Bet you’d never in a million years believe a newspaper story like this that appeared in the Spokane Daily Chronicle for July 6, 1926. I’ve transcribed the entire bit for your enjoyment:

RUNIC WRITINGS ON ROCK AT FIVE MILE TELLS OF BATTLE WITH INDIANS THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO

Spokane Daily Chronicle, 5 July 1926, page 1 and 2.

The discovery of a Viking grave or burial mount and the most remarkable Runic character record ever uncovered on the North American continent, telling of the visits of Norse Viking expeditions to this hemisphere many hundreds of years ago, has been make almost near the city limits of Spokane.

On a great boulder of lava rock just north of the city limits, below the cliffs that found Five Mile Prairie, and beside a flowing spring of cold water, Professor Oluf Opsjon of Dishman, an internationally known authority on Runic writings, has found the story told in indelible paint of the visit to that place in the year 1010 A.D. of a band of Norsemen and a terrific battle which took place there with the Indians.

Professor Opsjon, who, during the last few years has interpreted many of the Runic characters appearing on scattered “painted rocks” in the various parts of the North American continent announced today after a careful investigation of the new Norronna rock that never before has there told the actual details of a battle or great conflict as it was fought in those days hundreds of years before Columbus sailed the seas.

The paintings on the rock were called to the attention of Professor Upsjon by Margarete Amundsen Reynolds, N 3410 Milton street, who for years has been interested in Runic writings and the stories of the Vikings. The paintings had been seen by others before but had been considered only the marking of Indians, until Mrs. Reynolds found in them the characters typical of Runics as used by the early Norse.

Her interpretation was quickly verified by Professor Opsjon and by careful study the face of the big projecting rock he was able to translate the story of the expedition and locate where the victims of the battle with the Indians were buried.

“in all the Runic inscriptions I have been able to translate, as they are found on rocks from Labrador and the New England states, through Canada and the United States to Alaska and Puget Sound, some of them dating back in a period before the Christian era, I have never before found a record so filled with thrilling description of action as this one almost within the city limits of Spokane,” said Professor Opsjon today.

“The record left tells that the men of the party put the seven women and the baby on top of the boulder, where they could not be reached by the Indians, and the men stood about the base fighting the Indians.

“Twelve of the Norsemen were killed and the others escaped, after the women were taken prisoners and carried away by the Indians while the woman with the baby in her arms was thrown from the top of the boulder and killed.

“Later six of the survivors of the expedition returned to the spring and the scene of the battle. There they dug a grave near the rock and buried their dead, who had been stripped of everything they possessed by the Indians.

“I am developing further negatives showing the face of the rock and with a powerful magnifying glass will be able to make out further characters which will tell more of the story, I am certain.

For a thousand years at least and perhaps for two or three thousands, a well-defined and heavily traveled trail ran from the west to the east, skirting the base of the cliffs that form Five Mile prairie. At a point beside a huge boulder, standing 20 to 25 feet above the ground and perhaps 150 feet in circumference, a cold spring bubbled out of the ground. The Indians knew of this spring for it was the only water for miles.

The story as I read it from the Runic records left on this boulder and translated literally, reads:

“In the year 1010, A.D. or 916 years ago, a band of Norse Vikings, consisting of 24 men and seven women, one of the latter with a baby in arms, was following this old trail, traveling from the west toward the east. Exhausted and thirsty, the band came to the spring beside the trail and camped. The spring was not a large one and the water was drained from it.

“A party of Indians came along and they too were tired and thirsty. The found the spring empty and they immediately attacked the Norse party in an effort to drive it away.

As to the burial mound, it is plainly visible, but it would have nothing within it as the dead were stripped so no effort will be made to disturb it.

“The story here told is pained on small square surfaces of the cliff, owning to the broken up condition of the rock, and which necessitated the use of small characters. This makes it more difficult to translate the entire story but I am certain that I will be able to eventually to decipher characters which are now only partially revealed and which may be the records of a still earlier expedition of Norse there.”

Professor Opsjon makes a special request that any who may visit the paintings refrain from molesting the surface of the rocks in any way as scratching or chipping off of fragments would be certain to destroy the greatest Norse record so far discovered in this country.

“This record still further substantiates my previous claims that the Norse had been in America in numbers long before Columbus,” said Professor Opsjon, who first advanced his proofs of this through the Chronicle some two years before.

The small character drawings shown are copies of Runics taken from the rock and their meanings as translated by Professor Opsjon are, literally, “one man speaks,” and “colling (sic) now,” which fit into the story of the battle.

******

Richard Sola, Spokane historian and teller of this tale, said that Opsjon was an ordinary yokel  from Dishman in the Spokane Valley and not any sort of professor.

