Lincoln's deathbed as it looked right after he was taken out of it.

Lincoln died at the Petersen House across the street from Ford's Theater. The room was tiny in which he died. Paintings of the event show a large room. I have not put many of the pictures of the event in here as it gets too ridiculous...One painting turns the little room into a hall of sorts where 40 plus people are gathered around the bed and the picture looks more like a sporting event than a death scene....

Lincoln died in a little room...The fellow who lived there took this picture right after Lincoln's body was removed...You see it all the chairs, the small bed, and the blood all over the pillow. That is what is was really like. Not like the images that are in every history book...It was a bloody, messy scene. In which Lincoln while dying moaned and snorted and his body flopped around in spasms....It was really awful.

Bamn is the new Horn & Hardart. How many of you remember going to the original ? The famous Horn & Hardart Automat.

Here you see the original






Here is today's version



The first Horn & Hardart opened in Philadelphia in 1902. They became amazingly popular. You could go with 25 cents and have a meal. It became an institution.

It became famous in song, such as Irving Berlin's "Let's have another cup of coffee, let's have another piece of pie".
It even became part of comedy. Fred Allen often said that the Horn & Hardart manager would make Jack Benny bounce his nickels on the windowsill to let him in.

It was so amazingly popular. It has been said that at the peak of the automat, over 800,000 people were eating there every day!
I remember the automat. It was called if I recall H&H at that time. Which stood for Horn and Hardart. I so enjoyed buying stuff there. This was in New York in the 1960's. Now there is a new automat. Not like the old one in many regards, but still quite interesting.



I found a few reviews on Bamn. I thought it would be cool to share it. It is by people it seems who remembers the old automats..


Not Quite Authentic, But Wonderful Nevertheless

It's called Bamn! It's not quite a Horn & Hardart Automat, even though it tries. The color scheme is a glowing amalgamation of magenta and hot pink. The tiny space is standing room only, with no place to sit and loiter away an afternoon over a cup of coffee—Starbucks has, to its credit, taken on that role in our society. It's in the East Village, only recently gentrified to a point that a gent with a pocket full of jingling coins could walk down the block without being hit on the head and robbed of them. Still, it is a little like an automat of old, and that's a thrill to those of us who used to patronize them.

In case you're wondering what the word automat means, it's in the dictionary. Here's how mine defines it: "A restaurant in which the customers obtain food from closed compartments by depositing coins therein."

Once automats were all over New York. They were huge and shiny, and any kid who got to go to one had about as much fun as kids could have where food was concerned. We had a different lifestyle back then—meals were under the supervision of mothers, not television commercials. Most of what I remember about my visits to Horn & Hardart Automats was getting a bunch of nickels from the cashiers—they were nicknamed "nickel throwers"—and heading straight for the little windows that dispensed baked beans. I sure loved those beans, probably because cowboys ate them around campfires.

Bamn! takes quarters. It offers only a few dishes, and other than the hot dogs and possibly the grilled cheese, I'm pretty sure none were available in the old days. Not the chicken wings, the teriyaki burgers, the roast pork buns, the Japanese donuts, the pizza dumplings, the peanut butter & jelly croquettes, or the mozzarella sticks. Surely not the spam sushi. Everything goes for $1.00-$2.00. I tried everything and liked the pork bun best.

As the world has moved toward self-service—grocery stores, gas stations—the food world has gone in the opposite direction. Everything is handed to you. Taking whatever food I wanted was the most satisfying aspect of an automat meal. If I had tried that at home, I would have gotten my hand slapped.




AND ANOTHER






Yes, the automat. No, not the Horn & Hardart Automat that appeared on the dining scene at the turn of the last century and finally closed the last of its 180 restaurants in New York in 1991. This is a brand-new concept. A hip new automat that dispenses comfort food "25 hours a day" in New York City's East Village.

This I had to see. And taste.

Now an automat, for those you who were not in New York from 1912 to 1991, is a wonderful system where all kinds of food -- hot food, cold food, desserts, and main dishes -- were displayed behind little glass doors. You made your selection and dropped in the appropriate amount of coins. You could then take out you choice, grab a seat and dig in.

The automat was indeed iconic. In "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," Marilyn Monroe sang "Diamonds are a Girl's Friend," which includes these lyrics: "A kiss may be grand but it won't pay the rental on your humble flat, or help you at the automat."

Edward Hopper's 1927 painting "Automat" depicts a lonely young woman lingering at the automat. Diane Airbus's photograph "Two Ladies at the Automat" is a 1966 time capsule of two New York women of a certain age dressed to the nines -- if not the tens -- for lunch at the automat.

