Book Review: Golden Age of DC Comics

Golden Age of DC Comics: 1935-1956 by Paul Levitz, Art design, Josh Baker, Taschen, Los Angeles, CA, DC Comics, 2013.
This is an historical picture book.  How can you tell the story of comics without lots of pictures.  This is an area I have not really explored, except when a movie comes out.  Who knew that DC stands for detective comics, which is where the company started.  They then expanded into action comics, and of course really picked up their steam with Superman.  Superman was followed by Batman and then Robin.  However there are also Wonder Woman, Flash and Marvel Man.  There are many different illustrators and stories are told in different ways.  This book covers the time of World War II, which had a profound effect on the comics as some dealt with the war head on.  Other comics dealt with the Japanese, and sometimes the German in a very negative way.  Marvel Man was also taking after them. 

Book Review: The Mormonizing of America

The Mormonizing of America: How the Mormon Religion Became a Dominant Force in politics, Entertainment, and Pop Culture by Stephen Mansfield, Worthy Publishing, Brentwood, Tennessee, 2012.

Most of this book is determined to present every anti-Mormon argument or statement ever made.  This dominated the first 220 pages, and then the last 20 pages actually dealt with the theme of the title, what about Mormonism seems to promote achievement.  The author is not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and makes that abundantly clear by the sources upon which he relies. 

Book Review: The Colorado Road: (Colorado Rail History)

The Colorado Road: History, Motive Power, and Equipment of the Colorado and Southern, Fort Worth and Denver Railways by F. Hol Wagner, Jr., The Intermountain Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, Denver, CO, 1970.
This book is exciting for the pictures, I did not read it so much.  There are three artistic renditions of locomotives traveling through Colorado; and then hundreds of pictures of rail engines and cars and equipment.

Early Steam Engine: The DeWitt Clinton

The DeWitt Clinton was not a success.  Its design had some flaws.  The engine did not provide a safe place for the engineer, who has to also stoke the boiler.  However the reason for its failure was that it was found it could not generate enough power.  It was limited in traveling below 15 miles per hour.  Its inaugural run was August 9, 1831.  It was built for the Mohawk and Hudson railroad.  The Clinton was a small engine.  There was poor draft across the fire which limited its power.  After 1831 it was overhauled.  It ran for a couple months and then was stored for the winter.  It also ran in 1832, but was scrapped after that year.  The coaches were actually stagecoaches mounting to railroad wheels.  The original having been scrapped it lives on only in  replicas.  A replica is on display at the Ford Museum.

Info gleaned from Model Railroader May 1979.

Book Review: Brigham Young: Corageous Mormon Leader

Brigham Young: Courageous Mormon Leader, Courageous Heroes of the American West, by William R. Sanford and Carl R. Green, Easlow Publishers, Berkeley Heights, NJ, 2013.

This book gives a good overview of the life of Brigham Young, while not getting into anything controversial.  It starts with the Utah War and Mountain Meadows Massacre.  Then it goes back and tells the life of Brigham.  A little about his parents, and how Brigham Young found the gospel.  Brigham Young was called as an apostle after Zion’s Camp.  He was responsible for leading the Saints to Illinois from Missouri while the prophet Joseph Smith was at Liberty Jail.  With the death of the Prophet, the council of twelve apostles took over leadership of the church, with Brigham Young as its president.  At this time the leadership of Brigham Young was really put the test.  He had to deal with mob actions, prepare the Saints to move and the actual move West, deal with government officials which lead to the Mormon Battalion participate in the Mexican American War, determine where exactly to lead the Saints, provide food and transportation for the poorer Saints, and many other day-to-day issues.  Through all this he maintained his composure, wan lead the first wagon train to Utah.  He select4ed a temple site.  He quickly returned east, but then again traveled to Salt Lake.  The city was already well established when he returned. 

Brigham Young had many wives.  He practiced polygamy.  He established two houses in Salt Lake, the Beehive House and the Lion House for his large family.  They were met with another threat after the Civil War ended.  This was a threat from the Ute Indians warring under Chief Black Hawk.  The Mormons where active in the railroad.  Although they main line did not go through Salt Lake, Brigham Young established local lines going from the main line.  He also was active in developing sugar beets and iron factories in Utah for the benefit of the Saints.  Wallace Stegner would later call Brigham Young “a colonizer without equal in the history of America. 

