Morning Update, February 6, 2012

The_Kitchen_Guy

There were no new developments in Paige's case yesterday. No news, no new developments.

In news of Candles for Paige we had 12 candles as of this post. Remember, candles go out after 48 hours so keep lighting candles for Paige, her family and her three children.

Instructions for lighting candles for Paige are in the Missing thread, in this post.

On this date in History...

...in 1952, King George VI of Great Britain and Northern Ireland passed away in his sleep, after a long illness. Princess Elizabeth, the oldest of his two daughters, was in Kenya at the time of his death, became the queen. She was crowned Queen Elizabeth II on June 2, 1953, at the age of 27. She was born on April 21, 1926 and married her distant cousin, Phillip Mountbatten, in 1947. She had four children, the first was Prince Charles, born in 1948. Queen Elizabeth was a modern ruler, allowing the coronation to be televised, in the face of harsh criticism including from Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Elizabeth is the 40th monarch since William the Conqueror, who ruled from 1035 to 1087. Compare that to President George H.W. Bush, the 40th President of the United States (1989-1993) since President Washington was inaugurated in 1789.


Queen Elizabeth II in 2007

...in 1820, an organized emigration of freed American slaves began, when a ship left New York Harbor for Freetown, Sierra Leone, in West Africa. The emigration was the result of efforts by the American Colonization Society, an organization founded to return freed slaves to Africa. Congress appropriated $100,000.00 to help return displaced Africans, illegally brought to the US after the abolishment of slave trading in 1808. The British had begun to resettle freed slaves after abolishment of the slave trade in 1772 and by 1787, 300 freed slaves and 70 white prostitutes settled on the Sierra Leone peninsula. Many perished from disease or from encounters with the indigent Temne who were not pleased with the immigrants. The British founded Freetown and sent more freed American slaves, who had supported Britain during the revolution but didn't like living in Canada. The program came under fire from all sides, abolitionists said it strengthened slavery while many freed slaves were not enthusiastic about leaving their homes. The emigrants founded Liberia in 1822. The new residents were so pleased with their new status and thankful for it all that they named the capital Monrovia, in honor of President James Monroe. In 1847, the fledgling was granted independence and became, officially, the Republic of Liberia. It has suffered two military coup d'etats and two brutal civil wars in the last 25 years but the Republic has been restored. The country has always enjoyed the unofficial support of the United States. The maritime ship registry of Liberia is a major source of revenue for the small country.


Monrovia is the only non-American capital city named after a U.S. President.
Photo by Jonathan Harrison of the UK, used with permission.

...in 1985, Walter L. Jacobs passed away. He started the car rental business that became the basis of the Hertz car rental system. Did he start the Hertz system? "Not exactly." He did start what would become the largest car rental company in the world when he was a 22 year old car salesman and an entrepreneur who saw an opportunity. He started DriveUrSelf System in Chicago, renting several Model T Fords that he maintained himself. Within 5 years, his business was grossing over $1 million and it caught the eye of the president of the Yellow Cab Company and Yellow Truck and Coach Manufacturing Company, one John Hertz. Hertz bought the company in 1923 and kept Jacobs on as the CEO. In 1927, the Hertz system was sold to General Motors, again, Jacobs stayed on, retiring in 1960 after the operation was sold several more times, to RCA and United Airlines for example. In 1994, Hertz was acquired by Ford, making Hertz the only car rental company to be owned by both GM and Ford at one time or another. (Hertz has been independent since 1997.) Hertz remains the largest player in the fiercely competitive rental market, but it all started with a handful of Model T's, owned by a 22 year old car salesman, in 1918.


Jeff Dunham and Walter, "Not Exactly."

