Reversed and dismissed

The Court Room, the round glass-enclosed wing of the Arkansas Justice Building in Little Rock, houses the Arkansas Supreme Court ChamberThe Court Room, the round glass-enclosed wing of the Arkansas Justice Building in Little Rock, houses the Arkansas Supreme Court Chamber
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It’s been just under three years since voters in Arkansas approved a constitutional amendment1  that required the Arkansas Racing Commission issue licenses for casino gaming at Las Vegas style casinos in each of four counties. Three of those casinos are in operation with revenue streaming to their communities from the casino gaming revenue tax as well as sales and property taxes.  While a license for a casino has been issued for the fourth casino, which is to be in Pope County, disputes—including political—and litigation have prevented breaking ground and construction.

A ruling on a critical Pope County casino court case2 was handed down today3 by the Arkansas Supreme Court, overturning Judge Tim Fox’s order4 of May 21, 2021, which, for the second time, ruled a portion of an Arkansas casino gaming rule and a portion of a state law were unconstitutional. Both required,

A letter of support from the county judge or a resolution of support from the quorum court, and from the mayor, if appropriate…, shall be dated and signed by the county judge, quorum court, or mayor holding office at the time of the submission of an application for a casino license.5

Several Racing Commission meetings were held after Fox’s ruling to determine which applicant would get the license.  Gulfside Casino Partnership had submitted a one-line letter of support with their application from former County Judge Jim Ed Gibson written just ten days before he retired at the end of December 2018. Legends Resort and Casino, Arkansas, Inc.—a subsidiary of Cherokee Nation Businesses (CNB)6—submitted a letter of support from County Judge Ben Cross, Gibson’s successor and current county judge.

The immediate impact of the ruling is that it invalidates the casino gaming license issued by the Arkansas Racing Commission on July 31, 20207 to Gulfside.

There is nothing in the constitution or the Racing Commission’s Casino Gaming rules8 that specifically addresses a situation where the holder of a  casino license is disqualified through a court ruling.  However, Arkansas’ constitution states, “The Arkansas Racing Commission shall award a casino license to a casino applicant for a casino to be located in Pope County…”

The ruling of the Supreme Court leaves only one qualified applicant, Legends/CNB. While that should clear the way for the Racing Commission to meet and issue a casino gaming license to Legends, there is still litigation open in Arkansas circuit courts.
  • Legends versus Arkansas Racing Commission.9
  • County Judge Ben Cross and Legends versus Arkansas Racing Commission.10
  • Citizens for a Better Pope County (CFABPC) and James Knight versus Arkansas Racing Commission.11

The first two cases were filed after the Racing Commission issued a casino license to Gulfside following a series of controversial meetings.  With Legends the only qualified candidate, the bases for those cases are moot and both cases should be dismissed.

In the third case,  the last docket activity was on July 30th, 2020. Judge Griffen granted CNB’s motion to intervene on January 6th, 2020 “for good cause shown”  and, on the same day, denied Gulfside’s motion to intervene.  On May 18th, Gulfside again filed a motion to intervene.  This is the same case where Judge Griffen issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on January 3rd, 2020, prohibiting the Racing Commission from meeting on January 6, 2020 and/or awarding a casino gaming license and enjoining them from considering applications or issuing a license based on applications invited, submitted and/or awarded during the second application period. That TRO eventually lapsed, after being extended once for 30 days, without any further relevant orders from the court.

CFABPC continued to seek a new TRO as well as a preliminary injunction, and permanent injunction—all to prevent the Racing Commission from acting on any applications.

In an April 10th, 2020, letter to the Racing Commission (defendant) counsel, CNB’s attorney, Dustin McDaniel, wrote,

At the (January 3rd) hearing, Judge Griffin made quite clear that no part of his TRO extended to the ARC’s ability to consider any application submitted pursuant to the “good cause” provision. My partner, Mr. Richardson, asked the Court if it would be permissible to proceed pursuant not to the Second Application period but upon a showing of good cause for submitting an application. Judge Griffen articulately made his point, as Judge Griffen often does, so that it would not take an attorney to decipher when he said: “I double, triple dog dare anyone to point to a single word in my order that applies to the ‘good cause’ provisions in the Rules.”

