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A Few Of FR's Finest....Every Day....06-24-03....Happy First Anniversary To The Finest!
jwfiv; dansangel | jwfiv

Posted on 06/24/2003 1:40:40 AM PDT by dansangel



A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day
Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.
A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.
On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY
If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.
We're having fun and hope you are!

~ Billie, dansangel, dutchess, Mama_Bear












"A Few Of FR's Finest" was born one year ago today. Together with Mama_Bear and Daisyscarlett, Billie turned a dream into a reality. The three Finest "sistahs" worked hard to bring profiles of individual FReepers to the attention of those that came to visit the Finest on a regular basis. Following is a "History of the Finest" lovingly written by our own jwfiv. Kick off your shoes, sit back and relax, for you are in for a rich and detailed story, promised to entertain and to bring you closer in spirit to what makes the Finest well...."The Finest."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"A History of the Finest ~ told by jwfiv


A light drizzle was softly tapping on my window, which was open just a bit to let the cool breeze in. I was hoping it might keep me from dozing off...to no avail, I confess. Between listening to the rhythm of the falling rain, and the hum of Maggie's beloved electric fan, I had become Little Nemo in Slumberland, and was working on the 21st of 40 winks when I was hit right between the eyes by the scoop on this caper , like a bird in the way of a Gary Johnson fastball.

Maggie was off on one of her solos, leaving me to mind the store. I don't know where she goes until she comes back, and sometimes not even then...it's on a need to know basis, and that's OK with me, cuz I'm just glad to be a cub reporter, and her sidekick. I caught reference to magic lariats, glass airplanes and someone named Condi as she spoke into her decoder ring before leaving that morning...she said something about "an errand for George", then whoosh, when I turned around, she was gone.



My little nap ended with a start when I heard the Mac chiming to announce that new mail was in the hopper. I was thrilled to find an anonymous source named Dick Morris, wogue and wapscallion, as the author of the message. I'd lately been watching him tattle-tale on the doings and motives of x42 and Senator x, and was skeptical that he seemed so eager to turn over what he considered might be clues to the origins of an unidentified conservative website called FreeRepublic, and specifically a part of it he referred to as "The Finest".

His message said that I would find a manila envelope containing photos and documents of interest, and possible scandal, waiting for me at the front desk of the Hotel Monaco.

I dashed out the door and into the rain, ran the four blocks to the bus stop and caught the 2:45 E Street run, which took me across Main to a part of town I'm not really comfortable in. What used to be a family neighborhood was now a place of shadows, known locally as the DeeYew. I never have figured that one out, so I just call it Creepsville.



Keeping my eyes straight ahead, ignoring the hawkers and liberal loonies, I walked the final two blocks to the Hotel, where the desk clerk handed me the envelope, just as I had been told would happen.

Not waiting for the bus, I blew my comic book money on a taxi and hurried back to the office to open the envelope and find within it several aged documents, receipts, old newspaper clippings, deeds and writs, as well as a couple of tintypes and time-worn photograph.



Going through the various scraps of info, I pieced together a story that began when America was still a young nation.

I don't know if the tale which follows accomplishes my source's purpose, however, I think it's one worth telling, and see no scandal or mischief, only charity and good deeds.

The documents tell of three enterprising young women who founded the San Antonio Rose, a saloon and café on the outskirts of San Antonio de Bexar, near the old Alamo Mission.




The only known photo of the San Antonio Rose, ca. 1855.


A deed with the names Wilhemina Himmelblau, Eleanor L'Orso Marrone, and Daisy "Red" O'Hara is proof of its founding, in June, 1840. There was also a photocopy of a census record for the Republic of Texas, from that same year, with their names listed as proprietors. Newspaper articles and a tattered one-sheet from 1848 attested to its reputation for "honest card play and whiskey that ain't been watered down".

Miss Willie, Miss Lori and Red, as the three were affectionately called, were known far and wide for their hospitality and good cheer, and hosted many a weary traveler and cowboy dusty from the trail

The three women were daughters of the South but loved the Union, too, and encouraged the discussion of politics and religion, which came natural to the pioneering spirit. In 1859, the Rose burned down when an argument between patrons became a brawl and a broken oil lamp lit the lace curtains on fire. No one was hurt, luckily, and in the aftermath, the penitent customers, and townsfolk, rallied together to build a new and more grand venue. To honor the community for standing with them, the ladies retired the name Rose and the first Finest Saloon was born.







