View allAll Photos Tagged replication
I am bound and determined to replicate everything I miss from the old food groups that I used to eat!!!
What a crazy weekend! It began on Saturday May 22, 2010. I got up at 5:30 a.m. It was thick with wet fog after having rained the previous day. The ground was wet, perfect for my weekend planting. I went outside and did all my garden chores. I came in and shot a picture of the coconut cake I had made the night before (before it was entirely eaten!!!). I've been sick for about 3 weeks and I was still feeling under the weather but I thought it would be great to head north into Wisconsin for a short road trip. I thought it might be nice to see some new countryside. I didn't want to get out of the car, go anywhere specifically, or to shoot pictures. I have just been too tired... Dave (spincast1123) has been sick too but he was getting bored/stir crazy! He said "let's head up to The International Crane Foundation in Baraboo Wisconsin?" It was the beginning of a very LONG WEEKEND!!!! We crammed tons of things in and stayed over night. We went to: 1) Merrimac Ferry 2) The International Crane Foundation 3) Baraboo Zoo/Park 4) Trolls in Mt. Horeb 5) The cave at Blue Mound and 6) Little Norway. Way too much fun and beauty!!!!!!
This is an image of Joe at work at Moraine State Park on the South Shore getting what he said the last good day of foliage color before the cold spell predicted for the next week.
Putting on paper how he sees it.
Through the eyes of an Artist.
The very last of British Leyland's attempt to replicate the success of the Mini. Though the Metro did sell strong on the domestic market, it's ability to woo the international market like its predecessor was sadly not meant to be. Here is the very last Rover 100 Metro, signed by members of the production team as it left the Longbridge factory for the last time.
Originally conceived by British Leyland, the Metro was built to similar principals as those of the Mini it was intended to replace, with a small, practical platform with as much use available to the passenger as was possible. The car came under various initial guises, including the Austin Metro, the Austin miniMetro, the Morris Metro van and the MG Metro, a version of the car with a 1.3L A-Series Turbo Engine.
Although the car was launched in 1980, development of a Mini replacement had dated back to the beginning of the 70's. Dubbed ADO88 (Amalgamated Drawing Office project number 88), the Metro was eventually given the go ahead in 1977, but wanted to have the appeal of some of the larger 'Supermini' (what a contradiction in terms) cars on the market, including cars such as the Ford Fiesta and the Renault 5. Designed by Harris Mann (the same guy who gave us the Princess and the Allegro), the car was given a much more angular body for the time, but despite its futuristic looks did share many features of the earlier Mini, including the 675cc BMC-A Series engine that dated back to 1959, and the gearbox. Initial cars also included the Hydragas Suspension system originally used on the Allegro and the Princess, though with no front/rear connection. The car was also built as a hatchback, which would eventually be a key part of its success as the Mini instead utilised only a small boot.
The Metro was originally meant for an earlier 1978 launch, but a lack of funds and near bankruptcy of British Leyland resulted in the car's launch being pushed back. This delay however did allow the folks at Longbridge to construct a £200m robotic assembly plant for the new Metro line, with the hope of building 100,000 cars per year. Finally the car entered sales 3 years late and got off to quite promising initial sales, often being credited for being the saviour of British Leyland. The Metro was in fact the company's first truly new model in nearly 5 years, with the 9 year old Allegro still in production, the 1980 Morris Ital being nothing more than a 7 year old Marina with a new face, and the 5 year old Princess not going anywhere!
As mentioned, an entire myriad of versions came with the Metro, including the luxury Vanden Plas version and the sporty MG with its top speed of 105mph and 0-60mph of 10.1 seconds. Eventually the original incarnation of the car, the Austin Metro, went on to sell 1 million units in it's initial 10 year run, making it the second highest selling car of the decade behind the Ford Escort. However, like most other British Leyland products, earlier cars got a bad reputation for poor build quality and unreliability, combined with the lack of rustproofing that was notorious on many BL cars of the time.
The show was not over however, as in 1990 the car was given a facelift and dubbed the Rover Metro. The 1950's A-Series engine was replaced by a 1.1L K-Series, and the angular bodyshell was rounded to similar principals as those by acclaimed styling house Ital to create a more pleasing look for the 90's. This facelift, combined with an improvement in reliability and build quality, meant that the car went on to win the 'What Car?' of the Year Award in 1991.
In 1994 the car was given yet another facelift, with once again a more rounded design and removal of the Metro name, the car being sold as the Rover 100. Engines were once again changed, this time to a 1.5L Peugeot engine and more audacious colour schemes were available for the even more rounded design of the new car. However, the car was very much starting to look and feel its age. Aside from the fact that the design dated back to 1977, the new car was not well equipped, lacking electric windows, anti-lock brakes, power steering, or even a rev counter! In terms of safety, it was very basic, with most features such as airbags, an alarm, an immobiliser and central locking being optional extras.
Eventually the curtain had to fall on the Metro, and in 1997, twenty years after the initial design left the drawing board, it was announced that the car would be discontinued. Spurred on by dwindling sales due to lack of safety and equipment, as well as losing out to comparative cars such as the ever popular Ford Fiesta, VW Polo and Vauxhall Corsa, with only fuel economy keeping the car afloat, Rover axed the Metro in 1998 with no direct replacement, although many cite the downsized Rover 200 a possible contender. Stumbling blindly on, the next car to fill the gap in Rover's market was the 2003 CityRover, based on the TATA Indica, which flopped abysmally and pretty much totalled the company (but that's another story).
In the end only 2,078,000 Metro's were built in comparison to the 5.3 million examples of the Mini that it was meant to replace. The main failings of the Metro were down to the fact that the car was too big compared to the Mini, and the rounded old-world charm of the Coopers and Clubmans was replaced by the angular corners. Because of this the car simply didn't have the novelty that the Mini continued to claim even 20 years after the first ones left the factory, and the Mini would even go on to outlive the Metro by another 2 years, ending production in 2000, then going on to have a revival in the form of BMW's New Mini Cooper that's still being built today. Unlike the Mini, the Metro also failed to conquer the international market in the same way, scoring its 2 million units pretty much in Britain alone, although some cars were sold in France and Spain, but only to the total of a few hundred.
The Metro however survived only on fuel economy and its spacious interior, but by the early 1990's, whilst other car manufacturers had moved on leaps and bounds, Rover continued to be stuck in the past with not the money or the enthusiasm to change what was a terribly outdated and extremely basic car. Towards the end the Metro, which had only a few years earlier won awards for its practical nature, was ending up on lists for Worst car on the market.
Today however you can still see Metro's, later editions are especially common on the roads of Britain. Earlier models built under British Leyland have mostly rusted away and are apparently only down to about a thousand nowadays, but the Rover 100's and Rover Metros continue to ply their trade, a lonely reminder of how here in Britain, we can never ever seem to move on!
Replicated in the early 90s by Durham Constabularly to the exact spec of their patrol cars in the 70s.
The vehicle details for EHN 91J are:
Date of Liability 01 06 2014
Date of First Registration 18 08 1970
Year of Manufacture 1970
Cylinder Capacity (cc) 1798cc
CO₂ Emissions Not Available
Fuel Type PETROL
Export Marker N
Vehicle Status Licence Due to Expire
Vehicle Colour BLACK
Pride of Longbridge 2014.
“The Eye Moment photos by Nolan H. Rhodes”
“Theeyeofthemoment21@gmail.com”
“www.flickr.com/photos/the_eye_of_the_moment”
“Any users, found to replicate, reproduce, circulate, distribute, download, manipulate or otherwise use my images without my written consent will be in breach of copyright laws.”
“The Eye Moment photos by Nolan H. Rhodes”
“Theeyeofthemoment21@gmail.com”
“www.flickr.com/photos/the_eye_of_the_moment”
“Any users, found to replicate, reproduce, circulate, distribute, download, manipulate or otherwise use my images without my written consent will be in breach of copyright laws.”
Replicating a stores delivery to Dilhorne Colliery, a Beyer Peacock 'Pug' 04-0ST is shunting vans in the sidings accessed directly from the vicious 1 in 19 'Foxfield Bank'.
the entrance to the new manufacturing facility which recently came online.
I encouraged them to include a jar of finely moldable clay with each of their new 3D scanners, with no explanation needed. People might think more about creation and less about copying with their "Replicator".
More generally, I think we need a new framework for 3D content creation, as it has held back so many 3D dreams, from VRML in the 90s to 3D printing today. If you want to create a 3D model of a teacup, it’s just way too difficult for most people using geometric primitives of addition and subtraction, manipulated and rotated with 2D tools separated in space (a screen and touchpad or mouse).
My first thought was that perhaps we could reconceptualize the digital process: instead of manipulating polygons, what if we had digital clay — malleable and asymmetric and organic — that snapped to polygons and various axes of symmetry after the fact? The UI would naturally support multitouch screens where we see the clay under our fingers and need not project and rotate 3D objects in our minds.
