Saturday, March 10, 2018
"Spring Forward"
Tonight, once it is dark, I will set my wall clocks and alarm clock forward by one hour. I won't really miss any sleep, because I don't have a set bed-time or rising time. (Of course, the cats do, occasionally, insist I get up when they do.) Daylight Saving Time makes me crazy - not as much as it did when I worked night-shift in the hospital - but it's still a stupid idea.
Originally, it was introduced as a possibility in England, before World War I; Parliament said "No." Then the Germans began to use it at the onset of the First War; the British followed suit. America also got into the act in 1918 - 100 years ago. The original, and still used arguments for Daylight Savings Time, were that there would be "vast energy savings, crisper farm products harvested before the morning dew dried, and it would lessen eye strain for industrial workers."
None of this has happened. The only group to get anything from Daylight Saving Time is the retail industry - with it staying lighter later, people tend to stop and shop, or eat, on the way home from work. In the first few years of DST, the golf industry made a whopping $400 million from fees and sales of golf balls, tees, and clubs. Retailers always have better revenue in the evening once the clocks are set back.
But energy savings? True, a lot of folks don't stay at home, watching television or using their lights for reading. However, these days, there are all sorts of evening activities, which people drive their vehicles to (rather than walk), which has increased the use of gasoline and diesel fuels. Saving energy? I think not.
Getting crisper vegetables at the market, since they are harvested before the dew can dry on them? Hah! We do have a "Farmer's Market" on Saturday mornings in downtown Boulder, and there are still the occasional road-side stands, but one must drive many miles to access them. Most of today's produce is sold in supermarkets, where it is rarely "fresh," and is usually wrapped in plastic. Saving energy? I think not.
Hmmmm... "Lessen eye strain for industrial workers".... Since most industrial workers are sequestered inside, using high-tech equipment, and wearing goggles or face shields to protect their eyes and faces... No. I can't say that Daylight Saving Time makes for less eye strain on the job.
So - the main reasons that were, and are, given as the best reasons for the use of DST are all nonsense. Retail industries are the only "winners" and, therefore, are very much approving of the use of DST. - But I still feel, quite strongly, that we should have only a single clock setting for the entire year.
How do you feel?
Originally, it was introduced as a possibility in England, before World War I; Parliament said "No." Then the Germans began to use it at the onset of the First War; the British followed suit. America also got into the act in 1918 - 100 years ago. The original, and still used arguments for Daylight Savings Time, were that there would be "vast energy savings, crisper farm products harvested before the morning dew dried, and it would lessen eye strain for industrial workers."
None of this has happened. The only group to get anything from Daylight Saving Time is the retail industry - with it staying lighter later, people tend to stop and shop, or eat, on the way home from work. In the first few years of DST, the golf industry made a whopping $400 million from fees and sales of golf balls, tees, and clubs. Retailers always have better revenue in the evening once the clocks are set back.
But energy savings? True, a lot of folks don't stay at home, watching television or using their lights for reading. However, these days, there are all sorts of evening activities, which people drive their vehicles to (rather than walk), which has increased the use of gasoline and diesel fuels. Saving energy? I think not.
Getting crisper vegetables at the market, since they are harvested before the dew can dry on them? Hah! We do have a "Farmer's Market" on Saturday mornings in downtown Boulder, and there are still the occasional road-side stands, but one must drive many miles to access them. Most of today's produce is sold in supermarkets, where it is rarely "fresh," and is usually wrapped in plastic. Saving energy? I think not.
Hmmmm... "Lessen eye strain for industrial workers".... Since most industrial workers are sequestered inside, using high-tech equipment, and wearing goggles or face shields to protect their eyes and faces... No. I can't say that Daylight Saving Time makes for less eye strain on the job.
So - the main reasons that were, and are, given as the best reasons for the use of DST are all nonsense. Retail industries are the only "winners" and, therefore, are very much approving of the use of DST. - But I still feel, quite strongly, that we should have only a single clock setting for the entire year.
How do you feel?
Thursday, March 8, 2018
International Women's Day
Started by the Suffragettes in the early 1900's, the first International Women's Day was celebrated in 1911. International Women's Day belongs to all communities everywhere - governments, companies, charities, educational institutions, networks, associations, the media and more. Everyone can play a successful part in pressing for gender parity. Collective action and shared responsibility for driving is what makes International Women's Day successful. Gloria Steinem, journalist, activist, and world-renowned feminist, once explained, "The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist, nor to any one organization, but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights."
