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Wordless Wednesday 11/17/21
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Stormy Weather – Week 45 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks
Two Memorable Storms, 1970 and 1993
“At Least I Wasn’t Golfing”
We hear these loud and ominous thuds. My mom and I rush to the front door where we watch these huge chunks of ice fall from the sky.
Did you know that there are hailstone spotters just as there are tornado spotters or chasers made famous in the 1996 movie “Twister” with Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton? Hailstone spotters often enlist the help of local police officers who will use their radar guns to determine how fast the larger hailstones fall. “If you are driving through the Great Plains and see a police car with the window cracked and a radar gun pointed skyward, you’ll now know what’s going on – just don’t look up (Warm).”
This unprecedented storm produced unbelievably large hailstones and one was officially announced to be the absolute largest hailstone to ever fall in the world (and yes, it achieved Guinness World Record status).
Coffeyville Hailstone Statistics
Date: September 3, 1970
Diameter: 5.7 inches
Circumference: 17.5 inches
Weight: 1.67 pounds
Speed: 105 mph
After the storm was over, pretty much everyone in town got a new roof. Years and years later, Gary was listening to the radio as we got ready for work on September 3. They had a trivia contest asking where the largest hailstone fell (this was in the days before ‘Google’ was a thing). Gary called immediately and of course responded with the correct answer. He won an armload of prizes (okay, think along the terms of a mug, sticker, and T-shirt).
(***Disclaimer – Coffeyville still holds the record for the fastest falling hailstorm, but on April 14, 1986 Bangladesh ‘won’ the record for heaviest hailstorm at 2 pounds; no other measurements were given. On July 23, 2010, Vivian, South Dakota obtained the record with a stone that was 8 inches in diameter and weighed 1.94 pounds.)
“It Isn’t Raining – How Could we Have a Flood?”
Riverside County, California had a wet December in 1992 with lots of snow in the mountains that resulted in a heavy snowpack. In January Riverside County experienced a two week storm siege. The almost continuous rain combined with snowpack run-off created a disaster in Riverside County. “A bridge over the San Gorgonio River was destroyed near Banning and a dike failure in Whitewater flooded several area roads with mud and debris. Rising waters around the city of Desert Hot Springs cut off roadways leaving the city isolated (“Weather History”).”
Tired of all the rain, we were glad to head off to school with relatively dry conditions. As we were pulling out of our driveway, we noticed Jim, our fellow teacher who lived across the street, standing outside. We pulled up and asked if he needed a ride. He had been waiting for Irene who also lived in Mission Springs Country Club to pick him up, but there was no sign of her. (Okay, she had a reputation for forgetting Jim but that’s another story.) We headed to school but the street to get out of the complex was flooded, so we went to another exit. It was also flooded. We then drove up by the clubhouse but the water was shooting over the road while boulders were rolling across the road. Back home we went, called school, and our principal, Diana, told us school was called off and that they were currently making sure that all students who had already arrived were able to get home safely. We dropped Jim off, went inside, then decided since we were all dressed up with no plans we would drive back up to the clubhouse to catch some breakfast and see what was going on. Lo and behold, the road was mostly clear so we decided to go to the store and pick up some groceries and check to see if there was anything we could help with at school.
Once we arrived at school, everything was under control so we got our groceries, and made our way back home. However, things did not go as planned. The roads were again impassable so we went back to school to wait it out and put our groceries in the fridge.
Several teachers from the Indio and La Quinta area had arrived at school before Desert Hot Springs was completely cut off and were finding it impossible to make it across the freeway. Everyone regrouped back at school. They decided the safest way to continue their trek home was to caravan so that no one would be stranded. They tried all the known ways to get across the freeway, but failed. Back to school they came.
In the meantime, since we were right next door to Vons, a group decision was made that it was time for a DSMS champagne brunch. We got all the brunch ingredients and made sure that there was lots of fresh, hot coffee for the drivers. We turned this disaster into a festive occasion.
One of the teachers from Indio remembered a back way that might have potential in order to cross the freeway. They tried and while it looked promising, they weren’t able to accomplish the crossing. However, with a bit of patience and several tries, they finally were able to make it home.
