Hebron Crossroads 7-13 (or 6?)-03
By Jeff Gill
After 47 meetings and seemingly endless discussions of "what will we do when the bicentennial wagon train comes to town," it was quite satisfying to see the real, live, actual wagon train come clopping over the brow of the hill east of Lakewood High.
The flashing red lights of the troopers leading them came as no surprise, with cell calls and walkie-talkie alerts of "they’re at Linnville. . .they’re leaving Jacktown. . .coming in ten minutes" making the appearance much less than anticlimactic, but to finally see ‘em coming down the road: it was good.
And we really did expect y’all to come, but perhaps not – y’all. By which I mean you all really did show up, and y’all kept coming, and we saw all of you all make y’all’s way to our little encampment.
No one could actually count, well, y’all, but we were fairly sure that over 700 cars came through our lots July 1, and most of ‘em had two, three, four and more in ‘em. Estimates ranged from 1,500 to 3,000, and we heard about (and your friendly neighborhood amateur traffic cop saw) many who for various reasons just cruised by and saw from their vehicle what was going on around the circle of wagons. By the way, congrats to Barbara Pierce for getting home from Columbus just in time to see the show in her neighborhood!
However many were there, it was a great, great evening. Russ and Tennessee John were great to work with on the wagon train, Carmelita and the others from Worthington and the state bicentennial commission, plus Pam and Kim from the county planning commission along with Marcia Phelps, our county commissioner coordinator extrordinaire, just all of the official folk were so incredibly helpful, and only got more so as things got going.
But our local community has so very much to be proud of. To pull this together on relatively short notice, and to make it go as smoothly as it did is nothing short of miraculous, which is the kind of miracle the ol’ Hebron Crossroads is used to seeing. Phil Herman and all the staff with the Lakewood Local School District were accomodating (literally!) and gracious about the prospect of having a herd of mules on the property, let alone an indeterminate number of whoever else.
The churches pulling together out-hauled highly trained mule teams, with Hebron Christian Church, Jacksontown United Methodist Church, and the United Methodist Church of Hebron leading the crews involved with spirit and good will, and not a note of mulish obstinacy to be seen.
Thanks also to the Greater Buckeye Lake Historical Society who brought us Variations, the square dance band, and to the Licking District Boy Scouts of America, who helped in a wide variety of roles but foremost in their remarkable Kaniengahaga Order of the Arrow dance team, who drew raves from the wagon crews and visitors alike.
For Action Pest Control, Devine Farms, and Creative Catering, your public spiritedness helped make our community proud as we gave the "Path To Statehood" crew and participants one of the nicest meals and layouts they’ll have all the way across the state. We can’t thank you enough. Ditto Licking Park District, Tri-County Dive Team, the Girl Scouts, the Eastern Star, and many others who played a part in getting the pieces put together in a gorgeous summer patchwork historical quilt, sprawled across the side of the National Road.
And I hope you all, y’all, get a chance to both thank and congratulate Kim Halter of Hebron for being the linch-pin of this harness and rig that got so many mules to pull together and so many wagons on the road through Hebron. She did an amazing job with organizing all of this, and the area owes her a debt of sincere gratitude, although I’m sure she’ll settle for having her phone ring a little less often!
This is being written by dark of morning just after the overnight encampment (whenever it is this actually runs, who knows?), so I’m neglecting to mention anything about the actual Hebron stop, which the village staff and Brezina Design & Construction is putting together.
That event will doubtless call for another set of thanks and its own particular description, so keep reading for that on down the road. And over the crackle of the campfire and among the flashing of the lighting bugs, good night!
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and was wearing an orange vest for most of the Wagon Train stop; if you’d like to sing "Home On the Range" again with a thousand voices, or are sorry you didn’t run him down when he was standing in the middle of Lancers Road when you had the chance, tell him at disciple@voyager.net or call 928-4066.
Wednesday, July 02, 2003
Tuesday, July 01, 2003
Hebron Crossroads 7-6-03
By Jeff Gill
There’s a figure from Newark’s history who passed through our Hebron Crossroads many times who needs some special attention from all corners of Licking County.
Israel Dille, whose portrait by Amzi Godden hangs in the Sherwood-Davidson House along the Licking County Historical Society row on 7th Street in Newark, was born near the beginning point for our recent bicentennial wagon train, at Dille’s Bottom near Martin’s Ferry. He came into this world about the same time as Ohio became a state, and was buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery after his death in Washington DC in 1874. His monument. . .well, more about that at the end.
From a pioneer family in the Cleveland area and teaching in the Somerset vicinity, Israel apprenticed to the law, and shortly after moved to become one the first true citizens of Licking County’s new seat of government. He was an early mayor of Newark, held a variety of county offices, and was the leading light in the first "board of education" in the county in 1848, and his daughter Anna was the first graduate of Newark schools in 1853.
One of the organizers of the Republican Party, then a new "third" party on the American scene, he led the movement to support freedom for slaves, education for all, and equality of opportunity for everyone (including his daughters). He gave a son, William, in the Civil War, and served in our nation’s capital from the Lincoln administration to the time of his death.
An elderly man by the standards of his day in DC, he was notably healthy and active, and caught the attention of fellow amateur scientists, antiquarians, and lovers of literature, including Joseph Henry, the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and Walt Whitman, who noted Dille’s sudden death in his letters.
I was remembering Israel Dille a few weeks ago when I saw an article in "The Atlantic Monthly" about Whitman which references a significant but little known prose work of his called "Democratic Vistas." Finding it on line and reading the whole, again I ran into Mr. Dille, who is unmistakably described in the essay as a respected friend and perceptive political analyst.
Clearly, we much to be proud of with someone like Dille in our local history (and I haven’t told the half of it!); but Israel himself, a good Episcopalian, wasn’t given to public displays, and in fact ordered that his grave site, on the highest spot in Cedar Hill (which he was influential in establishing) be marked with no gravestone at all. There’s an echo here of Christopher Wren, architect of St. Paul’s cathedral: "If you desire to see his monument, look around."
But not long ago, there was on the ground of the county courthouse a plaque noting that, long before Dawes Arboretum, there were on the Courthouse Square a "Newark Botanic Gardens," an extension of the many and varied plantings once surrounding his home just north of where Hudson and St. Clair now intersect. Dille established these gardens as another silent gift to the public, but the marker was discreetly maintained as one place the citizens would see this illustrious name preserved.
Somehow, a few years back, it disappeared. Could it be returned or restored? Let’s think about it, as we stroll away from our patriotic reflections this weekend of the Glorious Fourth.
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and a lover of local history; if you have news to use, just e-mail disciple@voyager.net or call 928-4066.
By Jeff Gill
There’s a figure from Newark’s history who passed through our Hebron Crossroads many times who needs some special attention from all corners of Licking County.
Israel Dille, whose portrait by Amzi Godden hangs in the Sherwood-Davidson House along the Licking County Historical Society row on 7th Street in Newark, was born near the beginning point for our recent bicentennial wagon train, at Dille’s Bottom near Martin’s Ferry. He came into this world about the same time as Ohio became a state, and was buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery after his death in Washington DC in 1874. His monument. . .well, more about that at the end.
From a pioneer family in the Cleveland area and teaching in the Somerset vicinity, Israel apprenticed to the law, and shortly after moved to become one the first true citizens of Licking County’s new seat of government. He was an early mayor of Newark, held a variety of county offices, and was the leading light in the first "board of education" in the county in 1848, and his daughter Anna was the first graduate of Newark schools in 1853.
One of the organizers of the Republican Party, then a new "third" party on the American scene, he led the movement to support freedom for slaves, education for all, and equality of opportunity for everyone (including his daughters). He gave a son, William, in the Civil War, and served in our nation’s capital from the Lincoln administration to the time of his death.
An elderly man by the standards of his day in DC, he was notably healthy and active, and caught the attention of fellow amateur scientists, antiquarians, and lovers of literature, including Joseph Henry, the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and Walt Whitman, who noted Dille’s sudden death in his letters.
I was remembering Israel Dille a few weeks ago when I saw an article in "The Atlantic Monthly" about Whitman which references a significant but little known prose work of his called "Democratic Vistas." Finding it on line and reading the whole, again I ran into Mr. Dille, who is unmistakably described in the essay as a respected friend and perceptive political analyst.
Clearly, we much to be proud of with someone like Dille in our local history (and I haven’t told the half of it!); but Israel himself, a good Episcopalian, wasn’t given to public displays, and in fact ordered that his grave site, on the highest spot in Cedar Hill (which he was influential in establishing) be marked with no gravestone at all. There’s an echo here of Christopher Wren, architect of St. Paul’s cathedral: "If you desire to see his monument, look around."
But not long ago, there was on the ground of the county courthouse a plaque noting that, long before Dawes Arboretum, there were on the Courthouse Square a "Newark Botanic Gardens," an extension of the many and varied plantings once surrounding his home just north of where Hudson and St. Clair now intersect. Dille established these gardens as another silent gift to the public, but the marker was discreetly maintained as one place the citizens would see this illustrious name preserved.
Somehow, a few years back, it disappeared. Could it be returned or restored? Let’s think about it, as we stroll away from our patriotic reflections this weekend of the Glorious Fourth.
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and a lover of local history; if you have news to use, just e-mail disciple@voyager.net or call 928-4066.
Saturday, June 28, 2003
Notes From My Knapsack – July 2003 "The Church Window"
It should come as no surprise that I’m very big on promoting and interpreting the role churches play in communities.
From within, we know that being part of a community of faith is how we maintain and enhance our beliefs and actions growing from those beliefs about God and how God works in the world. We need that family of believers around us on a regular basis to encourage us in the hard times and remind us to appreciate the good times.
But the way churches benefit even those who never enter our worship space or share any of our beliefs is less often understood. Your newsletter editor (thank you, David) recently added a line about how a church the size of ours, according to a sociologist who got curious about the services and activities of Christian congregations, adds about a quarter of a million dollars of economic value annually to the community they live in, if that was billed as most social service agencies do in more formal contracts.
Of course, that’s roughly akin to the old saw about what you’d have to pay a mother if you subcontracted out all she does – shopping, cooking, basic medical care, counseling, etc. – but like most old saws, there’s a true line that it cuts. Someone would have to do those things, and if you had to pay for each individual action, you’d see the value better of motherhood.
So churches can make the same claim, and I’m glad we’re in a municipality that knows and appreciates that. It’s been on my mind again recently because of the Ohio Bicentennial Wagon Train, which is getting two days’ worth of dinner and breakfast for about 150 as it passes through eastern and central Licking County because of three United Methodist churches and Hebron Christian. God bless Barbara at Herb-and-Ewe, too; and if the Christian community hadn’t rallied around the ancient spiritual discipline of hospitality ("every guest shall be Christ to you"), perhaps it wouldn’t have hurt our villages at all to quietly let the wagons pass by unacknowledged, but what a gift to the community this work has become!
And the value is far beyond that of 600 meals served to strangers, or a little festival unexpectedly appearing on the local calendar. Once again, congregations have blessed their communities with the joy they have to share, and everyone gets a little more unified, a bit more hopeful, and a whole lot more aware of each other’s gifts whether they join in our worship through our service.
Thanks to Kim Halter, Connie Wildermuth, Jody Shoop, the Cottermans, and all the other workers and preparers who gave this gift of Christ’s presence to and through us this bicentennial year of 2003.
In Grace and Peace,
Pastor Jeff
It should come as no surprise that I’m very big on promoting and interpreting the role churches play in communities.
From within, we know that being part of a community of faith is how we maintain and enhance our beliefs and actions growing from those beliefs about God and how God works in the world. We need that family of believers around us on a regular basis to encourage us in the hard times and remind us to appreciate the good times.
But the way churches benefit even those who never enter our worship space or share any of our beliefs is less often understood. Your newsletter editor (thank you, David) recently added a line about how a church the size of ours, according to a sociologist who got curious about the services and activities of Christian congregations, adds about a quarter of a million dollars of economic value annually to the community they live in, if that was billed as most social service agencies do in more formal contracts.
Of course, that’s roughly akin to the old saw about what you’d have to pay a mother if you subcontracted out all she does – shopping, cooking, basic medical care, counseling, etc. – but like most old saws, there’s a true line that it cuts. Someone would have to do those things, and if you had to pay for each individual action, you’d see the value better of motherhood.
So churches can make the same claim, and I’m glad we’re in a municipality that knows and appreciates that. It’s been on my mind again recently because of the Ohio Bicentennial Wagon Train, which is getting two days’ worth of dinner and breakfast for about 150 as it passes through eastern and central Licking County because of three United Methodist churches and Hebron Christian. God bless Barbara at Herb-and-Ewe, too; and if the Christian community hadn’t rallied around the ancient spiritual discipline of hospitality ("every guest shall be Christ to you"), perhaps it wouldn’t have hurt our villages at all to quietly let the wagons pass by unacknowledged, but what a gift to the community this work has become!
And the value is far beyond that of 600 meals served to strangers, or a little festival unexpectedly appearing on the local calendar. Once again, congregations have blessed their communities with the joy they have to share, and everyone gets a little more unified, a bit more hopeful, and a whole lot more aware of each other’s gifts whether they join in our worship through our service.
Thanks to Kim Halter, Connie Wildermuth, Jody Shoop, the Cottermans, and all the other workers and preparers who gave this gift of Christ’s presence to and through us this bicentennial year of 2003.
In Grace and Peace,
Pastor Jeff
Monday, June 23, 2003
Community Booster
Ohio’s "Path To Statehood" Wagon Train
Much of today’s world frantically beeps, maniacally buzzes, flashes insistently, or just glows an unearthly green.
Part of the trip back to 1803 is to step in pace with plodding mules, to hear their grunts against a harness that jingles and creaks with a leathery groan, to start to nod your head along with the clop, clop, clop of shod hooves, until you fall asleep that night in a firelit bedroll on the ground.
If all the talk of Ohio’s bicentennial has left you imagining what that pace and rhythm would be like, then June 30 through July 3 will give Licking County residents just that opportunity.
While the deadline is past for signing up to actually ride along with the 14 wagons, and the crew of re-enactors and first few registered participants left Ohio’s eastern border last week, you are invited to visit with the "Path To Statehood" trek at a number of overnight stops and daily breaks along the old National Road, US 40 through southern Licking County.
"We will smell, taste, feel, and see history in these wagons," says Skip Bollinger, the wagon train coordinator for the city of Worthington, sponsor of this statewide event as their contribution celebrating a municipal bicentennial as well. "A nationally recognized mule driver will guide our transportation, we’ve got a PhD in microbiology checking out our food preparation, and most of the wagon drivers are active re-enactors who do this all the time."
