Wagons, Ho! - Uploading "Wagon Train" Eps comes to a close

For the past two years, I have worked at uploading episodes of Wagon Train to one of my YouTube channels. On Wednesday - September 18th - I finally uploaded the last episode! That means 284 episodes that made up 8 seasons.

Click photo to go to my YouTube channel.

 The first episode was aired 18 Sept 1957, with guest star Ernest Borgnine. The great Ward Bond played wagon master, Major Seth Adams. Robert Horton was the scout, Flint McCullough. Along with cook, Charlie Wooster (Frank McGrath), and helper, Bill Hawks (Terry Wilson), the wagon train travelled across the country over a space of nine months. Terry Wilson and Frank McGrath were stuntmen who doubled for Ward Bond in many of his films. Bond personally requested that they appear in the TV series.

Season 6 Stars

When Ward Bond died unexpectedly in the middle of Season 4, the series was suddenly in need of a new leader. For several episodes, Flint or Bill would be leading part of the train while the Major was "somewhere else". Finally a new wagon master arrived, Christopher Hale, who was played by veteran character actor, John McIntire. Robert Horton stayed with the series through Season 5, but then decided to move along. His role was filled by Denny Miller, who played scout Duke Shannon. Also, the final episode of the season brought young Barnaby West (Michael Burns) to join the cast for the last two seasons.

Season 7 Stars

Season Seven saw two major changes - they left the one hour, black & white shows for 1-1/2 hour colour episodes. Also, a new scout, Cooper Smith (Robert Fuller), was introduced. Season Eight saw a return to the hour-long black & white episodes and the exit of Duke Shannon. The last episode aired on 2 May 1965, with guest star Rory Calhoun.

With the very favorable ratings that Wagon Train received the first season, many stars made guest appearances in the following seven seasons. Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, Ann Blyth, Dan Duryea, Ernest Borgnine,  Jeanne Cooper, Ronald Reagan, Carolyn Jones, Rhonda Fleming, Robert Ryan, William Bendix, Jan Sterling, Marjorie Main, Linda Darnell - just to name a few!

Robert Fuller

We discovered Wagon Train two years ago, when I was searching the internet for Ann Blyth movies. It said that she appeared in an episode in Season 2, so I ordered the whole season in from the library. As we liked old westerns, we thought that we would give it a try and decided to start from the beginning. We ended up really enjoying it and the laugh was that Ann Blyth's episode was the season finale! In the episode, The Jenny Tannen Story, she sang two songs which I really liked. So, I uploaded her two songs and a clip from another episode where Rhonda Fleming and Robert Horton sang part of the old song, "Cindy", onto one of my YouTube channels. That was on 14 Sept 2011. A couple of weeks later, I got a message though YouTube from someone who said that they enjoyed the songs so much, would I consider uploading the entire episodes. 

Robert Horton as Flint

On 11 Oct 2011, it all started! From then on, I have spent most of my computer's free time downloading, rendering and uploading WT eps. Now, almost two years to the day, I have finally finished the entire series! I renamed my channel along the way to "Wagons, Ho!" - the fabulous cry of Major Adams that ended most of the first four season episodes and was later carried on by other characters (although no one could do it as well as Ward Bond!). 

We have only watched the first three and a half seasons, but I have enjoyed seeing who would guest star in each episode as I would prepare it for uploading. It was fun spotting repeat guests and I really liked seeing how many famous British performers appeared! Dana Wynter, Michael Rennie, Joan Fontaine, Henry Daniell, Brian Aherne, Charles Laughton . . . Most were privileged enough to portray British characters, but I did find Dana Wynter playing an Indian princess and a Southern Lady!

There is one really fun episode in Season 4 - The Colter Craven Story. This episode was a slightly different WT show. Longtime friends John Ford, John Wayne and Ward Bond had worked together many times, but never where Ward Bond starred in the picture. John Ford always called Ward Bond the morning after the show aired and told him everything that was wrong with the show. Bond finally told the director that if he thought he could do better, than he should come over and try. Ford agreed, but on one condition. He had a new actor that he wanted to try on TV. Bond agreed. Of course, that actor was old buddy John Wayne (who appears under part of his real name - Michael Morrison). Sadly, Ward Bond died before this episode was aired. But it became a classic show for western fans to see the famous trio together for the last time. Ward Bond wears a completely different outfit for this episode because they cut in a lot of footage from John Ford's film, "Wagon Master" which starred Ward Bond. So, Bond had to wear the matching clothes for the show so that you would not see the differences between footage.

Ward Bond

Personally, I don't think the show was the same after Ward Bond was gone. Although we like John McIntire in films and he was a very solid character actor, I don't think that he had enough charisma  or a strong enough personality to be a good wagon train leader. He seemed to flounder just a bit. After Flint left, it seemed to drag even more, as there was no strong character left. I saw a few scenes with Robert Fuller, and he might be a good replacement scout, but I haven't seen enough of him. Ward Bond was one of those amazing actors who would be hard to follow.

Along the way, I have met some very nice people who have contacted me about different episodes. One lady was a wonderful help because she listed every episode in the first four seasons and helped me figure out which eps I hadn't uploaded! (I started just uploading favorite shows, but then when I decided to just upload all the episodes, it got a bit confusing. For the last four seasons I got a better system . . . I started at the first episode and worked all the way to the end!) People's nice comments, kind words and appreciation for the episodes made the task of uploading so many files a fun thing to do. So - many thanks to all those who took time to say "thank you"!

WAGON TRAIN CAST OF CHARACTERS:

Major Seth Adams (Ward Bond) -- Wagon master [S1-4]

Flint McCullough (Robert Horton) -- Scout [S1-5]

Frank McGrath (Charlie Wooster) -- Cook [S1-8]

Terry Wilson (Bill Hawks) -- Assistant wagon master [S1-8]

John McIntire (Christopher Hale) -- Wagon master [S4-8]

Denny Miller (Duke Shannon) -- Scout [S4-7]

Michael Burns (Barnaby West) -- Train wrangler [S6-8]

Robert Horton (Cooper Smith) -- Scout [S7-8]

In Season 2, the credits featured a theme song, written by Sammy Fain and Jack Brooks and sung by Johnny O'Neill. Throughout the run of the show, the theme music changed several times, but half of season two was the only time that the theme ever had lyrics.

