Money Maker

No, not talking about Wall Street or starting your own business; we're talking about the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), where they make the actual paper bills you use to buy stuff. Most people don't know there are only two of these in the world where all the American paper bills are made - Washington, D.C. and Fort Worth, Texas, and both offer free tours (Tuesday - Friday, 8:30 - 4:30) where you will learn all kinds of interesting information and actually watch money being made.

If you do decide to take a tour, be aware you will have to leave your camera and smartphones at home or in your car (parking at the facility is free and is fenced and guarded) as there is absolutely no photographs allowed inside the facility. Don't think you can sneak one in either as you will have to enter the building through a metal detector just like at the airport except the guards are very diligent about watching the x-ray machines and the metal detector is turned up  to catch anything metal. Although the guards are friendly and helpful, they are extremely watchful and they are everywhere! Follow the rules and you are guaranteed to have an interesting and very informative time!

Here are just a few money tidbits:

All of the bills are designed at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (part of the U.S. Treasury) by professional artists. After the overall design is approved, the artwork must go through a lengthy approval process by the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Reserve Banks, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and the U.S Secret Service. Once it's a go, certified Engravers using specialized tools carve the drawings into metal plates. To be a certified Engraver requires ten years of study and work as an apprentice!

It takes 4 weeks to produce a bill from the start of its life as a sheet of highly specialized blank cotton and linen paper to being finished currency.

In 2018, it costs 5.6 cents to print a $1 dollar bill. The cost for the larger denominations is: 11 cents for a $5 dollar bill, 11.7 cents for a $10, 10.8 cents for the $20, 12.9 cents for a $50 and 13.2 cents for the $100.

Denominations larger than the $100 bill were last issued in 1969.

The motto "In God We Trust" only became a part of the design of paper money by an act of Congress in 1955.

You can fold a piece of paper currency forward then backward about 4,000 times before it will tear.

The estimated life span of a $1 bill is 5.8 years; 5.5 years for a $5 bill; 4.5 years for a $10, 7.9 years for a $20, 8.5 years for a $50 and 115 years for a $100.

The design of the $1 bill has not changed in more than 50 years, longer than any other denomination.

A picture of Thomas Jefferson is on the front of the $2 bill. Before he became president, he wrote the Declaration of Independence. That is why there is a famous painting about the Declaration of Independence on the back.

Alexander Hamilton is on the front of the $10 bill. He was the first person to run the U.S. Treasury, which is why there is a picture of the Treasury Building on the back. The $10 bill is one of only two bills that do not have a picture of a president on them. The other? The $100 bill with Benjamin Franklin's picture. One of the many things he is famous for is printing some of America's first bills.

As of December 31, 2017, there was $1,571.1 billion in circulation, totaling 41.6 billion notes in volume.

For the year 2019, the Federal Reserve ordered 7,046,400,000 individual bills to be printed with a total of $206,905,600,000 in dollar value.

The facility in Fort Worth completes the production of bills at the rate of approximately 18 million notes per day worth approximately $31 million.

Visitors who take the tour will enjoy two floors of interactive exhibits and displays showcasing the history of paper currency and the production process. Before starting the tour, be sure to watch the educational film "How Money is Made" in the theater. 

The facility is located at 9000 Blue Mound Road, Fort Worth, TX 76131. For more information, call (866) 865-1194.

The Anonymous Moon Tree

There's a loblolly pine tree next to the Sebastian County Courthouse in Ft. Smith, Arkansas that has traveled where few humans have ever gone. The tree, planted in a ceremony on Arbor Day in 1976, was a sprout from one of about 400 seeds Apollo 14 astronaut Stuart Roosa carried to the moon and back in February 1971. Arborists call it a "moon tree."

Unfortunately, few people know anything about the significance of the tree. There's no marker, no historical placard, no informational sign at all so even most of the folks who work at the courthouse, tourist information workers, and public information workers are unaware of the tree's history. And so it stayed anonymous until not that long ago when a public information officer for the Arkansas Forestry Commission arrived in town asking about it.

The information he brought with him proved the seed of the tree was one carried to the moon by Roosa, a former U.S. Forest Service smokejumper. A mostly unknown story is that when Roosa returned from space, the packets of seeds exploded during decontamination procedures. Scientists said the seeds were dead after being in space and undergoing decontamination. But then, just to be sure, a few of the seeds were planted in starter containers. The "experts" were surely surprised when the seeds proved to be unexpectedly hardy and sprouted! 

