I think it was said in days of yore, “if it ain’t in the Sears Roebuck catalog, you don’t need it.”  I’m old enough to remember pouring over a S&R catalog, especially the toy catalog at Christmas time! Bet you did too.

I bought this little paperback for 25-cents at a roadside junque sale. It’s been such fun browsing the pages……..but only in strong light and with a magnifying glass for it’s teeny print/pictures.

This 1909 catalog offered everything:  Pianos, corsets, guns, sofas, typewriters, rocking chairs, “quick cures for dyspepsia,” violins, diamond rings, watchmakers’ tools, shoes (ohmygoshthewomensshoesAWFUL), and “the highest grade steel range” for $22.43 (plus postage? and you know how HEAVY they were).

Did I mention fishing hooks, men’s shirts, lamps, dishes, crucifixes, “Parisian depilatory” (for 58 cents), blacksmith tools…………… well,you get the idea.

A genuine stroll-through-time as I browse those 900-pages of goods offered in 1909 by Messrs. Sears and Roebuck.

Some twisted crazy quotes highlighting a necessity of modern life:

“If at first you don’t succeed, use duct tape.”

” All we have to fear is no duct tape.”  (F.D.R.

“Duct tape in time saves dimes.”  (B. Franklin)

“The duct tape is mightier than the wood glue.” (Shakespeare)

“Duct tape it now or pay the repair guy later.”

“All we need is duct tape. Duct tape is all we need.” (Lennon/McCartney0

And my most favorite:

“This is the tape that mends men’s soles.”  (Thomas Payne)

(From that little Duct Tape book.)

Today being Election Day, and feeling “hooray it’s over” because of all the verbal wrangling, I must reflect that politics has always since Day One of this country been cause for passionate verbal exchanges. Now, too, it’s on TV and social media. In the olden days, it was cartoons in the newspaper. Here’s one from 1860. Do you think it was pro-Lincoln or against Lincoln?

I’ve read enough U.S. history (and bet you have too) to know that there were strong divides of opinion over Abraham Lincoln and the campaigning was most rancorous. Just like today, eh?

Do you understand that you might have Cajun or Creole ancestors? Do you know the difference? I didn’t…………

Creole refers to multiple origins…..like Louisiana Creole. This is a designation of a group of people that refers to their origin, their ancestry, their lineage, their heritage, as direct descendants from the early settlers of the Louisiana colony or territory. These settlers came straight from Spain or France.

Contrast that with Cajuns, or more properly Acadians. These were people from Spain or France who first went to Acadia in Canada and were forced out by the British in 1765 and many of whom went to Louisiana.

Remember: it was in 1763 that the Louisiana colony was transferred to the Spanish crown. That’s why those fleeing Acadia headed south to join other like-minded people.

(Thanks to Belmont F. Haydel, Ph.D., his article in the New Orleans Genesis, Jan 2017.)

Catching up today………….

First, thank you all who take the time to enter comments on these blog posts. I really do appreciate knowing you read my posts and care enough to make comments.

Second, yesterday’s Mystery post was of Ginny and me at the Makah Cultural & Tribal Center in Neah Bay, Washington. I ask you what was your most vivid memory of that museum. Here’s mine:

The Makah people would take very thin cedar planks (top of left pix) and cut “Vs” into them so they would bend into a box shape. They would then join the edges with wooden pegs driven through on an angle. Amazing! To think of all that work to make ONE box…..and in the museum there were the remains of several. In “those times” they must have had boxes of all sizes, each laboriously made this way. Just amazing.

Sue Erickson is a whizzbang of a gal. She’s been active with the Yakima Valley Genealogical Society forever, active with the YVGS Library forever, and past president of the Washington State Genealogical Society.

She recently shared with the WSGS Board a Pulled Pork BBQ Lunch. The BBQ sauce was without-enough-words-to-compliment-it GOOD. She explained that it was her grandmother’s recipe. Aren’t we blessed that she shared it with us? Here tiz:

Bar-B-Que Sauce

2 14 oz bottles of Catsup

1 12 oz bottle of Chile Sauce

1/3 C prepared mustard

1 ½ C packed brown sugar – or to taste

1 T dry mustard

2 T ground black pepper

1 ½ C wine vinegar

1 C lemon juice

½ C A-1 Steak Sauce

Dash Tabasco

¼ C Worcestershire

2 T Soy Sauce

2 T salad oil

1 12 oz beer  (optional)

Makes about ½ gallon and keeps indefinitely in the refrigerator.

Winter is approaching and travel across I-90 will be more limited but you might want to add a visit to Roslyn to your next year’s Must-Do List…….. if you’re a genealogist,t that is.

Roslyn was a booming coal-mining town about the turn of the century and men from all over the world came for the work. These men belonged to various ethnic and social clubs and as they died, they were buried in “their” portion of the cemetery. There are 26 such divisions in the Roslyn cemeteries and it is SO INTERESTING to walk among the various ethnic artwork and way of placing grave markers. There is even a Druid section! Better plan a stop and see for yourself. Google “Roslyn cemeteries.”

 Thanks to a Norwegian-descended friend, I just became aware of a magazine titled Scandinavian Press. I was so impressed; I wish I had Scandinavian ancestry! I enjoyed the Fall 2017 and Summer 2018 issues and there were articles about Scandinavians winning Olympic Gold, Alfred Nobel and his Peace Prize, Jean Sibelius, composer, Denmark’s Virgin Islands, Finnish Independence History, Where Sweating is Spiritual (saunas), Viking Family Discoveries in America plus a dozen smaller, regular features and even recipes! One fun feature is “What’s It? Where’s It? The page shows four or five scenes from place in those five countries and invites readers to guess. Such fun!

The Summer 2018 issue carried a 2-page article on the opening of Seattle’s new Nordic Museum last May. Even without that heritage, I want to visit that museum!

If you are of Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic or Finnish descent, you must at least check out this magazine! Click to www.scandpress.com  to preview some sample pages of the magazine and to order your subscription. Or you can call for free:  855-675-7226.  The magazine is published in Minot, North Dakota.

When was the last time you munched an Aplet or Cotlet or any of the wonderful fruit-nutty products made only in Cashmere? I stopped there on my way across the state on Hwy 2 and took their free tour..what a treat! The company was founded by two brothers almost 100 years ago and is still family-owned and in the same town. This little facility turns out a million pounds of candy every year. That’s impressive.

The tour begins with seeing huge vats of boiling syrup:

The syrup is next poured onto cooling trays and becomes gummy-like:

Next its cut into squares and dusted with sugar:

Then workers sort and pack the yummy pieces into boxes:

After the tour, you can shop! And shop! And taste and shop!!

How would you define the term blog? How about:  A blog is a regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style.

There are now over 800 of you regularly reading the WSGS blog! We’re busting our buttons with pride and pledge to you to keep up the good work. We do it happily for YOU.

We welcome your comments, kudos and even complaints.