Documentary Review: ****102 Minutes that Changed America

This video begins with a warning about the graphic nature of the material.  9/11/01 8:46 New York time the first plane hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center.    This video was produced for the 15 year anniversary of the attack.This presentation is just a combination of videos and pictures from the attack, starting just before the first plane.  There is not any organized narration, just the voices of those that are on the actual videos.  Sometimes there is no sound, but most of the time the sounds of what was happening.  You hear the reaction of people to the events, the first responders directing people and news commentators talking among themselves about the scene.  There are 9-11 calls included, and police guidance. 
The most graphic scenes are after the first tower falls, and the horrendous dust cloud overwhelms people.  There are rescuers seeking water and many seeking fresh air.  Those in close apartment buildings tried to shut their windows with some success.  The dust was tremendous.  There is a brief scene with reaction from those watching on monitors at Times Square.  There was lots of anger, and many seeking revenge. 
The dust cloud scenes were repeated when the second tower fell.  What a tragic day. 

Native American Biography: Black Hawk: Ute

Black Hawk-Ute Indian Chief

When the Ute Indian Chief, Black Hawk, died on September 27, 1870 near Spring Lake and was buried by his tribe in a nearby ravine, there was laid to test a man designated by Brigham Young as “The most formidable foe amongst the Redman” that the pioneers had encountered in many years.  These words were prompted by the memory of Chief Black Hawk’s part in Utah’s worst Indian war which ended in 1867.

The war commenced in April 1865 at Manti, Sanpete County.  Three years later, when the Indians were finally brought to terms, 51 settlers had been killed and 25 settlements abandoned in 5 counties.  The seriousness of the Indian depredations was such that during the three-year war, over 4700 men of the territorial militia were called into service.  Expenses incurred during the war were in excess of one and one half million dollars.  Although scattered Indian raids continued into the summer of 1868, theBlack Hawk War was regarded as officially closed in 1867.

The years 1865 to 1867 were by far the most intense of the conflict. Latter-day Saints considered themselves in a state of open warfare. They built scores of forts and deserted dozens of settlements while hundreds of Mormon militiamen chased their elusive adversaries through the wilderness with little success. Requests for federal troops went unheeded for eight years. Unable to distinguish “guilty” from “friendly” tribesmen, frustrated Mormons at times indiscriminately killed Indians, including women and children.   Utah State Division of State History, https://heritage.utah.gov/history/uhg-black-hawk-war

Article Review: Pueble Pottery 2000 Years of Artistry

by David L Arnold, National Geographic November, 1982.
Pottery form the Taos School of Pottery is unique and beautiful.  I just wish it weren't so expensive.

Book Review: Killing Reagan: The Violent Assault that Changed a Presidency

Killing Reagan: The Violent Assault that Changed a Presidency by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard, Henry Hold and Company, New York, 2015.
Here is a book that tells two biographies; that of Ronald Reagan and that of John Hinckley Jr.  It covers more that just the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.  He also explores their lives in general.  Of course President Reagan dominates the pages, from his acting career, to his being introduced to politics as president of the actor's union, and there also being introduced to the fight against communism.  That would be his biggest legacy.  He aced the way for millions of people to enjoy freedom, from the spark that started when he was an actor.
Reagan failed in his first attempt to win the Republican nomination.  However he won on his second attempt, and would go on to defeat Jimmy Carter in the general election who had defeated President Ford four years prior.  The country made a remarkable turn.  This turn lead to economic growth, and the defeat of communism in Eastern Europe.  However his presidency would have controversy with the Iran-Contra scandal.
President Reagan would eventually succumb to Alzheimer's.  It appears this even effected his memory during the latter part of his presidency.  He retired to his ranch in California.  What effect his fun-shot wound would have on his later health can only be the topic of speculation.
This was a very enjoyable read. 