After proof of life, some of the seeds were planted in a patch of ground next to earth-bound seeds of the same variety for NASA to study and determine if seeds in space grew any different. Almost 50 years later, no difference has been evident. A large number of the space seeds were given to various Forest Services regional offices and Arbor Day groups to be planted around the nation during ceremonies celebrating the national Bicentennial Year.

All together, Arkansas received four of the space seeds and all were planted at the same time. In addition to the Fort Smith tree, one was planted at the Forestry Services office in Little Rock, one in Monticello and the other was planted in Old Washington Historic State Park in Hope. The Little Rock tree and the Monticello tree died in the mid-1990s from root nematodes. Both the Washington State Park and Fort Smith trees remain in good health and are available for you to touch, hug and take a selfie with a living entity that has been to the moon!

Postcard from The Chairy Orchard

"The Chairy Orchard"

There's a wonderfully whimsical little place you should take a few minutes to visit if you find yourself in Denton, Texas - "The Chairy Orchard." Nope, that's not a misspelling."The Chairy Orchard" was started in 2015 in an empty suburban lot between the houses owned by long-time friends Anne Pearson and Judy Smith, affectionately known as "The Chairy Fairies." The ladies have owned their homes and been friends for over 40 years now. 

The lot is in a floodway so no permanent structure can be built on it. In earlier days, the lot was the site of their children's and grandchildren's and even great-grandchildren's soccer games, volleyball games and skateboard ramps. Forts were built and swings were hung from "The Big Tree." Easter eggs were hidden and found and games of tag were conducted. Over the years, the sounds of childish laughter and squeals of delight filled the ground between Anne and Judy's homes. 

In 2015, with the children mostly grown, Judy began attaching chairs to the trees at the rear of the property and named it "The Chairy Tree." Ann wanted to expand the pun by creating "The Chairy Orchard." With that thought, one thing led to another and "The Chairy Fairies" began collecting chairs from all over town. Most of the dozens of chairs were found at thrift stores, garage sales, dumpsters and curbs.

"Chairy Arch"

An artist friend, Mark Holderbaum, agreed to build an entryway arch so Ann and Judy collected 30 metal chairs which Mark welded into a "Chairy Arch" so the orchard could have a grand entrance. Terry, Judy's son, built a giant chair and her grandson, Drew, built "The Chairy Totter." Small chairs still get attached to Anne's fence, "The Chairy Wood Fence." Chairs are also attached to an oak tree named "Jim's Chairy Tree." When chairs die due to weather and age, they are laid to rest in "The Chairy Graveyard."

The mission of "The Chairy Orchard" is simple - to make people smile. To this end, it is open to the public from dawn to dusk. "The Chairy Fairies" enjoy seeing people walking around smiling, taking pictures and having a nice time in their little park which has lately been the site of Easter egg hunts, engagement photos, pot luck dinners, birthday parties, prom and graduation pictures, baby photos and even weddings. 

The author in the "Giant Chair"

There is no charge to visit, but there is a box set up for folks who are so inclined (and I hope everyone is!) to give a donation to help "The Chairy Fairies" pay for the orchard's upkeep and to thank them for being such good, generous people who are bringing a smile to stranger's faces. The Chairy Orchard is located at 1426 Churchill Drive. It is a quiet, suburban neighborhood and visitors should be respectful of the good folks living there and their property.

Postcard From The Last American International Boundary Marker

Road-side markers for the Texas-Louisiana
boundary marker along FM-31

Just about 10 miles south of Deadwood, Texas and 6 miles from Logansport, Louisiana on Texas FM-31 is a little pull-off site with just enough room for three or four cars to park on the bare ground. Off the beaten path would be a good term for it. Actually, it's so far out in the boonies, you gotta be going there to get there. But this little nondescript spot is historically significant.

In the 1700's, French and Spanish land claims overlapped on the current Texas-Louisiana boundary. Of course they began disputing this New World boundary as each country claimed Texas. The dispute was still going on when the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803. The government leaders finally agreed to a neutral area between the Arroyo Hondo and the Sabine River. In 1819, the Adams-Onis Treaty formally defined the border. Questions arose again when Texas won its independence and became a republic in 1836. Texas appointed a joint commission with the U.S. to survey and mark an official boundary from the Gulf of Mexico to the Sabine River and on to the Red River.