And with a 3D scanner, MakerBot could take a step in that direction by providing rudimentary post-processing of scanned clay. With 3D printing, the objects don’t have to be symmetric. Complexity comes for free in a 3D print. Objects may be a bit more artistic and organic with asymmetries. So the post-processing could include a slider for smoothing… and perhaps a way to recognize Platonic forms like a circular or elliptical curve, offering various snap-to-grid options if wanted.
Chevrolet and Hot Wheels revealed the 2018 Camaro Hot Wheels 50th Anniversary Edition, celebrating 50 years of partnership, performance innovation and design. The commemorative package pays homage to iconic Hot Wheels features including a Crush exterior color and stripes that replicate the toys’ famous orange tracks.
Replicated from this image in the JR James Collection: www.flickr.com/photos/jrjamesarchive/9499424291
© All rights reserved. This image is copyrighted to Tim Wood; Any users, found to replicate, reproduce, circulate, distribute, download, manipulate or otherwise use my images without my written consent will be in breach of copyright laws. Please contact me at woodrot147@aol.com for express permission to use any of my photographs.
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Had random moment of inspiration the other night and shot this. It's very etherial and mysteriously creepy, but there's something about the image that's perfect to me. I'm about to start to get completely wild with my work, and I can't wait. I have the new camera, and now all I need is some inspiration, ideas, models, and some locations and I'll be golden. Big things soon I hope!
AB B800 Softbox in different directions.
www.facebook.com/pages/Andy-S-Foster-Photography/15772338...
LUGNuts' founder Lino Martins has graciously given me permission to replicate his series of automotive illustrations based on various mixed alcoholic drinks.
The next in this series is a Lego-model replication of 'Old Fashioned' - 1930 Bentley 8-Litre Mulliner Saloon.
.
In Lino's own words:
"Here is my eleventh installment of the “Happy Hour” series in which you suggested a mixed drink and I draw a vehicle somehow based on it. Rod Gillies suggested the Old Fashioned and since he is from Scotland I picked something from his part of the world, a 1930 Bentley Eight Litre. In doing this series I wanted each drawing to look vastly different from each other so this one took inspiration from Art Deco travel posters and used only a black and white color palette. I am quite pleased with how this one turned out so thank you, Rod for suggesting it. Stay tuned as I draw more of your suggestions and remember always drink responsibly and never drink and drive."
Photo of symbol on a dumpster. Photo has been color-modified, replicated, and arranged.
Here's the little (unfinished) story about this shot. In the parking lot of our apartment complex sits a shiny green dumpster. This particular, recently-painted dumpster has been there for a few months now, but I hadn't paid it any special attention. A week ago when I was stalking photos, I took a close-up shot of a white symbol that was stencilled on the side of the dumpster. I remember vaguely thinking something like,
"That symbol stikes me more as a warning symbol than (say) a recycling symbol," but I thought no more of it, until today, when I started playing with the photo image. If my search for the meaning of the symbol gave me the right answer, it's a "Radioactive" symbol. I asked the apartment custodian if he knew why the dumpster might have a radioactive warning on it. He said no, and that he hadn't noticed the symbol. He said that the dumpster is used for yard wastes such as grass clippings, which must be kept separate from garbage and trash wastes which are kept in another dumpster in the basement of the building. The custodian said he does think it is amusing that every week the waste hauler comes, empties the garbage dumpster into the truck, and then drives over to the yard waste dumpster. And, yes, dumps that one into the same compartment of the same truck as the garbage. So my challenge for the summer is to discover how and why a dumpster IMBY has been designated as a container of radioactive materials.
Update: Called the local customer service number for the multi-national waste hauling behemoth (~$14B/yr). I asked if they knew why there was an official looking Radioactive symbol on their dumpster. And then I answered their questions about three times. Each question was a variation on "What?" She then put me on hold to go talk to her supervisor. That was about 9 months ago.
IMG_4369ocr
“‘Flurry’ is an interactive ‘architectural sculpture’ that sits at the harbour’s edge, its curved organic shape and arches creating a vaulted tunnel on the way to the Sydney Opera House. The structure twists in on itself, forming two interior spaces attuned to movement.
“Participants interact with the architectural entity by spinning and waving and dancing and jumping, their movements and gestures delivering personalised lighting performances that transform the translucent ‘skin’ of the structure with shifting waves of coloured light.
As ‘Flurry’ interacts with the movements of each participant, its surface (or ‘skin’) becomes an elaborate, whirling garment; the architecture acting as an extension of the human body and a medium for human expression.
“The structure was designed to be entirely digitally fabricated using CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machining for the purposes of ease of assembly, disassembly, replicability of parts, and precision.
“It is composed mainly of aluminium, for its strength and lightweight characteristics, plus a thin membrane. This enables the form of the structure to open out from the inverted shape of a vaulted arch to the drama of a curved cantilevered canopy, framing views of Sydney Harbour. The triangular skin plates act as both a surface for the architectural form and a trussed frame that binds the radially aligned ribs together into a solid and stable structure.
“‘Flurry’ is a participatory and expressive structure that engages with its visitors; it demonstrates powerful new ways of experiencing built structures through the application of interactive technology and it utilises architectural design features to create a sculptural aesthetic.”
“Any users, found to replicate, reproduce, circulate, distribute, download, manipulate or otherwise use my images without my written consent will be in breach of copyright laws as well as contract laws.”
“The Eye Moment photos by Nolan H. Rhodes”
nrhodesphotos@yahoo.com
Concrete pillboxes built to replicate Nazi bunkers rest on an old cattle farm now an area of critical environmental concern managed by the BLM in southwest Oregon, Sept. 26, 2018. BLM photo: Matt Christenson
A quiet oak savanna in southwest Oregon has a World War II story to tell.
It was the summer of 1942 when thousands of young American troops started arriving in Oregon to prepare for battle.
Only months prior, immediately after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and America’s entry into WWII, the U.S. Army broke ground on Camp White, a massively ambitious training ground for troops north of Medford.
The national war effort was ramping up, and from the rationing at home to the drill sergeants yelling at new draftees, the task at hand was unified: Get America prepared for war as fast as possible.
At Camp White, in the heart of the Rogue River Valley, it got loud very quick.
Construction crews worked 24 hours a day until the base, consisting of 1,300 structures, was complete. Barracks, mess halls, a railroad, full electrical grid and sewer system were all built in six months.
And then the troops arrived.
The newly reinstated 91st Division went on 91-mile-long hikes.
They fired bazookas, mortars and tanks.
And they attacked concrete pillboxes built to replicate Nazi bunkers.
Despite creating what was then Oregon’s second most populous city at 40,000 people, there are now only a few lasting structures proving Camp White ever existed. Sadly, there are even fewer first-hand memories.
The pillboxes are still standing, though. They simultaneously represent a mostly forgotten military legacy and since 2013, an opportunity for historic preservation.
After decades of private cattle farming, Camp White’s pillboxes now rest on public land.
Read the full story about the Camp White pillboxes that rest on the northeast side of Upper Table Rock, an area of critical environmental concern for the BLM: www.facebook.com/notes/blm-oregon-washington/the-wwii-leg...
a capture to replicate a day long gone, devoid of anything from the 21st Century - well other than my camera!
The British Railways (BR) ex-WD Austerity 2-10-0 Class was a class of 25 2-10-0 steam locomotives of the WD Austerity 2-10-0 type purchased in 1948 from the War Department. BR officially listed them in running stock in 1948, though most were kept in store until 1949-1950. BR allocated them the numbers 90750-90774. They were mostly allocated to Scottish Region ex-LMS sheds. They were given the power classification 8F. They were withdrawn between 1961-1962.
“The Eye Moment photos by Nolan H. Rhodes”
“Theeyeofthemoment21@gmail.com”
“www.flickr.com/photos/the_eye_of_the_moment”
“Any users, found to replicate, reproduce, circulate, distribute, download, manipulate or otherwise use my images without my written consent will be in breach of copyright laws.”
MySQL Replication Manager Screenshot
For more information: code.google.com/p/mysqlreplicationmanager/
LUGNuts' founder Lino Martins has graciously given me permission to replicate his series of automotive illustrations based on various mixed alcoholic drinks.
The first in this series is a Lego -model replication of 'Zombie' - Ford 1932 Custom Rod.
.
In Lino's own words:
This is the ninth installment of my "Happy Hour" series in which you suggested a mixed drink and I'd somehow draw a custom vehicle based on it. Nelson Yrizarry suggested the Zombie so for this I drew a low and mean bare-bones rat rod. It got me thinking about rock posters so I nixed my painterly brushes in favor of graphically bold ink applications using only three colors on black. This included a steep learning curve and it turns out I don't really have a steady hand for inking. Luckily zombies and rat rods alike come with imperfections so the wavery hand was not as awful as originally thought it would be. Overall I like how this turned out so thank you for suggesting it. Stay tuned as I draw more of your suggestions and will eventually finish out the series with something cool and special for my friends in recovery or those who simply choose not to drink. Remember always drink responsibly and never drink and drive. Also, Nelson may or may not be thrilled to learn that this drawing comes with a song by Alien Sex Fiend. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bfm7cOJfOjk
After successfully replicating a LUT that I liked from another image processing program, I realized it might work well on some photos I took last May around the Perigord Noir region of France.
