A family visit

Galena Weekly Republican, 8 Dec 1911.

The news clipping above shows a visit by my 2nd-great-grandmother Anna Smith Lamon to cousins in Galena, Kansas in December 1911. Another article from a different newspaper shows that Anna had arrived in Kansas before Thanksgiving, after visiting a son in Alabama. Girard and Galena are located in the southeastern corner of the state, near the border with Missouri and Oklahoma.

Pittsburg Daily Headlight, 20 Nov 1911.

Anna would have been 50 years old in 1911. It is not clear which of her sons was living in Alabama at the time, both James and George were 22 and 18 then.

Remembering

Indianapolis Star, 25 Dec 1968

While scanning through Newspapers.com to find old news clippings on my family lines, I stumbled onto one I had missed featuring my Granny, Lydia Campuzano Reid, giving back to her community in December 1968. I didn't know she had been a supervisor of the Southwest Social Center's senior citizen program, so it was nice to find this one.

Casco Viejo

Photo by Patrick Jones. Casco Viejo, Panama. 29 June 2018.

I'm now back from Panama, settling in for the 4th of July week. Panama was fun, with a lively old city, currently undergoing renovation and gentrification. There are many rooftop bars and restaurants in Casco Viejo (also known as Casco Antiguo). After 7 consecutive days with rain during our week of meetings, my Friday free afternoon & evening was blessed with great weather. I was even able to catch another dj set and rooftop evening in the old city.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Casco Viejo, Panama. 29 June 2018.

Casco Viejo was settled in 1673, after the first capital of Panama was burned before being attacked by pirates in 1671. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

I managed to take quite a few photos in the picturesque area. This part of the city reminds me of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, but a bit more improved and lively.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Casco Viejo, 29 June 2018.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Casco Viejo, 29 June 2018.

In the Canal Zone

I am currently in Panama for meetings. I had an opportunity this morning to check out the Miraflores Locks, the closest locks of the historic Panama Canal to Panama City. The first photo shows a catamaran entering the locks from the Pacific side. The middle and last photo show a container ship making its way through to the Atlantic side.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Miraflores Locks, Panama. 24 June 2018.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Miraflores Locks, Panama. 24 June 2018.

The entry fee to the Miraflores Locks Museum is $15 USD. They are currently building an IMAX theatre next to the locks. Due to limited time, I didn't stay very long.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Miraflores Locks, Panama. 24 June 2018.

George Oyler, hop planter

This clipping from the London Morning Post mentions my 4th-great-grandfather George Oyler, who had moved to Ohio from Staplehurst, Kent, England in 1828. The article is from a meeting of hop planters from Kent in 1853.

London Morning Post, 18 May 1853.

The clipping shows that George had built a hop oast (a building designed for drying hops as part of the brewing process) after arriving in America. According to the account of a Mr. Bonnick, George found that hops did not pay as much as wheat, so he switched his crop. This also shows George maintained his connections with business interests in England after moving to America. The census records from 1850-1870 indicate George was well-off. Perhaps George sold his hops to early brewers in Cincinnati.