The replica Conestoga wagons, like the mules that pull them, are not original to 1803. But the process of loading the wagons, tending the mules, getting up the steep (and admittedly paved) roads, and some of the overnight campouts will give a sense of long-ago everyday life to participants and observers alike.
June 30 the long line will cross into Licking County, and immediately get a warm welcome from Gratiot, where the Gratiot United Methodist Church (and a number of sister congregations in the area) has activities and events planned all afternoon, from 1:00 pm, for the general public. They’ve also taken on the task of feeding the nearly 150 crew and guests, as have volunteers and contributors at each stop in the county. Evenings the encampment will be open to the public until 8:30 pm at every stop.
After breakfast, the mules will struggle up hill and clump down grade until they reach the Eagle’s Nest Historical Marker for a pause; lunch is for the wagon crews only at Herb-N-Ewe’s. Tuesday, July 1 will wrap up with a celebration break at the Licking Township Hall in Jacksontown, and then one last "down grade" to Lakewood High School, where the wagons will camp on the north side and the public is invited to park on the south side of the building and walk around to join a full evening of activities from 6 to 8:30 pm.
Hebron Christian Church and the United Methodist Church of Hebron are feeding the wagon crews dinner, and Jacksontown United Methodist Church is providing breakfast the next morning, July 2. Action Pest Control, Devine Farms, and the Hebron Historical Society are helping sponsor and staff the events, and the Greater Buckeye Lake Historical Society is offering square dancing where the audience will be invited to participate. The local Boy Scout Order of the Arrow Dance Team is doing a display of Native American crafts and dancing at the other end of the display area.
Wednesday, July 2 the procession will wheel into Hebron about 9:30 am, with a proclamation and celebration break at the restored Hebron Mill, sponsored by the restorers, Brezina Design & Construction, who will offer tours of the historic building after the wagon train rolls on to the west, heading for their lunch break at Jutte’s Pigeon Roost Farm, where activities and food for the general public are offered, along with feeding the wagoneers on their way. The Pigeon Roost Farms activities will preceed and and follow the wagon train, from 10:30 am to 3:00 pm, even as the Conestogas rumble on to a break in Kirkersville and to their final stop for the night at Watkins Memorial High School.
Reynoldsburg will host the growing wagon loads of guests and crew at an invitation only lunch on the Department of Agriculture grounds, and then the procession will, one at a time, leave Licking County for a winding route through Franklin County on their way to Worthington and a July 5 celebration there.
Marcia Phelps, county commissioner, and county staffers Pam Jones and Kim Workman have done all the county line to county line co-ordination of this statewide event, often with little clear picture of what Worthington and the state Bicentennial Commission had in mind, but Phelps says "we just kept going, and we couldn’t have done any of it without the local organizing committees, who have just been fabulous."
A special thank you will go to all the individuals and groups who have substantially aided in carrying out this series of programs, "and that’s hundreds of people" Phelps adds.
By the time the Bicentennial Wagon Train has finished their trek, largely along the National Road, they’ll have passed through 10 Ohio counties from Martin’s Ferry in Belmont County to New Paris in Preble County, but few counties will have given as warm a welcome to the wagon train as Licking, even if only measured in food! "The scale and amount of stuff going on here overshadows almost every other location we’ll see" says Bollinger. "We’re as self-sufficient as we need to be, but this area is going to take most of the load off of us."
Lake Erie has its "Tall Ships" and the Ohio River their "Tall Stacks" to celebrate the 1803 founding of this state, but Licking County will have some "tall tales" to tell when the "Path To Statehood" has long since ridden into the sunset.
Ohio’s "Path To Statehood" Wagon Train
Much of today’s world frantically beeps, maniacally buzzes, flashes insistently, or just glows an unearthly green.
Part of the trip back to 1803 is to step in pace with plodding mules, to hear their grunts against a harness that jingles and creaks with a leathery groan, to start to nod your head along with the clop, clop, clop of shod hooves, until you fall asleep that night in a firelit bedroll on the ground.
If all the talk of Ohio’s bicentennial has left you imagining what that pace and rhythm would be like, then June 30 through July 3 will give Licking County residents just that opportunity.
While the deadline is past for signing up to actually ride along with the 14 wagons, and the crew of re-enactors and first few registered participants left Ohio’s eastern border last week, you are invited to visit with the "Path To Statehood" trek at a number of overnight stops and daily breaks along the old National Road, US 40 through southern Licking County.
"We will smell, taste, feel, and see history in these wagons," says Skip Bollinger, the wagon train coordinator for the city of Worthington, sponsor of this statewide event as their contribution celebrating a municipal bicentennial as well. "A nationally recognized mule driver will guide our transportation, we’ve got a PhD in microbiology checking out our food preparation, and most of the wagon drivers are active re-enactors who do this all the time."
The replica Conestoga wagons, like the mules that pull them, are not original to 1803. But the process of loading the wagons, tending the mules, getting up the steep (and admittedly paved) roads, and some of the overnight campouts will give a sense of long-ago everyday life to participants and observers alike.
June 30 the long line will cross into Licking County, and immediately get a warm welcome from Gratiot, where the Gratiot United Methodist Church (and a number of sister congregations in the area) has activities and events planned all afternoon, from 1:00 pm, for the general public. They’ve also taken on the task of feeding the nearly 150 crew and guests, as have volunteers and contributors at each stop in the county. Evenings the encampment will be open to the public until 8:30 pm at every stop.
After breakfast, the mules will struggle up hill and clump down grade until they reach the Eagle’s Nest Historical Marker for a pause; lunch is for the wagon crews only at Herb-N-Ewe’s. Tuesday, July 1 will wrap up with a celebration break at the Licking Township Hall in Jacksontown, and then one last "down grade" to Lakewood High School, where the wagons will camp on the north side and the public is invited to park on the south side of the building and walk around to join a full evening of activities from 6 to 8:30 pm.
Hebron Christian Church and the United Methodist Church of Hebron are feeding the wagon crews dinner, and Jacksontown United Methodist Church is providing breakfast the next morning, July 2. Action Pest Control, Devine Farms, and the Hebron Historical Society are helping sponsor and staff the events, and the Greater Buckeye Lake Historical Society is offering square dancing where the audience will be invited to participate. The local Boy Scout Order of the Arrow Dance Team is doing a display of Native American crafts and dancing at the other end of the display area.
Wednesday, July 2 the procession will wheel into Hebron about 9:30 am, with a proclamation and celebration break at the restored Hebron Mill, sponsored by the restorers, Brezina Design & Construction, who will offer tours of the historic building after the wagon train rolls on to the west, heading for their lunch break at Jutte’s Pigeon Roost Farm, where activities and food for the general public are offered, along with feeding the wagoneers on their way. The Pigeon Roost Farms activities will preceed and and follow the wagon train, from 10:30 am to 3:00 pm, even as the Conestogas rumble on to a break in Kirkersville and to their final stop for the night at Watkins Memorial High School.
Reynoldsburg will host the growing wagon loads of guests and crew at an invitation only lunch on the Department of Agriculture grounds, and then the procession will, one at a time, leave Licking County for a winding route through Franklin County on their way to Worthington and a July 5 celebration there.
Marcia Phelps, county commissioner, and county staffers Pam Jones and Kim Workman have done all the county line to county line co-ordination of this statewide event, often with little clear picture of what Worthington and the state Bicentennial Commission had in mind, but Phelps says "we just kept going, and we couldn’t have done any of it without the local organizing committees, who have just been fabulous."
A special thank you will go to all the individuals and groups who have substantially aided in carrying out this series of programs, "and that’s hundreds of people" Phelps adds.
By the time the Bicentennial Wagon Train has finished their trek, largely along the National Road, they’ll have passed through 10 Ohio counties from Martin’s Ferry in Belmont County to New Paris in Preble County, but few counties will have given as warm a welcome to the wagon train as Licking, even if only measured in food! "The scale and amount of stuff going on here overshadows almost every other location we’ll see" says Bollinger. "We’re as self-sufficient as we need to be, but this area is going to take most of the load off of us."
Lake Erie has its "Tall Ships" and the Ohio River their "Tall Stacks" to celebrate the 1803 founding of this state, but Licking County will have some "tall tales" to tell when the "Path To Statehood" has long since ridden into the sunset.
Hebron Crossroads 6-29-03
By Jeff Gill
Atticus Finch is not dead.
Recently the actor Gregory Peck died, and our sympathy is surely with his family, friends, and fans. Most of us, of whatever age, associate him with one role, a character he never minded being confused with (unlike many other actors kissed by fame in a particular part).
In the screen version of "To Kill a Mockingbird," Peck played a single father, a lawyer in a small town, and a white man who was seen as a friend to the "Negro community" as the majority of the population there would have been called on a good day in 50’s Alabama. All tough jobs, all challenges to portray without over-acting, and a remarkable amalgam on the page in the 1959 novel, let alone depicted in the 1962 movie.
Harper Lee is still with us, but has lived a quiet life in New York and Alabama since her startling first novel (that’s right, first novel), and what little she’s had to say publicly indicates that she’s just not sure how much more she has to say after "Mockingbird," and having said so much in that little book, she’s entitled.
But her great creation, the character of Atticus Finch, is not even as dead as many living historical figures are in our recollections, let alone the fading of long past cinematic portrayals. Just before Peck’s death, and I truly hope he knew of it before his passing, a poll of movie fans listed Atticus Finch as the number one hero in movie history.
All things being equal, I would have shrugged and sighed, briefly, if the news story had said the poll result was Ah-nold, or that ol’ die hard Bruce Willis. Some older cinephiles might pick out "the Duke," or even the likes of Douglas Fairbanks or Tyrone Powers.
There is something downright encouraging when Atticus Finch is recalled when someone asks a question about what a hero is. If you haven’t seen the movie for a while (or since a high school English teacher made you watch it, bemused at the black and white and the age of this thing you were expected to care about, struck by the remarkable title sequence as the words rose from beneath the charcoal rubbing, and then amazed at how you were drawn into this old fossil of a film). . .well, watch it again, OK?
William Harris has a hero, and while his first book will not likely make him a fortune to live on the rest of his life, it tells the common story of uncommon valor shown by his grandfather, William J. Johnson, and many like him in World War II.
Janice and Phil Harris (who just celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary) are proud of both their children, with Tricia graduating last year from Wilmington, but the focus right now is on William, a Lakewood Middle School student.
In Mrs. Warthen’s class, he had the chance to write and illustrate a book that would be printed up. I’ve seen a number of these, and the motivation of knowing your final product will come out between hard covers has spurred some very nice collections of poetry, essays on hobbies and interests, and appreciations of various family members. . .or pets!
But William chose to adapt a journal that his grandfather had assembled to summarize and tell the story of his service in the United States Navy through World War II and Korea. Taken from his letters and diary, plus a few records left from his progress from Signalman to Chief Quartermaster through the ranks and some 20 ships, grandfather William left his daughters and grandchildren and anyone else who might care a narrative of what life was like "back then" and why young men and women made some of the choices they did in places like Bellaire and Shadyside, Ohio.
The idea worked, because grandson William read the journal, and retold the story from his perspective, entitled quite sensibly "My Grandfather, William J. Johnson." And now, many others have picked up the story and read it, gaining young William honors from the printers who prepared the class books, readership well beyond his immediate family, and a write-up last weekend in a Wheeling and Ohio Valley newspaper.
William and Lora Johnson, his high school sweetheart and wartime bride, both died last year, but their story lives one. Thanks, William, both of them!
You can read more about the Ohio Bicentennial Wagon Train July 1 and 2 elsewhere in this paper, and don’t forget the annual Civil War Re-enactment out at Infirmary Mound Park this weekend. History is all around the Hebron Crossroads. . .
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and a local historian and archaeologist; if you have news of note or historical announcements to make, share them through disciple@voyager.net. Please remember that a few weeks notice is necessary to get time-bound articles into the column!
By Jeff Gill
Atticus Finch is not dead.
Recently the actor Gregory Peck died, and our sympathy is surely with his family, friends, and fans. Most of us, of whatever age, associate him with one role, a character he never minded being confused with (unlike many other actors kissed by fame in a particular part).
In the screen version of "To Kill a Mockingbird," Peck played a single father, a lawyer in a small town, and a white man who was seen as a friend to the "Negro community" as the majority of the population there would have been called on a good day in 50’s Alabama. All tough jobs, all challenges to portray without over-acting, and a remarkable amalgam on the page in the 1959 novel, let alone depicted in the 1962 movie.
Harper Lee is still with us, but has lived a quiet life in New York and Alabama since her startling first novel (that’s right, first novel), and what little she’s had to say publicly indicates that she’s just not sure how much more she has to say after "Mockingbird," and having said so much in that little book, she’s entitled.
But her great creation, the character of Atticus Finch, is not even as dead as many living historical figures are in our recollections, let alone the fading of long past cinematic portrayals. Just before Peck’s death, and I truly hope he knew of it before his passing, a poll of movie fans listed Atticus Finch as the number one hero in movie history.
All things being equal, I would have shrugged and sighed, briefly, if the news story had said the poll result was Ah-nold, or that ol’ die hard Bruce Willis. Some older cinephiles might pick out "the Duke," or even the likes of Douglas Fairbanks or Tyrone Powers.
There is something downright encouraging when Atticus Finch is recalled when someone asks a question about what a hero is. If you haven’t seen the movie for a while (or since a high school English teacher made you watch it, bemused at the black and white and the age of this thing you were expected to care about, struck by the remarkable title sequence as the words rose from beneath the charcoal rubbing, and then amazed at how you were drawn into this old fossil of a film). . .well, watch it again, OK?
William Harris has a hero, and while his first book will not likely make him a fortune to live on the rest of his life, it tells the common story of uncommon valor shown by his grandfather, William J. Johnson, and many like him in World War II.
Janice and Phil Harris (who just celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary) are proud of both their children, with Tricia graduating last year from Wilmington, but the focus right now is on William, a Lakewood Middle School student.
In Mrs. Warthen’s class, he had the chance to write and illustrate a book that would be printed up. I’ve seen a number of these, and the motivation of knowing your final product will come out between hard covers has spurred some very nice collections of poetry, essays on hobbies and interests, and appreciations of various family members. . .or pets!
But William chose to adapt a journal that his grandfather had assembled to summarize and tell the story of his service in the United States Navy through World War II and Korea. Taken from his letters and diary, plus a few records left from his progress from Signalman to Chief Quartermaster through the ranks and some 20 ships, grandfather William left his daughters and grandchildren and anyone else who might care a narrative of what life was like "back then" and why young men and women made some of the choices they did in places like Bellaire and Shadyside, Ohio.