Independence Day, 1876; a crowd of regular customers is pictured in front of the Finest Saloon, built on the spot where the San Antonio Rose stood before burning to the ground.

On the top steps to the right, standing from right to left, are Wilhemina Himmelblau, Eleanor L'Orso Marrone, and Daisy "Red" O'Hara.

On the far left, second row, is Ladimier Tekcz and his two sons, Shane and Clint; and standing to his left is Travis Meek, one of the first of the famed Texas Rangers.

The two women in top row center, wearing the similar hats, are Lady Margaret Exington and her sister, Lady Nanette, reunited after the former's brief time as captive of the Comancheros, and subsequent rescue by Marshal Meek.

In front center, hand on hip, is Arthur O'Naughtt (who earned a mention in the history books serving as a balloon observer for the North during the Civil War, and afterwards as a detective for Wells Fargo). To his left are, respectively, Louis deWolff, gambler and merchant; Don Carlos Ounaeoli (frontier chef and early Tex-Mex cuisine enthusiast); and Daniel McForty, the Fifth Earl of Kirkaldy (Scottish arms merchant, horse trader and, later, Colonel in the Confederate Army, First Georgia Volunteers).

This is believed to be the earliest extant photograph taken by Valerie Kloop, an immigrant from Holland who traveled the breadth of her adopted country, capturing images of Her pioneers and the cities that sprang up in their wake as they moved West.





The Finest thrived in the years that followed, not just as a saloon and café, but as a steakhouse famous for its barbecue, Cajun and Mexican cuisine (thanks to their brilliant chef and chief bottle washer), and as a community meeting hall, polling place and even a classroom, when the river was high.

In 1881, the three founders decided it was time to let go their hostess duties to devote more time to their loves and families. After turning over the building to a local church and temperance union, they each spent time travelling the world to visit the places from which so many of their guests had come, before settling down into their comfortable later years.




The three founders of the San Antonio Rose, sipping
hot chocolate in the Chicago Train Station,
Easter Sunday, 1899. The man in the middle,
seated at a table behind the ladies,
is identified as none other than Th. Inman,
the famous, some say notorious, chief copy
editor for the Chicago Daily Herald.


Friends to the end, they always kept in touch, by post, telegraph, and, much to their delight, "Mr. Bell's telephone"...and would yearly have a breakfast together, sitting by a window or at an outdoor cafe, sharing fond memories of days gone by...and wondering what joys the future would bring.

The story of the three founders would seem to end here, with the mention of their annual reunions...exept for a torn page from a 1936 issue of Look Magazine which was in the mysterious package. On that scrap of old paper was a brief article about a Fourth of July Picnic at the Tres Hermanas Rose Garden and Park in San Antonio, on the site where once stood the Finest Saloon.

The Garden was said to grow the most beautiful of yellow roses and, to that day, bluebirds nested year 'round in the tall cottonwoods that stood watch over the San Antonio Rose.






Well, that may not be exactly the way "A Few of FR's Finest" began, but a little poetic license never hurt.

Please feel free to add your own personal story of what the Finest has meant to you over the past year. Meanwhile, thank you all for being a part of the Finest Family. May God Bless you all.

~~~ Billie, daisyscarlett, Mama_Bear,
dansangel and dutchess ~~~





THIS WEEK'S THREADS

06-23-03 Military Monday

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping'
The guy's good, folks!
Thanks, Mixer!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up.
3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit.
4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it.
5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me a FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer




God Bless Our Military



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Below are names of some of our FReepers' loved ones who are serving our country. If you have someone you would like to add, please address a post to Billie; Dansangel; Dutchess; Mama_Bear; and we will add their name to this list. As we pray for them, we pray also for all our nation’s leaders, and military personnel, and their families and friends. May God hold them close to His heart.
~~~~~~~~~~   ~~~~~~~~~~