(Roll Along) Wagon Train

Roll along, Wagon Train.

Rollin over prairie where there ain't no grass,
Rollin over mountain where there ain't no pass.
Sittin on a board, eye on the weather,
Prayin to the Lord, we stay together,
Side by side on the Wagon Train.

Wagon Train, roll along.

Pickin' up a passenger in every town,
Wonderin' if he's ever gonna shoot you down.
Lookin for a pal, ain't it a pity,
Lookin for a gal, needn't be pretty,
If she'll ride on the Wagon Train.

Wagons ho!

Gotta keep em on the run. Time to go!
And follow the sun. 

Roll along, Wagon Train.

Never had a cabin near a general store,
Only had a wagon and a forty four.
Sittin on a board, eye on the weather.
Prayin to the Lord,  we stay together
Sid by side on the Wagon Train ...

Adventures

Well, since I have been meaning to write an entry for the past couple of weeks and haven't, I have some catching up to do! To start . . . two weekends ago, we went to a bunch of garage sales. On Saturday, we went to the Mt. Vernon fairgrounds for "Ohio's Largest Garage Sale" or something like that. Really fun, actually. I got 11 new Agatha Christie books, four of which I really wanted my own copy of. The highlight of the day, however, was the cutest little Josef statue of a cartoon mama kangaroo. Mom dug it out of a $0.10 box. Man, did I fall in love with it! It is the cutest thing! So, we come home after a few hours and I start washing everything we got. Mom looks this kangaroo up on eBay and finds that she originally had a little joey that laid in her pouch. Well, we decided to run back and check the box to see if it had fallen out. So, back in the car and get there an hour before it closes. Sarah and I run ahead and, guess what!? There was the little joey in the bottom of the box, not even chipped! It is even cuter! Sarah took this really cute photo of it in the cabinet upstairs. The other really fun thing we got was a table lamp that is a china statue of a rooster. It's new home is the end table between the sofa and recliner upstairs. It really makes a wonderful addition in the TV room! I wanted to name him, but Mom said absolutely no naming a lamp!



The week was extremely hot and Dad even put in the AC units in our bedroom and the back room. We spent a few days in the air conditioning. Got some Hogan's Heroes and Dick van Dyke Show DVDs from the library, and we have been really enjoying them. I started making a scrapbook with all the photos and letters of Uncle JD. It is really coming along. On Sunday (27 May), Mr. and Mrs. Keultjes came over in the evening and spent a few hours with us. We went upstairs with the AC and just had a nice visit talking. They are always fun, and we don't get to see them so much anymore.

Memorial Day dawned hot and yucky (that means sunny). I came down first (!?) and closed all the windows so it wouldn't heat up inside too soon. When I got to the window over the victrola, I thought a baby bird was on the ground. Squeak, squeak, squeak. Couldn't see anything, so I dismissed it. Probably just an annoying young grackle, they make such a fuss. Dad went out and spent the morning doing trim work and weeding. I did dishes and tried to keep somewhat cool. About 1:00pm and the squeaking got really loud. I go to the window, look down and there is a tiny tuxedo kitten screaming under the deck. So, I get some shoes and head out with a pan of water and some moistened kibbles while Mom gets in the car and drives around to all the neighbors. Pussy-Pussy (I christened it "Pussy-Pussy" because I spent so long calling it) was so lonely and frightened. Unfortunately, we live on the Mid-Ohio racetrack (just kidding - maybe) and every fast, loud car, truck and motorcycle that went by made Pussy-Pussy run back under the deck. I spent an hour and a half trying to coax it out. No deal. It would come out and rub against the bush and it sat on a protruding foundation block and frenzied. But it wouldn't come out to me. So, I start getting really hot and decide to go inside for a bit. Maybe it would get lonely for me. So, I leave a little can lid of milk out there and go inside and sit for a little while with a cold towel. Drink a little hot coffee (What?! HOT coffee when I am overheated? Don't ask . . . ). I feel bad, so I leave the coffee and head back out. The minute I round the corner of the house and emerge from the lilac bush, Pussy-Pussy starts screaming and walks right over to me. How cute! :o) So, Sis came out and we petted it and tried to see if it was a little Max or a Maxine. Couldn't tell. We got it drink most of the milk. Well, it didn't belong to any neighbor, so it was probably dropped off by someone figuring we were in the country and it was early on a holiday morning. Little Pussy-Pussy wasn't over six weeks old. So, Mom got a hold of a lady who lives down the street who runs a private cat shelter. She agreed to come and take it that afternoon. So, Sarah and I made Pussy-Pussy comfy in a carrier in the front room (doors to the rest of the house closed, of course!). It curled up on an old towel and went to bed. Sarah and I went up and showered and changed and then the lady came over and took Pussy-Pussy (who turned out to be a little girl). So that was our holiday!




Tuesday was hot and we weren't going to do anything big. Until we started picking random stuff up in the front room. We ended up putting the new sheet music cabinet in place, shelving all the sheet music, putting stuff away in the trunk next to the piano (even dusting behind it!) and totally cleaning off the top of the piano! I am so, so, so thrilled! One of those projects that is always on the list, but never seems to make it to the top priority! Very satisfying. So, now my piano is totally clean and I even opened the top yesterday morning to play it like a baby grand should be played! First time in five years (because of the cats)! Ooooooooh!

Friday, Buddy and Kay came over for for the afternoon. We discussed the new CD and watched a fabulous new western. Silver Lode with Dan Duryea and John Payne. Probably one of the top westerns we've ever seen! Really a must-see! They ate dinner with us and stayed and watched Sgt. York with Gary Cooper.

Yesterday, Dad worked around the yard while Mom and the two of us went to some more garage sales in Danville. Beautiful day for a drive. I was feeling great! The weather cooled off Thursday night, so it is much nicer. The sun was shining, and I was feeling really good. No headache, even! Didn't find many garage sales, but the one we did find was fabulous! I finally got a little monk pepper shaker. There is this set of monk shaped things (Salt and peppers, sugar, creamer, jelly jar, etc.) made by a German company. I have wanted a piece for years and finally got one yesterday. He was really dirty, so I haven't taken a photo of him yet, as he is in the dish drainer drying. He is really cute, though. Mom and Sarah dropped me off at the house so I could do some dishes while they ran to Wade and Gatton nurseries to look at hostas.