There are television and movie references a-plenty. The automat was part of New York life. Then came the exodus to the suburbs. Fast food. Food on the go. The old automat locations became more valuable as real estate. The girl fresh from the Midwest, the young eager guy right from college -- no, the automat was no longer for them. Just a few graying biddies from bookkeeping munching away on their burgundy beef and noodles. Some of the old automat locations became Burger Kings. New York never stands still.

The automat is back: the new automat that is. Re-imaged by the hip for the hip. Two young entrepreneurs, David Leong and Robert Kwak, plus executive chef Kevin Reilly and a designer who goes by the name Nobu, have brought Bamn, the automat, right into the heart of hipdom: New York's East Village.

I had the perfect excuse to give Bamn a try. My husband's goddaughter was in town. While Marty and I don't fit Bamn's demographics, she does: Early 20s, long blonde hair, perfectly tailored pants, little camisole top.

On the long cab ride downtown, Marty asked, "You did make reservations, didn't you."

"Nope," I replied and looked out the window as we sped by the East River. He fidgeted, thinking no doubt, "New restaurant, long wait for a table."

I hadn't informed him that there are no tables.

We arrived at the hot pink storefront. There are instructions about food selection and inserting coins so no one ever needs to look uncool, which is so important at a cool place. Change can be had at machines. While nickels and dimes were the coins of the realm at the old automat, here silver dollars and quarters are the open sesame for the little doors.

And what's behind those doors? Tiny delicious hamburgers doused in teriyaki sauce, fabulous roast pork buns, melted cheese sandwiches oozing goodness, hot dogs, Japanese doughnuts, mac-and-cheese croquets (a Dutch addition), pizza dumplings. At the counter, customers were ordering up Belgian fries and mini-regular hamburgers four and six at a time.

We were early, and with the sight of those pork buns, we didn't wait. Our goddaughter was on time, but two pork buns and a hamburger behind us. There are no seats. We stood on the sidewalk and inhaled the food. Yum.

And we watched the crowds: tattoos, piercings, boots and cordovans, ties and t-shirts, long hair, short hair, no hair.

Everyone who passed did a double take.

"Oh wow, an automat."







So I think it quite nice that the automat has returned. I will have to give it a try soon.

One of the most unusual ads ever made.....It was by the Victor Talking Machine Company 1918

The ad says that Caruso is singing in the Trenches...Along with all the other Victor Recording Artists of that time. This ad was made in 1918 when we were involved in World War One. It is a most interesting scene. All of the major artists who recorded for Victor, are in dirty trench as soldiers all around with guns listen..
























Caruso dressed as Ramses from Aida is singing for the troops. I found this to be one of the oddest ads I have ever seen.

But I understand what they are saying. The voice of Caruso can be heard even in the trenches of distant battlefields. That is a nice statement. I am sure it was very true too!

But there was to a rather comic element to this ad that caught my eye...............

It was the way the one soldier on the left is pointing a gun at Caruso. The way he is smiling and looking at his comrades seems to say..."How much will you give me if I shoot him now?".

Admiral George Dewey and Dewey's Arch on 5th avenue and 24th Street in New York. 1899-1901

Dewey's arch as it looked in 1900




The location of Dewey's arch as it looks today







The Dewey Arch


George Dewey 1837-1917



The arch was used in many advertisements





It was massive, monstrous and just too big for it's own good. That was Dewey's arch. Constructed for the hero of Manila Bay. There are not words to convey to the reader of today what Dewey meant to everyone. He returned to the United States in 1899....A STAR!!!!! Maybe that is even too small a word to use...He was a galaxy!!

Sheet music was made with his likeness on it....When in stores there were no shortage of George Dewey things...Such as soap, coats, hats, canes, teething rings, and just about everything else you can mention. Framed pictures could be had for 50 cents and they sold by the tens of thousands! He received a solid gold sword from President McKinley. Awards, degrees, plaques, honorariums, a house from the citizen's of the country, and the absolute respect of the American people who were in LOVE with Admiral George Dewey.

The greatest showing of adoration for the Admiral was the great Dewey Arch in New York City. It was just a showing of all the love and admiration the people had for their Admiral. He was a widower and the country liked it that way. In a sense America and its people became his girlfriend or wife.

