Muslims Destroy British WWII Cemetery in Libya

WW II - British Military Cemetery in Libya .

Every time a joke and or cartoon is made about the Koran, the whole world turns upside down. And we are all called racists!

However they appear to do whatever they like and no one says anything.

See this video while it's available and before it is removed.

  http://www.youtube.com/embed/RtgbvotqVFE?rel=0

Then please pass it on.

Supreme Court Says Christianity Is False, Immoral, Destructive

The Supreme Court has ruled:

1. Christianity is false: it teaches homosexual acts are a perversion of sex; but we know they are healthy and good for those who prefer to do them
2. Christianity is immoral: it teaches that people who commit homosexual acts are sinning; but we know they are sinning by disparaging homosexual acts and, by extension, those who like to participate in them.
3. Christianity is socially destructive: it teaches that good people should discourage homosexual acts for the sake of everyone, especially those tempted to them; and we know that such judgments are oppressive of a minority and therefore anti-social.

In all of this, the “libertarian” option has proved to be a bait and switch. Keep the government out of the bedroom has now become the demand for punishing businesses, private schools, and soon churches who will not desist “to ‘disparage,’ ‘injure,’ ‘degrade,’ ‘demean,’ and ‘humiliate’” those who now hold the whip.

The majority of this court has condemned as evil anyone who would oppose same-sex “marriage.”

Read more: http://godfatherpolitics.com/11486/supreme-court-christianity-is-false-immoral-and-socially-destructive/#ixzz2XXKLFQPi

Why Catholics Must Not Support The Catholic Campaign For Human Development (CCHD)

While the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) has come under well-deserved scrutiny for supporting groups such as ACORN and groups with ties to promoting abortion, CMR has uncovered that Ralph McCloud, while heading the CCHD in 2008, was simultaneously working as a highly placed campaign official for a pro-choice politician seeking to unseat a pro-life politician.

As you likely know, CCHD is the bishops' anti-poverty program which funds community organizing and economic development projects and has been at the center of a number of controversies. Ralph McCloud was named head of the CCHD in November 2007. In his first year as head of the CCHD, according to public records, McCloud also worked as the Treasurer for Planned Parenthood endorsed Democrat Wendy Davis.   This is the same Wendy Davis who conducted that filibuster of the Texas State Senate to prevent passage of a law to limit abortions in Texas.

During her 2008 campaign for office, Davis had the assistance of Ralph McCloud as her campaign treasurer.  This was during (not before, not after but during) his first year as head of the CCHD.  Of course everyone on this list has seen various pieces of campaign material: flyers, yard signs, etc.  By law they all bear the name of the campaign treasurer: meaning that everyone knew that McCloud was associated with a proponent of abortion.  Read the CMR link for more details, including alleged hanky-panky.  To this day McCloud is still head of the CCHD.  McCloud helped facilitate this woman's election - and her subsequent shilling for the murders of babies as exemplified in her filibuster.  Can we trust this man with one penny of Catholic donations?  Of course not!

So we have yet one more reason to boycott the CCHD collections within the next few months.  I wouldn't be a bit surprised if more "reasons" pop out of the woodwork.

http://restore-dc-catholicism.blogspot.com/2013/06/mob-scene-in-texas-legislature-cchds.html

Polygamy - Here It Comes

“ . . . the landscape has been fundamentally altered in a society where the rule of law is slowly unraveling. Twelve states can now force taxpayers to supply more than 1,100 benefits which, until yesterday, were reserved for real spouses. And both the court and rogue leaders like Jerry Brown have, in the words of Justice Antonin Scalia, "declared open season on any law that... can be characterized as mean-spirited." 

In a nation where our own President feels no obligation to defend the law, it's no wonder the Human Rights Campaign thinks it can impose same-sex "marriage" on every state in five years.

When the Left fell short of their goals yesterday, it gave our movement the most valuable commodity of all: time to persuade the country of the consequences. But it also meant that the waves of attack will keep coming -- stronger and more vicious than ever before. Emboldened by Justice Anthony Kennedy's sharp rebuke of our side, liberals aren't even bothering to hide the rest of their agenda. Polygamists popped the corked on a little champagne of their own after Wednesday's rulings, as they wait their turn for nationwide acceptance.

"We're very happy with it," said Joe Darger, a Utah polygamist, "I think [the court] has taken a step in correcting some inequality, and that's certainly something that's going to trickle down and impact us... I think the government needs to now recognize that we have a right to live free as much as anyone else." Proponents of "plural marriages" are riding the homosexual movement's wave of success all the way to legitimacy. They're using the same playbook, the same sound bites-and so far, the Democratic Party seems surprisingly open to the idea. After all, who are we to say that two or three or nine consenting adults shouldn't be able to make the same commitment? Love is love, right? . .  .”

Tony Perkins

Family Research Council

Justice Anthony Kennedy's Hate Speech

Writing for the majority, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy called those who favor traditional marriage as “enemies of the human race.”  

Are you not outraged by this slur?

