They Come Around Quick

Back To The Old Grind!

Not My Victrola: Rube From A High Grass Town Edition.

I don't have any plans to visit New York City, and after listening to Uncle Josh's adventures there, I think that I am better off staying out in the sticks.

Upoaded by cdbpdx.

Another of Uncle Josh's New York City adventures HERE, on a record from the True Blue Sam collection.

Weekend Steam

OldFarmShow has posted some new videos shot at the Will County Threshermen's Association show at Channahon, Illinois.  




Holy Cow!! They have an auger to pull the corn out of the crib! We always used a special rake made for that chore. Wonders never cease.

Trouble; Trouble

Is it me, or are my sights off a bit?  That's what I have been thinking lately when I shoot my Single-Six.  I really paid attention when I shot my warmup targets for Mr. Completely's July contest, and yes, I needed to move my rear sight right.  You too, can improve your shooting if you enter these contests, so click over to the contest, print your targets, and head to the range with family, friends, and firearms.  Mr. C needs your submissions by next Monday, so don't put it off.

Crankin' It Up

Sears-Roebuck's Silvertone label presents Ernest Hare performing Wabash Blues with Orchestra Accompaniment. Recorded approximately March or April, 1923.

I have heard a few versions of Wabash Blues, but this is the first time I heard any lyrics attached to it. Something new every day, even if it's 88 years old.

Jeff Quinn Reviews The Ruger 77/357 Rifle!

I've been waiting for it, and here it is! Jeff Quinn at Gunblast.com has done a thorough review of Ruger's newest bolt action rifle, and he provides good information for us on his website.  Watch Gunblast's video, then click over to read his review; especially look at his chronograph results.  The .38 Special loads are gaining enough velocity in the rifle barrel that they are up around magnum velocities out of a pistol.  He also found that this rifle puts the .357 cartridge into the realm of the 30-30 Winchester.  Handloaders can propel 158 and 180 grain bullets around 2000 feet per second if they use the right powder combination, and that makes this a good 150 yard rifle for deer sized game.  Light bullets and light loads of quick burning powder will make good rounds for plinking, and for making head shots on squirrels and rabbits.

Jeff recommends this rifle for game up to 400 pounds in the comment section of his video on YouTube, and that sounds like good advice.  That would make the Ruger 77/357 a good gun to carry for game smaller than moose, elk and grizzly bears.

Make Mine Electric!

No electric; no gas; I guess this is green technology. Patented in 1930.

Baker Monitor Pumping Engine

The wind doesn't always blow when you need it, and the livestock on a farm must have water, so these little pumping engines made by Baker sold like hotcakes. One of them is sitting in a corner of our garage waiting for me to find the time to work on it, and maybe some day I will. Click over to Harry's Old Engine Shed to see all of the inner workings of this little labor saver.

A Cool Idea For Monday

Back To The Old Grind!

Video by caihyderabad.

Not My Victrola

BSGS98 posted this great song from the talkie "Sunny Side Up," performed by Johny Marvin, who is remembered for "Tiptoe Through The Tulips." If you have time, watch the excerpt below of Janet Gaynor singing this song in the movie.



Upload by Stjn00.

Weekend Steam

This week we get to visit Pawnee, Oklahoma, courtesy of OldFarmShow.

Crankin' It Up

Frank Crumit recorded this obscure little number in October of 1920. I never hear anyone ask nowadays what killed Vaudeville. Did they ever figure it out?

Got Rusty, Squeaky Hogs?

Here's the solution to your problem!

These nicely painted hog oilers were on display at the SIAM show this year at Evansville.

Boonville, Indiana Engine Show Is This Weekend!

The 48th annual show of Boonville's Antique Steam and Gas Engine Club is coming up July 22-24.  There is always plenty to see at Boonville, and with the heat wave we are experiencing, I recommend arriving early to check out the flea market and tractors, and then retreating to the shade to watch the gas engines.



It's always a joy to watch the horses and mules doing field work at Boonville. 


You will also see a bunch of old tractors in addition to the antique gas engines at Boonville. There is plenty of shade in the center of the show grounds, so you can get a little relief from the heat when you need it.

UPDATE FOR 2012!!! The Summer Show Is July 27-29, 2012; the Fall Show is October 12-14.

Information about the July 2012 Show can be seen at THIS LINK (CLICK).

The Central Park Fountain, Washington, Iowa

This fountain in Washington, Iowa was built in 1939, and the design and construction was supervised by the water works supervisor, Perry Jordan. The nozzles are controlled by a manifold of butterfly valves which are operated by a camshaft.

