It's More Therapy With Joe...

These pictures show some more of Joe's additional balance therapy...

Mom's Diary Diddle

June 24, 1961 - Today we go to the squadron picnic.  It is raining.  Hope it clears up.  (Then in different ink, Mom writes, "What a lousy picnic").

This is a picture of an Air Force party, but this one was in 1952.  Notice Dad at the end of the table and Mom to his left.

On This Day in History...

June 27, 1966…The gothic soap opera "Dark Shadows" began its five-year run on television.  It was a gothic soap opera that originally aired weekday from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was unprecedented in daytime television when ghosts were introduced about six months after it began.


The series became hugely popular when vampire Barnabas Collins appeared a year into its run. Dark Shadows also featured werewolves, zombies, man-made monsters, witches, warlocks, time travel, and a parallel universe.  Dark Shadows was distinguished by its vividly melodramatic performances, atmospheric interiors, memorable storylines, and an unusually adventurous music score. Now regarded as somewhat of a camp classic, it continues to enjoy an intense cult following.


This was the first soap opera that I ever watched and then could not miss watching.  It was orginally shown in black and white and the acting and the dialogue is so old by today's standards, but it was fun and exciting to watch.

This letter was written to me 42 years ago by Brother Ben Hill who was in our branch in Niceville, Florida.  He was an older gentleman that I just loved and was a favorite person of mine when I was in my early teens.  He was an excellent conversationalist and always had wonderful stories to share with me.  I'm sure he's no longer on this earth by this time, but I'm quite certain he's entertaining someone somewhere.

Log Cabin Day

Log Cabin Day brings you back to a quieter, simpler, more rugged era. A couple hundred years ago, life was far more rugged. Americans moving West (west at the time may have been Ohio, or Tennessee) found an untouched wilderness, filled with pristine forests. They built their homes out of logs. These log cabins were solid, long lasting, and served them well.

Life was rustic and simple. Heat was provided by an open fireplace, where they also cooked their meals. Need air conditioning in the summer? Just open the window (there wasn't any glass or screening). There was no electricity (no television, stereos or computers). And, plumbing? Just look back towards the woods to the outhouse. The path to it is well worn.

This is one of the many reasons I enjoy living here in Wyoming.  It seems that every time we go out exploring, I always find some old log cabin that has been abandoned.  I wonder about the history behind the house, how old it is, the people that lived there and what happened to them.

Today In History...

June 25, 1876…Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and the 210 men of U.S. 7th Cavalry were killed by Sioux and Cheyenne Indians at the Little Big Horn in Montana. The deaths of Custer and his troops became the best-known episode in the history of western Indian wars, due in part to a painting commissioned by the brewery Anheuser-Busch as part of an advertising campaign. The company ordered reprints of a dramatic work depicting “Custer's Last Stand” and had them framed and hung in many American saloons.

In September 19, 2009, Joe and I had the opportunity to visit the battlefield where this battle took place (see The Battle of Little Bighorn posting).  It's always fascinating to me to visit such places that are things I studied about while in school.

George Armstrong Custer's marker is the middle one on the right.  His brother Tom's is directly in front of his.

Diary Diddle - June 23

1965 - Today I went to the temple.  I wore a white dress.  It was a wonderful feeling to be in a temple of the Lord.

I was sealed to my family in the Mesa, Arizona temple.  I remember that we kids were wandering around the temple grounds when a water sprinkler came on.  In order to not get wet, Jimmy jumped into the hedges and the gardner had to come pull him out.

Today In History...

June 22, 1968…Mason Williams released "Classical Gas." The record has since received more U.S. radio airplay than any other instrumental in the rock era.  I loved this song!!!

It’s National Chocolate Eclair Day!

Wow, I so missed celebrating this day!!!  I just LOVE eclairs!  Did you know that “éclair” is the French word for lightning? It may have gotten its name from the "flash" of frosting that glistens across its top, though the direct connection between lightning and this delicious French pastry is unclear.

The eclair has been a favorite treat since its creation in the 1860s, and it will undoubtedly continue to be a bakery shop staple for a long time. The French call the dough of these treats “choux,” which is carefully baked to allow for a hollow interior. Then, cream, custard, or purée is piped into its center and it is topped off with fondant icing. 

Diary Diddle - June 20

June 20, 1965 - We left Japan today on Continental Airlines.  It was just like a dream.  We left at 7:00 p.m. and arrived at Travis, AFB California at 12:20 p.m.  We got our car and found a hotel.  We visited my Great Aunt and Uncle.
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Note:  With the International Date Line, it seems as though we actually got to California before we left Japan.

Today In History...

June 20, 1975…Steven Spielberg's "Jaws," starring Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary, and Murray Hamilton, opened in North American movie theaters.

