Tombstone Tuesday :: George and Minnie Linvill

Minnie Belle Shuder was born August 10, 1878 near Oswego, Kosciusko County, Indiana. She was the daughter of Isaac and Nancy Jane (Lavering) Shuder, my Dad's grandparents and therefore was a sister of my fraternal grandmother, Elsie Shuder Wiseman.

According to their Kosciusko County Marriage Application, Minnie was married in Indianapolis to Richard Harry Larrabee, son of Cornelius and Meliss (Conn) Larabee., on August 10, 1906. She was 28 years old and he was 36. When their only child, Richard J. Larrabee, was born on March 5, 1915 she was 36 years old. However, I'm not positive that they were the birth parents as her obituary states that Richard was her foster son.

Apparently, her husband went missing for a while. In an article in the Northern Indianian dated January 17, 1918 we find that "Mrs. R. H. Laribee [sic], the daughter of N. L. [sic] Schuder of Barbee Lakes, has asked Marshal C. W. Douglass to assist in locating her husband who was missing for more than a month. Inquiry was being made at Indianapolis where he was last heard from December 11th. He was a carpenter and for a number of months was employed by the government and worked at Camp Taylor and other army cantonments. Early in December he accompanied his wife here and returned to Indianapolis, where their goods were stored, intending to move them overland to this county. Mrs. Laribee received a letter from him after he went to Indianapolis which stated that because of the bad weather the draymen wished to postpone the trip for a few days. That was the last heard of him. Mrs. Laribee says her husband was suffering from a severe cold when he went to Indianapolis, and says it is possible that he may have become ill and taken to a hospital. He has a brother in Indianapolis."

A note in my cousin Caroline's files stated that Richard was never heard from again. However, Minnie and Harry R. Larrabee were found in the 1920 census living in Warsaw, Wayne Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana (page 230). Harry was listed as a 50 year old carpenter and Minnie was 41 years old. Listed with them was a son, Richard, age 4 years.

It seems that all did not go well for Minnie and her husband. An index of Whitley County Marriage Records show that Minnie was married to George W. Linville on May 18, 1928. I haven't gotten a copy of the marriage application yet but the index gives her last name as Schuder instead of Larabee. It should also tell us whether her first marriage ended by divorce or death of Richard Harry.

Minnie passed away at age 68 on November 27, 1946 at her home in Millersburg, Indiana. George was 70 years old and still living in Millersburg when he passed away on April 10, 1949 while visiting his stepson, Richard Larabee in Goshen, Indiana. His obituary stated that George was a wood worker and had formerly resided at Churubusco, Warsaw, and New Paris. Survivors were listed as a step son, Richard Larabee, and a step grandson, James Larabee.

George and Minnie are interred at the North Webster Cemetery in North Webster, Kosciusko County, Indiana. They are in the same cemetery as her parents and several siblings, although in a different section.


Thanks to wonderful directions from my cousin Charlene, I found Minnie's gravesite. It is in the southernmost section of the cemetery and the marker is the first one in the row just beyond the big bush. You can see the blue waters of beautiful Lake Webster in the background.

GEORGE W. / 1878-1919
MINNIE B. / 1878-1946
LINVILL
Photograps taken May 21, .. - Copyright © .. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman

The Drawing Board

I find it enormously satisfying to follow the framebuilding process from the drawing board. Maybe it is because as a painter, I have grown accustomed to "needing to know" the process that underlies the finished object.

You can always spot a painter among the crowds in a museum or an art gallery: They are the one trying to get close enough to a painting to see the brush strokes, examining the side of a canvas, looking for cracks in the paint, possibly even sniffing at it.

This habit has followed me as I explore the world of custom bicycles. In the photo above is a drawing board of a local frame builder whose work I greatly admire - the same person responsible for this lovely bottom bracket.

Cold Snap and Frozen Waterfalls

The mountain sustained several days of sub-freezing temperatures between Feb 16th-20th and the trend is expected to continue for the next six days.

