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#1
The Tailgate / Re: Busted!
Last post by remrogers - Yesterday at 11:13:14 AMAnother case of the fox protecting the hen house.
#2
The Tailgate / Today in history 3-30
Last post by remrogers - Yesterday at 11:10:06 AM1867
March 30
U.S. purchase of Alaska ridiculed as "Seward's Folly"
U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward signs a treaty with Russia for the purchase of Alaska for $7 million. Despite the bargain price of roughly two cents an acre, the Alaskan purchase was ridiculed in Congress and in the press as "Seward's Folly," "Seward's icebox," and President Andrew Johnson's "polar bear garden."
Inuit and other Indigenous peoples had inhabited Alaska for thousands of years before the czarist government of Russia established a presence there around the mid-18th century. Russia first approached the United States about selling the territory during the administration of President James Buchanan, but negotiations were stalled by the outbreak of the Civil War. After 1865, Seward, a supporter of territorial expansion, was eager to acquire the tremendous landmass of Alaska, an area roughly one-fifth the size of the rest of the United States. He had some difficulty, however, making the case for the purchase of Alaska before the Senate, which ratified the treaty on April 9, 1867.
Six months later, Alaska was formally handed over from Russia to the United States. Despite a slow start in U.S. settlement, the discovery of gold in 1898 brought a rapid influx of people to the territory, and Alaska, rich in natural resources, has contributed to American prosperity ever since.
March 30
U.S. purchase of Alaska ridiculed as "Seward's Folly"
U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward signs a treaty with Russia for the purchase of Alaska for $7 million. Despite the bargain price of roughly two cents an acre, the Alaskan purchase was ridiculed in Congress and in the press as "Seward's Folly," "Seward's icebox," and President Andrew Johnson's "polar bear garden."
Inuit and other Indigenous peoples had inhabited Alaska for thousands of years before the czarist government of Russia established a presence there around the mid-18th century. Russia first approached the United States about selling the territory during the administration of President James Buchanan, but negotiations were stalled by the outbreak of the Civil War. After 1865, Seward, a supporter of territorial expansion, was eager to acquire the tremendous landmass of Alaska, an area roughly one-fifth the size of the rest of the United States. He had some difficulty, however, making the case for the purchase of Alaska before the Senate, which ratified the treaty on April 9, 1867.
Six months later, Alaska was formally handed over from Russia to the United States. Despite a slow start in U.S. settlement, the discovery of gold in 1898 brought a rapid influx of people to the territory, and Alaska, rich in natural resources, has contributed to American prosperity ever since.
#4
Non Hunting/Fishing Photos / Re: Remember when...
Last post by pitw - March 29, 2025, 05:57:27 PMLast one of them washers I bought had a gas engine. Got it home and the dang thing fired right up. Also had a few wringers that were hand cranked.
#5
Non Hunting/Fishing Photos / Re: Remember when...
Last post by Hawks Feather - March 29, 2025, 04:33:17 PMMom had a wringer washer when I was a kid and while playing with it I found out that hands do fit into the wringer. I was lucky that my mom had shown me the release (in the one pictured I believe it is the white triangled shape on the right of the wringer head) and I hit it as soon as I could. That released the heads.
#6
The Tailgate / Today in history 3-29
Last post by remrogers - March 29, 2025, 10:54:04 AM1945
March 29
Gen. George Patton takes Frankfurt
Gen. George S. Patton's 3rd Army captures Frankfurt, as "Old Blood and Guts" continues his march east.
Frankfurt am Main, literally "On the Main" River, in western Germany, was the mid-19th century capital of Germany (it was annexed by Prussia in 1866, ending its status as a free city). Once integrated into a united German nation, it developed into a significant industrial city—and hence a prime target for Allied bombing during the war.
That bombing began as early as July 1941, during a series of British air raids against the Nazis. In March 1944, Frankfurt suffered extraordinary damage during a raid that saw 27,000 tons of bombs dropped on Germany in a single month. Consequently, Frankfurt's medieval Old Town was virtually destroyed (although it would be rebuilt in the postwar period—replete with modern office buildings).
In late December 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, General Patton broke through the German lines of the besieged Belgian city of Bastogne, relieving its valiant defenders. Patton then pushed the Germans east. Patton's goal was to cross the Rhine, even if not a single bridge was left standing over which to do it. As Patton reached the banks of the river on March 22, 1945, he found that one bridge—the Ludendorff Bridge, located in the little town of Remagen—had not been destroyed. American troops had already made a crossing on March 7—a signal moment in the war and in history, as an enemy army had not crossed the Rhine since Napoleon accomplished the feat in 1805. Patton grandly made his crossing, and from the bridgehead created there, Old Blood and Guts and his 3rd Army headed east and captured Frankfurt on the 29th.
Patton then crossed through southern Germany and into Czechoslovakia, only to encounter an order not to take the capital, Prague, as it had been reserved for the Soviets. Patton was, not unexpectedly, livid.
March 29
Gen. George Patton takes Frankfurt
Gen. George S. Patton's 3rd Army captures Frankfurt, as "Old Blood and Guts" continues his march east.
Frankfurt am Main, literally "On the Main" River, in western Germany, was the mid-19th century capital of Germany (it was annexed by Prussia in 1866, ending its status as a free city). Once integrated into a united German nation, it developed into a significant industrial city—and hence a prime target for Allied bombing during the war.
That bombing began as early as July 1941, during a series of British air raids against the Nazis. In March 1944, Frankfurt suffered extraordinary damage during a raid that saw 27,000 tons of bombs dropped on Germany in a single month. Consequently, Frankfurt's medieval Old Town was virtually destroyed (although it would be rebuilt in the postwar period—replete with modern office buildings).
