Sells, Arizona

First timer? In this (hopefully) once-a-day blog, I have my computer select a random latitude and longitude that puts me somewhere in the continental United States (the lower 48). I call this “landing.” I keep track of the watersheds I land in, as well as the town I land near. I do some internet research to hopefully find something of interest about my landing location. To find out more about A Landing A Day (like who “Dan” is and what the various numbers and abbreviations mean), please see “About Landing,” (and “Abbreviations” and “Cryptic Numbers”) above.

Dan -  Gee whiz.  I was on a 4/5, but I’ve followed up with an 0/3 with another landing in . . . AZ; 75/68; 4/10; 3; 154.9.  Here’s my landing map, showing my proximity to the Mexican Border and to a number of small towns with very peculiar names:

Here’s a broader landing view:

And this, my GE map, which shows yet another green swath, although this one is natural, not agricultural.

The green swath is associated with the San Simon Wash, which heads south across the border to Mexico.  After some painstaking research, I figured out that the wash discharges to a new river, the Rio De La Concepcion, which (I believe) discharges to the Gulf of California.

The only towns I could find anything about were Pisinimo and Sells.  This about the town of Pisinimo (or Pisinemo) from Wiki:

The name Pisinemo is actually a failed attempt by the Motor Vehicle Division to put the traditional name of Pisin Mo’o onto road side signs along Highway 86 which runs through the Tohono O’odham Indian Nation. Pisin Mo’o is Tohono O’odham for “Buffalo Head”.

And this about Sells:

The population of Sells was 2,799 at the 2000 census.  It is the capital of the Tohono O’odham Nation and the home of several of their tribal businesses, such as Tohono O’Odham Ki:Ki Association. Originally known as Indian Oasis, the settlement took its present name in 1918 to honor Indian Commissioner Cato Sells.

And this (amongst other biographical info) about Cato Sells, from Wiki:

He was the Commissioner at the Bureau of Indian Affairs from 1913 from 1921.  In 1914 he banished books that taught anything concerning the Asian origins of Native Americans.

What the heck could he have against the Indians having Asian ancestry?  I wonder if the Indians were in favor of naming the town after this guy?  I have no clue . .

I landed in the middle of Tohono O’odham territory.  Here’s a cool picture of a Tohono O’odham gentleman, with the caption below the picture:

Carlos Rios, a Tohono O’Odham headman, before 1907, photo by Edward Curtis

About the Tohono O’odham, from Wiki:

The Tohono O’odham are a group of aboriginal Americans who reside primarily in the Sonoran Desert of the southeastern Arizona and northwest Mexico.  “Tohono O’odham” means “People of the Desert.”  Although they were previously known as the Papago, they have largely rejected this name (meaning literally “tepary-bean eater”), which was applied to them by conquistadores, who had heard them called this by other Indian bands unfriendly to the Tohono O’odham.  The term Papago derives from Papawi O’odham, that with time became Papago.  Pawi is the word for tepary bean in the O’odham language, Papawi the plural.

And this about the unfortunate fact that an international border separates some of the Tohono O’odham people (from Wiki):

Most of the 25,000 Tohono O’odham today live in southern Arizona, but there is also a population of several thousand in northern Sonora, Mexico.  Unlike aboriginal groups along the U.S.-Canada border, the Tohono O’odham were not given dual citizenship when a border was drawn across their lands in 1853.  Even so, members of the nation moved freely across the current international boundary for decades – with the blessing of the U.S. government – to work, participate in religious ceremonies, keep medical appointments in Sells, and visit relatives.

But since the mid-1980s, stricter border enforcement has restricted this movement, and tribal members born in Mexico have found themselves trapped in a remote corner of Mexico, with no access to the tribal centers only tens of miles away.  Since 2001, bills have repeatedly been introduced in Congress to solve the “one people-two country” problem by granting U.S. citizenship to all enrolled members of the Tohono O’odham, but have so far been unsuccessful.  Reasons that have been advanced in opposition to granting U.S. citizenship to all enrolled members of the Nation include the fact that births on the reservation have been for a large part informally recorded and the records are capable of easy falsification.

OK, so maybe there are some glitches, but it seems cruel to separate an Indian tribe like this!!

Here’s a wonderful picture of a Tohono O’odham woman, with the caption below:

Luzi, a Tohono O’odham woman, circa 1905. Photograph by Edward Curtis

As mentioned above, the tribe used to be called Papago, which means “Tepary Bean eater.”  So, what’s a tepary bean?  From Wiki:

The Tepary bean is native to the southwestern United States and Mexico and has been grown there by the native peoples since pre-Columbian times. It is more drought-resistant than the common bean and is grown in desert and semi-desert conditions.

The name tepary may derive from the Tohono O’odham phrase t’pawi or “It’s a bean”.

Tepary beans are cooked like other dry beans after soaking. Some Native Americans would toast the dry beans, then grind them into a meal which was mixed with water before eating.

Recent studies from the United States and Mexico suggest that compounds from tepary beans may be useful as chemotherapy for treating cancer. However, further research is needed.

Here’s a picture of Tepary Beans:

And these, of Baboquivari Mountain near Sells (sacred to the Tohono O’odham):

About the mountain, from Wiki:

Baboquivari Peak is the most sacred place to the Tohono O’odham people.  It is the center of the Tohono O’odham cosmology and the home of the creator, I’itoi. According to tribal legend, he resides in a cave below the base of the mountain.

This mountain is regarded by the O’odham nation as the navel of the world – a place where the earth opened and the people emerged after the great flood.

How about that -  the Tohono O’odham (along with many spiritual traditions other than the Judeo-Christian) believe in a great flood (and they live in the desert!).  Here’s the Table of Contents in Wiki under the entry “Deluge Myth.”

• 1 Flood myths in various cultures
  • 1.1 Ancient Near East
    • 1.1.1 Sumerian
    • 1.1.2 Babylonian (Epic of Gilgamesh)
    • 1.1.3 Jewish
    • 1.1.4 Islamic
  • 1.2 Asia-Pacific
    • 1.2.1 China
    • 1.2.2 Lao (Indochina)
    • 1.2.3 India
    • 1.2.4 Andaman Islands
    • 1.2.5 Indonesia
    • 1.2.6 Australia
    • 1.2.7 New Zealand
    • 1.2.8 Malaysia
  • 1.3 Europe
    • 1.3.1 Greek
      • 1.3.1.1 Ogyges
      • 1.3.1.2 Deucalion
      • 1.3.1.3 Dardanus
      • 1.3.1.4 From The Theogony of Apollodorus
    • 1.3.2 Germanic
    • 1.3.3 Irish
    • 1.3.4 Finnish
  • 1.4 Americas
    • 1.4.1 Aztec
    • 1.4.2 Caddo
    • 1.4.3 Hopi
    • 1.4.4 Inca
    • 1.4.5 Maya
    • 1.4.6 Mapuche
    • 1.4.7 Menominee
    • 1.4.8 Mi’kmaq
  • 1.5 Polynesian

And the Tohono O’odham don’t even make the list!  I’ll close with this lightning shot in Sells:

.