Bombing of Darwin, Australia

I didn't realize that the Japanese also bombed the Australia port town of Darwin just a bit more than two months after Pearl Harbor until I watched the movie Australia.   This was the first, and most effective of 97 Japanese bombing missions to Australia. 
On 19 February 1942 188 naval aircraft from the carriers Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu and Soryu attacked the harbor at Darwin.  They were successful in sinking eight ships. They also inflicted heavy damage upon the town.  This raid was followed by 54 land based aircraft that attacked the RAAF Airport and destroyed 20 aircraft.  The Japanese lost four aircraft from the carriers.  235 people were killed and 300 to 400 injured.
Darwin would continue to be the focus of attacks, especially the landing strip, but none of this magnitude.  As a seaport Darwin was pretty much abandoned during the war because it was vulnerable to attack.

A Picture Book of Frederick Douglass

A Picture Book of Frederick Douglass by David A. Adler, illustrated b Samuel Byrd, Holliday House, New York, 1993.
Frederick Douglass is not his name at birth.  His given name was Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey.  He was born to a slave women, who only saw him a few times after his birth as they were separated by twelve miles.  The nights she walked to see him she had to walk back by morning or risk being beaten.  Frederick was introduce early to the world of slavery, lack of clothes, poor food, and beatings. 
However at age eight he was sent to live with Sophia and Hugh Auld.  Sophia didn't know better and taught Frederick the alphabet, and intended to teach him to read, until her husband informed her teaching a slave to read was illegal.  However he would carry a book with him, and poor white children helped him continue his desire to red.  Frederick attended Sunday School, and at sage fourteen taught at the Sunday School. 
Frederick was later sent to other people as a slave.  One farmer beat him regularly, until Frederick fought back.  He continued a Sunday School, and clandestinely teaching slaves to read.
Frederick's first escape attempt was discovered, and he landed in jail.  He was sure he would be sent to the Deep South, but instead returned to the home of the Aulds in Baltimore. 
From there he made good his escape.  A freed slave gave him money, and a sailor lent him documents to prove he was not a slave.  He traveled North to freedom.  He settled in New York, and sent for the woman who helped him, Anna Murray.  They were married.  Frederick changed his name to Douglas at this time for fear of being recaptured.
He eventually went to work for the Liberator an abolitionist paper.  He published an autobiography, in which he divulged his real name and slave owners.  He went to Europe for fear of capture, always talking against slavery.  He returned to America after some friends his bought his freedom.
After his return he started his own paper The Northern Star.  
Douglass continued to be instrumental in Black causes.  During the Civil War he helped raise an African American infantry unit.  He complained of the difference in wages and quality of arms, but President Lincoln asked him to be patient.  At the conclusion of the war he was invited to the White House as the president's friend. 
Douglass continued in government over the years.  After his wife passed away he married a white woman.  Frederick Douglass was an initial proponent of African American causes and rights.  He also stood for rights of women and others.

Biography: Jim Henson: The Guy Who Played with Puppets

Jim Henson: The Guy Who Played with Puppets by Kathleen Krull, paintings by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher, Random House, New York, 2011.
This book, though a children's book, gives a good description of the contributions of Jim Henson.  Jim Henson and his Muppets became household names after they joined the inaugural season of Sesame Street.
However Henson's first start on television was at the age of sixteen.  In college he studied home economics, because that was where he could study art and puppet making.  Then after graduation, after a time in Europe pursuing art, he dedicated himself to the Muppets.  They took off slowly.  That start was mostly in commercials, where the Muppets helped sponsor many different products from coffee to sausage.  (See You Tube Jim Henson commercials) However it was in 1968 with the start of Sesame Street that the Muppets really took off.  Kermit ws already a popular character, but Henson developed more, Oscar the Grouch, Bert and Ernie, and Miss Piggy.  Who can forget Kermit, and Piggy and the gang.  This eventually lead to a weekly television series, and a series of movies.
However the Muppets were not the only project for Henson.  He was also involved in The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth.  He also helped design Yoda for The Empire Strikes Back.
The book mentions Henson receiving awards for his work, but does not give specifics.  What is for certain, Henson made millions of people laugh.
Henson died too young, at the age of 53 in 1990.  At his funeral where butterfly puppets of many different colors.

BOOK REVIEW: THE CROSSING

The Crossing: How George Washington Saved the American Revolution by Jim Murphy, Scholastic Press, New York, 2010.

