Draft Cards

Posted on March 8, 2020 by vanbraman

Today while searching on Ancestry I ran across my Great-Grandfather’s draft cards.

They have some interesting information, so I thought I would share them

Draft cards, WWi, RegistrationThe first card is from WWI when Harvey was only 25 years old. He lived near Northboro, Iowa. It also shows that he was a Farm Hand and who employed him.

He was married with a wife and three children.

It is also nice to see his signature.

WWI draft card, registration, WWIThe Registrar also fills out some questions, I assume it is on the back of the card.

This is interesting as I find that Harvey is Tall and is of Medium build.

Of interest to me is the color of his eyes. He has Gray eyes. I am not sure why, but his hair color is not reported.

It is not often that you find physical descriptions of an ancestor.

Draft Registration Card, WWII, DraftHarvey also had to register for the draft again 25 years later. This time for WWII.

At this time Harvey was living in Omaha, Nebraska at 1626 Maple Street. He was married to Ruth and worked for a Concrete Products and Material Company. I just looked up the location of the concrete company on Google Maps and there is now a Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen there.

Maple Street Omaha, Great GrandfatherI also looked up 1626 Maple Street. There is no longer a house there, but it is interesting to see where he lived.

You can also see that it is only a few blocks away from Iowa. How can that be?

Nebraska, Iowa, Carter Lake, Oxbow, Epply AirfieldThere is a little bit of Iowa on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River. At one time the river made a big loop and then later changed course leaving an oxbow lake. That area is now Carter Lake, Iowa.

See: Missouri River Border Anomalies

Now to try and get some sleep to get back some of that lost hour.

Steven

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Clock Changing

Posted on March 7, 2020 by vanbraman

The time has come again to change our clocks. Daylight Saving Time is here again and if we don’t watch out we will be late for things on Sunday.

Daylight Saving Time or Summer Time as it is called in some areas is not a global practice, so we have to get used to the time changes. I am thinking about how sometimes I have recurring meetings that all of a sudden change times because of differences in when time changes. I know that we are about three weeks ahead of the time change in Europe.

To help emphasize that clocks need to be changed, I will post some pictures of clocks tonight.

Shangai Customs House - Bund - Daylight Saving Time - Shanghai, ChinaI like this clock on the Customs House tower in Shanghai, China. The Customs House is on the Bund, one of the most picturesque locations in Shanghai.

China does not observe Summer Time, so they would not need to turn these clocks back.

Eastgate Clock - Chester, England - 2nd most photographed Clock - Clock Tower on Bridge

Here is Eastgate Clock which is the second most photographed clock in England. There is actually a clock face on all four sides. Eastgate Clock is on a bridge over a street. This is taken from the side at the bridge level.

You can read more about this clock in my post: Photogenic Clocks

Someone will need to set the time back on this clock in a few weeks when the EU begins Summer Time.

So, what is the most photographed clock in England?

Big Ben - Elizabeth Tower - Clock Tower - Most Photographed Clock - London, England - Iconic ClockProbably not hard to guess that the most photographed clock is Big Ben.

Big Ben is actually the nickname of the bell that chimes, but the whole clock tower is commonly known as Big Ben.

The clock tower does have a name. Until 2012 the structure was known as Clock Tower, but was renamed Elizabeth Tower to honor Queen Elizabeth II.

The clock faces are 23 feet in diameter, the minute hands are 14 feet long and the hour hands are 9 feet long. Just a little bit too big to hang on your wall.

I am thinking about what clocks I need to change tonight. Most of my clocks will change automatically. My computers, phones and i-Pad will all change on their own.

I am not sure if I will have to change the clock in my new car? I will find out tomorrow.

I have several clocks that don’t change on their own and I just keep them on the same time. I make the adjustment in my head 🙂

The important thing is that I am not late for church tomorrow as I am teaching class.

I should be going to sleep now, but need to do a little more work on my PowerPoint presentation 🙂

Did you set your clock forward?

Steven

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