We ask Lord, that You guide the leaders of our great country in their hour of decision. The burden that has been placed on their shoulders is overwhelming. We ask that with Your infinite wisdom You guide them gently to the right decisions.
Please give us the strength, Lord, to get through each difficult and devastating day that faces each of us and our country. Protect and guide our Military that are now being called to duty, strengthen them in their trials and temptations; give them courage to face the perils which beset them; and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OhioWfan........................son
mystery-ak..........son, husband
Gogrammy................grandson
Inspectorette...................son
Blessed American..........nephew
Slip18..........................nephew
anniegetyourgun...........nephew
Pippin....niece,nephew,loved one
Doug from Upland......son-in-law
weldgophardline.....brotherinlaw
Future Snake Eater..........cousin
WaterDragon..son-in-law,grandson
BeforeISleep...................son
The Mayor........................niece
LadyX.........................grandson
fawn796.....................nephew
ValerieUSA................2 sons
Warrior Nurse...........active duty
SK1 Thurman...........active duty
David Osborne.........active duty
fc2tomschermuly......active duty
bkwells..................activve duty
LongCut..................active duty
Trish.......................active duty


Maigrey................cousin
ladtx....................2 sons
Mama_Bear...........nephew
gator girl............husband
severa................husband
MozartLover......son, nephew
LBGA........................son
SpookBrat...........nephew
Himyar.....................son
boxerblues............2 sons
the piper...................son
sheeza...............husband
kemathen7...........husband
Diver Dave................niece
deadhead................cousin
JimRobinson.....2 nephews
Armymarinemom.....3 sons
Consort..2 daughters,son-in-law
Darheel..................niece
dixie sass.............nephew
BeAllYouCanBe.........son
AgThorn...............2 sons
homeschoolmama.......nephew
kneezles.................son




TOPICS: Culture/Society; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; Political Humor/Cartoons
KEYWORDS: anniversary; freepers; friends; fun; military; surprises; veterans
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To: Billie
howdy ma'am!... and Happy Birthday!

strippin' the deck and re-stainin' today... just takin' an H2O break...

the homestead is comin' together nicley, but I gotta few more months of hard work a'fore I can slow down...

here's the latest shot of my two little gyrenes... Becca took this as a surprise fer us...

thanks fer not fergettin' me...

201 posted on 06/24/2003 10:10:06 AM PDT by g'nad
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To: The Thin Man; Billie; Aquamarine; FreeTheHostages; dansangel; dutchess; Mama_Bear; Dog Gone
"but don't let that Billie person turn you against me like she's done with the others. :-)"

Not to worry, The Thin Man.
One of my most important missions is being a Noble Defender of The Hounded - to wit, you, here.

Makes my blood boil to think of all the insults and dings
(and oh, the gleeful laughter when they set you up and *think* they have scored a victory!)
when you struggle so valiantly just to keep the world properly revolving.

Consider me a Marine Atcher Back Fer Life.....

202 posted on 06/24/2003 10:10:40 AM PDT by LadyX (( Praising Him every day - - ))
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To: JustPiper; Pippin
Pippin picked a pack of Pickled Pipers!

That's too cute! (and just the stuff that the Finest is made of, too - cute, sweet, pretty, funny, friendly! LOL)

203 posted on 06/24/2003 10:10:49 AM PDT by Billie
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To: Diver Dave
(((((((((Diver Dave))))))))))

Thank you for the beautiful red roses and the "Atta Boy" and "Atta Girl" spotlights. Your contributions and presence are so appreciated here!

:-)
204 posted on 06/24/2003 10:11:27 AM PDT by dansangel (America - love it, support it or LEAVE it!)
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To: JustAmy
I know what you mean, Amy. I, too, like to read them, but there's no way to respond to every ping - hope I've said hello to everyone. :)
205 posted on 06/24/2003 10:12:50 AM PDT by Billie
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To: Pippin
Hi Pippin. Know where the anniversary cake is? I'm hungry.
206 posted on 06/24/2003 10:13:09 AM PDT by The Thin Man (Happy Anniversary FR's Finest)
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To: Billie; dansangel
A little bubbly with lunch......why not? This is a special day to celebrate!

And this thread is a keeper.....so nice to have all the FR & Finest history on one thread!