From a message shared with a friend here on Flickr -
RawTherapee is free - rawtherapee.com/
You'll need to add Pat David's HaldCLUT film emulation collection - rawpedia.rawtherapee.com/Film_Simulation
Relatedly, if you already use the Gimp (see: www.gimp.org/ ) their most recent versions include 32bit floating-point color-space precision settings. I've been waiting 18 years for this (which is why I went with RawTherapee some years back as it was built to have a large color space to work in).
To get film emulation and some other interesting LUTs into the Gimp, check out G'Mic - patdavid.net/2013/08/film-emulation-presets-in-gmic-gimp/
G'Mic site - gmic.eu/
Concrete pillboxes built to replicate Nazi bunkers rest on an old cattle farm now an area of critical environmental concern managed by the BLM in southwest Oregon, Sept. 26, 2018. BLM video: Stephen Haney and Matt Bonsi
A quiet oak savanna in southwest Oregon has a World War II story to tell.
It was the summer of 1942 when thousands of young American troops started arriving in Oregon to prepare for battle.
Only months prior, immediately after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and America’s entry into WWII, the U.S. Army broke ground on Camp White, a massively ambitious training ground for troops north of Medford.
The national war effort was ramping up, and from the rationing at home to the drill sergeants yelling at new draftees, the task at hand was unified: Get America prepared for war as fast as possible.
At Camp White, in the heart of the Rogue River Valley, it got loud very quick.
Construction crews worked 24 hours a day until the base, consisting of 1,300 structures, was complete. Barracks, mess halls, a railroad, full electrical grid and sewer system were all built in six months.
And then the troops arrived.
The newly reinstated 91st Division went on 91-mile-long hikes.
They fired bazookas, mortars and tanks.
And they attacked concrete pillboxes built to replicate Nazi bunkers.
Despite creating what was then Oregon’s second most populous city at 40,000 people, there are now only a few lasting structures proving Camp White ever existed. Sadly, there are even fewer first-hand memories.
The pillboxes are still standing, though. They simultaneously represent a mostly forgotten military legacy and since 2013, an opportunity for historic preservation.
After decades of private cattle farming, Camp White’s pillboxes now rest on public land.
Read the full story about the Camp White pillboxes that rest on the northeast side of Upper Table Rock, an area of critical environmental concern for the BLM: www.facebook.com/notes/blm-oregon-washington/the-wwii-leg...
Take a virtual tour of the pillboxes via this 360-degree video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgHu5y-TtAw
The all new re-engineered and rigorously tested MakerBot Replicator+ 3D printer. Single PLA extruder. Large build volume. New, flexible build plate. Controlled via LCD screen and jog dial. On-board camera for remote monitoring. Connect it with USB cable, Wi-Fi, USB memory stick, or Ethernet. Internal power supply. See more at makerbot.creativetools.se
This die-cast 1:43rd scale model represents the 5th generation Skyline (C210 series) which ran from 1977 to 1981. Specifically a 1977 to 1979 model on account it replicates the quad round headlights whereas in 1980 a facelift (C211) switched these to a more sleek 80′s looking rectangular headlights. Designed by Shinichiro Sakurai this generation Skyline featured sleek lines and an aggressive stance.
Part of Bandai’s BEC series this was number 6, as stated on the box, but the baseplate states 301. BEC is short for Bandai Exact Collection and they were only available for a short period in the late 1970’s. This Bandai Skyline, like the other models in this series, has opening parts and on this model these are doors, boot and bonnet. The latter reveals a detailed plated engine. A model that is full of intricate details which include separate windscreen wipers, rear view mirror engraved on the windscreen, tilting front seat backs and speaker mouldings on the rear parcel shelf. The parcel shelf is also flock covered which shows amazing attention to detail. Two different moulded colour plastics represent the interior with seats being light brown and the front fascia, glove box and steering wheel in black. On the rear window the demister is engraved along with the rear screen wiper. Headlights are plated plastic and the rear lights are represented in red plastic. Wheel hubs are plated plastic with separate rubber tyres. The baseplate is die-cast metal and features beautifully cast details with the gear box represented by a separate plated part. Finally, on the base of the door is a sticker with SKYLINE 2000GT written in black. All in all this toy car represents a pinnacle of production techniques and brought back, if only for a brief period, the finest toy car features from European manufacturers that date from the 1960’s.
This model was available in a range of colours. The ones I am aware are: yellow, this model; metallic grey; red and dark charcoal.
My image of model in red: www.flickr.com/photos/chrisstar4/49748915503/in/dateposte...
And in Metallic grey: www.flickr.com/photos/chrisstar4/49751368112/in/dateposte...
Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my permission. Thanks.
Chris
The all new re-engineered and rigorously tested MakerBot Replicator+ 3D printer. Single PLA extruder. Large build volume. New, flexible build plate. Controlled via LCD screen and jog dial. On-board camera for remote monitoring. Connect it with USB cable, Wi-Fi, USB memory stick, or Ethernet. Internal power supply. See more at makerbot.creativetools.se
The all new re-engineered and rigorously tested MakerBot Replicator+ 3D printer. Single PLA extruder. Large build volume. New, flexible build plate. Controlled via LCD screen and jog dial. On-board camera for remote monitoring. Connect it with USB cable, Wi-Fi, USB memory stick, or Ethernet. Internal power supply. See more at makerbot.creativetools.se
The all new re-engineered and rigorously tested MakerBot Replicator+ 3D printer. Single PLA extruder. Large build volume. New, flexible build plate. Controlled via LCD screen and jog dial. On-board camera for remote monitoring. Connect it with USB cable, Wi-Fi, USB memory stick, or Ethernet. Internal power supply. See more at makerbot.creativetools.se
Concrete pillboxes built to replicate Nazi bunkers rest on an old cattle farm now an area of critical environmental concern managed by the BLM in southwest Oregon, Sept. 25, 2018. BLM photo: Matt Christenson
A quiet oak savanna in southwest Oregon has a World War II story to tell.
It was the summer of 1942 when thousands of young American troops started arriving in Oregon to prepare for battle.
Only months prior, immediately after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and America’s entry into WWII, the U.S. Army broke ground on Camp White, a massively ambitious training ground for troops north of Medford.
The national war effort was ramping up, and from the rationing at home to the drill sergeants yelling at new draftees, the task at hand was unified: Get America prepared for war as fast as possible.
At Camp White, in the heart of the Rogue River Valley, it got loud very quick.
Construction crews worked 24 hours a day until the base, consisting of 1,300 structures, was complete. Barracks, mess halls, a railroad, full electrical grid and sewer system were all built in six months.
And then the troops arrived.
The newly reinstated 91st Division went on 91-mile-long hikes.
They fired bazookas, mortars and tanks.
And they attacked concrete pillboxes built to replicate Nazi bunkers.
Despite creating what was then Oregon’s second most populous city at 40,000 people, there are now only a few lasting structures proving Camp White ever existed. Sadly, there are even fewer first-hand memories.
The pillboxes are still standing, though. They simultaneously represent a mostly forgotten military legacy and since 2013, an opportunity for historic preservation.
After decades of private cattle farming, Camp White’s pillboxes now rest on public land.
Read the full story about the Camp White pillboxes that rest on the northeast side of Upper Table Rock, an area of critical environmental concern for the BLM: www.facebook.com/notes/blm-oregon-washington/the-wwii-leg...
I made a product box and tested it out using this old bold and washer. The picture was good but boring so I decided to have some fun using some Topaz plugins I recently purchased. This is using Lens Effects package and the Prism effect.
The KOM League
Flash Report
March 22, 2019
The link to this report is posted at: www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/46720141664/
A matter of fact: If this report is accessed by as few people this week as the one for last week one thing is certain—there won’t be one next week. So, if you want to see them end don’t open this week’s URL. If you missed any of the two previous installments in the Harold John McKibben story I will share the links, upon demand.
(Notice: this report is subject to editing and change at any time.)
Death of the last member of a baseball playing family.
There were five young men from Odin, Kansas who donned the uniforms of professional baseball teams for a decade, starting in 1946. Three of the five saw action in the KOM league. Joe started out as a pitcher for Miami, Okla. in 1946 and was soon turned into a hard-hitting outfielder in the Dodger chain first with Ponca City, Okla. and then finally winding up with the Hutchinson, Kansas Elks, brother Eugene played for Iola, Kansas in 1948 and Bob played for Ponca City in 1949. Jerry and Lee were in the Pittsburgh Pirate chain and neither played in the KOM league. However, they attended more KOM league reunions than all the brothers, who did, combined.
