Chicago's 'Pioneer' Locomotive

From same source as last post.

1923, 100 years ago.

"The locomotive that spearheaded  the growth of Chicago from a swampy village of 4,000  inhabitants to the transportation crossroads of the world  is being groomed to ride the rails again.

"The engine, the Pioneer, has been moved to the shops of the  Chicago and North Western railway system where it is being reconditioned for a key role in the railway's centennial celebration this year."

And, this locomotive still exists today at the Chicago History Museum.

Now There's a Bit of Chicago History.  Right Frank?  --GreGen

That's Not the Statue of Liberty's Original Torch Up There

From the November 16, 2018, Northwest Herald  "Statue of Liberty's original torch moved  to a museum site."

The Statue of Liberty's original torch has been housed in the base of the statue (whose pedestal, by the way, is an old fort) since a replica replaced the original in the 1980s. was moved on Thursday to its new home in a museum that will open in 2019.  The museum is 100 yards from the statue on Liberty Island.

The base and detached flame of the 3,600 pound torch was moved very carefully.  It had been removed in 1984 because it had been too damaged by the elements and pollution to restore.

The torch left France for the United States in 1876 where it was exhibited at the Centennial Celebration of the U.S. in Philadelphia and then was taken to New York City and then to Madison Square Park where it was used to raise funds to pay for the statue's pedestal.  These were the first of many moves the torch has made.

It went back to Paris in 1882 and then returned to New York City along with other crated pieces of the statue in 1885.

The torch was held high by Lady Liberty from 1886 to 1984, but modifications to the flame changed its original design over the years.

--CooterStatue

The American Legion-- 1920s and 1930s

AUGUST 9, 1921

The Legion's efforts result in the creation of the  U.S. Veterans Bureau, forerunner of today's Veterans Administration.

JULY 17, 1925

The Legion  creates the American Legion Baseball program.  About 82,000 youths play Legion ball each year.

SEPTEMBER 1932

The Sons of the American Legion is officially recognized at the National Convention in Portland, Oregon.

JUNE 23 , 1935

The First American Legion Boys State convenes in Springfield, Illinois.  Today, more than 19,500  young men participate in this as well as 98 in Boys Nation.

JUNE 11, 1938

The final round of the Legion's first annual  National High School  Oratorical Contest is conducted in Norman, Oklahoma.  Today, more than 3,400 high school students compete in this.

I Almost Started Another Blog for World War I

I must admit that I seriously considered starting a new blog for World War I, but didn't.

I even had a name picked out for it, "The War That Didn't End All Wars."  I first considered it on the centennial of its beginning in August 2014 and then again on the centennial of the United States' entry into the war in 1917.

But, I didn't start one.  I have way TOO MANY blogs as it is.  That would have been my eighth blog.

But, I have been writing a lot about World War I in this blog an will continue to do so.

--Cooter

Illinois' Centennial in 1918 in DeKalb County

From the May 23, 2018, MidWeek "Looking Back."

1918, 100 Years Ago.

"Historic spots all over Illinois will be marked appropriately during the Celebration of State Centennial this year.

"DeKalb County will mark the place where the first white child was born in the county, the spot where Lincoln and Jefferson Davis met during the Black Hawk War, the place where the first election took place in the county."

I did not know that Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln met each other in DeKalb County, Illinois.

And, Now We Are in the Bicentennial of Illinois.  --Cooter

Let's Go Ahead With a National Mall World War I Monument

The Liberty Memorial tower and World War I museum in Kansas City is all well and done.  However, it is time to press ahead with what our last surviving serviceman of the war, Frank Buckles, wanted done before his death.

And, that would be to erect a monument to our World War I veterans on the National Mall in Washington, D.C..

It's About Time

Thousands Observe U.S. Entrance to WWI-- Part 4

When the monument was completed five years later, more than 150,000 attended to hear President Calvin Coolidge dedicate it.  (Again, one has to wonder why our current president was not there last week).

The museum's CEO, Matt Naylor, said' "For the past 91 years, people from across the globe have come to learn and remember."

Missouri Governor Eric Greitens lauded the fact that Missouri was the birthplace of Frank Buckles, who, until his death in 2011 was the war's last surviving U.S. veteran.

Across the Atlantic on Thursday, France staged its own centennial observance of the American entrance.  the French Defense Minister urged everyone to remember "the courage of America and the millions of soldiers that came to fight on our side."

