Stream and Flowers

Tombstone Tuesday :: Eva Leah and Ervin Shock

My aunt, Eva Leah Wiseman and her husband Ervin Shock are interred at North Webster Cemetery in Tippecanoe Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana next to her parents Charles and Elsie (Shuder) Wiseman.

SHOCK
EVA LEAH / 1908 - 1967
ERVIN E. / 1908 - 1991
Photo taken July 12, .. - Copyright © .. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman

On The Road Again...

Saturday March 12, .. – Five days ago, on the morning of March 7th, I left Columbia City, Indiana heading south for, hopefully, sunshine and warmer temperatures. As I passed into central Kentucky I noticed the grass was a little green and then through Tennessee things warmed up a bit; some of the trees were sprouting little leaves and bushes (don't know what kind) were blooming too.



I stopped in Huntsville, Alabama and spent two nights with a friend (and distant Joslin cousin - 3rd cousin once removed). Tuesday night they had high winds and got over three inches of rain, which altered my traveling plans somewhat. Instead of meandering through on state highways I stuck to the Interstates. Just didn't want to deal with any flooding issues. And from the Interstate you could see that the streams and rivers had risen over their banks and the waters were flooding nearby land.



It rained much of the day Wednesday but at Montgomery I decided to strike out to the southeast taking US 82, which goes all the way to Brunswick, Georgia. It was a pleasant drive and much less stressful than the Interstates though it rained all afternoon. That night I stopped at a nice campground at Lakepoint Resort State Park north of Eufaula, Alabama and just a few miles from the Georgia state line.





The next morning (Thursday, March 10th) I was most pleased to see the sun coming up through the trees. There was some fog but it burned off quickly. The above photo was taken through the rear window. The dark lines across the picture are from the window defroster.



By 2:30 pm I had checked into the campground at Laura S. Walker State Park just east of Waycross, Georgia. That evening and the next day I visited my niece and her daughters and delivered some things that my Mom wanted them to have. Today (March 12) was spent in just relaxing and taking it easy. I went for several walks, easing back into activity as it has been more than three months since I've done any walking let alone hiking!



I did get my wish - temperatures were in the 70s and there was lots of sunshine!The scenes below are of the lake at Laura S. Walker State Park. Photos were taken on March 12, ...





Morning fog rising off the lake.



Lilly pads.



And, of course, a Sunset...

The Age of Ascent

Ian Elliottis a modern sport climber.

Heclips bolts, he grabs draws, he uses tricks, sticks andkneepads.





But he's no slouch.

Tenacity like a cockroach. He comes back from injuries again and again. The kind of stuff that would stop someone half his sons age.











He's known almost exclusively as Old Ian. Not sure how he got that name.



Style:Gandolf meets Harry Butler. Rocking these Arthritis support kneepads in blue, poly pro underwear in black, and red polar tech beanie by Hot Tuna.

He gets the covetedjjobrienclimbing tick.











Ian channels Bhagwan Shree Rajnessh as he works the moves on "Weapon of Choice" 27, Coolum Cave.Spooky, huh?



I somehow feel proud that the cave has such a climber as Ian, as though I gain some prestige just by association.Climbers, I have to confess to being ageist. I know, coming from me! Old people, they gamble, they take drugs, they drive like maniacs.But then there are exceptions that give us an alternative model.







I could watch it again and again:The scene where this kindly old gentleman shows a Forester load ofbumpy boyshow to do the route they've been dogging all day. And then offers to retrieve their draws.Priceless.









Grow old, stay strong.jj

Lance again?

Here is a link to the complete USADA

report on Lance Armstrong.



http://d3epuodzu3wuis.cloudfront.net/ReasonedDecision.pdf



The referenced George Hincapie signed affadavit can be found here:



http://d3epuodzu3wuis.cloudfront.net/Hincapie%2c+George+Affidavit.pdf



I was likely the last to believe it but there should be no doubt LA doped now.

Finally, Dogs Gone

Nita looks like she is ready to relax since that dog, Tuffee, has left.

Wish I Knew...Are you really who I think you are?

The names "Alla" and "Flora" that are written on the face of this photograph appear to be in the handwriting of my 2nd great-grandmother, Malissa Joslin Brubaker Bower. I'm not positive, but I think the woman standing between the two seated ladies is Malissa. It sort of looks like her, but then again, it doesn't. (Click on the image for a larger version.)

This picture below, of Malissa, was taken about 1930. Am I imagining it, or is there really no resemblance?