As it often happens to people who are not well equipped to deal with such a situation....The Admiral got the Presidential political bug! He was not equipped to handle the office. But he scared the daylights out of all the other candidates for 1900. McKinley and Bryan.....But the the house of Dewey started to sink like the Spanish navy he and his crew had destroyed.....He got married!!!!!!!

The entire country had a fit...They were George Dewey's bride...His new wife was Roman Catholic to boot! So the entire country felt jilted! It was an age when Roman Catholics were looked on with dislike. It was a bigoted age.
Then it was found that the house he was given, was to be given by him to his wife. This drove everyone crazy. I think the idea of his glory had gone to his head.He started to get pompous.
Then he finished the job by speaking so stupidly about the office of the President and he addressed the world and gave his understandings of the Presidency............

In which he said....
"If the American people want me for this high office, I shall be
only too willing to serve them. It is the highest honor in the
gift of this nation; what citizen would refuse it? Since studying
this subject, I am convinced that the office of the President is
not such a very difficult one to fill, his duties being mainly to
execute the laws of the Congress. Should I be chosen for this
exalted position I would execute the laws of Congress as
faithfully as I have always executed the orders of my superiors."

What the heck was he thinking??????? Not a difficult office to fill? No matter who you are you never say I looked at the job and see it is an easy one to fill! Everyone laughed at him. All the political power brokers quickly moved away from him. The man who one year before was like a Galaxy to everyone, was now a black hole.

No one gave Dewey another thought.....

The coats, hats, canes, stopped selling. Even the teething rings stopped selling. Lastly the Dewey Arch which was just a temporary structure was torn down in 1901. It was never replicated in stone. By 1900 he was just another historical has been. In fact he had been eclipsed by another figure who would come to represent the 20th century. None other than Theodore Roosevelt.

Dewey vanished pretty much from the public scene and finally died in January of 1917. Just as the United States was ready to enter a new war. But the age of great hero's that were almost gods seemed to vanish as did the old soldiers of the 19th century. But he became the last figure that anyone made a massive arch for.

So as I walk around 5th Ave and 24th Street I walked and looked. Nothing remains of the Dewey Arch..Just the few monuments and statues that were there when the Dewey Arch was new. Those are the Worth Memorial and the Lincoln Statue on 5th Ave. It was on this street I took the picture of the area now.

Victorian funeral and cemetery monuments The victorian way to honor the dead. A picture story of victorian monuments

The Victorians had unique ways to honor the dead. The monuments they made were always big, sentimental and garish. Here is a batch of monuments from Cedar Grove Cemetery in Paterson NJ.























The Victorians had unique ways to honor the dead. The monuments they made were always big, sentimental and garish. Here is a batch of monuments from Cedar Grove Cemetery in Paterson NJ.

After nearly 25 years I finally got the books I wanted..a rare find for me, a bit of New England homespun

I have been looking for these books for ages. To make it more plain, I have looked for a quarter of a century. Now I will read them after a long wait.

What is so special about these books? Several things.... First off they were written by John Quincy Adams and published in 1810. There was not a massive amount of these books made. John Quincy was a professor of Rhetoric and Oratory at Harvard University starting in 1805. These books are some of his lectures before the Junior and seniors classes.

In 1812 John Adams renewed his friendship with his arch rival Thomas Jefferson. He opened up their friendship with a bit of "homespun" as Adams put it. It was a set of these books. Jefferson read them with great relish.

I have known of these books since the 1970's . Today, after so long I have finally found my copies of "homespun"...For me it is wonderful to have books in my library that John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Quincy Adams, James Monroe, Josiah Quincy, and many of the great minds of the 18th and 19th century once had.

I find it was worth the wait. I will join Jefferson and many others and read them with great relish. What is truly great never disappoints, no matter how long the wait.

The JFK assassination.I am tired of all the nonsense of the assassination plots..This is all to make money for the people who write about it.

I am so tired of all the nonsense about the Kennedy assassination. I have read so many books on it and every book has a different cast of people involved in the plot. I am of the idea that we have made a lot out of nothing.

I think that Oswald did it. He was a high awarded marksman in the Marines. He was one of the best. He was high marked for 200 yard shots in the Marines. To be honest he shot the President at a much shorter distance...so for Oswald it was like a turkey shoot...quite easy.

.............................................................................

I think a lot of people have made a lot of money talking and writing about this stuff.

One has to remember that there is a LOT OF MONEY TO BE MADE IN CONSPIRACY!!

And everyone from Oliver Stone down has made a fortune out of the death of JFK! To hell with the truth, conspiracy makes money!!!!!

...............................................................................




