Just A Update

Well, Annie got to go out and bake in the sun yesterday… that makes that enamel paint hard and it does take a while to dry properly.  I was also able to get old Allis out and get her scratches from carrying and using that plow fixed. She looks pretty good again for a 70 year old work horse.  For those interested Annie, my Case SC was produced in 1949.  Old Allis is a war baby Allis Chalmers B made in 1944.  Believe it or not she still has her original main wire harness in her. What makes this special is being a war baby they didn’t use copper wiring in her.  She has a zinc wiring in her. Now, everything off the main harness is copper now… and someday I plan on putting a new harness in her but leaving the original harnness under it.  That is a piece of history that does not exist in most tractors from the second world war yet….

-Annie sun worshipping….

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-Some of her decals on….. love that old Abe decal ….

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-Old Allis looking ready to do a job as her paint dries…

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-Annie and Allis sun bathing…. 🙂

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-reminiscing about when they worked on their farms before their semi-retirement…. ah the good ol’ days…..

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-ah yes… old tractors and old dogs…….

 

 

 

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One of our favorite places…

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Here is a picture of Rutherford B. Hayes after he left the Presidency on the West End of the big porch… notice the two dogs.. 🙂

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Here we are in the same spot…. 🙂

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THis is Old Whitey, Hayes horse when he was in the Army. His other was called Old Ned….

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Those horse meant a lot to Rutherford B. Hayes.  When they passed he had them buried on the knoll on the property with stones above them.. this is Old Ned’s….

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A few feet away is Old Whitey’s stone and grave….

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Perhaps nothing signifies more how important these horses were to Hayes than where they are buried…. from between the two horses graves this is what you see…. President Hayes’ grave….

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Here is the grave of President and Mrs. Hayes….. on the other side is their son Webb Hayes and his wife.  Webb Hayes was a military hero like his father and won the Congressional Medal of Honor for actions in the Philippines…. he was everywhere the action was and took part in the fabled charge up the hill with Teddy Roosevelt!   I believe that President Hayes and his son are the only family to have a President and a Congressional Medal Of Honor winner in the same family and in back to back generations.  We were very surprised and very moved to find that the descendents of the Hayes family to this day visit the family home.  They do not come in and make airs… they buy a ticket and take the tour like everyone else, blending into the crowd.  They do however, get to use the home and gardens for family weddings and such which we feel is only fair… after all they gifted the library, the grounds and the family home to the ppl of the USA in 1965….

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Here is Mrs. Hayes with her birds…..  they had a lot of pets and loved animals….

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Here they are with Spot….

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Wow, I am thrilled to be named Niamh’s Misty Meadow Rutherford B. Hayes……  what a honor….

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Pedigrees and Ancestry….

Dad has traced our collie lines back to Sunnybank and beyond!  It is interesting to see him trace his pedigree… er… ancestry too.  He is fascinated by his ancestors who came from the Palatine of Germany.  He wrote about Anna Regina Halm Volland and how her husband Wilhelm died on the ship coming over leaving her alone in a New World with 3 little children in 1709!   Folloeing the paper trail has been interesting since he found out Wilhelm was a Weaver!

He also found that Anna Regina Halm moved with her new husband and his children and her children to the area around Kingston, NY.  Imagine his surprise to find out the church they attended there still exists. He even found their Baptismal and Marriage records online in a Kindle format!!!  The church is the Old Dutch Reformed Church in Kingston, NY.  This fascinates dad for as far as he knew all his ancestors were Lutherans.  But, the Palatine area of Germany through the Heidelberg became Reformed.  He contacted the church and they are looking for some more information for him.

Looking into the records he has found he found Anna Regina was last mentioned as a sponsor to her granddaughter Anna in 1733 making her 63 years old at that time!  What happened to her after that he is still trying to find out.  He does have some church information on her children and descendents and he thinks she may have moved with them and will be contacting those churches also.  Interestingly some moved on to another Reformed Church others became Lutherans.  Interesting says dad.