Back to the two seated ladies in the first picture. When I first saw this picture several years ago, I had no idea who Alla and Flora might be. But I've done some research since then ;-) and the only people in my genealogy database that "fit" in any way whatsoever (assuming the people in the picture are related) are Alice and Flora Joslin, daughters of Malissa's uncle Edwin Joslin, and thus, her first cousins. Of course, I don't know for sure, but that's who I think they are.

Malissa was born in June 1849 while Alice was born about 1858 and Flora between 1852-1855. I don't think the lady standing looks old enough to be the mother of Alice and Flora (their mother was born in February 1839). There were two other sisters in their family, Pauline born in 1859 and Nellie in 1862. But the lady in the middle seems to me to be a bit older than the other two ladies.

Here is what I know about Alice and Flora Joslin, daughters of Edwin Mattoon and Sarah (Fellows) Joslin:

Sadly, I haven't been able to find out anything more about Alice. She appears with her parents and siblings in the 1860 and 1870 census records (Henry County, Illinois and LaPorte County, Indiana, respectively) but that's it. I'm guessing she married prior to 1880 and I haven't looked for her in marriage records yet.

Flora also appears with her parents in the 1860 and 1870 census records. I haven't found her in the 1880 census but in 1900 she is living with her husband, William Clark and son Clifford Clark in Sangamon County, Illinois. Her parents, Edwin and Sarah were also living with them. In 1910, Flora and her husband were still living in Sangamon County. Their 22 year old son, Clifford was living with them as was 27 year old Edward M. Cole who was listed as William's stepson. This seems to indicate that Flora was married first to Mr. Cole, first name unknown. Flora hasn't been found in the 1930 census; in 1920 she was a widow and still living in Sangamon County.

The Illinois death index has an entry for Flora Clark, aged 97 years, who died May 4, 1949 in Sangamon County. Her obituary, obtained by another researcher (thank you Lorene), was found in the Illinois State Journal of May 5, 1949:

"Mrs. Flora Clark, 97, of Berlin, died yesterday afternoon in a Springfield nursing home. She was born Aug. 22, 1851, in Columbia City, Ind., a daughter of E. M. and Sarah Fellows Joslin. She came to Illinois 51 years ago.

She is survived by two sons, Ed M. Cole, of New Berlin, and Clifford Clark, of Springfield; a daughter, Mrs. W. E. Knarr, of DuBois, Pa.; one stepson, Frank Clark, of Springfield. Two sisters and a brother preceded her in death. The body was removed to the McCullogh funeral home in New Berlin."

Census records indicate that Flora was born in 1855 or 1857 (in 1860 she was 5 years old, in 1870 age 15, in 1900 she was 42 (born Aug 1857), in 1910 she was 55 and in 1920 she was aged 63) so she apparently aged a few extra years after 1920. The obituary also shows a daughter that did not appear in the census records, opening an avenue for additional research.

Perhaps a relative or someone "out there" in cyberspace will find this and know for sure who these people are. If so, please contact me at kinexxions "at" gmail "dot" com - you would make me so happy!

The Winter Carnival has Arrived!

Jasia has posted the 64th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy, the topic this time around was Winter Photo Essay. Thirty contributors featured a variety of "winter" photographs. A chilly trip back in time to be sure, but heartwarming nevertheless.

The topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is: "The Happy Dance. The Joy of Genealogy. Almost everyone has experienced it. Tell us about the first time, or the last time, or the best time. What event, what document, what special find has caused you to stand up and cheer, to go crazy with joy? If you haven't ever done the Happy Dance, tell us what you think it would take for you to do so."

This next edition will be hosted by yours truly, right here at kinexxions. The deadline for submissions is February 1st. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy using the carnival submission form. Please use a descriptive phrase in the title of any articles you plan to submit and/or write a brief description/introduction to your articles in the "comment" box of the blogcarnival submission form. This will give readers an idea of what you've written about and hopefully interest them in clicking on your link.

So that we genea-bloggers can plan ahead (yeah, right!) Jasia has provided a list of topics for future carnivals (in the lower left column at Creative Gene). Several dates are still available for hosting. If you're interested, contact Jasia.

The COG posters are a creation of footnoteMaven.

Who Makes Your Bottle Cage?