The following women, in no particular order, are women that I admire greatly:
the seven daughters of Eve: Ursula, Xenia, Helena, Velda, Tara, Katrine, and Jasmine (without them, we would not be here...)
Cleopatra
Eleanor of Acquitaine
Joan of Arc
Catherine de Medici
Elizabeth I Tudor
Pocahantas - Rebecca Rolfe
the Bronte sisters
Coretta Scott King
Sacajawea Charbonneau
Rosa Parks
Marie Curie
Sojourner Truth
Harriet Tubman
Anne Frank
Maya Angelou
Eleanor Roosevelt
Marjorie Joyner
Clara Barton
Josephine Baker
Jane Austen
Mary McLeod Bethune
Emily Dickinson
Mary Kenner
Maria Tallchief
Florence Nightingale
Shirley Chisolm
Hattie McDaniel
Alice Parker
Ida B. Wells
The following women, in no particular order, are women that I admire greatly:
the seven daughters of Eve: Ursula, Xenia, Helena, Velda, Tara, Katrine, and Jasmine (without them, we would not be here...)
Cleopatra
Eleanor of Acquitaine
Joan of Arc
Catherine de Medici
Elizabeth I Tudor
Pocahantas - Rebecca Rolfe
the Bronte sisters
Coretta Scott King
Sacajawea Charbonneau
Rosa Parks
Marie Curie
Sojourner Truth
Harriet Tubman
Anne Frank
Maya Angelou
Eleanor Roosevelt
Marjorie Joyner
Clara Barton
Josephine Baker
Jane Austen
Mary McLeod Bethune
Emily Dickinson
Mary Kenner
Maria Tallchief
Florence Nightingale
Shirley Chisolm
Hattie McDaniel
Alice Parker
Ida B. Wells
Push For Parity!!
Monday, March 5, 2018
This and That Photos
Highs winds in Colorado
Boulder's Flatirons
Belle Starr
Ed Watson's grave stone
Four generations - Great-grandma Julia Sophia Mobley Lancaster, her
grand daughter, Helen C Lancaster Barnett, son Charles A. Lancaster,
and great-grand daughter Hellen A. Barnett
The old Lancaster family barn, built before 1830, in Brush Creek,
Smith County, Tennessee
The Smith family - (back row, l to r) Harry, Morton and Sylvia Smith;
(seated) father Robert Slater Smith, Lizzie Louise, and mother
Mary Elizabeth Nocks Smith
This and That
The wind began to blow yesterday afternoon around 2 o'clock, and it's still blowing. The National Weather Service station here says we'll have sustained winds of 25 to 40 mph all day, with gusts of 45 to 75 mph. We still have snow and ice from the two snowfalls (more than 10 days ago) in our parking lot, and snow is clearly visible on the Flatirons and Front Range. And in the last few days, the high temperatures have been in the 50s and 60s. So it seems incredible to also read that we are under a Red Flag warning for extremely high danger of fire... Current temperature says 34 degrees, humidity is 23%, and the wind is blowing at 25 mph. It's a day that weather means I'll stay inside....
Almost finished with Shadow Country by Peter Matthiessen. I had to look up the story about Ed Watson and Belle Starr to see what was "really" what. Ed was a sharecropper on Indian lands he leased from Belle Starr. At a dance, she refused to take the floor with Ed. He had been drinking and was angered by her refusal, according to witnesses. She was found dead the next day. Ed Watson was arrested, but, as there was only circumstantial evidence against him he was tried and acquitted. He left, returning to Florida soon after his acquittal.
I think that the 45th President is not sleeping well... It seems that Special Investigator Robert Mueller's team is getting closer to naming him as a defendant each day...
Had my taxes done by AARP-IRS volunteers at the Boulder Senior Center on Thursday. I don't owe anything to either the federal or state government, but I'm not getting back either. Since my birthday is in June, I'll have to wait for another 2 years before I can apply to the City and County, and get my food tax refund. Last year they paid back $62; this year it's $83... Since I need a crown for a dead tooth, and it's going to cost $700, it would've been nice to get a little bit of cash back!
