Natural Graffiti

Fungi graffiti. (Spalting in tree trunk.)



Snail graffiti.



Insect scrollwork?

Albert Eugene Dunfee

Here we have another example of the results of using the "foil technique" for easier reading of tombstones, as mentioned in a previous post.



Albert Eugene Dunfee was the fifth known child born to William H. Dunfee and Catherine Jones. They are all buried in the Masonic Section of Greenhill Cemetery in Columbia City, Indiana. Albert died on April 2nd 1865, just a little over a year old. Previous transcriptions of this section of the cemetery give the last numeral in his year of death as a 5. The numeral in the number of days has variously been identified as a 5, and a 3. His obituary gives the number of days as 16. But if the year is a 5, then I think the number of days is 15, though I could be wrong. Who is to say, at this late date, which is correct?

Somewhere I have a copy of his obituary from the microfilmed newspaper that I identified as the Columbia City Post published on Wednesday, April 5, 1865. That is also the date listed by Nellie Raber in her "Digest of Obituaries" mentioned in the post on Albert's sister Laura.

=+==+==+=

Died, the 2nd inst, Albert Eugene, infant son of William and Catharine Dunfee, of Lung fever, aged one year, one month and sixteen days.

Though but an infant, destined to but a short stay with his parents, yet he had reached that age so interesting in childhood, when the music of his innocent prattle gave him prominence in the family circle. But a few days since little Albert made glad the heart of fond parents, loving sisters and brother, but midst their hopes and joys, death quietly enters and lays claim to their little treasure, and
"From tender friends he was quickly torn,
Their loss they now in sadness mourn,
From all he is gone."

Little Albert's parents no doubt had often, when enjoying his infantile glee, built up for themselves in their glad anticipation many happy days with him here, patiently watching the opening bud,
"When came disease and open'd the door,
And from their arms their treasure tore,
But near, there watched an angel band
Who took their Bertie by the hand;
They showed his little feet the way
To realms of joy in endless day;
Now, with new songs high heaven rings,
For there their darling Bertie sings;
He lives in Heaven."

Peruse our Virtual Album and Tickle Your Funny Bone!

Welcome to the 6th Edition of Smile For The Camera ~ A Carnival of Images!

Show us that picture that never fails to bring a smile to your face! An amusing incident, a funny face, an unusual situation. Choose a photograph of an ancestor, relative, yourself, or an orphan photograph that tickles your Funny Bone. . .

A big Thank You goes out to everyone who participated in this edition of Smile for the Camera, there were 29 posts by 28 contributors. As you peruse the pages of our virtual photo album, I am sure you will find more than a few pictures that will tickle your funny bone!

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Leading us off today is Midge Frazel of Granite in My Blood. She reminds us to "Never forget that your parents were once young, crazy and impulsive; even if they are gone, laughter about them will endure forever." Good advice, indeed. Her contribution to the carnival is My Parents Tickle My Funny Bone and it's likely to tickle yours too!

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Amanda Erickson presents Photo of my grandfather having fun posted at Random Ramblings. Two pretty girls and a "drunken" young man. Is it for real, or just pretend? Amanda's grandfather reveals the truth.

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Sheri Fenley, The Educated Genealogist, provides a "word picture" of her "Mummy Dahling" as "a lovely woman, a little uptight, a lot of prim and proper" but does that really describe Sheri's mother? Seems there is a funny side to her mother too, as shown in It Must be Genetic.

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Linda Stienstra, blogging at From Axer to Ziegler, presents some recent family pictures in These Just Tickle my Funny Bone!. A happy, laughing family with a little guy whose laughter is contagious and another of a couple of goofballs! When I viewed Linda's second contribution, Wouldn't this make you laugh out loud? I did, laugh out loud that is.

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Normally, you wouldn't think that a picture taken of a man in the hospital would be funny, but Elyse Doerflinger shows us that it can be with Hilarious Pictures Of My Family posted at Elyse's Genealogy Blog. Be sure you find out what he's reading!

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Wendy Littrell gives us "Scream" for the Camera posted at All My Branches Genealogy. Wendy says "Yes, we are a bunch of sick individuals! This picture shows just how twisted we are." Well, it is Halloween after all.

