[February 1880, Wickes, Montana Territory]

Wickes, Montana. It seems hard to believe, but in February 1880, Wickes, Montana Territory, was one of the few mining towns that built a church before having a saloon. The March 10, 1881 “Rocky Mountain Husbandman” reported on the town: 
“Wickes is a cheerful little village located in a narrow dale between two mountains, about thirty miles south from Helena. It was named in honor of W.W. Wickes, of New York…. It is the only town in Montana where liquor selling is not allowed.”
The town 's namesake, William W. Wickes, was a mining executive who spent little more than a year there. But during that time he apparently ran a tight, yet respected, ship; any employees found drunk were fired on the spot. Wickes built the first church and brought his brother to serve as pastor, he helped build the first library and the town’s general store. 
All of it was for a rewarding, if temporary purpose—the silver mines of the area were among the most productive in the Territory.

Current Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz
#Wickes #Montana #ghosttowns #history

 

 

[A great movie: Target For Tonight]

Darned good little film. I watched it about a year ago on Amazon Prime. 

 

Thanks for reminding me abuse it.

[Ermine pronunciation]

The -min. -man, -mun variations can sound very much the same.

 

As an aside, Heraldic Ermine Spots look nothing like a real ermine.

 

 

[Ermine pronunciation]

9 minutes ago, John Kloehr said:

https://www.google.com/search?q=ermine+pronunciation

 

 

You beat me to it!

 

In my 68 years on this good Earth I've never heard anyone pronounce it ur-mine.

 

 

[HOLLIDAY SEASON IS HERE]

1 hour ago, Alpo said:

Now I am really REALLY REALLY going to miss Big Lots.

 

Every Christmas I would buy three or four stollen at Big Lots. Something like $4.95 each.

 

Big Lots has gone out of business.

 

I just looked at Amazon.

 

25 for the cheapest, and $50 for the expensive one.

 

I guess I'm really going to miss not having stollen. But that price is idiotic.

 

They opened up an Aldi's down the road. That is a German-owned store brand. Maybe they will carry it. I will have to look.

 

 

Make your own. 

 

https://www.daringgourmet.com/stollen-german-christmas-bread/#recipe

 

1 hour ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

Yessiree Bob!!  The Holliday season has indeed arrived.  The Holliday and Christmas "Stollen" are HERE!!  Oh Yum Yum Yum.

 

German Fruitcake!

 

That and

 

[Sliding On the Snow]

1 hour ago, Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 said:

that AIN"T gonna buff out 

 

🤣

 

Those are P-47s...Just hammer the prop blades straight, paint over the scratches,  top off oil,  fuel,  and ammo,  they're good to go.

[does this sound believable?]

It's doable.

[Sliding On the Snow]

Not a good landing. 

 

 

 

 

[Insults with Style]

AI generated. 

 

"Hear me, all ye gathered!
For I would speak of this most loathsome wretch,
this rat-born spawn of villainy,
whose very presence doth sour the air as mildew on a dying wall.

Thou!
Thou misbegotten lump of curdled malice,
hatched from verminous seed and nursed upon treachery!
Thy heart is a rat’s heart—
small, scuttling, and ever seeking darkness.
Thy tongue drips lies as naturally
as the gutter drips foul water after storm.

Look upon him, friends:
a creature fashioned by Fortune’s drunken hand,
a patchwork of cowardice, falsehood, and rat-gnaw’d villainy.
He bears the face of a man, yet all within
is but the squirming corruption of a midden rat.

Would that the heavens themselves
might strike thee from the earth,
for no honest soil should suffer
such a scurvy, base-born miscreant
to set foot upon it!

Go, sirrah—
crawl back to the cracks from whence thou camest,
and trouble noble company no more,
lest I give chase and prove upon thy hide
that even a rat may learn fear!”

 

[It's Almost Friday Humor Thread]

[Super Guppy]

1 hour ago, Abilene Slim SASS 81783 said:

I just now noticed the typo on the YouTube image that says “Supper Guppy…”  🤣

 

Avoiding copyright infringement. 

[Egg shells in coffee]

5 minutes ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

I believe this only works for percolators. No need with a drip coffee pot. 

 

If you have a particularly acidic blend, the egg shell will take some of that bite out of it.

[Super Guppy]

I was thinking about the vortecies from the propeller with my comment.

[Halloween stuff...]

Ah! You live in Chicago!

[Super Guppy]

Not something you see every day. 

 

 

 

[Egg shells in coffee]

14 minutes ago, Alpo said:

I frequently have had people offer me coffee, and when I accept they will invariably ask me what I take in my coffee. I tell them coffee.