This book not only covers the crossing of the Delaware, and the Battle of Trenton it gives a brief summary of the military career of George Washington, and why he was the commander of the U.S. forces, as well as a history of the Revolutionary War up to that point.  This includes the failures in New York, and then the wintering at Valley Forge.  A victory was badly needed, and it was obtained by stealth at Trenton.  Although the stirring painting with Washington standing is probably unrealistic, it does catch the mood at the time.  It also includes an African American rower.
        Washington would later recross the river, establish himself on higher ground and wait for Cornwallis to advance with the British.  Washington only had 3300 men as a third of his men had left service when they time commitment was up.  However sharpshooters were able to slow the advance of Cornwallis and his much larger force while Washington and his men dug themselves in.  swollen rivers and fighting from behind entrenched positions the American forces were able to hold the British at bay.
    Then during the night the Americans snuck away to attack Princeton, the British base.  This resulted in some very intense fighting, and if nothing more a great moral victory for the Americans.  The Americans were able to leave the scene of battle.  After this the British only maintained token forces in New Jersey.  The moral booster for the American side lead to greater recruiting, and shortly there were 17,000 men in Washington's command. 
This book is very enjoyable.  It is written at a youth level but is still very good.

Book Review: The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America

The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America, Andres Resendez, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, 2016.

It seems that at times historians develop a theme, and then paint their story to fit that theme.  In this book the point is that 2.5 million Native Americans in the Americas, North and South, were used as slaves.  Of these 150 to 350 thousand were in the United States or Canada.  He contends that the effect of slavery on the general population was as great as that in Africa.  From Africa there were 5 million slaves, but the Native American slavery represented a larger percentage of the population.  He also argues that over work and poor conditions may have been contributing factors to the sharp population decline of Native Americans. 

This book gets very shady when the author admits that the number provided is not accurate, but a starting point.  Also I fail to recognize exactly what he categorizes as a slave. 

American slavery began in the Caribbean, where Native American of some areas were taken and forced to work in gold mines elsewhere.  He contends Columbus was involved, after failing to realize getting to India.  Initially some were sent to Spain, but the Spanish royalty resisted the slave trade.  They eventually relented for those Native Americans who caused trouble, or were classified as cannibals. 

I am sure he includes the California Mission Native Americans.  In this case Native Americans were brought to the missions and forced to work as part of their being Christianized.  People can argue for or against this policy.  There was a battle resulting from some of them leaving the Mission.   

He talks of the slave trade preceding the Mormons, but when a Mormon was forced to purchase a slave so the child would not be put to death, then the Mormons were complicit.  This seemed to be a standard practice, Native Americans would starve others the captured as slaves, so the Mormons would take pity on them and “rescue” them thus making them slave owners.  However he also talks of Brigham Young fighting against slavery, and Chief Walkara who was big in the slave capture and trade.  Mormons did participate in buying slaves often as a way to “rescue” them.  However they did participate in labor and domestic chores. 

I feel the conclusions of this book are dubious, including the number of slaves.  Sometimes, economic relationships that do not include pay may not be slavery.  It is hard to judge past relationships based on today's standards.  However, granted there was slavery, and often this slavery is ignored or over looked.

Book Review: The Day of the Dead: Dia de los Muertos

The Day of the Dead: Dia de los Muertos, photography by Denis Defibaugh, text by Ward S. Albro, TCU Press, Fort Worth, 2007.

This book is enjoyable for the pictures of the many Day of the Dead celebrations attended over the years by the photographer.  He focuses on Oaxaca and the surrounding smaller communities.  He starts exploring death and death rituals, he then goes into the Day of the Dead markets.  Many different types of cakes are manufactured and sold.  Also flowers, and candles, and chocolates.  Mescal (alcoholic beverage) and Mexican hot chocolate are also important parts of the celebration.  He explores the great parades that are held as part of the celebration.  He also looks at private ceremonies, and the great memorials which are built into the houses to honor their dead.  He looks at public celebrations, masks and dancers are common.  He finally looks generally at the people of Oaxaca.  This would make a good coffee table book with all the pictures, most in black and white, but some in color.

Book Review: Treasured Lands: A photographic Odyssey Through America’s National Parks

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Treasured Lands: A Photographic Odyssey Through America’s National Parks by QT Long 

Foreward by Dayton Duncan, Cameron Company, Petaluma, California, 2016.

This is a book of photography of all the U.S. National Parks.  The photography is excellent.  

