Page 2 of 4

Re: Bingo - Let's Learn About Virginia! (Third Numbers Up!)

Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2016 12:16 am
by fccs
Again, very educational...and thanks to Jefferson, I am now at two.

Re: Bingo - Let's Learn About Virginia! (Third Numbers Up!)

Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2016 2:57 pm
by rcperryls
Great Info, especially about Jefferson, who is one of my favorite founding fathers. And who now has given me another so I'm 3/10 of the way to Bingo!

Carole
:dance:

Re: Bingo - Let's Learn About Virginia! (Third Numbers Up!)

Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2016 11:58 pm
by salome
My daughters argued over whose turn it was to draw numbers... :roll:

Good evening! Hope all are well. :whoop:

1 – American Dogwood

Image

Cornus florida, commonly known as flowering dogwood, is a small deciduous tree growing to about 10 feet high. In nature, it is often wider than it is taller. The flowers are individually small and inconspicuous. Usually white, the flowers can also be pink or red. They typically flower anywhere from early April to early May depending on the area of their range, which is from northern Florida to parts of Canada. The trees have become a popular landscaping tree. The cheerful blossoms proclaim each year that Winter is over, and Spring is really here. It is beloved by many. Missouri voted it their State Tree, and North Carolina their State Flower. Virginia loves the Dogwood so much that they decreed it both their State Tree and State Flower.

The Dogwood has a rich history. Dogwood is a very hard, strong wood. The tight-grained wood contains no silica so it was useful in cleaning small spaces that were easily scratched, and thus became useful in watchmakers and jewelers. Weaving scuttles were made from it and later, golf club heads. The botanical name cornus reflects this quality, as it means horn, as in bull’s horn. Dogwood bark was also used as a mange treatment for dogs. The bark was boiled, and the dog was washed in the resulting liquid. The practice for using the dogwood for mange seems to have come from the misconception that the name Dogwood meant it was good for dogs.

Image

The tree is also the subject of a Christian legend. According to the old stories: The Dogwood tree used to grow large and tall. It was compared in size and shape to an oak tree. At the time of the Crucifixion, the wood from the Dogwood tree was used to make the cross. This distressed and saddened the tree so much that Jesus promised Dogwood trees would never grow large enough to use the wood for a cross, it would instead be bent and twisted. The four petals of the flowers would form the shape of a cross, with two long petals and two short ones. In the center of each petal edge a rusty nail mark would be cut, and the bracts in the center would resemble a crown of thorns, with blood-red berries as a result.


17 – Captain John Smith

Image

Born in 1580 in Willoughby, Lincolnshire, England, John Smith left home at the age of 16 after the death of his father and set off to sea. He joined volunteers in France who were fighting for Dutch independence from Spain. Two years later, he set off for the Mediterranean Sea as a sailor on a merchant ship. In 1600 he joined Austrian forces to fight the Turks in the “Long War.” He was promoted to captain while fighting in Hungary. In 1602 he was wounded in a skirmish with the Tatars, captured, and sold as a slave. According to Smith in “The True Travels, Adventures, and Observations of Captaine John Smith” (1630), his master, a Turkish nobleman, sent him as a gift to his Greek mistress, who then fell in love with Smith. From there he was taken to Crimea, and escaped from the Ottoman lands into Muscovy before travelling through Europe and Northern Africa, returning to England in 1604.

In 1606 Smith became involved with the Virginia Company of London’s plan to colonize Virginia for profit; it had been granted a charter by King James. The expedition set sail on December 20 1606 in three small ships: the Discovery, the Susan Constant, and the Godspeed. During the voyage Smith was charged with mutiny and Captain Christopher Newport had planned to execute him. Upon landing at what is now Cape Henry, unsealed orders from the Virginia Company designated Smith to be one of the leaders of the new colony.

Image

The English arrived at Jamestown in April 1607. After the four-month ocean trip their food stores were sufficient for each to have only a cup or two of grain-meal per day. By September, more than 60 of the 104 brought by Newport were dead.

In December 1607 while seeking food along the Chickahominy River, Smith was captured and taken to meet the chief of the Powhatans at Werowocomoco. Although he feared for his life, Smith was eventually released without harm and later attributed this in part to the chief’s daughter, Pocahontas. According to Smith: “at the moment of my execution, she hazarded the beating out of her own brains to save mine; and not only that but so prevailed with her father, that I was safely conducted to Jamestown.”

