2015 Montana North American Fall Rally, Last Day Already?

Copyright 2015, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Wait all year with anticipation.  And, then, it is over in a short week.  Happens every year and every year, we have the same issues.  Too long a wait and too short of a time to spend with friends, laughing, crying, hugging and telling stories and lies.

Man and I and friends Terrie and Ron Ames have been to every fall rally here in Elkhart County, Indiana.

And, here is the photographic proof.

We miss those that no longer attend, having moved on to other brands of RVs, live too far, have developed health issues and in a few cases have passed to the Campground in the Sky.

Tomorrow Man and I roll back to the stick built.  Another rally enjoyed and hopefully another winter away to plan and prepare for.

Rally on - - - 

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There's Gonna Be a Rally

Copyright 2015, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

It's that time of the year again.  MOC North American Fall Rally, Goshen, Indiana.

This is our 12th annual rally and Man and I have been here every year.  That is quite amazing.

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What's with Orville and Critters?

Copyright 2015, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Last time we chatted, Orville was hanging around with a possum. Today, he seems to "bee" involved with insects. (Yes, indeedy, that was a horrible play on words by Moi.  Sorry.)

Due to copyright worries, I have had to rework the article, and I suspect I am still pushing the limits of fair use. The original can be found in the Kansas City Star, Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri, published on October 18, 1940:  Blue print is from the news article.  Black would be my comments or text that is paraphrased.

"BEE IS A PUZZLING FURY

EXPERTS TESTIFY AS TO INSECT'S HABITS

Defense Witnesses  in $7,500 Suit Assert That a Sting Is Painful, but That's About All.

Can a man outrun a bee, how many bees in a hive, what is the life span of a bee, are bee stings ever fatal? - - these queries occupied a parade of present and former bee owners in a "quiz" session in circuit court today as defense attorneys advanced their proof in the $7,500 bee sting case.

Whether a bee will fly a block or a mile for food became a sharply contested issue in the case"

...

It seems the plaintiff in this case was suing because her sting injuries resulted in  a month's confinement in bed, for which she asked for $7,500 in fees for pain and suffering.  

The report in the paper had several conversations between witnesses and attorneys.  

The first defense witness, "said he has been a beekeeper twenty years.

"Ever been stung?" ... the... defense attorney, asked.

"You bet."

"Hurt much?"

"Not much."

"Did you ever know a person to be disabled for life from a bee sting?"

"No, there's usually a swelling that lasts a day or two."

Then, came some interesting testimony about the speed a bee can fly and more - - 

"How fast can a bee fly?"

"About thirty-five or forty miles an hour."

"Have you ever heard of a person dying from a bee sting?"

"No, but, I've read of it."

AND, now, our Orville, critter lover, appears as a witness:

"Orville Lashbrook,...,  a city detective, said he has seven bee hives.

"Well, can a man outrun a bee?" he was asked.

"Not if the bee's after him," was the reply."

It seems the day prior, one of the plaintiff's witnesses had testified that he had outrun a bee.

"Lashbrook said he had never heard of permanent disability resulting from a bee sting."

And, how many times can you be stung???  More drilling of the witnesses follows.  (Bees tend to "drill" me when they sting, I know, I know.  Keep reading, after you stop laughing.)

A "former bee fancier, said a bee "never bothered a person who didn't bother the bee."  Asked if he had ever been stung", this witness "replied "thousands of times," but always when he had stirred the bees for some reason.

"It never put me in bed, but, it hurt a little." he asserted."

And yet another witness, "who said he had been in the "bee business" thirty-two years, estimated he had been stung "about 30,000" times.

"Any bad effects from those things?"  asked... the  attorney for the plaintiff.

"No."

"You must be immune to bees?"

"I am."

Well, there you have it, testimony of a stinging kind.  (Yes, I said that too.)

As a side note:  I have to ask, was this last witness, in business for about 30 years really stung 1,000 times a year?? That's close to three times a day.  OWIEE. 

Now, if I don't get stung for copyright it will be a honey of a day.  (Yep, that too!)

* Police clip art from horton-szar.  Cartoon bee by openclipart.

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Bonneville Lock and Dam, Columbia River, Oregon :: THE Trip, THE Encore'

Copyright 2015, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

I'll bet you all thought I had abandoned the trip reports, eh??  I am now officially well over 2 years behind.  Well, life happens and now and then I try to do some more posts.  Today, we go back to June 28, 2013.  

