3133 - Denver Colorado, USA

A great card from the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, Wyoming.

William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody was born in 1948 in Iowa Territory. Soon after he was born the family moved back to Cody's father's hometown in Toronto Township, Upper Canada (Mississauga
, Ontario today). Cody's father was anti-slavery so when they moved back to the United States, he would speak out against it. This led to death threats.

Eleven year old Bill had to take a job as a "boy extra" with a freight carrier after his father died. At 14 he decided to travel to California to mine for gold. On the way, though, he joined up with the Pony Express.

Cody joined the Union Army during the American Civil War and worked as a teamster with Company H, 7th Kansas Cavalry. He was discharged soon after the war's end. He re-joined the army in 1868 as a dispatch rider, and then as the Chief of Scouts for the 5th Cavalry Regiment and 3rd Cavalry.

He won the Medal of Honor in 1872 during the Indian Wars.

Cody received his nickname when he worked a contract to supply Kansas Pacific Railroad workers with buffalo meat. It is said he killed almost 4300 buffalo in 18 months in 1867-1868.

Cody started his wild west show in 1872, with friend Texas Jack Omohundro. In 1873 he invited "Wild Bill" Hickok to join. Hickok didn't enjoy the show and left soon after. Over the next several years he included cowboys, American Indians, Turks, gauchos, Arabs, Mongols, and Georgians. Sitting Bull participated for a time. Annie Oakley and husband Frank Butler were sharpshooters. Re-enactments of the Pony Express, Indian attacks on wagon trains, and stagecoach robberies were a big part of the show. The show went overseas to Europe in 1889 and Cody got to meet Pope Leo XIII.

Edison Studios were filmed for an early silent film, Buffalo Bill.

Buffalo Bill died in 1917 in Denver, Colorado. He was baptized a Catholic the day before his death. He was buried on Lookout Mountain, in Golden, Colorado as it overlooked the Great Plains

3227 - Mölln, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Mölln is a small city of about 20 000 located in northern Germany. The Elbe-Lübeck Canal flows through the town, and there are eight small lakes that surround the city. It was founded in the 12th century and was a part of the Old Salt Route. Salt that was produced in the salt mines of Lower-Saxony was shipped to the Baltic Sea. Till Eulenspiegel, a legendary trickster known for exposing vices and provoking thought, is said to have lived in Mölln the last year of his life. He apparently died of the plague in 1350, but his existence has never been proven. Mölln has several monuments dedicated to him.

3322 - Hamburg, Germany

Happy birthday to me! What a lovely handmade card from the sender. Beautiful penmanship. Am Rothenbaum is the site of the main court of the German Open Tennis Championships. The International German Open has been played at the Rothernbaum since 1892, making it Germany's longest running tennis tournament. The current stadium was built in 1999 and can hold 13 200 people.

3232 - Manitowoc, Wisconsin, United States of America

The Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal North Pierhead Light was built in 1882. There were nine keepers of the light until 1897. It was redesigned in 1903 and is 12 meters high. The Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal was started in 1872 and wasn't opened for large-scale watercraft until 1890. The canal is 2.1 kilometers long that goes from Sturgeon Bay in Lake Michigan to Green Bay. There are no locks on this canal. The canal was sold to the United States government in 1893 and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains the canal.

Search This Blog