text:
A Footprints of Fayette article by Carolyn Heinsohn:

Ammannsville, Texas

by Carolyn Heinsohn

The sleepy little village of Ammannsville, Texas, located approximately eleven miles south of La Grange, once was a thriving community filled with a variety of businesses, in addition to a fraternal lodge hall, a Catholic Church and a number of different schools.  Intersected by FM Rd. 1383 that meanders from Hwy 77 South through Ammannsville and Dubina to Hwy 90 A, the community now is a mere shadow of its early days, when local farmers brought their cotton to the  gins, traded in the stores, gathered together for social events at the lodge hall and worshipped at the church on Sundays.

Surrounded by rolling hills with pastures and an occasional grove of trees, the area just west of Ammannsville was first settled by Andrew Ammann, a native of the Empire of Austria, who received his architectural training and certification in Switzerland.  He immigrated to the United States circa 1843 and made his way to La Grange, where he assisted with the design and construction of the first Fayette County jail.  In early 1870, he purchased 300 acres of land in the W.A. Hall League between present-day Ammannsville and Swiss Alp.  The two communities both owe their names to Ammann – one directly linked to his name, and the other in memory of his place of education.

Immigrant Czech and German settlers looking for suitable farm land began arriving in the area in the 1870s and 1880s. By 1890, Ammannsville, with its predominantly Czech population, had grown into a fairly sizeable community. It was the seat of Precinct 7, had a precinct courthouse, a small jail and was served by ten justices from 1876 to 1950, when the precinct was abolished.  The courthouse and jail buildings were later sold and moved.

Since the majority of the settlers were farmers, and cotton was the principal cash crop, a cotton gin was one of the first businesses to be built in the area in 1870.  By 1877, three gins were built in the community with the most successful one operated by Theofil Heller, Sr., who was a native of Alsace-Lorraine.  The gins changed owners and locations through the years, as well as having progressed from wood-fired steam operations to gasoline engines.  The only remaining gin building, that closed its doors in 1960, is the one that was owned and operated by Willie Bohuslav, Sr. – it stands as a silent reminder of the bustling days of ginning when “Cotton was King”.

By 1877, Henry Hoelster had opened a saloon where the present-day KJT Hall is located.  The property was eventually sold in 1923 to the KJT fraternal organization for their new lodge hall.  The hall not only provided a meeting place for the organization, but also a great venue for a variety of social activities, primarily dances, which were the favorite form of entertainment for the local residents.  Weddings, reunions, funeral dinners and the annual church feast held every Father’s Day are still being held in the same hall that has had some renovations and additions.

The oldest general mercantile store, which included a dance platform, was built by Eckert Stuarcke in 1885. He later sold it to Josef Vacek, Jr., who advertised his business in 1902 as the “Oldest General Merchandise Business in Ammannsville with a first class saloon and fine hall for dancing with theatrical performances that have established a reputation in the southern half of Fayette County.” The post office, which was also located in the store, was discontinued in 1906.  Thereafter, Ammannsville was a mail route of Weimar until the 1920s, when it was switched to Schulenburg.  Today some parts of the area are served by the La Grange post office.

Josef Vacek, Jr. also advertised stud services with his thoroughbred stallion, Boss, and his Kentucky Jack. After selling his business to John F. Cernosek, L.G. Bartos and J.M. Bartos, he moved to Dubina where he farmed until moving to Weimar, Texas.  John A. Bartosh (name change), who bought the business from his father in 1927 and became the leading merchant in town, also bought and sold cotton and turkeys.  When Mr. Bartosh died in 1984, the business closed, but the building is still standing in relatively good condition.

J.V. Dobrava erected another general merchandise store and dance platform in 1895.  It eventually was sold to F.J. Parma, an emerging leader in the community, who later helped found the First State Bank of Ammannsville, which was located next to his store.  After Parma’s death, the institution was operated by several other family members until the stock market crash of 1929, when the bank was forced to close.  The general merchandise store was eventually purchased by Albert J. Cernosek, who operated it as a grocery store and meat market until 1967.  The dilapidated building is still standing, surrounded by encroaching vegetation.

There was a previous meat market operated by Emil and Joe Barta, who also operated a hammer mill at his farm.  An automotive garage was built by Adolf J. Kristek in 1916.  The last owner was R.B. Jasek, who operated the garage until 1956.

Blacksmiths were an absolute necessity in every community in the earlier days when implements and tools had to be made, and horseshoes were essential.  The first village blacksmith was a Mr. Naiser, who sold his business to John Kocurek.  Other smithies were owned by John Krupa, John Sumbera, Ed Rabel and Fred Rabel, the last known blacksmith in Ammannsville, who closed his business in 1966.

The J. V. Bartos Drug Store in Ammannsville, Texas;
from “The History of St. John the Baptist Parish, Ammannsville, Texas 1890-1990”
A two-building business that housed a doctor’s office and drug store on one side and a pool hall on the other was built in Ammannsville in 1917 by J.J. Fietsam.  After several owners, the drug store was eventually purchased by Justin V. Bartos, who sold pharmaceuticals, sundries, snacks and tobacco products. The store also had a soda fountain and ornate bar where beer, soft drinks and ice cream were served.  The store, which served as a popular gathering place for locals to enjoy pool, dominoes and other games, as well as a nickelodeon, closed in 1985.  The two buildings were sold and moved to a location between Weimar and Schulenburg.

The community was served by at least eight different physicians, beginning with Dr. Holman and ending with Dr. Lewis.  Although some practiced in their homes, and others took care of patients in the doctor’s office in Ammannsville, they all made house calls.  An advertisement in 1902 in F. Lotto’s history on Fayette County stated: “Dr. John S. Zvesper, Ammannsville, Texas, is prepared to treat cases of alcoholism and diseases of women at his residence….telephone connection with all points in county and state.”

There were also midwives in the area, including Magdalena Vacek, wife of Josef Vacek.  She delivered a fairly large number of babies in the community from the time of her arrival in 1876 until old age affected her ability to continue.

Two brothers, Louis and Innoc Tofel, now deceased, opened the last remaining commercial business in Ammannsville in 1949.  Known as Tofel’s Place, the beer joint has been a popular place to quench one’s thirst or play a game of dominoes.  The original building was sold and moved to a private farm; however, due to popular demand, Innoc purchased another similar building and re-opened his business, which is currently being operated by George Tofel.

The Fietsam family operated a molasses press for the local farmers for three generations.  Joseph J. and wife, Ida, started their mule-driven operation in 1914. Their son, Arnold, continued operating the business with his wife, Irma, until they retired in 1970. However, they updated the system for cooking molasses several times throughout the years. It was not uncommon for them to cook approximately 3,000 gallons of molasses every year during sorghum cane season.  They were occasionally assisted by their grown children in later years.

Regardless of which approach is chosen to enter Ammannsville, the first landmark that one sees is the steeple of the St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, which is the only church in the community.  Ammannsville is one of four totally Catholic communities in Fayette County.  The other three are Praha, Hostyn and Dubina.  The present church is the third at that location.

The early Catholic settlers attended services at Bluff (Hostyn) or Dubina.  In 1889, the area Catholics decided to build their own church.  Eleven and one-quarter acres of land were donated by Peregrin Fiser, Josef Vacek, Sr. and Theofil Heller for a church, school and cemetery.  The small church, which was completed in 1890, was demolished by an inland hurricane in 1909.  Wood salvaged from the church was used to construct a rectory for the priest, and a new church was erected by November 1910.  Disaster struck again when that church was completely destroyed by fire in October 1917.  Six statues and a crucifix fortunately were rescued by area residents.  Those items were placed in a newly-constructed church that was dedicated in December 1919.  The beautiful Gothic-Revival church with its intricately painted decorative interior is now included in the popular “Painted Churches Tour”.

The adjacent cemetery has a number of artistic metal crosses and old ornate tombstones, many of which have Czech inscriptions that include the villages of origin of early immigrant settlers.  The old rectory is now being renovated to be used as a venue for church-related activities.

There were a number of schools in Ammannsville, including public schools, a German school, a Czech school and Catholic parochial schools, all for grades 1-8.  In the earlier days, older students rarely attended high school, because they were needed to help on the farms.  A student would have had to leave home and board with someone in a larger town in order to attend high school. The schools were operational at different times depending upon the number of students attending and the financial backing. The school terms were based on planting and harvesting seasons. An interesting practice in the Ammannsville schools was the use of Catholic nuns in the public school for many years.  The last school that existed was the Catholic parochial school that burned in 1954.  Thereafter, the majority of the local children were bussed to St. Edward’s Catholic School in Dubina for five years until it closed in 1959, and thereafter to St. Rose Catholic School in Schulenburg.  By that time, higher education was considered to be more of a necessity, so teenagers attended Bishop Forrest Catholic High School or the public high school in Schulenburg.  Those living closer to La Grange attended high school there.

Today, any activity in Ammannsville revolves around the Catholic Church, the cemetery, the KJT Hall and Tofel’s Place.  There are still a few local residents who enjoy their choice of a rural lifestyle in this quiet setting—a one stop-sign village seemingly caught in a time-warp.

“Centennial History of St. John the Baptist Parish, Ammannsville 1890-1990”. The Schulenburg Sticker; 1990.
Lotto, F. Fayette County Her History and Her People; Sticker Steam Press, Schulenburg, Texas, 1902.
Colorado Citizen
16 Feb 1882, page 2

COURT HOUSE BURNED.—On Monday night Justice Smith's court house at Ammansville [sic.] was burned down and the dockets, records, and all court papers completely destroyed. It is at present unknown who set it on fire, but no one doubts that it was the work of an incendiary. The store of Mr. L. Shrubar, which was near the burnt building, and was saved only by the most heroic efforts.—Journal.