The Bonneville Lock and Dam is a National Historical Landmark.  It is about 40 miles east of Portland Oregon. The dam lies on the Columbia River between Oregon and the state of Washington.  The dam and locks were built by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, construction began in 1933 and they were dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in September of 1937.  The Lock and Dam was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in June of 1986.

We visited the Bradford Island visitor center and fish ladder.  First we drove over the "navigation lock" and then, past the first powerhouse.  As you can see you drive rather close to that first power hours.  It is just a weeeee bit narrow, and yes, a bit claustrophobic.  We were happy to have driven both directions (in and out) and not had to deal with too much oncoming traffic.

This appears to be something that will turn in the water.  The dudes will know what it is.  I just know it is HUGE!

Believe this is called a spillway.  It was stunning to look at.

We went into the Bradford Island Visitor Center building.  Down stairs they have glass walls to allow viewing of the fish ladder.  Now, I am not particularly interested in fish or fishing.  But, this was pretty cool, even for me. 

Not sure what kind of fish this is:

Now, I admit, I have a rather strange sense of what I find interesting at times.  I thought these were super interesting, somewhat gross looking, but, interesting.  I have discovered from some of the literature I still have (yes, two years later, I still have it, need it to write these posts, eh?)  These are lamprey.  They have 3 teeth. They are born in fresh water, grow up in salt water in the ocean and return to the fresh water to reproduce.  The female will lay between 34,000 and 106,000 eggs.  Now, that is some pregnancy, eh??  They swim with a snake-like motion and use those mouths to latch on to rocks so they can rest a spell. Still, they are a bit, ewwww, to look at from this advantage point.

Here are the fish ladders from outside:

And, finally a pretty flower, which after those lampreys, I needed.  This is Aaronsbeard St. Johnswort.  So pretty.

Before the day is over, we will drive over the the state of Washington.  There is an interpretive center over there that was so worth the visit.

Sometime, I'll bring you that.  In the meantime, I now return you to your busy lives.  

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Weekend Humble Pie, Sour, But Sweet

Copyright 2015, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

I am not sure if I should be relieved, embarrassed or just laugh at me.

Last week I took my computer with me to son # 1's house.  I accessed his wifi, etc.

And, then, something weird happened.  My LastPass went a little ballastic and froze up.  Then, some passwords froze up.  Ya, stuff I sorta access a lot.  I tried not to panic, but, I was stressed.  Guilty as charged.

Back at home, I hooked everything back up to the home system, including my nice big monitor and, well, I have issues.

Still trying not to panic, I continue taking care of issues.  The password I think I used for LastPass, well, FAILED.

I froze up the system, they blocked me for 20 minutes, then, for mega hours.

Still trying not to panic, I keep on keeping on.

I start shuffling papers.  I remember a specific note pad had notes on it about LastPass.  I cannot find that stinking little note pad.

Cannot panic, but, my stress level is still increasing.

This has been going on for close to a week.  I still cannot find that note pad/sticky note.  I have been asking LastPass for one time hints, one time buried passwords, and was VERY close to just flinging my arms up and surrendering, aka, kill the account and start all over.  UGH

This morning, I did try again.  Just bizarre stuff, anyway, I abandoned the attempts again, and decided to scan something so I can transcribe it.

And, I bring up the scanner and in there is a image of the last thing I scanned.

I cannot believe it, but there is that stinking MIA note pad!  

Dang.

In almost a state of shock, I go to LastPass and type in the password, and discover that I should not be using the "enter" or "return" key on the keyboard, but, use their "submit" button.

I'M IN!  

I may start breathing by the end of the day.

I cannot make this stuff up.  Life in the first world issues of computers and passwords.

No, I will not admit to being organized.  Cause when I think I may have a handle on it, I do something silly and prove to myself that humble pie tastes mighty sour.

However, victory over old age and computer techy stuff can be pretty sweet.

Laugh with me.  And, thank you.

*  Graphic with computer from clipartheaven.  Graphic of me in my purple dress (SNORT) from Hasslefreeclipart.

**  Post Script:  As life would have it, I found the note pad, stuck to the inside of the lid of the scanner.  Really.  I did.  That post it note sticky was just sticky enough.  Shaking my head, stifling snickers.

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Drilling Down to Uz

Copyright 2015, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

I have not always been a supporter of the way Ancestry.com does things.  I have complained, whined and even blogged about them now and then.  I finally gave up complaining, used the service the best I could, and used other genie web sites as much as I could so as to try and control my blood from boiling.

