Our cousin Eric is the Training Chief for the Prescott Valley AZ. He is a pretty neat guy! He was also friends with the 19 Hot Shots who were killed in a fire in 2013.This is the training center.Trainees getting ready to practice on this training building.Wrecked vehicles used for practice.Another practice building.
I looked forward to this evening since planning our trip. The Purple Room goes back to the heyday of the Rat Pack in the 1950s and 1960s. This has a real Frank Sinatra vibe to it. First dinner, then a show.Dinner with friends.Filet with asparagus and potato cake.Braised short ribs with roasted carrots.Our show tonight – Billy Stritch and a jazz trio. All three were very talented!Billy Stritch, a long time confidant of Liza Minelli.
This was the real purpose and highlight of this trip: family! The Wahoo folks are always happy to see us, and have a big get-together, and this time was no exception. A big potluck dinner, and many cousins! Mary Jean grew up spending summers here, and played with these cousins, and they are still kicking! CousinsCousinsSt. Winceslaus ChurchSaunders County CourthouseThe USS Wahoo submarine sank 20 Japanese ships in World War II!This memorial park at the courthouse is pretty impressive.Remembering sons of Wahoo who were killed in action in World War II. Saunders County lost quite a few young men!Memorial Day weekend at the Wahoo CemeteryMemorial Day, honoring Wahoo’s veteransBaseball Hall of Famer Sam Crawford was from Wahoo. He teamed with all-time great Ty Cobb in the Detroit Tigers outfield in the early 1900s. He finished his career holding the career record for most triples – 309! This record will likely never be broken. He was known as “Wahoo Sam”!The baseball field here is named for Sam Crawford. Saunders County Museum railroad depot.Depot roomDepot waiting roomSeveral vintage buildings are part of this museum.Outhouse – no running water! Snakes possible! Life in the early days in the 1900s.
I had never been here, but had always wanted to, so here is Hollywood Cemetery, one of three locations that contain the graves of 2 Presidents of the United States. Fun trivia: the other two are United First Parish Church, Quincy, Massachusetts (John and John Quincy Adams); Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia (William Howard Taft and John F. Kennedy). Amaze your friends with this fact!
A dog statue, which is listed as a “Visitors’ Favorite”Pyramid dedicated to Confederate WomenGrave of Confederate General George PickettThere are over 18,000 graves of Confederate soldiers in this cemetery. Quite sobering.Grave of Confederate General J.E.B. StuartGrave of US Supreme Court Justice Lewis Franklin PowellGrave of US Supreme Court Justice Peter Vivian DanielGrave of Matthew Fontaine Maury, known as “Pathfinder of the Sea”. Maury (from Fredericksburg) was a highly regarded 19th century cartography. Grave of James Monroe, 5th President of the United States, surrounded by a grove of beautiful, full-bloom cherry trees.Grave of James Monroe, 5th President of the United StatesThis sarcophagus contains the remains of President James Monroe.Monument and grave of John Tyler, 10th President of the United States. President Tyler was the first president to ascend to the office of upon the death of a president (9th President William Henry Harrison). Since he was not elected President, there was uncertainty about how he should proceed in office. His decisive actions upon taking office set a precedent that such a presidency is as legitimate as the presidency of an elected president.Close-up of the front of President Tyler’s monumentView from the west of President Tyler’s monumentStatue and grave of Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. Last year we visited his postwar prison cell at Fort Monroe in Hampton.Monument of my relative Fitzhugh Lee, who had a varied and distinguished life. During his life, he was a Confederate General, Governor of Virginia, Brigadier General in the United States Army (Spanish-American War), and Consul General to Cuba.The Lee Family Coat-of-ArmsOn a beautiful Saturday afternoon, from Hollywood Cemetery, downtown Richmond’s skyline
