Never Forgotten

At the age of 9, Daniel and his family settled from Ireland to the area around Galena, Illinois in the northwestern part of the state.  Shortly after the family moved here, his father died unexpectedly, and his mother remarried and moved the family across the Mississippi River to Dubuque, Iowa.  Daniel grew up farming the land overlooking the Mississippi River.

When he was 24, his adopted nation called and he enlisted with the US Army and served in battle for 5 years with the US 12th Infantry.  Injured in combat, he still fought on until the end of the war when he received his honorable discharge, and then he returned to Dubuque - the place that he loved.  He never married and passed from this world at the age of 74, then he was laid to rest in Rockdale Cemetery.

Daniel McGinnis did not invent anything, was not in politics nor business and would just be another face in the crowd at any gathering.  He would just be a forgotten footnote in the history of this town, if not for the unselfish act of two people.

Five hundred miles north of where Daniel lived out most of his life,  Marshall Davis, a decendant of one of Daniel's brothers, was working to compile his family history.  Compiling Daniel's information was easy enough as far as his military records and obituary were readily available to compliment family records.  One final item to clear up was to get a picture of Daniel's headstone, so Marshall enlisted the services of volunteers with the Find-A-Grave website (http://www.findagrave.com).

Meanwhile, in Dubuque, I had decided to work on my own genealogy and started working with findagrave again.  I put in some requests and decided that I should take on the task of knocking off some of the local requests that had been up for quite awhile.  Rockdale Cemetery is rather small and easy to access, so I would go for a quick photo and clear Daniel's stone off of the list.

The 'quick photo' turned out to be a nearly year long endeavor.  See, when Daniel died, his niece had his body shipped from the Iowa Soldiers' Home in Marshalltown to Dubuque for burial.  The funeral arrangements were all made and the burial happened just before the frost set in.  The records at the Veterans office and those family records all showed that Daniel's final resting place was at the Rockdale Cemetery, but no gravestone was found in or around the cemetery for him.  Was he really here at this cemetery or were plans changed at the last minute and just weren't updated.  The search was on.

Church records showing Daniel McGinnis is in Plot 196.

Marshall tried several times to reach the caretaker of the Rockdale Cemetery.  Because it is a small graveyard, there isn't a full-time office or caretaker present, so it was difficult to make the connection to anyone that had access to burial records at the church and cemetery.  In the meantime, I continued on with fulfilling requests from findagrave at the other cemeteries in the area and kept a steady eye out for Daniel's grave.  When we finally were able to contact the caretaker at Rockdale, I had canvassed all but one cemetery in town.  Sure enough, church records showed that Daniel was indeed interred at Rockdale and the grave site was checked to make sure of that.  At long last, Daniel's whereabouts were known.

With Daniel's funeral taking place in November, I am sure the intent was to order a headstone in the spring, but somehow the stone was either never ordered or just never set.  Eventually, Daniel's only living relative in the area passed on and so Daniel lie in an unmarked grave - for over 100 years.

Yes, you read that correctly.  Daniel died in 1910.  He fought in the US Civil War at Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Antietam, Chancellorsville and eight other battles, including the Battle of Gaines' Mill in June 1862, where the 12th INF suffered losing half of their troops.  It was probably at this battle, where Daniel was shot in the leg.

Here Daniel was, a true American war hero, and he was in an unmarked grave in a small cemetery in Northeastern Iowa.  Marshall and I both felt that Daniel should finally receive his gravestone - to never be lost again.

Having served his country in military service and receiving an honorable discharge, the US government makes provisions for a grave marker to be issued at the cost of the government.  It doesn't matter if the person fought in battle or not, just as long as they have an honorable discharge.  All the paperwork was submitted to the Veterans Department and that stone was cut, embossed and shipped to Dubuque.  Brannon Monument received the stone and placed it in the cemetery and then, after laying in an unmarked tomb for all these years - and searching for nearly a full year - Daniel's whereabouts will always be known to the world.

Most importantly, this Memorial Day and Veterans Day (and each one as long as I live in this area), a flag will be placed according to military protocol at the grave of a man I never had the pleasure of meeting nor ever read about when studying Civil War History.  A man I feel totally indebted to for his fight to keep this land that we both love, free.

Corporal Daniel McGinnis.  Civil War Veteran.  American Patriot.  You are gone from the surly bonds of this life, but you are not forgotten.

FOOTNOTE:  In the process of reviewing the church records, we discovered that Daniel's brother James (whom it was believed was buried elsewhere) was also buried in the Rockdale Cemetery.  Two unmarked graves were found.  James' tombstone will be ordered and placed when all of the records are compiled and sent to the Veterans Departement.

