Friday, July 31, 2015

Charles W. Bartholow, Jr. ...

March 31, 1933 – July 26, 2015


Charles, Bernard, Bea, Charles Jr., Helen

Charles W. Bartholow, Jr., coffee-drinker, varmint-hater, suspender-wearer died Sunday July 26, 2015 at the VA Hospital’s Palliative Care Unit in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Know by many names, Chuck/Chucky B./Chas/Chief, Charles lived more life in 82 years than most people could live in three lifetimes.  He was a veteran of the Korean War Era, had mingled with some of the most influential people in the military world, and contributed to the building of the Lunar Module, but none of those things were what made him proud.  Building his homestead from nothing into a very unique something, figuring out a formula to compute square root by longhand, and catching that possum or coon or snake that had been pillaging his barn made his mouth, covered with his signature white mustache, curl up in a smile. 


Those who knew Chuck will remember the little man with a big personality, driving his little white truck to and from service calls to fix a washer or dryer.  Those who knew Chuck well will remember the man who loved to talk for hours, share stories of his life, and used almost any circumstance to teach a useful lesson.  To all of us, we will remember him as one of the smartest men we’ve ever known.  


Survivors include his sister, Bea Johnson of Washington, IA, brother, Bernard Bartholow and wife Judy of Muscatine, IA, son, Charles T. Bartholow and wife Linda of Jefferson, IA, daughter, Carla Collins of Bartlesville, OK, two granddaughters, Celina Johnson and Krisann Draman, and three great-grandchildren, Jade, Spencer, and Zoey.
There will be no services, per Chuck’s request that upon his death, we all “get back to work”. 


Obituary by Celina Johnson

Tigger

Tigger was abandoned just down the road from us in 2000 along with Donna Cat. Donna is still with us, but she is a short-timer now. Tigger had a cancer eating the left side of her jaw, and she made her final trip to the vet today.


She is buried next to Woody, Leonardo, Nellie, Marvin, and HeyJoe.

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Mom Made The Big Move


June and July have been busy for Bea. Living alone in her house was getting to be too much of a chore, so she checked out local retirement homes. Halcyon House a retirement community run by the Methodist Church was having a 20% off sale, and Mom pounced on a good deal while it was hot. She secured a two bedroom apartment, hooked up with a realtor, called a mover, and had a rummage sale. It's all over but closing on her house now, and that should happen in the next few days. I have noted that there are not any gun-free-zone signs on the doors, so some of the residents could actually be packing heat when they go to the dining rooms.

July 30, 1945...

...The Indianapolis was torpedoed. Most Americans had never heard of the Indianapolis until the movie Jaws came out in the 1970's. Go read one of the survivor's story, and look around on the site to learn more of the history. Woody's Story Here.

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Maples; I Gotta Keep Saying It...


...Don't let one grow within 100 feet of your house. This one was solid, but had bad branch angles.

And while we are on the subject of trees and targets...


Take down the decadent old tree before you build a new house. The damaged gutter is a cheap lesson compared to what it could have been.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Ruger's Auction To Benefit Honored American Veterans Afield


This week Ruger is offering you the opportunity to buy an early production New Model Blackhawk in .357 Magnum, from February, 1974. Click Here, or on the photo to read all about it and to place your bid. This fine magnum revolver will sell mid-day, Wednesday, July 29, 2015. 100% of the proceeds will go to benefit Honored American Veterans Afield.

$500, Someone got a bargain!

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Not My Victrola: The Little Ford Rambled Right Along

Henry Ford said that every Ford joke sold a Model T.


Sighting In With Inches, Minutes, Clicks



 I had to do more editing than I like with this video because of walking out and back to change targets, but both of these rifles sighted in well. The 10/22 is a 1985 model that I bought used down at Larry's Gun Shop in McLeansboro many years ago. It came with the walnut Sporter stock and a Tasco scope. It now has the stock off of Pattie's rifle, because we put an aftermarket adjustable length stock on hers. The trigger group in this old rifle is from Susan's Magnum Research 1722 (Copy of Ruger's 10/22)  because we put her trigger group from the Sporter in the new rifle. That trigger is one of Ruger's all metal assemblies with the addition of some Volquartsen parts. The trigger pull on that one is just over 2 pounds. The trigger that came in the Magnum Research rifle is a polymer frame Ruger trigger group, and the pull is 3 pounds. I need to change the trigger return spring to make it more to our liking. The scope is a Redfield Battlezone TAC 22 from Midway, because they are on sale right now. The Red Dot is a Sightmark that we picked up from Amazon, and we are going to try that on steel plates on Pistol League nights. It should work well on 'possums and racoons, too. The adjustment clicks seemed to be right on the money on both of these scopes, and that is always a good thing to see when you are working with a new scope.