Writing for the minority, Justice Antonin Scalia was livid.  ”To defend traditional marriage is not to condemn, demean, or humiliate those who would prefer other arrangements, any more than to defend the Constitution of the United States is to condemn, demean, or humiliate other constitutions,” Scalia wrote.  ”To hurl such accusations so casually demeans this institution. In the majority’s judgment, any resistance to its holding is beyond the pale of reasoned disagreement. To question its high-handed invalidation of a presumptively valid statute is to act (the majority is sure) with the purpose to “disparage,” “injure,” “degrade,” “demean,” and “humiliate” our fellow human beings, our fellow citizens, who are homosexual. All that, simply for supporting an Act that did no more than codify an aspect of marriage that had been unquestioned in our society for most of its existence indeed, had been unquestioned in virtually all societies for virtually all of human history. It is one thing for a society to elect change; it is another for a court of law to impose change by adjudging those who oppose it hostes humani generis, enemies of the human race.”

What kind of person is Anthony Kennedy to smear those who disagree with his radical leftist viewpoint?  This country deserves better than such a smear merchant.

Federal Government Takes Away Marriage From The States

So much for state sovereignty . . .

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: Overall, the decision, I think, will inevitably lead to the overturning of all the laws in all the states that disallow gay marriage and it is in the rational the Kennedy opinion. The Kennedy opinion says that the states are sovereign on the issue of marriage and thus the federal government cannot impose its definition in the states.

If Kennedy had stopped with that, it would have been a conservative decision, it would have been essentially been a way of saying status quo prevails, those states that allow it will allow it, and those will do otherwise. But he had a second rationale, it wasn't just the federalist one, and the second rationale was the reason that the federal government cannot discriminate in states in which it is allowed between a gay couple and a straight one is because it undermines the equal protection clause. So, it is a form of discrimination.

So the logic of that is why is it only discrimination if you discriminate against a couple, a gay couple, in a state that allows it like New York and not a discrimination in a state that doesn't allow, like Texas -- it doesn't even allow the marriage in the first place. So in this opinion, I think it is absolutely inevitable seed of overturning all -- essentially nationalizing gay marriage in a way that Roe nationalized and abolished all the abortion laws. (Special Report, June 26, 2013)

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2013/06/26/krauthammer_scotus_decision_will_essentially_national_gay_marriage_in_the_way_roe_nationalized_abortion.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=rcp-today-newsletter

Obama's War On God

Another sign of the decay:

DOJ cuts funding of Young Marines program for mentioning ‘God’

A Louisiana sheriff is standing firm on not accepting Department of Justice funds for the Young Marines program after he was told he couldn’t mention God if he wanted the funding. Bossier Parrish Sherriff Julian Whittington said the demand infringes on his religious freedoms.

Whittington said he was appalled at the funding condition, spelled out in a letter from the Justice Department saying any mention of “God” or any “voluntary prayers” could not be included in the program if it was to receive the $30,000 in funding.

“Last time I said the Pledge of Allegiance, it had God in it,” Whittington told KTBS, a local TV station. “The last time I picked up a dollar bill this morning, it had God on it. You mean to tell me that we can’t have voluntary prayer or mention God in our program?”

Too Subtle To Notice

Damn!  Even our language is becoming progressive and passive . . .

http://mentalfloss.com/article/51362/4-changes-english-so-subtle-we-hardly-notice-theyre-happening

What are the 3 Qualities of Character?

For Men Only . . .

http://www.artofmanliness.com/2013/06/25/what-is-character-its-3-true-qualities-and-how-to-develop-it/

Things You Might Not Know About Your Favorite Liquors

Interesting about Margarita, Black Tot Day, gunpowder, Bourbon County, most popular liquor by far, George Washington, and Walgreen's . . .

http://mentalfloss.com/article/51314/20-things-you-might-not-know-about-your-favorite-liquors

Carjacker Encountes An Armed Citizen

http://conservativevideos.com/2013/06/see-what-happens-when-a-carjacker-encounters-an-armed-citizen/

Why You Should Retire In . . .

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

August 2013

Costa Rica

                Excellent and inexpensive health care

                A couple can live comfortably on $2500/month

                Beaches and lush valleys

                Average temperature of 72 degrees

                Modern telecommunications

                San Ramon in the Central Valley region is 45 minutes from the San Juan International Airport

                Politically stable with no armed forces

                Home to 20,000 USA expats

Ecuador

                International Living ranked it in first place for 2013 Retirement

                Mild weather, spring-like in the Central Valley and tropical in the rainforest areas

                Very low cost of living

                A couple can live well on $1500/month

                Dinner runs about $2.50 with beer at 85 cents

                Up to date hospitals with English speaking doctors in the three major cities

                Private insurance plans average $70/month

                Cotacachi is a small community with a laid-back life style

                Salinas is the largest coastal resort town for those wanting a beach lifestyle

Panama

                English is widely spoken

                One of the most friendly countries for ex-pats

                Many places accepts the US dollar

                Coronado on the Pacific coast is a sophisticated city that is home to many Americans

                Retiree discounts on everything from movies to medications

                Climate is hot and dry with average temp of 86 degrees

                A couple can live on $1300/month

                Hospitals in major cities are affiliated with US hospitals

                A visit to the doctor costs about $17.50.  House calls cost $45.

