Two Fellows Home From Camp Taylor

Columbia City Post, Whitley County, Indiana
Saturday ~ December 29, 1917

Vic Phend and Earl Bordner are both home for short furloughs from Camp Zachary Taylor, Louisville, Ky. The former came Thursday evening. He is in the engineers and likes his work very much. He has grown heavier, weighing about one hundred and eighty pounds and he looks every inch a man now. Earl Bordner is in the medical detachment of the engineers and he, too, has benefited by his training. He is a half inch taller and is also heaver. He will be here until Tuesday, visiting with his father, R. J. Bordner, and others.

Grandpa (Rolland Victor Phend) enlisted in the Army on September 19, 1917 and went as a 'substitute' for someone else. He was 24 years old at the time and about six feet tall. He often commented that he thought he had gotten 'special' treatment because he was an enlistee rather than a draftee. He attained the rank of Sergeant and served in England and France as a member of the 309th Engineers. Though he never said anything about being in combat he was gassed while on a patrol and suffered for many years as a result. At one point the doctors said he wouldn't last six months. He fooled them all by living until the day before his 98th birthday! Mom says she remembers, when she was little, that he often slept sitting up in a chair because he couldn't breathe if he laid down. He received a very small disability pension. At one point when he was in his 80's, the government decided that he was no longer disabled and took away his meager pension. He contacted one of our senators (I don't know which one) and after some delay, his pension was restored.

"My" Billboard!

Yesterday as I drove towards Duluth from Minneapolis I was finally able to see the Grand Portage Lodge and Casino billboard, which has one of my photos of Lake Superior on it. The billboard has been up for several months, but this was the first chance that I had to see it. The picture of the billboard isn't the greatest (its a little fuzzy), as I just snapped it through the windshield as I drove by, but you get the idea. Its pretty exciting to see my photo up there! Here is the image that was used:

http://travisnovitsky.smugmug.com/gallery/6332258_Zj93j#399560384_4ErTU

So, the next time you're driving up towards Duluth on Interstate 35, the billboard is between Forest Lake and Hinckley.... keep your eyes open for it!

Last night's presentation at the spring meeting for the Duluth-Superior Camera Club went very well. Last fall I had been asked by Brian R. to do a slide show and a talk sometime about my photos for the club. As it turns out, the timing for the meeting worked out great as a "bookend" for my trip to the southwest. My slide show and talk concentrated on my newest images from the trip and I wrapped things up by showing a few images from the north shore, to show what it is that always brings me back to the area and what makes the area "home". After the show a number of members from the club came up to me to thank me for coming and tell me how much they enjoyed my work. We also talked "shop" about cameras and the art of image-making. I ran into some friends that I already knew and made some new friends. It was a great evening, one that I enjoyed and I hope the members of the club enjoyed it as much as I did.

John Caspar Stoever and Hebron Lutheran Church

The charming little town of Madison, Virginia lies on U.S. Route 29 about 10 miles south of Culpeper and 25 miles north of Charlottesville. A few miles north of Madison there is a small church that is significant for several reasons. The Hebron Lutheran Church is the oldest Lutheran Church in continuous use in the United States. Built in 1740, it is one of the few wooden churches surviving Virginia's colonial times. The first pastor of the congregation was my 6th great-grandfather, Johann Kasper Stöver aka John Caspar Stoever, in my father's lineage, on his mother's side.

Baptized January 18, 1685 in the Lutheran church at Frankenberg, Hessen (in present day Germany), Johann Kasper Stöver was the son of Dietrich and Magdalena (Eberwein) Stöver. Along with his son of the same name, he arrived in Philadelphia on September 11, 1728 aboard the ship James Goodwill with David Crockett as the ships Master.

Several years earlier, after fulfilling their obligations at the Germanna Colony, a group of German Lutheran colonists purchased land near what would later become the town of Madison. They settled there and carved out lives for themselves and their families. And in 1726, they built a small log chapel along the Robinson River. It wasn't until the spring of 1733 that they were finally able to secure the services of a minister - the Rev. John Caspar Stoever (Senior).

His time as pastor of Hebron, was short - only about a year and a half. But in that time he laid the foundation for the future growth and prosperity of the church. A new house of worship was badly needed. The chapel in which he preached had become too small for the growing congregation and unsuitable for church purposes. The means of his people were limited. After paying their pastor's salary and taxes for the support of the established church, they felt that the burden of building was too great for them to bear alone. It was finally decided to ask for help from their brethren across the seas. Thus it was that in the fall of 1734, Pastor Stoever, Michael Smith (an elder), and Michael Holt (a member of the congregation) were sent to Europe to solicit funds to aid in building a church, establishing a school, and supporting an assistant pastor.

The fund-raising trip was quite successful. Sadly though, on the return voyage to Virginia, in the spring of 1739, Pastor Stoever became critically ill and died at sea. Though constructed in 1740, after his death, the church building is part of the legacy of John Caspar Stoever as is a school built in 1748 - the first school for German speaking colonists in the South – that was used for 100 years.

This historical marker is on the right side of the road when traveling north on the Blue Ridge Turnpike (Virginia Route 231) and is a little south of Hebron Church Road (County Route 638).

The inscription reads “Nearby stands Hebron Lutheran Church. This cruciform church was built in 1740 and is America’s oldest church in continuous use by Lutherans. The congregation was formed by 1725 by German families, some of whom arrived to Virginia in 1717 to work at Germanna, Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood’s frontier mining community. The church was enlarged about 1800 and a pipe organ crafted by David Tannenburg of Lititz, Pennsylvania, was installed. The interior of the church has elaborate frescoed ceilings painted by the Italian born artist Joseph Oddenino. It was listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.”

