Thanksgiving Blessings

 

From our house to your house,

we wish you a very

Happy Thanksgiving

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These postcards are from 1904 to 1914, but the sentiment remains the same over the last century:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

to you and yours.

 

 

And if you are travelling over this holiday, we wish you a safe and pleasant journey.  We, too, are travelling with family, but we'll be back after the holiday with more Road Stories.

 

 

 

 

How To Corner The Market In Eight Short Years

The Dow Jones Industrial Average hovered around 10,800 points in 2005.  The S & P 500 Index stood at 1,248.  And a man in Missouri began a quest to corner a little-known market:  meat grinders.

Why meat grinders?  Well, they are generally “off the radar” for most of the public and not many people collect them.  Back then, prices were still reasonable, and they were readily available at most antique stores and farm auctions.  And they just happen to have caught the interest of my dad, Tracy.  Dad knew that they were a common item in homes; one that didn’t garner much attention.  They were just “there.”  In truth, meat grinders were an important kitchen utensil for families from the late 1800s, and though not found in every kitchen today, they can still be purchased new from places like Cabelas and Sears.


Seven different sizes of meat grinders in my dad's collection
 



Look at the variety of shapes and sizes



Close-up of a rectangular and an oval grinder

 

In most grinders, the auger unscrews and pulls out of the body.....



..... but this one opens up for easy cleaning

 

For years mom and I haunted antique stores while dad sat on that ever-popular “husband bench” typically found outside every antique store.  Then one day he re-discovered the interesting, inexpensive, everyday kitchen gadget that had been ignored by collectors - ignored, that is, until he arrived on the scene.  Dad started collecting meat grinders in earnest in 2005.  He had started with the attitude “if it’s under $5.00 and in working condition I’ll buy it.” He has found most of his metal beauties locally in mid-Missouri, but some have been gifts and others were found during our wandering around the country.  He tags them with the date and the location where they were obtained and the price paid, and then displays them in the loft of the big barn on their farm.  With a collection in excess of 200 grinders, they are now mounted on peg boards or clamped on old ladders, tables, and even antique wooden ironing boards.  Originally the internal parts would have been lubricated by the fat in the meat being processed.  Since those on display are not being used they must be oiled and maintained so they don’t rust.  Dad contends that keeping them in working order is paramount.

 

Meat grinders mounted everywhere:  On an old wooden ironing board...



.....on a table.....

 

...even on the railing at the edge of the hay loft



Some of the more than 200 meat grinders in my dad's collection

The person credited with creating a prototype of the meat grinder is Karl Drais.  He was born in Germany in 1785 and died in 1851.  The meat grinder was one of his many inventions.  His most notable invention was the precursor to the bicycle.  His politics often interfered with acceptance of his inventions. ¹   In 1851, at the Great Exposition in London, a Mr. V. Price displayed “a chopping knife for the reduction of suet & etc. into small particles.” ²   By 1853 a metal meat grinder appeared in the first salesman’s price guide of the St. Louis hardware company Norvell-Shapleich. ³   The fact that this tool was included in this early “catalog” is clear evidence of the usefulness and desirability of the meat grinder in the family home.

Dad’s collection reflects the diversity of the product line.  Universal has been a traditionally popular brand since it was patented on October 27, 1897 by the Landers, Frary, Clark Company of New Britain, CT.  Enterprise was another household name.  Other brands include Keystone, Climax, Dana, American Cutlery, Sunbeam, and Rayflex. Even the Winchester Arms Company got into the market. ²   The brands most in demand by collectors today are Keen Kutter (introduced in 1904 by the E.C. Simmons Company) and Griswold.  In addition to meat grinders, both of these brand names were applied to other kitchen goods; thus, some aficionados collect “everything Keen Kutter” or “everything Griswold.”  Today you can find a Chop-Rite #1  (produced in Pottstown, PA) in both antique stores and new in Amish catalogs.  The durability of these items can be attributed to fine craftsmanship and continued usefulness. 
 