Dad found some free history books for his Kindle at Archives.org, which dad calls the greatest resource for free old books int he world.  He has read about the Palatine Germans and he now sees why they left for the area was ravaged by war, famine, the plague and more war. That his ancestors survived is a miracle he says and he has a new found respect for those of the Calvinist Reformed Church after reading the horrible events his ancestors survived.

One of the oddities he found on the church records was that his grandmother when she signed the baptismal form signed it as follows… Regina Halm.  Not Anna, not Anna Regina, not Anna Regina Halm with Volland or her 2nd husband’s name… just Regina Halm.  He says in that period of time she had to be one strong willed woman with a strong identity for in that time period this was unusual.  He finds it interesting she uses her middle name which tells him she was known as Regina by her friends and family.

These were tough people whose problems in life makes our modern problems seem small in comparison to what they went through.

While he loves to find out more about our ancestors, it is interesting to see him learn about his ancestors.  By the way, he has found some of his ancestors were Puritans, others Reformed and most were Lutherans.  However, his Great-Grandmother on his mother’s side was named Kozak.  Reportedly from Czechoslovakia he is interested in finding out more… but his Grandmother would not talk about it and was not religious…. so who knows.  Catholic?  Anabaptist?  Who knows?  That is another challenge for another day…

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Hmmmm. me thinks he should stick to collie pedigrees they are so much simpler…..

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Ya know, I Ginger can take care of this… lets burn those records.. MUWAHAHAHAHAHAH  Better yet we can threaten to burn them unless we get treats and more cash for my world domination plans!

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR-oUzimkLI

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Just When You Think She is Being Kind….

-He, he, he, he….

This will stun the old guy!

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Yeah, the old guy liked Daniel Boone when he was a kid and even visited Boonesborough a few years ago…

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I got the hammer!

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This should do ti!  I Ginger know this will be exactly as it was….

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See? Its looks exactly like Boonesborough!!  NOw when he goes in… lock the gates…

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Now to recreate the great siege.. except the old guy will not survive the siege.. muwahahahhahaha  get the warpaint on and fire up those fiery arrows… time to cause some mischief….

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Our Apologies To BongoDogBlog For This Post…..

Inspired by our friends at BongoDogBlog dad has decided to teach us heathen collies a bit about our faith too. He says the way we act our souls may need to be saved also, although we have heard him many times say we were saved by Jesus too since the fall was not our fault….. We also want to apologize to our friend Bongo and his human for while imitation is the sincerest form of flattery this piece probably will not flatter anyone….. Do go visit their much better faith based stories and their wonderful blog at;

http://bongodogblog.com/

 

So, what are we learning about today dad?  Martin Luther?  What does Martin Luther have to do with saving our heathen collie souls?  What?  If we listen we will learn…. a collie? Listen?  Come on dad we are already bored…….. okay, we are listening… sigh…

Martin Luther was once a monk in the Catholic Church?  Wait, arent you a Lutheran?  What gives with that?  What?  Catholics and Lutherans are both Christians, its just that we believe differently about God?  Okay, we are listening… grumble….

Luther was a very dedicated monk who suffered greatly trying to earn his way to heaven.  Did he do without treats?  Did he not listen to footy on Sundays?  What?  He starved himself?  He beat himself?  Wow, was he into some sort of…. okay we wont say it… sigh….

Luther came to find that it wasnt by works that one got to heaven but through faith…. believing and accepting  that Jesus came to earth, died for our sins and rose again as we will in the end of times.  He also taught that our good works are the result of our faith and do not save our souls… does that mean if Timmy falls in the well we can ignore him and still go to heaven?  What?  We are duty bound to save him as Christians for it is our mission to help those in need…. oh….our actions dont save us but condemn us….. okay so we get it…. we save Timmy for he is dumber than we are and keeps falling in the well and because he is made in the image of God we forgive his stupidity and save him ad nauseum because it is our role on earth?  Okay, you are shaking your head yes but not happy with the answer…

So, Luther and the Church came to differences and Luther ended up leading the branch of the church that later became Lutherans and other wonderful Protestants?