The idea worked, because grandson William read the journal, and retold the story from his perspective, entitled quite sensibly "My Grandfather, William J. Johnson." And now, many others have picked up the story and read it, gaining young William honors from the printers who prepared the class books, readership well beyond his immediate family, and a write-up last weekend in a Wheeling and Ohio Valley newspaper.
William and Lora Johnson, his high school sweetheart and wartime bride, both died last year, but their story lives one. Thanks, William, both of them!
You can read more about the Ohio Bicentennial Wagon Train July 1 and 2 elsewhere in this paper, and don’t forget the annual Civil War Re-enactment out at Infirmary Mound Park this weekend. History is all around the Hebron Crossroads. . .
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and a local historian and archaeologist; if you have news of note or historical announcements to make, share them through disciple@voyager.net. Please remember that a few weeks notice is necessary to get time-bound articles into the column!
Wednesday, June 18, 2003
Hebron Crossroads 6-22-03
By Jeff Gill
Dr. Chicky over at Mantonya Chiropractic will have some extra business shortly.
No, not from the preparations for the Ohio bicentennial wagon train coming into our area July 1 (see further down for more); no, not because people are exercising more and need help adjusting to increased physical activity.
She will be helping both young and old alike realign their spines after just picking up and carrying home their copy of "Harry Potter and the Order of Chinese Takeout," or whatever the title will be (ask a ten year old, they’ll have it word perfect).
At 318,000 pages, the weight of four copies will strain the axles of most family mini-vans, so a light truck is recommended for those picking up multiple copies. Betty Green at Park National will be available for conversations about financing if you have more than one child and they, of course, can’t bear to wait until another sibling has finished it. With the discount chain price still at a steep $6,723.50, the fiscal reverberations (personal bankruptcy, embezzlement at work, garnished wages) will echo through the community; actually, the world.
And the state legislature is discussing major decisions in conference committee about spending cuts and tax increases that will effect all Ohioans for years to come, and influence our everyday life, but hey, who is more interesting, Harry Potter or Larry Householder? (Sorry about that, Mr. Speaker; since he has kids, I’m sure he will understand.)
Really and truly, I’m thrilled that kids around the Hebron Crossroads are reading, and actually clamoring to read books over 800 pages (no, I’m not kidding now), but the apocalyptic hype over the latest installment on J.K. Rowling’s epic tale is a bit weird given the other issues at hand.
Or perhaps a more perceptive critic would note that "other issues at hand" like war, terrorism, recession, and unemployment are exactly why folks want to obsess over this children’s lit phenomeon.
Speaking of economic ills, don’t forget that instead of paying upwards of $30 for the tome (still not kidding again. . .yet), you can go to the Hebron Library and sign up for one of their copies to read. There are names on the list already, but while you wait for Harry to arrive in your hands, they have a wide variety of Other Books you can read, and even a "Summer Reading Program" to score points in to win prizes and rewards along the way!
Occasionally, I will talk to a parent who has concerns about Master Potter and his Hogwartian mates: y’know, magic and wizards and spells and all that. Putting on my pastor hat (looking suspiciously like a Chicago Cubs ball cap), can I reassure any and all that the only malign influences I can spot in the series is the aforementioned tendency to spinal curvature from their steadily increasing weight (still not joking) and the always present need to not get obsessed with any one oeuvre, whether it’s American Girl dolls, Cubs pitching, or even Ohio State football.
If you’re still uncertain, I can recommend two more suggestions. Go on-line (the Library can show you how if you don’t have it at home) and look up some of Ms. Rowling’s life story and outlook, which is getting more and more obvious, in an artful way, in the books.
The other is: read ‘em yourself before you let your child read them. This is no different than not letting your kids watch TV whose content you’re not sure of: "what dear? I’m busy. . .the Spice channel? OK, as long it isn’t anything too whatever."
The library’s summer reading program is very well suited to getting some parent-child reading started, which would be a gentle start for moms and dads before they have to face pre-reading 227,000 pages of the next Potter opus (kidding again now, I hope).
Farm league baseball may distract a few from Potter-mania, as well as the Shrine tournament down in Newark; maybe someone can feed me our local results for printing in coming weeks. Our Lakewood girls softball had a great end to their season, so young women all around the crossroads are polishing their diamond skills with dreams of making that prestigious team someday.
And a hometown shout out to Sharon Scheidegger with the end of the Licking District Cub Day Camp last week up at Camp Falling Rock. Hebron and Jacksontown were very well represented among the Cubs, staff and adult assistance (hooray Pack 33 particularly!), with over 250 Cubs registered, over a hundred adults involved, and almost 90 Webelos with parents at the overnight campout. Sharon was one of the directors, and they have a great deal to be proud of.
We’ll be putting our Boy Scouts, the Order of the Arrow Dance Team, FFA members and Hartford Jr. Fair Board members to work out at Lakewood High School the afternoon of July 1 as the "Path to Statehood" rolls into the lot. After we get the crew settled and fed, the public is invited in from 6:30 to 8:30 pm for a round of activities and entertainment. Kim Halter is co-ordinating a committee that is feeding the wagoneers supper and breakfast the next morning, plus organizing the activities that Tuesday evening.
Brezina Design & Construction is putting together a greeting on Wednesday am at 10 as the wagon pause at their restored mill offices next to the Historic Crossroads marker, and you’ll be invited to share in that, tours of the mill after, or just to cheer them on their way west.
Much, much more on this next week; don’t let Harry Potter get so interesting that you forget to come out and experience some living history and real adventure right here!
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and part of the Licking County Ohio Bicentennial Commission; if you have historic news, call 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
By Jeff Gill
Dr. Chicky over at Mantonya Chiropractic will have some extra business shortly.
No, not from the preparations for the Ohio bicentennial wagon train coming into our area July 1 (see further down for more); no, not because people are exercising more and need help adjusting to increased physical activity.
She will be helping both young and old alike realign their spines after just picking up and carrying home their copy of "Harry Potter and the Order of Chinese Takeout," or whatever the title will be (ask a ten year old, they’ll have it word perfect).
At 318,000 pages, the weight of four copies will strain the axles of most family mini-vans, so a light truck is recommended for those picking up multiple copies. Betty Green at Park National will be available for conversations about financing if you have more than one child and they, of course, can’t bear to wait until another sibling has finished it. With the discount chain price still at a steep $6,723.50, the fiscal reverberations (personal bankruptcy, embezzlement at work, garnished wages) will echo through the community; actually, the world.
And the state legislature is discussing major decisions in conference committee about spending cuts and tax increases that will effect all Ohioans for years to come, and influence our everyday life, but hey, who is more interesting, Harry Potter or Larry Householder? (Sorry about that, Mr. Speaker; since he has kids, I’m sure he will understand.)
Really and truly, I’m thrilled that kids around the Hebron Crossroads are reading, and actually clamoring to read books over 800 pages (no, I’m not kidding now), but the apocalyptic hype over the latest installment on J.K. Rowling’s epic tale is a bit weird given the other issues at hand.
Or perhaps a more perceptive critic would note that "other issues at hand" like war, terrorism, recession, and unemployment are exactly why folks want to obsess over this children’s lit phenomeon.
Speaking of economic ills, don’t forget that instead of paying upwards of $30 for the tome (still not kidding again. . .yet), you can go to the Hebron Library and sign up for one of their copies to read. There are names on the list already, but while you wait for Harry to arrive in your hands, they have a wide variety of Other Books you can read, and even a "Summer Reading Program" to score points in to win prizes and rewards along the way!
Occasionally, I will talk to a parent who has concerns about Master Potter and his Hogwartian mates: y’know, magic and wizards and spells and all that. Putting on my pastor hat (looking suspiciously like a Chicago Cubs ball cap), can I reassure any and all that the only malign influences I can spot in the series is the aforementioned tendency to spinal curvature from their steadily increasing weight (still not joking) and the always present need to not get obsessed with any one oeuvre, whether it’s American Girl dolls, Cubs pitching, or even Ohio State football.
If you’re still uncertain, I can recommend two more suggestions. Go on-line (the Library can show you how if you don’t have it at home) and look up some of Ms. Rowling’s life story and outlook, which is getting more and more obvious, in an artful way, in the books.
The other is: read ‘em yourself before you let your child read them. This is no different than not letting your kids watch TV whose content you’re not sure of: "what dear? I’m busy. . .the Spice channel? OK, as long it isn’t anything too whatever."
The library’s summer reading program is very well suited to getting some parent-child reading started, which would be a gentle start for moms and dads before they have to face pre-reading 227,000 pages of the next Potter opus (kidding again now, I hope).
Farm league baseball may distract a few from Potter-mania, as well as the Shrine tournament down in Newark; maybe someone can feed me our local results for printing in coming weeks. Our Lakewood girls softball had a great end to their season, so young women all around the crossroads are polishing their diamond skills with dreams of making that prestigious team someday.
And a hometown shout out to Sharon Scheidegger with the end of the Licking District Cub Day Camp last week up at Camp Falling Rock. Hebron and Jacksontown were very well represented among the Cubs, staff and adult assistance (hooray Pack 33 particularly!), with over 250 Cubs registered, over a hundred adults involved, and almost 90 Webelos with parents at the overnight campout. Sharon was one of the directors, and they have a great deal to be proud of.
We’ll be putting our Boy Scouts, the Order of the Arrow Dance Team, FFA members and Hartford Jr. Fair Board members to work out at Lakewood High School the afternoon of July 1 as the "Path to Statehood" rolls into the lot. After we get the crew settled and fed, the public is invited in from 6:30 to 8:30 pm for a round of activities and entertainment. Kim Halter is co-ordinating a committee that is feeding the wagoneers supper and breakfast the next morning, plus organizing the activities that Tuesday evening.
Brezina Design & Construction is putting together a greeting on Wednesday am at 10 as the wagon pause at their restored mill offices next to the Historic Crossroads marker, and you’ll be invited to share in that, tours of the mill after, or just to cheer them on their way west.
Much, much more on this next week; don’t let Harry Potter get so interesting that you forget to come out and experience some living history and real adventure right here!
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and part of the Licking County Ohio Bicentennial Commission; if you have historic news, call 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
Tuesday, June 10, 2003
Hebron Crossroads 6-15-03
By Jeff Gill
Time for our biannual traffic report at the Hebron Crossroads: traffic will be heavy all this weekend across US 40, with tie-ups and back-ups right through Rt. 37 to the east and Kirkersville to the west, centering on National Trail Raceway for the Pontiac Nationals.
The staff at Lancer’s Inn has refilled all the napkin holders and salt shakers, the stores have filled their shelves, especially with potable beverages, and volunteers all across the Lakewood area are getting out their earplugs and sunblock (35, natch).
It isn’t often that ESPN and over 100,000 friends drop by in the Hebron area, and everyone from churches to package stores have signs up to say "Welcome Race Fans!"
NHRA and Jim Layton have much to roar about as this world-class event comes to town, and so many sports teams, band boosters, and civic organizations benefit from helping out with concessions, parking, and tickets. If you’re lucky enough to be attending, keep a friendly eye open for someone you know behind the counter or at the turnstile. . .we’re everywhere!
And at the same time, many from the Lakewood area will be up at Camp Falling Rock through this weekend with Cub Day Camp. Around 250 Cubs, along with unit leaders and parents will be served by a staff of dozens of whom many are from the Lakewood area, with Hebron’s Sharon Scheidegger as one of the co-directors. We pray for good weather for both events, that are each high octane in their own way. . .
Speaking of Lakewood pride, last weekend’s commencement exercises at the high school were moving and exciting in a number of ways. Molly Morgan, the valedictorian, snuck in two addresses, and we’re all glad she did.
After a more traditional speech, followed by salutatorian Rene’ White and a senior choir ensemble, Molly slung a six-string over her mortar board and robe to sing a song she wrote for the occasion. It was ready for heavy rotation on the top 40 playlist in this hearer’s opinion, and if she’s copyrighted the words maybe she’ll send them to disciple@voyager.net so I can publish them here for you, but trust me: it was a very, very good song.
And she sang it well, too. I hope Kathy & Jim’s video came out well with good sound quality, because I’ll guess there was a little vision blurring during that performance.
Anyhow, with graduation trails leading on down the road to the future, and National Trail roaring over the fields this weekend, it’s also time to look forward to looking back.
By which cryptic statement I mean the "Path To Statehood" wagon train, passing through Licking County from east to west June 30 to July 3.
Lakewood High School will be the stop for dozens of mule-drawn wagons and hundreds of participants (both re-enactors and paying "guests") the evening of July 1. A local contingent of area churches will feed the wagoneers dinner and breakfast the next morning,, and from 6:30 to 8:30 pm there across from the Buckeye Scenic Railway station on the National Road, you can come visit the wagons, pet the mules, and watch or join in with square dancers from the Buckeye Lake Historical Society or Indian dancers from the Boy Scouts Order of the Arrow dance team.
The next morning, the "Path to Statehood" will pause at the Hebron Mill, where Brezina Construction and Design will host a stop at 10 am. After some brief ceremonies there at the mill, the wagon train will head off to a lunch stop at Pigeon Roost Farm, where the Jutte’s have a full agenda of activities for all ages planned (and then they get to feed ‘em!).
That night the caravan will overnight at Watkins Memorial will support from the Kirkersville and Pataskala area.
As you can see, there are many different days and times you can catch a glimpse or get involved with this unique tribute to Ohio’s bicentennial. Make sure to mark some or all of this on your calendar now!
And many thanks to Kim Halter and Jody Schoop of Hebron, Charla Devine for the Hebron Historical Society and Donna Braig for the Greater Buckeye Lake Historical Society, and to Hebron Christian Church, Jacksontown United Methodist Church, and the United Methodist Church of Hebron for their involvement and support in feeding these historic multitudes.
They’ll be rolling through the Hebron Crossroads very soon. . .
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and a local historian and archaeologist; if you have news to help make history come alive today or information of general interest, call 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
By Jeff Gill
Time for our biannual traffic report at the Hebron Crossroads: traffic will be heavy all this weekend across US 40, with tie-ups and back-ups right through Rt. 37 to the east and Kirkersville to the west, centering on National Trail Raceway for the Pontiac Nationals.
The staff at Lancer’s Inn has refilled all the napkin holders and salt shakers, the stores have filled their shelves, especially with potable beverages, and volunteers all across the Lakewood area are getting out their earplugs and sunblock (35, natch).
It isn’t often that ESPN and over 100,000 friends drop by in the Hebron area, and everyone from churches to package stores have signs up to say "Welcome Race Fans!"
NHRA and Jim Layton have much to roar about as this world-class event comes to town, and so many sports teams, band boosters, and civic organizations benefit from helping out with concessions, parking, and tickets. If you’re lucky enough to be attending, keep a friendly eye open for someone you know behind the counter or at the turnstile. . .we’re everywhere!