That’ll do it.

KS

Greg

© 2009 A Landing A Day

Antimony, Utah

First timer? In this (hopefully) once-a-day blog, I have my computer select a random latitude and longitude that puts me somewhere in the continental United States (the lower 48). I call this “landing.” I keep track of the watersheds I land in, as well as the town I land near. I do some internet research to hopefully find something of interest about my landing location. To find out more about A Landing A Day (like who “Dan” is and what the various numbers and abbreviations mean), please see “About Landing,” (and “Abbreviations” and “Cryptic Numbers”) above.

Dan -  For the 5^th time in the last 29 landings, I’ve landed in that solid WB OSer . . . UT; 66/51; 4/10; 2; 154.5.  Here’s my landing map, showing my proximity to Antimony:

I landed in the Antimony Ck watershed, on to a new river (my 1044^th river, incidentally), the E Fk of the Sevier; on to the Sevier (8^th hit).  The Sevier is internally drained.  I have landed near it’s end point (see my Black Rock UT post) and discussed the Sevier watershed in my Holden UT post.  By the way, the E Fk of the Sevier is my 27th internally-drained river . . .

Here’s a broader landing view:

And my GE shot, showing a pretty-much featureless desert scape.

Here’s a broader view, which shows that the Sevier River near Antimony is a similar “green swath” as for my last landing, Eden AZ, along the Gila R.

Anyway, about Antimony, from UtahOnLine:

In early 1873 about twenty-two men, arrived in what would become Antimony while on a peace-keeping mission with the Fish Lake Indians.  While near the present site of Antimony they caught and earmarked several coyote pups. This incident led to the town founded at the site to be named Coyote.  The meadowlands were used as early as 1873 for grazing and several families moved here in 1878.

In 1880 antimony (stibnite), a metal used in the making of alloys, was discovered in nearby Coyote Canyon, so Coyote became a mining town as well as a ranching community. 1n 1921 the town of Coyote was renamed Antimony after the metal mined in the area.

Antimony comes from the mineral Stibnite:

Stibnite, sometimes called antimonite, is a sulfide mineral with the formula Sb₂S₃.  It is the most important source for antimony.  The abbreviation for antimony, Sb, is taken from stibnite.

Moving right along . . . there is an “Archibald Hunter” collection of historical documents maintained by the State of Utah.  This is from a write-up about old Archibald:

Some ten thousand Mormon converts from Scotland emigrated to the United States by 1900. While Archibald Murchie Hunter was not a member of that church it seems likely that his arrival in this country at age eight and his eventual arrival in Utah must have been at least partly a result of Mormon influence (although a religious motive for emigration is not required, for Scotland was poor and the Hunter family was large).

If Hunter’s reasons for emigration to this country are not fully known, neither are his early travels after arriving in Boston in 1851. His obituary reports that he remained in that city only briefly, then headed for Utah. Where he lived and how he supported himself in Utah for perhaps the next ten years is not clear, and he left in 1862 for the mining camps of Nevada.

He may have been successful in mining, for in 1874 he returned to Utah, taking up residence in Sevier County as a breeder of blooded race horses. In 1879 he joined the settlers in the Garfield County community known variously as Clover Flat, Grass Valley, Coyote, and, after 1920, Antimony. He spent the rest of his life there, supporting himself by various mining speculations, running a hotel, and raising and exporting to Scotland his fine horses.

One could hardly invent a person with a background seemingly less likely to harmonize with Antimony community life than Archibald Hunter. The settlement was composed primarily of exceptionally devout Mormons who had moved there from the United Order of Enoch (the Mormons’ communitarian order) at Kingston just barely before Hunter arrived.  Hunter was not a Mormon at all, a foreign immigrant, an Odd Fellow, a life-long bachelor, and an ardent Socialist.

The latter affiliation is probably the reason for his taking up residence in Antimony, for the Socialist Party was strong in that area, and he may have been attracted not only by the good pasture but by the compatible political climate as well. At any rate, cultural differences proved to be unimportant, and Hunter quickly became a valued neighbor and respected pillar of the community

Archibald Hunter died in Antimony in 1931.

But wait, maybe it isn’t so strange that Archibald was comfortable amongst the Mormons in Antimony.  From Wiki, this about the Mormon United Order:

The United Order established egalitarian communities designed to achieve income equality, eliminate poverty, increase group self-sufficiency, and to ultimately create an ideal utopian society Mormons referred to as Zion. The movement had much in common with other utopian societies formed in the United States and Europe during the Second Great Awakening which sought to govern aspects of people’s lives through precepts of faith and community organization

The United Order is not practiced within mainstream Mormonism today; however, a number of groups of Mormon fundamentalists, such as the Apostolic United Brethren, have revived the practice.

Sounds a little socialist, eh?  (Especially the part about “income equality”.)

I’ve head about Odd Fellows, but don’t know anything about them.  From Wiki:

The name Odd Fellows refers to a number of friendly societies that originated in the United Kingdom, with Lodges that date back to the 1700s.  These various organisations were set up to protect and care for their members at a time when there was no welfare state, trade unions or National Health Service. The aim was (and still is) to provide help to members when they need it.  The friendly societies are non-profit mutual organisations owned by their members.  All income is passed back to the members in the form of services and benefits.  The Odd Fellows are fundraisers for both local and national charities.  Branches raise money for local causes and the Societies as a whole raise significant amounts for charities.

Name origins:  In smaller towns and villages, there weren’t enough Fellows from the same trade to set up a local Guild, so Fellows from a number of trades banded together to form a local Guild of Fellows from an odd assortment of trades. Hence, Guilds of Odd Fellows.

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is big in the U.S. (and Archibald was a member of the IOOF).  Check out the various symbols that associated with the IOOF:

Looks like it’s right up Dan Brown’s alley . . .by the way, FLT stands for friendship, love and truth.

Back to Antimony.  Here’s a shot of the Mercantile (which, by the way, is for sale at what seems to me to be a mighty steep price of $450,000!  Remember the store for sale for $90,000 a few landings ago?  It was in my Lime Springs IA post.  A much better deal . . .)

I’ll close with this landscape shot near Antimony:

That’ll do it.

