Wide Open Spaces

Two years ago I wrote a short story, "Intersections," the primary setting of which was Dalhart, Texas.  Doing some research for another project, I came across this tidbit,

Dalhart, Texas is a small town of about 7500 population on the High Plains.  It is closer to six other state capitals than it is to its own capital,  Austin.

History and Geography...

...which the schools years ago lumped together with civics and economics and called it "social studies."  The state of the world today is testimony to the outcome of that.  Perhaps.  Just a thought.

But that is not why I chose the title.  Rather, it has to do with this picture.  There will be a test.

Test

1.  Where was the picture taken?
2.  Within six years, when was the picture taken?  (Credit if you can name the decade.)
3.  Who is the individual in the picture?  (That's a gimme.)
4.  What would you call those trousers?  (If you didn't laugh out loud, you really didn't look.)

Hometown Tour

A few days ago I shared a story which included my father's visit to his old boyhood home.  Thus in a nostalgic frame of mind, I took a tour around one of my childhood neighborhoods via the magic of Google Earth.

I landed in the middle of the ten hundred block of Walnut Street, smack-dab in front of Wes's house.  This huge structure has been wonderfully maintained and looks better than ever.  Wes's dad, Ed, bought the house in the forties and stick by stick turned it into a home for his family and an apartment house harboring many others.  He eventually expanded the apartment complex into the one-time barn.  I do not remember exactly how many rental units he had.  Possibly five.  Maybe six. In later years, Ed was sometimes teased about his "White Elephant."  Laugh, he said.  I have ridden that elephant around the world twice.


At any rate. I started my tour at the alley beside the entrance to their residence where we used to start our games of "chase" with our marbles. Such a game could progress through many blocks of city streets and alleys.   I strolled past the house and surveyed the vacant lot to the north.  It is now a beautiful, well-maintained garden, vegetables and flowers nicely arranged to please the eye as well as the palate.  In the day, Wes and I built an underground fortress on this lot, a dugout with considerable room inside. Lumber cobbed from Ed’s projects formed a roof which was sodded over, thus blending in with the surroundings.  It is the same lot we ignited one sunny afternoon, and the local fire department got a free training exercise.  I forget what we got.

I walked on north to the corner of San Rafael where I could see that the building which was the corner grocery store still stands.  No longer is there a jingling bell attached to the screened front door. It has been converted into a nice little residence for someone.  Moving back to the south and past Mesa Road and Cache le Poudre I noted the new Bristol School.  I attended Bristol, but this place used to be a large tract of fallow land.  When I arrived at Dale Street, I noted that the neighborhood grocery building on that corner is gone, as is the Bristol School I attended.  I strolled up Dale Street, pausing for a moment in front of 514 where we lived for a year.  Looks to be well-maintained.  The next house to the west is a huge house which we called the Lee Cottage.  I remember when Dad had this structure moved to its present site from a location about a block farther west.  1947, I think,  All the school grounds and camp meeting structures at the west end of Dale Street on the south side are gone. There is a newish apartment complex there.

Back to Walnut Street, south a block to Monument.  I went up Monument to 520 where we lived for a year, then on to 532, our final residence in this neighborhood.  Moved from there when I was fourteen.  Everything west of 536 is new and different, hill is gone, school is gone, residences built all along everywhere, doesn't even resemble my old stomping grounds.

Back to Cooper Street, then on to the south.  One block, street jogs, and if it didn't, traffic would run right into a house my dad built.  Making the jog and going on down Cooper, there are two houses in this block that dad built as well.  At the corner of St. Vrain, turn left, go one block and there sits a church where Dad had been pastor.  The original building still stands, but there is a huge addition.

Back on Walnut, continue south one block, I pass the home of my high school trig teacher.  He would be long gone now, rest his soul.   Left at the corner, one block to Spruce, south to Bijou, noting that everything is changed.  Houses I knew, gone.  Convenience stores, stuff and so on.  Left on Bijou.  I see the viaduct ahead.  To my right I see a Denny's and a high-rise hotel taking up the area where the last house the folks lived in before moving to Indiana was located.  The viaduct, a new structure, of course, but in the same place as the old one, now crosses not only Monument Creek and the railroad, but also I-25, which not only did not exist in the day, but the Eisenhower administration had not even ideated the interstate system yet.