IS THE “TRUTH” IN THE NEWSPAPERS DIFFERENT TODAY FROM THEN????

Jennifer Braddock Duskey stands by the graves of her great-grandparents, Otto E. Hubenthal (died 1941) and his wife, Pauline Snyder (1854-1941). The place is the Moran Prairie Cemetery. The flat stone also states “and children.” These two words have grabbed Jennifer’s imagination and she is now hooked on finding her family history. “Who were those children?” she quips, “I want to know!” We agreed that it looks like a large enough plot for several grave sites.

Moran Prairie Cemetery (in southeast Spokane) was established around 1889. It became the final resting place for many early settlers including Joseph Moran (born in 1824 in St. Antoine, Canada, and died in 1890….from being gored by an angry bull). The cemetery is currently at capacity with almost 1000 graves. 

Once again, Jennifer and I urge you to seek out your ancestors and learn their stories! Each one of us HAS a story to tell. 

It’s the day of New Year’s Eve and I’m wondering who will be seeing this post today? So I decided to go wild and crazy!

This image is of a glass pup, known as a schnapshund, is an 18th-century novelty drinking vessel….with a sense of humor. Pouring a drink from this pooch’s rear end would surely get a few laughs.

The quirky form originated in Germany and trotted to America with immigrants like Caspar Wistar, who arrived in 1717 and later founded the Wistarburg Glassworks in New Jersey. While the company was known for producing serious scientific equipment for Benjamin Franklin, it clearly knew how to have a little fun too.

(Thanks to the Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine for this bit.)

Hund is the German word for dog. Think dachshund:

Grandma Google, with help from AI, told this story far better than I could. Read on: Puritans banned and discouraged Christmas celebrations, viewing them as unscriptural, pagan, and a source of social disorder. They believed the holiday was an excuse for excessive behavior like feasting, drinking, and revelry, which distracted from religious discipline and threatened the social order. In 1659, the Massachusetts Bay Colony outlawed the holiday, and those who observed it could be fined five shillings.

• Unscriptural and pagan origins: Puritans argued the Bible never commanded the celebration of Christ’s birth and that the date of December 25th was chosen to co-opt pagan festivals.
• Social disorder and “excesses”: They were strongly against the carousing, gambling, and public revelry that often accompanied Christmas, believing these activities allowed people to “do what they lust” and caused public scandal. Traditions like “wassailing,” where the poor would demand food and drink from the wealthy, were particularly offensive as they disrupted social hierarchy.
• Pagan origins: The Puritans saw the holiday’s roots in paganism and felt that its modern celebrations dishonored Jesus Christ.
• Legal ban: The Massachusetts Bay Colony passed a law in 1659 banning Christmas, fining anyone who observed it. Governor Bradford even declared December 25th a workday.
• Lingering effects: Even after the ban was repealed in 1681, the cultural aversion persisted in New England for decades, and the day was not made a federal holiday until 1870. 

One of the most recognizable symbols of the holiday season is the Christmas tree. They can be seen in homes, public spaces and many prominent locations everywhere during December. 

Did you know that most Christmas trees that we buy from those corner lots are raised on tree farms? Christmas trees are an agricultural product with roughly a million acres dedicated to tree farming. The top tree producing states are Oregon, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Washington. 

Did you know that approximately 25-30 million real Christmas trees are sold in the U.S. every year? 

Did you realize it can take as long as 15 years to grow a typical tree?

Did you know that the Germans are credited with bringing the first Christmas trees into the home and decorating them in the spirit of Christmas. The first recorded reference dates back to the 16th century.

Did you guess that the most common Christmas tree species are balsam fir, Douglas fir, Fraser fir, noble fir, Scotch pine, Virginia pine and white pine. (Why some capitalized and some not??) 

Why not be different this year and have a Charlie Brown Christmas tree? You could find a little scraggy pine most anywhere and “rescue” it from oblivion. It’s one of my favorites!

To me, this candle-lighted village epitomizes the concept of collateral research. Everybody in the village knows everybody and most of them are related.

Pamela Bell Dallas gave a super presentation to EWGS in October, 2025. She defined Collateral Research as a common term in genealogy, meaning investigating relatives who are not direct line ancestors….. like aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings …… to hopefully find information about a direct ancestor.

“Why do this?” she asked. “To help us over come so-called brick walls by finding the answers and information you’ve been seeking “forever.” 

Dallas explained that people can be tied together by blood, circumstances, law, emotions, common beliefs and common experiences. Two little girls of the same age formed a bond that lasted a lifetime even though they were cousins with different parents and surnames. “The strongest family ties are between women,” Dallas quipped. 

