GEORGE P. CORKINOS

When my nephew and I proof read the death notice for my father, George P. Corkinos, we both missed that extraneous "r" at first. Everything we have done as a family this past week has been in a collective state of disbelief. It is hard to accept that this man is no longer here with us. Usually when a human reaches the age of 91, people shake their heads and say how sorry they are, but the word shock does not usually come up as it has this week. My father was so vivacious and charming- no one believed he was as old as he was. He had a great run.

His name, of course, was George P. Cokinos. The 'p' is important. There is my cousin, George A. Cokinos, my nephew, George S. Cokinos and and my cousin Mark, who is actually George M. Cokinos. (He has a son named George as well.) That's just off the top of my head. Believe me, I could go on.

My father was out cruising when he fell. He had been in Florida since New Year's Eve, tanning on the roof of his condo every day that the sun shone. The ship was in port in Mexico when he tumbled down the stairs, and he was taken to a hospital in Cozumel, then to one in Fort Lauderdale, but he never recovered.

He went out doing something he loved- traveling with my mother and my sister, tanned and vibrant, but not able to overcome the blow. It is a blow to us all- everyone who knew him- whether it was a brief meeting or a lifetime of friendship, he always made an impact. (I've actually felt sorry for a car salesman in his presence.)

I will be starting a new site as a memorial as some family members have requested. Please send me your memories or stories- pictures, too. (lyndalu@gmail.com) You can get to the site by hitting this link- Big George

My Dad 's life touched a lot of people. He was kind. He was funny. His sense of humor was one of a kind. His special name for me was Gunga Din. "Gunk" for short. What could be funnier than that?

Only about a million stories which I hope to keep adding here and at the new site.

Thanks, Dad. It was a blast.

Another Piece of the Puzzle

On my visit to the Columbiana County Archives and Research Center in Lisbon, Ohio last month I was given two more documents relating to the descendants of Dietrich Hoffman, my 5th great-grandfather. A previous visit (in July ..) had garnered an article on the legal publication of the Petition for Partition for a portion of the real estate.





Published on September 29, 1832 on page one of The Ohio Patriot, the article lists the heirs of Detrick Hoffman and states that 27 acres in the north west quarter of section 12, township 15, range 3 were involved. Although there were 10 heirs named, the petitioner was requesting his “one-sixth part of said land” indicating that there were only 6 children of Detrick Hoffman still living or deceased with children. (A full transcription can be found in this post).



The parties involved in the Petition were John Hoffman, Samuel Hoffman, Daniel Coler and Elizabeth his wife, John Swarts and Margaret his wife, Henry Hoffman, Samuel Hoffman, Jacob Hoffman, Abraham Hoffman, Samuel Fox, and Edward Rhodes and Sarah his wife.



Through evaluation of various records and information from another researcher, we thought the relationships of the individuals listed in the above Petition were:

• John, Samuel, Jacob, and Abraham - children of Detrick


• Elizabeth wife of Daniel Coler, Margaret wife of John Swarts, Henry Hoffman, and Samuel Hoffman - children of Michael & Mary (Coy) Hoffman


• Samuel Fox and Sarah wife of Edward Rhodes - children of Phillip and Susanna (Hoffman) Fox

One of the things that puzzled me about the above Petition was that only 27 acres of land were being sold. Detrick was in possession of 81 acres of land when he died in March 1826. The answer lies in the documents below...






Columbiana County, Ohio - Common Pleas Journal #6, page 165

August Term AD 1828 1st day 18th


John Hoffman & Jacob Hoffman vs Michael Hoffman, Samuel Hoffman, Abraham Hoffman, Abraham Fox, Samuel Fox, Sarah Fox & Susanna Huffman } Petition for Partition

"The Petition of John Huffman & Jacob Huffman by Mr. Blocksom their attorney presented their Petition for partition of 81 25/100 acres of land being a part of S12. T15. R3. in Columbiana County & produced satisfactory Proof that due & legal notice has been given the parties interested by Publication in the Ohio Patriot. A. W. Loomis Esq is appointed guardian ad litem of for Abraham Fox[,] Samuel Fox & Sarah Fox defendants in this case & Minors, who appears and receives notice and consent to the grantings of the prayer of the Petition, whereupon the Court grant the Petition [smudged word] that a writ of Partition [illegible word] to the Sheriff to proceed and apart [?]..."

