting historical sites.

In between all this history we made several stops to eat and drink.

There were plenty of good dining options, even hipster microbreweries with outdoor patios complete with bocce ball courts. And of course there were Episcopal churches to make us feel right at home.