KS

Greg

© 2009 A Landing A Day

Eden, Arizona

First timer? In this (hopefully) once-a-day blog, I have my computer select a random latitude and longitude that puts me somewhere in the continental United States (the lower 48). I call this “landing.” I keep track of the watersheds I land in, as well as the town I land near. I do some internet research to hopefully find something of interest about my landing location. To find out more about A Landing A Day (like who “Dan” is and what the various numbers and abbreviations mean), please see “About Landing,” (and “Abbreviations” and “Cryptic Numbers”) above.

Dan -  After two landings at 5/10, I’m back down to 4/10 with this landing in . . . AZ; 74/68; 4/10; 1; 154.0.  Here’s my landing map, showing my proximity to Eden, Glenbar and Pima.

I landed in the Hot Springs Wash watershed (more about hot springs later); on to the Curtis Canal, to the Gila R (32nd hit); to the Colorado (138th hit).

Here’s a broader landing view:

My GE view, showing my proximity to the verdant Gila River floodplain:

I backed out a little to give you a better view of the Gila River green swath:

It turns out that Eden, Glenbar and Pima were all founded by Mormons back in the late 1880’s.  In fact, Pima was originally named Smithville, I suspect named after none other than Joseph Smith.

From Ghosttowns.com:

Eden was an agricultural town established by Mormon settlers in the 1880s and named after the town of the same name in Utah. The post office was established in 1882 and closed ???.

Here’s a picture of the “Eden Store”  from Ghosttowns:

Well, it turns out that the Eden Store used to be the Post Office.  Here’s a shot from 1911:

Also from Ghosttowns:

Glenbar was an agricultural settlement whose name was Matthews from 1897 to 1906, Fairview from 1909 to 1917 and Glenbar from 1917 to 1956.

Here’s a picture of the store in town back when it was called Fairview:

And here’s a picture of the Carter family from Glenbar (looking pretty grim, as per usual in photos from this period):

Here’s a picture of a hot spring in Eden (the “guitar pool”):

The hot water is put in a pool, which is associated with a facility that hosts retreats:

I’ll close with this shot of a cotton field along the Gila near Pima:

That’ll do it.

KS

Greg

© 2009 A Landing A Day

Liberty, Kentucky

First timer? In this (hopefully) once-a-day blog, I have my computer select a random latitude and longitude that puts me somewhere in the continental United States (the lower 48). I call this “landing.” I keep track of the watersheds I land in, as well as the town I land near. I do some internet research to hopefully find something of interest about my landing location. To find out more about A Landing A Day (like who “Dan” is and what the various numbers and abbreviations mean), please see “About Landing,” (and “Abbreviations” and “Cryptic Numbers”) above.

Dan -  Maybe things are turning around; I’m on a 4/5 run with my landing in . . . KY; 19/24; 5/10; 2; 153.6.  Here’s my landing map, showing my proximity to Liberty:

I landed in the Canoe Ck watershed, on to the Green R, which you can see just south of my landing (6th hit); on to the Ohio (115th hit); on to the MM (719th hit).

Here’s an expanded view, showing my landing all by its lonesome smack dab in the middle of KY.  I’ve been aware for some time that there was a big piece of landing-free real estate in central KY.  Well, it’s landing-free no more:

Here’s my GE shot.  I think that I landed right in the middle of a farm pond!!

Here’s an expanded GE shot, showing what we geologists call a “dendritic” pattern of drainage.  Notice how all of the valleys are cleared, and the uplands are wooded.

About Liberty from Wiki:

Liberty is a city in and county seat of Casey County. It was established in 1806 by several Revolutionary War veterans and named for one of the values of their new country. Its population was 1,850 at the 2000 census.

One of Liberty’s famous sons is a baseball player by the name of Carl Mays.  I found the following story (well worth the read) in which Carl plays an important part:

By David Zingler  (Simply Baseball Notebook:  Forgotten in Time series)

Remembering Ray Chapman

Each year hundreds of injuries take place on the baseball field. Players suffer injuries of varying degrees, everything from sprained ankles and pulled hamstrings to broken bones and torn ligaments. These injuries can keep players out a few games, an entire season, and in some extreme cases end careers. One player, however, paid the ultimate price while playing the game.

On August 16, 1920, life was good for 29 year old shortstop Ray Chapman. The speedy, slick fielding Chapman, anchor of the Cleveland infield, was hitting .303 with 97 runs scored and his team was in the thick of the American League Pennant race. The Indians were at the Polo Grounds in New York to take on the Yankees. Nasty submariner Carl Mays was on the hill for the Yanks. Chapman was 0 for1 in the game when he led off the fifth against Mays. Chapman was known to crowd and sometimes lean over the plate. Mays, known for his nasty disposition, had a reputation for throwing “high and tight.”

Mays threw one of his patented rising side armed pitches inside to the Indian’s shortstop who was again crowding the plate. The pitch hit him in the temple fracturing his skull. Chapman collapsed. His teammates rushed out and helped him to his feet. According to some accounts Chapman regained consciousness, but quickly collapsed again before reaching the dugout. Emergency surgery, which included the removal of a piece of his skull, was performed that night to no avail. Chapman died at 4:30 the next morning, about twelve hours after being hit by Mays’ pitch. It remains the only on field casualty in MLB history.

Carl Mays voluntarily appeared in front of the homicide bureau of the district attorney’s office that night and was cleared of all wrong doing. Despite that fact, the players of the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox threatened to start a petition to get Mays banned from baseball.

With rookie Joe Sewell in Chapman’s place at shortstop, the Indians went onto win the franchises’ first World Series that year, wearing black arm bands as a tribute to their fallen teammate. Ray Chapman’s wife, Kathleen, received his full World Series share, just under $4,000.

For his career Chapman hit .278 with 233 stolen bases, 1053 hits, and 671 runs in 1051 games over 9 big league seasons. He was known for his speed, he finished in the top ten in stolen bases three times and in runs four times and his fielding – he was considered one of the finest glove men of the time. Chapman was selected as one of the “100 Greatest Indians” when the team celebrated it’s centennial in 2001. Noted baseball historian Bill James said Chapman “was probably destined for the Hall of Fame had he lived.”

Carl Mays went on to win 26 games for the Yankees in 1920 and 27 more in 1921. He became the first man to win 20 games with three different teams in 1924 when he went 20-9 with Cincinnati (he also won 20 with Boston in 1917 & ‘18). Mays retired in 1929 with a 207-126 record and 2.92 ERA. He felt the Chapman incident denied him admission into the Hall of Fame.