And at the same time, many from the Lakewood area will be up at Camp Falling Rock through this weekend with Cub Day Camp. Around 250 Cubs, along with unit leaders and parents will be served by a staff of dozens of whom many are from the Lakewood area, with Hebron’s Sharon Scheidegger as one of the co-directors. We pray for good weather for both events, that are each high octane in their own way. . .
Speaking of Lakewood pride, last weekend’s commencement exercises at the high school were moving and exciting in a number of ways. Molly Morgan, the valedictorian, snuck in two addresses, and we’re all glad she did.
After a more traditional speech, followed by salutatorian Rene’ White and a senior choir ensemble, Molly slung a six-string over her mortar board and robe to sing a song she wrote for the occasion. It was ready for heavy rotation on the top 40 playlist in this hearer’s opinion, and if she’s copyrighted the words maybe she’ll send them to disciple@voyager.net so I can publish them here for you, but trust me: it was a very, very good song.
And she sang it well, too. I hope Kathy & Jim’s video came out well with good sound quality, because I’ll guess there was a little vision blurring during that performance.
Anyhow, with graduation trails leading on down the road to the future, and National Trail roaring over the fields this weekend, it’s also time to look forward to looking back.
By which cryptic statement I mean the "Path To Statehood" wagon train, passing through Licking County from east to west June 30 to July 3.
Lakewood High School will be the stop for dozens of mule-drawn wagons and hundreds of participants (both re-enactors and paying "guests") the evening of July 1. A local contingent of area churches will feed the wagoneers dinner and breakfast the next morning,, and from 6:30 to 8:30 pm there across from the Buckeye Scenic Railway station on the National Road, you can come visit the wagons, pet the mules, and watch or join in with square dancers from the Buckeye Lake Historical Society or Indian dancers from the Boy Scouts Order of the Arrow dance team.
The next morning, the "Path to Statehood" will pause at the Hebron Mill, where Brezina Construction and Design will host a stop at 10 am. After some brief ceremonies there at the mill, the wagon train will head off to a lunch stop at Pigeon Roost Farm, where the Jutte’s have a full agenda of activities for all ages planned (and then they get to feed ‘em!).
That night the caravan will overnight at Watkins Memorial will support from the Kirkersville and Pataskala area.
As you can see, there are many different days and times you can catch a glimpse or get involved with this unique tribute to Ohio’s bicentennial. Make sure to mark some or all of this on your calendar now!
And many thanks to Kim Halter and Jody Schoop of Hebron, Charla Devine for the Hebron Historical Society and Donna Braig for the Greater Buckeye Lake Historical Society, and to Hebron Christian Church, Jacksontown United Methodist Church, and the United Methodist Church of Hebron for their involvement and support in feeding these historic multitudes.
They’ll be rolling through the Hebron Crossroads very soon. . .
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and a local historian and archaeologist; if you have news to help make history come alive today or information of general interest, call 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
Hebron Crossroads 6-09-03
by Jeff Gill
Pomp, circumstance, honors and congratulations to the Lakewood High School Class of 2003!
At commencement this Sunday, valedictorian Molly Morgan and salutatorian Rene' White will lead their fellow graduates across the platform to receive their diplomas and head out into the world with the love and and thumbprints of their entire family on them.
This is the first major goal achieved in the adult lives of these young folks, and while they have many more ahead of them, give them your heartiest congratulations on reaching it.
With plenty of speeches on the agenda, I know the '03 gang doesn't need more exhortations to "walk boldly on into the future," but a little advice does seem in order (even if it's not absolutely necessary).
First, avoid debt like the plague. Not the coughing, sneezy plague, but the gross, horrible, "makes everyone avoid you like the plague" plague.
The average college grad right now is starting their job search with over $18,000 in student loan debt and $2,000 in credit card debt. The subtle burden (you know the obvious burden here, right?) is that with a $350 or more monthly obligation at the top of your budget, you start looking for the right salary more than the right job, and can begin painting yourself into a box from day one.
There are precious few things that if you don't buy them in your early 20's you'll regret all your life. Save, give, and spend, in that order.
Second, right on the heels of "what not to buy", take advantage of the opportunities you have now, whether to travel, learn a skill, take another class, listen to a concert or speaker out of the ordinary. Because the same idea applies: you will not in future years ever wonder why you didn't go to one more party, or see more movies when you were just out of high school. You will, on the other hand, have occasion to wish you'd picked up one more skill, tried one more possibility, or polished one more talent when time and family and other obligations rested more lightly on your head.
And thirdly, never forget that it's never too late. For a fresh start, for a new beginning, for renewed relationships, for deciding on a better direction. And there are more people than you know ready to help you along the way, if you let them.
Godspeed!
For a younger age group (although many of our grads are helping out as teachers and aides) we have quite a few local Vacation Bible School programs. From the first week out of school to the end of summer, area churches offer weeks and weekends of special activities and programs. We'll print further info as it comes in, but here's what we know right now around the Hebron Crossroads:
Heath Church of Christ; June 9 to 13; 6:00 to 8:30 pm;
"Treasures of the Nile"; age 2 to 6th grade.
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel; June 16 to 20; 9 am to Noon & Friday closing program at Noon; "Seaside With The Savior"; age 4 to 6th grade.
Licking Baptist Church; June 16 to 20; 6:30 to 9:00 pm; nursery to adult.
Jacksontown UMC; June 23 to 27; 6:00 to 8:30 pm; "SCUBA!" age 3 to 8th grade.
Hebron Community VBS at Hebron Christian w/ Hebron UMC;
Story & Song Camp July 21 to 24; 6:30 to 8 pm; pre-K to 5th grade, leading into "Marketplace 29 AD" July 25, 6:30 to 8 pm; July 26, 9 am to 4 pm.
Hebron Church of the Nazarene; July 28 to Aug. 1; times and ages TBA.
And don't forget that the Hebron Library has started their Summer Reading Program, with special programs planned all through the summer. Stop by for more info, and we'll share particular events here as they come up. It's going to be a great summer around the Hebron Crossroads!
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and a summer camp creature; if you have VBS, camp, or even just picnic news to share, call 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
by Jeff Gill
Pomp, circumstance, honors and congratulations to the Lakewood High School Class of 2003!
At commencement this Sunday, valedictorian Molly Morgan and salutatorian Rene' White will lead their fellow graduates across the platform to receive their diplomas and head out into the world with the love and and thumbprints of their entire family on them.
This is the first major goal achieved in the adult lives of these young folks, and while they have many more ahead of them, give them your heartiest congratulations on reaching it.
With plenty of speeches on the agenda, I know the '03 gang doesn't need more exhortations to "walk boldly on into the future," but a little advice does seem in order (even if it's not absolutely necessary).
First, avoid debt like the plague. Not the coughing, sneezy plague, but the gross, horrible, "makes everyone avoid you like the plague" plague.
The average college grad right now is starting their job search with over $18,000 in student loan debt and $2,000 in credit card debt. The subtle burden (you know the obvious burden here, right?) is that with a $350 or more monthly obligation at the top of your budget, you start looking for the right salary more than the right job, and can begin painting yourself into a box from day one.
There are precious few things that if you don't buy them in your early 20's you'll regret all your life. Save, give, and spend, in that order.
Second, right on the heels of "what not to buy", take advantage of the opportunities you have now, whether to travel, learn a skill, take another class, listen to a concert or speaker out of the ordinary. Because the same idea applies: you will not in future years ever wonder why you didn't go to one more party, or see more movies when you were just out of high school. You will, on the other hand, have occasion to wish you'd picked up one more skill, tried one more possibility, or polished one more talent when time and family and other obligations rested more lightly on your head.
And thirdly, never forget that it's never too late. For a fresh start, for a new beginning, for renewed relationships, for deciding on a better direction. And there are more people than you know ready to help you along the way, if you let them.
Godspeed!
For a younger age group (although many of our grads are helping out as teachers and aides) we have quite a few local Vacation Bible School programs. From the first week out of school to the end of summer, area churches offer weeks and weekends of special activities and programs. We'll print further info as it comes in, but here's what we know right now around the Hebron Crossroads:
Heath Church of Christ; June 9 to 13; 6:00 to 8:30 pm;
"Treasures of the Nile"; age 2 to 6th grade.
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel; June 16 to 20; 9 am to Noon & Friday closing program at Noon; "Seaside With The Savior"; age 4 to 6th grade.
Licking Baptist Church; June 16 to 20; 6:30 to 9:00 pm; nursery to adult.
Jacksontown UMC; June 23 to 27; 6:00 to 8:30 pm; "SCUBA!" age 3 to 8th grade.
Hebron Community VBS at Hebron Christian w/ Hebron UMC;
Story & Song Camp July 21 to 24; 6:30 to 8 pm; pre-K to 5th grade, leading into "Marketplace 29 AD" July 25, 6:30 to 8 pm; July 26, 9 am to 4 pm.
Hebron Church of the Nazarene; July 28 to Aug. 1; times and ages TBA.
And don't forget that the Hebron Library has started their Summer Reading Program, with special programs planned all through the summer. Stop by for more info, and we'll share particular events here as they come up. It's going to be a great summer around the Hebron Crossroads!
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and a summer camp creature; if you have VBS, camp, or even just picnic news to share, call 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
Friday, May 30, 2003
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You are Morpheus, from "The Matrix." You
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You are Morpheus, from "The Matrix." You
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you. A true leader, you are relentless in your
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What Matrix Persona Are You?
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You are Morpheus, from "The Matrix." You
have strong faith in yourself and those around
you. A true leader, you are relentless in your
persuit.">images.quizilla.com/T/trinitykills/1052781588_z3moprheus.jpg" border="0" alt="You are Morpheus-">
You are Morpheus, from "The Matrix." You
have strong faith in yourself and those around
you. A true leader, you are relentless in your
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What Matrix Persona Are You?
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Thursday, May 29, 2003
Hebron Crossroads 6-01
By Jeff Gill
Memorial Day may be behind us, but the work of remembering and appreciating is always ahead. If forgetting is an everyday affair (and trust me, it is), then we have to put the mental brand of elbow grease into the effort required to remember and preserve what we treasure.
I’m telling you this to explain why I want to tell you all about Max Hoffner. He died just before the “holiday weekend” at age 85, and since he and his wife had been very quiet, intensely private people over the 40 plus years of their marriage, their family asked if I would do the funeral. They had lived in Millersport and Baltimore, and now Mary Hoffner is in a rehab center and not able to get around, even for the funeral.
Outside of working hard for many years, the one thing the family knew was that he had fought in World War II. Max was involved in the Baltimore VFW, but even among those friends, no one had much idea of what he had done or where during the war.
His brother-in-law, Lawrence Coyle, and Vivian Dernberger at Henderson-VanAtta-Johnson in Kirkersville, both went the extra mile as we followed what little clues there were, and it was literally less than an hour before the memorial service was to start when the crucial fax hummed into the funeral home office.
Reading it, we saw that Max Hoffner had enlisted in early 1943, and served until he was discharged in 1945 after a hospital stay with a serious illness caught from the grim field conditions he experienced in New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, and in the liberation of the Philippines.
But what really caught our eyes was the entry for decorations: in the South Pacific, he received three Bronze Stars, and in the Philippines, one more.
Four Bronze Stars.
Many of you will not be surprised at all when I tell you that no one there, including his VFW buddies, had any idea Max had four Bronze Stars. One said, “hey, I’ve got three, and he coulda said he had one more than me plenty of times.” But as the man in charge of the honor guard detail said, to nodding heads all around, “those that saw combat, don’t talk about it; those that talk about it a lot, probably didn’t see as much as they think they did.”
Right now, around 1,500 vets of World War II are dying every day; that same day, we laid to rest Lucille Montague of the Northbank next to her beloved husband Eddie (and 20 feet away from Max), who died 12 years ago and was a vet himself. So let’s also assume about 1,500 WWII widows each day, as well.
If we heard that in some foreign land, a mysterious force or a heartless mob was destroying 1,500 or 3,000 irreplaceable books in a dwindling library each day, how would we respond? We’d probably say that if the destruction couldn’t be stopped, we should at least see to it that the contents, the stories in those volumes, were preserved. Even if the culture or the context were unfamiliar to us, the idea that a story would be lost forever would move us.
There are stories that we can listen to right now, and they may live right down the block; our hearing, our willingness to listen, may be all that keeps that episode, that particular tale alive.
We can’t stop the march toward the final muster that generations before us are making, but we can make sure that their report is passed back “up the line” and becomes a part of the record of our times. Don’t pry: but make it clear that you’re interested, you’re willing to hear what a veteran or a veteran’s spouse has to say, and I guarantee that someday you’ll hear a story that you’ll never forget.
And then, perhaps, you’ll have a chance to tell it around the Hebron Crossroads.
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and a storyteller outside of Sundays as well; if you have a tale, tell it by e-mail to disciple@voyager.net or call 928-4066.
By Jeff Gill
Memorial Day may be behind us, but the work of remembering and appreciating is always ahead. If forgetting is an everyday affair (and trust me, it is), then we have to put the mental brand of elbow grease into the effort required to remember and preserve what we treasure.
I’m telling you this to explain why I want to tell you all about Max Hoffner. He died just before the “holiday weekend” at age 85, and since he and his wife had been very quiet, intensely private people over the 40 plus years of their marriage, their family asked if I would do the funeral. They had lived in Millersport and Baltimore, and now Mary Hoffner is in a rehab center and not able to get around, even for the funeral.
Outside of working hard for many years, the one thing the family knew was that he had fought in World War II. Max was involved in the Baltimore VFW, but even among those friends, no one had much idea of what he had done or where during the war.
His brother-in-law, Lawrence Coyle, and Vivian Dernberger at Henderson-VanAtta-Johnson in Kirkersville, both went the extra mile as we followed what little clues there were, and it was literally less than an hour before the memorial service was to start when the crucial fax hummed into the funeral home office.
Reading it, we saw that Max Hoffner had enlisted in early 1943, and served until he was discharged in 1945 after a hospital stay with a serious illness caught from the grim field conditions he experienced in New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, and in the liberation of the Philippines.
But what really caught our eyes was the entry for decorations: in the South Pacific, he received three Bronze Stars, and in the Philippines, one more.
Four Bronze Stars.
Many of you will not be surprised at all when I tell you that no one there, including his VFW buddies, had any idea Max had four Bronze Stars. One said, “hey, I’ve got three, and he coulda said he had one more than me plenty of times.” But as the man in charge of the honor guard detail said, to nodding heads all around, “those that saw combat, don’t talk about it; those that talk about it a lot, probably didn’t see as much as they think they did.”
Right now, around 1,500 vets of World War II are dying every day; that same day, we laid to rest Lucille Montague of the Northbank next to her beloved husband Eddie (and 20 feet away from Max), who died 12 years ago and was a vet himself. So let’s also assume about 1,500 WWII widows each day, as well.
