I know this one. Back in 1820s the Culpers were a family near Ames, Iowa, that had thirteen children. Every Saturday night when they took their weekly bath, each family member from Pa on down to baby 'Lizabeth would take his or her turn in the same tub of water, scrubbing down with Ma's lye soap.

The Culpers were hard-working farmers and picked up a goodly amount of dirt through the week causing them to use an awful lot of soap in the tub. By the end of bath time, not only was the water little more than thin mud, but there was a prodigious ring around the tub. Neighbors took to coming in to view it, and eventually that ring developed a reputation that spread through Iowa. National Geographic even sent a photographer to get pictures of what was known by then as the Culper Ring. The city feller was so disgusted by the slimy ring that he turned right around and went back to New York City without clicking a shutter, which is probably why most of us have never heard of the Culper Ring. It's still famous in Iowa, though, and there is even a small sculpture of the Culper tub on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames to commemorate the awesome achievement.

Sorry to spoil everyone's fun by giving the answer so early in the day, but I just had to do it after I looked at the calendar this morning.

TM

Good one TM :).

Annette

lol.

Nancy - wish I'd thought of that!!

Well, TM, you need to write some books!! I will, of course, agree with you...until Nancy gives us clues. Somehow, it is vaguely familiar and has to do with a slightly earlier period (perhaps the grandfather moved west to Iowa?), but I think I prefer your story. Your grandkids must love your storytelling.

Cynthia

Well, I missed a chance there!! I could have done something about the origins of April 1st!! You know, in French and Spanish-speaking countries, children use stealth to attach a picture of a fish to mates' backs - perhaps as a sign!! In Poland, prima aprilis ("April 1" in Latin) is a day full of jokes; various hoaxes are prepared by people, for the people, against public institutions and hierarchy.
In Scotland, April Fools' Day is traditionally called Hunt-the-Gowk Day ("gowk" is Scots for a cuckoo or a foolish person), although this name has fallen into disuse. The traditional prank is to ask someone to deliver a sealed message requesting help of some sort. In fact, the message reads "Dinna laugh, dinna smile. Hunt the gowk another mile". The recipient, upon reading it, will explain he can only help if he first contacts another person, and sends the victim to this person with an identical message, with the same result.

Nancy.

above!!

Nancy.

I haven't stumped you already??!! Admitting defeat?? Do you need more tea?? Too expensive, you say??

Nancy.

That's a hint, right? Thinking Revolutionary period. That's all I have.

That's great, Nancy. Hunt the gowk another mile. Maybe my Scottish ancestors used to do that.

Trying to sift through that for clues ... hmmmmm.

TM

Hmmmm, ring suggests group/gang to me, am I on the right track?

Annette

The Culper Ring I am familiar with has to do with a DC comics series. Is this the one you want? I used to read and collect comics but have let that go by though still have some of my Superman comic collection.

Sorry I was gone so long!! The local Big Brothers/Big Sisters had a Purse Sale at our local Legion - what fun!! Seriously gorgeous purses, some new, some gently (and I mean very gently) used, starting at $2. For $25 I got 3 new to me, like new, leather purses. Then the auction started - real Coach and Versaci going for $55 and up!!

Oh my gosh, Bobbie - in all of my research I did not find the comic books!! It was loosely based on the 'original'.

Annette and Cyn, your track is correct. You are missing the clues, as did the Red-coats!!

Nancy.

OK - the clues are: stealth, sealed envelopes, clues(!), red coats, and oddly enough, laundry on the line!! Cyn got the correct period; Annette got 'group'. This is American history, right from the beginning.....if I said invisible ink??

Nancy - who thought she was taking you into comfort zone - Bobbie, any help with clues??

Okay, so Revolutionary War...are stealth and hoaxes clues? Sending notes? Secret notes? I have no idea where I am going with this. At first, I thought your tea comments meant they were the ones who dumped the tea during the Boston Tea Party, but the rest doesn't seem to fit. I will check back before bed.

