Treasures from home: Keith’s Fishing Pole Support Boards

It has been a while, since I posted on this blog. 

Back in February of 2016, I posted about my dad, Keith’s patent that he obtained. It was about his creation of a Fishing Pole Support. Time marches on and in the last several months there has been a change in my family. I have lost a sibling. My parents bought the house I grew up in back in 1942. It was handed down to this sibling. In June, we lost him just short of his 80th birthday. 

In cleaning out the house, I inherited the Fishing Pole Support boards that my father had put on the ceiling of the basement near his work bench that were his patent designs.

That post was titled: 1952 – Keith the Inventor gets a patent in 1956, published February 18, 2016 at, oh my, 4:10 am on this blog. 

Here is one of the pages of that Patent:

Keith’s patent page 1.

Here they are the presentation boards, on the ceiling of the basement in my childhood home.

Fishing Pole Support boards in 2009

When I first brought the boards home, they were pretty filthy. They had been up on the basement ceiling for about 66 years – 1956 to 2022.

Please take a close look and see what he has inscribed on the holders:

“Old Lazy Bones Yee Pole Rest.” 

A Closer look to the words on the Holder

That was my dad, a very corny guy! I think it was from his growing up in Vaudeville days. Happily, I have some of his silliness. 

There were two mounting boards in which he mounted his pieces on both sides. One board featured the holder piece and the other board the pressure plates. These boards are thick and clunky.

Board 1 – Old Lazy Bones Yee Pole Rest

Side Two of Board 1 – More Holder styles – Masking tape for privacy

Board 2- Pressure Pads

2nd Side – Board 2 – More Pressure Pads

Here is a photo showing what the various designs might have looked like and how there were mounted on the boat.

A selection of Fishing Pole Rests…

It is amazing that my dad, created this Fishing Pole Rest and obtained a patent. Occasionally, I stumble on other ancestors that have also invented items. I am trying to figure out a way to remount them so I can display this better in my very small home. We will see!

Trip to Scotland In 2018 has changed

Hello. My Trip to Scotland in 2018 is changing to a PDF and Table of Contents

The reason: This blog has too much stuff on it and it got too big when I was writing the Scotland trip in May of 2018, I was forced to increase the space for storage of my media and it ended up costing some bucks!  I need to remedy that.

I have done the following as of now 2/10/2020:

I updated my Page about the Scotland trip at the top of this blog. Here is a link to that PAGE:  macdonellfamily.wordpress.com/trip-to-scotland-in-may-2018/

I have turned The Trip to Scotland in May of 2018 into a PDF and you can access if on the PAGE mentioned above. 

I have added a Table of Contents of the posts to assist in finding information.

Armadale Castle Ruins

Coming to a place to rest and reflect….

I started this blog back in January of 2010.  I have been publishing approximately weekly for a five full years of posts.  It has been quiet a challenge.  According to my stats I have 295 posts and 18 pages and 231 comments and 67,075 views.

The Bridge to Allumette Island from Chichester, the church spire in the distance…

At this time, I have reached a stopping point and have presented what I can share with you about my dad, Keith B. MacDonald’s life, family and ancestors. There are descendants of my line of MacDonald/McDonald family living in the Pacific Northwest but the nature of this blog was the past not the future. I am on Facebook, so if you are a cousin or a friend you can find me there.

Allumette Island in the Distance

This journey to share about my Dad’s family and ancestors has been quite the process.  I have taken it back to about 1858 in Quebec on the Upper Ottawa River near Chichester and Chapeau in Pontiac County (they have renamed the areas).  These locations are east of Pembroke, Ontario. I actually traveled there in 2012 to see the area and it was a very amazing journey. I shared that journey on this blog and other blogs I write.

Portion of my 2012 Trip

Archibald McDonell, Keith’s grandfather, settled in Chichester in 1858 and married in 1861 and raised a family.  The area is very different now.  It is a sleepy country community. Back when Mary and Archibald McDonell were living there it was a center for lumbering, gold and general mining and more.  They left the area about 1901 and settled in Minnesota.  The migrated didn’t stop there, Keith’s family eventually made their way to Washington State.

