Another genealogical / family history endeavor of Michael Ragsdale


a little bit of this & that ...

 

 

sent in by Eric Politzer

Dr. Tod  Ragsdale


Tod Ragsdale during extensive fieldwork in Laos, 2004-2005. Dr. Ragsdale is standing in front of one of several tilapia aquaculture fish ponds constructed for ethnic minorities, as part of an income restoration project to replace rice paddy lost to highway construction.

Health Spas UK, Health Spa Breaks UK, Spa Breaks UK, Spa Hotels UK, Health Farms UK, Spa Days UK

Spabreak UK is pleased to recommend Ragdale Hall Health Hydro, a stunning venue set in its own extensive, landscaped gardens in the heart of the Leicestershire countryside. This super venue combines state of the art facilities with the charm of traditional Victorian architecture to create one of the most luxurious and relaxing health farms / health resorts in the country with a team of over 400 professional staff.

 

Ragdale Hall has won a number of awards in the last few years, including "Best Destination Spa" in the Professional Beauty Awards (2004) and customer service has always been one of Ragdale Hall's main priorities which is why they have a loyal following!

 

Whether it is total relaxation, pampering, or the need to kickstart a healthier lifestyle, Ragdale Hall is a perfect choice of destination - but please bear in mind that Ragdale Hall enjoys a very high occupancy rate so in most cases forward planning for dates is essential!

 

Address: Ragdale Hall, Ragdale Village, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, LE14 3PB

Colonel Blake Ragsdale Van Leer

Colonel Van Leer was born August 11, 1893 in Magnum, Texas (now Oklahoma.) He graduated from Big Springs High School in 1911, received a B. S. in electrical engineering from Purdue University in 1915, and then joined the faculty of the University of California. He served in World War I from 1917 to 1919 as 1st Lieutenant of the 316th Engineer Corps of the U. S. Army in France. After studying at the University of Caen, he was released from active duty and returned to Berkeley where he received an M. S. in mechanical engineering in 1920. In 1927 he was awarded a scholarship for study in Europe, and on his return was appointed assistant secretary of the American Engineering Council. In 1932 he became Dean of Engineering at the University of Gainesville, and in 1937 assisted in the consolidation of the engineering colleges at the University of North Carolina and North Carolina State. During World War II he served as colonel as Chief of the Facilities Branch, Army Specialized Training Division. In 1944 he was again released from active duty to become the fifth president of Georgia Tech, initiating a period of dramatic change at the school. Van Leer’s goals included furthering graduate education and research, and making the school a major technological university. He presided over an extensive program of building and development at Tech and instituted important changes in the administration. In 1948, to emphasize Tech's new standing, its name was changed from the Georgia School of Technology to the Georgia Institute of Technology. He was also a strong proponent of science education for women, and under his supervision the first female students arrived at Tech in the fall of 1952. Van Leer, despite his stern military bearing, proved to be a president willing to communicate with the students and faculty, and was well liked. However, in 1955 and 1956 his health declined, and he died while still in office after suffering a heart attack in January 1956. Paul Weber filled the position of president until Edwin Harrison was elected in 1957.

Noted violinist/guitarist David Ragsdale can add the sounds of real violin to your next project, giving it that warm, present and vibrant character you desire. A quantum leap from sample libraries.

It's easy too! Just send your reference tracks by MP3, audio CD or ADAT. Within a short period of time, you'll receive a SDII file, CD data file or audio CD with pristine violin parts that can be flown in to your project.

Ragsdale's track record includes recording and touring with the legendary rock group Kansas and country artist Louise Mandrell. He has also recorded with The Smashing Pumpkins, Queensryche and Jason Bonham, and is currently touring again with Kansas.
 

Interior view of E.W. Ragsdale's Drug Store, circa 1904
Otero County, Colorado

Ragsdale's Drug Store

EVERETT HIGH SCHOOL
Everett Washington
1925 Nesika

 

Ragdale Church


Ragdale is two miles further walking from Hoby and is best known for its health hydro. From Ragdale you can walk back down to Thrussington (only about a mile from Rearsby) and enjoy some great views, with Leicester looming in the distance

The Ragsdale Opera House

 

