Groundhogs and Thunder/Wind Storms

Yesterday, after finishing up some work around the house, and listening to some Halloween Specials on XM Radio's Radio Classic Channel:

http://gregbellmedia.com/blog/
  
I heard a siren, at first I thought it was from the spooky story on the radio...but then as the wail continued I realized that it was outside...I walked to the front door and could hear the town's sirens blasting a warning...a weather warning.  A massive storm front was blowing across the Indian-Ohio line and into the Mercer County and Celina area...not watching TV during the day, I quickly turned the tube on an switched to the Weather Channel, where the Tornado Warning was drifting across the bottom of the screen...so I did the "natural" thing.  I picked up my camera and walked out onto the front porch.

Clouds were spinning around, while the wind speeds were increasing(they would eventually reach 70 mph according to reports)...then the rain hit with a vengeance....the heavy stuff lasted about 15 minutes, then things calmed to a windy, rainy next couple of hours...nothing major in Celina, but elsewhere in the county and area, trucks were blown off roads, and barns and houses were damaged...Cridersville, some 30 miles east of here was particularly hit hard.  Power went out in southern Mercer County for a bit...but nothing major.  The photos I snapped, do not do the power of the short lived storm justice, but I post some here to give a perspective.

After things quieted down, I headed over to Nick's... we fired up a couple of torpedo cigars, and made our final plans for the outing, which begins tomorrow, north towards the Au Sable River and Lake Huron.  We should arrive in Oscoda, Michigan, mid afternoon, and will return in time for Dartball on Monday night, then Election Day on Tuesday, which hopefully see the Obama/Reid/Pelosi dictatorship destoryed.  Hopefully plenty of photos and stories from the trip next week.

The Ohio 26th OVI----The Groundhog Regiment_____

I am a history junkie...in a different life, I probably would have majored in American History in college, instead of Environmental Health and Broadcasting...but there were jobs in both of those, and I am lucky enough to have worked full and part time in the latter, and full time for 20 years in the former, so I cannot complain.  History however, especially American History during The Great  Depression and World War II years, and the story of the Civil War, and all the real reasons for that war(not the contrived, narrow,  BS that liberal historians feed you). are of special interest.

A few years ago, while in my heyday of doing Genealogy Research, I came across a web site dedicated to the soldiers out of the central Ohio areas of Morrow, Delaware, and Marion Counties...dedicated to the men of the 26th Ohio Volunteer Infantry....The Groundhog Regiment:

http://26thohioinfantry.com/main.html

It turns out the webmaster of the above site, Jeffery Hill, has spent the last several years writing a large history about the men and boys of the 26th, and the battles they fought....like me, he has several ancestors who fought for the north in the Civil War.  I count 16 including my Great Grandfather Nelson Houseworth, that I know that fought for the Union, and several others from Georgia who served in the Confederacy.  Included are 2 Great-Great Uncles, who were with the 26th OVI, one who was killed in the infamous Battle of Chickamauga, in Georgia, near the Tennessee line. 

I began posting on Jeff Hill's site and sent him photos and information about my ancestors and their lives during the war and what those surviving ancestors did post war.  Jeffery Hill's labor of love finally came in the mail yesterday...His epic 775 page book of the history of The Groundhog Regiment.  A $40 book that he sent to his fellow descendants and contributors as a gift, a signed copy no less.  It will give me some reading material during the cold and dark days of the coming winter....I have already found references to me, and the uncles, Gilman and Henry, as well as cousins Maish, George, and Doren Houseworth.  The task to read this many pages of small print book is daunting, the job of researching and putting it all together, makes me shake my head in wonder, approval,  and amazement, for all the time and effort that Jeffrey Hill put into the project.

A local basketball meeting in Van Wert tonight, maybe get the lawn mowed one more time, and putting the finishing touches of packing for the trip are on the agenda....no computer, no Internet, just a cell phone, some beers, good cigars, and a bottle of Drambuie...well, we will have cable TV, so we can catch the World Series and football before returning next week...a bit different than the days we camped along the river some 25+ years ago.  Until then, stay safe, and I'll be back later....

Photos-Today's topics...the Storm that blew through the Midwest left most of the Celina area unscathed, but damage and plenty of rain elsewhere....The 26th OVI and the fabulous book written by Jeffrey Hill...I am happy to have contributed a small part...and my Great-Great Uncle Gilman Houseworth, who survived but was wounded during the campaigns of the 26th.  For more information on Houseworths of the 26th and other Regiments, stop by my Genealogy website:

http://israelhouseworth.blogspot.com/