Keen Kutter...one of the most collectible, and perhaps the best-known name



Dad working on 8 of the more than 200 meat grinders in his collection



Working in the barn.  One of the largest in the collection
is mounted on the end of an antique wooden ironing board

Another aspect of collecting is the “salesman’s sample” or child’s toy.  There are conflicting opinions over whether the miniatures were samples or toys.  Perhaps both points of view are valid, depending on the intricacies of the item.  Some miniatures are detailed and thus could be fully functional while others are stylized, giving the appearance of a meat grinder without the possibility of cutting little fingers.  (Who would give a toy meat grinder to a child?  Consider the Easy Bake Oven.)  Whether salesman’s samples or toys, they are cute!  (Sorry, dad, but the really are cute.)



Some of the smaller salesmen's samples or toys.  The dollar bill and the
quarter in this photo give you a good perspective on the size of these grinders



This is the smallest meat grinder in the collection, next to a quarter to provide perspective

 

This 3 inch meat grinder actually works.  It is probably a
salesman's sample rather than a child's toy

 

One of the larger grinders next to the smallest.  Look closely!

Desirability for the collector depends primarily on age and condition.  For my dad, condition means in working order.  Factors to consider in evaluating meat grinders include plating (such as nickeled cast iron, zinc plated, or galvanized); material on the knob or crank (examples include metal, wood, or bakelite); and material and form of the thumb screw. Prices increase with the number and condition of attachments.   The “sausage stuffer” was an optional extra-cost attachment and there are not many available today.  Because paperwork and boxes were destroyed or lost, those items can double the value of a particular piece.  Most of the value is in the enjoyment the collector experiences. Dad certainly enjoys his.



Having the original box more than doubles the value of this
Keystone grinder, manufactured in Pennsylvania

It is only fitting that the hay loft in a barn on a farm first homesteaded in 1825, is the home of dad’s collection of these utilitarian implements that have served generations of families.  As dad continues to add more pieces to his collection he is essentially saving part of American history in these humble metal “contraptions” that have been a part of the ordinary American home for over a century-and-a-quarter.

 

The barn on my dad and mom's farm houses his collection of meat grinders

We joke that with over 200 pieces in his collection, dad has cornered the meat grinder market in just eight short years.  My dad’s barn and the treasures it contains - - proof that you don’t always have to go too far from home to find interesting Road Stories.

 

¹   YJ Group, Ltd., d/b/a Shenzhen Chinese Appliance Company, Ltd.  www.yjgroupltd.cn/web

²   300 Years of Kitchen Collectibles by Linda Campbell Franklin  4^th Edition

³    www.ancientpoint.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Fairy Tale Without A "Happily Ever After"

We had been home not quite two weeks, so I was ready for another road trip!

Carol and I have been friends for.…let’s just say since Ain’t No Mountain High Enough hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100.  During my first semester in college a logic class was offered that met at 8:00 am on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays -- one of the college’s attempts to keep students on campus over the weekends.  That I was willing to sacrifice my Saturday mornings was a clear reflection of my desire to avoid – or so I thought – a math class.  The very first thing the Professor said was, “If you are here to avoid math, re-think taking this class.”  As I slunk down in my seat, I made eye contact with another young woman whose countenance clearly indicated she, too, was in “math avoidance mode.”  We have been friends ever since.

So when Carol suggested a visit to her house and then a stay in a bed-and-breakfast in Davenport, IA to see a Princess Diana exhibit I was ready to go.  I managed to get to Hannibal, MO before stopping.  I grabbed a latte at Java Jive and made my obligatory stop at an antique store where I limited myself to one tiny piece of Syracuse china.  Another “must” stop was Hickory Stick Quilt and Gift Shop.  It has three rooms of beautiful material in every imaginable pattern, shade, and hue.  I always find a piece of material that I “must” have because of its intricate pattern or fanciful color.  I used to fool myself that I would create something from these lovely bits.  Now I know they will simply remain pretty pieces of cloth, but that’s OK.  Of course before I leave town I must pay my respects to Tom and Huck.  Walking down to the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and the whitewashed fence is like visiting an old friend.  You can meet them at http://www.visithannibal.com

My "finds" from Hannibal - Syracuse china and pretty material

 