The Weimar Mercury
January 24 and 31, 1889

Ammannsville is situated about half way between Weimar and La Grange in Fayette county. It is a flourishing settlement. The land in Ammannsville and vicinity is rather hilly, but very fertile. To prove this I mention but the one fact that Mr. Joe [Fietsam] gathered about 55 bushels of corn per acre. The population of the village consists mainly of Germans and Bohemians, the latter having an overwhelming majority. There are but few Americans. Ammannsville has two stores. One is owned by Messrs. E. Sturecke and Chas. Kipple. This store has a selected and assorted stock of goods and is a great convenience to the farmers around here who do not care for traveling ten miles by going to Weimar or LaGrange. Right near the store is a commodious hall 35 X 60 feet used for dancing and social purposes.

Messrs. Sturcke and Kipple also keep a saloon. They are very accommodating, enterprising and steady young men and are bound to succeed. The other store is owned by John Karlisek, who is very popular around here. There is also a barroom connected with his store. As to mechanics [Ammannsville] can show up carpenters innumerable, for a good many farmers know how to build and erect a house.

Besides there are two blacksmiths, John [Kruppa] and Loals Ruffel. The latter has traveled around a good deal and at last concluded to locate here. He is an excellent hand to shoe a horse. In this respect everybody must highly recommend him.

Two gins and mills are next in order. One is owned by Mr. Theophil Heller, one of the most wealthy men in Fayette county, and the other by Messrs. Mewes and Koenig. The former has been elected Squire recently, and is an energetic young man who is not afraid of anybody, metes out justice without fear and partiality.

We have three molasses presses owned respectively by Messrs Joe [Fietsam], Sobotik and Pratka. The former is well known in the Prairie City, having his parents, brother, brother-in-law and other relatives there. Fresh meat is served and sold every week by our efficient and pollie[sic.] butchers, Joe Munke and Peter Varek.

People that want to have shoes mended and repaired find a good and cheap cobbler in the person of Chas. Genser. Mr. Genser does his work thoroughly and tends to his business.

Last, but not least, it is my duty to mention Frank Zrubek. He is a miller and baker by profession. But this did not satisfy his ambition, he wanted to rise higher. He is now land agent and sells land from $5 to $10 per acre. The land is situated in several of the northern counties. Mr. Zrubek, is in perpetual motion, always active and always talking about the thousands (?) of acres he has for sale. He mostly travels on foot and sometimes exhibits advertisements concerning the sale of land tied with a pin to the back of his coat. Strangers who chance to come to Ammannsville are earnestly requested to call on our important land agent.

The Ammansville school is kept in a building formerly used as a residence by Mr. Smith. The house is well coiled and contains two rooms. As the schoolhouse is very close and commodious and besides has two stoves in it, the children and tutors do not suffer in any way from the cold. The pupils — 100 are on the list — are instructed by Messrs. John Drozd and Emil Juergens. The teaching is conducted in English, but the children have also an opportunity to study German and Bohemian. The school commenced the 20th of October last and will be closed about the middle of April. Three Josephs constitute the trustee board, viz: Messrs. Jos. Bartos, Jos. Fietsam and Jos. Vacek. All three have a good reputation in this community and have been honored with the office because they are well qualified to protect and advance the interests of both teachers and scholars. And so mote it be!

The son of Mr. Vacek is Constable for this beat. He is well fitted for the office on account of his integrity, pluck and energy. If you meet Joe, you take him for being to[sic.] good-humored and polite as Constable. But you must by no means think that he does not understand to preserve orders. I have seen him last summer how he subdued and handcuffed in the twinkling of an eye an evil-doer who was kicking against the peace and dignity of the State of Texas.

As farmers can do nothing in the fields at present several young men enjoyed themselves by going hunting. The most persevering nimrod of all is our young, polite merchant, Eckhardt Stuercke who went on a fox hunt every day last week. We wish Eckhardt much success in capturing the rare game. To the line of curiosities which are to be seen in Ammansville belong several large bones and teeth that were found in Mr. Joe Fietsam's pasture. They seem to me to be mastodon bones and teeth. The esteemed reader will get an idea of the volume of the teeth if I assure that there are some which weigh 5 lbs. and others even 20 lbs. A nice weight, indeed, for a single tooth! Mr. Fietsam is willing to sell some of the bones and teeth if he can get a fair price. I must add that most of those found are in good order.

From Fayette County, Her History and Her People by F. Lotto, 1902:

Josph. J. Munke is pictured on the left at his cotton gin & saw mill. Click on the photo to get a larger view. Photo contributed by Jon Todd Koenig. The building no longer exists.
Ammannsville, the seat of the justice court of precinct No. 7, Fayette County, is one of the most thriving little country towns in the county. It is situated in a rich blackland prairie on the Fayette County school lands, about eleven miles south of La Grange. It is a nice handsome place; the population is German and Bohemian and as liberal and generous as can be found in the county. Most of the people are communicants of the Catholic Church. They own a fine church building in which their resident priest, Rev. Joe Szimanski, preaches to large and attentive audiences. The town has two schools, one under the management of Prof. A. Pastusek, the other under the management of Miss M. Vrazel. Ammannsville does a considerable business. It has three stores and saloons, two blacksmith shops, one drugstore, one physician and two gins. The business men of Ammannsville showed themselves most liberal in their patronage of the work of the writer, and the latter, therefore, wishes them abundant success which in every way they merit. The writer had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with Dr. John S. Zvesper, a learned Bohemian physician; Mr. J. J. Vacek the jovial postmaster of Ammansville; F. J. Parma, one of the most successful pushing business men in the county; Joseph Vacek, Jr., owner of fine thoroughbred stallions; F. F. Ohnheiser, the Ammannsville architect; T. R. Heller, J. P. Heller and J. J. Munke, the popular ginners, of solid standing and reliability; F. A. Ganzer, the blacksmith whom it would be hard to beat in his line of work.

Ammannsville was located on the Fayette County school lands, which became settled in the early seventies. The place was named after old man A. Ammann, one of the oldest settlers of the county, a man who was widely known as an excellent architect. Other old settlers were F. Kossa, Sr., J. Vacek, Sr., F. Sobolik, deceased, J. Heller, deceased, P. Fiser, Jno. Stefek, Aug. Pauler, J. J. Fietsam, Jos. Munke, Chas. Munke, Jno. Lewis, deceased, Jos. Bartas and his brother and Henry Holster.

The Weimar Mercury
8 Nov 1935

History of Ammannsville

It's Early Settlement.

AMMANNSVILLE, a village in the southeastern part of Fayette county, Texas, according to best available records, was founded in the year 1870. Andres Ammann was the first to settle and start a permanent home here and the settlement was later named in his honor. The first to follow Mr. Ammann into this community were a man name Runnels, Rudolph Snajstrla and family. Chas. Munke and family, J. J. Holloway and the Duve family, all of whom came during the [latter] part of 1870.

In 1872 Frank Kossa, who had resided in the Bluff, now Hostyn, section since 1856, moved to the Ammannsville community. The next year found the following emigrants settling in this section: The family of Frank Sobotik, Frank Barta, Kristian Koether, Frank Horak, Jos. R. Bartos, Joseph Kneitz and Alois Filip. The following emigrants came in 1874: The mother of Jos. R. Bartos and two of his brothers, Roman and Valentin. In 1876 the families of Martin and Valentin Srubar, Peregrin Fisher, Joseph Vacek, Jos. Munke, Jos. Muzny, Ignac Muzny, Tom Smith, John Steffek and Theofil Heller came to this section. The year 1877 added J. J. Fietsam, Fritz Brandes, Mr. Warrenken [Warnken?], Mr. Schumacher and Paul Farek. The year 1879 found the village rapidly growing, especially in number of Czech and German families.

The hardships to which these early settlers were subjected are almost unbelievable to the present generations. Especially so are their tales of long trips made with oxen to more distant places. A round trip to Houston usually required a month or more.

Commercial History.

About 1876 Henry Holster founded the first place of business here. He sold out to Valentin Srubar, who in turn sold the business to Paul Farek and Valentin Kadlecka. This partnership business was bought out later by Joseph Stavinoha. Mr. Stavinoha rebuilt and enlarged the building, which was made to include a dance hall. Illness caused him to sell out to Jos. F. Lidiak. Later Peter Jurasek bought the business from Mr. Lidiak. He in turn sold out to Joseph Anders. Harry Knebel now a merchant at Weimar, bought the business from Mr. Anders. Mr. Knebel sold out to John Barta, Sr., who in turn sold to his son-in-law, Jos. Barton. In 1924 Mr. Barton sold the building to the K. J. T. and K. J. Z. T. lodges. The lodges tore down the old structure and built the present K. J. T. and K. J. Z. T. Hall.

Another place of business was started in 1878. It was established by Mr. Duve, who in 18?? sold the business to Theofil Heller. Mr. Heller sold out the merchandise and rented the building to Fritz Munke. Mr. Munke remained in business for two years and then retired. The building was later moved and business in it was discontinued.

In 1885 Eckert Stuercke erected a larger business [establishment], including a dance platform. After several years he sold out to J. J. Vacek and Chas. Rippel. Later Mr. Vacek became sole owner, but we bought out by John F. Cernosek. The latter in turn disposed of the business to L. G. Bartos. In 1912 Mr. Bartos sold out to his brother, John M. Bartos, who in 1927 sold the business to his son. John A. Bartos, the present merchant.

The year 1895 found J. V. Dobrava [Doubrave?] erecting a new building, which provided a business place and dance platform. Mr. Dobrava conducted the business for several years. He sold out to F. J. Parma, who was a popular leader of the people of this community. His business prospered and he had to build several additions to his establishment. Mr. Parma's untimely death in 1915 was a great loss to the community. After his passing the business was managed by Mrs. Parma with the aid of her children. F. J. Parma Jr. bought the business from his mother, later selling to the present owner, Willie Bohuslav.

In 1917 J. J. Fietsam bought a parcel of land from Edward Rabel and constructed two business buildings. One building was used for a doctor's office and drug store, which the other was used for a pool room. The stockholders of the drug store were F. J. Parma, J. J. Fietsam, Dr. Anderson deCalb Lewis and J. M. Bartos. Messrs. Bartos and Parma finally sold their stock to Mr. Fietsam and Dr. Lewis. Later Dr. Lewis sold his half interest to Mr. Fietsam and moved away from Ammannsville. Mr. Fietsam sold a half interest to J. V. Dobrava. Chas. Naiser came along and bought out Mr. Dobrava's interest and later became sole owner by purchasing Mr. Fietsam's share. In 1923 the buildings and land were sold to Matej Bohac and the following year Mr. Naiser sold the drug store business to J. V. Bartosh. The drug store and cold drink business is still carried on in one building by Mr. Bartosh, while the other building is being used by the owner, Mr. Bohac, for a meat market.

The cotton growing industry was prospering in the Ammannsville community, and soon a cotton gin became necessary. The first gin was built east of Ammannsville by Mr. Hefner in 1870. He operated the gin for several years and then quite the business. In 1872 the community's second gin was constructed northeast of the town by Mr. Lewis, who later also abandoned the enterprise. The third and successful gin was erected in 1877 in Pale's Grove, about a half mile east of Ammannsville, by Theofil Heller, Sr. In 1879 Mr. Heller decided to tear down the old gin and re construct it along more modern lines. He installed the most up-to-date machinery that could be obtained at that time. With the amount of cotton steadily increasing, this gin prospered. However, after Mr. Heller had sold the enterprise to his sons., Theofil Heller, Jr., and John Heller, a fire destroyed it. In 1888 a new gin was erected by the Mewes and Koenig company, and new and modern machinery was installed. It was later sold to Theofil Heller, Jr. and Joseph Munke. After several years of successful operation, they sold the gin to Frank E. Pargac, who also managed it successfullly until it was destroyed by fire. Mr. Pargac sold the premised to Jos. J. Barta. He immediately erected a new gin building and installed modern machinery of the Murray type. After several very successful years, Mr. Barta sold out to his son, John R. Barta, and Willie Bohuslav. The latter subsequently bought out Mr. Barta's interest. Under his ownership the gin still prospers.

The year 1876 found the community in need of a blacksmith. Mr. Naiser became Ammannsville's first blacksmith, building his smithy, not under the spreading chestnut tree, but under a spreading china tree. He later sold out to John Kocurek, who was shot in a mysterious way. The smithy was accordingly abandoned and finally was destroyed. Mr. Kruppa then erected a new smithy, which he sold to Fritz Ganzer. It was destroyed in the storm of 1909. The present smithy was constructed by John Sumbera. Mr. Sumbera sold out to Edward Rabel, who operated the shop until 1926, when he sold his smithy and real estate holdings to Matej Bohac. Mr. Rabel's son, Fred, rented the smithy from Mr. Bohac and became Ammannsville's blacksmith after 1926. Fred Tengler later bought the machinery and tools from Mr. Bohac and Took over the blacksmith business. Mr. Tengler in turn sold the machinery and tools to Mr. Bohac. Mr. Spann was engaged as blacksmith, but was injured in an automobile accident and had to retire, being followed by Mr. Kasmir. Mr. Bohac finally sold out to his son. Adolph Bohac, who is the present blacksmith.

Ammannsville's next establishment was the Ammannsville State Bank. This institution was founded in 1914. It was possible to have the institution mainly through the efforts of George Herder of Weimar, F. J. Parma, J. J. Fietsam, John F. Kossa, John M. Bartos, Jos. W. Kossa and John A. Cernosek. The above mentioned stockholders and numerous minor stockholders accumulated enough capital to start the bank. George Herder served as first president and F. J. Parma was the bank's first cashier. Mr. Parma was followed in that capacity by his sons, Ivan C. Parma, Albert P. Parma and Frank J. Parma. The bank liquidated and the doors were closed in 1929. The building and fixtures were sold.

Establishment of a garage was next in Ammannsville's business history. Adolph J. Kristek erected a building and opened for business in 1916. Being drafted into service during the World War, he sold out to twenty-three stockholders. These stockholders, after a number of years of business, sold out to John A. Cernosek and his son, James A. Cernosek. The latter and his brother, John L. Cernosek, conducted the business for several years and then sold out to R. B. Jasek, the present owner.

Ammannsville since the year 1876 has been the place for holding justice court in this precinct. The following justices of the peace have served: Tom Smith, 1876-1881; Wm. Perry, 1881-1884; E. Hubbard, 1884-18885; W. J. Roberts, 1885-1887; A. J. Knapek, 1886-1899; Frank E. Mews, 1889-1892; Jos. J. Fietsam, 1892-1898; Henry Laturnus, 1898-1901; Peter J. Janacek, 190-1912; J. V. Dobrava, 1912-1931; and J. M. Bartos, 1931, to the present time.

Doctors who practiced medicine in Ammannsville are: Dr. Holman, Dr. McGee, Dr. J. S. Zvesper, Dr. Shaver, Dr. Byard, Dr. Daehne, Dr. Fuller, and Dr. Anderson deCalb Lewis. Dr. Lewis was the community's last physician.

School History.

The community's first public school was erected in 1876, about a quarter of a mile west of Ammannsville. Mr. Brandes and Mr. Fiala were the first teachers. Mr. Fiala resigned and Jos. R. Bartos became Mr. Brandes' assistant. After some time a larger building was bought from Tom Smith and was remodeled into a school building. The first teachers in this school were Tom Smith and J. J. Vacek. They were followed by A. J. Fastusek and Mr. Treptoo.

About this time a new school was built by the German population. This, a two-story building, was completed in 1890. The first floor was used as a school and the second floor was used as a Hermann Sons lodge hall. The successive teachers were as follows: Mr. Treptoo, Mr. Krackler, Miss Latimore, Miss Graves, Miss Vrazel, Miss Moebus, Miss Mary Melchar, Miss Alma Melcher, Miss Vitle, Miss Natie Melchar, and Miss Stastny. The school was damaged by the storm of 1900. However, it was repaired and teaching continued there until 1909, when another storm struck the building, and teaching was discontinued. Miss Stastny was the school's last instructor.

Meanwhile, in the other school, sometimes called the Czech public school, teaching continued. Mr. Treptoo having been employed by the German public school, Alois Kallus followed Mr. Fastisek as teacher, Joseph Drozd followed him and after several years was succeeded by F. J. Parma. Upon the latter's resignation, teaching duties were again placed in charge of Mr. Pastusek, who several years later resigned and moved to Oklahoma. Mr. Juricek was his successor, taught for one year and resigned.

About 1904 the scholastic population of the Ammannsville district was about 166 pupils. The small building was getting crowded and therefore it was decided to erect a larger one. The old structure was sold to Chas. Bartos and a new building was completed the same year. Catholic nuns were the first teachers in the new school. They served faithfully for a number of years, being followed by Mr. Kulhanek and Mr. Darilek. It was about this time that the German school was discontinued because the building was damaged by storms. Mr. Kulhanek was succeeded by Mr. Hajek as Mr. Darilek's assistant. The latter was followed by Mr. Morkovsky. The teaching staff was then increased to three, with Mr. Morkovsky, Miss Angelina Skripka and Miss Elma Hennige in charge. They were followed by Mr. Adler and Mr. Hilscher, Mr. Bohuslav later replacing Mr. Adler. Miss Ida Trial succeeded Mr. Hilscher and taught with Mr. Bohuslav. Mrs. Bohuslav later succeeded Miss Trial. Mr. and Mrs. Bohuslav served as the last teachers in the public school, as the building was sold to the church in 1925 and was then used for a parochial school, with the nuns as teachers.

That same year a new public school building was erected, thus giving Ammannsville two schools again. Mr. and Mrs. Bohuslav were employed as the teachers, the latter being released later, leaving the duties to Mr. Bohuslav. Miss Olga Kahanek and Marie Fisher next saw service and taught together until an untimely death took away one of the community's best citizens, Miss Fisher, in 1935. She was succeeded by Miss Vlasta Zaruba, who is Miss Kahanek's assistant this year.

Church History

Ammannsville's first Catholic settlers attended church services at Bluff. In 1889 the Rev. P. Wronsky conducted the first Catholic services at Ammannsville on the porch of the home of Jos. R. Bartos, which place is no the Chas. Mazoch estate. The first meeting of members for the purpose of erecting a church was held in September, 1889. The result was an agreement to build a church. Peregrin Fisher, Jos. Vasek, Sr., and Theofil Heller donated 11 1/4 acres of land for the church grounds and cemetery. The cornerstone was laid in March, 1890, and a wooden church, 80 X 30 ft., was completed the same year at a cost of $800. Dedication of the new building was held the same year, with the Rev. Bishop Neraz of San Antonio conducting the ceremonies, assisted by a number of priests.

The Ammannsville church was somewhat of a mission church to the Bluff parish. The Rev. Julius Vrana served as the first mission priest until November, 1894. He is still active in Slovanic parishes in Pennsylvania. Rev. C. J. Benes, now of Nada, took over the parish duties in that year and served until 1897. Rev. B. Neubert followed Father Benes, serving until March, 1901. Very Rev. Jos. Szymanski, now of Weimar, was Father Neubert's successor, serving the parish untill 1906. Next in line was Rev. Jos. Horacek, who served until 1903, when he was succeeded by Rev. Emil Schindler, now deceased. Father Schindler and the present pastor, Rev. Alfons Raska, were seminary students together at San Antonio. In 1909 Rev. Father Heckman was assigned to administer to the spiritual wants of the parish, but he remained only a few months. The honor of Monsignor was later conferred upon this minister, who is now stationed in Fredericksburg.

The Ammannsville church was damaged greatly by a storm which struck the community on June 21, 1909. Shortly afterwards on July 25, a meeting was called by Rev. Frank Machan, who had succeeded Father Heckman, and it was agreed to build a new church at once. The architects and builders were the Matustik brothers. The new church was formally dedicated on November 24, 1910, by Most Rev. Bishop Shaw of San Antonio. At this time confirmation was also administered, 160 receiving the sacrament.

Lumber that was salvaged from the old church was utilized in erecting a rectory. Ammannsville's first resident priest, Father Machann, was the first to occupy it. Later the rectory was sold to Jos. R. Bartos, was moved away and is now the home of John A. Bartosh.

Father Machann made a trip to Europe, but upon his return resumed his pastoral duties at Ammannsville for several years. In 1910 he was transferred to Shiner and Father Neubert returned as his successor. During his stay, in 1916, a new rectory was built, John Bujnoch being the architect and builder. In 1916 Rev. Jos. K. Kopp succeeded Father Neubert as the Ammannsville pastor.

