Pegasus Flys Over 42N Country

Pegsus, the winged horse takes form throughout 42N country and surrounding latitudes. In Duluth, Minnesota (46.79°N 92.1°W) is a Pegasus Mobil Oil design which is located near the aerial bridge area. This red sign is attached to a restaurant building's exterior and at night the glow of neon outlines the iconic logo.

Meanwhile 358 miles away in Galena, Illinois, (42.43°N 90.41°W) a weather vane atop the Flying Horse restaurant points to the way of the wind. Both the Duluth and Galena examples are associated with eateries. Perhaps the potential for eye catching graphics and ideas of flights of fancy lures customers to these restaurants. Know that.

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12,000 Years of Ojibwe History Packed in One Corner

Imagine the end of the last ice age in North America. The generally accepted end of the ice sheets in the upper Midwest (Minnesota in particular) is estimated to be about 12,500 summers ago. Evidence of human activity correlates to this period.

Unexpectedly located at the Northern Lights Casino on the southside of Leech Lake, Minnesota by the town of Walker, is a corner area near the adjoining hotel which is devoted to the history of the Leech Lake Band Of Ojibwe and surrounding land.

One display contains an assortment of tools used by humans as far as 12,000 years ago. Two copper lances (numbers 1 and 5 above - click the photo to see a larger version) are estimated to be between 8,500 and 12,000 years old in what is called the Paleo Period. By comparison other humans are thought to have arrived in Ireland 9,000 years ago (7,000 BC) following its glaciation period. This means that Minnesota hosted human inhabitants before european tribes from the south and east arrived in Ireland. Interesting to say the least.

What is remarkable is the use of copper from Minnesota or nearby Michigan that was tooled to resemble stone worked points. Equally remarkable is that two of these points exist today and are displayed in this case.

The corner museum also displays more modern history and the abundance of wild life in the area. One important exhibit element is the bald eagle. These birds nest around the lake in substantial numbers and are regarded as symbolic and spiritual creatures.

This corner of Ojibwe history and culture should be put on your must see list if you visit the area. While the actual square footage is very small, the amount of information contained in the display cases and shown via a large screen monitor is well worth the effort to locate and study. Know that.

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Welcome to Minnesota Waters - DNR Officers Visit 42N Country

On Tuesday a black, 90-hp Lund boat approached the 42N vessel on Leech Lake, Minnesota. Two Minnesota state conservation officers asked us to reel in and then slid up to our boat. The officers were on the third largest in-land lake in Minnesota to check fishing licenses and live-well contents. The 42N party was, of course, in compliance license-wise and did not have any fish aboard in the live-wells at the time.

The two officers came from Grand Rapids and Park Rapids, Minnesota for a day of lake patrol. Their black dog, Jack was only curious about our boat rather than aggressive.

While the officers' demeanor was polite they carefully checked our licenses and live-well thoroughly.

Had we been hostile about the situation we would have answered to a side arm or taser - not the kind of fishing trip you dream about. Know that.

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Largest Mega-Length Lake Freighter Delights Duluth, Minnesota Audience

Some seven degrees of latitude north of 42N country, the Paul R. Tregurtha makes her way out of Duluth Harbor on June 23rd under the aerial lift bridge. The lake freighter is the longest vessel on the Great Lakes measuring in at 1,013’ 06” - that's 3.37 football fields long! On this day the harbor horn sounded indicating the bridge lifting. That event was followed by the sighting of the departing vessel by people near the canal wall. Within minutes the stupidly-long ship silently glided past the crowd and onto Lake Superior. 

Have you ever wanted to be a guest aboard a 1,000 footer even for just a few days?

Here's your chance. Enter this contest to possibly win a 5-1/2 day voyage on a Great Lakes ship during the summer of 2011. Just think, you could be aboard and waving back to the Duluth crowd while heading for one of 63 commercial ports on the Great Lakes. How cool. Know that.

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Flag Day 2010 Celebrated in the USA

June 14th is Flag Day across the United States including this display in 42N country. Get your flag out of storage and let it fly. Send me photos of you and your flag flying. Know that.

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Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick

A colorful treatment for an abandoned rail station located in Keokuk, Iowa. This station may have seen President Theodore Roosevelt arrive and depart while on any of three historic stops in Keokuk in the early 1900s. Except for rail car storage this area is now off limits to the public. Bully. Know that.

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The Longest Day: D-Day Plus 66 Years

Operation Overlord commenced on June 6, 1944 as Allied forces came ashore in Normandy, France, against Hitler’s Fortress Europe. In 2010 debate still exists over the invasion’s casualty figures with no official number or list available. One estimate is that more than 425,000 Allied and German troops were killed, wounded, or went missing during the battle including more than 209,000 Allied casualties. Roughly 200,000 German troops killed or wounded, the Allies also captured 200,000 soldiers. French civilian casualties during the Battle of Normandy are estimated to be between 15,000 and 20,000.