--Cooter

Thousands At Liberty Memorial Tower for Centennial Observance-- Part 1

From the April 7, 2017, Chicago Tribune "Thousands at U.S. monument pause for WWI observance" by Jim Suhr, AP.

A flyover by eight planes trailing colored smoke and thousands of attendees paused to remember that day 100 years ago, April 6, 1917, when the United States entered the war that had been going on since 1914.   That was a good day for the Allies like Britain and France and a bad one for Germany.

The commemoration, titles "In Sacrifice For Liberty and Peace" was essentially a multimedia time warp back 100 years ago.

A dew thousand ticket holders and dozens of foreign ambassadors (evidently no President Trump) were in attendance as a color guard dressed as WWI "Doughboys" presented the colors and and short films were shown.

--Cooter

Britain Insists Australia and New Zealand Represented in World War I Centenary Plans

From the January 1, 2014,  Global Post.

Prime Minister David Cameron said it is "completely wrong" to suggest ANZAC troops were being airbrushed out of the centenary events in favour of troops from other parts of the former empire.

Reports from Australia suggest otherwise.

From 1914 to 1918 62,000 Australian and 18,000 New Zealand troops died.

These ANZAC troops will be fully honoured next year on the centenary of the Gallipoli landings in Turkey.

British Spellings.  --Cooter

What's in a Name: How Some Sections of Goldsboro Got Their Names-- Part 1

Continued from the early column post from today.  Goldsboro, North Carolina.

LITTLE WASHINGTON  Little Washington became a black settlement after the freeing of the slaves following the Civil War, and was named for the nation's capital.  Blacks of the time regarded it as the mecca of their race because Lincolns's Emancipation Proclamation originated from there when he was president.

WEBBTOWN--  Named for store owner Silas Webb who had a business there.

GEORGETOWN--  Named for Dr. George L. Kirby who owned a large amount of property.

EDMUNDSON HILL--  Named for John Edmundson, a real estate dealer who started a subdivision there.

--DsaCootHill

Goldsboro, N.C., Once Had a Lamplighter

From the March 15, 2015, Goldsboro (NC) News-Argus  "From My Perch: Tidbits and pieces of local history" by Sherwood Owl Williford.

Mr. Williford took the information from the 1947 centennial edition of the paper commemorating the city's centennial celebration.

Mrs. J.W. Howell of 408 Daisy St. recalls that when she was seven years old, she remembered a lamplighter coming around on his rounds to light the town's street lights with his long torch.

The street lights burned all night long and in the morning he would have to come back and put them out.

This was about 1903, and she is not sure whether the lights were kerosene or gas lamps.

At the time, kerosene l;amps were used in Goldsboro.

--CooterLight

Wright Brothers' Niece Recalls Family Stories-- Part 3

Orville Wright had a pre-lunch routine that he followed precisely.  He entered the back door at noon, placed his hat on a chair, ate one cracker then sat and read until the housekeeper called him for lunch.  He would leave and return minutes later to retrieve the bowler hat he'd left behind.  In other words, the man who discovered the secrets of manned flight could not remember his hat according to Amanda Wright Lane.

Lane has appeared on TV and visited dignitaries and presidents.

When she took the role as family ambassador during the 2003 centennial at the Wright Brothers National Memorial, she saw nearly 40,000 people gathered to see a replica of their plane attempt a take-off.

--Cooter

Wright Brothers' Niece Recalls Old Family Stories-- Part 1

From the October 19, 2014, Goldsboro (N.C.) News-Argus by AP.

Amanda Wright Lane Says Loved Ones Always Believed They Would Achieve Flight.

About 50 years ago, Amanda Wright Lane's third-grade teacher told the class that the Wright brothers were the first to achieve flight.  She thought to herself that that wasn't right..  The first to fly were Uncle Wil and Uncle Orv.

She remembers that her extended family would gather every Sunday to tell stories about her famous uncles who ran a bicycle shop in Dayton and were fond of practical jokes.  And, they had the conviction that one day, they would fly.

The family supported them, but neighbors thought they were wasting their time.

She is the Wright brothers' great grand-niece and has been traveling the world since the 2003 centennial celebration of the historic December 17, 1903, flight at Kill Devil Hill in North Carolina.  She was born in 1953 and is the descendant of Wilbur and Orville's older brother Lorin.