Crankin' It Up With Brat And Bart: Battleship Connecticut March by Arthur Pryor's Band

Bart came along and started bumping the tripod, so I put him up on the Brunswick, too. This was the only record I pulled out of a drawer this morning, and it is a good one. The Battleship Connecticut was part of the Great White Fleet that was part of Teddy Roosevelt's U.S. Navy. It had two big triple expansion engines, two screws, and a top speed of 18 knots.


Mr. Completely e-Postal Reminder!!!!!!!!!

This is the final weekend in July, so print your targets, head to the range, and start pokin' holes. Click the pic for the link to Billll's rules and the pdf link.


Thursday, July 23, 2015

Our Country Is Infested With Monsters

This passage from The Grapes Of Wrath* came to mind last week, the memory awoken by the news about Planned Parenthood: From Chapter 15, somewhere along Route 66. "The big cars on the highway. Languid, heat-raddled ladies, small nucleuses about whom revolve a thousand accouterments: creams, ointments to grease themselves, coloring matter in phials-black, pink, red, white, green, silver-to change the color of hair, eyes, lips, nails, brows, lashes, lids. Oils, seeds, and pills to make the bowels move. A bag of bottles, syringes, pills, powders, fluids, jellies to make their sexual intercourse safe, odorless, and unproductive. And this apart from clothes. What a hell of a nuisance!"

In just a few decades children went from being an undesirable nuisance to a non-viable tissue mass to be torn out of its mother, to a commodity to be parted out and sold as if it was livestock.  Has our nation lost its fear of God and His judgment? "You created every part of me; you put me together in my mother's womb." Psalm 139, verse 13.

*The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck, copyright 1939, renewed 1966 by John Steinbeck.

I'm A Sucker For Old Barns....

...Here's a good one I saw recently.




Those ventilators look a bit Steam Punkish, don't they?

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Dad Never Saw True Grit

Ten years ago today Dad got out of intensive care eight days after having a lung removed. It was a tough week, with several crises, but he was feeling good the day he moved to a room at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City. He even got out of bed and walked a short distance. He realized then that life was going to be difficult with one lung. I told him that John Wayne made True Grit after he had a lung out, and Dad said he'd never seen True Grit. I told him I would get a copy for him.

Dad was looking good, and I needed to get back to work, so I headed back to Southern Illinois on the 23rd. I shot down to St. Louis, over the bridge, and stopped at Fairview Heights to shop at Best Buy. I found a DVD of True Grit and hit the road again. Just a few miles down the road, Susan called me and gave me the bad news. It was this little guy's fifth birthday.


That makes it easy for me to remember one birthday. Well, Isaac, Grandpa didn't mean to die on your birthday. I will have to get another copy of True Grit and watch it with Isaac one of these days.

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Ruger's Auction To Benefit Honored American Veterans Afield

This Ruger Mk II, made in 1999 is proving popular with the collectors. It is a limited edition made for Lipseys, and returned to Ruger by a distributor. It has target sights, a  4" bull barrel, and thick rosewood laminated grips.


This is a great gun for a collector, or for someone who wants a special gun to pack on hikes and wood-walks. 100% of the proceeds will go to benefit Honored American Veterans Afield, and it will sell at 4:51 or later, Wednesday, July 22, 2015. Click Here to read the full description and to place your bid.

$1000

Monday, July 20, 2015

What Did You Learn At Vacation Bible School And Church Camp?

It's hard to recall all that I learned. I saw a kid nearly killed by a baseball to the throat, but he came out of it OK. I really liked Onward Christian Soldiers and other songs we sang. Teachers get all flustered when someone asks "What's a womb?" and those were farm women! Man's primary purpose is to glorify God. That's the big one. and if a kid goes to Sunday School, VBS, and other church activities, that soaks in. What happens in other cultures? That's a hard lesson that you need to learn. I was visiting with a friend who knows about such things, so I asked him,"How many of the mosques in this country are preaching Jihad?" He gave me a look that made me realize that I had asked a very dumb question. "All Of Them! 100%! That's what imams do" You hear that there are good muslims, and that must be true, but you have to understand that every muslim who attends a mosque is instructed to wage jihad against you. You! When you hear muslim leaders say "Death To America" that means you, your family, your friends, your government. It is not a quaint or funny expression. They want You dead. Here is what kids learn when they go to muslim summer camp, from the UK Daily Mail. You don't have to look for motives; this is what the religious leaders teach the followers of the religion of peace.  (Photos cropped, from the UK Daily Mail)



