Verification photos on Flickr

put an alternative email address into my flickr account. flickr help, say I have to verify I am the owner of it by sending them a photo of my self which can be compared to the one in my account which I know it doesn't have as it was not asked for when I set it up in around 2009.

I have finally got around to changing my broadband provider, which means that I will not be able to access my flickr stream after Monday. May be when things have calmed down, I will be able to open a new stream.

In case I lose contact with you, I thank you all for your friendship and the love and joy you have shared with me.

It is a fast and changing world, Love and light to you all, until we meet again,

Bettina ❤️

O Glory! This morning I found that Amanda, on the flickr support team has sorted everything out overnight for me and that I won't be locked out or lose my flickr stream or most importantly, contact with you all.

I am so happy and now have the heart to face the day and to sort out the rest of our computer admin before our new broadband provider plugs us in on Monday

The newest Cardinal by John Hall

13 1

This is from the first set of professional Alphie photos. I didn't take this one.

KOM League Flash Report

For Week

of

February 1-6, 2015

After sending each Flash Report I look at the screen and ask myself if that will be the last one.

What is intuitively obvious, even to the casual observer, on first glance, these reports are “without form and void.” Thanks to the Book of Genesis for those words.

There is never any impulse to attempt to fabricate a story for I’m well aware of my limitations in the writing sphere. I was reminded of that by one reader who gave me a passing score for my efforts but congratulated me on the timing of and the inclusion of a recent Bill Clark article on the Valomilk. He deemed Clark to be the best writer of material in the last report, to which I wholeheartedly agreed.

Stay with me for a bit for I’m going to spend a little time on the aforementioned Mr. Clark. His Flash Report is sent at the same time as the rest of those on the mailing list. However, he neither turns a computer on or off and is reliant on a family member to find the report and then print it for him.

Clark keeps a busy schedule and goes more places and does more things, in a week, than I’ve done in the past ten years. When Monday rolls around I assume that anyone to whom the Flash Report was sent has read it or deleted it from the computer by that time. Late on this past Monday afternoon Clark’s wife, Barbara, called to let me know he thought he left a long message on my telephone answering machine earlier in the day. I was a bit puzzled until Barbara explained that she had received a call from a gentleman stating he had received a long message from her husband that didn’t make a lot of sense to him and obviously he wasn’t interested in the things about which Clark and I talk about on the telephone.

So, as I write this Clark doesn’t know that he hit “442” instead of “445” when attempting to call me. He got the right number, but it belonged to someone else. I now know, after speaking with Barbara. that he is going to write a story regarding a game he umpired at Clinton, Mo. when Ernie Banks played for the Kansas City Monarchs. Although I don’t know the details I’d guess it was the same summer—1952-- Banks and the Monarchs showed up in Carthage to take on the Indianapolis Clowns.

Since there is a real fan of Bill Clark who also reads these Flash Reports this is a heads up that he will have another article on baseball in his daily column. For all you Clark fans his work can be accessed at Columbiatribune.com That is a site that limits the number of times each month you can visit it so use your access judiciously.

_______________________________________________________________________

Conclusion to a previous Flash Report story

Speeding and running stop sign inspected. That was a headline appearing on page 12 of the Saturday September 12, 1953 Edition of the Omaha Evening Journal.

In a couple of recent issues, of this publication, a name arose who had no affiliation with the KOM league. He was a member of the Osage Tribe who pitched briefly for Hutchinson, Kansas, in 1949, before being replaced on the roster by Jack McCalman who had started that season with the Carthage, MO Cubs.

When information is located about former players who weren’t affiliated with the KOM league, and for whom I can verify their passing, I share that with Jack Morris who keeps tabs on former players who have crossed o’er the Jordan River.

When first mentioning the late Hutchinson pitcher I surmised that although I had found out a great deal regarding his early life that I might never learn of his date and place of birth and his fate. Shortly, I learned all of the above with the exception I didn’t know what led to his death at a very young age. Well, the Omaha newspaper of 1953 had this account of a car accident from a Saturday afternoon 62 years ago. “A 25 year old man was injured severely early Saturday when his car sideswiped another on East Locust Street, continued three hundred feet and plowed into a tree. The impact tore a shoe from the foot of the driver Herbert Hay (sp) Pitts, resident of the downtown YMCA. He was reported in fair condition Saturday at County Hospital. He suffered multiple cuts of the head, left arm and leg and both hands and a concussion. He was unconscious several hours.”

For the newspaper reference cited I have Jack Morris, baseball necrologist, to thank. The rest of what I knew about Pitts was basically contained in Ancestry.com files, some old Baseball Guides and the Hutchison News. Pitts had played professionally in 1948 with Odessa and Lubbock in the West Texas-New Mexico league and after being released by Hutchinson, in 1949, due to a sore right arm, (citation from Hutchinson News) he hooked on with Alexandria and Lafayette in the Evangeline league in 1950. He was an effective pitcher when he was able to perform. He had a winning record in his three seasons in pro ball.

On October 18, 1950 he entered the United States Army and received his discharge on November 1, 1952. In an ironic twist he passed away one year and one day later on November 2, 1953, most likely from his injuries suffered in the September car accident.

On December 22, 1953 an application was filed with the U. S. Headstone Agency for Military Veterans for their consideration. That information is part of the public record. . search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=QGHeadstoneApps&am... request was for a flat bronze marker. Sometime between the application date and January 18, 1954 it had been reviewed and marked up by someone using a red pencil. On the request was the word “undesirable” which was underlined twice.

With that information I went back to his Find A Grave site: msbdy=1928&msbpn__ftp=oklahoma&cpxt=0&catBucket=rstp&uidh=tk3&cp=0&pcat=ROOT_CATEGORY&h=38864566&db=FindAGraveUS&indiv=1&ml_rpos=2

The tombstone that now marks the spot of Herbert Pitts’ final resting place doesn’t contain a flat bronze marker as can been seen if you pulled up the previous URL. For those who didn’t or can’t, it is a very nice marble headstone. For anyone familiar with gray marble they will quickly recognize it as being Carthage Marble. In fact, one reader, of this report played for the Carthage Cubs in 1951 and worked the winter of 1951-52 at Carthage Marble and will verify the statement that the tombstone for the late Mr. Pitts is from the place he played ball and worked during one of the greatest years of his young life. Just because he met a pretty young lady in 1951 had NOTHING to do with him staying around Carthage for the off season, right WB? WB is the same guy who took Hank Aaron to the hospital during the 1952 Northern League All-Star game. That was a story in last week’s report. How many of you recall that story? Shucks, how many of you even recall last week?”

________________________________________________________________________

Another puzzler almost solved.

This story, like the previous one, has a common thread…an automobile accident.

Since the start of all the effort to locate a former member of an Iola ball club, in the early 1950’s, I’ve looked, scratched through all manner of records and looked again and again for a trace of him. I always thought he was born in Salina and later lived in a small town across the Smokey Hill River to the Southeast of the place he entered this world. However, in searching every document I could find I never uncovered what happened to him after he left the KOM league. In recent days I unraveled his past and now understand why I had a tough time tracing his ancestry.