With the advent of batting helmets and significantly better medical technology available, an incident like this would probably never happen in today’s’ game. It is important to remember, however, the legacy of Ray Chapman, who was by all accounts an upstanding member of the community, a favorite of teammates and fans, as well as a great ball player.

Here’s Ray Chapman:

And here’s Carl Mays:

That’ll do it.

KS

Greg

© 2009 A Landing A Day

Menard, Texas

First timer? In this (hopefully) once-a-day blog, I have my computer select a random latitude and longitude that puts me somewhere in the continental United States (the lower 48). I call this “landing.” I keep track of the watersheds I land in, as well as the town I land near. I do some internet research to hopefully find something of interest about my landing location. To find out more about A Landing A Day (like who “Dan” is and what the various numbers and abbreviations mean), please see “About Landing,” (and “Abbreviations” and “Cryptic Numbers”) above.

Dan -   Well, how about that.  After 25 in a row of 4/10 or less, I’ve made it to 5/10 by landing once again in . . . TX, 127/160; 5/10; 1; 154.2.  Here’s my landing map, showing my proximity to Menard and the San Saba River:

This was my third landing in the San Saba R watershed; on to the Colorado (21^st hit); on to the G of M.  Here’s a picture of the San Saba near Menard:

Here’s a broader landing view:

And my GE shot:

Never before have I turned to a golfing website for my primary source information about a town.  But there’s a first time for everything.  From GolfTexas.com (a little long, but interesting):

MENARD, Texas — The little ranch town of Menard (pop. 1,676) is deep in the heart of Texas, located just a short drive southwest of the state’s geographic epicenter at Brady, and one of the last Hill Country hamlets before the big skies of West Texas open up around San Angelo.

First established in the 1700s as the Spanish mission of Santa Cruz de San Saba, Menard was a site of fierce Indian resistance and eventually became an early trading post on the northwest cattle trails. Today Menard County is a small, undiscovered town on the western edge of Central Texas. Although cattle, goats, sheep and hunting game are economic mainstays for the area, the community boasts a multitude of unique sightseeing activities and a quaint nine-hole golf course west of town known as the Presidio Golf Club. Named after the ruins of the old Spanish mission on the back side of the course, the Presidio spans 25 scenic acres along the gurgling San Saba River.

However lately there’s been a bit of controversy in quiet Menard, and it has become clear that the historical site and golf course don’t necessarily mix. This past summer professors, students, and volunteers from all over the state ventured to Menard with the hopes of reconstructing the presidio and finding clues that will tell the story of Spain’s hopeful conquest of the Great Plains.

Over the years, groups as large as 450 amateur archeologists have literally dug into the property adjacent to the course, finding impressive remnants such as glazed Spanish pottery, crosses, musket balls, medallions, and numerous other signs of daily life from the mission that was abandoned in 1781.

In the process, a golf-cart path and holes No. 7-9 have been affected at some point, creating complications for the club’s 36 members and visiting golfers.

“The ruins are a unique accent to the course, but it’s tough to play golf around an archeological exploration”, said Eger, who seemed confused as to how Menard County could allow the researchers free reign of the county owned property without consideration of how it might impact course operations.

“As much work as we put into the course, it takes a long time for the scars of excavation to heal,” said Eger.

The good news is that now that the excavation project and golf course are gaining notoriety, communications and processes are bound to improve, increasing the chances of both sides walking away winners. And despite the strains imposed on the course by the project, it’s not enough to take away from the immensely entertaining experience of playing a few rounds of Hill Country golf near, where in 1758, some 2,000 Comanche attacked the mission, burned it to the ground, and signaled the beginning of the end of Spain’s attempt to conquer the Great Plains of North America.

Here are a couple of pictures of the mission ruins:

There you have it.  So, how did Menard get its name?  From AliciaNiche.com:

Col. Michel B. Menard, whose portrait appears above, was born in Canada of French parentage in 1805, and came to Texas in 1833, after a number of years previously spent among the Shawnee Indians. He gladly cast his fortune with the struggling Texas colonists to break the yoke of Mexico.

Fitted by inclination and natural endowment, his great industry and capacity enabled him to render conspicuous service to the Texas Patriots in this great cause that had its happy termination in San Jacinto.

Moving right along:  near Menard, along the Saba River is a mysterious grave site.  Edited from TexasEscapes:

Menard Grave

by Mike Cox

. . . the white marble obelisk inside a rusty-if-ornate iron fence bears this inscription:

T. B. Smith
Born Jan. 14, 1833
Died Jan. 10, 1871
No pain, no grief
No anxious tear
Can reach the peace
In sleeper here

Here’s the story told to a local historian (a Mr. Kniffen) by a relative of Mr. Smith:
“Smith lived somewhere down the river, within five miles of town.  His great-great-great granddaughter said he wasn’t all there, somewhat mentally challenged.” According to this living relative:

One day, the second date on his tombstone, a group of rowdy cowboys rode up as Smith walked along River Road a little more than a mile from town. One of them had the bright idea of making Smith “dance” while dodging bullets fired at his feet.

Surely drunk, one of the cowboys either shot too high and wounded the hapless man or did so deliberately. Whatever happened, the others started shooting at Smith, putting multiple bullet holes in him.

Newly incorporated in 1871, Menard had little or no local law enforcement. And the Texas Rangers had not yet evolved into state police officers.

Even so, the cowboys knew they had done wrong. One of them, possibly more somber than his colleagues, knew where some Indians were camped. And according to the story Kniffen heard, the cowboys actually got along with them.

The woman told Kniffen the killer cowhands rode to the Indian camp, likely on the nearby pecan-shaded river, and asked if they could have some arrows. While it is hard to imagine any group of Indians on the frontier being that neighborly in 1871, they are supposed to have given the culprits a handful of arrows.

Thus equipped, the cowboys rode back to the scene of their crime and inserted the arrows into the bullet holes in their hapless victim. Then, they covered the body with a large flat rock.

Clearly, the story has almost as many holes probability-wise as the unfortunate Mr. Smith supposedly suffered. But one thing is certain: The grave is there, and there is a large, irregularly shaped flat rock above it.

Revisiting the grave recently, Kniffen found five other flat stones beneath the oaks.

“The river does not have that kind of rocks,” Kniffen said. “To get those, you’d have to pack them down from the Luckenbach Mountains, which are well to the south of the grave.”

Given that stones that large are not naturally occurring in that immediate area, they may mark other graves.

Another Menard County history buff and story teller, Carlton Kothmann, said he knew of the grave under the trees and had always heard it had been filled by the victim of an Indian attack. He had never heard the arrows-in-the-corpse story told by Smith’s relative until Kniffen passed it along.