I saw this movie with Aunt Ruth while I was living at her home in Jacksonville.  What a heart-pounding, terrifying movie this was.  It's really quite tame by today's standards, but made you stop and think about going swimming in something other than a pool.  The next day I went to the beach and would not get in any water deeper than my toes!  It was also reported that the film was credited with reduced beach attendance in the summer of 1975.

That's me heading towards the water.  Someone must have been yelling, "No, don't go in the water!  It's loaded with sharks - man-eating sharks!"

National Vanilla Milkshake Day

Mom's Diary Diddle

June 19, 1961 - Summer school starts. The joe-suns are very happy.
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Note:  joe-suns meant children, I think.

June 20, 1961 - I got lose again today in Fussa.  I began to think I would never find my way home.

Father's Day 2011

It's Father's Day again and I'm really missing Dad this year.

Dad and I at the 2010 Family Reunion.  Our latest picture together.

I love my telephone conversations with Dad.  They are usually sprinkled with bragging about whose got the worse or best weather, how's work going, how's the garden growing, how's Joe doing, how's Mom doing, etc., but they always end with "I love you" from both of us.  How fortunate I am to have always had a great relationship with Dad.  I've always felt lucky about that when so many people have no relationship with their own father.

Dad reminded me today of our trip to Atlanta when I took him to see the eye specialists.  That is one of the fondest memories in that I had some wonderful one on one time with Dad.   (Read Saturday, June 14, 2008 For My Dad, Jim).

Father's Day card I made in my younger days.

and...what?  I do like the creativity with the alternating crayon colors.

The Search Is On For Pioneer Graves

Joe and I and Nephi, Hannah and Joanna started out on a daycation yesterday with a mission.  We were in search of a canyon and four pioneer graves.  I'd searched the internet to find the best directions of how to locate these places.  So, armed with a picnic lunch and scant directions we set off on our adventure.  By the end of the day, we'd found the canyon and three of the graves all along the Oregon Trail.

This grave is a special one because it is the only known instance of a surviving marked grave for an individual whose signature can also still be found on the trail. Alvah's signature can be found at Register Cliff in Guernsey, Wyoming.  (See Sunday, June 6, 2010 Register Cliff).

Nineteen year old Alvah Unthank was one of a group of young men who left Newport, Wayne County, Indiana, for the goldfields of California in 1850. On June 23 the wagon train passed Register Cliff, south of Guernsey. There Alvah inscribed his name: "A. H. Unthank 1850."

In the early evening hours of June 28 the party made camp here by the North Platte River on account of the sudden sickness of Alvah. On June 29 a family friend, Pusey Graves, wrote, "Lay by today to doctor and nurse Alvah. June 30 Alvah getting worse it's quite hopeless complaining none. July 1 Alvah is rapidly sinking. July 2 in the early morning hours Alvah died." Cholera had taken its toll.

Graves wrote, "Alvah lay calm, bore his suffering patiently and uttered not a murmur or groan. Bid his father to be of good cheer. His child has paid the great debt of nature. Procured a large neat headstone. Solomon Woody carved the inscription." At noon Tuesday, July 2, 1850, the solemn task of burial took place.

No public access is allowed to the Unthank grave, which is located on private property. The owner has experienced vandalism in the past and, therefore, he has chosen to deny access to the gravesite.  So the picture below is as close as we could get to the grave.

This is what the gravestone looks like.

Then we found Mormon Canyon so-named because some Mormon travelers on the Mormon Trail wintered here in the 1850s.

This wild turkey was running down the road in front of us and then...

...he decided to race along side us.

When leaving Glenrock, we passed Rock In The Glen which has the names of the some of the emigrants that passed through Glenrock carved into its face stones.

Diaper change for baby Joanna.

Then we found the grave of Martin Ringo.

Martin Ringo left his Missouri home in May 1864 with his wife and five children, headed for California, where other relatives had settled earlier. Near Scottsbluff, their wagon train experienced some unstated troubles with the Indians and banded together with others for increased protection. A few days before they reached this site, the party passed by the recent Kelly-Larimer massacre site. That, combined with an attempted horse-stealing, led to jittery nerves on the night of July 29. The wagon train posted additional guards that night. The Ringo’s oldest son saw his father accidentally shoot himself with a shotgun while climbing onto a wagon. Johnny Ringo subsequently gained notoriety as an outlaw and met his own mysterious death in 1882 near Tombstone, Arizona. The family blamed his "going bad" on what he witnessed on the plains that July morning but Mary Ringo’s uncle was married to the widowed mother of Frank and Jesse James and her brother-in-law was a member of both Quantrill’s Raiders and the James Gang.

Buried next to Martin Ringo is J.P. Parker from Iowa. He died July 1, 1860 at the age of 41. Nothing more is known about this emigrant.