James Knight, in an affidavit filed July 30th, 2020, says, “Now that two (2) of the seven (7) Commissioners have either been declared to be biased in favor on one of the applicants or recused to avoid the appearance of bias and impropriety… the Casino Gaming Rules must be declared to be null and void (invalid and inapplicable) with respect to the applications before the Racing Commission for the casino license in Pope County.” and, “Because the Casino Gaming Rules should now been deemed to be null and void… the Racing Commission is in violation of Amendment 100 and can not be allowed to proceed to award the casino license in Pope County to any applicant unless and until the Racing Commission’s non-compliance with Amendment 100 is cured.”

Gulfside’s license was issued the next day.  There was no action from Judge Griffen.

Essentially, the attorneys for CFABPC and James Knight were trying to find some way to stop the Racing Commission from issuing a license.

Their efforts failed.  Gulfside was awarded a license.

There is no reason to expect that the attorneys for CFABPC and James Knight will fare any better in their litigation attempt now that the Supreme Court ruling has invalidated Gulfside’s license.

According to motions filed by counsel for the Racing Commission and for CNB,
  • CFABPC and Knight
    • haven’t shown immediate and irreparable harm,
    • don’t have standing in the case,
    • haven’t presented any issues or controversies that can be resolved in court,
    • as part of their pleading, are attempting to relitigate a FOIA case that has already been dismissed with prejudice by the circuit court and, on appeal, denied by the Supreme Court.
  • Judge Griffen doesn’t have jurisdiction and
  • the Racing Commission has sovereign immunity (except under limited conditions, the State can’t be sued).

Time will tell.

… and it will take time, but there is some light down the tunnel now.


  1. “Amendment 100.” Accessed October 14, 2021. 2018 Casino Amendment.
  2. Arkansas Supreme Court, CV-21-289, Cherokee Nation Businesses, L.L.C. and Arkansas Racing Commission v. Gulfside Casino Partnership, appeal of May 21, 2021, Circuit Court Order reversing the Arkansas Racing Commission’s (“ARC’s) decision rejecting Appellee Gulfside Casino Partnership’s (“Gulfside’s”) application for a casino license.
  3. Anticipating the ruling and when it would be issued, this blog post was written in advance.
  4. Pulaski County Sixth Division Circuit Court, 60CV-19-5832, Gulfside Casino Partnership vs. Arkansas Racing Commission; Cherokee Nation Businesses, LLC —Intervenor (Pursuant to mandate of the Arkansas Supreme Court), filed August 15, 2019.
  5. “Arkansas Code Title 23. Public Utilities and Regulated Industries § 23-117-101.” Findlaw. Accessed October 14, 2021. https://codes.findlaw.com/ar/….
  6. “About Legends.” Legends Resort & Casino. Accessed October 12, 2021. https://legendsarkansas.com/about/.
    • “Legends is a strategic consultant to Cherokee Nation Businesses with renowned expertise in creating unforgettable entertainment and hospitality experiences. Founded by the Dallas Cowboys and New York Yankees, Legends is the driver behind the success of marquee entertainment, sports and leisure brands worldwide.”
  7. Brawner , Steve. “Pope County Casino Case Hinges on Meaning of ‘the’.” Talk Business & Politics, August 10, 2021. Accessed October 14, 2021. https://talkbusiness.net/….
  8. Arkansas Racing Commission. “State of Arkansas Rules on Casino Gaming,” February 21, 2019. https://www.dfa.arkansas.gov/….
  9. Legends Resort and Casino, LLC v. Arkansas Racing Commission and the individual commissioners in their official capacities, Administrative Appeal,  Judge Wendell Griffen, Pulaski County, 6th Circuit Court, 60CV-21-1217, filed February 16, 2021
  10. Ben Cross in his official capacity as County Judge and on behalf of Pope County, Arkansas; and Legends Resort and Casino, LLC v. Arkansas Racing Commission and the individual commissioners in their official capacities, several judicial recusals ended in Judge Randy Wright of the 8th North Judicial Circuit being assigned to the 5th Judicial Circuit to hear this case.=, Pope County, 5th Circuit Court, 58CV-20-429, filed October 13, 2020
  11. Citizens for a Better Pope County and James Knight v. Arkansas Racing Commission and the individual commissioners in their official capacities, Judge Wendell Griffen, Pulaski County, 6th Circuit Court, 60CV-19-9172, filed December 27, 2019.
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arkansas, casino, in the news, now that’s cool!, politics, taxes

Text Message Spam

Never, never, never respond in any way to unsolicited text messages from any source that you do not know.