Image

In early January 1608, nearly 100 new settlers arrived with Captain Newport. Food supplies ran low and although Native Americans brought some food, Smith wrote that “more than half of us died”. Later that year, Smith tried to get food from the Native Americans and it took threats of military force for them to comply. Smith found that there were those among both settlers and Native Americans who were planning to take his life. He called a meeting and stated “that he that will not work shall not eat.”

Smith returned to England in October 1609; it is recorded that was injured by an accidental gunpowder explosion and sailed home for treatment. He had spent two and a half years in Jamestown. He never returned to Virginia. In 1614 Smith returned to the Americas, to the coasts of Maine and Massachusetts Bay. He named the region “New England”. He made two attempts in 1614 and 1615 to return to the same coast. On the first trip, a storm dismasted his ship. In the second attempt he was captured by French pirates off the coast of the Azores. He escaped after weeks of captivity and made his way back to England. He never left England again.

Smith produced some of the most detailed reports about early Virginia such as True Relation of Virginia (1608), Map of Virginia (1612, Generall Historie of Virginia (1624), and True Travels in 1630.

John Smith died June 21 1631 at the age of 51.

(With thanks to my son, who rattled off more than enough information about Smith...)

Re: Bingo - Let's Learn About Virginia! (Fourth Numbers Up!)

Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 4:33 am
by cairee
remembered to check on this, up to 4/10

Re: Bingo - Let's Learn About Virginia! (Fourth Numbers Up!)

Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 8:09 pm
by rcperryls
American Dogwoods have beautiful flowers. We tried growing them in our yard one year, but despite the fact that there are lovely dogwoods all around Charleston, ours didn't do well. But they did give me another pick so I'm at 4/10. Interesting info about John Smith also. I didn't know much of anything besides his time in Jamestown.

Carole
:dance:

Re: Bingo - Let's Learn About Virginia! (Fourth Numbers Up!)

Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 10:56 pm
by salome
rcperryls wrote:American Dogwoods have beautiful flowers. We tried growing them in our yard one year, but despite the fact that there are lovely dogwoods all around Charleston, ours didn't do well. But they did give me another pick so I'm at 4/10. Interesting info about John Smith also. I didn't know much of anything besides his time in Jamestown.

Carole
:dance:
We have about a dozen dogwoods around the perimeter of our land in the woods, but each time I've tried over the past 14 years to plant any they've died. It makes no sense!

Numbers will be a couple hours later than normal tonight. I'm running late on everything!

Re: Bingo - Let's Learn About Virginia! (Fourth Numbers Up!)

Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 3:39 am
by salome
Sorry for the lateness!

Today's numbers are:

2 – American Foxhound

Image

The American Foxhound dates back to mid-to-late 18th century. In 1650, Englishman Robert Brooke sailed to North America with his pack of hunting dogs. These dogs remained in the Brooke family for nearly 300 years. During the latter half of the 1700s, George Washington owned many dogs that were descended from Brooke’s. After receiving a gift of Grand Bleu de Gascogne (French Foxhounds) from the Marquis de Lafayette, he crossed the two breeds, which created the present day American Foxhound. Known to originate in Maryland and Virginia, the American Foxhound is now the state dog of Virginia.

Rumors have abounded that the breed was originally used for hunting the indigenous peoples of America. However, the breed was developed by landed gentry to be used for the sport of hunting foxes. At one point Irish Foxhounds were added to the lines to increase speed and stamina in the dog.

One quality of the breed is its musical howl that can be heard for miles. A sample is here. Obviously the breed does not do well in city settings.

Image

The American Foxhound has a very docile and sweet demeanor. In the rural, hunting-centric areas of Virginia (AKA, my neck of the woods!) they are both well-respected hunting dogs and beloved members of the family.

5 – Booker T. Washington

Image

Born to a slave in the mid-to-late 1850s, Booker T. Washington’s life held little promise early on. In Franklin County, Virginia, as in most states prior to the Civil War, the child of a slave became a slave. Booker’s mother, Jane, worked as a cook for plantation owner James Burroughs. His father was an unknown white man, most likely from a neighboring plantation. Booker and his mother lived in a one-room log cabin that served as the plantation’s kitchen.

