Ethel E. (Jennings) Jones (1921 – 2010)

Wishing everyone all the best for the holiday season.

Outside magazine ranks Colorado Springs No. 1 http://bit.ly/ZQFra

From All of Us to All of You, All the joy of the Holiday Season and a wonderful New Year.

Happy Halloween from “Thomas the Tank Engine” and “Vampire Princess”.

Elizabeth celebrates her 4th birthday today.

Happy 3rd Birthday Aidan!

Love, Papa

The year is 1906.

Here are some statistics for the Year.

• The average life expectancy was 47 years.
• Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
• Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
• There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.
• The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
• The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!
• The average wage was 22 cents per hour.
• The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year .
• A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, A dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
• More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME.
• Ninety percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!
  Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as “substandard.”
• Sugar cost four cents a pound.
• Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
• Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
• Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
• Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.
• Five leading causes of death were:
  • 1. Pneumonia and influenza
  • 2. Tuberculosis
  • 3. Diarrhea
  • 4. Heart disease
  • 5. Stroke
• The American flag had 45 stars.
• The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was only 30!!!!
• Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn’t been invented yet.
• There was no Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.
• Two out of every 10 adults couldn’t read or write.
• Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
• Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, “Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health.” ( Shocking? DUH! )
• Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.
• There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A.!

What a difference a century makes!

As reported online in the Drudge Report and in Wikipedia, USINFO does contain four Spanish translations of the Star Spangled Banner, but these date back to 1919. Our site links to the Library of Congress which has a copy of the sheet music from 1919 which shows that the translation was done at the behest of the “U.S. Bureau of Education” under the direction of a committee which included John Philip Sousa. Even President Bush, during his 1999 campaign, would sing along when the Anthem was sung in spanish during stops in Hispanic comunities. The version on the State Department website is not the newly released ” Nuestro Himno. ”