Tell me what company you keep, and I'll tell you who you are."
Miguel de Cervantes 1547-1616 (Author of Don Quixote)
Norm's Daily Ramblins
IT ALL STARTED AS "DECORATION DAY."
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day.
There is also evidence that organized women's groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in 1867, "Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping" by Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication "To The Ladies of the South who -- are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead," it's difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day.
Its more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860's tapped into the general human need to honor our dead, each contributed honorably to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his official proclamation in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all.
Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war.
It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 - 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays. Several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead. -- David Merchant
Back when I was a small boy, the Veteran's groups sold imitation poppies you would put in a lapel or a buttonhole. Geraniums were the major decoration on graves and in window boxes. I would deocrate by third hand bike with no fenders or sprocket guard by weaving red, white and blue crepe paper through the spokes. I usually didn't go to the parade in "downtown" Wauwatosa, cause that was a long ways for my mother and her chain didn't reach that far. I was content to ride up and down Cedar Street and ride about Herbst Drugs, Earl's Barbar Shop, Stockinger's Meat Market, Karcher's Bakery and Jahnke's Grocery. What fun it would be to spend just one day back then -- one more time around the block... -- N. Plunkett
A CRITIQUE OF THE WASHINGTON D.C. MEMORIAL CONCERT - LaMonte Kolste
Norm and all:
Norm, I agree with you 100% about tonight's Memorial Day concert. It was the
best. Some years a performer,or a performance, sometimes seems weak or
lacking in the right tone or material. Not tonight! I am glad I recorded it.
The use of Durning's previous pieces was outstanding. Sorry to see he is apparently
not in good health. Denis Leary and the two women were excellent. They were absolutely riveting in giving America that sad, but proud, story of two devoted comrades, a wife and the, now, born child of the guy who could not make it. Who of us should not shout loud in joy about such young Americans who sacrifice like that to guard our freedom?
I was so glad to see how the scripting strongly told the facts about the very high human cost of our wars. Some of today's Americans who think the cost of freedom is too high now, must start to see how huge the real difference is compared to history.
It would not surprise me if the concert would pull some awards. I know I'd give it a chest of medals just because the media rarely chooses to get the facts and meaning as right as that group and director got it tonight.
Monty Kolste - Columbia, MD
===============
Monty is "on target! If you missed the program you might want to see if it is replayed Memorial Day afternoon or evening. Below are some good sites. Be sure to watch the Bert Prelutsky video.
Dave Swanson, another classmate stumbled on a short reading from a book, by its author, Burt Prelutsky, who had been a member of the Hollywood Left, but who, like David Horowitz, has become a conservative in his thinking, philosophy and politics.
Dave wrote us saying, "Burt is a Hollywood screen-and-tv writer, and a humor columnist for the Los Angeles Times. I usually put my flag out on holidays; you probably do, too. But after seeing and hearing this I will fly my American on the ordinary days because of Burt. maybe you will, too."
My brain got in a retro mood as it often does. Thinking about Memorial Days of the past, I remembered one of the parades in Wauwatosa -- I think it had to be 1945.
It was big stuff for Pack #347. I was a member of Den Seven and Rolf Dehmel's Mom was our Den Leader. We met at their house on 66th Street between Wells and Wisconsin Avenue. Billy Sheaffer, Tom Stockinger, Johno Davidson, Bob Johnson, Herman Menck, Rolf Dehmel, Millard Smith, Bill Stocum, a couple of others I can't remember, and I had been big budds all through Jefferson Grade School and Cub Scouts was part of life. Next came Webelos and then Scouting. Anyway, Den Seven showed up for the parade at the staging area at the Band shell next to St. Bernard's.
The Wauwatosa High School Band was always the feature and the parade was made up of civic groups, veterans, school children, scouts, politicians, etc.
