Good morning.

Monday will be a day of snow showers, with the temperatures falling to nine degrees by 5 PM.

On this day in 1783, Gen. Washington resigns as commander of the American military:

“Happy in the confirmation of our independence and sovereignty, and pleased with the opportunity afforded the United States of becoming a respectable nation, I resign with satisfaction the appointment I accepted with diffidence; a diffidence in my abilities to accomplish so arduous a task; which however was superseded by a confidence in the rectitude of our cause, the support of the supreme power of the Union, and the patronage of Heaven.”

On 12.23.1865, a different war having been won, Wisconsinites come home:

1865 – (Civil War) The 13th Wisconsin Infantry returns home
The 13th Wisconsin Infantry returned home to Madison to be discharged. During its service it had moved through Missouri, Kentucky, Alabama, and Tennessee. The regiment lost 193 men during service. Five enlisted men were killed and 188 enlisted men died from disease.

Good morning.

It’s a snowy Sunday for Whitewater, with a daytime accumulation of about four inches, for a total of about eight inches, and a daytime high of twenty-eight.

There are, snowfall notwithstanding, effective and safe ways to get around.

On this day in 1864, General Sherman gave Pres. Lincoln an early Christmas gift: “I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah.” The gift came unwrapped, but with the greater benefit that it brought the war closer to a victorious end.

On 12.22.1862, a future governor is born:

1862 – Wisconsin Governor Walter Goodland Born
On this date Governor Goodland was born. Goodland had a long and successfull career editing and publishing various newspapers in Michigan and Wisconsin, including the Racine Times. Newspaper reporters dubbed him “Woof-Woof” due to his deep, rumbling voice. Twice widowed, Goodland eventually married his secretary, Madge Roche Risney Goodland (also widowed). After retiring from the newspaper business, Goodland decided to run for lieutenant governor under Progressive Orland Loomis.

Loomis died before inauguration, giving the office to Goodland. Goodland, a Republican, proceeded to win the governorship in 1944 and 1946. He died in the old executive residence on March 12, 1947 at the age of 84, being the oldest governor in office in any state. [Source: First Ladies of Wisconsin, The Governors’ Wives by Nancy G. Williams]

Good morning.

We will have a thirty-percent chance of afternoon snow, but a near-certainty of evening snow, with an accumulation of three to five inches. The high for today will be thirty degrees.

Sunrise today is 7:23 AM and sunset 4:24 PM. The moon is a waning gibbous with 84% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1879, dictator and mass murderer Joseph Stalin (Vissarionovich Djugashvili) is born. He died in 1953.

On this day in 1862, Wisconsinites drive on:

1862 – (Civil War) The 2nd Wisconsin Cavalry sets out for Vicksburg
The 2nd Wisconsin Cavalry participated in Grierson’s Raid on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad in Tennessee. This was the first engagement in a movement by Union Col. Benjamin Grierson.  It led 3,500 men on a 450-mile ride from Tennessee through Mississippi, arriving in Vicksburg on January 5, 1863.

Good morning.

Friday will bring periods of freezing rain and a high of thirty.

School’s canceled – play responsibly.

Earlier this month, at Lake Superior, they had a winter waterspout – a snownado (of which few have ever been photographed):

On this day in 1803, the French turn New Orleans over to America.

Puzzability‘s Christmas-song puzzle series wraps today:

This Week’s Game — December 16-20

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Hark, the puzzling angels sing. For each day this week, we started with a well-known lyric from a Christmas carol. Then, for the day’s clue, we broke it down into a series of words that, when said in order, sounds like the original lyric. You’ll probably need to say the words out loud to get the answers.

Example:

Easy, shoe, veinier, cell, he, pink

Answer:

He sees you when you’re sleeping (from “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”)

What to Submit:

Submit the lyric (as “He sees you when you’re sleeping” in the example) for your answer.

Friday, December 20

Mayor, tase, beam, hairy, antbear, height

Good morning.

There’s a forty-percent chance of freezing rain in the late afternoon, with a high for the day of thirty-one.

Whitewater’s Tech Park Board meets today at 9 AM.

On this day in 1776, Thomas Paine publishes the first portion of The American Crisis. The essays begin with one of Paine’s most memorable descriptions: ‘These are the times that try men’s souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.’

Here’s the Thursday edition of Puzzability‘s Christmas-themed series:

This Week’s Game — December 16-20

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Hark, the puzzling angels sing. For each day this week, we started with a well-known lyric from a Christmas carol. Then, for the day’s clue, we broke it down into a series of words that, when said in order, sounds like the original lyric. You’ll probably need to say the words out loud to get the answers.

Example:

Easy, shoe, veinier, cell, he, pink

Answer:

He sees you when you’re sleeping (from “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”)

What to Submit:

Submit the lyric (as “He sees you when you’re sleeping” in the example) for your answer.

Thursday, December 19

Odor, vet, drought, ciders, fried, fill