A disastrous fire destroyed the Ammannsville church on October 2, 1917. However, fire insurance was carried on the church in the R. V. O. S. fire insurance company, and this was of material help in building another church. John Bujnoch was architect and builder of the new church, which stands today. Work was started on its immediately and the new building was completed in 1919. On December 22 of that year Most Rev. Archbishop A. J. Drossaerts of San Antonio, assisted by several priests, dedicated the new house of worship. Confirmation was also administered at this time. 85 being confirmed.

In January, 1920, Father Kopp was transferred to Moulton and Father Raska took over the pastoral duties. Still the local pastor, Father Raska has served the parish longer than any previous priest.

A new parochial school was erected and dedicated in 1930, Archbishop Drossaerts participating in the dedication. In April, 1931, Father Raska took leave and went to Europe, Rev. B. M. Heintze taking over the pastoral duties during his absence. Father Heintze is now pastor at Plum.

May Ammannsville prosper further commercially, educationally and spiritually!

Schulenburg Sticker, 5 Oct 1917, page 1

Fire at Ammannsville

Tuesday afternoon about 2:30 smoke was discovered coming from the Catholic church at Ammannsville. Upon entering the building the interior was found full of smoke and the fire evidently between the walls on the south side near the small altar on the left side. A few minutes later the fire broke through and the entire side of the building was a mass of flames. The intense heat set fire to a building owned by the community and used as a store house and from there spread to the home of Prof. Al. Morskovsky [Morkovsky], which was also owned by the community. Within one hour all three buildings were burned to the ground.

The church was built in 1910 and cost over $12,000 with something over $7000 additional for decorating and finishing the interior. It was insured for $10,750 and Father Joe Kopp says will be rebuilt as soon [as] possible. The store building was worth $300 and residence $1000 with no insurance on either. Considerable of the church furnishings were saved by the hard work of the citizens and farmers from the surrounding country and all of Prof. Morskovsky’s household effects were saved.

The Ammannsville church was destroyed in the 1909 storm and rebuilt stronger and better than ever the following year by those enterprising citizens. Their public spirit was again shown while embers were still glowing by hearing them congratulate themselves that the school house and home of Father Kopp were saved even though very badly scorched, and making plans to rebuild with brick, the church which had been their pride. It was a big loss to the little city, but they are not of the kind that let misfortune lay them out. Would that there were more towns in Texas peopled with citizens just like them.
Transcribed by Matt Cross

A Footprints of Fayette article written by David Knape and submitted by Carolyn Heinsohn:

The Old Ammannsville Drug Store

By David Knape
Submitted by Carolyn Heinsohn

As a kid I can always remember going to the Ammannsville “Drug Store”.  I never could figure out why they called it a drug store.  It sold no drugs.  It was just a beer joint that specialized in beer and dominoes.  It was a bare bones type of place, but it had “atmosphere”!

Any time Dad was in Ammannsville, he always figured out a way to make a trip to town and a visit to the drug store.  My sister and I would tag along.  For us it was exciting because we knew we would get a treat.  Dad would always buy us an ice cream cone.  Believe it or not, the drug store sold ice cream.  They only had three flavors, vanilla, chocolate and strawberry.  Old Justin, the wise sage and owner, would scoop the ice cream out of a canister from a small freezer behind the bar.  Then we would sit on the high bar stools by the dark oak wood bar or play on the unique swivel tables.  They had some of these old tables that had swivel seats on them.  You could swing back and forth and in and out.  I remember there were only two of these type tables.  They were worn out and rusty, but lots of fun.  For us kids, it was like a ride at an amusement park.

There was always a beat up table in the back of the store.  It had seen its better days.  The legs were chinked and dented.  The paint was gone.  But this was the domino table, always ready for action.  Seems like there was always a game going on.  Old Justin would sometimes play as well, in between opening beer bottles.  Back then all beer was in bottles (long-necks), and you had to open the bottle with a metal bottle opener or “church key” as they were called.  The church key would be on a string behind the bar.  Old Justin never got in a hurry.  If it was his turn to play during the game and you wanted a beer, you just had to wait.  The whole place would smell of smoke and chewing tobacco.  Everyone did one or the other back then.  There was a spittoon by the domino table.  Some would hit, some would miss!

The old drug store had creaky wooden floors and large windows that were always open.  The windows seemed huge to me.  Big enough to drive a truck through.  It had a door in front and one in the back.  The doors were always open so that the place seemed more like a barn than a store.  It was always cool inside the drug store.  A welcome change from the scorching Texas heat.  Yellowjackets would be flying around.  Mud daubers would build nests in the corners.  A cat might wander up on the porch now and then.

Dad would drink a beer and then have another.  He loved his beer.  Where he was raised, beer was the beverage of choice, as common as water.

Dad would light up his pipe and have a smoke and visit with whoever was in the store at the time.  Everyone knew everyone else.  There were no strangers.  Most everybody was kin or related.  There was never any trouble.

Just farmers shooting the bull!

My sister and I would get bored waiting for Dad, so we would venture outside and look around.  We would just wander around and see what we could see.  The road in front of the store was pea gravel.  It was kind of a dirty orange color and it made a scrunchy sound when you drove over it. The gravel would get in our shoes and hurt our toes.  We would always be taking our shoes off to empty the stones.  There was no traffic, so you could walk down the middle of the road.  No cars came by at all.  Well maybe one…an hour!

We would walk down to the dance hall and pick pecans or stroll over to the church playground and ride the see-saws.  These were the heaviest see-saws I have ever seen.  The boards were like timbers from Noah’s ark.

Thick and heavy.  About two feet wide.  It was an effort for us just to lift them up.  When they hit the ground, they would go BLAM and rattle and reverberate.  For fun, we would stand in the middle of the board and try to balance without falling off.  Such simple fun back then.

Eventually Dad would come find us and we would all ride back to Grandpa’s place.  Everybody was happy with the trip to the Drug Store.  Ammannsville memories.  Long ago.

Now the history of the drug store and why it was called that.  It goes back to 1917 when J.J. Fietsam bought a parcel of land from Edward Rabel and constructed two buildings.  One building was used as a doctor’s office and drugstore. The other was a pool room.  The drugstore actually had stockholders.  They included: F.J. Parma, J.J. Fietsam, Dr. Anderson DeCalb Lewis, and J.M. Bartos.  The doctor sold out and moved away.  J.V. Dobrava and Charles Naiser later bought out the other shareholders to become sole owners.  Then in 1923, the buildings and land were sold to Matej Bohac.  In 1924, the business was sold to Justin Bartos.

Justin Bartos is the owner I remember.  He was always kind and soft-spoken.  He walked slow and talked slow.  Never got in a hurry.  But he was always so friendly and likeable.  Like an old grandpa.  He talked in low tones with a Czech accent.  He always had time.

Through the years the store sold medicines, soda water, beer, wine and tobacco.  There were also some candy, snacks and chips.  The store was a favorite meeting place for people after Mass.  People visited here and played pool, cards and dominoes.  The store at one time had a nickelodeon and….even slot machines once upon a time.

The other building, the pool room was run by Matej Bohac and Sons as a distribution center for the “Meat Club” during World War II.  Meat was rationed, and each month a member would take turns donating a calf for butchering.  The cuts of meat were then distributed on a rotating basis.

Justin Bartos continued to operate the drugstore for many years.  In 1983, he became ill.  His wife continued to run the business for another two years.  After that the drug store closed.

Come to find out, the Bartos Drug Store was eventually sold and moved from Ammannsville to a site alongside Old Hwy 90 in Colorado County.  It was part of a complex of old buildings used for various business purposes.  All of those buildings were moved again to unknown destinations and replaced with an RV park.

Even if it is now gone, the store is still there, in my mind.  It was a landmark, a restful spot.  A place full of memories for me as a young kid.  It was the place for people to gather and talk.  To tell stories and catch up on gossip and the local news.  A meeting place for the whole area.  Full of farmers and hardworking people who shared a common ancestry and bond.  A place of welcome and good cheer.  No frills, but lots of friendliness.

That old drug store will be forever ingrained in my mind as a good memory for me. A place I can return to remember my youth.  To relive those innocent days when time was not important, but friends and family were.

For me, it hasn’t changed a bit. The old Ammannsville Drug Store!
©D. Knape

Permission to publish given by David Knape, The Woodlands; February 2016.
David and Carolyn are double second cousins; they share two sets of great-grandparents, Peregrin and Filomena Fiser (Fisher) and Jan and Marie Sumbera, early settlers of Ammannsville. David’s mother, Henrietta Fisher Knape, was born in Ammannsville.

For More Information

St. John the Baptist Catholic Church

Ammannsville Catholic Cemetery

Fayette County's Precinct Courthouses
A Footprints of Fayette Article

Joseph J. Fietsam

Rev. Frank Machan
Lavaca County TXGenWeb site

The Painted Churches of Texas
Web site developed by public television station, KLRU, to accompany its documentary of the painted churches

See Photo of Kossa's Farmers Band, Ammannsville, Texas, 1910.
Winedale Photograph Collection, University of Texas Center for American History

Related Article at the Handbook of Texas Online

Marie L. Albrecht and Joseph J. Munke
Owned cotton gin and saw mill at Ammannsville.
Photo contributed by Jon Todd Koenig


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Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Is Loss Part of God's Plan? by Jodi Whisenhunt

The Early Angels Ministry recently held its 2nd annual Mother's Day Dessert reception, an intimate gathering in the Hospitality Room with a delicious array of cheesecake bites,creampuffs, and fresh fruit. The sweets softened the tender wounds we mothers in this unique group share.

The loss of a child is a traumatic experience that leaves grieving families with multitudes of questions for our Heavenly Father. One such question I wondered after the loss of my daughter in 2002 was, "Is this really God's plan?" While in the midst of such extreme sorrow and grief, I could not grasp God's purpose. Over the 5 1/2 years that followed, however, He has allowed me to perceive portions of His "big picture". At the Mother's Day Dessert, special guest Bryan Doyle shed more light on this subject as he spoke on the account of Lazarus in the Gospel of John chapter 11.