If we heard that in some foreign land, a mysterious force or a heartless mob was destroying 1,500 or 3,000 irreplaceable books in a dwindling library each day, how would we respond? We’d probably say that if the destruction couldn’t be stopped, we should at least see to it that the contents, the stories in those volumes, were preserved. Even if the culture or the context were unfamiliar to us, the idea that a story would be lost forever would move us.
There are stories that we can listen to right now, and they may live right down the block; our hearing, our willingness to listen, may be all that keeps that episode, that particular tale alive.
We can’t stop the march toward the final muster that generations before us are making, but we can make sure that their report is passed back “up the line” and becomes a part of the record of our times. Don’t pry: but make it clear that you’re interested, you’re willing to hear what a veteran or a veteran’s spouse has to say, and I guarantee that someday you’ll hear a story that you’ll never forget.
And then, perhaps, you’ll have a chance to tell it around the Hebron Crossroads.
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and a storyteller outside of Sundays as well; if you have a tale, tell it by e-mail to disciple@voyager.net or call 928-4066.
Sunday, May 25, 2003
Notes From My Knapsack – June 2003 "The Church Window"
Reaching into my shirt pocket, there were no cards. The business-style cards that Frank DeVaul prints up for me, with the church name, contact info, and the Disciples chalice in red making a Lakewood contrast with the blue print, were not to be found.
No problem, I thought: time to dip back into the box on my desk where they go, a few hundred at a time from the package Frank brings me. But when I went back to the box, it was empty as well.
Turns out it is time again to order new cards, a benchmark more noticeable than an anniversary or other arbitrary event. It seems I’ve handed out over 1000 cards saying "Hebron Christian Church" with our phone and e-mail and web site URL. That’s about one a day since I started as your pastor.
Granted, some have gone into doorframes or under windshields and likely went unread. No doubt many were received with a smile and tucked in a pocket to merrily go their way into the laundry. Some may have been tucked into address books or daily calendars, or even tacked to the corner of a home computer terminal.
Whether finding their fate as bookmarks or grocery lists on their blank backs, that information and the symbol of our common commitment to the centrality of the Lord’s Supper has traveled all around this area. . .and beyond.
So every time I go to reprint them, I wonder: what changes should I make? How can this simple tool be sharpened? Am I making the best possible use of this opportunity to point people to our community of faith?
No doubt, these are little things, these "business" cards. But every little thing goes towards a greater thing, which is our opportunity to share the Good News entrusted to us, in our time and place, to share with others. How many "little things" bring each new believer, any new member, into the life of faith?
And how would our message be magnified if all of us, in whatever we do as part of this church, tended carefully to the little things in our care?
In Grace and Peace, Pastor Jeff
* * * * * * *
Local VBS programs:
Heath Church of Christ; June 9 to 13; 6:00 to 8:30 pm;
"Treasures of the Nile"; age 2 to 6th grade
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel; June 16 to 20; 9 am to Noon & Friday closing pgm. at Noon;
"Seaside With The Savior"; age 4 to 6th grade.
Licking Baptist Church; June 16 to 20; 6:30 to 9:00 pm; nursery to adult.
Jacksontown UMC; June 23 to 27; 6:00 to 8:30 pm; "SCUBA!" age 3 to 8th grade
Hebron Community VBS at Hebron Christian w/ Hebron UMC;
Music Camp July 21 to 24; 6:30 to 8 pm; pre-K to 5th grade
Marketplace 29 AD July 25, 6:30 to 8 pm; July 26, 9 am to 4 pm
Hebron Church of the Nazarene; July 28 to Aug. 1; times and ages TBA
* * * * * * *
Land of Legend Barbershop Chorus in worship, June 29
* * * * * * *
June 9 is Commencement for Lakewood High School; also on that day, we’ll have off to sunny Camp Christian for Hocking Chi Rho these five:
Alan Cook, Susan Jones, Chris Jones, Josh Walters, and Tracy Wildermuth.
Mail should be sent to them by June 11 at the latest (June 8 isn’t a bad idea) to:
Camper Name
Camp Christian
Magnetic Springs OH 43036.
Same address for Phyo CYF Conference, June 29, with:
Brittany Bradford, Crystal Damron, Josh Halter, Shawn Jones, and Whitney Mason.
Reaching into my shirt pocket, there were no cards. The business-style cards that Frank DeVaul prints up for me, with the church name, contact info, and the Disciples chalice in red making a Lakewood contrast with the blue print, were not to be found.
No problem, I thought: time to dip back into the box on my desk where they go, a few hundred at a time from the package Frank brings me. But when I went back to the box, it was empty as well.
Turns out it is time again to order new cards, a benchmark more noticeable than an anniversary or other arbitrary event. It seems I’ve handed out over 1000 cards saying "Hebron Christian Church" with our phone and e-mail and web site URL. That’s about one a day since I started as your pastor.
Granted, some have gone into doorframes or under windshields and likely went unread. No doubt many were received with a smile and tucked in a pocket to merrily go their way into the laundry. Some may have been tucked into address books or daily calendars, or even tacked to the corner of a home computer terminal.
Whether finding their fate as bookmarks or grocery lists on their blank backs, that information and the symbol of our common commitment to the centrality of the Lord’s Supper has traveled all around this area. . .and beyond.
So every time I go to reprint them, I wonder: what changes should I make? How can this simple tool be sharpened? Am I making the best possible use of this opportunity to point people to our community of faith?
No doubt, these are little things, these "business" cards. But every little thing goes towards a greater thing, which is our opportunity to share the Good News entrusted to us, in our time and place, to share with others. How many "little things" bring each new believer, any new member, into the life of faith?
And how would our message be magnified if all of us, in whatever we do as part of this church, tended carefully to the little things in our care?
In Grace and Peace, Pastor Jeff
* * * * * * *
Local VBS programs:
Heath Church of Christ; June 9 to 13; 6:00 to 8:30 pm;
"Treasures of the Nile"; age 2 to 6th grade
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel; June 16 to 20; 9 am to Noon & Friday closing pgm. at Noon;
"Seaside With The Savior"; age 4 to 6th grade.
Licking Baptist Church; June 16 to 20; 6:30 to 9:00 pm; nursery to adult.
Jacksontown UMC; June 23 to 27; 6:00 to 8:30 pm; "SCUBA!" age 3 to 8th grade
Hebron Community VBS at Hebron Christian w/ Hebron UMC;
Music Camp July 21 to 24; 6:30 to 8 pm; pre-K to 5th grade
Marketplace 29 AD July 25, 6:30 to 8 pm; July 26, 9 am to 4 pm
Hebron Church of the Nazarene; July 28 to Aug. 1; times and ages TBA
* * * * * * *
Land of Legend Barbershop Chorus in worship, June 29
* * * * * * *
June 9 is Commencement for Lakewood High School; also on that day, we’ll have off to sunny Camp Christian for Hocking Chi Rho these five:
Alan Cook, Susan Jones, Chris Jones, Josh Walters, and Tracy Wildermuth.
Mail should be sent to them by June 11 at the latest (June 8 isn’t a bad idea) to:
Camper Name
Camp Christian
Magnetic Springs OH 43036.
Same address for Phyo CYF Conference, June 29, with:
Brittany Bradford, Crystal Damron, Josh Halter, Shawn Jones, and Whitney Mason.
Thursday, May 15, 2003
Hebron Crossroads 5-25-03
By Jeff Gill
Memorial Day is this Monday, and Hebron always turns out in good order, solemn high spirits, and with strong numbers. Around 10 am folks start walking from the American Legion Hall down to our village cemetery to honor our dead and commit ourselves to the values they defended.
From the Civil War that began the Memorial Day custom to the overseas conflicts our sons and daughters have fought in, we find representatives of each era out there on the east edge of town, marked in bronze and granite so the ages will firmly note and long remember what led them to stand on the "thin red line" in our behalf.
Bands, a veterans’ honor guard, a guest speaker, and the Gold Star Mothers all make up part of the parade, simple and straightforward, that marches east toward the last rise before the South Fork makes its eastern loop around the village.
Thanks to the village for this year’s improvements to the Hebron Cemetery, with newly planted trees and some landscaping flanking the main entrance on US 40. As we enter and as we leave, this place of rest and renewal reminds us of the values of the past that have brought about our present.
Going back into town along the old National Road, we’re following the route of westward expansion, and a wagon train in honor of Ohio’s bicentennial will roll that same direction through the Hebron crossroads July 1 and 2. You’ll hear much, much more about this in coming weeks, but 10 am July 2 the "path to statehood" wagons and riders will pull up to the beautifully restored Hebron Mill (after overnighting at Lakewood High School), where after a brief ceremony they’ll ride on through town and up and over Sunset Hill to pass Devine Farms.
Mark your social calendar now for those two days! Also, please contact me ASAP with dates for Vacation Bible Schools, which our area has many of; some will begin just as soon as the schools let out, and others wait ‘til after baseball has ended in July.
Heading out of town to the west you pass the Municipal Complex, and the Hebron Library behind, where your correspondent will share a program on Saturday, May 31, at 10 am on "The Great Hopewell Road." I’ll be largely using the work and images from the research of Ohio Historical Society archaeologist and local resident Dr. Brad Lepper, whom I’ve been proud to work with over the years.
The track of this now largely invisible road runs just west of the library doors, and this is a great way to look at the 2000 year old history of Ohio, as well as the 200 years in this bicentennial series.
And then as you pass through Luray and travel west of Rt. 37, the valley of the South Fork spreads out before you. . .again!. . .and depending on the time of year, an array of tents and trailers swarm at the base of the grandstands of National Trail Raceway.
You can read track director Jim Layton’s commentary elsewhere in these pages, but Hebron’s biggest attraction continues to grow and develop, both with the major events like the Pontiac Excitement Nationals, Night of Thunder, and Mopar Nationals, and also with smaller programs like the Wednesday grudge matches open to the general public.
The road through the cemetery, down the National Road, the "path to statehood" wagon train, and National Trail Raceway; sounds like a theme week for the Hebron Crossroads! Don’t just roll on through, stop and look around, listen and reflect. . .and thank a veteran for the freedom of the open road this Memorial Day.
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and the village’s second newest bike rider; if you have tales of the high road or the low road, call 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
By Jeff Gill
Memorial Day is this Monday, and Hebron always turns out in good order, solemn high spirits, and with strong numbers. Around 10 am folks start walking from the American Legion Hall down to our village cemetery to honor our dead and commit ourselves to the values they defended.
From the Civil War that began the Memorial Day custom to the overseas conflicts our sons and daughters have fought in, we find representatives of each era out there on the east edge of town, marked in bronze and granite so the ages will firmly note and long remember what led them to stand on the "thin red line" in our behalf.
Bands, a veterans’ honor guard, a guest speaker, and the Gold Star Mothers all make up part of the parade, simple and straightforward, that marches east toward the last rise before the South Fork makes its eastern loop around the village.
Thanks to the village for this year’s improvements to the Hebron Cemetery, with newly planted trees and some landscaping flanking the main entrance on US 40. As we enter and as we leave, this place of rest and renewal reminds us of the values of the past that have brought about our present.
Going back into town along the old National Road, we’re following the route of westward expansion, and a wagon train in honor of Ohio’s bicentennial will roll that same direction through the Hebron crossroads July 1 and 2. You’ll hear much, much more about this in coming weeks, but 10 am July 2 the "path to statehood" wagons and riders will pull up to the beautifully restored Hebron Mill (after overnighting at Lakewood High School), where after a brief ceremony they’ll ride on through town and up and over Sunset Hill to pass Devine Farms.
Mark your social calendar now for those two days! Also, please contact me ASAP with dates for Vacation Bible Schools, which our area has many of; some will begin just as soon as the schools let out, and others wait ‘til after baseball has ended in July.
Heading out of town to the west you pass the Municipal Complex, and the Hebron Library behind, where your correspondent will share a program on Saturday, May 31, at 10 am on "The Great Hopewell Road." I’ll be largely using the work and images from the research of Ohio Historical Society archaeologist and local resident Dr. Brad Lepper, whom I’ve been proud to work with over the years.
The track of this now largely invisible road runs just west of the library doors, and this is a great way to look at the 2000 year old history of Ohio, as well as the 200 years in this bicentennial series.
And then as you pass through Luray and travel west of Rt. 37, the valley of the South Fork spreads out before you. . .again!. . .and depending on the time of year, an array of tents and trailers swarm at the base of the grandstands of National Trail Raceway.
You can read track director Jim Layton’s commentary elsewhere in these pages, but Hebron’s biggest attraction continues to grow and develop, both with the major events like the Pontiac Excitement Nationals, Night of Thunder, and Mopar Nationals, and also with smaller programs like the Wednesday grudge matches open to the general public.
The road through the cemetery, down the National Road, the "path to statehood" wagon train, and National Trail Raceway; sounds like a theme week for the Hebron Crossroads! Don’t just roll on through, stop and look around, listen and reflect. . .and thank a veteran for the freedom of the open road this Memorial Day.
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and the village’s second newest bike rider; if you have tales of the high road or the low road, call 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
Hebron Crossroads 5-18
By Jeff Gill
Capt. Rich Vance of the Hebron/Union Twp. Fire Department insists that I have nothing to worry about, even though it took them and four or five units from around the county three tries to burn down a house.
Wouldn’t you think a team of firefighters could get the job done the first time? But Rich says their real skills are in putting fires out, and that their training that day was more based on interior fire fighting and rescue, external suppression (good news for the Nazarene Church, what with their worship center being ten feet away on Cumberland St. and all), and logistics.
I’m sure he’s right, but somehow you’d think a bunch of fire guys could burn something down just like. . .
Then I realized I may be remembering the plot of Ray Bradbury’s "Fahrenheit 451" whose 50th anniversary is coming up. If you didn’t read it in high school, you either missed a week somewhere or are (obviously) over 65. Ray himself is 82 and still writing up a storm, which makes me feel good even if his writing rarely does: his books make you think, and then some.
But in that book, named after the temperature of combustion for paper, firemen start fires, and librarians burn books. It was an entry into the genre known as "dystopian", the opposite of "utopia" since the worlds they described were where things didn’t turn out well at all. You know, "Brave New World", "1984", "A Canticle for Leibowitz", "On the Beach."
Oddly, Bradbury made his case best in reverse for the value and beauty of literature, of writing, by showing its absence, and forcing you to reflect on what the world would be like without them.
So I’m glad to live in a world between utopia and dystopia, where the librarians welcome people and even new books into their buildings, and where the firefighters are much, much better at putting out fires than starting them. Things may not be perfect in Hebron, but as Capt. Vance says, "everything gets better with training."
