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We must remember that back in 1898 in a local area like Pine River it was not easy to investigate a crime or a death.
The steps are very complicated in murder investigations today.
Here is a much more detailed explanation of a murder investigation, I am sure there are better websites to consult but it will do.
So if we take and compare the murder of my great-grandfather George A. Barclay to the standards of today's murder investigations we see that there are a lot of discrepancies. I confess that I am a big crime scene fan (CSI), but drama is not reality. I am going to jump in and take some of the steps in the above link and share my thoughts below regarding George's murder based on the documentation that I have found. If only Sherlock Holmes could help?
1. The murder is reported by someone who comes across the victim. That person is asked to remain on site.
In this murder case there are many people who witnessed the actual event and were nearby who heard the gunshot.
The news of the crime occurred when the railroad office was contacted requesting medical help for George Barclay. This was described in the "Cold Blooded Murder," article which I featured in my post dated November 28, 2013 titled: Cold Blood Murder and Cowardly Crime, November 1898. I will be referring to those two articles a great deal so you might want to go and read them.
"A telegram was immediately sent to General Manager Hear, of the B.& N. M. for a special train with medical assistance, but before this could be procured a second message was received saying that he had passed away."
2. Verification of death of the victim by paramedics or coroner
Someone apparently knew how to determine if an individual had died. It was not made apparent who that was in the records. The nature of the wound and the number of witnesses was probably sufficient. Although each witness had their version of the actual death. Some indicated that George died quickly and others said he lingered for up to 30 minutes. The time of death was given as 7:10 pm and I have seen 7:30 pm given. I have also seen the day mixed up.
I am going for this: Time of death was given at 7:10 to 7:30 pm, October 29, 1898.
3. The scene is turned over to law enforcement.
It is not clear that the scene was turned over to law enforcement. A newspaper tidbit reported that:
On November 3, 1898 in the Cass County Pioneer (Vol. 5, #42, p. 8, col.)
"B.F. Hartshorn and Geo. Hardy went to Pine River to look into the facts concerning the murder of Mr. Geo. Barclay.
B.F. Hartshorn was the Cass County Attorney and Public Prosecutor (1897 to 1903 Cass County History). Geo. Hardy was the sheriff at the time (1897 to 1905 Cass County History). Both of these men will be involved up till the trial.
3. An officer is put in charge of the investigation
Again this is not made clear in the transcripts as to what law enforcement officer was conducting an investigation. Frank Breese, Deputy-Sheriff was at the Coroner's inquest to give testimony regarding the bullet that killed George.
4. The scene is secured to prevent contamination of the evidence.
With all the witnesses and people coming and going that night at Barclay's I doubt that the scene was secured at all. As for contamination that happened immediately. In the testimony at the Coroner's Inquest several people were reported as touching the body. I am sure in the confusion, chairs were moved around.
5. The murder scene is observed and documents with photographs taken.
Photography was not like we have today with digital cameras and instant recording of events. It is not clear to me who observed the crime scene. I am assuming Mr. Sundberg the Justice of the Peace and Acting Coroner did a walk through along with the jury members, maybe Hartshorn and Hardy were there?
6. Evidence is collected and bagged and sent to the crime lab.
In the next post I In a future post, I will review the evidence that was collected. In this case we have the body as evidence and the area around it, the bullet, the post where it logged, the scene of the crime, the hole in the window and glass on the floor, the location from where the gun was fired, witness accounts and their guns, and more.
7. The body is first removed and taken to the coroner's office for autopsy.
This was not done until the inquest was over and even then I do not see any evidence of an autopsy performed. George's body remained where it had crumpled till the Coroner's inquest was completed. A Mr. E. F. Lynch who resided at Brainerd, Crow Wing County, Minnesota was an undertaker for D.M. Clark & Co. He was called upon to prepare the body of Mr. Barclay for burial. He testifies in what appears to be the Grand Jury proceedings.
7. People are interviewed who were involved with the murder or nearby when the murder occurred.
There are many witnesses that gave testimony at the Coroner's Inquest. I cannot tell if anyone else did any interviewing of the witnesses other than at the Coroner's Inquest.
The Cass County Historical Society published a book in 2010 titled:
Murder and Mayhem, True Crime Accounts Cass County 1897-1938
The authors collected documentation from many sources and they feature right at the very beginning the George Barclay Murder in Pine River in 1898, pages 1 to 24. There are many other names and cases discussed in this book. A copy may be obtained from the Cass County Historical Society for about $25.00. http://www.casscountymuseum.org/publications.html
In this book you will find a pretty good coverage of the sources that were generated regarding the murder of George Angus Barclay. Since they probably had a space issue they were unable to publish all of the information so you have to keep in mind that it is not totally complete. I have most of what they share in this publication and they have other items I do not have which add to the story.
At the beginning of the section on George Barclay there is in introduction taken from the book Logsleds to Snowmobiles: A Centennial History of Pine River, Minnesota (1873-1973), Pine River Centennial Committee, 1979. I would like to caution you that there are mistakes in this introduction. The purpose of this blog was to correct those errors. They state he was killed in the lobby, well there seems to be other information stating it was the saloon area of the hotel. Since there is no floor plan available it is difficult to be clear. First, George was more likely born in Enfield, CT not New Jersey, although I have not yet proved it. I have shared in past posts about George's earlier years and the census places George and his siblings scattered in the Connecticut area around Enfield and Hartford. Alexander and a sister Mary, older siblings, state they were born in Hartford and Enfield respectively. This sort of places a damper on being born in Scotland. His father John Barclay in his Naturalization papers says he came to the United States in 1833. I have posted about this event. However, George and his brother Alexander did not enlist together in the Civil War. George waited a full year before he enlisted. Alexander was older by two years. I have all of their Civil War Service Records and pensions and I have thoroughly shared them in this blog. Again, George did not march with Sherman to the sea, his brother Alexander was the one who did. No where in George's Civil War Service or Pension record which I have shared on this blog does it say that he was with Sherman. However, Alexander's Civil War documents do state this fact. I mapped out their company records so you can see from those maps that they were going in separate directions. Now granted those company records may only cover the main events. Individual soldiers could be sent where ever they were needed. I have shared the article from the Northwest Magazine and the mention that George had 840 acres but I am not convinced. I will tally it someday in the future and see if it matches. Oh and on page 23 Amarilla married George Urton in 1922 and this is not correct she married him in 1919 but I will get to posting on their marriage later.


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Editor's note: Larry J. Sabato, a professor of politics, is the director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics and editor of the Crystal Ball newsletter. Follow him on Twitter: @LarrySabato
(CNN) -- The past few days have been difficult for Mitt Romney. His setbacks include the release of a secret video in which he said 47% of Americans thought of themselves of victims; the news that his campaign is not as cash-stashed as some had anticipated; and the latest poll numbers that show President Barack Obama widening his lead in some swing states, including Ohio.
The smart money is betting on Obama to capture a second term, and it's easy to see why. He leads most major public opinion polls nationally and in the key swing states, and he has many more paths to a majority of 270 in the Electoral College. The probability is that Obama will emerge with a victory.
But we're six weeks out. Theoretically, a lot can happen, some of it driven by the candidates and their campaigns. Could smart decisions, combined with a few favorable circumstances, propel Romney to an upset victory?
We can all come up with fantastical scenarios involving international or domestic crises that would cause a plurality of Americans to say "no more four years" for the president. Occasionally, these things happen, as they did to first-term Democratic President Jimmy Carter. A dramatically shrinking economy, sky-high interest and inflation rates and the agony of the Iranian hostage crisis swamped his ship of state in 1980.
But let's be more realistic. From now until Election Day, Romney's chances to surprise us will largely be dependent on the debates as well as his ability to better capitalize on the relatively weak economy.
Goodness knows Romney has been practicing enough for the three debates scheduled to be held October 3, 16 and 22. Inevitably, the Republican has some zingers prepared that will bring down the house -- well, the Republican side of it.
Opinion: Republicans risk being the party of mean
The key is to weave a larger narrative about what he will assert are "Obama's broken promises and failures" that can persuade the nation to do what it has been historically reluctant to do: send an incumbent packing. Romney has to employ outrage to energize his base yet use a tone that communicates more sorrow than anger that "it just hasn't worked out as we had all hoped it would four years ago."
Ronald Reagan scored a knockout in his 1980 debate with Carter, and John Kerry landed enough hard punches to stun President George W. Bush in 2004's first debate. Can Romney measure up? And can the debates become intriguing enough to draw an audience that consists of more than confirmed Republican and Democratic partisans who tune in to cheer for their side? It's not easy to do in a polarized year when voters are dug in and as many as 95% of those who will cast a ballot have made at least a tentative presidential choice.
Aside from the debates, Romney's best path to triumph is to portray himself relentlessly as an exceptionally qualified "Mr. Fix It" on the economy and to make hay of the economic reports still to come, assuming they contain bad news.
Growth is still very slow, and the unemployment picture is unlikely to brighten before the election. The final jobs report will be released on the Friday before the Tuesday election; a disappointing number could enable Romney to win over a disproportionate share of the remaining undecided voters, though there might be few left.
Romney has another advantage. He might benefit from the news media's desire for drama. Even though Republicans see the news media, on the whole, as biased toward Obama, most journalists aren't keen on a cut-and-dried presidential contest.
Opinion: Why do the Romneys pay so little in taxes?
For ratings purposes, if nothing else, they want a close, competitive race where the momentum goes back and forth. Otherwise, it will be 40 days and nights in the desert, much like it was in the numbing, dramaless 1996 match-up between President Bill Clinton and his Republican challenger, Sen. Bob Dole.
To win against the rising odds, Romney and his team have to exceed expectations in many ways and run the near-perfect campaign that has eluded them so far. That's very hard to achieve, but American electoral history is dotted with astonishing comebacks that defied the predictions of experts. It is not impossible that 2012 could record yet another.
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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Larry J. Sabato.