Today, after Church, Dad and the two of us went to the bike trail. First time we have been biking in three or four years. Dad filled all the tires yesterday, so we were all set. Get there and head out. Sarah and I had some nice discussion about Leighs. Just as we were approaching the 3 mile marker, that familiar hissing sound came from behind us and Sarah and I were already pulled over and turning around before Dad really realized what had happened. We couldn't believe it! He had another flat tire! Before he got this new bike, he had a flat tire every time we went riding. Sarah and I have walked more miles on the Knox and Richland County bike trails than we have ever ridden. The last time with his old bike, Mom dropped us off and then drove to a stop seven miles ahead to pick us up. She hadn't been out of the parking lot 30 seconds before he had a blow out. We had a nice seven mile hike. Well, we thought that was behind us. New bike, new tire, mountain tire. So, we walk three miles back. I don't know what I would do if we actually biked all the way out and back! Ah, well . . .

Something else really fun happened. Yesterday, in the mail, was an envelope from a guy who sent me Harold Swetland's Individual Deceased Personnel File. It has the list of his effects, his height, weight, hair and eye colour, date of enlistment, even his shoe size! This is really exciting. It also listed two Air Force Bases that he was stationed in 1940. This morning I found the one base on the 1940 US census and paged through, looking for Harold. I finally found him on page 47 of 100 (after doing the first 11 pages and then working from the back ). He is on line 22. I have been waiting for the 1940 census to come out and I was so impatient while they work on indexing the states. So, I was thrilled to be able to find him! Now I am trying to find Uncle JD. Both my "uncle" heroes. :o)

Bloomfield Cemetery and Books

Last week we went (again) to Bloomfield Cemetery, just outside of Sparta in Morrow Co. This is one of the prettiest cemeteries that we have been to yet. It is also where most of the Swetlands are buried. My Swetland genealogy is really coming along. I already have over 1200 people in my family tree. Truanna's daddy, Joseph Carper Swetland is among those buried at Bloomfield. Below are some photos of me standing next to his marker and the large Swetland monument. I keep finding more Swetlands there in the vicinity. Girls who got married and I don't know their married names. I think I have most of them now, although I do still get surprised. Here are some photos that Sarah took of me while we were there. The first is me with a child's stone that I was cleaning off so that we could transcribe it. The second is me with the Swetland monument, and the third is me behind Joseph Carper's stone.



The past couple of days I have been going through transcriptions of Knox Co. newspaper articles on rootsweb. A lady's grandmother saved thousands of clippings from the 1900s to 1940s, and she has been typing them up on rootsweb for the past several years. Absolutely fantastic! I have found so many good ones, it is amazing. Well, I have been putting obits on the findagrave memorials for anyone I recognize the name for. Found one for a "P.B. Chase", buried in Bloomfield. Well, I knew we had seen him, so I figured I would send the obit. Long obit. So I read it. So interesting. Turns out that the man is the guy who built the beautiful estate on SR229, which we pass on the way to the cemetery and we passed for more than a year when we went to Church in Sunbury. I always mean to stop and take a photo, but never have. Well, this Plimpton Chase is the guy who built the beautiful estate on his family's property which was originally his great-grandfather's Revolutionary War service land grant. They are selling it on sotheby's right now for almost a million dollars.



I thought it would be really fun to have them in my family tree. However, I don't have any Chases in the Swetland tree. However, like Bloomfield and Chester townships always are, they are related! It only took us five minutes to totally connect the Chases and the Swetlands! Truanna's mother is Emily Howard, her father's brother (so her uncle) had Martha Howard who was Plimpton's mother! Not only that, Martha's sister Rachel was married to Jacob Y. Beers and they had Emery, who married Joseph Carper and Emily's daughter, Elzina! Honestly, if you studied all the people buried at Chester Baptist Cemetery and the people at Bloomfield, they are almost all related to each other. It really is amazing.

Today it is grey, windy, and snowy. We got about an inch and a half last night and it is supposedly going to snow some more today. Yay! So, this morning we are going to make some coffee (already have the hot tea!) and I am going to vacuum some of the books upstairs. Last night I did four shelves of the childrens bios. A couple nights ago I did five shelves of the Wanna-Bes. It is so nice looking when they are dusted and all even on the shelves. I am listening to an audiobook of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice". It is read by Emilia Fox, who played Georgianna in the 1995 mini-series. I am over half way done and really enjoying it. Lizzy just toured Pemberley with her aunt and uncle. So, those are my plans for this beautiful snowy day. :o)

". . . the genealogy of all their little ones, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, through all the congregation . . . " - 2 Chronicles 31:18b

God Save the Queen!

Sixty years ago today, the newspaper headlines proclaimed "The King is dead; long live the Queen!". Today is the 60th anniversery of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. Sixty years ago, Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip were in Kenya on a tour, when they found out that King George VI had died that morning. Prince Philip was told and he told the Queen while they walked in a garden. The next day she arrived back in England, this time as its' Queen.

Former PM Clement Attlee to the House of Commons: “It is our hope that Her Majesty may live long and happily and that her reign may be as glorious as that of her great predecessor, Queen Elizabeth I. Let us hope we are witnessing the beginning of a new Elizabethan Age no less renowned than the first. We hope that Her Majesty The Queen and her Consort may live long and prosperously and may see more peaceful days than those which fell to the lot of His late Majesty whose loss we mourn today.”

British and Americans alike, few of us can remember another Queen of England. Today, she is the second British monarch to reign 60 years and only her grandmother, Queen Victoria, has reigned longer.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill: "When the death of the King was announced to us yesterday morning there struck a deep and solemn note in our lives which, as it resounded far and wide, stilled the clatter and traffic of twentieth-century life in many lands, and made countless millions of human beings pause and look around them. A new sense of values took, for the time being, possession of human minds, and mortal existence presented itself to so many at the same moment in its serenity and in its sorrow, in its splendour and in its pain, in its fortitude and in its suffering.

The King was greatly loved by all his peoples. He was respected as a man and as a prince far beyond the many realms over which he reigned. The simple dignity of his life, his manly virtues, his sense of duty - alike as a ruler and a servant of the vast spheres and communities for which he bore responsibility - his gay charm and happy nature, his example as a husband and a father in his own family circle, his courage in peace or war - all these were aspects of his character which won the glint of admiration, now here, now there, from the innumerable eyes whose gaze falls upon the Throne. . . .