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Jasia, the lady with the Creative Gene has some new-found cousins with a sense of humor. And it shows in It Tickles My Funny Bone..., which is also a very nice tribute to a WWII Navy veteran.

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At I Dream of Genea(logy), Amir Dekel presents us with a photograph of his paternal grandfather that shows "an amazing blend of extreme happiness, some sadness, pain and sheer terror". And given the circumstances, I agree! You'll find it posted at I Dream of Genea(logy): Smile for the Camera.

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T.K. asks "The funny bone is in the ear? Who knew?" Check out Tickle! posted at Before My Time. A wonderful, amusing portrait of mother and son!

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Colleen M. Johnson presents Pouty Laughs posted at CMJ Office Blog. Colleen has a right hook that had her grandfather laughing. And a second photo has Colleen admitting that "Pouty faces tickle my funny bone."

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Summer is officially over and autumn has set in. Where has the summer gone? Miss Jocelyn presents her Summer '08 Memoirs posted at A Pondering Heart that will have her smiling with remembrances for a long time.

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Bob Franks presents Yawning for the Camera? posted at Itawamba History Review: The Itawamba Historical Society. Bob says "From the first time I saw it many years ago, this photo has always brought a smile to my face. To me, it looks as if the subject was caught yawning the moment the photographer captured the image with the camera."

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Julie Cahill Tarr recently went antiquing and rescued some orphan photos. One in particular, Funny, Ha-Ha posted at GenBlog, made her chuckle. Their expressions are priceless.

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Terry Thornton, of Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi, presents A photographic essay of an orphan --- a visitor at Christmas. He says, "A few years ago, Sweetie and I "adopted" an orphan. During the few weeks the orphan was at our house, he took over our household. He was out of control --- and in need of a Ten Step Plan for rehabilitation. We sent him on his way and our household returned to normal --- what a relief. All we have left of that time are these photographs."

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One picture says it all! Donna Pointkouski combines all of the suggestions given in the prompt for this edition: "an amusing incident, some funny faces, an unusual situation" in her contribution My Father, the Comedienne posted at What's Past is Prologue.

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With My Dad, the Birthday Boy - But on a Horse?? posted at Attala County Memories, Janice Tracy wonders was a horse, a car, a tractor, and a wagon pulled by a goat all “accepted” as normal places for photographing children “way back when"?

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"Is this your grandma? Let's see, height, about 6'4", clean shaven, broad of shoulder... hmmmm..." Well, Sheri Bush says that Kind Of A Drag . . . posted at TwigTalk is an orphan photo but I wonder if she is just embarrassed to claim it as one of her family?

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Melody Lassalle presents Look! It's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! posted at The Research Journal. Melody says " I can’t help but look at that fake city background, then the car, and laugh."

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With The Chart Chick: The smile on a little girl's face. posted at The Chart Chick, Janet Hovorka, shows us several of her mother's favorite pastimes, well, maybe one isn't quite so much a favorite.

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John Newmark presents Smile For the Camera: Funny Bone posted at TransylvanianDutch. A grandmother who hides behind a large pair of sunglasses and a grandfather who prepares to dive into the water - aren't candid photos the best?

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Msteri River says "This family line is full of silliness!" and you can see the truth of that statement in It Tickles My Funny Bone posted at Heritage Happens.

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Carol presents 6th Edition Smile For The Camera - Funny Bone posted at iPentimento In Your Reader. She says, "I can’t say this picture necessarily makes me laugh, but it does make me smile :)"

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M. Diane Rogers, blogging at CanadaGenealogy, or, 'Jane's Your Aunt' says " Here's a family photo that always makes me smile!" Funny Bone - Smile for the Camera.

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At Taylorstales-Genealogy, Pam Taylor authoritatively states Laughter really is the best medicine! and gives a short, loving tribute to "two people who loved to share a smile and a laugh."

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Randy Seaver presents Family Photographs - Post 26: The Kids posted at Genea-Musings. According to Randy, "Children always make me smile, and laugh, and appreciate the gift of unconditional love between parent and child, and grandparent and grandchild too. These are my favorite people in the world."

