PT, Volunteering, Bored, & Caching 1/23-29/2009

Friday Mom had PT and then went to the hospital to volunteer in the nursery. They had 2 sets of twins born that day so she was quite busy feeding, bathing and being a Mom like she has been and always will be.
Saturday was a boring day as about all we did was go pick up our new HD LCD TV at Sears.
Sunday was about the same as we just hung around the house and watched TV.
Monday Mom had PT in the morning and then went out to Ed's to do our wash.
Tuesday we did go with Liz, Bob, Muffy & Raggs to Florence for a day of caching. We had a great time and did several interesting caches and we also met Ed for lunch at Ruby Tuesday's. Our first cache was behind a cell phone tower in the woods outside of Florence. Second was a cache brought us to a very interesting and historical site on the outskirts of Florence. It brought us to two cabins (c. 1836) built by African-Americans to house African-American slaves who were brought to Mars Bluff to raise cotton and remain on the campus of Francis Marion University. The quality of the woodcraft, especially the full-dovetailed corners, shows that the builders were skilled craftsmen who took great pride in their work. The cabins are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. One of the cabins Ms. Catherine's House is dedicated to the recovery and preservation of our African American heritage. A history of the hewn timber cabins begins in 1836 when they were first built on the farm of J. Eli Gregg. A plat dated around 1870 documents their early existence. The lives of the first occupants of the cabins were meager and filled with hard labor. The cabin currently known as Ms. Catherine's house has its own special story. Mr. Archie Waiters and his wife Catherine moved into the cabin shortly after their marriage in 1933 and remained there until 1953. Mr. Ed Pinkney and his wife Jannie also lived in a hewn timber cabin in another location and donated some of the artifacts used in their cabin for display with these cabins. A tour of Ms. Catherine's House reveals many details about everyday life in the early years of the twentieth century, but these same details also point back in time to the rich African heritage handed down through generation after generation of people who occupied the hewn timber cabins. The interior and furnishings such as old newspaper used as wallpaper, Ms. Catherine pasted fresh newspaper on the walls every fall. Some of the paper can still be seen on the wall, especially on the wall behind the head of the bed. A table with a tin top, beside the back door, held a bucket of water, a wash basin, and a bar of soap. The soap was made by Ms. Catherine out of waste grease and lye. The gourd dipper above the water bucket recalls Africa where gourds were used for drinking and for storing food. A crate used as an extra chair all reveal how meager and lacking luxury their lives were. A trunk, no matter how old, was a prized piece of furniture, and nails in the wall took the place of closets. Frequently, the parent’s bed was beside the fireplace. A bright quilt, made by Ms. Catherine, was the kind that she and her friends made when she lived here. A sketch on the back of the front door shows the footprint of the original cabin, as well as the small additions which were removed when the cabin was restored. Clothes and bed linens were practical, useful, and colorful. Clothes were typically for work, but brightly colored, handmade quilts adorned both the parents' and children's beds. After field work came household chores, both inside and outside the house. Washing clothes, ironing, and cleaning house were never easy tasks. Of course, groceries and food items were sold in general stores and later on in supermarkets, but these were often far away, with little or no transportation. Ms. Catherine grew a rather large garden of vegetables each year and preserved these by canning. Tending her garden wasn't the only outside chore, however. Following African custom, Ms. Catherine made her own brooms from straw for sweeping inside the house and used dogwood branches to make the brooms for sweeping the yard. The cache was located on the nature trail behind the cabins and we found it quickly and after we did we looked around the cabins.
