My grandniece, Christina Masterson has had a pretty busy year. She switched jobs. She had been working from home, calling people for collections. As we all know, that is a really difficult job to have, and Christina is a soft-hearted person, so I can see how collections would tear her up. Now, she is working in a doctor’s office doing the billing. That is really a much better job to have, if you ask me. Christina also works as a hostess for a Chinese restaurant on the weekends.
Christina lives on her own, with her little dog, Athena. In reality, Athena isn’t really a bad dog, but Christina’s cousin, Shai likes to tease that she is. She liked working from home, but that can get a little bit lonely sometimes. Being out in public is important too. Christina has also joined a bowling league and has really enjoyed that. Chritina is a people person, and she loves lifting people up and making them feel good about themselves. After a while of working from home and being more isolated, Christina is really enjoying the idea of branching out and getting back out in the world again. I think a lot of people are feeling that way after the “Covid Lockdowns” and the job losses many people faced. Thise who could work from home were ok, but many who had to go out to work, lost their jobs. It was a sad time for many.
Christina is close friends with her cousin, my granddaughter, Shai Royce, who is just five days younger than Christina. They try to spend some time together around the time of their birthdays, whenever they can. They take lots of pictures, and Shai calls them the “Adventures of Shai and Christina” and labels them with the year it is. They have been doing that for years, since they don’t live in the same state anymore. The girls have been 
close for most of their lives. Of course, they went through times when they weren’t around each other much, but they have always loved each other and wanted to have more “adventures” together.
Probably the biggest excitement for Christina though was becoming an aunt recently. Her niece, Jocelyn, whom she calls “Josie” was born to her brother, Bradon and his wife. Christina told me that she has been waiting a long time to be an aunt, and now she finally is. Today is Christina’s birthday. Happy birthday Christina!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
When I began dating my future husband, Bob Schulenberg, I didn’t have a brother or even a nephew. I had one brother-in-law, but he and my sister, Cheryl Masterson didn’t live here, so he had no influence on my life. Bob’s brother, Ron was just 6 years old at that time, and very sweet. It was interesting to suddenly have a boy in my otherwise girl-bound life. I had four sisters and no brothers. Ron’s boy ways were curious to me. I grew up in a very girly household, and Ron was all boy…a bit of a shock to my system. Nevertheless, Ron was a happy little 6-year-old boy, who often got to go with his big brother and his brother’s girlfriend to places like Dairy Queen. He was a good little boy, and the three of us always had a great time. As the years went by, and Ron became my brother-in-law, he seemed like he had always been my little brother, and he had…at least for most of his life.
Ron loved the same things his dad, my father-in-law, Walt Schulenberg and my husband did…mechanics, and like them, he was a natural. After his time in the Army, and then a recall for Desert Storm, Ron went to college for mechanics. He has been working on everything from big trucks to cars ever since. Ron is an excellent mechanic, and thankfully for my husband, Ron is very good at rebuilding transmissions. They sometimes have a “tag-team” way of repairing a transmission that Bob is working on. Bob takes it out, Ron rebuilds it, and Bob puts it back in. It works well for both of them. Of course, Ron is always working on vehicle is his own garage, where he has his own lift, as well as all the tools he could need to fix just about anything.
Ron has always tried to help people who need it. With the winter we have had, Ron has worked to help keep 
the roads cleared for the people out where he lives. The snow has been so deep, and people have needed the help. Ron is a good man, and people really appreciate him and his kindness. The past several years have been hard on Ron. He lost his wife, Rachel in early 2021. Ron has been working to rebuild life for himself and Rachel’s son Tucker, whom Ron adopted. He has also been there for Rachel’s other kids, Cassie and Riley, and their families. He is a good man. Today is Ron’s birthday. Happy birthday Ron!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My mom, Collene Spencer went home to be with the Lord, eight years ago today. It’s so hard for me to believe she has been gone that long. That was the day my sisters and I officially became adult orphans. It’s a strange thing to think about, after having your parents with you most of your life. I think that the things I miss most about my mom are her faith in God, her natural goodness, and her humor. Mom’s humor still makes me laugh today. She really was kind of a natural comedienne. She loved to laugh, and even more than that, she loved to make others laugh. She was known for the funny faces she made, and the goofy things she would do.
