Sunday, January 30, 2011

Florence (Flo) Pegee Skeen again

Several times a year I receive an email looking for information regarding Flo Pegee. I feel this is because if you do a search my Blog and photo pages are at the top of the list. There is very little information about her life. But many people have heard the true or untrue legends and want to know more. Below is the very little I know of her: ......... jack

To the best of my memory I met Florence (Flo) Pegee Skeen (1874 - 1960) when I was 11 or 12, I am 65 now. She ask me to move a heavy stone flower pot off her porch to the walkway. She was very nice to me and offered a dime for my work (I did not except the dime) I remember she told me I had been raised proper. In my thoughts she was a very misunderstood lady. In her prime of life she was a very attractive lady as the photo shows. Later in years she dressed in black. I think this came from her husband's death and perhaps she never recovered from this tragedy in her life. She lived in a large three story home (Washington & Tyson) in Versailles, In. Later in her life she moved to a small green painted tavern converted to her living quarters on the West of her property on Tyson Street. There are many stories about her, some may or may not be true. As I said before she dressed in black and this prompted the witch stories. One fable is that one of her last requests was to not be buried under ground. After passing her grave is in the East end of Cliff Hill Cemetery in a crypt above ground, this one may be true. On her grave it states "A Friend In Need". Draw you own conclusion from this quote. There is a story about a rope that can be seen from a window. This rope was supposed to be the one that Flo's husband or brother used to hang himself with.( I'm not sure he did hang himself) I am sure this is untrue. I seen her home very often and was inside it once and I never saw this rope. I was only on the first floor of her home, the furniture was covered and the drapes were closed to outside light. It was after dark with only a pen light to see with. I did not have permission to be there so I did not really see much. I must admit as a boy of about 13 It was spooky and I was afraid. Take the stories you hear with a grain of salt, Judge her with proof and not the legends that are told.
See the photos I have taken and collected at:
https://get.google.com/albumarchive/105974274631821525519/album/AF1QipMgi1gtGTHp_DONNPsr-1lJiAHHtvhXSU204p10

The below text is from: "Tales of Versailles" by Alan Smith Sr.

Flo Pegee or Florence Skeen was a legend in Versailles. Views differed, so it is left up to the reader how she should be judged. Flo was called a "witch" by some children because of the style in which she dressed when she was of older age. She was convicted as an abortionist in her late years, but she always claimed that she was a friend to those in need. Her father was Calvin Skeen, who ran the Hassmer House, (now the Yellow Dog) and was a prominent man in Versailles. Flo's brother shot himself at the Hassmer House when he was 20 years old. For many years Flo operated a saloon in a small green house on lot #72 on the southwest corner of Main Cross (now Tyson St.) and Washington Streets. While she ran this saloon Flo had a pet parrot named Polly. Polly was very popular with the town children and customers. Polly was trained to say some appropriate and not so appropriate phrases, but was enjoyed by most customers. Flo was a talented seamstress and made hats and clothes for many of her friends. Upon her death, she specified that she not be buried below ground. According to her wishes, she was buried in an above ground stone tomb in Cliff Hill Cemetery.

The Warsaw radio mast collapse


The Warsaw radio mast was the world's tallest structure ( 2,120.67 ft) until its collapse on 8 August 1991. It is the second tallest land-based structure ever built, being surpassed as tallest by the Burj Khalifa, completed in 2010.

Ham Radio operators love towers as we use these structures to transmit our signals. The rule of thumb states, "If it doesn't fall down it's not high enough". This one did in 1991.
read what happened

Friday, January 28, 2011

Do you like frogs ? volunteer


Have you noticed when you were a kid there were toads & frogs everywhere, now you are lucky to see one or two all year. What happened to them? lets get them back. I'm not sure how but maybe this is a start........jack

DNR slates workshops on frogs, toads of Indiana

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources is offering two workshops on Indiana's 17 frog and toad species. Attendees will learn how to identify Indiana toads and frogs by their calls and may volunteer to assist the DNR with the Indiana Amphibian Monitoring Program, part of a national roadside driving survey.
read more at:
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/jan/27/no-headline---28a03frog-brf/

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

I just love this song - #1 in 93

Whitney Houston - 1993


Dolly Parton - 1974

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

A reprint out of the past

A man is walking through the zoo when he sees a little girl leaning into the lion's cage. Suddenly, the lion grabs her by the cuff of her jacket and tries to pull her inside to devour her right in front the little girl's screaming parents.

