Well, it’s the final blog post for 2023 and what better to share than a word puzzle. You’ll find all kinds of “ants” in the dictionary. Here are 14 words that end with “ant”….. like elephant. Have fun! (Answers at the bottom.)
We Washingtonians are so lucky…… we have 23 National Wildlife Refuges in our state! These are places dedicated to preserving, conserving and enhancing the flora and fauna of an area by means of managing the land and water for fish, wildlife and plants. And for we human visitors too!
The list below the image is probably too small for you to read, but just ask Google for “National Wildlife Refuges in Washington.” Then any time of year, put on your walking shoes, put a granola bar in your backpack along with your water bottle and camera and go out and explore your world.
Keep in mind that on these refuges you can better imagine what your ancestors first saw when they arrived into XXX place.
What are the benefits of a national wildlife refuge?Beyond their primary mission of conserving and enhancing land and water for fish, wildlife and plants, national wildlife refuges are important in other ways. They offer healthy, world-class outdoor recreation. They improve air and water quality across the nation.
Bet you didn’t know that Washington State has its own tartan. The symbolic colors are: GREEN for our Evergreen State; BLUE for our rivers, lakes and the ocean; WHITE for snow capped mountains; RED for all the fruit; YELOW for all the grains; and BLACK for Mt.St.Helens. This tartan was adopted by the Washington State legislature in 1991. Now you know.
Here’s one for you geography buffs: How many state capitols are located west of Los Angeles?? (tiny answer at the bottom)
Ever watch the TV or YouTube show with Mike Rowe where he visits interesting places? In one video, Mike visited the Hair Museum in Independence, Missouri (near Kansas City). Museum owner and director, Leila, made Mark incredulously laugh many times. “Hair can be black, brown, red, blonde or white….there is no gray!” she quipped. The museum features hair pictures…. tableaus made from hair, often of a deceased loved one. “This custom dates back to the 12th century,” Leila said. One question on Mark’s mind was this: “Does human hair keep growing after death?” The answer? “No way!”
Tampa Bay Times, October 2022: “Florida lawyer who fought helmet laws died in motorcycle crash not wearing one.” Humm. Serves him right?
How do you feel about this? An original copy of the U.S. Constitution, one of only two known to be in private hands, will be auctioned off in December with bidding estimated to go as high as $30 million, Sotheby’s announced (in November 2022). 500 first printings were made of this historic document and were provided to participants at the 1787 Constitutional Convention. Nearly all have been lost to history; of the 13 known to have survived, 11 are owned by governments and institutions.
((Answer to above question: SIX!! Carson City, Nevada; Honolulu, Hawaii; Juneau, Alaska; Olympia, Washington; Sacramento, California; and Salem, Oregon. HOW MANY DID YOU GUESS?)
Rummaging through the wheeled racks of books at the Goodwill Outlet Store, I happened upon a slim little volume titled The History of Envelopes, by Robert H. Ramage, published by the Envelope Manufacturers Association of America in 1952.
Only a genealogist would think to grab up a book on the history of envelopes!
Author Ramage begins his book with this bit: “The little paper enclosure which we term “envelope” sustains such an important relation to our social, commercial, political, and moral world as to render it eminently worthy of notice a our hands. It has now become the vade mecum of thought transportation—-crossing seas, threading rivers, chasing up railways, exploring the solitary paths of the forest and plains, pursing expresses and telegraphic messengers; it is almost everywhere doing, for rich and poor alike, its good offices and trusty services.” Quote in Cosmopolitan Art Journal, 1860.
Remember that in 1860 there was no telephone and certainly no interest/email. Writing on paper and sent in envelopes was The Only way to communicate over distance.
Ramage continues: “No one will ever know who it was that first conceived the idea of cutting paper for envelopes …… but it was no doubt a stationer who sold paper and realized there was a need to be filled. ”
In 1635, King Charles I issued a proclamation establishing the first State Postal Service. One of the earliest envelopes on record is attached to a letter written on 16 May 1696 in England.
The early mail service (in England) was inadequate and expensive. Mail was sent collect with postage paid by the receiver which system was easy to defraud. This ultimately let to the better system of pre-paid postage, or postage stamps.
Further chapters in this 90-page book are: Envelopes in America; First Envelope Machines; Evolution in Envelope Manufacture; Early Type of Envelopes; Papeteries; Business Envelopes Become Specialized; Government Stamped Envelopes and the Industry Behind Envelopes. WHEW! Who knew there could be 90 pages of envelope history!
An envelope history would not be complete without mention of V-Mail, short for Victory Mail “which was a particular postal system put into place during the war (WWII) to drastically reduce the space needed to transport mail thus freeing up room for other valuable supplies. The V-Mail system was only used between June 1942 and November 1945 with over one billion items processed through these means.
If anybody would like to borrow and peruse this interesting history book, be happy to loan it to you. Just ask me.
Remember getting rope-burned-hands playing tug-o-war with a rope? And too often neither side “won,” and sometimes one side got pulled into the mud! Remember?
If there is a job to be done, isn’t it better to work together? Nobody’s hands get rope-burned that way! And the job gets done!!
I LIVE IN SPOKANE AND AM AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF EWGS……. AS YOU READ THIS POST, SUBSTITUTE YOUR SOCIETY’S NAME!!!!
I’m aiming today to sorta follow-up on our EWGS January meeting….. dedicated to service…… service to EWGS. Are some of you still on the fence about stepping up to do something for EWGS?
