Person-of-Mystery

Today, I'm off in the hills taking a Wilderness Medicine course with the Boy Scouts, but I already know from previous experience that I won't have phone reception where I'm going, so I can't check in and comment until very late Saturday.  Therefore, I've pre-posted the contest today.  Have fun!

Who could I be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post will be the winner.

Goodner Girls at Dorothy's Birthday

Here's another interesting photo from the same Goodner family as yesterday at their home in Gainesville, Texas.  It would appear as though it was Aunt Dorothy's birthday.  The red cross flag in the background was hung from homes, so that returning World War I soldiers would know at what houses they could stop to rest, receive meals, or stay for the night before continuing on to their families.

Goodner Family at Home

It's back to the attic today for another family photo.  Today I'm featuring a photo of my great-grandparents' family at home.  I believe this photo may have been taken at their home at 301 East Scott Street in Gainesville, Texas.  My grandmother, Marymac, is on the far left with her arm around her mother's shoulder.

O' Lang Syne

Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot And Days O' Lang Syne?  Copyright, 1904, The Ullman Mfg. Co., N. Y.

Postmarked Hutchinson, Kansas, June 12, 1906, 2:30 PM

Rec'd Wichita, Kansas, June 12, 1906, 11:00 PM

Miss Jessie Irene Burrows

1153 University Ave.,

Wichita, Kansas.

7/5/06

If a body write a body,

Receiving no reply,

Might a body ask a body

If that's the reason why?

Opal C. Ambler

Triathletic Boys

Saturday, our family was out at Lopez Lake near Arroyo Grande, California, to watch our two older boys compete in the Scott Tinley Triathlon.

(Tim, center, waiting for the swim to start)

Several years ago, Tim, was downtown for a Farmer's Market, when he came across a flyer for a local triathlon and decided to do it.  Kristine and I were a little apprehensive, but Tim had fun and surprisingly did okay for a guy his age.

(Tim scrambling to enter the lake)

So he competed for the next few years doing the kid version of the same triathlon, but last year he moved up to the adult version and again surprised us for how well he did.  The course he competed in was the on-road sprint version which was 1/4 mile swim, 12.4 mile bike ride, and a 3 mile run.

(Tim swimming the quarter mile in the lake)

Because of his age, he was in the back of the pack to start the course, but we were pleasantly surprised to see him emerge fifth (out of 117 guys) from the lake with a time of 7 minutes 55 seconds!

(Tim out of the lake ahead of the university team!)

He was looking really good and probably in his best form ever.  His training for water polo certainly paid off.

(Changing for the bike portion.  The clock doesn't stop)

We knew he would probably lose some time on the bike and run.  He doesn't have a professional road bike and he's always lost time there, but after watching Tim leave on the bike, we left to get Andrew to the lake to start the kid version of the race.

(Andrew happy as can be, warming up in the chilly lake)

Andrew is our middle son and 11 years old right now.  I can't tell if he really wanted to race for the race sake or because his older brother has done it.

The youth course is a little different.  It's a 200 yard swim, a 4 mile bike ride, and a mile run.  Like his brother, Andrew was out of the water pretty quick.

(Quick change in transition)

(Off he goes on the bike portion.  Like Tim, he really should be using a road bike)

At this point in the race, I was getting a little concerned.  Based on his previous times, Tim should have been back by now, but his bike wasn't stacked where it should have been.

(Andrew coming down the final stretch)

Andrew finally finished his race.  He finished second in his class, so we're thinking we may have to start looking for a used road bike for him too.

(Two brothers after the race)

We finally found Tim.  He had hit a patch of gravel about 3/4 of the way through the bike course and wiped out, scraping up his hip and left arm.  He tried hopping back up, but his derailleur was all bent and he couldn't get it working.  He was a little frustrated that he couldn't finish the race, but took it in stride.

There's always next year!

Victor David Brenner

Congratulations once again to Robert, who correctly identified yesterday's Person-of-Mystery as none other than Victor David Brenner.

Last week unintentionally turned into a bit of a money themed week, so I felt it only fitting to finish it off with Brenner.  You see, when I was a boy, developed an early fascination with coins.  My grandmother had given me some coins that my grandfather had collected from countries around the world while he was in the navy and I found them fascinating.  However, since I didn't have money to collect high denomination coins, I collected pennies.

