Jim Nolan's Blog

Howie Mook Restores the Lettering on a Buffalo Forge Grill

Done by Howie's steady hand. Nice job, Howie! For more of Howie's masterful Buffalo Forge and bbq work, look here. 

Snow Angel Cartoon by Isabella Bannerman

Today's "Six Chix" cartoon. You can listen to my essay about snow shoveling here, and see a photo of my dad in 1932 on Granger Place in Buffalo, shovel in hand.

Phil Marino's 1966 White Star Camper

Photo credit: Phil Marino

A while back Buffalo Forge expert Phil Marino sent me this picture of his totally awesome camper. He's how Phil describes it:

"I spent a spring restoring it to useable shape when my kids were small. It’s a 66 White Star built in Indiana. I found it on line and drove to Detroit to pick it up. It had been well used so I just wanted to fix it up so it was clean and still vintage looking. By no means a professional or historically accurate restoration.

"Initially I sanded all the paneling down & cupboard doors and stained them, took off all the hardware and painted it. Fixed a soft spot in the floor and put down some vinyl tile over the dried out & busted linoleum. I fixed a bunch of broken windows, undercoated the frame, painted the tongue and bumper, got new LP tanks and a new regulator along with new hefty safety chains.

"The next year I got a small leak and sealed the roof with rubberized RV roof paint. I had to replace the front sill and the curved piece of wood at the kitchen end of the trailer from the water damage.

"I put some nice old Ford hub caps on it that year too.

"The door still needed some attention. The previous owner had put a large sheet of aluminum flashing on the inside, I assumed to cover some bad wood. I let it go the first few years. Two years ago someone held up the gas station near where I was storing the camper and the guy broke the jalousie window on the door of my camper to enter & change clothes. This was in the winter so I just secured the window with some wood.

"That spring I straightened the window frame and found a new crank and gear set up to open the window. My wife had knee surgery last summer so we weren’t able to do any camping.

"Just last week I finally removed the aluminum flashing piece, sealed up the door and put on a piece of birch wood in place of the aluminum.

"It’s definitely not showroom but it’s nice and cute and a fun little camper. Sleeps 6 people if you can believe it. I was looking for an old Shasta from the 50’s with a  beautiful birchwood interior when I bought this one. The Shasta’s we going for 5 to 8 grand. I picked mine up for much much less than that."

Thanks for telling us about the project, Phil! It must really start some conversations on your travels. 

Margarita Cartoon by Isabella Bannerman

We were on the right hand side of this cartoon yesterday. Happy President's Day.

Swedish Winter Stamp

A beautifully designed and drawn stamp sent to my mother Christa by her brother Heye Paul. Looks like the postmark says "Vikingstad," which is the small town near Linköping where Heye and his wife Maria used to live (in Rappestad). I can't quite make out the date. It looks like 10. 9. 73? (September 10, 1973?) You can see more Swedish stamps from Heye here. 

Mamie Moran Wearing 1920's Outfit

My grandfather's sister Mamie and her husband Ross Moran. Mamie was a fashion plate and a beauty, and liked to pinch my brother Chris's cheeks. Mamie, Ross, and my grandmother and grandfather lived on Parkside Avenue in Buffalo across from the lawn bowling field. It had a huge horse chestnut tree in the front yard. I wish I knew where this photo was taken. It may be somewhere in Canada, where Ross was from. I love Ross's shoes. Mamie worked as an assistant to one of the Schoellkopfs, a family of Buffalo industrialists. Click to enlarge.

"łi Ta'a: Glacier Water," A Dena'ina Story by Antone Evan

Qizjeh Vena (Lake Clark), flying through Lake Clark Pass. Photo by Karen E. Evanoff.

Antone Evan traces the path of a glacier in an interview with Priscilla Russell, transcribed by Albert Wassille. It's from Dela'ina Ełnena, A Celebration: Voices of the Dena'ina, which is edited by Lake Clark National Park Service cultural anthropologist Karen Evanoff. There is a free PDF of the book online. I love the next-to-last line, "That glacial water travels farther than human beings, that water goes farther than people can travel." Richard "Dick" Proenneke was a wonderful writer on Twin Lakes (Niłqidlen Vena). Dela'ina Ełnena demonstrates that he lived in a land of many incredible stories.

Photo of Antone Evan from Dela'ina Ełnena, A Celebration: Voices of the Dena'ina. Photographer unknown. My friend Beth tells me he is wearing a hide jacket.

Dena'ina: The People Before Richard Proenneke

A terrific book sent to me a while back by historian John Branson's colleague Karen E. Evanoff, a cultural anthropologist with the Lake Clark National Park Service. There is a free PDF of the book here. It contains fantastic recollections and stories by Dena'ina Athabascans, who've lived in the Lake Clark area for thousands of years. You can hear an interview with Evanoff on Alaska Public Radio here. Below I post a map from the book. At the top you'll find Twin Lakes, where Richard "Dick" Proenneke lived and wrote from 1968 to 1999. According to Branson, "The Dena'ina word for Twin Lakes is Niłqidlen Vena or 'lakes that flow into one another'." Click to enlarge.

Photo of Playwright Adolf Paul

Adolf and Natalie Paul's grandkids from their son Bengt (a.k.a. my grandather Benekiki) and daughter-in-law Hildegard Koenig. From left, Birgit Stolt, Heye Paul, Adolf, and Christa Nolan (a.k.a. my mom). Later in life Adolf's eyes became sensitive to the sun; that's why they're closed. I'm guessing this shot is from around 1939. He died in 1943.

German Biedermeier Dress, 1919

My German grandmother, Hildegard Koenig Paul, future journalist. I have her portable Erika typewriter. My cousin Veronica Stolt has translated the back caption for me.

Veronica writes: "I asked my mother [Birgit Stolt] about the scribblings on the back of the picture of Hildegard in front of the wallpaper. It says, "Ich in meinem goldgelben Biedermeier zu unserm Maskenball 1919," which means "Me in my golden yellow Biedermeier for our Masquerade Ball, 1919." (Biedermeier was a style that developed right before the industrial revolution.) My mother is puzzled by the comment 'Robert' and 'Morgan Koenig.'"

Now that I know the dress is in yellow, I wish even more that the photo were in color. You can read more about Hildegard here.