Author Archives: Donna Phillips

Let’s Talk About: Surviving Multi-Course Dinners

by Donna Phillips

 The holidays are nearly upon us and family dinners are likely being planned. Will you be using “mom’s antique china” dishes and/or fixing a multi-course dinner?? Likely a resounding NO!

Antique and thrift shops these days seemingly always have “grandma’s old china set.” And these dishes end up in such shops because people don’t “eat like that” any more. The day of 16-course dinners is long past. 

Dinners in days of yore were dress-up affairs (eating in a corset for hours??) and lasted a very long evening. Up to sixteen courses could be served on fancy china, fancy linens, fancy flatware, fancy glassware, etc. etc. All of which had to be hand washed and carefully stored away. (They had maids in those days.)

A typical Very Fancy Dinner might include these courses:

  • raw oysters
  • soup, a thin or cream soup
  • hors d’oeuvres
  • fish
  • vegetables (asparagus, artichokes or corn)
  • sorbet
  • hot roast
  • “entremets” a half-way mark, likely to be sweets
  • game (wild birds or beasts)
  • salad
  • pudding
  • ice cream
  • fruit
  • cheese

Guests were not supposed to eat everything; it was like picking from a buffet. (Think of all the hours of preparation and wasted food.) And the portions served were usually small. (And, I’d guess, not very hot.)”Turning the table” meant turning first to talk to the person on your right and then, when the hostess switches, to the person on your left.
AND, all of that dressed like this (in a dozen layers) and having had maids spend hours on your hair just for one dinner! Would you???

Let’s Talk About: 1913 Rules of the Road, Pt 2

by Donna Phillips

Want to know more about the history of traffic lights? Ask “Grandma” Google! Click to Wikipedia!

Continuing the Digest of Traffic Ordinance, City of Spokane

SPEED LIMIT

Speed must not exceed 15 miles an hour inside of fire limits. In other parts of the city 20 miles an hour may be maintained. NOTE: State Law provides that outside of thickly settled or business portion of any city or town speed must not exceed 24 miles per hour.

In crossing or turning, speed must not exceed one-half the legal speed limit.

In proceeding by inertia or momentum of car, the feet of the driver must be on both pedals. 

PENTALTIES

Violation of ordinance subjects the offender to a fine of not less than one dollar nor more than 25 dollars, or in default of payment imprisonment in city jail not exceeding ten days.

Hummm…… how fast to you drive when heading east or west on I-90 through the fairly straight and empty (but beautiful!) part of our state????? At 25 MPH, getting to Seattle would take 14 hours. Ouch. 

Let’s Talk About: Manresa Castle

by Donna Phillips


Port Townsend, Jefferson County, Washington has a castle! Did you know? Have you been there?
Manresa Castle, as it’s commonly called, sits high on a hill overlooking Port Townsend and was completed  in 1892 as the home of Charles and Kate Eisenbeis. He was a prominent member of the community and in 1878 had been elected the first mayor.


First referred to as the “Eisenbeis Castle,” the residence consisted of 30 rooms (and only three bathrooms) and was reminiscent of the Eisenbeis’ native Prussia. The walls were 12 inches thick and the roof was slate. Tiled fireplaces and finely crafted woodwork were installed by German artisans.  
Charles died in 1902 and Kate remarried a few years later; the Castle was left empty for almost 20 years except for a caretaker. 


By 1928, the Jesuits had purchased the Castle for use as a training college. They added a large wing housing a chapel and sleeping rooms and also installed an elevator. They named the complex “Manresa Hall” after the town in Spain where Ignatius Loyola founded their order. 
The Jesuits left in 1968 and the building was converted into a hotel. The elements “Manresa” and “Castle” were taken from the two previous owners to create the current name. 


You may vacation-stay at Manresa Castle for just under $300 per night. Ghosts perhaps included. 

Let’s Talk About: 1913 Traffic Rules

by Donna Phillips

The Digest of Traffic Ordinance, City of Spokane (1913)

LAW OF THE ROAD

Keep to the right, near the right hand curb.

In meeting other vehicles, pass to the right. (sic)

In overtaking other vehicles, pass to the left. 

Before starting on street, give an audible signal.

On turning to the left into another street pass to the right of and beyond the center of the street intersecting before turning.

In turning to the right into another street turn the corner as near the curb as practicable.

In crossing from one side of street to the other, turn to the left so as to head in the same direction as the traffic on that side.

Do not stop with the left side to the curb.

RIGHT OF WAY

All vehicles going in a northerly or southerly direction have the right of way over any vehicle going in an easterly or westerly direction. 