subset: commoncrawl


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Sister Joan Chittister famously said, "We are each called to go through life reclaiming the planet an inch at a time until the Garden of Eden grows green again." Reflecting on that journey -- a blog at a time -- is the focus of this site.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
10 Questions For Katharine Jefferts Schori
10 Questions For Katharine Jefferts Schori
By JEFF CHU
Rough waters aren't new to Katharine Jefferts Schori, 52, a former oceanographer who is the Presiding Bishop-elect of the Episcopal Church of the U.S.A. Bishop Katharine, as she's known, takes over a denomination rocked by controversy at home and abroad for its liberal stance on gay clergy. She talked with TIME's Jeff Chu about her mission of social justice, the relationship between science and religion and whether faith in Jesus is the only path to heaven.
What will be your focus as head of the U.S. church? Our focus needs to be on feeding people who go to bed hungry, on providing primary education to girls and boys, on healing people with AIDS, on addressing tuberculosis and malaria, on sustainable development. That ought to be the primary focus.
The issue of gay bishops has been so divisive. The diocese of Newark, N.J., has named a gay man as one of its candidates for bishop. Is now the time to elect another gay bishop? Dioceses, when they are faithful, call the person who is best suited to lead them. I believe every diocese does the best job it's capable of in discerning who it is calling to leadership. Many Anglicans in the developing world say such choices in the U.S. church have hurt their work. That's been important for the church here to hear. We've heard in ways we hadn't heard before the problematic nature of our decisions. Especially in places where Christians are functioning in the face of Islamic culture and mores, evangelism is a real challenge. [But] these decisions were made because we believe that's where the Gospel has been calling us. The Episcopal Church in the U.S. has come to a reasonable conclusion and consensus that gay and lesbian Christians are full members of this church and that our ministry to and with gay and lesbian Christians should be part of the fullness of our life.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, who leads the Anglican Communion, wrote recently that a two-tier Communion may be a solution. What did you read in his message? The pieces that I saw as most important had to do with the complexity of the situation and the length of time that this process will continue. He's very clear that we're not going to see an instant solution. He's also clear about his role: it is to call people to conversation, not to intervene in diocesan or provincial life--which some people have been asking for.
There's much debate about whether science and religion can comfortably coexist. You're a scientist and a pastor. What do you think? Oh, they absolutely can. In the Middle Ages, theology was called the queen of the sciences. It asks a set of questions about human existence, about why we're here and how we should be in relationship with our neighbors and with the divine. And science, in this more traditional understanding, is about looking at creation and trying to understand how it functions.
What is your view on intelligent design? I firmly believe that evolution ought to be taught in the schools as the best witness of what modern science has taught us. To try to read the Bible literalistically about such issues disinvites us from using the best of recent scholarship.
Is belief in Jesus the only way to get to heaven? We who practice the Christian tradition understand him as our vehicle to the divine. But for us to assume that God could not act in other ways is, I think, to put God in an awfully small box.
Pastoral work can be all-consuming. How do you relax? I run regularly. I like to hike, and I take one long backpacking trip a year. Flying is also a focusing activity. I come from a family of pilots, and it's always been part of my experience. It takes one's full attention, and that's restful in an odd kind of way. It takes your mind away from other concerns, not unlike meditation.
Do you have a favorite Bible verse? Chapter 61 of Isaiah is an icon for me of what Christian work should be about. That's what Jesus reads in his first public act. In Luke, he walks into the synagogue and reads from Isaiah. It talks about a vision of the reign of God where those who are mourning are comforted, where the hungry are fed, where the poor hear good news.
What is your prayer for the church today? That we remember the centrality of our mission is to love each other. That means caring for our neighbors. And it does not mean bickering about fine points of doctrine.
17 comments:
"What is your prayer for the church today? That we remember the centrality of our mission is to love each other."
Ummm... silly me---I thought it was first "to love the Lord God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength..." and then loving our neighbor is what FOLLOWS from that. Since we are only capable of love since He loved us FIRST. KJS is a theological wasteland.
- SUSAN RUSSELL said...
eve -- judging someone "a theological wasteland" based on one response to one question in a secular media interview strikes me as precisely the sort of narrow judgmentalism that has been the hallmark of those seeking to draw lines in the sand rather than build bridges between differences.
Rev. Susan,
Yes, I know it's your blog and your call - but perhaps it's time to institute some rules for your comment section that're similar to those Eliz. Kaeton recently made.
Esp. considering a subset of the crowd you draw ;)
- SUSAN RUSSELL said...
david ... great minds clearly think alike ... or at least ours do! (See the post "What Elizabeth Said" just added!)
+KJS continuously misses the opportunity to express the good news of Jesus as the mediator for our sins and the sins of the whole world, and that through Him we will take on the mission she sees for TEC.
Maybe its her style, but it doesn't relate well to the Way, the Truth, and The Light understanding of who Jesus is.
Her new position has her as Presiding Bishop for the entire Episcopal Church - but her testament looks like its direct at a choir familiar to her.
- SUSAN RUSSELL said...
anonymous ... And I would make the argument that in continuing to focus on grace rather than sin -- on how we are meant to be active in the world on behalf of the Gospel Jesus lived to show us how to incarnate and died rather than compromise -- +KJS is seizing the opportunity to offer Good News that is the essence of the Way, the Truth and the Light.
I'm sorry that I couldn't come near reading (seeing) that message in her Time Magazine interview.
That is why I suggest she is speaking to an audience already familiar with her vernacular and is not speaking to the wider Episcopal Church or those seeking a personal relationship with Jesus.
In light of the problems you've been encountering over here (see the What Elizabeth Said post), let me make one observation (from someone deeply familiar with the mind of the conservativs--since I have one):
I have observed that the conservatives will most often not complain about what was actually said by the person quoted but will instead criticize what was NOT said by the person quoted. It drives me crazy at times.
I get the sense that you have noticed this, too, based on an earlier response on this thread.
That being said, there are some things that the PBE said in her answers that bother me, such as describing Jesus as our vehicle to the divine. That is just a description I have not heard before nor have I thought of Jesus in those terms. Is she harkening back to some midieval mystic again a la Julian of Norwich? Or maybe another culture's Prayer Book (such as New Zealand)?
Your silver looks great here in your living room, by the way.
While I support +KJS wholeheartedly, I have to agree that her theological responses could have been better. The first priority of the church is always to proclaim the good news of God in Christ--and the justice message flows from that. It sometimes seems as if "justice" is perceived, in reaction to conservative evangelicalism, as a wider, more basic and inclusive message than the gospel, but shouldn't we be insisting that it is the gospel that is the most inclusive of all messages, and any human notion of justice is going to be only an approximation of that?
Similarly, I would insist that saying Jesus is the only mediator is not an exclusive, but a genuinely universal claim, since he is the second person of the Trinity, and not only a human being. How that mediation happens for followers of other religions we do not know, but *that* it does is part of our faith. Of course, we should not be imperialistic in attempting to explain or apply this doctrine, but how could there be another road to God than God?
I am afraid I have to agree with Patrick that KJS did not do well in this interview. If this is the best she can do in explaining her faith, then it will not get us far.
However, it is early days so give her a chance to show her ability --- so far we have only seen such very shallow - almost trite - thinking.
We have to assume that her fellow bishops would not have elected her if there had been no more.
- SUSAN RUSSELL said...
patrick, mng, et al ... a little "lesson in the ways of the world" AKA dealing with the secular media: odds KJS took an hour or so to answer those 10 questions ... and the reporter edited her answers down to the soundbites he/she chose to use. Odds are also most of her best stuff ended up on the cutting room floor. So let's cut her some slack and let her develop her theology more fully as we go along.
I will not hold my breath, as my father used to say ,
"this dog dont hunt!"
I am afraid
- SUSAN RUSSELL said...
fear not ... for I have redeemed you ... I have called you by name ... and you are mine.
ok thanks-- well I will just forget about the hunting and treat the little doggy as a pet... but what about food for my family?? and the wolves arrrrg!!! the sheep oh no!!
well never mind then, look on the bright side--I suppose-- oh no its the Spanish Inquisition-- smell of burning flesh
o--I knew I should have listened to my fear-- too late now--
oh well never mind
My father was from the south so I sould translate for more cultured people. This dog dont hunt means " this dog does not hunt" and refers to a situation where you make a significant investment in an asset on trust but when you put it to work it does not deliver.
As a woman and a feminist I am very dissapointed in +KJSs performance so far. she comes across as a competent manager and that is important. She comes across as a NGO official with good social work intentions.She does not demonstrate theological or personal leadership at this critical time and time has pretty much run out.what a lost opportunity, one of several sadly.Others will step into this leadership vacuum how can we help her? time is passing let us not have too little too late but I fear it is so
Rev Susan
I am sorry I would expect a good spokesperson to be able to give such tantilizing quotes that the secular press could not help but print the bits that you wanted to have printed. That is the sign of a successful communicator.
As it is Vicki has said what I have felt about this, and the other interviews, that I have so far read, with much greater eloquence than I could:
"As a woman and a feminist I am very dissapointed in +KJSs performance so far. she comes across as a competent manager and that is important. She comes across as a NGO official with good social work intentions.She does not demonstrate theological or personal leadership at this critical time and time has pretty much run out.what a lost opportunity, one of several sadly"
It is early days, and perhaps with time she will be able to show leadership rather than sound like a wimpy echo of a UN-do-gooder-of-no-theological-substance.
I hope so because we certainly need more than that.
- SUSAN RUSSELL said...
mng ... I guess it's an "eye of the beholder" thing ... I have experieced her to be concise, clear and articulate in print and engaging in person. Time will tell what kind of Presiding Bishop she will be but I believe she is precisely the right person to lead this church at this time.


