Murder at the College by Victor L. Whitehouse – a fascinating 1932 novel of mystery and detection republished by the Oleander Press

~ Janet McKee ~ Leave a comment

joulesbarham's avatarNorthern Reader

Murder at the College by Victor L Whitechurch

A sealed room mystery is one classic theme which is popular in the “Golden Age” detection story; in this 1932 novel the author attempts to control not only the access to a room, but the access to an entire college. This engaging story of murder and deceit has been republished by Oren, an imprint of the Oleander Press, Cambridge. It features the fictional St. Oswald’s College set in a university town where students, fellows and clergy roam free, a place of men with academic functions and a certain amount of leisure to follow their own interests. Detective Sergeant Ambrose, who “looked a bit of a fool. In reality, however, he was anything but that.”, having a “peculiar intuition which was worth attention” and it will be his persistence which makes all the difference to this mysterious situation. In fact, there is more…

View original post 463 more words

How Disney aided the troops in WWII

~ Janet McKee ~ 2 Comments

GP's avatarPacific Paratrooper

Disney in WWII

Just one day after Pearl Harbor, Walt Disney received his first military contract and began creating promotional reels, war bond advertisements, short training and instructional films, and other WWII materials. Also at this time, he received requests from military units all over the world requesting Disney-designed insignia’s and mascots.

David Lesjak, a former employee and Disney historian says, “Insignia helped build morale. Having a cartoon character you grew up with on your plane or shoulder patch helped remind you of home. In my mind it was a happy diversion from the horrors of war.”

Hank Porter designs for Disney

One of the purest expressions of Walt Disney’s genuine patriotism during the war years was his decision to establish a unit devoted to producing customized military unit insignia free of charge for U.S. armed forces and their allies. Headed by the talented draftsman, Hank Porter, whom Walt…

View original post 594 more words

Thinking of my Mother Today

~ Janet McKee ~ Leave a comment

Today, the 7th of April, would have been my mother’s 111th birthday. Born in 1912, she lived a long life, full of joys and sorrows, a wide range of interests, many adventures. Much love and gratitude Mother. Dorothy Friend Miller 1912-2000.

I thought I had pictures of her as a baby but instead all I can find is a snapshot of her holding me as a baby.

June 1937, my mother holding me, Belmont Massachusetts

Masai Warrior Postcard

~ Janet McKee ~ Leave a comment

Masai Warrior

Reverse side – Masai Warrior

Would you believe this story about a Masai Warrior”s Shield and Spear? I went to Kenya in August 1966, almost 60 years ago.to work at the Institute for Development Studies at the University of Nairobi. This was a combination teaching and research fellowship, and I intended to complete my PhD thesis for the University of California Berkeley. Initially accommodation was provided for me at the United Kenya Club. These premises were a sort of hotel for temporary visitors, short or longterm, working for the Kenya Government. Employees at the University fell under this umbrella. Shortly after my arrival, as I got to know the other residents, I was invited by a handsome young man to see the Masai Shield and Spear which he had recently purchased at the Prison Shop. Said Shield and Spear were up in his room. So I innocently went up to his room to see these treasures. And I was suitably impressed, casually noticing also the bottles of liquor in his closet.

To make a long story short, we married a year and a half later, and that spear and shield were with us for almost 50 years. We finally disposed of them when we were clearing our house in Dublin in preparation for our move to Seattle. We had put the spear and shield in the skip in our driveway and a passerby happened to rummage in the skip, and asked our permission to take the spear and shield. And off he went, the proud new owner.