Iowa Caucus - 2012

Well, it is that time again.  Time when we, the American populace, examine what has happened to our country over the past few years, determine what we each feel are issues that need to be addressed and act accordingly.  Those actions are spoken with our vote for the highest office in our own government - the Presidency of the United States.

As a citizen of the State of Iowa, I am fortunate in that my voice is heard first.  From the very heart of this great land, the collective voice yells out which of the candidates are better prepared and have presented what we see as the solutions to our current problems.  After our voice is heard, then the rest of the nation has their say and the field of candidates narrows down to a more manageable size.  The major parties present their best and brightest candidate and we all make a final determination of who we feel is the best person for the highest office in our nation.

The first round in each state is either a primary election or a caucus.  I am fortunate enough to have lived in states that utilize both formats - Arizona is a 'Primary State' and Iowa is a 'Caucus State.' 

When I lived in Arizona, we would go to the polls during the primary election, enter a voting booth, mark our ballot, submit that ballot and then go about our business.  The polls are open all day as they are during any General Election and so you pick a convienient time, drop by, spend a few minutes to vote and then leave.  Pretty much all we did when it concerned politics.  Sure, some got involved, but the majority did not.  So it is in a 'Primary State.'

Here in Iowa, it is quite different and seems to allow for us to each take ownership in our government.  Even the format for the Republican Caucus and Democrat Caucus is different.  Both parties start Caucus at a certain time, go for an hour or two and are done.  When you show up to a Republican Caucus (which is the only I have personally experienced), begin as a group of several precincts meeting in a larger area.  A representative from each candidate (or even the candidate themselves) is given five minutes to speak as to why they are the best person for the position.  You then separate into your individual precinct, elect a chairperson and a secretary from your precinct to lead and record your voice, and then cast your ballot.  Ballots are collected there, tabulated right there, in front of you and you know before you even leave the building, how your precinct voted.  After that, you chose delegates to represent your precinct at the county party convention, discuss what issues you feel the party as a whole should stand for or address (these are called "Planks") and then you are done.  All of the precincts get tabulated together and the totals for each candidate are called into the county party headquarters, where the totals are then sent on to the Secretary of State.

Four years ago was my first experience with the caucus and I was quite pleased and fascinated with the whole thing.  This year, I even took an active roll within my precinct as the secretary and honestly feel it is much better than the primary system - it allows each voice to be heard and allows for neighbors to get better acquainted with each other and address issues on a level that is much closer to home than even can be expressed as it is in a primary state.

Some things get better with time, but for me, I really feel that the old 'tried and true' method of caucusing is the better system.

A Year Passes

July 4th, 2010 started out like any other for the small town of Bellevue, Iowa.  The city, nestled between the limestone bluffs and the Mississippi River,  was within the height of their annual Heritage Days celebration when, during the parade, the city was thrust into the spotlight of the nation - for all the wrong reasons and for all the right reasons as well.

Bellevue, Iowa is one of those quaint little towns that are a part of the fabric known as Americana.  They don't have a Walmart, but they have a Main Street that is the heart of the 3,000 or so that call this hamlet home.  Everyone here knows one another and knows the purest meaning of community.  When things are going well, they all laugh and smile together.  When something tragic happens, they are here to hold and comfort one another.

The parade started out well enough.  The streets were lined by spectators young and old alike.  The younger generations were there to see the horses, the fire truck and, of course, to get the candy while the older generations looked on and reflected on the history of their town and of their nation.  During the parade, the team of two horses pulling a carriage, became startled and started running uncontrollably down the street, on and off of the sidewalk until they became trapped further down the road.  Just as quickly as it began, it ended.

Even though there were dozens injured (most of those were children), there was only one death.  Mrs. Janet Steines, 60, was the driver of the carriage, died when she was ejected from the vehicle as it hit a signpost and became detached from the horse team.

The rest of the day's celebrations did go on.  The ski show on the river.  The Retiring of The Colors.  The fireworks.  It all continued, but more somberly than normal.  Even the heavens cried.  As the fireworks were about to start, the area experienced a heavy downpour.

Bellevue has grown from this experience, pulled together as only a small part of Americana can and moved past this event.  Sure, there are changes that have been made to parade and such, but the show is and will go on.