It seems there may be a little more to the case on the next page, which I neglected to get... at any rate, the document shows us that Michael Hoffman was still living in August 1828. It also names three minors: Abraham, Samuel and Sarah Fox. The published petition of 1832 listed Samuel Fox as well as Sarah wife of Edward Rhodes. There was no mention of Abraham. It is likely that he died sometime between the time of the two documents (August 18, 1828 and August 23, 1832). So, it seems, that our original "assessment" regarding the heirs of Detrick Hoffman was correct!






Columbiana County, Ohio - Common Pleas Journal #7, page 53

April Term 1829, 3 day


John Huffman etal vs Michael Huffman etal }

"The Sheriff of the County made return of a writ of sale issued in this case with his proceedings thereon from which it appears that after giving notice as required by the statute of the time & place of sale by advertising & putting up written advertisements he sold the land in said writ mentioned at the Court House in said County on the 26th of January 1829, Except the widows dower mentioned in the writ, to John Fry for Seven Hundred ten dollars & that he brought the money into Court for distribution & thereupon the Court order the said Sheriff, after deducting the costs & expenses, to distribute the money aforesaid to & amongst the parties entitled to receive the same in lieu of their shares & proportions of said land according to their just rights. And said Sheriff here acknowledges in open Court a deed for said land so sold as aforesaid to said Fry."

It appears that John Fry would have purchased 54 acres, with the 27 acres mentioned in the 1832 published Petition being the Widow's Dower.



What these two documents also provide is a better estimate of the date of death of Susannah Hoffman, widow of Detrick. We now know that she was still living in January 1829 when the land was sold to John Fry but had passed away before August 23, 1832 when the Petition for Partition for the remaining 27 acres was dated.

The Royal Hermmann Lipizzaner Stallions

I've visited the Lipizzaner horses three times before. Nathan had not made it there before today. So we drove over with our friends, the Evans family.

The show went well, and was the same neat things as the other times I've been here.

At some point, it became very interesting to me though because I saw something different. When Aric and I were here, they told us that they were bringing out a new stallion. They weren't sure how he'd do. He did great. Today was his second time. He's the middle horse in this group and you can see the look on his face that tells us he is feeling feisty already:



Here he is plotting his grand plan to do his own thing:

This is where he lets us know he is going to implement that plan:

And this is where he does it:

This is where that plan gets nipped in the bud:

And this is where he pouts about it. He wasn't happy about being reigned back in. He wanted to show us his stuff. He didn't want to simply perform the show that mere humans came up with. They stopped the show to explain what the deal was. They explained that it was his second time out with the big boys. They said he was the teenager in the bunch. That explains this expression:

I had no idea horses could make that face. I'm on teenager number five. I recognize this face all too well!

It's not all that amusing when my teens give me that look, but I have to tell you that it was hysterical when he did it. I feel for his mother is all I have to say. I have loved every trip to this wonderful place, but this was the best by far.



Living the life in Florida!

Scarpa 6000 double boot review by Dave Searle

High in the Dru Coulior all photos courtesy of Dave Searle



This is Dave's first gearreview on Cold Thistle, but hopefully not the last. Dave and a few other Brits are living and climbing hard in Cham. Likely more good alpine climbing done in a typical weekend there than in all of the USA every winter.



I respect the opinions of climbers out there and actually doing things. Ally, Jon, Willare a few I met in Chamlast winterthat are "doing it". Dave is right in there as well. His opinions are hard earned and worth the read.



You can read more about what Dave is up to here:



http://searler.com/



Scarpa 6000 review.





I have been using my Scarpa 6000 now for about a year and on the most part I have been really impressed with them.







Dave in his red chuck hut slippers, Spantik and 6000 at his side.

General Design and Features



When I was first on the market for a pair of winter boots (and this was my first pair) I was strongly recommend by lots of people to go for the La Sportiva Spantik. I tried them both on in the shop for hours, in different sizes and came to the conclusion that the 6000 fit me slightly better. This was perhaps the main reason I went for them in the end however I also prefered the design of the 6000 too. They seemed to be more nimble and precise and I prefer having a gaitered boot any day of the week as it keeps them drier when your wading through snow and it means that the laces aren't subject to any wear. The sole unit it thinner than on the Spantik which sacrifices warmth but gains precision.