In fact if you add all the people that are supposed to have shot the President in Dallas....

They would all be getting in each others way!!!!!!


I find that rather funny, of course each conspiracy theorist thinks they have the guy or have made up the guy to make money. Because if you want to see some silly stuff, read some of these conspiracy books on Kennedy. They are a hoot at times.


I have seen everything from a gunman at the grassy knoll to Kennedy's own secret service accidentally shooting him, even his driver!!!!! The computer has aided us in the real truth behind the assassination. The fellow who is supposed to be in the picture on the grassy knoll. Computer studies have shown that he would have to be around three and half feet tall.
Connally was in a jump seat and lower than the President so the bullets line up perfectly. I know this get conspiracy folks all upset. But the longer time goes on the more we can see we have the answer already.
People want to believe that one man could not do this...why not..remember he was an amazing marksman and a nutcase!

No one seems to want to mention that!! It spoils the story....and once again conspiracy makes MONEY!!!


I have mentioned this before, and it seems to be something conspiracy folks like to leave out and that was Kennedy was in a back brace and wrapped from the chest down in this brace. It was to keep him erect. He needed this as he was so weak in his spine. He was on drugs when in public to look like he was OK, but behind the scenes he was a wreck. Therefore this harness was put on him from the nipples to the small of his back and he was wrapped in ace bandages around a metal frame so he could be erect and not strain his very weak back. Sadly this device which helped him tremendously, also led to his death. As he had no freedom of movement.

When he received the first bullet, he should have crumpled, but he did not as he could not. The reason quite simply was that he was wrapped and bound in this brace.
Even when he was hit in the head he bounced and snapped back into position and then fell over sideways. He never crumpled up. He just fell to his side dead. Much has been made of this snapping back and rarely do I hear about the back brace...It does not make as much money to say that. So they do not and sell more books and movies that way. This is the way to make money.....That is why there are books on everything from Marlyn Monroe to the Lock Ness Monster selling...People love to be given the chance to believe what is not real...The conspiracy people fill that need nicely.


Even the stuff about the "magic bullet" Tests done on similar bullets from the same batch shot into 45 inches of wood came out even more pristine than the magic bullet. By the way the Magic bullet is not really in that great of condition. It is in good condition not pristine!! Major fact

When the real facts are looked at and the nonsense put out by some really questionable people is looked at....you start to see things in a very different way.

The truth will set you free is the old saying ...and in this case the more you learn the real facts people like Oliver Stone look rather foolish. Sadly most of the younger people of the world are instructed by that awful movie......People think it is fact...it needs to be mentioned that it is fictional. Hello just like Star trek Fiction!!

Now I know many people would like to argue that fact...But I will go back to the facts.... Marksman, open clear shots, and a slow moving vehicle. To me it seems really easy if you are a marksman...and rather nuts as Oswald was.

Amazing huh!!


I was lucky to talk President Gerald R.Ford and we did talk about the Warren commission and the Kennedy assassination (he must have been so sick of that subject) He talked about the movie JFK. He said it was a nice movie, just a movie not based on fact.
He said they looked at the evidence and they decided on their conclusions on the evidence. He was very convinced and after looking at much of the evidence that Oswald was the assassin.

After looking at the magic bullet debunked, and the nonsense of many of the books like one where they altered the Presidents body. I agree that I find Ford is correct.


I know there are problems with the Warren Report, but I think it is more on the ball than many of these half baked conspiracy theories.


I am of the opinion that we will never know everything...But I think we know more than we think we do.....Till then, the writers will put out more nonsense and Oliver Stone will be given credit for exposing the truth. I can't wait till he does a movie on the Easter Bunny...It will be about as truthful I am sure.

Exhuming James Madison around 1856. This was done so the ground around his grave was strong enough to support his gravestone

The grave marker of James Madison.
James Madison 1751-1836




James Madison died on June 28, 1836 while seated in bed with his breakfast tray. In fact he died in such a gentle way. His niece asked him him if he was doing well..In one of the gentlest of farewells he simply said "Nothing but a change of heart, my dear." and his head immediately hit his chest. He was dead so fast and so quietly.

His funeral on the 29th was a quiet affair, attended by family, officials, friends and all the slaves. Once the body was placed in the grave there was a great moaning and cry from all attending the funeral. The 4th President was no more.