On the morning of March 20, of this year, a telephone call was received from Dave Beran informing me that his father, Leon (Lee), had just passed away. He said there was a list of people the family wished to inform of that news and that included Yours truly. That meant a lot to me for I had gotten to know Joe, Jerry and Lee very well over the past couple of decades. Unfortunately, I never got to meet Eugene or Bob.
When writing books about the KOM league I always had great cooperation from the Berans and when the newsletters were of the subscription variety that family always supported that effort in every manner. On page 32 of the book “The KOM League Remembered” are two photos. One is of a grade school team that featured three of the Boyer clan from Alba, Missouri and the other photo depicts the five baseball playing Beran brothers along with brother Tony who didn’t play professional baseball and the father of boys. The Beran family photo is on the Flickr link to this report.
Dave Beran’s contact with me was made within hours of Lee’s death and no obituary had been posted. That was good for it provided time for me to formulate my memories of the recently departed. Lee and Jerry attended every KOM league and I once asked Lee why he did so. He replied that it was a way to honor his three deceased brother’s memory. (At the time this report was prepared only a notice of Lee’s death was posted in the Emporia, Kansas Gazette. It noted that an obituary would appear later.)
At each reunion attendees were called upon to share a special talent. Lee’s gift to the reunion crowd was carrying on the tradition of Norwegian Ole and Lena jokes. As Dave told of his father’s last days I asked how long he keep telling those jokes and he replied “Until about three weeks ago.” One of Lee’s last wishes was to make a trip to Herman, Missouri which is known for its fine wines. So, the Beran’s made a trip, by train, to Herman to fulfill Lee’s final bucket wish.
There is irony in many things if you think about them long enough. On page 32 of the KOM league book, the Berans and Boyers were featured as having the most members of any families to play in the league. When Kenny Boyer developed his lung cancer he moved to Herman, Mo. where he died some 100 pounds lighter than his playing weight. Shortly, before his death Lee Beran had one final trip wish and it was to visit Herman.
In memory of Lee I scanned the internet for Ole and Lena jokes but I must say that no one on You Tube could even come close to the timing and accent Lee gave in his rendition of those “rib ticklers.”
Care is being taken, in writing this preliminary tribute regarding Lee, for I don’t wish to replicate what the official obituary will include. One of the things that stands out in my memory is a photo that was carried in the Sporting News in the early 1950’s.. In that photo was Lee, along with Brandy Davis, Ronnie Kline, Bobby del Greco and a couple of other guys posing with Branch Rickey who by then was the head honcho of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The fellows in the photo were the ones Rickey was counting on to get the Pirates out of the lower rung of the National league standings. Things don’t always pan out.
During his early days in the Pirate organization Lee faced slugger, Ralph Kiner, in an exhibition game. In trying to impress the Pirate hierarchy Lee was bearing (no pun intended) down. In facing the home run king, Lee knocked him down twice with inside pitches and what Kiner called him was anything but “buddy.”
Lee, after a good start at Brunswick, Georgia developed arm problems and didn’t fare that well in 1952 at Hutchinson. Then, Uncle Sam came along and requested that he serve some time at Camp Chaffee, Arkansas. While there, in 1953, he along with a number of professionals played for the Ft. Smith Smokers. That team won the Arkansas State Amateur title in 1954 and earned the right to play in the National Baseball Congress Tournament in Wichita, Kansas. As it turned out the Smokers had two members who had played for the 1951 Carthage Cubs; Johnny Mudd and Tom Kordas. Mudd like Lee Beran was a pitcher. When Beran found out that I knew Mudd and how to make contact with him he made a request. The request was that he return a certain piece of wearing apparel Mudd extracted from him at Camp Chaffee. Every year that Beran came to a reunion he’d bring up the subject of Mudd and if he had ever mentioned taking that item. Each year the answer was the same…no.
There is more than a slight chance that Mudd could read this article. If so, “John, Lee never forgot that jacket.” Take good care of it.
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Lee Beran---Obituary added 3/24/2019. www.robertsblue.com/obituary/leon-lee-beran
Leon (Lee) Thomas Beran, 87, died on March 20, 2019 at his home surrounded by family. Lee was a devout Catholic, family man and recreation advocate serving Emporia and the community for the majority of his life.
Lee was born June 30, 1931 in Larned, Kansas, the son of Anton and Adelaide “Hattie” (Prosser) Beran. He grew up in Odin, Kansas with five brothers and two sisters.
In 1951, Lee signed a professional baseball contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates as a pitcher. Branch Rickey once wrote about Lee in his scouting report on October 4, 1951 as “a really good boy, I mean really good. If all 18-year-old boys were like this chap, most certainly God would be smiling down on us as a nation.” Lee started his professional baseball career in Georgia for the Brunswick Pirates, where he recorded 9 wins and 5 losses during his rookie season. He was moved up to Class C with Hutchinson Elks in Kansas. Lee was drafted into the Army in 1953 during the Korean War, stationed in Camp Chaffee and continued playing baseball as part of military leagues in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Lee claimed to have only held a gun for the picture. Lee was honorably discharged in 1955 and continued to serve in the Army Reserves until 1961.
After a short stint in the military, he returned to baseball in 1955 playing for various minor league organizations. In 1955, his professional pitching career was cut short due to an arm injury and he relocated to Emporia to receive therapy. While here, he also enrolled in school at Kansas State Teachers College, where he was a three-year letterman in football, and went on to receive his Bachelor of Science in Physical Education degree in 1959. He also served as a graduate assistant football coach. Lee relocated to Dodge City, Kansas in 1960 to teach and coach football at Saint Mary of the Plains College. After serving less than one season as head coach, Lee returned to Emporia accepting a position with the Emporia Recreation Commission, as well as a graduate assistant football coach in 1961. He was promoted to Director of Emporia Recreation Commission in 1961. In 1965, he served on the President’s Council on Physical Fitness at the invitation of Stan Musial under President Lyndon B. Johnson. Lee also served in both a state and national representative capacity within the Kansas Recreation and Parks Association, in which he held numerous board positions.
He received the Distinguished Fellow award from the Kansas Recreation and Parks Association in 1977 and in the same year was instrumental in the construction of the present recreation building.
In 1999, Lee retired as Director of the Emporia Recreation Commission and was very proud of his friends and colleagues he had the opportunity to meet and work with over his career. In the same year, Lee was inducted to Kansas Parks and Recreation Hall of Fame. He was commended for his service to the Emporia community by having the Recreation Commission building named in his honor. In 2003, Lee was inducted into the Emporia State University (HPER) Health, Physical Education and Recreation Hall of Honor.
In his retirement, Lee continued to manage annual KSHAA state tournaments and acted as tournament manager through 2018. He enjoyed bowling, golf, and attending music and sporting events with his friends and family. Lee was an amateur comic with an endless catalog of jokes to entertain his friends and colleagues. He despised slow golfers, airport security checks (due to having two bionic hips) and watching Judge Judy despite his wife’s interest in the daily program.
Lee married Judith Cross on June 13, 1959 in Kansas City, Kansas. She survives of the home. Other survivors include: daughters, Julie Lahr of Derby, Kansas, Andrea Bachura and her husband Jon of Overland Park, Kansas; sons, Michael Beran and his wife Suzan (Putzier) from Shawnee, KS, David Beran and his wife Caryn (Hanna) from Overland Park, Kansas; brother, Tony Beran of Aurora, CO; sister, Alice Dolechek of Odin, KS; Grandchildren, Michael Uran, Andrew Beran, Christian Beran, Kiley Beran, Jameson Beran, Alaina Bachura, Jacob Beran, Mary Grace Beran, and Solomon Beran; as well as one great-grandchild Christian Uran.
Lee was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Gene Beran, Joe Beran, Bob Beran, Jerry Beran; and a sister, Viola Dice.
Cremation is planned with a Rosary to be held at 7:30 p.m., Friday, April 5, 2019 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Emporia. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, April 6, 2019 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. A private inurnment will be held at a later date at Holy Family Cemetery, Odin, Kansas. In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations be made to the Emporia Recreation Commission or Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Contributions may be sent in care of Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home. The family would like to thank the Hand in Hand Hospice Care staff who took great care of him during his final days.
Finally, the family asks that in honor of Lee, everyone remember his eternal inspiring words...”just suck it up.”
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A faithful reader fulfills his promise
This article was taken from a March 20, 2019 e-mail from Lt. Col. Frank Hungerford Ret.
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John, about a year ago I informed you that Al Billingsly had passed in late 2017 but I had very little information concerning his passing, and that I would do some research and try to find out more information.
After researching Venice, Florida (where Al lived) and Sarasota newspapers for an obituary and funeral services to no avail, I had about given up looking. I wrote a letter to his daughter who informed me that he had passed away.