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The weblog of Irfan Yusuf, bush lawyer, humorist and award-winning author, once a small-c conservative but now politically left right out. His often irreverent take on things appears in some newspapers in Australia and New Zealand and online. His comic memoir "Once Were Radicals: My Years As A Teenage Islamo-fascist" was published in May 2009 and won the Iremonger Award for Public Issues Writing.
Check out this rather colourful discussion between Greg Barnes, Rob Stary and Peter Faris QC about the rehabilitation of child sex offenders. Thanks to Crikey.


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The Pipeline
Beer's Long and Winding Road From Brewery to Glass
You pop open a bottle of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, an old reliable that you've been drinking since the 1980s.
You tear the pull-tab off a tallboy can of Oasis, a double IPA from a microbrewery halfway across the continent that showed up without fanfare a local retail outlet.
You have the bartender draw you a pint of The Public, a hoppy pale ale from the first packaging brewery in Washington, DC, since the Eisenhower Administration.
Did you ever think about the long and winding road that your beer took from the brewery to your lips?
It's a Big Beer World
There are over 13,000 brands of beer registered in this country, according to the National Association of Beer Wholesalers. Some accounts, like the Westover Market in Falls Church, VA, will take whatever you've got. The grocery store lines it shelves with over 1,000 brands for takeout and operates a small bar and beer garden. "It's chaos!" laughs Zachary Duarte as he shows me their cold room, which contains an Everest of kegs and cardboard cartons, alongside boxfuls of dormant tap handles.
Most businesses need to be more selective. Recently, I was allowed to sit in on a meeting between Dogfish Head Craft Brewery's Sam Calagione, a partner in Manhattan's recently-opened Birreria brewpub, and the managerial staff as they plotted beer orders. The group poured over a printout listing units sold over the past month for 35 brands: house-brewed and guest beers, bottled and draft. Written next to each were comments like "sold three 50-liter kegs in five days," "spikes depending on crowd," "failed to sell well." Calagione says he's a proponent of "craft beer Darwinism": "If a beer is doing well, award the brewery with another tap to see how it goes."
Birreria, perched on the fifteenth story of a high-rise cater-corner from Manhattan's famous Flatiron Building, attracts a young, adventurous, well-heeled crowd who are willing to pay $10 a pint for house beers like the chestnut mild and thyme pale ale, and as much as $38 a bottle for some of the specialty imports from Calagione's Italian partners in the venture. "People want a back story here. They want to have fun," remarks general manager Allen Arthur.
Selling in the Shadows
If you can't offer the connoisseur every beer in existence, give him or her something that nobody else is pouring. That's the idea behind the "tap takeovers" that have become an increasingly important promotional tool for craft breweries.
At Rustico, a multi-tap in Arlington, VA, Peter Egleston, president of Smuttynose Brewing Co. in Portsmouth, NH, is chatting up the clientele. Mike Harbin and Chuck Matthews of Specialty Beverage, Smuttynose's Virginia distributor, set up the meet-and-greet and supplied Rustico with a half-dozen strong, scarce, limited-edition beers from the New Hampshire brewery. They include Homunculus, a Belgian-style strong golden ale, and a 2009 vintage of Gravitation, a quadrupel brewed with 200 pounds of pureed raisins.
"Fifteen years ago, this was a business where you sold a large volume of product at small margins," reflects Egleston. The distributor dropped off kegs and cases of Bud, Miller, Heineken and their ilk and the beers leapt off the shelves and out the taps, aided by the millions that the large brewers invested in advertising.
Increasingly, though, the industry is about hand-selling. He adds, "For an account like this, it's a feather in their cap to offer a bunch of beers that nobody else has. It gives them bragging rights." Whereas brewers used to cultivate brand loyalty, today they practically reward brand disloyalty by releasing a steady stream of new and innovative brands.
Later this year, Specialty Beverage's Harbin says he'll travel to St. Louis to visit another of his clients, Schlafly Brewing Co. There he plans to help formulate and brew a beer that will only be available in the Virginia market.
"We do a big part of the work for them," says Harbin of the breweries he works with. "We're the fingers of their hand."
Keep on Truckin'
Homunculus and the other Smuttynose specialty beers took a roundabout route to get here. They were shipped from the brewery in New England down south to Specialty Beverage's central warehouse in Richmond, VA, then were trucked back northward another 100 miles to this Washington, DC, suburb.
Welcome to the three-tier system.
Brewpubs aside, most beer in this country passes through the hands of three parties before it reaches your mug, with the wholesaler or distributor acting as middleman between the manufacturer and the retailer. This system has been in effect since Repeal. Garrett Peck, author of The Prohibition Hangover, credits this setup to John D. Rockefeller, the richest man in America of that era, who was an ardent supporter of Prohibition until rampant crime and flouting of the law left him disillusioned.
"Before Prohibition, the brewers owned the bars; there was a great deal of fear we would return to this system," notes Peck. Rockefeller proposed revamping the beer business to make it more like the soft-drink industry. "One of the key goals was to break apart the vertical integration of the brewing industries," he explains. The distributor was a kind of buffer zone that prevented alcohol manufacturers from directly owning chains of bars. What's more, each time the alcohol changed hands, you'd get a further markup on the product (Peck estimates 30-35 percent en route to market). "That meant no cheap booze again."
The three-tier system might add a few pennies to your beer purchase but it definitely has its advantages. The National Beer Wholesalers Association, one of the country's most influential PACs, credits it with creating "an orderly marketplace" instead of a free-for-all where producers flood the market with cut-rate alcohol. And the NBWA isn't off base when it lauds the system for promoting diversity in the marketplace. If America had a "tied-house" system where the large breweries operated most of the bars, the big guys could have strangled the baby in the cradle by preventing nascent craft breweries from ever getting to market. Conversely, if big-box chain stores like Walmart and Costco could buy directly from large brewers at a discount, they could force mom-and-pop retailers (the most receptive venues for smaller craft brands) out of business.
"Without the three-tier system, guys like me never get to market," Hugh Sisson, founder of Heavy Seas Beer in Baltimore, once confided. Indeed, the Brewers Association, the Boulder, CO-based organization that represents America's small, independent beermakers, strongly supports an independent middle tier.
The distributor is often the unsung hero of the pipeline that spits out fresh beer in unlimited quantities and guises. The mere act of delivering the liquid is an unglamorous but necessary task. The Brooklyn Brewery in New York used to operate its own distributorship, the Craft Brewers Guild. In one year, they ran up $60,000 worth of parking tickets navigating the streets of the Big Apple.
A Good Partnership is Crucial
Jonathan Frye of Hop & Wine, a craft distributor in Vienna, VA, lists "narrow back alleys" and "winding staircases" as two of his least favorite aspects of the job. To haul product to the Birreria brewpub in center-city Manhattan (possibly the highest brewpub in the nation in terms of distance above the surrounding terrain), deliverymen need to take one elevator up 14 stories, then use a second elevator (specially built for this purpose) up an additional flight. Customers need to use these same elevators, so deliveries are scheduled early in the day, preferably before the 11:30 a.m. opening hour.
But a good distributor is more than a trucking company. It's a partner who helps the client brewery move beer by setting up displays, organizing special events like beer dinners and tap takeovers, removing cobwebby, past-its-peak beer from store shelves, and educating retailers on what makes a beer worth buying.
When New Belgium Brewing Co. in Fort Collins, CO, decided to move into the Mid-Atlantic region, it interviewed 40 different distributors before cobbling together a network of 17 wholesalers to serve its new Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC, markets. Montgomery County in Maryland presented a major roadblock to complete coverage. This is probably the only locality in the nation where the county government is the sole licensed wholesaler of alcoholic beverages. With a monopoly comes an attendant lack of service. Montgomery offered to warehouse and deliver beer, but wouldn't agree to any other services, and wouldn't even promise to keep packaged beer refrigerated at all times. According to New Belgium's Mid-Atlantic regional director Neil Reeve, the brewery struck a deal with a neighboring distributor (Premium in Frederick, MD) to store extra beer at the proper temperature and truck it to the Montgomery County warehouses on an as-needed basis. Premium also agreed to keep an eye on the beer once it reached the marketplace. Adding another tier, in effect, to the existing three will make it more expensive to deliver beer, but New Belgium refuses to compromise on freshness issues.
A distributor also works with a brewery's sales reps to allocate liquid. How do you allot limited seasonals and one-off beers? "A lot of arm-wrestling goes on," says Joe Whitney, Sierra Nevada's director of sales and marketing. "All the sales managers make an argument as to why their market deserves the lion's share." As a rule of thumb, if Sierra Nevada sells 10 percent of its year-around brands in a certain area, that area will get 10 percent of a special release like Hoptimum (an imperial IPA spiced with experimental hop varieties) or the brewery's Ovila series of abbey-style beers. Sierra Nevada will occasionally make exceptions. For instance, San Francisco got a disproportionate share of Fritz and Ken's Ale, an imperial stout that former Anchor Brewing owner Fritz Maytag collaborated on.
Occasionally, a distributor will place beer in a venue that a brewery rep might have overlooked. Brad Phillips, Mid-Atlantic rep for Sierra Nevada, recalls getting flak from some retailers who felt shortchanged when beers like Hoptimum started popping up in a 7-11 in Arlington, VA. But that 7-11 is situated in an affluent, rapidly growing area and is able to move higher-end brands.
Staying Fresh
DC Brau makes it easy on its distributor, Hop & Wine. This Washington, DC, microbrewery sells its entire output of about 60 barrels a week to around 100 accounts in the District of Columbia, none more than a few miles from the brewery. "We're a pretty simple account for them. They come once or twice a week and sell it all in three days," says co-founder Brandon Skall. He further asserts, "Anything you drink in a restaurant was kegged within the last week."
Being local is a virtue, but also a necessity for such a tiny operation. Not only are The Public, Penn Quarter Porter and other DC Brau brands available only within DC, but only at bars and restaurants—establishments that sell beer for strictly on-premise consumption. Skall believes this market strategy is better for brand-building. You can deliver a parcel of beer to a supermarket or liquor store and a single customer or two can buy out the entire stock. But in a bar or restaurant, patrons will generally limit themselves to a pint or two, allowing more people to sample the beer. DC Brau, however, will sell you six-packs of cans or growlers at their tasting room on Saturdays.
Tallgrass Brewing Co., a four-year-old microbrewery in Manhattan, KS, with an output of about 10,000 barrels a year, employs a different marketing strategy. Tallgrass distributes its Oasis Ale, Buffalo Sweat (a cream stout) and other beers in 14 states, as far north as the Great Lakes, as far south as Mississippi, and as far east as Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Regarding Virginia, Tallgrass founder Jeff Gill said he was approached at the 2010 Great American Beer Festival by Jacob Brunow, a representative of Brown Distributing in Richmond, Va. "He said he was impressed with the quality of the beer, and the fact our beer was in cans." (Not just your garden-variety twelve-ounce can, but sixteen ouncers, an unusual size for craft beer.)
"We weren't really seeking that market out," admits Gill, "but we knew it was growing and that intrigued us." Besides, "you have to sell beer where the people are. There are only 2.5 million people in Kansas and Guiffre (a northern Virginia wholesaler) might have that many people in its distribution area."
Selling beer so far afield does create certain problems. It's hard to keep an eye on your Virginia market when you're 1,100 miles away on the prairie, so Gill employs a part-time salesperson who works on commission—his "feet in the street"—to conduct samplings and make sure local stocks are replenished on a timely basis. A skillful beer rep, he says, "knows the beer bars and the players and how to market your beer to make it feel like it's been sold there for 20 years."
Transportation is also an issue. Tallgrass generally ships its beers in refrigerated trucks, although Gill admits that in the winter he might settle for an ordinary box truck. Actually, for December and January deliveries to Minnesota, insulation (to keep the beer from freezing) is more important than refrigeration. "If the trucker stops for the night, it can get pretty brutal!"
Gill says he's thinking of sharing a truck eastward with other breweries to cut down on expenses. "A lot of Colorado breweries are shipping east, and we're down I-76, eight hours from Denver."
Riding the Rails
Transportation is an even bigger issue for Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. in Chico, CA, the nation's second largest craft brewer with 780,000 barrels sold last year. Sierra Nevada ships to all 50 states. Before it's loaded onto the truck, the brewery's flagship pale ale is prepped for a journey that can take as long as a week to go cross-country to an East Coast distributor, then another 3-4 weeks before it winds up at the retailer. It sits for six days in a brewery warehouse while the yeast naturally carbonates the beer. Then it's hoisted unto refrigerated trucks that maintain the temperature between 42 and 49 degrees.
Unpasteurized and only roughly filtered, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale contains more malt and hops per cubic unit than mass-market beers, which means more ingredients that can break down at improper temperatures, Whitney explains. Refrigeration, he maintains, is "more essential" for craft beers than for pasteurized mass-market lagers from Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors, which in recent years have relaxed their requirements that their beers be kept refrigerated every step of the way from brewery to point of sale. (These beers are kept instead in "temperature-controlled" areas where the mercury can rise up to sixty degrees.)
About half of all Sierra Nevada shipped to the East Coast rides the rails. Sending beer by train "is a little more sustainable," notes Whitney. "It doesn't use as much fossil fuel." The drawback is that trains "don't go everywhere—only to the major hubs." The beer then has to be transferred to a truck for the final leg of the journey, which can add a week to ten days to the travel time if the beer, for instance, is bound for Birmingham rather than Boston.
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale has a shelf life of 150 days, so a journey of about a month from brewery loading dock to your refrigerator does cut significantly into the beer's window of salability. (It's little wonder that many imports, facing a trans-oceanic voyage, are freshness-dated a full year from bottling.)
Given the length and breadth of this country, it's amazing that drinkers on the East and West Coasts (and let's not forget the Heartland) can enjoy one another's beers at near-peak freshness. It's worth raising a toast to the pipeline that delivers so effectively.
Greg Kitsock
Greg Kitsock writes a monthly column on beer for The Washington Post, and is editor of Mid-Atlantic Brewing News and associate editor of American Brewer Magazine.