Mexico

                Tlaxcala has old world charm that is far from drug violence.

                Tlaxcala has high elevation with a mild climate, is popular with tourists but is not overrun by expats.

                A larger expat community lives in Baja’s Rosarito Beach which is 30 minutes south of San Diego.

                A retired couple can live very comfortably on $2500/month in Rosarito Beach.

                Mexican hospitals are modern and much less expensive than US hospitals.

France

                Very expensive cost of living, but lower in Provence and Languedoc

                300 days of sunshine each year

                Mild winters, but hot summers

                Aix-En-Provence offers low-cost cultural activities for seniors

                400 Anglo families in Provence

                Health care is outstanding at a fraction of the cost in the USA

Ireland

                Housing crisis has made real estate affordable

                Galway on the west coast is safe and walkable

                A couple can live comfortable on $2500/month

                Those who qualify for residency can get private insurance for about $721/month

                Beautiful beaches, verdant countryside, festivals celebrating everything

                Expect rain year round with temps from mid-40s to high 60s

Which country are you moving to?

The Next America

Catholic Archbishop Gomez says enforcing immigration law reflects the 'cynicism of America's cultural elites'.

You cultural elites (AKA: white people) better learn to speak Spanish.   You will need it in the Next America.

As Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez writes in his new book, Immigration and the Next America:

“More than 5 million children [in the United States] are growing up in homes with one or more ‘illegal’ parents, and about 80 percent of these kids are American citizens, born in this country . . . We say we are worried about the long-term social costs of illegal immigration. If we are, then we should be looking for every way possible to integrate the undocumented into our economy so that they do not become a permanent underclass of dependent people. Our policy today, unfortunately, is only helping that underclass grow in numbers. The underclass grows every time we break apart a family by deporting a working father and leaving women and children behind in poverty. We [risk] creating, through our inaction, the very conditions that we claim to be afraid of – a generation of people who can’t assimilate, and who don’t have the education and skills to contribute to our economy.”

He makes a case for the urgency of deep reform now which he says must include a reasonable path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented workers now living in the United States.

“If immigration reform is to succeed – if the American dream is to be renewed – we need to reject the [cynicism of America’s cultural elites] and the careless disregard for American identity.

For Archbishop Gomez, “a civic framework built on a common American story” demands that we honor our Anglo-Protestant roots as a nation. But it also demands that we recover -- at long last -- the other, missing half of our story: the Hispano-Catholic legacy that predates the Thirteen Colonies by many decades. America’s real “first Thanksgiving” took place in Spanish Catholic Florida, not Puritan Massachusetts. “Two hundred years before any of the founding fathers were born,” the archbishop reminds us, “this land’s people were being baptized in the name of Christ. The people of this land were called Christians before they were called Americans. And they were first called this name in the Spanish tongue.”

“Immigration and the Next America: Renewing the Soul of Our Nation,” by Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, will be published in English (July 5) and Spanish (July 19)

Remember, the Spanish got here first.   They are just (illegally) bringing in a few million more of their cousins. 

They have English-speaking and French-speaking provinces in Canada.  So, why shouldn’t we break up our country also into English & Spanish states? 

I think that Gomez is Spanish for naïve.

Call me a cynical member of the cultural elite known as tax payers.

Open Those Borders

Come one, come all . . .

Open those borders, resettle the world’s refugees in the USA, get out your check book, and give welfare to millions more foreigners. 

This bishop expects you to work harder and pay for it all. 

On World Refugee Day, U.S. Bishops’ Migration Chair Calls For Support And Resettlement Of Syrian, Other Refugees Fleeing War And Persecution

WASHINGTON—Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Committee on Migration, marked June 20, World Refugee Day, by calling for U.S. support and resettlement of vulnerable refugee populations across the world, including Syrians fleeing conflict in their country.

"The conflict in Syria is worsening and it is time for the United States and the international community to do more to respond to the needs of Syrians fleeing their country for safety," Archbishop Gomez said.

Archbishop Gomez added that particularly vulnerable Syrians should be considered for resettlement to the United States and other countries, such as vulnerable women with children, the elderly and disabled, and unaccompanied refugee children.

"Resettlement to a safe third country should be considered, both to provide the best durable solution for vulnerable Syrians but also to take pressure off of neighboring countries, such as Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan," Archbishop Gomez said.

To date, the United States has resettled only 24 Syrian refugees.

Archbishop Gomez referred to other refugee populations worldwide in need of support and possible resettlement, including Rohingya Burmese in Bangladesh, Malaysia and Thailand; Congolese in East and Southern Africa; and Afghans who are fleeing to Turkey and other areas of the world.   "We have an obligation to help these vulnerable populations," he said, "including and especially the most vulnerable refugees: unaccompanied minors and those that have become victims of human trafficking."

"Sadly, there continues to be no shortage of refugees in need of the world's attention and support," Archbishop Gomez concluded."  As the world's leader in protecting refugees, the United States must do more to respond to humanitarian crises in and around Syria and other parts of the globe."

President Hillary Clinton - Just A Matter Of Time

No matter how difficult it is now in the USA, just remember this . . .

