More USS Olympia glass windows found

| August 21, 2008 August 21, 2008 |

Five History Detectives viewers from the Midwest have contacted us to say they have identical or nearly identical glass windows to the one featured in the USS Olympia Glass story that aired August 11, 2008.

Nick Newman writes

I am from Omaha, where the window was made - my mother found the same (unmounted) window back in 1968, and mounted it in a frame for hanging, but not before my brother managed to have a forbidden party during which the window got cracked. I have this still, although I am now living in the West, and it is the envy of all my antiquing pals. Last Xmas while visiting back home, I visited a friend who had moved out of the city into a farmhouse halfway to Lincoln, and lo and behold, her porch door had the same window still in it. I loved finding out more about the window, having assumed it was the Maine (as did my friend), but I never researched it. I figured it was a catalog purchase for new homebuilders bitten by patriotism. Thanks so much for your story - my window is almost worthless cracked along its bottom, but my friend will be thrilled to know hers is so rare.

Japanese Balloon Bomb explosion location

| August 11, 2008 August 11, 2008 |

We were contacted by Les Reese with this question regarding the Japanese Balloon Bomb story that aired July 14, 2008:

During the broadcast, Tukufu referenced Bly, Oregon as the location where one of the war balloons had landed; in May, 1945, it was found by a group of picnickers and killed them. In viewing the write-up of the program, I noticed the word "Bly" was omitted from the location in Oregon where the balloon landed. I recall reading in the newspaper a few years back where 8 or 10 Japanese women who helped make the balloons came to Mt. Hood, Oregon, to pay their respects to the people killed by the balloon. Apparently they had grieved for many years that they indirectly caused someone's death. QUESTION: Are you aware of the exact location where the balloon landed that Tukufu was discussing?

We checked the Medford Mail Tribune newspaper account of May 7, 1945 which listed the location as "about 15 miles east of Bly."
The Japanese women who made paper for the balloon envelopes, not knowing they were to be used as bombs, visited Bly, Oregon in 1996. As a gesture of peace they brought a thousand paper cranes to the relatives of those killed in the explosion. Photographs of the women as school children and as adults visiting Bly can be viewed at On Paper Wings web page.

GAR Photograph Tombstone Question

| August 7, 2008 August 7, 2008 |

Jo Hinds spoke for over a dozen viewers when she wrote us with this question:

The man in your photograph was a member of the GAR which was founded in 1866, but I noticed on his tombstone that he died in 1860. How can that be? Are you sure the tombstone is for the correct person? Thanks for a great show! Jo Hinds

The tombstone is a rectangular piece with names of many family members that are buried in that plot.
The 1860 date refers to Anna L Stevenson, who died in 1860 and was the first to be interred. In fact, the name John Stevenson and the date '1860' appear on different sides of the same headstone.

John Stevenson, George Geder's great Grandfather, and most of his family are indeed buried there.
Thanks to all for careful attention to the GAR Photograph story.

Best method for copying 18th century document

Gwen Wright | August 4, 2008 August 4, 2008 |

Dru Ransdell emailed with a question for Gwendolyn Wright
I have a document written in iron manuscript ink by my ancestor in 1752. It is a pledge of a club of about 50 teenage(!)young men to walk a Christian life. Exquisite, powerful prose and the writing is of course a work of art. A date in the margin says that the club was started in 1715.
I have had this previously folded treasure flattened at an art conservation place. I know that this original document will fade away if exposed to light, but I am unsure how to safely make copies to hang and enjoy. The art folks said a home scanner would be fine, but a friend of mine advised carefully considering the method first so that I only have to expose it to one blast of light. With the right digital image, I could then make copies identical to the original as well as some that are easier to read for sharing.
So, can you advise me as to what is that best method for copying this document? Do I need to have this done professionally?
Also, I wonder if there would be any interest in researching who these other young men were in history? All their names are beautifully signed on the back.
Thank you! I look forward to your input.

Dear Dru Ransdell,

Gwendolyn Wright