In slowing up or stopping with other following, signal by raising the hand vertically.

A signal or request from a person riding or driving a restive horse or driving domestic animals requires that the automobile should be stopped or remain stationary until animals have passed.

In moving slowly keep close to the right hand curb to as to allow faster moving vehicles to pass on the left. 

In 1913, Spokane published the “Automobile Guide and Directory.” This booklet listed by license number each business or person owning a car or truck and the brand owned. A few representative pages were reproduced in The Pacific Northwesterner, Vol. 43, Issue 2, October 1999. Just glancing through the list, I noticed these makes of cars: Packard, Rambler, Buick, Ford, Winton, Franklin, Lozier, Reo, Chalmers, Brush, Cadillac, Mitchell, Elmore, Overland, Midland, Indian, Pierce-Arrow, Baker Electric, Maytag, Flanders and many more. Very few of those names are recognizable today! 

Let’s Talk About: The U.S.S. Spokane

by Donna Phillips

The U.S.S. Spokane was named for the city of Spokane and was built in New Jersey; she was classed a light cruiser. The Washington cities of Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia also had Navy ships named for them.

Commissioned after the end of World War II, the Spokane never saw any war-related action.  

Spokane departed New York for training and battle practice near Guantanamo Bay. In 1946, she visited several European ports. In 1947, the Spokane represented the U.S. Navy at the wedding of Her Royal Highness, Princess Elizabeth of England. On Christmas Day, 1947, she was boarded by 100 guests and underprivileged English children as the invited guests of the crew for dinner, party, movies and tour of the ship.

Completing her goodwill tour, Spokane joined a group staging bombardment exercises in the Atlantic. She was decommissioned in 1950 and assigned to the mothball fleet of the New York Group, US Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Struck from the Navy’s list of vessels in 1972, she was purchased in 1973 for scrap. Her final voyage took her to Brownsville, Texas, to be dismantled. 

Naval tradition mandates that the city in whose honor a ship is named give a silver service to its officers. In 1946, the citizen of Spokane purchased a silver service for the newly constructed USS Spokane. The 135-piece included service for twelve officers. This silver set is on display at the Naval Reserve Training Center by the VA Hospital in Spokane. (Could not find an image of Spokane’s silver; this set belonged to the USS Maryland.)

Taken from an article in Vol. 39, No. 3, 1995, of The Pacific Northwesterner.

Let’s Talk About: Germany’s Rules for Death

by Donna Phillips

Quoting from website The German Way, “German Funerals: Death in Deutschland.”  Image for a YouTube video.

“The German way of death is perhaps even more regulated than the German way of life. The German propensity to regulate almost every aspect of daily life carries over into the afterlife, with Germany’s funeral industry among the most regulated in the world.”

“Strict German laws and regulations concerning the burial or cremation of a deceased person reduce competition and increase the costs. The German funeral industry is protected by laws, that, with few exceptions, make burial in a cemetery mandatory even if the deceased has been cremated. There is little free choice for families faced with the death of a loved one.”

A typical German funeral can cost from $5500 to $11,000 or more! Even with cremations, a “certified” coffin is required and a plain  wooden coffin can cost over $700. A typical cremation costs upwards of $8000. 

“Those Germans who choose burial over cremation usually have a limited stay in the cemetery of their choice. Because of space limitation, most German cemeteries allow their “guests” to rest in peace only for a maximum of 10 to 30 years. After that they must relinquish their grave to another deceased soul. Only in some historical German cemeteries will you find the graves of people who died over a century ago.” 

“German restrictions don’t end with the laws that dictate where a corpse has to go. Most German cemeteries have codes and regulations that determine in great detail what may or may not appear on a loved one’s grave marker.” (Thankfully, this “rule” is changing.)

The scattering of cremated remains on land or at sea is generally verboten in Germany. When it is done, it is almost always done illegally. To scatter in a lake is out of the question for thoughts of water being contaminated by cremains. 

As an American, you do not want to pass away in Germany! Getting your body, or even your cremains, shipped home is a total tangled nightmare. 

So we learn from that article on The German Way website. 

Let’s Talk About: Punishment in Old Virginia

by Donna Phillips


Reading Ulysses P. Joyner’s The First Settlers of Orange County, Virginia, I thought to share bits about early forms of punishments there and the reasons for such punishments. 

Reasons for punishment in the early 1700s included: killing a slave, stealing a horse, absenting oneself from church, illicit cohabitation/adultery, failure to pay taxes, insulting the minister,  failure to keep his appointed stretch of road in good repair. having a “base born” child, drunkenness, stealing, murder, disturbing the peace and being a vagabond.