Cynthia

We were posting at the same time, Nancy. Time for bed. I have a guess. Spy ring during the war? Pretty generic. Not sure who was involved-Nathan Hale? Guess there were others who weren't caught by the British. I know I have read about spies for Washington during the war, but not sure if that is the same as the Culper Ring.

Can't wait to see the answer tomorrow. Going to Mt. Vernon on April 11 for another speaker. I will see if I can find anything on this while I am there!

Cynthia

Me too, I think it might be Spies/Secret Agents.

Annette

In the summer of 1778, with the war poised to turn in his favor, General George Washington desperately needed to know where the British would strike next. To that end, he unleashed his secret weapon: an unlikely ring of spies in New York charged with discovering the enemy's battle plans and military strategy. A young cavalry officer named Benjamin Tallmadge established a small group of trustworthy men and women from his hometown of Setauket, Long Island. Known as the Culper Spy Ring, Tallmadge's homegrown network would become the most effective of any intelligence-gathering operation on either side during the Revolutionary War. America's first intelligence network. Tallmadge recruited only those whom he could absolutely trust, beginning with his childhood friend, the farmer Abraham Woodhull, and Caleb Brewster, whose main task during the Revolution was commanding a fleet of whaleboats against British and Tory shipping on Long Island Sound. Brewster, one of the most daring of the group, was also the only member whom the British had definitely identified as a spy. Tallmadge went by the code name John Bolton, while Woodhull went by the name of Samuel Culper. Even Washington did not know the identities of all of the players. Austin Roe, a tavernkeeper in Setauket who acted as a courier for the Culper ring traveled to Manhattan with the excuse of buying supplies for his business. A local Setauket woman and Woodhull's neighbor, Anna Smith Strong, was also said to have aided in the spy ring's activities. Her husband, the local patriot Judge Selah Strong, had been confined on the British prison ship HMS Jersey in 1778, and Anna Strong lived alone for much of the war. She reportedly used the laundry on her clothesline to leave signals regarding Brewster's location for meetings with Woodhull. Nathan Hale and Tallmadge were close friends at Yale, but he was not a member of the ring. In fact, he was caught on his first excursion behind British lines. One of those who allegedly aided the Culper Ring was an operative known only as "355," the group's code for "lady." Some historians believe that she was the only member of the ring arrested by the British and hanged as a spy. The general public was not aware of the Ring's existence until the 1930s. "Culper Junior's" identity was discovered in 1939, with the discovery of a trunk of old letters in the Townsend family home. Historian Morton Pennypacker noticed the resemblance of the handwriting in these letters and letters written by Robert Townsend in George Washington's collection. Among the techniques they used to relay messages included coded messages published in newspapers and developing a method of using invisible ink to write between the lines of what appeared to be a typical letter. Women were also an integral part of the Culper Ring. At this time in history, women were expected to share their husbands beliefs and not to be directly and openly involved in politics. For this reason, they would not be suspected of being spies.

Very cool. An interesting part of American history that seems to have been all but lost. As with Bobbie's DC Comics, there are those who believe that the ring was never dismantled - that it has existed throughout American history. The conspiracy theorist in me thinks that if this were true, Townsend's letters would never have come to light. But hey, you never know.

So there you go, laundry on the line can send a powerful message! Thanks all for playing. To Annette and Cynthia:

See you next week!! Nancy.

Cool. I will tuck that away for next year when we teach the Revolutionary War!

Thanks for the stars, Nancy. Have a magnificent week everyone.

Cynthia

Thanks for the stars, mine was just a guess after Cyn mentioning the revolutionary war I started thinking cloak and dagger kind of stuff:). Quite an interesting piece of history, thanks Nancy.
It's still cold, rainy and blah here but the forecast looks a little brighter towards the end of the week.

The heather sale Calamity and I went to on saturday was a feeding frenzy, I went intending to get 3 small plants to replace one large one that has seen better days. I don't know what happened, when I extricated myself from the mob I had a tray with 14 plants in my arms. How the heck did that happen :).

Have a great week everyone,
Annette