History
This time of year, lots of people are watching the bowl games and the playoff games that are heading up to the big match…the Super Bowl. Most of these games, while very exciting, are played out according to routine. Teams win and teams lose, and the march to the Super Bowl continues on. However, on December 31, 1988, a rather unusual bowl game was played. On that day, the Chicago Bears defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 20-12, in a playoff game. That isn’t so unusual either, except that the game was plagued by a thick fog that started up late in the first half. The game was being played at Soldier Field in Chicago and the playing conditions soon became problematic. The fog was so thick that fans in attendance and television viewers alike struggled to see the game. Eventually the game was given a new bowl name, when it was unofficially dubbed the “Fog Bowl” by media.
According to the National Weather Service, the unusual conditions occurred when cold air over Lake Michigan was carried by a breeze towards warm air Soldier Field lakefront. Meteorologists described the fog so dense it resembled clouds on the ground. Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune wrote that the game will be remembered 
as “the best game you never saw.” The field was completely obscured by the fog. Reporters at the game couldn’t see any better than fans who watched the game from their televisions at home. Some said that the game really should have been suspended until the conditions were better.
One football player said that he hadn’t even driven a car in fog that bad, so he couldn’t understand why the game would have been played. I’m sure that is true. The funny thing is that somehow, the players in the game managed to run and score, and the point spread wasn’t really that huge. No one can say that it was a one-sided game. Bears defensive end Al Harris likened the bizarre conditions to playing in a cemetery. “I never saw anything like this,” he said. The NFL actually did consider suspending the game, but the league ultimately deferred the decision to referee Jim Tunney and the NFL commissioner’s representative. Tunney said, “We felt the playing conditions were satisfactory. They were really tough in the middle of the third quarter … No word came to me that either coach wanted to stop play.” That was likely a mistake for the Eagles’ coach.
Of course, this was not the only NFL game or any football game that was affected by fog or weather. In 2017, in Foxboro, Massachusetts, the fog was so dense during a game between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons that NBC had to use its Skycam for most of the in-game coverage, instead of usual sideline cameras, which proved to be useless. As for the Fog Bowl, it was played as scheduled, because no one called it off, but I wonder if the Eagles wished they had in the end. Nevertheless, the week after the Fog Bowl, the Bears lost to eventual Super Bowl champion San Francisco in the NFC Championship Game, so I guess the game made no difference for the outcome.
Fort Washakie was a United States Army fort located in present-day Wyoming. The fort was originally named Camp Augur in 1869, after General Christopher C Augur, who was the commander of the Department of the Platte. It was established to help protect travelers on the Overland Trail from attacks by Native Americans. As often happens, Camp Augur was renamed Camp Brown in honor of Captain Frederick H Brown in 1870. Brown was killed in the Fetterman Massacre in 1866.
The fort was renamed again on December 30, 1878, in honor of Chief Washakie of the Shoshone tribe. That renaming made this fort one of the only United States military outposts to be named after a Native American. Another fort that was named for a Native American was Fort E S Parker, the original Crow Agency in Montana that operated from 1869 to 1875, which was named after the Seneca lawyer Eli Parker, who was a General under Ulysses Grant.
Fort Washakie was operated as a military outpost until 1909, when it was decommissioned and turned over to the Shoshone Indian Agency. The graves of Chief Washakie and Lewis and 
Clark Expedition guide Sacajawea are located on the grounds of the fort. The site is included within the present-day Wind River Indian Reservation. The Wind River Indian Reservation, in the west-central portion of the state of Wyoming, and it is shared by two Native American tribes, the Eastern Shoshone and the Northern Arapaho. I’ve driven through parts of the reservation every time I go to Thermopolis, but I have never been to Fort Washakie. I think maybe I should have a look sometime.
As people traveled west along the Oregon Trail and other trails, they had one thing on their minds, getting from point A to Point B…most of the time anyway. Most travelers on the Oregon Trail never strayed from their route unless they had to. That usually meant a breakdown or a sick traveler or a death. Nevertheless, once in a while, some sight would catch the eye of a traveler, or maybe they just wondered where a trail might lead, if they just went around the next bend. Whatever the case may be, they would stray off the trail a little way and find something amazing.
