by Sharon Hall | Jun 23, 2015 | Tombstone Tuesday
I came across this interesting person recently while researching the two-part series on Chedorlaomer “Lomer” Griffin (Part One, Part Two), who for many years was believed to have been born in 1759 when in fact he was born in 1772. At the time of his death he was...
by Sharon Hall | Jun 17, 2015 | Digging History Magazine, Wild Weather Wednesday
In the early 1890’s several men claiming to be rainmakers were making headlines — from explosive-laden balloons launched to blast rain from the sky (see Part One of the series) to the super-secret formulas Frank Melbourne, a.k.a., the “Rain...
by Sharon Hall | Jun 12, 2015 | Feisty Females
Lillian Heath was born in Burnett Junction, Wisconsin on December 29, 1865, the daughter of William and Calista Hunter Heath. Her father later moved the family steadily west, first to Aplington, Iowa and in 1873 to Laramie, Wyoming. The Transcontinental Railroad was...
by Sharon Hall | Jun 11, 2015 | Time Capsule Thursday
What was happening on this day in June of 1924? The big front-page headlines were buzzing about the Republican National Convention, on the verge of nominating their man Calvin “Silent Cal” Coolidge. The only concerns were over certain contentious planks in the...
by Sharon Hall | Jun 10, 2015 | Ghost Town Wednesday
Indian legends about long-lost silver mines brought prospectors to Marion County in north central Arkansas during the 1880’s. News of shiny metallic flakes found in rocks caused a “silver rush”, bringing wealth-seekers from the nearby states of...
by Sharon Hall | Jun 3, 2015 | Digging History Magazine, Wild Weather Wednesday
Frank Melbourne, The Rain Wizard Just because General Dyrenforth was on his way to being exposed as a fraud (see Part One of this series) didn’t stop others from trying, nor end the public’s fascination with so-called rainmakers. Frank Melbourne immigrated to...
by Sharon Hall | Jun 2, 2015 | Tombstone Tuesday
Pierre Labonté (later Americanized to Peter Labounty) was born on November 15, 1817 to parents Joseph and Marguerite Amable Labonté. The name is French which would indicate he was born in the French-Canadian province of Quebec. Family researchers, however, differ...
by Sharon Hall | May 27, 2015 | Ghost Town Wednesday
During the early eighteenth century, Spanish explorers mentioned this area and its unique water supply flowing from seven springs which fed the nearby Pecos River. Despite those advantages, settling the area wasn’t feasible at the time due to the presence of...
by Sharon Hall | May 26, 2015 | Tombstone Tuesday
I came across the story of this New Mexico pioneer while researching a ghost town article. In 1991, the Roswell Daily Record called his family one of Roswell’s oldest and largest. Since the late 1870’s several generations of this family have lived and thrived...
by Sharon Hall | May 19, 2015 | Digging History Magazine, Wild Weather Wednesday
Let’s face it folks, weather patterns are cyclical – always have been, always will be. One of my favorite quotes, originally attributed to George Santayana in his book The Life of Reason (1905), is: “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” One...