I went across the viaduct, around the bend and saw that the Pioneer Museum is gone, but the old library building still stands across the street from St. Mary's, the spire of which still points heavenward. When I was eleven years old, I pleaded with the librarian to permit me access to the "adult" section, the real library.  In that benighted day, kids under thirteen were banished to the "children's section."  I was allowed access, and one of the first books I chose and read was Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo.  At the corner where the Marksheffel building stood is a new library building.  And now we are "downtown" and everything has changed.  Almost.

Have you traveled via this vehicle?

City of David

Following the death of King Saul the kingdom split.  David became king of the Southern Kingdom, or Judah, while Ishbaal reigned over the Northern Kingdom, or Israel.  During this time, David’s capital city was Hebron.  After seven years of this rule, Ishbaal died and David united the kingdoms.  He reigned 33 more years.  David was an astute man, and knew that Hebron was not a good location for his governmental headquarters, for it was too far south of the Israelite portion of the kingdom.  And yet to choose Saul’s old fortress at Gibeah or Ishbaal's Mahanaim might have been seen as favoritism toward the North.  Thus he chose a  neutral location, a city hitherto unconquered by Israel.  David conquered the city.  Near the site of ancient and present day Jerusalem, the King erected The City of David.

Reading Old Testament history we find frequent references to Jerusalem.  Its importance to both Judaism and to Christianity, and later to Islam, is clear.  But lest we confuse David’s City with modern-day Jerusalem, let us attempt to gain some perspective.  The City of David was situated on the prominence between the Kidron Valley and the Tyropoeon Valley.  In extent, it measured approximately 600 meters, say 2000 feet running north and south, and about 125 meters, or 400 feet, east and west.  A bit of arithmetic gives us the stunning conclusion that the entire city occupied something less than 20 acres of land, modern standards.

I really do not know what the population of this city was during David’s reign.  Over the course of the 33 years it varied, given that supporters from outlying villages frequented the city for periods of time, longer or shorter, and too, David evacuated the city with his supporters during Absalom’s uprising.  I do know that David got into trouble with God over the issue of enumerating the people, and that would be the kingdom’s population, not the city only.  (2 Samuel 24)

We turn from the geopolitical lesson to the spiritual application.  I have often wondered why the taking of a census was such an abomination to the Lord.  But if one lives long enough, and makes an honest effort to learn, one may gain insights into some puzzling things.  This is one such thing in my thinking; and yet it is simplicity itself.  David, not unnaturally, wanted to know how many men he had, and given the bellicose nature of the people and the times that is quite understandable.  The problem:  God had promised to increase the people, to provide the necessary manpower.  David’s act of counting was a display of his lack of faith, and moreover, David's heart swelled with pride, as though the increase were his, and not God's, and thus the sin.

How often do we fall into error for failure to believe the promises of God, or for undue pride in accomplishments or possessions?

Solomon found the strictures of the city boundaries much too confining, and thus he extended the city greatly to the north and to the west.  Over time, the Tyropoeon Valley has filled in, I am told, and during the historical period between the testaments, probably a century or two before the time of Christ, the powers that be had the hill on which The City of David had been located lowered, so that it would not be higher than the Temple.  The site of David’s City lies outside Jerusalem’s current walls.

Things change.

Maps and diagrams used are from Westminster Historical Atlas of the Bible.

The Oregon Treaty and The Pig War #T

The June 15,1846 signing of the Oregon Treaty should have resolved the boundary dispute between the United States and Great Britain.  It established the boundary between the disputed territories at the forty-ninth parallel.  But a deviation from this strictly arbitrary line was necessary to divide the waters, so to speak.  The line was established through the center of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, but wiggling it around the islands became a source of contention, for the details were ambiguous.