It is only 932 days before January 2016 when we will see Hillary Clinton run and then defeat Jeb Bush to become the next president (thanks to the new Hispanic vote which always votes for Democrats).  Then, she will replace the disastrous Obamacare with Hillarycare.   She will also start grooming her daughter to run against the next Bush. 

What a country where only two families are qualified to lead this huge country!

Already there is Ready for Hillary, a super PAC designed to prime the pump for a Clinton presidential bid that has among its supporters longtime Clinton confidant Harold Ickes and even Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), a strong backer of Sen. Barack Obama in the 2008 primary fight.

And just last week, America Rising, a conservative-aligned super PAC, launched Stop Hillary 2016, a Web site designed to raise money for its efforts to “prevent Americans from ever having to see another Clinton in the White House

AN EYE OPENER - Must see

This is a must see . . . A VERY INTERESTING OUTLOOK OF THE WORLD TO COME . . .  http://www.youtube.com/embed/6-3X5hIFXYU

 

Zip Lock Baggies...........who knew?

Could this be true?

·         Zip Lock Baggies...........who knew?

·        
We went with friends to a restaurant on Sunday for lunch and sat in the patio section beside the store. We happened to noti...ce zip lock baggies pinned to a post and a wall. The bags were half filled with water, each contained 4 pennies, and they were zipped shut. Naturally we were curious!The owner told us that these baggies kept the flies away! So naturally we were even more curious! We actually watched some flies come in the open window, stand around on the window sill, and then fly out again. And therewere no flies in the eating area! This morning I checked this out on Google.

·        
Below are comments on this fly control idea. I'm now a believer!

Zip-lock water bags:

·          

·         #1 Says:  I tried the zip lock bag and pennies this weekend. I have a horse trailer. The flies were bad while I was camping. I put the baggies with pennies above the door of the LQ. NOT ONE FLY came in the trailer.  The horse trailer part had many. Not sure why it works but it does!

#2 Says: Fill a zip lock bag with water and 5 or 6 pennies and hang it in the problem area. In my case it was a particular window in my home. It had a slight passage way for insects. Ever since I have done that, it has kept flies and wasps away. Some say that wasps and flies mistake the bag for some other insect nest and are threatened.

#3 Says:  I swear by the plastic bag of water trick. I have them on porch and basement. We saw these in Northeast Mo. at an Amish grocery store& have used them since. They say it works because a fly sees a reflection& won't come around.

#4 Says:  Regarding the science behind zip log bags of water? My research found that the millions of molecules of water presents its own prism effect and given that flies have a lot of eyes, to them it's like a zillion disco balls reflecting light, colors and movement in a dizzying manner. When you figure that flies are prey for many other bugs, animals, birds, etc., they simply won't take the risk of being around that much perceived action. I moved to a rural area and thought these "hillbillies" were just yanking my city boy chain but I tried it and it worked immediately! We went from hundreds of flies to seeing the occasional one, but he didn't hang around long.

Godless Girl Scouts

From Breitbart:

GIRL SCOUTS OF BRITAIN REPLACE ‘GOD’ WITH ‘MYSELF’ IN OATH

On Wednesday, Great Britain’s Girl Guides (their equivalent of U.S. Girl Scouts) and Brownies removed God from their 103-year-old oath.

Instead of the passage where they used to promise to “love God,” they will now vow to be true to “myself” and develop “my beliefs.” The organization said the move is intended to attract girls from secular families.

Andrea Minichiello Williams, CEO of Christian Concern, condemned the move, saying, “These values have their roots in a Christian outlook. Taking ‘God’ out of the promise denies the history and foundations of the movement without offering anything in its place, with the result that the organization will lose its distinctive ethos and end up meaning nothing.”

Chief Guide Gill Slocombe protested that the organization consulted 40,000 before it made the change. She said that using God in the pledge “discouraged some girls and volunteers from joining,” and now the Guides could “reach out to girls and women who might not have considered guiding before, so that even more girls can benefit from everything guiding can offer.”

Julie Bentley, the new CEO of the Guides, has called the Girl Guides the “ultimate feminist organization.”

The Girl Guides in Australia also deleted God from the vow last year. The Boy Scouts in Great Britain are considering a similar move next month.

Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts in the United States still vow to “to serve God and my country.”

Jimmy Carter vs The Catholic Church

Jimmy once again displays his ignorance . . .

Jimmy Carter vs. Blessed Virgin Mary - Regarding the Male Priest from Dr. Taylor Marshall

“President Carter seems very concerned about the Catholic doctrine of the male priesthood. Speaking at the Carter Center's "Mobilizing Faith for Women" the former President answered some questions about women and religion. Let's look at his words against the Catholic Church and then I'll provide three systematic responses:

"And I think the great religions have set the example for that, by ordaining, in effect, that women are not equal to men in the eyes of God. This has been done and still is done by the Catholic Church ever since the third century, when the Catholic Church ordained that a woman cannot be a priest for instance but a man can. A woman can be a nurse or a teacher but she can’t be a priest. This is wrong, I think. 

And again, President Carter says: "And then after about the third century when men took over control of the Catholic Church, then they began to ordain that women had to play an inferior position, not be a priest."