Fit



I had a slight problem with heel lift after using them maybe three of four times. I didn't have this problem in the shop and it was strange that it developed over time. I have rectified that now with sticky back foam stuck to the liners around my heel and a heel raiser to lock my heel into the back of the boot. I would have probably had this problem in any boot as I do have particularly narrow heels. Now they fit like a dream. If your set on these boots then it is worth remembering that if you have a low volume foot like mine then they can be made to fit.



Lacing



To start with I was a fan of the lacing system, it seemed easy to tighten up and easy to use with big gloves but I pretty soon realized that the locking cleat eventually works itself loose after a few hours of climbing or walking. I originally combated this problem by tying a normal shoe knot over the top of the cleat but now I have taken it off completely and now I just use a reef knot to fasten them. I never feel the need to adjust the laces when I'm climbing so now when I'm tying them in the hut or at the bivi I use a knot that won't come lose and this seems to be the best option for me. I think the lacing system could do with a rethink in my opinion as I have had other friends who have had similar problems with it. Perhaps a beefier cleat or thicker, less slick laces which are easier tie?



Warmth



I have been really impressed with the warmth of these boots as well. I thought that they weren't going to be as warm as a Spantik but I have since realised it depemds entirely on your circulation and the fit as to whether or not you'll feel the cold. I have sat two nights out in them without a sleeping bag and I didn't have any major issues. The first and worst of the two was on the Colton/Macintyre on the Grandes Jorrasses. Me and my two buddies got benighted at about 4300m with only a two man man bothy shelter and half a karimat to share. It was November here in Cham and the ambient temperature was close to -15C and felt much more with windchill. Jim and Gav both had Spantiks and I was in my 6000ers and I was really worried about my feet but the only option was to sit and suffer.... which we did.... for 8 hours. The night passed slowly and I emerged with very minor nerve damage to my big toe (phew). Jim had the same and Gav was fine. I don't think the 6000ers are as warm as the Spantiks but if you have good circulation then these should be fine for what they are recommend for (winter alpinism and greater range climbing up to 6000m). I think my circulation is average and for most of the climbing I have done with them (alpine north faces in autumn and spring) they have been spot on. Light and dexterous enough for mixed climbing, warm enough for the kind of temperatures you encounter out here and stiff enough to plough up a 1000m of ice without your calves exploding out the back of your trousers.



Eiger N face

Wear



They haven't shown much sign of wear yet. I had a small nick in the orange fabric after their first days use scrambling over sharp granite boulders on my way up to the Carrington/Rouse on the north face of the Pelerins. I though that was going to set the tone for how they were going to fair but that is the only damage they have sustained in the year I have had them which I think is pretty impressive as I have done some long approaches on sharp granite moraine, mixed climbed in Scotland and they have been up six 1000m+ north face routes as well as a load of shorter mixed routes.



Crampon Compatabilty



One issue that I encountered with these boots was getting my crampons to fit. When I first got these boots I had a pair of plastic bailed G14 (older version). I strapped them on and started off up without really paying a huge amount of attention to how they fit. I felt pretty insecure on the first route and it was only on closed inspection when I looked at the set up that I realised the front points were only forward about 5mm or so from the front of the boot as supposed to 25-35mm as I would normally expect. I worked out that it was because the sole unit is really narrow at the front and it doesn't hold the crampon far enough forward. So back to the shop I went for a new pair of crampons (G20s). It was a hungry month after that! So be warned check your crampons on them first.



In an ideal world I would change two things about these boot.



1. I would make them tighter around the heel to combat heel lift. It might just be that I have really skinny heels but some other guy's I know who have them would say the same thing.



2. I would change the lacing system to something more reliable. Its pretty frustrating having your boots come undone on you when your ankle deep in snow, trying to hop about getting them done up again.



All in all they are really great boot, and have definitely become very popular out here in Chamonix and for good reason. After all Ueli Steck was the main man behind the design of these boots and he knows what to look for in a good boot! I'd change a few things like I've said but I'm really happy with them and if I was on market for a pair of winter boots again I'd make the same choice.



