Good morning, Whitewater.
Sunday in Whitewater will be cloudy, with an even chance of rain, and a high of sixty-four. Sunrise is 5:36 and sunset 8:05, for 14h 29m 07s. The moon is a waning gibbous with 60.3% of its visible disk illuminated.
Friday’s FW poll asked if readers thought more, less, or the same about the Patriots after a report found that the some within that organization likely deflated footballs for a competitive advantage in the Super Bowl. Most respondents (74.07%) said they thought less of the Patriots, about a fifth (22.22%) thought the same, and a small amount (3.7%) thought more of them. (Current expectation seems to be that Tom Brady will be suspended this week.)
On this day in 1869, a ceremony marks the creation of a transcontinental railroad:
Completing the last link in the Transcontinental Railroad with a spike of gold was the brainchild of David Hewes, a San Francisco financier and contractor.[3] The spike had been manufactured earlier that year especially for the event by the William T. Garratt Foundry in San Francisco. Two of the sides were engraved with the names of the railroad officers and directors.[3] A special tie of polished California laurel was chosen to complete the line where the spike would be driven.[3]The ceremony was originally to be held on May 8, 1869 (the date actually engraved on the spike), but it was postponed two days because of bad weather and a labor dispute that delayed the arrival of the Union Pacific side of the rail line.[3
On May 10, in anticipation of the ceremony, Union Pacific No. 119 and Central Pacific No. 60 (better known as the Jupiter) locomotives were drawn up face-to-face on Promontory Summit.[4] It is unknown how many people attended the event; estimates run from as low as 500 to as many as 3,000; government and railroad officials and track workers were present to witness the event.[3]
Before the last spike was driven, three other commemorative spikes, presented on behalf of the other three members of the Central Pacific’s Big Four who did not attend the ceremony, had been driven in the pre-bored laurel tie:
- a second, lower-quality gold spike, supplied by the San Francisco News Letter was made of $200 worth of gold and inscribed: With this spike the San Francisco News Letter offers its homage to the great work which has joined the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
- a silver spike, supplied by the State of Nevada; forged, rather than cast, of 25 troy ounces (780 g) of unpolished silver.
- a blended iron, silver and gold spike, supplied by the Arizona Territory, engraved: Ribbed with iron clad in silver and crowned with gold Arizona presents her offering to the enterprise that has banded a continent and dictated a pathway to commerce. (Source: Deseret Morning News, Salt Lake City, April 24, 2007)
On this day in 1865, Wisconsinites help capture the fleeing president of the Confederacy:
1865 – (Civil War) Confederacy President Jefferson Davis Captured
The 1st Wisconsin Cavalry was one of the first units sent to search for Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, after the surrender of General Robert E. Lee. A Michigan unit, also sent to find Davis, accidentally attacked the cavalry before dawn. A few hours later, both units captured the Confederate president in Irwinville, Georgia.