The British wanted the line established to the east of the San Juan islands, thus giving them possession of those lands.  The Americans insisted the line should go through the straits to the west of the islands, thus making them American territory.  A considerable amount of interesting history is contained in the period during which these differences prevailed.  Both English and Americans inhabited the islands.

Thirteen years pass.  On June 15, 1859, an American farmer named Cutler came upon a pig rooting in his potato patch.  He shot the pig.  An Irishman named Griffin was the owner of the porker.  Cutler offered to pay ten dollars for the pig.  Griffin demanded a hundred.  And thus started the war.

The British threatened to arrest Cutler; the Americans demanded military protection.  Sixty-six American soldiers of the Ninth Infantry  commanded by Captain George Pickett landed on San Juan Island.  Their orders were to keep the British from landing.    Meanwhile, the British dispatched three warships under the command of Captain Geoffrey Hornby.  By August the US troop count had risen to 461, possessed of 14 cannon.  The British contingency had escalated to five warships, mounting 70 guns and manned by 2140 men.

Both sides were apparently under orders that under no circumstances were they to fire the first shot.  So evidently the soldiers and marines spent their time heckling and needling one another, hoping, it is supposed, to provoke the first shot.  No shot was forthcoming.  Long story short, the dispute over the boundary was submitted to Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany for arbitration.  He submitted it to a three-man commissionl for consideration.  The final decision favored the Americans, and was handed down in October 1872.  After more than a decade the Pig War was over.  There were no casualties.  Except for the pig. 

The San Juans have ever since been a beautiful part of The United States.  Of course, apart from their beauty, the strategic location was important to the U.S. in controlling her waters and defending against potential naval threats.

I have had the good fortune to spend some time in the San Juan Islands, both in the 1950s and again in the 1980s and 90s.  It has been too long, though, for these are lovely places indeed.

This article is not thoroughly researched, as there is much too much material to study.  Much of the information contained herein is in a Wikipedia article about the Pig War.  It is much more detailed, should you want to know more.  See also the account of the Pig War at the National Park Service site.  Image: NPS

What in the Sam Hill?

It was June 1968. I was headed for Portland where it was my intention to complete and defend my thesis. I had the entire family along. They deserved a couple of months in the great Northwest!

We were traveling along US 30/I-80N, now I-84, in Eastern Oregon. Standing on the escarpment on the other side of the Columbia River was a solitary building, quite large and completely out of place, for the land was totally barren, nothing for miles around. This necessitated a side-trip. Fortunately, there was a nearby bridge spanning the river.

What we found when we arrived at the site of the building was not to be expected, for we had never heard of Maryhill Museum of Art.

Samuel Hill was born in the South, but his parents relocated the family to Minneapolis when Sam was a child. Following graduation from college and his study of law at Harvard, Hill returned to Minneapolis to practice. He became law clerk and advisor to the president of the Great Northern Railway. Sam married the boss's daughter. They had two children, a daughter, Mary, and a son, James.

Sam Hill became president of Seattle Gas and Electric and moved to that city. He experienced great business and social success in Washington State. Among many other activities, he became president of the Washington State Good Roads Association. He was instrumental in the development of the Columbia River Gorge Highway.

Ultimately he purchased a large tract of land and determined to build a town and a home for himself along the river. Unfortunately, lack of irrigation pretty much doomed the plan and though he had constructed a mansion, it was never lived in. He called the place Maryhill after his daughter.

A friend of Hill, Loie Fuller, persuaded him to turn the place into a museum. He donated his own art collection and started acquisitions of other fine art. In 1926, Queen Marie of Romania, at Sam's invitation, visited and dedicated the museum in a ceremony that drew two thousand visitors. The museum did not actually open to the public until 1940.¹


We were frankly astounded at the fantastic collections housed in this museum. I am sure that many acquisitions have been made since our visit. Traveling and "on loan" exhibits are a part of the offering, but there are numerous wonderful permanent exhibits. There is an astonishing display of the works of Rodin which includes sculptures and drawings. My personal favorite was the collection of chess sets which required a room of its own. The daughters, who were nine and eleven years of age at the time were quite impressed with the doll collection. In fact, so were both parents, because it was staggering, indeed. The link in the footnotes will give you a better insight into this great place.

