Brothers

Old West

Cedar Fort School

Autumn Morning

As I was walking into class this morning I peered up through the trees and saw this scene. I didn't have my camera so I was forced to use my phone.

Must remember to carry at least a point and shoot camera with me in future.

Long Shoot

The Long sat for a portrait session this weekend in American Fork. 

Remembering Tim

  Twelve years ago today in the Port of Aden, Yemen, we, in the Navy community, lost 17 shipmates. The USS Cole (DDG-67) was attacked when suicide bombers pulled alongside and detonated explosives. The resulting explosion tore a huge hole in the side of the Cole and killed seventeen sailors and wounded thirty-nine.

  The immensity of such a tragedy is compounded exponentially when one of those lost is a coworker, shipmate and friend.  Operations Specialist 2^nd Class Timothy Saunders was that shipmate and friend.

  I can hear Tim’s booming baritone voice with that mid-Atlantic drawl asking me what was for dinner on the mess decks, asking me to tell him what I did in port or if anything had happened on the mid watch. He was the guy that was first to make a joke, usually at your expense, but it was never filled with malice or ill feeling. He was genuinely giving you a good ribbing and always had a contagious smile on his face. I can’t think of a single time I didn’t see a wide grin on his face. The only thing that didn’t pale in comparison to his smile was his sea stories… they were raucous and fun to say the least, whether true or not is irrelevant now, but I sure loved hearing them and the way he told them made you want to be there. Man that guy could spin a yarn.  

  He was always first to offer to take your mid-watch or duty day in a foreign port so you wouldn’t miss any of the fun. He always acted as if he had been there, seen that and had the tee shirt (usually in the form of a sea story) to prove it. 

  He took my duty day in Brest, France because I had never been before, and the fog that delayed our arrival in France had meant that I would not get ashore at all because of duty.  His offer when he heard about my plight was immediate. He took my duty so I could go ashore. He wanted all the details when I got back aboard and we chatted in CDC for hours about it. I think he was just getting interesting details for more of his sea stories. I am telling you that he could have written a New York Times best seller with some of his tales.

 

I am not certain if Aden was a working port, I would wager that if it were a liberty port, Tim was onboard that day because he was taking a duty day for one of his shipmates that had not been to Yemen before or he could just see that a shipmate needed that day off more than he did. Tim was just that kind of guy. You could count on him. He was a guy that just enjoyed himself even when the rest of us were bitching and moaning about this or that. Tim was the guy that always saw the bright side and never had an ill word to say about anyone or anything. I could take a lesson from Tim’s book even today.  

   Although I knew Tim by the description above, Tim, and all 16 others, that died with him, fit similar descriptions in one way or another, and all would certainly be called by other more important names like son, daughter, father, brother, sister, mother and husband or wife.

  I would like to be able to write something specific for all that died on the Cole that day but I only knew Tim. So I take comfort in the belief that all of those sailors have someone personally remembering them today.

All I can do is list their names here and hope that someone who remembers them can, if they are so inclined, share something with us so they can be remembered by us all as more than just a name on a list.

Thank you Tim; I am a better person today because I had the honor of knowing you then.

On your eternal voyage I wish you fair winds and a following sea.

Names of those killed in the attack on the USS Cole:

Richard Costelow, Chief Petty Officer Morrisville, Pennsylvania.

Cheron Luis Gunn,  Signalman Seaman Recruit ,Rex, Georgia.

James Rodrick McDaniels, Seaman, Norfolk, Virginia.

Lakiba Nicole Palmer, Seaman Recruit, San Diego, California.

Timothy Lamont Saunders, Operations Specialist 2nd Class, Ringgold, Virginia.

Andrew Triplett, Ensign, Macon, Mississippi.

Craig Bryan Wibberley, Seaman Apprentice, Williamsport, Maryland.

Kenneth Eugene Clodfelter, Hull Technician 3rd Class, Mechanicsville, Virginia.

Lakeina Monique Francis, Mess Specialist Seaman, Woodleaf, North Carolina.

Timothy Lee Gauna, Information Systems Technician Seaman, Rice, Texas

Mark Ian Nieto, Engineman 2nd Class, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Ronald Scott Owens, Electronics Warfare Technician 3rd Class, Vero Beach, Florida.

Joshua Langdon Parlett, Engineman Fireman, Churchville, Maryland.

Patrick Howard Roy, Fireman Apprentice, Cornwall on Hudson, New York.