I have called you friends. (John 15:15)

Bryan emphasized the friendship Jesus held with Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha. They shared such amity that the sisters referred to Lazarus simply as "the one you love" when they sent word of Lazarus' illness to Jesus. (John 11:3) The description was enough.

As Jesus neared Bethany, Mary came to Him weeping. When He saw her, "He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled." (John 11:33) He was so distraught over his beloved friend's death that He wept. "Then the Jews said, 'See how He loved him!'" (vs. 36)

Our God calls us friend, too. Our friend, our Lord and Savior, exhibited His great love for us when He died on the cross to pay the price of our sin. "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) Proverbs 17:17 tells us that a friend loves at all times. His great love for us is evidence that He would not allow us to experience anything that is not part of His divine plan.

The murky fish tank of humanity

Bryan gave a great illustration of God's love. He said that several years ago he and his family moved into a new house. The previous owner had moved out a few weeks prior and left behind a large fish tank. Much muck had accumulated in the tank during the time the house was vacant, so Bryan decided to clean it.

Upon reaching his arm into the murky water, Bryan discovered one solitary fish remained. Bryan said that during the initial cleaning and every tank cleaning thereafter, the fish, nicknamed Freebie, was terrified of him. Freebie the fish did not understand that Bryan was trying to help him, that he cared for him and wanted to take care of him.

Bryan thought to himself, "How can I make Freebie understand I mean him no harm?" The only way, Bryan determined, would be for him to become a fish himself. Then he could communicate in fish language and put Freebie's mind at ease. Of course this was impossible!

Fortunately for us, nothing is impossible for our Creator! God, Himself, became human and entered our world. Jesus the Son plunged into the murky fish tank of humanity to demonstrate His great love for us.

Learning to fly

God has a plan for everything. He ordains every event as Jeremiah 29:11 states, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord." In the first chapter, the Lord assured Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart." (Jeremiah 1:5) Jesus tells us in John 15:16, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you."

He doesn't just turn us loose on our own, though. We must be trained. The song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32, verse 11, informs us that the Lord trains us, "Like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions."

The eagle builds its nest on the edge of a cliff. When its young are a few weeks old, the parent eagle stirs up the nest. It squeezes the young out of the nest and over the edge. The young bird flaps frantically as it freefalls. Just before it hits the ground, the parent bird swoops down and catches it, carrying it back to the nest. This process repeats until the young bird learns to fly on its own.

This illustration is a harsh reminder that sometimes God's methods are not easy for us to endure. Sometimes the jobs He asks us to perform are terrifying. Sometimes we flap our wings frantically, because the ground is fast approaching. However, the Father is always there to catch us. During the process, we grow and we learn. As Bryan said, you can't learn to fly when you're in the nest.

The Master Plan

"All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be." (Psalm 139:16) God knows us. He loves us. He chose us. He cries with us. He cries, because He understands. "Though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is His unfailing love." (Lamentations 3:32) All that we are and all that we do is for God's glory. He invites us to trust Him with His plan.

As the reception drew to a close, Bryan opened it up for discussion. One mom mentioned that the passage of time does bring healing. God may seem to delay, but His timing is always right. It is our responsibility to trust Him and to wait on Him. Bryan said, "God does more in us while we wait than when we get what we are waiting for." While we wait, our Heavenly Father shapes us and molds us, "Like silver refined in a furnace of clay." (Psalm 12:6)

The Lord prepares and enables us to fulfill His Master Plan. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

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For fans of Downton Abbey

The Library currently has a display of books for people who are fans of Downton Abbey, and I am one of them so I found the book Below Stairs by Margaret Powell to be fascinating. Powell was born in 1907 and had to start work when she was 13 years old. The book was originally published in 1968 but was reissued. The book jacket of the reissued edition says “the classic kitchen maid’s memoir that inspired Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton Abbey” and that sums up the book.

Federal tax instructions available to borrow only

For many years, the Fond du Lac Public Library has been one of the only places in the area where the public can pick up free tax-preparation forms. However, the Internal Revenue Service recently informed the library that it would not provide printed copies of instruction booklets, citing budget cuts. Forms will be available – they likely will start arriving at the library in late January – but not instruction booklets for federal taxes.

Sweet stories with plenty of heat

The Sweetheart Sisters series by Shirley Jump combines sweet stories with plenty of heat. Set in Rescue Bay, Florida, the "sisters" are a trio of sassy, well-meaning grannies living at the Golden Years Retirement Home who think their mission in life is to play matchmaker for the town of Rescue Bay, all while giving some old-school lessons in love. Add in the elements of an animal rescue facility and numerous subplots, and these stories tug at your heartstrings while making you laugh out loud.

The Story of Romeo and Juliet as told by Juliet’s nurse

Juliet’s Nurse by Lois Leveen is historical fiction set in Verona, Italy that provides a backstory to William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. It made me re-read Romeo and Juliet after finishing this book. Half of the book covers the years 1360-1363 from Juliet’s birth until she is three years old. The second half covers the five fateful days as depicted in Shakespeare’s play when Juliet is fourteen years old and meets and falls in love with Romeo.

Four Friends by Robyn Carr

Family and friends are such an important part of the holiday season and Four Friends by Robyn Carr is a perfect example of appreciating both. Carr has a way of writing about real people with real lives, and the four women in this book deal with very hard and very real issues. The constant throughout the book is friendship, and the strong bond between the four women sees them through. They may not always agree with each other's decisions, but their support for one another is unwavering and makes them stronger in the end.

Another heartwarming tale from Mitford

Jan Karon continues her Mitford series, set in a fictional small North Carolina mountain town, with Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good. This is classic Christian fiction by Jan Karon—heartwarming, character-driven, and hopeful. Retired Episcopal priest Tim Kavanagh returns to Mitford with his wife Cynthia after journeys to his Mississippi hometown and a trip to Ireland. There is an upheaval at his old parish, and Father Tim is asked to fill in for the current priest who is leaving.

Afternoon book club has openings

The Fond du Lac Public Library’s Afternoon Delight Book Group has openings for new members. The club meets at 1:30 p.m. the second Wednesday of the month (there are no meetings in July and August). Participation is free and open to all.

Learn to download free e-books

Many people with new e-readers might not know they can use their Fond du Lac Public Library account to borrow e-books from the library. The library has several resources available to help people learn how to receive this free service.

BookCellar greets New Year with sales

Two great sales will greet the New Year at the Fond du Lac Public Library BookCellar, the city’s only used book store.

'Faces ... Rotary in Peru' in gallery Jan 7-Feb 4

The Langdon Divers Gallery at the Fond du Lac Public Library will feature an unusual and inspiring exhibit January 7 to February 4: Faces Tell the Story: Fond du Lac Morning Rotary in Peru.

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Home   Archive by category "Fearless Parent News"

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Vaccination Questions Answered: Red Bank Event Recap 1/24/17

by Louise Kuo Habakus Fearless Parent’s much anticipated and coveted “A Conversation about Childhood Vaccination” event at the Two River Theater in Red Bank, NJ on 1/24/17 was everything we hoped for. We’re happy to share highlights, including the program and lots of photos now (scroll down) and hopefully video very soon. Please comment below if you’d like to share feedback or stories. And we’re happy to
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Get This Incredible 7 eBook Bundle!

To celebrate our sold out event, A Conversation about Childhood Vaccination, on January 24, 2017 in Red Bank, New Jersey, we want you to share in the excitement.   The gift of ♥ +  information Our hope is to continue reaching out to parents in this way, in their communities. The journey starts with the heart-centered intention to share vitally important information. My generous publisher
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Thank you for your gift

Thank you for your gift. Fearless Parent is a project of the non-profit Center for Personal Rights (CPR). We deeply appreciate your gift and support of our work. We are committed to sharing unconventional, evidence-based news about health, wellness, green living, and holistic parenting choices. Your contribution will help further our mission to defend the human right to vaccination choice. We are a 501(c)3 organization.
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Happy Thanksgiving from Fearless Parent!

“Fear and gratitude cannot coexist.” Our biology strongly rewards positivity. Fear immobilizes. The neurochemistry of positive emotion is what’s required to roll up our sleeves and get on with the business of life, love, work, and play. To all our wonderful supporters, collaborators, activists, friends and family – we’re grateful for you and wishing you a beautiful, joy-filled day and season. Be fearless everyone! The
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“The Fearless Parent” Keynote @ AutismOne 2015

“Children can get better, many can recover, and the answers will not come by doing what you are told.” Sayer Ji, founder of GreenMedInfo Kelly Brogan, MD, holistic psychiatrist  Larry Palevsky, MD, holistic pediatrician Louise Kuo Habakus, author and activist are proud to deliver  the keynote presentation “The Fearless Parent” at the Autism One Conference on May 22, 2015 In an era of rising chronic,
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Are You “Bought”? The Film That Will Blow Your Mind

by Louise Kuo Habakus Bought is a new documentary film about our health and it’s a total home run. You can purchase the DVD or download the film by clicking the above image or this link. BOUGHT is the movie you’ve been waiting for. It’s the movie that you will tell your family and friends: “OK, just 90 minutes and I won’t say another word.” It’s the movie
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Our New Partnership with GreenMedInfo!

GreenMedInfo and Fearless Parent are delighted to announce a collaborative strategic partnership. GMI is one of the top five natural health sites in the world (Alexa ranked), internationally recognized as the largest, most widely referenced health resource of its kind, with over one million visitors a month. Sayer Ji, GMI’s founder, has joined our team as a strategic advisor. Sayer is a widely recognized researcher, author, lecturer,
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Our New Name is…. Fearless Parent™

      Hello to our wonderful Nurture Parenting community! We will always embrace the nurturing aspect of parenting. The name no longer fits our strategic vision, however, so we’ve made the decision to rebrand. It is with great pride that we announce our new name: Fearless Parent™. You can find us online here: FearlessParent.org Facebook Twitter Pinterest Fearless Parent™ is an innovative online media
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FPR in the News

Provocative “Fearless Parent Radio” Launches November 13 (check back for new press mentions!) Business Wire release 11/12/13 The Gary Null Show (43:48-57:20) 4-traders All News Au Benzinga Bioporftolio Bloomberg Businessweek Bulldog Health Inside Health Media Calgary Herald Faceoff Herald Online iTunes Radio One News Page Reuters Rferfl Silobreaker SPi World News Street Insider Thinking Moms Revolution Vaccination News Wedbush World News

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Saturday, April 24, 2010

I can't wait to take pictures of a project that was finally finished today after languishing in my UFO pile for over a year. It involves shirring, if you can believe it. Hopefully I'll have time tomorrow to take pictures and post it up.