Mom was the true middle sister. She had three older sisters, Evelyn Hushman, Virginia Beadle, Dolores Johnson, followed by brother Larry Byer. She also had a younger brother, Wayne Byer, followed by three sisters, Bonnie McDaniels, Dixie Richards, and Sandy Pattan. I think her humorous side might have come from her brothers, both of whom were hilariously funny. I could say they were a bad influence on her, but even with their mischievous personalities, they were really a good influence on her. The three of them were always in some sort of “trouble” with their mom. Not real trouble, just mischief. There was never a dull moment. That’s how it was when Mom got her girls laughing too. Never a dull moment.
My mom loved to sing, and she made sure that our days started off with something like “Keep on the Sunny Side” or “You Are My Sunshine.” Even if we didn’t “feel” sunny, she tried to bring out the sunshine in a cloudy day. We didn’t really know just what a wise woman our mother was, but looking back, I wish we had known. Starting your day with a smile is probably the single best way to start your day. Life isn’t always easy, but living life with a smile on your face gives it joy. All too often, we try to be far too serious, and we miss out on all the 
funny parts of life. Mom didn’t hold grudges. She just wouldn’t allow those kinds of feeling to ruin her day or her life. She tried to teach that to us too, and I like to think she succeeded. We may not jump out of bed with a smile on our faces…at least not before a few cups of coffee, but we are all happy people, and on occasion, we still sing those songs, because it reminds us of our sweet mom. It’s really hard for me to believe that Mom has been gone for eight years now, but it is really easy to believe that she is in Heaven, because it was Jesus in her heart that made her so happy. We love and miss you everyday Mom, and we can’t wait to see you again.
My sister-in-law, Debbie Cook is my husband, Bob Schulenberg’s older sister. When they were younger, they were good friends, mostly I suppose, because of their closeness in age. Debbie was just 17 months older than Bob. I don’t know how close they were as kids, but as adults, they got along very well. In fact, it was because of that closeness that Bob and I met at all. Debbie and I were both working at Kmart. She had graduated from high school, and I was a senior in high school. She worked in the Deli, and I worked in the Millinery Department (handbags and wigs, for those who don’t know). I had a display by the Deli, and we became friends. Later, we would double date, and eventually, I was the maid of honor in her wedding, and she the matron of honor in mine.
After we both had children, the cousins became good friends. When Debbie and her husband, LJ Cook moved their family, including daughters, Machelle Moore and Susan Griffith, to Thermopolis, Wyoming from Casper, 
Wyoming, our daughters would take turns spending a week with each other in the summers. Those were special times for everybody, and times I miss very much. I think we all do. Of course, we would not choose to go back, because we would miss out on so much, like grandchildren. Debbie has two grandsons, Weston and Easton Moore; and two granddaughters, Jala Satterwhite and Katlyn Griffith.
Debbie and LJ have suffered some health issues as they have grown older, but they are working very hard to get themselves back to health. LJ had back surgery, and now, he feels so much better. Debbie has been trying to get healthy, and with the encouragement of her daughters, she has also done such a great job losing weight. She has realized that with age, can come decline, so Debbie has decided that she doesn’t want that to happen to her and LJ. So, she has been going to the senior center for exercise classes a few times a week, and as an added perk, getting pedicures there as well. She has been eating better and cooking more health-conscious meals for both her and LJ.
Debbie has been trying to get involved with the Powell community in the past few years, where they now live.
She’s joined the “Giddy Up Gals” too. They are a part of the Red Hat Society. She has really become involved with the local senior center, including some of their trips to Cody. She also enjoys getting out of the house and making friends. These are things that Debbie hasn’t been able to do in recent years. I’m really happy for her and for LJ, because it’s been a long hard road, and now there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Today is Debbie’s 70th birthday. Happy birthday Debbie!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
For people who live in Casper, Wyoming, the mountain to the south has long been a great recreation area. They are campgrounds and a ski resort, not to mention the trails that dot the mountain top. While the mountain is mostly recreational today, along with a number of people who live on the mountain full-time, that wasn’t always the case. In 1890, a gold strike on Casper Mountain brought a little gold rush to the area…along with many different kinds of people, looking to strike it rich. The mountain was crawling with people from all walks of life, but while they looked until 1895, they didn’t find much gold. The materials found were mostly asbestos and other non-profitable minerals.