Colton/ Macintyre on the Grand Jorasses

Morning at Monahans Sandhills

Wednesday, April 6th - - It was a beautiful morning! Cool temperatures required a sweatshirt but it was quite comfortable. There was barely even a breeze!













Yesterday, I mentioned that the traffic couldn't be heard on the Interstate here in the campground. Today was a different day. You could clearly hear the hum/buzz/roar of the cars and trucks passing by. From the top of the sandhill that I was on you could even see the highway. Nevertheless, it was still quite pleasant.



I may be “off the grid” for a few days and no posts have been scheduled so things will be quiet here for a while...

A Night at Spanish Springs

We have enjoyed our first week here in The Villages. Nathan has been able to play lots of pickleball and I've been having fun playing bunco and Mexican Train with Donna. Last night, we finally got to meet up with both Rich and Donna at one of the Town Centers here. There are three Town Squares here and each one has its own theme.



We had a great dinner at Ay! Jalisco. Then we walked around Spanish Springs, where the night's live music and dancing was going on.



One of the unique things about The Villages is the golf carts here. Golf carts are one of the main modes of transportation here, so it is common to see this outside of businesses.



It is so nicely decorated and laid out, that is is pleasant just to walk around and take it in.





After our time here, we headed over for dessert at Ollie's. It was wonderful and I think we will have to visit both places again while we are here!





YUM is exactly right! It was a great first week here! Looking forward to many more.

Happy Birthday, Brother

My Brother, Jack Lynn Wiseman, was born on this date in 1949. In the picture below, I was 17 months old, Doug was 28 months old, and Jack was about 3 weeks old. He probably won't see this, but I was thinking about him. . .

Five weird things

Ron from Toad in the Hole sent me a meme, to list five weird things about myself.

I am generally not superstitious, but feel compelled to kiss my finger and briefly hold it to the ceiling everytime I'm in a car that runs a red light.

I have a vivid imagination, and can sometimes spend too much time thinking about the worst thing that can possibly happen in any given situation. (That's why I fainted at the tourniquet portion of a Girl Scout first aid lecture.)

One of my previous goals in life was to have a penpal in every country of the world. A large world map covered with red pins was my wall art. I never achieved this goal, but still get a thrill every time I receive a postcard from somewhere far away. (Karen, Box 203 Allgood AL 35013, if you want to thrill me.)

I have a hard time buying just one book on a subject. Two is a minimum, but I feel a lot better with three, and five or six or twelve is really best.

I have a hypersensitivity to (can smell from a mile away) rancid oil and green peppers. It's fading as I age, though. In the past I could hardly stomach anything that had been cooked in the same oven as a dish containing green peppers.

I think that the thing you put in your mouth (or elsewhere) and the thing you hang outdoors should not both be called thermometers.

OK well that's six things. I was on a roll.

The Art of the Ride Report: a Touring Bicycle Give-Away

Thinking about the best way to give away the refurbished vintage touring bike "for women who fear roadbikes," I kept coming back to the connection between cycling and the Ride Report. If you've spent any time browsing blogs and websites about bicycles, you are no doubt familiar with the genre. While at its most basic level, a ride report is simply a description of a bicycle ride, it is really so much more. Some are infused with a seriousness and depth of analysis that is normally reserved for historical descriptions of war battles. Others are light-hearted and hilarious. Others still are impressively dull, filled with endless lists and technical descriptions. A Ride Report can resemble a travelogue, a parable, a newspaper article, or an entry in a physical fitness diary. A Ride Report can be self-aggrandising or self-depricating. A Ride Report can describe a 1,000 mile tour or a 1 mile trip to the grocery store with equal degrees of drama and suspense. At the heart of it, a Ride Report tells us less about the ride itself than about the cyclist - and the cyclist's relationship to their surroundings, their bicycle, and the very experience of riding a bike.



Not all of us excel at the Ride Report. I for one can seldom think of anything interesting to write about the rides I take - possibly because I space out and daydream through most of them! But a good Ride Report is a thing of beauty, and so I invite you, challenging as it may be, to try your hand at it. Here are the rules:



Submission Rules

In a narrative style of your choosing, describe a bicycle ride that is memorable or significant to you. It can be any sort of ride - transportation, recreation, sport, whatever. Please limit the length of the writing to what would constitute a typical blog entry. Accompanying images are a plus, but not required. Submit your Ride Report either by putting it online and posting a link to it here (preferred!), or by emailing a document to "filigreevelo at yahoo" with the subject header "Ride Report." You are welcome to submit even if you are not entering to win this bicycle. I will compile a sampling of entries and post it for everyone to enjoy. Submission Deadline is 18 September, .



