January 4th is the birthday of George Hyde [1]. (Born “Heide” 1888, in Arpfingen, Germany.) He was the chief gun designer for the Inland Division of General Motors (GM) in Dayton, Ohio during World War II. Hyde was best-known as the co-designer of the M3 “Grease gun” SMG and the Liberator pistol. But he also designed the Bendix-Hyde Carbine [2], and the M2 Hyde submachinegun [3]. He immigrated to the United States in 1927. A gent at the Nitro Express Forums mentioned some details on his life before World War II: “Before 1935 Hyde was the shop foreman and metal man at Griffin & Howe. He quit there and went into business for himself. Samuel A. ‘Harry’ Leonard teamed up with Hyde and their rifles are marked ‘Leonard & Hyde New York’ on the barrel. In May of 1935 [school teacher and New York National Guard Major N.H.] Ned Roberts and his father-in-law, [well-known carte-de-visite photographer] W.G.C. Kimball went into business together as “Roberts and Kimball” in Woburn, Massachusetts. Their idea was to make high-quality sporting and varmint rifles on Mauser actions in the then-popular cartridge that bears Roberts’ name, the .257 Roberts [4]. Metal work on these Roberts & Kimball guns was done by George Hyde and the stocking was done by Harry Leonard. Some information suggests that Leonard and Hyde did not relocate to Massachusetts but that the work was sent to them in New York City. Roberts & Kimball company lasted less than a year and their rifles are not found very often.”
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Today we present another entry for Round 50 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. [5] The $9,700+ worth of prizes for this round include:
First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses [6]. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), F.) A $300 Gift Certificate from Freeze Dry Guy. G.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. H.) A roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com. The current value of this roll is at least $225, I.) Both VPN tunnel and DigitalSafe annual subscriptions from Privacy Abroad. They have a combined value of $195. J.) KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304. and K.) APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit.
Second Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 [7] Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. C.) A FloJak EarthStraw “Code Red” 100 foot well pump system (a $500 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. D.) $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P.), E.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials F.)A full set of all 26 of the books published by PrepperPress.com. This is a $270 value, G.) Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value). H.) EP Lowers, makers of 80% complete fiber composite polymer lowers for the AR-15 rifles is donating a $250 gift certificate, I.) Autrey’s Armory — specialists in AR-15, M4s, parts and accessories– is donating a $250 gift certificate, and J.) Dri-Harvestfoods.com in Bozeman, Montana is providing a prize bundle with Beans, Buttermilk Powder, Montana Hard Red Wheat, Drink Mixes, and White Rice, valued at $333.
Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of [8] Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206, C.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, D.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections [9], a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security., E.) A MURS Dakota Alert Base Station Kit with a retail value of $240 from JRH Enterprises. F.) Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances, and G.) Ambra Le Roy Medical Products in North Carolina is donating a bundle of their traditional wound care and first aid supplies. This assortment has a retail value of $208.
Round 50 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail [10] us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.