There are a number of potential or actual problems with this robotext that I received recently:
  • I’m not Karen; she’s my wife.
  • Clicking on the link could download malware onto your phone or take you to a “survey” site whose sole purpose is to harvest the account credtials from your phone and/or your private information through the questions they ask.
  • Replying STOP will just confirm your phone number, possibly for future robotext messages.
  • We’re not subscribed to anything that sends us robotexts like this, so we shouldn’t need to unsubscribe.  They know that people find this annoying and just want it to go away.  It’s a hook to fish you into taking action that will confirm your number.
Dos and Don’ts
  • Don’t respond. If you do, you’re telling the sender you’re a receptive target. Even replying STOP or UNSUBSCRIBE will show the spammer the number is active and it will get leaked or sold to databases that other hackers have access to.
  • Protect your information. Legitimate companies won’t send you texts unless you’ve subscribed for text messaging. Even then, personal information such as ID numbers (social security number, medicare number, driver’s license number, etc.) or passwords should never be shared via text or voice on your device.
  • Don’t click on links.  They can lead to spoof sites that look real but can steal information or data, run up your usage, or install malicious software on your device.
  • Block the number.  It help’s cut off one of the sender’s lines of communication.
  • Report it to your provider.  For most U.S. providers, messages sent to 7726 are shared with security providers to help prevent spam.
  • Use a spam-blocking app—prevents annying robocalls and texts and adds another layer of data security.
  • Review your phone bill if it is higher than expected.  Some scams can force your phone to call or text premium numbers that charge a fee.
  • Check out your device’s built-in spam-blocking features. Note: Some may inadvertently block or filter legitimate calls or texts.
    • I had “Silence Unknown Caller” turned on.  I missed an important call because of it and wondered why a voice message wasn’t left.  It turned out my voice mailbox was full.

Scammers are con artists. The “confidence trick,” in this case is to send a text message that looks legitimate, exploiting the receiver’s credulity, compassion, and greed.

Scammers use a variety of ever-changing stories to rope in their “mark” (victim).  This is just one of them.

1 comment
apps, internet ethics, scam, social media

Gros Ventre Cabin

Royalty-free images by Mike1 — No. 162 of over 1200 images

Along Gros Ventre Road, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, September 20, 2007Along Gros Ventre Road on the east side of Jackson Hole,
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, September 20, 2007

Jackson Hole2
Jackson Hole (originally called Jackson’s Hole by mountain men) is a valley between the Gros Ventre and Teton mountain ranges in the U.S. state of Wyoming, near the border with Idaho. The term “hole” was used by early trappers, or mountain men, as a term for a large mountain valley. These low-lying valleys, surrounded by mountains and containing rivers and streams, are good habitat for beavers and other fur-bearing animals. Jackson Hole is 55 miles long (89 km) long by 6-to-13 miles wide (10 to 21 km) and is a graben valley with an average elevation of 6,800 ft (2,100 m), its lowest point being near the southern park boundary at 6,350 ft (1,940 m).
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Jackson Hole Residents3
Archeological evidence shows that Native Americans first appeared in Jackson Hole approximately 10,000 years ago. The ruggedness of the country and its inhospitable winters meant that most Indian bands visited the area in summertime only, although the Mountain Shoshone, also known as Sheepeaters, did live there year-round. The first European residents of the area were fur trappers and outlaws who began arriving in the early 19th century. Because of the rough terrain and severe weather, homesteading did not begin until the 1880s.
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Post Endnotes

  1. I am sharing some of my public domain images in periodic blog posts.
  2. “Jackson Hole.” Wikipedia, as edited October 10, 2021. Accessed October 14, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/… Jackson Hole.
  3. “The Establishment of Grand Teton National Park.” WyoHistory.org, November 14, 2014. Accessed October 14, 2021. https://www.wyohistory.org/….

Series Notes:

  • This image is also shared as public domain on Pixabay, Flickr, and Pinterest.
  • Images are being shared in the sequence they were accepted by Pixabay, a royalty-free image-sharing site.
  • Only images specifically identified as such are public domain or creative commons on our pages.
  • All other images are copyright protected by me, creative commons, or used under the provisions of fair use.
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american history, autumn, history, landscape, museum, parks, photography, public domain, royalty free, wyoming

Wikipedia edits

I use Wikipedia extensively and, when I use it for a blog post, I cite it religiously. Having noticed recently that almost every Wikipedia article I cite had been updated fairly recently, I’ve started citing the specific edit as it existed when I accessed the article.