The Ragsdale Opera House served as Newton's main center of entertainment for nearly 30 years. The grand opening was held on December 8, 1885, featuring Barney McCauley in the comedy Uncle Dan. Under construction since May 29, 1884, it was completed at a cost of $80,000. Located on this corner, the building measured 75 x 150 feet. The theatre was at the west end of the second and third floors. The ground floor consisted of six business rooms, one of which was occupied by Newton's Post Office. Seating capacity of the theatre was 800, exclusive of eight elegant private boxes which seated five each. There was a dress circle, a parquet, a balcony, and a gallery, ornamented in the latest fashions. The stage was 30 x 50 feet and reached from the stage floor to the top of the building. There were 32 sets of scenery. The belfry contained a three-faced Seth Thomas clock with a 600 pound bell that could be heard a distance of two miles on a quiet day. Every portion of the building was lighted with gas and heated with steam. The builders, James M. Ragsdale and his brother Thaddeus P. Ragsdale, quit a small grocery business in 1879 and became successful in real estate, lumber, cattle, and banking. They became bankrupt in 1890 and lost possession of the Opera House in 1892. The Opera Block continued to carry the Ragsdale name until J. H. Knoepker, who purchased the building on March 1, 1905, renamed it the Knoepker Opera House in 1907. On January 1, 1915, a fire destroyed the Opera House and several other businesses on the block.

Dr. Lincoln J. Ragsdale, Sr.

Dr. Lincoln J. Ragsdale, Sr. was a leading activist in the battle for civil rights in Arizona. After graduating from Tuskegee flying school in Alabama in 1945, he relocated to Luke Air Field in Litchfield Park, Arizona, becoming one of the first Black pilots to serve at that installation. After settling in Phoenix, Ragsdale became one of the leaders of the local NAACP, Phoenix Urban League, and Greater Phoenix Council for Civic Unity (GPCCU). Through his activist work, Ragsdale led the way in desegregating Phoenix.

In 1953, Ragsdale helped desegregate the Encanto District, Phoenix’s most affluent and segregated neighborhood. Also in 1953, he helped desegregate Phoenix high schools one year before Brown v. Board of Education. Ragsdale also helped desegregate Phoenix’s most influential corporations as early as 1962 including Motorola, General Electric and Sperry Rand. In 1963, he positioned himself as a cornerstone of a political campaign that wrested Phoenix city government away from an elite group of white civic leaders. Between 1963 and 1992, he fought for diversity in Phoenix’s public and private sectors, and for entrepreneurial opportunities for people of color in Arizona. Ragsdale also played a major role in the Martin Luther King Holiday movement in Arizona, an effort that ended after twenty years of struggle when Arizona became the first state to create a Martin Luther King holiday by popular vote in November of 1992.

Source: Matthew C. Whitaker, Race Work: The Rise of Civil Rights in the Urban West. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2005

Ragsdale Grocery Store in 1952

Collinsville, Texas

Ragsdale St. and Nacogdoches St.
Jacksonville, Texas

2LT R L Ragsdale

Robert Louis Ragsdale

Second Lieutenant
114TH AHC, 13TH AVN BN, 1 AVN BDE
Army of the United States
25 May 1939 - 26 June 1964
San Antonio, TX

 

Robert "Bob" Ragsdale

Robert "Bob" Ragsdale is one of the most highly respected professionals in the sport of archery. With over 40 years of experience as a hunter and competitive archer, Bob has gained a worldwide following for his expertise on the compound bow and the psychology of shooting for accuracy. 
 

He has taken his love for the sport to great heights, from his own Archery Pro-Shop to a successful career as the Archery Engineer for PSE. Spanning nearly 18 years there, his duties included designing compound bow components and then structuring them into a product line which archers have come to associate with quality and performance. He also provided invaluable technical support to employees, dealers and consumers each day as well as at numerous seminars throughout North America. 
 

He was instrumental in the success of their dealer training school program with a detailed 12 hour presentation on compound bows to over 2000 dealers. Bob's genuine interest in helping others to better enjoy the sport has had positive effects on archers everywhere. 
 

Known for his easy to understand style, dealers and manufacturers, as well as archers, have sought out his advice and coaching, including his son Terry and daughter-in-law Michelle, two of the world's most well known, and recently retired, Professional Archers.

Daniel J. Ragsdale, Ph.D.