During that time numerous frozen waterfalls formed along the Nisqually-Paradise Road. Here are a few images... The approach is rather short, and the ice seems to be getting thicker each day.

It was cold and blustery Friday and Saturday, particularly on the Muir Snowfield. I ran into a number of parties that turned back from their Camp Muir and/or summit plans because of the winds and temperatures. A few hardy groups did make it to Camp Muir on Saturday night, but those east winds and cold temps intensified with elevation and in the end, most parties lost their summit steam. And rightfully so, I recorded -7° F and a steady 20-25 MPH wind at Camp Muir.

On Feb 10/11th, Ted cleared a mountain of snow at Camp Muir. Thankfully, his handy work was still intact, as access to the Public Shelter, restroom, and emergeny radio remained easy.

Rustic Montana Barns

Sunday, September 18th - - While traveling back north on state road 541, along the Montana Bale Trail, I saw these two barns near the road and just “had” to stop. I love the colors on the weathered siding, especially on the barn on the left. The sun was playing hide and seek with the clouds and a brisk wind was blowing...

Quail

I heard this little scaled quail calling and calling the other morning so went out and took his (or her) photo. First it sat in the old, dead cactus then it made its way to the ground and just walked off. These are called scaled quail as the feathers are supposed to look like the scales on a fish. (dumb) We have lots of these quail here. They are one of the few birds I really like but they aren't that smart or so it seems. They frequently run out in front of cars. If one goes the whole flock goes. I keep water for them in metal hubcaps. They like their water on the ground and not very deep. I tried a deeper pan once and the tiny puff-ball babies drowned. I was so sad I had caused their death. They got in and couldn't get out. Now only very shallow pans for the quail.

Pirate Hideout and Ocean Waves

Ahoy! This is where the pirates be hiding!

And this is the beautiful ocean, full of big waves today!

Summer's Eve at Hollow Rock

This is the first image I've made at Hollow Rock in quite some time. Hollow Rock is one of my favorite places to photograph in winter, but for some reason I don't go there much in the summer. I don't know why, since it is a great place to shoot no matter what the season. At any rate, this image was made at 9:37 p.m. It is a 30 second exposure shot with the aid of a 3-stop reverse-graduated neutral-density filter. The hardest part about making this image was tolerating the mosquitoes. They were AWFUL!

One More Hibiscus

A water-covered tropical hibiscus in Arizona.

Doctor Mower

Hubby's new toy mower (a.k.a. tax refund).

It's a DR mower, but he insists that it prefers to be called "Doctor Mower".


He calls this "the Rosetta Stone of Mower Instructions."


Before.


After.

Down Town

One of the main streets in Clatskanie.

Choosing Your Gospel: Rivendell vs Bicycle Quarterly

For those who are interested in classic touring bicycles that combine speed, maneuverability and comfort, we live in interesting times. Such bicycles have gained in popularity over the past several years, with many custom framebuilders and manufacturers introducing touring models into their line-ups. And while trends like this are not easy to trace, I think it is fair to say that Grant Petersen of Rivendell and Jan Heine of Bicycle Quarterly deserve a great deal of the credit. Rivendell is a small bicycle manufacturer witha distinct philosophy, which they promote with a tireless output of literature. The Bicycle Quarterly (review here) is a niche cycling magazine, with a focus on classic bicycles in the French randonneur tradition.



To the untrained eye, the type of bicycle promoted by these two camps may seem similar, if not identical: lugged steel frames, wide tires, fenders, racks, classic luggage, leather saddles. But in fact, there are major differences as far as geometry and historical lineage go, and these differences have been inspiring impassioned debates among bicycle connoisseurs for years.