Punishments included:  time in the stocks (either the stand-up or sit-down sort). “This was a form of public ridicule and humiliation since the prisoner’s ankles, wrists and neck were shackled in the stocks on the courthouse lawn and the public gathered to taunt him/her.” 

Those convicted of stealing would have one or both of their ears nailed to the pillory for a specified time at the conclusion of which the sheriff used his sword to cut the sorry soul loose, leaving the ear affixed to the pillory.

Though women criminals were often dealt with as harshly as men, the usual punishment imposed on women for minor offenses was the “ducking pool” or “dunking stool.” The lady was placed on the stool attached to the end of a long pole in a public area and was “ducked” or dunked in a pool of water, a spectacle enjoyed by all except the victim.

As I read these pages, I was stuck by how much the idea of public humiliation was part of the punishment. Yes, loosing an ear was painful and awful but being put on display as a criminal was likely just as painful for the victim. I personally think that using thirty minutes in public stocks would be great punishment for minor offenders today.

Let’s Talk About: Trees!

by Donna Phillips


 I purchased this little book in an airport gift shop, killing time between flights. It’s been a deee-lightful and most informative read. For instance: 

“A seed hidden in the heart of an apple is an orchard invisible.” (Welsh Proverb)

“A tree has roots in the soil yet reaches to the sky. It tells us that in order to aspire we need to be grounded and that no matter how high we go it is from our roots that we draw sustenance.” (Wangari Maathai, Kenyan Political activist, 1940-2011)

“Never say there is nothing beautiful in the world anymore. There is always something to make you wonder in the shape of a tree, the trembling of a leaf.” (Albert Schweitzer, 1875-1965)

“Into the forest I go to lose my mind and find my soul.” (John Muir, 1838-1914)

“A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit.” (Greek proverb)

“What we are going to the forest of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.” (Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948)

“A person who loves trees and forests is known as a dendrophile. That person could also be called another obscure term: nemophilist. Or you could simple call that person a tree hugger.”

“You might come across a miniature whirlwind of leaves, thought by some to be created by a fairy dance, with tiny fairies riding on the leaves. Try catching a leaf in the air before it touches the ground…the fairy riding it will grant you a wish.”

“Acts of creating are ordinarily reserved for gods and poets, but humbler folk may circumvent this restriction if they know how. To plant a pine, for example, one need be neither god or poet; one need only own a shovel.” (Aldo Leopard, 1887-1948)

P.S. This little book cost $8.95.

Lewiston, Idaho, High School Yearbook 1924

by Donna Phillips

In a Spokane thrift store, I rescued this wonderful treasure! Inscribed: Property of Allene Robinson, who was a Junior that year. Besides pages of names of current students, this annual contains Alumni Lists dating back to 1890!!! There are also pages of class news bits, jokes, etc. What a find, I thought. If you want this, do let me know. It will not never go back to a thrift store! Donna

Let’s Talk About: Creating A Locality Guide

by Donna Phillips

Remember the old TripTik Travel Planners offered by AAA? When you were planning a trip, you’d contact AAA and ask for a customized TripTik and a little flip-booklet of all the roads, attractions, lodging and eats was furnished to you. It became the “bible” for your trip. 

I propose to you today that a Locality Guide for your genealogy research is parallel to the old TripTik. When you’re “going to” (researching) in a particular place, don’t you want to know the roads and places there?????  And, F.Y.I., creating a Locality Guide is  part of many how-to genealogical study courses. 

So. What to include in a Locality Guide? For imaginary visual impact, picture creating a Locality Guide for  Washington State or even better, a Washington State county. Here might be the chapters to include:

  • Historical Background & Geography
  • Local & County Government Agencies
  • State or Provincial Government
  • Laws
  • Archives, Libraries, Museums, Historical Societies
  • Historical Context Materials
  • Research Guides
  • Genealogy societies & Social Media
  • Census Records
  • Government Vital Records
  • Maps & Gazetteers
  • City Directories
  • Newspapers
  • Cemeteries & Funeral Homes & Onsite Grave Locators
  • Religious Records
  • Probate Records
  • Local Land Records
  • Federal Land Records
  • Tax Records
  • Immigration & Naturalization Records
  • Military Records

Imagine searching out and then compiling all that information for your target research place!  Seems to me, it would just about guarantee success in your search. 


Robyn M. Smith on her website, Reclaiming Kin, describes what a Locality Guide is: “It’s a document you create that contains key snippets of information relevant to genealogical research in a specific locale. The idea is to have one central guide that you can refer to time and time again when you are researching that place.” I agree!