Free knowledge for everyone.

Wikipedia is a “free content… online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteers through a model of open collaboration.” Since 2005, it has been the single most consulted online source of information on topics for which Wikipedia has an article. As with any encyclopedia, it should not be used as a primary source for research though many see it as a good starting point.

Anyone with internet access can write articles and make changes to Wikipedia articles except in limited cases where editing is restricted to prevent disruption or vandalism.  About 130,000 editors—from expert scholars to casual readers—regularly edit Wikipedia.  Their work tends to improve the quality and authority of individual articles and Wikipedia as a whole.

I have made a grand total of 90 edits over 57 pages since I registered as a user on September 17, 2004. The most recent edit was an edit to the page “Three Mile Island accident” made on October 9, 2021,1 as I was composing this post. My first three were minor edits to the page “Three Mile Island accident” the same day I registered as a user.

At the time, the “Three Mile Island accident” page was only two years old and was actually not very extensive.  Printed out, it’s only about 3 full pages in length.2  The current version is close to seven times the size plus lengthy reference, bibliography, and external links sections.  The page has been edited 3,913 times by 2,096 contributors.  The two largest edits were on July 2, 2012, when all of the content was replaced by, “you have been trolled lol,” and a minute later when user Palosirkka (no longer active) reverted the edit back to the original content.

Most changes make Wikipedia more accurate, but that is not always the case.  Some edits, like the “you’ve been trolled” edit, are malicious.  Others are made as practical jokes or deliberately slant the content of a page.  Sometimes edits have been done to make the subject of a page appear more flattering or less flattering instead of being purely factual and objective.3

In some cases, Wikipedia pages have been written or edited by paid writers to promote products or make them more attractive, though this is strongly discouraged.  Wikipedia specialists are available for hire,4 though “anyone editing for pay must disclose who is paying them, who the client is, and any other relevant affiliation.”5

Some Wikipedia edits are out and out vandalism.

Wikipedia says “vandalism is editing the project in an intentionally disruptive or malicious manner. Vandalism includes any addition, removal, or modification that is intentionally humorous, nonsensical, a hoax, or degrading in any way.”6

The majority of vandalism on Wikipedia is reverted quickly. There are various ways in which the vandalism gets detected so it can be reverted:

      • Bots: In some cases, the vandalism is automatically detected and reverted by a Wikipedia bot. The vandal is always warned with no human intervention.
      • Recent changes patrol: Wikipedia has a special page that lists all the most recent changes. Some editors will monitor these changes for possible vandalism.
      • Watchlists: Any registered user can watch a page that they have created or edited or that they otherwise have an interest in. This functionality also enables users to monitor a page for vandalism.
      • Incidental discovery: Any reader who comes across vandalism by chance can revert it. In 2008, it was reported that the rarity of such incidental discovery indicated the efficacy of the other methods of vandalism removal.

This post was started with the intention of exploring why so many Wikipedia articles seem to be edited so recently.  What I’ve found instead is that Wikipedia is continually improving and has robust authoring and editing policies.

Most of the edits of articles I’ve cited were minor grammar or punctuation edits. Some added new and/or updated information. One edit was the removal of a promotional, for-profit link. Another reverted two previous edits for unexplained removal content. One page was added to a Wikipedia category (found at the bottom of some pages).


  1. In looking over the TMI Accident page, I noted it talked about an explosion in the containment structure just ten hours after the start of the accident.  Having taught and used information from the accident multiple times over my years as an instructor at a facility similar to the TMI plant,—including Severe Accident Management and Mitigating Core Damage—I knew that it was a hydrogen burn and not an explosion so I added information and citation on that.
  2. All revisions of Wikipedia pages are readily available.
  3. “You Can Revise, but You Can’t Hide: Why Wikipedia Edits Leave a Trail.” OpenLearn. The Open University, May 7, 2014. Accessed October 8, 2021. https://www.open.edu…
  4. “27 Best Freelance Wikipedia Specialists for Hire in October 2021 – Upwork™.” Upwork. Accessed October 9, 2021. https://www.upwork.com/… freelancers/.
  5. “Conflict of Interest.” Wikipedia, as edited October 2, 2021. Accessed October 9, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org… Conflict_of_interest.
  6. “Vandalism on Wikipedia.” Wikipedia, as edited October 2, 2021. Accessed October 8, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org… Vandalism.
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blogging, commentary, internet, internet ethics, links

