Richard Rathe's Reflections – Page 9 – Where I've been and what I've learned along the way…

BWCA Canoe Trip 2022

This was a return to a familiar area with lots of options. Gaskin and Winchell are particularly nice lakes accessible from the Gunflint Trail. This area has also been burned more than once in recent times. [Full Gallery] [2019 Trip]

After driving most of the day we pulled up to the Bunkhouse at Rockwood Lodge on Poplar Lake. In addition to an economical place to stay we left our vehicle there while we were in the backcountry.

Short Video with Loon Calls, Snake Hunting, and Slo-Mo Waterfall!

We got a reasonably early start the next day, entering via the portage to skinny little Lizz Lake. We proceeded to portage thru Caribou and Horseshoe Lakes before snagging the primo campsite on Gaskin (located on an island with 180º views down the lake).

*Gaskin Kitchen Area (Ross Cooking Veggie Burgers)*

We then proceeded to take day trips all around the area lakes.

*Waterfall on Winchell (Click to Enlarge)*

Each evening a group of large flat rocks provided a commodious spot for our happy hour before we sat down to delicious vegetarian meals prepared by Ross. (Did I mention our food pack weighed over sixty pounds?!)

Our sojourn had an unfortunate coda however. Terese slipped on rocks and twisted her ankle on the last afternoon. After resting it for twelve hours she bravely walked the four portages back to civilization using the spare paddle as a crutch. Xrays later revealed a non-displaced fracture!

We had excellent weather throughout our stay, but it got windy on the day we left and thunderstorms rolled in that night, perfect timing!

Environmental Notes: Many of the small Fir and Spruce trees on our site were either dead or dying from disease. The White Pines in the area looked very healthy. The Burned Areas appeared to be recovering slowly. The Loons remained active and we saw at least one Bald Eagle. The “Tent Spider” was something new. We saw two of them on different lakes, so probably not an anomaly.

Lake Superior Sea Caves 2022

Over the past eight years I’ve walked along the Lakeshore Trail and admired the cliffs and Sea Caves from above. [2015 Gallery]

The caves are located on the western side of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore near Cornucopia, Wisconsin.

I started out near Meyers Beach, paddled about two miles of open water to the caves and then explored another two miles of shoreline. [Full Gallery]

Larger Versions and Additional Photographs

Telegraph Codes from 1914

Back in the days when long distance telephone calls were very expensive, families had various ring codes to let their loved ones know that they got there safe but avoided paying for an actual call. Ours was to let it ring twice and hang up (if I remember correctly).

This little gem of a book illustrates how inventive our ancestors were when it came to the telephone equivalent of the day—the ten word telegram. The basic idea was don’t let any leftover words go to waste (you already paid for them after all!).

*The Private Code and Post-Card Cypher Book Cover*

*Theodore Newton Vail was the first president of AT&T! [source:wikipedia]*

The introductory Apology (in the sense of a reasoned argument or writing in justification of something) hints at an axiom of human nature—avoiding small marginal costs (the $9.99 price tag and the 9/10s cent added to gas prices). Ten words it must be. This code will aid the perplexed, homesick, and abandoned among us… a bold claim!

The approach is pretty simple (elegant?)… the non-coded message comes first, followed by the delimiter word CODE. A mix of code words and specifiers completes the message. Specifiers might be a specific item (keys in the example below) or the name of a city or hotel. There is also the interesting parts of speech variation indicating 1) a statement with no need to reply, 2) a question expecting a reply by letter, and 3) a question expecting a reply by wire (telegram).

Example Codes

The bulk of the book lists the actual code words as conceived by the authors. One thing that becomes obvious is that some of these codes are jocular or even absurd. There is no differentiation or explanation of these. My favorite is…

Jab = The servants have left, the house is on fire, all the children have smallpox, and I have lost a filling out of my tooth… but don’t think of hurrying home.

Each section ends with a page or two of unassigned code words, presumably for readers to add their own messages. I’m trying to imagine using the word Bigot in a telegram to my grandmother?!

Love these intimate messages!

I see the moon and the moon sees me, and the moon sees somebody I want to see.

Will you marry me, or won’t you? Wire yes or no, using Johnson Code.

The last makes no sense since yes and no are not code words. I guess they expect sweet nothings to follow a yes, not sure what you’d say after a no?

…Perchance cheese and coffee would amply suffice.

Appendices

The book ends with two chapters that are only loosely connected to the code system (as far as I can tell). The first is titled Model Letters. Not sure if you were supposed to take out a sheaf of pre-written letters and read them based on the code words?!

Poetry… ?!

And finally, a description of how to play the Game of Telegrams.

Another Example

During our discussion my neighbor produced a Ford Model T Parts Catalog also from 1914. It turns out they used an extensive system of code words to indicate how and what you were ordering!