Monthly Archives: August 2025

Oh Me, Oh My

The New American Digest Posted on by

Got up this morning at my usual "Why am I awake at this ungodly hour" time and headed down to the office.

And stepped into this:

Apparently. the main sewer line to the septic tank was a bit plugged and the combination of shower, laundry, dishwasher, and toilet flushing caused a backup. Thing is, it was OK last night when I closed things up so the backup happened sometime between lights out and lights on this AM.

The water was "clean" but still black water so it's not just a matter of drying things out. Carpet has to go, padding definitely has to go. Some of the drywall absorbed too much water so it goes. Luckily, damage to personal goods was minimal and the base floor is concrete.

But EVERYTHING has to be moved: office, storage, book cases (full), and other miscellaneous junk that has accumulated over the years.

Well ... it was getting time to re-organize and re-configure my workspace anyway.

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Sinclair Refinery

The New American Digest Posted on by

Not far east of Rawlins, WY is the town - so to speak - of Sinclair. In 1922, the Producers and Refiners Corporation selected this location for a refinery; it started operation in 1923. The company bought the land surrounding the refinery as a location for its employees. The resulting planned community was considered one of the most modern at the time. Mail arrived at the refinery addressed to "P&R Co" which led to the town to be named Parco.

Sinclair bought P&R Co and renamed the town in 1943. The town never had more than a few hundred inhabitants - latest census puts the population at around 350 - but the original refinery is still active and most of the original town structures remain as part of a historic district. However, most commercial activity occurs in Rawlins - only about 7 miles west.

Funny thing: there's a Sinclair gas station at the east exit off I-80 leading into town. It is not cheap.

A few miles east of town is the location of the Hell-On-Wheels town of Benton. For three months during the summer of 1868, Benton was notorious as the most devilish of the hell-on-wheels towns that existed during the construction of the Union Pacific portion of the Transcontinental Railroad ("transcontinental" being Omaha to Sacramento). Nothing remains of Benton.

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It Go Boom!

The New American Digest Posted on by

If you had only paid more taxes to "Save The Planet"™

The Krasheninnikov volcano, located on Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, sent ash 6 kilometers, or 3.7 miles, into the sky. A 7.0-magnitude earthquake accompanied the eruption. The plume is spreading eastward from the volcano toward the Pacific Ocean. This is the first historically confirmed eruption of the Krasheninnikov volcano in 600 years. It has been said that the amount of ash blown into the sky is the equivalent to the exhaust of a large diesel pickup.

"moderate explosive activity could continue" so quick - send those Climate Change tax dollars to your favorite politician so that the Congress-critter can prevent this from happening again.

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Wesleyville, Kentucky

The New American Digest Posted on by

In my younger days when I still lived "east", I found myself taking odd roads into odd places. One of those places was off I-64/US60 in eastern Kentucky known for a region of accessible caves. This took me off the beaten path along which I passed this building in Wesleyville.

I don't do caves anymore ...

Wesleyville is listed as a "populated" place but I found no other evidence of a "town" - or even hamlet - at this location other than this building alongside a narrow road heading up into a "holler". When I took this photo, I didn't know it was the heart of "town" - there is no town, at least not when I passed by.

The building was up a short way along what is labeled here as "Jordan Fork".
From this image, it appears the building no longer exists.

This structure was a church, school, and meeting hall - possibly all at the same time - and was built sometime around 1882. It is possible the building also held the post office and local "emporium". Locals told me of "pie suppers" being held in this building as late as the 1940s.

The building was locked when I discovered it but peering through cracks, the floor was in bad shape and the roof obviously leaked. There was no glass in the boarded up windows and no furniture or furnishings. Snakes, possums, coons, and skunks were likely inhabitants.

Imagine the stories if only the walls could talk.

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