And thanks again to the Hebron Church of the Nazarene for donating the building, which they needed down for parking anyhow, and for accepting the risk to let our area firefighters get a little bit closer to perfect in their long day’s training exercise.
It was also neat for this scouter to hear a former Licking Twp. Firefighter talk about going from an Explorer post (now known as Venturing) and Junior firefighter to a Township position to now working for the Columbus Fire Department. There was some direct and indirect recruiting for the profession going on with the crowds of families and children watching the men and women honing their skills on the blazing building.
Licking Twp. is the first of a number of fire departments in the area to have the new, retooled Venturing Crew connection to Scouting for their junior fire teams, and more are coming, thanks in part to the involvement of Jeff Walker, the county emergency services director who is encouraging units to start juniors around Licking County.
This is an interesting year for 50th anniversaries: "Fahrenheit 451", the movie "Shane" which marked a turning point in Westerns for Hollywood; the ascent of Mt. Everest by Edmund Hillary, a New Zealand beekeeper, and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa tribesman and skilled mountaineer in his own right; the discovery of the double helix in DNA’s structure by James Watson and Francis Crick, opening up the field of biotechnology; and of course Sherman and Evelyn Clay’s 50th wedding anniversary. See, you knew there had to be a Hebron 50th in there somewhere, right?
Coming up on 150 years ago, Anthony Trollope wrote "The Warden," and that’s the text for the last Books & Coffee group (for a while) on May 24, next Saturday, at 10 am in the Hebron Christian Church education building at 612 W. Main St. The story is a simple one, about an English cathedral town named Barchester, a cleric named Septimus Harding who runs the Victorian equivalent of a very well endowed nursing home for men, and various archdeacons, bishops, reporters, politicians, and other worthies of the community who each have their own idea about how Hiram’s Hospital ought to be run. Not that anything is wrong, mind you, they just have ideas about how it would go better.
And of course there are young daughters, suitors, and complications (it is a Victorian novel) to keep things moving along.
What I find so interesting about Trollope’s novels, which you may have seen on PBS’s "Masterpiece Theatre" even if you’ve never touched one of his books, is that everyone is shown as having perfectly good reasons for doing or at least wanting what they make happen. There are conflicts and disagreements and arguments (very polite arguments, but vehement ones just the same), but everyone is given credit for wanting the best. . .as they see it.
No utopias here, and certainly no dystopia; just a lens for looking forward at our own times and motivations. And especially at how we see the motivations of others, even here at the Hebron Crossroads!
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and a utopian on some days; if you have good news or bad for the Hebron area, call 928-4066 or e-mail disciple @voyager.net.
By Jeff Gill
Capt. Rich Vance of the Hebron/Union Twp. Fire Department insists that I have nothing to worry about, even though it took them and four or five units from around the county three tries to burn down a house.
Wouldn’t you think a team of firefighters could get the job done the first time? But Rich says their real skills are in putting fires out, and that their training that day was more based on interior fire fighting and rescue, external suppression (good news for the Nazarene Church, what with their worship center being ten feet away on Cumberland St. and all), and logistics.
I’m sure he’s right, but somehow you’d think a bunch of fire guys could burn something down just like. . .
Then I realized I may be remembering the plot of Ray Bradbury’s "Fahrenheit 451" whose 50th anniversary is coming up. If you didn’t read it in high school, you either missed a week somewhere or are (obviously) over 65. Ray himself is 82 and still writing up a storm, which makes me feel good even if his writing rarely does: his books make you think, and then some.
But in that book, named after the temperature of combustion for paper, firemen start fires, and librarians burn books. It was an entry into the genre known as "dystopian", the opposite of "utopia" since the worlds they described were where things didn’t turn out well at all. You know, "Brave New World", "1984", "A Canticle for Leibowitz", "On the Beach."
Oddly, Bradbury made his case best in reverse for the value and beauty of literature, of writing, by showing its absence, and forcing you to reflect on what the world would be like without them.
So I’m glad to live in a world between utopia and dystopia, where the librarians welcome people and even new books into their buildings, and where the firefighters are much, much better at putting out fires than starting them. Things may not be perfect in Hebron, but as Capt. Vance says, "everything gets better with training."
And thanks again to the Hebron Church of the Nazarene for donating the building, which they needed down for parking anyhow, and for accepting the risk to let our area firefighters get a little bit closer to perfect in their long day’s training exercise.
It was also neat for this scouter to hear a former Licking Twp. Firefighter talk about going from an Explorer post (now known as Venturing) and Junior firefighter to a Township position to now working for the Columbus Fire Department. There was some direct and indirect recruiting for the profession going on with the crowds of families and children watching the men and women honing their skills on the blazing building.
Licking Twp. is the first of a number of fire departments in the area to have the new, retooled Venturing Crew connection to Scouting for their junior fire teams, and more are coming, thanks in part to the involvement of Jeff Walker, the county emergency services director who is encouraging units to start juniors around Licking County.
This is an interesting year for 50th anniversaries: "Fahrenheit 451", the movie "Shane" which marked a turning point in Westerns for Hollywood; the ascent of Mt. Everest by Edmund Hillary, a New Zealand beekeeper, and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa tribesman and skilled mountaineer in his own right; the discovery of the double helix in DNA’s structure by James Watson and Francis Crick, opening up the field of biotechnology; and of course Sherman and Evelyn Clay’s 50th wedding anniversary. See, you knew there had to be a Hebron 50th in there somewhere, right?
Coming up on 150 years ago, Anthony Trollope wrote "The Warden," and that’s the text for the last Books & Coffee group (for a while) on May 24, next Saturday, at 10 am in the Hebron Christian Church education building at 612 W. Main St. The story is a simple one, about an English cathedral town named Barchester, a cleric named Septimus Harding who runs the Victorian equivalent of a very well endowed nursing home for men, and various archdeacons, bishops, reporters, politicians, and other worthies of the community who each have their own idea about how Hiram’s Hospital ought to be run. Not that anything is wrong, mind you, they just have ideas about how it would go better.
And of course there are young daughters, suitors, and complications (it is a Victorian novel) to keep things moving along.
What I find so interesting about Trollope’s novels, which you may have seen on PBS’s "Masterpiece Theatre" even if you’ve never touched one of his books, is that everyone is shown as having perfectly good reasons for doing or at least wanting what they make happen. There are conflicts and disagreements and arguments (very polite arguments, but vehement ones just the same), but everyone is given credit for wanting the best. . .as they see it.
No utopias here, and certainly no dystopia; just a lens for looking forward at our own times and motivations. And especially at how we see the motivations of others, even here at the Hebron Crossroads!
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and a utopian on some days; if you have good news or bad for the Hebron area, call 928-4066 or e-mail disciple @voyager.net.
Thursday, May 08, 2003
Hebron Crossroads 5-11
By Jeff Gill
Five Years to Re-focus
There was a moment last Tuesday evening, at the Lakewood levy offices on Main Street, when it was impossible to believe that the energy and organization and spirit behind passing the five year increase in funds for our schools wouldn’t pass.
Then many of us went down to Newark and downstairs in the county building to the grey, windowless room where so much disappointment has washed over our enthusiasm for "the most improved school district in Ohio." Could it happen this time? If it didn’t the last time, times, six times, why now? Since 1993 we haven’t gotten a consensus around full funding of our schools, and what’s different about 2003?
Well, as the wait drug out on what should have been a fast count (Etna Township is a bit further out, after all), spirits actually rose with our impatience. What’s different? From turnout at public meetings to rousing pancake breakfasts to stalwart volunteers calling through their voter lists, quite a bit was different this time.
And the smiles toward the Lakewood crowd from officials who shall remain nameless that had snuck back through the count room while the heavily loaded turtles strolled up from Reynoldsburg were a fairly good hint.
Lakewood staff started imagining the wording of how they were going to post kindergarten teacher openings, coaches and directors started dreaming of new seasons and productions, and. . .well, this correspondent started thinking about what could yet be achieved in our school district with all the time, money, and energy that doesn’t have to go into running levy campaigns for the next five years.
So I’m glad Christine and Jim Dobos can really work on soccer, with those kid’s leagues out at Evans Park playing their hearts out on Wednesdays and Saturdays without any tax money behind them. I’m very happy for Beth and Scott Walters who can now call family members without their asking "what do we have to do this weekend?" And I’m sure J-me and Emil Bogden have ways to use their organizing skills other than collating databases Rick Anthony has complied for them. And that’s just naming a very, very few.
For dozens of hard working people (parents, staff, folks who just plain care), all of this has been a great community building experience, but now we can turn this kind of effort towards building up anew, instead of re-building the foundation out from under an already fully used structure.
We’ve already demonstrated the effect of our continuous improvement plan with the achievement standards, and sadly, for two years worth of children who went back to half-day kindergarten, we’ve proved the necessity of fully funding our district in order to give every child a fair shot at reading confidently and fluently.
What can we prove over the next five years without the distraction of bond issues for new buildings or levy campaigns to keep the basic bills paid for our economical and economically sound school district?
One thing we need to prove to our schoolchildren and to children not yet born, let alone in the classrooms, is that Ohio can come up with a fair and equitable funding system for free public education. Something didn’t change with the win for the levy Tuesday night, and that’s the need to start the next campaign as soon as the last one is over: but this campaign isn’t to pass a new levy (though 2008 will get here soon enough, and my little guy a fourth grader then), but to start talking to our elected officials about a new funding system. Somewhere between property taxes (a necessary stable base of income), income taxes (a handy way to keep the load off of seniors with retirement income exemptions), and sales taxes (seen as fair, but unduly heavy on low-income folks as a percentage of income), there’s got to be an answer that doesn’t entail superintendents and principals and teachers having to be skilled politicos and part-time campaigners every three to five years.
Perhaps a public forum for parents and taxpayers in the Lakewood auditorium with David Evans, Jay Hottinger, Larry Householder, and a few other well-placed players. I’ve got a few questions about the proficiency test system, too. . .
All righty, then: next week, back to general, cheery, even gossipy notes of general interest! For that matter, on Saturday May 10, if you see some odd plumes of smoke down on Cumberland by the Nazarene Church, it isn’t the girls softball team making their bats burn with RBIs. The Hebron Fire Department is burning down a house (cue the Talking Heads music); actually, burning it down repeatedly (until they get it right?) as a training exercise. Shows at 8, 10, Noon and 2, please keep your distance!
And a very happy Mother’s Day to all; I look forward to smelling grills all over Hebron Sunday afternoon.
Closing note to anonymous angry phone callers all working off of the same script: "separation of church and state" appears as a phrase in a letter by Thomas Jefferson; the Constitutional provision you’re thinking of is the First Amendment, starting with "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech. . ." Your suggestion that as a pastor I should "keep my mouth shut" on public issues is in fact the one real unconstitutional idea in this discussion. But hey, mean-spirited nameless notes and messages are also covered by the same provision, so keep it up if you wish: isn’t this a great country?
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and happy to upset all the right people; if you have news of local interest of want to help organize a public forum on school funding (which will still probably not please some people), call 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
By Jeff Gill
Five Years to Re-focus
There was a moment last Tuesday evening, at the Lakewood levy offices on Main Street, when it was impossible to believe that the energy and organization and spirit behind passing the five year increase in funds for our schools wouldn’t pass.
Then many of us went down to Newark and downstairs in the county building to the grey, windowless room where so much disappointment has washed over our enthusiasm for "the most improved school district in Ohio." Could it happen this time? If it didn’t the last time, times, six times, why now? Since 1993 we haven’t gotten a consensus around full funding of our schools, and what’s different about 2003?
Well, as the wait drug out on what should have been a fast count (Etna Township is a bit further out, after all), spirits actually rose with our impatience. What’s different? From turnout at public meetings to rousing pancake breakfasts to stalwart volunteers calling through their voter lists, quite a bit was different this time.
And the smiles toward the Lakewood crowd from officials who shall remain nameless that had snuck back through the count room while the heavily loaded turtles strolled up from Reynoldsburg were a fairly good hint.
Lakewood staff started imagining the wording of how they were going to post kindergarten teacher openings, coaches and directors started dreaming of new seasons and productions, and. . .well, this correspondent started thinking about what could yet be achieved in our school district with all the time, money, and energy that doesn’t have to go into running levy campaigns for the next five years.
So I’m glad Christine and Jim Dobos can really work on soccer, with those kid’s leagues out at Evans Park playing their hearts out on Wednesdays and Saturdays without any tax money behind them. I’m very happy for Beth and Scott Walters who can now call family members without their asking "what do we have to do this weekend?" And I’m sure J-me and Emil Bogden have ways to use their organizing skills other than collating databases Rick Anthony has complied for them. And that’s just naming a very, very few.
For dozens of hard working people (parents, staff, folks who just plain care), all of this has been a great community building experience, but now we can turn this kind of effort towards building up anew, instead of re-building the foundation out from under an already fully used structure.
We’ve already demonstrated the effect of our continuous improvement plan with the achievement standards, and sadly, for two years worth of children who went back to half-day kindergarten, we’ve proved the necessity of fully funding our district in order to give every child a fair shot at reading confidently and fluently.
What can we prove over the next five years without the distraction of bond issues for new buildings or levy campaigns to keep the basic bills paid for our economical and economically sound school district?
One thing we need to prove to our schoolchildren and to children not yet born, let alone in the classrooms, is that Ohio can come up with a fair and equitable funding system for free public education. Something didn’t change with the win for the levy Tuesday night, and that’s the need to start the next campaign as soon as the last one is over: but this campaign isn’t to pass a new levy (though 2008 will get here soon enough, and my little guy a fourth grader then), but to start talking to our elected officials about a new funding system. Somewhere between property taxes (a necessary stable base of income), income taxes (a handy way to keep the load off of seniors with retirement income exemptions), and sales taxes (seen as fair, but unduly heavy on low-income folks as a percentage of income), there’s got to be an answer that doesn’t entail superintendents and principals and teachers having to be skilled politicos and part-time campaigners every three to five years.
Perhaps a public forum for parents and taxpayers in the Lakewood auditorium with David Evans, Jay Hottinger, Larry Householder, and a few other well-placed players. I’ve got a few questions about the proficiency test system, too. . .
All righty, then: next week, back to general, cheery, even gossipy notes of general interest! For that matter, on Saturday May 10, if you see some odd plumes of smoke down on Cumberland by the Nazarene Church, it isn’t the girls softball team making their bats burn with RBIs. The Hebron Fire Department is burning down a house (cue the Talking Heads music); actually, burning it down repeatedly (until they get it right?) as a training exercise. Shows at 8, 10, Noon and 2, please keep your distance!
And a very happy Mother’s Day to all; I look forward to smelling grills all over Hebron Sunday afternoon.
