Mission Trip 1: Altamira, Brasil

From Left: Vicki and Rich, Jon Geyer, Clint Gossmeyer, Jeremy Gibbs, Rob King (back), Joshua Stuber, Greg Bolliger (with little sister who didn't go with us), Jed Bolliger, Brian Vonderhyde (back), Ben Koch, Nick Beachy

This trip was our first of five trips to visit Bud and Suzanne Simon, missionaries on the Xingu River in Altamira. Josh Pflederer was our youth group leader and had planned on leading this group of young men but his wife, Brinley, was due to have a baby and wanted Josh to be home. We agreed to go and our lives were never the same. Clint Gossmeyer actually returned with us for a month long trip the following year. Some of this group we haven't seen in years, most are now married with children and continuing to support disciple-making all around the globe.

Our friendship with Bud and Suzanne deepened over the years and they are currently living in Wilmore, KY while pursuing culminating and graduate degrees at Asbury Seminary.

Thank-you to this group who tolerated Vicki and I in our inexperience on this trip.

Visitors

 Friends from Morton, IL were visiting this week and no Black Hills trip can miss a stop at Chubby Chipmunk in Deadwood. Found their delivery van parked outside and wish Subaru still produced this great little van. CC makes the best chocolate truffles that can be found!

 A hidden gem right here in Rapid City. Chapel in the Hills is  Norwegian chapel architecture at its best. This is well worth your stop.

 I couldn't resist this stone step shot. Colors, cracks, etc were all so interesting.

Our Morton friends are on their way home and hopefully getting caught up on sleep after a busy 3 days of sight-seeing in the Black Hills. Spearfish Canyon drive has the fall colors at about 90% of peak so if you want a beautiful drive there probably won't be many days remaining. We have had great weather lately with the daytime highs in the 60's to low 70's and lows in the 40's and 50's. Any Morton readers of this post will find it interesting that our local "Pumpkin Festival" is tomorrow. I have no clue where these pumpkins come from in this part of South Dakota.

Tremont History Part V: Engagement

"Miss Virginia May, only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Berry May of Tremont, will be married to Leonard Unsicker, also of Tremont, Friday, February 28."

I have attempted to find out what year this took place and will update the post if the information is sent to me.

Another Westward Trip

 Traveling through Wyoming on our way to Yellowstone. Beautiful drive, winding roads and high elevation mean you have to eventually come down.

 Pyramid rock off to the right. We had just come down from 8400' and the brakes needed some time to cool.

 Our road is just visible at the bottom of this picture.

 We camped at Buffalo Bill State Park in Wyoming so we could get an early start for Yellowstone. This is a great campground. We got our early start but it didn't matter, the park was packed. We were 19th in line at Norris Campground, 19 sites were potentially available but the people could extend for another night. We decided not to wait and find out. I couldn't believe how crowded the park was, it seemed just as crowded as when we drove through this past June.

 We drove to near Prineville, OR and camped in the National Forest. 

 

 Oregon fires created a lot of smoke as you can see from these last two pictures. The first Saturday we were in Portland the haze and ash earned them the honor of worst air quality in America for that day.

Tremont History Part IV: tragedy strikes

Bill's sister, Ann, was in my class in Tremont Schools.

Tremont History Part III: 1948 graduation

Tremont History 1920s part II

                                                                                                                   Clyde graduated in 1926.

Year for this picture is unknown to me. Possibly it was in the 1928 and my uncle (an Adcox) is in the picture but that is all I know.

A bit of Tremont History 1920s part 1

Following information was on the back of this picture. Date taken: April 29, 1926

Junior Class 1925 - 1926  Tremont Community High School

First Row from Left to Right: Juantia Gardner, Bob Koch, Yeat Adcox, Buck Becker, Ben Miller and Adv. Betty Rhodes

Middle Row from Left to Right: Clyde Coddington, Glen Becker, Vernon Ripper, Jake Riley, Claria Mae Washburn

Top Row from Left to Right: Dorthy Hellman, Juanita Sheppard, Lucile Taylor, Matilda Moser, Ester Stuber, Eunice Stuber, Mertle Davis


Author note: I have been told that Ben Miller was often called "Baptist Ben" for his willingness to share the Gospel with whoever happened to be near. Ben was the official scorer at Tremont High School Basketball games throughout my high school days from 1968 to 1972. I also attended Tremont United Methodist Church with Clyde Coddington and his wife. My dad, Henry, worked with Glen Becker for years. It truly is a small world in small town.

World War II: PFC Ken Miller, 36047402

Included in the numerous papers of my parents were letters and card sent home by PFC Ken Miller during World War II. I have no idea how these letters came to be in my parents possession so any ideas from others are appreciated. All letters were sent to:

Mrs. Minnie Woizeski
1101 1/2 S. East St.
Bloomington, Illinois

1942

School Memories: Helen (Adcox) Schurter

back of picture: Cecilia Doty, 3 years old; baby 4 months so not sure if the baby is a sibling or a cousin

Last of the posts from Helen's school memories:

"Dear Helen, When you get married and live upstairs. Don't come down and borrow my chairs.  Your Friend,  Caroline Koch"

12/7/37  "Dear Helen, Love many, trust few. But always paddle your own canoe.  Your Friend, Bernice Schaefer"