Mark Twain Boyhood Home, Hannibal, MO

After an enjoyable visit and overnight stay with Carol and her husband Frank, she and I motored on to Davenport.  I had been to “Diana:  A Celebration” several years ago in Kansas City and at that time the two most memorable pieces were a broken china figurine and the royal wedding gown with its yards and yards of train.  These two items still capture my imagination.  The Beatrix Potter figurine of Peter Rabbit is missing one ear.  I found it endearing.  That broken figurine helps me picture a sentimental young girl and gives insight into a caring woman who supported so many charitable causes.  As I viewed the royal wedding gown I remembered being with friends in Colorado in 1981 when we stayed up all night to watch a fairy tale wedding, along with over a billion other television viewers.  The wedding dress makes me feel sad because we are now aware of all the unhappiness to befall the young woman who wore that magnificent royal gown.  The Princess would not have a “happily ever after.”  Hopefully, Diana’s son William can create a “happily ever after” for himself and his Princess, Kate.

 

Princess Diana's portrait behind a diamond tiara

 

Diana's Peter Rabbit figurine from her childhood

 

Diana's school uniform and other mementos from childhood

 

Diana's wedding dress of silk and taffeta with antique lace.
The train is 25 feet long.

The next generation:  Diana's son, Prince William and his Princess, Kate

 

“Diana:  A Celebration” is currently on exhibit at the Putnam Museum in Davenport, IA, through January 5, 2014.  There will be two more U.S. stops before the global tour ends in the summer of 2014, although the web site does not yet have the remaining locations or dates listed.  Following the final exhibit, the items in the collection will be returned to Diana’s sons.  For more information, log on to http://www.dianaexhibition.com

Once upon a time Davenport’s “royalty” lived along the historic “Gold Coast” where the Beiderbecke Inn is located.  The mansion was built in 1880 by Charles and Louise Beiderbecke.  This elegant Victorian mansion has a commanding view of the Mississippi River and is furnished with gorgeous antiques.  Today’s owners and innkeepers, Pam and Dennis LaRouge, are very hospitable hosts.  When you greet me at your door with warm chocolate chip cookies you’ve won me over!  Guests are welcome to use the billiard room, library and parlor.  The en-suite rooms are very spacious and have gas fireplaces.  Some rooms have river views.  A gourmet breakfast beckons you in the morning to the formal dining room.  The morning we were there breakfast included yogurt with fresh raspberries, individual soufflés with sausage links, and almond French toast.  The whole experience was a sheer delight that deserves another visit.

Beiderbecke Inn   532 West 7^th Street, Davenport, Iowa 52803        (563) 323-0047
http://www.bbonline.com/united-states/iowa/davenport/beiderbecke.html

View of the Mississippi River from the Beiderbecke mansion

 

Dusk, with the lights lit on the Mississippi River bridge

 

The Victorian Beiderbecke Bed and Breakfast

Another view of the mansion

 

Tile floor in the entrance hall.  As I've told you, old tile entrances fascinate me.

 

The mansion's library

 

The grand staircase

 

Bed in The Tower Room

 

In true "bed and breakfast" fashion, breakfast was a formal affair 

After saying farewell to my college friend, I headed home.  I stopped at Loraine, IL for gas, a bathroom break, and coffee.  Approaching the door of the station I spied two men dressed head to toe in camouflage, including hoods that covered their faces, with just slits for the eyes and mouth.  Hmm…hunters or robbers?  I mentally flipped a coin.  I don’t know if it was the need to use the bathroom or for coffee that made me conclude they were hunters, but I pushed forward.  A few minutes later, as I was pouring my coffee, I found myself standing between the two hunters.  I broke out in giggles. They looked at me askance.  Perhaps they didn’t see the irony in the fact that I was wearing brown jeans and a leopard print hooded raincoat.  I mentally read the caption “hunters and prey.”   They just saw the caption “silly woman” or perhaps “crazy woman”!

I drove on in a fine mist and a light fog that veiled the russet colored leaves.  Later I made a stop at the Thierbach Apple Orchard near Marthasville, MO to buy Damson Plum Jam and some of the last apples of the season.         http://www.thierbachorchards.com/

Thierbach's apple trees in magnificent fall color

Perhaps it’s one of the vestiges of being a retired teacher, but fall to me always means the start of a new year.  Even as the leaves fall I’m looking forward to another year of adventures and more Road Stories.

"The World Will Little Note Nor Long Remember..."

The 150^th anniversary of the battles at both Vicksburg and Gettysburg is a reminder of just how costly our freedom is and of how we must insure that this gift is granted to our children and to our children’s children.