I had talked to one of Al's sons and to his daughter by telephone last year but obviously didn't ask the right questions as I was trying to be considerate, and tried to contact Al's first wife, Betty, (and mother of his three children) who lived in the Orlando area without success.
Earlier this month, Betty Billingsly's obituary appeared in the Orlando Sentinel newspaper with her Memorial Services announcement. I attended the services and was able to talk to the three children before and after the services. I had not seen any of the children since about 1960 so they didn't remember me but were very appreciative of me coming to the services and of the letter I had sent last year asking about their Dad and Mother, and of the numerous photos I had sent them. Also, daughter, Marina, had stated she had instructed her Mother not to answer any telephone calls if she didn't recognize the number calling, plus Marina later had placed her Mother in a Nursing Home and had told me that she would probably would not know me if I came to see her.
It turns out I had been looking in the wrong place (Venice and Sarasota) for any information about Al and LaRue. First, there were no obituaries published for either Larue or Al, and secondly, they are buried right here in the Orlando area. (Winter Garden, a suburb of Orlando). It was explained to me that Larue had passed away in a Venice/Sarasota nursing
home which Al had withheld information about her condition from the children until the very end, and since he was in very poor physical condition, they brought Larue here for burial and placed Al in a Nursing home in the Orlando area. His oldest son, Rusty, said Al's had prostate cancer, had diminishing mental issues, and finally his heart failed.
The children decided to bury them here close to the daughter's home as Rusty lives in Savannah, and son, Ted, lives in St. Louis. Only grave side services were conducted for Larue and Al.
Al and Betty were married in Springfield in about 1950 and Al dropped out of professional baseball after their marriage. We, my wife and I were very close to Al and Betty in Springfield but after I joined the Army in 1952 we drifted apart except I did see them in St Louis in 1960, and completely lost contact with Al until 1986 when the Springfield high school Class of 1946 which included Al and my sister, Ramona, had a reunion. Al was a year ahead of some of us (Ray Haley, Paul Nichols, myself). I was looking through Ramona's reunion booklet and saw Al's address so we got together again.
I never asked Al the reason for their divorce and he never offered to tell me but I did detect there was some heart break and feelings among his children concerning his leaving their mother and his marriage to Larue. I felt their children's angst but regretted we didn't know of Al's last days and we were not there to pay our respects at his passing.
I have attached a photo from Betty's Memorial Services and a photo of Al and Larue's headstone.
(Ed note: Not shown in this report.) I still enjoy your KOM letters. Best regards, Frank Hungerford
Ed comment:
The names in this report primarily; Ray Haley, Paul Nichols and Hungerford were all former KOM leaguers from Springfield, MO and all offered Yankee contracts by Tom Greenwade. Hungerford was offered a conditional one if he would go to the Amateur Baseball League of America which was comprised of a group of towns in North Central Kansas. The towns that comprised that league had become dissatisfied with the Ban Johnson organization and formed their own group.
When Greenwade insisted Hungerford was not ready for professional baseball he signed with the St. Louis Browns and they sent him to Pittsburg, Kansas for the 1947 season. Another Springfield boy was involved in this group. His name was Alvin Newton Long and he married Hungerford’s sister Ramona and he was also signed by Greenwade and was a late season edition to the 1949 Independence Yankees that featured some reasonably fine talent, four of whom went to the big leagues and one of them, Mickey Mantle, to the Hall of Fame.
Al Billingsly played for the 1948 Independence Yankees of the KOM league and then returned to the area in 1950 to play second base for the Joplin Miners. What he contributed to that club aside from baseball talent, was an automobile. It was a source of many a tale from the start of spring training, at Branson, Mo. in April to the day the Joplin Miners clinched the Western Association pennant in September.
During a night of celebration, following the pennant winning game, some of the fellows were feeling no pain and convinced Billingsly they should get in his car and head for California. It was not a well-planned venture and when the future Hall of Famer on that club decided they weren’t going fast enough he demanded to take over the driving chores. After a few near collisions, on old Route 66, still inside the city of Joplin, Mickey Mantle was relieved of his driving chores.
Shortly, after Billingsly got back behind the wheel, as one of the few sober guys in the car, it ran out of fuel. Mantle had a great idea. He would fill the tank by emptying, shall we say, the stuff he had consumed a short time before. Now, the car wasn’t going anywhere. It had to be towed to a garage where extensive work on the carburetor was done the next day. Nobody helped Billingsly with the price of repairs. He told me that the pennant winning night wasn’t any fun in any respect and it wound up costing him money.
Yep, these are the kind of stories that you would never find in a sports column but talking with old ballplayers you learn that not all their memories are of the game but rather what happened outside of it.
Albert A. Billingsly
Born: January 31, 1929—Springfield, Missouri
Died: November 30, 2017—Orlando, Florida
Once I inquired of Billingsly as to the correct spelling of his last name. I had seen it end in “ly” and “ley.” The answer was a bit surprising. There were two families on Route 9 out of Springfield, Missouri who spelled their names with the “ley.” The mail carrier was always getting the mail interchanged. He suggested one family use the “ley” spelling and the other “ly.” And that is how Albert A. Billingsley wound up being Albert A. Billingsly. The latter spelling is found on his tombstone. Which by the way a photo of it is available upon request.
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Filling in some blank spots
Seldom are there any updates to the profiles of deceased former KOM leaguers. Over the years I have been fairly successful in determining where a guy was born and when. The same goes for those who have passed away.
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For nearly a quarter century I have shown Andrew Joseph Murren Jr. as being born in Nutley, New Jersey in 1931 and dying sometime in the early 1960’s. I also had a record of his military enlistment date of April 3, 1945 at Newark. Well, some of that checked out to be correct and some was five years off- base in some data I found on him this past week. He either fibbed about his age with a St. Louis Browns scout or the Pittsburg, Kansas Morning Sun sports editor.
Murren, a 22-year-old right-handed pitcher, was born July 23, 1926 in Nutley, New Jersey and passed away on June 28, 1958 in Essex New Jersey. I know very little more about him other than his wife’s name was Arline and she was mentioned in many Passaic, New Jersey society columns. Andrew’s name appeared in some wedding announcements as being the best man. City directories in New Jersey carried his name in editions from 1950 through 1958 and that is when they ceased. The last city mentioned where he worked was Belleview, New Jersey.
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Daniel Longaker was a member of the 1947 Pittsburg, Kans. Browns. He was born August 16, 1927 in Detroit, Michigan and passed away February 27, 1995 in Warren, Michigan. Until March 18, 2019 I was unaware of his middle name which was Lawrence.
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Russell H. Bland Jr. of the 1951 Pittsburg, Kans. Browns was born October 2, 1931 in St. Louis, Mo. and passed away September 10, 1998 in Glen Carbon, Illinois. Until March 18, 2019 I had never discovered his and his father’s middle name. For the record books it was Hubbard.
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John A. “Jack” Nesbit is how I knew the former Pittsburg Browns catcher. He was born Sept 19, 1928 in Detroit, Mich. and died September 9, 1996 in Belleville, Ill. He had attended his first and only KOM league reunion earlier that year. He was an accountant after his baseball career concluded. Until March 18, 2019 I didn’t know that his middle name was Adolph.
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Some things just have to be chalked up to oversight. Rex Simpson played for the Chanute Athletics in 1947 and the Pittsburg Browns in 1948. His major contribution to the KOM league, from my perspective was being the first person to ever suggest I write about that league and he donated the first cent to make that happen. He sent $20 after receiving the first KOM league newsletter in 1994 which caused another one to be written the next month and that continued for 16 years. It was later replaced by these Flash Reports which come in a distant second place to the printed, addressed, stamped, stapled version and delivered by the friendly postmen around this country. Although I knew his middle name I did not realize until March 18, 2019 that I failed to show it in some of my files. A posthumous apology goes to Rex Leon Simpson. Or “Big Red” for those who knew him best. For those who recall the name of Loren Packard, a KOM league batting champion and later with the Topeka Owls, he and Simpson were first cousins from Helena, Okla. Later both played for the powerhouse amateur team, the Wichita Boeing Bombers.
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Lawrence J. Bale was born on the 4th of July of 1928 in Goodman, Mo. He made it to the Pittsburg, Kansas Browns in 1949. During a search of middle names for those on my database his middle name of James was finally inserted there March 19, 2019. Bale now resides in metro Kansas City.
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Melvin J. Smith was a member of the 1948 Pittsburg, Kansas Browns who was born in Springfield, MO in 1927 and died there in 2004. Until March 19, 2019 I didn’t have his middle name of James listed on my database. Melvin had a twin brother by the name of Elwyn.
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Robert P. Carle of the 1949 Pittsburg Browns finally got his middle name, Paul, posted on my database 70 years after he broke into baseball. He was born in 1930 at Tiro, Ohio. and died in Lake Worth, Florida in 2001. For many years he was the IRS Director in Detroit, Mich.