So... do you know who makes your bottle cages? It might seem like a silly question. I mean, of all things, one is not about to seek out some super special artisanal cages, right? Well, recently I learned that mine were just that: made by Ron Andrews and crew, by hand, in Colorado. I feel a little embarrassed that I did not know this aboutKing Cage bottle cages, but the truth is I didn't. I bought mine because they were available at local bike shops, reasonably priced and reputed to be good. I like them, but I assumed that like most things they were mass produced in Taiwan. Until there I was, walking around Interbike. And there he was, a guy wearing a crown and twirling around all manner of cage-like contraptions. Several minutes into our conversation, it finally dawned on me that this person actually makes my bottle cages. I also learned of his connection to the Fat City Cycles clanand our local New England framebuilders. He asked me how this guy and that guy were doing. I get ridiculously excited by encounters like this.






Of course it's generally impossible to be at the King Cage booth and not get excited. It is like a miniature circus. A wind-up monkey dances across the table, inserting a tiny water bottle into a miniature cage instead of banging cymbals.






Items such as stop motion animation booklets and huge titanium back scratchers are demonstrated with enthusiasm.






An under-the-saddle titanium cage, with titanium flask sporting an #OCCUPYBIKESEATdecal. There was much more, and the booth was a bit like a parallel universe. Soon I craved every crazy accessory made by King Cage. But I limited myself to snagging a set of titanium cages at special Interbike prices, before they were all gone. My roadbike was very pleased to receive these!






Ron Andrews started out making cages in titanium, and still offers these in addition to the more popular and affordable stainless cages. He also offers titanium tire levers, stainless toe cages, and top cap mounts (pictured above) that make it possible to attach a bottle cage to a bicycle's stem. All of these items can be bought from the King Cage website directly, as well as at many bike shops.






Other than a Nitto cage I once received as a gift, all of my other bottle cages have been by King Cage. They are advertised as lightweight, non-marking and super strong, and after 3 years of use I have not experienced anything to contradict that. I use them with both plastic and (twine-wrapped) stainless steel bottles, and it's always a good fit. I can't fully explain why it made me so giddily happy to learn that these simple cages - widely available and relatively inexpensive - are made by hand by a friend of friends. Maybe it's precisely because they are such small accessories, and many of us don't give them much thought. It is heartening to know that somebody does, that somebody has made them their life's work with such dedication and panache.

Wood Cutting

Went to mountains for first load of fire wood this year. I want to stay warm this winter. Plus we love getting out like this. There were the nasty yellow flowers that make us sneeze so all over but they did look nice.

Willow Gulch and Broken Bow Arch

Thelast hike of our adventure along Hole in the Rock Road (for this trip, anyway!)was Willow Gulch to see Broken Bow Arch. We were both really looking forward to this hike, as the guide book described it as "having everything". Namely, we were anxious to see what it would be like because it was supposed to have a perennial stream which meant, possibly, a lot more vegetation than what we had seen so far on our canyon hikes. Willow Gulch certainly did not disappoint in that respect! We saw our first real spring greenery of the trip, as the cottonwoods along the trail were just starting to pop out with their spring foliage. It was a beautiful hike for sure!








































The trail went back and forth between going directly down the wash and traversing sandy desert between different sections of the gulch. Our favorite sections were the ones right in the wash in the middle of the gulch, because these areas had plenty of shade and eventually, plenty of water! It was nice to hike along a stream for a change :-) The trees all along the way were beautiful and when we finally rounded the bend which gave us our first view of Broken Bow Arch, all we could say was "WOW!".






















































We were actually starting to think we must have taken a wrong turn or something, because our guide book described the hike as being around 2 miles to the arch and we felt like we had walked 3 miles or more by the time the arch came into view. Jessica was walking ahead of me when she rounded a bend and exclaimed "I found it!". I was thrilled to catch up with her and see the arch up ahead, with a nice reflection of the arch in the waters of the perennial stream! Talk about a photographer's paradise! Jessica walked ahead again to get a closer view of the arch while I stopped to make photos of the arch and its reflection in the water. A few minutes later I caught up with her and we had a lunch snack at the foot of the arch. Again, the scale of it from a distance was deceiving, as the arch was positively HUGE when we got closer to it. It must have been two to three hundred feet high! Definitely another major highlight of our trip :-)

Did it Rain?