Here's how it worked – from the money I earned doing my paper route I would have my parents go to the bank and get about $20 in rolls of pennies (50 in each roll).  In my spare time, I would sift through the rolls pulling out any wheat pennies, and replacing any I removed with newer pennies, rerolled the coins and finally made a small pen mark on the outside of the roll.  Usually, the rolls contained little of interest, but occasionally I could find something good, maybe even a steelie or the rare Indian Head.

(Example Penny Book - not mine, just an image from the Internet)

Before long, I bought a penny book and placed the coins into their appropriate slots often replacing better specimens for worse ones.  The United States had mints in three cities that commonly produced Lincoln pennies:  Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco.  Mint marks are found under the date with "D" for Denver, "S" for San Francisco and no mark for Philadelphia, so each year typically has three pennies to collect (e.g. 1914, 1914-D, and 1914-S).

The value of the coin is determined by by a variety of factors including the quality of the coin (less handled, the better) and the quantity minted (the fewer made, the greater the value).  For me, part of the fun was in the find, so I never bought any coins from a dealer.  I was able to find every penny this way save one, the elusive 1909-S VDB.  Which brings us back to Victor David Brenner.

Brenner was born in 1871 as Viktoras Barnauskas in a Jewish home in what is now Lithuania.  His family left Russia due to anti-semitism and he adopted an American sounding name in hopes of obtaining citizenship.  The family trade was gem and seal engraving, so when he came to America, he took up sculpture and medal making and became well regarded for his work.

In the Summer of 1908, President Roosevelt sat for Brenner in his studio so Brenner could make some sketches for a Panama Canal Medal that Roosevelt was having made.

While completing the work, Roosevelt saw a bas-relief Brenner had made of President Lincoln in hopes of capitalizing on the centenary of Lincoln's birth.

Roosevelt was a big fan of Lincoln.  Teddy had seen Lincoln's funeral as a boy and considered himself his political heir and Republican standard-bearer.  Roosevelt even possessed a ring containing actual hairs from Lincon's body given to him by John Hay.

(Roosevelt's Lincoln Ring)

In 1905, the famous sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens had been chosen to redesign several coins including the $20 gold piece and the penny.  Saint-Gaudens completed a double eagle, but died in 1907 before he could redesign the penny.  So when Roosevelt noticed Brenner's Lincoln medallion, he decided that Brenner's work would become the new penny.

Brenner's Lincoln penny was groundbreaking in many ways.  For starters, it featured a real person and most previous U.S. currency depicted allegorical imagery like liberty personified, eagles, or nondescript Indians.  However, after it's release people lodged complaints, particularly people from the South who objected to having a depiction of the former tyrant on their currency.  Some objected to the stylistic wheat design on the reverse bearing little resemblance to real grain.  But the greatest number of complaints came from those who took umbrage with the prominently placed artists initials, "V.D.B.," at the bottom of the reverse between the wheat stalks.

The Philadelphia and San Francisco mints produced 103,006,618 pennies in 1909 (which sounds like a lot, but for comparison in 2008, the mint produced over 5.4 billion pennies).  Of the pennies produced in 1909, only 28,479,000 were produced with the offending "V.D.B." initials and of these a meager 484,000 were produced in San Francisco making the 1909-S VDB, one of the most sought after pennies by collectors and ironically bringing renown to the mysterious Victor David Brenner.  Eventually by 1918, the controversy had subsided and a very tiny "V.D.B." returned to the penny's front side where in can be found today at the bottom of Lincoln's bust at about the 7 o'clock position.

Person-of-Mystery

My older two boys are doing a local triathlon today, so I'm going to be watching them.  I'll try and check in, but I don't know if I'll have Internet or not.

Who could I be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post will be the winner.

Arch Rock, Mackinac Island, Michigan, 1906

Arch Rock. Mackinac Island. Mich.  149 feet above the lake surface.

Postmarked Mackinac Island, Michigan, August 6, 1906, 12:00 M

Rec'd Wichita, Kansas, August 8, 1906, 7:00 AM

Miss Jessie I. Burrows

1153 University Ave.

Wichita, Kan.

