Category: Note

Today is the 100th birthday of Canadian test pilot Russell Bannock. (Pictured, on the left.) These details on Bannock are courtesy of the Infogalactic wiki: After entering the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), Bannock received his pilot’s wings in 1940 and was appointed as an instructor at Trenton, Ontario. Later he was posted to Royal Air Force Ferry Command from June to August 1942. In September 1942, Bannock became chief instructor with the Flying Instructor School at Arnprior in Ontario. Bannock’s request for overseas service was granted in 1944 and he joined 60 OTU based in RAF High Ercall, England. …

As Christians, our family does not celebrate the pagan Halloween. Since October 31st is also Reformation Day, that is what we celebrate, here at the Rawles Ranch. This year we’ll be having a small Reformation Day feast dinner featuring squash from our garden, something plump from our poultry house, and apple cider that we pressed. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 85 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar …

October 30th, 1735 was the birthday of President John Adams. (Other sources cite his birthdate as October 19, 1735.) He died on July 4, 1826–just a few hours after the death of Thomas Jefferson. — My #1 Son, who owns and operates the popular SurvivalRealty.com spin-off web site wrote to mention this unusual 148-acre property, near Elk City, Idaho: Isolated Mountain Retreat. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 85 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark …

October 29th is the birthday of fighter pilot Vermont Garrison, an American who fought in three wars– WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. He was born in 1915 and died on February 14th, 1994, in Mountain Home, Idaho. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 85 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. …

I was recently passing through Bonners Ferry, Idaho and stopped by to visit the Redoubt Surplus & Tactical store.  While chatting with store owner Warren Campbell, I learned that he recently obtained a small quantity of scarce U.S. Army surplus woodland pattern Goretex over-pants. He sells them brand new at $34.95 per pair.  I was impressed with their quality, so I went ahead and bought a pair. I like the fact that they have 2/3-length zippers, so that they can be put on or taken off without removing your boots. I spent quite a while looking through the shelves of …

“Bully!”  October 27th 1858 was the birthday of President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. (He died January 6, 1919.)

Edward Wilson Very (born October 26, 1847, died March 1, 1910) was an American naval officer who adopted and popularized a single-shot breech-loading flare pistol that fired flares that bear his name. October 26th is also the anniversary of the death of American-born RLI Trooper Joseph Patrick Byrne, in Rhodesia, in 1978.

This is the birthday of explorer and pilot Admiral Richard Byrd (1888–1957). His autobiography titled Alone is a must-read. Margaret Thatcher was born on October 13, 1925.   She was the UK’s first female Prime Minister.  She died in 2013. — We are running quite low on articles in our queue of writing contest nonfiction articles, so I encourage you to write! Just a 1,500-word article will qualify you for the judging — and the heaps of great prizes. Please share your knowledge, folks. Many Thanks!  

October 24th is the anniversary of the firing squad execution of Norwegian traitor Vidkun Quisling, in 1945. His ignominious place in history was to have his surname become a noun. “Quisling” is now a moniker synonymous with treason and alliance with an invading army. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 85 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the …

On October 23rd, 2002, around 50 Chechen rebels stormed a Moscow theater, taking 700 hostages during a popular musical. After 57 hours, during which two hostages were killed, Soviet Special Forces pumped a powerful narcotic gas into the theater knocking the terrorists and hostages unconscious before breaking in through the walls and roof. When the dust settled, most of the rebels and 120 hostages had been killed. — I just heard that SurvivalBlog readers can get a free radiation monitor card for just $1 shipping. Visit the KI4U web site, and look about halfway down the page. This is a …

This is the birthday of painter and book illustrator N.C. Wyeth (1882–1945) It is also the birthday of actor Jeff Goldblum (born 1952), who had unforgettable roles in Buckaroo Banzai and in the Jurassic Park and Independence Day film series. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 85 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public. A Gunsite Academy …

On this day in 1950, Chinese forces invaded Tibet, beginning a brutal occupation that still continues. For some insight on Tibet in the late 1940s and early 1950s, I highly recommend the book Seven Years in Tibet. — A Special Note From JWR:  We just had an banner ad spot open up on SurvivalBlog. If someone you know owns a business with a product or service that would appeal to SurvivalBlog readers, then please encourage them to advertise. Our text ads (between articles) are just $100 per month and our banner ads start at just $232 per month. Thanks!

Today is the birthday of shootist Ed McGivern (born 1874, died December 12, 1957.) He was born in Nebraska, but was a long-time resident of Butte, Montana. His book Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting is fascinating reading. October 20th is also the birthday of actor Viggo Mortensen (born 1958.) He lives somewhere in the American Redoubt. On his ranch is his horse-for-life “TJ”–one of the five paint horses used in the filming of the movie Hidalgo. Most SurvivalBlog readers probably know him best for his starring role in The Road. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for …

October 19th is the birthday of three notables– the late Alexander Zeisal “Zus” Bielski (born 1912), investor Jim Rogers (born 1942), and James Howard Kunstler (born 1948). Kunstler is well known to SurvivalBlog readers as the author of the novel World Made by Hand and the nonfiction book The Long Emergency. A fictionalized portrayal of Zus Bielski is seen in the movie Defiance. This movie was loosely based on the excellent book Defiance: The Bielski Partisans by Nechama Tec. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 85 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than …

October 18th, 1662 was the birthday of Matthew Henry. (He died 22 June, 1714). He was a Presbyterian minister who lived primarily in Chester, England. Matthew Henry’s six-volume Exposition of the Old and New Testaments (commonly called Matthew Henry’s Commentary) (1708–1710) is a must for the bookshelf of any serious Bible scholar. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 85 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only …