Silas Calvin Ramsey Gravestone

Posted on March 7, 2021 by vanbraman

I received an e-mail on Friday that the gravestone for my 3rd Great Grandfather Silas Calvin Ramsey had been set in the Woodland Cemetery in Des Moines, Iowa.

Silas Calvin Ramsey, Civil War, Blacksmith, Iowa Cavalry, Woodland Cemetery, GravestoneAlong with several cousins I had been contacted earlier in the Pandemic about whether we would approve the placing of a stone for him. The local SAR chapter has a program where they request stones to mark the graves of veterans who never had a stone. This was the case for Silas, and of course we readily agreed.

Silas Calvin Ramsey, Civil War, Blacksmith, Iowa Cavalry, Woodland Cemetery, GravestoneI will tell more about the group that requested the stone later this year, probably around Memorial Day.

Here is a satellite view of the cemetery.

Silas Calvin Ramsey, Civil War, Blacksmith, Iowa Cavalry, Woodland Cemetery, GravestoneThe cemetery is large, so I will include the route to the site.

My sister and her husband visited the cemetery today, and took some pictures that I will share later. I look forward to my next trip to Iowa so that I can visit the grave site.

Silas Calvin Ramsey, Civil War, Blacksmith, Iowa Cavalry, Woodland Cemetery, GravestoneYou cannot see the exact spot of the stone as it is in the shadow of a large tree. You will see the tree in the next picture. In this satellite view you can also see the shadow of a flag pole and cannon that are also in the next picture.

Silas Calvin Ramsey, Civil War, Blacksmith, Iowa Cavalry, Woodland Cemetery, GravestoneHere you can see the big tree that is just by the stone. The stone for Silas is the first row, although it is set back just a bit from the row. It is the second stone in the row.

The group that set the stone posted a picture to findagrave.com that included a marker and flag, but I am sure that they borrowed one from another grave for the picture. Most likely they will add the marker and a flag for Memorial Day. Perhaps there will be a special ceremony for the stones that are new this year.

You can also see the cannon and the flag pole in the background.

Silas Calvin Ramsey, Civil War, Blacksmith, Iowa Cavalry, Woodland Cemetery, GravestoneSilas passed away in 1903, but he never had a permanent stone. It is good that there is finally a stone so that he can be honored along with other soldiers.

I will write a future post about his service, but you can see from the picture of the stone that he was a blacksmith and served with the 3rd Iowa Calvary.

You can also read more about Silas Calvin Ramsey’s life in my post Tracing Silas Calvin Ramsey.

For my family members that are seeing this and wondering which branch of the family Silas belongs to, he is the Great Grandfather of my Grandma Braman.

Steven

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A Year without Buying Gas

Posted on March 6, 2021 by vanbraman

Today is the anniversary of the last time that I bought gas for my car Bluey.

first fill up, bluey, gas station, gas tankIt is hard to believe that I have gone for an entire year without needing to fill up.

plug in hybrid, car, gas, fill-upHowever, there are a few good reasons.

First, I now drive a plug-in hybrid which takes a lot less gas to operate.

Foggy Commute, Dense Fog, Weather, Altamont PassSecond, I am not commuting 50 miles to work each day.

Before the shelter in place I had been excited that I was only getting gas once a month instead of once a week. I have only been gone to the office three times since the shelter in place. However, the frequency of those trips will begin to increase soon.

Winco, Covid 19, essential trip, grocery store, shelter in placeThird, I do not take too many trips around town.

I only visit the grocery store about every two weeks.

curbside service, library, book drop, social distance, booksThe other place I visit frequently is the library for curbside pickup. This is perhaps 1-2 times a week depending on when books are due or I have something to pick up. I am thankful that I can still get books from across the state through Link+.

For the short trips around town I recharge the batteries overnight so there is no reason to use gas unless I take a long trip out of town.

I will have to use the rest of the tank of gas within the next six months as the fuel freshness mode will kick in after 18 months. I will then not be able to use the EV mode until the fuel level drops below one gallon or I fill it up when it has less than a 1/4 tank left.

As things start to open up, I am sure that my distance driving will increase and I will not have to worry about getting to the limit.

I just wonder what the price of gas will be by that time. I really haven’t looked to see what the local price is, but have heard that they are quickly rising.

Steven

 

 

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