From My Email Box - "100 Years Ago!"

THE YEAR 1909
One hundred years ago.
What a difference a century makes!
Here are some statistics for the Year 1909 :
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The average life expectancy was 47 years.

Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles
Of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!

The average wage in 1909 was 22 cents per hour.

The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,
A dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME .

Ninety percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!
Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which
Were condemned in the press AND the government as 'substandard. '

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used
Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from
Entering into their country for any reason.

Five leading causes of death were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars.

The population of Las Vegas , Nevada, was only 30!!!!

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea
Hadn't been invented yet.

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write.
Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, 'Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health'

- Sent by Ed Hitchcock

From the FIRST MATE's PHOTO ALBUM...

Running late on today's blog, but Cheri was not late in capturing the flash of one of the flintlock muskets at the Revoltionary War soldiers grave dedication at the Vincennes Rendezvous during Memorial Day weekend.

Musket Flash

-Photo taken & submitted by Cheri Baumberger

Tombstone Thursday - Joseph Frick

Joseph K. Frick grave marker in the Frick family plot at Oak Hill Cemetery in Evansville, Indiana.

This is a follow-up of an article submitted by Taneya Koonce on Friday, May 22, 2009 "New Archive of Georgia Newspaper: 1826-1908"

Frick Family Plot Marker

View of Frick family plot in Oak Hill Cemetery.

-Photos taken & submitted by JGWest

[Tombstone Thursday is dedicated in memory of Donald G. West 1952-2000]

From the FIRST MATE's PHOTO ALBUM...

Vincennes Rendezvous 2009

Indiana & Kentucky Societies of the

Sons of the American Revolution

Revolutionary War Grave

Dedication Ceremony

Memorial Day Weekend

Above photo: second from right is John G. West. Next is my friend Mark Kreps and 6th. from right is Ken Gilkey. We were serving in a 15-man Color Guard.

In this photo John G. West is second from the left.

- Photos taken & submitted by Cheri Baumberger

Marker/Plaque/Monument Monday

Wesselman Park

Par 3 Golf Course

Evansville, Indiana

- Photo taken & submitted by Chris Myers

RECORD OF THE SHIP'S CREW - "Fancy or Unusual Family Tree Charts"

Thanks to Don Counts for this idea for a new feature. We all have family tree charts hanging on the wall, in the family Bible or just rolled up in a box or drawer. Send us a picture of yours to share with everyone... it does not need to be filled out. - JGWest

This is a wall chart that is framed of Don's Floro family

Close-up of the entries on the chart.

- Photos submitted by Don Counts & taken by Kim Whitmore Weber... descendants of the Floro Family.

RACING DOWN the RIVER -Brief Genealogical Notes

Cemeteries are the newest wedding sites...


As genealogists we have spent a lot of time in cemeteries, what do you think of this idea?

BROOKFIELD, Wis. - Cemeteries such as the Wisconsin
Memorial Park in Brookfield, Wis., have begun hosting
weddings as part of a new service trend, industry officials
say. Stewart Enterprises Inc. spokeswoman Denise Wester-
field, whose company operates the Brookfield cemetery, said
funeral homes make an ideal wedding site given the changing
perception of death in society, the Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel reported Wednesday. "Funerals are becoming much
more a celebration of life than a dark event, so why not
have your wedding at a funeral home?" Westerfield said.
Jessica Koth, National Funeral Directors Association spokes-
woman, said a growing number of cemeteries and funeral
homes have begun expanding their businesses to include
everything from weddings to bar mitzvahs. "It's something
that more and more funeral homes are looking at, whether
they're remodeling existing facilities or building new
additions," Koth told the Journal Sentinel.

-Submitted by Don Counts