I especially like the night photographs with the Milky Way as a back drop.  As I said before a 

National Park book is a must.

Book Review: Attack on Pearl Harbor: World War II Strikes Home in the USA

Attack on Pearl Harbor: World War II Strikes Home in the USA, by Steve Dougherty, Scholastic, New York, 2012.

I love to read of Pearl Harbor, even books written for children.  This book tells the stories of two airmen, Kenneth Taylor and George Welch.  These two were able to get to a remote airfield, Haleiwa, where their planes were stored, Most of the American planes were destroyed through strafing and bombing runs.  However these two were able to get into the air and engaged the Japanese in air battles despite be outnumbered.  It also relates the story of Dorie Miller, who as African American served in the mess and was not allowed to shoot.  He was allowed to feed ammunition however.  When the gunner took a bullet, Miller took over the fun.  He had observed, but never fired.  However he was able to stand and fight from the deck of the USS West Virginia (which had taken 7 bombs) amid bombs and fires and bullets.  He is credited with down a few planes and received the Navy Cross for his heroics.  He would later be killed on another ship. 

Book Review: Thurgood Marshall and Civil Rights

Thurgood Marshall and Civil Rights by Jerome Foster, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 2005.

Thurgood Marshall was the first African American on the Supreme Court.  This appointment was the result of years as an appellate judge, and then as the Solicitor General of the United States.  However, his greatest triumphs came before he served on a federal level.  He worked with the NAACP on several landmark Supreme Court cases.  This included Marshall vs Bd of Education.  This is the landmark decision which ended segregation.  He also argued a key voter rights act case, Smith v Allwright.  Marshall himself could not decide which decision was the most significant. However together they changed the lay of the land, and as a country we were able to move against oppressive voting discrimination as well as segregation in schools. 

Thurgood Marshall, with good reason, was been called Mr. Civil Rights. 

Documentary Review: I Hate Christian Laettner

I Hate Christian Laettner, directed by Rory Karpf, ESPN 30 for 30, 2015
This is a fascinating look at the rise of Duke basketball, and the man who was the NCAA basketball player of the year his senior year, 1992.  I remember watching some of the games presented, and how Laettner seemed to always come through.  even when he played against the likes of Shaquille O'Neal.  Duke went to the final four in the tournament each year Laettner was at Duke, and Laettner holds the record for most points in the NCAA tournament.  Of course Laettner wasn't the only player, but he was the player who consistently came through at the end of games and carried the team.  Other players included Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill and Thomas Hill.  However for some reason, people loved to hate Laettner.
There was one game when he stepped on another player out of frustration, and wasn't ejected, and then made the last second shot.  But the venom expressed towards Laettner was not deserved.  This movie postulates on what.  Perhaps it was Laettner's good looks, and that women seemed to adore him.  Perhaps his hard-nosed play.  At one point people threw homosexual slurs at him.  He thrived in this environment, and talked with his play.
The part I like best about this show, is the end, when it shows his family.  Laettner is a family man, and this seems to be his most important role; and I like that.

Documentary Review: The Price of Gold: ESPN Documentary 2014

The Price of Gold, ESPN: 30 for 30 2014.
This tells the story of Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding, who competed in women's figure skating at the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.  Just a few weeks previous, Nancy Kerrigan was brutally hit in the knee by an unknown assailant with a metal bar.  Turns out this attack was initiated by Tonya Harding's ex husband, Jeff Gillooly.  Although Harding, appears to have not known about the attack before hand, the question is when did she know.  She was allowed to compete in the Olympics that year, and the scene of here and the broken lace took place.  She did not place.  On the other hand, nancy Kerrigan took silver.  She had to rehab her knee, and work hard, and overcame the diversity.
After the event, Tonya Harding was banned from the sport.  She plead guilty to a conspiring to hinder prosecution.  There is still controversy over how much she knew.  For some the Olympics are more than sport.

Spirit of 1943: Pennsylvania Railroad

Found this poster at the train museum in Santa Clara.  It talks about the use of railroads during the war, and promotes buying War Bonds.  It appears to be a reprint from Saturday Evening Post.

