One Hundred Years Ago

[gabrielle]

Hey guys, just wanted to drop in and say hi.  I am swamped at work. I have a lot of catching up to do here.  Keep up the good work.

[Walks_At_Night]

Hey guys, just wanted to drop in and say hi.  I am swamped at work. I have a lot of catching up to do here.  Keep up the good work.

Completely understand.  Hang in there Gabrielle!!!!!!!!!!!    I'll try and find something juicy for May 10th

[Walks_At_Night]

Photo of then Lieutenant George S. Patton taken outside of his tent in San Antonio, Mexico on May 11th, 1916

[Walks_At_Night]

On May 10th, 1916 the submarine Som of the Imperial Russian Navy collided with the Swedish steamer Ã...ngermanland in the Sea of Ã...land.
All hands were lost.   They certainly did not lack in guts - I have attached a picture of a Som-class submarine and I would not want to get within 50 feet of the damn thing.   


The wreck was discovered in 2015 by the Swedish Navy:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/28/sweden-submarine-wreck-tsarist-russian-som-catfish

[Rix Gins]

Everett True, May 11, 1916.

[Rix Gins]

The Tonopah Daily Bonanza, May 11, 1916.

[K_Dubb]

The Tonopah Daily Bonanza, May 11, 1916.

Ha, the Professor lands on his feet!  What an image, the good Presbyterians of Tonopah putting on the Mikado hahaha.  I wonder who the three little maids will be.  Perhaps this is just an excuse for our friend R. B. to mince his way through "My object all sublime I shall achieve in time, to make the punishment fit the crime, the punishment fit the crime!"

I wondered what the prizes were!  I hope the vases survived, have turned a gorgeous shade of purple, and await some lucky finder in a junk store in Tonopah.

[Rix Gins]

Ha, the Professor lands on his feet!  What an image, the good Presbyterians of Tonopah putting on the Mikado hahaha.  I wonder who the three little maids will be.  Perhaps this is just an excuse for our friend R. B. to mince his way through "My object all sublime I shall achieve in time, to make the punishment fit the crime, the punishment fit the crime!"

I wondered what the prizes were!  I hope the vases survived, have turned a gorgeous shade of purple, and await some lucky finder in a junk store in Tonopah.

I view the good professor's resignation from the city band in a new light.  He can now devote more time to artistic productions, the kind that might land him a position with a bigger church, say like in San Francisco.  From there, it would be a hop, skip and jump to the legitimate theater.  Kanouse is a calculating man.  Everything he does is carefully plotted to elevate his status beyond that of a cabaret operator or leader of a band at local dances.  (Read Happy B.)     

[K_Dubb]

I view the good professor's resignation from the city band in a new light.  He can now devote more time to artistic productions, the kind that might land him a position with a bigger church, say like in San Francisco.  From there, it would be a hop, skip and jump to the legitimate theater.  Kanouse is a calculating man.  Everything he does is carefully plotted to elevate his status beyond that of a cabaret operator or leader of a band at local dances.  (Read Happy B.)   

You may be right, Rix.  I couldn't resist peeking ahead a bit and found this notice in the International Musician: Official Journal of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (July, 1921):



So he has either met with a foul end or, more likely, found a new life somewhere.  I assume the business is something beyond her taking in sewing, as we saw a few weeks ago.

Musician-types, you know.  My great great grandmother (who was known as "MacDonald's Wildcat" in her youth according to Grandma) had a torrid affair with the leader of a Salvation Army band in Vancouver, so I'm inclined to the latter explanation.  She must've been in her 50s at the time.

[Rix Gins]

You may be right, Rix.  I couldn't resist peeking ahead a bit and found this notice in the International Musician: Official Journal of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (July, 1921):



So he has either met with a foul end or, more likely, found a new life somewhere.  I assume the business is something beyond her taking in sewing, as we saw a few weeks ago.

Musician-types, you know.  My great great grandmother (who was known as "MacDonald's Wildcat" in her youth according to Grandma) had a torrid affair with the leader of a Salvation Army band in Vancouver, so I'm inclined to the latter explanation.  She must've been in her 50s at the time.

OMG, K.  Your great, great grandmother sounds totally awesome.  As do quite a number of your ancestors, I might add.

The Federation of American Musicians was a great source to utilize, I would never have thought of that.  I wonder when our beloved professor decided to search for greener pastures?  Sometime between now and 1920, at least? 

I hope Professor Kanouse was careful with his gas stove.  There are still lots of people from Illinois succumbing to the effects of breathing gas...I stopped listing them in the Day Book because it got to be kind of a downer.

I keep seeing the professor in my mind's eye, slumped over on a worn out couch, pencil and notebook full of musical notes on the threadbare carpet...oh and his bass horn too.  When the coroner performed his investigation he found a fitting from the gas stove that was leaking.  And the notebook?  It was entitled, Kanouse's Music of The Universe...Part One...The Sun.     

[Walks_At_Night]

May is moving right along and we will soon be in Battle of Jutland territory.  The Battle of Jutland was fought from May 31st to June 1st 1916.