<sup>I am truly thankful that we took the time to climb the face of that hill (in the car, of course) to find out what was "up there." If you are ever within an hour or two of the place, be sure to make the drive up that hill. Maryhill, that is!

Sam Hill 1857 - 1931 RIP

1</sup>Maryhill Museum of Art website
Image: ibid.

North to Alaska!

March 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia for about two cents per acre. It was eventually organized as a Territory of the United States in 1912. On January 3, 1959, Alaska became the 49th State of the Union. Happy 52nd Birthday to this fine State.

Six rows of eight stars each on the field of blue had occupied the upper left-hand corner of Old Glory. Now, just in time for the beginning of my new career as a teacher, we had a "new" Old Glory with seven rows of seven stars on the blue field. Its tenure as our official flag was short-lived, though, because Hawaii was not far behind.*

*Hawaii was admitted to the Union August 21, 1959, less than a week after the start of the new school year. The new fifty-star flag became official on July 4, 1960. See "Flag Day."

Battle of Tours

October 10, 732 Charles Martel leads his Burgundian and Frankish forces against Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi's Moorish forces at Poitiers, France. I recall to this day teaching my students fifty years ago that this battle was the turning point in the religious conflict between Islam and Christianity. The spread of Islam into Europe was halted.

While this point of view was generally held by historians well into the twentieth century, there are those today who are reevaluating and rewriting this position. That this battle had great significance to the development of Western history is unquestioned.

Charles the Hammer consolidated the power of the Carolingian Empire, and the Franks dominated Europe for the next century.

The Battle of Tours, or the Battle of Poitiers is known in Arabic as the Battle of the Court of the Martyrs. 732 A.D. is a date that should be remembered by all. The battle, at least, was won. The war, nearly thirteen centuries later, in the opinion of some, is not over.

Dan'l and Rebecca #T

A few years ago, we were traveling through Missouri on the I-44. At St. Clair, we decided to get off the thruway and avoid St. Louis altogether by winding our way up to the I-72 in western Illinois. It's complicated and you'd need a map to understand just what we did.

Anyway, as we were on SR 47 and near Washington, we saw signs indicating that a brief side-trip would bring us to the original gravesite of the world-famous American hero, Daniel Boone. Thus it was that we stayed on 47 until just before reaching Marthasville, we turned north on Boone Monument Road. This is not a superhighway, and in fact, after viewing the monument and snapping a couple of pictures, we found the road almost too narrow to accomplish a turn-around.

There would be little point in relating any of the myriad tales and legends about this bigger-than-life explorer, for you doubtless know more of them than I, and better, too. Fact, though, is that Daniel and his wife Rebecca were parents to ten children, and Mr. Boone lived the last twenty years of his life in this area of Missouri. At age eighty-five he took a hunting excursion, it is said, to the Yellowstone. He was described by someone who saw him on this trip as a "sturdy man, about five-foot seven in height." Boone died before his eighty-sixth birthday.

Rebecca and Daniel were both buried on this site in Missouri. Much later, the bodies were exhumed and transported to Kentucky where they are interred. Maybe. Missouri claims that the Kentuckians dug up the wrong body, and that Dan'l is still in Missouri. To which, one assumes, the KYians say, "Poppycock."

Daniel Boone 1734-1820
Rebecca Bryan Boone 1739-1813

Georgia, USA

Georgia was established in 1732, the last of the original 13 colonies. One hundred twenty-nine years later, she seceded from the Union and was "absent" for nine years. On July 15, 1870, Georgia was restored to the Union, the last of those states which had broken away.

I have visited Georgia on several occasions, and these for an amount of time that "counts," not just a drive-thru on my way to somewhere else. From the hills in the north to the swamps in the south, from the western peanut fields to the southeast coast, the state is blessed with true and varied beauty.