After the Civil War, Booker and his mother moved to Malden, West Virginia, where Jane married freedman Washington Ferguson. 9-year-old Booker went to work in the nearby salt furnaces with his stepfather. His mother noticed his interest in learning and got him a book, from which he learned the alphabet and how to read and write basic words. In 1866, Booker got a job as a houseboy for Viola Ruffner, the wife of a coal mine owner. Mrs. Ruffner warmed up to Booker, and over the two years he worked there she allowed him to attend school for an hour a day during the winter months.

In 1872, Booker left home and walked 500 miles to Hampton Normal Agricultural Institute (now Hampton Unversity) in Virginia. He convinced administrators to let him attend the school and took a job as janitor to pay his tuition. The school’s founder and headmaster, General Samuel C. Armstrong, soon discovered the young man and offered him a scholarship. Armstrong became Booker’s mentor, strengthening his values of hard work and strong moral character.

After graduating in 1875, Washington graduated with high marks. For a time, he taught at his former grade school, and attended Weyland Seminary in Washington, D.C. In 1879, after speaking at Hampton’s graduation ceremonies, he was offered a job teaching at the Institute. The Alabama legislature approved $2,000 for a “colored” school, the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (now Tuskegee University). General Armstrong was asked to find a white man to run the school, but instead recommended Booker T. Washington. Under Washington’s leadership, Tuskegee became a leading school in the country.

Image

In 1895, Washington made a speech at the Atlanta Exposition that was viewed as a “revolutionary moment” by both African Americans and whites. Washington published his first biography, “The Story of My Life and Work” in 1900, followed the next year by “Up From Slavery.” In October 1901 President Theodore Roosevelt invited Washington to the White House, making him the first African American to be so honored. Both Roosevelt and his successor, William Howard Taft, used Washington as an adviser on racial matters. Because he accepted racial subservience, some African Americans, such as W.E.B. Du Bois, saw him as a traitor. Many Southern whites, including prominent members of Congress, saw Washington’s success as an affront and called for action to put African Americans “in their place.”

Image

Despite his travels and widespread work, Washington remained as principal of the Tuskegee Institute. His health was rapidly failing in 1915; he collapsed in New York City and was brought home to Tuskegee, where he died on November 14, at the approximate age of 59. He was buried on campus near the University Chapel.

Re: Bingo - Let's Learn About Virginia! (Fifth Numbers Up!)

Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 3:30 pm
by rcperryls
No picks for me today :( but great info on both subjects. :D . Still at 4/10

Carole
:dance:

Re: Bingo - Let's Learn About Virginia! (Fifth Numbers Up!)

Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 4:47 pm
by fccs
I continue to be educated, thanks! And thanks to the cute little foxhound, I'm up to three.

Re: Bingo - Let's Learn About Virginia! (Fifth Numbers Up!)

Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2016 1:39 am
by cairee
one more for me! 5/10

Re: Bingo - Let's Learn About Virginia! (Fifth Numbers Up!)

Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2016 2:00 am
by salome
Happy Friday! I do hope you're all enjoying reading all of this. If you enjoy it half as much as I'm enjoying gathering photos and info, I'll consider it a success. :dance:

Today's numbers are:

20 – Mount Vernon

Image

Mount Vernon was the plantation home of George Washington and his wife, Martha Dandridge Custis Washington. The estate is situated on the banks of the Potomac River in Fairfax County, Virginia, near Alexandria, across from Prince George’s County, Maryland. The Washington family had owned land in the area since the time of Washington’s great-grandfather in 1674.

The mansion is built of wood in loose Palladian style, and was constructed by George Washington in stages between 1758 and 1778. It occupies the side of an earlier, smaller house built by Washington’s father sometime between 1726 and 1735. It remained Washington’s country home for the rest of his life.