For this story I’ll just call the guy Marvin. In my research I found through some family archives that, due no fault of his own, was born out of wedlock in 1932 to Raymond and Anna, both of whom had different last names as you might expect. Raymond was 25 at the time and Anna was 17. So, Marvin was adopted, given the last name of the adopted parents and grew up on a farm in Central Kansas. It appears that his mother, Anna, stayed in Salina but Raymond took off and went to Torrington, Wyoming where he married a girl by the name of Sarah, a year later. I don’t know what became of Sarah but Raymond lived another 60 years before his death in Parker, Colorado in 1994. Looking at stories like that I wonder if Raymond ever knew his son got a chance to play professional baseball. Also things like that raise the question as to whether Marvin ever saw or knew of his father.

The “mystery man” in this story was scouted by a former minor leaguer from Lecompton, Kansas by the name of Russell Sehon. Since Marvin came out of the Salina area and that town was a Philadelphia Phillies farm club at the time it is most likely Sehon signed him for the Phils and had him assigned to a Class D independent club, Iola. The young infielder showed up at Iola on May 28, of an unspecified year, and had six runs batted in, in one game, shortly after his arrival. Since he played at Iola during the years I was watching baseball I’m sure I saw him. Now, I wish I could find him but probably never will. One thing about the young man’s four score games with Iola was, he had a tough time hitting his weight and that spelled the end of his baseball aspirations.

Had Marvin taken the last name of his birth mother he would have had the same name as a great Brooklyn Dodger pitcher of that era. Had he taken the name of his “long gone” father, it would have been the only name of its kind in the history of organized baseball. As it turned out Marvin had the adopted last name of scores of men who played professional baseball.

Whether Marvin is alive is unknown but he had three half- sisters of which two are living and doing so in Salina, Kansas. I could make contact with the survivors to find out about Marvin but I’d be a little fearful of doing that. Notice I prefaced that with “a little.”

Follow-up to the story

While attempting to locate additional information regarding Marvin I came upon a Salina, Kansas Journal article written a dozen or so years after he left the KOM League. The headline was “Salinian Found Unconscious in His Car.” At the start I didn’t know if this was the same guy who played in the KOM league or not. I didn’t know the answer until I read down to the last paragraph. So, follow along and see what I found. (Some of verbiage in this article was a little hard to grasp but it is a direct quote.)

“Thirty-year old Marvin K. Anonymous, Salina RFD, was found unconscious, a 1.5 inch gash across the center of his forehead, on the floorboards of a car east of Salina Saturday night.

In Ditch

The 1958 model car was in a ditch on the south side of Marymount Road approximately 2.5 miles east of the city. The Sheriff’s Patrol said the car had a flat front tire but no other apparent damage.

Cause not known

The Sheriff’s Patrol said cause of the accident was not determined by late Saturday night.”

At this point I was still curious as to whether I had found a story on a “missing” KOM leaguer, or not. The article concluded. “It is believed Anonymous was employed at a Salina golf course. He is a former professional baseball and former star athlete at Anonymous (not Salina) High School.”

It appears the “missing” KOM leaguer stayed in the area in which he was born. I located three references to him in the Salina Journal and all of them were from April through June of that year in the early 1960’s. In all cases the references were due to hospitalizations.

Run the clock forward 30 years and there is a reference, in an obituary, that he was the brother to a deceased female. That caused me some concern for in the 1940 Census he was the only child mentioned in the family. However, in looking at that Census document I found that he had been adopted by a couple who were 42 years of age. It is possible that they had raised some children who had left the home by that time which made sense that they, at an advanced age of parenting a baby, did indeed adopt Marvin. The only thing that gives me pause that Anonymous was still in the Salina area in the early 1990’s is a plea in the April 28, 1976 edition of the Salina Journal. The plea was placed there by a lady trying to locate former graduates of the high school where Anonymous had attended and from where he had graduated nearly a quarter century earlier.

With all the research done on this matter I have reason to believe Marvin is still living and if I could go to a certain town in North Central Kansas, not Salina, I think I could speak with him and complete this tale. If I ever saw him I think I’d recognize him since I do have a photo of him taken almost 65 years ago. I’m sure he hasn’t changed…much.

Social commentary:

Keeping the name and most ways of identifying Marvin Anonymous from being determined was on purpose. I’m sure Marvin probably found out, some time in his life, the circumstances under which he entered this world. However, he might not have shared that with many people and it isn’t my role in life to spread that bit of information. When he was born the times were different. The unmarried mother many times left town on some “made up” reason and left the newborn in the custody of an agency who adopted it out to some family whether it was good or bad for the child. If the birth circumstance of the child was learned they often were called by a seven letter word that was far from flattering.

As I was finishing this story I heard a defensive back for one of the Super Bowl teams state that he didn’t know if he would play in the game on Sunday if his girl friend was giving birth to their child. The moral climate in this country has changed from Marvin’s day and even from the time I was a young and even older person. Now, anything goes and I’m not sure it is for the best. It used to be that Hollywood was known for its loose morals, and was the poster child for a way of life that residents in my part of the world never discussed or admitted in public knowing about. . The old joke was two youngsters who were sons of Hollywood starts were arguing. One youngster and says ‘My daddy can whip your daddy.’ To which the other youngster replied ‘My daddy is your daddy’.”

________________________________________________________________________

Many ballplayers were never scouted but sought out teams in various ways.

There are a variety of reasons the Flash Reports are read. How can I list all the ways? The answer is “I can’t and won’t even make an attempt.” However, when a former big leaguer passes away, who played in the KOM league, and there isn’t any record of who inked him to his first contract, I’ll get an inquiry. The latest case in point came when Charlie Locke passed away in early January.

It was time for me to reach out to the “far-flung” network of guys with great memories. Since Bill Ashcraft and Charlie Locke were from the same part of the country and signed the same year with the St. Louis Browns, I figured he could shed some light on the scout signing Locke. Here are a couple of responses provided some good grist for this edition.

•

John: I don't recall the name of the Scout who actually signed me. You may recall that in the 40s and early 50s some of the major league teams held "training camps where at a cost one could attend and play against his peers under the watchful eyes of various scouts. In 1950 I was invited to one of those camps which the Browns held in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. As I recall, the Browns had a training facility at an old "retired" US Military base there at Pine Bluff and that several baseball diamonds had been hewn out. We were housed in one of the old barracks and were given military type cots for sleeping on. I felt right at home. The Camp wasn't free by any means but the Browns indicated that the "Top Prospects" camp would have their tuition, bus fare, etc., refunded. I was lucky-my control was on and somehow I was selected Numero Uno and got my refund. I remember that Henry Peters, a Browns bigwig, was at the graduation ceremonies and I believe that he was the party who gave me my contract. Since I was still a "minor" they had to get my Dad's permission for me to sign although I had just been recently discharged from the Marine Corps (my first stint and I was called back in when the Korean War broke out which essentially did away with any baseball aspirations that I might have had). I met Peters again in 1952 when Bill Veeck, who had bought the team, directed that I come up and work out with the Big Boys immediately upon my second Marine discharge later that year. It was nice of Veeck but Hornsby, the Manager, readily saw that my arm was useless. Veeck was a good guy but Hornsby was an ass.

A bit later:

John: I tried to send you a reply but fouled up something-computerese is not my expertise. I guess that the Browns' experiment down in Pine Bluff could have been considered a try-out camp but as I recall most of try-out camps, as such, put on in the late 40s-early 50s were usually of the 1/2 or 1 day variety. I knew some of the local guys around Advance-Bloomfield who attended one of them and they indicated that they didn't get much of a chance to show their wares. My brother and a couple of his HS team mates around 1955-1956 went to one of the Cardinals camps in St. Louis and one of his friends could hit a ball as far as anybody I ever saw, but he said that he only got one at bat, and that was it. He could have easily played minor league ball and would probably have hit several home runs.