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Ralph Fall was born in September of 1931 at Sedalia, Mo and was playing with the Pittsburg Browns in 1949. He died in Kansas City in March of 2000 and got his middle name of Edward placed on the KOM league database on March 19, 2019.
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Arthur Robert Marsden. B. 5/20/1924—D. 6/19/2016
In a recent search for Robert Marsden’s middle name I found that it was what I had always thought his first name to be. His first name was Arthur but he never went by that in the KOM league with either Pittsburg in 1947 or with Pittsburg, or Iola, Kansas the teams for whom he played in 1948. For historical records he was basically a third baseman.
This is his belated obituary: www.findagrave.com/memorial/165418835 Open this site to see a photo of the deceased. He made it into a Pittsburg team photo in 1947. If you have the second edition of “Majoring in the Minors” his photo is on page 342. Even if you don’t have that book, it is still there.
Arthur Robert Marsden, 92 of Philadelphia, PA, died Sunday June 19, 2016 in the Lima Estates, Media, PA. He was known by Bob and Art to his friends.
Born in Philadelphia, PA, he was the son of the late Arthur E. and the late Edna (Milner) Marsden.
Bob was a veteran of the US Army who fought at the Battle of the Bulge. He received the Bronze Star and was a recipient of the Purple Heart.
Bob played semipro baseball with the St. Louis Browns. He played soccer and basketball at Temple University where he received both his Bachelors and Masters degrees. (Ed note: The St. Louis Browns ball club at Pittsburg, Kansas was professional baseball of the Class D level, just as was Iola.)
He was an avid golfer and had a hole in one at the age of 83.
Bob was an Executive Director with the Boys and Girls Club of Philadelphia for 38 years.
He was active with the Tioga-Nicetown Community and received awards for his many contributions.
Predeceased by his loving wife of 44 years, Rita (nee Aldworth) Marsden.
Survived by his children, Scott (Melody) Marsden Tracy (Jim) Oestreich, Dean (Theresa) Marsden, Grandchildren, Brittany Marsden, Matthew (Chrissy) Marsden, Kim Marsden, Sarah (Maurice) Darden, Joshua (Kristen) Oestreich , Abigail Oestreich, and Robert Marsden; Great Grandchildren, William Sgrignioli, Matthew Marsden, Caleb Oestreich, Dear Friend, Teresa Kelly.
Funeral service will be held Thursday at 11:00 am at Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Ave, Philadelphia 19116. Friends may call Thursday from 10-11:00 AM at Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia. Burial: Calvary Cemetery, Conshohocken.
Comment:
Through yet another medical visit yesterday my photos of birds was mentioned. The nurse practitioner and I discussed birds. I sent her a link to a barred owl and she not only looked at that but found a reference to “Majoring in the Minors.” She was looking it up to see if she could find it on line.
What she found was a copy on Amazon and inquired if that was the one I wrote. She was interested in purchasing a copy, to be signed, until she found the asking price. Anyone ready for this? The asking price is $1,496.00. That is a pretty good history book but not at that price.
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The saga of Harold John McKibben continues
We left off last time in our story with the news Harold John McKibben learned that he had family in Missouri and Oklahoma and he was making plans to “head east.”
On September 24, 1927 the Joplin Globe carried a story with the headline “Youth, Missing Seventeen Years, To Come Here to Join Relatives.”
John Harold McKibbben, 21 years old, who learned last week that he was an American citizen and not a Mexican boy, as he had been led to believe during seventeen years’ abode with a Mexican family as their adopted son will join two uncles in Joplin as soon as funds sent to him are received the Los Angeles, Calif., Examiner said last night in a telephone message to The Globe.
The youth went to Los Angeles in search of his father, not knowing he died fourteen years ago in Sacramento, Calif., just a day or two before his uncles and other relatives discovered through photographs of the boys, published in The Globe. A telegram sent to the Los Angeles newspaper notified the boy of the circumstances and advised him that two uncles living near Miami, Okla., Harve McKibben and John McKibben, would receive him here.
Speaks Broken English.
As he speaks broken English, Harold McKibben could not converse freely over the telephone from the Examiner office last night and his business was transacted by C. G. Bowen, a member of the Examiner staff.
Bowen said McKibben was without funds when he arrived in California, but that the youth had been given employment on the Examiner staff temporarily, in order that he might have sufficient funds to sustain him while he awaited word from relatives.
The youth wants to join his uncles and will come to Joplin to meet them here as soon as funds arrive. His uncles sent him sufficient funds by telegraph last night and he expects to leave as soon as possible for Joplin
McKibben attempted to converse over the telephone last night, apparently delighted in talking with someone who could assure him that his uncles had been found, but after muttering in broken English, “Hello, who is this?” he gave up the attempt and surrendered the telephone to Bowen.
The youth has another uncle, Jake McKibben, living at Claremore, Okla.; two aunts, Mrs. Mattie Smith at Miami and Mrs. J. W. Mitchell at Borger Tex., and a grandmother, Mrs. Lucy Ball, his father’s mother, who lives at Anderson, Mo.
The finding of the youth’s relatives came as a result of his learning in El Paso, Tex., that his father once lived in Joplin. The Globe published an account of the boy’s case and also photographs of him as he was at the age of 4, and as he is today, at 21. Harve McKibben was the first of the family to identify himself and make himself known to the Globe. An El Paso newspaper championing the youth’s cause was communicated with immediately, but the youth had gone to California and could not be stopped en route.
Harold’s father, Norman McKibben, lived in Joplin until 1910, when Harold was then 4 years old. The father’s first wife died when Harold was in infancy and in 1910 Norman McKibben re-married and went to Texas, taking Harold with them. There the baby was left “for a little while,” but the father and stepmother did not return. News drifted back that they had gone to California.
None of the brothers of Norman McKibben heard anything more from him until three years later, when they were notified, by telegram that he had died. No one knew, apparently, what had become of the baby. For the last seven years, one aunt, Mrs. Mitchell, has traveled extensively over the country in search of her nephew, without avail.
Fought With Villa
The youth’s life is filled with adventure. Known as Juan Chavez, son of Manuel Chavez, a Mexican rancher, he enlisted in the Mexican army and fought with the notorious Pancho Villa, revolutionist. He was educated in the Mexican schools and acted as correspondent for Mexican journals.
Harold learned his true identity last week, when his parents, despairing of their intention of having him remain a Mexican all his life, told him of adopting him under an order of the federal court after he had been abandoned by his parents. Overjoyed, the youth went to El Paso and there began his search for his family.
With the foregoing article appearing in the Joplin Globe the citizens of the Tri-State area now were up to speed on the Harold John McKibben as the residents of El Paso had been, days earlier. Depending upon the newspaper column cited. he was called both Harold John and John Harold
News of young McKibben was becoming “old hat” by the time the Joplin Globe carried its story that he was headed to Joplin. He had given up front page status to Charles Lindbergh who was visiting El Paso after his non-stop flight across the Atlantic. McKibben’s story in the El Paso Times was relegated to a small column, on page 6 that reported on the telephone conversation with his uncles where neither party understood the other. And that was only the beginning of the “lack of communication.”
For the next few months McKibben received some attention but the story died quickly. Upon arriving in Joplin he announced that he wanted to get a job for a year or so and then go to college. He expressed some interest in becoming a lawyer. His uncles and aunts said they would provide the funds for him to go to college, immediately. However, he wanted to get acclimated to his new found home. So, he lived around Picher and Commerce, Oklahoma for the next couple of years.
In October of 1928 he was receiving some coverage in newspapers across this country by declaring he would “ rather be a poor American than a rich foreigner”. However, the newspapers started picking up stories that the young man may have been an heir to another fortune, this one being oil. The newspaper reporters inquired into this matter with the boy’s aunts, uncles and grandmother and none of them had any knowledge of any other holdings the family had that would make him rich. However, there was great suspicion that Harold’s father owned part of another valuable mine. This story was found in the February 28, 1930 edition of the El Paso Evening Post. Page 13.
The headline read “Mystery Boy May Receive New Fortune.”—Sub headlines included: “Harold McKibben Has Rights in Mines Say Seekers—Youth Quits School.—Disappears After Attending Oklahoma Institution for Three Months.
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A new fortune may yet be found for Harold John McKibben, 23, the youth who abandoned riches in Mexico and said: “I would rather be a poor American than a rich foreigner.”
The possibility of the new fortune, this one on American-made wealth, developed at the outgrowth of investigations made here by J. W. Mitchell and Mrs. Mitchell of Commerce, Okla. Mrs. Mitchell is the aunt of Harold McKibben and the sister of Harold’s late father, Norman McKibben (This article rehashes what had been reported about Harold being abandoned by his family in El Paso and then learning of his roots in Southwest Missouri and Northeast Oklahoma.)