Give-Away Details

With the support of Harris Cyclery, Velo Orange, and a number of my readers, I am giving away a refurbished vintage touring bicycle to a woman who might benefit from it. Pictured above, this bicycle is described in elaborate detail here. Please read that post carefully to decide whether the bike is for you, and feel free to ask any questions in the comments here.



The bicycle is a 52cm frame with 27"x28mm tires and a longish top tube. It is best suitable for persons 5'6" - 5'8", depending on your proportions and how high you like to set up the saddle. The dusty-lilac, early 80s Japanese cro-moly frame is in "good" used condition. It is fitted with mostly modern components (Velo Orange, Nitto, Tektro, MKS, etc.) and iscompleted with fenders, a bottle cage, a saddlebag and a small air pump. The frame has comfortable relaxed angles, and no toe overlap. The bicycle is a 12-speed. For additional details and lots of pictures, once again please see this post.



This bicycle was built up with a female in mind. The ideal candidate is a cyclist who would like to ride a bike with drop bars, but has found roadbikes difficult, painful, intimidating, or otherwise problematic. The bike being given away is more tame than what you are likely to find on the market today, be it new or secondhand, without spending a fortune, and I hope that it will allow someone out there to enjoy a new form of cycling by easing into it gently and gradually.



Once again, the entry deadline is 18 September, . Good luck, and thank you for taking part!



[Edited to add: The recipient has now been announced here. Thank you everyone for taking part!]

Wolf Pups

Shoe Lake Road - Cook County, MN. I saw these cute little fellows while driving home from the Gunflint Trail yesterday. Came around a corner on Shoe Lake Road and there they were, sitting just a few feet off the road. I watched them for a couple of minutes before they wandered back off into the woods.

Driving down the French Alps

Our winter sport holiday is now definitely over.





Normally it takes about 15 minutes’ drive from our chalet hotel in Le Crey to the valley in Aigueblanche, however with the snow aftermath and cars driving slowly, it’s about half an hour.



On the way down we saw busy locals manually ploughing the snow on the streets. We also passed by a bus that went off the road. Tough situation I reckon. Lots of dangerous things can happen after a heavy snowfall, especially in the mountains.



Convoying: driving slowly down the alpine zig-zagged road.



The bus that went off the road.



Here are the videos I took as we drove down the zigzagged alpine road:











It was a picturesque alpine drive. The mountains were immaculate and it was a bit hard to say goodbye after a week of winter (sport) holiday in this lovely part of the world. But life goes on and we will be both back to work on Monday. Welcome reality.



When we reached the valley, Dutchman and I saw the French police barricading the other side of the road and checking every car. No car is allowed to trek up the mountains without snow chains on. Its a standard protocol in the mountains when its snowing and after a snow deluge.





As we drove on the valley, we searched for a place where we can remove the snow chains from the car’s tires. Unfortunately removing the chains took us a while because these got stuck between the wheel. Nevertheless, perseverance paid off but not without increased blood pressures. Grrr. Sigh.



Removing the snow chains upon reaching the valley.



Beautiful castle ruins along the highway on the valley.



Driving back to the Netherlands was uneventful. We took turns driving, dropped by at a McDonalds for a quick eat (I do not like burgers so chicken McNuggets please) and we arrived home before midnight.



It was a loooooooong drive having left around 11 in the morning and there was only 1 thing that I wanted to do when we got home—Sleep.

New Irishtown Mixed Route, Dirty-T M4+

Laura Hahn seconding the new route Dirty-T M4+

Laura and I put up a new mixed line at Irishtown. Its located a hundred feet or so left of Dynamite. There is a line of ice in between the two mixed lines named Pale Wildwood Ice Tower - WI4. Its not quite in yet, but should be touching down by mid next week. Dirty T M4+. It climbs up through some ledges and face passing 3 bolts. Climb up through a small overlap to the ice and finish it up with turf to the trees. Lots of fun climbing for almost anyone. Great introduction for the climber looking to combine rock and ice.