But, what about other beliefs and the other traditions of Christianity who believe different?  Are they dumb like Timmy?  What?  No, they are just as much Christian as we are and we should treat them with love and as brothers and sisters and seek out our common ground?  But, we thought we were heathen collies…… sigh we are listening….

Luther taught God loves us and as such we are to love others.  Sort of like how we collies love you no matter how dumb you are?  Dad, that is not a very Godly word……. neither is that one… gasp…..
yes, we are going to be quiet.

Luther also had a teaching about dogs?  Really?  Tell us it….

“The dog is the most faithful of animals and would be much esteemed were it not so common. Our Lord God has made His greatest gifts the commonest.”-Martin Luther

 

Um…… yes we are the most faithful and it seems to us we are much esteemed around here.  But, common?  Collies are not that common…. oh, you are right there are lots of dogs.  What?  You would like to add something to Luther’s teaching….

“Only two things in the universe love unconditionally…. dogs and God and us humans would do very well to learn from both.” -Chuck

Does that mean dad that when we slingshot you out of the hammock you will still love us?  What? You will but we will have some very sore #$%$  Dad, that isnt very Godly of you….. sigh…

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We collies like Martin Luther…….-

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What do you mean I should be baptized?  The last time you tried that the Holy Water boiled…. what does that mean?

Again, our apologies to our friends Bongo and his human for this…. but you know how those creative moments are…. so for the best faith based teachings on a dog blog do go to BongoDogBlog at

http://bongodogblog.com/

Ginger waves to Bongo!

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English? Well…..

Tina Holmes, our wonderful friend at:

http://www.heartlikeadog.com/

commented that she thinks I am English.  hehehe

Well, no not exactly.  But, I do have a long history of English in my life and bloodlines… 🙂

Where to begin… with collies of course.  Fell in love with them and they are technically from Scotland although the northern English will dispute that claim with some credibility me thinks.

I fell in love with tea….. and my favorite after Red Rooibos (which of course comes from a former English Colony_ is English and Irish Breakfast by who else, but Twinings of England.

My first favorite musical group was who else but the Beatles and of course i became a huge Stones fan, the Wings, The Who and dont forget the opinion of my all-time greatest group… Led Zeppelin.
But, things English do not stop there….. here in America most people drink Lager beer… not me.. I like Stouts and Porters.  My favorite? Mackeson’s XXX Milk Stout from.. well you know where!

Like many country side American I have been a gun owner.  Through the years I sold all of them except for one…. what else but a bolt action .303 from WWI and for those who do not know that was the longest used bolt action rifle for any military and it is of course from England…

As you all know I love English Football, Andy Capp and one of my favorite TV comedies was the “Young Ones.”  How is that for insanity for you?

I loved radio while growing up and still do…. favorite station?  The BBC on shortwave of course.

Argyle clothing, I love it……sleep in the winter covered by a Hudson Bay Wool Blanket and one of my heroes is Winston Churchill.

I could go on…

However, why does my life seem to have a large influx of English things in it?  I suspect it is genetic.  While 3 of the 4 bloodlines coming from my Grandparents comes from Germany… the one comes from England.  The man who came over was a Puritan in 1630 and he founded two cities in New England and one is Hartford, Connecticut. His name was Andrew Warner.  As you may know the Puritans came from England and at one time overthrew the crown.

Great Waltham, Essexshire, England is where he was born.  However, all things English do not stop there for me. The lines of Andrew Warner were traced further and further back until Nobles appeared and to my surprise Royalty.  Now, those not versed in English history may be surprised that the Royal Family has changed families several times in English History.  our lines go back to… well…. not Richard the Lion Hearted but his brother… King John.  Sigh….  All the royalty before that are part of my ancestry and it is fascinating especially since those line spread into other countries.   Hmmm….. as a fan of Robin Hood I still cheer him on against King John… hehehehe

But, this is the story of things English in my life.  So, Tina, while I am a American you might say I am English… in a rather unique way… hehehehe

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It figures!!!  Of all the people on the face of the earth I had to get stuck with a has-been ex-royal… what do I need to do to get a break?  Come to think of it.. he is sort of like King John… so time to steal from him and give to myself… hehehe

 

 

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Something Different, Old Abe!!!