Kevin Shawn Rux, Electronics Warfare Technician 2nd Class, Portland, North Dakota.

Ronchester Mananga Santiago, Mess Specialist 3rd Class, Kingsville, Texas

Gary Graham Swenchonis Jr., Fireman, Rockport, Texas

Autumn in the Canyon

Went for a drive over Alpine Loop yesterday in American Fork Canyon. Took a few pictures. I noticed that the canyon was just packed with people all probably doing the same as me; trying to get a good look at the fall colors.

Fire Engine Friday: Perry Point, Maryland

This is from the Fire Department in Perry Point.
The town where I grew up, in Cecil County, which is in the upper north east corner of Maryland.

  Perry Point is home to a large Veterans Administration Hospital and has a relatively large housing area that, if memory serves me, was for employees of the Hospital (not sure if it was available to anyone else).
  Lots of memories from Perry Point, mostly good... Seeing the big shiny fire trucks was some of those good memories. At the time I lived there they had fewer vehicles. I remember one big red American LeFrance, and a really old (even back then it seemed old) Ford pump truck, an Ambulance and a big blue boat that, in the summer, was moored at a temporary grey landing near the pier and pump house.

  Back then the security Force at Perry Point drove baby blue AMC Hornets and a Matador (possibly a Rambler)... I guess that kind of dates me... LOL!

  That was in 1977 and I can see little has changed at Perry Point since then but change has come, albeit pretty slowly as I found on their Facebook page. The trucks look shiny and new and they still have an ambulance and a boat (Marine 11) and a permanent mooring.

  The expansion to the original fire station shows boarded windows in the section I remember and that expansion was only in 2011. So it must have been great to get a new fire station. I will bet it is pretty cool.

I am planning a trip back there with my wife in the future to get some photos of the old hometown of Havre de Grace and Perry Point as well as Perryville and Port Deposit. Will likely stop in at the fire stations and say hello and take a few photos. 

 

Visit Cedar Fort Daily on Facebook too

** The Photos today are from the Perry Point Fire Department Facebook page

Kaizley's Day

 

I had a photo shoot this past weekend with 2 month old Kaizley.

I had a great time at the shoot. Kaizley is a star.

Paint a Picture

This was the scene in one of the studios on open studio night at Poor Yorick on Friday night.

The place was crawling with artists, established and otherwise aspiring to be. It was a fun atmosphere with loads of paintings, photography, sculpture and even terrariums.

@pooryorickart on twitter

A Night of Art and Poor Yorick

   Tomorrow night is an event that is always chock full of artistic inspiration. I always seem to walk away with all kinds of new ideas for ways to explore my art.

   Poor Yorick Studios is one of those rare places where you can go to find local art. Let's face it, Salt Lake City is not known as a hot bed for world class art... but that doesn't mean we don't have world class artists. That is why, when talking about art in Salt Lake City and Poor Yorick Studios, you will inevitably hear the phrase  best kept secret bandied about nearly as often as Apple releases a new iPhone.

  The semi-annual Open Studio night at Poor Yorick Studios  is tomorrow night from 6pm to 10pm in Sugarhouse. This year's Studio Night features ART and if that were not enough... (as if you need more than that), there will be food, drinks and will feature live music from The Red Rock Hot Club.
   It is free as always (donations are always welcomed) but you should come early because there is always a good crowd and it takes a bit of time to fully enjoy all of the art in the 40 studios.
   Don't miss the fun and inspiration.

Location info:

Poor Yorick Studios

126 W Crystal Ave (2590 S), South Salt Lake, Utah 84115

Visit here for more info... 

https://www.facebook.com/pooryorickstudios

and on twitter: @PoorYorickArt

  

Fire Engine Friday: Elko Ladder 2

Screamin' Eagle @ Throttle 215 This Weekend

OK all you Cedar Fort Motocross Racer's there is a Motocross Race this weekend in Salt Lake.

This is a USRA points event.
It is at Throttle 215 MX Park

2800 North Rose Park Lane, 

Salt Lake City, Utah 84116

Details... Here

CDP Theme Day: People Watching

Watching people is a lot of fun...
This is a my dad helping my son work on the car. They did eventually get the bumper apron secured to the car and I am happy to say that the car did pass the safety inspection after this makeshift repair and the more involved repair that we did to the driver side front wheel hub earlier in the day.
It would have been more fun to get a shot of the three generations working on the hub but since we were the only ones there and someone had to take the picture... alas only these two made it in the shot.