“History,” Kothmann offered in perspective, “is not what happened but what’s recorded.”

I always like old shots of train stations.  Here’s Menard’s versions:

I’ll close with this picture of Uncle Jim Henning from Menard County, born 1876 (died 1945).  Quite the cowboy!  I wouldn’t mess with Jim . . .

That’ll do it.

KS

Greg

© 2009 A Landing A Day

Paradise Valley, Nevada

First timer? In this (hopefully) once-a-day blog, I have my computer select a random latitude and longitude that puts me somewhere in the continental United States (the lower 48). I call this “landing.” I keep track of the watersheds I land in, as well as the town I land near. I do some internet research to hopefully find something of interest about my landing location. To find out more about A Landing A Day (like who “Dan” is and what the various numbers and abbreviations mean), please see “About Landing,” (and “Abbreviations” and “Cryptic Numbers”) above.

Dan -  I couldn’t stand the prosperity, so after two USers, along comes a solid OSer . . . NV; 72/66; 4/10; 25; 154.9.  Here’s my landing map (today’s landing is the one to the west):

Here’s a broader view:

Here’s my GE shot, showing some nondescript dessert around my landing.  By the way, the GE photography is peculiar; for some reason, there’s the hazy looking area to the east.

I angled myself way down to get this GE shot, looking north past my landing, towards the Santa Rosa Mountains which are about 15 miles north of my landing:

Anyway, from my landing map, you can see I landed near Paradise Valley.  This from Nevadatravelnet.net:

Paradise Valley is a quiet and supremely photogenic community dating from the 1860s when it was a supply point for the mines in the nearby mountains and called Paradise City. It’s almost purely agricultural now, except for an occasional tourist lured by the name. Wander the quiet streets of the serene little town for a half hour as we did, and the name seems to fit perfectly.

As tourists, we gravitated naturally to the Paradise Valley Mercantile & Saloon. It had been closed since February, but now re-opened under the management of Mike Paradis & Co. Mike was ordered by the Health Department to remove the hundreds of dollar bills and other paper money tacked to the ceiling under the previous management, so they offerred their customers $100 for the closest guess at the total in American money. It came to $1,853, plus a small fortune in foreign currency and three shopvacs full of dust. They plan to have a small store and deli open about the time you see this, and then life will be quite heavenly again in Paradise Valley.

Here’s a picture of an older version (I’m sure) of the Paradise Valley Mercantile:

Here’s a picture of what I suspect is the current version:

From Ghosttowns.com:

One would be inclined to think the town received its name because it was exactly that-a paradise valley. It was anything but that during its early years. The original inhabitants, Paiutes, Shoshones and Bannocks, were not friendly for they saw their land being destroyed by the white man and his plowshares as the fields were being prepared for the planting of wheat. This, along with the clear water streams being polluted by mining operations was cause for attacks on the settlers that lasted for years.  Many died.

This resulted in two forts being built in the area.  Indian attacks ceased in 1869 allowing the farmers of Paradise Valley to raise their crops without fear.

The town was always more of a farming community than it was a mining camp. When mining operations ceased, Paradise Valley grew into a peaceful and productive agricultural town.  If in the area, a trip to Paradise Valley is in order.  Submitted by Henry Chenoweth.

From octopup.org, here’s a shot of a hot spring in Paradise Valley:

Check this out!  They’ve got a tub for visitors:

Moving right along . . . I stumbled on some song lyrics that reference Paradise Valley.  The song is “This Old Skin” by the group “The Beautiful South.”  Here’s some info on the band from Wiki:

The Beautiful South were an English alternative rock group formed at the end of the 1980s.  The group broke up in January 2007, claiming the split was due to “musical similarities”, having sold around 15,000,000 records worldwide.

Wow. This was a very successful band that I never heard of.  Anyway, here is the verse from “This Old Skin” that references the town:

it was paradise valley nevada,
not far from where the west was won.
i am the only black face in the whole damn place
just a raisin in the blazing sun.

Some great lyrics!!   After reading the lyrics, I expected at least one black face in The Beautiful South, but ‘tis not the case:

At first, I assumed that maybe some non-band member wrote this song, but then found this in Wiki:

One track from the album, “This Old Skin“, was presented as a cover of a song by an obscure band known as The Heppelbaums; it was later revealed to be a Beautiful South composition.

OK, so I figured maybe there’d be a black face or two in the Heppelbaums.  Here’s their one and only album cover. . .

Oh, well. . .

Anyway, after all of this, I had to listen to the song.  Hey!!  I like it!!  It’s a real simple sound, but pleasing to my ear.  To hear the Beautiful South singing the song, click here.

Anyway, now that I’m a Beautiful South fan, I did a little more research.  I found this about the group (from a music critic who places The Beautiful South as his 4^th favorite band of all time):

Paul Heaton, Dave Rotheray, Dave Hemingway, Sean Welch, David Stead and a changing line-up of female companions come in at a very respectable fourth place on my list. The Beautiful South’s career lasted for almost two decades, starting back in 1989, and continuing until their split in 2007.  They’ve produced 10 studio albums, 4 greatest hits packages and a variety of spin off and solo projects, but just what is it that makes me such a huge Beautiful South fan? Whether they’ve been selling massive top 5 hits, or seeing their songs struggle to even go top 40, this band have stayed true to their style, and have produced such an incredible back catalogue of work that I find it hard to see how anyone would dislike.

To find out more about The Beautiful South, click here (and scroll past all of the Michael Jackson stuff . . .)

Back to Paradise Valley -  Here are a bunch of shots of the town . . .

That’ll do it.

KS

Greg

© 2009 A Landing A Day

Gail, Texas

First timer? In this (hopefully) once-a-day blog, I have my computer select a random latitude and longitude that puts me somewhere in the continental United States (the lower 48). I call this “landing.” I keep track of the watersheds I land in, as well as the town I land near. I do some internet research to hopefully find something of interest about my landing location. To find out more about A Landing A Day (like who “Dan” is and what the various numbers and abbreviations mean), please see “About Landing,” (and “Abbreviations” and “Cryptic Numbers”) above.

Dan -  OK.  I’m all the way up to 4/10 for the first time since 21 landings ago, thanks to landing in good ol’ . . . TX; 126/160; 4/10; 24; 154.4.  Here’s my landing map, showing my proximity to the town of Gail:

Here’s a broader view:

I landed in the watershed of Mesquite Ck; on to the Bull Ck; on to the Texas-version of the Colorado R (20^th hit); on to the G of M.

And here’s my GE shot, showing that I landed in a non-description area Northeast of Gail.