It was on Sunday morning (October 25th) that I was given a tour of the church by its historian, Mrs. Judy Ann Fray. Due to poor timing, I arrived after services were over but was extremely fortunate that Mrs. Fray was still there. And even more fortunate that she was gracious and willing to take the time to show me around.

Hebron Lutheran Church, Madison, Virginia. The parish house is to the right (east) of the church. The cemetery and stone fences date from the early 1900s.

The south side (front) of the church was added between 1790 and 1802. The small platform in front of the church was used for mounting and dismounting from horses and carriages. There are three of them, the one in front and one on each of the east and west sides.

The north side of the church (now the back) was built in 1740.

The pews and balcony on the east side, part of the original church building.

Installed in 1802 and restored in 1970, the Tannenberg organ is still in use today.

The southern side, added between 1790 and 1802. In the balcony area, where the organ was installed, you can see that the church originally had a high barrel-shaped ceiling.

The ceiling was lowered and plastered during renovations in 1850. In 1884, the ceiling was painted by Joseph Oddenino of Turin, Italy. Additional renovations were made in 1961.

Sources:
History of the Hebron Lutheran Church, Madison County, Virginia from 1717-1907 by Rev. W. P. Huddle, Pastor. New Market, Virginia, 1908. Pages 23-30.

Stover-Stoever-Staver-Stiver, An Account of The Ancestry and Descendants of Johann Caspar Stoever of Pennsylvania by Vernon Stiver & Patricia R. Donaldson. Saline, Michigan, 1992. Pages 11-49 provide an interesting and detailed accounting of the life of John Caspar Stoever, Sr.

Pamphlet published by the Hebron Lutheran Church, Madison, Virginia. No Date.

Campobello Island :: The Roosevelt Cottage

Thursday, September 20th - - The Roosevelt Campobello International Park was created in 1964 as a memorial to Franklin Delano Roosevelt who spent summers on Campobello Island from the time he was a year old in 1883 until he was stricken with polio in 1921. FDR last visited Campobello in 1939 but Eleanor and the children returned often, through the early 1960s.






The view of the FDR cottage from the visitor center.


The visitor center has a 15-minute film about the Roosevelt's and Campobello Island as well as several exhibit areas. All are worth spending the time to view.





This little fenced-in area was identified as the "Best Photo Area" and I would imagine just about every visitor to the FDR cottage has taken a photo from this spot... including me.






It does make for a pretty picture, doesn't it?


I did not take any photos of the interior. There are 34 rooms furnished with ordinary, every-day items that were used by the Roosevelt family. Nothing ostentatious or fancy, rather more of a practical and utilitarian nature with an emphasis on comfort and simplicity. That, in itself, was impressive. The rooms have been restored with their original furnishings though the wallpapers are reproductions. The tour of the home is self-guided with docents available to answer questions about the house, its furnishings, and the family.





Later in the day, I took a drive along the carriage roads. Unlike those built by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. at Acadia National Park, these roads can be used by motorized vehicles.



According to one of the brochures, very little of the forest cover from the Roosevelt era has survived in the 2800 acre park. Apparently, the interim owners (after the Roosevelt family sold the land and before the park was established) logged the island for pulpwood. The area has been allowed to regenerate. I saw very few large trees on my drive through the forests.



The Herring Cove Provincial Park borders the Roosevelt Campobello International Park. We stayed at the Herring Cove Campground, which was quite nice and reasonably priced. The two parks take up roughly the first third to almost half of Campobello Island. The rest of the island is privately owned by the 1100 or so residents.

Morning Glories in the Morning

Out of Texas... into New Mexico... and Beyond

After departing Big Bend National Park on March 3rd, I traveled about 100 miles northwest to Fort Davis, just as I had done three years ago. Once again I stayed at the Davis Mountains State Park for nearly a week. And, once again I did pretty much the same things as then but there were no hikes or even pretty sunsets.



Leaving Fort Davis on March 10th I made it into New Mexico, traveling west through El Paso and north to Alamogordo, stopping for the night at Oliver Lee Memorial State Park. It was extremely cloudy in the north as I drove out of El Paso giving me hopes of seeing a nice sunset. There were several layers of clouds that blanketed the sky when I arrived but within an hour they were gone! It was amazing to me how quickly the clouds disappeared.






My Campsite, looking toward the east.





A fun and rather dramatic shot of Van Dora and the mountains in the background.




The think layer of clouds that blanketed the area when I arrived gave way to puffy cumulus clouds and blue skies.






By the time the sun was setting, the clouds in the west had blown away.





The mountains to the east caught the last golden rays of the setting sun.


In the intervening week, I ventured into the north and western parts of New Mexico, primarily because I had never been there before and actually ended up in Colorado briefly. I'll have more photos posted in the next few days.



When I left Indiana, I had planned on eventually spending some time in Salt Lake City again. That time has come... the last three days were primarily spent driving (and driving), and I have arrived in Salt Lake City. I've also registered for RootsTech and hope to see many of my genea-blogging friends this week.

Pacific Valley - Big Sur

Pacific Valley, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Back in May I was offered the opportunity to stay at a private ranch in Big Sur overlooking the ocean. I jumped at the chance, and spent a weekend in early June in the southern section of Big Sur. Got this photo at a beach in a hamlet called Pacific Valley, several miles south of the ranch where I stayed. It was quite a beautiful place...