Remember Our Soldiers Who Died




Sgt. Stubby – Dog Hero of WWI















The Promise – Chapter One







An Appeal To Heaven








an appeal to heaven




Oldest Bridge in Connecticut


mill brook bridge 2





mill brook bridge

Unfortunately the bridge was destroyed by a flood in March 2010.

Frog Fight Of 1754








frog bridge


Books by Carolyn Torbett Johnson

The Promise


Oklahoma Bound



Angel Glow At The Battle Of Shiloh

battle-of-shiloh_5At the battle of Shiloh, 16,000 men were wounded and 3,000 were killed. The medics could not care for this enormous need adequately, so many of the wounded and dying were left on the battlefield for two days. This was a swampy region and many were stuck lying in mud and stagnant water. To make matters worse, it happened to be raining off and on for those two days.

While waiting in the muck and mire, some of the wounds began to glow a faint blue color. When the soldiers were finally treated, the men who reported the glow had a higher survival rate than those who did not see a glow. The wounds that glowed had less infection and healed faster. They, also, seemed to scar less. The soldiers nicknamed it, Angel’s Glow.

These accounts were chalked up as forklore until 2001.

In 2001, two high school boys, William Martin and Jonathan Curtis did a science fair project. They wanted to prove there really was an Angel’s Glow.

They showed how tiny parasitic worms known as nematodes carry a bacteria called photorhabdus luminescens which glows in the dark. Luminous_BacteriaThe nematodes burrow into larvae then vomit out photorhabdus luminescens bacteria which causes the larvae to die. It also kills any bacteria in the larvae. The boys showed how this bacteria could also have gotten into the wounds of the soldiers killing the bad bacteria.

The problem with this theory is that photorhabdus luminescens bacteria can not survive in a warm human body. The boys explanation was simple. The battle of Shiloh took place in late April, which is a cool month. The men laid in water and were rained on causing hypothermia. Their body temperatures were at a point where photorhabdus luminescens bacteria could survive, killing the harmful bacteria. When the men were warmed up, the temperature killed the photorhabdus luminescens bacteria.

Bat Bombs Of World War II

I have long been aware of bats being a gentle, beneficial part of our ecology. But I was amazed when I heard of a top secret unit in World War II working on developing a bat bomb.

The idea was conceived by a Pennsylvania dentist name Lytle S. Adams. He was a friend of Eleanor Roosevelt. He outlined a plan to arm bats with bombs that could be ignited to start fires. The plan was accepted and sent to the military under top secret status.

First, a container bomb was developed to house a thousand bats. This is a container bomb from Wikipedia. It had layers of trays inside to divide bats. Each bat was equipped with a small incendiary device strapped to it. Louie Fieser, inventor of the nepalm, designed half ounce and one ounce timed incendiary devices for the creatures.


The plan was to drop the container bomb from 5000 feet. A parachute would be attached to the bomb. The bats would be released around 1000 feet. The bats would disperse to varies places. In the morning they would hide in the cracks of the highly flammable Japanese buildings. The timed devices would then be ignited, causing widespread fires.

Plans were made to have ten B-24 bombers from Alaska carry a hundred bat shells. This would release 1,040,000 bat incendiary bombs over the industrial cities of Osaka Bay.

Tests were done. Unfortunately in one test, some bats were accidentCarlsbad_AAF_Fire_after_Bat_Bomb_Accidently released and caused fires at the military base in New Mexico.  This is a picture of the devastation on the base.

Picture from Wikipedia




Another test in Utah included a fake Japanese village built for demonstration. Those watching felt the bombing was a success.

The program was cancelled in 1944 after spending two million on development. It was felt that the research was progressing too slow. It was reported that the founder of the idea made a statement saying we could have devastated Japan with the bat fires and sustained very little loss of life. Instead we sent an atom bomb.


Hawaiians Emigrate To Oregon

While visiting our son in Oregon, my husband and I took an afternoon to visit the history museum in Portland. One display in the Oregon history piqued my curiosity. It told of Hawaiians traveling to Oregon and Washington in the 1800s. I couldn’t help but ask myself, why? Granted Oregon is gorgeous but what did it have to lure Hawaiians.

Researching the subject, here is what I found. In 1842 approximately 500 Hawaiians lived in the Northwest. It seems emigration started the beginning of 1800s. After Lewis and Clark’s expedition, fur traders became very interested in the Northwest.  Traders, such as Hudson Bay Co, often used the Hawaiian Islands (or Sandwich Islands as they were known then) as a stopping place, coming from the Orient.

One American fur magnate, John Jacob Aster, sent two ships to the Columbia River. On the way they stopped in Hawaii and picked up forty Hawaiian workers with the approval of King Kamahameha.

Some historians feel the Hawaiians were anxious to leave the island because of the devastation occurring on the islands due to measles and small pox epidemics.

The traders were glad to get the Hawaiians. They were known for being hardworking, great navigators and ship builders. They were pleasant, agreeable people. They also were excellent swimmers. This was a plus for many non-swimming trappers. The trappers would put an Hawaiian rescuer in each canoe, in case it overturned.

The law forbade Hawaiians from marrying caucasian women, so the trade companies encouraged them to marry native Americans. They hoped this would keep them settled in the Northwest.

At that time, Hawaiians were called either Hawaiian, Kanakas (Hawaiian word for person) or Owyhee. Many places in the Northwest show the Hawaiian influence. Owyhee River, Kalama Washington are just a couple of examples.

old coxThis is  a picture of Naukane or Old Cox as he was known. It is from the Royal Ontario Museum. He traveled in 1847 for the Pacific Fur Company. He was the first Polynesian to travel into the interior and helped establish the first inland post, known as Spokane House.



Other Information on the Hawaiian Emigrants:

Leaving Paradise: Indigenous Hawaiians In The Pacific Northwest by Jean Barmen & Bruce McIntyre Watson

Hawaiians In Early Oregon by Robert Carlton Clark – Oregon Historical Quarterly Vol. 35 No. 1 Oregon Historical Society