From The Handbook of Texas On Line:

GAIL, TEXAS. Gail was named for Gail Borden, Jr., when it was selected county seat of Borden County in 1891. Despite being a county seat, the community remained small, and the county population sparse. The estimated population in Gail in 1910 was 700, and in 1912 it was 600. By 1936, because of the Great Depression and changes in agricultural patterns, Gail had declined to 250. In 1980 its population was only 189 in a total reported county population of 859.   In the early 1990s Gail was still the county seat and reported a population of 202, served by eight businesses. In 2000 the population was 189.

Did you catch that?  In 1980, Borden County had a population of 859, 189 of whom lived in  Gail.  This is an incredibly sparsely-populated area.  Interestingly, I discovered a website (davickservices.com) which lists the 15 “loneliest” counties in the lower 48.  And guess what?  Borden came in 11th!  The number one loneliest county (with a population of 60) is Loving County, Texas. This, about Loving County:

There is no grocery store here, or bank, or hospital. Not even a cemetery. No lawyers or Libertarians either in Loving County, Texas, the least populated county in America.

In 2004, The Texas Lawyer labeled Loving County the Land Without Lawyers. It’s a label the citizens are proud to carry.

“Well, goodness,” Loving County Sheriff  Billy Hopper explained, “if you’ve got to have rattlesnakes or lawyers, which one would you have?”

Sheriff Hopper patrols the 673 square miles of Loving County in a pickup truck with two shotguns and an AK-47.

So, Borden County and the town of Gail were named for Gail Borden.  You’d never guess, would you that this is the same Borden that is responsible for Elsie the Cow?  Well, it is!

Here’s a seriously-edited bio (I skip the first 40+ years of his life):

BORDEN, GAIL, JR. (1801-1874). Gail Borden, Jr., inventor, publisher and surveyor was the founder of the Borden Company.

In the middle 1840s he began inventing. In 1849 he perfected a meat biscuit, made of dehydrated meat compounded with flour, which he tried to market on a worldwide scale in partnership with Ashbel Smith. Although this project left him deeply in debt, for seven years Borden struggled to sell meat biscuits. For this purpose he moved to New York in 1851 to be nearer trade centers.

In 1853 he sought a patent on a process for condensing milk in vacuum, but it was 1856 before he received American and British patents. He then dropped the meat biscuit to devote himself to condensing milk. He opened a factory in Connecticut in 1856 but failed, then tried and failed again in 1857. Through Jeremiah Milbank, a New York financier, he received new backing and opened another factory in Connecticut in 1858. When the Civil War brought intensified demand for condensed milk, sales grew so much that Borden’s success was assured. He opened another factory in Connecticut, two in New York, and one in Illinois and licensed other concerns in Pennsylvania and Maine.

After 1871 he spent his winters in Texas because of the milder climate. In 1873 he built a freedmen’s school and a white children’s school, organized a day school and a Sunday school for black children, aided in constructing five churches, maintained two missionaries, and partially supported numerous poorly paid teachers, ministers, and students. He died in Borden, Texas, on January 11, 1874; his body was shipped by private car to New York to be buried in Woodlawn Cemetery.

I think that Gail had nothing to do with Borden County or Gail other than someone else deciding to use his name.

I could find only three pictures from Gail.  Here’s the welcome-to-Gail sign:

And this of the jail:

I’ll close with this shot of Gail Mountain, located immediately west of Gail (you can see it on the GE shot):

That’ll do it.

KS

Greg

© 2009 A Landing A Day

There is no grocery store here, or bank, or hospital. Not even a cemetery. No lawyers or Libertarians either in Loving County, Texas, the least populated county in America.

In 2004, The Texas Lawyer labeled Loving County the Land Without Lawyers. It’s a label the citizens are proud to carry.

“Well, goodness,” Loving County Sheriff  Billy Hopper explained, “if you’ve got to have rattlesnakes or lawyers, which one would you have?”

Sheriff Hopper patrols the 673 square miles of Loving County in a pickup truck with two shotguns and an AK-47.

Independence, Missouri

First timer? In this (hopefully) once-a-day blog, I have my computer select a random latitude and longitude that puts me somewhere in the continental United States (the lower 48). I call this “landing.” I keep track of the watersheds I land in, as well as the town I land near. I do some internet research to hopefully find something of interest about my landing location. To find out more about A Landing A Day (like who “Dan” is and what the various numbers and abbreviations mean), please see “About Landing,” (and “Abbreviations” and “Cryptic Numbers”) above.

Dan -  Phew!  And this state barely qualified as a USer, cause now it’s a PSer . . . MO; 41/41; 3/10; 23; 355.1.  Here’s my landing map, showing that I landed very close to a previous landing (July 30, 2007), on the eastern fringe of a seriously urban area:

You can see my proximity to Independence.  Here’s a broader view, showing proximity to Kansas City:

Today’s landing is the one that seems to be pointing to the “n” in “Independence.”  And an even broader view:

As I did back in 2007, I landed in the watershed of the Spring Branch Creek, which flows on to the Little Blue River (no other hits besides 2007; ergo 2^nd hit); on to the Missouri (336^th hit); to the MM (718^th hit).

Here’s a very-close-in GE shot, showing that it looks like I’m in a totally rural area:

Not!!  Here’s a slight pull-back GE shot:

So, Independence will be my featured town.  Four items about Independence caught my eye:

1)  The early history of Independence revolves around riverboat travel up the Missouri.  It turns out that the riverboats couldn’t go further upstream than Independence, so naturally enough, a town grew up here for the pioneers to begin their overland journey further west (on the Oregon, Sante Fe and California trails).  Note that on the Kansas City map above, you can see the Missouri north of my landing near the town of Courtney.

2)  Early Mormons came here.  In fact, Joseph Smith had a revelation that Independence was to be the centerpiece location for the Mormons (although it ended up in Salt Lake City).

3)  As you may know, Independence is the birthplace of Harry Truman.

4)  As you probably don’t know, Jim Eisenreich (one of my all-time favorite Phillies) lives in Independence.

About Independence as a trail head – from the Idaho State University “Oregon Trail” website:

For many years Independence was the most popular “jumping off” point on the Oregon Trail. Here the emigrants stocked up on supplies and prepared their wagons. There was generally a festive air in Independence in the spring. The newcomers collected information and misinformation, made friends and enemies, changed proposed destinations, and behaved in general as though they were on a picnic.