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Over at Destination: Austin Family, Thomas MacEntee wonders if it is Funny, Embarrassing or a Cruel Joke? What? You ask? I'll just say it involves a cake and a 13-year old girl on a special day.

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footnoteMaven shares a special photo of Mr. Denver Colorado posted at footnoteMaven. There's more to the tale than a tall hat!

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And, rounding out this edition of Smile For The Camera, is my contribution Funny face, I love you! posted right here at kinexxions.

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The word prompt for the 7th Edition of Smile For The Camera is Oh, Baby! Show us those wonderful family photographs of babies, or those you've collected. Share the ones that are too cute for words, or those only a mother could love. Your favorite of grandma or grandmas' favorite. Grandpa on a bear skin rug or grandpas' little love. Everyone has a baby photo, so let's see it!

Choose a photograph of an ancestor, relative, yourself, or an orphan photograph that is the epitome of Oh, Baby! and bring it to the carnival. Admission is free with every photograph!

Your submission may include as many or as few words as you feel are necessary to describe your treasured photograph. Those words may be in the form of an expressive comment, a quote, a journal entry, a poem (your own or a favorite), a scrapbook page, or a heartfelt article. The choice is yours!

Deadline for submission is midnight (PT) November 10, ...

There are two options for submitting your contribution:

1. Send an email to the host, footnoteMaven. Include the title and permalink URL of the post you are submitting, and the name of your blog. Put 'Smile For The Camera' clearly in the title of your email!
2. Use the handy submission form provided by Blog Carnival.

Phend-Fisher Family Reunion Ledger (1923)

[page 1]
The fourteenth annual reunion of the Phend - Fisher family was held at the home of Jacob Phend north-west of Elkhart on Sunday Sep 2, 1923.

There were 61 members and 5 friends present. The forenoon was spent in a social way. Rev. J. H. Held gave thanks before serving dinner. Prayer and interesting talk by Rev. Held preceding business session after dinner.

Officers elected.
Wm. Phend, Pres.
Ralph Ernest, V. Pres.
Reuben Pletcher, treas.
Ed Phend, Sec'y.

A committee was appointed by the president to secure date and place for the next reunion, consisting of
Fredrik Wherley
Will Phend
Fred Ernest

Music by Mrs. Ed Phend and La Mar. It was moved and seconded that Mr. and Mrs. John Waddels of

[page 2]
Tippecanoe, Ind. should be recognized as members of the reunion. The[y] were unanimously elected as members.

Ice Cream was served before leaving for home. A collection was taken to defray expenses.
Fred ErnestSec'y.



The Phend-Fisher families gathered for a reunion in Elkhart County, Indiana almost annually from 1909 until 1943. Usually held at Nappanee, the events of the day were recorded in an old ledger book. Spelling has been retained as it was in the original though some punctuation and paragraph breaks have been added. To view all articles in this series click on the "Phend-Fisher Reunion Ledger" label at the bottom of this post.

Climbing "cold"?

Here is a retread from last March I find worth repeating.



I spent 12 hrs out yesterday. Not a big deal but recognised a few things I think worth mentioning.



To climb in the most efficient clothing system I think you have to climb what I consider, "cold". You want to run your clothing system at a level of heat that is well short of sweating the majority of time. So you want to be almost a tiny bit chilled a majority of time if you stop moving. And everyone starting off should feel a tiny bit chilled.



Almost the perfect storm for me yesterday. Dehydrated from the day before and little sleep the night before. Too much to get done in real life so I could get away for the day. Sound familiar? Been nursing a bad knee for several a weeks and finally had another MRI done to make sure I wasn't risking bigger injuries and more down time. So I was tired from the chronic knee pain of the last couple of weeks and had been trying to ignore the massive doses of Ibuprofen which is what I needed to get healed up.



At the trail head there was a huge temperature inversion that we didn't recognize in the predawn start. We had gained 5000' and it was cold. Seemed reasonable.



So I bundled up. With all the wrong things happening in the last 48 hrs I didn't want to be cold and uncomfortable. Being tired, dehydrated and edgy from the knee pain I just didn't tolerate the cold well that morning. It should have been an alarm bell.