Still working away on my family tree, and my room-mate, Beatrice's. I'm lucky that there are so many church and tax records for most of my family. I have to admit that I've divided my family tree into three parts, not four. That's due to the scarcity of Swedish records for my mother's paternal side. I have over 4,000 entries for my father's paternal Nocks family; and I have over 2,000 for his maternal Lancaster/Mobley/Washburn side. I have about 1,500 for my mother's family, in entirety...
For Beatrice, I started with her parents names, her maternal grandmother, and her paternal grandfather's names. As they are African American, and the families were slaves on plantations in Louisiana, I am very happy to have found more than 1,100 hundred relatives so far. Her second-great-grandfather was the son of the plantation owner, and I have been able to trace the owner's family back to the late 1500s in Europe. But we're still stuck at her grandfather Bell - we don't know his parents' names, and I've found 12 different Henry Bells that were born around the same time and near the right place.... I'll continue to look, and hope to have a break-through.
Almost finished with Shadow Country by Peter Matthiessen. I had to look up the story about Ed Watson and Belle Starr to see what was "really" what. Ed was a sharecropper on Indian lands he leased from Belle Starr. At a dance, she refused to take the floor with Ed. He had been drinking and was angered by her refusal, according to witnesses. She was found dead the next day. Ed Watson was arrested, but, as there was only circumstantial evidence against him he was tried and acquitted. He left, returning to Florida soon after his acquittal.
I think that the 45th President is not sleeping well... It seems that Special Investigator Robert Mueller's team is getting closer to naming him as a defendant each day...
Had my taxes done by AARP-IRS volunteers at the Boulder Senior Center on Thursday. I don't owe anything to either the federal or state government, but I'm not getting back either. Since my birthday is in June, I'll have to wait for another 2 years before I can apply to the City and County, and get my food tax refund. Last year they paid back $62; this year it's $83... Since I need a crown for a dead tooth, and it's going to cost $700, it would've been nice to get a little bit of cash back!
Still working away on my family tree, and my room-mate, Beatrice's. I'm lucky that there are so many church and tax records for most of my family. I have to admit that I've divided my family tree into three parts, not four. That's due to the scarcity of Swedish records for my mother's paternal side. I have over 4,000 entries for my father's paternal Nocks family; and I have over 2,000 for his maternal Lancaster/Mobley/Washburn side. I have about 1,500 for my mother's family, in entirety...
For Beatrice, I started with her parents names, her maternal grandmother, and her paternal grandfather's names. As they are African American, and the families were slaves on plantations in Louisiana, I am very happy to have found more than 1,100 hundred relatives so far. Her second-great-grandfather was the son of the plantation owner, and I have been able to trace the owner's family back to the late 1500s in Europe. But we're still stuck at her grandfather Bell - we don't know his parents' names, and I've found 12 different Henry Bells that were born around the same time and near the right place.... I'll continue to look, and hope to have a break-through.
Saturday, March 3, 2018
Chatham Bend and Watson Photos
Edgar Anselm Watson
(He was known for having "crazy Watson eyes," which
showed the sclera under the iris.)
His house at Chatham Bend was the only place in Ten Thousand Islands that
had a coat of paint on it. (It burned down in the 1940s)
Alligators were well-known visitors to the area
Later photo of Edgar J. Watson
The shore at the Smallwood Store on Chokoloskee -
where Watson died in a hail of bullets
The endangered Florida panther is still found in the area
Ted Smallwood at this Smallwood Store door on Chokoloskee
Edgar Watson (1855 - 1910)
It's amazing how much, and how little, is known of the life and death of Edgar Artemas Watson. His father was Elijah Daniel ("Ring-Eye Lige") Watson, and his mother was Ellen Catherine Addison. He was born on 4 November, 1855 at Clouds Creek, Edgefield, South Carolina. He was killed on Monday, 24 October 1910 at the water's edge of Chokoloskee, Collier, Florida. Thirty-three bullets were removed from his body, but about 15 loads of buckshot were not. He was known as Edgar A. Watson until his return from the West, when he changed his middle initial to J; one of his common-law wives called him Jack. He was married three times, had two common-law wives, and was the father of ten acknowledged children.
Here are two short renditions of his story; the first is from Wikipedia under the topic of Chokoloskee, Florida; the second is from Ed's "Findagrave" spot.