7/5/06

Dear Jessie.  Saw this place this morning. Finest drive.  Coolest ?, and most beautiful sights one may see.  Will was with us six hours.  Wish it were 60.  Got your letter in Chicago.  Will write more.  Sincerely, Mrs. Bass.

RTD's Favorite Note

RTD, a regular reader of this blog, kindly submitted his choice for most beautiful money, the 1975 $50 Canadian Note below:

On Second Thought

Yesterday I was lamenting my age and our ugly money.  While I still don't trust our government to make good decisions about money, I figured I'd publicly eat my words after receiving a rather pretty quarter in change.

When I showed it to my son, the first thing he said was, "Pretty quarter."

Thanks to everyone who took the time yesterday to send me examples of pretty or ugly money.  No offense to my Dutch readers, but I think my vote for ugliest money examples sent in were the Dutch 100 and 1000 Guilder notes (used before the Euro).

What were they thinking?

Ugly Money

I can tell I'm turning old.  How, you ask?  It seems like more and more things bother me all the time.  The other day, I was handed my change and I looked at the $5 bill and I couldn't help but think, "Boy our money has gotten ugly."  It may be the awkward way Lincoln has his neck cricked or the giant purple 5 on the back that bothers me.  Maybe it's the gaseous cloud of yellow "05"s, but something's not right.

I don't think I'm alone in this belief, but in case you're not convinced.  I'm going to post what I believe is some of our prettiest money from the past, the Educational Series of 1896.  There is the $1, "History Instructing Youth," with the open Constitution pointing towards the Washington Monument and the Capitol, the $2, "Science Presenting Steam and Electricity to Commerce and Manufacturing," and the $5, "Electricity as the Dominant Force in the World."  Click on the image below for a good look.

Charles Upham

Yesterday's Person-of-Mystery was Charles Upham, the most highly decorated Commonwealth soldier from World War II.

Michael was certainly on the right track yesterday and I'm actually suspicious that Brett may have known who it was and didn't guess.  You all are far too modest.  Rugby is still on my mind and the Rugby World Cup is currently underway in New Zealand, so continuing the theme from last week, I decided to feature a war hero from New Zealand.

Charles Upham is one of only three men in history to twice win the Victoria Cross (akin to our Medal of Honor) and the only combat infantryman to be so honored.

A sheep farmer by profession, Upham enlisted in the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force in 1939 and was sent to Greece in anticipation of a German attack.  Soon his unit was withdrawn to Crete where he earned his first Victoria Cross for numerous actions between May 22 and 30, 1941.  The first citation read as follows:

War Office,
14th October, 1941.
     The KING has been graciously pleased to approve of awards of the VICTORIA CROSS to the undermentioned:—
Second-Lieutenant Charles Hazlitt Upham (8077), New Zealand Military Forces.
     During the operations in Crete this officer performed a series of remarkable exploits, showing outstanding leadership, tactical skill and utter indifference to danger.
     He commanded a forward platoon in the attack on MALEME on 22nd May and fought his way forward for over 3,000 yards un- supported by any other arms and against a defence strongly organised in depth. During this operation his platoon destroyed numer- ous enemy posts but on three occasions
sections were temporarily held up.
     In the first case, under a heavy fire from a machine gun nest he advanced to close quarters with pistol and grenades, so demoralizing the occupants that his section
was able to " mopup " with ease.
     Another of his sections was then held up by two machine guns in a house. He went in and placed a grenade through a window, destroying the crew of one machine gun and several others, the other machine gun being silenced by the fire of his sections.
     In'the third case he crawled to within 15 yards of an M.G. post and killed the gunners
with a grenade.

     When his Company withdrew from MALEME he helped to carry a wounded man out under fire, and together with another officer rallied more men together to carry other wounded men out.
     He was then sent to bring in a company which had become isolated. With a Corporal he went through enemy territory over 600 yards, killing two Germans on the way, found the company, and brought it back to the Battalion's new position. But for this action it would have been completely cut off.
     During the following two days his platoon occupied an exposed position on forward slopes and was continuously under fire. Second Lieutenant Upham was blown over by one mortar shell, and painfully wounded by a piece of shrapnel behind the left shoulder, by another. He disregarded this wound and remained on duty. He also re- ceived a bullet in the foot which he later removed in Egypt.
     At GALATOS on 25th May his platoon was heavily engaged and came under severe mortar and machine-gun fire. While his platoon stopped under cover of a ridge Second-Lieutenant Upham went forward, observed the enemy and brought the platoon forward when the Germans advanced. They killed over 40 with fire and grenades and
forced the remainder to fall back.
     When his platoon was ordered to retire he sent it back under the platoon Serjeant and he went back to warn other troops that they were being cut off. When he came out him- self he was fired on by two Germans. He fell and shammed dead, then crawled into a position and having the use of only one arm rested his rifle in the fork of a tree and as the Germans came forward he killed them both. The second to fall actually hit the muzzleof the rifle as he fell.