Of course with all this talk of drought the weather decided that this day was a good day for a drizzle of desert rain while we were sight seeing through some of the shops. The rain only lasted about 10 minutes. Long enough for Sarah to get wet and chilled while she run back to her van to roll up the windows she had left cracked open for the dogs. (Yes, we had her dogs with us since we had started the morning by going to the river and had returned to her house yet. They are used to being in the van lots as she takes them with her as long as it is not middle of the summer weather.) But there was a nice rainbow afterward over the Mesilla plaza. Being November the trees around the square where still in their fall colors and they flashed color brighter colors to us after being washed by the rain. Old Mesilla (pronounced Ma - see - a, the double ll's on most Spanish words are silent.) was a stopping place for travelers going from Texas to California. Many of the building were built in the early to late 1800's. Mesilla was a stage stop for the Butterfield Stagecoach Company. It is said there was a population of .. in Mesilla in about 1860. Mesilla became part of Las Cruces as the two towns grew into one. Las Cruces being named for the Three Crosses that were put over the graves of three travelers or priests that died when they were attached by Indians. Now there is some non-religious person saying that the name of the town needs to be changed because the name Las Cruces or The Crosses has to much religious meaning. I am not a religious person, but the name has been there for so long it should always be there and as far as I can tell it really doesn't have any religious meaning to it. Most graves have a cross over them. That doesn't mean the person buried there was religious. I can not believe that so many people are going against our historical names here in New Mexico and other parts of the southwest and Yes, all over the United States and trying to change any little part that seems religious to them. Again I am not religious but I still say 'under God' when I say the Pledge of Allegiance because that is what I was taught in school, although research has shown that the first Pledge didn't have those words in it.
Sarah in the rain.









Desirae and Dustin in the rain.











































Many of the shops and business in Old Mesilla are adobe building that have been remodeled to bring them up to code but still have the old look.

Selle AnAtomica Titanico, New Version

Last year I posted a review of the Selle AnAtomica Titanico saddle, just as the manufacturer was revamping their product. They have since sent me the new version of this saddle to try, and I am ready to post an update.I got the saddle in black, with copper rivets. I opted for the slotted version, to make it an equal comparison to the previous saddle I owned.






I installed the new saddle on my roadbike and used it for about 450 miles over the winter. The longest single ride I've gone on over that time has been 55 miles.





For detailed information about the manufacturer, please see my original review. But to briefly recap, Selle AnAtomica is an American producer of leather saddles,known for their classic look, their "anatomic" cut-outs, their "watershed" (waterproof) leather, and the generous adjustable range of their rails. The saddles are available in a number of colours and there are separate models for heavier and lighter riders. There is also a non-cutout version available, though the cutout is said to be a crucial feature - allowing the two sides of the saddle to move independently, relieving pressure on soft tissue.





All of these features have remained the same in the newer Selle AnAtomica models, and visually they look identical to the older ones. But there are two key differences. First, the rails are now made of cromoly steel (I take it they were made of hi-ten previously), which makes the saddles lighter. Second, the standard Titanico model is now made of the heavier duty leather that was previously used on the Clydesdale model. This was no doubt in response to complaints of the saddles sagging prematurely.



The previous SAsaddle I owned did sag over the first 200 miles, but after we tightened the tension it did not seem to be sagging again - or possibly it was, but very slowly. The newer version has shown very little, if any, sagging in the 450 miles I've ridden on it so far and has not required tension adjustment.






In my review of the older model, I described the Selle Anatomica saddle as being the most comfortable saddle I've ridden, except when it wasn't. Most of the time the slotted design worked really well, with a wonderful hammocking effect. But once in a while, seemingly spontaneously, one of the sides of the cutout slot would decide to pinch my crotch and that did not feel good at all. The SA representative thought that the stiffer leather of the new model would resolve the issue, but the same thing happened this time around. Just as with the previous saddle, there was no break-in period and it felt perfect from the start, and I mean purrrrfect - no pressure on the sitbones, no pain, just pure comfort... until suddenly, in the midst of a 40 mile ride, the right side of the slot began to dig into my female tidbits in a most unwelcome manner. I'd try to adjust my position on the saddle this way and that, but to no avail. It would pinch pretty badly, until, just as suddenly as it started, the pinching would stop and the saddle would feel perfect again. To be fair, this has happened less frequently with the new saddle than with the older model, but it still happened.




I think Selle AnAtomica is onto something with their unique design, because I cannot stress how comfortable the saddles are when the mysterious slot-pinch is not happening. The waterproof feature is also quite handy - especially for someone like me who always forgets or loses saddle covers. All of that is very cool, and I am glad that they appear to have resolved the sagging issue with the new models. Maybe the slot cutout can be optimised or customised somehow, I don't know. As it stands, I cannot trust the saddle on super-long rides in case the cut-out starts pinching again. But it is also the only saddle I can trust to be comfortable out of the box, with no break-in period. Whether the version without the cut-out resolves the pinching problem without detracting from the saddle's overallcomfort would require further experimentation.