Eventually, some of the travelers found their way to a little spot about two miles south of the Oregon Trail, about 12 miles southwest of present-day Douglas, in Converse County, Wyoming. In that place, La Prele Creek flows under a large, natural arch of limestone. To add to the beauty, a dam was constructed a short way farther upstream in the early 1900s. At 
around the same time a modern road was built to the site. Before all the improvements, visitors to the natural bridge had to climb down steep canyon walls and fight their way through heavy brush on the canyon floor. At that point, few people bothered, because it was just too hard to get there. For that reason, there are only a handful of accounts from that era, but from those accounts, it became clear the place left a permanent impression on those who visited the site.
The travelers who took the trip were in awe of the natural bridge that they found at the end of their long trek. All of them thought that the site was one of the most amazing places they had seen in a long time. One reporter named Matthew Field published the story of his visit to the site, including how difficult it was to get there. Nevertheless, he also told of just how “worth it” the trip was. He also mentioned that he and Sir William Drummond Stewart, who had shown him the place decided to call the creek “Bridge Creek.”
Many visitors came to visit the site over the years, but in 1910, rancher Alvah Ayres won a patent on the land. Since that time, the place has been called Ayers Natural Bridge and in 1919, his Ayers’ son donated the land to Converse County. These days it is a county park, open from April 15th to October 15th. It is a popular picnic site for many people. It is a free site and popular with rafters, waders, hikers, bicyclists, and fishermen. It is also a favorite site for outdoor weddings and company picnics. There are also a limited number of camping spots. Dogs, however, are not welcome. The site is to be kept pristine.
I suppose someone had to be the one…the fighter who carried out the most missions of the war. For one thing he would be the one who was fortunate enough to survive all those missions, and he would have to be the one who didn’t just go home when he finished the required number of missions to be discharged from service. For World War II, that man was Donald James Matthew Blakeslee, who was an officer in the United States Air Force. His aviation career commenced as a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force, flying Spitfire aircraft during World War II. Then, he joined the Air Force Eagle Squadrons, before transferring to the United States Army Air Forces in 1942. He flew more combat missions against the Luftwaffe than any other American fighter pilot, and by end of the war, he was a triple flying ace credited with 15.5 aerial victories.
Blakeslee was born in Fairport Harbor, Ohio, on September 11, 1917. He developed an interest in flying early in life after observing the Cleveland Air Races as a boy. With money saved from his job the Diamond Alkali Company, he and a friend purchased a Piper J-3 in the mid-1930s and flew it from Willoughby Field, Ohio. However, his friend crashed the plane in 1940, prompting Blakeslee to decide that the best way to continue flying was to join the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).
Blakeslee was trained in Canada and then sent to England on May 15, 1941. There, he was assigned to Number 401 Squadron CAF, which was part of the Biggin Hill Wing. Pilot Officer Blakeslee first saw combat on November 18, 1941, flying sweeps, when he damaged a BF-109 near Le Touquet. He claimed his first kill on November 22, 1941, a BF-109 over Desvres, about 10 miles south of Marck. On the same mission he damaged another BF-109 while returning to base. His next kills were claimed on April 28, 1942, probably destroying two FW190s. Although not a particularly good shot, he was receptive to the principles of air fighting tactics and soon proved to be a leader, both in the air and on the ground.
By the summer of 1942, he an acting flight lieutenant and was awarded the British Distinguished Flying Cross on August 14, 1942. The presentation stated that “Acting Flight Lieutenant Donald Mathew BLAKESLEE (Can.J/4551), Royal Canadian Air Force. 133 (E) Squadron. This officer has completed a large number of sorties over enemy territory. He has destroyed one, destroyed, and damaged several more hostile aircraft. He is a fine whose keenness has proved most inspiring. He then completed his first tour of duty, clocking 200 combat hours with three victories.”
Blakeslee never wanted to join the American volunteer Eagle Squadrons, because he claimed that “they exaggerated their claims.” However, when informed he was to be assigned as an instructor pilot, he volunteered to be sent to Number 133 (Eagle) RAF as its commanding officer. It was the only way to maintain his combat status. During raid Dieppe, France on August 18, 1942, Blakeslee shot down additional FW-190 and probably destroyed another on the 19th, thus achieving his first ace status. Blakeslee would go on to achieve ace status twice more, but that was not the only claim to fame he would have to his name.