     On 30th May at SPHAKIA his platoon was ordered to deal with a party of the enemy which had advanced down a ravine to near Force Headquarters. Though in an exhausted condition he climbed the steep hill to the west of the ravine, placed his men in positions on the slope overlooking the ravine and himself went to the top with a Bren Gun and two riflemen. By clever tactics he induced the enemy party to expose itself and then at a range of 500 yards shot 22 and caused the remainder to disperse in panic.
     During the whole of the operations he suffered from dysentery and was able to eat very little, in addition to being wounded and bruised.
     He showed superb coolness, great skill and dash and complete disregard of danger. His conduct and leadership inspired his whole platoon to fight magnificently throughout, and in fact was an inspiration to the Battalion.

After being patched up and having a bullet removed from his foot in Egypt, his unit was again facing the Germans in North Africa the next year.  Specifically he preformed courageously during fighting at First El Alamein, July 14-15, 1942 (citation to follow).  After performing near superhuman feats and recovering from wounds received by artillery and mortar attack, he eventually was captured by the Germans.


Although it was immediately thought he should be awarded a second Victoria Cross, it was determined that the matter would be revisited after his eventual release.  In 1945, when the review process was complete, King George VI queried military officials if a second Victoria Cross was deserved.  Major General Howard Kippenberger is said to have replied, "In my respectful opinion, Sir, Upham won the Victoria Cross several times over."


Here's the official citation for the Bar to the Victoria Cross:

War Office, 26th September, 1945. Captain Upham, without hesitation, at

     The KING has been graciously pleased to approve the award of a Bar to the VICTORIA CROSS to:—

Captain Charles Hazlitt UPHAM, V.C. (8077), his men and, in spite of the fierce resistance New Zealand Military Forces. of the enemy and the heavy casualties on

     Captain C. H. Upham, V.C.,. was commanding a Company of New Zealand troops in the Western Desert during the operations which culminated in the attack on El Ruweisat Ridge on the night of I4th-15th July, 1942.
     In spite of being twice wounded, once when crossing open ground swept by enemy fire to inspect his forward sections guarding our mine-fields and again when he completely destroyed an entire truck load of German soldiers with hand grenades, Captain Upham insisted on remaining with his men to take part in the final assault.
     During the opening stages of the attack on the ridge Captain Upham's Company formed part of the reserve battalion, but, when communications with the forward troops broke down and he was instructed to send
up an officer to report on the progress of the attack, he went out himself armed with a Spandau gun and, after several sharp encounters with enemy machine gun posts, succeeded in bringing back the required information.
     Just before dawn the reserve battalion was ordered forward, but, when it had almost reached its objective, very heavy fire was encountered from a strongly defended enemy locality, consisting of four machine gun posts and a number of tanks.
     Captain Upham, without hesitation, at once led his Company in a determined attack on the two nearest strongpoints on the left flank of the sector. His voice could be heard above the din of battle cheering on his men and, in spite of the fierce resistance of the enemy and the heavy casualties on both sides, the objective was captured.
     Captain Upham, during the engagement, himself destroyed a German tank and several guns and vehicles with grenades and although he was shot through the elbow by a machine gun bullet and had his arm broken, he went on again to a forward position and brought back some of his men who had become isolated. He continued to dominate the situation until his men had beaten off a violent enemy counterattack and consolidated the vital position which they had won under his inspiring leadership.
     Exhausted by pain from his wound and weak from loss of blood Captain Upham was then removed to the Regimental Aid Post but immediately his wound had been dressed he returned to his men, remaining with them all day long under heavy enemy artillery and mortar fire, until he was again severely wounded and being now unable to move fell into the hands of the enemy when, his gallant Company having been reduced to only six survivors, his position was finally over-run  by superior enemy forces, in spite of the out standing gallantry and magnificent leadership shown by Captain Upham.
     The Victoria Cross was conferred on Captain Upham for conspicuous bravery during the operations in Crete in May, 1941, and the award was announced in the London Gazette dated I4th October, 1941.