The present house was built in phases from 1758, by an unknown architect. This staggered and unplanned evolution is indicated by the off-center main door, which would once have been central to an earlier façade. The principal block, dating from 1758, is a two-storied corps de logis(I) flanked by two single-story secondary wings, built in 1775. These secondary wings, which house the servant halls on the northern side and the kitchen on the southern side, are connected to the corps de logis(i) by symmetrical, quadrant colonnades, built in 1778. The completion of the colonnades cemented the classical Palladian arrangement of the complex and formed a distinct cour d’honneur, known at Mount Vernon as Mansion Circle, and giving the house its imposing perspective.

The buildings have hipped roofs with dormers. In addition to its second story, the importance of the corps de logis Is further emphasized by two large chimneys, and by a cupola surmounting the center of the house. This octagonal focal point has a short spire topped by a gilded dove of peace.

The rooms at Mount Vernon have mostly been restored to their appearance at the time of George and Martha Washington’s occupancy. These rooms include Washington’s study, two dining rooms, the West Parlour, the Front Parlour, the kitchen, and some bedrooms. The interior design follows the classical concept of the exterior, but owing to the piecemeal evolution of the mansion, the internal architecture features are not consistently faithful to one specific period of the 18th century revival of classical architecture.

Image

The gardens and grounds contain English boxwoods, taken from cuttings sent by Major General Henry Lee (a Governor of Virginia and the father of Robert E. Lee), which were planted in 1786 by George Washington and now crowd the entry path. A carriage road skirts a grassy bowling green to approach the mansion entrance. To each side of the green is a garden, contained by a brick wall. These gardens grew the household’s vegetables, fruit and other perishable items for consumption.

On December 18, 1799, George Washington’s funeral was held at Mount Vernon, where his body was interred. In accordance with his will, Washington was entombed in a family crypt he had built upon first inheriting the estate. It was in disrepair by 1799, so Washington’s will also requested that a new, larger tomb be built. This was not executed until 1831, the centennial of his birth. The need for a new tomb was confirmed by an unsuccessful attempt was made to steal his body. Washington’s remains were finally moved on October 7, 1837, along with those of his wife, Martha, to the new tomb. Other members of the Washington family are interred in an inner vault, behind the vestibule containing the sarcophagi of George and Martha Washington.

Image

Upon Martha’s death in 1802, Mount Vernon was passed to George’s nephew, Bushrod Washington. Bushrod was unable to support the upkeep of the mansion on the proceeds from the property and his salary. After his death, ownership passed through a series of relatives who lacked either the will or the means to maintain the property. George Washington’s great-grandnephew, John Augustine Washington, acquired the estate in 1829, and he sold the mansion and a portion of the land to the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association. The estate served as neutral ground for both sides during the American Civil War. The mansion has been fully restored by the Association, independent of the US Government, with no tax dollars expended to support the 500-acre estate, its educational programs, or activities.

Since first opening to the paying public in 1860, the estate has received more than 80 million visitors. In addition to the mansion, visitors can see original and reconstructed outbuildings and barns, an operational blacksmith shop, and the Pioneer Farm. If you’re unable to visit, the official website has a virtual tour, available here: http://www.mountvernon.org/site/virtual-tour/

28 – Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

Image

A species of swallowtail butterfly native to eastern North America, the Tiger Swallowtail (or Eastern tiger swallowtail), is one of the most familiar butterflies in the eastern United States. It flies from spring to fall, during which it produces two to three broods. The male is yellow with four black “tiger stripes” on each fore wing. Females can be either yellow or black; the yellow morph is similar to the male, but with a conspicuous band of blue spots along the hindwing, while the dark morph is almost completely black.

Image

The first known drawing of a North American butterfly was that of an Eastern tiger swallowtail, drawn by John White in 1587.

Image

The Eastern tiger swallowtail is found in the eastern United states from southern Vermont to Florida west to eastern Texas and the Great Plains. It is common throughout its range, though rarely seen in southern Florida. In 1932 a single specimen was collected in County Wicklow, Ireland.
The species can be found anywhere deciduous forests occur. Common habitats include woodlands, fields, rivers, creeks, roadsides, and gardens. It will stray into urban parks and city yards. Adults are seen from spring to fall, the exact date varying depending on the location. It is the state butterfly of Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, and is the state insect of Virginia.

The butterflies are active during the day and are usually solitary. Adults are known to fly high above the ground. They use a wide range of food sources, most preferring nectar on sturdy plants with red or pink flowers.