Third was a cache just down the road on Crater Rd. next to a abandoned gas station and behind a abandoned RV park. This cache was about a nuclear bomb that fell to earth in Mars Bluff, SC. It’s an almost unbelievable true story about the day that a 30 kiloton Mark 6 nuclear bomb was accidentally dropped in the yard of the Greggs who lived in Mars Bluff, SC. The date was March 11, 1958. At 16:19 a B-47E bomber, Aircraft 35-1876A, accidentally released their nuclear bomb as they were passing over the Gregg property in rural South Carolina in an area called Mars Bluff. This event, a Broken Arrow, is also considered to be the only time a nuclear bomb was ever dropped on America. In the morning of March 11, 1958, a specialized crew of two at Hunter Air Force Base, Savannah ran into some problems while trying to set the locking pin, which holds the bomb in the plane until it’s ready to be dropped, in place. They used a hammer to complete the pin engagement. The men then hurriedly completed their pre-flight checklist. They had to be finished by 10:30 or points would be docked for the mission. During their haste, they failed to check the release mechanism of the pin. Air Force policy required that the pin be released prior to take-off, in case it needed to be dropped, and to re-insert the pin at 5000 feet until it was time to finally drop the bomb on its intended target. The bomber’s flight crew included Captain Earl Koehler, the pilot; Captain Charles Woodruff, the co-pilot; Captain Bruce Kulka, the navigator/bombardier: and crew chief Sergeant Robert Screptock . They were part of a mission called Snow Flurry which was a Special or Nuclear Weapons Exercise. Their bomber was accompanied by three additional bombers also carrying atomic bombs. They were all headed to Bruntingthorpe Air Base, England. As the bomber took off the pin was released as per the policy and when they reached 5,000 feet the co-pilot reached down and operated the lever to re-insert the pin. The re-insertion failed and a warning light notified them that the pin was not set. Since bombardier, Bruce Kulka was responsible for the bomb, he was instructed to go into the bay where the bomb was and find out what was wrong. The crew had to go onto oxygen because the bomb bay was not pressurized and the entire plane had to be depressurized while Kulka was back there working. The space where the bomb was stored was so tight that Kulka was not able to wear a parachute. The bomb was almost as large as the as the inside of the bomber itself. This required Kulka to feel blindly above the bomb to try to re-insert the pin. So, here we have Kulka; no parachute; wearing an oxygen mask; and working blind. Kulka grabs what he thinks is the pin, but quickly finds out that it’s the emergency-release lever as the 7,600 pound bomb drops onto the bomb bay doors. When the bomb dropped, Kulka fell on top of it. The weight is more then the bomb bay doors can hold and they open with Kulka still on top of the bomb. As the bomb drops out of the plane, Kulka manages to grab hold of something and pull himself back into the plane and then he radios the pilot what had just happened. The pilot transmits a special coded message to Hunter Air Force Base, but the base did not recognize the coded transmission because the procedure had never been used before. The pilot was then forced to radio the Florence airport, about 6 miles from Mars Bluff, to request that they call the air base and tell them that, “Aircraft 35-1876A has lost a device.” While all this was taking place, the bomb was impacting the Gregg property below. The high-explosives in the bomb detonated, but, because the fissionable core of the bomb was stored in another part of the plane, a full-on nuclear explosion did not take place. The explosion injured Walter Gregg; his wife; his son; and his two daughters. Ella Davies, a cousin of the Gregg children who was visiting at the time, was the most severely injured. They all were taken to the Florence hospital. The Greggs were released, but Ella required 31 stitches and an overnight stay. The blast produced a crater that was 50-70 feet in diameter and 25-35 feet deep. Every building and vehicle on the property was damaged beyond repair. The Air Force offered the Gregg’s $44,000, which was the depreciated value for the property – not the replacement value. The Greggs refused the offer. The family didn’t even get a housing allowance while their house was being rebuilt. A special bill was signed by President Eisenhower which allowed the Greggs to sue the Federal Government. After filing the suit and more than three years in court, the Greggs received $54,000 (eaual to about $380,000 today) and still had to pay their legal fees. The crater is still there today. Trees are growing on the perimeter, but nothing grows in the interior of the crater. It is located behind a housing development called Francis Marion Forest. We enjoyed looking around the site after finding the cache as it is quite a story.