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…but it is nice to come home afterward and discover something like Amazon's nominees for the best book cover of 2009. I happened to read Jonathan Tropper's This is Where I Leave You not too long ago (at my dear friend Amee's suggestion — thank you!) so I am a bit partial to its Gray318-designed cover for that reason. I can say the same for Baking by James Peterson (designed by Nancy Austin and Katy Brown) and the Momofuku cookbook by David Chang and Peter Meehan (designed by Marysarah Quinn), both of which I got for my birthday last month. And while I do like Doogie Horner's work on Seth Grahame-Smith's undead take on a Jane Austen classic, I couldn't get past the second chapter of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, so my biases work both ways, I suppose.
This is as good a time as any to direct you all to one of my favorite blogs, the Book Design Review, where book and design junkies like me can get a regular cover fix.
Oh, and I should tell you that Keith and I are fine. Our car might not be, but we are. In the (belated) spirit of the holiday, we are both very thankful for that.


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Keep food safe during holiday celebrations
Food-borne illnesses affect millions of people every year, and with summer grilling season here, WISN 12 News' Patrick Paolantonio has some ways to make sure you're not one of them.
Campers at the lakefront for Milwaukee's fireworks show come with tents, tables and lots of food.
"We are using two different grills because we are doing pork and chicken and hamburgers," said Marshall Duke, who is grilling by the lake.
Duke is playing it safe to avoid cross contamination and so was Brian Klabunde.
"Make sure you're using clean hands and utensils, knives, and keep the meat refrigerated or on ice," Klabunde said.
He brought a food cooler and a drink cooler with him.
Sue Perry from ShopSmart magazine also recommends two coolers -- one for beverages and the other for perishable food. She said the food cooler should be packed the right way.
"If you're bringing raw meat like the burger patties already made up or chicken that's sitting in marinade or whatever, make sure that meat is really well wrapped, and put it at the bottom of the cooler because you don't want the meat dripping on your other food. You risk cross contamination by doing that," Perry said.
Since cross contamination can happen in the kitchen as you're prepping, Perry said wash your hands between jobs, every time you touch new food, and wash all fruit, including melons.
"Bacteria and organisms that can cause food-borne illnesses can sit on the outside of those rinds, so when you slice into it to make your fruit salad or to put out some slices of watermelon lets say, you could be introducing problems," Perry said.
A few other reminders:
- Cook with a meat thermometer. Don't guess on the cooking times.
- Don't put cooked meat on the plate you used for raw meat.
- Anything that's meant to be served cold, like salads, serve it on ice.


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This year's program will provide two and one-half days of presentations, preceded by optional workshops, and followed by time to research in the nearby Family History Library. The presentations will be Wednesday through Friday, August 12-15, and the pre-conference workshops will be Monday and Tuesday, August 10-11.
Some of the speakers will be Canadian genealogist Dave Obee, in addition to Thomas K. Edlund, Joe Everett and Nathan Murphy, just to name a few of the top-notch speakers that will be at Salt Lake City. .
To see the full program, go to http://feefhsworkshop.org
There is also a blog at http://feefhsworkshop.org/blog


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Event Category:
Texas Folklife Event
Event Date:
Wed Aug 14, 2013 - 5:00AM
All star list of Big Squeezers - Nachito Morales of Dallas (2011 Champ), Anthony Ortiz Jr. of Austin (finalist), and Michael Lopez Ramos of Dallas (2013 Champ.)
Josh Baca, Texmaniacs accordionist, and guest accordionist Robert Casillas of San Antonio. Even Oscar Garcia, Texmaniacs bassist, takes a turn at the jam!
All anchored by one of the most experienced, smooth and capable bajistas in conjunto music - Mr. Max Baca.