Now I can understand where President Carter is coming from. First, he and his wife are Baptists.  As Baptists they do not believe in a sacerdotal doctrine of the priesthood. 

Unlike the Baptists, the Catholic Church believes that the priesthood is not merely a ministerial function or office. Rather, when a man is ordained a priest, he is configured to Christ in a special way. His soul changes. We call this the indelible seal or character of Holy Orders. This is why there have never been women priests in the Catholic Church - not in the third, second, or first century. Never.“ 

Here’s why:

http://www.taylormarshall.com/2013/06/jimmy-carter-vs-blessed-virgin-mary.html?utm_source=Canterbury+Tales&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=70af3c0a41-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_term=0_64accbc3c7-70af3c0a41-59111593

How To Celebrate St. John's Day Today - Do You Voodoo?

How to Celebrate St. John’s Day  

England  The feast of St. John the Baptist, is one of the quarter days in England. The town of Midsomer Norton, in Somerset, England, is said to be named after the Feast Day of St John the Baptist, which is also the parish church.

France  In France, the "Fête de la Saint-Jean" (feast of St John), traditionally celebrated with bonfires (le feu de la Saint-Jean) that are reminiscent of Midsummer's pagan rituals, is a catholic festivity in celebration of Saint John the Baptist. It takes place on June 24, on Midsummer day (St John's day). In certain French towns, a tall bonfire is built by the inhabitants in order to be lit on St John's Day. In the Vosges region and in the Southern part of Meurthe-et-Moselle, this huge bonfire is named "chavande".

Ireland  In some rural parts of Ireland, particularly in the north-west, Bonfire Night is held on St. John's Eve, when bonfires are lit on hilltops.   Many towns and cities have "Midsummer Carnivals", with fairs, concerts and fireworks, around the same time.

Italy  The feast of Saint John the Baptist has been celebrated in Florence from medieval times, and certainly in the Renaissance, with festivals sometimes lasting three days from 21 to 24 June. Such celebrations are held nowadays in Cesena from June 21 to 24, also with a special street market. Saint John the Baptist is the patron saint of Genoa, Florence and Turin where a fireworks display takes place during the celebration on the river. In Turin Saint John's cult is also diffused since medieval times when the city stops to work for two days and people from the surroundings comes to dance around the bonfire in the central square.

Puerto Rico  On the island of Puerto Rico, originally named San Juan Batista, after the saint, by Christopher Columbus, a night-long celebration is held. After sunset, people travel to a beach or any accessible body of water (e.g. river, lake or even bathtub) and, at midnight, fall backwards into it seven or twelve times. This is done to cleanse the body from sin and give good luck for the following year.

Scandinavia  In the Scandinavian countries, in which the evening is called Sankt Hans or Jonsok, short for Saint Johannes or Saint John's Wake, the tradition is to gather around a large fire. In some countries (Denmark) a witch burning is included. The witch is represented by a doll, often made by the children, wearing old clothes and having an evil look. This evening is a large celebration, often enjoyed together with drinking, dancing and festiveness for the whole town. In Sweden the celebration is called midsummer and takes place on a Friday close to the actual date. Swedish historian Olaus Magnus in 1555 recorded this traditional outdoor celebration including numerous bonfires, dancing and singing of traditional songs.

United States  Historically, this date has been venerated in the practice of Louisiana Voodoo. The famous Voodoo priestess Marie Laveau was said to have held ceremonies on the Bayou St. John, in New Orleans, commemorating St John's Eve.  Many New Orleans residents still keep the tradition alive.

In Other Countries  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_John's_Eve

Night On Bald Mountain

Mussorgsky's (1839-81) Night on Bald Mountain was actually titled St. John’s Night on the Bare Mountain.

St. John’s Night, or St. John’s Eve, is the night before the Feast of St. John which happens to fall around the summer solstice. Eastern Europeans have long celebrated it with a mixture of pagan trick-or-treat traditions and religious observances and bonfires.

The first version appeared in 1867 and was revised around 1872 and again in 1880. In this last version he added a hauntingly beautiful quiet ending in which a church bell announces the dawn and daybreak chases away the evil spirit.

Night on Bald Mountain has remained an audience favorite ever since its appearance in Walt Disney’s landmark movie, Fantasia.

Do you remember these scary images from your youth?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_Oa3f-WFps

June 23:  Happy Midsummer’s Eve!   Happy St. John’s Eve!   Happy St. John’s Night!

June 24:  Happy Saint John’s Birth Day!   Happy St. John’s Feast Day!

The Man from Ein Karem

Happy Birthday, Saint John

June 24:  Birthday of Saint John the Baptist

According to Christian tradition, John the Baptist was born in Ein Karem, leading to the establishment of many churches and monasteries there. It attracts three million visitors a year, one-third of them pilgrims from around the world.

According to the Bible, Mary went "into the hill country, to a city of Judah" when she visited the home of Zechariah and Elizabeth. .   Theodosius (530) says that the distance from Jerusalem to the place where Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, lived is five miles. The Jerusalem Calendar (dated before 638) mentions the village by name as the place of a festival in memory of Elizabeth celebrated on the twenty-eighth of August.