WHY? WHY come/mix/join/support EWGS? Here’s why:
EWGS people are “your kind” of people and are your friends.
EWGS people will welcome…and listen to…. your discovery-stories!
EWGS people have years of combined research knowledge and are always willing to help you. (But you gotta ask.)
EWGS meetings are FUN….. prizes, contests, raffles and cookies!
EWGS meetings are INFORMATIVE….. the EWGS board strives most diligently to offer programs of worth and interest to us.
EWGS offers you a way to give back to the genealogy community through service…… through volunteering to help however you can. The definition of service is, simply put, HELPING.
In EWGS, sometimes you’re the helper and other times you’re the helpee. (Don’t look in the dictionary for that word; I made it up. 😌)
Please click to www.EWGSI.org, especially if you’ve not in a while, and check out all that’s offered to YOU. And know that EWGS needs you help, big or small. 😁
To let go is not to cut myself off; it’s realizing I can’t control another.
To let go is not to enable but to allow learning from natural consequences.
To let go is not to try to change or blame another; it’s to make the most of myself.
To let go is not to care FOR but to care ABOUT.
To let go is not to FIX but to be SUPPORTIVE.
To let go is not to judge others but to love them anyway.
To let go is not to DENY but to ACCEPT.
To let go is not to point out others’ faults but consider my own.
To let go is not to criticize others but just be the best I can be.
To let go is not to regret the past but to thankfully live for the future.
(Why this particular post today? It is the start of a new year and we all know there will be obstacles to over come so we must “let go” and be thankfully positive.)
The motor vessel Kalakala was a ferry that operated on Puget Sound from 1935 until her retirement in 1967. The MV Kalakala was notable for her unique streamlined superstructure, art deco styling and luxurious amenities. The vessel was a popular attraction for locals and tourists and was voted second only to the Space Needle in popularity among visitors to Seattle during the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair.
After retiring from passenger service in 1967, the ship was beached in Kodiak, Alaska, and converted into a shrimp cannery. In 1998, the ship was refloated and towed to Puget Sound with the owner hoping to restore the ship. During this time, the ship continued to deteriorate, with the Coast Guard decaling the ship a hazard to avigation in 2011. Unable to raise the funds required for restoration, the ship was scrapped in 2015.
The book, Weird Washington, explains the story and history of this once proud ferry boat……. that many of you might remember traveling aboard. Members of the Advanced Ghost Hunters of Seattle & Tacoma were most interested in the ship and the possibility that it might be haunted. Several members were aboard when she was towed from Alaska back to Puget Sound in 1998 and felt certain they documented “ghostly manifestations.” So goes another story of Washington’s history…..
(Big thanks to Wikipedia for the info and images.)
Who isn’t in line for FREE stuff? To those of EWGS members who have been in my genealogy classes in the past, haven’t I taught you “that if it’s free, take two?” 👵 Well, it’s true; everybody checks out “free stuff.” It’s human nature.Thomas MacEntee is the genius behind this website (www.genealogybargains.com) and the links at the top of his site are:
Home
Genealogy Webinars
FREE Genealogy Stuff
Store
Connect with me
Under the “FREE Genealogy Stuff,” Thomas (in his newsletter) mentions what’s free today or this month in the genealogy world. (Click to his website to sign up for his free newsletter.) Under the “Store” you’ll find over a dozen pages of cheat sheets or how-to sheets that he’s created and offers mostly for free …… but some are $1.99. By now (late in December) your “extra” spending money is running low, so having freebies offered to you right now is a December gift to you for sure! Enjoy.
When we see, hear or read “December 7th,” we likely immediately think of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. I thought you might like to learn of other events throughout history that also happened on December 7th:
1696 – Connecticut Rt 108, one of the oldest highways in America is completed to Trumbull
1732 – The Royal Opera House opens at Covent Garden, London, England
1787 – Delaware is the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution
1808 – James Madison elected 4th U.S. President
1842 – New York Philharmonic’s first concert
1868 – Jesse James gang robs bank in Gallatin, Missouri
1872 – HMS Challenger sets sail on 3 1/2 year world oceanographic cruise
1891 – the 52nd U.S. Congress was first to appropriate $1,000,000,000
1909 – Inventor patents Bakelite, sparking birth of the plastics industry
1912 – Bust of Queen Nefertiti found in El-Amarna, Egypt
1917 – The USA’s 42nd “Rainbow” Division arrives in France (with Col. Douglass MacArthur among its ranks)
1917 – U.S. becomes 13th country to declare war on Austria during WW I
1926 – Gas refrigerator patented
1937 – Dutch Minister Romme proclaims married women are forbidden to work
1937 – Red Sox acquire the contract of 19-year-old Ted Williams
1941 – Adolf Hitler issues first anti-Jewish proclamations
1967 – Otis Redding records “Sittin on the Dock of the Bay”
1972 – Apollo 17 launched; crew takes famous “blue marble” photo of Earth
1979 – Star Trek: The Motion Picture, first movie from the TV series
1992 – Galileo spacecraft passes the North Pole of the Moon; 1995 heads to Jupiter
2020 – Coca-Cola named the world’s No. 1 plastic polluter
2021 – Chile becomes the 31st nation to legalize same-sex marriage
There was a L-O-N-G list of events that happened on December 7th, in several categories. Ask Google to read the entire list….
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