Recently they added some Virginia vital records data bases and I have been back playing and grabbing information as many hours a week as I can manage.

And, recently, they brought forward a new search, a site overhaul, as it may be.

And, recently, as in this weekend, they also brought out a nice huge pile of Wills and probate stuff.

And, recently, I found myself actually liking some of the changes they made to the site.  Not necessarily the search, but, the "drill down" capabilities now found on the left side of the page, after you do a primary search.  I am sure that is not what they have named all this, it's what I call it.

I have my own method to researching at Ancestry.  I search of the minimums.  I put in as few "qualifiers" as I can.

And, this weekend doing just that, minimal searching in the new Wills and Probates data bases, I found Uz.  Yes, really Uz.

He is a Jaquis clan member from the early to mid 1800's.  My interest in the Jaquis  clan is involved with the Lashbrook clan, of course.  Uz is a brother of Benjamin H. who married Fannie Lashbrook.

I had Uz in some census enumerations, and one Civil War hint, as follows:

Uz Jaquis is found enumerated on the 1860 U.S. Census of Parishville, St. Lawrence County, New York:  Uz Jaquish, age 34, farmer, born New York.  In the same household are:  Lucy Jaquish, age 51, born Maine and Lucy Jaquish, age 73, born Connecticut.  Just a few lines up the page we find the following family:  James Jaquish, age 51, blacksmith, value of real estate $1000, value of personal property is $200., born Maine; Ann C., age 54, birth place cannot read; Cynthia, age 18, born New York; James M., age 7.  Further research may tell us who all these Jaquis ancestors are. 

Uz Jaquis, indexed Uz Jacqins at Ancestry.com, appears on the 1870 U.S. Census of Parishville, St. Lawrence County, New York:  Uz Jaquis, age 46, constable,value of real estate $2000., value of personal property $1100., born New York; Lucy, age 54, keeps house, born Maine.  Further research is required. 

U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865 about Uy Jaquis

Name: Uy Jaquis

[Uz Jaquis]

Residence: New York

Class: 2

Congressional District: 17th

Age on 1 July 1863: 42

Race: White

Place of Birth: New York

I had never found anything about Uz's demise or final resting place.  Till the other evening.  Then, I found something.  I downloaded 9 "files".  Many of those are cover sheets and the like, but, I grabbed everything I could find.  One of my 9 downloads is his Last Will.  Guess that means I now have information on his demise, eh??  Ya!

I need to transcribe several of the documents to get a full understanding, because frankly, the handwriting is giving me a headache.

In the meantime, I thought I would show you a few screen shots on how I managed to find Uz.

NOTE:  All screen shots from Ancestry.com.  See my disclaimer page here on Reflections.  Nope, they don't ask for reviews and I surely pay my subscription fees every year.

Also note, this is not necessarily the most direct or most efficient method to search.  As with most things computer and internet, there are several ways to get to the end result.  This method could be considered a bit of a fishing expedition.

First thing you will see on the Ancestry home page right now, is this list of New records.  Of course, as they add new records you will see new data sets listed.  Right now, there are 3 at the top, and then, a lot of Wills and Probate record sets listed, Tennessee, Hawaii, Idaho, etc.  This screen shot is only part of the page, as are most of the others that follow.

Click See All New Records.  You will be taken to this screen/page:

Click on one of the new Wills and Probate Records, say, ohhhh, Iowa, the next screen will appear like this. While here I  clicked on the blue colored words at the very top: Search > Wills, Probates, Land, Tax & Criminal, it is a live link.  It is a bit difficult to see in my screen shot, it was blue when I was at Ancestry working. 

When the next screen came up, I typed the surname, Jaquis:

This search took me here.  You will note I have the search going for "Exact" matches.  With this surname at some point I will need to redo and use a less restrictive spelling choice, who knows what that will turn up.

From the left column I next clicked on the link, Wills & Probates, Estates & Guardian Records, 100 records available. That link further boiled/drilled down my choices, and this is what I found:

I chose New York, where there are 34 sets of records.  I knew there were Jaquis clan members living there, I wanted to see what this data set offered.  Scrolling down the names I find Wz, Lucy and Uz Jaquis.  

The beauty of this search of clicking to drill down to the data base I am interested in is that I find Wz and Uz. First I had no idea there was a probate file.  Second, who would search for Wz??  Not I.  Now I might after seeing the odd indexing, but, I would not have thought of THAT spelling before.