Chichester Twp.

Archibald’s parents, according to the marriage record from the St. Alphonsus Catholic Church are John and Sara McDonell but that is about all I know about them. I still don’t know who Roy Macdonell is.  He is the man listed at the top of my great Aunt Nellie’s chart as being Archibald’s father. I suspect she missed a generation and he could be Archibald’s grandfather. Another possibility is it is a nickname like John Roy?  I have not had as much luck finding the siblings of Archibald that Nellie listed on her chart, except for his brother John in Sheenboro.  I have written about all of this on this blog.

The McDonell’s of Chichester, taken in Bemidji, MN 1905

Photo – Standing Nellie, Jack (John), R.S. my grandfather, Seated: Mary on the left, Archibald on in the middle and Alex on the far right.

Archibald McDonell was the lockmaster of the Culbute Locks on the Ottawa River.  You can still see parts of the lock remaining.  I have written about the Culbute Locks on this blog and had some help from a reader with pictures.  I was told when in the area that you can only get to them by water but lately another person has found this blog and she says you can walk to them.  Hmmm…I am very tempted.

I know a little more about Mary’s side of the family.  Her parents are Alexander John McDonell and Ellen McPherson.  I have been able to track the families using Nellie’s chart and studying the St. Alphonsus Catholic Church records (known as the Drouin Collection) and more sources.  Nellie’s charts are featured on this blog in several locations.

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church and me 2012

The charts of Duncan Darby MacDonald, a researcher who has written a great many books, has Mary as a daughter of Angus but I don’t think so. The marriage record plainly states she is the daughter of this couple and she is marrying Archibald.  I have written about this confusion in the lineage in several posts on this blog and shared about Duncan’s books.

Alexander John McDonell’s family is connected to the Lundie McDonald’s through their son Ronald who married Janet a member of that family. They came from the Knoydart peninsula in western Scotland. It is right across from the Isle of Skye and also very remote. I have more research to do on Alexander John’s origins.  If I figure out anything I will share what I find.  Recently I purchased a CD-Rom from Alex Fraser on the Loop and Lundie Family and he does have some of my family included but not all.  I will be studying his findings.  http://www.glengarrycounty.com/loupfamgroup.html

I have also taken DNA tests and have had several family members take yDNA.  There is a page at the top of this blog explaining what is happening regarding the DNA research. I encourage you to consider taking a test if you can, they frequently have sales.

To make things easier I created PAGES at the top of this blog which are like a table of contents that cover the various posts I have published on this blog and if relevant my other blogs.  This will help you to focus on finding information.  There are also tips on how to search this blog.  Come back every once in a while because I might add things, do some maintence on links and things, or make some updates.

This blog about the MacDonald/McDonald side of my dad’s genealogy is about his paternal side. The Barclay’s of Pine River blog is about his maternal side of the family. The Solomon Goss of Fearing Twp., in Ohio blog is about my father’s deep roots in New England through his mother Grace and her mother Amarilla’s ancestors.  I broke up the genealogy of my father’s family because it made it easier for me to focus and I figured readers would only be interested in various aspects of the lineage.  I also have a blog about my mother’s side of the family – The Boardmans and Browns. Links can be found on the right side of this blog.

It is time to stop posting on this blog and get the research binders into good shape.  I will only post on this blog unless I find a really good topic or solve a puzzle, or go on an interesting trip. So this blog is not done but my time and the research is going in another direction.  Please feel free to leave a comment, just make sure you are on the blog you intended to be, for I have several at WordPress, or email me at bjmcdonell@gmail.com.

Happy Hunting, the best Bonnie

RUMBLE RUMBLE….Hydroplanes and Blue Angels!

One of the engines at the Hydroplane Museum

One of the biggest adventures in my childhood was the Hydroplane races here in Seattle. I remember my Dad standing on the shores of Lake Washington, with me on his shoulders, and he was pointing to the lake and telling me that the boat that was flying by was the winner of the hydroplane race. This was in the mid 1950’s when I was little enough to be on his shoulders.  I think it was probably one of the Slow Motion Boats he was pointing at that won that year.