"Edgar Watson - The Ten Thousand Islands Country, including Chokoloskee, had a reputation as being a refuge for outlaws. The Ed Watson story, as related by Ted Smallwood, is the best known example of that. Edgar Watson, a native of Ridge Springs, in the Saluda Division of Edgefield District, South Carolina, showed up in the Chokoloskee Bay country in the early 1880s. He had supposedly gotten into trouble in Columbia county, in northern Florida, to which his parents had migrated sometime after 1870, and had then gone out to the Indian Territory (later known as the Oklahoma Territory) where he allegedly killed Belle Starr,herself allegedly an outlaw. He then returned to Florida and killed a man in Arcadia, apparently in self-defense. After that Ed Watson moved to the Ten Thousand Islands area, then a part of Monroe County, where he bought a claim on the Chatham Bend River and began raising vegetables.
On a trip to Key West, Watson got into an argument with Adolphus Santini and tried to cut his throat. Santini survived, but the incident cost Watson $900. After that, Watson bought a claim on Lost Man's River, also in Monroe County. A man named Tucker squatted on the claim and would not leave. Eventually Tucker and his nephew were found murdered, and suspicion fell on Watson. After that Watson went back to Fort White in Columbia County. While there he again became involved with bad company and came under suspicion in the deaths of two men.
Watson returned to the Chatham Bend area and began making syrup from sugar cane. Soon Watson had several people living at his place, including a man named Dutchy Melvin, who is said to have "killed a policeman and burned a factory or two." While Watson and Melvin were in Chokoloskee, a man named Cox and someone identified only as "the Nigger" alledgedly killed an old woman named Hannah Smith and a man named Walker at the Watson place. When Watson and Melvin returned, Cox and the other man allegedly killed Melvin as well. Hannah Smith's body was later found in the Chatham Bend River by some settlers and given a burial.
About this time, on October 17, 1910, a major hurricane struck the area. Ed Watson went to Fort Myers during the hurricane and tried to bring the sheriff back afterwards to arrest Cox, but the Lee County sheriff would not go out of his jurisdiction past Marco. Watson then bought some shells at Ted Smallwood's store and said he was going back to his place to kill Cox. When Watson returned to Chokoloskee a few days later a crowd met him at the landing and, after a brief standoff, killed him. The sheriff did come down to Chokoloskee after that, and took a number of Chokoloskee residents back to Fort Myers for a court session, but nothing came of it." - Wikipedia
On the FindAGrave website (www.findagrave.com): "Western Outlaw. Born in South Carolina, he owned a sugar plantation in southwest Florida during the lawless years of the late 19th and early 20th century. In his youth he got into a knife fight, killed a man and fled to the Oklahoma territories, where he left a trail of murders. In 1889, he was suspected of killing the notorious female outlaw Belle Starr, was put on trial, but nothing came of it and he was acquitted. Returning to Florida 1891, he killed a man in Arcadia, over a land dispute allegedly in self-defense. In 1892, he bought a 40 acre parcel at Chatham Bend and became a successful sugar cane farmer. Noted for being ruthless to his help, he had several fugitives living on his property, which would keep order and strong arm other land owners into selling their parcels. He would hire workers for his plantation, then on payday, would gun down his entire crew and dump their bodies in the bay. After yeras of living in fear of Watson, the local residents of Chokoloskee gunned him down at the Smallwood Store. He was also the subject of writer Peter Matthiessen's books, "Lost Man's River" and "Killing Mister Watson." "
Peter Matthiessen actually ended up writing four books about Edgar Watson. The first was Killing Mister Watson; the second was Lost Man's River; the third was Bone by Bone; and the fourth was a compiled, edited edition of all three, titled Shadow Country. I am a little more than half-way through the 897 pages of small print in the last book. The first part is told through the eyes of twelve people who knew Edgar Watson; the second part is one of his son's search for the truth about his father and family; and the third part is the story of Edgar's life, told by himself. It begins, and ends with his death - going full circle. So far, it has been enthralling and amazing. However, if you don't like reading in the vernacular, or if you take offense at nasty and derogatory words that were in common use at that time and place, the books are not for you.
Having visited the Ten Thousand Islands area many times, and Fort White, Olustee, Lake City, and "the Alachua Plains" being near my old home, I can easily take myself back to those times.... It's a very good read!
Here are two short renditions of his story; the first is from Wikipedia under the topic of Chokoloskee, Florida; the second is from Ed's "Findagrave" spot.
