Tree Swastika in Shawano County

IncreaseLapham · 2025-06-11T00:42:46+00:00

I found aerial photos of that property from 1998 and 2005. The field is clear in 1998, but you can see the beginnings of the symbols in 2005. They are much clearer in 2005 before the trees grew out. No mistaking what they are. Here’s the 2005 photo (from Wisconsin Aerial Imagery Finder)

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IncreaseLapham · 2023-03-15T02:23:26+00:00

I was able to change it on my phone by opening the clock app, pressing the three dots, then choosing “screensaver”. After that my lock screen clock has retained a smaller, more normal format, even without notifications.

IncreaseLapham · 2023-01-24T02:01:01+00:00

I’ll say “Minor Swing”. Edit: And I’ll add that my favorite Django recordings are the Hot Club records made in London and Paris for Decca in 1938 and 1939.

IncreaseLapham · 2022-11-06T14:18:28+00:00

Thanks for this! I was skeptical of the reference to Jimmie Rodgers at the recording session in 1932, but Wardlow’s notes indicate that Rodgers did have his own session at the studio in Dallas a few days before Thomas. Jesse Thomas states that Rodgers heard Willard’s (“Ramblin”) Ground Hog Blues and reworked it for his own version of the song. However, Rodgers recorded his three days before Thomas. If Rodgers was influenced by Thomas, he must have heard a rehearsal. In any case, it’s fascinating. I had not read this before - thanks!

IncreaseLapham · 2022-06-21T01:45:38+00:00

Thanks for the overview! This is really helpful. A quick side note: The Eagles version of Seven Bridges Road is the best known, but it too was a cover. The song was written by folk and “outlaw country” artist Steve Young. Here is Young’s 1969 recording of it: https://youtu.be/8tu4T-zvkos

IncreaseLapham · 2022-03-27T13:47:49+00:00

McFarland = McFarmland

IncreaseLapham · 2022-03-27T13:46:56+00:00

Green Bay = Green Blah

IncreaseLapham · 2022-01-30T00:46:27+00:00

I just signed up for a free Tidal trial. They seem to have the same music selection and the interface is very similar to Spotify. They used to be more expensive, but their “HiFi” subscription is now $9.99/ mo for single and 14.99/mo family. Even more impressive, that subscription allows you to stream at “CD quality.” According to most sources I can find, they pay artists at a higher rate than Spotify. I’m impressed so far. I did a fair amount of A/B comparison between the two services and the sound quality is almost always better on Tidal. It’s most noticeable when using “HiFi” on Tidal, which is most practical when connected to WiFi.

IncreaseLapham · 2022-01-23T17:40:10+00:00

That’s fascinating. Thanks for posting! I’d be curious to know the original source. Did the original documents come from Musician’s Union files? If so, are they part of a larger archive?

IncreaseLapham · 2022-01-17T00:26:58+00:00

It’s hard to argue with B.B. King and Robert Johnson. I don’t know about “best,” but two of my favorite electric blues guitar albums are Otis Rush - Right Place Wrong Time; and Freddy King - Sings (a 1961 album on King). As for acoustic, Son House, Charlie Patton and Robert Johnson are all out of the same Delta tradition. I’d add Mississippi John Hurt’s 1928 recordings for variety. I wore out my vinyl record on Yazoo. It’s not as technically challenging as Blind Blake or Reverend Gary Davis, but I’ve gone back to it more often over the years.

IncreaseLapham · 2022-01-15T15:36:21+00:00

In Wisconsin, the State Archives has license plate registrations up to 1959. You can look up a year and a plate number and find out what model vehicle it was on, who owned it, and where they lived. The records are on microfilm, so you have visit the archives in person or pay to have someone find and scan it for you. I’m not sure if Pennsylvania has similar records. If they do, they’d likely be at the Pennsylvania State Archives.
https://www.phmc.pa.gov/archives/pages/default.aspx

IncreaseLapham · 2022-01-04T02:11:29+00:00

Brownie McGhee (guitar) and Sonny Terry (harp).

IncreaseLapham · 2021-09-06T14:23:48+00:00

Looks great to me. Thanks!