Defense Worker Trailer Camps

Dust, Drought, Depression, and War No. 26
Vintage Camping No. 4
Trailer camp opposite United Aircraft where many Pratt and Whitney workers live with their families because of housing congestion in and near Hartford, ConnecticutTrailer camp opposite United Aircraft where many Pratt and Whitney workers live with their families because of housing congestion in and near Hartford, Connecticut, June 1941

U.S. Trailer Camps

Note: This was originally published as a photo essay by the Office of War Information.  However, the only copy available online has no photos.

by Mary Heaton Vorse2
published by Office of War Information (OWI)3 (c. 1943)
Across the length and breadth of America at war can be seen compact colonies of strange little cottages on wheels. These vehicles, each boasting all the comforts of home on a miniature scale, are known as trailers. A group or colony of them is a trailer camp. They are used to house workers in American war industries and other plants which have sprung up like giant mushrooms all over the United States. An owner, with his auto, which. pulls his trailer, may journey 500 to 1,000 miles to join some trailer camp near the factory where he intends to work.
One of the most interesting trailer camps I have known was owned and run by a man named Shekatoff. This camp was opposite the great Pratt and Whitney aircraft plant in a New England state. The camp was well off the main highway one of the great highways which had a street railway between two highway lanes, down both of which traffic thundered ceaselessly. The camp looked backward at the huge dynamos of a power plant whose red and white lights winked through the night and whose steady hum, like a hive of bees, filled the airs mingled with the drone of airplanes being tested at night.

Camp Full of Children

Teacher Annette Ashe tells a story to a group of children on the steps of a nursery trailer at a U.S. trailer camp (Photo not found). Trailer camps house war workers in war production areas until permanent facilities can be built. A full-time teaching staff operates the day nursery where the children play and read, take naps and get hot midday lunches. The older children attend schools in the nearby city in transportation furnished by the government.
Like all trailer camps, Shekatoffs was full of children of all ages. People do not live in trailers because they like the idea of being gypsies, but generally because there are few houses to rent in the big war industry centers. So as a last resort they buy or rent a trailer, or even make one. Each trailer is built on two or four wheels and towed behind the owner’s automobile. There are thousands of these trailers gathered in colonies near the nation’s war plants.
Since I lived in the Airport Trailer Camp I have seen many others, but none I liked as well, for Shekatoff himself and the people who lived there made a warm community. It had life and neighborliness.
There were not quite 200 trailers in the camp. There were four neat rows of them and a few more scattered under the trees in front of a wooded ravine. Two white, roughly macadamized roads let through the trailer village. In about the middle of the camp stood the office and utility buildings. The office building was a bare room with a concrete floor and on the wall was a poster advertising war bonds. At the end of the room was a small office which served as renting bureau and post office. Stretching down one side of the room was a store where one could buy everything with the exception of fresh fruit and vegetables; fish and fowl. There was every kind of delicatessen—sausages, salami, cheeses and potato salad and great stocks of sardines and canned salmon, canned goods and groceries. There was a small selection of such meats as chopped beef, pork chops and stew meats. There were oranges, bananas, cakes and bread.
The wayside stand opposite the camp had a good supply of fruits and vegetables—all sold for reasonable prices. There were benches along the other wall opposite the store, a telephone booth pay station, and the inevitable “juke box” which is not a box at all, but a mechanical music player which, when a nickel is inserted, blares out a choice of the latest popular songs, This one was seldom silent.

