Two Journeys

I have just returned from a trip - 2155 miles of it.

All the time I was travelling I thought that I wouldn't be posting anything about the journey.  As days went by, I changed my mind.

The purpose of the trip was two-fold, which is where the two-journeys-title comes from.  The first journey was physical - go somewhere.  I hoped to go places I hadn't been to before and see things I hadn't yet come across.  The second journey was mental - to sort myself out.  

I achieved both goals since my niece commented that I appeared to be really relaxed upon my return.  I was indeed.  As I like to do, I will begin at the beginning.

On a nice Sunday morning, I left the house about 7:30.  I knew my first stop, but refrained from planning anything else - except that I was pretty sure I wanted to go to northwest Indiana, and although that was the strongest possibility, not the only one.  

That known first stop was Blackburn, Pawnee County, Oklahoma.  Eliza Berry Strosnider is buried there and I had never made the trip to the cemetery or the town.  My page about Eliza and Dock Strosnider is here. 

I walked the whole cemetery without finding her.  Coming back to the car, I looked to the right.  I had passed the monument coming into the grounds.  Eliza's grave was the first to the left of the road.  I was parked 10 feet from it and was ready to get back in the van when I noticed the monument.  I've known people who say that a cemetery will speak to you if you let it.  I decided right then that any other cemetery I entered on this trip had better speak loudly, if this one was any example of my discovering.

It was all right, though, that I missed it the first time.  I got in some good walking in the windy and damp air.  The cemetery is well kept and in current use.

Eliza's monument

Stone on top looks like it might be a Bible

Eliza / wife of  / Wesley / Strosnider / 

Born May 22, 1877 / Died Oct 18, 1905

There are lines of text across the base, but they are worn and difficult to read.  I took some very close photos of those lines and hope some day, when my eyes and brain are in best working order, to decipher the text.  If I do figure it out, I will come back and add it here.

I believe the text is this:  

A precious one from us has gone, a voice we love / is silent 

A place is vacant in our home which may never / be filled

God in His wisdom has recalled the boon his love / had given

And though the body slumbers here the soul is / in heaven

Next to Eliza's monument is one for Wesley Strosnider Junior.  He is not Eliza's child, but the son of Dock and his second wife, Ona (Armstrong) Strosnider.  