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Valerie Steele
Books Every Fashion Designer Should Read
I never read a book that changed my life, but I did read two scholarly articles on the significance of the corset that launched me on my career and, thus, really did change my life forever.
I was in graduate school at Yale, and my classmate Judy Coffin gave a presentation about two articles in the feminist journal Signs—one by Helene Roberts, which was a standard feminist critique of the corset as a fashion oppressive to women, the other by David Kunzle, claiming that tightly laced corsets could be sexually liberating for Victorian women. It was as though a lightbulb suddenly went on, and I realized: "Fashion is part of culture. I can do fashion history."
But when I went to the library, with a few exceptions, all I found were either antiquarian studies of "costume history" or fashion journalism. Fashion history did not really exist as a field. So when I began working on fashion, I made myself essentially unemployable—at least by any "normal" university.
The first book that seemed to offer any kind of hope was Anne Hollander's Seeing through Clothes, but that was art history, and I was in the history department (although I did take some art history classes with Jules Prown and Robert Herbert that had a big influence on my later work). I was a naive graduate student, so when I read David Kunzle's book Fashion and Fetishism, I thought that meant that the corset had already been "done," so I wrote my dissertation on the erotic aspects of Victorian fashion—with a long chapter on the corset, that disagreed with both Kunzle and Roberts. That became my first book, Fashion and Eroticism.
It wasn't until almost 20 years later that I finally wrote The Corset, after organizing a major exhibition on the subject. In between, I wrote what was probably my best book (and certainly the most fun to research), Fetish: Fashion, Sex & Power. Recently, I've been writing mostly exhibition catalogues, like Gothic: Dark Glamour.
Over the years, I've built up a library of about 2,500 fashion books—including a sub-collection of books by the fin-de-siècle French writer Octave Uzanne, such as La Femme à Paris. Some day, I hope to write a book about Uzanne's ideas about fashion and the femme fatale. I've also spent many happy hours in libraries around the world, from the Bibliothèque des Arts Décoratifs in Paris to Berlin's Lipperheide Costume Library and the library at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. In 1997, I founded Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture, which has helped provide an interdisciplinary forum for new publications on fashion.
I don't know how many fashion designers actually read books; it's my impression that a lot of them are "visual" people, who would rather flip through magazines and look at pictures. On the other hand, most fashion books do have pictures, and there are certainly many intelligent and creative designers who might be interested in discovering some intriguing titles. To that end, I've drawn up the following list of books on fashion that I think are really brilliant.
Nonfiction, Interior Design
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Total Armageddon: A Slanted Reader on Design edited by Ian Lynam
Total Armageddon: A Slanted Reader on Design
Edited by Ian Lynam
Publisher: Slanted Publishers
Published: March 2019
Total Armageddon is about design. And culture. And complexity, notably how we, as a global civilization, deal with science fiction, taste, social media, the cities we live in, aesthetics, PowerPoint, burkas, Big Tech, full-contact sports, and other thorny topics. The book celebrates 15 years of independent publishing and brings together a who's who of authors and essays from 32 issues of Slanted Magazine.
A Field Guide to Color by Lisa Solomon
A Field Guide to Color: A Watercolor Workbook
By Lisa Solomon
Publisher: Roost Books
Published: August 2019
In this creative workbook you'll discover fresh ways to connect with color in your art and life. Using watercolors, gouache, or any other water-based medium, explore color theory while playing with paint through a balanced blend of color experiments and loose color meditations. This inspiring workbook will change the way you relate to color
Five Oceans in a Teaspoon by Dennis Bernstein and Warren Lehrer
Five Oceans in a Teaspoon
Poems by Dennis Bernstein
Visualizations by Warren Lehrer
Introduction by Steven Heller
Publisher: Paper Crown Press
Published: September 19, 2019
"From a kidnap note for a world held hostage by an A-bomb, to a Holocaust survivor's tattooed arms where the numbers just don't add up, Five Oceans in a Teaspoon re-envisions a poetry memoir via a textual kaleidoscope... Bernstein and Lehrer are the Rodgers and Hart of Visual Poetry." — Bob Holman, poet, poetry activist and chronicler, and founder of the Bowery Poetry Club
Ballpark: Baseball in the American City by Paul Goldberger
Ballpark: Baseball in the American City
By Paul Goldberger
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Published: May 2019
An illustrated, entirely new look at the history of baseball: told through the stories of the vibrant and ever-changing ballparks where the game was and is staged, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning architectural critic.
Charleston Fancy by Witold Rybczynski
Charleston Fancy: Little Houses and Big Dreams in the Holy City
By Witold Rybczynski
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: May 2019
Charleston, South Carolina, which boasts America's first historic district, is known for its palmetto-lined streets and picturesque houses. The Holy City, named for its profusion of churches, exudes an irresistible charm. Award-winning author and cultural critic Witold Rybczynski unfolds a series of stories about a group of youthful architects, builders, and developers based in Charleston: a self-taught home builder, an Air Force pilot, a fledgling architect, and a bluegrass mandolin player.
Teaching Graphic Design History by Steven Heller
Teaching Graphic Design History
By Steven Heller
Publisher: Allworth Press
Published: June 2019
An examination of the concerted efforts, happy accidents, and key influences of the practice throughout the years, Teaching Graphic Design History is an illuminating resource for students, practitioners, and future teachers of the subject.
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With so many different entertainment options out there for your children, we at PopcornBiz thought we'd take a moment each week to dissect one piece of family entertainment strictly from a parent's perspective, so that you know what parts are appropriate for your loved ones, and which are not. This week's COVER YOUR EYES subject: "Jurassic Park".
Hey, did you know people are actually watching "Terra Nova"? I know, I couldn't believe it either. I thought FOX had badly misjudged our national thirst for dinosaur-themed TV shows that look cheap despite costing a fortune. But "Terra Nova" has made modest gains since its disappointing premiere, which means that we may on the verge of another dinosaur trend in pop culture. With that in mind, let's take a look back at the movie that started the whole modern CGI dino craze: "Jurassic Park", which recently became available on Blu-ray. That movie and "Terra Nova" share a common contributor in director Steven Spielberg. Is Spielberg's original creation safe for young eyes? Let's consider a few factors.
The "Will Parents Be Able To Tolerate It?" Factor: Oh hell yeah. "Jurassic Park" has giant dinosaurs running amok and eating people and it's got Samuel L. Jackson saying, "Hold onto your butts," which isn't quite as good as him saying the MF word, but is close enough for you to appreciate his presence on screen. And the special effects haven't aged poorly. The dinosaurs still look real, realer than they do on "Terra Nova," actually.
The Dead Parent Factor: No dead parents in "Jurassic Park". But there's a whole lotta dead everything else.
The Violence Factor: Okay, so we have the lawyer getting picked up off the port-a-potty and eaten by the T-Rex, which is both funny and scary, but mostly scary. Then we've got the British hunter dude getting stalked and eaten by raptors, which is quite scary. Then we've got Newman from "Seinfeld" crashing his Jeep and coming face-to-face with some kind of weird cobrasaurus that spits poison in his face and then feasts upon his considerable girth. Then we have Laura Dern stumbling upon Sam Jackson's mutilated remains. So that's a bit... graphic.
The Language Factor: Jeff Goldblum says the s-word, which will totally corrupt your kids, far more than them seeing people get cleaved in two by a freakin' dinosaur. I'm sure that will have no impact on them at all.
The Sexy Sex Sex Factor: Some light flirting between Goldblum and Dern. Who knew chaos theory could help you score chicks?
The Scare Factor: The scene where Wayne Knight's villain gets his comeuppance was the scariest part for me, because you KNOW he's going to get eaten, but Spielberg teases it out to almost unbearable lengths. The rest of the movie is a scare-a-minute, from the first T-Rex chase all the way to the T-Rex vs. raptor climax at the end. Showing your kid "Jurassic Park" is like taking them on their first big-time roller coaster. It'll scare them to death, but they'll beg to do it again afterward. It's a masterfully bloodless exercise in big-thrill entertainment.
Age Range: Ten and up. That sounds a bit severe for a supposed family movie directed by Spielberg, but the original "JP" is basically a bloodbath set to a John Williams score. If you expose a six-year-old to it, you're an idiot.