Laundry for Workers

Here is a winter scene of a trailer camp (Photo not found) near Detroit, Michigan, where 50 U.S. war workers’ families live comfortably in trailer homes.  Like thousands of other trailer families, they find they can keep cozy on a fifth the fuel required for the average small house. Workers inhabiting these camps have all modern conveniences.
Behind the store was a laundry with washing machines for the use of the tenants, with a perpetual supply of hot water, and behind them the lavatories and showers, all kept spotless by a big, smiling woman. Here at the store the trailer dwellers filed through ceaselessly. Swing shifters on their way to work at four o’clock in the morning stop for a “coke,” a popular American nonalcoholic drink, or a pack of cigarettes. By five o’clock men in undershirts sat around gossiping. Women stopped for a chat after marketing—always the juke box blared out and the children danced. Sometimes the older boys and girls danced, too, but they preferred to get in a car and go off to some dance hall which had a good band.
Soon after supper, files of little girls in long, flowered housecoats closed by zippers, their hair braided tightly or put up in metal curlers, toothbrush in hand, filed to the washroom and came out with shining, scrubbed faces, Often an older girl herded before her little brothers and sisters, People ate ice cream, or drank various “soft” drinks from bottles with a straw. There was a good feeling of comradeship and sociability in the office in spite of its bareness.
My trailer was not far from the office and as compact and elegant as the inside of a yacht. It had three rooms. The sliding doors were almost never shut, so in the daytime the whole space looked like a sitting room, It was finished in light plywood. There were bright curtains at all of the windows and the whole interior had an inviting look. There was a radio, and book shelf which held classics as well as mystery stories. There were folding chairs, a table which pulled out, several compact closets, and a comfortable double bed at each end. The kitchen between the two bedrooms had a two-burner electric stove. All the trailers were lighted by electric lights with plugs for toasters, coffeepot or flatiron and an electric baker. There were cupboards and shelves and drawers for cutlery, kitchen utensils and china. The cupboard sink and running water made dishwashing easy.

Garden Outside Trailer

Here is an air view of a U.S. war workers’ trailer camp (Photo not found) near an aircraft factory in an eastern state. Trailers, used mostly by vacationists before the war, are now used for temporary housing for crowded production centers until permanent facilities can be built, They are conducted by the government and are equipped with electricity, plumbing, health clinic, day nursery school for children. Workers find them quite satisfactory.
The yard of my trailer was as pleasant as the inside. There was a wide striped awning running the length of the trailer and deck chairs on the little green lawn which was surrounded by a tiny picket fence. Pansies bloomed opposite the trailer and bright nasturtiums climbed the front. There was a little Victory Garden of vegetables behind it. The owners paid $3.50 a week for the space, which included water, lights and the use of electric washers. A trailer rented for $10 a week, but most people owned their trailers which were of all colors—grey and silver, brown and beige; there were even bright blue and red trailers. The rows of trailers faced each other about 50 feet apart. Everyone fixed his yard to suit himself with vines and flowers. Some seeded the whole space to lawn—some preferred vegetables and each one fenced his space and set out hammocks and bright-colored deck chairs, though there were some who did not care to bother with gardens and who had bare and forlorn yards. In front of every two or three trailers stood a large covered iron garbage can.
In California, in the Los Angeles area, there are permanent trailer camps which have rose arbors and beautiful gardens shaded by trees. One small trailer camp of 35 trailers in the East was scattered around a beautiful picnic grove where every trailer had its own septic tank and garden plot. Shekatoff, however, was a middle-of-the-road camp, neither as elegant as some nor as bleak as others. The women had gotten together and were getting up a playground for the younger children with swings and slides, to be supervised by the older girls. The people in this camp were a composite of New England, for the most part neat, saving, and sober. There were many educated people here who had given up fine homes to work in the war industries.

Government Camps

A medical clinic, in a trailer, set up for U.S. trailer-dweller war workers near an aircraft factory (Photo not found). In this camp there are over 1,000 trailers, each housing a family. Local physicians worked out the plan for six doctors to operate one-hour clinics on week days. Here Mrs. James Davis, whose husband is a riveter, carries her son out of the clinic after bringing the child for treatment.
There are many big government trailer camps which often have excellent facilities to offer the tenants. One I lived in had 3,000 people, nearly 1,000 of them children, There was a small nursery school in a collapsible trailer, These are larger trailers whose sides let down, forming three rooms. There was another trailer, used by the Woman’s Club and for other meetings, in which there was a nice library. There was a clinic open an hour a day and a Public Health nurse gave prenatal advice and taught care of children and preventive medicine, This trailer camp, like many others, published a little mimeographed newspaper of its own, but did not have the life and sense of community as had Shekatoff’s.
Life in a northern trailer camp in winter, when the snow is deep, can be both bleak and difficult—stores are far away—marketing difficult and the women far away from home and uprooted get lonely, for war has caused such enormous migrations in this country that it is hard for the mind to compass. From the north to the south, people have left their familiar surroundings, the comforts of their homes and gone to work in munition centers, in aircraft plants or shipbuilding yards.
Perhaps the best description of a trailer camp was written by a young visitor in one camp’s paper. “It is very much on the order of a small country town,” he wrote, “in that everyone is so friendly and everyone is your neighbor. Whenever there is an emergency in a small town everyone rushes to see what they can do, Now that our country is in an emergency, all the people rush from the 48 states, each similar to a country town, to help their Uncle Sam and his United Neighbors, thus forming many little towns like Trailer Town.”