But this post is about fashion's knack for reinventing itself. How history is bound to repeat itself. How there's nothing new under the sun.

And let me say, that is not always a bad thing. I got the latest Talbot's catalog in the mail today, and for the first time in a long time I actually sat and paged through it. I am really drawn to the colors they are using in this season's line and although I don't buy clothes from them, I always like to look at pretty things for inspiration.

One of the dresses that I adore is this cross-front number in a pretty, summery cotton print. Sorry, the Talbot's site won't let me copy their pics. I knew I'd seen something like this in my vintage patterns, so I ran downstairs and look! I borrowed the picture from Wikia, but I have this pattern in my size:

Vintage McCall's 8297 from 1966. The shape of the skirt isn't exactly the same. The pattern's skirt is a slight a-line, and the Talbot's dress is more of a straight skirt or even pencil cut.

I have a feeling this vintage pattern has just made her way to the top of my future project pile, which makes me think of something I've been meaning to write about for a while ~ fabric sourcing. In my opinion, the worst part about sewing is finding the right fabric at a price that doesn't make it cost-prohibitive. Especially if you live in an area where there aren't a lot of great choices in apparel fabrics. Online shopping can be tricky. Like Fashion Fabrics Club, where the prices are great and the pictures look ok, but in real life their fabrics can be really bad sometimes. Really good other times, but the really bad ones stick in my mind. Luckily their warehouse is here in Saint Louis, so I don't pay for shipping and I go pick up my packages in person. You'd be stunned if you knew what that operation really looks like. Yuck. I'll have to take pictures next time I go. Their returns pile is enormous.

I've been doing really well with my goal of finishing a lot of the UFOs that have been sitting around here and it'll be nice to get to some new projects. I finally broke down and ordered four Jalie patterns for the first time from Pattern Review. I can't wait for my fabric de-stash yard sale, my workspace is going to seem empty!

  1. Heather, when you make the post about shirring, could you please advise what you do with the side hems? I get confused. Could you show a close up please? Thanks! Monique (Original Mischief)

  2. I love shirring! It's such a nice look. That pattern is fabulous...can't wait to see it made up.

    Sarah :)


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January 10, 2009

Clips from the 'Flight of the Conchords' season premiere

No preamble, no blathering from me. Because you just want to get to the good stuff. The good stuff being clips from the season premiere of "Flight of the Conchords," which returns to HBO on Jan. 18. Two days after the return of "Battlestar Galactica" and three days before the return of "Lost." Oh dear, I need to lie down, I think my brain's going to explode. In a good way.

I lied, I do have one little preamble: These clips are from the Season 2 premiere, so if you'd rather remain in the dark about what transpires in that episode, don't watch the clips below.

As if you'll be able to resist. Right.

This first clip I posted a while ago, but it helps set up what's in the clips that follow it.

My two favorite words: Band meeting.

Things aren't going so great for Murray, Bret and Jemaine's manager.

Weaving. A man's game.

Murray and the guys discuss immigration status, that go-to comedy standard.

The whole episode is available on iTunes — free, so, ya know...

DEKARONデカロン-RMTRMT rmt とはis currently constructing the Kahuku Wind facility located on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. リネージュ2 rmtThe 30-MW facility will feature 12 wind turbines and will generate enough clean energy to power about 7,700 homes each year. アトランティカ RMT RMT is providing engineering, procurement,Atlantica RMT and construction of the civil and electrical infrastructure, rmt ff14including roads, crane walks and pads, turbine foundations, tower erection,aion rmt a 23-kV underground collector system, a 23/46-kV step-up substation, and a 7,000-square-foot operations and maintenance buildingrmt リネージュ2.

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Climatic challenges of our times

Climate change is one of the challenges facing human kind in recent times. The explanation given to the causes of climate change is that carbon dioxide or carbon emissions as by product of industries and fossil fuel utilization, that end up breaking the ozone layer, thus exposing the earth to ultra violet rays, hence likely to increase global temperatures. This gives rise to various natural risks , like drought, floods, etc. Such natural disasters will  sadly give rise to food scarcity, much to the suffering of people. Property damage is possibly a likehood, due to heavy floods. Then, the challenge, to all is what to be done?

The critical part of climate change is: what can ordinary citizens and laymen like me do to mitigate this? So greening of the environment where we live, by planting indigenous plants, is highly recommended, for obvious reasons of carbon dioxide trapping, aesthetic value, wind break and biodiversity. Ordinary people should be encouraged to take initiatives to run nurseries, not only for job creation purposes but also for the simply goal to green our living space in our communities. On the other hand recycling will go a long way, ensuring that fossil based  energy used to produce particular product is lowered as much as possible, therefore less carbon doixide emitted. Recycling at homes will further add value in terms of organic vegetable producing, as all bio-degradable matter can be turned into nutrient-rich compost.

Secondly, the State needs to support the exploitation of industrial plants to produce environmentally friendly, renewable, bio-energy much to the benefit of all concerned. Somehow, the concerns of the State were quite understandable, given the fact that using food crops to produce any bio-fuel, was absolutely counter intuitive, taking into account likely high food prices as well as food security, as the result of competition. If ever, the marginal lands can be utilized to produce industrial crops for bio-fuel production, that on its own can solve quite a number of the challenges we are currently grappling with, like unemployment, high prices of crude oil and under utilization or none use of available lands. Ironically, the State has not shown keen interests in renewable energy initiatives so and surprisingly the current issue is Hydraulic fracturing, of which is extraction of shale gas down in the bowels of the earth by fracturing shale rocks with high pressure water and chemicals to tap into shale gas. That topic on its own has stirred hornet’s nest, much to the agitation of environmentally friendly people of South Africa. So given the plight of South Afrika with the so called Acid Mine Drainage (AMD), from mining activities that took place century ago, so one wonders as to what would be the repercussions of Fracturing thereof, compared to the threats and health risks and hazards posed by AMD, due to contamination of scarce water resource?

So climate change on its own, will challenge all people alike, as it will throw anything, anytime, pertaining to natural disasters and therefore, the question is how do prepare ourselves to face and cope with such challenges? Climate change calls for everybody indeed, to be innovative in all aspects of life. Food production is at risk, floods, drought spell are likely to occur, veldfires are getting more prevalent due to strong winds, more animal diseases outbreak, environmental degradation due to serosion arising from heavy floods, and infestations by alien invasive plants. Given, the population dynamics of growing populace and fairly high rate of urbanisation in South Africa, the climatic challenges necessitate meticulous planning in terms of food security as well as technology, particularly with regards to processing. This is because in the times of abundant harvest, more food to be preserved for future consumption in times of drought spells and floods. One question is, how would South Africa, cope with the tsunami, with the magnitude experienced by Japan recently? Will we ever cope, or else we be dependently be at the mercy of of donor countries?

Furthermore, are our academic institutes aligning themselves to be ready to produce well researched, innovative plans and ideas, that will be indeed, to some degree be mitigating the impact of climate change? South Africa, as the country has got the obligation to do its best, to ensure its citizens are well informed, so that they can do their much on their own, in line with the national objectives. The State must be at the frontline, to ensure that every things planned is implemented, and to  encourage the people to own the challenges of climate change, the better. For most of the climate change causes are man-made, as such the solutions are much likely to be  created by man himself thereof.

These call for best practices, that are naturally environmentally friendly and adoption of renewable, bio-energy initiatives are no longer matter of choice, but rule. Recycling must be indeed be rule, not just an option. Basically, these are the simple options to ordinary men and women of South Africa, to be as friendly as possible to Mother Earth for all creatures to benefit mutually. The onus is upon us to do the right thing, by all means possible. At times, the climate change concept  can be so scientifacally confusing, however our own simple initiatives will bit by bit untangle the complex challenges posed by it. Therefore, adoption of simple strategy, as simple, easy as greening,  recycling and solar energy utilization by us all, will indeed make a dent on mammoth challenge, as complex as climate change.

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Sithembiso Mahlaba

An agriculturist by profession, blogger by passion, prominent opinion-maker without favour or fear.

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13 January 2006

Sinn Féin on attack over aborted bill

Daily Ireland

Party hits back over SDLP criticism

Eamonn Houston

Sinn Féin last night hit back at criticism from the SDLP and direct-rule secretary of state over the party’s stance on the now aborted Northern Ireland (Offences Bill).
SDLP leader Mark Durkan and Secretary of State Peter Hain both attacked republicans for withdrawing support for controversial legislation which would have allowed security force killers to escape the courts.
Both claimed that Sinn Féin had been aware of the full implications of the legislation.
“How on earth they thought security forces could be excluded, I don’t know,” Mr Hain said yesterday.
Mr Durkan accused republicans of making a u-turn on a “dirty deal”.
He accused Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams of attempting to suppress the truth over Sinn Féin involvement in the legislation.
Mr Durkan said: “It is dishonest for Gerry Adams to claim that the OTR legislation was a major breach of Weston Park in 2001. The fact is that Sinn Féin negotiated a much more detailed side deal with the British Government at Hillsborough in 2003.
“It covered not just paramilitary killings, but state murders too. Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness know this. Martin McGuinness even defended that publicly.
“In fact, it was only after it was made clear by the British government that OTRs would have to appear publicly in court that Sinn Féin called for the Bill to be dropped. That - and the public pressure from victims of collusion who had been sold out - caused the Sinn Féin leadership to back down.”
However, Foyle Sinn Féin MLA Raymond McCartney accused the SDLP leader of peddling lies on the issue.
Mr McCartney told Daily Ireland: “Since the British government placed their legislation dealing with OTRs before the British House of Commons Mark Durkan has deliberately engaged in a campaign of lies, half truths and innuendo aimed at attacking Sinn Féin and those we represent. Mark Durkan needs to catch himself on.
“He shamefully attempted to use the victims of British State violence to score cheap political points. Ignoring the fact that neither he nor his party ever stood up and challenged the British State on its murder of citizens throughout 30 years.
“Mark Durkan, for whatever reason, has never challenged the human rights abuses of the RUC yet felt qualified to use the victims of that organisation to try and advance his own political agenda.”
Mr McCartney said that the legislation proposed by the British government had been in “clear breach” of what had been agreed at negotiations at Weston Park.
“It was not the SDLP attempts at political point scoring which brought the British government to the point of withdrawing the Bill,” he said.
“It was pressure put on the British government by Sinn Féin, who made it clear to the British Secretary of State that republicans would not support these measures if the clauses relating to British State forces remained.”
“There are no British OTRs. The proposed legislation did not do what was agreed at Weston Park and therefore had to be withdrawn,” he said.
Mr Hain said yesterday that the on-the-runs legislation was an essential building block in negotiations which led to last July’s groundbreaking declaration from the IRA that it was ending its armed campaign.