Rather than turn this bit into a 20″ long column, I’ll refer you to Grandma Google. Ask her “how to do collateral research” and you’ll have enough hits to occupy a full day of your time.

I want to share my story: While researching James, the youngest son born in the early 1800s, I concentrated on him like most all beginners do. WELL.  The oldest child, a daughter, born 20 years before James, never married but cared for siblings and parents all her life. She joined DAR and was very proud of her ancestry. Her obituary reflected this passion for it was inches long listing all her ancestors! Which of course, were James’ ancestors too. DUH on me and please learn from my silliness. 

How many ardent Zags fans known where the name Gonzaga originated? I did not, nor did my rapt-BB-fan-son-in-law. 

“Gonzaga was named for Aloysius Gonzaga who was born in the castle of Castiglione on March 9, 1568. As a youth, and often with his father, he traveled widely in Italy and Spain. In 1581 he formed the resolution of becoming a Jesuit, renouncing his noble family’s wealth in favor of his brother (to their father’s dismay). Before the end of his novitiate, he passed a brilliant public act in philosophy…… when he was in Spain he distinguished himself in philosophy. 

“In 1591, while in Italy, a famine and pestilence broke out. Though in delicate health, he devoted himself to the care of the sick and while serving others he himself fell ill in early March.

“Aloysius Gonzaga died on June 21, 1591.”

It was Father Joseph Cataldo who, in 1887, was the founder of the school in Spokane, named the school after his fellow Italian saint. St. Aloysius Gonzaga is known as the patron saint of youth. 

“Speaking kindly to others can be a challenge if we are convinced that we can clean up the world with the mop and pail of our own knowledge and opinions.”  (unknown)

“Worry is a blob monster, slowly and relentlessly engulfing everything it touches.”  (Matthew 6:31)

“Money, even if it does not bring you happiness, will at least help you be miserable in comfort.”  (Helen Gurley Brown)

“The trick is to stop thinking of it as your money.”  (IRS auditor)

“A bank is a place that will lend you money if you an prove that you don’t need it.”  (Bob Hope)

“Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.”  (Oscar Wilde)

“If you think nobody cares if you’re alive, try missing a couple of payments.”  (Earl Wilson)

“A bargain is something you can’t use at a price you can’t resist.” (Franklin Jones)

“I have enough money to last me the rest of my life unless I buy something.”  (Jackie Mason)

“What is the difference between a taxidermist and a tax collector? The taxidermist takes only your skin.”  (Mark Twain)

And lastly, my favorite:  “Recognize and beware that our time is short and life has a way of consuming the time we have.”  (Ephesians 5:16)

“If you aren’t where you are, you are no place.”  (Col. Potter, M*A*S*H)

From Henry David Thoreau:

• The universe is wider than our views of it
• It’s not worthwhile to go round the world to count cats in Zanzibar
• Things do not change; we change
• Money is not required to buy the necessities of the soul
• Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life?

“The counsel of fools is all the more dangerous the more of them there are.” (King Olaf of Norway, 938-1006 AD)
“Never suppress a generous thought.”  (Camilla Kimball, 1894-1987)
“Too often we hear what we want to hear instead of what we should have heard.”  (Brent L. Top, author)
“Disappointment comes to visit on occasion but should never be allowed to stay.”  (Richard Norby, author)
“The defects of great men are the consolation of the dunces.”  (Benjamin Disraeli, 1804-1881, British Prime Minister)
“Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.”  (Chief Seattle)
“They were such seriously futile people that she found herself wanting to cry out against their ready-made justifications for pointless lives.”  (Frank Herbert, Children of Dune)

You may quote any of these, anytime and to anybody. (smile)

Did you catch the recent news story that the U.S. Mint won’t be making anymore pennies. Why? Well the story explains that it costs $3.69 to make a single penny, that’s why. But shed no tears yet, there are still an estimated 300 billion pennies remaining in circulation and they are still legal tender.
But consider some oft-quoted expressions that soon will fade:

• A penny for your thoughts
• Cost a pretty penny
• A penny saved is a penny earned
• Find a penny, pick it up and all day long you’ll have good luck.
• No more “pinching pennies”
• Worth every penny
• I’ll give you my 2-cents worth
• Penny-wise and pound-foolish
• He’s a 2-bit criminal

What about my favorite penny, the 1943 zinc coated steel penny…… so made to save copper for the wartime effort:

Introducing myself, I often say “I was born the year of the Black Penny….who knows what that is?”  And most do not. When I was about eight years old, I collected a pint jar of black pennies…..wish I still had them today.