Closing note to anonymous angry phone callers all working off of the same script: "separation of church and state" appears as a phrase in a letter by Thomas Jefferson; the Constitutional provision you’re thinking of is the First Amendment, starting with "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech. . ." Your suggestion that as a pastor I should "keep my mouth shut" on public issues is in fact the one real unconstitutional idea in this discussion. But hey, mean-spirited nameless notes and messages are also covered by the same provision, so keep it up if you wish: isn’t this a great country?
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and happy to upset all the right people; if you have news of local interest of want to help organize a public forum on school funding (which will still probably not please some people), call 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
Saturday, April 26, 2003
Notes From My Knapsack
Somewhere in the next few weeks, time will run out.
It will be all over for an unwitting holder of a $9 million dollar lottery ticket that was sold just southeast of here in Perry County, in Hunter's Run as a matter of fact. The ticket was a winner, but no one came forward to claim the prize in February or April, and in May the time limit will run out. . .and the proceeds will go to the general fund of the state of Ohio.
One more time: the ticket was purchased, the buyer made a number of decisions about it (which catergory to purchase, number selections, annuity payout), and the ticket won. But if the holder doesn't claim the winnings, which are quite real, they'll go into a black hole (see: state general fund).
With Easter just past, it seems unavoidable to point out a parallel here. All of us -- that's right, all of us, all of creation -- has been forgiven our sins on the Cross and offered a share of eternal life at the Empty Tomb. The "work" is done. The only thing asked of us is that we. . .accept the Gift.
Of course, accepting the Gift means admitting we need it, trusting that it is real, not being distracted by less important things (see: state general fund, etc.). But the only work to do is to say "Yes." To redeem the prize which we've already won.
What distracted the lottery winner? The need to get the pants into the laundry? A new hunting season? Bad news? Good news, even? Or did this lottery winner (they don't know that yet, but we do) start to think that the whole point of playing was the act of buying and choosing, and that the end result didn't matter?
Probably the latter, which is why I don't buy lottery tickets. I don't buy half a book, I hate missing the end of TV shows, and something about the Easter story reminds me why I don't even like to "get out of the stadium ahead of the crowd." Endings are important, especially because they so often turn into new beginnings if you're paying attention.
By the way, if I just reminded you to check your pockets and. . .the church gets 10%, right?
In Grace & Peace,
Pastor Jeff
May Bible Study Series
Wednesdays at 10 am
Readings in I John
"Set Your Heart At Rest"
through May 28
Memorial Day Parade
Monday, May 26
10:30 am, starts from
American Legion Hall
Hebron Christian Church
Wreath-laying immediately after
Public Program at the Veterans Memorial
Daybreak Service!
8:30 am early worship
(with communion)
begins again Sun., May 25
through the summer
Ohio Bicentennial Programs at Hebron Library
Led by Pastor Jeff:
Sat., May 3, 10 am
"The Stone With An Edge: Flint!"
Sat., May 31, 10 am
"The Great Hopewell Road"
Somewhere in the next few weeks, time will run out.
It will be all over for an unwitting holder of a $9 million dollar lottery ticket that was sold just southeast of here in Perry County, in Hunter's Run as a matter of fact. The ticket was a winner, but no one came forward to claim the prize in February or April, and in May the time limit will run out. . .and the proceeds will go to the general fund of the state of Ohio.
One more time: the ticket was purchased, the buyer made a number of decisions about it (which catergory to purchase, number selections, annuity payout), and the ticket won. But if the holder doesn't claim the winnings, which are quite real, they'll go into a black hole (see: state general fund).
With Easter just past, it seems unavoidable to point out a parallel here. All of us -- that's right, all of us, all of creation -- has been forgiven our sins on the Cross and offered a share of eternal life at the Empty Tomb. The "work" is done. The only thing asked of us is that we. . .accept the Gift.
Of course, accepting the Gift means admitting we need it, trusting that it is real, not being distracted by less important things (see: state general fund, etc.). But the only work to do is to say "Yes." To redeem the prize which we've already won.
What distracted the lottery winner? The need to get the pants into the laundry? A new hunting season? Bad news? Good news, even? Or did this lottery winner (they don't know that yet, but we do) start to think that the whole point of playing was the act of buying and choosing, and that the end result didn't matter?
Probably the latter, which is why I don't buy lottery tickets. I don't buy half a book, I hate missing the end of TV shows, and something about the Easter story reminds me why I don't even like to "get out of the stadium ahead of the crowd." Endings are important, especially because they so often turn into new beginnings if you're paying attention.
By the way, if I just reminded you to check your pockets and. . .the church gets 10%, right?
In Grace & Peace,
Pastor Jeff
May Bible Study Series
Wednesdays at 10 am
Readings in I John
"Set Your Heart At Rest"
through May 28
Memorial Day Parade
Monday, May 26
10:30 am, starts from
American Legion Hall
Hebron Christian Church
Wreath-laying immediately after
Public Program at the Veterans Memorial
Daybreak Service!
8:30 am early worship
(with communion)
begins again Sun., May 25
through the summer
Ohio Bicentennial Programs at Hebron Library
Led by Pastor Jeff:
Sat., May 3, 10 am
"The Stone With An Edge: Flint!"
Sat., May 31, 10 am
"The Great Hopewell Road"
Hebron Crossroads 5-04
By Jeff Gill
A Time To Plant, A Time To Pluck Up What Is Planted
To a good orthodox Druid (or even a reformed tree-worshipper like myself), the sights along Rt. 79 from Hebron to Heath are grim indeed. Any of us with an appreciation for trees, whether evergreen or deciduous, full grown and mature or shrubby and stubby, feels a pang of regret at the ugly but necessary work that’s preceeded the widening project.
And it’s not just along 79: US 40 to the west, spots near I-70 to the east, and even at Dawes Arboretum, where a blight on red oaks has forced the cutting of 250 some trees, most planted in the 1920’s by Beman and Bertie Dawes themselves.
Our area sunrise service Easter morning was at Dawes and very well attended, but we weren’t sorry we had abandoned the Japanese Gardens (you can only fit less than 100 down there), since the main cutting has been along that road. On the bright side, the view across the South Fork valley to Heath and Granville is quite dramatic now!
Once the stumps are tended to, no doubt the arboretum staff will plant a new cohort of trees to replace the red oaks, but it will be 75 and more years before they become as majestic a grove as we’ve just lost. Certainly ODOT has plans to set new rows of saplings to soften the borders of the new, improved Rt. 79, but the shade and shelter of what will grow there is far in the future. . .perhaps our future, certainly someone’s future.
This time of year is wonderful for flowering trees of all sorts, as we crest May Day and coast towards the local frost-free day of May 15 (hold those tomatoes a few days yet!). White billows of pear blossoms and crab-apple clusters, punctured by pinks and lavenders of redbud and lilac; snowball clumps of dogwood mix with hillsides of apple trees and the occasional grass-strewn puddle of magnolia petals, now gone with the cherry blossoms.
Most folks know that fruit trees have to be planted long before they are fruitful; there are many stories told along the lines of a young person planting tender shoots alongside an elderly forester, and learning with amazement that the first crop from these trees won’t appear until well after their mentor’s passing.
However your version of the story goes, the common ending is of the youth asking “why are you doing this,” and the answer returning, “because someone planted fruit trees for me.”
That’s the story of Tuesday, May 6 as well. We have an election for the Lakewood School District levy that is about planting or uprooting, preparing for the future or chopping down good, sound trees for an evening’s bonfire.
From 6:30 am to 7:30 pm, at each polling place in Hebron and Buckeye Lake, in Union and Licking and Franklin Townships, in a few other areas around the far-flung fringes of our school district that truly encompasses everything from the Lake to Dawes’ Woods, we have a chance to plant a seedling that will bear good fruit.
The people at the Lakewood levy headquarters on Main St. well into the night, the pancake flippers and sign planters, the parents and grandparents and friends and neighbors all are interested in this planting season because someone planted the seed, someone paid the bills for them. Our schools are the most critical infrastructure we have in common around the Hebron Crossroads, right up there with bridges and drainage and power lines.
Think a bit about how it would be if suddenly, overnight, every bridge in the Lakewood district disappeared. Take ‘em all away, just let them vanish from your mind, and leave the gaping interval from road to road on either side of each river and stream and gully.
Would absolutely everything come to a crashing halt around the area? Not quite. Do the materials and the knowledge to build bridges exist outside of public officials and government employees? Yep. Could we build structures to cover the gap? Sure we could.
So do we need bridges as part of our civic infrastructure? Of course we do, comes the chorus of voices from the people. But I think the first reaction would be: Who let this happen? What made this seem like a good idea? Do we want an assortment of bridges built by a variety of well-intended amateurs inspected by no one? Is this really best for our local economy and quality of life?
The right answer to the “mystery of the missing bridges” is obvious. And to lose all extracurriculars in our school system is, to my mind, not much of a stretch from that scenario. As Paul Thayer from Harbor Hills has pointed out, the problem is in Columbus and with a funding system that allows this to even be a possibility, but voting “no” is adding irresponsibility locally to the legislature’s indifference. We need to vote “yes” and then get our act together as school districts to tell the Statehouse what we really want for a state public education system, and that will happen starting as soon as we’re not spending every spare minute from soccer leagues and 4-H clubs and church meetings trying to get a levy passed so we don’t have to do another fifteen fundraisers a year.
For what it’s worth, this correspondent is also impressed with the proposal Hebron Village has put forward to shift the tax burden from property tax to income tax to help improve the school district’s position. . .and my wife and I are part of that only 5% of Hebron residents who will pay that increase, so I’ll pay more in sum, but the folks who need municipal services the most will be paying their fair share, so I’m for it.
One last time: on Tuesday, get up early and vote; if you don’t get up early enough, put a sticky note on your dashboard and vote on the way home; if you get home and forgot, put your shoes back on and go vote. It’s THAT important, because we’re planting some fruit trees we’re all going to need for shade and food from some fine day down the road.
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and happy to offer wake-up calls as needed Tues., May 6; if you want a reminder, call 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
By Jeff Gill
A Time To Plant, A Time To Pluck Up What Is Planted
To a good orthodox Druid (or even a reformed tree-worshipper like myself), the sights along Rt. 79 from Hebron to Heath are grim indeed. Any of us with an appreciation for trees, whether evergreen or deciduous, full grown and mature or shrubby and stubby, feels a pang of regret at the ugly but necessary work that’s preceeded the widening project.
And it’s not just along 79: US 40 to the west, spots near I-70 to the east, and even at Dawes Arboretum, where a blight on red oaks has forced the cutting of 250 some trees, most planted in the 1920’s by Beman and Bertie Dawes themselves.
Our area sunrise service Easter morning was at Dawes and very well attended, but we weren’t sorry we had abandoned the Japanese Gardens (you can only fit less than 100 down there), since the main cutting has been along that road. On the bright side, the view across the South Fork valley to Heath and Granville is quite dramatic now!
Once the stumps are tended to, no doubt the arboretum staff will plant a new cohort of trees to replace the red oaks, but it will be 75 and more years before they become as majestic a grove as we’ve just lost. Certainly ODOT has plans to set new rows of saplings to soften the borders of the new, improved Rt. 79, but the shade and shelter of what will grow there is far in the future. . .perhaps our future, certainly someone’s future.
This time of year is wonderful for flowering trees of all sorts, as we crest May Day and coast towards the local frost-free day of May 15 (hold those tomatoes a few days yet!). White billows of pear blossoms and crab-apple clusters, punctured by pinks and lavenders of redbud and lilac; snowball clumps of dogwood mix with hillsides of apple trees and the occasional grass-strewn puddle of magnolia petals, now gone with the cherry blossoms.
Most folks know that fruit trees have to be planted long before they are fruitful; there are many stories told along the lines of a young person planting tender shoots alongside an elderly forester, and learning with amazement that the first crop from these trees won’t appear until well after their mentor’s passing.
However your version of the story goes, the common ending is of the youth asking “why are you doing this,” and the answer returning, “because someone planted fruit trees for me.”
That’s the story of Tuesday, May 6 as well. We have an election for the Lakewood School District levy that is about planting or uprooting, preparing for the future or chopping down good, sound trees for an evening’s bonfire.
From 6:30 am to 7:30 pm, at each polling place in Hebron and Buckeye Lake, in Union and Licking and Franklin Townships, in a few other areas around the far-flung fringes of our school district that truly encompasses everything from the Lake to Dawes’ Woods, we have a chance to plant a seedling that will bear good fruit.
The people at the Lakewood levy headquarters on Main St. well into the night, the pancake flippers and sign planters, the parents and grandparents and friends and neighbors all are interested in this planting season because someone planted the seed, someone paid the bills for them. Our schools are the most critical infrastructure we have in common around the Hebron Crossroads, right up there with bridges and drainage and power lines.
Think a bit about how it would be if suddenly, overnight, every bridge in the Lakewood district disappeared. Take ‘em all away, just let them vanish from your mind, and leave the gaping interval from road to road on either side of each river and stream and gully.
Would absolutely everything come to a crashing halt around the area? Not quite. Do the materials and the knowledge to build bridges exist outside of public officials and government employees? Yep. Could we build structures to cover the gap? Sure we could.
So do we need bridges as part of our civic infrastructure? Of course we do, comes the chorus of voices from the people. But I think the first reaction would be: Who let this happen? What made this seem like a good idea? Do we want an assortment of bridges built by a variety of well-intended amateurs inspected by no one? Is this really best for our local economy and quality of life?
The right answer to the “mystery of the missing bridges” is obvious. And to lose all extracurriculars in our school system is, to my mind, not much of a stretch from that scenario. As Paul Thayer from Harbor Hills has pointed out, the problem is in Columbus and with a funding system that allows this to even be a possibility, but voting “no” is adding irresponsibility locally to the legislature’s indifference. We need to vote “yes” and then get our act together as school districts to tell the Statehouse what we really want for a state public education system, and that will happen starting as soon as we’re not spending every spare minute from soccer leagues and 4-H clubs and church meetings trying to get a levy passed so we don’t have to do another fifteen fundraisers a year.
For what it’s worth, this correspondent is also impressed with the proposal Hebron Village has put forward to shift the tax burden from property tax to income tax to help improve the school district’s position. . .and my wife and I are part of that only 5% of Hebron residents who will pay that increase, so I’ll pay more in sum, but the folks who need municipal services the most will be paying their fair share, so I’m for it.
One last time: on Tuesday, get up early and vote; if you don’t get up early enough, put a sticky note on your dashboard and vote on the way home; if you get home and forgot, put your shoes back on and go vote. It’s THAT important, because we’re planting some fruit trees we’re all going to need for shade and food from some fine day down the road.
