In this newsletter: It's Black History Month Buffalo Soldiers Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Presidents, heroes, and traitors
and much more! | | But first... "Hey, your truck's on fire!" | | Latest from our world | I shouldn't be shocked. We've put a lot of miles on Big Red with our trailer. However, I would have preferred it didn't go out in flames.
We pushed out of Missouri a day later than we wanted to let the ice storm move on from Texas. On our second road day, we noticed a bad smell but thought it was just the area we were going through. Then just north of Stringtown, Oklahoma, smoke. Lots of smoke.
I thought we had a hose break and it was steam. I immediately pulled over right next to a correctional facility, and as I was exiting the truck, noticed a car going the wrong way in the shoulder coming to meet us. "Hey, your truck is on fire!", she yelled as she ran out of her car. As I looked down at the wheel well I could see the flames lapping around the backside of the tire. She had already called the fire department after watching our flaming truck roll down the highway. A volunteer with the Stringtown fire department just happened to work at the correctional facility and was on the scene within a couple of minutes.
By this time, Kathy and the dogs were out of the truck at safe distance, and I, in my optimistic vision, was telling the fireman it wasn't that bad, as the flames were already going out. He stayed with us for a bit, along with a couple of Stringtown police who also ventured out to see about the commotion.
Still optimistic, I wanted to start the truck to see if I could spy where the problem was. My optimism faded quickly as soon as I turned the key. The dashboard began flickering, needles bouncing, then "nothing". Any thoughts of saving the truck were dashed after the tow truck tried to pull us only to find the back wheels locked up. So, off we go, a wrecker towing our truck on a dolly, and another with the dogs, us, and the trailer.
When we reached the Ford Dealer in Atoka, OK, they already had the truck inside. And boy did it stink. In fact, as a salesman walked us to his office he made sure to note that they could smell our truck from the other end of the building. Smell aside, he didn't mind. We were a captive audience. Nowhere to go without a truck, although the tow driver offered to haul our trailer and us over to an RV Park. I, on the other hand, was bound and determined we were still pressing for Texas.
And that's how we wound up with a 2020 Chevy Silverado. Love the truck, but I'm sure we could've done better shopping around. That would have required a weekend or more in Atoka, and possibly even having friends haul us back to Missouri. As I'm writing this, however, we are on the Gulf Coast of Texas, just outside of Brownsville. Based on the 80+ temps here earlier this week it was the right decision. | | Now I just need some dedicated time to learn the new truck. First things first, I had to figure out why it kept dying every time I stopped at a light and restarted when I let off the brakes. Oh, that's a feature?! I guess "auto stop" is good for y'all out in California stuck on the freeway, but for running through Texas it's a bit annoying. Just my humble opinion. I do love the truck though. I'll remind myself of that when we get the first payment notice.
Dave 'what the hell does this button do?' Alexander | | From Legends' General Store | | Plants of Power - Native American Ceremony & the Use of Sacred Plants (Revised Edition)
This comprehensive guide to the sacred plants traditionally used by Native Americans and other Indigenous peoples presents 14 significant plants, with information on their properties, growing conditions, and medicinal applications (incense cedar, red cedar, copal, juniper, lavender, mugwort, osha, pinon, white sage, desert sage, sweet grass, ceremonial tobacco, red willow bark and yerba santa). Descriptions of Native American ceremonies and rituals in which these plants play a central role are included.
Published by Native Voices.
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| | | | Here are just some of the recent additions since our last newsletter | | James Buchanan - 15th President - James Buchanan was a lawyer, diplomat, and the 15th President of the United States, who served immediately before the Civil War. He remains the only President to be elected from Pennsylvania and a lifelong bachelor.
John Quincy Adams - Sixth President of the United States - Son of our second president John Adams, John Quincy Adams was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States from 1825 to 1829.
General Anthony Wayne - Brave Officer of the American Revolution - Anthony Wayne was an American soldier, officer, politician, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.
James Madison - 4th President of the United States - James Madison Jr. was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth President of the United States from 1809 to 1817. (Historic text from Eminent Americans, Vol II, 1890)
William Henry Harrison - 9th President - William Henry Harrison was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth President of the United States.
Benedict Arnold -Traitor of the American Revolution - Benedict Arnold was an American military officer in the American Revolution. He fought with distinction for the Continental Army before turning traitor.
Samuel de Champlain - Explorer & Diplomat - Samuel de Champlain was an important figure in Canadian history who created the first accurate coastal map during his explorations and founded various colonial settlements.
Continental Congress, 1774–1781 - The Continental Congress was the governing body by which the American colonial governments coordinated their resistance to British rule during the first two years of the American Revolution.
The Continental Army - The Continental Army represented the Thirteen Colonies in the American Revolution. The army was created to coordinate the military efforts of the colonies in the war against the British, who sought to maintain control over the American colonies.
| | Chinese Immigration to the United States - In the 1850s, Chinese workers first migrated to the United States to work in the gold mines and take agricultural jobs and factory work. It would begin a century-long struggle for immigration rights.