On September 12, 1942, the 71st, 121st, and 133rd Squadrons were activated as the USAAF’s 4 Group, 
operating from a former RAF field at Debden. After a few months of flying Spitfires, the group was re-equipped with the new Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. On April 15, 1943, Blakeslee claimed an FW-190 for the group’s first P-47 kill and claimed another FW-190 on May 14, 1943, both near Knocke. Leading the 335th Squadron of the 4th Fighter Group, Blakeslee led the group into Germany the first time on July 28. Towards the end of the year, Blakeslee led the group more often and developed a tactic of circling above any air battle and so he could better direct his fighters.
Blakes first flew the P-51 Mustang in December 1943 and subsequently worked diligently to have the 4th Fighter Group re-equipped with the new aircraft as soon as possible, especially after assuming command of the 4th Fighter Group on January 1, 1944. The 8th Air Force Command eventually granted the request, stipulating that the pilots must be on the P-51 within 24 hours of receiving them. Blakeslee agreed, instructing his pilots to “learn how to fly them on the way the target.”
Blakeslee piloted the first Mustang over Berlin on March 6, 1944, defending Boeing B-17s and Consolidated B24s. The 4th Fighter Group, under Blakeslee’s command, escorted the mass daylight raids of the 8th Air Force over Occupied Europe and became one of the highest-scoring groups of VIII Fighter Command. The 4th’s aggressive tactics under Blakeslee proved effective, and they surpassed the 500-kill mark by the end of April 1944. By the end of the war, the group had destroyed 1,020 German planes (550 in flight and 470 on the ground). The next landmark for Blakeslee was leading the first “shuttle” mission to Russia on June 21, 1944, flying 1,470 miles in a mission lasting over 7 hours.
In September of 1944, Don Blakeslee was finally grounded following the loss of several high-scoring USAAF aces. He had achieved 15 kills in the air two more on the ground. He had flown 500 operational sorties and accumulated 1,000 hours. Barrett Tillman, who served as an executive secretary the American Fighter Aces Association, stated that Blakeslee had more missions and hours “than any other American fighter pilot of World War II.” Blakeslee retired from the United States Force in 1965 with the rank of colonel. In his obituary in The Guardian, Blakeslee was described as “the most decorated Second World War US Air Force fighter pilot.” Blakeslee’s personal standing among Allied pilots was considerable. British ace Johnnie Johnson described him as “one of the best leaders ever to fight over Germany.”
Following the conclusion of World War II, Blakeslee continued his service in the newly established United States Air Force. During the Korean War, he commanded the 27th Fighter-Escort Group at Taegu Air Base in South Korea and Itazuke Air Base in Japan, flying several missions in the F-84 Thunderjet from December 1950 to 
March 1951. In March 1963, he was promoted to colonel, and his final assignment was as Special Assistant to the Director of Operations for the Seventeenth Air Force, serving from 1964 until his retirement on April 30, 1965. After retiring, Blakeslee lived in Miami, Florida. He married Leola Fryer in 1944 and had one daughter. She passed away in 2005. Blakeslee died on September 3, 2008, at his home due to heart failure. On Friday September 18, 2008, Colonel Don Blakeslee and his wife’s ashes were interred at Arlington National Cemetery. The ceremony took place at 1100 hours and was open to the public. The 4th Fighter Wing also did a flyover at the ceremony.
In 1800, President John Adams approved legislation that appropriated $5,000 to purchase “such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress.” The initial collection of books, ordered from London, arrived in 1801. These were stored in the US Capitol. The books were the library’s first. The inaugural library catalog, dated April 1802, listed 964 volumes and nine maps. The library was President Adams’ pride and joy. In 1814, in what was a largely symbolic maneuver, the British entered Washington DC and burned down the capitol and the library. The fire was dramatic, but really had little relevance, because the city didn’t have an especially large population and, since much of the US government had fled before the British could overtake them, there was little strategic value in the destruction. Nevertheless, the about 3,000 books were lost in that fire.