On my Case Tractor the log is of Old Abe, a real life eagle who was the mascot (yes, she went into battle with the Wisconsin Regiment during the civil war and the Rebels shot at her, but never hit her.) of the Wisconsin Volunteer 8th Regiment, Company C.

A Native American of the Lac Du Flambeau Ojibwa tribe captured her (Flambeau Red later became the color of Case Tractors) and she was sold to a

farmer for a bushel of corn and then sold by the farmer to the soldiers for $2.50.

Company C made a special perch for Old Abe and she went into every battle, including the battle of Corinth where half of the 8th regiment was killed. She would spread her wings and screech as they charged into battle and the Rebels hated it shooting at her and calling her that damned Yankee Buzzard!

Several of the carriers of her perch were killed under her and while her feathers were grazed by bullets, Old Abe made it through without a wound. She was so respected that when General Grant, Sherman and Rosecrans passed by they took off their caps in respect.

Old Abe retired to the Wisconsin State Capitol after the war yet made many appearances such as the 1880 Grand Army of the Republic Convention and the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.

Old Abe became the insignia for the famed 101st Airborne, still one of the most feared fighting units of the US Army, she is the team namesake of several high school football teams and in 1869 she became the Logo of the Case Threshing Company, later the JI Case Company who now is merged with International Harvester and New Holland into the biggest agricultural company in the world. Case retired Old Abe in 1969 after 100 years as the Logo.

Old Abe passed away due to smoke inhalation in a fire at the Wisconsin State Capitol in 1881. She was preserved and mounted in the capitol as the main centerpiece until 1904 when another fire at the State Capitol burned her remains and most of the Capitol building down.

Named after Abraham Lincoln, Old Abe lived up to her symbol as the official bird of USA on the National Seal as a true friend in peace and a fierce warrior in battle.

Below is her picture…

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Living by a River we have Eagles fly over and we think of Old Abe when they do….. *Salute*  Here is Rutherford B. Hayes(who is named after a President who was also a war hero in the Civil War watching a bird fly over) .

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Here is Old Abe as the Case Company Logo on the side of a Flambeau red Case Tractor….. This logo is stamped on almost every part on my Case Tractor……, there is no mistaking who made the tractor for Case made sure it was everywhere and to this day it is in farm country one of the best known logos although out of use for over 40 years.

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A Couple Of Blasts From The Past

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Wow, I found these today and couldnt believe this was 10 years ago….. You see Teddy in front of me and in my arms is my Niamh.    This is our favorite place in the world to walk. This part of the trails is called the enchanted forest and it is a forest of red pines.  Depending on the location of the sun it changes colors from dark and mysterious, to a glowing red from the bark and needles on the ground, to a glowing green from the needles on the trees.  It is a beautiful place.  As I look at this picture I miss her all over again. Niamh will have been gone 6 years this August and I still hurt deeply over her loss…. probably always will.  I am just stunned this was ten years ago.

The other thing that strikes me in this photo is how old Teddy is now and how much older I have gotten.  Sort of strikes the mortal chord if you know what I mean. 

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Here is Niamh with me again.  She was in her middle years here and I was in mine also.  I guess what stuns me is how much grayer I’ve gotten.. LOL….  and that this was TEN years ago.   I miss her…. and those days.

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I also like to do family genealogy.   I’ve traced three of my four grandparents ancestors back to when they came over to the USA.  Mine forefathers with the last name I have came over in 1709-1710.  My mother’s fathers family came over in 1848.  My father’s mother family came over in 1632 and founded Cambridge, MA.  Here is a picture of my grandmother when she was 5 years old….  See that smirk on her face? She is annoyed … LOL….  I saw that look through the years…. I know. This makes this about 1920.  My grandmother is of course gone now…..