How Christians used to celebrate St. John’s Birthday:

- Go to Mass at midnight, dawn, and 3pm

- Burn “St. John’s Fire” (bonfires) on every village hilltop on St. John’s Eve

- Postpone all battles until tomorrow (Battle of Fontenay in 841 was postponed by one day)

- Make a pilgrimage to his head which may rest in the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria

- Make a pilgrimage to one of the many churches which claim to have some of his bones such as in Sophia, Bulgaria.

St. John’s day of martyrdom will be celebrated on August 29.

Cemeteries in Central City, Coloardo

One mile west of Central City (taking Eureka Street) lie three cemeteries with hundreds of ornate stone markers and intricate grill work, with headstones dating back to the 1860s. The three are the Central City Cemetery, the Knights of Pythias and the Catholic Cemetery. Please feel free to visit and wander among the headstones marking early day Central City residents grave sites. Please remember that these are actual cemeteries and are still in use to this day.
www.centralcitycolorado.us/tourism/cemeteries

I.0.0.F. Lodge Cemetery
Located in Central City following out Eureka Street just past the Boodle Mine. 

Bald Mountain Cemetery
The Town Board of Nevadaville founded the Bald Mountain Cemetery in the summer of 1877. The oldest tombstone predates the founding of the cemetery by 12 years. Another 17 tombstone inscriptions predate the cemetery’s opening in 1877. Apparently, a number of caskets were transferred here from other burial grounds. Cemetery records are now housed at the county courthouse.

Catholic Cemetery

Central City Cemetery
The first City of Central cemetery was located on East 4th High Street in Central City. It was in the way of the mining activity and relocated to its present location in 1862.

Dory Hill Cemetery
The first burial in Dory Hill was in 1859. However, the oldest tombstone inscription found by Mrs. Blanchard was Stephen T. Tibbits, died March 5, 1863, aged 30 years. Dory Hill Cemetery is owned by the City of Black Hawk.

Foresters Cemetery
Knights of Pythias Cemetery
Masonic Cemetery
Red Men Cemetery

Haunted Belvidere Theatre in Central City, Colorado

This ghost story is from: www.thefencepost.com By Becky Talley

The Belvidere was the first opera house built in Central City in hopes of drawing acting troupes from New York to its stage. It was built by Henry Teller, a prominent man in Central City who became the first senator from Colorado and later, Secretary of the Interior under
President Chester Arthur. (Teller also now reportedly spends his days haunting the building.) The Belvidere was built in 1874 after a large fire swept through Central City burning down most of the structures.

Unfortunately for Teller, the Belvidere was not as successful as hoped and the present Opera House was built because the Belvidere was found to be too small.

The tour was seated in the audience section of the theatre, looking to the stage, as many done for over a century, as we listened to tales of the spirits that lurk in the shadows of the Belvidere.

Within the Belvidere, there was a bar and rooms where soiled doves plied their trade. A prominent figure in the bar was that of a woman named Kate, a woman who was facially disfigured in a bar fight.

Her ghost is reported to still haunt the establishment, though it has been a long time since it has served its last drink. In fact, a psychic was reported to have visited the theatre to try to establish contact with any soul who may have chosen it as its permanent home. The woman reported to have contacted as many as 45 spirits, according to the tour guides, one of which was a large woman with a disfigured face.

At this point in the tour, I suddenly realized how downright chilly the air was getting. The theatre itself had no heating, so the cool temperature was no surprise. However, the chills that were sweeping over me were not of the cold weather kind. The hair on the back of my neck was standing on end and my skin was beginning to crawl. Now, let me tell you, feeling something like this is not pleasant. It is, in fact, downright eerie, and I was soon given a possible explanation for my sudden case of the heebie-jeebies.

The tour guide directed our attention to a section of a balcony about 10 feet to my right and just above my head. Apparently, I was closer to a ghostly site than I had intended to be, and it felt like the ghost was looking over the railing and right through me!

The guide related that this ghost has been identified as a woman named Flora or Florence and was once one of Big Nose Kate’s soiled doves who worked the rooms off the stage. Previously, a tour guide was able to make contact with her with the aid of dowsing rods, and the ghost related her bitter tale. Apparently, she claims that she was murdered by another one of the girls that worked the theatre. Possibly in an attempt to right her horrible death, she continues to this day to ask people for help from beyond the grave.

Another spirit is found in a back corner of the building (further away from my seat, thank goodness), and, according to communications with “Flora,” does not like visitors in the theatre. He is believed to be either a stage hand or director who feels very strongly about the building. The Belvidere was used for a movie theatre for a short time and the projector was put in the general area the ghost chooses to haunt. During this time, there was rarely a time when a movie would be played in its entirety without something going wrong with the projector. Did the machine have a little extra “help” from a projectionist from beyond the grave?

At this point in the tour, all of us ghost hunters were able to walk around the theatre and see what we could scare up. I steeled my nerves to make my way to the corner of the unfriendly man and Flora’s balcony.