The Browns' camp at Pine Bluff was of a week or ten days duration and we had to pay to attend it. They brought several scouts in to watch the goings on The one day camps my brother's friends attended didn't cost them anything except for their road fare up to St. Louis and they had to bring their glove and shoes, perhaps a local uniform of some kind-but I don't recall if this was the case. The guys who attended our camp in Pine Bluff were from several locations around the country, people from Arkansas, Illinois, etc., the guy I mentioned who made it to the Big Leagues for a short period, Chuck Oertel, was from Pontiac, Michigan, and another guy who was in the camp was named Bill Zwirko from somewhere up in New Jersey-he also played for Enos at Baxley but I believe that he hung it up after a year or so.

The only guy at that camp that got a cup of coffee in the Big Leagues was Charles Oertel but it wasn't with the Browns, the White Sox I believe. He wasn't up in the bigs very long. It was funny but I was playing with the Camp Pendleton Marine team in early 1952 after my arm was shot and who would appear but Chuck Oertel, having also been called back in at the tail end of the Korean War. He and I had played with Baxley in the Georgia State League under the late Bill Enos.

Ed reply to all of the above:

Zwirko played one year at Hazlehurst-Baxley and hit .187. That may be the reason he quit.

Ed comment:

A few things in my years of research are universally the same. No matter with whom I spoke, who played for Rogers Hornsby, to a person they couldn’t tolerate him. But, there has to be an exception somewhere and as soon as I hear about it I’ll surely print the news. I even shared that sentiment a few months ago with a family member of the Hornsby’s who has a huge genealogy site. I’ve heard from a number of people who played for the late Bill Enos prior to his going into scouting. In his case, I never heard a disparaging word. As a visiting team batboy the year Enos was in the KOM league he was right at the top of my favorite managers list.

________________________________________________________________________

Now for the dessert.

In the last issue the Valomilk (VM) article by Bill Clark was saved for this part of the Flash Report. So, with a “sweet deal” going I’ll close with another Valomilk story.

John G Hall, you are now known as the “Guru of Valomilk”. After your story last week in the FR regarding Mr. Earl Sifers of Iola baseball and candy fame, you once again quirked my interest so I have been searching since for the old and familiar VM. And, if I had just followed your very explicit instructions I would not have wasted all my time, energy and $. I went first to Walgreen’s, as they have a huge candy department. No VMs. Went to Wally World. No VM. Went to Quik Trip. No VM. So, I finally decided perhaps should follow your guidance. Just went to my friendly Westlake ACE Hardware near my house. I found VM!!! Right at the checkout as you said. Told the clerk at checkout there was a special story behind my purchase so she had to hear it and of course I gave her a short rendition, including information on the KOM League. She, being an “older adult,” definitely remembered VM from the days far past. Time and the economy have taken their toll of course. It is now a 2-pack and sells for $1.99!!! My wife asked what it was “back in our days” and I cannot remember so thought perhaps you might? Sure it was only a single pack? And price?

The other famous one I remember from our swimming pool days with Keith and Norma is the Cherry Mash, manufactured then and now in St Joseph, Mo. And it is also on the candy checkout at ACE!!! My favorite though always was and still is a FROZEN Snicker bar!!!

But, thanks for the memories. And yes indeed, the address on the wrapper says 5112 Merriam Lane, Merriam, Kansas. If I had Paul Lindblad’s left arm I could hit that place with a rock from my home(well, almost). But since it is my lefty arm, I will drive there and drop the rock in their driveway. By the way the new name of company is Russell Sifers. I wonder if that is perhaps a son or even grandson?

Thanks for the memories John. Oh, by the way. I will not bother to look at the wrapper for the dietary info printed thereon. Just TYPING the word VALOMILK probably added 2 lbs to my weight---Ha!!”

Casey—Shawnee Mission, KS

One more thing before closing. I am glad it is a 2-pack. That means my bride of 46 years will have to share equally, which might prevent any “comments” re the nutrition value. That will be right after or before she has her Blue Bell Ice Cream of course!!!! Good thing she does not read these ramblings of mine!!

Ed reply:

Well, see if I can answer all your questions. The Valomilk cost one nickel and most of the nickels I received when selling them were Buffaloes.

The Cherry Mash was indeed made in St. Joseph, MO by the Chase Candy Company. However, it was at the top of the price list for candy. It cost one thin Roosevelt.

The Snicker and Milky Ways also sold for a nickel. But, when the corner grocery stores starting selling them frozen they upped the price to match the Cherry Mash. Snickers and Milky Way's were made by the Mars Candy Co. and they made a Mars Bar that had two almonds in each bar and that also brought a high price of ten cents. I thought all that candy was great until I tasted a Cadbury Caramello and then I kicked all those other confections to the side.

Earl Sifers was an uncle of Russell. Russell never saw Earl in his life as I recall him telling me at one of my purchasing forays prior to a KOM league reunion.. I told him things about the Iola operation he never knew. I also told him it was the preferred candy item of all KOM leaguers but he never gave me a price break on the hundreds of those things I purchased for a “few” reunions. I wearied of driving from Columbia, MO to Merriam, KS prior to each reunion so I finally talked Jim Jay into getting the Valomilks for me. He then became the most popular guy at the reunion. It seems to me that the double pack of Valomilks were 89 cents the last time I purchased them for a reunion. Maybe I got them cheaper since Sifers didn’t have to charge the freight costs.

_______________________________________________________________________

Some things just didn’t pan out

What KOM clubs anticipated at the start of spring training, in terms of roster composition, seldom turned out that way once the season started. This article from early spring of 1948 shows just how initial plans go awry. Even the manager who started out in the spring at Miami, Okla., Hank Gornicki had a change of heart about managing that club.

Miami News Record--THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 1948 PITCHERS WORK FOR POSITIONS ON LOCAL CLUB --14 Hurlers Among New Crop Of Owl Candidates; .29 new candidates battling for 21 positions on the Miami Owl roster, 14 are pitchers and eight are infielders. The others, all of whom reported for spring drill late Monday, include five outfielders and two backstops. Because College field hasn't been conditioned for workouts, the plan for junior Owl prospects to toil on the campus has been abandoned. Instead, there will be two squads in action daily at the Fairgrounds park, the Topeka Owls working during the afternoon. following morning practice by the local athletes, who will report at 10 a. m. Manager Windy Johnson of the Topekans and pilot Hank Gornicki of the Miami outfit will get a line on their hurling talent Saturday night and Sunday in the two nine-inning games slated at the Fairgrounds. The Saturday game will begin at 8, the Sunday afternoon clash at 2:30 o'clock. Pitching and batting practices will dominate the training program until the week-end tilts.