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- Do the courses that I'm currently taking appear on my transcript?
- How long does it take for NMU to process my transcript request?
- How can I confirm that my transcripts were sent?
- What is the difference between an unofficial (student) transcript and an official transcript?
- How do I order an NMU transcript?
- Can I access my transcripts on the Web?
- How do I change my name on my Northern Michigan University transcript?
- Can I ask that my transcript request be held until my degree is posted or a specific grade is recorded?
- Can I request an official transcript before the end of the current semester and have those grades appear on the transcript?
- Does my Northern Michigan University transcript list courses I transferred from other colleges or universities?
- How can I obtain copies of my transcripts from my high school or other institutions?
- Can my friend or relative order or pick up my transcripts?
- What if I have an account balance? May I still obtain a transcript?
- How do I get a course description for a course listed on my NMU transcript?
- Are my SAT, ACT or AP scores listed on my transcript?
- Can I request my undergraduate and graduate transcripts separately?
Do the courses that I'm currently taking appear on my transcript?
Yes, current courses and courses registered for next semester appear on both your unofficial and official transcript. The courses are marked IN PROGRESS.
If you are transferring, you should withdraw from all pre-registered courses before you request a transcript. If you don't, you'll have to order another transcript for your new school once those courses are dropped.
How long does it take NMU to process my transcript request?
NMU makes a reasonable effort to provide transcripts quickly. Each student's transcript request is equally important and transcript requests are processed in the order received. All transcript requests received in person or by mail are normally processed in two to three business days, not including the date received. If transcript request volume is heavy or if we experience technical issues, it may take a day or two longer to process. Conversely, if transcript volume is light, transcripts may be mailed the following business day. All transcript requests are processed in the order in which they are received and on a first-come, first-served basis.
One day service transcripts must be received prior to 11 a.m. EST in order to go out in the same business day's mail. All other one day service transcripts will be processed the next business day. During the summer, one day service transcripts will only be processed Monday - Thursday. Any one day requests received Friday - Sunday will be processed Monday morning.
Spring/Summer Hours: NMU is open for business Monday - Friday, 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
The university is closed on Saturday and Sunday.
School Year Business Hours: NMU is open for business Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
The university is closed on Saturday and Sunday.
How can I confirm that my transcripts were sent?
Use the online service and you will receive e-mail notifications on the status of the request and when it is sent. Please allow adequate time for the mail to deliver your transcript to it's destination. It's always smart to follow up with the receiving institution to make sure that your transcript is properly routed once received. If it has not been received, and it has been at least two weeks, you can call the Registrar's Office at 906-227-2278 to confirm that your transcript has been sent or if it was returned by the post office. The National Student Clearinghouse web site also has a "transcript ordering/tracking" link.
What is the difference between an unofficial (student) transcript and an official transcript?
An official transcript is a chronological listing of your academic record completed at Northern Michigan University. Official transcripts are on official paper, include the university seal and are certified by the registrar. Official transcripts come in an envelope with the registrar's signature across the envelope's seal. Official transcripts are used for transferring to other institutions, professional certification and for employment purposes.
An unofficial (student) transcript is an uncertified and unsealed copy of your academic record on white paper primarily for your own personal use. NMU will onlu issue unofficial transcripts to the student.
How do I order an NMU transcript?
See the Web page: How to request transcripts
Can I access my transcripts on the Web?
Currently enrolled students can access their unofficial transcripts at no charge on mynmu.nmu.edu. Students will need their (e-mail) user ID and password to access their transcripts.
How do I change my name on my NMU transcript?
All name changes require official documentation. A photocopy of one of the following is required: marriage license or court order and an updated drivers license.NMU requires all name changes to be registered with the Social Security Administration prior to changing your name. This means any name change must be identical to the name which appears on your Social Security card. The processing of financial aid is tied into a national financial aid database that uses the Social Security number and the name on the social security card as provided by the Social Security Administration. If the name does not match, financial aid processing is rejected. Please allow one week for the processing of the name change on your transcript.
Can I order that my transcript request be held for semester grades or until my degree is posted?
On the official transcript request form, you may check one of the following:
- Mail transcript immediately
- After current semester grades
- After degree is posted
If the after current semester grades are posted is marked, your transcript will be held until the semester grades are posted to your Northern Michigan University transcript. Transcripts are usually mailed the following Friday after the semester ends.
If the after degree is posted is marked, your transcript will not be sent until your degree is posted to your transcript. Degree posting generally takes about four to six weeks after the semester ends. But, students who submit a transcript request prior to the end of the semester and check the HOLD FOR DEGREE box will usually have their degree posted much sooner.
If you have an account balance with the university, we will not be able to process your request until payment in full is made.
If you are expecting a change of grade or the completion of an incomplete grade, you may make a notation on your transcript request so that your transcript will not be sent until the specified change has been posted to your transcript.
Can I request an official transcript before the end of the current semester and have those grades appear on the transcript?
On the official transcript request form, you may check the after current semester grades are posted. If you do not mark the "after current semester grades are posted" on your transcript request, your transcript will be mailed immediately and you will then need to request another transcript after your grades are posted.
Does my NMU official transcript list courses I transferred from other colleges or universities?
Official transcripts list the transfer school and the credit hour statistics for the courses that transferred to NMU. All transcripts from Fall 2004 and beyond do not include a transfer credit GPA for students. You will need an official transcript from your previous school[s] to officially document those courses.
How can I obtain copies of my transcripts from my high school or other institutions?
You will need to contact your high school and/or college and order transcripts from the issuing institutions. NMU cannot issue transcripts from other institutions.
Can my friend or relative order or pickup my transcripts?
No, transcripts cannot be requested by your friends or relatives. The Family Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 prohibits Northern Michigan University from releasing your transcript to anyone without your explicit written consent. However, If a designated individual provides NMU with a transcript request form signed by you and a photo copy of your drivers license, NMU will accept the transcript request. The designated individual will also need to present picture identification when ordering the transcript and/or when picking up the transcript.
What if I have an account balance? May I still obtain a transcript?
You may only obtain an unofficial transcript. All financial obligations to the university must be cleared before an official transcript will be issued. For information about your student account, please contact the Student Service Center, 2201 C.B. Hedgcock, 906-227-1221. Currently enrolled students can pay their bills online at e-bill through MyNMU.
How do I get a course description for a course listed on my Northern Michigan University transcript?
Course descriptions are available on the Web from a choice of university bulletins. Course descriptions from the late 1960's and early 1970's are also available on the Web.
Please utilize the on-line resources for course descriptions. For course descriptions not listed on the web, please submit a request in writing to:
Registrar's Office
2202 C.B. Hedgcock
Northern Michigan University
1401 Presque Isle Avenue
Marquette, MI 49855-5323
Are my SAT, ACT or AP scores listed on my transcript?
Test scores do not appear on your Northern Michigan University transcript. Students can contact the College Board or ACT website for information on how to obtain their test results.
Can I request my undergraduate and graduate transcripts separately?
The Michigan Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers require that transcripts contain all essential academic data such as: dates of attendance, courses taken, grades and credits awarded and degrees received. Your entire academic record, undergraduate and graduate level work, if applicable, are included in each set of transcripts you order. Under the established university guidelines, NMU must provide a complete transcript including undergraduate and/or graduate work, if applicable.


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Casengo is customer support software, crm, webcare and live chat software for webshops, e-commerce websites, and small businesses. Casengo supports email, livechat, social media, faq, self service and online chat.
Check the Casengo Customer Support and Live Chat FAQ page for answers to frequently asked questions, and how to get Casengo customer support software, live-chat, and helpdesk software going.
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Mr. Idiot: "It works fine, but I don't like the side effects."
Dr. Grumpy: "What kind of side effects are you having?"
Mr. Idiot: "If I stop taking it, the pain comes back."
A Blog detailing the insanity of my medical practice and the stupidity of everyday life.
Sweet bejeezus...It's people like this that make me think we should be allowed to cull the herd! We seriously need to start cleaning out the gene pool ;-)
I have that same side effect with alcohol. If I stop drinking, the drunken stupor tends to fade.
Perhaps you should inform this patient that they should stop breathing, as that is a guaranteed way to make the pain stop.
(...sound of me banging my head against the wall...)
How dumb can some people be?????
May I never be as ignorant with my neurologist as Dr. Grumpy's patients are with him!
Seriously G how do you not laugh in these peoples faces? Or at least sit there with a dumbfounded "how are you so stupid" look on your face?
I guess he figured it was like a course of antibiotics? Take 1 tid x 10 days and tada, your pain is gone forever?
If only it worked that way!
Oh my - I just discovered your blog, and immediately signed on.
I often want to ask my own incredibly harried G.P. if he is on crack cocaine, but I will definitely refrain after reading what you doctors go through.
She's going to list it as an allergy.
Really? You must be making this up...really.
Have a safe weekend. : )
Angelina- I wish.
I think he shared his level of intelligence for the guy who called 911 tonight claiming he was "assaulted and stabbed with a box cutter" only to discover that then english translation for what he said is better known in the medical field as a "paper cut to the pinky".
Oh, and I read through some older posts- i LOVE the "people of walmart" website. Have you seen the one about three or four pages from the end ofthe goat? Yeah, just a random goat. In a walmart. Cracks me up.
Stupid really should be a diagnosis.
I agree with Candice - "mental
subnormality NOS" (ICD-9 code
319) just doesn't give the same
satisfaction as "stupid".
Little Calf Creamery. Delicious homemade ice cream and food in Thousand Oaks!


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I'm pretty sure that if a cute stranger offered to take me to a romantic European city for the day, I would probably say "No, but thank you. I'm just too awkward for that." And I wouldn't even fret about possibly missing out on an experience of a lifetime because, luckily, there are plenty of young adult romances that can satisfy my "but what would have happened?!" curiosity. Just One Day by Gayle Forman (and its companion book, Just One Year) is the perfect choice for armchair travel because the heroine just happens to be quite introverted herself, and thus, very relatable to us classic Librarian-types 😉
Just One Day begins with sensible, quiet Allyson feeling ready for her graduation trip around Europe with a teen tour group to be over so she can go home to the States. Yeah, that whining-about-being-in-Europe part isn't that relatable to me, but granted her best friend has gotten a little bit wild/annoying, and the tour skipped over Paris–the one city Allyson wanted to see on the tour. But then she runs into a cute street actor who had flirted with her during his performance the night before…AND HE OFFERS TO TAKE HER TO PARIS! YES! YES! YES! So Allyson tells him her name is Lulu and hops on the train to Paris with him (and then promptly has several panic attacks on the train about him leaving her, killing her, making a fool of her, etc–this is actually the moment where I went from liking the book to LOVING the book). Lulu/Allyson and Willem spend an amazing day running around Paris and then live happily ever after. Swooooooon.
Well, until the next morning when Allyson wakes up alone in an empty Paris art studio.
With lots of tears and panic, Allyson finds her way back to London and her tour group and then back home to the United States. We then follow her through her first year of college as she learns to overcome her broken heart and embarrassment. After a long self-inflicted isolation, new friends help Allyson discover that she needs to revisit Paris and find Willem–partly because she believes that there is a mystery surrounding the morning Willem left her and partly because she needs to prove to herself that she is in control of her life.
Sorry, I can't tell you if she finds Willem…BUT I will tell you that the companion book Just One Year tells the story of what happened to Willem during his year apart from Lulu. He does quite a bit more traveling…that is all I will say.
These two books are a must read for fans of Stephanie Perkins, John Green and Maureen Johnson and anyone else who likes a little independence and a little travel with their romances.


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Brownie Large Wallet by Kipling. Everyday fashion meets essential function in the Brownie Large Wallet. To help you stay organized, Kipling's thought of everything. Multiple card pockets and plenty of special compartments offer space for all the essentials in this clever interior.
- Nylon wallet with flap and press button
- Inside of flap holds 2 windows for pictures
- 4 Compartments, one of which has a zipper for pocket money
- Front flap with press button that holds:
- 2 more compartments
- 13 card pockets in different sizes
- Size: 19 L x 10 H x 3 W cm
Want help with ordering or need more information? Can't see what you want? Call us! If Kipling have it, we can get it cheaper than anywhere else on-line!! Please contact us on 01637 876698 & we'll be happy to help!
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For shipping large items of luggage outside mainland UK, please contact us as an additional charge will be required.
Returns Policy
If you want to return your order within 14 days of having received your goods. A full refund will be issued if it is clear the products haven't been used or damaged in any way & in their original packaging. When returning items you will be responsible for them until they reach us. Postal costs incurred by yourselves will not be reimbursed.