We marched up Wauwatosa Avenue past the Women's Club and Harwood Avenue, north past Tosa and on to North Avenue. Now that was one desolate area. The city offices were not there and the northwest corner was vacant except for the log cabin because Longfellow was still a part of the high school.
We turned left at the Wauwatosa Cemetery and marched to the speaker's platform where we heard a few speeches, sang songs, saluted, heard taps and then the firing of a 21 gun salute (could have been a six, I really don't remember that detail.) There were flags on many of the graves. I did know there were Civil War, Spanish American War and WW1 veterans buried there and I'm sure some of Tosa's valiant who were killed in the past four years.
One thing I'll never forget was the exhilaration of marching in time with the military music and honoring the flag and the memory of those who died for our freedom. I wanted to carry the flag so badly but there were others who were chosen. When I got home, I was so proud of what I experienced I got carried away I lied and told my brothers that I had carried the flag. It was out of my mouth before I knew it.
"Well, big flag carrier! Did they give you a harness with a cup so the bottom of the flagpole could rest in it?"
I thought they were trying to trick me and I didn't notice a harness on the other guys so I quickly said, "No!"
"Oh, yea! You're a real big flag bearer, aren't you?"
I was crushed and humiliated. I quietly went about my activity. Why did I lie about such a simple thing? I guess in my mind, at some point during the cadence, I picked up that flag and proudly held it in honor of my heroes -- the Commandos at Point du Hoc, the P38 pilots, and all the other men and women who had just won the war in Germany and were still fighting in the Pacific Theater. I remember it as if it were three months ago.
And one of the most memorable experiences of being a part of Den 7 was when Johno Davidson's, Uncle Walter picked us up in his brand new, black, two-door Cadillac to take us on a tour of Harley Davidson. He kept changing the radio station without touching the push buttons and had a great time teasing us with the puzzle.... how is the radio moving from station to station?
He had the first radio that had a foot switch on the floorboard next to the headlight dimmer switch. That foot switch changed the stations on the AM dial. (FM was not in autos yet.). What a great time at Harley Davidson, at the old plant on Kilbourn Avenue, seeing how the motorcycles were made.
Also as I think of Memorial Day, I think of the "Indianapolis 500." Billy Sheaffer is the one who clued me in about it. His grandfather was a brick speedway aficionado and had taught Billy well. Billy then taught me about the Offenhauser engines and his favorite driver, Tony Bettenhausen, who was later killed at the State Fair track in West Allis, WI.
Billy also had a neat brochure of all the major league baseball stadiums that was put out my Miller High Life. They showed the shape of each stadium -- back then there weren't many. Billy's grandmother found the brochure in his desk, took it and threw it away. She thought that what was being pictured was toilet seats "And, Billy shouldn't have anything to do with something like that!"
We all laughed at what Grandma said.
You know, "memory" is truly a gift from God. And this "Time/Space" dimension is incredible at times as we bring up a memory and relive it as if it happened last week. Just wait until we jettison these earth suits and leave this "Time/Space" dimension to be with the Lord for eternity. Talk about freedom!
Patriot David Merchant has a wonderful web site that gives the true story of "Taps". Paul Harvey's son tells this story often on "The Rest of the Story."
In July 1862, after the Seven Days battle at Harrison's Landing (near Richmond), Virginia, the wounded Commander of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 5th Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, General Daniel Butterfield reworked, with his bugler Oliver Wilcox Norton, another bugle call titled "Scott Tattoo" to create "Taps."
He thought that the regular bugle call for Lights Out was too formal. "Taps" was adopted throughout the Army of the Potomac and finally confirmed by orders. Soon other Union units began using "Taps" and even a few Confederate units began using it as well.
There are no words to "Taps" but these two verses are commonly used.
Day is done, gone the sun,
From the hills, from the lake, From the skies.
All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.
Go to sleep, peaceful sleep,
May the soldier or sailor, God keep.
On the land or the deep, Safe in sleep.
Shouldn't we be outraged that God is mentioned in these wonderful lyrics?