More to Come.  --"Air" Cooter.

Kansas City's Liberty Memorial Readies for World War Centennial

From the Jan. 10, 2014, Kansas City (Mo) State "As World War I centennial approaches, Liberty Memorial museum will take center stage" by Matt Campbell.

The Liberty Museum is the largest repository of Great War items other than London's Imperial War Museum.

The Society for Military History will have 600 in attendance for their annual meeting at the museum in April. The World War I Centennial Commission, created by Congress, is anchored at the Liberty Memorial and will hold a conference in August which will be streamed online under the heading "Guns of August."

World War I was the first modern mechanized war and led to the collapse of empires. The beginning of the war will be marked this August, but another peak interest will be in 2017, the 100th anniversary of the United States' entry into it.

The Liberty Memorial Association is a private group, but manages the publicly-owned monument and will also be striving to raise money with the increased interest. It had its inception back in 1919, when Kansas City raised $2.5 million to create the Liberty Memorial which was dedicated in 1925.

A Place I'd Sure Like to Visit This Year. --DaCot

Preparing for the World War I Centennial

From the March 9, 2012, Silver Coins Today "WWI Centennial Silver Dollar Commemorative Coins proposed" by Rhonda Key.

Also, the House of Representatives in Congress introduced a bill calling for up to 350,000 coins to be issued in 2017 and the "World War I American Centennial Commemorative Coin Act H.R. 4107," sponsored by Representative Doug Lambora. The U.S. declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917. The war had actually been going on since 1914.

 --Cooter

See World War I Trenches in a Truck

From the February 13, 2012, Salt Lake (Utah) Tribune "Step into WWI trenches in 'big-rig' gallery visiting Utah."

You can walk through a trench and examine a Colt machine gun which took a crew of seven to operate.

An 18-wheeler truck will be at Salt Lake City's Fort Douglas Military Museum on Feb. 25th. Admission is free, but donations accepted.

Waddell & Reed, a financial services company founded by two World War I veterans in 1937 created this traveling exhibit with the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.  In it, you can see weapons, equipment, uniforms and even the flight suit and gear used by company co-founder Chauncey Waddell.

The exhibit also features the contributions and roles of women, blacks and immigrants to the war effort.

World War I resulted in the deaths of approximately 16.5 million with another 25 million wounded. In just over a year, the U.S. suffered 116,708 military deaths and even 757 civilian ones.

This tour comes on the eve of the centennial commemoration of the war.

You can check out their website at Waddell & Reed Traveling World War I Exhibit.

--Cooter

Bill Leaves Out D.C. World War I Memorial

From the Dec. 31,2012, Washington Times by Tom Howell.

Congress approved a bill Monday, Dec. 31st calling for an observance of the upcoming centennial of World War I, or First World War as it is also referred to, especially in Europe.  That would be 2014-2018 overall, but 2017-2018 for actual U.S. involvement.

However, part of the earlier December House bill called for a memorial in D.C.'s National Mall, and the Senate didn't pass that part, primarily because of the efforts of the two Missouri senators.  The Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri, will be redesignated as the "National World War I Museum Memorial."

A commission will be set up for the centennial.

I Still Think There Should Be Some Sort of Memorial on the Mall.  --Cooter

Last Veterans Day for WW I Vets?

This 90th observance of the end of the War to End All Wars could also be the last one for the four remaining veterans of World War I who are all in their 100s.

Today, representatives of the warring countries between 1914 and 1918 are gathering at the 1916 Battle of Verdun in France where 300,000 men died over an eleven month period.

REMAINING VETERANS

Britain has three: Henry Alingham, 112; Harry Patch, 110, and Bill Stone, 108. These three men, representing the RAF, Army and Royal Navy will lead a two-minute silence at the Cenotaph National War Museum in London today.

In the US, Frank Buckles, 107, of West Virginia, is the sole remaining veteran.

Erick Kastner, the last German soldier died in January of this year at age 107. Lazare Ponticelli, the Italian-born last French soldier died in March.


CASUALTIES 1914-1918

Germany- 1.9 million
Russia-- 1.7 million
France-- 1.4 million
Austria-Hungarian Empire-- 1 million
Britain-- 760,000

Staggering Thoughts. A Salute to the Few Survivors.