The Library of Congress must seem like an institution that is unable to be defeated, but the reality is that while it has been there practically forever, acting as the nation’s biggest library, it has been almost destroyed three times. The Library of Congress is one of the largest libraries in the world, with over 170 million items in its collections at present, according to the Library of Congress itself. It possesses a world class collection of rare books and holds the largest known collection of audio recordings, maps, and films, among other materials. It is accessible not only to the Congressional representatives who work nearby in the Capitol, but also to all Americans and members of the public. That was not always the case, however. At its inception, the Library of Congress was for congressional use only.
Once the fires of the British died down, they left Washington, and the American lawmakers returned. As has always been the way of Americans, they knew it was time to rebuild. While Congress was putting itself back together, it became clear that most wanted the Library of Congress to return as well. At that point, former president Thomas Jefferson stepped in. He offered to sell his own library to reconstitute the one lost in 1814. It is certainly logical that Jefferson was one proposing such a deal. According to the Library of Congress, he was an avid book reader and lifelong learner with an extensive personal library. While he committed to the notion of an informed, intellectual Congress, Jefferson may have also empathized on a deeper level. In 1770, his own home had burned, and Jefferson, gazing at the ashes, most acutely felt the loss of his books. Later, he would come to possess the largest private library in the United States.
The Library of Congress faced at least three fires in its fight to exist. In fact, its existence as an institution has been challenged numerous obstacles throughout its more than 200 years of existence. The Library of Congress faced space shortages, understaffing, and lack of funding, until the American Civil War increased the importance of legislative research to meet the demands of a growing federal government. Then, in 1870, the library gained the right to receive two copies of every copyrightable work printed in the United States. It also built its collections through acquisitions and donations. Between 1890 and 1897, a new library building, which has now 
been renamed the Thomas Jefferson Building, was constructed. Two additional buildings, the John Adams Building (opened in 1939) and the James Madison Memorial Building (opened in 1980), were later added. In total, the Library of Congress has faced major fires at least three times in its history.
According to the United States House of Representatives, the 1825 fire occurred on the evening of December 22nd. Massachusetts Representative Edward Everett, who was leaving a nearby party, noticed a strange light coming from the library windows. When he informed a Capitol police officer, who did not have a key, Everett dismissed the situation. However, as the glow intensified, it became increasingly difficult to ignore. Eventually, more officers, along with Librarian of Congress George Watterson, discovered the dreadful truth: Library of Congress was on fire…again!!
Both representatives and firefighters fought the blaze, including’s fellow Massachusetts representative, Daniel Webster, and Tennessee politician Sam Houston. They extinguished fire before it spread to the rest of the Capitol. Ultimately, it was determined that the cause was a candle left lit in the room. The damage was not nearly as extensive as the 1814, though some books and a rug were lost.
On December 24, 1851, what is thought to be the most devastating fire destroyed 35,000 books, two-thirds of the library’s collection, and two-thirds of Jefferson’s original transfer. In 1852, Congress appropriated $168,700 to replace the books but not to acquire new materials. By 2008, the librarians of Congress had found replacements for all but 300 of the works documented as being in Jefferson’s original collection. This marked the beginning of a conservative period in the library’s administration under librarian John Silva Meehan and joint committee chairman James A. Pearce, who restricted the library’s activities. Meehan and Pearce’s views on limiting the Library of Congress’s scope were shared by members of Congress. As a librarian, Meehan and perpetuated the notion that “the congressional library should play a limited role on the national scene and its collections, by and large, should emphasize American materials obvious use to the US Congress.” In 1859, Congress transferred the library’s public document distribution activities to the Department of the Interior and its international book exchange program to the Department of State.
These days, the library is open for academic research to anyone with a Reader Identification Card. The library items may not be removed from the reading rooms or the library buildings. Most of the library’s general collection of books and journals are in the closed stacks of Jefferson and Adams Buildings. Specialized collections of books and other materials are in stacks in three main library buildings or stored off-site. Access to the closed stacks not permitted under any circumstances, except to authorized library staff and occasionally to dignitaries. Only reading room reference collections are on open shelves.