Today the site of one of the fiercest fights of the invasion, Pointe Du Hoc is under attack of a different kind. The bluff itself is suffering from natural erosion and the stress of up to 500,000 visitors a year. Preservation efforts are currently underway to shore up the bluff and save it for generations.

Pointe Du Hoc is a cliff rising west of Normandy’s Omaha beach. American Ranger soldiers under tremendous enemy fire landed on the beach, scaled the cliffs and eventually took out the Nazi howitzers aimed at the landing area.

The price the Rangers paid was steep - the contribution they made to take down tyranny was great. President Ronald Reagan knew how to say it best. Read his 1984 speech on the 40th anniversary ceremony here or watch a composite video here. Know that.

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What's With the Fess Parker Connection?

In the past eight months a series of seemingly random events/things have presented themselves to me in a peculiar manner regarding Fess Parker. 

Last October after travelling the roads of northern Virginia all day we stopped for the night in Winchester before winding back to 42N country in Iowa. In a town filled with George Washington, French Indian War, Revolutionary War and Civil War monuments we found a seafood restaurant to try one more east coast dinner before heading back to the plains. Along with the lobster and crab dinner we ordered a wine from the Fess Parker Winery. That was our first time to see the vineyard product offered anywhere so we just had to try it. Very good. Months later I learned that Winchester, VA was the birthplace for Rebecca Bryan, the wife of Daniel Boone. Fess Parker played the Daniel Boone character on TV during the early 1960s.

In February 2010 while at a local thrift store I found a 78 rpm record of Fess Parker singing the Davy Crockett theme song from the Disney movie series. I posted the record being played as a video on March 20th following the death of Fess Parker.

And so on Monday (Memorial Day 2010) while visiting the Keokuk National Cemetery, we also stopped at a local antique store. Somewhere in the 40-some dealer booth complex I found an official program from the 1966 Tri-State Rodeo in nearby Fort Madison, Iowa. The Tri-State Rodeo, part of the Rodeo Cowboys Association, regularly brought in big star names and entertainment acts for the three day event. While flipping through the program booklet that featured Fess Parker as Daniel Boone on its cover, I found a slip of paper tucked inside. The paper contained Fess Parker's autograph - yes, the real McCoy. He appeared at the rodeo along with the Boonesvilles, a New Christy Minstrels-like singing group.  

I don't know why these Fess-centered coincidences continue to happen but I'll be on the lookout for a coonskip cap or a meeting with Ed "Mingo" Ames.

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World War II Medal of Honor Recipient Buried at Keokuk National Cemetery

Ten service personnel who have Iowa connections were recipients of the country's highest military decoration - the Medal of Honor during World War II. The award celebrates valor in action against an enemy force which is bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States.

At the Keokuk National Cemetery, among the 4,000 war dead, the grave of one soldier carries the special distinction. U.S. Army Private First Class John F. Thorson was awarded the Medal of Honor (posthumously) following his sacrifice during World War II. 

Thorson's offical citation reads, "He was an automatic rifleman on 28 October 1944, in the attack on Dagami Leyte, Philippine Islands. A heavily fortified enemy position consisting of pillboxes and supporting trenches held up the advance of his company. His platoon was ordered to out-flank and neutralize the strongpoint. Voluntarily moving well out in front of his group, Pvt. Thorson came upon an enemy fire trench defended by several hostile riflemen and, disregarding the intense fire directed at him, attacked single-handed He was seriously wounded and fell about 6 yards from the trench. Just as the remaining 20 members of the platoon reached him, one of the enemy threw a grenade into their midst. Shouting a warning and making a final effort, Pvt. Thorson rolled onto the grenade and smothered the explosion with his body. He was instantly killed, but his magnificent courage and supreme self-sacrifice prevented the injury and possible death of his comrades, and remain with them as a lasting inspiration."

According to the Iowa Medal of Honors Heros section of the Iowa History web site John Thorson, Sr., accepted his son’s Medal of Honor in a ceremony at Fort Crook, Nebraska, presented by Brig. Gen. Paul X. English of the 7th Division. The Women’s Army Corps band from Fort Des Moines played a concert before the ceremony. A newspaper report about the ceremony reported that, “The father clutched the medal tightly in hands gnarled by a life-time of work on the farm as he walked back across the parade ground after the ceremony.”

A year after the war ended, a Red Cross club in Korea was named in John Thorton's honor, and a U.S. Navy vessel (cargo ship) was also named for him. To locate Pvt. Thorson's grave, visit the cemetery in Keokuk and proceed to section D, grave 71. He is buried in a World War II section. Know that.

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