Singing Today

First, I'm singing Happy Birthday to Finn.

And singing Oh, Canada to Joyce at J's Quilting, Quilt Pixie and the rest of my Canadian quilter friends. I'm probably singing the wrong song and should be singing Over the River and Through the Woods to Grandmother's House I Go. Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving!

And singing, hum, what to celebrate Columbus Day here is the USA? Maybe Hail Columbia, which was our unofficial national anthem until 1931 when The Star Spangled Banner became our official one. Bet you didn't know it is our official entrance song for our Vice-President? Or maybe I should be singing Columbia, Gen of the Ocean, another early unofficial anthem. It is used for the Voice of America radio broadcasting. For everyone over-there, we Americans don't much celebrate Columbus Day. Schools and businesses go on as usual. No parades or special events occur. Celebrating it began October 12, 1892, on the 400 anniversary of Columbus arriving in the "New World." President Roosevelt designated it as a federal holiday in 1937 and in 1972, it became one of our "Monday" holidays, so this year we celebrate it on October 8. Most years it does not fall on Finn's birthday but for this year she can say they closed the banks and federal offices, including the post office on her birthday.

Anybody know any songs about great fires? Today is the anniversary of the big Chicago one in 1871. Did Mrs. O'Leary's cow start it by kicking over a lantern or was it the ashes of Peg Leg Sullivan's pipe, while he fed his mother's cow? While many people have heard of Chicago burning, most have not heard about the extent of the fire on that day. The fire, called the Peshtigo Fire, was the worst recorded forest fire in North American history. It raged through Wisconsin and Michigan, destroying millions of dollars worth of property and timberland and taking between 1,200 and 2,400 lives. So, what caused it? We know what conditions occurred to make the land a tinder box. These included a prolonged and widespread drought, logging and farming methods that were clearing the hardwood trees, railroad right of ways cut through the land to carry the steam engines with sparks flying, and the increase in sawmills and use of wood and sawdust in buildings, sidewalks and streets. But why would such an expansive area burn on the very same day? Remember that although Michigan's Upper Peninsula is connected by land to Wisconsin, this fire covered much of the mid Lower Peninsula which is removed from Wisconsin by Lake Michigan. Yes, Chicago is connected by land to Michigan but remember all these fires started on the very same day. One theory, which I believe, is that a comet or meteor struck the area, sending sparks over the Wisconsin, Chicago, Michigan area. This idea is not a proven fact but it makes sense to me.

Have a good day and sing a song!