. . . All this we saw and admired. His conduct on the Throne may well be a model and a guide to constitutional sovereigns throughout the world today and also in future generations. The last few months of King George's life, with all the pain and physical stresses that he endured - his life hanging by a thread from day to day, and he all the time cheerful and undaunted, stricken in body but quite undisturbed and even unaffected in spirit - these have made a profound and an enduring impression and should be a help to all.

He was sustained not only by his natural buoyancy, but by the sincerity of his Christian faith. During these last months the King walked with death as if death were a companion, an acquaintance whom he recognized and did not fear. In the end death came as a friend, and after a happy day of sunshine and sport, and after "good night" to those who loved him best, he fell asleep as every man or woman who strives to fear God and nothing else in the world may hope to do. . . .

. . . There is no doubt that of all the institutions which have grown up among us over the centuries, or sprung into being in our lifetime, the constitutional monarchy is the most deeply founded and dearly cherished by the whole association of our peoples. In the present generation it has acquired a meaning incomparably more powerful than anyone had dreamed possible in former times. The Crown has become the mysterious link, indeed I may say the magic link, which unites our loosely bound, but strongly interwoven Commonwealth of nations, states, and races....

For fifteen years George VI was King. Never at any moment in all the perplexities at home and abroad, in public or in private, did he fail in his duties. Well does he deserve the farewell salute of all his governments and peoples.

It is at this time that our compassion and sympathy go out to his consort and widow. Their marriage was a love match with no idea of regal pomp or splendour. Indeed, there seemed to be before them only the arduous life of royal personages, denied so many of the activities of ordinary folk and having to give so much in ceremonial public service. May I say - speaking with all freedom - that our hearts go out tonight to that valiant woman, with famous blood of Scotland in her veins, who sustained King George through all his toils and problems, and brought up with their charm and beauty the two daughters who mourn their father today. May she be granted strength to bear her sorrow.

To Queen Mary, his mother, another of whose sons is dead - the Duke of Kent having been killed on active service - there belongs the consolation of seeing how well he did his duty and fulfilled her hopes, and of knowing how much he cared for her.

Now I must leave the treasures of the past and turn to the future. Famous have been the reigns of our queens. Some of the greatest periods in our history have unfolded under their sceptre. Now that we have the second Queen Elizabeth, also ascending the Throne in her twenty-sixth year, our thoughts are carried back nearly four hundred years to the magnificent figure who presided over and, in many ways, embodied and inspired the grandeur and genius of the Elizabethan age.

Queen Elizabeth II, like her predecessor, did not pass her childhood in any certain expectation of the Crown. But already we know her well, and we understand why her gifts, and those of her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, have stirred the only part of the Commonwealth she has yet been able to visit. She has already been acclaimed as Queen of Canada.

We make our claim too, and others will come forward also, and tomorrow the proclamation of her sovereignty will command the loyalty of her native land and of all other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire. I, whose youth was passed in the august, unchallenged and tranquil glories of the Victorian era, may well feel a thrill in invoking once more the prayer and the anthem, "God save the Queen!"

Meeting Jennie in Cleveland

Today we finally got to meet Jennie! She and Carrie drove to Erie, PA for the weekend and today, Jennie drove to Cleveland and met us! For the first time! We met at the Cleveland Art Museum and then spent some time at Pizza Hut before we had to all head separate ways at 3:00pm. I have been writing to Jennie for three or four years now and we talk on the phone, but it was fantastic to be able to finally meet her. :o) Hopefully it won't be three years before we can meet up again! We almost forgot to take any photos, but thankfully Mom remembered before we left the parking lot. ;o)

The Cleveland Art Museum was fun. I don't think we've been there in ten years. They are still not done with the renovations, so not all of the collections are displayed, but they had a lot. The armour and weapons section was great, as always. The swords and daggers were gorgeous. As far as paintings go, we we went through all the sections except for the modern art. They had a Reynolds painting which we wanted to see, as Sarah has been studying Reynolds paintings of the Eliot's lately. It was much larger than I expected. Gorgeous. I was particularly excited to see that they own a painting of Yosemite by Albert Bierstadt. He married a Swetland (well, an Osborn, but her mother or grandmother was a Swetland). His painting looked as cool in real life as the scan did!

However, the best part of the day was getting to meet Jennie. We have talked about it for so long, it was fantastic to finally be able to meet each other!

"A friend loves at all times . . ." - Proverbs 17:16

Happy 90th Birthday, Deanna Durbin!

Today, my favorite singing star turned 90 years old! Deanna Durbin lives privately in France now, removed from Hollywood and everything that goes with it. However, there are still many fans who have discovered her beautiful voice through home video, cds, and the internet. As I have already related how I came to love Deanna (on the previous December 4th blog post), I will share a beautiful song from one of her funniest films. This winter's project (or should I say, "one" of this Winter's projects!) is to put together my Deanna scrapbooks. I have several contemporary scrapbooks of her that I have gotten online, as well as tons of photos I want to print and lots of memorabilia (magazine covers, postcards, sheet music, etc.). Actually, two days ago I got another old Deanna scrapbook. Can't wait to do all of these.

Here is a fantastic song, from her 1940 film, It's A Date. Co-starring Walter Pidgeon and Kay Francis. If you've never seen this film, you've really missed out on a grand piece of entertainment. This is one of our favorite Deanna films. Very funny! With her and her actress mother trying out for the same part in a play!

" . . . can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women?" - 2 Samuel 19:35 b

Finding Truanna

On Saturday, we headed up to Mansfield to have some bagels for breakfast. We went to Kohl's as well and got some new Winter gloves, mittens, hats, etc. Got home a little after 2pm and thought we would run down to Chesterville and find the Baptist Church Cemetery. Mom has been transcribing headstone info onto findagrave, and someone had eleven photo requests for Chester. Since it isn't far away, we decided to run over. Boy, was it fun! We took over one hundred photos!