Our fourth cache was also at another historical spot called the Florence Historical Stockade. The Florence Prison Stockade was in operation for approximately 5 months during the time period of Sept 1864 through Feb 1865. During this time, as many as 15 - 18,000 Union soldiers were held captive. Of these, approximately 2,802 Union soldiers died; most of whom are buried as unknowns in the Florence National Cemetery.The idea of building a stockade at Florence, SC began when General Sherman, after capturing Atlanta, posed a great threat towards liberating the Union soldiers held captive at Andersonville and other southern Georgia stockades. It was determined that the prisoners had to be moved out of the path of Sherman's advancing troops. Florence was chosen by Confederate authorities for the site of a new stockade due to the fact that there were three railroads that centered in the town, which would ease the operation of transporting and receiving prisoners. Major General Samuel Jones ordered Major Frederick F. Warley, who had been recently exchanged from a Northern prison camp, to construct a stockade in Florence. Work began with approximately 1,000 slaves being assigned to the project from the local area. At Andersonville in late August and early September 1864, thousands of Union prisoners were told by Captain Wirz that they would all be paroled, except for those who could not walk and were unable to travel. The talk of parole was merely a way to keep the prisoners under control and a way of trying to prevent escape during their relocation. The prisoners being relocated were divided into three groups. One group was sent to Savannah, GA, another to Charleston, SC and the last group went directly to Florence, SC. Left behind at Andersonville were those who could not walk and who would be no threat if liberated. Many of these died off rapidly. Most of the prisoners that were sent to Savannah would eventually find themselves back at Andersonville after being held captive in various prisons in Georgia. Although, some of these did end up at Florence. Those that arrived in Charleston were mainly held at the Charleston Race Course, which today is known as Hampton Park. Some were also held in the jailyard of the Charleston City Jail and the Workhouse. All of these were holding areas for the prisoners until the building of the stockade at Florence could be completed. Most, if not all, of the Enlisted prisoners at Charleston were sent to Florence. During the construction of the stockade, there was a rapidly deteriorating situation in Charleston due to the spread of such diseases as Small Pox & Yellow Fever. Due to this situation, 5 to 6,000 of the prisoners were sent to Florence before the completion of the stockade, arriving in Florence on the 14th of September. Since the stockade was far from complete when the prisoners began to arrive, they were gathered into a field close to the train tracks. Being assembled in an open field made the possibility of escape a reality and was of great concern to Major Warley, not to mention the fact that the prisoners were "in a state of mutiny" and could cause major problems in the surrounding area; including the possible destruction of the railroads. Warley requested assistance from Major General Roswell S. Ripley, the commander at Charleston, to help with the situation. Due to the imminent danger involved, Warley couldn't wait and sent out trains to the surrounding community to gather every available man to assist in the completion of the stockade. The prisoners were finally moved into the stockade on the first Sunday of October 1864. The design of the stockade was much like that of Andersonville. Upright un-hewn timbers were sunk about 5 feet into the ground encasing about 23 1/2 acres; six of which were swamp. The walls of the stockade were roughly 1,400 by 725 feet and approximately 12 - 16 feet tall. Like Andersonville, a stream (Pie Branch) ran through the center of the stockade. This stream was slightly larger than the one at Andersonville, but still proved to be inadequate. One major difference in the design changes between Andersonville and Florence is that a deep trench was dug around the Florence Stockade to eliminate prisoners from trying to tunnel out. The soil from the trench was then pushed up against the outer walls of the stockade, which provided a platform for the