Click on the Religion Of Peace website link on the sidebar every week and catch up on what muslims are doing around the world. Right now there is a ramadan scoresheet with a tally of the mayhem that has transpired during their holy month. It started out with a bang, with beheadings by det cord, and wound up with the masacre in Chattanooga. The news hacks and the government are not going to inform you, so you must go out and seek this information yourself. Hard times are ahead. Educate yourself.

And Heaven Help You if an imam suspects you are a homosexual.

Boonville Antique Steam And Gas Engine Club's Summer Show, July 24-26, 2015

 TheBoonville club is hosting its 52'nd year this summer and fall.  It is always a good time in a shady grove, and next weekend the weather is going to be perfect! Weather hacks are calling for highs in the mid-80's, so pack up the old station wagon and head for southern Indiana. Here are some videos we shot during previous visits.




Tuesday Turbo Boost

Thursday, July 16, 2015

I Think I'm OK

He didn't call my name.

 Cultural Ref

First Aid Class Sponsored By The Carmi Rifle Club, July 21, 2015....

...And It's FREE!  It's been ten years since I have had a first aid course, and the one before that was 1975. You better believe that we are going! You should too, if you live close to Carmi, Illinois.

Free First Aid/Gunshot Wound Training In Carmi, IL, 7/21
I've put together a First Aid Training evening in Carmi for the 21st. It is being co-sponsored by the White County Farm Bureau.
It will be very informal but, should have a lot of usable information.
It is Being presented by a couple of local first responders.
I would recommend anyone that spends much time around guns and gun ranges to take this class...also, good for the preppers!
Please RSVP so we can have enough cookies!
No Charge...
More info below...
Mike

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Crankin' It Up With Brat The Cat: A Good Man Is Hard To Find


A Good Man Is Hard To Find by TrueBlueSam

Steel Shoot At Carmi, Saturday, July 18, 2015

From the White County Farm Bureau website:

The Young Leader Committee of the White County Farm Bureau is pleased to sponsor the 5th Annual Young Leader Pistol Shoot.  The event will be held on Saturday, July 18, 2015 at the Carmi Rifle Club in Carmi, IL.

The event will include two age classes… an adult class, and a youth class for shooters aged 16 years and younger.  Minimum age for shooters is 12 years old.  Any shooter age 16 and younger must be accompanied by an adult.  

Each shooter will be put in a drawing for a Browning Buck Mark .22 target pistol. The top shooter in each class will receive an additional 5 chances in the drawing; the 2nd place shooter in each class will receive an additional 3 chances; and the 3rd place shooter in each class will receive one additional chance.  

This steel target competition will consist of 5 stations, 5 relays, with 5 targets at each station (minimum of 125 shots).  Each round will be electronically timed.  

After lunch, participants will test their aim in a marksmanship competition, with distance being the deciding factor, not speed.  

Event registration and practice shooting begins at 8:30 a.m., with competition set to begin at 9:00 a.m.  

Registration will be $25 per shooter if registered before July 1.  After July 1, registration will be $35 per person.  Registration includes lunch.  

Shooters will need to furnish their own guns, ammunition, hearing protection, and eye protection. 

Only .22 caliber pistols are allowed to be used in this competition.  In order to have ammunition ready while competing, it is recommended you bring multiple clips for your gun.  Ammunition will be available for sale at cost.

A portion of the proceeds for the 5th Annual Young Leader Pistol Shoot will be used to support the Young Leader Collegiate Scholarship program.

Read the entire flier for this event HERE.

Registration form HERE.

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Ruger's Auction To Benefit Honored American Veterans Afield



You have a chance this week to acquire a Super Blackhawk revolver made in 1976. Interest is strong, but not ourtageous, so go take a look and place a bid on this one. 100% of the proceeds will go to benefit Honored American Veterans Afield, and the hammer will fall mid-day, Wednesday, July 15, 2015.