Book Review: Mighty Ironclads and Other Amazements: Civil War

Mighty Ironclads and Other Amazements by Alison Wells, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 2005

The first Ironclads are amazing enough, but this booklet talks of other advances and how they effected the Civil War.  Improvements in photography brought the war to people.  Pictures of the dead were often taken and sent to home states.  Mathew Brady sponsored a crew of photographers, who documented much of the war.  However, the first battle, Manassas or Bull Run has no surviving photographs.  In the Union retreat, the wagon of Brady was upset, and the pictures were ruined.  There of course were other photographers.  Newspapers did not always purchase pictures, and they were wold directly to the public.  Also soldiers also wanted their image taken in case they did not make it home.

The telegraph was also a major advance.  Information could travel the speed of light.  No longer were there long delays in disseminating information.  The advance of Morse Code gave a method for exchanging information.  It was not unheard to have telegraph wires lined to the battle front.  Along with the telegraph, was the use of balloons for spying on military formations of the enemy.  Telegraph wires were also wired right to the balloon.

The telegraph wire did have it drawback.  The enemy could intercept messages, or worse could fake messages.  However, telegraph operators were familiar with the patterns of those with whom they communicated frequently.  They often could tell the difference between fake and real messages. 

The Virginia against the fleet blockading Richmond was a pivotal moment in history.  The Virginia was the Confederate conversion of the ship Merrimac, a steam powered ship.  It had been lined with steel.  There was some difficulty getting enough, and in some cases rails were used, having been melted and formed into plates.  These were attached to the ship.  This ship was 263 feet long.  In addition to cannon, it was armed with a battering ram.  The first day on Hampton Roads, the ocean waterway where the James River drains, the Virginia had great success.  Cannon fire from the ships did not affect the Virginia, and it was able to ram and sink the Cumberland, one of two ships (of about fifteen Union ships) that had cannon large enough to do any damage to the Virginia.  The other ship, Congress, it had badly damaged and ran aground.  Another ship had been sunk, and two more run aground.  At the end of the day, it withdrew, with the expectation of retuning to finish the job the next day. 

The Union had heard of the Confederate plans for an armored vessel, and had made their own.  When they heard of the battle in Washington, the USS Monitor, a flat vessel with a turret had been floated to the area.  The trip had been rough.  The USS Monitor almost sunk in the high seas.  However it was there waiting the next morning, and thus the first ironclad battle took place.  The USS Monitor was smaller, but its turret made a difficult target.  It was also better able to steer because of the smaller size.  The ships battled for four hours with no clear winner.  The Virginia withdrew and steamed upriver.  The blockade held. 

Mormon Inventors

This is gleaned from an article in LDS Living entitled "Pure Genius: 14 Things You Didn't Know Mormons Invented by Jannalee Rosner and published May/June 2016.
The inventor I am most familiar with is Philo T. Farnsworth as he is from Rigby, Idaho, where my father grew up.  He had an interest in mechanical television, and came up with his own idea which he felt would improve all existing attempts, making the picture clearer.  He was able to transmit television at age 21 from his lab in San Francisco.  RCA offered to purchase his invention, and in fact treaded upon his patents.  Farnsworth later would file law suit against RCA and they would pay him a million dollars to use his design.
Many have heard the story of William Clayton and Appleton Milo Harmon and their efforts to measure distances on the Westward trek with Brigham Young.  This resulted in advances in the odometer, and their design is the father of the modern odometer.
Jonathan Browning, from Quincy, Illinois and Nauvoo, and his son John Moses Browning both made significant advances in fire arms.  Jonathan Browning worked on rifling ideas, and also a breach loading rifle.  However his son, working out of Ogden, invented many modern weapons of war, including the automatic gas-powered machine gun.  Other semiautomatic weapons are part of his list of inventions. 
Alvin McBurney was a pioneer in electric guitars.  He invented the first electric guitar, but his real love was pedal steel guitars.
Development in artificial heart was pioneered by Dr. William DeVries from University of Utah, and resulted in the first artificial heart transplant into the patient Barney Clark.  Clark lived 112 days after the surgery.  However this furthered this pioneer work.
The first modern (somewhat, it had to be manualy controlled.) traffic light was at the corner of 200 South and Main in Salt Lake City.  Although vandalized frequently, and often ignored, with improvements the traffic light has made its way into modern usage.  This was the work of police officer Lester Wire.  He neglected to patent his device, and other cities picked up on the idea.
Mormon inventors were key in developing digital sound and movies.  Thomas Stockham was a pioneer.  He was mentor to Robert B Ingebretsen, and together they received a joint Oscar for their efforts.  They are credited with pioneer the digital sound movement.  Ingebretsen with Ed Catmull made the first digital movie.
Harvey Fletcher from BYU and Provo is credited with developing the hearing aid, and other sound improvements, including stereophonic sound.  He worked with Thomas Edison.
Industrial artificial diamonds were pioneered by Howard Tracy Hall, from Ogden.
John Aldous Dixon also from Ogden, was a pioneer in using lasers in surgery.  Lasers are  now used in most surgeries to stop bleeding.
Wayne Quentin, again from Rigby, Idaho, a bioengineer, made contributions in two areas.  His work with Belding Scribner helped develop a kidney dialysis shunt, which makes it easier to reconnect to a dialysis machine.  He also developed a light-weight treadmill, which design has lead the industry and many of his are in hospitals for cardiac tests, as well as in exercise gyms. 
Gore-Tex, a light weight, waterproof fabric was developed by Robert W. Gore, from Salt Lake City.
Homer R. Warner has been a pioneer in using computers in medicine.  This has included program to diagnosis heart disease, as well as many research studies, using family history records.