 

That confuses some people.

 

I'd stir in a heaping teaspoon of fresh grounds.

[Violin or Fiddle?]

 

 

 

[Violin or Fiddle?]

An interesting description:

 

"The violin & fiddle exist in a quantum superposition where an object is both a violin & a fiddle at the same time until music is played on it. It is only after hearing the music that you can determine which of the two it is. That's #StringTheory"

[Egg shells in coffee]

15 minutes ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

Additionally, the ONLY thing one should have in their coffee is COFFEE.

 

Hmmmmm.....I usually use some water along with the coffee. Makes it easier to drink. 

[What Is the Origin of the Turkey]

 

 

 

[Fifty Years Ago]

Congratulations! May you be blessed with many more!

 

 

 

[Marine Corps CPL Ralph Wendling]

Something I ran across in FB that I thought might interest people here.  Useless trivia. 

 

 

"Marine Corps CPL Ralph Wendling with a Japanese sword & canteen posing with two local “Policemen” on Guadalcanal - Late November 1942

 

This is possibly Ralph Edward Wendling 1916-1998 from Fort Thomas, Kentucky.

 

Thanks DH for his assistance 

 

Archives Branch, Marine Corps History Division

Thayer Soule Photographer WWP-PD"

 

 

[Known for Its Family Dinners]

[Mine Run]

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/mine-run

 

Orange County, VA | Nov 27 - Dec 2, 1863

After the inconclusive Bristoe Campaign in the fall of 1863, Maj. Gen. George G. Meade planned one more offensive against Gen. Robert E. Lee in northern Virginia before winter weather ended military operations. In late November, Meade attempted to steal a march southeast from Culpeper Courthouse, turn south through the Wilderness and strike the right flank of the Confederate army south of the Rapidan River. On November 27th, Maj. Gen. Jubal A. Early, in command of Ewell's Corps, marched east on the Orange Turnpike to meet the advance of Maj. Gen. William French’s Third Corps near Payne’s Farm. French moved slowly, giving Lee and Early time to reposition their line. Brig. Gen. Joseph B. Carr’s division, supported by Brig. Gen. Henry Prince's division, attacked twice. Maj. Gen. Edward Johnson’s Confederates counterattacked but were scattered by heavy fire and broken terrain. After dark, Lee withdrew to field fortifications he had prepared along Mine Run. The next day, the Union army closed again on the Confederate position. Skirmishing was heavy, but a major attack did not materialize. Meade concluded that the Confederate line was too strong to attack and retired during the night of December 1-2nd, ending the winter campaign of 1863.

 

 

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/mine-run-campaign

 

In the early morning of November 26, on the first national day of Thanksgiving, the Army of the Potomac set out for another bloody meeting with the Army of Northern Virginia. In command of the III Corps -- replacing Daniel Sickles of Gettysburg notoriety -- was William French, a West Pointer from Baltimore. One staffer described him as “one of those plethoric French colonels who are so stout, and who look so red in the face, that one would suppose someone had tied a cord tightly around their necks.”

 

French’s III Corps was ordered to cross the Rapidan at Jacob’s Ford, but moved sluggishly from the outset and caused a massive traffic jam when he had to send his artillery east to cross downstream. It was nightfall by the time French completed his crossing. The operation was a full day behind schedule; the element of surprise had been lost.

 

Meade was furious, and with good cause: Lee had sprung into action. From near the Chancellorsville battlefield, an officer on Lee’s staff wrote home, “With God’s help there shall be a Second Chancellorsville as there was a Second Manassas." Lee dispatched the II Corps to deal with the blue force crossing the river. On the afternoon of the 27th, the leading elements of French’s column under Gen. Henry Prince came upon Confederate Gen. Edward Johnson’s division marching east along the Raccoon Ford Road. Gen. George H. Steuart’s brigade of Maryland Confederates, bringing up the rear, was hit with the first volley. Steuart wheeled his men, formed a line of battle in the road, and attacked with a yell. Johnson, at the head of the column, promptly countermarched his men and sent them in, either unaware or heedless of the size of the enemy force he was facing. Ultimately 16,000 men were engaged, fighting back and forth in deadly confusion, through dense woods and on farmland owned by a man named Payne. 

 

[Me and my horse]

2 minutes ago, Cactus Jack Calder said:

Ha, fooled me. I should have tried to look it up. 
Thanks Joe.

 

CJ

 

 

I looked it up years ago!

 

The problem is that the "official" flag has the staggered rows, there was no standardized arrangement of the stars, so there are equally valid 45 Star flags with other arrangements.  I bet you were thinking of the 5 x 9 arrangement.