Slippery Rock Gazette

The Slippery Rock Funny Pages 

Cartoons by Mark Anderson

Archaeologists working at Minute Man National Historical Park in Concord, Massachusetts, unearthed a piece of American history tied to the “shot heard round the world.”

Five musket balls were discovered and believed to be fired at British forces by colonial militia members during the North Bridge fight, Jarrad Fuoss, Minute Man park ranger and historic weapons specialist, confirmed to Fox News Digital.

The ammunition was found in an area where British soldiers formed up to resist the river crossing and analysis indicates that each one was fired from the opposite side of the river, not dropped during the process of reloading, according the National Park Service (NPS).

The North Bridge battle site is located within the park and marks the moment when local militia leaders ordered members to fire upon their own government’s soldiers for the first time on April 19, 1775.

“These musket balls can be considered collectively as ‘The Shot Heard Round the World,’ and it is incredible that they have survived this long. It is also a poignant reminder that we are all stewards of this battlefield and are here to preserve and protect our shared history,”Fuoss said.

Fuoss said the musket balls were made of lead, which was very common at the time period, as others could be comprised of different metals.

The fighting at the North Bridge lasted under 3 minutes, leaving 18 men dead or wounded, the NPS reported on its website.

Three British soldiers were killed in the battle, and they remain buried in Concord.

A Daughters of the American Revolution spokesperson told Fox News Digital the “news of the historic musket balls found in Concord is so exciting.”

“Discovery of important artifacts like this is a great way to help pique interest in American history. We love that this incredible finding has brought more attention to telling the story of the Revolutionary War, especially as we prepare to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our country’s independence,” said the spokesperson.

Fuoss also shared his excitement about the timing of the find.

“We found them on the cusp of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, while much of the country is looking towards 2026 as the Declaration of Independence 250th, our anniversary is next April 2025,” he said. 

“So, we’re already in full swing commemorating the 250th anniversary of the revolution, and we will be continuing to do so all the way through next year and beyond, because this starts an eight-year war.”

The archaeologists who found the musket balls were conducting compliance activities in preparation for the park’s Great American Outdoors Act project.

“We were not expecting to find them. We weren’t looking for them. We were just trying to make sure there was nothing going to be damaged because the park is working on updating some of our infrastructure,” said Fuoss.

The Great American Outdoors Act seeks to address the maintenance and repair of national parks. The law helps make  enhancements to national parks to ensure “preservation and provide opportunities for recreation, education and enjoyment for current and future visitors,” according to the National park Service.

A pocket watch formerly belonging to Teddy Roosevelt has been found after going missing for over three decades. The silver pocket watch was a prized possession of Theodore Roosevelt, a keepsake given to him by his sister and her husband in 1898 before he became president that would travel with him around the world and end up at Sagamore Hill — his home on Long Island, New York, and now a national historic site.

But in 1987, it went from museum piece to pilfered prize when someone stole it from an unlocked case at the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site in Buffalo, New York, where it was on loan.

It was a mystery that endured 36 years until it turned up at a Florida auction house last year and was turned over to federal agents. In early July, it was returned to public display at Sagamore Hill as the National Park Service and the FBI triumphantly announced it was back home during a ceremony featuring Roosevelt’s great-grandson, Tweed Roosevelt.

“This was feel-good news,” Tweed Roosevelt, 82, said Friday in a phone interview. “For me, it kind of felt like almost as if a piece of TR’s spirit being returned to Sagamore Hill, like a little bit of him was coming back. And so I felt that was really cool.”

Growing up, he said he didn’t know about the watch and only learned about it vaguely after it was stolen. He called it “unremarkable” in appearance, but priceless to his great grandfather.

“As it turns out, this isn’t just any old pocket watch,” he said. “It was a watch that TR placed great sentimental value on.”

The mystery of the watch’s disappearance, however, is not fully solved. It is still not clear who stole it and how. The Park Service and FBI only released details of its reappearance after an investigation.

Locals used beer to help put out a fire at the Seddonville, New Zealand Hotel one evening in July. 

Seddonville volunteer firefighter Ian Mulholland was heading home from work in Westport at about 6.15 pm when he saw flames.

“I rounded the corner and noticed the pub was on fire... it was well ablaze.”

He checked people weren’t in the building and called emergency services, 111.

“I told them I was going to the station to get the fire engine and to get Granity on the way as well.”

Mulholland estimated it took less than 10 minutes to get to the station, start the vehicles and get back to site with two trucks and another firefighter.

By the time the firefighters arrived back on site, the fire was almost out thanks to quick thinking from locals.

“Our industrious locals actually got bottles of beer... actually opening bottles of beer, shaking them, and putting the fire out.”

Granity, Waimangaroa, and Westport brigades also attended the blaze. Before they arrived, Seddonville firefighters doused the hot spots.

Most firefighters were on site for about 90 minutes and one truck was on site until about 9.30 pm.

Mulholland returned overnight and the next morning to check hot spots stayed out.

He was unsure where or how the fire started, but said it was under investigation. He was thankful no one was injured and he saw it when he did.

“Another five minutes and it would have been a totally different story...

“I just travelled home at 80km/h last night, did a wee job on the way home.

It was the difference of a couple of minutes, but I just wasn’t in a hurry last night.”

Dean White, who manages the Seddonville Hotel, said the fire started after a gas fault.

He said they used about half a dozen crates of beer to douse the fire, which started in one corner of the pub.

“But the poor bugger that was grabbing them from the chiller, I didn’t like the look on his face, he was a bit sad every time he passed a full beer out, he wasn’t too happy but we got the result we needed.”

If they had not done it, they would have lost the pub, he said.

“It’s easier to just get in there and do the hard yards and what you have to do because she would have been gone otherwise... Sometimes you’ve just got to do what you’ve got to do, but it worked. It saved the day so that’s all that matters.”

White said he was having a beer there the following evening.

“It’s not quite as tasty with the chillers being off for the best part of 22 hours, but when that’s all you’ve got, that’s all you’ve got!”

In a social media post, the owner thanked the community for helping avoid what could have been a disastrous fire.

“We will be back open again as soon as we are able, with cold beer,” the post said.

 A man who has played the Michigan Lottery’s Fantasy 5 drawing every day for years scored a $963,040 jackpot – the largest since the game launched in 2004.

The 56-year-old Macomb County man told Michigan Lottery officials he bought his ticket for the June 26 drawing at Smoker’s Express on Seaton Drive in New Baltimore.

“I play Fantasy 5 every single day,” the player said. “The day after the drawing, I was at work and heard a big Fantasy 5 jackpot was won, so I got on MichiganLottery.com to see where it was sold. When I saw the winning ticket was purchased at the store where I usually play, I called my wife and said: ‘My store sold a big winner!’ She asked if it was me, but I didn’t have my ticket on me to check.”

It wasn’t until later in the evening that he found out his ticket, bearing the numbers 04-05-08-22-38, was the record-breaking $963,040 winner.

“That night, my wife and I looked the ticket over together, and that’s when I found out I was the big winner! I didn’t know how to feel at first because I didn’t believe it was real. Now that it’s finally sunk in, it feels great,” he said.