I use this drill down method at FamilySearch as well.  It serves me well.  No, I don't find everything with this drill down process, but, what I do find is frequently a nice surprise.  I love surprises.  If, I find the drill down method gives me 2500 hits, of course, I must add more "qualifiers" and re-do the search.  But, the New York Wills and Probates of Jaquis gave me only 34 hits.  Easy peasy to review 34.  

Start with less, add more if you must.  Drill down.

Good luck!  Go forth and find your "Uz".

* Remember, check out my disclaimer page.

** Yes, there are other methods to get to the New York Wills and Probates data set that probably are faster and much more efficient.  Personally I find it laborious searching through Ancestry's list of data sets, aka the card catalog.  I'll frequently take a back door approach first.  And, I wanted to show you this method.  You could just as easily type in "Jaquis" in the search engine and deal with drilling down from there.  Always more than one way to skin a cat, err, find your man, or woman, err, ancestor.

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The Headstone, A Photo At Last

Copyright 2015, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Man and I have been waiting most of the summer to visit the cemetery where his grandparents are buried to see and photo the brand spanking new headstone we ordered and had placed there last year.  The cemetery is in a rather inconvenient place, not in our normal travel areas.  In other words, we have to go out of our way to visit.

We had to have the oil changed on Zoom Zoom the car, and had agreed that on the way back from that (in northern Ohio) we would "swing" by the cemetery.  The weather forecast was 50% chance of rain and maybe severe storms. Figures, the day we will drive 200 miles or more and way out of our way, the forecast was icky.

So, we head out, we stop and have a nice lunch, we drive to the dealer.  They do the oil, also rotate the tires and tighten a lead on the battery that Man was reluctant to tighten too much.  Warranty can handle, eh??

So we know we are fighting Mother Nature. We leave dealer. Make stop at the local Costco which is laid out different than ours.

As we leave there Man is pushing a bit, he is in a hurry due to concerns over weather. We head north on the expressway, lots of construction, and then, it starts raining.  It rains a bit. On. Off. On. Off. OOOOOPS:  The wipers are not working right per man. Sigh.

We are running into the rain which is light, then deluge, then, it starts to slack off. We have hopes by studying the weather on MyRadar app that we might make it to the cemetery before the rain really hits that area.  Man is not happy because of wipers, which he claims are not functioning correctly.  Frankly, I have never figured out those wipers so, I figure they are just on the wrong "setting".  He is convinced the malfunctioning is due to the issue of the battery lead fix. 

The rain slows. We are almost there. It almost stopped raining.  We pulled in. Rain has all but stopped. Get to the back of the cemetery.  Jump out of Zoom Zoom. We take off almost at a run to locate this headstone before the rain starts back up. Get about 4 rows into the search.  4 rows in and it starts pouring.

Back to Zoom Zoom. Man is still screaming about wipers. I am swearing up a storm, err, am very upset, because he wants to leave. After waiting all summer, we are 30 seconds too late??  We stay, even tho he was not thrilled. It stopped raining in about 5 minutes.

While we sat there I looked around and decided I needed to look about 50 yards down further. That little tree, looks familiar, don't you know.  I don't think Man stopped in the correct spot in the cemetery, I seem to remember that little tree being nearby the burial spot.

So I got out leaving Man there to fuss with the wipers. I found the stone. It is covered with wet grass clippings and I did not have my soft cleaning brush. Sigh. I cleaned with my hands best I could and took a number of photos. At least there is no freaking glare from the sun.

Geessh!!!

Wait all summer for this opportunity and the rain hits just as I step out of the car.  Figures eh?

Of course, it is still spitting rain, and you did not hear it here, but, yes, I was out there and there was some thunder, which means, there was lightening near by. I know, don't lecture me. SIGHHHH.

I am reminded tonight as I processed the photos that those double stones are hard to get a good photo of. Or, in other words, I am just too short and have a hard time getting a photo. 

A little grass shows and I note, with a grimace and some of my dark humor, that the edges of this photo have a little bend in them because I am fighting shortness of stature, mine! Looks like a photo done with panoramic settings. OK, I'm giggling, because, I must.

No, I cannot make this stuff up.  OHHHH, and the wipers, they were fine, worked just like they should all the way home, when I drove through sprinkles and hard rains.  Figures.  Really, you just MUST laugh.

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