It is kind of divided into two sections. There is a big strip of wet, overgrown area almost dividing the cemetery in half. In the back part, which is surrounded by younger trees, there is this huge monument. Before the trees were allowed to come up, it would have been overlooking the road at the edge of the cemetery. It is a beautiful lady on a tall base. Absolutely gorgeous. We were there over an hour before I saw the other section.



The monument is for "Swetland" and there is a mother and two babies buried there. One of the babies was only nineteen days old and her name was "Truannie". I fell in love with the name. Came home and Mom and I started uploading photos to findagrave. Then I started researching Truannie's family. Actually, since then, I have been researching Truannie's family.

Truannie's father is Joseph Carper Swetland, her mother is Emily Howard. Joseph Carper was a very influential citizen in Morrow County. He had almost 900 acres, raised sheep, was one of the first breeders of merinos, elected County Commissioner for six years and helped build the county jailhouse in Mt. Gilead. The two babies on that monument are their first children. An infant son and Truannie. I looked Joseph Carper up in the "History of Morrow County and Ohio" and found him in three separate volumes. He lists his children and Truannie was "Truanna". Truanna . . . such a cute, pretty name. Very different.

So, that is what is happening around here. Joseph Carper is buried in a cemetery down the road from Truanna, so later this week we want to head down and find his grave.

"Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you." - 1 Samuel 12:24

In Celebration of Roy Rogers' 100th Birthday - November 5, 2011

Today is Roy Rogers' 100th birthday! In honor of this, I finally made a tribute video using Dusty's wonderful song "The King of the Cowboys". Sarah and I have been planning this for the past year and a half. So for the past month I have been downloading movies, cutting the good clips, and trying to find a smooth flow to the music. I almost made an error. For some reason I thought his birthday was the eleventh. Was I surprised on Tuesday when I looked up his birth and death dates so that I could make the title slide at the end of the video! Boy, did I rush! In the finished video, there are fifty different clips from seventeen different films and from two TV shows!

Next October 31st is Dale's 100th birthday. So Sarah and I are already planning that movie. Hers will be funnier. Roy's had to be pretty, but Dale's needs all the funny moments from their films. They were so great. Together they were unbeatable! The King of the Cowboys and The Queen of the West. Happy Trails!

THE KING OF THE COWBOYS
He's rode across your silver screen
For over forty years
He's brought bad men to justice
he's seen laughter, and he's seen tears
and I know forever, in many hearts he'll reign
As the King of the Cowboys.
There is honour to his name.

He's a kind and gentle legend
a hero is his name
Showing young folks to see the right from wrong
And he's taught me the very same
And I know forever, in many hearts he'll reign
As the King of the Cowboys
There is magic in his name

He's the King of the Cowboys, a legend in his time
A man who loves his country
Where he will always ride
Saddled up on his golden Palomino
A six gun at each side
His spurs and boots and his white hat
Walks a man with a lot of Pride

He's the King of the Cowboys
A legend in his time
A man who loves his country
Riding off into the sunset
In a western sky of blue
He has given precious memories
and Happy Trails to me and you!

Catching up on the Summer

Well, well . . . it has been a long time! My computer broke, so we had to take it to the repair guy. It stayed there for several weeks. He found out that it had overheated and burnt out the fan on the video card, which overheated itself and just burnt up. Poor thing! So, I now have a new video card and my computer is not making that awful noise anymore! Yay! Now, to catch up on our very busy Summer . . .

First - the State Fair. We ended up going the Wednesday they opened. Dad got second and third place for his woodcarvings and Sarah got first, second, and Best of Show for her wool people. She entered Her pair of Commedia Dell 'Arte figures and her new gnome with the squirrel, Pat and Mike.BOS went to P&M. The fair on a whole, though, was very low on entries. They only had as many as an old Tomato Show used to get. Cool, but I don't think I would go again for a while.

The Sunday after, we did go to see The Adventures of Robin Hood. It was swell. Even Dad liked it! The reels were probably the best quality ones we have seen yet. You can see and experience so much more of the film seeing it on the big screen. Fantastic! The Sunday after that we saw the last movie of the season (for us, anyway). Walt Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. How cool! Huge! The reels were in poor shape, but it really made you feel like you were in a submarine. The squid fight was impressive! Such a fun movie.

Monday, Mom and Sarah went to Columbus to pick up the State Fair entries. I decided to stay home since the upcoming two weeks is a lot of out and people. It was nice to have some alone time. All the cats went to bed, except Oliver. ;o)

The APS Stamp Show was Thursday through Sunday. We went all four days. Dad went the weekend. How exciting. So fun. I don't think I have had so much fun in ages. Really worth waiting for. We met some really nice dealers. Got some fantastic stamps and things! It was at the Columbus Convention Center, which is absolutely huge! You walk and walk and walk . . . In the food court (which was on the opposite end as the Stamp Show) was a Subway which we ended up eating lunch at every day. That was fun too. We would get our subs and before eating we would mark off the lists all the stamps that we had gotten that morning. Show each other the really swell finds, etc. It was just so fun! Then back to the show for more looking. God really, really blessed us with some fantastic deals and finds. Sarah got some stamps that she never thought she'd get, really. I got so many Monaco stamps that I can really see the finish line. I never thought I would get this far. I even got the cool Jules Verne set. On Sunday, I went to a dealer and bought a Deanna Durbin fan mail cover. He got so excited. He had never heard of her until he got those covers and he had looked her up online and fell in love with her singing. He loves to sing along with her and, so far, his favorite is Nessun Dorma. In the end, he gave me another Deanna cover and money so that I could mail him some Deanna stuff! He is from Austin, TX. So fun to find someone else who likes Deanna! I'll post more about the stuff we got and photos in another post.

We were home for a few days and then on Friday we flew down to Florida. The trip that has been in the planning for months - and almost canceled more than once! - finally took off. Flew into Orlando, rented a car, and drove to Gramma Gail's. She took us to dinner at this really cool restaurant. Non-chain. Pizza Gallery and Grill. Second only to The Vegetable Garden. WOW! Dad and I got up at 4:30am the next day (Actually, Sarah and I were so hot that we woke up at 2:30 and didn't really go back to bed!). Dad had charted a fishing guide for half a day on the Banana River, so I thought I would tag along for wildlife sighting. The drive was cool because it was black night still and the road was so flat and straight, with all the lights it was neat looking. We had a little trouble finding the dock. Florida has no signs. Turns out there was an algae bloom, so you couldn't see anything unless it was out of the water. At one point I though we were really deep, and when he finally moved the boat to a different position, he said it was only a foot and a half deep! We saw some dolphin dorsel fins, and a manatee stuck his nose out for a second right next to me. Dad didn't catch anything. For the first four hours, it was overcast and not bad, but then the sun came out and I was pretty miserable for the last two hours. It wasn't great. I didn't really like the guide. Saw lots of cormorants and some pelicans, though.