Pulling up onto the ice

Top of the ice section

Turf to the top

The route name came from all the dirt that came off of the cliff and ended up all over me. It started out with me being clean and the route being dirty and ended with me being dirty and the route being clean. Enjoy!

Dirty deeds done dirt cheap

Ancient ice tool used by the Irishtownian ice climbing tribe

Rutland Round 7 - Whissendine to Braunston

With Marta. Started grey and drizzly, but after Langham (11 am) it cleared up for the rest of the day. Still some mud underfoot, views good. 11.7 miles approx. A few hilly bits.





We set off from Whissendine around 9 30, and walked up past the church, turning right on to Foxhills, and following the road round as far as Number 21. The footpath runs alongside this house to a field, where we turned left. There's a gateway on to the the road, but the path turns right and follows the hedge for a short distance before joining the road at a stile. We turned right along the road as far as a left hand bend. At this point we continued straight ahead, on a bridleway leading to Langham.



By now we were both wearing waterproofs as the drizzle persisted. The hedge was on our left for a while, but at the summit of the track it changed to being on our right. The views here are said to be excellent, but the mizzle made them a little hazy today. We used John Williams' book and the OS map and found the path without problem. At one or two points along the way the waymarks have faded or become overgrown.



There is a junction of bridleways at the end of the field, and here we turned right, with the hedge on our left. In the next field the path goes over a stile after a gap in the hedge on the lef. We followed the path alongside a deep ditch on our left. We crossed a plank bridge and then turned right when a hedge blocked the way, turning left over a briidge in a short while cutting off the corner of a field before following the hedge and waymarkers to reach Manor Lane in Langham, via a stile.



We turned right then left into Orchard Road, then at the end of Orchard Road, right then left into Bridge Street. Just after the bridge we turned right before the Noel Arms.

5 stars for the welcome coffee!

Well, to be truthful we were delighted to be able to buy an early coffee in the pub - the landlord took pity on our drowned rat appearance.

Ms Wet Anorak ?

The rain gods smiled on us and by the time we left twenty minutes later the rain had stopped.









At the end of Church Street we crossed the main road, turned right for a short distance before taking the bridleway towards Braunston, which leads off to the left. The path climbs up hill following the left hand hedge and turning right to walk around the small wood near Mill Hill.




At the end of the wood we turned slightly right and continued up to Manor Lane, a small road which leads into Barleythorpe.

Rutland Water in the distance

We walked down into Barleythorpe, and to the road, then turned right, along a pavement until a stile led into a playing field on our right. After this we walked along the edge of Catmose College, and through Rutland Care Village, before coming out close to the level crossing near Oakham Station.





We had our lunch stop at the Castle Café in Oakham - a very good broccoli and stilton soup. It was still a little cool and damp for sitting out, so we went inside.

Outside the Castle Café, Oakham

We left Oakham on the road towards Uppingham and Kettering.

Floral peacock

Swooning Bridge, from where you would once have seen the gallows at the top of the hill.

Shortly after the bridge our path turned off to the left towards Egleton, crossing muddy fields which could have been a lot worse! Of course, since the 2000 edition of the booklet, and the publication of my OS map, the bypass has been built. It's on the newer maps, and doesn't complicate the route.



Through Egleton, we turned right along the road to the A 6003. We crossed over the road and then the railway line to a path which leads up hill with a hedge on the left.







At the second gateway we cut across the field slightly, joining a track past Brooke Covert East. Soon after this the track bears right, but we took the route through a gate to the left. The path goes downhill over a small bridge and past Bridge Farm into Brooke.

Brooke Church

We walked through Brooke, turning right at the junction. We passed some earthworks on our right, and a dovecote in the grounds of Brooke Priory - a house on the site of a 12th century priory.

Earthworks at Brooke

The dovecote

We took a footpath in the field opposite the priory, and walked alongside the stream, the Gwash. After a few hundred yards the path crosses a footbridge to a bridleway. We went across the bridleway through a gateway and over a field diagonally tot he left hand hedge. The path is clearly marked into Braunston.

The last few steps of the Rutland Round

with a little more decorum

and a sense of achievement.

And here is Braunston Church again




65 miles of very enjoyable walking, done on seven separate days.









A couple of pics from a walk in the same area in April