Nevertheless, there arose a need for a town and supply stores, so the town of Eadsville was formed. It was located 12 miles due south of Casper on top of Casper Mountain. It was founded by Charles W Eads in 1891 after he had staked a 600-foot x 1,500-foot mining claim around a large spring. The town was named for one Charles W Eads, who was the second person to settle in Casper, following a Mr. Merritt, who was credited with being the first to locate to Casper. Eads appeared in the Natrona County Tribune, May 13, 1908, and was apparently accused of being a horse thief. He would go on to do time in prison.
It was thought that there were large deposits of precious minerals, such as gold, silver, lead, and copper. The town continued to develop, with lots being sold in the town during 1891 – 1892. During that time, about a dozen cabins were built. While the town became a ghost town before very long, the foundations of three cabins still remain today. During the boom years, some 40 to 50 people lived there, all hoping to make their millions in gold and silver. Some traces of gold and silver were found, and copper was also mined, but asbestos and feldspar were the most economical to mined. The “spar” was still being mined after nearly 100 years. It’s no longer being mined, but it could be again, if there was a need.
After a time of trying unsuccessfully to make a living, the miners finally gave up and abandoned the town 
between 1905 and 1906. The site was rediscovered in the 1980s, and numerous artifacts were uncovered during an archeological excavation that was conducted between 1983 and 1985. At one time it was surveyed as a stamp mill. Eadsville was located on Casper Mountain at an elevation of 7,800 feet and covered an area 20 acres.
I think that we can all say that we have found ourselves on the wrong side of history…at the very least our belief system. That is really where most of the world found themselves when Adolf Hitler was elected to office, and almost immediately began to pour out his evil plan for the world, and his hatred for anyone not Aryan, which in Nazi ideology, “denotes white non-Jewish people, especially those of northern European origin or descent typically having blond hair and blue eyes and regarded as a supposedly superior racial group.” Hitler had so deceived the world, in fact, that just a short six and a half months before Hitler invaded Poland, New York City’s Madison Square Garden hosted a rally to celebrate the rise of Nazism in Germany!! More than 20,000 people were in attendance. They raised Nazi salutes toward a 30-foot-tall portrait of George Washington flanked by swastikas. Of course, not everyone was fooled by Hitler, and in fact the 20,000 were a very small percentage, but these 20,000 were, whether they ever understood it or not, on the wrong side of history, trying to follow a man who was insanely evil, murderous, and racist. Outside, police and some 100,000 protestors, who saw right through Hitler’s beliefs, gathered.
The organization who was behind the February 20, 1939 event, was the German American Bund (“Bund” is German for “federation”), had advertised the event as a “Pro American Rally.” The antisemitic organization held Nazi summer camps for youth and their families during the 1930s. Doesn’t that sound a lot like Hitler’s Youth Camps, that later turned into just the Hitler Youth, where he forcefully took children from their parents saying that the parents were ill-equipped to properly raise their children. Then, he turned those youth into killing machines, with no regard for human life. The Bund’s youth members were present at the February 20th rally, as were the Ordnungsdienst, or OD, the group’s vigilante police force who dressed in the style of Hitler’s SS officers. In Germany, these were the Jewish Ghetto Police or Jewish Police Service (German: Jüdische, Ghetto-Polizei, or Jüdischer Ordnungsdienst), also called the Jewish Police by Jews, and they were auxiliary police units organized within the Nazi ghettos by local Judenrat (Jewish councils). Their “job” was to keep order, or rather monitor the orderly persecution and murder of the Jewish people.