Likewise, we will again travel 25 miles south of our own town for the funnel cake and fireworks.  Bellevue has become a part of our holiday tradition for the past three years and is - and will forever be - in our hearts and thoughts.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

I know that I haven't written about the weather yet this winter, as last winter was pretty bad and there were seemingly endless updates on snow. What can I say, that was a record setting winter here in Iowa. However, that was then and this is now.

So far this winter, we are ahead of the snow depths that we had in 2007-2008. With almost 20 inches more snow than this time last year, the real record breaker is the cold. Thursday's low of -26 broke the old record from 1888 of -25 and on Friday, we tied the record of -30 set the same year.

It is really hard for me to imagine how Dubuquers were able to handle those temps in 1888. I know that most did, but I can only imagine how hard it was. They didn't have Thinsulate(invented in 1978), fiberglass insulation (first used in 1930's), electric heaters and blankets (1920's). I know that people dressed in wool, fur and down clothing, but it still was a lot harder. Heck, I am willing to bet that most people stayed indoors as much as possible rather than taking a chance of catching pneumonia or getting frostbitten. However, even with all of the advancements of the modern era, it was still pretty hard to deal with.

Now that it is in the 20-30 degree range above zero, it feels like a heatwave

Flood of 2008 - An Update On Us

I know that there are a lot of you that have expressed a concern as to how we are doing and if we are experiencing the floods, tornados, etc.

So far, we are doing pretty well here in Dubuque. While we are being inundated with an enormous amount of rain, we are fairly lucky. I think that our luck has more to do with the geography of the area more so than anything else. For those that do not know, Dubuque is situated in a hilly area, complete with a lot of steep bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River below.


There are a lot of roads that are closed because of the flood waters. One of those closures has affected Dubuque in a rather interesting way. US Interstate 80, one of the most traveled interstate highways in this country is shut down between Des Moines and Davenport. All traffic has been re-routed to US Highway 20 through Dubuque. This has caused a lot of congestion and adds anywhere between four and six hours to a trip from Davenport to Des Moines. I don't think that I will be taveling anywhere on this highway until the closure of I-80 has been fixed.

The Cedar River, which runs through Cedar Rapids and Cedar Falls, and the Des Moines River are really getting hammered. Not to say that the Mississippi and Maquoketa Rivers here in Dubuqueland aren't getting their share, but I don't think that the flooding is as bad here as it is to the west a few miles.

As far as tornados are concerned, there have been numerous watches the last few days and weeks, but nothing more than some straightline winds of 80MPH that we had a few days ago. Again, probably more attibutable to the geography of the area, but who knows.

While I am talking about tornados, I would like to ask for you all to keep the Boy Scouts from Camp Little Sioux and their families in prayer, as well as all of those that have been hit by tornados.

Though we are expecting some more nasty weather tonight and Sunday, the rest of next week appear to be rain free. One can only hope that this is the case so the rivers and streams here can go down some before we start getting more rain and flooding.

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Image © copyright 2008 Tracy Huff~Carlson. More photos on the flood by Tracy here

Tornado Warning for Dubuque, IA

Well, we had a pretty good storm this evening. Even a tornado warning for Dubuque.
For my friends and family back home - here is some real lightning and thunder.

BTW, I errantly state that the storm is moving from the east. Storm was moving from the Northwest and headed east while the clouds were moving opposite.

APRIL FOOLS!!!!

OK, I want to start by saying that I love each and every one of my faithful readers, so I think I should let the cat out of the bag.

I posted my last post to this blog this morning before I ventured out to work. Naturally, I sent out emails to all my family and friends that advised them to look at the blog. Why go to the blog when I just could have sent it in the email, you may ask. Well, email is still a little quirky in that I may format an email one way and it will be received another, but the webpage or blog page formats exactly the way I want it to all readers and the format is what is key here.

In the previous post, I started off with two key words that are in all caps and bold face - PAYING ATTENTION. That coupled with the date (ie. April 1) should have clued people, but I didn't stop there - I also highlighted certain letters in the post. These letters are red in color and so they should stand out, but just in case, I will point them out for you...

April fools prank!

For those that know me very well, I love to do some silly and funny things or say funny things, as, my profile says, "To Zonie, life is a never ending supply of fodder for a stand up comedy routine - a little something to make others laugh. Welcome to the insanity... "

The last time I pulled an April Fool's prank, I was about 9. The night before, I laid awake in bed for a bit trying to come up with the ultimate prank and after about 30 minutes or so, I came up with not only the prank, but also the plan. Early the next morning - long before anyone else in the house - I got up, went into the kitchen, got out a glass and grabbed the sugar bowl. I proceeded to take all of the sugar out of the bowl and put it in the glass. Then I reached in the cupboard and pulled out the salt and poured the salt into the sugar bowl. I then poured the sugar back into the jar and cleaned up any evidence before returning to my bedroom. I remember laughing for what seemed an eternity.