Since 1902, American libraries have been able to request books other items through interlibrary loan from the Library of Congress, if these are not available elsewhere. Through this system, the Library of Congress has served as a “library of last resort,” according to former librarian of Congress Herbert Putnam. The Library of Congress lends books to other libraries with the stipulation that they be used only inside the borrowing library. In 2017, the Library of Congress began development of a reader’s card for children under the age of sixteen.
It was December 20, 1952, at the height of the Korean War. Operation Sleigh Ride…a United States Air Force airlift program to bring US servicemen who were fighting in the Korean War home for Christmas. I can imagine the excitement in the air. A chance to “take a break” from the ugliness of war even if only for a short time and spend Christmas at home. At around 6:30pm PST, the C-124 lifted off from Larson 
Air Force Base near Moses Lake, Washington. The plane was en route to Kelly Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. Then the unthinkable happened. Just seconds after taking, the left wing struck the ground, and the airplane cartwheeled, broke up, exploded, killing 82 of the 105 passengers and 5 of the 10 crew members.
Investigation into the accident revealed that the aircraft’s elevator and rudder gust locks had not been disengaged prior to departure. The reports I have read did not specifically say that the accident was due to pilot error, but I also could not find information stating that is could have been mechanical failure. From that, I have to assume that the crew forgot to disengage the elevator and rudder gust locks, and the plane simply lost control.
I can’t imagine the devastation of waiting at home for your soldier to come home for Christmas, only to hear that on their way home to you, they were in a crash that took their life. Of course, they wanted their soldier home for Christmas, but my guess is that many carried the weight of that desire for years. If their soldier had stayed in Korea, they might have later come home from the war alive. It was all just too much to bear. This would be the deadliest crash in history, until the Tachikawa air disaster, which also involved a Douglas C-124A-DL Globemaster II and claimed 129 lives. Of course, no crash that involves loss of life, is a minor thing. The devastation the families feel is beyond comprehension.
During World War II, as with other wars, things that were needed for the war effort had to be rationed. Things like metal, gasoline, even food made sense to me, but while I was listening to a book called “The Monuments Men” and shorter skirts were mentioned. My first thought was, “How did shorter skirts help the war effort? The men’s morale maybe, but seriously…how?” Well, it turns out that morale had nothing to do with it. The reasons lay elsewhere. Apparently, wool and silk were in high demand to make uniforms and parachutes. For manufacturers, that meant using materials like rayon and viscose (a semi-synthetic type of rayon fabric made from wood pulp that is used as a silk substitute. It has a similar drape and smooth feel to the luxury material) to make most civilians clothing.
In addition to the types of material, the manufacturers had to find a way to actually conserve the amount of fabric being used, so to conserve fabric, dressmakers and manufacturers began designing shorter skirts and slimmer silhouettes. In the book, the comment was made that because so many people walked to work, the women had shapely legs, so I guess the men appreciated the new styles, much like when the miniskirt came into style in the 70s. Although, the women of the World War II era didn’t wear miniskirts. The dresses were just about knee length or slightly longer. The use of shoulder pads ended in World War II as well, although it has made periodic comebacks over the years. Another way that the manufacturers found to conserve fabric, was 
the elimination of the cuff on men’s slacks. Oddly, that change was not as much appreciated by the men in World War II, although these days, cuffs on pants are a rarity, if you see them at all. Mostly these days, you might see pant legs rolled and that mostly on women, but not a real cuff.