Couple of hrs later we were well out of the temperature inversion. It was above freezing now and we were in the sun. I was over heated, sweating and stripping clothes as we climbed higher in the glacier basin. 1/2 way into the walk I noticed 3/4 of my day's water bottle was already gone. That was a little shocking as I generally pay careful attention to how I go through my water. That was my first alarm bell to just how out of it I really was.



What I had brought for water would have just barely been enough if everything went perfectly and we summited in 4 maybe 5 hours. I'd be dehydrated but could easily suck it up till we got back to the car.



Then the final straw was it took a full 6 hrs of trail breaking just to get to our 1500' climb. We knew the game was over 3 hrs into the walk but pressed on anyway to at least see what we in such a hurry to get up. Time to make this one a "teachable moment".



Quick bottom line? I over dressed because I wanted to me more comfortable. Unnoticed, I drank my water quickly because I was dehydrated from the previous 24 hrs. I then over heated because I over dressed, carried more than I should have in gear and clothing and not enough water.



So now as I get even more dehydrated, I get cold feet from wet boots I sweated out from being too warm. Then I am getting cold again because I am dehydrated and physically tired and having to add layers I can't easily technical climb in. Things have gone down hill fast in 6hrs. But it all started 56 or 72 hours beforehand I just didn't recognise it.



Truth is I should have stayed home and gotten some rest and re-hydrated and waited a day or so before going out again.. I would have climbed faster and better if I had done so.



My thought is if you are physically incapable of "climbing cold" do yourself a favor and stay home. I let the weather and my desire to spend time with a buddy sway me. We all do it.



The better we can identify what goes wrong and why the easier it is to have a better trip next time.

Central Kansas :: Another Sunset

Sunday, May 8th - - After my brief visit at Mushroom Rock State Park I continued west a short distance to Ellsworth. Then I spent a few hours driving around Russell County, part of which lies north of Interstate 70, and Barton County, which is to the south of Russell County and also south of I-70. You may be asking, Why?



After residing in Iowa for a short time (circa 1866-1868), my third great-grandparents, Lysander and Lydia (Robison) Joslin returned to Whitley County, Indiana. In 1877 they once again sold their land in Whitley County and headed west, this time to Odin, Cheyenne Township, Barton County, Kansas. Here they remained until 1891 when they moved to near Lyndon in Osage County in eastern Kansas.



I really couldn't do research – it was Sunday! Poor timing on my part. I did make a stop at the library in Great Bend for several hours and took a look at some of the books they had. Basically, I simply wanted to see what the countryside was like. The terrain to the north of I-70 differs dramatically from the land that lies to the south, at least in that immediate area. Russell County north of I-70 has hills, large hills. And gullies, deep and big. Southern Russel County and most of Barton County are relatively flat in comparison. Good farming land.



I considered staying in the area another night but decided against it, for various reasons. Instead I continued west on State Road 4 and stopped for the night at Cedar Bluff State Park near the small town of Brownell. It was another hot and windy day, with the temperature nearly reaching 100 degrees. And the air conditioning in the van wasn't working.



The site I had selected was in the shade near the beach. Even in the shade the heat was almost unbearable and I was thankful for the strong breeze that was blowing. My neighbors were a nice young couple. We weren't so lucky with the group that arrived in the early evening. They were loud with the stereo blaring, really inconsiderate. After about 15 minutes I left to find another site (it was a self-serve campground) in another area of the park. The new site turned out to be much better – flush toilets nearby! ;-)



It was also a better campsite because it offered a very nice view of the lake and the sunset, which was once again highly colorful due to the hazy sky. Thankfully, once the sun went down it cooled off considerably!

Mercado de San Miguel: A gourmet paradise in Madrid

This gourmet market located beside Plaza Mayor is fairly new, recently renovated and re-opened in May replacing the old traditional marketplace. That is why I haven’t heard or seen anything about this foodie nirvana when I last visited the Spanish capital in 2006.




The idea is like the La Boqueria Mercado in Barcelona. I was here as well a few years back and pretty much enjoyed the experience which was spent taking fotos of fruits, vegetables, gourmet food, fish and meat. The explosion of bright colours in this marketplace was breathtaking. There is a difference though between the two. The La Boqueria Mercado is more a combination of a wet and farmer’s market + culinary cafés whereas the Mercado de San Miguel is more focused on becoming the new fastfood-culinary-cultural-café of Madrid. Tapas everywhere. I haven’t really seen much of fresh fish and raw meat on sale here except for the ready-to-eat ones.