Even though we lived closer, it looked pretty bleak for us. Eventually we were able to make it to the freeway (though not across) and took I-10 to Hwy 62 where we were able to also get home. This was definitely a unique DSMS memory.
Sources
Dillon, Jeff. Desert Hot Springs Tallies Initial Damage at $220,000. The Desert Sun, 20 Jan. 1993, https://www.newspapers.com/image/748992226.
“District History.” District History | Riverside County Flood Control & Water Conservation District, https://rcflood.org/About-the-District/District-History.
Gorman, Tom, and Susan Moffat. “At Least 5 Killed as Floods Sweep through Southland : Storm: Downpour Swells Rivers and Washes out Roads, Prompting Daring Rescues. Tornado Hits Orange County.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 1993, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-01-18-mn-1344-story.html.
Jones, Jennifer. “5 Largest Hailstones in the World.” Largest.org, 26 Nov. 2018, https://largest.org/nature/hailstones.
Ritter, Ken. “20 Jan 1993, 1 – Emergency Declared in Riverside County.” Newspapers.com, The Desert Sun, 20 Jan. 993AD, https://www.newspapers.com/image/748992130/?terms=%22The+Desert+Sun%22&match=1.
Warm, Luke. “The World’s Heaviest, Fastest and Most Beloved Hailstone.” The World’s Heaviest, Fastest and Most Beloved Hailstone., 20 May 2005, http://www.texasescapes.com/They-Shoe-Horses-Dont-They/Worlds-Heaviest-Fastest-Most-Beloved-Hailstone.htm.
Weather History – National Weather Service. https://www.weather.gov/media/sgx/documents/weatherhistory.pdf.
“West Reels After Series of Storms.” Newspapers.com, The Desert Sun, 20 Jan. 1993, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88400539/20-jan-1993-wed-p-2/.
“World’s Heaviest Hailstone.” World’s Heaviest Hailstone | Coffeyville, KS – Official Website, https://www.coffeyville.com/345/Hailstone.
Posted in Coble, Genealogy
Tagged Coffeyville Hailstone
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Wordless Wednesday 11/10/21
Posted in Watkins, Wordless Wednesday
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Voting – Week 44 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks
Passionate Voting
Voters generally fall into two categories: habitual voters consistently vote in every election out of a sense of patriotic duty; others vote because they are motivated by a particular candidate or issue – their voting may be more emotional and they may believe that their vote truly makes a difference.
My father was a habitual voter. He was a lifelong democrat because he believed that this was the party of the working class. He also believed in the 1960 party platform which stated the importance of “the creation of an enduring peace in which the universal values of human dignity, truth, and justice under law are finally secured for all men everywhere on earth. If America is to work effectively for such a peace, we must first restore our national strength-military, political, economic, and moral (“1960 Democratic Party Platform”).”
My mother, on the other hand, was more of an emotional voter. The first time that this was truly an issue for her was the 1960 presidential election.
John F. Kennedy was the democratic nominee in 1960. While my mother supported the democratic party, she could not support Kennedy because he was Catholic. My mother had conflicting feelings about Catholicism. She had been raised Catholic, though since they moved frequently I’m not sure how regular their church attendance was. At this point in time, my parents had changed their church affiliation to Church of Christ.
My mother wholeheartedly agreed with this statement by Shaun Casey, “The argument was, when push came to shove, a president who was Roman Catholic would ultimately be more loyal to the Vatican because the fate of his eternal soul was at stake (Roos).” My mother believed that he would not only be the leader of our nation but would hold loyalty to the Vatican and not necessarily put the American people first.
Kennedy received much criticism on this issue and worked hard to overcome it. He appeared on live TV and gave a speech which addressed this very concern. He stated, “Contrary to common newspaper usage, I am not the Catholic candidate for president. I am the Democratic Party’s candidate for president, who happens also to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my church on public matters, and the church does not speak for me (Roos).”
Another very emotional election was the 2020 presidential election. My mother had very strong feelings against Donald Trump. By this time, my mother had several health issues and was no longer able to drive. The COVID-19 pandemic complicated matters. Since my mother was home all the time, she watched the news several hours a day and developed very forceful opinions. My mother made the effort to request an absentee ballot and checked that her driver’s license number was still valid. She did not let anything stop her from doing what she believed was right.
For many, voting is a civic duty, but ultimately my mother always voted her conscience.