The sheer number of men killed, wounded or missing in those engagements is difficult to grasp.  According to the National Park Service, the toll at Vicksburg, after a forty-seven day siege of the city and fight for control of the Mississippi River, was 37,532 killed, wounded, captured or missing.  At Gettysburg, which, ironically, ended just one day before the surrender of Vicksburg, some 51,000 souls were killed, wounded or missing.

Photo taken in Bedford, PA of the headstone of a
Union soldier killed in battle on March 28, 1862.

Added to the horror of war was the fact that Civil War troops might end up facing a neighbor or even their own family members – sometimes a brother!  At Vicksburg, the Confederate forces were commanded by General John C. Pemberton, whose two younger brothers were fighting for the Union army.  The State of Missouri was the only state to “officially” send both Union and Confederate regiments to Vicksburg.  Missouri furnished 39 regiments - 17 Confederate and 22 Union.

The Missouri monument is the only monument at Vicksburg that pays
homage to both Union and Confederate forces.  Northern and southern
troops from Missouri fought each other at this precise spot.

As Mike and I read the markers at Vicksburg delineating troop positions and battle lines, I commented that members of my Grandpa’s family fought on both sides of the conflict.  I remember as a little girl going with my Mom to the train station to pick up a headstone, supplied by the US Government long after the Civil War, for a family member who had fought with the Confederate forces.  The Union soldiers had gravestones provided at the time of their burial by the federal government.  Finally, nearly a century after the Civil War, those who fought for the Confederacy could be provided a marker, but only if family members petitioned the government for a stone.

My curiosity about my own family’s history was piqued by our visit to Vicksburg.  When we returned home, Mom showed me her copy of a book entitled “The Centennial Biographical Directory of Franklin County, Missouri” (compiled by Herman Kiel and published in 1925) along with copies of family papers.  I was intrigued to learn that my grandfather’s paternal grandfather (my great-great grandfather) James had, indeed, fought with the Union, while his maternal grandfather (again, another great-great grandfather) Wilborn was a Confederate soldier.  Apparently, from papers that Mom has, including James’ death certificate, Lucinda, James’ widow, received a pension of $30 per month for the remainder of her life as the widow of a Union soldier.  On the other hand, Phoebe, Wilborn’s widow, received nothing in the way of a pension or widow’s benefit, since he fought for the Confederacy.  Even with that $30 pension, life must have been difficult for Lucinda and her six kids; imagine what it must have been like, with no pension or widow’s benefit, for Phoebe and her eight surviving (of twelve) children. 

As we stood on the Vicksburg battlefield I was sobered by the thought that at least one of my relatives could have stood in the same spot.  James' regiment had, indeed, fought at Vicksburg, although his death certificate shows that he died on November 5, 1862 in the service of the United States, some six months before the Vicksburg campaign began.  Wilborn could have fought there, but we have no record of exactly which unit he was with.  We do know, however, that he died in 1869, so he very well could have been in one of the Confederate regiments that Missouri sent to Vicksburg. 

Today there are 1,350 monuments, markers and tablets on or around the battlefield.  The troop positions are so clearly marked at Vicksburg because soon after the end of the siege, soldiers from both sides met on the battlefield and memorialized their fallen comrades by accurately marking battle lines and encampments.  Their recollections together with official reports of troop positions and movements lent accuracy and a true picture of history when the site became the Vicksburg National Military Park in 1899, only thirty-six years after the cannons were silenced over the city.
 

The Illinois monument at Vicksburg, adjacent to the Shirley House, the only
surviving wartime structure in the park. Union soldiers referred to it as "the White House".

 

The rows of white markers indicate troop lines.  This photo shows how close the
two armies were to each other. During the Civil War the trees would not have been there.

Vicksburg National Cemetery, established in 1866.   17,000 Union troops are
buried here, many moved from other burial sites.  As a result, 13,000 are "unknowns"

Symbol of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), the first fraternal order for Union
veterans.  Its charter limited membership to "veterans of the recent unpleasantness".

