Time To Hook Up!

Back To The Old Grind!

Not My Victrola

Victrolaman shares a rare 1934 recording, and provides a little history of the Dorsey Brothers, too.  His writeup: "Here from August of 1934 on early Decca is the Dorsey Bros. Orchestra playing "Basin Street Blues" with vocal by Bob Crosby. The Dorsey Brothers went their separate ways, both forming their own Orchestras in 1935, and would not reunite again until 1953. The Record is being played on a 1925 two door Victor Orthophonic Credenza ."

Broken Toys and Faded Colors....

We actually got a comment when we posted a John Prine video a couple weeks ago, and that is a big deal on this little blog. The commenter is a John Prine fan, and his opinion counts since he spoke up. Here's another that I think you all will enjoy.

Weekend Steam: State Of The Art Harvesting A Century Ago

 Here are a couple of photos from an old family album that show farming where we live, near Dahlgren, Illinois.  The fellow sitting on the flywheel of this Heilman engine is Green Berry Darsham, the ancestor who settled on the family farm in 1903.  His daughter Lou (born Feb 1894) is the girl with the striped sleeve on her dress.

We don't know the two on the left, but the fellow with his hand on the throttle is Will Dillinder, Lou's husband.  The man in front of the steering wheel is Henry Kennedy, a man that I remember, sixty some years after these snapshots were taken.

Crankin' It Up

Bennie Krueger recorded this pleasant little dance number in March, 1921.

A Lot Easier Than Oak!

Mrs. TBS shot video while we worked up the dead pines recently, and you may notice the same thing I did as I ran the saws. White pine is a whole lot easier on the operator and the saw than black oak. When cutting black oak, I file at every fillup, but we worked up two pines into lumber and scraps without having to touch up the chain. The saw doing most of the work is the old 272XP, and the 359 did the honors releasing the slabs from missed spots.

Mr. Completely's April e-Postal Contest At JimmyB's Blog

CLICK HERE to go to the April contest over at JimmyB, the Conservative UAW Guy, read the rules, and print out your targets to participate.  Plan a trip to the range during the upcoming weekend, and take along family and friends.  Mr. C had very few entries in March, and you all need to jump into the game for the practice, friendly competition, and camaraderie of these long distance, friendly shooting matches.

The rules list a bunch of different classes, and you don't have to own any special or expensive hardware to participate.  Mrs. True Blue Sam and I shoot the contest with a Ruger Single Six, and the monthly practice does us both a world of good.  If you don't have a pistol, shoot the contest with a rifle, or even a pellet gun.  If you submit a target, it will be counted!  You know you need the practice, so get out to the range!

Old Times In Burlington

My Great-Aunt Bessye passed away in 1983 at the ripe old age of 90.  One of the things she liked to do when we visited was to take a ride through Crapo Park.  Her negative collection shows that Crapo Park was a favorite gathering place for friends and family during her younger years.  Her husband Carl was a professional photographer, and he took a lot of snapshots during their courtship and early marriage, and I was fortunate to get a stack of their negatives from her nephew who looked after her in Burlington.

That is my dear old Aunt sitting on the Parrot Rifle that was on display at Crapo before the scrap drives during World War II.  I wish I could verify the identity of the fellow next to her.  It might be Carl, the fellow she married, but we can't be sure.  It doesn't look like her father, or Carl's, who makes an appearance in a wedding photo.  Label your photos; someone might appreciate the effort some day.

Cherries Hung With...

Black cherry trees bloomed a couple weeks early this year in Southern Illinois, and they are pretty well finished at Easter.  Thanks to A. E. Housman, these lovely flowers always remind me of our mortality, but I enjoy taking time to admire the blossoms.

Take a good look and you will also find plenty of these ugly little buggers.  They have really grown since I posted a photo a bit over a week ago.

Too Soon

Back To The Old Grind!

Video by kww1832.