Colonel, U.S. Army

 

 

Sikeston,Missouri

30th Field Artillery Group is Reactivated in 1951


The 30th FA Group was reactivated at Camp Polk, Louisiana, effective 20 March 1951. COL James E. Bush was assigned as the Group Commander and arrived on 31 March 1951 and assumed command on 1 April 1951. The initial cadre of officers included MAJ Lawrence W. Chapman, CPT (later MAJ) Charles W. Craft, CPT John F. Williams, CPT (later MAJ) Gene L. Mitcham, and CPT James W. Terry. The Senior NCOs were MSG Clayton C. Riley and MSG Douglas D. Brannan. On 2 April 1951, the 30th FA Group Hqs was temporarily established on North, Camp Polk, in the same building as the 190th FA Group. The first equipment to arrive was three typewriters, just in time to move to a permanent location for the 30th FA Group Hqs located in building T-7656 on 4 April 1951.
CPL Roy D. Ragsdale was the first of the filler personnel to arrive on 7 April 1951. The 567th FA Bn was the first unit to be assigned to control of the 30th FA Group on 10 April 1951, and the 452nd FA Bn followed suit on 19 April 1951.
 

UNITED STATES AIR FORCE MAJOR GENERAL JERRY W. RAGSDALE

 

William Ragsdale

 

William Ragsdale became Mayor of Chattanooga when William Williams resigned the position on July 1, 1854. Having served as Chattanooga’s postmaster from 1850 to 1852, at the time of his appointment, Ragsdale served as an officer of the Bank of Chattanooga. 

 

When the War Between the States broke out in 1861, Ragsdale raised a cavalry unit from Chattanooga and served four years in the Confederate army.   Following the Civil War, Ragsdale returned to Chattanooga and remained in the city until his death.

Photo

Colonel C. A. Ragsdale

Columbia Military Academy Hall of Honor

Residence of Dr. E.W. Ragsdale - San Juan Avenue

La Junta, Colorado

date unknown

Ben Hai
211 Alpha

by George Ragsdale
First Edition Paperback
 

Synopsis:
Being eventually assigned to most of the fire support bases (FSBs) along the DMZ, his experiences provide a detailed account of radar counterbattery operations and failures from the trenches. This is a unique story of the artillery duels fought by American and South Vietnamese forces against elements of the North Vietnamese 304th Division.

As a small unit combat leader assigned in the 1st Division, 2d Regiment (Ben Hai) ARVN area of operations and later to the American sector of operations along the Vietnam DMZ, George Ragsdale sees his dreams and military career shattered by the realities of war. Command incompetence, the military's disintegration, and daily combat with the 304th NVA Division takes him from being a career soldier into the ranks of military professionalism. This story provides an introduction to radar counterbattery operations, the hellish counterbattery duels for FSB Fuller where the author faces the 120-mm. mortars of the 27th NVA Regimental Artillery Group, and the shattering aftermath of Vietnam where he tries to put his career and life together again. This story also closes with the author making brief comments and relaying personal experiences with the new concepts of "casualty avoidance" and the "All-Voluntary Force" and where he feels it is taking us.

Each chapter is summarized with retrospective leadership, team and combat lessons that the author feels are relevant even today. This book is "how it was" and for Vietnam veterans, their family, or current military personnel will provide insight and understanding into leadership, the war within our ranks, and the battle for Vietnam as seen through the eyes of an individual who fought with both the South Vietnamese Army and American forces.

 

762d Railway Diesel Shop Battalion
3d Military Railway Service
Persian Gulf Command

 

______________________________________

 
 

Synopsis:

The preparation of this historical manuscript is dedicated to the memory of not only my father, but also to the countless professional railroaders who, when called upon by their country in time of need, left home, job and family for the formidable environs of Iran and the Persian Gulf, and did their job. The defeat of Nazi Germany was, in no small way, directly attributable to the tons and tons of supplies that were shipped by the 3d Military Railway Service to the beleaguered Soviet peoples, enabling them to defeat the enemy on the eastern front and setting the stage for final victory by the Allies. Well done soldier-railroaders of the 3d Military Railway Service.

CHARTER SPONSOR REGISTRY
AIR FORCE MEMORIAL FOUNDATION

 

    Charles O. Ragsdale
    MSgt Donald L. Ragsdale USAF (Ret)
    TSgt Gearl D. Ragsdale
    Lt Col Harry E. Ragsdale
    Mr. John Ragsdale
    CMSgt Paul T. Ragsdale
    Robert N. Ragsdale
    SMSgt Troy W. Ragsdale USAF (Ret)
 

 

Midshipman Bill Ragsdale in 1943

Midshipman Bill Ragsdale in 1943


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