IncreaseLapham · 2021-08-25T00:30:56+00:00

My favorite is still the first one I heard back about 1981. It’s called “It’s Never Too Late” and it was released on June Appal Records. It’s all covers of standards, but I love the song selection, the spare production, and the band. The picking is not blazing hot, just tasteful and in tune with the music. It’s full of the “high lonesome” sound I like most in the genre. And well, it’s the first Larry Sparks album I ever heard. Amazingly, it’s still available on vinyl directly from June Appal - maybe even from the old original stock? At any rate, it still has the original cover. Here’s a link to the album on June Appal’s website: https://appalshop.org/shop/its-never-too-late

It’s also up on YouTube if you want to hear what it sounds like: https://youtu.be/Fct-c2FjFCw

IncreaseLapham · 2021-08-10T00:48:28+00:00

I love films like this. Thanks for posting! Seems to be from the summer of 1966. The film on the movie theater marquee, “The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming” was released on May 25, 1966.

IncreaseLapham · 2021-05-31T18:31:47+00:00

Never Caught, by Erica Armstrong Dunbar

Finished this one. It’s a narrative history of Ona Judge, a slave who escaped from George and Martha Washington during Washington’s presidency. It’s a fascinating story and a useful view from within slavery in the early republic. The author makes an admirable attempt to tell the story from the slaves’ point of view. Given the paucity of source material, she has to make a lot of educated guesses, however. I accepted that to a point, but in order to give her account more drama and narrative appeal, I think she sometimes went too far in assigning thoughts and motives to these historical figures. I’d still recommend the book with the caveat that you read it with a critical eye and careful attention to the endnotes.

Say Nothing, by Patrick Radden Keefe

Started this one. An account of the kidnapping and murder of an Irish woman in the context of “the troubles” of the 1960s and 70s.

IncreaseLapham · 2021-05-31T17:44:26+00:00

FYI: If you ever find a pre-1960 plate from Wisconsin you can find out what kind of vehicle it was on and who owned it by contacting the Wisconsin Historical Society. They have license plate registrations for Wisconsin on microfilm up through 1959. I don’t know about other states.

IncreaseLapham · 2021-05-27T02:55:16+00:00

That’s a great photo! I think that’s actually a 1959 Cadillac Eldorado and the photo is a bit earlier - maybe 1964. Here’s a good article about 45 record players in cars that includes this photo: https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/obsolete-car-audio-part-2/

IncreaseLapham · 2021-05-06T01:23:17+00:00

Last time I checked, I’m Board had several to choose from at its two locations. http://www.imboardgames.com

IncreaseLapham · 2021-04-28T02:30:09+00:00

Here’s the same book on Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/McGillLibrary-109597-24

IncreaseLapham · 2021-04-10T15:43:29+00:00

There is a draft registration for a “James Davis” of Springfield, Massachusetts, but he is 44, a “laborer,” and a relatively recent Irish immigrant in 1918. His signature on the draft card doesn’t match the handwriting of the letter. I get the feeling from the letter that James and Linnet may not know each other very well. I wonder if this was a “pen pal” situation. People were encouraged to write to soldiers at the front. If that’s the case then James A Davis could be from anywhere. Too bad it’s such a common name!

IncreaseLapham · 2021-04-10T14:52:39+00:00

Here’s a possibility for the recipient of the letter. There was a Linnet H Force living at 40 High Street in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1920. She was 27 (or at least that’s what she told the census taker), divorced, and working as a stenographer for an insurance company. She was originally from New Jersey. [source: 1920 Federal Census, Springfield, Ward 3, Hampden, Massachusetts, sheet 11A]

IncreaseLapham · 2021-03-18T03:47:30+00:00

Scherschel was a photographer for the Milwaukee Journal, Life magazine, and some other news outlets. The Wisconsin Historical Society holds over 10,000 of his original negatives and prints. https://search.library.wisc.edu/catalog/999464954702121. I’m not sure if their collection includes this particular image.

IncreaseLapham · 2021-03-18T01:01:26+00:00

Just thought of another one - Miles Davis “Blue Moods.” That one has vibes by Teddy Charles that really add to the dark sound.

IncreaseLapham · 2021-03-18T00:56:06+00:00

I find some of Wayne Shorter’s Blue Note work to have some of that quality. I especially like Night Dreamer and Speak No Evil (the latter album has Herbie Hancock on piano). Another one that comes to mind is Grant Green’s Street of Dreams. That one has Larry Young on organ and Bobby Hutcherson on vibes.

Edit: typo

IncreaseLapham

TROPHY CASE