Dress hemlines have been known to fluctuate with the times. The pre 1900s showed women with long full dresses that even dragged the ground, full slips and absolutely no ankles or feet showing. I suppose anyone showing an ankle or foot would be considered…loose. By the 1900s, the era of my Spencer great aunts, the skirts were still very long, but with a slimmer cut and fewer full slips to carry around. One of the oddest style came in 1910, when the Hobble Skirt came out. Of course, variations would be the pencil skirt. The roaring 20s, brought a carefree attitude and long cumbersome skirts were replaced with short, knee length (and maybe slightly shorter) skirts, suitable for rather wild dancing. With the stock market crash of 1929, the Crashing 30’s began, and skirts were again long and very conservative. There was no need for flashy dancewear, and there was not much dancing going on. Then, came World War II. Our men were fighting and we…the ones back at home had to make some sacrifices, So, came the shorter skirts made of rayon and such to save the normal materials for our “boys, fighting over there.” When the war ended, the ration weary women went back to their fuller, and slightly longer skirt, because…well they could. And then came the 60s…the era of free love and free expression. The miniskirt arrived, much to the horror of our parents. The Beatles were the rage, and the skirts grew (or shrank) to ever 
shorter lengths. By the late 70s, the midi and maxiskirts had arrived. And so came the Hippie era. Everything was “free flowing and filled with flowers.” To me, it seems that since that time, skirts have been a mix of lengths, from the micromini to the maxi, but in reality, many women gave up skirts completely for jeans, short shorts (hot pants), capris, or whatever else suited our “fancies” because it was all available. I suppose a day could come again, when fashion would change because of war, politics, or personal preference. Styles often repeat. Time will tell that story.
As a young man, my dad, Allen L Spencer worked for Douglas Aircraft Company. Of course, he wasn’t there when the DC-3 took its first flight, mostly because he was only eleven at the time, but I have a feeling that if he happened to see a plane flying overhead, he was probably enamored of them immediately. So, I’m sure that the idea of working to build these machines, much have been quite thrilling for him. I am also quite sure that Dad might have worked on the DC-3, since it was a plane used in World War II. Dad left Douglas Aircraft Company in early 1943, when he was called to serve in World War II. After basic training, he was called to be part of a B-17 Bomber crew. I’m sure they wanted to make use of his experience at Douglas Aircraft Company, because soon, Dad was the flight engineer and top turret gunner on his crew. The flight engineer needs to know everything about the plane, because let’s face it, in a plane, you can’t pull over if something goes wrong.
The Douglas DC-3 is “a propeller-driven airliner produced by the Douglas Aircraft Company. The DC-3 significantly impacted the airline industry from the 1930s through the 1940s and during World War II. It was developed as a larger, enhanced 14-bed sleeper version of the Douglas DC-2. This low-wing metal monoplane features traditional landing gear and is propelled by two radial piston engines with 1,000–1,200 horsepower. Initially, civil DC-3s were equipped with the Wright R-1820 Cyclone engine, but later models adopted the Pratt and Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engine. The DC-3 boasts a cruising speed of 207 miles per hour, can accommodate 21 to 32 passengers or carry 6,000 pounds of cargo, has a range of 1,500 miles, and is capable of operating from short runways.”
The DC-3 was filled with exceptional qualities that earlier versions didn’t have. I think that is common as technology advances. It was fast, had a good range. It was more reliable than the prior versions, and it even provided greater passenger comfort. Clearly, it was not designed just for the war, but to go on into the future too. Prior to World War II, it pioneered many air travel routes. It could cross the continental United States from New York to Los Angeles in 18 hours with only three stops. Of course, these days that seems like nothing, but in those days, it was a big deal. It was one of the first airliners that could profitably carry passengers without relying on mail subsidies. In 1939, at the peak of its dominance in the airliner market, approximately 90% of airline flights worldwide were operated by a DC-3 or its variants.
Sadly, after the war, the airliner market was inundated with surplus transport aircraft, rendering the DC-3 less competitive due to its smaller size and slower speed compared to aircraft built during the war. With all that against it, the DC-3 became obsolete on main routes. Soon, it was replaced by more advanced types such as the Douglas DC-4 and Convair 240. However, the design of the DC-3 proved adaptable and remained useful on less commercially demanding routes.
Civilian DC-3 production ceased in 1943 with a total of 607 aircraft. Military variants, including the C-47 
Skytrain (known as the Dakota in British RAF service). The Soviet-built and Japanese-built versions increased total production to over 16,000 planes. Many continued to serve in various niche roles. It was estimated that 2,000 DC-3s and military derivatives were still operational in 2013. By 2017, more than 300 were still flying, and as of 2023, approximately 150 are estimated to remain in service. This, it would seem, is a very versatile airplane.
