Technology and History

Last night I stayed up late watching the breaking news about the capture of the suspect in the Boston Marathon Bombings.  Along with the live coverage of the manhunt in Watertown, the news teams showed how cellphone photos and surveillance footage was used to identify the men suspected of this horrible deed. Imagine what it would be like if that same technology had been around when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.

In the unlikely event that John Wilkes Booth had gotten past modern type secret service agents, and taken his deadly shot, everyone in the theater would have taken out their smart phones, video taped his escape and had them uploaded to U-Tube before he even left the building.  How far would Booth had gotten, if everyone was aware of what had transpired within minutes?

My point is that technology is not only effecting our everyday lives, it is changing the way is history is made and how it is recorded. The Montana Post, published in Virginia City, Montana Territory, carried the news of Lincoln's assassination on the front page of the April 29, 1865 edition. It is hard to imagine that people in Montana Territory did not even know that President Lincoln had been assassinated until two weeks later.  Can you imagine what it would be like to have access to the live coverage of the pursuit of Booth and a press conference in front of the boarding house where Lincoln was taken after being shot.

While I sometimes think that we are slaves to our devices, spending more time than we should tweeting and checking our email, it is times like these, when history is being made, that I am glad that I am alive during a time where we can be witnesses to the events that effect our lives and lives of future generations.

A New Blog and and Additon to This One

One of the things that my husband, Frank, and I have always shared is a love for Montana Travel.  When we were younger, many summer weekends were spent exploring the state and points beyond on a Honda Gold Wing. Unfortunately those days are far behind us and diabetes complications have taken their toll on Frank.  These days his form of transportation is a battery operated scooter.  We have had to cut back on our travel, but that hasn't stopped us. 

You are probably wondering why I am mentioning all of this in a history blog.  Many of the locations that I mention are handicapped accessible.  Some are not.  In future blog posts I will include accessiblily information about any destination that I am recommending.   I would also like to share my new blog, www.MTBarrierFree.blogspot.com with any of my followers who might have mobiltiy issues or other disabilities.  It is dedicated to sharing information about all that Montana has to offer to everyone, regardless of any special needs. 

Glacier National Park Mystery 1924

Wouldn't it be grand to solve a mystery that took place almost  90 years ago. In August of 1924, two brothers from Chicago disappeared during a hike in Glacier National Park. The brothers set off from Granite Park but never arrived at their destination, the Lewis Hotel on Lake McDonald.  An extensive search was conducted, the FBI was called in, yet no evidence ever surfaced to close the case.  It remains to this day unsolved.

I first read about the Whitehead brothers, Joseph and William in the book, Roadside History of Montana, written by Don Spritzer and published Mountain Press. You can read more about the Whitehead mystery on page 110.  If you haven’t read this book, I recommend it highly.  It is full of Montana history, organized to follow highways and roads where the events took place.

I seriously doubt that anyone would be able to piece together what happened to the Whitehead brothers so long after the fact, but wouldn't it be something if someone came upon some missing bit of information that finally solved the mystery of their disappearance.

Photo Mystery, What is This?

For years, every time I drove east on Interstate 90 near Three Forks I would notice this structure on the hillside near the highway and I would tell myself that next time I would stop at the Three Forks Museum and ask if someone could tell me what it is.  By the time I visited the area again I would forget to stop, or I would pass through the town when the museum was closed.  So I am asking anyone out there if they can solve this mystery for me.  

Structure on hillside south of Interstate 90,  just east of  Three Forks,  Montana

I always assumed that the structure had something to do with the limestone business because of the proximity to Trident and its cement plant but I could be way off base.  Any thoughts on the matter?

Montana UFO's and Extraterrestrials- recommended reading

A few weeks ago, I was at the library, (that being the Livingston -Park County Public Library) doing some research.  After I finished and my computer was installing its automatic updates, I had a few minutes to kill so I wandered upstairs  to see what was new in the new book section.  Usually I check to see if there are any new arrivals from my favorite authors as well as anything relevant to Montana history.  As I was browsing the selves, I came across a book entitled  Montana UFOs and Extraterrestrials.  I picked it up and looked at it and set it down again.  I am not sure why I hesitated, I suppose partially because I really have plenty to read and partially because I thought I didn't  want to waste my time reading about something that may or may not even exist.

For some reason I mentioned the book to my husband and he said that he would like read it, so the next day I went back and checked it out. When I brought it home I took a closer look.  What first caught my attention was the credentials of the author, Joan Bird.  Ms. Bird is about as far from being a crackpot as a person can be, she holds a PhD in biology and has worked the scientific field for years.  She has approached the topic in a well researched and organized manner. Her facts are well documented and  the book is interesting and thought provoking.  My husband hasn't had the chance to tell me what he thinks of the book because once I started reading it, I didn't want to put it down until I was finished. 

I can even justify the time I have spent reading the book and then writing this post for my Montana History blog by telling you that  the events that are documented in Montana UFOs and Extraterrestrials is in fact part of Montana history.