At the rally, there were banners hanging with messages like “Stop Jewish Domination of Christian Americans” and “Wake Up America. Smash Jewish Communism.” When the Bund’s national leader, Fritz Kuhn, gave his closing speech, he referred to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as “Rosenfield” and Manhattan District Attorney Thomas Dewey as “Thomas Jewey.” Kuhn, a naturalized American who lost his citizenship during World War II, declared, “We, with American ideals, demand that our government shall be returned to the American people who founded it. If you ask what we are actively fighting for under our charter: First, a socially just, white, Gentile-ruled United States. Second, Gentile-controlled labor unions, free from Jewish Moscow-directed domination.” Isadore Greenbaum, a brave Jewish-American man, interrupted Kuhn’s speech by charging the stage in protest. Undaunted, the police and the vigilante force quickly tackled him and proceeded to beat him up on stage. The crowd cheered as they threw him off stage, pulling his pants down in the process. Police charged Greenbaum with disorderly conduct and gave him a $25 fine, which today would have equaled about $450. They were not only intent on inflicting pain, but also humiliation. They are people who have stepped into the insane world of evil. Definitely the wrong side of history.
At the time the rally took place, Hitler was completing his sixth concentration camp. The protesters, many of them Jewish Americans, were trying to call attention to what was happening in Germany, saying that it could happen in the United States. Their fliers proclaimed, “Don’t wait for the concentration camps—Act now!” Outside the rally, people carried signs with messages like “Smash Anti-Semitism” and “Give me a gas mask, I can’t stand the smell of Nazis.” The police responded to the protesters with violent attacks. The night was riddled with violence. One protester escaped a mounted police officer, by punching his horse in the face. As the rally broke up, some protesters slipped by the police to punch departing Nazis in the face.
Looking back on how the Nazi history played out, and especially the atrocities of Hitler, I wonder if the people who were at the rally in support of Hitler felt about their…hero now. I suppose that being obsessed with evil, they might have been fine with the Holocaust, and all of the killing that took place. All we can hope is that maybe at least a few of then saw the error of their ways, and realized just how evil Hitler and the Third Reich really were.
The taking of vital ground is an important, if not essential part of war. In World War II, Iwo Jima was vital ground. It was prime real estate on which to build airfields to launch bombing raids against Japan, just 660 miles away. The Japanese had it, and the Americans needed it. So, they devised a plan to evict the, then current occupiers, so they could have it. The planned attack was called Operation Detachment, and the plan was to invade Iwo Jima thus putting the Allies in a better position to attack Japan.
The problem was that Iwo Jima was well fortified, both above and below ground…with a force that was 21,000 strong. The US Marines had to find out where the Japanese strongholds were on the island, so the invasion would take place is several phases. The United States had to be patient in the days leading up to the actual invasion, but they also had to apply pressure to keep the Japanese off guard.
To apply pressure, the Americans began bomber raids using B-24 and B-25 bombers in June 1944. The raids continued for 74 days. It was the longest pre-invasion bombardment of the war. Anytime bombing continues for that long, it has to be stressful for those in the bomb zone. The constant threat of falling bombs, and never knowing if they will land on you next, would make every day stressful. The bombing was necessary because of the extent to which the Japanese fortification of the island, above and below ground, including a network of caves.
Next came the Frogmen phase. “Frogmen” or Underwater Demolition Teams were dispatched by the Americans just before the actual invasion. The plan was to for the frogmen to draw fire from the Japanese, thus giving away many of their “secret” gun positions. Of course, as you can imagine, this was basically a suicide mission for the Underwater Demolition Teams. The amphibious landings of Marines began the morning of February 19, 1945, as the secretary of the navy, James Forrestal, accompanied by journalists, surveyed the scene from a command ship offshore. As the Marines made their way onto the island, seven Japanese battalions opened fire on them. By evening, more than 550 Marines were dead and more than 1,800 were wounded. It took four more days and many more casualties to capture of Mount Suribachi, the highest point of the island and bastion of the Japanese defense. While the taking of Iwo Jima was vital and those who fought and died there willingly gave 
their lives for it, I have to think that it was a bittersweet victory, because of so many lives lost. Much like the D-Day storming of the beaches of Normandy, Iwo Jima was a suicide mission that was vital to the outcome of the war. The photo of the raising of the American flag on Iwo Jima, won the Pulitzer Prize for the photographer who took it, but I’m sure it was a photograph he would rather not have taken, considering the loss of life.