How could such a thing happen? The arrogance of those Christian like people!
But I've always been told there aren't many atheists on the front line of battle.
Listen to "TAPS" by clicking the link below and visit Merchants page by clicking
the next link.
These precious children In the Kansas klass passed the test. (Whoops a little spell problem)
What it took to get an 8th grade education in 1895...
Charlotte Strickland, sweet farm lady friend from Ft. Payne, Alabama -- whose back property line includes part of Sand Mountain and the infamous Bat Cave that is even on Map Quest -- sent me this amazing and startling descripiton of what you had to know before graduating in Kansas in 1895. Who needed to keep going through 12th Grade?
Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education? Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895? This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina, Kansas, USA. It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, and reprinted by the Salina Journal.
8th Grade Final Exam: Salina, KS - 1895 Grammar
(Time, one hour)
1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no
modifications.
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph.
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal
parts of "lie,""play," and "run."
5. Define case; illustrate each case.
6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of
punctuation.
7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.
Arithmetic (Time,1 hour 15 minutes)
1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. Deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. Wide. How
many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at
50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs? For tare?
4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the
necessary levy to operate a school seven months at$50 per
month, and have $104 for incidentals?
6. Find the interest of $512.60 - 8 months and 18 days at7%.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft.
long at $20 per meter? (Oh, my gosh - convert to metric?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) @ 10%
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the
distance of which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt
U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)
1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided.
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States.
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell,
Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?
8. Name event s connected with the following dates: 1607,
1620, 1800, 1849, 1865?
Orthography (Time, one hour)Do we even know what this is?
1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic,
orthography, etymology, syllabication?
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each:
trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals?
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.' (HUH?)
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two
exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with
a word: bi, dis-mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball,
mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site,
sight, fane, fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate
pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by
syllabication.
Geography (Time, one hour)
1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America.
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver,
Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fernandez,
Aspinwall and Orinoco.
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.
7. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital
of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the
same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean
returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination
of the earth.
Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete. Gives the saying "he only had an 8th grade education" a whole new meaning, doesn't it?
Another message that is loud and clear is, What the hell has happened to our educational system? The kind of education shown above didn't get the student ready for globalism or socialism did it? Nor perpetrate the myth that "Everybody's gonna be a winner?"
And, NO! I don't have a teacher's edition of this test so don't write for the answers.
-np.
WHAT REALLY HAPPENS IN THE BACKYARD BARBEQUE PROCESS!
The first main "barbeque evernt" of the summer depends on where you live -- but no matter where, it's not far away. Therefore, it is important to refresh our memories on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking activity, as it's the only type of cooking a 'real' man will do. This is probably because there is an element of danger involved in the barbeque process. Thanks to Pat and Trish Kelly for this one.
When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion. Here's the routine...
(1) The woman buys the food.
(2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes the dessert.
(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along
with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is
lounging beside the grill - beer in hand.
Here comes the important part:
(4) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.
More routine....
(5) The woman goes inside to organize the plates and cutlery.
(6) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is burning. He
thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he deals with
the situation.
Then another Important part:
(7) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.
More routine....
(8) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces, and brings them to the table.
(9) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.
And the most important part of the entire processl:
(10) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.
(11) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed "her night off." And, upon
seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing
some women.... .
We're always honored by visitors. We do our best to provide new information on this "Ramblin" page ... and leave some of the stuff we think is extra good a little longer than the others. Please visit again.
We'd enjoy hearing from you. Drop us a note. We'd enjoy knowing you're visitin.' "Drop Us A Note" at: norman@peachmm.com
We extend to you an old Southern salutation you don't hear much... any more down here in Atlanta. "Ya'll come back now, ya'hear?"
Norman Plunkett
God is good -- ALWAYS!
And especially as He floods you with all the grace you need no matter what the situation. As you trust Him, God's grace is always just enough and always on time.
