Spring

Last week I went to Rattlesnake Lake and there was 2 or 3 inches of snow in places.  Today it was 70 degrees, climate change is so wacky.  It just goes to show, that you shouldn't worry too much, something better is probably is going to come.  Tonight pictures taken seven days apart.  First Rattlesnake Lake last Saturday and second Fall Center this afternoon.

Albert Marquardt

At the Fort Lawton military cemetery there is a lonely grave next to an old shack, it reads Albert Marquardt, Captain, German POW, Oct 1, 1945.  Who was Albert Marquardt?  Well for starters he was a senior private, 1st class, not a Captain more on that later.  Albert was the father of two from Klein Stittkeim, a small hamlet of 92 inhabits in East Prussia.  He was captured in March of 1945 by the American forces near Kaiserlautern.  He was then sent to the states and eventually to Fort Lawton.  It was there in late September Albert drank cocktails of orange juice and wood alcohol, a long with several other POWs.  Albert feel ill, but didn't stop drinking the cocktails and after having two more on October 1st he succumbed and died.  There is much speculation to whether it was lack of education or a death wish to led to Albert's death.
Regardless Albert was accorded a full military funeral and committed to the ground on October 8, 1945.  For some 30 years Albert's grave read, Albert Marquardt German October 1, 1945.  How and when Albert's grave was upgraded to the current grave is unknown, nor is it known who promoted Albert to a Captain.

Birth of the Universe

On this day in 1890, the town of Fremont got it's very own post office.  Fremont would later be swallowed up by Seattle and even later would have its soul swallowed up by housing booms, gentrification and Norm Rice.

The Start Of Something New

I will begin a new chapter in the morning, I am starting a new job.  I am a bit scared, I have never really interviewed for and have gotten a real job.  The other jobs I have had, never started as something significant or important.  So tonight, I will sleep uneasy.  I am excited though I will miss the old office.

Quick Panic!

Well, I am sure there are two types of people ready to do that, considering the Cyprus' financial bailout plan and well the next failure of your elected officials in Washington to actually do anything about the debt or the budget.  What two types are ready to panic?  There are the ultra right wing types that have enough arms and MREs for a small army and of course the tea party.  Not to agree with the far right folks, especially since I am an optimist and believe the elected ones will figure it out, but considering the negligible rates on saving accounts, maybe it is better to put your money under your mattress. 

More Fire

Here at America's Finest Blog we love fire in old western towns.  Call me crazy but, there is something assuming about these events.  Mostly because they are almost always a result of dry conditions, open flames, poor city planning and wind.  Ephrata is no different, on this date in 1910 the town burned.  The fire started in the Club Cafe and quickly destroyed the whole downtown, added by the wind and lack of firefighting equipment and personal.  Firefighter from Quincy and Wilson Creek had to come to the rescue.  In the end it took 300 people to save the town of 325 or so residents.  Happy times returned quickly to the burned out town, as locals remembered that there was a large amount of whisky stored in cellar of the burned out saloon. 
Please note, The Chinese American Restaurant has no significance to the story other than this is the best picture I have of Ephrata.

Johnny Appleseed

Today is Johnny Appleseed day, a day to celebrate a tin hat wearing, barefoot hobo.  A day that in our state is largely overlooked.  Why is it overlooked?  Probably because that free roamer, Johnny Appleseed made it no further west than Illinois. 
I must confess that until my kid was born, I hadn't really thought too much about Johnny Appleseed since I was five or six years old.  I do remember being taught about him in school, I getting this vision in my head that he traveled the whole country planting apples.  That vision is mostly true, by eighteenth century standards, the country didn't extend much further west than Illinois. 
Johnny so loved for a few reasons, he seems as if he was a real nice guy for starters, second for a period in the Midwest it was required to plant an orchard to uphold the right to a land claim, so Johnny Appleseed orchards made for prime real estate.  Third, apples from seeds are not good for eating.  Why would that make Johnny so loved?  Sour apples from Johnny's trees are perfect for making hard cider and apple jack.  That is something that I don't remember being taught in grade school.

365

365 days ago, I returned to work from a wonderful vacation to the Grand Canyon, Sedona and Spring Training, only to be told that I was losing my job.  What a year it has been, I some of the work and I miss some of the people, I must admit, but I didn't really ever miss getting up and going to work.  I didn't miss traffic, or conference calls or committee meetings, I've really enjoyed being free.  I also was lucky enough to have my wife along for the ride, oh and one of the nicest summers on record also helped.  Tonight some of the old timers from the VzW years.

D.C.Co

D.C.Co are on the bricks that made Seattle, or at least post fire Seattle.  D.C.Co, stand for Denny Clay Company, that operated out of the town of Taylor, in the Cascade foothills.  Denny Clay Company existed in that name from 1892 through 1910.  Taylor grew with the company, it was located 3.5 miles east of present day Hobert and lasted until 1947, when the city of Seattle, purchased the town, and removed the structures.  Taylor had operated for years within the boundaries of the Cedar River watershed.  Being in the watershed did not stop Taylor from flourishing, in the twenties several hundred people lived and worked in Taylor, at either the coal or clay mines or in factory.  At Taylor they made fire brick, sewer pipes, fire proofing materials and roofing among other things.  The goods were shipped down to Renton on the Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad and then to Seattle to help build the city.  So if you ever see a brick with D.C.Co you know it came from Taylor, Washington.  Tonight's photos are of a Denny Clay Company paving stone, in Discovery Park and of the townsite, the road in the picture was once a rail line between two of the main building of the factory.

Guglielmo Olivotto's Grave

This is Guglielmo Olivotto's grave, it can be found in the back corner of the Fort Lawton Military cemetery.  Who was Guglielmo Olivotto?  He was an Italian POW being held at Fort Lawton in August of 1944, when he met an unfortunate end.  Guglielmo was the only casualty of a riot that broke out on the night of August 14, 1944.  It is unclear whether Guglielmo committed suicide or was hung by an angry mod of mostly African American soldiers.  What is known is 43 soldiers faced court marshal, all of them African Americans.  In the end 28 were convicted of rioting and two were convicted of the manslaughter or Guglielmo.  The sad story is told in the book On American Soil, a good read.

A Couple Thoughts

The Harlem Shake is taking over the universe with nearly everyone on earth up loading a video to YouTube.  Which is great and utterly unoriginal.  It probably only irritates people like me, so I have learned or I am trying to learn to deal with it.  It reminds me of a day back in the summer of 1996 when I sat listening to the Mariners play the Yankees on KXLE.  The M's were in New York, I believe that Dan Wilson our beloved catcher hit a ball into the upper deck in left field in that game, anyway listening to this game gave me one of those moments in life that just don't ever repeat.  I got to listen to Dave Niehaus give the play by play description to 50,000 Yankee fans doing the Macarena.  The Macarena was the Harlem Shake of 1996, every political and sporting event (save the Republican Convention), and not mention most rodeos, state fairs and church picnics, featured the Macarena.  It to was neither original or amusing to people like me.
Tonight a picture in Ellensburg, circa 1996, myself and my dog.