Topeka breaks camp April 16 for a series of exhibitions and the local aggregation, while remaining here for most of its conditioning, will travel occasionally for competition. Miami will open its season May 5. The new arrivals: Pitchers— Robert Scheer, Old Bridge, N. J.; Edward Brennan, New Haven, Conn.; Dennis Torris, Peabody, Mass.; Robert Vogel, South River, New Jersey; Lawrence Pugliese, Greenwich, Conn.; Francis Wilson, Lynn, Mass.; John Doyle, Salem, Mass.; Glen Oxandale, Wetmore, Kas.; Dean Christman, Jamestown, Kas.; Alex Grieves, Burlingame, Kas.; Robert Moore, Ottawa, Kas.; Fred Rykert, Lenexa, Kas.; and Rudy Newman, South Hambar, Mass. Infielders—Dennis Heins, New Haven, Conn.; Anthony Mormino, St. Louis, Mo.; Vernon Stout, St. Louis, Mo;. George Gibson, Brooklyn, N. Y.; Manric Bauer, Pawnee Rock, Kas.; Everett Moore, Morrowville, Kas.; James Moore, Ottawa, Kas.; and Robert Newcomer, Lenexa, Kas. Outfielders—Russell Burkemper, St. Louis, Mo.; Benjamin DiPietro, New York, N. Y.; Harold Lee, Lenoir City, Tenn.; Bart Mantia, St. Louis, Mo.; and Thomas Quinnlan, Perry, Kas. Catchers—Byron Perrigo, Holton, Kas.; and Willard Grunow, Egg Harbor City, N. Y. (Ed note: That was actually Egg Harbor City, New Jersey. A member of the 1948 Carthage Cardinals was from that same town. His name was Howard Leonard Obergfell who passed away in Willingboro, NJ at age 39, the year was 1966.)

Ed note:

In the research conducted on that 1948 team I only found the following names, from that early spring roster who played in at least one game for Miami: Alex Grieves, George Gibson, Robert Vogel, Edward Brennan and Rudy Neumann. Robert and James Moore from Ottawa, KS were brothers. Robert had made the Chanute roster in 1947 but was not offered a contract in 1948 after the New York Giants took over. Neither he or James made the Miami club in 1948.

Rudy Neumann was listed as ”Newman” from South Hambar, Mass. But he was actually from Hoboken, NJ and died in New Brunswick, NJ some 60 years after appearing at Miami. I was never able to find a South Hambar anywhere. That had to be a newspaper misspelling.

If someone wanted a “fun” project they could take those names of guys who didn’t make the Miami club in 1948 and see if they played elsewhere before their youth had fled. I would suspect there are a number of misspellings of names on that list as I just cited with Rudy Neumann. Robert Scheer spent the 1948 season at Topeka.

Later

For the fun of it I ran Ancestry.com checks on nearly everyone who didn’t make it on to the Miami roster. I was surprised to have been able to track everyone of those listed and with the exception of two names the Miami paper had them spelled correctly. Most of the fellows trying out for Miami in 1948 were WWII veterans and one of them, Benjamin L. “Bennie” DiPietra was a highly decorated soldier in the war and was “Missing in Action” for a period of three months from late 1944 until early 1945. He passed away in 1963 and is buried in Bristol, Pennsylvania.

Others from the list who reported to Miami in 1948 went into the Korean War such as Everett Moore of Morrowville, Kansas. He spent four years in the service and lived until August 29, 2009 when he passed away in Concordia, Kansas.

There was a letter left out of Fred Rykert’s name. He is Fred Charles Ryckert who was listed as being from Lenexa, Kansas. He was born outside Lenexa in Johnson County in 1922 and at age 93 resides in Ft. Collins, Colorado.

If for any reason anyone would want any information on the members of the early Miami spring roster of 1948 I now have a pretty good profile on everyone of them. Can you imagine the surprise that some family members of all those guys would have if they knew their loved one once had a shot at playing professional baseball?

________________________________________________

Warning: Old KOM League correspondence is a potential health hazard.

Late last year the nearly two-decade accumulation of correspondence was wheeled out my back door, into a van and across I-70 to the Kansas State Historical Society in Topeka. I have mentioned it a couple of times in the past but never dwelt on it. In recent days I received an update on the archival process.

This is the status of the project:

“John: Thought I would give you an update on the processing of the Hall-KOM collection.

Our volunteers and staff have made quite a dent in the collection. There are four cubic foot boxes of the correspondence left to go through. Initially there were 15 boxes. Everyone is having a good time reading through the stories and jokes. Some of the jokes are not really suited for printing.

We are finding the occasional photo left in the correspondence. I have one photo on my desk of Donald Buss taken at Pittsburg, Kansas in 1948. Another one is of Carl Pevehouse in his Oklahoma A&M uniform in the late 1940s. Would you want one or both of these photos back for your files?

I do have to report that we are having some problem with the correspondence from 1994-95. The mold growth has been difficult to get under control. Mold is the number one danger in the archives game. You would think it would be falling boxes, or bad backs from lifting too many heavy cubic foot boxes. Nope, it is mold induced respiratory infections. I warn every intern I teach to be very careful around the stuff. I am still trying to figure out how I can work the early correspondence without getting an infection.

Hope this finds you and your family in good spirits and health. Talk to you again soon.

Sincerely, Darrell

Ed reply:

Sorry about the mold. I knew it was in some of those boxes but I was encouraged to let you guys decide what to throw away. Throw it away before it makes you sick. I would like the photos of Pevehouse and Don Bruss. Mold was one of the reasons my wife said I had to pitch the files. Sorry about the bad jokes some of the guys told. One more thing if you decide there isn't any use for those questionnaires I sent to those guys, let me know.

A bit later

It's a great idea to throw out the bad jokes (and mold infested letters) and libelous statements made by any of those guys. I sometimes wonder if I should have made that stuff available for public consumption. Save me from being sued by blacking out all that borderline stuff.

Ed comment:

About the only material in that correspondence, needing to be deleted, was someone trying to relate an off color joke. I have a pretty good memory, or did until recently, and I don’t remember a single joke any sent. So, I guess they were only funny to the persons sending them. Taxing my memory I do recall one guy sending a joke and I didn’t print it in the newsletter and that was the last time he ever communicated with me. I do recall him sending the joke but I didn’t deem it suitable for distribution.

________________________________________________________________________

In time, everyone makes it into a Flash Report.

Until the discussion of Ray Rippelmeyer. and the death of his wife, Glenda, in the previous edition of the Flash Report, his name was never mentioned in this publication.

Then the information was shared with the Eichhorst family who are friends of Rippelmeyer. The Eichhorsts were going to share all the voluminous information that was shared by one of the readers regarding Ray’s career. In that material was a reference to Rippelmeyer hitting his only big league homer off Boston’s Billy Monbouquette. Shortly thereafter this note arrived Barry McMahon, the person who shared so much information about Rippelmeyer. “Ray Rippelmeyer hit his homerun off Bill Monbouquette and I just noticed Bill passed away on Sunday the 25th.” www.google.com/search?rls=aso&client=gmail&q=Bill...

With that news I sent the information about Monbouquette’s death to the Eichhorsts who are sharing the information with the Rippelmeyer family. Here is the response from Mrs. Eichhorst. “The day after Glenda's funeral. Will include this with all the information you have sent. Thanks again!”

This is a note received in regard to the Rippelmeyer family. “John, please pass our condolences on to Ray Rippelmeyer (through Barb) from us. I don't think that I ever met Ray's wife, Glenda. She was younger. What a beautiful lady! I remember Ray and we followed his career through the years. He was well known on SEMO's Campus because of his athletic prowess! My brother (also a SEMO Alum) lost his wife 2 years ago because of Alzheimer's! Praying for a cure in the near future. Blessings and sympathy to all. Bill & Shirley Virdon—Springfield, MO

________________________________________________________________________

That should do it for another week or so. As is stated in many of these reports it isn’t mandatory that they be sent your way. I like doing it but if you don’t want to receive them let me know and then you can say, like many others have, “Good riddance to bad rubbish.”