Once I set foot on the stairs where the man is reported to be, I instantly felt a sense of dread. There was a little voice inside that not-so-calmly told me it may be time to rethink this whole ghost thing and leave while I still could. I felt like there was someone behind me on the stairs and even turned around several times to see if I was in someone’s way. Of course, when I turned around no one was behind me, so I decided leave that area and take my chances with Flora instead.

When I got to her favorite spot, I met a group of people standing in a circle. All had their hands in the center of the group and informed me that the air was colder there than anywhere else in the theatre. Being game, I stuck my hand in the circle and the temperature did feel colder, but what really creeped us all out was that the air felt like it was vibrating. Now, this building is drafty and we could have convinced ourselves that we felt something that wasn’t there, but no matter what the explanation, I knew it was time to get the heck out of Dodge. I stopped just short of plowing people over on my way to the door.

Others had the same experience. Tour participants Tricia Bergeron of Littleton and Barbara Padilla of Lakewood reported that they smelled something in Flora’s area. There have been no other reports of any scents around Flora’s balcony, but try to tell that to those few who did smell it! Barbara also reported to feel someone on the stairs, just like I did.

Once outside of the Belvidere and back into autumn air at the end of the tour, the hair on the back of my neck began to stand down. What a great way to spend a spooky October evening!

On my drive back down the mountain to home, I ran through the stories of the spirits who have chosen to stay on in Central City for eternity, and was joltingly reminded that there was one exception. John, the Opera House ghost, reportedly decided to give up his familiar settings to haunt a family at their home.

All at once I was set at unease again (the hair on my arms shot to the ceiling), and, though I felt silly, I quickly scanned my car for any ghostly passengers. Was I bringing anything home that I didn’t take with me to Central City? Was Flora riding shotgun in hopes that I could finally give her the help she so desperately seeks? Were those strange noises I heard in my house that night just a case of overactive imagination? I guess that may remain a secret that the ghosts of Central City will take to their graves, literally!

Ghosts of the Opera House in Central City, Colorado

CENTRAL CITY OPERA HOUSE
Eureka St.
National Register 1/18/1973, 5GL.8

Opened in March of 1878, the two-story Renaissance Revival style stone building is the oldest surviving and first permanent opera house in Colorado. It was built with funds raised by a citizens’ group interested in bringing cultural opportunities to the area, the Gilpin County Opera House Association. Between 1910 and 1927, the building functioned as a motion picture theater. Donated to the University of Denver in 1931, the building was restored by the Central City Opera House Association to serve as a venue for an ongoing summer opera program.

www.coloradohistory-oahp.org/programareas/register/1503/cty/gl.htm

The Central City Opera House spreads a famous tale of Billy Hamilton, an Irish doorman and caretaker who lived there in the 1930's and sometimes is credited with pranks and other strange doings in the building.  

 "I knew Billy Hamilton and I'm sure he is here," Spellman said. "Some guys behind the bar say they've seen Billy. Well, if they say they've seen him, who am I to say they didn't?"

Among the remaining troupes of the Opera House was a miner turned stage performer by the name of Mike Dougherty, who was a favorite in 1865. Unfortunately, like many residents of this rough and tumble frontier town, Dougherty drank himself to death.  Apparently, Mike's love of the stage has caused him to linger.

Over the years, numerous back-stage visitors have reported being nearly overwhelmed with the strong (but fleeting) odor of alcohol, which is sometimes accompanied by a stout nudge on the shoulder, or by their hair being lightly ruffled from behind.

While Dougherty seems to be a friendly ghost, the living are always considerably startled when they turn to look and realize that they are alone in the darkened corridor. Other reported occurrences have included strange flickering orbs of light that seem to float across a darkened stage and then vanish into the wings.

The distinct sound of footsteps is also heard in the balcony, thought to be those of a long departed female patron, Occasional cold spots have been felt which move from one corner to the next backstage. Nearly all of these occurrences have been reported when the
theater is dark and not in use for performances.

SOURCE: www.legendsofamerica.com

Gold, Gambling, and Ghosts in Central City, Colorado

Gold, Gambling, and Ghosts in Central City
Source of the article: www.thefencepost.com Story by Becky Talley

His name is Billy. He is a resident of Central City, Colo., and has been the caretaker of the Opera House in this one-time mining village, turned ghost town, turned gambling berg, high in the Rocky Mountains. Billy has seen his fair share of actors, gold seekers and visitors come through the town. He enjoys a good chew, and is, in fact, never without his can of dip. Billy always likes to meet new people, in fact, he insists on introductions and if you don’t comply, like any gentleman, he does not consider it polite. There is only one thing about Billy that sets him apart from other men: when you introduce yourself his handshake may be a bit cold and clammy, that is if you can actually see or feel the hand of a dead man!

Billy is one of the many spirits that still roam the historic buildings and streets of Central City. According to the Gilpin Historical Society Web site (http://www. coloradomuseums. com/gilpin.htm), in “1859, John Gregory discovered ‘The Gregory Lode’ in a gulch near
Central City ... Within two months the population grew to 10,000 people seeking their fortunes.” This one-time booming mining town played out many dramas within its city walls with a cast of players from miners to soiled doves and even famous outlaws who strolled the bustling 1800s streets. However, like many boom towns, Central City eventually went bust with only the memories to replay themselves within the quiet buildings and deserted streets. Or was it only the memories that were alive in the town? It appears that this berg was never quite abandoned by its original residents. The people of this historical town have been celebrating the big haul,
drowning their sorrows after going bust, gambling and carousing since the mining days, though very few of them have been living for
several decades.