Wesley Jr / son of  / Mr & Mrs Wesley / Strosnider /

Dec 17 1909 / Feb 22 1914

~~~~~

Also at the cemetery were these two, Eliza's brother- and sister-in-law.

That was the first half of the first day.  

I decided that it would be best, - to keep things open for opportunity - to not plan too far ahead.  My idea was to work on half a day at a time.  This was a journey of discovery and you can't discover if you are locked into a plan that you are afraid to change.  I wanted change.  

Second half of the first day:  

Entering Kansas, I ran into a North wind and rain storm for quite a few miles.  I had a hard time keeping my van on the road in that roaring wind.  The temperature dropped 12 degrees in a matter of minutes and there was no place to pull over - it was a country road, Highway 99.  I took that all the way to Emporia where I camped (van-style) for the  night.  It was chilly out, but I had two sleeping bags as well as my regular bedding.  I was cozy.

Second day: I left Emporia before daylight.  The temperature was 48 degrees - just my kind of weather.  I was headed for Ottawa, which I have written about before, as you can see here.  Ottawa has changed little on Main Street.  In spite of buildings between the highway and downtown that have come in since my last visit, I would still like to live here in one of the turn-of-the-century homes leading into town.  I walked down one side of the street for four and a half blocks (see how everything is coming in halves?) and then back again.  Crisp weather and a quiet morning; rosy cheeks and an ice cube nose. 

My next choice was either Manhattan or Lawrence.  I chose Lawrence, wanting to take another look at the Yarn Barn there.  I also remembered a pretty good used book store.  So, Lawrence it was. I shopped at both places.  The Yarn Barn is mostly a weaving shop.  Once upon a time I had a tabletop loom and used to weave, but decided that while I would love to be able to do that again, I had neither room for a loom (even a tabletop) nor the finances to take on that craft. A sorting out taken care of.

Second half of second day:

I took Highway 24 west to Highway 75, then north for Holton and a picnic lunch, which just happened to be in a funeral home parking lot.  They weren't busy and, with plenty of sunshine, it was a good rest. I topped off my gas tank and bought a 2021 Rand McNally.  I decided that it would be smart to have a current road map for all these states I planned to visit.  My old one was a 2010 and I'll bet some of those roads have changed in the last 10 years.  

I next headed for Brown County, Kansas, and the town of Fairview.  My grandmother (by marriage), Marian Alvira Lyman, was born there and I had never been to see where she came from.  My map didn't give good enough directions to the cemetery, so I asked for help.  A fella at the bank in Fairview told me which roads to look for and I found the Old Fairview Cemetery easily.  I walked that one looking for the Lyman Family.  Bingo!  A huge monument was in the middle of the lot.  

Old Fairview Cemetery, 240th and Dewberry Rds, Brown Co, Kansas

LYMAN / Henry / 1831 - 1904 / Alvira S His Wife / 1836 - 1907 / 

William R Their Son / 1876 - 1911

(I see my own shadow reflected in the stone.  

Which reminds me that the stone faced north!)

I had a question so I returned to the bank and looked for my direction-giver.  Why, I asked, is the cemetery so far from town?  His answer: The Town Moved.  The Railroad came through, but not where the town was platted, so the town up and moved to the railroad.  Hmmph!  He had a book of county maps and made copies for me.  I have erased the current residents.

Thoughts:

One of the reasons I drive back roads is for the scenery.  I like lots of it unencumbered with city-ness.  The other reason is this is my thinking time.  With few distractions, it's easy to think things through, and that was an essential part of my mental journey.  These first two days my mind was flip-flopping between one subject and another as my poor brain tried to make sense of the thoughts.  After these two days, though, my mind finally settled down to the job of thinking, rather than sorting and discarding.  

Second half of second day:

I intended to spend the night at St Joseph, Missouri.  But - Highway 36, upon which I was travelling - by-passes it to the south.  In the distance saw a much larger skyline than I remembered and was glad I passed it up.  It had been difficult to navigate the area the last time I was here - many, many years ago - and I wasn't willing to tackle it at the end of a busy day.  I ended up at a truck stop in Cameron, Missouri.  End of Day 2.

 Day 3, first half:

It was 48 degrees at 4:30 a.m.  I waited until daylight to leave so I wouldn't miss anything interesting that might appear.  I took Highway 36 east and stopped in Laclede, Missouri, the birthplace of John J Pershing.  

Why was I interested in Pershing's hometown?  I had read about Pershing and wanted to see the place such a man came from.  

And because I grew up in Midwest City, Oklahoma, with Tinker Air Force Base.  The streets, when they started building in the 1940s, were mostly military or airplane-related names - Boeing, Kittyhawk, Bomber, Ercoupe, Rickenbacker, Lockheed, McArthur, etc.  

Our phone prefix was Pershing, now relegated to a 73_ prefix.  The charm of the different prefixes was lost.  I can name from memory plenty of the old exchanges from around the county:  Pershing, Orange, Melrose, Mutual, Victor, Central, and so on; a lot more interesting than the numbers they represented.  

Second half of day 3:

What next?  I had decisions to make about what direction to go now.  I settled on Hannibal, Missouri.  I had been there along ago - a lot of my travel was long ago - and wouldn't mind seeing it again.  Besides, it was a good place to stop before crossing the Mississippi.  I once again visited the Mark Twain boyhood home and walked around the town.  I drove on and stayed on the west side of Springfield, Illinois - in a hotel this time. I told someone that spit baths can only last so long before a real shower was needed.

It's time to leave the rest for another article.

In the meantime . . .

       I see that I have not posted anything since last October.  The main reason for that is a new project - another blog.  

       The church of my childhood, and some of my adulthood, is closing it's doors this year.  The scheduled date of the last service was set for April 26th, but that was before the Corona Virus made itself known.  Now the last service will be sometime in the future, but no one knows when.  

       The other thing delayed is the sale of the buildings to another congregation - one that is very excited to take the keys.  As our moderator of this church has noted, the sale will be delayed for a while until everyone concerned is able to discover their financial status - temporary lack of individual income being a primary concern for many.  

       So, for many months now, I have been hauling home, sorting through, and discarding or scanning documents in a preservation project about the history of the church.

       I have over 8000 scans as of today and most of them are posted online.  There are several hundred photographs yet to be scanned, and the same number of newsletters, next to the desk, awaiting their turn in the scanner.  And there are stacks and stacks of other papers which may or may not be scanned.  You can take a look here, if you are in the least bit interested:  mbcc

