Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Johannes Fendt 1782 Christening Record

The christening record for Johannes shows that he was christened 18 January 1782, the illegitimate son of Catharina Fendt from Aarmuehle. The witnesses were Johannes Seiler from Boenigen; Johannes Wilhelm from Matten, and Anna ab Buehl. The entry is #8, the second from the top.


Copy of microfilm record received in January .. from Sonja Reid (my 4th cousin 5 generations removed - or something like that).

  • Title: Gsteig bei Interlaken Kirchenbuch, 1593-1875
  • Author: Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirche
  • Publication: Microfilmed Staatsarchive des Kantons Bern, 1991
  • Call Number: ..438 - ..447
  • Page: FHL Film ..439, Christenings 1782, Page 231, Entry #8

Sonja noted that "the interesting thing about the name is the inconsistency in the way it was spelled. It is spelled B'hend, Bhend, Phend, and Fendt. It is often dependent on the time frame in which the information was recorded. Often at the birth of the child it is spelled one way and subsequent entries for the same person or for other children born to the same couple are spelled a different way."

Johannes Fendt, aka Jean B'hend, aka Johannes Phend, was my 3rd Great Grandfather and emigrated to the United States in 1832.

Hartington to Dovedale ,via Thorpe Cloud

With Maureen, Barry and Gordon. Eddie, in spite of his back, climbed Thorpe Cloud, but not via the path. Glorious weather. 8.5 miles for the whole thing.



The start of the walk is in Hartington, at the side of the public toilets, on the Hulme End side of, and across the road from, the Charles Cotton Hotel.





The walk is clearly marked at the start, and once you arrive in Beresford Dale it is simply a matter of walking the well-worn path beside the river.

You go through a section of youngish woodland, Morson Wood, which was planted by Les Morson and family in 1994. The plaque with this information was presented by the 1998 Hartington Sports Committee in memory of Les. My photo was out of focus, hence this paragraph.



As we walked along there were several footbridges over the Dove, some leading to footpaths, some to private land. Wonderful names like " Frank-i-th-rocks bridge" and "Gipsy Bank bridge". Scenery delightful - mainly wooded slopes and grassland.



Just before the villlage of Milldale we came to a bridge over the river - the road to Alstonfield goes uphill to the right and the Milldale road carries straight on.







We took the Milldale road, which has a footpath alongside, and goes closer to the river for a short time. We decided to take a break at Milldale and support the local shop - always a welcome oasis for hungry and thirsty walkers. Even after last night's meal, a couple of cheese and onion sandwiches went down rather well. Okay, we had had breakfast as well, but we had walked almost five miles and there were more ahead.



After Milldale, Dovedale begins to show its "little Switzerland" side, with the limestone rocks and more dramatic scenery. The Dove Holes caves, Ilam Rock, Tissington Spires, Lion's Head Rock, Reynard's Cave, up a bit to Lovers Leap and down and onward to the Stepping Stones.








A heron perched very high above the river







Decision time - who's up for Thorpe Cloud? A trickier ascent than I remember, and worse going down. A dreadful path but worth it for the sense of achievement and the views.








We conquer the Cloud












All that remained was an essential dipping of my bare feet into the river, a welcome cereal bar provided by Maureen, and the half mile or so saunter to the car park. One last ice-cream and we headed for home.




This poster is in fact of Millers Dale (not Dovedale or Milldale).



- the elevation profile of this walk is interesting. Compare to yesterday's walk as well. Even Thorpe Cloud summit is lower than the walk we did along the Tissington and High Peak Trails!



Dry stone Walls in Derbyshire- a brief history of the walls and enclosures in the county.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

N.O.S.

Sturmey Archer Quadrant Shifter

Oh, that sweet acronym that makes collectors tremble with anticipation! NOS stands for "new old stock." Parts that survived generations unused and untarnished. Parts that look and function now as they did on the day they were new.




It is not often one sees the status NOS preceded by a date in the 1930s. But the things I have seen appear in the hands of collector Chris Sharp over the past week... new old stock chased rubber grips, rod brake handlebars, carbide lamps, original roadster bells, sculptural quadrant shifters... Stunned out of my wits I could only wonder where on earth such things come from 80 years past their hey day.




Up until a few years ago there were bicycle shops in Ireland and the UK that still had spare parts left from way, way back in the day. Usually these shops were run by generations of the same family, never changing owners or locations, which is what made such stockpiling possible. Bikes that went unsold and parts that went unused had been piling up in the cellars and back rooms of these shops for decades, undisturbed. Then one by one, these places closed. And when they did, they would liquidate. Local collectors would then buy out a shop's entire inventories of parts from specific periods or manufacturers. Some bike shops owners were themselves classic bicycle enthusiasts, in which case unsold inventories from decades past turned into personal collections.




It was sad to learn about the last of the old bicycle shops closing in Northern Ireland. But also good to know that there are locals who are dedicated to preserving the things salvaged from them.




I used to think that the purpose of the NOS market was to feed a collector's high, and did not really appreciate NOS bikes and parts myself. After all, I ride all my bicycles, so anything NOS would be wasted on me - its status immediately obliterated through use. But now I understand that new old stock has value: It affords a rare opportunity to appreciate vintage bicycles not just from our current perspective - as old, well-used things covered in mud and rust - butin their original splendor,as the highly coveted machines they once were.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Spring Calm over Wauswaugoning Bay and the Susie Islands


































I get to drive by this view every day on my way to and from work. This is what it looked like yesterday evening on the way home.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Spring Training

Arlington Ashby attends to a mock patient

The climbing ranger team has been busy this spring with a number of trainings. We kicked it off with a highly productive week of rope rescue instruction led by Leo Loyd of Rigging for Rescue. The following week we focused on EMS ( emergency medical services ) skills, with one day of instruction from Remote Medical International followed by a day of training with Pearce County Fire EMS. Returning lead climbing ranger Glenn Kessler who gave us a day of rescue training geared towards professional avalanche rescue. Tucked into this busy schedule was a highly enlightening half day presentation by Mike Moore of the Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center on mountain weather. We are all looking forward to getting out of the classroom and climbing on the upper mountain with the first available weather window. Training is great but climbing is better.

DG

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Tuffee & Spanky


Tuffee and her friend Spanky playing their game of race along the fence.

Mt. Stuart, West Ridge

We finally climbed the West Ridge of Mt. Stuart. It ended up being our last big climb of the year. Mark and Doug were the only two climbers. Since it was going to be a one day climb, we got up early and left Yakima at 3:00am and hit the trail at 5:00am. Our plan was to go light and fast. To accomplish this we decided to climb it without a rope. The forecast was good, so we were able to go light on clothing too. We made good time up to Ingalls Pass and then on to Ingalls Lake. After the lake we walked up a ridge and across a rockslide to get to the base of the climb.


We started climbing at 8:00am. The going was real easy and fun. My daughters would have had a ball climbing this lower section.








Glacier Peak in the background.













The West Ridge.














It turned out that we would not have used a rope if we had one. Most of the climbing was real easy. There were only two short sections that required any rock climbing skill and these were in safe areas.
We made it to the top at 11:00am in perfect weather. After spending about an hour there, we started the long descent, followed by the ascent up to Longs Pass and the descent to the parking lot. We got back to the car at 3:30pm and home in time for dinner. Thanks Mark, for leading the funnest rock climb I have ever done. I especially enjoyed the freedom of going light and only carrying items that we knew we would use. It was a great day exploring a special part of God's creation. Chalk up another one for Foursquare Mountaineering!

















Friday, September 4, 2009