This is simply the author's way to lose weight and keep it off. Losing weight is something many people struggle with each day. We have a mentality which urges us to eat a lot to store up for the hard times, but what we have available are plenty of fast foods which are not good for us. This combined with machines to do much of our work, causes a disastruous result in us humans.

There has been a great deal of information and misinformation about the Palatines and why they came to America. It is a complicated story but one that begs to be told, and it will be told in story form which will make it a more personal sort of story. After all, history involves real people, and we often lose sight of this fact. Opie's story begins with her early life and it is about a little girl who simply refused to give up and let her life happen. She became a servant for the Reverend Kocherthal, the parson who invented the legend of Carolina and then led his tribe into the wilderness to...

Opie's little secure life is changing. The parson and family are leaving for America. The poster and the booklet Reverend Joshua Kocherthal wrote about Carolina inflamed the public and before long the idea stirred up thousands of people. Carolina means land, lots of land. Why all they had to do was float to The Netherlands, and the dear Queen of England would pick them up and right off send them to America. How could they go wrong. It was a change to see that their families would have a good living in the future as well. Opie was ready to travel alone but then a few marriage proposals were...

Collection of some of our favorites. William Crolius -This is a widow's application for pension and it interesting because it gives some of the hardships suffered by the women. Joel Bower-Joel's story begins with his birth and goes through the War of 1812. He was wounded several times and was in some of the major battles. Thomas Machin-Thomas Machin was known for his part in chaining the Hudson River. His son received a pension, fraudulently, and hired a Fort Plain Attorney to represent him. If you feel you must cheat, don't tell your neighbor what you did. John Winn-A capable leader who...

The Battle of Johnstown or Hall Battle as some of the pensioners called it; was the last battle fought in the Revolutionary War. This is intended to present a short version of the battle; it was a large and important battle for the Whigs. Some of the material in this book has never been published; it is from Mr. Morrison's private collection. The Battle of Yorktown where Cornwallis surrendered was on October 19, 1781, and was just a short time before the Battle of Johnstown.

Memories are so special, especially about our close community. Thanks to help from Robert C. Carter, Town of Minden Historian, this book of photos is presented to the community for enjoyment of old images. History belongs to all of us, and needs to be shared.