We went back to Gramma's house and showered and then the others came home. Gramma took the three of us (Dad did a project at home) to see the base and we stopped at a little cigar store. I got several different cigars for my cabinet. I am so excited! Went back home, packed and headed down to Ft. Lauderdale. Met Aunt Lori, Uncle Jack, Brien, and Kelly at Villa Rose for dinner. Ended up staying until the restaurant closed and then until 11:30 in the parking lot! Probably the most fun time ever with them. Really a blast! Kelly is so grown up! I still think of her around two years old. We went to the Garcia's house. We went to bed really soon. I ended up staying up over 22 hours! I always wanted to know how it felt to stay up for 24 hours. Getting so close, I realize it isn't all it's cracked up to be . . .

Sunday wasn't very good. We had a blast with Benny and Tia Ela and Clemente! They are so sweet and cute! Benny is really nice. I really like him. So friendly and happy. Got to see Leilani too. She is so big. So cute! Monday morning we did laundry and Mom and the two of us then went shopping to get something for Jennie and go to lunch. Found this nice new Subway. We ate and drank a lot of tea. Stayed there for 2 1/2 hours. Irained and rained and rained. We left during a lull. Rain down there is so funny. The drops are huge and warm! So much rain that it was flooded when we got to Gramma and Grampa's house. There parking lot is so low. Mom dropped us off at the ramp, but we had to walk through four inches of standing water in canvas shoes! Then I decided to see if Mom could get back from the car, and remembered that there is a very dry way from the parked car to the building if you don't mind walking on the grass along the base of the building. Anyway, by the time we got under the roof, I was so soaked that it was running down my face. We all just changed clothes. Rain was done by the time we did the last laundry. Dad and the two of us went to visit Leonore. She looks swell! She is so cute and sweet. She loved the doily I crocheted for her. She told us all about the ones she had in Cuba. Actually, she and Dad taalked about Cuba and the religion/politics that was the downfall, and the similarity of America and Obama. She is so wonderful. Aunt Elena, Uncle Manolito, and Patty (with Leilani) came over for pizza and the evening. Mom and the three of us talked to Patty in the bedroom for a long time. Leilani is so cute.

We left for the airport really early. Sat around the terminal for almost three hours. The flights home were really rough! On the first one to Orlando, the turbulance was so bad that one of the air stewardesses was thrown into an empty seat next to a guy. Boy, were they both surprised! We ate at a Pizza Hut on the way home and then we got to see the kitties! Cute little babies! I always miss them during trips.

Well, let's see . . . since FLA we have been canning and freezing. We froze peppers, onions, green beans, wax beans, and zucchini. We canned potatoes, salsa, tomato sauce, beets - pickled and plain, pickled onions, pepper jelly, three bean salad, edamames, etc. I want to try pickled eggs! Yesterday we made and froze Pesto! Mrs. Keultjes sent us her recipe and, after all these years of loving it when we go to her house, we made it! Boy, is it fabulous! And it is really healthy for you!

The new chairs for the back room that we had ordered, ended up not working. Long story. They weren't what they said they would be. So, we got a refund. However, we had already sold the loveseat in prep for the new chairs. So, we decided to look for a nice used chair that might work. That was Tuesday. On Wednesday, we went to the auction house and there was a really nice black, leather recliner. Solid metal frame and thick leather. We decided to try for it. Also, at the auction was a nice sewing end table that matches Sarah's and another end table that Mom liked and - best of all, really - there was a box of Nancy Drew books. a set of titles 1 -55! They were beautiful. Like ones we would buy. I would love to have a set for me, so we decided to go for that too! Dad dropped Mom and Sarah and then we met them over there at 8:30. They got the Nancy Drew books for $40! Yippee! Actually, they got all four things. The whole night cost less than half of one of those chairs and a lot better quality! I cleaned the chair and the next night we carried it up and rearranged the furniture. In the end, it looks really nice and Mom and I are happy with the recliner and the sleeper sofa for watching and hobbying. We also found the perfect curtains for the back room at a rummage sale. Old heavy drapes that have old British village scenes on them. The room finally is looking almost done and wonderful!

Sarah and I went to Buddy and Kay's week before last to help them set up their new 18-track recorder. Sarah and Buddy talked while Kay and I read through the instruction book and by 5:30 we had recorded Buddy doing a 40 second section on four different tracks and had a finished cd! It was fun. Buddy and the two of us played some songs, we made dinner and solved the problems of the world. They took us home after 9.

So, I see this is a very long entry. That is what happens when your computer breaks . . . you get behind!

- To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven - Ecclesiastes 3:1

D-Day: 6 June 1944

"You remember it. Remember every bit of it, 'cause we are on the eve of a day that people are going to talk about long after we are dead and gone."
- The Longest Day

Sixty-seven years ago, the world was at war. Fighting the axis powers of Germany and Japan. England had been fighting Hitler's Nazi forces for five years and on the morning of 6 June 1944, the greatest armada the world had ever known sailed across the English Channel and landed on the beaches of Nazi-Occupied France. The Allies fought there way inland and across France and into Germany to destroy the Nazis and their hold on the world.

Remember D-Day!

Queen Elizabeth Becomes the Second Longest Reigning Monarch

Today, Queen Elizabeth II became the second reigning British monarch, passing George III. She only has a few more years to go to pass Queen Victoria! Next year is Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee and Sarah and I are already planning what we want to do, what souvenirs we are going to buy and we will wear a lot of red, white and blue! Sarah is going to felt a little doll of Queen Elizabeth just for me in honour of the Jubilee. This is so exciting. Sarah and I can't remember a time without Queen Elizabeth. Well, neither can Mom as a matter of fact. ;o)

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!
LONG MAY SHE REIGN!

