Memorial Day

A repost from 2011, but important enough to state again.

Memorial Day was officially established as a national holiday in 1971, although celebrating the day actually began soon after the civil war. Memorial Day is designated as a day to remember the men and women who gave their lives in the service of their country, whereas Veteran's Day is designed to honor all veterans, dead or alive. Today I remember members of my family that made the ultimate sacrifice.

2nd Lieutenant Jesse C. Turnage
Co. D, 51st Enrolled Missouri Militia
Civil War
Killed 18 July 1864

Sgt. James Smith Trabue
356th Infantry Regiment
89th Infantry Division
World War I
Killed 11 November 1918

TEC 5 Warren Edward Kuhn
814th Tank Destroyer Battalion
World War II
Killed 17 March 1945

Family Recipe Friday - French Dip sandwiches

I wrote a few days ago about my obsession with Pinterest...another thing that pulls me in are the food photos! My family has already been forced to endure new recipes that I have scrounged from Pinterest. This one is definitely a keeper. I don't have any photos to show because we scarfed it down too quick...which is indicator enough that these sandwiches are great.

4 lb rump roast
1 (10.5 oz) can of beef broth
1 (10.5 oz) can of french onion soup
1 bottle of beer
Butter
French bread
your favorite cheese

Trim the fat off of your roast and place it in a slow cooker. Pour in the broth, soup and beer. Cook on low setting for seven hours. (I also added a few drops of Kitchen Bouquet). Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread butter on bread and toast for 10 minutes or until crispy. Slice the roast diagonally and serve on bread with cheese slices. The leftover cooking juices make plenty of au jous. Enjoy!

Fiance Investigation League

The name alone makes you curious: Fiance Investigation League. I learned of this WWI club through Fold3.com, see the post here.

A quick Internet search has yielded nothing more on the subject, but I still wonder how successful it was!

Wordless Wednesday - Farming with Grandpa

Brent (behind the wheel), Cathy (standing in cab), Mary and Clifton on the farm.

Tuesday's Tip - Pinterest

If you have not yet explored the addictive website Pinterest, I highly suggest it. Or perhaps not...it all depends on how much expendable time you have. Pinterest is a virtual pinboard that allows you to gather ideas you find on the web into one place. Think of it as a bulletin board where you can pin all the great visual ideas you have seen on the Internet in one place and organize it better than your bulletin board at home. But Pinterest goes a step further and lets you see the great ideas of other people...hence where you will spend your expendable time!

Pinterest works by allowing users to "pin" content from a blog or website to Pinterest pin boards. You can organize your pins in whatever way you like. You may have noticed that some of your favorite blogs have added the Pin It symbol at the bottom of their blog entries. You can use this button to post the image with a link to the blog post to your Pinterest board. It goes without saying that this is a great way to market your blog.

I was first attracted to Pinterest for the different ideas for graphic design. But one day out of curiosity I did a search for "genealogy" and up came a photo from my blog! I was surprised and then excited because I realized what a gem this site could be for genealogy. I found some interesting ideas for framed genealogy trees, genealogy decorating, some old photos and more. Keep in mind that the bulk of the "pins" or images you see on Pinterest are linked to a website. So behind that one cool image you see there may be a website or blog with content right up your lane.

To top it off, some of your favorite websites are starting their own Pinterest boards as well. Here are just a few of the interesting boards I've come across:

Ancestry.com Pinterest board
Historic Images of America Pinterest board
U.S. National Archives Pinterest board

Pinterest is a great way to help in planning a party or a family reunion. You can search for party favor ideas, hotels, and activities and then gather it all on one board for all the planners to view. Or you can start a board of your favorite sites and books in your genealogy kit bag.

Some Pinterest ettiquette: Remember that some one still owns the image that you add to Pinterest so pin with caution. The proper way to "pin" something is to go directly to the website or blog itself and pin the image from there. This drives traffic to the original site. Avoid just "re-pinning" items from a friend's boards as this does not help out the original site.

Enjoy!

90th Infantry Division in World War I - Military Monday

The following is the first in a series of posts about the history of the 90th Infantry Division and its legacy units.

The 90th Infantry Division began it's nearly 100-year history on August 25, 1917 when it was officially organized at Camp Travis, Texas. Camp Travis was a training cantonment in San Antonio, Texas, adjacent to Fort Sam Houston. The first troops of the 90th were Texas and Oklahoma natives called to training following the first draft call for World War I. The Division Command tried as best as possible to follow geographical lines in assigning Soldiers to the regiments and brigades. The 179th Brigade was designated the Oklahoma brigade, with the 357th Infantry regiment filled with Soldiers from western Oklahoma and the 358th Infantry Regiment with eastern Oklahomans. The 180th Infantry Brigade became the Texas brigade with northern and western Texans assigned to the 359th Regiment and Southern and Eastern Texans the 360th. Soldiers with previous relevant experience filled specialized units such as field artillery, engineers and field signal battalions.