It pitted the British Grand Fleet versus the German High Seas Fleet in the largest sea battle of the war off of the west coast of the Jutland Peninsula.
This topic is rather complex so it is time to start laying some ground work before starting on the details of the battle.

The obvious starting point is the guy in command of the Grand Fleet - John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Viscount Jellicoe of Scapa, Viscount Brocas of Southampton.  The son of a sea captain, Jellicoe joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1872.   By 1891 he had been promoted to Commander and was given his first command - HMS Victoria of the Mediterranean fleet.   In 1898, Jellicoe was appointed to the command of HMS Centurion, of the China station, and took part in the expedition to evacuate diplomats in Beijing during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900.

On the eve of World War I, Jellicoe was sent to join the home fleet at Scapa Flow as second in command under Admiral Sir George Callaghan and was soon appointed commander in chief with acting rank of admiral.  Quiet, unassuming, skillful and extremely confident in himself, he was not without his faults.  He was restrictive in his thinking and definitely had a lack of sympathy for opposing views among the men he commanded.  The Grand Fleet was the superior fighting force and as uncontrolled aggression could put the Grand Fleet at risk, his view was that no aggression at all was best.  Just the existence of the Grand Fleet was enough to keep the German High Seas Fleet in port and aside from the Battle of Dogger Bank there was no
major clash between the fleets in the first two years of the war.  Winston Churchill would famously  describe him as "the only man on either side who could lose the war in an afternoon".

Right after the Battle of Jutland, Jellicoe would be criticized for being too cautious during the battle and for not completely crushing the Germans. 
The reality is that Jellicoe's handling of the fleet was top notch - he crossed the German's T but they managed to escape into the mist.  Not willing to risk a disaster in a night battle, Jellicoe would retire.   However, the ultimate objective was met.  Never again would the German High Seas fleet come out to challenge Britain.   In November, 1916 Jellicoe would be appointed as First Sea Lord and his operations as a sea commander came to an end.

Post war he would become the governor of New Zealand in 1920.  He would return to the UK and would be made  Earl Jellicoe and Viscount Brocas of Southampton in the County of Southampton on  July 1s, 1925.  He would die of pneumonia in 1935.

John Jellicoe

[K_Dubb]

The reality is that Jellicoe's handling of the fleet was top notch - he crossed the German's T but they managed to escape into the mist.  Not willing to risk a disaster in a night battle, Jellicoe would retire.   However, the ultimate objective was met.  Never again would the German High Seas fleet come out to challenge Britain.   In November, 1916 Jellicoe would be appointed as First Sea Lord and his operations as a sea commander came to an end.

Yes!  I can't wait to read the coverage! 

I am under the impression that the "crossing the T" tactic's importance was greatly diminished by this time due to much greater forward-facing armament and vulnerability to torpedo attack.  If I remember right, Nelson at Trafalgar willingly risked attacking perpendicular to the enemy's broadside in an era when it mattered a lot more.  It bugs me to hear British documentaries cite this as some sort of moral victory.

Jellicoe was conservative.  He's fortunate that the Germans were even more so afterwards so he could claim a strategic victory.  But he was no Nelson.

[K_Dubb]

OMG, K.  Your great, great grandmother sounds totally awesome.  As do quite a number of your ancestors, I might add.

The Federation of American Musicians was a great source to utilize, I would never have thought of that.  I wonder when our beloved professor decided to search for greener pastures?  Sometime between now and 1920, at least? 

I hope Professor Kanouse was careful with his gas stove.  There are still lots of people from Illinois succumbing to the effects of breathing gas...I stopped listing them in the Day Book because it got to be kind of a downer.

I keep seeing the professor in my mind's eye, slumped over on a worn out couch, pencil and notebook full of musical notes on the threadbare carpet...oh and his bass horn too.  When the coroner performed his investigation he found a fitting from the gas stove that was leaking.  And the notebook?  It was entitled, Kanouse's Music of The Universe...Part One...The Sun.   

Ha, the Professor giving Holst a run for his money!  Your picture is far more romantic than mine -- let's go with that.

I think most families have those stories back there somewhere.  I'm just lucky that Grandma was a gossip who loved to talk, and I loved to listen, sitting by the hour drinking tea while she rocked in her favorite chair.

[Rix Gins]

Everett True, May 12, 1916.

[Rix Gins]

The Tonopah Daily Bonanza, May 12, 1916.

[K_Dubb]

The Tonopah Daily Bonanza, May 12, 1916.

That poisoning case sounds like an old movie!  I wonder why you never hear about that kind of thing any more.  Maybe modern divorce settlements have removed much of the incentive.

I had to look up croton oil and found these two gems from Wikipedia.  It doesn't sound terribly lethal:

During World War II, the United States Navy added a small amount of croton oil to the neutral grain spirits which powered torpedoes. The oil was intended to prevent sailors from drinking the alcohol fuel. Sailors devised crude stills to separate the alcohol from the croton oil, as alcohol evaporates at a lower temperature than croton oil.