The man runs to the cage, hits the lion square on the nose with a powerful punch. Whimpering from the pain, the lion jumps back letting go of the girl, and the man returns her to her terrified parents.

A reporter has seen the whole scene and says to the rescuer: 'Sir, this was the most gallant and brave thing I saw a man do in my whole life.'

'Why, it was nothing,' said the man. 'Really, the lion was behind bars and I knew God would protect me just as He did Daniel in the lions den long, long ago. I just saw this little kid in danger, and acted as I felt was right.'

'I noticed a bible in your pocket, are you a Republican,' asked the journalist.

'Yes, and I'm a Christian on my way to a bible study,' the man replies.

'Well, I'll make sure this won't go unnoticed... I'm a journalist and tomorrow's paper will have this on the front page.'

The journalist leaves. The following morning the man buys the paper to see if it indeed brings news of his actions, and reads, on first page:

'Right Wing Republican Christian Fundamentalist Assaults African Immigrant and Steals His lunch.'


Read why I posted this

Monday, January 24, 2011

The Macintosh 128K - jan. 24th 1984

The Macintosh 128K machine was the original Apple Macintosh personal computer. Its beige case contained a 9 in (23 cm) monitor and came with a keyboard and mouse. An indentation in the top of the case made it easier for the computer to be lifted and carried. It had a selling price of US$2,495. The Macintosh was introduced by the now famous US$1.5 million television commercial by Ridley Scott, "1984", that most notably aired on CBS during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII on January 22, 1984. The sales of the Macintosh were strong from its initial release and reached 70,000 on May 3, 1984; afterwards, sales plummeted. After its successor — the Macintosh 512K — was introduced, it was rebadged as the Macintosh 128K to differentiate it.
Read more

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I bought my first computer in 1982, it was an IBM clone called a Compuadd. It had a 40 meg hard drive and had 1 meg of ram. It ran the OS of MS DOS. If I remember correctly it had a pricetag of $2,300. I now have 7 computers running most of the time, but my favorite is a small net book that sold for $225. I now have an in-home successful business that I owe to that little first computer. ...... jack

Sunday, January 23, 2011

USS Pueblo captured Jan 23, 1968


North Korea stated that it strayed into their territorial waters, but the United States maintains that the vessel was in international waters at the time of the incident.
My theory:
This ship was captured in international waters to obtain the code breaking equipment, then turned over to the Soviets.............. Jack
Read the full story

Thursday, January 20, 2011

John F Kennedy - WE CHOOSE TO GO TO THE MOON - 1962


See an animation of the liftoff:
http://www.wechoosethemoon.org/

On a very hot late summer's day in 1962, President Kennedy visited Rice University in Houston, Texas, and gave this speech outdoors in the football stadium. The President spoke in philosophical terms about the need to solve the mysteries of space, reaffirmed America's commitment to landing a man on the moon before the end of the 1960s and also defended the enormous expense of the space program.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

The big snow

I just got off the phone with a friend in the northern part of Minnesota. He said that since early this morning the snow has been falling heavily and it is nearly waist high. The temperature is dropping below zero and the north wind is increasing, and his wife has done nothing but look through the kitchen window.

He says that
if it gets much worse,
he may have to
let her in.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Madison / Milton bridge cam

Here is a new web cam I have found.
It looks at the Madison, In / Milton, Ky bridge.
It updates every 15 minutes. You can zoom in or out.
http://www.miltonmadisonbridge.com/gallery/live-bridge-cam/

Also here is the Versailles State Park entrance bridge camera
http://netservices.indot.in.gov/rwis/SingleReport.aspx?ID=356023

And my web camera page that takes images of my home and the Court house square.
http://webcam.wb9otx.com/cam/

Rolling Hills in Versailles Cam
http://24.14.77.8/img/main.cgi?next_file=main.htmLink
I'm working on another camera, but it is just in the set-up testing stage now. It may or
may not be online. You can try it at
http://24.14.77.51:85
If it asks for a username & password they both are "guest"

You will need to have Java installed to see these cameras
Get it here free

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Look up in the sky - is it a bird, is it a plane - no its a