...in 1928, a woman calling herself Anastasia Tschaikovsky arrived in New York City, claiming to be Anastasia, the youngest daughter of the deposed Czar of Russia. At a press conference, she explained that she was in the United States to to have her jaw reset, after it had been broken by a Bolshevik soldier. She said she narrowly escaped the execution of her family during the revolution. Gleb Botkin, who was the son of the physician to the Romanov family, said that Anastasia Tschaikovsky was, indeed, the daughter of the czar and heir to the giant Romanov fortune. Botkin and the princess were playmates as children, and he was adamant that this woman was his childhood friend. She settled into life in the United States and adopted the name, Anna Anderson.

Czar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate the throne during the "glorious" revolution. He was taken, with his wife Alexandra, their four girls and one son, to Czarskoye Selo palace along with four support staff, including Dr. Botkin. They were then moved to Yekaterinburg in the Urals. In the early morning hours of July 18, 1918, Czar Nicholas, Alexandra and their five children, along with three support staff and Dr. Botkin, were posed as if to be in a photgraph, then shot to death in a hail of submachine gun bullets. Their bodies were burned, then tossed into an abandoned mine shaft. Anastasia Tschaikovsky claimed to have survived the attack and escape, scars on her body supported her claim, but she was unclear about details of the Romanov family. Her knowledge of English, French and Russian were spotty at best, languages which the real princess spoke fluently. Her recurring mental illness and stays in mental institutions were blamed for the lapses in memory.

She fought a long battle to be recognized as the heiress to the Romanov fortune and worked to overthrow the communist government of Russia. The London Evening Standard said that Anatasia, aka Anna Anderson as, "displaying the tireless enthusiasm of the sort which keeps the 'Flat Earth Society' in business." She died in 1984. In 1991, the burial site of the Romanov family was found and the remains were exhumed. It seemed that two bodies were missing, and DNA testing proved that the missing bodies were female. Testing of mitocondrial DNA, which is passed from mother to children virtually unchanged, proved the relationships of the exhumed bodies.

Testing of DNA of Anastasia Tschaikovsky proved, once and for all, that she was not the daughter of the czar. She was actually Franziska Schanzkowska, a Polish-German factory worker from Pomerania who disappeared in a factory explosion in 1916, which accounted for her scars and mental illnesses. A private investigator had made these findings in the 1920s, but it took mtDNA testing to prove his findings, once and for all. (Two more bodies were located in Yekaterinburg in 2007. mtDNA testing of those remains determined that they were, in fact, the missing Anastasia and her sister. The entire Romanov family is now accounted for.)


Anastasia Manahan Tchaikovsky, aka Anna Anderson,
aka Franziska Schanzkowska (1896-1984)

That's it. That's all we know as of 1:01 AM, EST.

raebates

I love reading your daily history lesson, KG. Though, I'm sad that we are still awaiting word on Paige.

pampered1224

I wonder if Anna Anderson, because of the mental illness, honestly believed she was Anastasia? I guess no one will ever know now will they. After the news about Josh Powell and his boys, I am wondering what Paige's family is thinking. I mean that was something. Then, we do not know what Josh was really apologizing for. The killing of him and murder of his boys? OR the murder of his wife?

lt1jane

KG, I too, enjoy your daily history lesson. I try to comment to let you know I appreciate your efforts.

I'm not trying to be unkind or uncaring, but Paige does not mean a lot to me. She was before my time. I understand everyone else's concern for her and appreciate your efforts, it's just something that has not touched me. If something were to happen to you, John, Rae Sheila, or one of the current "regulars" on this board, that would matter more to me because I feel like I know you guys a bit and it would be like losing a friend.

pampered1224

Jane that is so sweet! And I too would have issues if anything happened to you!

The_Kitchen_Guy

I understand that it's difficult to relate to someone you really didn't know, but at the same time, Paige is (was?) a Cheffer - one of us. I'm no longer active with TPC, but that has not had any effect on my resolve to see peace for Paige and her family, and justice served to the cold blooded bastard(s) that took her away from her children, her family, and from us.

I can assure you that the same resolve applies if anyone else from this community were suddenly to fall victim to foul play.