Recent Happennings: Bear River Massacre SIte

I have found a couple interesting articles in the desert News.  From a couple days ago is a story of a ceremony honoring those killed at the massacre, now thought to be 400 making this the largest slaughter of native Americans in U.S. history.  That means only about sixty to seventy Native Americans survived.  The deaths included many women and children, some of whom were killed in the cross fire, while others were deliberately killed.  The Northwest Shoshone now own a portion of the land upon which the battle took place.
The other is verification of the actual site of the massacre.  Generally this is just north of Preston Idaho along the Bear River.

Book Review: Port Chicago: Images of America

Images of America: Port Chicago by Dean L. McLeod, Arcadia Publishing, San Francisco, 2007.

Port Chicago is a city that is no longer there.  The wanted to call it Chicago, but were not allowed, or the name is Port Chicago.  It is on the south side of the Sacramento River, not far upstream from Benecia, which is on the north side.  Port Chicago was a shipping town.  The depth of the water made it a convenient port.  Port Chicago played a very significant part in World War II.  Because of the convenient port, a large naval magazine was located there.  On July 17 1944 a large explosion on the main dock totally destroyed two Navy vessels, one was loaded and the other not.  The loaded vessel was thrown through the air, and it landed upside down.  The other vessel disintegrated.  320 men were killed and over 400 wounded.  this was the largest mainland disaster during the war.  This explosions left a crater at the bottom of the river over 60 feet deep, 300 feet wide, 700 feet long.  In town almost every building was damaged, although no one was killed.  The movie theater was damaged to the point it had to be destroyed.
Some conspiracy theories still persist about the accident; that perhaps it was a test of some nuclear device or a port busting bomb.  The more conventional answer is that the blast was accidental.
Port Chicago was a known place for nuclear testing, and often people from Los Alamos were there.  Also tested were mine clearing devices.  From Port Chicago, fissionable material was placed aboard the ill-fated USS Indianapolis which delivered this material for the strike on Japan. 
The town was closed by the U.S. government in 1969.  It is now surrounded by fencing and barbed wire.  The last residents were expelled.  However, there is a national monument at the Naval magazine that exploded, and this is accessible.  (Although currently closed it will reopen in March.)  to visit one must get a permit two weeks before their visits.  Visits are on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays only. 

Book Review: Forever Christmas: Tash Tudor

Forever Christmas: Tash Tudor by Harry Davis, photographs by Jay Paul, Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 2000.

This is a book with a very nice peaceful feeling.  This feeling comes from the original illustrations by Tasha Tudor, the photography, and the written words.  The chapters give an idea of where the peace comes from:

Advent, Gifts, Snow, Gingerbread Ornaments, Animals, the Creche, Christmas Dinner, The Tree, Santa Claus and Sleigh Rides.  It is wonderful how a peaceful Christmas can lead to good feelings.

One very interesting project was a snowball lantern.  You make a little igloo out of snowballs, and then put a candle inside, and you have a snowball lantern.