And I would not be surprised if the Spaniards patterned the concept of market + dining-in from Ostermalm’s Salluhal in Stockholm that dates back to 1818. I actually had lunch here early this month when I was in the city visiting. I will soon blog about it. Ah, I just love, love, love gourmet places like these.




The Mercado de San Miguel is a MUST VISIT and a MUST EAT HERE when in Madrid. Truly pushing gastronomic heights to the next level!




In my next entry I will blog about our walking lunch inside the Mercado de San Miguel. I really pampered myself with all the foods that I want to eat. I am such a shameful glutton =)




Check out more YUMMY fotos below:




After seeing these heavenly gastronomic delights I am sure I have made you hungry. Ah, sorry ladies and gentlemen, there is more torment to come =)

Motobecane Grand Touring, Town & Country Edition

The Co-Habitant has been riding his Motobecane redux creation for the past month, and as far as what he was looking for it is a mission accomplished: The bike is nice enough to enjoy riding, but not so nice that he is unwilling to leave it locked up in the city.

This project started out as a game of sorts, where the idea was to build up a complete bike using only parts we already had.

The frame is a MotobecaneGrand Touring that an acquaintance gave the Co-Habitant a year ago. Made of Vitus 888 tubing, it is nicer than the Super Mirage model of his former roadbike. Being a touring frame, it is also somewhat more relaxed, so it made sense to build it up as a transportation bicycle.

Many of the components were moved over from the other Motobecane frame.

Others had been acquired in the past, waiting for the right project. It was particularly nice to finally have occasion to use these original Belleri handlebars. Surprisingly, they fit bar-end shifters.The combination looks eccentric, but it's convenient. The stem could be longer, but this one was already filed down to accommodate the French sizing, and we did not want to ruin another one.



Fizikhandlebar tape, in brown. The only exception to the "must already own it" rule, I bought this in Vienna (the brown and honey colours are not sold int he US). "City" brake levers from Velo Orange - these arevery convincingly "vintagey."



The least vintagey part of the bike is the SuginoAlpina crankset. We figure that the out of place crankset and bar-ends lend a sense of humor to a bike that may otherwise have come across as too perfectly French. This way it feels more approachable.

Speaking of approachable, initially we were not sure whether this vintage BrooksColt I'd acquired some time ago could ever be made ridable, as it had a nasty ridge along the center. I'd tried the "blocking" (water soaking) method, but the ridge persisted. However, the Co-Habitant managed to flattened it after a couple of rides on the water-softened leather and reports that it is now quite comfortable.

He mounted a Spanniga Pixeo tail light on the rear fender, and uses a removable CayEye headlight on the handlebars.

In the future there might be a rear rack in this bicycle's future, but for now it sports a roomy (but rather inconvenient to open and close) Minnehaha saddlebag.

I have to say that I am thoroughly enjoying the existance of this bicycle: Finally we can go out and leave our bikes locked up in the city for hours, without the Co-Habitant constantly worrying about his. It is by no means a "beater," but it is sufficiently unprecious for him to relax about its fate.

An additional benefit of having built up this bike, is that it showed us how different two models from the same manufacturer and vintage could be. This Grand Touring frame is exactly the same size as his former Super Mirage, but the front wheel on this bike is considerably "further out" - probably a combination of a more relaxed headtube angle and more fork rake. Unfortunately, he no longer has the other frame to compare exact measurements or to photograph them side-by-side. And while he expected for a bike with Vitus 888 tubing to feel nicer than a hi-ten bike, the difference between the two (with the same wheelset and tires) still managed to surprise him. The ride is considerably cushier and the bicycle is much lighter in weight (26lb with the build shown, not including the saddlebag). Having ridden this bike myself and enjoyed it a lot more than any other '70s-80s Motobecane bike I'd tried earlier, I am now curious to try the mixte version. A number of readers have written me about being disappointed with the ride quality of the vintage French bikes that one typically finds for sale in the US, so this might be a good model to look for. More pictures of this bicycle here, for anyone interested.