He was indeed the last of the "Founding Fathers". He was eulogised by all of the leaders of the country. All the great orators of the day spoke of his greatness. John Quincy Adams read his eulogy and spoke of his greatness before a joint session of Congress. His wife Dolley was in bad financial shape as had been Mr. Madison. He had been over the last 10 years of his life selling land, slaves, and his last resort was a house he owned in Washington DC. Dolley hoped that would never happen, and indeed it never did. Madison was extremely depressed over money in his later years.
It was not till the 20th century that ex Presidents received a pension. So in his case and every other ex President till Harry S Truman, no one received a pension

Truman started it all when he said why don't we get pensions??? After Truman pushed it, all ex Presidents got one.

But back in the 1830's James Madison was in pretty rough shape financially. He sold most of his slaves together to a man names Taylor so he could keep all the husbands and wife's together. He was another of those Virginians who said slavery was bad, but was a part of it. But I am venturing off my topic here as I can write for hours on so much of this era and I will some day.

Madison was buried amazingly in an unmarked grave. Dolley when she died in 1849 was buried in Congressional Cemetery in Washington DC. She was buried in some one Else's crypt. It was not till around 1858 that she finally was laid to rest with her husband.

It was not till 1856, twenty years after his death that many people got upset that the "Father of the American Constitution" did not even have a grave marker.

Now there are two stories I have found so far on this and I am sure there are more. But for now here are the two of them. The first was a history of Orange County Virgina by W.W. Scott in 1907, the second one is from the Fredricksburg news on Oct. 6, 1857.


The first story states it was around 1856 and the second says it was 1857. None the less the stories are rather similar and are interesting to read. It is most amazing how many of our former Presidents have been exhumed, looked at, and reburied.



#1

A HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY, VIRGINIA
From its Formation in 1734 ( O. S.) to the end of Reconstruction in 1870 ; compiled mainly from Original Records. With a Brief Sketch of the Beginnings of Virginia, a Summary of Local Events to 1907, and a Map

By W. W. SCOTT
.State Law Librarian, Member of the State Historical
.Society, and for ten years State Librarian
of Virginia


MADISON'S TOMB. This monolith was erected about 1856 by private subscriptions, mostly by admirers of Madison outside the County The date of birth is an error, as explained in the sketch of Madison, infra. The smaller tombstone in the illustration is that of Mrs. Madison, and curious to say, Maude Wilder Goodwin, in her "Life of Dolly Madison," complains of a wrong inscription on her tombstone also. She died July 12, not July 8, as the inscription reads, and she signed her name "Dolly," not "Dolley," to her will, which was dated on the 9th. She was buried first in Washington, D. C., in 1849, and her remains were not brought to Montpelier until about 1858. As her own nephew, not Madison's, erected the tombstone, the error must be imputed to him. The inscription on Madison's tomb is:

MADISON
BORN MARCH 16, 1751.
DIED JUNE 28, 1836.
I have been told that when the stone was erected it was necessary to take up his remains in order to get a safe foundation. The coffin was opened, and, except that one cheek was a little sunken, his appearance was the same as in life; but disintegration began immediately, and the coffin had to be closed. He had been buried about twenty years.



#2

"MADISON'S MONUMENT AND REMAINS. -- Since his death and burial in 1836, the mortal remains of Ex-President Madison have been quietly reposing at Montpelier, in Orange county – a locality distant some nine miles from Gordonsville, on the line of the Virginia Central Railroad. During all this time no mural record with high-sounding eulogy disclosed the place of his final rest; only neighborhood tradition and historic record serving to point the way to it. The neglect in attesting his worth by some suitable monument attracted attention, and some few years since a number of gentlemen of Orange county set about the task of procuring one. Having been procured, it was conveyed to Montpelier on the 15th inst., and placed in position... In digging for a suitable foundation, it became necessary to go below the coffin, which was consequently exposed to view. The boards placed above the coffin had decayed, but no earth had fallen in upon it, and everything appeared to be as when the coffin was deposited there, except that the coffin-lid was slightly out of place, allowing a partial view of the interior. As there were no fastenings to prevent, the part of the lid covering the superior portion of the body was raised, and the several gentlemen present looked in upon the remains of the great Virginian..."
– Fredericksburg News, 6 October 1857



So there you have it George Washington was exhumed and looked at in the 1830's, Madison and John Quincy Adams in the 1850's, Lincoln was observed several times from1870 till the last time he was looked at was in late 1901!! Of course the latest look at a dead President was of Zachary Taylor in 1991. It was said that he was indeed still recognizable, although badly decomposed.

I cannot recall any other Presidents being observed after being buried or in a crypt for a while. I think the days of doing such things are over. At least I think they are.