Adding to the record book

In looking at some baseball websites I noticed that Charles Richard Kohs was listed as being born in 1931 when he hurled for the Miami, OK Eagles at the start of the 1950 baseball season. I knew that was inaccurate for I spoke with him few years ago and he told me he was born April 14, 1925 in Lincoln, Park, Michigan. He had pitched for Muskogee, Oklahoma during the 1949 season.

Kohs got a shot with Pug Griffin’s Miami club in 1950 and the following explains why he returned to Michigan as a tool and die maker in the automobile industry.

May 5, 1950 Charles Kohs, tall left hander, started for Miami and was charged with the loss as all seven runs came across the plate during the 3 1/3 innings he worked. Kohs, although touched for only three hits, was troubled by wildness, giving up six free passes, which had him in hot water most of the night. George Edward Beaver relieved Kohs in the fourth inning after two runs had come across the plate and pitched shutout ball the rest of the way

May 12, 1950. Last night. at lola, the Eagles combined their six base knocks with smart base running and cashed in on the Indian miscues to chalk up their sixth victory. Charles Kohs.- erratic left-hander, started; on the hill for the Eagles .but was unable to control his wildness and was forced to retire in the third inning. Kohs walked eight men but hadn't given up a safe base blow. In the third, an error by the catcher, Jack Williams, and two bases on balls, loaded the hassocks. Then Kohs walked (Otis) Bomar, bringing in an Indian run and George Don Garrison was brought in from the bullpen. (Ed note: The mistake in that last sentence is that wasn’t Garrison’s middle name.)

May 16, 1950. Charles Kohs started on the hill for Miami and was sent down to his second defeat. Kohs went 7 2/3 innings and had all of the (Independence) Yank runs charged against him. He was touched for only seven hits but walked 13 men and let loose four wild pitches.

Well, that was Kohs career in the KOM league, in a nutshell. If you want to know more you can find him in Charlevoix, Michigan where in two months he will celebrate his 90th birthday.

What was said about Kohs forms the basis of the “Ninety and Over” society. The rest of this section lists those former KOM leaguers who have or will reach their 90th birthdays in 2015. And, since I’ve I went that far those over 90, and their current ages are also listed. If you care to know the team(s) for whom these men played and the years, go to this seldom used site. I’ve spent countless hours keeping this thing updated. komleaguebaseball.blogspot.com/2008/01/names.html

Those who are/will be 90 in 2015.

John Bulkley—January 5

Ralph Nassen “Whitey” Vold—January 5

John Wanda “Jack” Blaylock---February 11

Dean Rothrock---February 25

Ray Birch—March 29

Frank Borghi---April 9

Robert Kapinus---April 10

Francis Urban—April 11

Charles Kohs---April 14

Steve Kovach---May 22

Pete Maropis---September 17

Robert Ehrlich---September 19

Frank “Bobo the Clown” Nickerson—September 26

Louis Salreno---October 2

Christopher Haughey—October 3.

Those who are/will be 91 in 2015

Jasper Bono—March 15

Keith Willoughby---March 18

Thomas “Snuffy” Smith---March 19

Emery C. Wilson Jr.---May 30

Milton David Ward Jr.---July 10

John Piccone---July 16

Gerald Otto Beaman---August 7

Donald Spellum (umpire)---September 18.

James McCoy Abbott Jr.---November 4

Gerald D. Cross---December 15

Those who are/will be 92 in 2015

Reinhard William “Riney” Hay—July 6

Albert Robert Stadvec---August 8

Elden Edgar McHugh--September 20

David Cox---October 27

Casimir R. Stackowiak---December 5

Those who are/will be 93 in 2015

Joseph W. Turek---May 6

James Duncan (umpire)---August 18

Robert E. Field---August 27

Willis Frank Carruth—September 30

Those who are/will be 94 in 2015

Irvin W. Hayden (umpire)---May 13

Those who are/will be 95 in 2015

Not a single solitary soul.

Those who are/will be 96 in 2015

Shannon Willis Deniston---February 28

William Vernon Snow---September 11

Erby Rue Carroll---November 30.

So, I come to the end of yet another tedious report. But, in case you are ever on a game show and asked who the oldest and youngest former living KOM league players are the answer is: Joseph A. Tessier from Putnam, Connecticut was born June 13, 1934 and played for the Iola Indians in 1951, albeit a very short time. He now lives in Ft. Myers, Florida. The oldest is obvious from the above list. Deniston is still celebrating birthdays in Lakeside, California and has vowed to do so until he reaches the century mark.

Verification 2016-02-12 by Paulette_the_Tart

11 1

About 8 days and 10 hours . . . . . . so far.

Verification shoot 2016-02-12 c by Paulette_the_Tart

13

Verification 2019-08-26 by Paulette_the_Tart

8 3

No way to access the keys and, even if I could, no way to get them into the lock or even to pick the lock without it being obvious I'd cheated.

size verification for kind pin by muffett68 ☺ heidi ☺

7 4

3.6 cms

verifier son nid by richard LEROY

22 6

Verification photo session 2019-09-05 by Paulette_the_Tart

6 2

Locked at 07:15 on the 5th of September.

No way to access the keys and, even if I could, no way to get them into the lock or even to pick the lock without it being obvious I'd cheated.

Released at 08:27 on the 10th.

size verification by muffett68 ☺ heidi ☺

7 2

this is to show that this little blue duck eraser is well under the 3" parameters for my MM posting today.

for the next 2 weeks i'll be featuring those duckies who've not gotten much view time, so be prepared for multiple pictures in a day.

421/365 aDaD "a duck a day" day352 13daysleft

2 weeks left!! i can do this !!

here is the link to the album of them all:

www.flickr.com/photos/muffett68/albums/72157709771680081

Verification session 2018-10-03 by Paulette_the_Tart

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Verification 2018-04-18 by Paulette_the_Tart

9 5

Helplessly locked again - since around midnight on 2018-04-17

Verification shoot 2016-02-12 b by Paulette_the_Tart

12 3

Size verification for abstract of lights by muffett68 ☺ heidi ☺

7 1

Size verification for abstract

size verification pictures for MM’s theme of books by muffett68 ☺ heidi ☺

5 1

Verification 2020-06-13 by Paulette_the_Tart

6 1

Once more - no way out without detection so impossible to cheat.

Verification 2017-02-12 uncompressed by Paulette_the_Tart

7

Locked since 2017-02-11 at 07:15 UTC

Verify by Ross Ferguson

4

size verification for MM: dried by muffett68 ☺ heidi ☺

6 1

This is for the runner up for the 11/20 posting for the theme of dried

The Big Bang Theory by Vinny Gragg

6 2

TV shot of Penny shopping for a party from

The Deception Verification episode.

Verification 2018-11-08 by Paulette_the_Tart

3

Verification 2014-07-24 by Paulette_the_Tart

12 7

Yes - Locked again about 30 hours ago and about 4 days still to go . . . .in theory.

I'm sure it'll end up being longer though.