References
“1960 Democratic Party Platform.” 1960 Democratic Party Platform | The American Presidency Project, The American Presidency Project, 11 July 1960, https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/1960-democratic-party-platform.
Roos, Dave. “How John F. Kennedy Overcame Anti-Catholic Bias to Win the Presidency.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 20 Nov. 2019, https://www.history.com/news/jfk-catholic-president.
Suttie Jill Suttie Jill Suttie, Jill. “The Emotions That Make You Decide to Vote.” Greater Good, Greater Good Magazine, https://www.greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/the_emotions_that_make_you_decide_to_vote.
Posted in Bernal, Genealogy, Watkins
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Wordless Wednesday 11/3/21
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Shock – Week 43 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks
Tragedy at the Avon Street Railroad Crossing
June 18, 1906
A haunting scream filled the night air. It was 3:47 a.m. We know the exact time because it was the precise moment that Peter Schmidt’s watch stopped.
No one saw the “accident.”
Charles Hilbert who lived nearby heard the scream and rushed to see what happened.
“The switch engine followed soon after the passenger had passed and Edward Webber, a switchman, found the injured man.” (“Leaps from Train” 1906)
Both Webber and Hilbert arrived quickly at the scene. “Webber held his lantern to Schmidt’s face and said, ‘It’s Pete Smith.’ “
The dying man answered, “That’s me.” (“Leaps from Train” 1906)
Peter Schmidt’s “left arm was crushed above the elbow but was not broken. His right arm was broken at the elbow and crushed above it, and the fingers of both hands are badly bruised. His left foot is crushed below the heel and there are two small cuts on the left side of his neck, while on the top of his head, on the left side, there was a cut about three inches long, and no doubt caused his death, as the skull was fractured.” Peter was just 27 when this catastrophe happened. (“Leaps from Train” 1906)
Peter Schmidt succumbed to his devastating injuries and died thirty minutes after he was discovered.
Peter was a machinist for the Burlington Railroad in Las Crosse, Wisconsin. He was well liked by both friends and colleagues.
One theory of how the accident happened was that Peter stood on the step of the train planning to drop off one block from home. “About twenty feet west of the sidewalk there is a footprint in some soft dirt which looks as though he may have stopped there when he got off and slipped. His clothes probably caught and carried him to the walk where he fell and was carried under the coaches.” (“Leaps from Train” 1906)
When the train passed the Avon Street crossing where this horrific tragedy occurred, it always proceeded at a high rate of speed. As Peter was an experienced railroad employee, his friends stated that he was too cautious to risk a jump there. Peter had never before attempted to jump off at the Avon Crossing. Several of his friends denied that jumping here was even a possibility. They claimed that Peter would never even attempt to jump off a train unless it was going very slowly or had stopped.
However, others who knew Peter stated that he had a tendency to fall asleep easily and believed that he perhaps fell asleep and missed the crossing where he normally got off. They thought that he probably didn’t want to continue on to the next stop which was farther from home so he decided to chance jumping off the train at Avon.
This tragedy unfortunately did not end here. Peter’s mother, Maria Christina Schaefer Schmidt, did not recover from Peter’s death. She was still grieving her husband’s death; Heinrich “Henry” Schmidt died in 1903. Additionally, Maria had several health issues and died in 1907 at the age of 59 due to her broken heart combined with ill health.
Peter was buried in his parent’s burial plot; he has no headstone.
References
“Card of Thanks.” The La Crosse Tribune, 21 June 1906, p. 8.
“Floral Offering.” The La Crosse Tribune, 21 June 1906, p. 8.
Hug, Paul. “Peter Schmidt.” 22 Oct. 2021.
“Leaps From Train Is Killed By Its Wheels.” The La Crosse Tribune, 18 June 1906, p. 1.
“North Side Woman Succumbs Saturday: Death of Husband and Son Hasten End.” The La Crosse Tribune, 22 July 1907, p. 6.
Wordless Wednesday 10/27/21
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Sports – Week 42 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks
Life as a Spectator
Full disclosure: I am not an athlete. In sixth grade, however, I was on the basketball team. In high school, my favorite PE activity was archery. In college, I took bowling for my PE credit (and I readily admit that my skills were sorely lacking, but I showed up and that’s what counted). My favorite athletic endeavor as an adult was participating for several years in the Desert Springs Middle School teachers dart league (seriously, are darts considered a sport?). This was a really fun social activity even though it got a bit competitive at times.
