Thoughts on UT Basketball

I believe that Pat Summitt should dress as a cheerleader for every game against Florida in the future. It seemed to work like a charm for the guys last night. Maybe we also need to have Peyton Manning motivate the players before the game and be in attendance too!

I love the way that Pat Summitt and Bruce Pearl get along so well with one another.

Congratulations to the team on a big win over Florida last night!

Old Newspaper

Cow Hampshire has a post about the oldest newspaper in the United States, the New Hampshire Gazette. It's a very interesting read.

Fascinating Iowa Case

There's an interesting 19th century missing persons case with a link to recent DNA studies that is just absolutely fascinating at IAGenWeb.

Sevier County Genealogy Conference - March 9 & 10

SEVIER COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY System HISTORY CENTER to hold 4th Annual GENEALOGY CONFERENCE:
“COLLECTING AND PRESERVING OUR MOUNTAIN HERITAGE”
The Sevier County Public Library System and the Sevier County Office on Aging & Fort Sanders Sevier County Senior Center invite you to attend the 4th Annual Sevier County Genealogy Conference on March 9th and 10th at the Fort Sanders Sevier County Senior Center at 1220 West Main Street in Sevierville. The conference will begin at noon on Friday, March 9th and conclude at 4:30 pm the following day.

Featured speakers include: Anita Finger, an experienced researcher for the Eastern Band of Cherokee; Cherel Henderson, Director of the East Tennessee Historical Society; J. Mark Lowe, CG, a full-time professional family history instructor; Annette Hartigan, Great Smoky Mountain National Park Librarian; and Dr. George Schweitzer, Alumni Distinguished Professor at the University of Tennessee.

Conference sessions include the following: The Territory South of the French Broad; Wonder What’s Over the Mountain; Finding My Way Home Again; What the National Park Library Offers; Over the Mountain, Across the Plains; Balancing on North Carolina; Using that Brick Wall as a Foundation; and Cherokee Research.

Also included in the conference fee is a storytelling dinner on the Friday evening of the conference. Dr. Schweitzer will be the featured presenter for the storytelling dinner which will begin at 6:00 pm. on Friday, March 9, 2007.

Conference fees are $45.00 per person for both days; early-bird registration, which runs through March 1st, is $40.00. Registration forms and schedules for the conference are available at any of the Sevier County Public Library System facilities and online at http://www.sevierlibrary.org. For additional information, please call (865)908-7988 or email Theresa Williams, SCPLS Genealogy Manager, at twilliams@sevierlibrary or Tim Fisher, SCPLS Genealogist, at tfisher@sevierlibrary.org.

Cousin Seeks Re-Election

My 6th cousin once removed, Haley Barbour, is seeking re-election as the governor of Mississippi. Our shared ancestry is via the Fowlkes family.

Sunrise

This is the view that I saw this morning as I walked across the campus from the library toward the business division to teach my class, which is housed under the Stokely Memorial Cafeteria (on the right). The other building is the Student Activities Center. It was a lovely sunrise!

Of shrinking cemeteries and missing washtubs

The headline "He's Lost Without A Washtub" certainly caught my attention. His headline links to a story that talks about a cemetery in South Carolina which has shrunk from about 200 graves to only 8. Read the full story.

Snowy Thoughts

I love snow! Now, I don't really want the 8 feet plus they have in upstate New York, but I do wonder why those folks are being so greedy. Wouldn't they share just one foot of snow with those of us down here in East Tennessee who haven't seen a decent snowfall in years? That should give all the teachers a couple of snow days which they are really longing to get!

Endangered Cincinnati Graveyard

LINK - A Wesleyan cemetery in Northside in endangered. The city and the state are arguing over whether it is public or private and whether the city has to do anything about it with the abandoned cemetery law. Ultimately, it will probably be up to individuals to save it!

Block Island 2007 Census

My Rathbone family was one of the original families to settle Block Island. Apparently there is now a tradition to take a census on groundhog's day to count everyone who is wintering on the island, year-round residents and visitors included. This year's census count was down 15 from last year's count. (Hat tip to Genealogue)

Clouds

On the morning of January 27th, we had some neat clouds. I took several photos. On this first one, I accidentally had the flash on, but I kind of liked the artsy effect so I kept it. You can view other photos at flickr.

Lemon-Blueberry Bundt Cake

I found a recipe over at Shawn's that I just had to try for Lemon-Blueberry Bundt Cake. I think I'll add more liquid to the glaze next time to make it a little runnier. It's a good cake, but I recommend cooking it a little less than the suggested hour.