On this day, December 16th, in the year 1575, an earthquake occurred near Valdivia Chile. The city of Valdivia and the Chiloé Archipelago were once the two southernmost outliers of the Spanish Empire, located just north of the southern tip of South America. The earthquake occurred at 2:30pm, local time, and it is estimated that it was a magnitude 8.5 on the surface-wave scale and estimated magnitude of 9.0 on moment magnitude. The earthquake triggered the flooding of Valdivia. My first thought was, exactly how do we know all this. The answer is that Pedro Mariño de Lobera, who was the governor of Valdivia at that time, reported the quake and that the waters of the river opened like the Red Sea, one flowing upstream and the other downstream. That must have been quite a sight, and not likely to be one people would forget, and clear written documentation from an eyewitness helped too. 
Acting quickly, Mariño de Lobera evacuated the city because he was concerned about the dam at Laguna de Anigua (now known as Riñihue Lake). The dam, he suspected, would not hold up to the pressure any cracks might place on it. Then, suddenly, the dam gave way, and while he noted the unfortunate deaths of many Indigenous people, no Spaniards died, because the settlement of Valdivia was temporarily relocated away from the riverside. I’m sure that like many people these days who think that they can ride out a hurricane, flash flood, or other such natural disaster; there were those who did not see evacuation as necessary. They evacuated anyway, and I’m sure they were glad they did.
I have often wondered how we can possibly know that on that day, in 1575, an earthquake occurred, and where. I suppose if I were a seismologist, I might have a better understanding of how all that works, and how we could have evidence of something so long ago…much less the magnitude of it. Nevertheless, apparently, they know a lot about it…and they were able to determine that the effects of this earthquake are comparable to those of the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, which at 9.4 to 9.6, was the largest quake ever recorded on Earth. That quake also caused subsequent Riñihuazo flooding. That was significant to the seismologists, who learned that these similarities indicate that large earthquakes exhibit patterns that span several centuries. Today, Valdivia has made a recovery from both earthquakes. The 2017 census lists the population at over 150,000.
People tend to be drawn to mysteries, especially when it involves the disappearance of a celebrity. Of course, we always hope for a good outcome, but that is not always meant to be. Many people these days don’t know who Glenn Miller is, mostly because of the era he came from. Glenn Miller was an American big band conductor, arranger, composer, trombone player, and recording artist before and during World War II, but during World War II, he was an officer in the US Army Air Forces. It was in his role as a military officer when Glenn Miller went missing on December 15, 1944, after heading out over the English Channel on a small military plane bound for Paris. or apparently so.
Shortly after the world learned that Miller, one of the University of Colorado Bould most distinguished alumni, had disappeared, the conspiracy theories began to fly. The fact that Miller was never found, just adds to the mystery surrounding this case. That doesn’t mean that the search is over. Still, 80 years is a long time for a mystery to remain unsolved. It is not for lack of trying, that the disappearance remains a mystery. For Miller’s family, I’m sure all the continuing speculation gets to be annoying, especially when it involves some sensationalistic theories designed to discredit Miller. Theories include things like an assassination before he even boarded the plane he was supposedly on for the purpose of a secret mission for Dwight Eisenhower, or that he made it to Paris ha died of a heart attack in a bordello (I find this one very distasteful, in that it is defamation of character), or that the small plane he was on was destroyed by bombs jettisoned from a phalanx of Allied bombers passing overhead on their way back from an aborted mission over Germany. I’m sure there were others, but without proof, people shouldn’t speculate.
Eventually, long after the war was over, the truth (at least as far as it will ever be proven) came out. Typical of the US government…and many other governments too, I’m sure…documents from the investigation were boxed 
up after the war, sent to the United States and locked away. I understand the need to keep wartime documents under wraps, but so many years later…why is it necessary to hide that information from the grieving families. The information was there, they were just not given access. It turns out that witnesses saw Miller get on the plane, and the plane, a C64 Norseman, had a known problem with the carburetor heaters. While the bodies and the plane were not found, it is pretty certain that the freezing weather that day froze the lines, causing the plane to crash shortly after takeoff. I don’t suppose we will know for sure, until the plane is found, but after all these ears, that seems unlikely.