$980

June e-Postal Scores Are Up At Engineering Johnson



The scores are up HERE, and I am seeing a trend. Susan is shooting better than I do. She out-scored me at the last Appleseed shoot, and she has beat me a couple times on Mr. Completely's e-Postal contest. Must be all that good coaching I give her. Our .22 rifles are all zeroed at 25 meters, so when we shoot the Postal we have to hold off on elevation. Consider that when you look at Pattie's score. She uses a rest under the front end of her rifle because she can't hold it up, but I hope that at 91 I can eyeball in my point of aim to allow for elevation correction. If you haven't been to an Appleseed event, the sequence on each of these shots is: Establish Natural Point of Aim, Breathe, Squeeze, Follow Through, and repeat.

Thank You for a great match, Zeke!

Monday, July 13, 2015

Tuesday Turbo Boost



Hmmm...That song calls out for this one...


Travel The Gravel...

...in a front wheel drive? Slow it down to around 40 and your little buggy will stay between the ditches much better. Go fast, look away at your phone, dodge a deer, and get out of the tracks, and suddenly you are on marbles. You let your foot off the gas and your car suddenly wants to swap ends. I have seen a few on their tops in the ditches around our place over the years, and it was always a front wheel drive. Rear wheel drive cars stabilize when you back off the gas, but with your front wheels hooked to the drive train you need to keep power on and steer back into the tracks. That is hard to do when you are skidding. Anyhow, slow down when you are on a loose surface. You will also have fewer flats, because the front wheels flip nails hiding in the gravel. At forty or below, nails have time to lay down again. Drive fifty in our neighborhood and you can expect a nail a week.


Saturday, July 11, 2015

Not My Victrola



Got Glock? Get Gadget!

The nature of the Glock system means that many people are having accidental discharges upon holstering, either from an errant trigger finger or a drawstring becoming tangled in the trigger guard. This Gadget fixes that, and it's a darn sight cheaper that a trip to the ER. Order Here.



You still have to drop the striker to disassemble your Glock, so for Heaven's sake, keep a bucket of sand in your work area to prevent those annoying holes in the floor.

Friday, July 10, 2015

You Better Look Quick...

Weekend Steam: North Freedom, Wisconsin, 1983

Mr. Completely e-Postal Update/Reminder

Zeke has not yet published the scores for June, and that means you should send more targets. The June target is a fun one, and a challenge.  Billlll has a great target for July, and you can't miss. It's like shooting Fish In A Barrel. Merle's target will be posted here and at Sand Castle Scrolls in August, and I have a target drawn in my mind for September. If you don't have time to sneak away to a shooting range, set up a BB range in your garage. You need the practice; No Excuses!

March:  Mr. Completely
April:  Jimmy B, theCUG 
May:  Sand Castle Son at Smallest Conservative
July: Billll of Bill’s Idle Mind  
August:  Merle, (Hosting at Sand Castle Scrolls and True Blue Sam)

November: Danno at Sand Castle Scrolls  

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Don't Get The You-Know-What Smacked Out Of You By A Springpole


You will see springpoles if you cut trees or deal with storm damage. They occur when a falling tree pulls a sapling or pole down with it, and they are loaded with energy much like a longbow. A good friend of mine cut one about thirty years ago on the outside (tensioned side),and it knocked him cold. It broke his glasses, blacked both eyes, but he came to after a while and staggered out of the woods.

Imagine two lines, one parallel to the section coming up from the ground, and the other one parallel to the pinned end. Bring your eye to the point where those two line meet, bisect the angle and draw a line to the pinned tree. Nip it; that's right, NIP IT on the inside of the curve at that point. Lay your saw over so you are not cutting straight in. You can extract your saw when using your blade almost parallel to the stem, and use repetitive nipping. You will see the energy ease out of the stem with every little cut you make.

Bisect that angle perfectly and the two sides will still touch when you are done. You don't have to do it perfectly to release the energy safely. Have a helper pull a sapling down and stand on it the next time you are out with a chainsaw to practice this technique.

Photo Credit: Mary Grapperhaus

Hey Everybody! Meet Sheba!


We had a busy holiday weekend full of excitement. Susan and I watch Schipperke rescue sites, and this little girl appeared in Northern Illinois in need of a home. We filled out the necessary application, and I went to the other end of the state on Monday, and then back home. Sheba is a "Fluff" Schip, which is a variation caused by recessive genes. Her coat is not right for the breed, but is highly prized by Schipperke lovers. She is getting along fine with Skipper, although he did show his 'possum face when she first came in. She likes long walks and stuffed monkeys. She is very playful but goes quiet right away when we turn out the lights. Thank You Marcie!