The Hydroplane Raceboat Museum is in south Seattle: http://thunderboats.ning.com/   They have all kinds of memorabilia and hydroplanes.  They have restored some of them. They call them Thunderboats in their website title.

As I know it, hydroplanes used airplane engines, according to my Dad.

Anatomy of a hydroplane race boat:  http://www.h1unlimited.com/hydros-101/  and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycoming_T55

Here is a tip, hang out around the pits on the shores of Lake Washington at Seafair in August and you will learn real quick what they mean about Thunderboats!

If you are close enough to the pits just wait in the crowd. You probably can’t get into the pit area unless you have a pass.  You can just stand near there or sit on your ice chest if you have one and wait. Soon you will feel and hear it….RUMBLE! The earth shakes and vibrates when they turn on the engines of the hydroplanes.  Now it is not just one engine it is many.  It is amazing…!  If you have a friend with you, watch their eyes get BIG!

Slow Mo Shun V rebuilt

A Timeline of Winners of the Gold Cup:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APBA_Gold_Cup

The Hawaii Kai won in 1958 and I was a kid then. The pink boat was my favorite. You know it was sunk by the owners and is at the bottom of Puget Sound, AUGGH!  What they have at the museum are models of the Hawaii Kai.

Model of Hawaii Kai 1958 Gold Cup Winner

Let’s see:  Slo Mo V and IV, Miss Bardahl, Miss Thriftway, Bill Muncey, Chip Hanauer, Mira Slovak are the ones I remember.  There is an amazing story about Mira Slovak defecting.  http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-mira-slovak-20140622-story.html

Miss Bardahl model

Last week I took the drive down to the Stan Sayres pits on the shores of Lake Washington south of the 520 floating bridge.  They just opened the new one and it is now the longest floating bridge in the world. It was a beautiful sunny day.  I drove through the Arboretum an along Lake Washington Blvd. right by the water.  The whole trip from my house took two hours round trip but it was worth it. It is a narrow two lane road with various parks that you can stop at if you like and wish to dally.  The Blvd. goes under the floating bridge on the western side of the lake.

Stan Sayres pits on Lake Washington

See the two buildings off the right of the parking lot in the above photo.  There is a courtyard between them with the tiles.  These tiles are dedicated to the memory of those who loved the hydroplanes.  My dad, Keith’s tile is there and easy to find.  See my toes are pointing right at it.  It is not real big but it works.

Keith’s Tile at the Stan Sayres pits

When I saw it I laughed, it reads Memory of Keith MacDonald & Tony Mazuk McScubalub.  The reference is to the name of his boat, which he made and added hydrofoils to, and I have featured in a past post. It references Tony his dog and McScubalub who was a make-believe character of his sisters when they were kids.  The name is very long and complicated and sillier than what I have presented here. In the photo below the tile is almost up to the door of the building on the right.

The courtyard area of the Stan Sayres park

It was a quiet but beautiful day at the Stan Sayres Memorial Park.  The piers are lines up ready for the coming Seafair and August festivities here in Seattle.  Close your eyes and visualize and feel the crush of people, the colorful hydroplane boats, big semi trucks, trailers, mechanics and realize it is packed when the races are here and the noise and rumble of the engines when the race time comes close.  The boats are lined up around the course out on the lake.

Looking towards the bridge and the piers

My Dad even liked the little hydroplane boats that were raced on the Sammish Slough and I remember spending time at those races in Bothell. Apparently they are bringing them back. They have on the Seafair Schedule the Kenmore Hydroplane Cup. Cool!

The Seafair website changes every year so I do not know if this link will last.

https://www.seafair.org/sfw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xo_W3oYMfM

The Blue Angels were a big deal for him as well. They are still pretty awesome. I can be working in my front yard and hear them rumble when they are performing and sometimes one will come very close to my home.

Here is a cool photo of them over the Space Needle from the Queen Anne Neighborhood blog which has more wonderful pictures  http://www.queenanneview.com/tag/blue-angels/ 

Blue Angels

Somehow, I believe, that my Dad is out their still searching for that perfect airplane engine!