The survey began on May 20, 1840 and after an exact spot was determined, a 36-foot pole was placed in the middle of a large earthen mound on the Gulf of Mexico beach. Proceeding north, they placed 8-foot posts which marked the number of miles from the 32nd parallel. When they reached the parallel, they placed a granite marker on the west bank of the Sabine River and then traveled due north to the Red River. The survey was completed in late June, 1841.

A few years later, erosion caused the granite marker to fall into the river and it was lost to history. Fortunately, the surveyors had placed a second granite marker on their northward path to mark the north-south meridian. On the east face of the marker they chiseled "U.S." and on the west face "R.T." for Republic of Texas. 

That marker is what you will find if you venture to this quiet, very rural little place. So what's so remarkable about this marker? It is one of a kind - the one and only international boundary marker to be found inside the contiguous United States! Except for this one, all others have been lost to time, erosion or vandals.

Susanna Dickinson - Alamo Survivor

Susanna Dickinson
Historical photo

Contrary to what a lot of folks believe, there actually were Texan survivors after the March 6, 1836 battle of the Alamo. Approximately eleven Mexican women and children, the wives and children of several Alamo defenders, survived the final assault. When the final battle began, Brigido Guerrero, who had deserted from the Mexican Army in December 1835 sought refuge in the sacristy (a room near the alter for keeping vestments, sacred vessels, and parish records) with the women and children and was spared after convincing the soldiers he was a prisoner of the Texans. A black man, Joe, Lt. Colonel Travis' 20-year-old personal slave, also survived. In addition to these fortunate few, two Caucasians survived, Susanna Dickinson, the 21-year-old wife of Texan defender Almaron Dickinson and their 15-month-old daughter, Angelina.

Susanna and Almaron were married in 1829 when she was only 15. Almaron, an early proponent of succession from Mexico, volunteered for the Texas Army and fought in the Battle of Gonzalez, the first armed conflict which launched the Texas Revolution. He later took part in a series of skirmishes which by late 1835 forced Mexican forces out of the San Antonio area. After being assigned to the Alamo garrison, Susanna joined Almaron and they lived in a house outside of the Alamo's grounds. 

On February 23, 1836, Mexican president Santa Anna led approximately 4,000 troops into San Antonio. For safety, Almaron quickly brought Susanna and little Angelina inside the walls of the Alamo. For the next 13 days, the Mexican army lay siege to the Alamo. During this time, Susanna cooked for the 189 defenders and cared for the wounded and sick.

At 5:30am the morning of March 6, Santa Anna gave the order to his troops to advance. Susanna, Angelina, and most of the other noncombatants gathered in the chapel sacristy. Later, Susana reported that Davy Crockett ran into the chapel and said a brief prayer at the alter before running into the battle. The Texans managed to beat back the first two charges, but the Mexicans breached the walls on the 3rd massive charge. During the next hour, there was a furious, bloody, savage battle, mostly hand-to-hand, in which the impossibly out-manned Texans fought for their lives. The last combatants to die were Almaron, the captain of the artillery and his 11 soldiers who were manning the two 12-pound cannons not far from the sacristy just inside the chapel. A few seconds before the final assault on their position, Almaron ran to his wife and said, "Great God, Sue, the Mexicans are inside our walls! If they spare you, save my child!" He kissed her and ran back to his post. 

The entrance to the chapel had been barricaded with sandbags, which the Texans were able to fire over, but a shot from the Mexican 18-pounder cannon destroyed the barricade and Mexican soldiers entered after an initial musket
volley. Dickinson's crew fired their cannons into the Mexican soldiers, killing and wounding a large number of them, but they had no time to reload. Dickinson, Gregorio Esparza, James Bonham (the 29-year-old 2nd cousin of Travis who came to the Alamo with Jim Bowie), and the remaining Texans grabbed rifles and fired before being bayoneted to death. Texan Robert Evans, the master of ordinance, had been tasked with keeping the gunpowder from falling into Mexican hands. Severely wounded, he crawled towards the powder magazine but was killed by a musket ball with his torch only inches from the powder. If he had succeeded, the blast would have destroyed the chapel, killing Susanna and the other women and children hiding in it. As soldiers approached the sacristy, the 8-year-old son of defender Anthony Wolf stood to pull a blanket over his shoulders. Four Mexican soldiers killed him with their bayonets.