(Upham's decorations – note the VC with Bar on left)

After his capture, Upham attempted numerous escapes from captivity, jumping from transport trucks and trains and attempting to scale prison fences.  He was eventually placed in solitary confinement and given two armed guards, but still attempted escape.  Finally, he was sent to the infamous Colditz Castle in late 1944.  Immediately after Upham was liberated, he broke into the German armory at the prison and pursued the now fleeing enemy on his own.

(Charles Upham on his farm in New Zealand)

He was eventually returned to England, where he was reunited with his sweetheart and married.  They returned to New Zealand where people had raised £10,000 for a farm.  He instead donated the money to help children of other soldiers attend college.  Upham eventually bought a farm on his own and lived out most of the rest of his days in quiet seclusion is a rural area in the Canterbury Region of New Zealand's South Island.  It was said that he would never allow a German automobile on his property.

Person-of-Mystery

Okay, there are just too many people guessing my photos too easily, so it's time to take it up a notch.  This week I've doubled the difficulty and set the bar even higher by providing an elderly photo.  Good luck!

Who could I be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post will be declared the winner.

John Philip Sousa's Favorite Food

One of the most enjoyable aspects of history for me is the little tidbits of trivia you discover along the way that when taken together help enrich your understanding of the past.  In fact the word trivia comes from the Latin word "trivium" which was the place where three roads met.  In the same way, trivia is the intersection of information.

John Philip Sousa was obviously best known for the stirring marches he composed, but perhaps, if you are so inclined, you might like to try his favorite meal as reported in the Chicago Herald on July 23, 1916.  It's pretty much spaghetti and meatballs, but for a 1922 cookbook contribution, he titled the dish:

Pelotas á la Portuguese
Tomato sauce: one quart can of tomatoes; put in kettle on top of stove, simmer or let boil slowly for one and a half hours. Add pepper, salt, two onions cut in fine slices, four allspice and four cloves, the cloves and allspice to be added after it starts to boil. After one and a half hours add:

• Pelotas (meat balls) – Two pounds chopped meat (beef, as hamburger steak). Add one onion chopped fine, one cup bread crumbs, a little parsley, salt and pepper. Make into meat balls about the size of a plum. Put into sauce and boil one and one-half hours slowly. This makes fully three hours’ slow boiling for the sauce.

• Spaghetti – use a package or a pound of spaghetti (not macaroni). Have a large pot of boiling water with about one table-spoonful of salt. Slide the spaghetti into the water, Do not break it. Boil exactly twenty minutes. Must be tender, not tough, not doughy.

To sauce add three bay leaves one hour before taking off the stove. Serve spaghetti on large platter, pouring tomato sauce over it. Serve pelotas on smaller platter, allowing a small quantity of sauce to remain. Serve grated parmesan cheese on side. Use the piece of cheese to grate, not bottled cheese.

Mr. Sousa was quoted in 1916 and again in 1922 as saying, "This serves from six to eight people and is my favorite dish."

Armchair Archaeology

I've always thought archaeology was cool!  When I had more money, I even used to subscribe to several archaeological journals to keep up to date on the latest news.  It would be a thrill for me someday just be an ignorant laborer on a dig.  So it took me by surprise when I read HERE that the Egypt Exploration Society was looking for online volunteers to help decode the more than 500,000 papyri fragments they have in their collection.

To be honest, the thing that really caught my eye was the funny picture of the goddess Agnoia pictured above.  Agnoia is the Greek word for ignorance, so I don't think Agnoia was seriously a goddess, particularly since this picture came from one of Menander's comedies.  But you never know about those wacky ancient peoples!

The texts are in Greek, but you don't need to know Greek, they have a handy interactive guide to help you decode. What they're really looking for is multiple sets of eyes to help them transcribe these ancient writings.

Click HERE for more detailed instructions and to get started!