A griffon vulture with a wingspan of about 8 feet (2.4 m) was seen flying in Saudi Arabia, near the home of a shaikh, near the city of Hayel. When the bird was captured, a GPS device and a leg tag with the sign "Tel Aviv University" were discovered on the bird. The authorities were alerted that the vulture was a part of "Zionist plot". The story was first reported in Saudi Arabia's newspaper Al-Weeam, and was later discussed in Arabic websites and other Saudi Arabia media outlets
Read more
I just thought this was a neat article. After reading it, I think the bird was not a spy, but just equipped bwith a tracking GPS so the university could find the bird. My opinion only.......... Jack

Friday, January 14, 2011

Gas prices


‘When I first started driving, 49 years ago, who would have thought gas would someday cost 28 cents a gallon. Guess we’d be better off leaving the car in the garage.’ The lowest gas price I can remember was during a gas war between the Super Rose and the Phillips 66 stations. Stan McCarty at the Super Rose lowered the price to 14.9, Bill Lower at the 66 said "I give up, Stan is selling gas lower than I can buy it". ...... Them were the days !

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Birth of public radio broadcasting - Jan 13, 1910


The first public radio broadcast consisted of performances of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci. Riccardo Martin performed as Turridu, Emmy Destinn as Santuzza, and Enrico Caruso as Canio. This wireless radio transmission event of the Italian tenor Enrico Caruso of a concert from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City is regarded as the birth of public radio broadcasting.
Read the full story

Monday, January 10, 2011

20 things you can learn

“20 Things I Learned About Browsers and the Web” is a short guide for anyone who’s curious about the basics of browsers and the web. This is a great site for you to learn twenty things about your internet browser. It is a bit long, but you can return later and it will remember your page. How does it do that? you will know if you visit this page.
http://www.20thingsilearned.com/
Things you’ve always wanted to know about the web but were afraid to ask.

Sunday, January 09, 2011

HAPPY TRAILS TO MY FRIENDS


So it's good-bye to Roy and Dale, Gene Autry, Hoppy, The Lone Ranger and Tonto. Farewell to Sky King and Superman and Sgt. Friday. Thanks to Capt. Kangaroo, Mr. Rogers and Capt. Noah and all those people whose lives touched ours, and made them better. It was a great ride through childhood.LinkRoy Rogers Museum is now closed:
http://www.royrogers.com/museum-index.html

Thanks to Linda G for this post.

Saturday, January 08, 2011

Another Versailles Indiana Camera

State Park entrance bridge, just East of Versailles now has a camera.
You can double click on the small icon photos for different views.
See it at:
http://netservices.indot.in.gov/rwis/SingleReport.aspx?ID=356023
You can also see:
Wind speed, direction, temperature, and etc.

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

A nice 50th anniversary gift

I produce video presentations of anniversaries and other general events such as vacation, wedding, and etc. The presentation can be played on any DVD player or computer. The images move and background music is played. A nice presentation consists of about thirty photos but can contain more. The cost for thirty photos written to DVD is $125.00 Please allow one week lead time for processing. Contact Jonathan (jack) Demaree at 812-689-5960 for further information.
See a demo here
http://skfuneralhome.com/bishop/
,

Tuesday, January 04, 2011

NEW FITNESS GYM IN VERSAILLES

New gym in Versailles Indiana, open now. Check it out. The Source Fitness Center, near CVS, North Adams Street in the heart of town.

Saturday, January 01, 2011

Bouvet & Heard Island most remote islands in the world

The thrill of talking to a remote location via Ham Radio is an everyday adventure. I remember working (talking) to Bouvet Island a few years ago and it was a thrill that I remember to this day. Another far off location was an Island called Heard. These two locations are just about as far away as a Ham in North America can talk to. Would you like to become a Ham? See our local radio web page.

Bouvet Island was first sighted Jan 1, 1739 by Charles Bouvet. Bouvet Island is an uninhabited Antarctic volcanic island in the South Atlantic Ocean, 2,525 km south-southwest of South Africa. It is a dependent territory of Norway and, lying north of 60°S latitude, is not subject to the Antarctic Treaty. The center of the Island is an ice-filled crater of an inactive volcano, known as the Wilhelm II Plateau. It is the most remote island in the world. Despite being uninhabited, Bouvet Island has the unused Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) .bv. It also has an amateur radio prefix, 3Y, and a few amateur radio expeditions have travelled to the island to use it. There is no telephone country code or area code, no telephone connection (except through satellite) and no postal code nor postal distribution. Bouvet Island is according to Norwegian law in the UTC+01 time zone.
Read more about Bouvet.
Read more about how to get a Ham License.