[image via stronglight]

When it comes to frame geometry, Rivendell's emphasis is on relaxed angles and clearance for wide tires.Theresulting bicycles are fast, stable, comfortable, and have excellent off-road capacity. The bicyclechampioned by Bicycle Quarterly is rather more specific. Jan Heine believes that bicycles made in the French randonneur tradition - which had reached its height in the 1940s and 50s before its recent resurrection - offer an unrivaled combination of speed and comfort. These bicycles are aggressive and maneuverable, yet cushy and easy to control. They are super light, yet designed to carry a great deal of weight. The main difference from Rivendell structurally, is that such bicycles have what is known as "low trail geometry" while Rivendell bicycles have "mid trail geometry." The difference cannot be easily summed up here, but suffice to say that this factor controls the bicycle's responsiveness, and that mid trail is considered classic whereas low trail is more exotic - not often seen outside the early French tradition. In addition, Jan Heine insists on wide 650B tires, lack of toe overlap, and integrated features such as racks and dynamo lighting. Grant Petersen does not place as much emphasis on 650B tires per se, considers toe overlap to be a non-issue, and does not take lighting into consideration when designing frames.



If these differences seem too subtle for those not familiar with frame design, let me rephrase it like this: The bikes may look similar, but they are built differently and ride differently, and there is some debate about which is "better."



[image via protorio]

As a reader of both Rivendell literature and Bicycle Quarterly, I am equally convinced by Petersen and Heine; both arguments make sense while I'm reading them. But they can't both be right, because some of their views are in direct opposition!



Since I own a Rivendell and have now ridden close to 2,000 miles on it, it would be fantastic to try a classic randonneur with low trail and 650B wheels for comparison. The problem is that these bicycles are extremely rare. To try one, I would need to either find a vintage Rene Herse or Alex Singer in my size to test ride - which is next to impossible, as they are not exactly the kind of bike a neighbour would have lying around in their garage, or commission a new one custom built just for me by the handful of framebuilders who specialise in them, or find someone who has commissioned such a bike, is the same size as me, and would be willing to lend it to me for a test ride. As neither option is realistic, my interest in classic randonneurs seems destined to remain hypothetical. Has anybody out there actually tried both a Rivendell and a traditionalrandonneur?

Dutch Bike Wars

A couple of days ago I received a message from Muna Whitfield, owner of A Black Bike in New York City, informing me of her company's lawsuit against Club Monaco and Royal Gazelle for unfair business practices. The allegation is that the well-known Club Monaco campaign picturing two happy ladies riding a Dutch bike, featured a Black Bike bicycle while representing it as a Gazelle bicycle.

[Club Monaco advert, Spring . Image via BikeRumor]

Here is an excerpt from an article describing the lawsuit:

A Black Bike, Inc., a small scale bicycle distributor based in Brooklyn, New York, filed a lawsuit in federal court today against the clothing and accessories retailer Club Monaco, Inc., and Koninklijke Gazelle, alleging false advertising, unfair competition, deceptive acts and practices, and trademark and copyright infringement. The complaint alleges that Club Monaco, a subsidiary of Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation, used images of A Black Bike's bicycles as the centerpiece of its Spring advertising campaign, without A Black Bike's authorization, and while publicly representing that the images were instead bicycles manufactured by the Dutch bicycle company Koninklijke Gazelle.

... In January of , following the upswing of A Black Bike's publicity, the complaint alleges that Club Monaco purchased a bicycle from A Black Bike and discussed a national advertising campaign that would feature A Black Bike's bicycles. Although a deal was never reached, ... the complaint alleges that the A Black Bike bicycle was prominently featured in Club Monaco's Spring advertising campaign, without A Black Bike's authorization. Furthermore, instead of crediting A Black Bike, the complaint alleges that Club Monaco confused consumers by falsely representing that the bike in the campaign was a "Gazelle," manufactured by the Dutch company, Koninklijke Gazelle, a competitor of A Black Bike.

... Following these events, A Black Bike suffered a large drop in sales due to Gazelle's benefit from the advertising campaign in the U.S. market.

The complaint was filed in federal district court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan, by A Black Bike's attorneys at Shlansky & Co., LLP. The case is docket number 10CV893.

