Category: Note

While salmon fishing near the Klondike River in Canada’s Yukon Territory on August 17th, 1896, George Carmack reportedly spotted nuggets of gold in a creek bed. His lucky discovery sparked the last great gold rush in the American West. His two companions later agreed that Skookum, Jim–Carmack’s brother-in-law, actually made the discovery. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 66 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in …

On August 16th, 1841, President John Tyler vetoed a second attempt by Congress to re-establish the Bank of the United States. In response, angry supporters of the bank gathered outside the White House and burned an effigy of Tyler. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 66 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value), A Gunsite …

On August 15, 1961, two days after sealing off free passage between East and West Berlin with barbed wire, East German authorities began building a wall–the Berlin Wall–to permanently close off access to the West. For the next 28 years, the heavily fortified Berlin Wall stood as the most tangible symbol of the Cold War–a literal “iron curtain” dividing Europe. The wall has now been torn down for longer than it stood, but the scars in memory are still there.

For those wondering what happened to the great Paratus Familia blog: They had a domain registration glitch last week. This prompted them to migrate to: http://www.paratusfamilia.com, where they are now back up and running. Be sure to bookmark that new URL. – JWR o o o Safecastle’s big Lindon Farms sale ends on August 16. There are great discounts in this sale like 53% off a bucket of freeze dried veggies. Check them out!

Today is the birthday of screenwriter, director, and producer, Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) His many films spanned five decades. Today is also the birthday is shared by sharpshooter, entertainer, and folk heroine Annie Oakley (1860–1926.) o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 66 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value), A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate …

This the birthday of country singer/songwriter Buck Owens (1929–2006). His songs typified what has been called “The Bakersfield Sound”. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 66 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value), A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value), A …

With saddened hearts, we have learned that Mike Vanderboegh of Sipsey Street Irregulars passed on yesterday. Mike started as one of “them” and then saw the light. He became a giant among the great leaders of Freedom in our time, establishing the III Percent movement and breaking the “Gunwalker Scandal”. Mike stood strong for liberty and we will miss him. – HJL o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 66 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from …

On October 10th, 1984, Red Dawn, the first PG-13 rated movie, starring Patrick Swayze was released. The movie (the 1984 original, not the 2012 remake) is a favorite of both JWR and HJL, and the characters that the movie is about embody the independent, indomitable spirit that created this country. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 66 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled …

August 9th, 1831was the birthday of James Paris Lee (August 9, 1831 – February 24, 1904). He was a Scottish-Canadian and later American inventor and arms designer, best known for inventing the bolt action that led to the Lee-Metford and Lee-Enfield series of rifles. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 65 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case …

August 8th is the birthday of Terry Nation (August 8th, 1930 – March 9th, 1997), who was a Welsh television writer and novelist. Nation wrote two series, Survivors and Blake’s 7, in the 1970s. Survivors was re-made a few years ago. o o o Last week I received word from Cold Steel that they now have less than 900 Rawles XL Voyager knives knives left on hand. This limited edition folding survival/utility knife of my design is now priced at just $69.99 with free shipping for Amazon Prime members. Remember that ALL of the profits from the sale of these …

August 7th is the birthday of novelist Jerry Pournelle (born 1933.) He, along with Larry Niven authored the survivalist classic Lucifer’s Hammer.

On August 6th, 1945, The world was ushered into the nuclear age as the world’s first atom bomb used in combat was dropped over the city of Hiroshima. Approximately 80,000 people were killed as a direct result of the blast with another 35,000 injured. At least another 60,000 residents would be dead by the end of the year from the direct effects of the gamma dose, residual fallout, and malnutrition. o o o Do you have a pocket sized copy of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America? Get your copy now at Camping …

August 5th is the sad anniversary of the Mann Gulch Fire in Montana that took the lives of 13 firefighters (including 12 smokejumpers and one former smokejumper), in 1949. The intense, fast-moving forest fire took place in what later became the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness. The events of that fire were chronicled in the book Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean and immortalized in the haunting lyrics of the ballad Cold Missouri Waters by James Keelaghan. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 66 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of …

On August 4th, 1944, 15 year old Jewish diarist Anne Frank and her family were captured by the Nazi Gestapo. The Franks had taken shelter is a small space in a sealed off area of an Amsterdam warehouse along with another Jewish family and a single Jewish man. They were aided by Christian friends who brought them food and supplies. Her diary survived the war, overlooked by the Gestapo, but Anne and nearly all of the others perished in the Nazi death camps.

August 3rd, 1846 is the day that the Donner party found a note warning the emigrants that their expected route through the mountains ahead was nearly impassable. Hastings, an unscrupulous trail guide, had created his own “short cut” route and wasn’t even at the meeting place at Fort Bridger but had left word for the party to continue on. Hastings had claimed easy passage through the rugged Wasatch Mountains but had left a note attached to a forked stick for the party explaining that the route was more difficult than he thought. Eventually reduced to cannibalism, only 45 of the …