Because of the fear of Indian attacks (which was largely unfounded), emigrants often tried organize a traveling party here, because no one wanted to head west alone. When a wagon “train” had been assembled, a quasi-military organization was often formed, as discussed by Capt. R.B. Marcy in  The Prairie Traveler:
After a particular route has been selected to make the journey across the plains, and the requisite number have arrived . . . their first business should be to organize themselves into a company and elect a commander. The company should be of sufficient magnitude to herd and guard animals, and for protection against Indians. An obligation should be drawn up and signed by all the members of the association, wherein each one should bind himself to abide in all cases by the orders and decisions of the captain and to aid him by every means in this power.

So what about the early Mormons?  Here’s quite the story, from MormonWiki (with a little editing for brevity’s sake):

As persecution persisted in Ohio and other areas in the East, Joseph Smith suggested that some of the Saints settle in Missouri.  In 1831, Joseph Smith received a command that they should buy as much land in the Jackson County area of Missouri as possible.  He also received revelation that Jackson County would be the site of the New Jerusalem at the time of the Second Coming.

In the spring of 1832, another 300-400 families arrived and the area began to rapidly prosper. By the end of 1832 there were over 800 Saints in Jackson County.  In July 1833, the peace the Saints were enjoying in Missouri ended suddenly. The first settlers of the area and other non-Mormons became afraid and suspicious of the Saints. They did not like the huge influx of people moving into the area that did not hold the same political, cultural, or religious ideas as them. By this time, there were nearly twelve hundred Saints in the area. Independence also began to lose business at this time because a flood had caused the Missouri river to change its course. This was also blamed on the Mormons.

On July 20, four to five hundred non-Mormon citizens met at the courthouse in Independence. The meeting quickly turned into a mob and they destroyed the printing office and press. The mob then went searching for the leaders of the Church. Bishop Edward Partridge and Charles Allen were tarred and feathered by the mob because they would not denounce the Book of Mormon.

On July 23, the mob returned again this time with guns, clubs, and whips. They burned fields and haystacks, and destroyed homes. Six leaders of the Church offered their lives in exchange for the safety of the rest of the members. Their offer was turned down and they were forced to sign an agreement that they would be out of the county by April 1, 1834.

Wild times, eh?  Here’s a quick summary of what happened after:  The Mormons left Independence, but not Missouri.  Tensions continued, culminating in the “1838 Mormon War.”  Twenty-one Mormons and one non-Mormon were killed, and Joseph Smith surrendered.  As a result, about 10,000 Missouri Mormons left and settled in Nauvoo, Illinois.  That’s where Joseph Smith was killed, and then Brigham Young led the flock out to Salt Lake.

Moving right along to Harry Truman (from Wiki):

Truman, whose demeanor was very different from that of the patrician Roosevelt, was a folksy, unassuming president. He popularized such phrases as “The buck stops here” and “If you can’t stand the heat, you better get out of the kitchen.” He overcame the low expectations of many political observers who compared him unfavorably with his highly regarded predecessor. At different points in his presidency, Truman earned both the lowest public approval ratings that had ever been recorded, and the highest approval ratings to be recorded (until Bush Sr. in 1991).  Despite negative public opinion during his term in office, popular and scholarly assessments of his presidency became more positive after his retirement from politics and the publication of his memoirs. Truman’s legendary upset victory in 1948 over Thomas E. Dewey is routinely invoked by underdog presidential candidates. Most American historians consider Truman one of the greatest U.S. Presidents.

Here’s the famous picture from the ’48 election:

On to Jim Eisenreich.  I have very fond memories of him as a Phillie (from 1993 – 1996).  I liked Jim Eisenreich; everybody liked Jim Eisenreich.  He was such an all-around good ballplayer and great guy.

From Wiki:

In 1993, his first year with the Phillies, Eisenreich put together one of his best years, batting .318 and helping the Phillies to win the National League pennant. As the Phillies began their slide the next year (1994), Eisenreich was one of the team’s few bright spots, batting .361 for the last place Phillies in 1996.

Eisenreich was infamous in Los Angeles for his long time domination of Dodger pitching staffs, despite those staffs being among the best in baseball throughout his career. His .405 batting average and .620 slugging percentage absolutely dwarf his other career numbers and rank among the most successful of any one player against any one team.

From the Phillies’ website:

He arrived in this town as an unheralded free agent. He left after four years as one of the most popular players ever to wear Phillies pinstripes.

Everyone loved Jim Eisenreich. He and his family feel the same way about Philadelphia.

He conquered Tourette’s Syndrome early in his Major League career and has spent countless hours trying to help others with the disorder. During his final year with the Phillies, he established the Jim Eisenreich Foundation for children with Tourette’s. His willingness to reach out to help others went a long way with the fans.

On the field, the left-handed-hitting outfielder excelled in his four years here. He batted .318, .300, .316 and .362. That last number was the highest average for a Phillies player with 300 or more at-bats since Smoky Burgess batted .368 in 1954.

Eisenreich played all three outfield positions nearly flawlessly; an error on May 21, 1996, ended a span of 208 consecutive errorless games.

OK, OK, so I need at least one picture of Independence.  Here’s a cool 1906 shot:

That’ll do it.

KS

Greg

© 2009 A Landing A Day

Mondovi, Wisconsin

First timer? In this (hopefully) once-a-day blog, I have my computer select a random latitude and longitude that puts me somewhere in the continental United States (the lower 48). I call this “landing.” I keep track of the watersheds I land in, as well as the town I land near. I do some internet research to hopefully find something of interest about my landing location. To find out more about A Landing A Day (like who “Dan” is and what the various numbers and abbreviations mean), please see “About Landing,” (and “Abbreviations” and “Cryptic Numbers”) above.

Dan -  This is really getting to be a broken record.  Yet another OSer – this one a state that lingered around PS-land for quite a while, but is now an established OSer . . . WI; 36/33; 2/10 (2/14); 22; 155.8.

Here’s my landing map, showing my proximity to Mondovi:

Here’s a broader view:

And my GE shot, showing a generally-agricultural area, but with good stands of woodlands thrown in:

I landed in the Little Rock Creek watershed (my 88^th separate watershed with the word “little” in it); on to the Rock Creek (my 30^th watershed with the word “rock”  or “rocky” in it – note that I don’t count rock twice); on to the Chippewa R (9^th hit); on to the MM (717^th hit).

Here’s a shot of the Chippewa watershed:

And this of the river at Eau Claire, which is only about 10 miles N of my landing:

I must admit, for a substantial town like Mondovi (pop 2634 in 2000), I’m finding it quite GD.  In fact, all I’ve come up with are a bunch of high quality pictures that I’ve lifted from Dan Krecklow’s Flickr Photostream (just Google “Dan Krecklow” if you want to see more of his work).  I think Dan lives in or near Mondovi.  As you’ll see, he’s quite the photographer.  I’ll start with this mailbox:

The rest of his pictures show how lovely this area is:

I’ll close with “Joe’s Truck:”

That’ll do it.