  1. Wolcott, Marion Post. Photo of Trailer Camp, June 1941. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. Accessed September 29, 2021. https://www.loc.gov….
  2. Mary Heaton Vorse was an American journalist, labor activist, social critic, and novelist. Her published writings include 18 books and hundreds of articles on women’s suffrage, labor disputes, and the working class for
    such periodicals as McClure’s Magazine, Atlantic Monthly, and The Masses. In 1942, at the age of 69, she toured America’s war production centers gathering material for a book on the home front, Here Are The People.
  3. The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other forms of media, the OWI was the connection between the battlefront and civilian communities. The office also established several overseas branches, which launched a large-scale information and propaganda campaign abroad.
    • “United States Office of War Information.” Wikipedia, article last edited August 11, 2021. Accessed September 29, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org…OWI.
1 comment
america, american history, Dust, Drought, Depression and War, history, military, recreational vehicles, vintage camping images, ww2

Henry Knowlton

Civil War Era Photographic Portraiture no. 8
Originally Published in American Civil War Chronicles

Henry Knowlton was commissioned a second lieutenant on September 5, 1862, and mustered into Company K, 33rd Missouri Infantry on September 11, 1862.Henry Knowlton was commissioned a second lieutenant on September 5, 1862, and mustered into Company K, 33rd Missouri Infantry on September 11, 1862. On May 4, 1863, he was promoted to first lieutenant; promoted to captain on January 30, 1865, he was assigned to command Company D.

The 33rd Missouri Infantry was engaged in the Battle of Helena and participated in the Red River campaign, including the Battle of Pleasant Hill. The regiment also fought at the battles of Tupelo, Nashville, and Fort Blakely.

Knowlton mustered out with the regiment on August 10, 1865.

Carte-de-Visite by Anderson & Turner, New Orleans, La.

The Trans-Mississippi Theater Photo Archive image and information.

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american history, civil war, civil war era photographic portraiture, history, military, photography, vintage image, vintage photos

Ranchero

50 Years Ago No. 4

Text: The best of both worlds—car and pickup—come together beautifully in Ford's completely new Ranchero. It offers you new strength and durability with a solid big-car frame. A smoother, quiet ride with a wheelbase that's four inches longer. And clean responsive handling with a new link coil rear suspension. Front disc brakes are standard, and you can choose any of six spirited engines, up to a 429 V8. This year's Ranchero gives you big new loadspace, too, with a box that's both longer and wider. A four-foot-wide ping-pong table can slide between wheelhousings with room to spare. And if camping or boating's your thing, Ranchero has a new towing package for up to 6,000 lbs. If you need something more than a car, more than a pickup, check out a new Ranchero 500, GT, or Squire. They're something else.
“Ford Ranchero Ad.” Popular Mechanics, Vol 136, no. 4, October 1971.
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50 years ago, america, history, now that’s cool!, transportation, vintage images

Thermal Fog at Canary Spring

Royalty-free images by Mike1 — No. 161 of over 1200 images

Canary Spring, Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), Wyoming, September 13, 2007Canary Spring, Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), Wyoming, September 13, 2007

Mammoth Hot Springs2

Mammoth Hot Springs is a large complex of hot springs on a hill of travertine in Yellowstone National Park adjacent to Fort Yellowstone and the Mammoth Hot Springs Historic District. It was created over thousands of years as hot water from the spring cooled and deposited calcium carbonate (over two tons flow into Mammoth each day in a solution). Because of the huge amount of geothermal vents, travertine flourishes. Although these springs lie outside the caldera boundary, their energy has been attributed to the same magmatic system that fuels other Yellowstone geothermal areas.