In late December 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, General Patton broke through the German lines of the besieged Belgian city of Bastogne, relieving its valiant defenders. Patton then pushed the Germans east. Patton's goal was to cross the Rhine, even if not a single bridge was left standing over which to do it. As Patton reached the banks of the river on March 22, 1945, he found that one bridge—the Ludendorff Bridge, located in the little town of Remagen—had not been destroyed. American troops had already made a crossing on March 7—a signal moment in the war and in history, as an enemy army had not crossed the Rhine since Napoleon accomplished the feat in 1805. Patton grandly made his crossing, and from the bridgehead created there, Old Blood and Guts and his 3rd Army headed east and captured Frankfurt on the 29th.
Patton then crossed through southern Germany and into Czechoslovakia, only to encounter an order not to take the capital, Prague, as it had been reserved for the Soviets. Patton was, not unexpectedly, livid.
#7
The Tailgate / Today in history 3-28
Last post by remrogers - March 28, 2025, 10:59:54 AM1979
March 28
Nuclear disaster at Three Mile Island
At 4 a.m. on March 28, 1979, one of the worst accidents in the history of the U.S. nuclear power industry begins when a pressure valve in the Unit-2 reactor at Three Mile Island fails to close. Cooling water, contaminated with radiation, drained from the open valve into adjoining buildings, and the core began to dangerously overheat.
The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant was built in 1974 on a sandbar on Pennsylvania's Susquehanna River, just 10 miles downstream from the state capitol in Harrisburg. In 1978, a second state-of-the-art reactor began operating on Three Mile Island, which was lauded for generating affordable and reliable energy in a time of energy crises.
After the cooling water began to drain out of the broken pressure valve on the morning of March 28, 1979, emergency cooling pumps automatically went into operation. Left alone, these safety devices would have prevented the development of a larger crisis. However, human operators in the control room misread confusing and contradictory readings and shut off the emergency water system. The reactor was also shut down, but residual heat from the fission process was still being released. By early morning, the core had heated to over 4,000 degrees, just 1,000 degrees short of meltdown. In the meltdown scenario, the core melts, and deadly radiation drifts across the countryside, fatally sickening a potentially great number of people.
March 28
Nuclear disaster at Three Mile Island
At 4 a.m. on March 28, 1979, one of the worst accidents in the history of the U.S. nuclear power industry begins when a pressure valve in the Unit-2 reactor at Three Mile Island fails to close. Cooling water, contaminated with radiation, drained from the open valve into adjoining buildings, and the core began to dangerously overheat.
The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant was built in 1974 on a sandbar on Pennsylvania's Susquehanna River, just 10 miles downstream from the state capitol in Harrisburg. In 1978, a second state-of-the-art reactor began operating on Three Mile Island, which was lauded for generating affordable and reliable energy in a time of energy crises.
After the cooling water began to drain out of the broken pressure valve on the morning of March 28, 1979, emergency cooling pumps automatically went into operation. Left alone, these safety devices would have prevented the development of a larger crisis. However, human operators in the control room misread confusing and contradictory readings and shut off the emergency water system. The reactor was also shut down, but residual heat from the fission process was still being released. By early morning, the core had heated to over 4,000 degrees, just 1,000 degrees short of meltdown. In the meltdown scenario, the core melts, and deadly radiation drifts across the countryside, fatally sickening a potentially great number of people.
#8
Non Hunting/Fishing Photos / Re: Remember when...
Last post by Okanagan - March 28, 2025, 10:10:42 AMWe had that kind of washing machine when I was little. My mom got her hand and lower forearm pulled in to the wringer, can't remember how she got out but her wrist and lower forearm were bruised and swollen. When we moved out to our property where we were building a house, before we got electricity my mom hand washed clothes with a ribbed washboard.
Years later, a trapper neighbor of ours had a washing machine that he used exclusively for furs, mainly coyotes I think. The finished furs sure turn out nice if fleshed well, washed with shampoo and hair conditioner and then spun almost dry.
I can't recall for sure but think that his was a modern washer, but it may have been an old wringer washer. The hide came out damp rather than wet, and with most of the water gone it dried quickly on the stretcher. Gets you top dollar. You may think I'm kidding but I'm not. He had a high volume operation going and prepped a LOT of hides.
Years later, a trapper neighbor of ours had a washing machine that he used exclusively for furs, mainly coyotes I think. The finished furs sure turn out nice if fleshed well, washed with shampoo and hair conditioner and then spun almost dry.
I can't recall for sure but think that his was a modern washer, but it may have been an old wringer washer. The hide came out damp rather than wet, and with most of the water gone it dried quickly on the stretcher. Gets you top dollar. You may think I'm kidding but I'm not. He had a high volume operation going and prepped a LOT of hides.
#9
Non Hunting/Fishing Photos / Re: Remember when...
Last post by nastygunz - March 27, 2025, 09:57:13 PMNow thats country!
Quote from: FinsnFur on March 27, 2025, 08:42:23 PMYes, my Grandma had one of those and she ACTUALLY allowed my brother to run Muskrats hides through the ringer after fleshing and washing them.
I forgot all about that
#10
Non Hunting/Fishing Photos / Re: Remember when...
Last post by FinsnFur - March 27, 2025, 08:42:23 PMYes, my Grandma had one of those and she ACTUALLY allowed my brother to run Muskrats hides through the ringer after fleshing and washing them.
I forgot all about that
I forgot all about that