Re: Bingo - Let's Learn About Virginia! (Fifth Numbers Up!)

Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2016 2:45 am
by fccs
Yay, one more for me - up to 4/10 now. I've been to Mount Vernon - Washington really knew how to pick a good location! :-)

Re: Bingo - Let's Learn About Virginia! (Fifth Numbers Up!)

Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2016 3:08 pm
by rcperryls
:) One more for me so I'm half way there! Now I will have to make a visit to Mt. Vernon!

Carole

Re: Bingo - Let's Learn About Virginia! (Fifth Numbers Up!)

Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2016 1:22 am
by salome
Happy Saturday! Today's numbers are:

4 – Appomattox Court House

Image

The Appomattox Court House is a National Historic Park of original and reconstructed nineteenth century buildings in Virginia. The village is famous as the site of the Battle of Appomattox Court House and containing the house of Wilmer McLean, where the surrender of the Confederate army under Robert E. Lee to Union commander Ulysses S. Grant took place in 1865. The park was established in August 1935. The village was made a national monument in 1940 and a national historic park in 1954.

The antebellum village started out as “Clover Hill” named after its oldest existing structure, the Clover Hill Tavern (circa 1819). The village was a stagecoach stop along the Richmond-Lynchburg stage road. The activity in Clover Hill centered around the Clover Hill Tavern. The tavern provided lodging to travelers and fresh horses for the stage line. It was also the site of organizational meetings and so when Appomattox County was established by an Act on February 8, 1845, Clover Hill village became the county seat.

Image
(Clover Hill Tavern)

Two acres were designated to be used by the new county to build a courthouse and other government buildings. The courthouse was to be built across the Stage Road from the Clover Hill Tavern. The jail was to be built behind the courthouse. The brainchild of Colonel Samuel D. McDearmon, who provided the land, remaining land surrounding the courthouse was divided into 1-acre lots. McDearmon felt that with the new status as county seat he would find people ready and willing to purchase the lots. In 1854, the train depot station stopped three miles west in Appomattox, Virginia. The district once known as Clover Hill was later renamed to Appomattox Court House continued to decline as businesses moved to the area of the Appomattox station.

According to a Union writer at the time of the American Civil War the village consisted of about “five houses, a tavern, and a courthouse – all on one street that was boarded up at one end to keep the cows out.” There were actually more dwellings and buildings in the hamlet, as well as two stores, law offices, a saddler, wheelwright, three blacksmiths and other businesses.

Image

It currently has a couple of dozen restored buildings. There are also various ruins and cemeteries within the village. The program for the development of the Park calls for a partial restoration of Clover Hill and the hamlet of Appomattox Court House to its appearance in 1865. This will constitute for the people of the United States a memorial to the termination of the American Civil War.

19 – Monticello

Image

Monticello was the primary plantation of Thomas Jefferson, who began designing and building it at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, Virginia in the Piedmont region, the plantation was originally 5,000 acres.

Image
(Model of "first Monticello)

Jefferson built what is known as the “first Monticello” in 1768. He moved into the South Pavilion (an outbuilding) in 1770, where his wife Martha Wayles Skelton joined him in 1772. After his wife’s death in 1782, Jefferson left in 1784 to serve as Minister of the United States to France. During his several years in Europe he had an opportunity to see some of the classical buildings with which he had become acquainted from his reading, as well as to discover the “modern” architectural trends in Paris. His decision to remodel his own home may date from this period. In 1794, following his service as the first U.S. Secretary of State, Jefferson began rebuilding his house. The remodeling continued throughout most of his presidency (1801-09). Although generally completed in 1809, Jefferson continued to work on the present structure until his death in 1826.

Jefferson added a center hallway and a parallel set of rooms to the structure, more than doubling its area. He removed the second full-height story from the original house and replaced it with a mezzanine bedroom floor. The interior is centered on two large rooms, which served as an entrance-hall-museum, where Jefferson displayed his scientific interests, and a music-sitting room. The most dramatic element of the new design was an octagonal dome, which he placed above the west front of the building in place of a second-story portico.