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Out on:Dual Format 27th March 2017

Ludwig - on Dual Format DVD + Blu-ray on 27 March 2017

Ludwig. He loved women. He loved men. He lived as controversially as he ruled. But he did not care what the world thought. He was the world.

A string of masterpieces behind him – including Ossessione, Senso, The Leopard and Death in Venice – the great Italian director Luchino Visconti turned his attentions to the life and death of King Ludwig II of Bavaria in 1972, resulting in an epic of 19th century decadence.

Dominated by Helmut Berger (The Damned, The Bloodstained Butterfly) in the title role, Ludwig nevertheless manages to find room for an impressive cast list: Romy Schneider (reprising her Elisabeth of Austria characterisation from the Sissi trilogy), Silvana Mangano (Bitter Rice), Gert Fröbe (Goldfinger), John Moulder-Brown (Deep End) and Trevor Howard (Brief Encounter) as Richard Wagner.

As opulent as any of Visconti’s epics – Piero Tosi’s costume design was nominated for an Academy Award – Ludwig is presented here in its complete form in accordance with the director’s wishes and features the English-language soundtrack for the first ever on home video.

4K restoration from the original film negative
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
Two viewing options: the full-length theatrical cut or as five individual parts
Original Italian soundtrack with optional English subtitles
Original English soundtrack available on home video for the first time ever with optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Brand-new interview with actor Helmut Berger
Luchino Visconti, an hour-long documentary portrait of the director by Carlo Lizzani (Wake Up and Kill, Requiescant) containing interviews with Burt Lancaster, Vittorio Gassman, Francesco Rosi, Claudia Cardinale and others
Speaking with Suso Cecchi d'Amico, an interview with the screenwriter
Silvana Mangano: The Scent Of A Primrose, a half-hour portrait of the actress
Theatrical trailer

First pressing only: Illustrated collector’s booklet containing new writing by Peter Cowie

RRP: £29.99
Rating: 12
Duration: 257 mins
Language: Italian / English
Subtitles: English / English SDH
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audio: Mono 1.0
Discs: 4
UK Cat No: FCD1431
UK Barcode: 5027035015996

Directed by: Luchino Visconti
Starring: Helmut Berger, Romy Schneider, Silvana Mangano

Arrow Academy
Release date
27th March, 2017


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Thursday, May 12, 2016

Habitable Exoplanets Catalog

HEC: Graphical Catalog Results

Last Update: May 11, 2016

The Habitable Exoplanets Catalog (HEC) list a selection of all known exoplanets
with any potential to support life, including some unconfirmed planets.

The catalog tries to be as open as possible as not to exclude any object of interest.
 The selection can be narrowed down as desired using more conservative criteria based
 on different habitability metrics.

The Data section has more technical details. Check the Methods section for
 an explanation of the metrics and classifications used here.

See the full version HERE

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Couple creates their own nature sanctuary from land deemed 'unusable,' demonstrating wildlife's amazing ability to bounce back

Couple creates their own nature sanctuary from land deemed 'unusable,' demonstrating wildlife's amazing ability to bounce back

Monday, May 09, 2016 by: Isabelle Z.

Usable land

(NaturalNews) When they bought 55 acres of abandoned land from debt-ridden farmers who were struggling to grow crops in 1991, Pamela and Anil Malhotra had one vision in mind: to show the world Mother Nature's incredible ability to regenerate itself when given the opportunity. That land has now become India's only private wildlife sanctuary, and has extended across 300 acres.

The Malhotras' land is known as the Save Animals Initiative (SAI) Sanctuary, and it is now thriving thanks to three simple but important rules that they set out: No poaching, no human interference and no chopping down of trees. The beautiful forest is home to a host of exotic animals such as Wild Boars, Hyenas, Asian Elephants, Leopards and Bengal Tigers. It boasts more than 300 species of birds and a number of species of aquatic fish and snakes, along with hundreds of native tree varieties and thick green cover.

This project shows the tremendous possibilities that can arise from restoring the balance necessary for nature to thrive.

Anil Malhotra said, "People think that animals need the forest. But the truth is, the forest needs the animals equally. While the forest helps animals in providing shelter and food, animals help forests in regeneration – they are both inter-dependent and we should make efforts to preserve both."

To illustrate this point, Pamela Malhotra explained that elephants can swallow seeds entirely without breaking them, despite the large size of the seeds. In fact, she said that 30 species of trees are completely dependent on elephants for their regeneration.

The couple also uses the land for organic farming, including approximately 15 acres of cardamom and 12 acres of coffee. Their sanctuary runs entirely on alternative energy sourcessuch as solar energy, and in 2014, it was awarded the "Wildlife and Tourism Initiative of the Year" by Sanctuary Asia. The couple initially invested their own money in the sanctuary, but they are now a registered not-for-profit trust run on tax-exempt donations.

Deforestation putting entire planet at risk

The deforestation that is taking place in the equatorial region is the driving force behind theworld's water crisis, and is leading to a devastating loss of animal, plant and insect species, putting the overall balance of our planet at great risk. This same lack of water that prompted farmers to sell their barren land to the Malhotras to pay off debts, is also what spurs other farmers to use herbicides and fertilizers, which cause even more harm to the environment.

Deforestation remains a large problem throughout the world. Nearly half of the planet's ten million plant, animal and microorganism species are projected to be either destroyed or seriously threatened in the next 25 years as a result of the deforestation of rain forests, and it is believed that 137 animal and plant species are lost each day.

If you think that doesn't affect you, think again: More than 3,000 plants are thought to be active against cancer cells, and a staggering 70 percent of these are only found in rain forests. Those are just the ones we know about; it's possible that these plants could also hold the answer to countless other health problems, and they could even cure cancer or AIDS.

Wildlife can bounce back remarkably

The Malhotras, for their part, have accomplished their goal. Their land has proven that when humans stop interfering with nature, the earth and the life it contains is able to thrive.

"Our aim is to preserve the flora and fauna, especially the rainforests, for the future generation. We believe that when we die we should give back the same (if not better) Earth which we got from our ancestors to the next generation," Anil said.

Sources include:

Monday, May 9, 2016

The Seas Could Turn to Sulfur -- By Peter D. Ward

The Seas Could Turn to Sulfur
By Peter D. Ward

Peter Ward conducts his research within The Environment Institute's Sprigg Geobiolgy Centre at the University of Adelaide.

Peter Ward has been active in Paleontology, Biology, and more recently, Astrobiology for more than 40 years. Since his Ph.D. in 1976, Ward has published more than 140 scientific papers dealing with paleontological, zoological, and astronomical topics.

He is an acknowledged world expert on mass extinctions and the role of extraterrestrial impacts on Earth. Ward was the Principal Investigator of the University of Washington node of the NASA Astrobiology Institute from 2001-2006, and in that capacity led a team of over 40 scientists and students. His career was profiled by the Pulitzer Prize winning reporter William Dietrich in The Seattle Times article "Prophet, Populist, Poet of Science."

Peter has written a memoir of his research on the Nautilus for Nautilus magazine's "Ingenious" feature entitled "Nautilus and me. My wonderful, dangerous life with the amazing Nautilus."

His books include the best-selling "Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe" (co-author Donald Brownlee, 2000), "Under a Green Sky: Global Warming, the Mass Extinctions of the Past, and What They Can Tell Us About Our Future" (2007), and "The Medea Hypothesis: Is Life on Earth Ultimately Self-Destructive?" (2009).

Question: What non-greenhouse extinction events have happened in the past, and are they likely to recur?

Peter Ward: Well, we certainly know that we were hit 65 million years ago by a very large rock from space, Hollywood knows this with the two blockbusters, “Armageddon” and “Deep Impact,” so it must be true. It was really interesting, in ’95, Spielberg sent his minions to a conference to where a number of us were attending about this particular hit and indeed, there is a great danger out there. We are surrounded by asteroids, some become berth crossing. Jupiter has a way of perturbing comets and sending them from stable orbits to earth-crossing orbits. We will get hit again. How big the hit will be is only a matter of time until we get something the same size that killed off the dinosaurs, should humanity last long enough that is. But that size hit looks like only once every 100 million years, or more. We haven’t had a hit that size for the last 500 million years. So, it does look like it is a rare event to have something that big; a 10 kilometer asteroid hit us.

Question: Given the low number of extinction events in recent Earth history, are we “due” for another?

Peter Ward: Well, no, it’s just the whole sense of when is it going to happen again and it appears that most of the big mass extinctions have been caused by these nasty volcanic events. The last one didn’t cause a mass extinction. It was in the Tertiary Period. This was in my own home state, Washington State, the Columbia River Basalts. Out came all this basalt, as liquid lava, and a lot of the carbon dioxide came out too, but not enough to cause the earth to go into a really nasty mass extinction. The mass extinctions caused by the basalts again, are simply by heating the world. Now when you heat the world you heat the pole more than you do the equatorial region. When that happens, you start losing circulation. The only reason you have wind now is you have a hot spot and a cold spot and they’re trying to equilibrate. Well, an ocean current you have the same thing. You have a cold Antarctic and then you warm them up, the ocean circulation system is dampened down; there’s much less heat difference.