Lastly, we located the grave of Quintina Snodderly.  Yep, what a name, huh? 

Joe and Hannah checking out Quintina's grave.

This grave was discovered accidentally in 1974 during road construction work. The landowner, suspecting an emigrant grave, immediately called in local archaeologists to do the excavation. Snodderly had been buried in a full casket, which was most unusual for trail burials. The casket had since disintegrated. Inside the grave, however, a headstone was found bearing the name Quintina Snodderly. Although the stone had been fully scored, it was never completed. That it was then buried adds to the many unknowns about this burial. 

A pioneer mother, Quintina Snodderly died near here on June 25, 1852. A native of Tennessee, Quintina with her husband, Jacob, and their eight children (five girls and three boys) had lived in Clarinda County, Iowa for several years before embarking on their trip across the plains. They were members of a wagon train captained by Rev. Joab Powell which had left St. Joseph, Missouri in the spring of 1852.

What caused Snodderly’s death remains unknown. Because her ribs were crushed, it was originally believed she had fallen under the wagon. Subsequent study, however, suggests the ribs became crushed when the grave collapsed. Snodderly’s remains were placed in a simple wooden casket and reburied in 1987 by the Oregon-California Trails Association.

This picture shows how isolated many of these graves are.

June 18 - 150+ miles - Picnic and Graves

Our daycation mission today was to locate four pioneer graves and Mormon Canyon - all of which was somewhere off the beaten path of the interstate.  Armed with information that I had manage to glean off the internet last night, we took off to see what we could find.  The "we" included Joe and myself and Hannah and Nephi Williams, along with baby, Joanna.  The weather was gorgeous and picture perfect for a day of exploration.
Baby Joanna who is a perfect traveling baby and never any problem...

The picnic was discussed in an earlier blog and the report of our success and/or failure follows.  So read on...

International Picnic Day...June 18th...

...is an opportunity for people around the globe to plan picnics for their friends and family.  The great thing about picnics is that they necessitate little planning. As a matter of fact, "picnic" is a synonym for "easy."  While outside, take a minute to enjoy the crisp air of the outdoors and the natural environment around you. Sit back, relax, and appreciate the simplicity of good times with family and friends.

Joe and I go on lots of picnics since the move to Wyoming.  Everytime we go off on one of our "daycations" I always fix a picnic lunch.  It usually consists of enough sandwiches for two meals, a can of chips, frozen bottles of water to help keep things cool and also water to drink as it slowly thaws, some pudding cups and spoons, some fruit, Joe's meds and cloth rags for napkins. 

Today we went to Ayres Natural Bridge for our picnic.  We'd been there before on Saturday, June 6, 2009 and you can read about that at Douglas, WY and surrounding area.  That posting tells all about the Indian legend and other interesting things that we saw that day.  It has been almost two years to the day since we'd been back.

Joe walking over to see the water under the bridge.

Because of heavy snow melt, the water is quite high and fast this year.

Nephi Williams and Joe having conversation.

Heading out of the canyon away from the bridge.  Notice the old cabin in the middle of the picture.

The buffalo herd had moved closer to the road so they were easier to see coming back from the bridge.

There were prairie dog holes all along the road.  We pulled over to watch them and this little group congregated on the some hole and commenced to chatter at us.

Today In History...

June 17, 1885…The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York City aboard the French ship Isere.

In November 2002, I went to New York City on business.  Since my hotel room was not ready, I decided to do some sightseeing.  First place was Battery Park to catch the ferry to go see the Statue of Liberty and then on to Ellis Island.  That's Lady Liberty in the back left side of the picture.

Since this was just a little over a year since the September 11 attacks in 2001, it was closed for reasons of safety and security; the pedestal reopened in 2004 and the statue in 2009, with limits on the number of visitors allowed to ascend to the crown.

This is the view heading from Liberty Island to Ellis Island.

While riding on the ferry, the wind was so cold that by the time the trip was over it looked like I had a severe sunburn.  But that's what you get when you ride on the top of the ferry and don't sit inside where you are more protected.

June 17, 1950…Dr. Richard H. Lawler performed the first kidney transplant in a 45-minute operation in Chicago.  We're keeping our fingers crossed that Joe is the lucky recipient of a kidney transplant sometime in the future.

June 17, 1963…The U.S. Supreme Court banned the required reading of the Lord's prayer and the Bible in public schools.  Boo!  Hiss!  I can remember doing this is school up until the time it was deemed unconstitutional.

June 17, 1994…O.J. Simpson drove his Ford Bronco across Los Angeles with police in pursuit and millions of people watching on live television. After the slow speed chase ended, Simpson was arrested and charged with the murders of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman.  Yes, I was one of millions glued to my television set watching the live "slow chase".