In their recent post about the lawsuit, Bike Rumor features pictures of a Gazelle and a Black Bike side by side and states that "the only difference between the bikes appears to be the decal and logo placements" and that "the key discrepancy seems to be the logo on the [headbadge]". They go on to note that the logos and headbadge in the Club Monaco advert appear to resemble those of A Black Bike rather than those of Gazelle.

[Gazelle Toer Populair bicycles in Club Monaco, Boston. Image by Lovely Bicycle]

After examining images of both bicycles, I notice an additional difference that no one has mentioned: the fork crown. Gazelle bicycles have a chromed, flat-top fork crown, like the ones in the photo above.

[A Black Bicycle bicycle. Image via Bike Rumor]

A Black Bicycle bikes, on the other hand, have unicrown forks, as pictured above. If you look at the Club Monaco ad again, the bicycle pictured clearly has a unicrown fork like A Black Bicycle and not a chromed, flat-top-crown fork like Gazelle.

I hope the lawsuit is settled fairly.

Swineshead - Riseley - Keysoe - S'head

Led by Barry. With Gordon, Eddie, Maureen and me. Not so cold as Monday, but the wind was cold. Muddy fields made it feel like rather more than the ten miles recorded on my magic machine.









We parked in Swineshead, a pretty village with some very old buildings – cruck-framed? Timbered houses and barns.We walked up the street and took a footpath to the left into a field of sheep, which looked as though they expected something of us – they were to be disappointed.













to be completed

Bishop's from Cerro San Luis

Bishop's from Cerro San Luis, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

After a week of drenching rain back in January, the hills are greening up quickly. In this view, you can see Bishop Peak in the distance with the slopes of Cerro San Luis in the foreground. On my recent hike at Cerro, I saw that every gully and creek was flowing and that the wildflowers are already starting to bloom.

It's gonna be a great spring.

Doward Farm to King Arthur's Cave.

Saturday 5 March - Leigh and Rita with dogs, Dan and Sara with Isaac and Rose, Chloé and Darren with Finn, Esther and Adrian with Joseph, Sharon and Mick, and me.

Followed along the road for a good way by Camilla the cat.



So - turned right along the road from the farm, past the byway to Pentumpkin and the narrow footpath on the left, past a cottage with chickens, and through a gate. We followed the path and probably ended up at King Arthur's cave, eventually turning past a disused quarry, before coming out near the road to a youth campsite and back to the road.







Leigh and Rita made it down to the river, but we were a little warier with the kids, and a little unsure of map-reading among the trees!

Acoustic Cafe

Yellow Bearded Iris

My wildflower buddies and I made another visit to the Acoustic Cafe Amphitheater.


Steve Masterson

Steve very graciously took us on another guided tour. Most of my flower photos didn't turn out well (it was too sunny) - the ones from last year are here.


Mabel and the formerly perfectly fine soaker hose.

Mabel's the new pup on the block, and she's very friendly. She's still at the chewing stage though, and will probably be on vacation during the upcoming festival, so as to save tent ropes and such.

Sadly, the lovable Buster passed away since last year. Lucy is as aloof as ever.


Tadpole

Tadpole walked with us. Her sister (Sarah) joined us briefly, but was skittish of the camera. Katy the calico slept through the whole thing.


Fiery Searcher

On our walk, we spotted a Fiery Searcher, Calosoma scrutator. They're also known as Caterpillar Hunters.


Another view

So brilliant in the sun! If not the most beautiful beetle, he's at least in the top ten. He was large, as beetles go, and very fast.


Take off your shoes

Also new since last year, this exquisite hardwood floor (Ash).

There are some wonderfully worked details. I didn't forget to photograph them, but I did forget to remove the lens hood. (The lens hood is great for reducing flare when you're taking pictures in the sun. When using the flash, it causes horrible shadows. Duh.)


Skull tree

The skull tree. Still wishing I'd thought of that. Now that we have Jasmine the bone-stealing dog, we don't find the number of skulls that we once did. But I'll remember Steve's advice for cleaning such things: stick them in an ant bed. Reeeeally wish I'd known that before the antler incident.



