Stuffbymichele's Blog

We were all taught in school that a feast took place between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans in 1621, which is supposedly the basis for our Thanksgiving holiday.  But did you know it was actually President Abraham Lincoln that declared a national day of Thanksgiving during the Civil War?  Here’s a link about it:  http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/thanks.htm

This picture was taken last summer at the Lincoln Museum in Springfield, Illinois.  We visited the museum about a month after it opened.  That’s a wax recreation of the Lincoln Family, which I thought was a fitting tribute to both President Lincoln and the Thanksgiving holiday.  Hope you enjoy the day (and another little history lesson from me!)

This is the kitchen from the Eisenhower Farm.

“Eisenhower National Historic Site is the home and farm of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Located adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield, the farm served the President as a weekend retreat and a meeting place for world leaders. With its peaceful setting and view of South Mountain, it was a much needed respite from Washington and a backdrop for efforts to reduce Cold War tensions.”  Read more about this site at:  http://www.nps.gov/eise/index.htm

We were here back in 2005.  The grounds are absolutely beautiful and the house is really interesting.  I’ve added a link about President Eisenhower under the Stuff About History heading on the right.  Enjoy today’s history lesson!

Originally uploaded by michelewithonel

This was taken the year my Dad moved to Idaho. I went with him in April to help him get moved in, and then went back in August to visit and make sure he was settled in. On the way back I decided to get off the train in Stanley, North Dakota where Mike picked me up. Mike was there to help his Great Uncle Walt and his Uncle Neil paint Great Grandma Fanny’s farm house. I wasn’t much help with the painting but I did have my camera with me. Mike and I argued about who took this shot and I won. Although he doesn’t know that.

These wax figures are from the Lincoln Museum in Springfield, Illinois. 

From Wikipedia: 

Sojourner Truth (1797–November 26, 1883) was the self-given name, from 1843, of Isabella Baumfree, an American abolitionist and women’s rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York. Her best-known speech, Ain’t I a Woman?, was delivered in 1851 at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio.

Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14, 1818  – February 20, 1895) was an American abolitionist, women’s suffragist, editor, orator, author, statesman and reformer. Called “The Sage of Anacostia” and “The Lion of Anacostia”, Douglass is one of the most prominent figures in African-American history and United States history. In 1872, Douglass became the very first African-American nominated as a Vice Presidential candidate in the U.S., running on the Equal Rights Party ticket with Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for President of the United States.

He was a firm believer in the equality of all people, whether black, female, Native American, or recent immigrant. He was fond of saying, “I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong.”

I am such a goof sometimes.  I hate reading manuals or asking questions to figure out technology (or pretty much anything for that matter).  Someone asked a room full of my co-workers recently if we were the types to jump in and just figure out how something works (like say a new digital camera) or if we first read the manual.  Over half the hands went up as those who were inclined to just figure it out on their own.

So, why am I telling you this?  Because I just figured out how to organize the links on this damn blog.  Yeah, I know.  So, anyway, now there are all kinds of fun categories and I also added a couple of the links to the history I’ve been talking about.  Labeled under Stuff about History.  How clever of me!

This is the kitchen in Abraham Lincoln’s home in Springfield, Illinois. This was taken on the most recent trip (I believe Mike and I have been there at least three times). This last trip, the tour guide wasn’t very good so I hardly remember anything about the house itself.  I’m trying to provide additional history to go along with my photos, so I will be providing links periodically so you can do some reading.  I updated the post called Burnside’s Bridge with a link about that battle.  For this post, please check out the following: http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/

Enjoy today’s history lessen!

Originally uploaded by michelewithonel

This was taken back in October of 2004. I didn’t realize there was a bird at the top of this dead tree when I took this shot. This is one of the trips we took Jim on. I remember as we were driving through the park, we were listening to the CD about the battle. It’s a great CD, it has sound effects and discusses each of the significant events as you drive by the marked areas. After we’d gotten most of the way through we realized (to the sound of a lot of loud munching) that Jim hadn’t heard any of the CD and had very little idea of the events that had unfolded during the battle. I’m not sure what he thought the gunfire coming through the stereo speakers was…  We asked him later what he thought of the CD and the response we got was a blank look.

Originally uploaded by michelewithonel

This was taken in Bannick, Montana, with the previous photo. I really like the muted colors and starkness of this shot. And, no, Claudia, I didn’t tweak it, other than sharpening it. However, since it’s scanned from a negative, I can’t say for sure it’s the original colors as processed at the lab.

This was part of the trip we made to visit ghost towns in Montana when Lowell was filming The Horse Whisperer. Did we decide what year that was? I think it was the same year I started at the helpdesk at Target since I got the job offer while we were in Montana. So I guess that would make this 1997. Geez, where did all those years go??

Anyway, if you’re near Big Timber, Montana, I highly recommend checking out Bannick and Virginia City. Oh, and Big Timber is a great little town (or at least it was 11 years ago).

I love Picasa for editing photos!  This was actually taken with color film about ten years ago.  But that picture was kind of boring, so I tweaked it.

This was taken in Bannick, Montana.  Mike tells me this was the original capitol of Montana.  We went through here at the same time Lowell was working on “The Horse Whisperer”.  This was a really interesting place to visit.  It looks like everyone just up and left one day.