Political coins for our times

As we live through current events, perhaps a look back at previous tremendous times might give some sense of balance. Andrew Jackson is today a controversial figure in American history, but he was popular during his presidency—only to have his fiscal policies turn to economic disaster during the administration of his hand-picked successor, Martin Van Buren. Political coins were popular tokens during the early 19th Century. Here we have two such “coins.” In size and copper makeup, they are like the United States large cent of that period (which in turn was modeled after the British penny). The date of these tokens is not certain, but the clearly relate to the Jackson and Van Buren administrations, and the one date of 1837 suggests that they were minted in response to the Panic of 1837—the worst economic crisis the United States would face until the Great Depression of the 1930s. 

 

 In the first picture we see the two tokens placed with a 1846 one cent piece for scale. Below is a closeup of the obverse of the two tokens and below the reverse of the same tokens. 

 

 To the left we see an image of Jackson, sword in one hand, money bag in the other emerging from a treasure chest. The inscription reads: “I TAKE THE RESPONSIBILITY.” The reverse shows the Jacksonian donkey or Jackass (still the symbol of the Democratic Party) with the text: “THE CONSTITUTION AS I UNDERSTAND IT,” with “ROMAN FIRMNESS and “VETO” above and below the donkey. The donkey’s body once had letters, but only a ‘D’ remains. [Jackson was the first president to actively use the veto power.] 

 

To the right we see a turtle with a money box on its back labeled “FISCAL AGENT.” The words “EXECUTIVE EXPERIMENT” and the date 1837 complete the lettering except for a label on the money box which might read “SUB TREASURY.” On the reverse of this token, the Jacksonian donkey again appears, this time running, with the motto, “I FOLLOW IN THE STEPS OF MY ILLUSTRIOUS PREDECESSOR”: an obvious reference to Van Buren’s sticking to Jackson’s fiscal policies. 

Yes, the donkey or jackass as a symbol of the Democratic Party dates back before Thomas Nast, and yes, what happened then led to the formation of modern American political parties. Back then, people didn’t put sign in their yards, they carried around tokens instead, which they gave away or even used as money.

Dad in the war

A salute to my father on Father’s Day.
I’ve read a bit recently of “Antifa” as if it is a scary, dangerous term. But I believe that it stands for “Anti-fascist.” Aren’t fascists what we fought a huge war to rid our world of? If “fascist” means dictatorships that led to millions of deaths of innocent people, then I’m an Antifa.
My father fought in World War II to rid this world of fascist governments. He was an officer in the anti-tank battalion attached to the 10th Mountain Division—the best-educated, highly-trained and one of the most effective combat units the US army ever fielded. Three pictures from his service:
The portrait of my dad was taken in Italy where he fought. The mustache disappeared the moment he got home and my mother took one look and said “shave it off.”
The second picture has an interesting history. Immediately after the successful night-time assault on Riva Ridge, members of the 10th put together an aerial tramway to quickly haul supplies and ammo up the mountain and evacuate wounded. My father was in charge of the low end. He appears in this picture on the far right without a helmet. A couple of reporters/photographers approached my father and asked if they could hitch a ride up the tramway to get to the front. Dad refused them permission since the upward flow of ammo and supplies at that point was critical. So the press guys were stuck taking this picture of the bottom end of the tramway. This photograph appeared in the December 8th, 1945 issue of the Saturday Evening Post in an article on the 10th that helped make the division famous.
The last picture is my father’s medals:
European/North Africa theater with two battle stars (North Apennines and Po Valley), World War II Victory medal and the Bronze Star—not easy to get back in those days. But the badge Dad wore with pride is the Combat Infantry Badge at top.

Please remember those who fought—many who did not come home—to save our country and the world from selfish, psychopathic men and their followers.

Beetle now available in print

After some thought, I have withdrawn my ebook versions of the Beetle stories and republished them as a single, stand-alone novel with the Hemlock Lodge Press logo. It is now available from your local book store via Ingram, or through Amazon. Take an look.

Synopsis: Lanie Whitehead, a smartass, interfering but compassionate virtual girl, attempts to insure a future for her nerdy creator and his girlfriend during their last year on a university campus. How do paranoid administrators and a possessive former boyfriend deal with a person who does not really exist, can walk through any wall, listen to any conversation, but cannot ever leave campus or actually touch anything inanimate? And what is she to do if her computer shuts off, and when someone turns it back on, it's a dozen years later, and every person she knows is gone? Being a super-smart virtual girl, Lanie investigates, discovers the truth and kicks butt. A bitter-sweet, often funny story of courage, growth, love and finding understanding.

Crossover fiction set in the near future.

My postings around the web.

For those of you who are my Blog followers, and others as well: you may have noticed that I have not posted here as frequently as in the past.

I am still posting.
For reports on my writings and book marketing efforts, I recommend checking my facebook page for the Hemlock Lodge Press: https://www.facebook.com/WesLoderBooksFromTheLodge/
 For postings on family and photography, you might want to check my personal facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/michael.w.loder
For postings on my camera research, you might want to check my camera blog: http://wesloderandnikon.blogspot.com/

Still intend to do more posting here as the opportunity arises. Thank you for your interest and support.

First Castle

For those of you who have been following the construction of the castle for my grandchildren on this blog, here is a picture of the first "Fort-cum-castle" I had my hand in. I built it all by myself, using old lumber from the former mill and pighouse on our farm. I finished it in November 1960, and would have been fifteen at the time. It was two stories plus the tower.

Children's historical novel soon available.

In May 2018, my new historical novel, Taken beyond the Ohio: the Indian Captivity of Marie LeRoy and Barbara Leininger, should be available for purchase via Ingram and Amazon Books.

Synopsis:
At the outbreak of the French and Indian War in Pennsylvania, Indian raiders took two neighboring, twelve-year-old girls prisoner. Marie LeRoy and Barbara Leininger both witnessed the killing of their fathers and the destruction of their homes, then lived together with their captors for over three years. They learned Indian ways and moved five times, finally ending up in central Ohio. But neither fully accepted their adoption. In March 1759, along with two other young captives, they escaped, walking almost 200 miles through near-winter wilderness to Fort Pitt and freedom. The first-person voice of Marie LeRoy gives this fictional recreation of an actual experience immediacy and provides understanding of what both girls experienced. It follows the girls’ own narrative, but fills in many details of a challenging, sometimes brutal ordeal from which both girls still emerged strong and whole. It is a story of friendship, courage and resourcefulness driven by a constant need to regain family and home.

This is a true story of survival that should interest both girls or boys, but it should also appeal to teachers searching for fiction to use in history curricula. The 282 page story includes end notes and an extensive bibliography.


 Published under the Hemlock Lodge Press imprint.
Kutztown, Pennsylvania

With numerous illustrations.
Printed and distributed by Blurb publications. Available from Amazon and through Ingram. Also available at the Firefly Bookstore in Kutztown, PA .
ISBN: 9781388685737 (softcover) list: $12.75
ISBN: 9781388685249 (hardcover) list: $27.50

This book was a labor of love. The story of Barbara Leininger's younger sister, Regina, who was kidnapped at the same time, usually gets all the attention. LeRoy is all too often the forgotten part of the story. But I spent a long time doing the research, and Linda and I traveled across Pennsylvania and out to the middle of Ohio retracing the girls' route and visiting the places they lived. I wanted to get the girls' story as accurate and faithful to what happened as possible. Their courage still impresses me today.

Various pictures shot on film

Scott & Charlotte coming off Mt. Kearsarge, NH

Our humble home

Battlements of the Loder castle

Moses and Lego box

Brandon, LisaandLinda picking wineberries

In the Whites