The story now goes back to the El Paso Evening Post article of February 28, 1930. McKibben went to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell in Commerce, Okla., for a year’s residence. Mitchell, an erecting engineer, then sent the lad to a school in Oklahoma City for three months. He disappeared again, Mitchell said, and all efforts to locate him in that section failed.
Mitchell and his wife came here (El Paso) for a new inquiry. They announced hitherto unpublished facts which put a different light on the abandonment of the child.
Doubt Abandonment
“I do not believe that my brother, Harold’s father, ever abandoned his child,” Mrs. Mitchell said.
“As he lay dying in Sacramento, Calif, in 1921, he told the priest that his son Harold had been dead for years; that the lad’s mother died in Missouri.
“Another strange thing about it is the fact that shortly after the abandonment of the child by the stepmother we got a wire from my brother in an El Paso hospital. Yet neither parent came back to the Chipps after the stepmother abandoned the child”
And the father died thinking his child was dead. The wire from the hospital asked for money. Yet we knew that only a short time before the father, the stepmother and the child left Missouri with $30,000 that the father made in mining.
Seek Mining Paper
“The father also had a partnership agreement, giving him one-fourth interest in another mine in Missouri, valuable property to this day. We have never been able to find that partnership paper. We are trying to find it.”
The trail of this paper, a document that was folded up with a lot of old yellow sheets, and has now been missing for two decades, has occupied the Mitchells for five days in El Paso.
They interviewed H. N. (Big Kid) Shipley, Victor Benedetti, court officials and police and many others. But so far the paper has not been found. They sought news of the present whereabouts of Harold McKibben but in vain.
Benedetti thinks McKibben is seeking movie fame in Los Angeles. He says the lad came through El Paso again a few months ago, borrowed five dollars for meals on a train from here to El Paso and went on. He told of the boy’s fondness for theatricals and movies, a fancy that fits in with Mrs. Mitchell’s report of how the lad used to sit under a tree at her home (Commerce, Okla.) and croon Spanish songs. He seemed lonely in his native land, after so many years in Mexico.
The search for the mine paper is continuing.
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From the time the Mitchell family left Commerce, Okla. for El Paso, Texas nothing was heard from the illusive Harold John McKibben. On April Fool’s day in 1931 the United Press started the saga again with this headline. El Paso, Texas (UP) “Believe M’Kibben is Hunting Family.”
Harold John McKibben, who turned his back on Mexican riches in 1927 to search unsuccessfully for his American parents, was believed to have returned to this county in an attempt to learn about his family.
His clothes in tatters, his hair hanging to his shoulder, a twenty-four-year-old giving his name as McKibben staggered across the international boundary near Lizard Switch last night and asked that he be extended the privileges of an American citizen.
Immigration officers, to whom he told his story, expressed the opinion it was “weird” and released him. Whether he now is on the American or Mexican side, they did not know and a search was started for him.
The youth told officers that an insatiable desire to know about himself and his family led him to return to the border and he made a long trek thru Mexico. He had returned to Mexico after he was unsuccessful in trying to find his family in 1927. (At this point in the April 1931 article goes through the entire scenario of him being abandoned, being reunited with family in Joplin and Miami and the whole nine yards. This newspaper account stated that when offered a chance to return to the Joplin area he dropped out of sight and was never seen publicly, again. Of course that belies the fact he lived in Commerce with the Mitchell’s and even spent three months in an Oklahoma City educational facility.)
Well, by now it is evident that Harold John McKibben was a very disturbed young man, a pathological liar or a con-man par excellence.
The Miami News Record carried another article about the McKibben saga on March 29th of 1931 with the headline” “Miami Relatives Skeptical of El Paso News Story Relating to Return of American Youth Reared by Mexican Family”
What may be a dramatic sequel to one of the strangest stories ever printed in the News-Record about anyone with a local connection came to light Saturday (March 28, 1931) when Associated Press dispatches told of John Harold McKibben, 24-year-old white man staggering across the international boundary near El Paso, Tex., and being picked up by border patrolmen.
Dispatches described McKibben as “bearded, ragged, starved and heart-sick,” and quoted him as saying he was coming to Miami to visit relatives.
While some parts of the story Saturday agree with the story of the John Harold McKibben who visited his uncle, Harve McKibben, here in 1927, other parts of it are incompatible, the Miamian pointed out Saturday when notified of the incident in El Paso.
Relatives Skeptical
The John McKibben who is Harve McKibbens nephew, has many connections in El Paso and Miami who would finance him if he needed it, making that part of the story hard to believe by his Miami relatives. However, the kinsmen expect to know the truth within a few days as the wanderer told authorities he was headed for this place.
The nephew of Harve McKibben of Miami and Jake McKibben of Claremore, visited here in September, 1927, and told his strange story—as he had gleaned it, bit by bit, from relatives and friends of his parents and public records. (This article once again rehashes to story of how McKibben wound up in Mexico as a four year old, for a number of paragraphs) This article then resumed with speculation not previously found in print. It stated “What happened in Mexico is not known, but it is believed that Norman McKibben lost his money in a mining venture, was too proud to return home or ask for help. He is believed to have left his son in care of the Mexican Gomez, until he could go to Los Angeles, recoup his fortunes and reclaim the child.”
Father Died in 1913
However, reports show that Norman died in Los Angeles shortly after going there in 1913. The mother died when John Harold was an infant. She was a white woman and not a part-Cherokee as stated in the Saturday news dispatches. Harve McKibben also said he knew of no oil heritage which John Harold might lay claim as to the news dispatches suggested.
The last article from the Miami News-Record to be found on this story concluded with “Now, whether misfortune has overtaken the Gomez wealth in Mexico, whether the talented and brilliant McKibben has met with foul play, or whether the man who staggered across the border as an imposter remains to be seen when, and if, he shows up.”
McKibben Shows up in Surprising Place
Where would a fellow go that was eluding authorities? Well, the El Paso Herald followed all leads and the next one led to the most improbable place I would ever have imagined. It had taken from March 28 to July 11, edition of that paper carried this article. ---M’KIBBEN DISCOVERED WANDERING AS A HERMIT. Found With Long Flowing Beard in Missouri Woods..
Another chapter in the strange life of Harold John McKibben was unfolded Saturday when officers found that the “hermit” with a long flowing beard, was arrested in the woods near Carthage, Mo, is the person who was left in El Paso as a baby. (The news article again recounts how the boy was left in El Paso in 1910 and reunited seventeen years later with family members in Joplin) The article concluded thusly. “A few months ago U. S. immigration men found him wandering in the desert near El Paso. His mind seemed blank. He disappeared again and was found with a long flowing beard, fingernails an inch long and dressed in knickers in the Missouri woods. He told officer he had been wandering for 15 years after being lost in Oklahoma.
Conclusion:
And that, my friends is the last thing ever revealed about Harold John McKibben Some 20 years later on September 13, 1947, the El Paso Times looked back on significance stories for that date in history and made mention of it but never was anything else ever found on the “Little Boy Abandoned.” I have searched death indexes, historical newspapers and genealogy sites, all to no avail. So, I will probably never know what became of the fellow as he was last seen wandering in the woods outside my hometown—Carthage, Mo.
Although the story of Harold John McKibben has no satisfactory conclusion it opened some insights into the life of my grandfather, Geddes Wadsworth Hall and his son and my uncle Harry Luther Hall.
For years I knew they were both living at Baxter Springs, Kansas when they died. Harry died at age 19 in a mining accident and Grandpa Hall died there in 1931 with a mine related lung disease at age 51. Until researching the coming’s and goings of Harold John McKibben I never knew the name of the mine where my grandpa and uncle worked. They were both employed at the Goodwin Mine which was located at the north end of Picher, Okla. which bordered the twin Kansas mining town of Treece. So, they had a five mile trip to work each day from Baxter Springs to Picher.
As a young man I always heard my mother and dad talk about Picher and Baxter. The year Geddes died his son Cecil was working in Carthage at the Juvenile Shoe Factory where he met my mother. They were married at Baxter and in order to get there took the street car from Carthage.
Thus, during the 1927 to 1931 era I later knew the names of few people who worked the Picher lead and zinc fields. One name I didn’t know became familiar as I grew up watching Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers.
Located at Carterville, Missouri is a cemetery filled with names of family members including Hall, Nealy and Taylor. Also in that plot for the deceased are many people by the name of Spencer. The Spencer’s were from Webb City. Ephriam Spencer had a son by the name of Vernon who loved music and played the ukulele. Ephriam was a miner who with his family moved to Mills, New Mexico around 1913 to homestead.
In 1927 the Eagle Picher Mining Company convinced Ephriam to move to Picher and become the supervisor of one of their mining operations. He brought along his 19-year-old ukulele playing son, Vernon. Vernon wanted to play his music and his dad insisted he work the mines and make a living.
While working in the mines an ore bucket fell on Vernon and he suffered broken vertebrae which ended his days in the mines and he then got to spend more time on his music. Shortly after moving to Picher, Vernon met a young girl by the name of Mabel and wouldn’t you have guessed it, she was a McKibben.