Image

After Jefferson’s death in 1826, his only surviving daughter, Martha Jefferson Randolph, inherited Monticello. The estate was encumbered with debt and Martha had financial problems in her own family because of her husband’s mental illness. She sold the estate in 1831 to James Barclay, a local apothecary. Barclay sold it to Uriah P. Levy in 1834. Levy greatly admired Jefferson, and used his private funds to repair, restore, and preserve the house. During the American Civil War it was seized and sold by the Confederate government because it was owned by a Northern officer. Levy’s estate recovered the property after the war. Levy’s heirs argued over the estate, but it was settled in 1879, when Levy’s newphew, Jefferson Monroe Levy bought out the other heirs for $10,050. Like his uncle, Jefferson Levy commissioned repairs, restoration and preservation of the grounds and house.

Image
(A portion of the grounds)


In 1923 a private non-profit organization, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, purchased the house from Jefferson Levy. The Foundation continues to operate Monticello and its grounds as a house museum and educational institution. Monticello is a National Historic Landmark, and is the only private home to be designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Image
(Extra picture because it's my favorite!)

Re: Bingo - Let's Learn About Virginia! (Seventh Numbers Up!

Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2016 1:42 am
by fccs
Monticello gives me 5/10 now. It's a beautiful house! I got goosebumps when I visited, knowing I was in Jefferson's home. (I'm a history geek, what can I say?)

And I love the snowy picture of the "nickel side" of Monticello.

Re: Bingo - Let's Learn About Virginia! (Seventh Numbers Up!

Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2016 3:16 pm
by rcperryls
fccs wrote:t's a beautiful house! I got goosebumps when I visited, knowing I was in Jefferson's home. (I'm a history geek, what can I say?)

And I love the snowy picture of the "nickel side" of Monticello.
Brings me to 6/10. I had the same feeling when I visited. History geeks understand.

Carole
:dance:

Re: Bingo - Let's Learn About Virginia! (Seventh Numbers Up!

Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2016 11:56 pm
by Squirrel
I can see why you love the last picture salome, that building looks almost surreal there in the snow with the 'lacework' around the roof.

Re: Bingo - Let's Learn About Virginia! (Seventh Numbers Up!

Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 4:44 am
by salome
Forgive the lateness, please! We had snow today which of course meant life stopped so we could watch and enjoy. This afternoon was my son's birthday party, followed by dinner with my sister-in-law from Georgia, whom of course we only see once in a while.

Today's numbers are:

3 – Arlington National Cemetery

Image

Arlington National Cemetery is a United States military cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., its 624 acres contain the dead of the nation’s conflicts beginning with the Civil War, as well as reinterred dead from earlier wars. The cemetery was established during the Civil war on the grounds of Arlington House, which had been the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee’s wife, Mary Custis. Mary (Anna) Custis Lee was a great-granddaughter of Martha Washington.

The government acquired Arlington at a tax sale in 1864 for $26,800 (approximately $410,000 in today’s dollars). Mrs. Lee sent an agent attempting to pay the property taxes assessed ($92.07), but the government turned away the agent, refusing to accept the payment. In 1874 Custis Lee, heir under his grandfather’s will, sued the United States claiming ownership and in December 1882 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Lee’s favor, deciding that Arlington had been confiscated without due process. Congress returned the estate to Lee. On March 3, 1883, Custis Lee sold it back to the government for $150,000.

The first memorials were built during and immediately after the Civil War. These were small, as the federal government expended little money on the cemetery. The first memorial constructed was the Civil War Unknowns Monument. The bodies of 2,111 Union and Confederate dead were collected and placed in a vault beneath the monument, which was sealed in September 1866. The Spanish-American War of 1898 led to the creation of several new memorials: The Spanish-American War Memorial in 1902, the Spanish-American War Nurses Memorial in 1905, and the Rough Riders Memorial in 1907.

