Velveeta "Cheese:" Love It Or Hate It

 

What American family beginning in the 1940s did not succumb to the allure of Velveeta cheese? Or was it really cheese?

Here's the story: Way back in 1916, Jacob Weisl owned the Monroe Cheese Company in New York and had a problem. What to do with the broken or misshapen bits of cheese from his factory? His helper-genius, Emil Frey, spent two years tinkering and in 1918 came up with a new way to utilize the bits and pieces and turn them into a saleable product. Frey dubbed it Velveeta and it became an instant hit. By 1923, the name was changed to the Velveeta Cheese Company and this "sensationally satiny" cheese was being marketed across America and Europe. 

Kraft Foods bought the company in 1927 and changed the recipe replacing real cheese with the paragraph of chemical elements that still graces the package today. 

No matter, Velveeta fans remained loyal. The New York Times in 1976 declared Velveeta a "worldwide favorite," with sales in America hitting an astonishing 8.75 pounds for every American. Sales figures for 2023 show net sales of about $27 billion. 

Yikes, indeed, for a "cheese product" that, in fact, technically does not contain cheese. 

(Source: Smithsonian Magazine, Jan-Feb 2025)

Hood Canal: Bay, River Or Fjord?

 

Everybody in Washington knows about Hood Canal but how much do we know? 

Named by Capt. George Vancouver on May 13, 1792, in honor of Admiral Lord Samuel Hood, Hood Canal is a fjord-like body of water lying west of the main basins of Puget Sound. It is a natural waterway and not a man-made canal. 

Hood Canal is long (about 50 miles)  and narrow (average width, 1.5 miles), with a mean depth of 177 feet and has 213 miles of shoreline and 42 miles of tideland. 

Formed some 13,000 years ago, Hood Canal was created by retreating glaciers. True fjords are long narrow inlets in valleys carved by glacial activity; hence Hood Canal originating off Puget Sound and the Salish Sea.

This is a proposal to change the name of Hood Canal to Salish Fjord since the feature is not a canal. This name change would also honor the Salish Nation whose peoples have been there for thousands of years. 

Stay tuned on that idea. :-)  

Keechelus: A Lake Or A Reservoir?

 

This is the view of Lake Keechelus that we usually see as we zoom over Snoqualmie Pass, right? But it has a different, more lovely, view:

Keechelus is both a lake and a reservoir in Kittitas County, Washington (approximately 50 miles southeast of Seattle). 

I had long thought this lake was a reservoir for Seattle's water, but not so.  The lake was/is the source of the Yakima River and is used as a storage reservoir for the Yakima irrigation needs. Although a natural lake, Keechelus Lake's storage capacity and discharge is controlled by Keechelus Dam, a 128-foot high earth-fill structure built in 1917.

The name Keechelus comes from the Native American term meaning "few fish," in contrast to nearby Kachess Lake, whose name means "more fish." 

As you zoom along I-90 the next time, take a good look at Keechelus Lake and, being in the know, smile. 

Ever Been To Castle Clinton??

 

If you've been to Castle Garden you've been to Castle Clinton! This monument is a restored circular sandstone fort within Battery Park at the southern end of Manhattan in New York City. 

Castle Clinton stands near where Fort Amsterdam was built in 1626; this fort was demolished by 1790 after the Revolutionary War. As war was still on the horizon, a new fort on the site was deemed necessary. Originally known as West Battery, and constructed between 1808 and 1811, this fort never saw warfare and by 1822 the fort was ceded to the city by an act of Congress. The fort reopened as Castle Garden in 1824. 

Between 1824 and 1855, the structure has functioned as a beer garden, exhibition hall, theater and public aquarium. Jenny Lind gave her first U.S. performance here in 1850 with tickets costing the 2023 equivalent of over $8000. 

From 1855 to 1890, Castle Garden was the first American immigration station. More than 7.5 million people came to America here between 1855 and 1890. (The Ellis Island Immigration Station opened in 1892.)

According to the Wikipedia article, "many of Castle Garden's original immigrant passenger records were stored at Ellis Island where they were destroyed in a fire in 1897." That's the sad news; the happy news is that the majority of immigrants processed at Castle Garden were from Denmark, England, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Russia, Scotland and Sweden. 