A 90th Division patch as shown on a WWI uniform.

The Division's patch features a "T" and an "O", reflecting the origins of it's first Soldiers: Texas and Oklahoma. Due to the courage displayed during many battles, along with the origin of its Soldiers, the TO came to be known as Tough 'Ombres, a nickname that continues to be attached to the unit.

While at Camp Travis the Soldiers participated in a myriad of training designed to prepare them for what they would find in France. This included intensive trench warfare training among a system of trenches built by engineers just east of Salado Creek, weapons familiarization, gas defense, sanitation and a study of the French language.

"View of Camp Travis looking toward Division Headquarters. Tents in foreground are part of the old Camp Wilson, a National Guard mobilization camp." Photo taken from A History of the 90th Division by Major George Wythe.

Following extensive training the Division felt prepared for movement overseas. But in early January 1918 the Division was stripped of its personnel to fill up other regular and National Guard divisions. Men with special skills such as mechanics, carpenters and engineers were sent directly to the port of embarkation to immediately fill necessary slots overseas.

The depleted slots began to be filled again in April and by May 1918 the Division was once again to near full strength. This quick fulfillment of brand new Soldiers meant more training and at a faster pace. On June 5, 1918, the 90th Division sent it's first units to Europe.

For more information on the Tough 'Ombres and the 90th Infantry Division visit the 90th Division Association website.

Sentimental Sunday - Jonathan Tosh, the romantic hero

An 18th century carriage in Colonial Williamsburg. Taken by Mr. G's Travels and accessed on Flickr.com. 

My ancestor, Jonathan Tosh, could have a Jane Austen novel based on his heroics...or so this article would make it seem:

Travel in the early days was frequently interrupted by bad weather--and sometimes pleasantly enough. For instance, high water at Tosh's Ford on the Roanoke River resulted not only in a fair traveler's delay but in a romance. A strange Negro brought to Jonathan Tosh--son of the pioneers, Thomas and Mary Tosh--news that his mistress and her maid sat in a carriage midstream, unable to cross or turn back. Jonathan effected a gallant rescue and then persuaded the travelers to spend the night at his father's house. The lady was a beautiful widow, en route to Richmond to visit cousins. Jonathan must have been a fast worker in affairs of the heart. Instead of the visit to Richmond there was a wedding at the Tosh house. Jonathan and his wife Elizabeth lived at the Tosh homestead, Lone Oak (the Lawrence S. Davis home on Franklin Road), and their daughter Jane achieved the age of 93 years.

Taken from: Roanoke, Story of County and City. Compiled by the workers of the Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Virginia. Sponsored by the School Board of Roanoke City and The School Board of Roanoke County. 1942

How will he change the world?

Congratulations to my husband, who earned his Masters in Aeronautical Sciences from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University yesterday evening. It has been a degree hard earned and we are very proud. As the keynote speaker said, "how will you change the world?"

Family Recipe Friday - Potato Salad

This is a recipe that my mother used for many years to make our family potato salad. Well, she kind of followed this recipe. Take out all the veg and that made our potato salad...just potatoes, eggs, mayo, vinegar, mustard and salt. Have I mentioned that my mom is not a huge veg fan? It's still yummy and to add some color you can add a tablespoon or so of relish.

Wordless Wednesday - With her grandpa

Clifton White and Cathy Happy in 1954.

Wordless Wednesday - Whites at the waterside

Hazel and Clifton White at waterside on vacation.

Talented Tuesday - Miss Bruna McGuire in the news again

Cutline as written by Bruna herself: Bruna L. McGuire in front of the Hardin Journal office in 1962 no 1961 after I had been in the Battle Parade at Lexington, Mo., on May 18, 1961. Had on my Confederate cap I wore in the parade with my model A 1928 Coupe A Ford. Lee Meador took the picture for me.

I have written about my great-great aunt, Bruna McGuire, many times on this blog. She was a genealogist and a journalist and I'm convinced that some of Miss Bruna's passion was reborn in me. She wrote many articles for the Hardin and Lexington, Missouri newspapers and now Miss Bruna is in the news herself. Local Richmond, Missouri historian, Linda Emley, mentions Miss Bruna in her weekly column: If Postcards Could Talk.

Newspaper writer left a legacy and a green Model A
Miss Bruna’s sense of humor, way with words preserved in scrapbook