I could name some favorite places, but that might be at the risk of offending someone whose favorite Georgia "spot" is in a different locale. However, no offense intended, I have to mention the Brunswick-St. Simons Island area, and certainly Savannah, Skidaway and Tybee Islands. Perhaps one of my favorite lowlands features is the salt marsh, and of course I've always been partial to the seashore.






By all means, visit Madison. Warm Springs should be on the itinerary. While you are there, visit nearby Callaway Gardens, too!

Happy touring!

July 13, 1787

The Northwest Ordinance should be remembered by all citizens, but particularly should it be recalled by those of us who live in the area which comprised the old Northwest Territory. By description, it is that land that lies west of the Appalachians, north of the Ohio River, east of the Mississippi River, and south of the Great lakes. This area ultimately became the five states of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin; and it contains a large portion of what is now Minnesota as well.

This area was desired by the citizenry who wished to move West and settle the land. It was territory under dispute, as it was claimed variously by the states of Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts and Virginia. As well, the British still claimed much of this land. Thus, the Continental Congress passed the ordinance which created the Northwest Territory, requiring the cession of claims by the various states. The British claim was not ultimately resolved until the conclusion of the War of 1812.

The Northwest Territory was under the control or governance of the Continental Congress, until the formation of the United States Congress in 1789. On August 7, 1789, the Congress affirmed the Ordinance. Thus it was assured that as the territory was developed it would result in the creation of new states, rather than extensions of existing states into new territory.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo #T

My great-great grandfather, Spencer B. Lawson was a private in the USArmy under Winfield Scott during the Mexican-American war of 1846-1848. The United States drove all the way into Mexico City, thus defeating Santa Anna. The Americans then negotiated a peace treaty with the Mexican government. This Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ceded a major portion of Mexican territory to the conqueror, actually comprising about 55% of the land area of the country.*

The cession gave all of California, Nevada, Utah and Texas to the United States, as well as some or most of the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas and Wyoming.

The accompanying map shows what this land mass looks like relative to the current state boundaries.

The hostilities actually ceased on February 2, 1848 and a treaty was subsequently hammered out. The treaty was ratified by the United States Senate on March 10, and became of full effect on May 19 when it was ratified by Mexico.

There are so many "what ifs" surrounding this whole era of history with regard to Mexican-American relations that it would take volumes just to delineate them, to say nothing of analyzing the effects even to now, and into the future.

My favorite "what if" is What if we had subjugated Mexico, took over the entire country to the borders with Guatemala and Belize and annexed it into the United States?

An equally valid "what if" is What if the cession had never occured and the entire "American Southwest" were still part of Mexico?

And finally, What if old guys with too much time on their hands did not engage in the futile activity of imagining suppositions regarding the altering of the past?

*This map includes Texas as part of the cession, which is not technically accurate, in that The Republic of Texas was established in 1836 and annexed as a US state in 1845. Mexico, however never relinquished its claim to the lands of Texas. Since the war and treaty discussed here ultimately resolved that dispute, I have included all the land that the United States acquired from Mexico, as well as the disputed area known as Texas. The southern-most portions of Arizona and New Mexico shown in brown on the map were later acquired from Mexico through the Gadsden Purchase of 1853.

Our Neighbor to the (Far) North

Nunavut was carved out of the old Northwest Territories in 1993, and officially became a Federal Territory on April 1, 1999. Nunavut holds one house seat and one senate seat in the Canadian Parliament.

The population density is 0.04 people per square mile of land area. Put another way, there would be about 25 square miles of land for each inhabitant, man, woman and child. Think you could find enough space there? Nunavut is the largest of the territories and provinces of which Canada is comprised, being about the size of Western Europe. It is also the least populous, with about thirty thousand people. Alert, Nunavut is the farthest north of any permanently inhabited location in the world.

Map: Wikipedia

What do you call a resident of Nunavut? Nunavutian? Nunavutan? Canadian.