So when we heated the poles to the point that there is no longer – or already in a very sluggish ocean circulation, the ocean is going oxic, they lose their oxygen. They only keep oxygenated now because of this vigorous mixing. Well, even when you have oxygen in the atmosphere and contact with the surface, once you slow down any circulation, that whole basin can lose this oxygen. The Black Sea is the same case. It’s sits under a 21% oxygen atmosphere, and yet the Black Sea, except for the top several meters, in anoxic. It’s black because it’s producing a lot of sulfur-producing bacteria and there’s very nasty gasses that are produced.

We now think the big mass extinctions were caused by global anoxia. The oceans themselves so sluggish that the hydrogen sulfide bacteria are produced in huge areas of the ocean bottom bubbles up to the surface and starts killing things; rotten egg killing. It would be extremely nasty. Hydrogen Sulfide poisoning is a horrible death. Two hundred hydrogen sulfide molecules among a million air molecules is enough to kill a human. I mean, just breathing in 200 of those little things amid all the million you’re got in oxygen and boom, you’re down, horribly down.

So, this is a really nasty poison and it was certainly present in past oceans during these short-term global warming events. That’s why it’s really spooky what we’re doing now.

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

SARAH KNAPTON -- Dead could be brought 'back to life' in groundbreaking project

A man lies in a coma

Scientists believe that a combination of therapies could stimulate regeneration  CREDIT:GETTY

3 MAY 2016 • 12:15PM

A groundbreaking trial to see if it is possible to regenerate the brains of dead people, has won approval from health watchdogs.

biotech company in the US has been granted ethical permission to recruit 20 patients who have been declared clinically dead from a traumatic brain injury, to test whether parts of their central nervous system can be brought back to life.

Scientists will use a combination of therapies, which include injecting the brain with stem cells and a cocktail of peptides, as well as deploying lasers and nerve stimulation techniques which have been shown to bring patients out of comas.

The trial participants will have been certified dead and only kept alive through life support. They will be monitored for several months using brain imaging equipment to look for signs of regeneration, particularly in the upper spinal cord - the lowest region of the brain stem which controls independent breathing and heartbeat.

The team believes that the brain stem cells may be able to erase their history and re-start life again, based on their surrounding tissue – a process seen in the animal kingdom in creatures like salamanders who can regrow entire limbs.

Dr Ira Pastor, the CEO of Bioquark Inc. said: “This represents the first trial of its kind and another step towards the eventual reversal of death in our lifetime.
“We just received approval for our first 20 subjects and we hope to start recruiting patients immediately from this first site – we are working with the hospital now to identify families where there may be a religious or medical barrier to organ donation.

"To undertake such a complex initiative, we are combining biologic regenerative medicine tools with other existing medical devices typically used for stimulation of the central nervous system, in patients with other severe disorders of consciousness.

 “We hope to see results within the first two to three months."

A doctors looks at an MRS scan

The patients will be monitored using MRI scans for several months  CREDIT: CHRONIS JONS

The ReAnima Project has just received approach from an Institutional Review Board at the National Institutes of Health in the US and in India, and the team plans to start recruiting patients immediately.

SARAH KNAPTON --First hint of 'life after death' in biggest ever scientific study

A bright light behind some trees
Some cardiac arrest patients recalled seeing a bright light; a golden flash or the Sun shining CREDIT: SHAUN WILKINSON/ALAMY

Death is a depressingly inevitable consequence of life, but now scientists believe they may have found some light at the end of the tunnel.

The largest ever medical study into near-death and out-of-body experiences has discovered that some awareness may continue even after the brain has shut down completely.

SARAH KNAPTON --Bright flash of light marks incredible moment life begins when sperm meets egg

uman life begins in bright flash of light as a sperm meets an egg,scientists have shown for the first time, after capturing the astonishing ‘fireworks’ on film.

An explosion of tiny sparks erupts from the egg at the exact moment of conception.
Scientists had seen the phenomenon occur in other animals but it is the first time is has been also shown to happen in humans.

Not only is it an incredible spectacle, highlighting the very moment that a new life begins, the size of the flash can be used to determine the quality of the fertilised egg.
Researchers from Northwestern University, in Chicago, noticed that some of the eggs burn brighter than others, showing that they are more likely to produce a healthy baby.

Eggs flash as they meet sperm enzyme, capturing the moment that life begins

9 Video Documentaries about the Universe

space photos

The universe is a vast, incredible thing. Most people think they have some degree of understanding of how it works, but the more they learn about it, the more they realize that much of it is beyond the average person’s comprehension. Luckily, some people have created some truly fantastic documentaries and videos that can teach even the most non-scientific person out there a whole lot about the universe. Here are nine such incredible videos, but be warned – you may end up being even more curious after watching them!

00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

Click upon the circle after the small square for captions

How to Digitally Record/Video a UFO sighting:

Como registar digitalmente ou gravar um vídeo de um avistamento de um UFO:

Stabilize the camera on a tripod. If there is no tripod, then set it on top of a stable, flat surface. If that is not possible lean against a wall to stabilize your body and prevent the camera from filming in a shaky, unsteady manner.

Estabilize a camera com um tripé. Se não tiver um tripé, então coloque-a em cima de uma superfície estável. Se não for possível, então encoste-se a uma parede para estabilizar o corpo e evitar que a camera registe de maneira tremida e instável.

Provide visual reference points for comparison. This includes the horizon, treetops, lampposts, houses, and geographical landmarks (i.e., Horsetooth Reservoir, Mt. Adams, etc.) Provide this in the video whenever is appropriate and doesn’t detract from what your focus is, the UFO.

Forneça pontos visuais de referência para comparação. Isso inclui o horizonte, cimo das árvores, postes de iluminação, pontos de referência geográficos (como o Reservatório de Horsetooth, Mone Adams, etc) Forneça esses pontos no vídeo sempre que for apropriado e não se distraia do que é o seu foco, o UFO/a Nave.

Narrate your videotape. Provide details of the date, time, location, and direction (N,S,E,W) you are looking in. Provide your observations on the weather, including approximate temperature, windspeed, any visible cloud cover or noticeable weather anomalies or events. Narrate on the shape, size, color, movements, approximate altitude of the UFO, etc and what it appears to be doing. Also include any unusual physical, psychological or emotional sensations you might have. Narrate any visual reference points on camera so they correlate with what the viewer will see, and thereby will be better able to understand.

Faça a narração do vídeo. Forneça pormenores sobre a data, hora, local e direcção (Norte, Sul, Este, Oeste) que está a observar. Faça observações sobre as condições atmosféricas, incluindo a temperatura aproximada, velocidade do vento, quantidade de nuvens, anomalias ou acontecimentos meteorológicos evidentes. Descreva a forma, o tamanho, a cor, os movimentos, a altitude aproximada onde se encontra o UFO/nave, etc e o que aparenta estar a fazer. Inclua também quaisquer aspectos pouco habituais de sensações físicas, psicológicas ou emocionais que possa ter. Faça a narração de todos os pontos de referência visual que o espectador irá ver e que, deste modo, será capaz de compreender melhor.

Be persistent and consistent. Return to the scene to videotape and record at this same location. If you have been successful once, the UFO sightings may be occurring in this region regularly, perhaps for specific reasons unknown, and you may be successful again. You may also wish to return to the same location at a different time of day (daylight hours) for better orientation and reference. Film just a minute or two under “normal” circumstances for comparison. Write down what you remember immediately after. As soon as you are done recording the experience/event, immediately write down your impressions, memories, thoughts, emotions, etc. so it is on the record in writing. If there were other witnesses, have them independently record their own impressions, thoughts, etc. Include in this exercise any drawings, sketches, or diagrams. Make sure you date and sign your documentation.

Seja persistente e não contraditório. Volte ao local da cena e registe o mesmo local. Se foi bem sucedido uma vez, pode ser que nessa região ocorram avistamentos de UFOs/naves com regularidade, talvez por razões específicas desconhecidas, e talvez possa ser novamente bem sucedido. Pode também desejar voltar ao mesmo lugar a horas diferentes do dia (durante as horas de luz)para ter uma orientação e referência melhor. Filme apenas um ,inuto ou dois em circunstâncias “normais” para ter um termo de comparação. Escreva tudo o que viu imediatamente após o acontecimento. Logo após ter feito o registo da experiência/acontecimento, escreva imediatamente as impressões, memórias, pensamentos, emoções, etc para que fiquem registadas por escrito. Se houver outras testemunhas, peça-lhes para registar independentemente as suas próprias impressões, pensamentos, etc. Inclua quaisquer desenhos, esbolos, diagramas. Certifique-se que data e assina o seu documento/testemunho.

Always be prepared. Have a digital camera or better yet a video camera with you, charged and ready to go, at all times. Make sure you know how to use your camera (and your cell phone video/photo camera) quickly and properly. These events can occur suddenly, unexpectedly, and often quite randomly, so you will need to be prepared.

Esteja sempre preparado, Tenha sempre uma camera digital, melhor ainda, uma camera vídeo consigo, carregada e pronta a usar sempre que necessário. Certifique-se que sabe como lidar com a sua camera (ou com o seu celular/camera fotográfica) rápida e adequadamente. Esses acontecimentos podem acontecer súbita e inesperadamente e, por vezes, acidentalmente, por isso, necessita estar preparado.

Look up. Be prepared. Report. Share.

Olhe para cima, Esteja preparado, Relate, Partilhe.

Pf., clique no símbolo do YouTube e depois no quadrado pequeno, em baixo, ao lado direito para obter as legendas CC, e escolha PORTUGUÊS

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What time is Around the World?

AND YOU AND I - click image

NGC - UFO's in EUROPE (Porugal included)

FEBRUARY 7, 2013 - 7:00PM EST

FEBRUARY 7, 2013 - 7:00PM EST