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The United States Marshals Service is a faction and form of law enforcement in Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2. Marshals operate around each games' respective maps and are also called in to pursue players with high bounties throughout the American portion of each games' map. "Marshals" is also a class of playable multiplayer characters.
The U.S. Marshal Service is the oldest American federal law enforcement office, the office being created by the first U.S. Congress in the Judiciary Act of 1789. Marshals in Redemption and Redemption 2 are heartless and usually in charge of one county.
The most prominent marshal in the Red Dead Redemption story is Leigh Johnson; the Sheriff of Armadillo. In single player, the player can obtain the U.S. Marshal Outfit.
When the player has an active bounty and has killed at least 20 law officers, Marshals are called in to pursue the player in place of the local law enforcement. Marshals will not pursue the player into Nuevo Paraiso, but can sometimes be found waiting at the border if the player tries to cross over to New Austin while the bounty is still active.
Similar to the first game, in Red Dead Redemption 2 Marshal's only start to come after the player has a high enough bounty and are called in to pursue the player in place of the local law enforcement.
Red Dead Redemption
- Bert Leverick
- Earl Hollingsworth
- Guy Crossfield
- Isaac McKinnon
- Leigh Johnson
- Marion Freel
- Randolph Knox
Red Dead Redemption 2
Red Dead Online
Rockstar added Marshals as playable multiplayer characters on October 1st, 2010, giving access to eight characters in the Outfitter. For more information on these characters see the Marshals section of the Multiplayer Characters page.
As in single player, NPC Marshals will pursue characters with bounties in multiplayer.
When the player becomes a Public Enemy, Marshals will often spawn near the player and start pursuing him\her. This can sometimes happen in the wild, though they often spawn relatively close to a town or settlement. It does, however, depend on the player's location.
In Multiplayer, Marshals will not give the player a chance to surrender. They will shoot at the player on sight.
- The U.S. Marshal badge is the symbol used for the third level of Legend in multiplayer.
- The Mexican Army acts as their counterpart in Nuevo Paraíso.
Pursuit by Marshals is a factor in the following achievement/trophy:
5 gamerscore
Bronze bronze
Evade the U.S. Marshals while riding the Hungarian Half-bred in single player.


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Gripping story: Case of the hugging handyman
"I thought it was cute," the woman explained. "Then it got oppressive."
She was describing a neighbor's unusual approach to doing odd jobs around her house: He charged much less than the going rate– but, she claims, expected hugs in return, hugs he termed "an exchange of energy."
This is one of those rare times when I'm not going to use real names, because the potential for humiliation outweighs any potential gains. Let's call the woman Eleanor Harris and the man Richard Pine.
Pine, who is retired, enjoys doing repairs and small construction projects around his subdivision. He does good work, and Harris was delighted to find someone who would work for only $7 an hour– but then those "energy exchanges" started feeling pretty expensive, and she began to dread them.
The last time he gave her an estimate for a job, she claims he said, "I'm going to charge you $100 plus hugs."
An avalanche of miscommunication followed. Harris, assuming that meant he'd be charging even less than his usual $7 an hour, replied, "Oh, no– I want your regular rate." In other words, what she hoped he'd hear was "I'll pay you $7 an hour, and no hugs." But since nothing was made explicit– let alone put in writing and signed by both parties– the agreement was left open to interpretation.
Pine installed a rainwater catchment system for Harris and did some other work inside the house. Three months later, he sent her a bill for $275, which included $20 for mileage, $63 for materials, and 14 hours of labor– at $14 an hour. In other words, Harris deduced, his rate doubled when it didn't include hugs.
Harris balked, and sent him a check for $77 along with a note promising to pay another $77, for a total of $154– but no more. Pine accepted that amount, even though it meant that, after subtracting the $63 in materials, he received only $6.50 an hour. I'm intentionally omitting the $20 in mileage, which I believe Pine should deduct as a business expense on his tax return (assuming, of course, that he even reports this income) and not charge clients for.
I spoke with Pine, who said, "My wife told me my hugs were going to get me in trouble, and I guess they did." He said, however, that whether or not he expected to get any hugs from Harris "didn't enter into" his decision to raise his prices; rather, he simply decided to charge a more realistic rate. Whatever the reason for the increase, he says that "I really should have told her" explicitly instead of simply issuing a bill based on a higher hourly rate.
Now, as for those hugs. Pine claims that he always asks his clients, saying, "Would you care to exchange some energy?" Harris disputes this, however, and remembers no such question; her memory is that Pine would just hold out his arms and say something like, "Let me have a hug– you know, it's that great exchange of energy."
I asked whether he asked male clients whether they'd like to "exchange energy" with him, and he said that he does.
"Do any ever say yes?" I asked. Yes, he replied, a few do; and whenever someone, male or female, declines, he respects their wishes.
I hope that in the future he'll confine this kind of "energy exchange" to his wife and other friends– and skip it entirely with clients.
Do you have a consumer problem or question? Email the Fearless Consumer, write her at 100 Second Street NW, 22902, or call 295-8700 ext. 406.


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Culinary Cafe
We are a culinary center so, of course, we take our food very seriously. Our diners find a gourmet experience that will delight even the most discerning food lover. Culinary Cafe offers a varied multiple course menu every Tuesday from Noon - 1:30pm for $12.Find out more »
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Master Sup (a certified Tae Bo instructor) will motivate you every step of the way to a toned body. He will change your life one kick, one punch at a time. Combining boot camp, cardio, body sculpting, and A3 training for a maximum fat burning regiment is his method for achieving the best overall body […]Find out more »


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>Divers who have had this procedure should wait at least three months after the surgery before returning to diving and should be careful to avoid a facemask squeeze - it's important to avoid imposing the "Boyle's Law Stress Test" on these corneal incisions.
>If you are a diver and considering having this procedure done, I would recommend that you also ask your eye surgeon to discuss the potential advantages of photorefractive keratectomy, the alternative refractive surgical procedure discussed below.
>For more information on vision issues, see the complete article by Frank K. Butler Jr., Captain, Medical Corps, United States Navy on High-Pressure Ophthalmology
>from Alert Diver.


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He still has two up in the same auction. The big concern is the quality of the cardback. He's been using a single image group for every auction. I'll try to take a shot when mine arrives - he shipped it yesterday, apparently. I'm a lazy ebayer and didn't bother asking him beforehand.
I'll see what yours looks like before I order one from him... but that's a damn good price.
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22 February 2008
2006 Villa Pozzi Nero d'Avola
The name of the grape does not come from the Roman emperor but rather the simple Italian word for "black", as in a black grape from the town of Avola on the southern tip of Sicily, near the historic town of Syracuse (Siracusa).
I served it with a bunch of odds and ends from Lucchesi's: sausage lasagne, spinach and gorgonzola ravioli, creamed spinach, etc. Awesome comfort food, and it was convenient to take home and heat up later. While the pairing with the wine was great, I think it would be even better with lamb or a hearty roast duck.
For some reason this bottle reminded me of another saucy Sicilian*, CNBC's Maria Bartiromo. Not only is my grandfather a fan of her financial analysis, but the great Joey Ramone wrote a song about her shortly before his death in 2001. The Guardian has more background on the story.
*All right, so she's half Neapolitan. Non mi rompere le palle.
11 comments:
I am originally from Italy. And I AM Neopolitan by birth... I love this wine. I tasted it a few weeks ago at a free tasting and it was just flying off the shelves! And rightfully so. It's such a good deal! I suggest everyone go out and buy one. (And I am not a wine distributor nor do I work for the company that made it!)
- 03 March, 2008 17:41
Great website: Looking for other's comments on this inexpensive but fabulous wine that I stumbled on in the bargain bin. Loved the dark color and smooth but complex cherry flavor.went back and bought a case!
- 06 March, 2008 19:49
I randomly purchased this wine and happened to pair it with lamb. Benito was spot on, this wine is excellent with lamb. I have enjoyed this wine so much (esp. considering the price point) I was searching to see what other had said about it. Glad to see others enjoying it.
- 09 April, 2008 14:59
- David said...
I just tried this last night, a great find! First time I've had this grape, I'm trying to get to know Italian wines more beyond the usual suspects (at least for someone here in the U.S.)
- 10 May, 2008 05:16
I just tried this afternoon at a wine tasting at a local distributor...It is most excellant...I plan to stock up next week when their shipment arrives...an exciting new grape.
- 12 November, 2008 16:51
- Benito said...
I've noticed that this post has been oddly popular all year long... It's a great little greap that's gaining in popularity if you know where to look. Villa Pozzi is not the only producer; if you're interested in a new wine sensation and enjoy full-bodied reds, look for a Nero d'Avola in your area.
- 12 November, 2008 17:02
- mike said...
We discovered this wonderful wine in Lexington KY at Natasha's Bistro, by the glass from their Winekeeper preservation system. After that we're hooked, went to Kroger's Wine & Spirit's $9.64 bottle. What a wonderful value. Taste like wines 2-3 times more expensive.
Thank you Wine God!
- 10 March, 2009 11:52
We picked up a bottle some time back and tried it the other day. It was very good. Now I can't find any more of it...gad!
- 06 April, 2009 18:25
Good juice...I just bought a case. Incredible value for such a wine. Let the Argentinians raise their prices to $40 -- give me a great Nero D'Avola anyday. (For at least the next 12 days.)
- 19 May, 2009 01:34
I'm from Italy; I found this incredible bottle of wine in a liquor store and I immediately bought it because the label was elegant yet simple. You can't imagine how happy I was to feel the sun of my native region in a bottle of wine! I loved the taste and the long wonderful flavour it made me keep in my mouth.
I can't believe that such an incredible wine also an incredible price! I can't wait for buying another one, I already miss it!
- 05 August, 2010 15:14
- Glass Jewelry said...
Just had this wine at a restaurant last night. What an incredible value. Great smooth body, fruit forward, berries and dark cherry. Went very well with my osso bucco.
- 16 January, 2011 14:45