Image

The Tomb of the Unknowns is a monument dedicated to American service members who died without their remains being identified. The soldiers entombed there are: Unknown Soldier of World War I (interred November 11, 1921), Unknown Soldier of World War II (interred May 30, 1958), Unknown Soldier of the Korean War (also interred May 30, 1958), Unknown Soldier of the Vietnam War (interred May 28, 1984). The remains of the Vietnam unknown were disinterred in May 1998, under the authority of President Bill Clinton, and were identified as those of Air Force 1st Lt. Michael J. Blassie, whose family had them reinterred near their home in St. Louis, Missouri. It has been determined that the crypt that contained the Vietnam unknown will remain empty. The Tomb has been perpetually guarded since July 2, 1937, and by the 3rd U.S. Army Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) since April 6, 1948. There is a meticulous routine which the guard follows when watching over the graves. The Tomb Guard marches 21 steps down the mat behind the Tomb, turns and faces east for 21 seconds, turns and faces north for 21 seconds, takes 21 steps down the mat, and repeats the routine until the soldier is relieved of duty at the Changing of the Guard. Twenty-one was chosen because it symbolizes the highest military honor that can be bestowed – the 21-gun salute. The guard is changed every half hour during daylight in the summer, every hour during daylight in the winter, and every two hours at night (when the cemetery is closed to the public), regardless of weather conditions. (Personal aside: I have witnessed the Changing of the Guard quite a few times and regard it as an honor to behold. The fact that the "best of the best" vie for an opportunity to guard the Tomb and honor the memory of the unknowns 24/7 is humbling. Despite my many trips to Arlington, and the viewing of other memorials, graves, etc., the Tomb of the Unknowns is what always sticks with me.)

Image

Notable burials in Arlington include 367 Medal of Honor recipients, nine of whom are Canadian. Five state funerals have been held there: Presidents William Howard Taft and John F. Kennedy, his two brothers, Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy, and General of Armies John J. Pershing. All U.S. presidents are eligible for burial at Arlington whether or not they were wartime service members, as they oversaw the armed forces as commanders-in-chief. 


6 – Brook Trout

Image

Brook trout is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family. It is native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada, but has also been artificially introduced elsewhere in North America and other continents. The species is also known as: eastern brook trout, speckled trout, brook charr, squaretail, or mud trout. A migration population in Lake Superior is known as coaster trout or, simply, coasters. The brook trout is the state fish of nine states: Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The brook trout was first scientifically described in 1814. It has a dark green to brown color with a distinctive marbled pattern of lighter shades across the flanks and back, extending at least to the dorsal fin and often to the tail. The species also features a sprinkling of red dots, surrounded by blue halos. The belly and lower fins are reddish in color. The belly, particularly of males, often becomes very red or orange when fish are spawning.

Image

Brook trout inhabit large and small lakes, rivers, springs, streams, creeks, and spring ponds. They prefer cool, clear waters and are sensitive to poor oxygenation and pollution. The warm summer temperatures and low flow rates are stressful to the population, especially larger males. Their diverse diet includes aquatic insects (caddisflies, stoneflies, mayflies), and adult forms of terrestrial insects (typically ants, beetles, grasshoppers, and crickets) that fall into the water. They also will eat crustaceans, frogs and other amphibians, molluscs, smaller fish, invertebrates, and even small aquatic mammals.

The fish is a popular game fish with anglers, particularly fly fishermen. Through the first 100 years of U.S. History the brook trout attracted the most attention of anglers. Guides were produced to the best-known trout waters in America. Declining populations in the mid-19th century caused anglers to flock to the Adirondacks in upstate New York, and the Rangeley lakes region in Maine, to pursue brook trout. In July 1916 in northern Ontario, an physician named John W. Cook caught at 14.5 lb brook trout, which stands as the world record.

(Personal aside #2: I've fished for, and caught, quite a few brook trout. Watching them in the water is amazing, almost as amazing as their taste when cooked over an open flame on a crisp autumn evening.)

Re: Bingo - Let's Learn About Virginia! (Eighth Numbers Up!)

Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 3:48 pm
by rcperryls
I have never been to Arlington but it is on my list of places to visit, especially the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. There is something especially moving about the ceremony there as well as the thought of those who are buried there. It also brings me up to 7/10. Thank you for the info and the beautiful photos.

Carole
:dance:

Re: Bingo - Let's Learn About Virginia! (Eighth Numbers Up!)

Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 8:08 pm
by fccs
I'm up to six now. Arlington is a beautiful place. It makes me sad and proud. I've been there once and saw the Kennedy grave sites, the Challenger memorial, and the Tomb of the Unknown. All of it was amazing - beyond words.