August 15, 2007

Biggest news here is the record breaking heat. Yesterday it was 103 breaking the 102
degree record for this date set in l936. I think it has tied the record on other dates. Cooler
weather, possibly some rain, is forecast for later in the week. Looks like San Antonio, TX
and the TX gulf coast are getting lots of rain! This may indirectly affect our weather.

Our grand daughter Lydia and I rode the Branson Scenic Railways excursion train yester-
day morning. It leaves the Branson depot at 9:00, 11:30 and about 2:30. We caught the
early train which went north and returned. The dispatcher controls which direction the
train goes and they rarely know which way they are going until about boarding time. The
train goes through two tunnels if it goes south and one tunnel if it goes north. The round
trip takes about 1- ½ hrs. with top speed of 30- MPH. The scenery is beautiful and even
more so in the fall when the leaves are changing colors. We rode in one of the three
dome cars. All cars are air conditioned and well maintained. After the train ride, we
watched an empty coal train pass by the depot, then we dined at Joe’s Crab Shack, a nice
restaurant overlooking Lake Taneycomo.

We also visited the strip and took in the TITANIC. It is worth ones time. Your ticket has a name/occupation of one of the original crew, Lydia was a servant. I am not sure if she
survived or not? I was a Captain and went down with the ship.

The expected summer heat has kept a lot of us indoors and in my case, more time spent on researching the family genealogy. I have learned that identity theft is not a new crime. In researching grandfather David Harve MADDEN’s surname, I ordered some material from
the National Archives, in Washington, D.C. They sent me a three lb. envelope containing
187 pages of documents concerning a Civil War Veteran, James B. MADDEN, who was
wounded. The documents are mostly depositions taken by the Bureau of Pensions. He
drowned in the Missouri River about l867 or 68? (a civilian) About 30 years later a pen-
sion request was filed in AR. It appears the applicant was about 5ft 6 inches tall whereas
James B. MADDEN was 6ft 2 or 3 inches tall, slim and dark complexioned. The discrepancies caused the Bureau of Pensions to decide it was a fraudulent claim. In the meantime, the
applicant died and is buried in Harrisburg, AR. He apparently ran a tavern across the river
from Jefferson City and knew James B. MADDEN quite well. Nothing indicated (to me)
that he is our ancestor but folklore is that one of the three MADDEN bros. drowned on an
unknown river? Any comments