My grandnephew, Easton Moore is pretty much all about his Bronco…except for his girl, Brionna Petrich, that is. For the past year, Easton has been busy working and fixing up his bronco. A year ago, he took his Bronco to Billings on his birthday weekend, and the alternator went out on the interstate by Laurel, Montana. Funny how stuff like that always seems to happen when you are out of town. The breakdown meant that he had to have it towed to get it off the interstate. Then a call to his parents, and they helped him get it home. That episode inspired Easton to replace the old alternator with a bigger alternator. Easton had put new subwoofers in, and the bigger alternator would help out with power for that. In the end, Easton’s dad, Steve Moore had to do a little engineering for it to work, but now, it works great!! With the power problem handled, Easton moved on to his next project, the carpet and a new muffler, or that’s what he thought was going to be the next project, but because some other things came up that needed done first, those would have to wait.
Easton graduated from high school in May of 2022. With apartment rent as high as it is, he is still living at home, which doesn’t hurt his parents’ feelings any. He is enjoying the freedom of not having schoolwork to do, and his mom is too. Its not that she had to help him so much, but there is always that push to get your kid to study, and get their homework done. While he did well in school, parents still have the job of chief encourager and supervisor. Now that is behind them, and if Easton decides to go further in his education, it will be on his own. Time will tell, but he happy with things as is for now.
Since graduation, Easton and his dad have collected all the parts to add a lift to his Bronco, so that he can use the tires he got from his friend…big wide tires. I don’t know what it is with guys, but the mor a vehicle looks monster truck like, the happier they are. Easton hated the wait to get the money together and then the wait to have the lift installed, but he persevered, and saving the money for your purchases is a great financial lesson to learn. Once the lift was all done, Easton couldn’t wait to take it for a drive, and wouldn’t you just know it…the starter quit working. That was odd, because he had just bought the starter, but it wouldn’t stay tight. As it turns out, there was a crack in the bell housing to the transmission. Oh, the joys of vehicle ownership!!
Thankfully, Easton has a good friend that actually found a replacement bell housing, located just a half a block away, and for just $100!! He was back in business. Easton and his friend finished taking it out of the Bronco, and Steve got it all taken apart and put all the parts into the new bell housing. The new on was perfect, with no cracks and nothing previously repaired (rebuilt). Finally, after all the parts were put back in, they took it for a drive. That first drive showed that there were still problems. It would only work in first and reverse. Now, that makes it difficult to dive it very far. A couple days later and lots of research, Easton took it back out and “Gave it the Onion.” Now, all the gears work great!! He then took it down to get the tires aligned right, since installing the lift. The carpet and the muffler will still be in the future, having been push out for other things.
If there is one thing that can be said about Easton, it’s that he is ambitious. He decides that he is going to do something, and he sticks to it until he accomplishes what he set out to accomplish. He has the determination to meet his goals even when life throws him a bunch of lemons!! His parents are so very proud of how he has worked through the hard times to make it to the good times! Easton has found a great supporter through it all…
his girlfriend, Brionna. She makes him happy, always smiling, and the two of them together makes everything good. When you have a good support system, you can accomplish anything you set your mind to!! Everyone needs a great support system. Today is Easton’s birthday. Happy birthday Easton!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
On October 31, 1922, following the March on Rome, Benito Mussolini was appointed prime minister by King Victor Emmanuel III. With that appointment, he became the youngest individual to hold the office up to that time. Mussolini quickly got to work, removing all political opposition through his secret police and outlawing labor strikes. He, along with his followers consolidated power through a series of laws that transformed Italy into a one-party dictatorship. A short five years later, he had established dictatorial authority by both legal and illegal means and planned to create a totalitarian state.
Still, as often happens, the people, good government officials, and of course, God made it clear that both fascist Italy and its dictator Benito Mussolini’s days were numbered by July 1943. So, after the successful Allied invasion of Sicily, the Italian government’s Grand Council delivered Mussolini a vote of no confidence. Shortly after that, King Vittorio Emanuele III replaced Mussolini as prime minister, and immediately had him arrested.