One of my most memorable spectator events was our trip in 2006 to the Chargers vs Chiefs game. It was the start of Christmas vacation so we were in the mood to celebrate. A group of eight of us decided to rent a limo to travel to the San Diego stadium. We were able to get amazing seats so the adventure was on. On the day of our trip, everyone met at our house for a toast. Gary made everyone shirts so we were in a festive mood.
We put on our “Bill” shirts and our limo journey began. Since we were in a limo, we had a picnic with amazing homemade food (thanks Steve) and plenty to drink. Of course, we were early so our limo driver delivered us first to the Hotel del Coronado. People surrounded our limo to see who these famous people were. Then it was off to the bar to catch the current Giants football game. We were actually approached by complete strangers who saw our milk carton shirts and sincerely offered to help us search for our missing friend (who really was missing in action at that point because he decided he’d rather drink in the limo than join us in the bar). I was impressed that complete strangers would be willing to give up their time to search and support us. Of course Gary’s response was, “Have you read the shirts?” We all got a chuckle as we again thanked everyone. This just reinforced my belief that most people really are good.
Another fun spectator event was a different Chargers game. This time, Steve and Sandy joined Gary and me as we decided to spend the weekend in San Diego and combined the Chargers vs Broncos football trip with shopping. The stadium tickets Gary found included a parking spot in the tailgating parking lot so we decided to do our unique version. Almost everyone around us were doing burgers and beer. However, we went the true California route and created a charcuterie board with quality wine. Some Broncos fans wandered over and said, “Oh, so this is how you really tailgate in California?”
Gary’s parents are huge hockey fans and steadfastly support and cheer for the Colorado Avalanche. When we moved to Vegas, the Golden Knights were the latest start-up team in the league. So a rivalry ensued.
We’ve been fortunate to join Gary’s parents in attending several Knights vs Avalanche games in both Las Vegas and Denver. Hockey fans are great; we always feel supported when we wear our Knights gear.
Other than the Golden Knights, our version of being sports spectators is that we wear the gear of the home team and adopt that team for the evening. Enjoy the video to see some of the home team highlights.
Wordless Wednesday 10/20/21
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Changes – Week 41 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks
Coming to America
Life is full of changes; nothing stays static even when we wish it to. One of the greatest changes in life that a person may experience is moving. It can be very stressful when it occurs because of necessity, but can also be a harbinger of hope. Many of my ancestors risked huge lifestyle changes when they immigrated to America, though many, particularly those in the 1600s and 1700s, thought of themselves more as settlers than immigrants. In the days before radio, television, the Internet, and airplanes, this adventure took a leap of faith for my ancestors to leave their European homes and move to a new world and a new life.
Many chose to make this journey because of the prospect of owning land. They often sought economic and religious freedom. They sometimes resented the class distinctions and hoped for equality while yearning for new opportunities.
In the 1800s, some of my German ancestors settled in La Crosse, Wisconsin along with many other immigrants from Germany. As I wrote in my blog post of June 26, 2021, “Immigration was a challenging prospect. In order to arrive in America, most German immigrants endured six weeks of ‘poor food, sea sickness, disease, crowded sleeping quarters, boredom, and death of others’ in order to have an improved standard of living (Germany/Prussia was in the middle of an economic depression during this time) and political and religious freedom. There was much anti-Catholic sentiment in Germany by some and families of both my great grandfather and great grandmother were Catholic.”
