From the FIRST MATE's PHOTO ALBUM...

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Don Counts sent me this very neat tombstone artwork:

See the buffalo? Made using the letters of the surname of this Native American of the Cherokee Nation.

Bartholomew "Bart" Gipson was born in Cherokee County, Oklahoma 25 July 1951. He died in Vanderburgh County, Indiana 26 March 2009 (burial in Evansville Lutheran Cemetery). Living in Evansville for 30 years, working as a Social Worker (according to his obituary, as posted in the Browning Database).

[Note: in his obituary some of the family members last name was spelled "Gibson" instead of "Gipson." - JGW]

- Photos taken & submitted by Donald Counts

Whirlpool Is Closing Its Doors Today!

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This blog is being posted kind of late today. I did not much feel like posting one at all, since Whirlpool has decided to close its plant here, that has been in town for over 50 years and heading to Mexico for cheap labor! 1,100 people lost their jobs! This will affect many families besides the ones that were left without a job.

There will be divorces, bankruptcies, people losing their cars or even their homes. Some will move to an area where they can get work and start over in their lives. As genealogists, we have wondered why families moved from one place to another. Sometimes, it was because they could get land. There were times when tragedy struck due to the weather storms or floods (earthquakes, etc.). Sometimes fire destroyed everything they had. Diseases would wipe out the majority of a family and cause the survivors to want to move on to help them grieve. The land may have become barren due to the crops taking the nutrients from the soil and the farmers did not replenish it. Sometimes there were large numbers of people leaving at the same time to go to a new place... these migrations usually were caused by a tragedy or land speculation.

My point is just, as some will move from Evansville due to loss of their job at Whirlpool, our ancestors had a reason to move from where they were born to live in another state sometimes a long way off. An important aspect of our ancestor's story is learning why they moved.

Compiled by JGWest

Tombstone Thursday - Nicholson

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Alexander Memorial Park Cemetery

Evansville, Indiana

Clarence L. Nicholson

1906-1979

Valada A. Nicholson

1911-1966

This marker has always caught my eye, when I drive through this cemetery where my parents and some other family members are buried (Becky & I have lots here, too). This one is one of my favorites!

- Photo taken & submitted by JGWest

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

From the FIRST MATE's PHOTO ALBUM...

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U.S. Post Office ~

New Harmony, Indiana...

This post office was established in 1816 (the same year that Indiana became a state!).
One hundred fifty years later, a new post office building was built with this commemorative stone marker in 1966.

- Photos taken & submitted by JGWest

4-H Genealogy Project

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I am currently judging 4-H exhibits for area county fairs... something I have done now for almost 30 years and enjoy doing. It is an honor for me to contribute to 4-H Youth by judging the 4-H Genealogy Fair Notebooks for 3-5 local counties each year and for the last 3 years at the Indiana State Fair.

Over 30 years ago, I asked the Tri-State Genealogical Society to sponsor an Achievement Award for the Genealogy Project. The Executive Board agreed to sponsor the award. Edna Kasper was working at a print shop and she helped me to design a very nice 4-H Certificate and we created the TSGS Certificates of Appreciation, as well. Over the years, I have re-designed the 4-H Certificate. Marti Williams, at one point, after Glenda Trapp's death, suggested that we make the Certificate a Memorial to her. So, now we have the Glenda Trapp Memorial Award Certificate for 4-H Youth.

County 4-H Fairs will be popping up all over the tri-state, in fact several are going on right now. I have found links to the dates for county fairs in the three states of IL, IN & KY if you would like to attend one of the local county fairs... many will have genealogy fair exhibits on display. Check them out and let me know what you find. Not all states or even counties have the 4-H genealogy project... each state's projects vary. If your local 4-H program has the genealogy project, see what you can do to help.

Here are those fair lists:
http://www.agr.state.il.us/fair/countyfairssched.php
http://www.four-h.purdue.edu/downloads/new/10%20County%20Fairs.pdf
http://www.kyagr.com/marketing/fair/lclagfairs.htm

- Compiled by JGWest

Marker/Plaque/Monument Monday

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Evansville Fire Department...

Hose House #10

This is one of two Fire Stations in the news late last year and were scheduled to be closed. It is one of the larger "Hose Houses" (as they are called) and was erected & dedicated by this plaque in 1977.

This is the old station that it replaced. It sits boarded up just across the street from the newer one.

Someone designed and created this emblem that is on the wall next to the certificate awards that the fire fighters that work out of this house earned over the years.

- Photos taken & submitted by JGWest

From the FIRST MATE's PHOTO ALBUM...

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Evansville's Downtown Sears Store...

Opened on 05 Oct 1925, this store on 101 Northwest Fourth Street in Evansville, Indiana was the first Sears retail store not connected to one of the company's Catalog Merchandise Distribution Centers. The downtown store closed in 1975. Today the building is part of Old National Bank's operation in Evansville. This photo was taken on 13 Aug 1962 by Marshall Ross during Evansville's Sesquicentennial Celebration.

- Photo of this photo was taken by JGWest at the Evansville Museum where it is on display.