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-This was my Grandmother’s sister.  I love this picture for it is a rarity of its time. She is almost laughing.  Taken in October, 1920 my grandmother’s sister was 16.  This picture is also tragic for you see she had diabetes.  11 months after this picture was taken she was in the eternal hereafter…… my grandmother said she got sick for over a week and laid on the sofa in the parlor where she passed away.  She remembered preparing her body for the funeral and having it there in the parlor.  What makes this story particularly tragic is that at the time she passed away they were testing insulin on dogs with success.  Three months after she died they did the first tests on humans and by the end of 1922 they were giving insulin to people and had a surplus of it…..

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Once in a while, we stop the fun, the craziness and reflect upon life here at the Meadow.  This post probably is sad, I get that way when I find pictures of Niamh.  But, it has a point.  You see, life is fragile and it all has the same end… and it is tragic.   But, what you make of it is up to you.  What I am trying to say is make the most of every moment you have for yourself and with others… cherish it and them for you do not know when death will come and snatch away the moment you are in.  I loved my time with Niamh, but I know I could’ve done more.  I enjoyed my Grandmother’s time with us, but again I have regrets and the picture of her sister is one of them.  I wanted to know more about her…. never asked much for it upset my grandmother.  So, now there is mystery there and that is a disservice to her sister.   So much lost time and lost history…..  Now, there is Trevor. I have learned my lesson and am doing all I can, yet I feel I can do more.  But, I have to make a living, ect.  But, stop my friends, take a deep breath and look around you.  Hug all those there with you and tell them what they mean to you…..  show them… you wont regret it… I promise….

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Happy Thanksgiving-Dogs On The Mayflower

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  May the Lord have blessed you this past year and may the Lord bless you the upcoming year also.

With thoughts of thanksgiving, the Pilgrims and the smell of Turkey in the air my thoughts wandered back to the Plimouth Plantation and the dogs there.  The only thing worse than being a human coming over on the Mayflower must’ve been being a dog on that rough ride.  But, ride it out they did!

Two dogs are recorded as having come over on the Mayflower.  The man who brought them over was John Goodman who reportedly died during the first winter leaving his companions to his fellow Pilgrims who cared for them.

The first was a Mastiff who can go up to 200 pounds and the other a English Springer Spaniel.  Both would be useful in the wilds of the new world for the Mastiff would be great at protection and big game hunting while the Spaniel would be a great hunting dog for smaller game.

There are three references about these two dogs  and they are as follows;

Goodman and a companion became lost during inclement weather and had to brave the storm out ill-dressed for the event overnight with the two dogs with them.  They could hear “Lions” roaring which were probably mountain lions or cougars who lived in the area at that time.  They reportedly had to hold the dogs all night to keep them from breaking for the “lions”.  They obviously found their way back after daybreak which must’ve came as a relief in many ways for these two guys.

The second is that Goodman was out with his Spaniel when a pack of Wolves appeared.  The Spaniel ran to Goodman for protection and he being unarmed did what any guy might do, he picked up a stick and threw it at one of the Wolves and hit it.  Not sure that is what I would’ve done… but it obviously worked. For the Wolves looked at them and Goodman threw another stick and the wolves sat down and observed them for what was described a very long time as the Spaniel stayed between Goodman’s legs.  Smart dog!  Finally, the Wolves wandered off which was lucky for Goodman, who perhaps brought about the saying three strikes your out for Bradford shows him as having died the first winter although other records show him to have died after that but before 1627.

The final note about these two dogs was that when the pilgrims planted crops they had to tie up the dogs to keep them from digging up the fish they put in with the seeds for fertilizer.  Now tied up is different here for it is reported they tied their front legs up to keep them from digging.

So, there you have it. The Mayflower dogs who we remember this Thanksgiving.  Wonder if they left any descendents?

Give thanks for your family and for the love you have in your life…..

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