Unfortunately, as it has periodically in the past, Canary Spring has gone dormant.3


Post Endnotes

  1. I am sharing some of my public domain images in periodic blog posts.
  2. “Mammoth Hot Springs.” Wikipedia, as edited June 24, 2021. Accessed October 7, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org…
  3. Shelton, Josepph. “Canary Spring at Mammoth Hot Springs Has Gone Dormant Indefinitely.” Distinctly Montana, August 7, 2020. Accessed October 7, 2021. https://www.distinctlymontana.com…

Series Notes:

  • This image is also shared as public domain on Pixabay, Flickr, and Pinterest.
  • Images are being shared in the sequence they were accepted by Pixabay, a royalty-free image-sharing site.
  • Only images specifically identified as such are public domain or creative commons on our pages.
  • All other images are copyright protected by me, creative commons, or used under the provisions of fair use.
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autumn, parks, photography, public domain, royalty free, spring, thermal features, wyoming

A welder in the round-house.

Drought, Dust, Depression, and War No. 25
Early Color Photography No. 3

A welder who works in the round-house at the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad's Proviso yard. Jack Delano. December 1942A welder who works in the round-house at the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad’s Proviso yard.1 Jack Delano.2 December 1942. (FSA/OWI color image3)
.

I originally posted this image in 2005 in one of my first blogs.1

When I first cropped and digitally enhanced the image that year, I didn’t see the welder with the cutting torch. In fact, I didn’t see him until I started to prepare the full image for online publication.

Jack Delano

In 1942 and 1943, working for the Office of War Information (OWI), Jack Delano traveled the U.S. documenting the part the railroads were playing in the war effort to rally support for the war effort.5 The project started in the railyards of Chicago photographing the busy freight systems and the many workers keeping the trains running around the clock.6

Jack Delano brought to his photography a visual perspective honed by rigorous, formal art training at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA) which included the Cresson Traveling Scholarship, a two-year scholarship for foreign travel and/or study awarded annually to PAFA art students. His travel and study in Europe introduced him to the great museums of Europe and the works of masters.  His perception was also likely influenced by his early years in Ukraine and his life as an immigrant to the United States.7


  1. Delano, Jack. “A Welder Who Works in the Round-House at the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad’s Proviso Yard.” Library of Congress. Accessed October 7, 2021. https://www.loc.gov….
  2. Jack Delano was an American photographer for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) and Office of War Information (OWI), and a composer noted for his use of Puerto Rican folk material.
  3. “About This Collection:  Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Color Photographs:  Digital Collections:  Library of Congress.” The Library of Congress. Accessed October 7, 2021. https://www.loc.gov….
  4. Goad, Michael. “A welder in the round-house.” North Farnham Freeholder in Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine. Accessed October 7, 2021. http://web.archive.org… December 18, 2005.
  5. Stryker, Roy E. Letter to Mr. L. I. McDougle, Association of American Railroads. “Delano’s Proposed Trip to Do a Story on Transportation in the West.” Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Publications and Graphics, October 12, 1942. Accessed October 7, 2021. https://www.loc.gov… pdf.
  6. Taylor, Alan. “Jack Delano’s Color Photos of Chicago’s Rail Yards in the 1940s.” The Atlantic, October 2, 2018. Accessed October 7, 2021. https://www.theatlantic.com.
  7. Reevy, Tony, and Pablo Delano (forward). The Railroad Photography of Jack Delano. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2015.
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america, american history, Dust, Drought, Depression and War, history, photography, railroad, train, vintage photos

John T. Hughes

Civil War Era Photographic Portraiture no. 7
Originally Published in American Civil War Chronicles

John T. Hughes (July 25, 1817 — August 11, 1862) was a colonel in the Missouri State Guard and Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He might also have been a brigadier general at the time of his death but documentation of the appointment is lacking.

Hughes returned to Missouri in the summer of 1862 to recruit for the Confederacy. At this time he may have been appointed as either an acting Confederate or Missouri State Guard brigadier general. No record of the appointment has been found but he was known as “general.”

He, his recruits, and several other recruiting or partisan bands united to attack the garrison of Independence, Missouri on August 11, 1862, with Hughes in overall command. During this battle (the First Battle of Independence), he was killed instantly by a shot to the head while leading a charge, but the city was captured. He is interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in Independence. He left behind a wife, Mary, and five young sons. (Wikipedia)

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american history, civil war era photographic portraiture, history, military, photography, vintage image

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