Unfortunately, the sobering lessons learned during the Civil War did not keep us out of future conflicts.  In April 1917, the United States entered World War I (or “The Great War”, as it was popularly known, because no one could imagine a conflict any bigger in the future.)  My grandfather, Elmer, was one of four brothers who served in WWI.  Grandpa was stationed in France.  He never spoke of his experiences except to say “The horses came first.  After a battle, the horses had to be taken care of and fed before the men.  You could get more men, but horses were hard to come by.”  The fighting stopped in 1918 “at the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month,” although the Treaty of Versailles, usually recognized as the end of World War I, was not signed until June 28, 1919.  On the first anniversary of the cessation of hostilities, President Woodrow Wilson declared November 11 “Armistice Day” in honor of those who fought and died in “The Great War.”

Yvonne's grandfather, Elmer, in 1918.  He served from September 1917 to March 1919

 

US troops in France in 1918.  This machine gun battery used mules rather than horses.

 

Less than a quarter-century after “the war to end all wars” the United States was again thrust into war with the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Again, America’s young men – and this time, many women, as well - went to war.  Mike’s dad, Chris, served in the United States Army.  Near the end of the war in Europe, he was assigned to General Patton’s headquarters in Germany.  While there, he attempted to locate and check on relatives of his first-generation German brother-in-law, married to his wife’s (Mike’s mom, Virginia) sister.  He managed to find the address that he had been given, knocked on the door and was admitted to the house.  On the mantle was a picture of Virginia, apparently sent by her sister to her in-laws.  He pointed to the picture and said “meine Frau”.  The language barrier no longer seemed insurmountable and the Germans’ suspicion of this American soldier’s visit to their home disappeared.  Chris also used to tell several humorous anecdotes regarding his interaction with General Patton.

 

Corporal Christopher Byrne, 1944

CPL Byrne on the sea wall in Galveston, Texas, July 21, 1944

 

In 1954, Congress changed the designation “Armistice Day” to “Veterans’ Day” to honor not only the World War I veterans but all veterans, living and dead, from World War II and the Korean Conflict as well.

The World War II Memorial, Washington, DC

The Marine Corps War Memorial (also called the Iwo Jima Memorial) in Arlington, VA

The Korean War Memorial in Washington, DC

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial (also called the Vietnam Wall) in Washington, DC

The Byrne family has a proud tradition of service in the Armed Forces.  In addition to Mike’s dad, his older brother Chris served in the US Navy as a Submariner in the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s.

Mike enlisted in the Army in 1968, at the height of the Vietnam war.  He left Ft. Lewis, WA, with orders for Vietnam, but the plane landed in Hawaii and his orders, along with those of five other soldiers, were changed, assigning them instead to the communications center at Eighth Army Headquarters in Seoul, Korea, where he spent thirteen months. 

PFC Michael Byrne (Basic training, 1968)

A generation after Mike served, his son, Matt, was sworn in as a Navy officer and taught at the Navy’s Nuclear Reactor School, originally in Orlando and later relocated to Charleston, SC.  Matt has decided to make the Navy his career.  Now in his 17th year of service, Commander Byrne is assigned to the Office of Naval Intelligence just outside of Washington, DC.  His career includes a two-year assignment aboard the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, including a seven-month deployment to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom/Enduring Freedom.

CMDR Matthew Byrne, 2013

Our daughter-in-law, Becky, was also a Navy officer; she and Matt met and were married in Charleston while both were instructors in the Nuclear School. Becky remained in the Navy following their marriage, but with the impending birth of their first child and Matt’s transfer to Great Lakes, Becky resigned her commission and left the Navy to raise their family.

Ensign Rebecca Prath, 1998

 
The latest member of the Byrne family to serve his country was our nephew, Shane, whose service in the US Army included a tour of duty as a Combat Medic in Iraq.

As Veterans’ Day nears, it is only fitting that we pay tribute to our military men and women, both to those who made the ultimate sacrifice and those who returned home to raise families and build communities.  We are proud of our family members who served, as we are proud of each and every person who has worn the uniform of all branches of our Armed Forces.

This postcard, written in September 1943 to his family by a soldier travelling by bus from
Warrensburg to St. Louis, MO shows the human side of the war.  This soldier was catching
the train at St. Louis, ultimately bound for overseas duty.  He tells his family "don't cry".

President Abraham Lincoln, in his Gettysburg address, said “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.”  On this Veterans’ Day, we remember!

Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA

 

Tomb of the Unknowns, Arlington National Cemetery