From the FIRST MATE's PHOTO ALBUM...

Fruit & Vegetable Sculpture

4-H member Henry Maurer sculptured this Hawaiian scene for the Energetics 4-H Club's entry for the Vanderburgh County 4-H Fair "Picnic Contest" in 2001.

- Photo taken and submitted by JGWest

"Red Cross Heroes"

Don Counts standing at a funeral home for those who stood for us!

Our Heroes for the American Red Cross Program

(below is what was printed in the program):

Patriot Guard Riders - Military Award Winner
Heroes never forget. They roar in, a pack of motorcycle riders determined to remember. They are the voice of fallen soldiers. They are the strong arm for families to lean on. They are the men and women that boldly fly our country's flag, no matter if it is at a soldier's funeral or a welcome home celebration. The Patriot Guard Riders mission is clear: display an unwavering respect for those who risk their lives for America's freedom and security. Members don't care what kind of bike you ride, or even if you ride, the only prerequisite for membership - respect for our country and the men and women serving it. It's a group of people that set all political views aside and rally together when a soldier does not make it home. They attend funeral services of fallen American heroes as invited guests of the family and sometimes must shield those same families from interruptions created by protestors. The Patriot Guard Riders make remembering each and every service member's sacrifice their personal mission and civilian duty. Each member will tell you they ride to serve those who serve and honor the honorable. Heroes never forget.

Tombstone Thursday - Wm. Pelham

Maple Hill Cemetery, New Harmony, Indiana

- Photo taken & submitted by JGWest

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

From the FIRST MATE's PHOTO ALBUM...

The Human Statue of Liberty

(click to enlarge)

FACTS~

Base to Shoulder: 150 feet

Right Arm: 340 feet

Widest Part of Arm Holding Torch: 12.5 feet

Torch & Flame Combined: 980 feet

NUMBER OF MEN IN~

Flame of Torch: 12,ooo

Torch: 2,800

Right Arm: 1,200

Body, Head & Balance of Figure: Only 2,000

TOTAL MEN ~ 18,000

- Submitted by Don Counts

THE CAPTAIN'S LOG –TSGS News

Make plans to attend our Annual TSGS Dinner Meeting on 14 Apr 2009 (next Tuesday night). The dinner will be held at the Sirloin Stockade, 4610 Bellemeade, Evansville, Indiana (near Green River Road). Dinner & fellowship will be from 5:30 to 6:30PM. About 6:30PM we will have welcoming remarks and announcements and present a few rewards to society members who have made a special contribution to the society or to genealogy in general. If anyone has any candidates, let me know. The President selects the recipients with the help of the TSGS Board.

About 7PM we will introduce our featured speaker - Posey County Circuit Court Judge James M. Redwine... presenting a look at his published book "Judge Lynch! - A Novel Based on Real-Life Accounts Exposing Secrets of a Small Southern Indiana Community." My wife, Becky, has read the book and said that it is very good and was hard to set it down until it was finished. She really enjoyed reading it. Visit Judge Redwine's Web Site.

Reminder: The deadline for submission of articles and information to the Tri-State Packet, our member's quarterly journal, are due no later than 15 April 2009!

John G. West, TSGS President

Marker/Plaque/Monument Monday

Not what most would call a plaque, but it is a testament to rural America.

This license plate was sold by my class in the very early 1960's for the Selvin (Indiana) High School Wildcats basketball team. Our school was basically too small to have a football or baseball team, but we had enough to just barely field a varsity and reserve basketball teams. The grade school had teams, too. I started in the fifth grade and was on the reserve team as a Freshman. I was not a good player and I was not very tall and I was chubby, too. but, I could get off the bench and serve as the fifth man on the floor when we had no one else to play! My class was the last Freshman class at Selvin when the High School was closed in the spring of 1962. We would have been Selvin's Class of 1965. The school was closed due to "consolidation" of the smaller rural schools for efficiency and economics. There were 15 in that freshman class, we have lost 2 classmates. We have a class reunion each year on Memorial Day weekend that began in 2000. We have had 12 of the 13 to attend one year or another, usually with about 10 showing up each year.

My older brother, Glen, graduated in 1959 from Selvin and proudly drives around with his Selvin Wildcats License plate in Charleston, South Carolina.

-Submitted by JGWest

"Genealogy Blogs"

I found a new blog for me to follow: Bill West's "West in New England." I have not found a connection between Bill and I, but what makes his site worth following is that Bill has over 110 links to other genealogy blog sites on the right hand column of his blog page! And he has some interesting articles, too! Visit his blog.

Here is the link to his site: West in New England

- Submitted by JGWest