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Ruger's Auction To Benefit Honored American Veterans Afield


You might stand a chance to win one this week. This is a P85 from 1990, and collectors don't fight over them the way they do other models. This is a new gun that never left the factory, and since it's a Ruger, you know that it's a good one. CLICK HERE to read all about it and to place your bid. This fine semi-auto pistol will sell mid-day, Wednesday, July 8, 2015. 100% of the proceeds will go to benefit Honored American Veterans Afield.

$565 You missed a great deal!

Friday, July 3, 2015

Weekend Steam: Let's Go To The Black Hills And Ride The 1880 Train!

We took this ride many years ago when we hijacked my dad for a trip to South Dakota. We did a trail ride, panned for gold, saw Mt. Rushmore, and brought back a big pile of rocks. We need to do that trip again.


This video begins and ends with the 1880 Train, and has Diesels in between, but it provides some good views of South Dakota landscapes.

Not My Victrola: Add A Little Context To Conflicts Past And Present

Published on Dec 31, 2008 by Pax41written by B. R. Hanby "Darling Nelly Gray" is a 19th c. popular song composed by Benjamin Hanby, and as such, is a pseudo-African-American folksong. Hanby composed the song while attending Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio in 1856, in response to the plight of a runaway slave named Joseph Selby or Shelby. Benjamin Hanby's father, Bishop William Hanby, a United Brethren minister who was active in the Underground Railroad, was attempting to raise money to free Selbys beloved. Although author and origins of the song are known, it may be seen in relation to the blackface genre. In the song, a male slave in Kentucky mourns his beloved, who has been sold South to Georgia. It has been called the saddest song ever written for its conclusion, which is essentially an embrace of death after a life of loss and sorrow.

In a long green, valley on the old Kentucky shore
Sure I've whiled many happy hours away,
Just a sitting and a singing by the little cabin door
Where lived my darling Nellie Gray

When the moon had climbed the mountain, and the stars were shining bright
I'd take my darling Nellie Gray
And we'd float down the river in my little red canoe
While my banjo so sweetly I would play

One night I went to see her, but she's gone the neighbors say
And the white man had bound her with his chain
They have taken her to Georgia for to wear her life away
As she toils in the cotton and the cane

Oh, my darling Nellie Gray, they have taken you away
I'll never see my darling anymore
They have taken you to Georgia for to work your life away
And youre gone from that old Kentucky shore.

Now my canoe is under water, and my banjo is unstrung
I am tired of living, anymore
My eyes shall be cast downward, and my songs will be unsung
While I stay on the old Kentucky shore

Now my eyes are getting dimmer and I cannot see the light
Hark theres someone a-knocking at my door
Oh I hear the angels coming and I see my Nellie Gray
So farewell to the old Kentucky shore

Oh, my darling Nellie Gray, up in heaven, so they say
And they'll never take you from me, anymore
Oh I'm coming, coming, coming, as the angels clear the way
So farewell to the old Kentucky shore

This song came about five years before secession and Fort Sumter, and most recruits from the North would have at least heard this song, if they didn't know it by heart. No matter how many times you hear that the Civil War was about states's rights, you have to include slavery in the equation. 

150 years after the end of that war it seems that there are a whole lotta people wanting to start something all over again. My guess is that the loudest complainers couldn't earn a C if they were given a test that covered the buildup to war, the war itself, and the history of the South after the war.

We don't like to do politics on this little blog, so just enjoy the song and add it to your bag of tools if you are a student of history.


Thursday, July 2, 2015

Crankin' It Up With Brat The Cat! Fabulous Fourth!

We gave Brat the week off, and pulled a video from the archives to stir your patriotic passions for the Fourth. Be safe, be steadfast.



Under The Double Eagle and Invincible Eagle March by TrueBlueSam

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

A Tree Is Not A Shelter...

I'm always telling people to quit parking under trees around their homesites. The trees that catch my eye have obvious problems, and are disasters just waiting to happen, but sometimes a good one bites the dust, too. This big pin oak was solid, but a little twister reached down and spun the top out and dropped it right on a nice car.



There isn't any defense against tornadoes, but there is for normal storm damage. Don't plant a silver maple or red maple within 100 feet of your house! Those two species are guaranteed to drop major parts in any serious thunderstorm. Prune out branches with steep angles before they become large. Keep your trees pruned so they are balanced away from your house. Take out trees that develop root rot and other serious structural defects from wounds and rot.