Wordless Wednesday: Hand, Flag & Lantern Signals

The Consolidated Code of Operating Rules, 1967

Workin’ on the Railroad

The Northern Pacific Railway Company issued each new employee a copy of their "Consolidated Code of Operating Rules" before starting on the job; the rules begin with a General Notice: "Safety is of the first importance in the discharge of duty. Obedience to the rules is essential to safety." Rule G, in particular, emphasizes that, [...]

Younglove Connections to Jane Austen

Jane Austen's been in the spotlight more than usual lately; last month, the Daily Mail published a series of photographs of nineteenth-century aristocrats in their sprawling manors and estates. Unexpectedly, the photo album includes a number of Jane Austen's relatives--Captain Edward Bradford, who lost his arm in a tiger attack, and Fanny Knight, who was [...]

Amy’s Boys

Amy (Merrill) Horey published hundreds of articles on herself, her husband and her nine children--Kathryn Clara (b. 1908), Leota Jean (b. 1909), Vera Ethel (b. 1911), George Merrill (b. 1914), Kenneth Arthur (b. 1915), Elmer Nelson (b. 1917), Clarence Herbert (b. 1919), Barbara Ann (b. 1925) and Millicent Marie (b. 1927)--in the community's newspapers, and [...]

Of Unusual & Heavenly Names

Celestia is of Latin origin, meaning "heavenly," and evokes all things ethereal and otherworldly. It's a diminutive form of Celeste and, more notably, "celestial," the latter of which means "positioned in or relating to the sky or outer space," "belonging or relating to heaven" and "supremely good." My great-great-grandmother was a Celestia; she was born [...]