Bill’s blog archive: Daily Posts

The Great Escape 02

The Great Escape Edition – Research Tour Travelog

Started the day on U.S. Highway 50 west bound from the railroad town of Lamar, Colorado and arrived in Bent County, heart of the “The Great American Desert.”  The Rockies are still nowhere to be seen and East Graveyard Creek is dry. I pass through other towns that were along the Santa Fe Trail; Fort Lyon; Las Animas; La Junta; Swink; Rocky Ford. There are thousands upon thousands of pale-yellow butterflies dancing back and forth across the highway. On the bridge over the Apisharpa...
20f8750f1b7b578b195f7224768eb362
20f8750f1b7b578b195f7224768eb362
20f8750f1b7b578b195f7224768eb362

The Quiet Edition – Research Tour Travelog

On US Highway 34 west bound from McCook, NE. Past the Frenchman Valley Co-Op Silo. Rail cars on the left of me, cornfields to the right, black clouds up ahead. There are dozens and dozens of flag poles at the Culbertson NE cemetery.  Each one has at least one small metal plaque attached, bearing the name of a veteran from the area, the year he was born, and the year he died. There is a headstone for SGT Harold L. Propp, of the 680th Glider Field Artillery Battalion. He was killed in...
2014 08 23 13.09.33
2014 08 23 13.09.33
2014 08 23 13.09.33
2014 08 23 13.09.33
2014 08 23 13.09.33
2014 08 23 13.09.33
2014 08 23 13.09.33
2014 08 23 13.09.33
2014 08 23 13.09.33
2014 08 23 13.09.33
2014 08 23 13.09.33
2014 08 23 13.09.33
2014 08 23 13.09.33
2014 08 23 13.09.33
2014 08 23 13.09.33

The Good Life Edition – Research Tour Travelog

At the Kansas-Nebraska state line is a white chapel. It is the Immanuel Lutheran Church. A small cemetery is behind the building.   On US-136, it is late August Summer hasn’t left yet 5 miles to Jansen, another 5 miles to Fairbury And 5 miles back is the valley of the Big Blue River And where am I, lost in this dry-land sea of gold and green The road a carpet, or a stone-paved direction to be obeyed at all costs Church cemeteries full of Germans and Swedes that...
Oval Office Reproduction
Oval Office Reproduction
Oval Office Reproduction
Oval Office Reproduction
Oval Office Reproduction

The Harry Truman Edition – Research Tour Travelog

Today I visited the Harry Truman Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri. I think that this is one of the finest exhibits about this great man, and that Truman was among our most admirable presidents. In the section on Truman’s decision to drop the Atomic Bomb on Japan, there is a sign-in book for visitors to use to express their feelings about this momentous event. What I wrote was: I was reunited with my MIA luggage in Lawrence, Kansas, after having left it behind in my hotel...
StLouisNationalArchives2
StLouisNationalArchives2
StLouisNationalArchives2
StLouisNationalArchives2
StLouisNationalArchives2
StLouisNationalArchives2
StLouisNationalArchives2

The Holy Grail Edition – Research Tour Travelog

The National Personnel Records Center is really hallowed ground for a military researcher. I arrived at National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis a half hour early for my scheduled start of research at 7:30.  Assistance from the staff was outstanding, and I made some wonderful new contacts, in addition to folks I've worked with for the better part of two decades.  While there, I researched files for: Leo Boutte – Navy Raymond Grenier - Navy Bernard S. Snyder -...
Hertz Donut Crop
Hertz Donut Crop
Hertz Donut Crop
Hertz Donut Crop

The Hertz Donut Edition – Research Tour Travelog

Up at 4:45  a.m., so I could find a Hertz location to replace my vehicle (road damage to front bumper, cause unknown) and found a place at 6:30. My replacement vehicle is a minivan called the Interstate Rocket Ship, or I.R.S. Also, I lost some of my luggage - unless it is buried in the van! On the road, I saw a bumper sticker that said “DADDD,” which stands for “Dads Against Daughters Dating Democrats," so at least I know where I am. On today's museum tour itinerary was the Air and...
Sherman Tank1
Sherman Tank1
Sherman Tank1
Sherman Tank1
Sherman Tank1
Sherman Tank1
Sherman Tank1
Sherman Tank1
Sherman Tank1
Sherman Tank1

The Sherman Tank Edition – Research Tour Travelog

It was a rough ride on US-50 from Hutchinson, KS, to Wichita. Cars going at 70 MPH in each direction, with no visible center meridian. Lots of construction work as well. Part of the plastic of the front bumper of my Hertznbeigel Research-Mobile somehow detached from the rest of the vehicle, so, at low speeds, my car sounds like a tank missing a tread. At 10 a.m., I had a great tour of the Kansas Aviation Museum next to the Wichita Airport. It turns out that about 70% of all aircraft ever...
Prohibition1
Prohibition1
Prohibition1
Prohibition1
Prohibition1
Prohibition1

The Prohibition Edition – Research Tour Travelog

Found out alcohol is not served or sold in Kansas until noon, so breakfast was ruined. In Liberal, Kansas, I visited the Mid-America Air Museum. Great collection of vintage aircraft; it's said to have the fifth largest collection in the United States. Very impressive B-25 on display. Liberal was home of a B-24 training base, so there were all sorts of artifacts in connection with the work that went on there during the War: one item was a B-24 Pilots Manual. Just outside of Liberal,...
Stuckeys
Stuckeys
Stuckeys
Stuckeys

The Stuckey’s Edition – Research Tour Travelog

In which Bill's thumb learns how to take a selfie. Forty miles out of Santa Rosa, I came across a Stuckey’s that looked like it had been destroyed in a riot. Driving along the US-54 Business Loop in Tucumcari, I saw ten burned out buildings, many of which were gas stations or restaurants. The scene is nothing short of post-apocalyptic. US-54 running north-east from Tucumcari is so straight that it looks like it will take you off the edge of the earth. Ate lunch under a shady tree on...
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B47dea883cd5e8e3178d8dde80719e32
B47dea883cd5e8e3178d8dde80719e32
B47dea883cd5e8e3178d8dde80719e32

Shambala Edition – Research Tour Travelog

My first full day on this interstate hunting expedition. Up at 5:45 AM. Cool in Williams, AZ, probably about 55 degrees. The complimentary breakfast in the hotel reminded me me of sleeping over at a friend’s house and then having breakfast with his family the next morning. And, in keeping with the ideal of providing the best service to my clients at the lowest reasonable cost, my breakfast consisted of a small bowl of raisin bran, orange juice, and a tiny red apple. Don’t ask me how eating...
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