Perry ran the water works in Washington back when it was powered by a Corliss engine, and later, when the current water works was built, which is powered by electricity. Perry started his stationary steam career in the power plant at Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri. When he came into work one morning, he found that his boss had met a grisly end. The big engine in the plant had a long belt around the flywheel to power the generator, and half of the belt ran in a channel below floor level. The workers in the plant would step over this channel to cross from one side to the other, and the boss had stumbled, fallen into the channel, and had taken a trip around the flywheel. Perry soon found himself in charge of the plant, and later moved to Washington, Iowa to run the water plant there. He was a fascinating man who really knew his way around machinery of the Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries. There aren't very many people around today that think of him when they watch his fountain, so that's why I am telling you about him here.

Rest In Peace, Toopie

Our little dog Toopie passed away Sunday afternoon, just a few days after we found that he was ill.  He went from being energetic, to off of his feed and lethargic very quickly, and our vet looked at him on Friday.  He determined that Toopie had a swollen liver, which could be caused by infection or cancer.  The vet put him on antibiotics in case it was an infection, but the downhill slide never slowed down.  Toopie did enjoy Friday evening, going for a ride in the family car with us. 

Toopie was a challenge with several health problems, but he was a joy to have around.  We had him wormed, cured his mange, and brought him through treatment for heartworms.  It was a real blow when he suffered a stroke last December, but he was a tough little dog and made a complete recovery.  His pal Brat cat stuck by him when he was down last winter, and this weekend Brat sat with Toopie, right up until he died. 



Toopie's recovery from his stroke last year seemed downright miraculous to us.  His rapid decline and death shouldn't be a surprise, given our long history with pets, but we were hoping for a few more years with our little buddy.  We will miss him. 

Toopie

Another One!

Back To The Old Grind!

Not My Victrola

Pax41 is really stacking them up for us! This video has four songs from 1920's jazz bands.

Weekend Steam

This video gives us a quick look at a cute little 0-6-0 over in Finland. Pull the slider over to 1:20 to save yourself a little time. Videos are by Junakuvailija.

Here it goes again!

Crankin' It Up

From the play 'Naughty Cinderella,' we have a pleasant and mildly amusing number performed by Irene Bordoni. Recorded on January 25, 1926; acoustic disc.

Ruger LCP Tryout

Here is a bit of video that Mom and I shot the other day when we tried out her handloads in the Ruger LCP she recently acquired. We ran 100 rounds through it altogether, and it never missed a beat. The LCP is double action only, but Mom can fire it with either hand, and she can do a couple trigger pulls at a time, and then do it again after a brief rest.



She gave her Walther PK380 a workout also, to make sure it works with her home rolled loads. The single action trigger on the Walther allows her to empty the magazine without letting her trigger finger catch its breath. You will note that at the end of a run she moves the manual safety back to 'Safe.'

Here's Something You Don't See Every Day

Iron cookware collectors should go nuts over this Griswold waffle iron.  I would have bought it, but then I would have to find a wood cookstove to go in the kitchen.  One thing always leads to another...  In case you are interested, this hefty beauty is at an antique mall just off Hwy 61 at Palmyra, MO.  Oh, the price is $175.

Donate To Project VALOur-IT!

Soldiers' Angels fund drive for Project VALOur-IT is still on, so if you haven't donated already, please do.  Major Chuck Ziegenfuss, in the video above was the first recipient of a laptop from Soldiers' Angels, and well over 3000 laptops have now been provided to wounded soldiers.  You can donate by Clicking Here, or by clicking on the logo in the left side of this blog.  I encourage you to take a more active role by attending the Gun Blogger Rendezvous in September, which is a great fundraising event for VALOur-IT.

The video is courtesy of xformed, from Chaotic Synaptic Activity.

Carry Choices: Mom Picks the Ruger LCP

Gun blog followers are familiar with my Mom, Bea, whose primary home defense gun is a .45 Convertible Blackhawk.  She has some other handguns, too, but she was needing something she could carry on her daily walks that didn't weigh her down, or require a belt on her trousers.  She checked out various pocket pistols at the Coralville Scheel's store, and settled on a Ruger LCP.  We took it to the range Sunday to break it in and to work out some basic drills to develop Mom's skill with a tiny pocket pistol.

We found that Mom's 80 year old fingers (Happy Birthday to Bea, Happy Birthday to Bea!) are good for three double action only trigger pulls, and then they have to recharge.  She can easily snap off two rounds with her right hand, and a brief rest allows her to pop off two more.  We also worked on weak-hand shots, which she was unsure about because of her maimed left index finger.  She discovered that she can easily and accurately hit the target by using the middle left finger to stroke the trigger of her little Elsie.

Monday morning we are going back to the range before the temps climb too high, and we are going to function test her .380 JHP handloads, and shoot the July Mr. Completely e-Postal match.  More range reports will follow!  This little Ruger LCP is one of the guns Bea plans to take to the Rendezvous in Reno this year, so be sure to attend if you want to try shooting this fine little self defense firearm.

Mondays Sure Do Come Around Fast!

Back To The Old Grind!

Not My Victrola Guest Fiddler Edition

I'm in a mood for violin right now, so I went looking for Kreisler pieces, and I found this very well practiced young lady on YouTube. Her notes: Kreisler: Liebesleid and Liebesfreud. Duncan Recital, Rice University (Houston TX). 1/10/8. Sae Niwa (violin) Kana Mimaki (piano).

Video posted by kanamimaki.

Crankin' It Up: Better Late Than Never

Sweet Babette puts on a good show for her mother in this amusing song recorded in August, 1916. Marguerite Farrell barely has a presence on the internet, and I could find no biographical information for her. The Victor Discography site has one poor quality photo of our artist.

The line about "The Grizzly Bear" got me, and I looked it up for you.  Here is an article on WikiP,  and a brief demonstration on YouTube.

Backwards Posting Am I: Weekend Steam

We have had some real thunderboomer activity tonight, and it's been a bit too noisy to do a record in the True Blue Studio. We do have a steam engine post ready, though, so you get to see that a day early, and maybe tomorrow night we can put up a record one day late. This video was shot over at the Evansville show in June, and the Keck sounded really good the day we were there.

July e-Postal Is Up!

Mr. Completely has posted a target for his July e-Postal match, and it's a good one!  This target is simple to shoot, and it will let know what is wrong with your technique.   You just need to make ten shots per entry, so you should enter several guns.  The weekend will be here before you know it, so click over, study the rules, and download the target.

The Rendezvous Is Coming! The Rendezvous Is Coming!!

Mr. Completely has been busy making arrangements for Gun Blogger Rendezvous VI, and he reminds us that it is only two months away.  If you haven't already registered and made your travel arrangements, you need to visit the GBR Site, download your registration form and send it off to Mr. C.  The Rendezvous is just about the most fun you will ever have.  You will make a bunch of new friends,

do a bunch of shooting, 

 see some impressive hardware, such as this unfired, 1920's vintage Thompson shown by U.S.Citizen at GBR V,

and you are bound to go home with a load of great swag from Rendezvous sponsors.  You might even get lucky and win one of several guns at the raffle on Saturday night.  Still not convinced?  Spend a few minutes watching this slide show (Courtesy of Derek, The Packing Rat) of the activities in 2009 at GBR IV, then check out the videos from last year over on the left side of this page.

You Know How Tuesday's Going To Feel...

Back To The Old Grind!

Little Engine Inspired By Henry Ford

This little homebuilt engine was made out of odds and ends, and closely resembles the first gasoline engine made by Henry Ford. Ignore the soundtrack; what you hear is the Reid oilfield engine posted here previously.

Now, get off the computer and get back to celebrating the Fourth with your family!

Soldiers' Angels Project VALOur-IT July Fundraiser

While we are enjoying the Fourth of July holiday, take a moment to remember that men and women are serving around the globe so that we may continue to enjoy the blessings of liberty. Project VALOur-IT (Voice Activated Laptops for Our Injured Troops) provides voice activated laptops to injured servicemen and women. Read Major Chuck Ziegenfuss's post about Project VALOur-IT by clicking here, and then, please donate by clicking here.

On a very closely related note, Patti Patton-Bader has sent out an appeal from Soldiers'Angels for donations to purchase phone cards for troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Click Here to read Mrs. Bader's letter, and then please donate to help our service personnel. You may also donate to this good cause by Clicking Here.

Fourth of July Band Concert!

Two of True Blue Sam's, from Fannie Gilbert's collection.



Uploaded by pax41
recorded 5/22/1908 take 3, the photo in the video is a picture of the band doing a concert in Florida.

composer E.E. Bagley



Another one from Fannie.



"The Stars And Stripes Forever," by Sousa's Band, and uploaded by Victrolaman.

Weekend Steam: Freedom Train

rwundrok posted this Super 8 video shot in 1975, of SP Locomotive 4449 at the head of the Freedom Train which toured the country during the Bi-Centennial celebration.



SP 4449 reappears in Freedom Train colors in this 2003 video by chjett.

Crankin' It Up: A Glorious Fourth Of July Weekend Special!

Patrick Conway's Band recorded this march in 1917. This is one of Fannie Gilbert's records.