I found myself strolling through this piece of Colorado history in search of another story for some exciting reading for the Fence Post Halloween issue. The mysterious and eerie have always held a fascination for me, so, of course, I jumped at the chance to scare something up in the former mining town.

I was able to view some of the town’s most haunted locations thanks to the Haunts of Central City Tour 2004 put on by the Farrout Penndragon Investigations and The Sweet Shop.

The tour began in the Central City Opera House, a grand building that has hosted the likes of Mae West and Christopher Reeves.  However, on this October evening, the Opera House played host to a very different crowd.

Once in the house, the tour group was asked to introduce itself to “Billy,” only one of the house ghosts we were to be introduced to in the Opera House.

As mentioned before, Billy was the caretaker of the Opera House. The young man, who was known to always carry Copenhagen chew, suddenly and mysteriously disappeared. However, no matter the fate he met, his spirit returned to protect the Opera House. Billy is a stickler for introductions and doesn’t appear to take kindly to those who do not comply. The guide related that a man once adamantly refused to introduce himself to the spirit. While walking around the opera house, the man claimed he was tripped by something, which resulted in a broken nose for this brazen soul. When the investigation into the accident occurred, nothing was found to explain the mishap, nothing, that is, except for a smashed, empty can of Copenhagen chew!

Two other spirits are reported to have also made the Opera House their favorite haunt, or at least they used to. One still thought to be around is the builder of the house who has mysteriously shown up once to make repairs to the roof. The other entity apparently hitched a ride down to a new home with a family that visited the Opera House. His name is John and he was easily recognized by the smell of cigar smoke that would waft through the air whenever he appeared. The family came to the Opera House and decided to try to initiate contact with John. When they went home, they found that many strange things started happening in their house. This family didn’t pay a second thought to the occurrences until they began to smell the pungent odor of cigar smoke in their home. John has not been seen at the Opera House since.

Face on the Barroom Floor at the Teller House in Central City, Colorado

TELLER HOUSE
Eureka St.
National Register 1/18/1973, 5GL.9

The Teller House was built by brothers Henry M. and Willard Teller during 1871-72. The four-story brick building was reported to be the largest and most elaborately furnished hotel located outside of Denver. It served as the gathering place for local society and visiting elite, including U.S. President Grant who visited in 1873. Double hung windows are found on the three floors that contained sleeping rooms. Windows and doors on the first floor are set in round arches and include transoms. Portions of the building now house a museum, and the first floor bar with its well known "Face on the Barroom Floor" remains an attraction.

www.coloradohistory-oahp.org/programareas/register/1503/cty/gl.htm

The Teller House houses the famous and mysterious "Face on the Barroom Floor" painting, done by Herndon Davis in 1934. This lovely painting is carefully maintained today.

Legend has it that the woman’s likeness was painted by a distraught miner when his wife died of consumption. As the story goes, the miner drank himself into a stupor and then proceeded to paint his wife’s portrait on the floor. Speaking tenderly of her, he painted long into the night and on to past noon. Once the artist was finished, he slept, never to wake again. Buried next to his beloved wife, witnesses say that on the anniversary of his death, the couple can be heard talking tenderly to each other through her portrait on the floor.

At the Teller House, some people have reported seeing the ghost of a blond woman who is believed to be the wife of a man who beat her in the late 1890's after seeing her talking to another man.

Dolores Spellman, a Teller House tour guide, says she doesn't believe in ghosts herself, but "friendly spirits" are another story.

The Child Ghost of Central City, Colorado

The Child Ghost of Missouri Flats Cemetery in Central City

According to Jeff Casey, several county sheriffs have reported seeing a small child in the area of the new C and D parking lots south of Central City. Nearby is a child's grave marked "Clara A., daughter of F.S. and D.F. Dulaney, died July 5, 1865 age 1 year 12 days."

On a separate occasion, a Central City gambling shuttle driver was driving past the grave and heard three distinct knocks on the outside of the shuttle bus.

"Could it be the ghost of Clara or another unknown child whose grave has been disturbed by the recent activities in Central City?"

Source: The Denver Post- March 26, 1996
Section: Living Page: E-01
Michelle Mahoney Denver Post Staff Writer

Ghost Town of Nevadaville, Colorado

Nevadaville (near Central CIty) was a gold-mining town in Gilpin County, Colorado, United States. It was also known in the 1860s and 1870s as Nevada City. The post office at Nevadaville was called the Bald Mountain post office, to avoid confusion with other Nevadas and Nevadavilles. The community is now largely a ghost town, although not completely deserted. The Masonic Lodge that started in 1861 still holds regular meetings.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevadaville,_Colorado

Welcome to Nevadaville

Trading Post

Foundation Ruins

Renovated Building

City Hall & Fire Department

Nevada Coal Company

Nevada Coal Company Sign

Old Mines in Nevadaville