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If you wanted to, you could haul your toolbox around on the back of your bike. You won't be winning any races that way, and climbing hills will take on a whole new definition of pain, but we're willing to bet that you'd make a few friends along the way. If, however, rescuing stranded motorists isn't your idea of a good training ride, we'd suggest carrying something a little more manageable, like the Lezyne SV-5 Multi-Tool. The tough little SV-5 has everything you need for most common breakdowns and adjustments. And you won't believe the weight (or lack thereof).
Lezyne uses tried-and-true stainless steel bits that combine durability and light weight. The CNC-machined bits are unbelievably precise, so you don't have to fight to keep them from rounding your hardware. They'll never rust, either, even if you forget them in your pack over the winter. In order to keep weight down, Lezyne uses CNC-machined 7075 aluminum side plates and a forged and CNC'd chain breaker.
The most important difference between the SV-5 and most other multi-tools is Lezyne's clever center-pivot bit design. This design allows Lezyne to make low profile tools that are lighter, stiffer, stronger, and more ergonomic than the more common wraparound design. Look closely at the joint area of each bit. The center-pivot design keeps the axis of the bit in line with the plane of the tool to make it feel more like a full-size tool. The natural-feeling pivot point is more comfortable and it gives you more torque.
The Lezyne SV-5 Multi-Tool includes the tools that you need for the most common road- and trail-side adjustments and light repairs. 90% of the time you're making adjustments with Allen wrenches, and Lezyne includes the most common sizes: 3, 4, 5, and 6mm. The Phillips screwdriver comes in handy more often than you'd think (just take a few rides without one), and we all know how annoying it can be to be caught miles from home with a broken chain and no chain tool. All that in a tool that weighs less than two ounces! Think of the SV-5 as the angel on your shoulder.
- Item #LED0035
- Handle
- aluminum
- Closed Length
- 1 x 2.5 x 0.5in
- Screwdrivers
- 1 phillips
- Claimed Weight
- 1lb 9oz
- Recommended Use
- cycling, mountain biking
- Manufacturer Warranty
- 2 years
Tech Specs
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March 1, 2020
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MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA: If you want a dreamy beach vacation, it's already warming up down in Myrtle Beach.
The Myrtle Beach Oceanfront Boardwalk and Promenade, which opened just a few years ago, feels as if it's been here forever. Welcoming crowds by the million with its charm and hospitality, the boardwalk features the Family Kingdom amusement park that includes the massive Skywheel and Slingshot, and the just-opened Twist 'n Shout steel roller coaster (visitmyrtlebeach.com).
Myrtle Beach's miles of sand, golf, charter fishing expeditions, and Ripley's Aquarium (where you can get nose-to-nose with sharks) will keep you busy while the sun shines, and its world-class eateries roll out an irresistible southern-style welcome with local micro-brews, seafood buffets, and oceanfront tables.
Can't wait to hit the beach? Westgate Myrtle Beach Oceanfront Resort provides beach access and ocean views, a heated outdoor pool, heated "lazy river," kids' water play area, and a "kids eat free" policy (from $89, wgmyrtlebeach.com).
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Celebrate your freedom in the nation's capital, where it seems just about every attraction is free.
Washington is not only a cultural and historical mecca, but also a vibrant city in its own right, with great shops and a buzzy food scene.
From tours of the Capitol building and the endless galleries and exhibits of the Smithsonian Institution to the National Archives (you may have heard of some of its contents—the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution?) and Library of Congress, this town offers more in the way of freebies than anywhere else.
On the mall, pay a visit to the National Gallery, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, and the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. It may be surprising to you, but it's not to locals and other insiders, that one of the best restaurants in town is the Mitsitam Native Foods Café at the National Museum of the American Indian—you can try buffalo and fry bread, among other delights. When it's time to rest your head, Adams Inn is a reliable and, for this town, affordable lodging (from $99, 1746 Lanier Pl., adamsinn.com).
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: The DR offers everything you might want on a Caribbean break, including perfect beaches and tropical cocktails, without the sticker shock you might expect. Punta Cana, pictured here, is a popular affordable destination in the DR.
The indulgent Dominican Republic experience is surprisingly budget-friendly thanks to all-inclusive resorts, reasonably priced hotels and apartments, and a relaxed vibe that translates into Total Relaxation.
The Dominican Republic's beaches may bring out the kid in you.
The pool at the DR's La Punta Apartments looks good right about now, huh? The hotel's rates may look even better (from $52 for one guest, $80 for two, lapuntacabarete.com).
POINT PLEASANT, NEW JERSEY: Psst! The boardwalk of your dreams opens in spring, but don't tell or everyone will want to go. Point Pleasant's Jenkinson's Boardwalk opens on weekends in April, but the crowds and prices are nowhere near their summer highs.
The beaches of Point Pleasant are inviting even on still-chilly spring days. You'll rub elbows with in-the-know New Yorkers, Philadelphians, and Jersey girls and boys who love the surf and sand in spring.
For an old-timey boardwalk experience, the rides and games at Point Pleasant can't be beat. Located about 70 miles south of New York City and about 75 miles northeast of Philadelphia, this place starts hopping on weekends in April.
Point Pleasant is a popular spot for beach volleyball, including major tournaments. After your day at the beach, bunk down at The White Sands, a friendly and comfy set of motels right on the beach (from $150, thewhitesands.com).
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA: The Big Easy, with its distinctive French Quarter architecture, is easier than ever once Mardi Gras crowds have headed home.
New Orleans hotels are as friendly and welcoming as the city's inhabitants. We love Maison St. Charles (from $139, maisonstcharles.com).
New Orleans's iconic St. Louis Cathedral is one of the historical sites you must experience. And don't miss the annual French Quarter Festival in April, load up on beignets at Café Du Monde, and explore the city's unique music scene with a free self-guided audio tour courtesy of the New Orleans Jazz Historical Park.
A hand-in-hand sunset stroll along the water may be the higlight of your New Orleans visit.
SANIBEL ISLAND, FLORIDA: Your own private island? Well, Sanibel about as close as you'll find. Of all the things you can do here, the best of all may be… nothing!
Sanibel Island's bridge is deceptively modern and bustling—but once you're on the island, the long list of things you can do involves warm sand, subtropical breezes, sun-worship, reading, and, of course, swimming.
Lighthouse lovers will want to take a gander at Sanibel's iconic sentinel. After your trek, check into the Tropical Winds Beachfront Motel and Cottages and you'll enjoy a private beach and outdoor pool. While you may experience a little sticker shock, trust us, Tropical Winds is a worth-it splurge that offers the best rates on this coveted island (from $269, sanibeltropicalwinds.com).
After a day at the beach in Sanibel, grab a bowl of fish stew at Sweet Melissa's Cafe (sweetmelissascafe.com).
GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK, NORTH CAROLINA & TENNESSEE: Tour an American paradise before the summer crowds pour in. Yes, you can enjoy America's most popular national park, a major nearby theme park, and miles of trails and streams for under $100 per night. The Tennessee side of the park was hit hard by a major forest fire in 2016, so it's best to double-check conditions in the park and in nearby communities such as Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge as they evolve (nps.gov/grsm).
Head to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for fishing, hiking, and scenic drives like the six-mile Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. If you're lucky enough to spot a bear cub, keep your distance—they are way cuter from far away.
Not far from the park's peerless, peaceful natural wonders, the food, culture, and music of Tennessee (including the 150-acre Dollywood theme park) are alive in the Great Smoky Mountains region. A short drive from the park, we recommend The Park Vista DoubleTree by Hilton Gatlinburg, which features two restaurants, an indoor pool, and mountain views (from $99, doubletree3.hilton.com).
MONTREAL: An old-world city in the heart of North America! Just strolling the streets of this friendly, moderately priced Canadian city feels like you've crossed the Atlantic and entered an entirely different world.
Spring afternoons are perfect for soaking up rays in friendly Montreal. And if the thrill of hearing French—and tasting continental treats like fresh croissants—ever wears off a bit, hit the Montreal Biodôme, which re-creates four ecosystems, including more than 200 species of animals.
Montreal is home to McGill University (pictured here), not to mention the landmark Notre-Dame Basilica, the Vieux-Port de Montreal park, and the Musée des Beaux Arts de Montreal.
St. Paul Street in Old Montreal may make you feel as if you've been transported to Europe. Stay at Le Square Phillips Hotel & Suites (from $107, squarephillips.com).
CAPE ANN, MASSACHUSETTS: Rockport, Massachusetts's inner harbor is an evocative New England scene on Cape Ann.
This Cape Ann state park is built on the site of a former quarry. We love Cape Ann's expansive beaches, frothy seas, wonderfully old-fashioned Main Streets, historic lighthouses, and some of the freshest locally sourced meals around, all shockingly affordable compared with better-known (and infinitely pricier) beach destinations along the Massachusetts coast.
The famous gazebo on the Front Beach in Rockport. We also love the Rocky Neck artists' colony, where you can soak up some of the sumptuous light that has drawn artists including Milton Avery, Edward Hopper, and Winslow Homer.
Boats are anchored in a harbor of a classic New England fishing village on Cape Ann—and, yes, that's a lobster shack in the background. We heartily recommend Blue Shutters Beachside Inn, in Gloucester, for its comfortable rooms with beach views and a welcoming living room with a fireplace (from $90, blueshuttersbeachside.com).
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: It's always open, it's always jumping, and it's always shockingly affordable even for "low-rollers."
Las Vegas is home not only to slots, cards, and dice, but also to faux European landmarks! If you haven't found yourself on the Strip yet—it's one of the most popular destinations for girl getaways, bachelor parties, and of course impromptu weddings—you should put it on your list.
Long live the King! Vegas's kitschy must-sees include the Mob Museum and retro finds like Champagnes Café, which does its best to bring '50s chic back to life (702/737-1699). For lodging, we love The D (from $29 per night plus $20 resort fee, thed.com).
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