guards to man their posts and also added stability to the log walls. Some accounts also state that there was an inner trench or furrow, as well as a row of boards, used for the deadline. An additional difference, in comparing Andersonville to Florence, was that the trees previously within the boundaries of the walls had recently been cut, leaving many stumps behind, which were used as firewood. There were also several smaller trees left inside, which were put to the same use. Also, wood was supplied to the stockade, although in small amounts. This wood was gathered during the winter months by a prisoner wood squad. Major Warley had been wounded prior to his imprisonment and the building of the Florence Stockade. His wounds began to bother him and he requested to be relieved of his duties at the stockade, being replaced by Colonel George P. Harrison, Jr. of the 32nd GA by the 20th of September, with Lt. James Barrett of the 5th GA in command of the interior of the stockade. Harrison became known for his fair treatment of prisoners. While, on the other hand, Barrett was known for being the most brutal. Many accounts state that Lt. Barrett was far more brutal than Capt. Wirz. By October 12th of 1864 there were 12,362 prisoners at the stockade, with a death rate of between 20 & 30 per day. At this time, three-fourths of the prisoners were without blankets, and quite a few were close to being naked. Luckily, a supply of goods and clothes were delivered to the stockade from the Sanitary Commission about the middle of October. Around the first of November, another supply of clothes arrived at the stockade from the Sanitary Commission. These items were dispersed to the prisoners who were in most need of them. Also, around this time, the northwest corner of the stockade was separated from the main part for the construction of a hospital, which consisted of rude barracks. The prisoners totaled 11,424 for November, and towards the end of the month, orders came to make out parole rolls for the most severely sick and wounded prisoners. Any prisoner wishing to be paroled had to undergo an inspection to determine if his case was severe enough to be paroled. On December 6, 1864, public criticism led to the appointment of Lieutenant Colonel John F. Iverson as the commander of the stockade. During the first half of December the prisoners who were selected for parole were sent by rail to Charleston where they would stay for a few days before boarding the flag-of-truce boats. After their parole, they were shipped to Camp Parole, Annapolis, Maryland. Due to these paroles the number of prisoners had decreased to 7,538 with the death rate decreasing to 6 per day for January 1865. Brigadier General John H. Winder, commander of all of the Southern prisons east of the Mississippi, was at Florence when he died of a heart attack in front of the Sutler Tent on February 6th, 1865. Due to an inadequate water supply and its close proximity to Federal cavalry, Winder had been trying to close the stockade at Florence. After Winder's death, Colonel Henry Forno made preparations to have the prisoners relocated. Sherman had cut the last railroad link to southwest Georgia, so it was decided to have the prisoners relocated to North Carolina. After much discussion about what to do with the prisoners, all able-bodied prisoners were sent to Greensboro, where they would be paroled and sent to Camp Parole, Annapolis, MD. Most of the sick and wounded prisoners were sent to N. E. Ferry at Wilmington to be paroled as well. By the end of February 1865, the stockade was empty. Capt. Wirz was later hung for war crimes related to Andersonville, but Lt. Barrett escaped this same fate by fleeing to Germany where he married and remained many years. He would die later of natural causes in 1910 at Augusta, GA. The Florence Stockade has not received the same notoriety as Andersonville, but the conditions were very much the same. In fact, by many accounts, Florence was worse. It must also be realized that most of the prisoners at Florence had already survived a hard summer at Andersonville and now faced going through the winter with little to no clothing or shelter. Again we enjoyed walking around the gazebo and reading all the information boards after finding the cache. As we drove out of where the park was we stopped by the Florence National Cemetery and looked around.