VERIFICATION FOR STACKSTEP by andrea hallgass

14 4

I checked the reliability of the calculated values for focus stacking by STACKSTEP

In MODE 1 I have checked by comparing the length of the step and aperture calculated by STACKSTEP under the condition CoC 30 micron versus the values provided by ZERENE.The results are shown in comment 1 and the fit between the two curves blue (ZERENE) and red (STACKSTEP) is very good.

In MODE 2 I did a sequence of stack at 11x using: Mitutoyo 10x/0.28 + Gerogon APO 210/9 with steps between 5 and 30 microns

As visible in comment 2, images obtained with steps of 5 and 10 microns in order to maintain the global CoC between 30 and 40 microns don't show bands or signs of sensitive degradation while, above these values bands and loss of resolution are increasingly evident.

Referring to the graph OTF (Optical Transfer Function) we can see that there will not be significant improvements by reducing the length of the step below 5 microns indeed the curve OTF (blue) is very close to the diffraction limits for the system (red curve).

In my stack when possible I try to keep a CoC between 25-30 microns and the OTF curve around 50% at 30 lp / mm

For more detailed information you can make a direct reference to the following work which I used for this program:

www.normankoren.com/Tutorials/MTF6.html

www.largeformatphotography.info/articles/DoFinDepth.pdf

The program is free and lastest release now can be downloaded from:

www.dropbox.com/sh/acrzp3pm11m5ha4/AADgjXeYBkBAcSqUwbXaI8...

Before Fan Verification by Comic Con Culture

7 1

The struggle for NYCC passes is real!

Tiwanaku by Ardeo Don

After verifying that none of the 16 000 angry truck drivers were

blockading the road to Tiwanaku, we set out for a very fun day at the

ruins!

We grabbed a city bus/van to the cemetery district and then got into

another minivan heading to Tiwanaku. After waiting around for a while,

we set off, driving out of the city through the neighbouring

municipality of El Alto and then through the stunning Altiplano with

views of snowy mountains above the city. We chatted with a couple of

English people, also spending the day at the ruins. It never takes long

for people to think that the gulf islands are one of the weirdest places

they've ever heard of.

We hopped out of the van outside the ruins and bought some cookies for a

snack before entering the main site. It was almost deserted and

absolutely spectacular. We started by exploring Akapana, a large pyramid

made mainly from earth that was thought to have been the centre of the

city. Then we visited the semi-subterranean temple with carving of faces

jutting out from the walls. They are thought to represent the gods of

the cultures conquered by the Tiwanaku. Then, we spent a long time

oohing and awing over the incredible architecture of Kalasasaya, the

sacred centre of the city. The stone work was incredible, and it's

especially amazing in a culture without iron tools. There were ornate

doorways and statues, and a very sophisticated aqueduct system. We also

saw a huge mud alter that's still used for Aymara ceremonies at the

site. Our last stop in the main complex was Putini, which is thought to

be a burial ground. By this time, buses full of tourists were arriving,

but we managed to avoid them as they started to explore the site.

Next, we visited the Museo Litico which houses many of the statues

uncovered during the excavations of Tiwanaku. They were all incredible;

the Pachamama (or Mother Earth) statue was 7.3 meters tall and covered

from head to toe in details carvings. The style of lots of the statues

resembles totem poles, so that was a cool link between distant cultures.

It was past noon by now, so we decided to venture into the town of

Tiwanaku to find a cheap place to eat. After a delicious meal of soup

and rice, we found a store selling treats to the hoards of

turquoise-sweater-wearing school kids. We bought ice cream and then

headed towards the second complex of ruins: Puma Punku. We were the only

ones there for most of the time and it was magical. There was some

impressive stonework and it was super cool to walk around the earth

pyramid and see it from all angles.

Finally, we visited the ceramics museum, which was very busy with tour

groups. It was still cool though, to see the pottery and a few textiles

that had been used in the site.

Tired after such a fun day, we got on another mini-bus and headed back

to La Paz.

@ Fuck Fest W/ DJ Diablo Absinthe by DJ DIΔβLΩ ΔβSIΠTHΣ

4

2:00PM - 4:00PM

LIVE W/ DJ DIABLO ABSINTHE

IN ACTION GRAB THE LANDMARK

Visit this location at THE FUCK FEST ADULT VOICE VERIFIED SEX CLUB in Second Life

CCS Verified. by Killermike Fenstalker

12

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by pepandtim

4

The Postcard

A postally unused Colourmaster International postcard that was published in the mid-1960's by Photo Precision Ltd. of St. Ives, Huntingdon. The photography was by Karsh of Ottawa, and the card was printed in Great Britain.

The following is printed on the divided back of the card:

'This portrait study of Her Majesty

the Queen shows her wearing a

white satin dress embroidered

with crystals and pearls and the

Russian Fringe Tiara.

The necklace and earrings are of

diamonds.

Her Majesty is wearing the Sash

and Star of the Order of the Garter

with Family Orders.'

Queen Elizabeth II

Elizabeth was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from the 6th. February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during her lifetime, and was head of state of 15 realms at the time of her death.

Her reign of 70 years and 214 days was the longest of any British monarch, and the longest verified reign of any female monarch in history.

Elizabeth - The Early Years

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born in Mayfair, London, on the 21st. April 1926 as the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother).

Her father acceded to the throne in 1936 upon the abdication of his brother Edward VIII, making the ten-year-old Princess Elizabeth the heir presumptive.

She was educated privately at home, and began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In November 1947, she married Philip Mountbatten, a former prince of Greece and Denmark, and their marriage lasted 73 years until his death in 2021.

They had four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward.

When her father died in February 1952, Elizabeth—then 25 years old—became queen of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon (known today as Sri Lanka), as well as head of the Commonwealth.

Elizabeth reigned as a constitutional monarch through major political changes such as the Troubles in Northern Ireland, devolution in the United Kingdom, the decolonisation of Africa, and the United Kingdom's accession to the European Communities and withdrawal from the European Union.

The number of her realms varied over time as territories gained independence and some realms became republics.

As queen, Elizabeth was served by more than 170 prime ministers across her realms. Her many historic visits and meetings included state visits to China in 1986, to Russia in 1994, and to the Republic of Ireland in 2011, as well as meetings with five popes.

Significant events included Elizabeth's coronation in 1953 and the celebrations of her Silver, Golden, Diamond, and Platinum jubilees in 1977, 2002, 2012, and 2022, respectively.

Although she faced occasional republican sentiment and media criticism of her family—particularly after the breakdowns of her children's marriages, her Annus Horribilis in 1992, and the death in 1997 of her former daughter-in-law Diana—support for the monarchy in the United Kingdom remained consistently high throughout her lifetime, as did her personal popularity.

The Death of Queen Elizabeth II

Elizabeth died at Balmoral Castle, Aberdeenshire, on the 8th. September 2022 at the age of 96, and was succeeded by her eldest son, Charles III.

Her state funeral was the first to be held in the United Kingdom since that of Winston Churchill in 1965.

Final Thoughts From Queen Elizabeth II

"Therefore I am sure that this, my

Coronation, is not the symbol of a

power and a splendour that are gone,

but a declaration of our hopes for the

future, and for the years I may, by God's

Grace and Mercy, be given to reign and

serve you as your Queen."

"I declare before you all that my whole life,

whether it be long or short, shall be devoted

to your service and the service of our great

imperial family to which we all belong."

"I have in sincerity pledged myself to your

service, as so many of you are pledged to

mine. Throughout all my life and with all my

heart I shall strive to be worthy of your trust."