The Royal Wedding of William and Catherine

Yesterday was the Royal wedding. We watched the rebroadcast on the computer. We watched most of the ceremony before we had to leave to run errands. It was really cool. A beautiful service and we got to see Queen Elizabeth! She is beautiful and so classy. Prince Philip was perfect in his uniform.

Mom remembers getting up to watch Prince Charles and Diana's wedding. We have been really excited about this. Actually, Sarah and I wore all red, white and blue clothes today in honor of it!

The service was wonderful. Lovely organ, gorgeous cathedral, and the choir . . . wow! The online streaming was really poor, so it was very choppy. However, we enjoyed it so much that we preordered the DVD of the ceremony and a CD of all the music. It was really exciting to get to see part of it. Sarah and I have already ordered our Royal Wedding Postage Stamps!

"That which God has joined together, let no man put asunder."

Double Yokers and Duck Eggs

Several months ago, the guy down the road stopped selling eggs, due to pilfering problems. We have always bought our eggs from him since a few years after we moved to this house. A very sad affair. He had the most gorgeous eggs that you have ever seen . . . AND the biggest! So now we are having to find a new place to buy eggs. Quite sad. Well, a few weeks ago when we were up in Mansfield, we stopped at a market and bought a half-dozen of the largest eggs you have ever seen! They had placed them on the top of an egg carton and the six eggs filled the space! Oh, Sarah and I were hoping for a double yoker, as we have never seen one for real. On Sunday night I was making eggs for Dad to eat for breakfast during the week, and what do you know?! I found a double yoker! Oh, we couldn't have been more excited. It was the largest of the six eggs and it had a lump in the middle. Joy, joy! I made them sunny side up for Dad's breakfast because I couldn't bring myself to scramble it!

At the bulk food store a couple weeks ago, we bought a dozen Duck eggs for Dad to try. They are big, white (with a slight blue tint), and very hard to crack! Dad really liked them. Supposedly they are stronger, but he didn't notice. We made eggs and rice for him. They are very hard to scramble as the yolks are hard to break. (In the picture at the left, the duck egg is the top one in the bowl!)

So, that is our egg-citing story for the month! (or should I say "honk honk"?!)

"Assault In Norway" and Chicago and the Atom

This past month I read one of the BEST books ever! "Assault In Norway: Sabotaging the Nazi Nuclear Program" by Thomas Gallagher. Every night as I am sitting on the sofa I see this book on the shelf next to us. It really sticks out. It is one of those that I am always saying "Oh, I need to read that one day", and then never do. Well, I have been watching "Edge of Darkness" (a 1943 film starring Errol Flynn and Ann Sheridan about Nazi occupied Norway. A must see film, by the way!) and really wanted a book about WWII Norway. One glance at the shelf and there was "Assault in Norway", just waiting. I decided I would read it and, Boy! What a book! No piece of fiction could ever be half as exciting as this. It 's the story about a group of Norwegian commandos who have to blow up the Nazi's heavy water factory in the mountains of Norway. I can't say enough about it. The author wrote fiction as well as nonfiction and it really makes for enjoyable reading. Every character comes off the page for you as you are reading and you can't put it down! At least, I didn't. I finished it in three evenings. Who cares about watching movies? This was much more exciting! (I know I am using a lot of exclamation points, but this book is worth it!) It really is an amazing story and you can really see God's hand in the entire mission which shouldn't have turned out like it did! But, I won't spill it, you just have to read the story.

When I had finished it, I just couldn't get my mind off of it. Very gripping really! So, I am sitting at my computer a few days later (probably still thinking about it) and Mom and Sarah are looking up old sterling silver charms on eBay. All of a sudden I hear Mom saying what an odd charm she found with atoms flying around a Chicago university building. My ears pricked up. It turns out that there was some sort of Chicago bracelet that had charms commemorating different historical things in Illinois and one of them is commemorating the first self-reacting atomic pile that was built on a squash court in the University of Chicago right at the same time as the commandos were in Norway. There was an entire section in my book about this pile and the scientist who built it. Boy, was I thrilled! So, we tried bidding on it, but lost. So, another came up and another and we finally won one last Thursday. It arrived in the mail today and I couldn't be happier about it! Imagine finding a charm to match my new favorite book all about heavy water and atomic research and Norwegian commandos! Not exactly the most popular subject to commemorate with a sterling silver charm.

Christmas, New Year, Auction, Lord of the Rings, Poirot, and Scrapbooks!

Our Christmas / New Year's events are all over! Now comes the time that we call "After Christmas". At least, during the year that is what we always call it. You know, "After Christmas I am going to do . . .". We had a very fun December. Sold a lot of stuff on eBay earlier in the month. This year, on New Year's Eve, we all went to the Auction house for their big auction of the year. They didn't have lots of box lots or anything. A lot of guns, a lot of glassware. But there was fun stuff to watch. It started at 10:00 in the morning and we left at 5:30 before they were quite done. They had some really nice furniture. Sarah got a sheet music cabinet that is really nice.

New Year's Day dawned grey and rainy, but warm. 57 degrees actually. Heat wave! Perfect day for our traditional movie marathon. "Trilogy Tuesday" is what we call it, no matter what the day is. We all sit and watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy all the way through. This year we started earlier than last year (We didn't even get to watch the last disc last year.). As always, the movies were wonderful. My favorite scene is the Flight to the Ford in Fellowship, however, the one that Sarah and really wait for is "Scene 56" in The Return of the King. Which is were Eomer finds Eowyn on the battlefield and she is in the Houses of Healing. We waited so long for it to come out on the extended DVD. We actually finished before 1:00am! It was very fun.



The next day, Sunday, we went to church at Providence, then we stopped and picked up a set of Scott's Stamp Catalogues from Steve. Goody, goody. That was a Chritsmas present for the family. They are 2009 and in colour! Then we went to Panera for lunch. That is always fun. When we got home, it was upstairs for me to start wrapping presents! As I had not wrapped any yet, I had a stack. Sarah needed up in the back room with me to put the finishing touches on Mom's present, so I wrapped all the presents and then put the ribbon on while she was with me. Actually, she even helped!