Fire Engine Friday: Ely Ladder 1

This is Ladder 1 from the Ely Fire Department in Ely, Nevada.
Happy Fire Engine Friday!

Don't forget to Like Cedar Fort Daily on Facebook!

Fountain at SLCC

The fountain in the commons area at Salt Lake Community College.

The Calm Before the Storm

This is my favorite part of the school day. That calm, quiet before all the students show up and it turns into a circus of epic proportions!

Lost Days

This school stuff is keeping me pretty busy. I totally spaced posting yesterday and nearly today. Here is a quick photo today.
A walk around the mill...

Great Balls of Fire

This is what happens when you get a hole in one on the 18th hole in mini golf!

Flyin' High

Fire Engine Friday: Hamilton Hand Power

Today is a little bit of a departure from the normal shiny new fire engines.
Cedar Fort has a limited number of fire engines so in order to keep this little "Fire Engine Friday" thing going and not bore everyone to tears, I need to expand this to include any fire engines I may find and photograph.
To emphasize "any" I will start with this little gem from Nevada. 
This is the Fire Fighting Cart from Hamilton, Nevada, along with the fire bell.

You can find this piece of fire fighting history outside of the Ely Volunteer Fire station on Mill Street in Ely, Nevada. Why a Hamilton, Nevada cart in Ely, I hear you ask. OK no I don't hear you, but I can imagine I do.
The cart is in Ely because Hamilton, Nevada is now a ghost town so there are no more people there to protect from fire.

I actually found this in Ely about 3 weeks after I visited and photographed some ruins in Hamilton which I believe I posted on Elko Daily Photo, which is the old name of this blog (so if you scroll thru the older posts you may find some from then or I may post more at a later date who knows)

Action Pose

Local Motocross rider Tyrell Ault action posing for the camera on his Yamaha

Back to School Part Deux

Continuing the "Back to School" theme today as I head back to my college classes.
This is the District School in Fairfield, Utah just west down route 73 about two miles. It was built in 1898 as you can see from the sign on the bell tower.
I don't believe it is still in use as a school but I could be wrong.
If you know for sure, please chime in.

My Favorite Things

Here are two of my favorite things... Fire Engines and motorcycles, but not just any motorcycle, The motorcycle. Harley-Davidson.

Cedar Fort is right on Utah Route 73 which is a very popular road for motorcycles. It is a long relatively straight country road with long lazy bends and interesting scenery. Not to mention the history. To ride on 73 is to ride on the Pony Express Route, or at least a stretch of it, on your own iron horse.

The other favorite thing in this photo is a fire engine, and let's face it, they are just really cool.

Back to School

 

It is back to school week in Utah. What better way to emphasize this important week than to talk about Cedar Valley School. It was built in 1909 and remains the only remaining 2 room school house in Utah County. There are a few others statewide, but Cedar Fort has the last one in this county.

My son went to this school for 2 years (his 5th and 6th grades) he goes to 7th grade in Junior High school this year. Today the 7th graders go to school to learn their way around the school. They will experience the biggest transition going from Elementary School to Middle School (or Junior High) so they go in a day early. The rest of the school grades return tomorrow.

It is safe to say that a lot of the kids going to school today will have a bit of a culture shock, not just because they are going to Junior High but because they are going from a 103 year old school with 24 students in 6th grade to a middle school with over nine hundred 7th graders. 

Please be extra careful out there driving around today and tomorrow. School is back in session.

 

I can actually remember when schools used real school bells, not too unlike this one.

Sunday Drive

I love a good lazy Sunday morning Drive...

Winning

We have made it through another week. Every lazy Saturday morning kind of feels like crossing the finish line.

Fire Engine Friday: Cedar Fort 612

Another blast from the past Cedar Fort style... This is Cedar Fort 612, she was replaced along with CF 611 when the Pride of Liberty Place (CF 231) was added to the line up.
I don't know all the details about her but I am guessing she is a late 60's Ford based, American LaFrance pumper. And judging from the door I am not too sure that she saw service in Cedar Fort for too long before she was traded up.

If any folks from Cedar Fort Fire are reading this and have the details, please comment.

Hitching a Bride

Sometimes you never know who you might see hitching a ride...

A Little Kiss

Everyone loves a little kiss now and then. These two cute little ones were inspired by Bridget and Brandon and decided to "get married too".

The groom kissing the hand of his new bride. 

What a great day.

First Dance

The Covington's first dance. Many more photos to come.

Untitled

This is the first photo post from the Covington - Thomas Wedding...