"Edgar Watson - The Ten Thousand Islands Country, including Chokoloskee, had a reputation as being a refuge for outlaws. The Ed Watson story, as related by Ted Smallwood, is the best known example of that. Edgar Watson, a native of Ridge Springs, in the Saluda Division of Edgefield District, South Carolina, showed up in the Chokoloskee Bay country in the early 1880s. He had supposedly gotten into trouble in Columbia county, in northern Florida, to which his parents had migrated sometime after 1870, and had then gone out to the Indian Territory (later known as the Oklahoma Territory) where he allegedly killed Belle Starr,herself allegedly an outlaw. He then returned to Florida and killed a man in Arcadia, apparently in self-defense. After that Ed Watson moved to the Ten Thousand Islands area, then a part of Monroe County, where he bought a claim on the Chatham Bend River and began raising vegetables.
On a trip to Key West, Watson got into an argument with Adolphus Santini and tried to cut his throat. Santini survived, but the incident cost Watson $900. After that, Watson bought a claim on Lost Man's River, also in Monroe County. A man named Tucker squatted on the claim and would not leave. Eventually Tucker and his nephew were found murdered, and suspicion fell on Watson. After that Watson went back to Fort White in Columbia County. While there he again became involved with bad company and came under suspicion in the deaths of two men.
Watson returned to the Chatham Bend area and began making syrup from sugar cane. Soon Watson had several people living at his place, including a man named Dutchy Melvin, who is said to have "killed a policeman and burned a factory or two." While Watson and Melvin were in Chokoloskee, a man named Cox and someone identified only as "the Nigger" alledgedly killed an old woman named Hannah Smith and a man named Walker at the Watson place. When Watson and Melvin returned, Cox and the other man allegedly killed Melvin as well. Hannah Smith's body was later found in the Chatham Bend River by some settlers and given a burial.
About this time, on October 17, 1910, a major hurricane struck the area. Ed Watson went to Fort Myers during the hurricane and tried to bring the sheriff back afterwards to arrest Cox, but the Lee County sheriff would not go out of his jurisdiction past Marco. Watson then bought some shells at Ted Smallwood's store and said he was going back to his place to kill Cox. When Watson returned to Chokoloskee a few days later a crowd met him at the landing and, after a brief standoff, killed him. The sheriff did come down to Chokoloskee after that, and took a number of Chokoloskee residents back to Fort Myers for a court session, but nothing came of it." - Wikipedia
On the FindAGrave website (www.findagrave.com): "Western Outlaw. Born in South Carolina, he owned a sugar plantation in southwest Florida during the lawless years of the late 19th and early 20th century. In his youth he got into a knife fight, killed a man and fled to the Oklahoma territories, where he left a trail of murders. In 1889, he was suspected of killing the notorious female outlaw Belle Starr, was put on trial, but nothing came of it and he was acquitted. Returning to Florida 1891, he killed a man in Arcadia, over a land dispute allegedly in self-defense. In 1892, he bought a 40 acre parcel at Chatham Bend and became a successful sugar cane farmer. Noted for being ruthless to his help, he had several fugitives living on his property, which would keep order and strong arm other land owners into selling their parcels. He would hire workers for his plantation, then on payday, would gun down his entire crew and dump their bodies in the bay. After yeras of living in fear of Watson, the local residents of Chokoloskee gunned him down at the Smallwood Store. He was also the subject of writer Peter Matthiessen's books, "Lost Man's River" and "Killing Mister Watson." "
Peter Matthiessen actually ended up writing four books about Edgar Watson. The first was Killing Mister Watson; the second was Lost Man's River; the third was Bone by Bone; and the fourth was a compiled, edited edition of all three, titled Shadow Country. I am a little more than half-way through the 897 pages of small print in the last book. The first part is told through the eyes of twelve people who knew Edgar Watson; the second part is one of his son's search for the truth about his father and family; and the third part is the story of Edgar's life, told by himself. It begins, and ends with his death - going full circle. So far, it has been enthralling and amazing. However, if you don't like reading in the vernacular, or if you take offense at nasty and derogatory words that were in common use at that time and place, the books are not for you.
Having visited the Ten Thousand Islands area many times, and Fort White, Olustee, Lake City, and "the Alachua Plains" being near my old home, I can easily take myself back to those times.... It's a very good read!
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