The Acoustic Cafe is all about String music, and this is its museum. (Click for a larger version.)

It includes:
John Hartford's bowler hat,
Sam Bush's whiskey bottle,
Vassar Clements' pipe, and
Duke Bardwell's photos of playing with Elvis.

Now, Steve knows that while my friends and I do enjoy string music, we are pretty much totally ignorant about it. "You may not know his name," he said, speaking of John Hartford, "but you know his song, Gentle on My Mind."

I didn't realize though, til just now when looking up his links, that I did know John Hartford. He was on the PBS special Songs of the Civil War, that I had taped years ago, and watched dozens of times.

Here he is singing my favorite version of my favorite Civil-War-era song, Lorena:


link

Just lovely.

I looked for another song I remembered from the show, Sweet Honey in the Rock's rendition of Climbing Jacob's Ladder. Couldn't find the video, but I believe this contains the audio:


link

OK, one more. Another favorite from that show was Hard Times Come Again No More, sung by Kate and Anna McGarrigle and their families. I found this somewhat later version by them that I actually like better, and it has the added bonus of Emmylou Harris:


link

Rufus Wainwright is in both versions. Here's a link to the original, with a much younger Rufus and Martha.


Waiting to greet you at the Acoustic Cafe Amphitheater...

Snowy Tree at Night

Knitting Cyclists and Cycling Knitters

Last week I finally got back on the roadbike enough to start marking miles on my calendar again. Birds were singing, legs were spinning, flowers were pushing through. Then yesterday, this happened. It's still on the roads today. And it's supposed to happen again tomorrow. I lost my temper and did something I hadn't done in some time: I knitted.



I am not a committed knitter, but I learned as a child and do it whenever the fancy strikes. Or when I'm frustrated. The winter of -11 was terrible for cycling, but great for knitting. I made myself an entire new wardrobe, made presents for friends, and did a brisk trade in hats for bicycle components. I must have knitted over 50 hats that winter; it was pretty bad. I can never just sit there and knit, so it's always done in conjunction with another activity, like reading, or talking, or watching a film. I did try knitting while cycling on a trainer a couple of times, but the rhythms are too different for it to work well.



It's been a surprise to discover how many women who ride bikes also knit. They seem like such different activities on the surface: one is domestic and stationary, the other exploratory, active and physically draining. Maybe it's the contrast that's attractive. Or the rhythm. Or the element of independence and self-sufficiency that both provide.



Apparently Lyli Herse was a prolific knitter. She would knit before bicycle races and brevets, because it kept her from getting nervous at the start. She made matching sweaters for her tandem partners and randonneuring teammates, their patterns distinctly recognisable in the historical photos.



Today, there isEmily O'Brien, who is not only a knitter, but also a spinner (can make her own yarn out of fleece). Bobbin and Sprocket knits and crochets. Knitting Lemonadeknits and embroiders. There isRoseread, whoknits lovely socks. The writer Sally Hinchcliffea bicyclist and knitter.There is alsoThe Knitting Cyclist. AndThe Knit Cycle. And Knitting by Bicycle. And more! Some are predominantly cyclists who are also attracted to knitting. Others are predominantly knitters who also ride bikes. Either way, it's an interesting convergence of interests:Knit your own wheeling costume (or a handlebar flower?). Get on a bike. And ride where you like ...once the snow melts a bit.

How rude!

How rude, to just disappear for so many moons with no explanation.

In the beginning, I didn't realize it would be so long. I intended to start back several times, but somehow my good intentions kept getting foiled. (Evil forces, no doubt.)

Listlessness, lassitude, lethargy. Laziness! And also a bit of a detour towards a genealogical addiction.

I know, those dead relatives aren't really going anywhere. But with the living ones, well you never know. Got to prise all those deep dark family secrets out of them while they're still around. Got to motivate them to dig in the closet for those old portraits, before they're sold for a song at the estate sale (since nobody has a clue who those old moldy dudes are anymore).

Anyway. Sorry for the long absence. Hope you'll forgive me.