You are buying a high quality 2T (2.1mm thick) Rhodium plated (Silver Tone) photo dog tag.If you want keychain instead of dogtag please let us know The image is actually engraved on the tag so you get a high quality image that is embedded into the dog tag. The image does not fade or peel, and lasts for the life of the pendant.*Please note the dog tag is NOT BLACK in color. The engraved picture is like a hologram on the shiny surface so you have to turn it to the light to see the engraved image as sold in your local mall. Each 29mm by 50mm pendant comes with a FREE sausage chain which is at least 30 inches long (easily cut down with a pair of scissors)* and FREE gift box. *Please Note We do have ENGRAVING SERVICE for engraving messages,names,dates..for back of the dogtag.Please look at our store for engraving service or Contact us.

Rest stop on Interstate 80 in Iowa. Easier to read if made larger

quilting pattern often overlooked in today’s society isthe Underground Railroad quilt code. Used during the timeof abolition and the Civil War, this visual code sewn into thepattern of quilts readied slaves for their upcoming escape andprovided them directions when they were on their way to free-dom. While there were ten different quilts used to guide slavesto safety in free territory, only one was to be employed at a
time. In order to memorize the quilt code, sampler quiltswould be constructed with one pattern next to the other.These patterns were intended to be used as mnemonic de-vices. When the time came, the first of the ten quilts was laidout by fellow slaves either in the window or on a clothesline,until all of the escaping slaves had gotten the message. Thenthe next one would be laid out and so on, until the slaves pass-ing through the plantations had arrived to safety.Instead of taking the time to piece the front and back ofthe quilts together with delicate and precise stitching, theslaves would use simple pieces of twine to join it together.Each tie was placed exactly two inches apart, and was com-prised of a certain number of square knots. This created a gridpattern on the back of the quilt, which is now believed to be amapping indicator between safe houses on the journey (usu-ally, there was a safe house every five to twenty-five miles).This code was kept secret for years, for secrecy and honorare two things most valued in African tradition. Many times,ancestors of some of these escaped slaves recall being told thestory of the quilt code, and then warned against disclosing theinformation. Ozella McDaniel Williams was an elderly African-American woman who sold her quilts in a marketplace downin South Carolina. Mrs. Williams was the one who finallybroke the silence about the Underground Railroad quilt code.She restates the code for Tobin and Dobard’s book, Hidden inPlain View (the bolded words are the quilt patterns in thiscode): “There are five square knots on the quilt every twoinches apart. They escaped on the fifth knot on the tenth pat-tern and went to Ontario, Canada. The monkey wrench turnsthe wagon wheel toward Canada on a bear’s paw trail to thecrossroads. Once they got to the crossroads, they dug a logcabin on the ground. Shoofly told them to dress up in cottonand satin bow ties and go to the cathedral church, get marriedand exchange double wedding rings. Flying geese stay on thedrunkard’s path and follow the stars” (Tobin and Dobard22–23).The Monkey Wrench pattern would have been the first quilt to be laid out from which the slaves could glean informa-tion. This quilt conveyed the message that slaves were sup-posed to begin preparing for their journey to freedom by col-lecting not only physical but also mental tools. As for thephysical tools, slaves would need supplies to set up shelter, acompass, and weapons for defending themselves. By instruct-ing the slaves to collect mental tools, the quilt pattern encour-aged them to be cunning, alert, and knowledgeable about the journey ahead. It also motivated them to reshape their self-image, to realize that they were soon to be free.The second pattern in the code was the Wagon Wheel.This pattern informed the slaves that they needed to begin preparing for the journey by packing food and other provi-sions as one would pack a covered wagon. This advised them to keep in mind what would be valuable on the journey, what type of materials would be needed for survival. The wagonwheel was an obvious symbol for the moving slave party since wagons were a popular way of hiding fugitive slaves on their way to the next destination.Both the Monkey Wrench and Wagon Wheel patterns are thought to be interconnected in the Underground Railroad code. When the code in Hidden in Plain View states that “the monkey wrench turns the wagon wheel,” art historians seem to believe that it implies that the monkey wrench may have been a person who had authority over the wagon wheel, which symbolized the moving slave party. The monkey wrench is thought to be a person, organization, or group that knew the plantation’s layout incredibly well and was aware of the daily going-ons. This way, he would be able to help without being suspected of anything.The Bear’s Paw pattern is the third part of the code. This pattern instructed the slaves to follow a path that literally had numerous bear paw prints. By following such a trail, the slaves would inevitably be led to both food and water. In areas throughout the country where bears were considered to be scarce, the pattern was given other names. In Pennsylvania it was often called the “Hand of Friendship,” and in New York, “Duck’s-Foot-in-the-Mud.” The Bear’s Paw pattern is remark-ably similar to the African Hausa embroidered map of a vil-lage. Both patterns share similar shapes and a centralized de-sign. For example, the Hausa King’s House would be anequivalent to th

After many years of debate, Fort Worth researchers identified this site in 1957 as the location of the city's first Masonic lodge. For more than twenty years, lodge members met in a two-story hall at this location. The group organized in 1854 and received its charter the following year as Fort Worth Masonic Lodge No. 148, A.F. & A.M. Members initially rented space for meetings and began construction on their own lodge hall in 1857. The new building offered space for lodge functions on the second floor, which was a single room, and the Masonic group operated a school on the ground level. The first floor space was divided into two rooms and was available for public meetings and church services. Donated to the lodge by Middleton T. Johnson, the site of the lodge once lay outside the city's populated area. The hall sat well beyond the old fort grounds, and even at about four blocks east of the public square it was built on unplatted land outside the city's business district. Although plain in appearance, the red-brick building signified progress and civilization. Its two stories faced west with a bell tower over the main entrance. In 1871, Lawrence Steel, a member, sold the lodge an English-made bell (c. 1782) that became known as the Masonic bell. It rang to announce stagecoach arrivals, fires and the start of the school day. By 1878, the Masons had outgrown their lodge hall at this site, and they moved to a new building at Second and Main. Lodge No. 148 has continued to be a strong presence in the community, spawning an additional fifteen lodges in Fort Worth. (2006)