Takahashi Birds

Yoneguma and Kiyoka Takahashi were among many Japanese-Americans confined in Poston Camp, AZ after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

While in the camp, they participated in a craft class where they learned to carve and paint small birds.

After their release from the camp, the Takahashis turned their craft into a family business that continued for 40 years.

Yoneguma carved the birds out of white holly wood, starting with a jig saw, then smoothing and sanding the bird. When done, Kiyoka painted the birds (using an Audubon bird book for reference) with watercolors using fine camel hair brushes. 10 coats of lacquer were then applied.

A good day's production was 10 birds. The birds were mostly sold via word of mouth, though a couple of department stores (such as Gump's) carried them. Production was mostly lapel pins, but earrings were also made. Price on the birds in the early days was $2, but in the 1980s, the birds sold for $40.

Initially more than 100 species were made, both male and female, but eventually about 25 different birds were offered regularly for sale.

The grand-daughter of Yoneguma and Kiyoka, Carol Takahashi, has created a website, Takahashi Birds, to honor her grandparents, tell their history, and to give us a glimpse of a time in history that affected many American lives.

(via Hanuman, also Image Event)

Old Pictures of Titanic

The Titanic was a British registered four funneled ocean liner built for the transatlantic passenger and mail service between Southampton and New York. Constructed at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland she was, at the time of her maiden voyage, the largest vessel afloat.
























On April 10th 1912 the Titanic set sail from Southampton with 2,200 passengers and crew, four days later the Titanic collided with an iceberg and sank. 1500 people died and 700 survived. This website attempts to tell their story and that of the great ship with which their fate would be inextricably linked.










According to legend the Titanic was conceived at a meeting between Lord Pirrie of Harland & Wolff and Bruce Ismay, Chairman of the White Star Line. The vessels would forsake speed for increased safety and comfort. While millionaire passengers would grab headlines, vastly increased steerage capacity and accommodation for the growing middle class would drive economic success. After a construction period of nearly three years the Titanic, commanded by veteran Captain Edward John Smith, departed in Southampton on 10th April 1912 never to return.

Matilda, the Algonquin cat

In the late 1930s a rather disheveled feline wandered into the Algonquin Hotel in New York, searching for food and shelter. Ever the quintessential host, owner Frank Case welcomed the furry traveler into the Algonquin, actor John Barrymore dubbed the bedraggled stray Hamlet, and a tradition was born.

Matilda, the Algonquin's resident cat, just turned 13. A pedigreed ragdoll breed with long, silky, cream-colored hair, she is the hotel's ninth cat since the tradition started. She has the run of the house (except in dining areas and kitchen) but prefers to oversee the comings and goings of the many guests who cross her threshold.

Each year Matilda is given a birthday party, as befits a New York celebrity. A memorable one occurred in 2002 when, while celebrating her seventh birthday with 150 of her closest friends, she jumped on her cake and ran out of the room, leaving a trail of paw prints.

Source: The Algonquin Cat

Photo credit: Eda Cherry

the Dickin Medal

The Dickin Medal was instituted in 1943 by Maria Dickin to honor the work of animals in war.

It is a large bronze medallion, bearing the words "For Gallantry" and "We Also Serve" within a laurel wreath, carried on ribbon of striped green, dark brown and pale blue. Traditionally, the medal is presented by the Lord Mayor of the City of London. It has become recognized as "the animals' Victoria Cross". As of February 2008, it has been awarded 62 times. (wiki)

The Medal, which can only be considered on receipt of an official recommendation, was awarded 54 times between 1943 and 1949. The recipients comprised 32 pigeons, 18 dogs, three horses and one cat.

In October 2000 a Canadian dog called Gander was added to the Roll of Honor. Since then, a further six Dickin Medals have been awarded and all to dogs.

Tthe only cat to be awarded the Dickin Medal is Simon.

Awarded posthumously 1949, the record states that Simon “Served on HMS Amethyst during the Yangtze Incident, disposing of many rats though wounded by shell blast. Throughout the incident his behavior was of the highest order, although the blast was capable of making a hole over a foot in diameter in a steel plate.”

You can read the list of recipients at PDSA Dickin Medal: 'the animals' VC'. You can see more pictures of brave animals at BBC's World's Hero Pets.

A Curious Audience

From the Darlington Family online collection, at the University of Pittsburg Digital Library, which contains 155 photographs taken by Edith Dennison Darlington Ammon and her brother, O'Hara Darlington, from 1885 through 1888. Photographs contained within the five albums document family, friends, leisure activities, and the artistic approach to photography that both Edith and O'Hara shared.

A Close Eye

From the Darlington Family online collection, at the University of Pittsburg Digital Library, which contains 155 photographs taken by Edith Dennison Darlington Ammon and her brother, O'Hara Darlington, from 1885 through 1888. Photographs contained within the five albums document family, friends, leisure activities, and the artistic approach to photography that both Edith and O'Hara shared.