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       While we are all homebound - pretty much anyway - I have realized an awful truth.  The libraries are closed; the bookstores are closed; the thrift store book shelves are closed.  No New Reading Material!  I generally read a few books a week and sometimes more.  That means I have scoured my own shelves to see what I haven't read in a while.  There are books I save for winter reading, or for summer reading, or for tired-of-doing-chores reading.  I guess I will go through them one at a time.

       First up is my collection of books by Alan Bradley, the Flavia de Luce stories.  

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       While we cannot go many places these next few weeks, we can get out for drives in the country.  And we have.  On a recent sunny Sunday - April 5th - Mom and I took a tour of eastern Oklahoma County.  Two hours out of town on country roads.  

       We travelled east on 10th Street, intending then to go north on Luther Road, since the town of Luther would be our first sightseeing stop.  Turns out you can't go that far because of the construction of the new highway out that direction.  So we jogged north on Triple X Road to 23rd Street, then east again to Luther Road.  We turned back north, and drove - and drove - for miles.  No wonder I hadn't been to Luther before.  It was a long drive there - at least long for an afternoon jaunt.

Here are some of the things we saw:

       A coach car off on a siding.  It has been there many years.  Railroad tracks run through many - make that most - Oklahoma towns and one runs through Luther, but I was really surprised to see this car.  Did passenger trains run through such a small town once upon a time?  Or did someone fancy having a car like this and brought it to Luther just because?  

       Sundays are often quiet in small towns; virus restrictions make them even more quiet.  This is the main street, I guess.  There seem to be two such streets, and I couldn't figure out which was the mainest.  

       This restaurant was closed, of course, but I sure would like to see the inside of the building when it opens once again.  Although you can click on the above photo and enlarge it, here's a closer look without doing that.

Farmstead Cafe / 116 South Main 

Farm to Table / Live. Real. Simple / Market / Bakery/ Cafe

       Luther is an old town by Oklahoma standards.  Here's a brief history:  Luther

Old sandstone walls, modern venting.  

An empty church on a Sunday.  

       Having seen most of what was interesting in Luther, we headed back south on Hogback Road.  Aptly named, it twists and turns it's way to Jones, Oklahoma.  

I know you're not supposed to copy, whole-hog, an article from the Internet, but if I give it credit where due, maybe I can get away with it.  Here's the story of Hogback Road from the other direction:

~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Ride On Hogback Road  by Ellie Posey, published January 27, 1983, Daily Oklahoman

Question: What's straight in the middle and curvy on both ends?

Answer: Hogback Road.

The Hogback Road section of old County Highway No. 1 is only eight miles long and for most of its length, runs along the top of a ridge.

It's the shortcut between Jones and Luther and a natural extension of the Spencer-Jones Road.

To find Hogback Road from downtown Oklahoma City, travel east of I-35 on NE 23 for five miles to Spencer Road. Turn north and follow the road through Spencer. On the north side of town, Spencer Road changes its name to Spencer-Jones Road. On the east side of Jones, it becomes Hogback Road.

Steve Richardson, Oklahoma County District 1 Road Supervisor, said he has been told the road was called Hogback because the farmers in that area used the road on top of the ridge to take their hogs to market.

"There is a real good view of Oklahoma City on Hogback Road from just outside Jones," Richardson said. "On a clear day there is a good view."

Most city folks don't know Hogback Road exists. Residents, lawmen and outlaws in eastern Oklahoma County have known about it for years.

Some say it's used by those who hope to evade the long arm of the law. Hogback Road crosses over Turner Turnpike and getting from one to the other is relatively easy for the less than lawful. In a few places, only a hogwire fence limits access to the four-lane toll road.

Farther along, where Luther becomes the northern terminus of Hogback Road, U.S. 66 opens several avenues of escape.

But a drive along the road is, in itself, an escape. Hogback Road is a time capsule with echoes of the days of cheap gasoline and Sunday afternoon outings in the family sedan.

There are things to see: a small dairy farm, a combination grocery store-gas station, a bait shop and the red rock walls which once formed a house. There is a small, white church. A naked bulb hangs above a sign over the door. Its black stenciled letters announce "Welcome."

The date on the cornerstone reveals the First Baptist Church of Douglas was built in 1949. It seems deserted except for a choir of dried seed pods on the trees in front of the church. They rustle and sing in the wind.

A row of seven mailboxes stands on the berm of the road. They seem alike at first glance. Closer inspection reveals six plain boxes and a decorator model.

Still another is a large economy size for holding packages as well as letters and magazines. A third has an ornate name plate bracket.

Four are mounted on bark-covered posts and one, belonging to "Zuck," stands secure on two braced post-legs.

As Luther's new white water tower comes into view, the journey on Hogback Road ends. It's a pleasant drive and for those with time to stop along the way and admire the view, there are some surprises.

A bright spot of red in a tree looked to be a Christmas bauble.  Then, the bauble spread its wings and turned into a cardinal.                               Archive ID: 105816

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Redbuds in full bloom on Hogback Road

       Jones, Oklahoma, was our next town for sightseeing.  

       It appears a bit more prosperous than Luther.  They have a lovely park alongside the road.  A fisherman was on the far side of the pond-lake (bigger than one, smaller than the other) and walkers on the trail around the far side.  I wish we had brought a lunch, or had thought to stop and have something from our snack bag.  Next time.

This curiosity was along Hogback Road, between Jones and Spencer.  The abandoned and run-down building nearby was either a garage at one time, or a car lot.  Hard to tell which.

       As we neared Spencer, we had a "Cemetery Alert!".  That's what I used to call out when my husband and I were driving the backroads.  He would usually stop and we would explore.  Since Mom can't easily walk that far on uneven ground, I did the exploring on my own.

Oaklawn Memorial Gardens, Spencer, Oklahoma

       The grounds are nicely kept.  

       When I got home, I looked it up on Find a Grave.  FaG says there are over 900 burials there (I wouldn't have known it from the markers I could see) but that only 42 percent of them are photographed.  I wonder why?  Are there too many markers that have sunken and are no longer able to be found?  Are there many burials with no markers at all?  Is there just not anyone interested in photographing the markers?   

       Find a Grave provided an automated list of those burials that don't have a grave photo.  I made a copy.  One of these days I might just walk around there and see if I can find an answer to the puzzle.  In the meantime I photographed these three, which someone has already posted on Find a Grave.

       Back on the trail south, we came to the Llama farm in Spencer.  These critters were close at hand for a portrait.

       And so, back home again - full of sights of all kinds.