Have you run across any stories re/Hardy Johnson, Peter Johnson, Jasper Johnson or any of the Harrells of Johnson Co. Illinois??? Maurice Sherman > [Original Message] > From: Bill <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Date: 1/11/2004 2:09:00 PM > Subject: [ILJOHNSO] Little Egypt Heritage, 11 January 2004, Vol 3 #2 > > Little Egypt Heritage Articles > Stories of Southern Illinois > (c) Bill Oliver > > 11 January 2004 > Vol 3 Issue: #02 > ISBN: pending > > Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen of Little Egypt, > > There is a saying that we are not given more than we can > handle. There is another one which goes something like > this: "When the going gets tough, the tough get going". [I] > Don't want "no" more; things are tough enough. > <hugebroadsmile> > > I woke one day during this week to read a "day old" > newspaper and discovered that the Mother of two of my > cousins' passed away at 89 years of age. Bon Voyage, Aunt > Helen. Aunt Helen had gotten a divorce and passed out of > many of our lives in the late 1930s. There were nineteen of > us "OLIVER" cousins. There are still thirteen of us "above > ground" and most of us are scattered far and wide. > > That brings me to say a word or two about the pros and cons > of our mobility. Grandma Oliver's sister, Fanny, migrated > to "Canadee" in a Conestoga Wagon. With this type of travel > one didn't often return to the "homestead". There are cases > of "returning" east after disillusionments, especially in > the Nebraska territory, but for the main, even communication > between family members was lost when distance separated > them. In my wife's family an Uncle went west to Iowa. The > last known communication between brothers was sitting on the > porch of the "staying" brother in Wood County, Ohio. He was > quoted as saying, "Well, Will, I guess we won't be seeing > much of each other." Well, to continue, Grandma Oliver, > born in 1885, flew in jet airliners and witnessed Neil > Armstrong's step upon the moon. > > What do I remember? Steam engine whistles. Long before > they decided to build an "underpass" for our street I > remember that the train engineers had to pull the cord on > their steam whistle to notify drivers that they were near > the crossing. My Mother's youngest sister had tuberculosis > of the hip bone and was considered a "cripple". The > engineers on those trains gave her a flashlight in which to > signal them as they passed the house. There was a code of > some sort, which was developed between the trainmen and my > Aunt. I remember going o sleep to the sound of those steam > whistles and hearing the clicking of the rails. How > soothing. > > When we returned from Bermuda in January 1942, we stayed > with my maternal Grandmother. They had moved and lived > across a boulevard from a freight switching yard. The > engines would pull and push and release cars on various side > tracks to make up long freight trains. Here too, they used > their whistles as they would block traffic on a near by > street. However, the various sounds of the engine pushing > railroad cars, releasing cars, the clacking of the wheels > along the tracks, and the eventual crashing sound of cars > connecting together lulled me to sleep. Those sounds meant > things were "right" with my world. > > The third remembrance was riding the trains for long > distances to get from one city to another, following my > Father from [military] post to post. There was a romance to > "riding the rails". It was the "click of the rails" and the > slight swaying that could lull one into a peaceful sleep. > It was a magnetic or hypnotic feeling. > > Mobility was certainly enhanced during the "great > depression" of the 1930s. Somewhere I read that there was a > quarter of a million American teen "hoboes" riding the > rails. Those were just teens; we have all heard of the > great movement of people during the depression using > automobiles as Conestoga Wagons. As a reminder of those > times, read or re-read John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" > and/or Irene Hunt's "No Promises in the Wind". > > These past few days, humankind has sent its technology to > Mars. The magnitude of that fantastic > engineering accomplishment is more than some of us can > grasp. Some of us can remember being > awestruck when Armstrong stepped upon the moon. Those > "giant steps for Mankind" just keep > on "keepin' on. Gazing at a full moon on a bright night, it > is difficult not to think about a verse from a song written > by Guy Clark. It concerned a train that was "highballing" > down the tracks through a small Texas town when he was a boy > in the late 1940s. > "It left 50 or 60 people, just sittin' on their cars > "Wonderin' what it's comin' to and how it got this far!" > > Those were the days of the first Jet air-o-planes; at least > ten years before the first monkey in space. One wonders if > there will ever be a train that runs on our moon or on the > planet Mars. > > Getting back to the Conestoga Wagon is a bit difficult with > the mind out in space. The Conestoga Wagon was most common > vehicle for hauling goods or freight. It was developed in > Pennsylvania by German immigrants. They were large and > heavy. They could haul up to about 5 tons, where smaller > "farm wagons" could only carry about 1000 to 3000 pounds, > depending on their length and depth. > > Though "Prairie Schooners" were referred to as land ships, > the Conestoga Wagon had some similarities to ships. First > their bottoms were slightly rounded. This was so that > barrels wouldn't roll out while going up and down hills. > The ends of the wagon beds were angled like the bow and > stern of a boat. The watertight covering [hence the term > "covered wagon"] extended out beyond the bow and stern of > these vessels. > > These wagons were so heavy that it usually took teams of six > to eight horses to pull such heavy freight. Oxen were > sometimes used. Along the Sante Fe trail, horses were not > practical due to the long distances between water holes. > So, oxen and/or mules were used. Teams of as many as two > dozen of these animals might be used depending upon the > weight of the freight being hauled. > > Today we notice along our highways, and sometimes streets, > truck traileers [wagon beds] in tandem. This is an > adaptation of earlier days when a second wagon or > "backaction" was sometimes hitched behind a lead wagon. > > Due to the impractability of these large heavy wagons on the > Sante Fe Trail it was necessary to make adaptations Good ole > Yankee Ingenuity altered the Conestoga Wagon to a smaller > version. This became known as the "Prairie Schooner". The > difference was the new Prairie Schooner, with tongue and > neck yoke measured a bit less [about 23 feet] than the > covering of the old style wagons [29 to 33 feet]. > > These wagons [both the Conestoga and the Prairie Schooner] > were built in three main parts so that they could be > repaired easier. These parts were the covering, the bed, > and the undercarriage or "running gear". > > The "bonnets" or coverings were stretched over hardwood > bows, which had been soaked until pliable, bent into > U-shapes and allowed to dry. The bonnets themselves were > usually homespun cotton doubled to make them watertight. > The outward angled front and back allowed some protection to > the contents of the interior. The wagon bed was made from > hardwoods to minimize shrinking. The sideboards were about > two to three foot deep and with a bit of tar, the bed was > made watertight. The bed sat upon two sets of wheels of > different sizes. The front wheels being smaller than the > rear ones. This was to aid the maneuverability of the > wagon. To protect the wooden rims, wheels had forged > "tires". Though the wheels were made of hardwoods to reduce > shrinking, and thus allowing the "tires" to come loose and > leave the wheels. The wheels were often soaked in streams > and creeks if available. > > "Jockey" boxes were attached either to the rear or sides of > the wagon beds. These carried repair items such as iron > bolts, linch pins, skeins, nails, hoop iron, any tools and a > "jack" to lift the wagon bed for wheel repair or > replacement. Wagon repairing was a good business along the > trails, supplying a need for wainwrights and blacksmiths. > > Springs, except under the driver's seat, were unknown. > Riding a wagon was not comfortable. There are stories > written that some parts of trails were so rough that one > could put cream in the butter churns and have constant > supplies of fresh butter. > > The later wagons used by those in the "western movement" > were adaptations of the Prairie Schooner, called "farm > wagons". There were not as large, nor as well sheltered. > Their bonnets usually were not cantilevered, front and back. > > Traveling by wagon was certainly a romance. <grin> > > e-la-di-e-das-di ha-wi nv-wa-do-hi-ya nv-wa-to-hi-ya-da. > (May you walk in peace and harmony) > > Wado, > > > Bill > -=- > > PostScript: > > Other sites worth visiting: > > > > http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/SOIL > http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/ILMASSAC > http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/state/BillsArticles/LittleEgypt/intro.html > > > > > > ==== ILJOHNSO Mailing List ==== > Do not send Virus warnings to this list. > "Problems with Johnson Co IL Mail List email Tim Casey" > [email protected]