We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance . . . Let pleasant paths invite the comings and goings of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generation that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided country.
Maj. Gen. John A. Logan – 1868
On this day 5,000,000 years ago spears were invented. Some say that they were the invention of Britney, but actually they were a craft project developed by chimpanzees in present day Tanzania. This country was known to them as Eyee-cheee-ee, but was pronounced “spear.” And that is how spears came to be.
I always wondered where my town was when the dinosaurs walked the earth, when the Rockies were built, when the sea covered the middle of North America, etc. This interactive map designed by a paleontologist answers those questions.
I could not get the interactive map to load, so go here to see where your city was 400 million years ago: https://dinosaurpictures.org/ancient-earth#240
September 1 every year commemorates the life and work of the U.S.’s first female telephone operator, Emma M. Nutt.
Prior to Ms. Nutt’s hiring by the Edwin Holmes Telephone Despatch Company in Boston, Massachusetts on September 1, 1878, all telephone operators were men. Emma was employed for 33 years – often working 54 hour a week for a salary of $10 per month. She was also notable for having memorized all of the telephone numbers in the New England Telephone Company directory and for paving the way for women in her field.
“Earlier this year, photographer Mathieu Stern discovered a time capsule dating back to the early 1900s in his family home. The 120-year-old box held a little girl’s cherished possessions, including a paper doll, seashell, and two glass plate negatives. Stern decided to develop the photographs using Cyanotype, one of the earliest printing processes that was prevalent well into the 20th century, and revealed images of the child’s pets. The photographer chronicled the entire endeavor in a video, which you can find on his YouTube and Instagram.”
Today is recognized as Buffalo Soldier Day
The original Buffalo Soldiers were members of the 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This nickname was given to the Black Cavalry by Native American tribes who fought in the Indian Wars. The term eventually became synonymous with all of the African-American regiments formed in 1866:
Although several African-American regiments were raised during the Civil War as part of the Union Army (including the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry and the many United States Colored Troops Regiments), the “Buffalo Soldiers” were established by Congress as the first peacetime all-black regiments in the regular U.S. Army.
On September 6, 2005, Mark Matthews, the oldest surviving Buffalo Soldier, died at the age of 111. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
-wikipedia
-painting by Ezra Tucker
When told that he resembled his grandfather, photographer Drew Gardner launched into a project exploring families and history.
The photo above is of Hugo de Salis, the 4th great-grandson of Napoleon juxtaposed with the portrait of Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David. This ongoing project is titled, “The Descendants.”
Here are some more images from the series:
Helen Pankhurst, great grand-daughter of women’s rights activist, Emeline Pankhurst.
Frederick Douglass and Kenneth Morris, Douglass’s third great grand-son.
Irina Guicciardini Strozzi, the 15th great grand-daughter of Lisa del Giocondo. The Mona Lisa by Leonardo DaVinci.
Thomas Jefferson’s portrait by Rembrandt Peale and Shannon LaNier, Jefferson’s sixth great grand-son.
Plague mask from the Deutisches Historisches Museum
It is tattoo Tuesday. . .
St Piran’s Day (or Gool Peran in Cornish) is the national day of Cornwall. The name derives from one of the patron saints of Cornwall, Saint Piran, who was also the patron saint of tin miners.
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Legend tells that Piran was a 5th Century Cornish Abbot originally from Ireland. The Irish King was suspicious of his powers and cast him off a cliff and into the sea tied to a millstone. Piran survived the stormy seas and washed up in Perranporth, Cornwall, where he built an oratory to promote Christianity and adopted disciples who were said to be a badger, a fox.
Cornish tin miners
Today is Up Helly Aa – a (sort of) Viking Festival marking the end of the Yule season – and also giving folks something to do during the bleak winter days. There is fire – and drinking – what could possibly go wrong?
Tattoo Tuesday . . .
Firearms, fibers, any news or behaviors that make me say, "hmm, let me take another look at this."
I still miss my man, but my aim is getting better.
Gunsmoke and Knitting 