When Adolf Hitler heard of Mussolini’s arrest, he was furious. Hitler considered Mussolini to be his most powerful European ally, and Hitler began to make plans to rescue Mussolini. He brought in SS Major Otto Skorzeny, who was considered “the most dangerous man in Europe,” for the rescue mission. The Germans had 
discovered that Mussolini was being held in a mountain ski resort 7,000 feet above sea level in the Abruzzo region. Due to the remoteness of the location, Skorzeny decided the only way to rescue Mussolini was to send in a dozen gliders with 108 commandos to do the job. The mission, dubbed Operation Eiche commenced on September 12, 1943. Along with the commandos, Skorzeny brought along an Italian general named Soleti. It was Soleti’s mission to create confusion among Mussolini’s guards, thereby giving the commandos time to get to Mussolini. While Soleti shouted orders at the confused guards, the commandos recaptured Mussolini without incident and flew him to a nearby Luftwaffe airfield, then to Hitler’s Wolf’s Lair headquarters in East Prussia.
While Mussolini was free now, this would not be the victory Mussolini had hoped for. The Germans installed Mussolini as the head of a puppet regime called the Italian Socialist Republic in the town of Salo. The position wasn’t much more than symbolic. The German press portrayed the rescue as a daring feat of bravery…at the time, but in 2016, Italian author Vincenzo Di Michele researched the raid and concluded that it was likely enabled by Mussolini sympathizers in the Italian government. Mussolini could not be allowed to be free, even to run a puppet regime, and so the Allies began their hunt for him. On April 25, 1945, Allied troops were advancing into northern Italy, and the collapse of the Salò Republic was imminent. Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci attempted to escape to Switzerland, intending to board a plane and escape to Spain. Two days later on April 27th, they were stopped near the village of Dongo (Lake Como) by communist partisans named 
Valerio and Bellini and identified by the Political Commissar of the partisans’ 52nd Garibaldi Brigade, Urbano Lazzaro. The next day, Mussolini and Petacci were both executed, along with most of the members of their 15-man train, primarily ministers and officials of the Italian Social Republic, in the small village of Giulino di Mezzegra by a partisan leader who used the name de guerre Colonnello Valerio (Not his real name, his real name remains unknown.)
Near what is now known to be the end of World War II, a plan was devised to invade the Japanese home islands. In the end, Operation Downfall was not carried out, because Japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Soviet declaration of war, and the invasion of Manchuria. Nevertheless, in the days and months leading up to the planned attack, with its two parts…Operation Olympic and Operation Coronet, the United States Armed Forces ordered 1 million Purple Heart medals, in anticipation of a bloody battle. Operation Olympic was set to begin in November 1945, and was intended to capture the southern third of the southernmost 
main Japanese island, Kyushu, with the recently captured island of Okinawa to be used as a staging area. The second attack was planned for early 1946. Operation Coronet was supposed to be the invasion of the Kanto Plain, near Tokyo, on the main Japanese island of Honshu. Important airbases on Kyushu that would be captured in Operation Olympic would allow land-based air support for Operation Coronet. If Downfall had taken place, it would have been the largest amphibious operation in history…even surpassing D-Day.
This planned set of attacks was no mystery to Japan either, because their geography made this invasion plan quite obvious. The Japanese were able to accurately predict the Allied invasion plans, and they adjusted their defensive plan, known as Operation 
Ketsugo, accordingly. The Japanese planned an all-out defense of Kyushu, with little left in reserve for any subsequent defense operations. Casualty predictions varied widely, but they were expected to be extremely high. Depending on the degree to which Japanese civilians would have resisted the invasion, estimates ran up into the millions for Allied casualties. No wonder the United States expected to need 1 million Purple Heart medals. Thankfully, those millions of Allied casualties never materialized, because when the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the war ended. The United States was left with 1 million Purple Heart medals, which they are still using today. I think that while having 1 million Purple Heart medals isn’t the worst thing ever, just the fact that we still have some of those 1 million Purple Heart medals means that, in some way, we have kept some of our soldiers safe over the years. I don’t know how many are left, but it doesn’t matter, because at this point, 78 years later…there are some left.
Check these out!
