Friday, June 20, 2014

Courthouse Decor...

Putnam County, Indiana courthouse decor
Beats heck outta garden gnomes and pink flamingos...
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25 comments:

Bob said...

"Buzz Bomb" would make a good name for a cocktail, wouldn't it? So:

Buzz Bomb Cocktail.

8:57 AM, June 20, 2014
LCB said...

That's cool. I wonder if the support represents "V" for victory. Or it's just a support.

Was there any kind of plaque explaining why it was there. A buzz bomb strikes me as an unusual war memento for a county. I've seen Sherman tanks, an M-48 tank, an M-60, and civil war era cannon...but something captured from the Nazi's...nope.

9:30 AM, June 20, 2014
Peter said...

Is that a German V-1 or a US Loon?

9:34 AM, June 20, 2014
LCB said...

Peter,
Good question. I just looked up images of the Loon and they mostly appear to be much thicker in body than a buzz bomb. But since they were "copying" the buzz bomb, the prototypes could have had the same dimensions.

The color scheme looks German...but that doesn't mean anything.

Tam, do you know?

9:47 AM, June 20, 2014
LCB said...

Google-Fu to the rescue. It's a Buzz Bomb:
http://www.coveredbridgecountry.com/attractions/wwii-buzzbomb

9:48 AM, June 20, 2014
Ancient Woodsman said...

Not every town has a cannon or tank on the common.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren,_New_Hampshire

I found it curious as a child that there is a village of Redstone, NH, and it is not the community with the Redstone missile on the common.

9:59 AM, June 20, 2014
LCB said...

Ancient Woodsman, that's uber cool. I'm sure there's a book somewhere of interesting things to see on Courtouse Lawns and County parks: other than tanks, cannons and covered bridges. :-)

10:23 AM, June 20, 2014
RevGreg said...

When selecting sites for a long range bomber program that wasn't ready before VE Day, the Berwick, PA ACF plant was one of the 19 targets selected by Hitler for the initial bombing program. Sadly even though over 15,000 Stuart tanks (and 1 of every 8 armored vehicles) were produced there, there isn't a single example of one anywhere in the area.

http://www.bringstuiehome.org/

11:11 AM, June 20, 2014
Erich505 said...

Your photo brought back fond memories of looking out the car window as a boy driving through Greencastle. Thanks!

11:33 AM, June 20, 2014
Chas S. Clifton said...

Looks like the courthouse -- or should I say Gerichtsgebäude -- from the alternate reality where the war ended differently.

11:39 AM, June 20, 2014
Anonymous said...

Chas is that the Alt Time line where the Germans took over Newfoundland as part of the Third WW in 1953 to provide staging for the Luftwaffe & the Uboots that isolate d the US, after they won WWII when Britain surrendered in '43 and nuked the remaining Russian Government in 44?

12:08 PM, June 20, 2014
Don M said...

"German V1 Bomb-CEE 11378-2."

"Lest we forget - they died that we may live."

The Post decided to erect a Memorial at the Southwest corner of the Court House lawn and dedicate it to the Veterans of World War II.

Art Perry of DePauw University designed the memorial in the shape of the letter "V", being a symbol of victory for World War II. The V-1 bomb was mounted on top as a rare example of one of the first guided missiles.

State Senator William B. Hoadley and his brother owned the Hoadley Limestone Quarries in Southern Indiana. Senator Hoadley's only son was killed in World War II. Mr. Durham took a copy of Art Perry's drawing to Senator Hoadley. Immediately, he volunteered to furnish at no cost, except for transportation, the necessary limestone pieces.

The limestone donated was of the best quality the quarry could produce. Mr. Durham understood later that the base for the letter "V" was the largest single piece of limestone ever quarried from the Hoadley quarries.

http://www.coveredbridgecountry.com/attractions/wwii-buzzbomb

The Navy also operated a similar item from Pt. Mugu, CA. and later, from ships, as the "Loon".

http://usscusk.com/loon.htm

12:22 PM, June 20, 2014
Don M said...

The Army Air Corps had tried to develop a cruise missile in 1917 through the 1920s and assembled the top men of the day to do it. Charles Kettering, Elmer Ambrose Sperry, and Hap Arnold as project manager. Orville Wright was aeronautical consultant.

At a distance of 60 miles it had insufficient accuracy to hit a small city. Based on that, it was decided to go with large manned aircraft, and attempt to get better accuracy through ground navigation and calculating bomb sights. There was also concern with reliability while carrying explosives over friendly forces.

12:30 PM, June 20, 2014
Adrian K said...

Cool. I remember seeing one of those painted red white & blue someplace in Eastern Illinois when I was growing up. I knew I was 1/3rd the way to Grandpa's house when I saw the Buzz Bomb.

Here in Seattle? We have statues of Lenin for that, I guess.

12:34 PM, June 20, 2014
Don M said...

The Air Force Museum keeps a record of all 'stinger birds' in the country. Every once in a while an aircraft needs a part, and a functional one is removed from a stinger bird, with a replacement provided if necessary. The AF Museum keeps records to be sure that only the remaining good parts are ever tapped for that purpose. They also keep track of the birds stored at Davis Montham near Tucson.

Classified requisition of needed parts is possible in some cases.

12:34 PM, June 20, 2014
mikee said...

Just to demonstrate the wide variety of public art spread across this great nation, I note that the town of Crystal City, Texas, has a statue of Popeye outside their City Hall. Chester, IL, has a statue of Wimpy.

Compared to that, the Sabrejet and Sherman Tank my home town had in the city park for kids to play upon, using which my brothers and I fought many epic battles against the ancient history Nazis and the politically incorrect Gooks, seem perfectly normal.

6:26 PM, June 20, 2014
Old NFO said...

That's worth a double take... :-)

7:07 PM, June 20, 2014
Gerry N. said...

If memory serves, The Museum of History and Industry in Seattle has or at least had a BuzzBomb mounted on it's front lawn.

I don't live in The People's Demokratik Republik of Seattle any longer, but I'm pretty sure Comrade Lenin's statue is mounted in the Fremont district as a trophy, not a political statement.

7:13 PM, June 20, 2014
daleosborn said...

Tam, how about a garden gnome riding a pink flamingo atop a buzz bomb? That'd be GREAT lawn decor!

7:50 PM, June 20, 2014
Tom the Impaler said...

Damn you all for beating me to the JB-2 Loon and Kettering Bug references!

7:50 PM, June 20, 2014
Angus McThag said...

You just know someone said, "we should buzz the courthouse..."

7:59 PM, June 20, 2014
Sport Pilot said...

Indiana has a high proportion of WWII monuments.

10:00 PM, June 20, 2014
Ritchie said...

The only person to pilot one indicated that it was a pretty scary ride.

10:46 AM, June 21, 2014
Murphy's Law said...

OK, that's just cool.

2:37 PM, June 21, 2014
Buzz said...

Tam, please don't drink the water in Putnam county.
I'm sure it's the water.

The Wally World east of town is the epicenter of "people of Wal-Mart."

6:29 PM, June 21, 2014

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