Maybe half an hour or an hour later, my mom woke up and started my dad's coffee. Once the coffee was done, mom poured dad a cup and promptly placed two heaping teaspoons of "sugar" into the coffee. My dad took one sip and, after yelling a few explitives at my mom, wanted to know why she was trying to kill him. Mom was puzzled and took a sip of the coffee. Unbeknownst to them, I was in the kitchen laughing as hard as I could without bringing attention to myself. How wrong I was. Once I was caught, I was restricted from sugar for a year - no pre-sweetened cereal, nor sugar on my Cheerios, etc., etc.

Looking back, I really should have chosen a different prank to pull than that, but I did get the last laugh, because to this day, I still do not drink my coffee with sugar in it and I also have a dislike for sugar on my Cheerios.

So, what I am saying is that despite the fact that Lisi and I have survived one of the worst winters in Dubuque history and definitely the worst in our lives, we are staying put, at least in Dubuque. Also, I am saying that there is one rule you must remember when you have a comedian in your life - pay attention and keep looking out for that wise crack.

Peace and Love to all.

Mike

...And Then Again (God Has a Sense of Humor)

I should have known that just as soon as I thought of and started writing that last post on Perspective is Everything, God would throw a comment in there for me.

This morning, I prepared for work, listening to the weather radio and taking into account the fact that it was indeed warm - so warm in fact that virtually overnight all of the snow melted - but slated to get colder as the day wore on. I dressed for what I thought was appropriate for today with all the extras for this evening's wind and colder temps. I forgot that God would kindly bring me back to humility.

At midnight, we were at 39°F. Our high today was 41° at 5am. The low so far (as of 10pm is -6°F. However, you must also realize that the wind is howling at a brisk 30MPH gusting to 40MPH which translates to a wind chill of -35° to -45°F. If the National Weather Service models hold out, we could have wind chills between -45° and -50°F tonight.

As far as "perspective" is concerned, that means a shift of 50° (or 100° if you factor in the wind chill). Much more than I was talking about a couple days ago.

All this proves two points for me. One is that God has a pretty interesting sense of humor and, two, this IS Iowa where if you don't like the weather today, stick around because it will be different tomorrow.

Iowa Caucus 2008

I have voted in countless elections and even consider myself very knowledgeable in the political process. Now I can say that I REALLY know the political process.

Being a newcomer to Iowa (as of May 2006), this was my first caucus. People that I spoke to before hand had mixed ideas of the caucus process, even fellow Iowans, but nothing prepared me for what it is really like. Voting for my candidate was the primary reason for caucusing last night, but I was more interested in what happens at the caucus and how it works. I walked away with more than I ever envisioned before last night.

It seems that there are two distinct ways to caucus - a Democrat way and a Republican way. They start the same with a general meeting and listen to people speak about each candidate, but that is the only similarity. From what I understand, the Dems then break out into groups based on candidate and try to lure others to their group. Thus they pick the candidate they are choosing - based on who has the most bodies grouped.

For the Republicans, the caucus breaks from the general meeting into their respective voting precincts. After precinct business such as electing precinct officers, a vote is taken of the candidates and tallied. Other business such as suggesting Platform Planks (items you would like to see the party support) and finally choosing delegates to represent the precinct at the County Convention that is held later conclude the evening's business.

In my previous experiences, the electoral process was very sterile and, for the most part secretive. I knew practically nobody, went into the booth and marked my ballot. With the caucus process, I was with my neighbors - some whom I knew - and I actually feel that I contributed something to the process as well as walked away with something in return. I can hardly say how candidates finished in my precincts from previous elections, but I know how my vote counted and where my candidate finished in this caucus - third.

Also, in previous voting engagements back in Arizona, the only thing that I walked away with after the primary election was a sense of satisfaction that I voted. Because the caucus process is so 'hands on', I actually walked away with something else. I will, for the first time, be attending the County Convention as a delegate in March. It is really exciting to not only see the political process happening, but to also be an integral part of that process.

So, for now, I will do my part for Fred as the election process moves on to New Hampshire and then on to Super Tuesday and the rest of the US. Then, we will get another learning experience on March 8 at the County Convention.

As a side note, I am really happy to see that Fred Thompson did finish pretty good here. While some people wrote him off because of (as they term it) his late entry, I think that he showed that he has what it takes.

Go Fred Go!