Whether Vernon ever met Harold John McKibben is unknowable but they had a few things in common. They were born two years and five miles apart. Vernon in Webb City, 1908 and Harold in Joplin. 1906. Both left the area when they were young. Vernon winding up in New Mexico and Harold, who you know by now, was a resident of Mexico. They returned to the Picher area at the same time. Thus Vernon would have read about the exploits of Harold in either the Miami or Joplin newspapers.
Another thing Vernon and Harold had in common was their desire to be entertainers. Each went about it in different ways but California was always the destination of choice. While there isn’t much documentation on McKibben there is a ton of it on Vernon Spencer who changed his first name to Tim and became one of the founders of the Sons of the Pioneers along with Bob Nolan and Leonard Slye who changed his name, to Roy Rogers. For a few hours of reading you can access this link and learn more than you probably ever wanted to know about the aforementioned subject. search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=AwrUi6bkE5VcaykA03IPxQt....
Due to the honor of having the nephew of Mabel McKibben Spencer as a reader of these reports I learned of how that part of the McKibben family moved to California and lived happily ever after—or happier than they would have been staying in the lead and zine mining area of Northeast Oklahoma.
ODC2 - Attempt to replicate something that has been on ODC explore
12/09/11
At first I thought, wow this will be fun, then I couldn't find an image that I thought I could replicate, then I thought it was a bit boring copying someone elses image...lol I went for a fairly easy one.......just because. Here is the link to the original by Iclower 19 www.flickr.com/photos/lclower19/5350194772/
Ford hoped to replicate the run-away success of the American Mustang by using a similar formula for the European market.
Using proven and well developed underpinnings based on those of the Cortina, Ford clothed the new Capri in a sexy coupe body designed with a great deal of input from the Mustang’s styling team. The car was made ready for launch at the January 1969 Belgian Motor Show, although production had started two months earlier at the Halewood plant to ensure that every Ford dealer had at least one example on their forecourts.
With its aggressively long bonnet and swooping rear it looked like it was doing 100mph even when standing still. Mechanically straightforward, a traditional live axle with leaf springs was deemed sufficient at the rear, while Ford's excellent Macpherson struts at the front and well weighted rack-and-pinion steering gave the car a sufficiently sporting feel to justify its sports car looks. Available in a wide range of engine sizes from a basic 1.3-litre four to a tarmac-ripping 3-litre V6 it was marketed as ‘The car you always promised yourself’.
Handsome to look at and decently quick, the Capri proved to be a huge success for Ford, remaining in production until 1986 with many upgrades along the way, almost 1.9 million being sold worldwide. Survivors are now increasingly sought after and values have risen sharply in recent times.
Concrete pillboxes built to replicate Nazi bunkers rest on an old cattle farm now an area of critical environmental concern managed by the BLM in southwest Oregon, Sept. 25, 2018. BLM photo: Matt Christenson
A quiet oak savanna in southwest Oregon has a World War II story to tell.
It was the summer of 1942 when thousands of young American troops started arriving in Oregon to prepare for battle.
Only months prior, immediately after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and America’s entry into WWII, the U.S. Army broke ground on Camp White, a massively ambitious training ground for troops north of Medford.
The national war effort was ramping up, and from the rationing at home to the drill sergeants yelling at new draftees, the task at hand was unified: Get America prepared for war as fast as possible.
At Camp White, in the heart of the Rogue River Valley, it got loud very quick.
Construction crews worked 24 hours a day until the base, consisting of 1,300 structures, was complete. Barracks, mess halls, a railroad, full electrical grid and sewer system were all built in six months.
And then the troops arrived.
The newly reinstated 91st Division went on 91-mile-long hikes.
They fired bazookas, mortars and tanks.
And they attacked concrete pillboxes built to replicate Nazi bunkers.
Despite creating what was then Oregon’s second most populous city at 40,000 people, there are now only a few lasting structures proving Camp White ever existed. Sadly, there are even fewer first-hand memories.
The pillboxes are still standing, though. They simultaneously represent a mostly forgotten military legacy and since 2013, an opportunity for historic preservation.
After decades of private cattle farming, Camp White’s pillboxes now rest on public land.
Read the full story about the Camp White pillboxes that rest on the northeast side of Upper Table Rock, an area of critical environmental concern for the BLM: www.facebook.com/notes/blm-oregon-washington/the-wwii-leg...
Starting in 2000 I began to model the Milwaukee Road’s former Chicago & Evanston Line that operated on Chicago’s North Side in N-scale. After several years I finished the section that replicated the prototype with street trackage on Lakewood Avenue between Belmont and Wellington. I was inspired by Bill Denton’s famous “Kingsbury” N-scale layout that also modeled the same Milwaukee Road C&E Line but farther south, in downtown Chicago. Bill was an encouragement to me and we displayed our layouts together at two shows.
As I put this diorama into storage as I move onto other projects I wanted to document it. There were no guides or manuals on creating street trackage in N-scale-everything was HO oriented-so I had to sort of had to use trial and error. I hope what I detail below helps future N-scale modelers of urban scenes.
The scene depicted here combines the best of the 1960s and into the early 1980s when the Milwaukee Road abandoned the tracks north of Diversey in 1984. It shows double tracks down the street though by the early 1970s it was consolidated down to one track. Some compression was used. Best Brewing was a customer of the Milwaukee Road before it shut down in the early 1960s while Reed Candy was served by the Milwaukee Road through 1982. Today this scene is unrecognizable except for the Best Brewing complex which is now apartments. Reed Candy was knocked down in the 1990s and replaced by the “Sweeterville” townhomes.
The coal cars shown depict the interchange traffic the Milwaukee Road had with the Chicago Transit Authority at the Buena Yard in the Uptown neighborhood. The Milwaukee Road would hand off coal hoppers, tank cars, boxcars destined for coal yards, fuel oil dealers, and the lumberyard at Howard Avenue. The CTA used electric locomotives to handle the freight cars until it ended in April of 1973. No more would freight trains pass in front of Wrigley Field.
All buildings on this diorama were scratchbuilt from historic photos using a combination of Design Preservation Modules, various components from Walthers kits, Plastruct sheets of molded styrene, Grant Line windows, doors, and frames, and more. And India ink wash over the brick surfaces gave them an aged look. Floquil enamel paints were used.
The track is Atlas Code 80 chosen for its high rail profile which made it easier to model street trackage around it. The roadbed was built up with cork and the pavement made from sheets of card stock and carefully cut styrene in between the rails and at the switch points. Stained, balsa wood strips were used to simulate timber grade crossing protection. The operating signals are from NJ International. To simulate the period specific use of asphalt siding in its various colors on the houses I took pictures of actual siding, scanned the prints, the printed them using an inkjet printer onto paper. The paper was then cut into the right sizes and glued onto the sides of the houses, cutting out the spaces for windows and doors with a knife.
To see my other diorama showing this same line passing Wrigley Field circa 1973 go to www.flickr.com/photos/39092860@N06/albums/72157676195056596
Photo from 1979 of this area shown below with Reed Candy on the left (southeast) and Best Brewing with the fire escape on the right.
Concrete pillboxes built to replicate Nazi bunkers rest on an old cattle farm now an area of critical environmental concern managed by the BLM in southwest Oregon, Sept. 26, 2018. BLM video: Toshio Suzuki
A quiet oak savanna in southwest Oregon has a World War II story to tell.
It was the summer of 1942 when thousands of young American troops started arriving in Oregon to prepare for battle.
Only months prior, immediately after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and America’s entry into WWII, the U.S. Army broke ground on Camp White, a massively ambitious training ground for troops north of Medford.
The national war effort was ramping up, and from the rationing at home to the drill sergeants yelling at new draftees, the task at hand was unified: Get America prepared for war as fast as possible.
At Camp White, in the heart of the Rogue River Valley, it got loud very quick.
Construction crews worked 24 hours a day until the base, consisting of 1,300 structures, was complete. Barracks, mess halls, a railroad, full electrical grid and sewer system were all built in six months.
And then the troops arrived.
The newly reinstated 91st Division went on 91-mile-long hikes.
They fired bazookas, mortars and tanks.
And they attacked concrete pillboxes built to replicate Nazi bunkers.
Despite creating what was then Oregon’s second most populous city at 40,000 people, there are now only a few lasting structures proving Camp White ever existed. Sadly, there are even fewer first-hand memories.
The pillboxes are still standing, though. They simultaneously represent a mostly forgotten military legacy and since 2013, an opportunity for historic preservation.
After decades of private cattle farming, Camp White’s pillboxes now rest on public land.
Read the full story about the Camp White pillboxes that rest on the northeast side of Upper Table Rock, an area of critical environmental concern for the BLM: www.facebook.com/notes/blm-oregon-washington/the-wwii-leg...
Take a virtual tour of the pillboxes via this 360-degree video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgHu5y-TtAw