KS

Greg

© 2009 A Landing A Day

Iuka, Kansas

First timer? In this (hopefully) once-a-day blog, I have my computer select a random latitude and longitude that puts me somewhere in the continental United States (the lower 48). I call this “landing.” I keep track of the watersheds I land in, as well as the town I land near. I do some internet research to hopefully find something of interest about my landing location. To find out more about A Landing A Day (like who “Dan” is and what the various numbers and abbreviations mean), please see “About Landing,” (and “Abbreviations” and “Cryptic Numbers”) above.

Dan -  After a brief burst of USers (2 in a row), I’ve settled back into OS-land, with three in a row –  the latest being . . . KS; 52/49; 2/10 (2/13); 21; 155.4.  Here’s my landing map, showing my proximity to Rattlesnake Creek, as well as a bunch of really small towns:

I picked Iuka for the post title solely because I liked the name (more about the name later).  Anyway, Rattlesnake Creek flows into the Arkansas R (98^th hit); to the MM (716^th hit).

Here’s a somewhat closer landing view:

Note the regular pattern of roads (on the one mile township-and-range grid).  Also note that the pattern breaks down east and southeast of my landing (the Pratt Sandhills Wildlife Area – more about that later).   Here’s my broader view:

Here’s my GE shot, showing that I landed on the western edge of a large farm field (maybe a pasture, considering the lack of obvious crop rows):

Here’s a broader GE shot, showing clearly the Pratt Sandhills Wildlife Area:

This reminds me of my recent Swanton OH post, where I landed adjacent to a sandy area that is heralded as a wildlife refuge.  It makes one think:  if you visit the park in Ohio, or the wildlife area here in Kansas, you come away with the feeling that this is a very special habitat.

OK, it is a very special habitat, but what’s missing is this:  the entire country was a very special habitat!  The only reason these remain as special habitats is that they weren’t suitable for agriculture!  It’s easy not to think about the fact that before the farmers arrived, the farm country was itself a special habitat.  Because of richer more fertile soils, the miles of farm country surrounding these sandy areas was itself likely a habitat richer than the sandy areas.

Moving right along.  I’m disappointed with the Pratt Wildlife Area, in that the only picture I can find of the whole place is just the welcoming sign!!  Oh, well, here ‘tis:

The write-up from the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks also disappoints me.  The entire write-up is aimed towards hunters.  Now, don’t get me wrong – I’m not one of those anti-hunters types.  I’m not a hunter myself, but I totally respect and support the idea of hunting and then eating your prey.  It’s way further up on the eating-consciousness scale than going to the supermarket . . .

That said, I feel as though a write-up on a wildlife area should feature the wildlife for its own sake, and I guess I’m a little surprised that the state makes this area essentially a hunters’ game preserve.  Maybe that’s why there are no pictures:  wildlife photographers don’t bother . . .

Anyway, here’s the write-up:

Most of the Pratt Sandhills Wildlife area is sandhill prairie with moderate to steep dune topography. There are also several miles of multi-row shelterbelts throughout the area, as well as windmills, solar wells, and hydrants that provide water for wildlife.

Enough about nature, now about hunting . . .

Upland game birds are the most commonly hunted species here. In addition to quail and pheasant, the area is a popular destination for dove, deer, and turkey hunters. Rabbits and coyotes can also be found in huntable numbers. Hunting pressure on the opening weekend of quail and pheasant and during firearms deer season may be heavy, but after the first several weekends, the crowds decrease. In January, it is possible for a hunter to spend all day walking the sandhills and never encounter another person.

Township roads in the area are loose sand, so good judgment must be used to avoid getting stuck. Vehicle traffic is prohibited within the wildlife area, so a walk of up to two miles may be necessary to reach some of the more remote spots.

How about the little towns, you may be wondering.  Well, I’ve Googled every one of them, looking for interesting tidbits and/or photos.  You know what I found?  Nada!!  So, I’ll have to go a little further a field, so here’s a slightly expanded landing map:

You’ll see that I landed northeast of the town of Greensburg (about 20 miles away).  Sound familiar?  That’s the town that was totally wiped out by a monster tornado in 2007.  From Wiki:

At 9:45 p.m. CDT on May 4, 2007, Greensburg was hit by an EF5 tornado. The tornado was estimated to be 1.7 miles in width and traveled for nearly 22 miles. Ninety-five percent of the city was confirmed to be destroyed, with the other five percent being severely damaged. The National Weather Service estimated winds of the tornado to reach 205 mph.

This was the first tornado to be rated EF5 since the update of the Fujita scale.  Tornado sirens sounded in the city twenty minutes before the tornado struck, and a tornado emergency was issued, which undoubtedly saved many lives (although 11 were killed).

Here are a couple of pictures:

I found some more pictures, and was in the process of copying a few of them, when I saw this notice at the bottom of the website:

All Tornado Damage stock photos are copyrighted and protected under United States and International copyright laws. These video stills may not be reproduced in any form, downloaded, stored, or manipulated   without prior permission from © Ultimate Chase, Inc.

I don’t get it.  You put your photos on the internet, where anyone can download them, and then you get all weird and put in nasty language like this.  What damage would be done if I downloaded a few to share (especially considering that I’d reference the website, and, of course, I get zero financial gains from doing this).  Just for cheap spite, I don’t recommend that you go to Ultimate Chase website . . .

Moving right along – perhaps you’ve heard that Greensburg is “going green.”  Ironic, isn’t it that a town named Greensburg has the chance to start from scratch as a “green” burg?   From Wiki:

After the tornado, the city council passed a resolution stating that all city building would be built to LEED – platinum standards, making it the first city in the nation to do so. Greensburg is rebuilding as a “green” town, with the help of Greensburg GreenTown, a non-profit organization created to help the residents learn about and implement the green living initiative. As part of going green, the city’s power will be supplied by ten 1.25 MW wind-turbines.

What is LEED, you may ask.  From Wiki:

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), provides a suite of standards for environmentally sustainable construction. Since its inception in 1998, LEED has grown to encompass more than 14,000 projects in the United States and 30 countries.

For those of you who are just dying to know how Iuka got it’s name:  all I could find out is that there’s an Iuka MS named after a Chickasaw Indian chief.  So, my best guess is that someone from Iuka MS wandered west and founded Iuka KS.  Anyway, I’ll close with this shot of a grain elevator in Iuka:

That’ll do it.

KS

Greg

© 2009 A Landing A Day