Tag: history

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Mt Vernon, Virginia

West Front of Mansion. In the 18th century, guests arrived at the west front entrance to the Mansion. Washington enlarged the original house that his father had built by adding another story and building wings on the north and south.

Study. No room at Mount Vernon is as closely associated with George Washington as his study which contains the desk he purchased in Philadelphia at the end of his presidency, his terrestrial globe and an 18th century fan chair. From this private room Washington directed the activities of his plantation and corresponded with leaders of the day.

George and Martha Washington’s Bedroom. On December 14, 1799, George Washington died on this bed in the room he and his wife shared. Other objects of interest in this room include Washington’s trunk at the foot of the bed. Martha Washington’s desk and portraits of her four grandchildren.

Family Kitchen. Meals for family and guests were prepared in the kitchen, a separate building that is connected to the Mansion by a colonnade. Martha Washington supervised the planning of meals and made regular visits to the kitchen.

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Monticello, Virginia

The trip is fun so far. We are about 2 hours outside D.C. Yesterday we drove for 10 hours. It can get boring but we have music, books and trivia questions (history of course) we just visited the house of Thomas Jefferson. It was very beautiful. The view was breathtaking.

After Monticello we visited U. of Virginia. We didn’t look around much, but did stop at the book shop to buy shirts and stuff. Today we are to go to see the Washington monument, Lincoln Memorial and more.

See you when I get back, Love, Kelly

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Montana, USA

May 2005

Went to a graduation in Montana and walked in some of the places that Lewis and Clark explored 200 years ago!

See you on the 5th of July.

Love, Tim and Kar.

Lewis and Clark Trails in Montana. In 1805-06, Lewis and Clark’s ‘Corp of Discovery’ went through present day Montana with the primary objective of finding a waterway from the East to the Pacific, and along the way documenting flora and fauna, and meeting area inhabitants.

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Brisbane, Australia

March, 1978

Dear V & B

Greetings from sunny Queensland, where the wet season is just beginning, with a cyclone in north Q’ld. I am back working in the Dept Microbiology after the Christmas/New Year break, starting to write my thesis and related papers. Many thanks for the IITA card. I hope all is going well there. Bob is due here tomorrow. Best wishes for 1979.

Yours sincerely, Gabrielle

Built on land given by Dr. Mayne and his sister, the University building was opened in 1948.

It strikes me as weird (typical?) that they name Dr. Mayne but his sister is not named. Dr. James Mayne worked at the Brisbane Hospital from 1891 until 1904. His sister’s name was Mary Emilia. She never married.

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The Moon

August 2003

Dear Bill and Ginia

Thank you for the Anaken toy. I like it. We forgot to mow the lawn on the weekend.

Love, N (age 8)

Astronaut James B. Irwin, lunar module pilot, gives a military salute while standing beside the deployed U.S. flag during the Apollo 15 lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Hadly-Apennine landing site. The Lunar Module “Falcon” is partially visible on the right.

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Madison, Wisconsin

October 1981

Dear

I am with Jean in the waiting room doing crossword puzzles, reading the paper, and getting hungry! Bill got off in the rain and fog yesterday – called last night to say he’s in Washington ok. We saw Steve at the airport. He came up for the homecoming weekend in Madison.

Love, Dede

State Street Mall – Civic Center, Madison, Wisconsin. Looking toward the State Capitol

The Capital building in Madison, Wisconsin, was completed in 1917.  The architect was George Post of New York and it cost $7.25 million to build.  It is 284 ft, 5 in. to the top of the dome, three feet shorter than the capital building in Washington, DC.

The white granite on the outside is from Vermont and makes the dome the only granite dome in the United States.  It is the also the largest dome by volume in the United States and one of the largest in the world.  Inside the rotunda there is marble from Greece, Algeria, Italy and France; limestone from Minnesota; red granite from Wisconsin.

It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2001

The statue on top of the dome is a sculpture by Daniel Chester French. He also did Abraham Lincoln of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. It is called “Wisconsin” and is a woman dressed in Greek fashion with an arm reaching out to symbolize the state motto – Forward. There is a badger on top of her helmet and she holds a globe with an eagle on top in her left hand. The eagle has a “W” on its chest.

The square surrounding the capital holds the farmer’s market every weekend, weather permitting, as well as three museums, a gourmet cheese shop and several restaurants. The Children’s Museum, the Wisconsin Veterans Museum and the Wisconsin Historical Museum are all on the square. The Veterans Museum is especially interesting. It takes you through the wars Wisconsin citizens have participated in over the past 150 years and includes many personal artifacts and souvenirs.

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Bozeman, Montana

Rain in the Face, “Iromagaja”, Hunkpapa Sioux (1835-1905)

June 1995

Greetings from beautiful Montana! Our family reunion was fantastic and accommodations, food, weather – perfect. We even did a float on the Madison river. The third generation put on a rodeo and Melissa took 2 “firsts”. See you around the 5th.

Bruce and June

A warrior in the truest sense, Rain in the Face counted many coups during the days of the Red Cloud Wars. He came to public note after his escape from the stockade at Fort Lincoln and united a band of hostiles that eventually helped defeat Custer on the Little Bighorn. Photograph by Frank B. Fiske, C. 1902.

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