So did your immigrant ancestor come to America through Castle Clinton??? 

P.S. Wikipedia has a dandy long informational article on this place. 

Washington Trivia Quiz & Prize!

 

This is/was SUCH a delightful little book and it will be YOURS.... IF you can honestly take the quiz and send your answers to me. Honestly means no internet searching for answers! See how much Washington trivia you really know! Here goes:

1. List the names of the territorial governors (are 14). 

2. List the names of the state governors (are 23 to newly elected Ferguson).

3. What is the Washington State's official  __________:

Amphibian

Bird

Dinosaur

Endemic Mammal

Fish

Flower

Fruit

Grass

Insect

Marine Mammal

Tree

Vegetable

Fossil

Gem

Waterfall

If you choose to take this quiz, copy and paste your answers in an email to me, Donna243@gmail.com, with "QUIZ" in the subject line, and your mailing address.

 Deadline is February 28, 2025. Have fun!

FamilySearch Mobile App..... Are You Missing Out?

 

Note: The FamilySearch Mobile app is a simplified version of the web version and does require that you are comfortable using and navigating a mobile phone or tablet. 

Have you ever had to fill up some too-long minutes waiting.... at an appointment at Les Schwab, for a prescription to be filled, or for the doctor or for the kids' game to get over?? Here is something to help made that "empty" time productive (and to keep your blood pressure down from waiting). Viola! Try the FamilySearch Mobile App!

The FamilySearch Mobile App consists of three major parts:

1. Family Tree -- is a full featured genealogy app to add, edit and share your family story and use record hints to grow your family tree branches.(You likely have already used this feature.)

2. Memories -- is a way to capture important family events as they happen, to use your phone to preserve photos or documents or to record audio stories from older generations.

3. Get Involved -- is a fun way to help make historical records searchable for free online, to make it possible for people to find their ancestors online, to give back to the community in a simple and easy way and to use your spare time in a meaningful way.  

Here's how to download the FamilySearch Mobile App:

* Open the Apple App Store or Google Play Store or go to www.familysearch.org/mobile-apps.  For Kindles, first download the Google Play app or ta the Play Store for Android.

*Search for FamilySearch

*Once found, download thusly:

    ** Android: tap INSTALL

    ** Apple: tap GET

    ** Kindle: tap GET APP

    ** When the app finished its installation, tap the icon to open it and login using your FamilySearch credentials.

Travel by Stagecoach, Part 2

 

Recently enjoyed a visual trip through Long Day's Journey: The Steamboat & Stagecoach Era in the Northwest by Carlos Arnaldo Schwates, published in 1999. What an eye-opener! This book was "a study of transportation in American life, focusing on the era defined by the steamboat and stagecoach." Boy oh boy did it ever!  

Part 2: Overland Stagecoach Etiquette: "Never ride in cold weather with tight boots or shoes, nor close-fitting gloves. Bathe your feet before staring in cold water and wear loose overshoes and gloves two or three sizes to large. When the driver asks you to get off and walk, do it without grumbling. He will not request it unless absolutely necessary. If a team runs away, sit still and take your chances; if you jump, nine times out of ten you will be hurt. In very cold weather abstain entirely from liquor while on the road; a man will freeze twice as quick while under its influence. Don't growl at food at stations; stage companies generally provide the best they can. Don't keep the stage waiting; many a virtuous man has lost his character by so doing. Don't smoke a strong pipe inside, especially in the morning and spit out on the leeward side of the coach. If you have anything to take in a bottle, pass it around; a man who drinks by himself in such a case is lost to all human feeling. Provide stimulants before starting; ranch whiskey is not always nectar. 

Be sure to take two heavy blanket with you; you will need them! Don't swear, nor lop over on your neighbor when sleeping. Take small change to pay expenses. Never attempt to fire a gun or pistol while on the road; it may frighten the team and the careless handling and cocking of the weapon makes people nervous. Don't discuss politics or religion. Do not point out places on the road where horrible murders have been committed if delicate women are among the passengers. Don't linger too long at the pewter wash basin at the station. Don't grease your hair before starting or dust will stock there in sufficient quantities."

This stagecoach etiquette advice was published in the Omaha Herald, October 3, 1877.