"I have been aware all the time that my

peoples, spread far and wide throughout

every continent and ocean in the world,

were united to support me in the task to

which I have now been dedicated with

such solemnity."

"I cannot lead you into battle. I do not

give you laws or administer justice but

I can do something else - I can give my

heart and my devotion to these old

islands and to all the peoples of our

brotherhood of nations."

"I have behind me not only the splendid

traditions and the annals of more than a

thousand years, but the living strength

and majesty of the Commonwealth and

Empire; of societies old and new; of lands

and races different in history and origins

but all, by God's Will, united in spirit and

in aim."

"The lessons from the peace process

are clear; whatever life throws at us,

our individual responses will be all the

stronger for working together and

sharing the load."

"To what greater inspiration and counsel

can we turn than to the imperishable truth

to be found in this treasure house, the Bible?"

"The upward course of a nation's history

is due in the long run to the soundness

of heart of its average men and women."

"We lost the American colonies because we

lacked the statesmanship to know the right

time and the manner of yielding what is

impossible to keep."

"It is easy enough to define what the

Commonwealth is not. Indeed this is

quite a popular pastime."

"To all those who have suffered as a

consequence of our troubled past I

extend my sincere thoughts and deep

sympathy. With the benefit of historical

hindsight we can all see things which

we would wish had been done differently

or not at all."

"Like all the best families, we have our

share of eccentricities, of impetuous and

wayward youngsters and of family

disagreements."

"Grief is the price we pay for love."

"The events that I have attended to mark

my Diamond Jubilee have been a humbling

experience. It has touched me deeply to

see so many thousands of families, neighbours

and friends celebrating together in such a

happy atmosphere."

"I have to be seen to be believed."

"First, I want to pay tribute to Diana myself.

She was an exceptional and gifted human

being. In good times and bad, she never

lost her capacity to smile and laugh, nor to

inspire others with her warmth and kindness.

I admired and respected her - for her energy

and commitment to others, and especially

for her devotion to her two boys."

"No one who knew Diana will ever forget

her. Millions of others who never met her,

but felt they knew her, will remember her."

"I hope that tomorrow we can all, wherever

we are, join in expressing our grief at Diana's

loss, and gratitude for her all-too-short life. It is

a chance to show to the whole world the

British nation united in grief and respect."

"The British constitution has always

been puzzling and always will be."

"My husband has quite simply been my

strength and stay all these years, and I

owe him a debt greater than he would

ever claim."

"At Christmas, I am always struck by how

the spirit of togetherness lies also at the

heart of the Christmas story. A young

mother and a dutiful father with their baby

were joined by poor shepherds and visitors

from afar. They came with their gifts to

worship the Christ child."

"In remembering the appalling suffering

of war on both sides, we recognise how

precious is the peace we have built in

Europe since 1945."

"Madam President, speaking here in

Dublin Castle it is impossible to ignore

the weight of history, as it was yesterday

when you and I laid wreaths at the

Garden of Remembrance."

"It's all to do with the training: you can

do a lot if you're properly trained."

"At its heart, engineering is about using

science to find creative, practical solutions.

It is a noble profession."

"These wretched babies don't

come until they are ready."

"For many, Christmas is also a time for

coming together. But for others, service

will come first."

"What were once only hopes for the future

have now come to pass; it is almost exactly

13 years since the overwhelming majority

of people in Ireland and Northern Ireland

voted in favour of the agreement signed on

Good Friday 1998, paving the way for

Northern Ireland to become the exciting and

inspirational place that it is today."

"I know of no single formula for success.

But over the years I have observed that

some attributes of leadership are universal,

and are often about finding ways of

encouraging people to combine their efforts,

their talents, their insights, their enthusiasm

and their inspiration to work together."

-- Once, when walking the grounds of Balmoral with her protection officer, Queen Elizabeth ran into some American tourists. It became clear they didn’t recognise her.

“Have you ever met the Queen?” they asked.

“No,” she responded, and then pointed at her protection officer. “But he has.”

-- On the occasion of her 72nd. wedding anniversary, the Queen loudly commented during a public appearance:

“What’s the date?”

-- After Princess Michael of Kent made a comment on television about how she’d like to shoot the Queen’s Corgis, the monarch is said to have retorted:

“They’re better behaved than she is.”

-- At the 2016 Chelsea Flower Show, a gardener told her how lilies of the valley have poisonous traits. The Queen is said to have replied:

“I’ve been given two bunches this

week. Perhaps they want me dead.”

-- In 2007, the Queen made an official visit to the White House. During the welcome ceremony, President George W. Bush mistakenly said the Queen helped Americans celebrate their bicentennial in 1776, not 1996.

He quickly corrected the error, but the Queen didn’t let him off the hook. At a formal dinner two days later, she began her speech by saying:

“I wondered whether I should start

this toast by saying, ‘When I was here

in 1776...’”

-- When visiting New Zealand in 1986, the Queen and her late husband, Prince Philip, were pelted with eggs thrown by protestors. Later, at a state banquet, she remarked:

“New Zealand has long been renowned

for its dairy produce, though I should say

that I myself prefer my New Zealand eggs

for breakfast.”

-- In the summer of 2013, royal baby watch reached a peak as the world waited for the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s first child. When pressed for clues at an engagement, the Queen simply replied:

“I hope it arrives soon, because

I’m going on holiday.”

-- In the 1960's, she watched the Everly Brothers singing 'Cathy’s Clown' as part of the annual Royal Variety Performance. To say she was unimpressed was an understatement. She muttered to her lady-in-waiting that they sounded like “two cats being strangled”.

-- Once, while driving up to the Royal Windsor Horse Show, a guard failed to recognise her. “Sorry, love, you can’t come in without a sticker,” he’s said to have told her. The queen, unfazed, replied:

“I think if you check, I will

be allowed to come in.”

-- During an interview for the documentary The Coronation, the Queen joked to royal commentator Alastair Bruce about the difficulties of wearing a crown:

“You can’t look down to read

the speech. If you did, your

neck would break.”

-- In an argument with the Queen Mother, the elder royal said to her daughter: “Who do you think you are?” To which the Queen is said to have replied:

“The Queen, Mummy, the Queen.”

`Verification session 2018-09-03 by Paulette_the_Tart

4

. . . . and a photo without the verification code.

size verification pictures for MM’s theme of books by muffett68 ☺ heidi ☺

6 1

Size verification by muffett68 ☺ heidi ☺

9 5

Sorry I forgot to include the size verification for the cropped catfood can cover! So here it is!

Size verifications for MM theme of buckle/toggle/clasp by muffett68 ☺ heidi ☺

5 1

Some are just at the edge of the parameters; some are colorful; some are good macros. Will put up the actual pictures in a bit.