Maria Christina Schaefer Schmidt
2nd great grandmother
Immigrated 1869 from Germany
Otillia Endres Antony
2nd great grandmother
Immigrated 1880 from Germany
I created a chart of my ancestors who left the country of their birth and emigrated to America (these are the ones that I have identified so far). I have several 9th great grandparents who made this trek including Anthony and Susanna Colby, Edward Lloyd, Alice Crouch Hawkins Lloyd, John Watkins, and Colonel Ninian Beall. My most recent relative to emigrate was my grandfather, Malcolm McLeod, who moved to San Bernardino, California with his family in 1902 when he was two.
| Name | Birth | Death | Immigration |
| Anthony Colby | 1605 Lincolnshire, England | 1660 Essex County, Massachusetts | |
| Edward Lloyd | 1605 Wye River, England | 1695 London, England | Married in 1645 Virginia (daughter born in Virginia) |
| Susanna ? Colby | 1610 England | 1689 Salisbury, Massachusetts | |
| John Watkins | 1611 Monmouthshire, Wales | 1648 Norfolk, Virginia Colony | |
| Jane Russell Hammond | 1618 England | 1688 Rappahannock, Virginia | (Possibly immigrated in 1638) |
| Martin John Hammond | 1619 London, England | 1662 Virginia Colony | 1638 |
| Alice Crouch Lloyd | 1620 London, England | 1687 Wye Heights, Maryland | |
| Colonel Ninian Beall | 1625 Dumbarton, Fife, Scotland | 1717 Upper Marlboro, Maryland | Immigrated as an indentured servant after being a prisoner |
| Nicholas Gassaway | 1634 London, England | 1691 Anne Arundel, Maryland | |
| Joseph Osborne I | 1636 Kent, England | 1733 Elizabeth, New Jersey | |
| Joseph Hanslap | 1674 England | 1702 Maryland | 1682 |
| Thomas Charles McElroy | 1751 Ireland | ? Pennsylvania | |
| Esther Hogue Smith | 1771 Wales | 1849 Gladsville, Virginia | |
| Otillia Endres Antony | 1823 Oberweiler, Bitburg, Germany | 1909 La Crosse, Wisconin | 1880 |
| Heinrich Schmidt | 1838 Hessen, Baridorf, Germany | 1903 La Crosse, Wisconsin | 5/24/1869 in NYC from Hamburg on Burussia |
| Maria Christina Schaefer Schmidt | 1848 Koln, Germany | 1907 La Crosse, Wisconsin | 5/24/1869 in NYC from Hamburg on Burussia |
| John Peter (Antony) Anthony | 1861 Heilanbeck Kreis, Germany | 1918 San Bernardino, California | 1880 |
| John McLeod | 1863 Goderich, Ontario, Canada | 1942 San Bernardino, California | 1902 |
| Sarah Jane Liggett McLeod | 1863 Bruce, Ontario, Canada | 1956 San Bernardino, California | 1902 |
| Gertrude Schmidt Anthony | 1867 Barisdorf, Germany | 1943 San Bernardino, California | 5/24/1869 in NYC from Hamburg on Burussia |
| Malcolm McLeod | 1900 Bruce, Ontario, Canada | 1966 Nanuet, Rockland, New York | 1902 |
I listed my ancestors by date of birth and included their death. I was able to find some immigration records for a few and will continue to research to see if I can locate more. I have not been able to find the immigration records for all of my ancestors so I still have many questions. At this point I have not been able to locate any immigration information for my Dutch ancestors (VanDyke with the various spellings; Rous or Roweth; Runyon; Drake; Seward; Hyde). I do know that Dominicus Hendrick VanDyke was born in New Jersey in 1731 so it is likely that his parents, his grandparents, or his great grandparents were immigrants. Since New Jersey was part of New Netherland this is probable.
I also have questions about the McLeod/Liggett side of the family. Both the McLeods and the Liggetts settled in Canada. The McLeods were from Scotland and perhaps England and the Liggetts were from Ireland. I will continue to research to see if I can trace the family any further back.
| Name | Birth | Death | Immigration |
| Oliver Liggett | 1817 Armagh, Northern Ireland | 1910 Bruce, Ontario, Canada | |
| Mary Chisholm McLeod | 1821 Teangue, Inverness-shire, Scotland | 1891 Ontario, Canada | |
| Malcolm McLeod | 1848 Islay, Scotland | 1922 Wentworth, Ontario, Canada | 1848 in Quebec from Liverpool, England on Sardinia |
My personal migration patterns have been much simpler: California to Oklahoma to Kansas to Oklahoma to Kansas then back to California for 32 years and now living in Nevada. I appreciate the determination and courage that my ancestors took in their trek to America. With travel so much more accessible today, I have had the opportunity to travel both in the United States and internationally. It’s wonderful to experience other cultures and traditions.