Fifth cache was in Freedom Park in a tree, sixth cache was at Henry Timrod Schoolhouse in a Timrod Park. Henry Timrod (December 8, 1828 - October 7, 1867) was an American poet, often called The Poet Laureate of the Confederacy. Timrod was born in Charleston, South Carolina to a family of German descent—the family's original surname was "Dimroth". His father was an officer in the Seminole Wars and a poet himself. Timrod studied at the University of Georgia, but, forced by illness to end his formal studies, returned to Charleston. He took a position with a lawyer and planned to begin a law practice. From 1848 to 1853 he submitted a number of poems to The Southern Literary Messenger, under the pen name Aglaus, where he attracted some attention for his abilities. Encouraged, he left the field of law for writing and tutoring. In 1856 he accepted a post as a teacher at the plantation of Col. William Henry Cannon in the area that would later become Florence, South Carolina. The single room school building (still preserved in Timrod Park in Florence) was built to provide for the education of the plantation children. Among his students was the young lady who would later become his bride and the object of a number of his poems - the fair Saxon Katie Godwin. While teaching and tutoring he continued also to publish his poems in literary magazines. In 1860, he published a small book, which, although a commercial failure, increased his fame. The best known poem from the book was A Vision of Poesy. With the outbreak of war, Henry returned to Charleston, soon publishing his best known poems, which drew many young men to enlist in the service of the Confederacy. His best known poems of the time are Ethnogenesis, A Cry to Arms, Carolina, and Katie. He was a frequent contributor of poems to Russell's Magazine and to The Southern Literary Messenger. Timrod soon followed into the military, but illness prevented much service, and he was sent home. After the bloody Battle of Shiloh, he tried again to live the camp life as a western war correspondent for the Charleston Mercury, but this too was short lived as he was not strong enough for the rugged task. He returned from the front and settled in Columbia to become associate editor of the newspaper, The South Carolinian. In February 1864 he married his beloved Katie, and soon had a son, Willie, born on Christmas Eve. During the occupation by General Sherman's troops in February 1865, he was forced into hiding, and the newspaper office was destroyed. The aftermath of war brought his family poverty and to him, increasing illness. He took a post as correspondent for a new newspaper based in Charleston, The Carolinian, but after several months of work, he was never paid, and the paper folded. His son Willie soon died, and Henry was to join him in death, of consumption in 1867. After finding this cache our seventh cache was in this same park behind a stone wall and then we were off to meet Ed for lunch.
After lunch we were off to the Florence Rail Trail. This is a popular place for walkers and runners in a residential neighborhood of Florence. Across the street from Ebenezer Park is the trail's main parking area. From there, a paved rail-trail runs east for about a mile and a half. Past the end of the rail-trail is a series of unpaved trails thru the woods. We found 4 caches along the trail at various spots in the woods. Then it was off to our last cache outside a dog park in a tree. We drove back to the house, had dinner and went to bed.
Wednesday Mom had PT again early in the morning and we when she got home we started to get ready for our trip to Tennessee to visit Kim and Sean to watch the Super Bowl with them. We weren't sure whether we were leaving Thursday or Friday as Sean was in London on business and was going to call and tell us when he was going to be home. Well we packed some things and I got our caches ready for the drive and that was about it for the day.
Thursday I got up and found an email that Sean had sent that he had been held up in London, as his meetings went longer than he had expected, so would we mind postponing our trip as he wasn't going to be home until sometime Saturday. Of course we said fine and we would let him know when we could come. So seeing as we didn't have anything to do we gave Liz and Bob a call to see if they wanted to go do a few caches. They said yes and we were off. Our first cache was at Heritage Shores Nature Park down the road from us and we walked back in about a 1/2 mile and found it on the boardwalk. Then we drove down to Pawley's Island for 6 caches hidden in various locations in the woods, really nothing interesting or historic. Our last cache was at a local business that had a pirate ship outside it. Well we looked and looked but couldn't find it the cache. Just as we were about to give up and leave a car drove up and it was 4 other geocachers, looking for the cache, from Canada that popped out of the car and we introduced ourselves and chatted for awhile and then we got down to business of looking for the cache. Well one of the women that drove up was the one to find the cache as it was in the bow of the ship under a floorboard. You had to actually get on the ship to find it and we didn't really want to do this as it really didn't say we could on the cache page and it was someone else's property. Oh well we got it anyway and after we took some pictures and chatted for awhile longer we were off to lunch. We stopped at Hardee's for lunch and at Sam's Club so Liz and Bob could get gas and do some shopping and then we were off to the house. We got back and Mom did our logs and I took Muffy and Raggs for a walk.
Well that's about all for now and until next time we want to say we love and miss you all.