December 7, 1937 "Dear Helen,   Love your father. Love your mother. Love your sister. Love your brother. Love your books. Love your toys. But never, never love the boys.  Your Friend, Imogene Yentes"

November 27, 1937  "2 y's u r, 2 y's u b, I c u r, 2 y's 4 me   Herb"

Jan 9, 1938  "Dear Helen, Remember me and bear in mind, a truer friend you'll never find. Your Friend, Verla I. Miller"

"Dear Helen, If I was a bunny and had a tail of fluff, I'd jump up on your dresser and be your powder puff.  Your classmate, Virginia Hinman"

"Dear Helen, I had a little pig, I fed him in a trough, he got so fat his tail popped off.  Your classmate, Shirley Jane Cox   P.S. Remember Math class at T.C.H.S."

Dec. 8, 1937  "Dear Helen, Way back here out of sight I will sign my name just for spite.  Eileen Heiminger" (sp is unclear on last name)

Dec. 13, 1937 "Dear Helen, Poor ink, poor pen, can't think...Amen.  Your Pal  Evelyn McMurry"

Dec. 9, 1937 "Dear Helen; I went into the garden, to pick a peck of peas, I nearly died of laughing, to hear the chickens sneeze.  Your Pal, Beulah  Kaiser" (another one where the last name was difficult to read)

Dec. 9, 1937 "Dear Helen: May all your days be days of peace and slide along as slick as grease.  Your friend, Elda Getz"

Dec. 9, 1937 "Dear Helen, It's hard to lose your love when your heart is full of hope. But it's harder to lose the towel, when your eyes are full of soap.  Your schoolmate, Ellora Heiminger (first and last names hard to read)

12/3/37 "Dear Helen, Way back here out of sight, Write my name just for spite.  Your classmate, Mae Storrer"

Black Elk Peak

Labor Day, 2017 found us leaving the Willow Creek Horse Camp on trail 8 to connect with trail 9 and go on to summit Black Elk Peak (7242'). The previous Monday we had hiked to the summit from Sylvan Lake and this trail is about .9 mile longer. No sooner had we begun our hike than we noticed these deer watching us.

The day was overcast and sun was red. The area has been blanketed in haze from the wildfires burning throughout the northwest. Weather reports indicated that the haze is the primary cause for the drop in temperatures making this a great day for a hike.

One reason we wanted to hike this trail is that being of German heritage we are both fairly goal oriented. After an initial hike through trees you catch a glimpse of your goal and from this point you will see the lookout point fairly regularly. We talked briefly with two backpackers heading out from 3 days in the Black Elk wilderness and they said it had been an amazing experience.

We took a break at the top sign which taunts you with a reminder that you have only covered one and a half miles of distance to the summit. Willow Creek and Harney Peak only give you trail numbers nothing about distance. For those who aren't from this region, Harney Peak is the old name for Black Elk Peak. Not all signs have been changed.

Break time over we are headed on the trail. Neither Vick nor I are particularly fond of having our pictures taken so I snapped this one of her on the trail.

Elkhorn Mountain is the background peak on the right. We aren't to the half way point of our hike up.

We decided to take a break at the unusual pile of rocks in the top picture. It was 10:30, sun had broken through the haze and we had been on the trail for 3 hours. Our goal is definitely getting closer.

Just as we were nearing the final turn to climb to the lookout, we met two retired teachers from Boston who had missed the turn. We guided them back a couple of hundred yards to the proper turning point and they were off to the summit. It seems that the eastern U.S. uses the term, "overlook," for a scenic spot on the trail while this part of the country (this trail anyway) uses the term, "overlook" to mean, this way to the summit. We arrived at the summit at 12:00. Nearly everyone else at the summit had followed the trail from Sylvan Lake.

These two pictures are from the summit of Black Elk Peak. Top picture has a view of part of the trail Vicki and I hiked while the lower picture shows Little Devil's Tower (complete with people on top). We decided to head back down at 12:15 having hiked around the summit the week before. There is a lot to see once you arrive on top so don't think this is just an up and down trip. We met a hiker who makes this trip weekly during the good weather times of year. She isn't young but is well prepared with all the gear necessary to make this a comfortable hike.

My apologies for not having a better telephoto lens, the upper picture has two mountain goats relaxing on a hillside. The lower picture is the backside of Mt. Rushmore. At this point Vicki injured her knee and we have a long way to go before we rest. God was good and kept Vick healthy enough, strong enough, stubborn enough to make the painful trip back. It was slow but she persevered in overcoming an old knee injury that likes to reappear on downhill treks in mountains. We did pass another backpacker on the trip down who was on his third day out in the wilderness. We also met two people on beautiful horses headed up the trail. We did think it would be helpful if they caught us on the their downhill trip and offered Vick a ride but that didn't happen. We did safely make it back down and got ice on Vick's knee as soon as we were back home. A long and tiring day but the beauty of this area is always uplifting even on a hazy day.

September 2, 1948

September 2: "Went to farm this morning. Hauled manure all morning. Staked out new corn crib after dinner. Went to timber to get corn for cows this evening. Got home in time for supper."



The journal stops here. It picks up again in October and that is when I will resume postings. I will continue with some other items on a regular basis as I'm trying to determine what stays and goes for the next generation.