Size verification for MM: mesh by muffett68 ☺ heidi ☺

5 1

The ribbon is 13/16ths of a inch in width

Size verification for bath brush by muffett68 ☺ heidi ☺

4 1

Well under 3 inches

MM backlit

Verification 2018-10-01 by Paulette_the_Tart

4 1

Verification - 28-10-2013 by Paulette_the_Tart

12 4

Hall of Shakyamuni in the Clean Enlightenment Temple 清化寺大雄寶殿, Qinghua Street 清華街, Dongcheng District 東城區, Beijing 北京, China, Ming Dynasty 明代, 1515 by Jinze Cui

3 2

This 3-bay-wide timber hall was originally the Hall of Shakyamuni in the Clean Enlightenment Temple. With a high-ranking Wudian 廡殿 Chinese hip roof, it is one of the most important ancient buildings in the historical centre of Beijing, and the only non-imperial establishment built with such roof type outside the Gate of Advocating Literature 崇文門. The rare forms of craftsmanship embodied by its authentic early 16th century timber structure, especially those Bracket Sets 斗拱, offer us a glimpse of Beijing’s local architectural tradition in mid Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Its exact construction date has been discovered in a hidden beam inscription, which can be cross-verified by historical records. This has granted the building with the significance of a benchmark specimen in Chinese architectural archaeology.

According to a lost stone stele, the Zen 禪 temple was established by Madame WANG Miaoxiu 王妙秀 and her younger brother WANG Rong 王榮 between 1432 and 1444. Madame Wang was one of the wet nurses of Emperor Zhengtong 正統 (1427-1464). As the rewards for her favoured nursing of the young emperor, she received a large amount of money, and had her soldier brother appointed as Centurion 百戶. In order to return gratitude, Wang purchased the ruins of a previous temple called Ensuring Safety 保安寺outside Beijing’s Gate of Advocating Literature, and asked her brother to commission the construction of a new Buddhist temple with the rewarded money, praying for the well-being of the imperial family. The construction took 12 years to finish. In 1512, the temple was accidentally burned down, rebuilding was finished in 1515. Though being restored several times afterwards, the entire timber structure of the main hall remained authentic to its 1515 recreation. On the 1750 map of Beijing, the temple’s layout was clearly indicated as a 3-courtyards complex, facing southwest in a slanting street.

After 1949, the Gate Hall 山門 of the temple had been demolished, and the inner space of the Hall of Shakyamuni had been used as a factory workshop and dormitory. The original Buddhist statues and liturgical furniture were removed. The addition of another house covering the front façade had led to the accidental preservation of the hall’s original wooden name-board 牌匾 above a modern ceiling for decades. The name of the chief monk, Guangxian 廣現, who arranged the last restoration of the building in 1820, is clearly inscribed on the plaque. This precious name-board was removed from its original spot in 2014.

During Guangxian’s restoration, the timber structure of the Hall of Shakyamuni was painted with a thin layer of red wood oil 桐油. This was an economic practice in Qing Dynasty 清代 (1644-1912) for the protection and tidying of wooden structures, thus the original patterns of Ming Dynasty beam-paintings became covered. However, a hand-written rebuilding plaque on the bottom surface of the top beam can still be vaguely seen beneath the Qing paint, whose initial characters read: ‘the 10th year of Great Ming’s Zhengde period 大明正德十年’. It is the same year as recorded in historical books for the completion of the post-fire rebuilding. This is a key archaeological evidence for the dating of the extant structure, which means 1515 is the hall’s exact construction year.

As a benchmark specimen in architectural archaeology, the wooden Bracket Sets of the the Hall of Shakyamuni in the Clean Enlightenment Temple demonstrate a certain mid-Ming form of structural craftsmanship, which could shed light on the subtle transition from early orthodox Chinese building tradition to the massively simplified official building norms of Qing Dynasty.

One absolutely worth mentioning characteristic is the unequal distance between Bracket Sets in different structural bays (space between 2 façade columns), and in addition, the unequal length of Short Arms 栱 from the same positions within different Bracket Sets: when a bay is wider, the Bracket Sets placed in this bay are a bit further away from each other than those in narrower bays, and that their Short Arms are also longer. In this case, for those Pillar-Top Bracket Sets 柱頭科 dividing different bays, their Short Arms reaching out in two opposite sides do not share the same length. This phenomenon, unseen among standardised Official Style 官式 buildings from Qing Dynasty, shows that the design method of early buildings until mid-late-Ming was to first define the measurements of bays, and then to evenly distribute Bracket Sets among them. Meanwhile, according to Qing official construction standards, the measurements of Bracket Sets were unified basic scales, defining the measurements of an entire building. The Bracket Sets of the Hall of Shakyamuni were hand-measured by a student team lead by myself when studying architecture in North China University of Technology in 2004.

In 2001, the enlargement of the Zhushikou East Street 珠市口東大街 and the construction of the Fengtai Centre 豐泰中心 office building saw the destruction of the temple’s back hall – the Hall of Avalokitesvara 大士殿. Since then, the precious Ming timber Hall of Shakyamuni has become exposed to a secluded back street. Since around 2008, a hole was gradually formed in the north slope of the roof due to the sinking of one pillar under the eave. The deformation of the building accelerated.

The remains of the temple, including the Hall of Heavenly Kings 天王殿 and the Hall of Shakyamuni, were registered as heritage in 2013 and preliminarily restored in 2014. The tiles and Flying Eaves 飛簷 of the roof, as well as the exterior beam-paintings protecting the timber components of the main hall, were fully restored or recreated based on traces of evidence found on the building. However, this initial project was only focused on the structure of the temple halls. The heavily occupied historical courtyards of the temple did not receive proper remediation until 2018.

This photo was taken in 2015.

^Ninja_Customs^ Order Verification Picture by *Clone Command* Collectable Minifigures

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Recent orders made by fellow flickr members. These are all brand new troopers made in the past two weeks.

Commanders Shiv and Mag for dielsalder2011

Commander Stone for ~Sticker~

EP3 Commander Cody for ~Michal Bricks~

Verifying completed work in the SR 99 tunnel by Washington State Dept of Transportation

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WSDOT and Seattle Tunnel Partners staff assess and verify work completed in the SR 99 tunnel. Learn more about the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program at www.alaskanwayviaduct.org or follow us on Twitter @BerthaDigsSR99.

JLG butt stock 009 view down into inletting by jimthompson502002

In person and via photography, verified and corroborated with the most trustworthy, heavily credentialed, senior, and sane collectors I know--about a half dozen of them!!--that this "last cartouche" (the DAS is NOT a cartouche--no writing or letters! Check a dictionary for the old "Egyptian" correct definition and its basis if you doubt that... ) butt stock is authentic, albeit it's been sanded. Not too many dings. No cracks, no paint, weird Danish or other stampings...

The metal will be removed before I dump it for something I actually need.

Weirdly, this was about the very LAST item I was looking for or wanted when I stumbled across this, and upon cleanup, contacted the network of "usual suspects" because I no longer trust my eyesight on wood. Looking back, I doubt if I've seen two dozen of these. They're fairly close to being the least common of the letter cartouched butt stocks.

Last one I had was on an old D.C.M. rifle, from an estate, and had been surmarked with a DAS (Defense Acceptance Stamp). It, too, was absolutely authentic, and appeared on an all original rifle right in that low 4 million area where one would figure such things might've happened.

Anyway, it's a certainty, not some jiveass hissy fit guess. Strange find.

Authenticated and copyrighted photo. All rights reserved. No reference use or reproduction of any kind without express written permission. Criminal and civil statutes and all rights law WILL be enforced.

All the Way to the Top! (Big Bend National Park) by Mark Stevens

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At the very beginning of this hike, I kept wondering just how far I'd have to hike to get to the summit. This was one of the first times I was able to verify the antennas on the summit...and it was a long way up there. If you zoom in to about 400%, you'll see them and some other equipment. The peak is about center in the image. Later I looked at the image and loved the view looking across the tree tops to the mountains above.