Threaded Mode | Linear Mode

Gene C · 11-28-2012, 01:36 PM

And there will be a test on it in the morning Huh

Jim Page · 11-28-2012, 01:36 PM

Laurie, that was absolutely fascinating!!! Thanks so much!

As an oyster lover, I can appreciate how great Maryland oysters are. As a kid, our family lived in Apalachicola, Florida, which is also famed for its oysters, and we used to buy them by the croaker sack full-- during the "R" months!!!

My wife and I had a discussion last week about my eating raw oysters; I've enjoyed them that way on a saltine cracker with a dash of Tabasco sauce my whole life. Patty asked me to look up on the Net whether that is a prudent thing to do. After reading up, I decided all my future oysters will be cooked!!!

When we lived one summer in Everglades City, Florida, just south of Naples, we saw gigantic mounds of oyster shells. Folks there had been using the mounds for years for driveway and road paving and they were still enormous. These mounds of oyster shells had been made by the Indians in that area, and their size was a testament to how many tons of oysters they had consumed over the years.

--Jim

Rsmyth · 11-28-2012, 02:14 PM

Well I have not read Laurie's response. I will wait till I have time over the holidays. Jim, I have a friend in Naples and one day my wife and I drove down to Everglades city. That really is in the boonies. We went to the historical society. They said in the summer the mosquitos were unbearable.

Jim Page · 11-28-2012, 02:28 PM

(11-28-2012 02:14 PM)Rsmyth Wrote: Jim, I have a friend in Naples and one day my wife and I drove down to Everglades city. That really is in the boonies. We went to the historical society. They said in the summer the mosquitos were unbearable.

Richard, the summer we spent there (1966) was the pits. My dad was a pilot, had several planes at some Godforsaken airfield near Everglades City and found our family a rental apartment above a general store. Like you say, it was the boonies and the mosquitos were worse than I had seen anywhere. A true Hell-hole.

Dad was content to live in a cardboard box as long as it was near an airport but that was the last straw for my mom, my brother and me. We told my dad that we'd move to Naples and if he wanted to join us there, so be it. So that's how our family ended up in Naples, and we greatly enjoyed it. My brother still lives down there, as I mentioned in a post a minute ago to Roger.

--Jim

Laurie Verge · 11-28-2012, 03:00 PM

I will eat oysters any way but raw. I've tried them with almost every condiment known to man and just don't like them. However, that's what most of the oyster bars in Booth's day served.

As for mosquitoes, I'm going way off grid and telling a story about one of my dad's Army recruits. They were in a section of North Carolina known for its mosquitoes, and the guys dreaded going to sleep each night because their "dormitory" was a line of pup tents. They were listed on the insect menu as fresh meat of the day!

One night a stiff breeze came up and tore some of the tents from their stakes. Dad swore that one recruit was still laying down with his eyes closed and mumbling, "They got it, they got it, the damned mosquitoes got my pup tent."

P.S. Yes, Gene, there will be an oyster test tomorrow...

RJNorton · 12-01-2012, 04:19 PM

This man was one of the ushers at Ford's Theatre. What is his name?

Bill Richter · 12-01-2012, 05:03 PM

Buckingham

RJNorton · 12-01-2012, 05:17 PM

Good guess, Bill, but the correct answer is a more obscure name than Buckingham's.

Hint #1: The answer is in an article by Ed Steers in The Lincolnian, July/August edition, from 1983.

LincolnMan · (This post was last modified: 12-01-2012 08:13 PM by LincolnMan.)

Well, Roger-with that excellent hint- I looked it up. The answer is that the person is Mr. James St. Claire. Since I "cheated" and looked it up, I'll pass on the prize. Maybe Bill can have the prize, instead, for his excellent guess of "Buckingham."

Roger, I just read the entire article you referred to and noted that it says that the sofa that Rathbone sat on in the box had some restoration done to it. It wasn't exactly clear if the sofa is actually in the box in Ford's Theater. Is that the original sofa at Ford's?

RJNorton · 12-02-2012, 05:06 AM

Good morning, Bill. Here's the information I have. If anyone finds anything wrong here, please let me know. Many thanks.

Here is the list I have of "originals" at Ford's:

(1) The picture of George Washington.
(2) The sofa where Henry Rathbone was sitting.
(3) A carved-back, cane-seat parlor chair (possibly the chair Mary Lincoln was sitting in).
(4) One of the five flags that adorned the State Box on the night of the assassination.

You win a free dinner at Gautier's Restaurant. Bill wins a coupon worth 50% off on Gautier's senior early bird specials.

Jim Garrett · 12-02-2012, 09:23 AM

(12-02-2012 05:06 AM)RJNorton Wrote: Good morning, Bill. Here's the information I have. If anyone finds anything wrong here, please let me know. Many thanks.

Here is the list I have of "originals" at Ford's:

(1) The picture of George Washington.
(2) The sofa where Henry Rathbone was sitting.
(3) A carved-back, cane-seat parlor chair (possibly the chair Mary Lincoln was sitting in).
(4) One of the five flags that adorned the State Box on the night of the assassination.

You win a free dinner at Gautier's Restaurant. Bill wins a coupon worth 50% off on Gautier's senior early bird specials.

As far as the items relating directly to the presidential box:

The original sofa is in the box. It is the sofa that Rathbone was sitting on. I am told that it has not been re-upholstered. It is suppose to be very fragile and if one sat on it, you would most likely tear the fabric.

The rushed bottom chair is original to the box. It was removed or goven to a workman at the turn of the century and eventually returned by descendants.

The picture of George Washington was personal property of the Ford family and is the original from the night of the assassination. At the time, the president seal was either not in use, or something that had not been put in popular use. The engraving of Washington was used by the Fords to honor the office.

The Treasury Guard flag (large blue flag with the eagle) is at Fords and on display in the museum in the basement. Rich knows the provenance of this flag (and all the other flags) like nobody's business.

LincolnMan · 12-02-2012, 09:42 AM

Jim: Who sat in the "rushed bottom chair?' Are you talking about the chair Mary was sitting on?

L Verge · 12-02-2012, 12:34 PM

I believe the rushed bottom chair was returned to the theater within the past five years and is believed to be the one that Mrs. Lincoln used.

The frame surrounding the Washington engraving has a nick in it that I have heard might have been made by Booth in his jump. Has there ever been any real investigation into this?

LincolnMan · 12-02-2012, 12:41 PM

Now that's an interesting tid-bit Laurie!

J. Beckert · (This post was last modified: 12-02-2012 12:48 PM by J. Beckert.)

(12-02-2012 12:34 PM)L Verge Wrote: The frame surrounding the Washington engraving has a nick in it that I have heard might have been made by Booth in his jump. Has there ever been any real investigation into this?

I posted a video of the picture frame a while ago Laurie and Betty blew up a still of it. Do you still have that, Betty?

Here's the video with a close up of the nick at 1:13

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Grx1ORG4Fl0