Purchase of Alaska, 1867 - The purchase of Alaska in 1867 marked the end of Russian efforts to expand trade and settlements to the Pacific coast of North America.
Fort Hancock, New Jersey - Fort Hancock is a former United States Army fort at Sandy Hook, New Jersey. The coastal artillery base defended the Atlantic coast and the entrance to New York Harbor, with its first gun batteries operational in 1896.
Fort Mott, New Jersey - Unusual for U.S. coast defense forts built between 1895 and 1935, Fort Mott was designed to resist a land attack.
Cape Cod, Massachusetts & National Seashore - The name Cape Cod, coined in 1602 by Bartholomew Gosnold, is the ninth oldest English place name in the United States. Cape Cod National Seashore has long inspired wonder among those who value nature.
From our Legends of Kansas Pages: | | The University of Kansas, Lawrence - (Legends of Kansas) The university, often referred to as "KU," formally opened its doors to students in September 1866, but its history began in 1855. At that time, the first legislature made a provision for a Kansas university, with buildings to be erected when Congress or benefactors would give money for their construction.
Pioneer Life in Kansas - (Legends of Kansas) The seven territorial years had brought freedom to Kansas. However, the struggle left the pioneers little room for improvement.
Kansas After the Civil War - (Legends of Kansas) The earlier years in Kansas were but a time of preparation, and with the war’s end, the people were at last free to turn their attention to farming or other occupations.
| We've added over 30 articles since our last newsletter... | | | Now available at Legends' General Store! | | EZ66 Guide for Travelers (2023's NEW 5th Edition) Newly updated for 2023, This is the ultimate guide for finding and exploring the Route driving from the WEST or the EAST. Its maps and directions are comprehensive yet easy to follow. The spiral-bound guide stays open to the pages you are reading while you are driving or riding. Also includes attractions, tips, other sources, and games. Convenient 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", 216 page, paperback format. Free Shipping in the U.S. (Media Mail), or choose between First Class and Priority Mail. Newsletter Readers Save 20% - Use Coupon Code News20 | | | February is Black History Month.
Did You Know? | | Though African Americans have fought in various military conflicts since colonial days, they did not receive the nickname “Buffalo Soldiers” until they began to battle Cheyenne Indian warriors in 1867.
The actual Cheyenne translation was “Wild Buffalo,” given to the soldiers out of respect for their fierce fighting abilities, but was soon familiarly nicknamed “Buffalo Soldiers” by their white counterparts. | | | Chattel Hood to Freedom – Black Pioneers Help Settle California | | During his lifetime James W Marshall became a living legend as the "discoverer of gold” in California. When Marshall died in 1885, a black man, his friend Andrew Monroe of Coloma, buried him. Andrew’s story begins with a slave woman named Nancy Gooch of Missouri; she was his mother. | | | From Legends' Photo Print Shop | | From Chicago, Illinois to the Santa Monica Pier in California, and everything in between, you'll find dozens of Route 66 photographs from all eight states!
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| | | Edward McCabe – Pioneer & Auditor | | Edward P. McCabe was a colonizer of Nicodemus, Kansas, and the first African American to serve as state auditor. | | | Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor | | The Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor extends from Wilmington, North Carolina, in the north to Jacksonville, Florida, in the south. The National Heritage Area includes roughly 80 barrier islands and continues inland to adjacent coastal counties, defining a region 30 miles inland throughout the United States Low Country. The Gullah/Geechee Heritage Corridor is home to the Gullah people in the Carolinas and the Geechee in Georgia and Florida – cultural groups descended from enslaved peoples from West and Central Africa. | | | Popular Stories on Facebook | | In case you missed it, here are some of the articles that have been popular on our Facebook Fan Pages recently. | | | Situated in Harding County, the first iteration of Mills was established in 1898 by Melvin W. Mills, a homesteader who grew crops in Mills Canyon along the Canadian River.
Let's explore Mills, New Mexico – A Shell of Memories.
[photo: Mills, New Mexico Main Street in 1935 by Dorothea Lange colorized.]
| | | | | | Born January 10, 1843, Alexander Franklin “Frank” James' life would parallel his outlaw younger brothers' until Jesse's death. He cleaned up his act after that.
Author Kathleen Walls introduces us to Frank – The Other James Boy
[photo: Frank James “merchandised” his past right up until the time he died. Here, he stands at the age of 70 before the gate of the Jesse James Farm, where curious spectators could pay 50¢ to see the farm and for just a little more money, could even buy pebbles from Jesse’s grave.]
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In celebration of our 20th anniversary this year, all newsletter readers can enjoy 20% savings. Just use coupon code News20 in 'cart view' at our General Store, or during checkout on our Photo Print Shop. | | | Have a comment about something in this newsletter or any of our stories? Reply to this email or send them to travel@legendsofamerica.com. | | |
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