Norwegian partisans, ordered by the Quisling government to turn over a catch of sardines to the Nazi German government for shipment to Saint-Nazaire (a U-boat base of operations) arranged with the British for a large shipment of croton oil to flavor the sardines, whose fishy taste was expected to conceal the tampering

I heard lots of resistance tales growing up, many of them similarly fanciful.  Some of them might be true.

I wonder of the writer of the firemen story could keep a straight face!

[gabrielle]

Update on Verdun:

[Walks_At_Night]

Yes!  I can't wait to read the coverage! 

I am under the impression that the "crossing the T" tactic's importance was greatly diminished by this time due to much greater forward-facing armament and vulnerability to torpedo attack.  If I remember right, Nelson at Trafalgar willingly risked attacking perpendicular to the enemy's broadside in an era when it mattered a lot more.  It bugs me to hear British documentaries cite this as some sort of moral victory.

Jellicoe was conservative.  He's fortunate that the Germans were even more so afterwards so he could claim a strategic victory.  But he was no Nelson.

Glad you are interested K Dubb - feel free to jump in if you want....... Beatty is up next - the most interesting of the commanders

[Rix Gins]

Everett True, May 12, 1916.

Everett should have clobbered the dude just for looking so creepy.

[Rix Gins]

Everett True, May 13, 1916.

[Rix Gins]

The Day Book, May 13, 1916.

[Rix Gins]

The Tonopah Daily Bonanza, May 13, 1916.

[pate]

Wow, what a biography!  They don't make them like that any more.

Nice monocle, too!

Mr. Dubb, I realize my response is a hunnert years old, but that picture is of a gentleman wearing the old pince-nez(sp) glasses not a monocle, pince-nez being the francais for "pinch nose," hence(haha I rhyme) the ribbon that replaces the ?ear-armature? one is used to seeing with those "glasses"

ediot:  Give the man a tit-tit, or harrumph...  'pologies, if I repeat a point made by others, this is the first I've seen of this thread in a few yarns, and I am a bit tickled and perhaps pickled (blame the modern beams!)

2ndiot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwvHpGbg3oo

[K_Dubb]

Mr. Dubb, I realize my response is a hunnert years old, but that picture is of a gentleman wearing the old pince-nez(sp) glasses not a monocle, pince-nez being the francais for "pinch nose," hence(haha I rhyme) the ribbon that replaces the ?ear-armature? one is used to seeing with those "glasses"

ediot:  Give the man a tit-tit, or harrumph...  'pologies, if I repeat a point made by others, this is the first I've seen of this thread in a few yarns, and I am a bit tickled and perhaps pickled (blame the modern beams!)

Ha, you are right!  The second lens escaped my notice.

[K_Dubb]

The Tonopah Daily Bonanza, May 13, 1916.

Hmm I wonder where the "column of matter" Chief Poke wrote appeared.  Could there have been another, presumably morning, newspaper?  The editor of the Bonanza has a formidable pen!  Can't wait to read the outcome of this feud.

[Rix Gins]

Hmm I wonder where the "column of matter" Chief Poke wrote appeared.  Could there have been another, presumably morning, newspaper?  The editor of the Bonanza has a formidable pen!  Can't wait to read the outcome of this feud.

Me too.  I also didn't understand the 'column of matter' reference.  Perhaps the chief typed it up at the firehouse and memo-graphed some copies to the firemen and a copy got sent to the Bonanza editor?  I don't like bosses that lord it over their employees and I hope Poke (nice, odd first name, I must admit) is forced to resign...and is replaced by the valiant  King Pierce.  What a great case of 'turn around' that would be.  But I must remember, this is the real world...even a hundred years ago.

[WhiteCrow]

Wow you guys and gals were busy posting.. Much enjoying read it all,  as I wait in the hotel lobby for Ms Gabrielle to arrive.  Prettty cool hey?

[Rix Gins]

Wow you guys and gals were busy posting.. Much enjoying read it all,  as I wait in the hotel lobby for Ms Gabrielle to arrive.  Prettty cool hey?

Time waits for no man or woman when you have to go back 100 years.  Lots of stuff happening back then.

Definitely cool being visited by Gabrielle.  I'm betting that you and Mrs Crow would be fun people to meet.

[WhiteCrow]

Time waits for no man or woman when you have to go back 100 years.  Lots of stuff happening back then.

Definitely cool being visited by Gabrielle.  I'm betting that you and Mrs Crow would be fun people to meet.

I'll let Ms Gabrielle be the judge of that.. She and her husband are definitely an interesting couple. Had a delightful evening with them .. Talked about this thread a lot.  We both appreciate it.  Very special for us history junkies.. etc..thanks again to all!

[K_Dubb]

A French photo dated a hundred years ago today captioned "Grandfather brandishes a sword":



Another French cartoon, this one a little comprehensible at least:



"We came back because it was getting hot down there."
"You were at Verdun?"
"No, we just got back from Nice!"