This Day in Horn Family History

On July 7, 1890, my great-grandmother Jennie May (Jane) Fishbaugh Horn died in Anthony, Harper Co., Kansas, at the age of 22. She was my great-grandfather John Henry Franklin Horn's first wife and it has been very difficult to find much information about her. The one photo we have of her shows her to be a beautiful lady. Her son Frank was my grandfather.

For more family photos see my Horn/Wharton Ancestry set here.

On this date in 1859 Big Ben went into operation in London. It sits 320 feet high atop St. Stephen's Tower. I've seen it twice and took these shots in 2005 and 2010.

One of Our Favorite Peaceful Spots

This spot even made it onto the cover of one of Peggy's books. (Not this photo though.)

A Black Rat Snake Crosses the Path

A National Hero

33 years ago today, President Reagan was shot in an attempted assassination. Several years ago, Peggy and I had the great fortune of meeting former Secret Service Agent Jerry Parr and his wife, aboard a cruise ship. Parr is one of the nation's true heroes. He pushed the President into the limousine immediately after the shots rang out. He was also the first to notice blood and ordered the destination changed from White House to hospital. This probably saved Reagan's life as even he did not know yet that he had been shot. Thank you, Jerry Parr. (Parr is now a pastoral counselor.)

Horn Family Heritage

See my Horn/Wharton Ancestry set on Flickr.


Extended Horn Family about 1951.

My sister Ellene's notes:

"Horn Family about 1951
Back - Ellene, Roy, John, Grandpa Frank [I think he is holding Ted], Ed, Ruby's mom [I think it might be Nellie Horn Beeler or Pauline's mom], Pauline.
Front - Pat, Rose, Granny Horn, Ruby, Great Grampa, Nedra, Johnny.
Very front - Ken & Cleo."

Mrs. Link’s Pet Catamounts

Researching my Pennsylvania heritage, I came across this fascinating item. A catamount is a mountain lion. —KH

The New York Times, October 20, 1897

Valued Possessions of a Pennsylvania Woman Who is a Great Hunter.

Reading, Penn., October 19 – The sight of a woman dressed in pretty hunting costume, gun on shoulder, and two wildcats by her side, greeted a party of chestnut hunters on Neversink Mountain, near this city, yesterday morning.

The female Nimrod was Mrs. Helen Link, daughter of Charles Long, the trucker on White House Road, whose little farm produces each year a large amount of the finest truck raised in this section, although it is situated on this side of one of the stoniest hills in this neighborhood.

Mrs. Link derives great enjoyment from the hunt, and has been accustomed for some years to invade, unattended, the wildest haunts on the mountains in this section, in quest of game.

About a year ago, while on one of these trips near Joanna Heights, Berks County, she stopped to rest and inclined her gun against an old oak tree. Noticing a whole in the side of the trunk, she placed her hand into it, and was startled to have it slightly nipped.

Nothing daunted, she continued the investigation, and was rewarded by bringing from the hallow tree two tiny catamounts. She got them home without coming across the parent felines, fed, fondled, and cared for them in every way, and to-day, nearly full grown, they follow Mrs. Link and love her like a faithful dog would.

Her pets are male and female, the former named Josie, the latter Nancy. They are very tame and get along nicely with half a dozen dogs and a number of domestic cats, also pets of the household. Josie and Nancy frequently make trips over the mountains alone, and always return before nightfall. They respond when Mrs. Link calls them and are more than pleased when, one at a time, they are permitted to nestle in her lap.

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Pintail

Facebook Posters: What I Dislike About Them

Yes, I enjoy the connectedness that Facebook provides. But there are a few things that get my goat. The two that follow have to do with those picture posters — photos with sayings — that circulate in abundance.

1. The Eternal Typo

Typos and grammatical errors in those picture posters can be shared ad infinitum and thus go on forever. I understand typos are inevitable in status updates and comments posted. Most people don’t proof such things (editors usually do, but, alas, editors make mistakes too). But people attach clever sayings or heartfelt statements to photos (which are sometimes theirs and sometimes pirated from the Internet — but that’s another issue) and save them to their FB picture albums to be seen by all their friends and friends of friends.

Thus, I’ve seen an abundance of apostrophes where none belongs — the plural of mom as “mom’s,” for example, and so forth. Or outright misspellings shared over and over and over again. Drives me crazy.

2. Intimidation

But what’s worse is the intimidation of some of these custom posters. This is the Facebook equivalent of the chain email, wherein you are cursed if you fail to forward it. Now, if you don’t share the FB pic you’re in big trouble. Simply by letting your eyes fall across the words on your FB homepage you suddenly are under obligation.

I’m sorry, I don’t buy it. Here’s one that’s in especially poor taste that many have shared (please don’t):

“Do you love Jesus?

If yes click ‘share’

If not keep on scrolling.”

So the fact that I don’t stop and disseminate this verbal intimidation means I don’t love Jesus? I’m sorry. You’ve given me two choices, neither of which I like. I choose option 3: I will keep on scrolling AND love Jesus. (And maybe unfriend you.)

This is bad taste, bad logic, and bad theology. And it leaves a bad taste in my mouth for Facebook. Don’t threaten people with something as precious and sacred as one’s love for Jesus.

Some of these even phony up statistics: “97% of you will not share this.” And then some bogus assertion about you being special if you’re in the 3%. Sorry, it’s not a scientific poll!

Unfinished Landmarks Worth A Visit

It's one of five "Unfinished Landmarks Worth A Visit" according to gadling.com. When I saw the title I knew the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, would be on the list. It was at the top of Gadling's list:

Barcelona, Spain: La Sagrada Familia Still under construction after more than a century, The Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia, which translates to Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family (see image above), is one of the most visited monuments in the country, with nearly 3 million visitors each year. Scheduled for completion sometime between 2026 and 2028 (as a best guess, anyway), the tower and cathedral was visited by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.

Peggy and I visited in 2007. Evidence that it was unfinished was quite obvious: