Written 3 Sept 1814:

O! say can you see by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?


On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.


And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.


O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Francis Scott Key's original manuscript

the actual flag he wrote about

Main Street, north side of the square:

dirt street

from Merna Combs

Landmark's Presents:

"Olde Barn Tour"

June 13th

Noon - 4PM

Tickets and maps available at:

Dr. Rutherford's House

Pike Street

Oakland, Il

The tour consists of 20 old barns and 2 surprises!

$15.00 a carload

call 346-2653 for more information

A MESSAGE
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward (1844-1911)

Was there ever message sweeter
Than that one from Malvern Hill,
From a grim old fellow,-you remember?
Dying in the dark at Malvern Hill.
With his rough face turned a little,
On, a heap of scarlet sand,
They found him, just within the thicket,
With a picture in his hand,
With a stained and crumpled picture
Of a woman's aged face;
Yet there seemed to leap a wild entreaty,
Young and living-tender-from the face
When they flashed the lantern on it,
Gilding all the purple shade,
And stooped to raise him softly,
That's my mother, sir," he said.

"Tell her"-but he wandered, slipping
Into tangled words and cries,
Something about Mac and Hooker,
Something dropping through the cries
About the kitten by the fire,
And mother's cranberry-pies; and there
The words fell, and an utter
Silence brooded in the air.

just as he was drifting from them,
Out into the dark, alone
(Poor old mother, waiting for your message,
Waiting with the kitten, all alone!),
Through the hush his voice broke, Tell her
Thank you, Doctor-when you can,
Tell her that I kissed her picture,
And wished I'd been a better man."

Ah, I wonder if the red feet
Of departed battle-hours
May not leave for us their searching
Message from those distant hours.
Sisters, daughters, mothers, think you,
Would your heroes now or then,
Dying, kiss your pictured faces,
Wishing they'd been better men?

The Blue And The Gray
Francis Miles Finch (1827-1907)


By the flow of the inland river,
Whence the fleets of iron have fled,
Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver,
Asleep are the ranks of the dead:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Under the one, the Blue,
Under the other, the Gray

These in the robings of glory,
Those in the gloom of defeat,
All with the battle-blood gory,
In the dusk of eternity meet:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgement-day
Under the laurel, the Blue,
Under the willow, the Gray.

From the silence of sorrowful hours
The desolate mourners go,
Lovingly laden with flowers
Alike for the friend and the foe;
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgement-day;
Under the roses, the Blue,
Under the lilies, the Gray.

So with an equal splendor,
The morning sun-rays fall,
With a touch impartially tender,
On the blossoms blooming for all:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Broidered with gold, the Blue,
Mellowed with gold, the Gray.

So, when the summer calleth,
On forest and field of grain,
With an equal murmur falleth
The cooling drip of the rain:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment -day,
Wet with the rain, the Blue
Wet with the rain, the Gray.

Sadly, but not with upbraiding,
The generous deed was done,
In the storm of the years that are fading
No braver battle was won:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Under the blossoms, the Blue,
Under the garlands, the Gray

No more shall the war cry sever,
Or the winding rivers be red;
They banish our anger forever
When they laurel the graves of our dead!
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day,
Love and tears for the Blue,
Tears and love for the Gray.

Please check out this link:

To: Teresa Dennis,

Thank you for your info on the two historic markers there in Oakland.

My wife and I stopped there to photograph them - - and found a few other items. The following
gives a full review of our efforts.

http://www.hmdb.org/results.asp?Town=Oakland&State=Illinois


Hope you enjoy them. Feel free to pass on this link..

If you are inclined, feel free to add any other information or photos you may wish.

--------------

The Editor is desiring any info about the World War I Memorial downtown Oakland. Indeed it is an unusual memorial in its concept and materials used. ANY and ALL information would be appreciated.

Thank you -and- Have a Great Day ! !


Al Wolf, cpcu, clu

Life was much simpler back then:

all you had to do to get out of a ticket was show a little ankle

My new find on eBay...

I found this on eBay and bid on it.   I won it late last night so will post a better photo of it when I get it in.

I love the "No Clinkers" part.

Berry Cemetery:

Kathy Pardi sent this to me today.  It is out of the Landmarks blue book sold at the Rutherford House.

The poem is by her grandma Coartney.

Click on the image to enlarge.

Mother's Day:

the stone of Anna Jarvis- founded Mother's Day in America on May 10th, 1908

http://www.mothersdaycentral.com/about-mothersday/history/

If you want to learn more about Mother's Day and how it came about in America and other countries, this is the site.

Vintage Mother's postcard:

another vintage image

Looking for:

Vintage local photos of kids playing.

Would love to do a series on this for the summer.

The Coartney Barrel Horse:

I love this photo...

the Coartney kids:

Martha ( in the barrel), Ronald and Jimmy (on the horse), and Mary and Janice (pulling the tail)

This looks like a lot more fun than video games.

* photo submitted by Kathy Pardi and Martha Hawkins

Thank you, ladies, for sharing with everyone!

Vintage postcard:

don't forget mom this coming weekend...

Coartney's mules:

Harvey Wayne Coartney and his mules...and dog...

* photo provided by Kathy Pardi and Martha Hawkins