pioneer's blog

A full day of activities are scheduled tomorrow, May 10th in celebration of Clay County's 150th birthday. Activities have been planned by Dr. Cynthia Stone, chair of the Historical Commission, and a few hard working volunteers.

Morning activities and a parade at noon are scheduled at the Clay County Fair Grounds. Activities continue at 7PM in GCS at Spring Park with a street dance.

Old-fashioned games for kids are planned, including sack races, table games, and egg and spoon races. Word has it that the games and activities start around 10 AM.

Science fiction fans can also enjoy an appearance by Gil-Man from the 1954 movie "The Creature from the Black Lagoon". The movie was the first under-water 3-D film and was partially filmed in Green Cove Springs.

There's a lot of sadness and trauma going on in the world at the moment, so it might be worth reflecting on the death of a very important person, which almost went unnoticed recently.

Larry LaPrise, the man who wrote 'The Hokey Pokey' died peacefully at the age of 93. The most traumatic part for his family was getting him in the coffin.

They put his left leg in...and then the trouble started.

Oh, come on and laugh...You know it's funny.

This is the story of Calvin Hastings and the day he just couldn't pull himself together to make it to court.

Calvin Hastings lived quietly in the woods of SC near Graniteville with his wife, Nan, and their children. All of his neighbors had lived near each other for decades in happy accord. One of his neighbors was Wiley LLoyd, believed to be the brother of Nan. Now Wiley had reason to believe that Hastings was not being good to Nan, so Wiley said, "If you hurt her again, I'm gonna kill you."

Mmmm, doggie! That surely did make Hastings mad! He'd get even if it was the last thing he did! It was common knowledge that Lloyd was a married man, but also had "living arrangements" and children by his wife's sister, Lizzie. ( Now isn't that a beautiful day in the neighborhood?) So, Hastings brought charges of adultery against Lloyd, and a trial date was set.

Someone suggested we start a recipe blog, so here goes...

Beef Short Ribs

Ingredients:

3-4 pounds beef short ribs--One large thick sliced onion--2 cans beef broth and equal amount of water--flour-- 3 to 4 minced garlic cloves.

Season short ribs with garlic mixture of 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Dust  short ribs with small amount of flour and brown in oil on stove top in a large Dutch oven. Add 2 cans beef broth and equal amount of water ( enough liquid to cover meat.). Add minced garlic and sliced onion to season. Increase or decrease seasonings as desired.

Fellow Bloggers and Guests,

Thank you for taking the time to read this very long blog. I hope this blog will answer some of your questions, which I have tried to answer in the past.

Citizens for Term Limits and Accountability Committee (CTLAC) find it odd that some individuals consistently chastise citizens for their non participation in local government, yet when a group of citizens take an active part in their government, those same individuals, along with some elected officials, inundate the citizens with attacks and criticism. I realize no amount of facts will satisfy anyone who consistently uses false information to support their position, but I thought I'd give the truth one more chance. Here's everything one might want to know about the CTLAC and a history of the debate with the Charter Review Commission. This is a long and extensive. I had to take several naps during the research and preparation phase. Please feel free to do the same--just pleas come back.

My FOP sources tell me the sheriff sent a letter 10 days ago to the FOP advising them he had a prior commitment and wouldn't be able to attend the FOP (union) sponsored "debate" on Jan. 3. The same sources told me the ruling from the special arbitrator came down last week  and sided with the sheriff in the labor dispute.

The Jan. 3 "debate", sponsored by the union, may be a lot like the one in Jacksonville on Dec. 3. The Times-Union called this a political rally for the union's choice for State Attorney.

September 7, 1918

Dear Sister,

No doubt you will be surprised to hear from me. This leaves me well and enjoying good health. I hope you are the same.

We had a heavy rain yesterday with lots of hail the size of a small rock. That was my first hail to see in France.

One year ago today we sailed from Hoboken. It sure does seem like it was a thousand years ago. I have had some thrilling experiences during the year and expect to have some more before long.

I am sending in this letter some names and addresses in case of any accident. Please write to them informing them of my accident, as you and father will be notified first.

The art and act of letter writing is gone. We live in a world of email, text messaging, blogging, and blackberries, to name a few conveniences that keep us from sending and receiving letters with personal messages.

It's the Christmas season and many of you are fortunate enough to still have parents and grandparents alive to be with you at this special time. As for me, my precious parents are gone, and I never had the honor of knowing my grandparents, since they died before I was born. I wanted a grandparent so badly that I would "adopt" my friend's grandparents when I was a child. All I wanted was a grandparent's arms to reach around me any day of the year.