American Legacies Organization, Inc.

From David

By Dr. Zoe Simmons

Besides Christmas, I would have to say that the Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays, not to mention it is my birthday.

I remember growing up and my father taking me to see fireworks, always telling me that they were just for me. That the world was celebrating my birthday.

Interesting Facts from July

July 11, 1914- Babe Ruth debuted in the major leagues with the Boston Red Sox. Ruth made $2,900 his rookie season. Just six years later, his paycheck was worth $125,000 when he became a member of the New York Yankees.

July 14, 1914- Robert H. Goddard of Worcester, MA, patented liquid rocket fuel.

Norman Gehrman, January 1944, England

As told to: Jodi L. Severson March, 2003

He was born Norman Harry Gehrman on September 25, 1921 in the rural farm community of Turtle Lake, Wisconsin. Or so he thought. It wasn’t until he was ready to retire and went to the local Social Security Office to apply for benefits that he learned the truth.

By Sharon Romine

They weren’t really. She never even wore them, but only held them in trust until I turned sixteen, at which time she was to give them to me. They were given to me by Mrs. Stumps, an elderly lady, that the neighborhood took turns caring for.

by Mary May Smith Lewis

My maternal grandparents, Thomas Magill Patten and Mary Elizabeth McKaig (Mollie), of Olathe, Kansas, (pictured above) were in the Oklahoma Land run of April 22, 1889, into the unassigned lands. They were late getting to the starting point due to the wagon breaking down. They spent the night on the north fork of the Salt River in Kansas, and on the 22nd of April, 1889, traveled from the starting point in Kansas to a site 17 Miles northwest of Guthrie, O.T. (Oklahoma Territory) and 7 miles southwest of Mulhall.

"Geezers" (slang for an old man) are easy to spot:

At sporting events, during the playing of
the National Anthem, Old Geezers hold
their caps over their hearts and sing without
embarrassment. They know the words and
believe in them. Old Geezers remember
World War I, the Depression, World
War II, Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Normandy
and Hitler. They remember the Atomic Age,
the Korean War, The Cold War, the Jet Age
and the Moon Landing, not to mention Vietnam.

There was a train headed for Buffalo, and Ted Whitney was bound to be aboard. He had given himself a choice between going to Buffalo or to bed. The latter would have meant waking to a another day like the one before: unfreezing the lock of his car door with his lighter after shoveling a path to pull the car out of the driveway. He’d done that; he’d had enough. In Buffalo he would train to become a Naval Officer. It was 1943 and it was the obvious alternative, join the Service, do something for the war effort.

By: Sharon L. Romine

I recall breakfast at Grandma’s. There I'd be all snuggled and warm under Grandma’s electric blanket, and Grandpa, passing by the end of my bed on the way to the kitchen, would reach out and grab my big toe. After I’d raised a fuss, he'd grumble about kids sleeping so late. It was usually all of 5:30 or 6:00. From the kitchen, I'd hear Grandma fussing, “Henry, leave that young’un alone, she needs her sleep.”

Submitted by Opal Fay Oxley(The original date of this story is unknown)

Letters come to the Birdseye Indiana Town Hall from all across the United States. They will ask the same question. How did Birdseye get its name? Town clerk Charlene Atkins has a difficult time answering these questions. No one seems to know for sure.

Local history has it that when the Dubois County Indiana town began in 1883, several names were suggested, but rejected by the Post Office.