It was so nice, relaxed, no rush. (I have a feeling that that is "On account of, because"). Sarah and I had been working on a present since March. Mom had been wanting a felted doll since Sarah made the first ones, so we decided on a little Poirot. We finally found a box at a thrift store that was perfect! It opened the wrong direction, so I cut the velvet lining and the styrofoam insert out and re-glued them in the other direction. As well as re-padding under the velvet so that the doll would fit correctly. Then I got a gel pen and drew the Poirot logo on the top. It really looked swell! Sarah did a fantastic job on the doll and we even got a real sterling silver chain to make his watch chain! The lapel pin is a little company tag off of a chain that I had to cut up for parts. Sarah and I had sent for an autograph from David Suchet back in May and he had been kind enough to reply. However, that was before we had the box and the photos that we had sent were way too big! So, we sent a new photo the size of the box, hoping that it would get here in time. If it didn't, we decided to print a plain photo, but the effect wouldn't be the same. On December 28th, a plain number 10 envelope arrived, and Sarah recognized it right away! We couldn't have been happier that day. It was perfect! He did such a nice job signing in the space we left. Really, really nice. Mom was totally surprised and thrilled! God really blessed us in the fact that everything we needed fell together at just the right moment. The box, the lapel pin, the autograph!

Sarah got her Secondhand Lions pull toys that I had started last December. I had really dreaded having to paint the giraffe, as there is not cartoon of the giraffe. Dad just drew it in the style of the others. Well, once I really got started he looked so nice that he quickly became my favorite and I was sorry when I was finished. He, however, is too tall to be a pull toy, so we are going to make him into a table lamp. They turned out really cute. Couldn't be happier with them. Dad's cut out jobs are so nice.



I will do a post about my scrapbooks later! Too much for this one. On an ending note, we went up to Mansfield on Monday and took a bunch of metal things to a coin store (they buy precious metals. Like recycling!). Single earrings, broken chains, Dad's old gold crown, etc. Well, Dad and I dropped Mom and Sarah off and we ran a few errands. When we got back, they had finished looking and were adding it all up. We all expected about twenty dollars. Sarah and I started looking at some of the coins, and when we saw them start ringing up on the cash register, we headed over to see the final amount. She was counting out the money on the counter and we couldn't have been more shocked when it turned out to be $138! You could have knocked us both over. Not bad for a little pile of junk lying around the house. So, our year went out with a bang! Although, I am Praying that God gives us a slightly less eventful year this year!

"Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen"

Remember Pearl Harbor!

"Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. . .

No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. . .

With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph -- so help us God."

-President Franklin Roosevelt

A Grateful "Thank You" to Deanna Durbin, Who Turns 89 Today

Singer Deanna Durbin celebrates her 89th birthday today! One of my all-time favorite singers, she has a beautiful lyric soprano voice. She appeared in her first film Every Sunday, a short which costarred the then-unknown Judy Garland, when she was only fourteen. The same year she starred in her first feature film, becoming an overnight success. Her career lasted twelve years, in which she produced 21 films and a handful of shorts. In 1949, at the age of 27, she suddenly retired and continues to live privately in France. She had a classically trained voice, usually singing opera-style songs, although she did do some pop numbers. Her films were usually a little light on plot with the accent being on the music (she described her roles as Little-Miss-Fix-It who suddenly bursts into song), although she did try her hand at serious drama later on in her career. It was actually one of her movies that got me started on opera!

Mom found a a tape of her film, Because of Him, at the library one day. We had never heard of her, so she got it to try. Well, we tried it and the film wasn't good (we actually didn't even finish it) but I fell in love with her rendition of the classic song "Danny Boy". So, back to the library we trundled and this time got two more. The next one we tried was It Started with Eve, which costars Charles Laughton. It was hilarious and even Dad liked it, although she actually doesn't sing much. The second was First Love, which I fell in love with. For the finale, she sings Puccini's "One Fine Day" (with a wonderful English translation) from the opera Madame Butterfly. I was really interested. Back to the library again, this time for For the Love of Mary. A fantastically funny film, this is still one of our family favorites (it was also her final film before she retired). Here she sings "Largo al Factotum" from The Barber of Seville and I really, really liked it. So, I got a recording of the entire opera. I started listening to it, but it was slightly daunting and it went back to the library unfinished.



However, it doesn't stop there. The next one was His Butler's Sister, which has her singing "Nessun Dorma" at the climactic ending. I was really smitten. This was too beautiful to ignore! We went back to the library and got two cds, The Three Tenors 1994 Concert and The Ultimate Opera Divas Album. Driving home we listened to the Three Tenors, and I was amazed that Mom could tell who was singing by just listening - not even looking at the disc booklet! They all sounded the same to me, I certainly couldn't tell! I liked it, but I was really interested in hearing "One Fine Day", which was so far my favorite opera song (still is one of my favorites). So, that week while I was cleaning our room, I listened to the Divas cd. "One Fine Day" was beautiful and, feeling adventurous, I decided to start at the beginning and listen to the whole disc. When it came to "Casta Diva", I couldn't believe it. A minute into it and I knew that I had never heard anything quite like that! Looking at the disc case, I found out that it was somebody named Joan Sutherland singing the number. Never heard of her, but . . . WOW! I practically wore the disc out listening to it. When I played it for Mom, she didn't seem half impressed and she told me that Joan Sutherland had been around and she had seen her on TV and everything. I wasn't so easily persuaded that she was something to be shrugged at. So . . . (if you can't guess what came next, you haven't been paying enough attention! )

. . . Back to the LIBRARY! This time for the classic complete recording of Turandot, which features the legendary teaming of Dame Joan, Pavarotti, Montserrat Caballe, and Nicolai Ghiaurov. Still a beginner at the entire opera thing, I sat one evening and listened to the entire opera, waiting to hear "Nessun Dorma". (Imagine . . .I even sat through the entire Act 3! Annoying thing.) Well, it certainly fulfilled all my expectations. That cd set was actually the very first opera item that I purchased.

Ever since, Dame Joan has been one of my favorite opera singers. I have bunches of her records and cds, and several years ago I wrote her a letter and she was kind enough to send back a very wonderful personalized autographed photo. That was the second autograph I ever asked for. The first was . . . Deanna Durbin.

Now, I am an opera nut (and can tell the difference between the Three Tenors myself!), overwhelming the family with opera movies, music, books and magazines. So, "thank you" Deanna Durbin for opening a whole new world of music to,at least one little girl fifty years later!