Angelina Dickinson
Historical Photo

Mexican soldiers found Susanna huddled in the chapel and brought her to General Santa Anna. He spared her and the baby, then offered to adopt Angelina and have her educated in Mexico City. Susanna refused so he gave her $2 and a blanket and along with Joe, Travis' slave and Ben, a former American slave who was serving as a cook for the Mexican forces, dispatched them to the Texas army in Gonzales with demands that she spread the news of the destruction that awaited those who opposed the Mexican government.

After arriving in Gonzales on March 13, the three found Sam Houston and told him of the fall of the Alamo. They also told him of the number of Mexican forces and the armament they carried. She also told details of the 13-day siege, the final battle and the aftermath. Over the years, she stated:

•  There were very few causalities among the Texans during the first 12 days of almost unceasing bombardment from Mexican cannons. She confirmed the legendary "line in the sand" incident, where Colonel Travis gave defenders the choice of staying or leaving. 
• On the morning of the assault, Almaron ran into where she had hidden, made his final statements to her and then returned to his duty. She never saw him again, nor did she ever see his body.
• The two young sons of artilleryman Anthony Wolf,> ages eleven and twelve, ran to their father as the Mexican soldiers entered the chapel. She watched as they were bayoneted to death, along with their father.
• When she was discovered, a Mexican officer intervened. She believed he was a British mercenary named Almonte. He actually was Juan Almonte, who spoke perfect English, as he had been educated in New Orleans.
• Outside the chapel, there was a single survivor, found hiding, who unsuccessfully begged for mercy and was killed. Joe also reported this.
• She saw the body of  Davy Crockett lying among a number of Mexican bodies between the chapel and the barracks building.
• She saw the body of Jim Bowie with two dead Mexican soldiers lying beside him.
• She was taken to the house where she'd previously lived and from there could see the pyres of the dead Texans being burned.
• Santa Anna had her identify the bodies of all the commanders and main defenders.

Being illiterate, Susanna left no written accounts, but gave the same verbal recollections on several occasions. After Texas defeated Santa Anna and his forces at San Jacinto and won its independence, Susanna moved to Houston and married again the next year. She very quickly divorced him on the grounds of cruelty. She married again in 1838, but her husband died several years later of alcoholism. She married a man by the name of Bellows in 1847, but they divorced in 1857 after he found she was having an affair. Outraged at the scandal, members of the First Baptist Church objected to her attendance there. She voluntarily left the congregation.

Susanna married for the 5th and final time in 1858 to J. W. Hannig, a cabinet maker who was 20 years younger than her.  They moved to Austin and she remained married to him until her death there in 1883. She was buried in Oakwood Cemetery with her stone inscribed "Sacred to the Memory of Susan A. Wife of J. W. Hannig Died Oct. 7, 1883 Aged 68 Years." Some modern day researchers and analyst claim she probably suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) due to her traumatic experience at the Alamo and this affected her path in life. Hannig followed her in death in 1890. The state of Texas added a marble slab above her grave on March 2, 1949. Because of her tarnished reputation, the marker simply reads “Mother of the Babe of the Alamo.” In 1993, a cenotaph honoring Susanna was placed in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.

Susanna never had any other children. She gave her permission for Angelina, at the age of 17, to marry John Maynard Griffith, a farmer from Montgomery County. Over the next six years, the Griffiths had three children, but the marriage ended in divorce. Leaving two of her children with Susanna and one with an uncle, Angelina drifted to New Orleans where rumors spread of her promiscuity. She moved to Galveston and allegedly became a prostitute. She died at the young age of 35 in 1869, reportedly of a uterine  hemorrhage. She was buried in Galveston, but her grave site was lost in the Great Storm of 1900. 







One of the surviving Hispanic children, Alejo Pérez, Jr., was the son of Juana Alsbury and her husband, Alamo defender Alejo Pérez, Sr. He was brought into the Alamo by his mother and was seventeen days short of his first birthday at the time of the last assault. He grew up and lived his whole life in San Antonio, where he was later a policeman. He died on October 19, 1918, the last survivor of the Alamo.