207 posted on 06/24/2003 10:13:37 AM PDT by JulieRNR21 (Take W-04........Across America!)
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To: lonestar
(((((((((Weinie)))))))))))

and

((((((((lonestar)))))))))))

I'll be Weinie's Auntie anytime! :-)

Thank you for the kind words and for bringing a smile here to the Finest. I remember when you announced Weinie's tragic illness and how it was touch and go. So glad it had a happy ending. I just can't understand people behavior sometimes. :-(
208 posted on 06/24/2003 10:14:06 AM PDT by dansangel (America - love it, support it or LEAVE it!)
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To: g'nad
We won't forget you - know you've got your hands full getting the new house shipshape and taking time to love on that new baby, too.

Thanks for the good wishes - it's a time today that I wanted to thank everyone who has made up the Finest and made us the Finest.

Thanks for the new pic of Superman and his baby brother! Come back when you can!

209 posted on 06/24/2003 10:17:15 AM PDT by Billie
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To: MeeknMing
So ..... I get it! She is not at fault, right? When she left him there to bleed to death, she committed murder!! Poor thing it must have been the enviroment where she was raised!



What a bunch of BS!
210 posted on 06/24/2003 10:17:23 AM PDT by JustAmy (God Bless Our Troops and God Bless America!)
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To: BeforeISleep
((((((BIS))))))))

Thank you for stopping by!

:-)
211 posted on 06/24/2003 10:18:15 AM PDT by dansangel (America - love it, support it or LEAVE it!)
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To: Mo1
((((((((Mo1)))))))

Love that twirling rose greeting!

Been lurking on some of the threads you have posted to.....just want to tell you that ***You ROCK***!

:-)
212 posted on 06/24/2003 10:20:43 AM PDT by dansangel (America - love it, support it or LEAVE it!)
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To: The Thin Man; jwfiv
((((((((((TTM))))))))))

Long time no see! Thank you for the *kind* words....(be sure to take your temperature when you read this. I think you may have some undisclosed disease)....LOL!

BTW, did you catch that jwfiv may have uncovered one of your long-gone relatives in the last picture?

:-)
213 posted on 06/24/2003 10:23:20 AM PDT by dansangel (America - love it, support it or LEAVE it!)
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To: knighthawk
(((((((((knighthawk)))))))))

Haven't seen you in so long....hoping that all is well with you!
214 posted on 06/24/2003 10:24:33 AM PDT by dansangel (America - love it, support it or LEAVE it!)
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To: jwfiv
Anything for a story, that's my motto...er...as long as it's legal and no animals get hurt.

ROFL! I particularly like the part about the animals! :-)

215 posted on 06/24/2003 10:25:36 AM PDT by dansangel (America - love it, support it or LEAVE it!)
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To: humblegunner
(((((((humblegunner))))))))

This whole "work" thing I've been doing is getting rather out of hand lately! ;-)

***Stinks*** doesn't it? I have to get back there shortly myself, but glad you stopped by!

216 posted on 06/24/2003 10:27:08 AM PDT by dansangel (America - love it, support it or LEAVE it!)
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To: LadyX; jwfiv
((((((((LadyX))))))))

Thank you for sharing your dear, sweet Johnny Mac with me. He was most patient with my *idiosyncracies*...LOL!
217 posted on 06/24/2003 10:28:55 AM PDT by dansangel (America - love it, support it or LEAVE it!)
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To: LadyX; Billie
You are a blessing to us all, dear Billie..... you brighten our lives immeasurably!

***Amen***

218 posted on 06/24/2003 10:31:28 AM PDT by dansangel (America - love it, support it or LEAVE it!)
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To: LadyX; martin_fierro
I think martini has hit the nail on the proverbial head with your new graphic, Lady.

You *do* have the *power*!

:-)
219 posted on 06/24/2003 10:33:32 AM PDT by dansangel (America - love it, support it or LEAVE it!)
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To: Pippin
Thought you were going to Ming's store?

Oh, yeah. I went. But I'm back now. :O)


220 posted on 06/24/2003 10:34:05 AM PDT by MeekOneGOP (Bu-bye Dixie Chimps! / Check out my Freeper site !: http://home.attbi.com/~freeper/wsb/index.html)
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