Month: May 2016
J.A. Landis Civil War Recollection 2016
While at Greenfield Village on Memorial Day 2016 Mom had her family background checked and found a likely relative who fought in the Civil War. Here is what the research said.
Residence was not listed;
Enlisted on 7/30/1862 as a Hospl Steward.
On 7/30/1862 he mustered into Field & Staff TN 63rd Infantry
He was Surrendered on 4/9/1865 at Appomattox Court House, VA
(Estimated date of enlistment)
Promotions:
* Asst Surgeon
Other Information:
died in 1920 in Gainesville, TX
After the War he lived in Gainesville, TX
Here are 3 links to all the data we have, the pdf was given to us by the people at Greenfield Village.
http://www.civilwardata.com/active/hdsquery.dll?SoldierHistory?C&775293
http://www.civilwardata.com/active/hdsquery.dll?RegimentHistory?1491&C
Greenfield Village Memorial Day Weekend 2016
Greenfield Village had a re-enactment of the American Civil War and James got a chance to see a bit of how life was like as a soldier in those days. The entire village was an encampment for both the North and South and bivouac tents were everywhere. We took the train around the park and could see the artillery demonstration (cannons firing) from the train. We then stopped off at the historical tent where they check and see if you have any relatives that fought in the Civil war. While Dad’s family moved here after the Civil War, Mom’s family has been in Tennessee for centuries and they found a picture of Mary’s great grandfather from the civil war. They printed out a bunch of documents that we will post here as soon as we get a chance to scan them. After the historical tent we took a ride on the Model T and then went back through the museum to avoid a rain shower. We took a pic of Thomas Edison autograph in cement and of the Beatle exhibit. On the way home we asked James if he knew who the Beatles were and he said “yes, they are the ones who wrote their names in cement”, obviously confusing the last two exhibits.
A great time was had by all and a little Civil War remembrance to help our celebration of Memorial day.
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Canterbury Village Memorial Day Weekend 2016
This week the roads were kind to us. After last weeks construction everywhere we hit very little traffic all day this beautiful Memorial day Saturday. Our first stop was Canterbury Village in Orion Michigan, just a stones throw (about 3 miles) from the Palace. We stopped in at the cider mill, the gift shops, the Christmas shops, and the Department 56 store (which had some pretty good sales going on). The Merry go round store was open as well and its always interesting visiting a store with a huge merry go round in the center of it. We did make a few purchases at the Dept 56 store as they had two bins of items half off. A great start for the Memorial Day weekend.
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Great Lakes Crossing on Memorial Day Weekend 2016
Our next stop was three miles down the road to Michigan’s larges outlet shop, Great Lakes Crossing. Great Lakes Crossing Outlets is the market’s dominant retail outlet and entertainment destination, attracting customers throughout the Midwest and Canada. With 185 manufacturer’s outlets and traditional retail stores, Great Lakes Crossing Outlets is Michigan’s only enclosed value-regional mall. With all that going for it I don’t think I have ever bought anything here, however James bought a hat and Mom bought some things at Victoria Secrets so it was a worthwhile trip.
The place is truly gigantic (we walked from the aquarium entrance to the Saks fifth avenue entrance and back again) and despite it’s huge size, it was still packed with people.
The new thing this year is the Aquarium which we will have to visit soon. The picture out front with the giraffe (James is beneath the giraffe to give you a perspective of the size) is actually made completely of Lego’s.
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Frankenmuth Spring 2016
What started out as a simple trip to the post office ended being a great time in Frankenmuth. After dropping of some packages at the Post Office James wanted to know where 1 mile is. He thought it was Ford road so we set the trip odometer to zero at Ford road and found out Ford road is actually zero mile road and Warren is 1 mile road. We kept clocking the mile roads till we got to Pontiac, then decided to head to Frankenmuth since we were already half way there. 75 North was closed so we picked up 75 in Waterford and had a great time. James bought several books at a book sale at the River Place Shops, Dad got a haunted train engine at Bronners, and Mom got to do some antique shopping. Afterward we at lunch at the Bavarian Inn (where James actually bought lunch for a horse). On the way home traffic on 75 in Pontiac again slowed us down but it hardly put a damper on a great day with great weather in a great little tourist town.
Bronners Spring 2016
Our first stop usually when entering Frankenmuth is Bronners Christmas store. Bronner’s promotes itself as the “World’s Largest Christmas Store”. Designed with an Alpine architecture and operating year-round, the building is 7.35 acres in size with landscaped grounds covering 27 acres. Here is a little trivai – The electric bill alone is $1,250 per day – John Wayne ordered his Santa Suit from Bronners in 1976 – Over 100,000 ornaments are hand painted at Bronners each year.
While primarily known for Christmas, they do have a large selection of the other holidays available year round which makes it a great place to stop for people who enjoy any of the holidays.
Pool Time 2016 Begins
Our little pool has made it to its third year, although we had to replace a hose and a pump. Still a pretty good value for us because we actually compared reviews and this pool was the only one at any price that did not get any bad reviews. This year James picked out a new light that is really cool and acts like a fountain. It’s actually on the exit side of the pump, attached with a hose, and the light is generated from hydro power in the same way bicycles generate light from peddling. In the evening it creates a colored atmosphere on the whole inside of the pool which should be handy on July 4th when James stays up late and watches fireworkds from his pool.
James spent about an hour in the pool today (mid 70’s so its still a little cool around here) and enjoyed the new sprinkling water from the pump (during the daylight you cannot even tell there are lights in it unless you look real close).
James Achievement Award Pics & Video 2016
James was honored for his work at school, specifically in Geography, and everyone was thrilled with this academic achievement. James is having a very good year at school and we expect bigger and better things from him next year. He is learning discipline, albeit somewhat slowly but he is getting there. Each morning he does his Yoga exercises before a two hour bus drive to school so his school day is a little longer than most but he has learned to make the best of it. James and his family wanted to thank his teachers for their efforts and patience with James who can be a bit of a handful at times.
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Mothers Day 2016
The weather was perfect this Mothers day. The day began with a trip to Michigan Memorial Cemetery where we put flowers on everyone’s grave. The flowers were so new that they had not bloomed yet so they should look pretty good all week. We were very pleased to see how well maintained Raymond’s grave was compared to in the past. After the flowers we went and ate lunch at Red Lobster where Mom got crab linguini, Dad got the sailors platter, and James got crab legs. The next stop was the antique store where Mom got to do a little shopping, followed by a trip to Dearborn Market for some flowers. All in all a real great day!
Abbotts Flea Market 2016
Mary and James worked a table at the 2016 Magic Flea Market which is now known as the Hank Moorehouse Flea Market and Auction in honor of the man who started it almost 40 years ago. James loves this event because he enjoys both selling and buying. The event was very well attended and had many magicians show up either selling or buying magic. In the past we have found some very good values here and sometimes Halloween stuff. After the event we traveled to the Three Amigo’s restaurant in Jackson and feasted on a late Cinco De Mayo meal that tasted that much better because we were all tired from the long day. Once we got home, Mary found a package containing a shirt she won on Ebay so it was a fitting conclusion to a very fun day.