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and happy to offer wake-up calls as needed Tues., May 6; if you want a reminder, call 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
Thursday, April 24, 2003
Hebron Crossroads 4-27
By Jeff Gill
“Carousel” by Rodgers & Hammerstein is the spring musical at Lakewood High School, with a Saturday showing at 7:30 pm and a Sunday performance at 3 pm.
That opens a very lively week, or two weeks really, in the Lakewood area. The Lakewood levy campaign headquarters in downtown Hebron, next to PAL Printing in the former library building, is open every evening and most afternoons through the May 6 election. You need to apply right now to get an absentee ballot (see www.lcounty.com/boe), or go to the County Administration building on the southeast corner of Courthouse Square in Newark and vote right there through Monday the 5th.
The levy headquarters can get you yardsigns, fliers, or answers to any questions about the schools and how they spend the money we entrust to them.
During weekdays, of course, you can just go straight to the Lakewood offices and get your questions answered right through the year like always!
Friday May 2 is the annual “Full Pool Breakfast” sponsored by the Greater Buckeye Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, and after a great meal for your $10 at 7 am, Jim Wilcox of Countrytyme will speak at the Buckeye Lake Yacht Club. I know I’m poaching on columnist Jimmy’s turf here, but Hebron is always strongly represented by village staff, officials, and community folk such as myself. George Pugh has a number of distractions to work through this year, but has still done his usual great effort in ensuring that this signature event for the Lakewood area comes off. . .thanks, George!
At the Hebron Library, a number of public programs are offered on Saturdays through the year, and on the first and last Saturdays of May, at 10 am, your correspondent will talk about two subjects related to the Ohio bicentennial that’s celebrated all this 2003.
May 3 is “The Stone With an Edge,” on our Ohio state gemstone, flint. From prehistory into the present, our local axis that the Ohio story revolves around is a very special kind of rock found in a unique form just east of here along US 40. How flint is created geologically and how it’s been used by humans for millennia around Licking County is the program of the day.
Later in the month, May 31, I’ll borrow a few pages from my friend Brad Lepper, curator of archaeology for the Ohio Historical Society, and talk about his work on locating “the Great Hopewell Road,” whose likely route just passes the doors of the Hebron Library. I’ll tell y’all more later. . .
But turning from prehistory to history, the Hebron Historical Society is hosting Mary Beth Sills on Monday, May 5 at 7:30 pm for a program on Women’s Dress and Undress in the Civil War era. Mary Beth is part of the Licking Park District staff, and has a number of programs she’ll offer around the area for the state bicentennial, but this one is right here in town thanks to our local society. They’ll be at Hebron United Methodist that night.
And the next day, May 6, is Election Day, when you can come down to the American Legion Hall at 6:30 am and see the crowds turn out to support the Lakewood school levy!
After the production of “Carousel” at the high school this weekend, the middle schoolers’ award-winning “Future City” display at the municipal complex these last few weeks, the baseball and softball teams hard at work on some chilly diamonds under the big red “L” fronting their caps, National Honor Society inductions and prom preparations, how can anyone in the district not see how vital these extracurricular activities are?
Or some tell me, perhaps we should call them “supracurricular,” or “transcurricular.” Whatever you call them, we didn’t see them as “extras” in the ‘60’s or ‘70’s, and they are even less so today in 2003.
If you’re out of town on May 6, go absentee vote now; if you don’t have the date on your daily calendar now, write it in immediately. Our biggest obstacle to passing this basic, vital levy is the registered voter who doesn’t get up early or remember to vote on the way home from work, and once home doesn’t think to go back out. We’ve all got from 6:30 am to 7:30 pm to do our work as citizens, and if our troops can get the job done on MRE’s and in sandstorms, we can remember to wake up 30 minutes ahead of usual or drive past a polling place before hitting the driveway, and fulfill our duty as residents and citizens of this great school district.
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and happy to drive anyone to a polling place on May 6, even if they’re voting “no”! If you have a transportation request or local news to share, call 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
* * * * * * *
Local Author Writes For Young Readers
By Jeff Gill
When Patty Huston was at Lakewood High School, her counselor was Bill Mann (who has himself gone on to some other adventures at the JVS and now Newark High School).
She told him “someday I’m going to write a book.”
Bill encouraged her, and also said that it would be wise “to build a base for that,” in a field like journalism. What he probably knew, but didn’t want to burden her with while supporting that dream, is that even published authors often don’t make enough to live on.
But they do often find something to build a life on, and Patty Huston-Holm has done just that.
Her mother, Jean Huston, is still a Hebron resident, and she’s very proud of all the work her daughter has done: as a writer, a communications director, and as a public relations official with the state department of education. What they are both proud of is the vocation Patty is fulfilling to write for young adults, a readership that in her work at a vocational school she saw “start to tune out from books and reading.”
“They weren’t seeing anything on the shelves that spoke to them,” is how Patty viewed the withdrawal from reading among her students.
That concern stuck with her until the day came when she was downsized out of a job years later, and wondered whether this was a good or a bad time to take a risk and write that book she’d known was in her since high school at Lakewood.
It was in turning back to Lakewood that she found the inspiration to make that step. Her mom had a good friend from her high school days, a cheerleader then and a woman full of cheer now, Marian Davis, whose niece was a cheerleader at Lakewood who had just been in an accident that left her paralyzed.
Through Jean and Marian, Patty was introduced to Holly Slack, and her story became the book “Shattered,” but only after a long, three year journey, a journey which brought many changes for Patty as an author and for Holly and her mother Janet as they adjusted to life in a wheelchair for an active young woman.
Early in their conversations, Holly told Patty, referring to other books and videos on paraplegics, “they’re not telling the whole story.” Holly and Janet wanted to be “brutally honest,” and Patty shared their desire to tell the whole story and a true story.
The peaks and valleys of the experience of adjusting to paralysis, the loose endings that were irresolvable and the anticlimactic closings of some chapters of her life, all were factors that made “Shattered” a hard sell to editors, and a temptation to movie makers to “improve the ending.”
In the end, the movie option didn’t sell, and wider publication deals aren’t in the works, but both author and subject are happier with a book that is true and an ending that points simply to “life goes on,” which is Holly’s story (who recently graduated with honors from Wright State in Dayton), and the storyline for most adolescent lives as well.
Patty’s latest book is aimed at that same young adult market, by being about a young man who overcomes obstacles and reaches some unexpected achievements. “Kid In the House” is the story of Derrick Seaver, another Ohio teenager who became not only the youngest person ever elected to the state House of Representatives, but the youngest, at age 18, elected to any state legislature in the nation.
After his election and appearance on Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show,” Patty met Derrick at a legislative breakfast in Columbus, and 18 months later the result was “Kid In the House.” He and his mother read “Shattered,” and agreed that Patty was the one to tell his story, but for a change of pace, this book is an “as told to” work.
Derrick was ready to tell his story, but many people pitched in to share details that Patty wanted to make the story “speak,” but that he didn’t even believe people would want to know: the music in the car, the coffee cup he drank from, the tie he wore. Here, his fiancé Leslie and his mother were very helpful.
Once again, Patty hoped to write a book that would encourage reading among young people like Derrick and Holly by telling their stories honestly. Both her subjects were very supportive of that kind of candor, even when it didn’t put them in the best possible light.
Pat Walters, supervisor of the Hebron branch of the Newark Public Library, gladly accepted a free copy of “Kid In the House” at Patty’s recent program on “Writing and Ghostwriting” at the Hebron Library on W. Main St. “Shattered” is already on their shelves, and is regularly signed out. Crossroads Florist Shop on E. Main also has copies available for sale, and they can be purchased at amazon.com or iUniverse.com.
Patty says “I have another project in mind, but I don’t want to jinx it.” She hopes someday to not spend more preparing and researching a book than she makes on it, but as long as young readers are using her work as a gateway into the world of reading, “it’s worth it.”
By Jeff Gill
“Carousel” by Rodgers & Hammerstein is the spring musical at Lakewood High School, with a Saturday showing at 7:30 pm and a Sunday performance at 3 pm.
That opens a very lively week, or two weeks really, in the Lakewood area. The Lakewood levy campaign headquarters in downtown Hebron, next to PAL Printing in the former library building, is open every evening and most afternoons through the May 6 election. You need to apply right now to get an absentee ballot (see www.lcounty.com/boe), or go to the County Administration building on the southeast corner of Courthouse Square in Newark and vote right there through Monday the 5th.
The levy headquarters can get you yardsigns, fliers, or answers to any questions about the schools and how they spend the money we entrust to them.
During weekdays, of course, you can just go straight to the Lakewood offices and get your questions answered right through the year like always!
Friday May 2 is the annual “Full Pool Breakfast” sponsored by the Greater Buckeye Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, and after a great meal for your $10 at 7 am, Jim Wilcox of Countrytyme will speak at the Buckeye Lake Yacht Club. I know I’m poaching on columnist Jimmy’s turf here, but Hebron is always strongly represented by village staff, officials, and community folk such as myself. George Pugh has a number of distractions to work through this year, but has still done his usual great effort in ensuring that this signature event for the Lakewood area comes off. . .thanks, George!
At the Hebron Library, a number of public programs are offered on Saturdays through the year, and on the first and last Saturdays of May, at 10 am, your correspondent will talk about two subjects related to the Ohio bicentennial that’s celebrated all this 2003.
May 3 is “The Stone With an Edge,” on our Ohio state gemstone, flint. From prehistory into the present, our local axis that the Ohio story revolves around is a very special kind of rock found in a unique form just east of here along US 40. How flint is created geologically and how it’s been used by humans for millennia around Licking County is the program of the day.
Later in the month, May 31, I’ll borrow a few pages from my friend Brad Lepper, curator of archaeology for the Ohio Historical Society, and talk about his work on locating “the Great Hopewell Road,” whose likely route just passes the doors of the Hebron Library. I’ll tell y’all more later. . .
But turning from prehistory to history, the Hebron Historical Society is hosting Mary Beth Sills on Monday, May 5 at 7:30 pm for a program on Women’s Dress and Undress in the Civil War era. Mary Beth is part of the Licking Park District staff, and has a number of programs she’ll offer around the area for the state bicentennial, but this one is right here in town thanks to our local society. They’ll be at Hebron United Methodist that night.
And the next day, May 6, is Election Day, when you can come down to the American Legion Hall at 6:30 am and see the crowds turn out to support the Lakewood school levy!
After the production of “Carousel” at the high school this weekend, the middle schoolers’ award-winning “Future City” display at the municipal complex these last few weeks, the baseball and softball teams hard at work on some chilly diamonds under the big red “L” fronting their caps, National Honor Society inductions and prom preparations, how can anyone in the district not see how vital these extracurricular activities are?
Or some tell me, perhaps we should call them “supracurricular,” or “transcurricular.” Whatever you call them, we didn’t see them as “extras” in the ‘60’s or ‘70’s, and they are even less so today in 2003.
If you’re out of town on May 6, go absentee vote now; if you don’t have the date on your daily calendar now, write it in immediately. Our biggest obstacle to passing this basic, vital levy is the registered voter who doesn’t get up early or remember to vote on the way home from work, and once home doesn’t think to go back out. We’ve all got from 6:30 am to 7:30 pm to do our work as citizens, and if our troops can get the job done on MRE’s and in sandstorms, we can remember to wake up 30 minutes ahead of usual or drive past a polling place before hitting the driveway, and fulfill our duty as residents and citizens of this great school district.
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and happy to drive anyone to a polling place on May 6, even if they’re voting “no”! If you have a transportation request or local news to share, call 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
* * * * * * *
Local Author Writes For Young Readers
By Jeff Gill
When Patty Huston was at Lakewood High School, her counselor was Bill Mann (who has himself gone on to some other adventures at the JVS and now Newark High School).
She told him “someday I’m going to write a book.”
Bill encouraged her, and also said that it would be wise “to build a base for that,” in a field like journalism. What he probably knew, but didn’t want to burden her with while supporting that dream, is that even published authors often don’t make enough to live on.
But they do often find something to build a life on, and Patty Huston-Holm has done just that.
Her mother, Jean Huston, is still a Hebron resident, and she’s very proud of all the work her daughter has done: as a writer, a communications director, and as a public relations official with the state department of education. What they are both proud of is the vocation Patty is fulfilling to write for young adults, a readership that in her work at a vocational school she saw “start to tune out from books and reading.”
“They weren’t seeing anything on the shelves that spoke to them,” is how Patty viewed the withdrawal from reading among her students.
That concern stuck with her until the day came when she was downsized out of a job years later, and wondered whether this was a good or a bad time to take a risk and write that book she’d known was in her since high school at Lakewood.
It was in turning back to Lakewood that she found the inspiration to make that step. Her mom had a good friend from her high school days, a cheerleader then and a woman full of cheer now, Marian Davis, whose niece was a cheerleader at Lakewood who had just been in an accident that left her paralyzed.
Through Jean and Marian, Patty was introduced to Holly Slack, and her story became the book “Shattered,” but only after a long, three year journey, a journey which brought many changes for Patty as an author and for Holly and her mother Janet as they adjusted to life in a wheelchair for an active young woman.
Early in their conversations, Holly told Patty, referring to other books and videos on paraplegics, “they’re not telling the whole story.” Holly and Janet wanted to be “brutally honest,” and Patty shared their desire to tell the whole story and a true story.
The peaks and valleys of the experience of adjusting to paralysis, the loose endings that were irresolvable and the anticlimactic closings of some chapters of her life, all were factors that made “Shattered” a hard sell to editors, and a temptation to movie makers to “improve the ending.”
In the end, the movie option didn’t sell, and wider publication deals aren’t in the works, but both author and subject are happier with a book that is true and an ending that points simply to “life goes on,” which is Holly’s story (who recently graduated with honors from Wright State in Dayton), and the storyline for most adolescent lives as well.
Patty’s latest book is aimed at that same young adult market, by being about a young man who overcomes obstacles and reaches some unexpected achievements. “Kid In the House” is the story of Derrick Seaver, another Ohio teenager who became not only the youngest person ever elected to the state House of Representatives, but the youngest, at age 18, elected to any state legislature in the nation.
After his election and appearance on Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show,” Patty met Derrick at a legislative breakfast in Columbus, and 18 months later the result was “Kid In the House.” He and his mother read “Shattered,” and agreed that Patty was the one to tell his story, but for a change of pace, this book is an “as told to” work.
Derrick was ready to tell his story, but many people pitched in to share details that Patty wanted to make the story “speak,” but that he didn’t even believe people would want to know: the music in the car, the coffee cup he drank from, the tie he wore. Here, his fiancé Leslie and his mother were very helpful.
Once again, Patty hoped to write a book that would encourage reading among young people like Derrick and Holly by telling their stories honestly. Both her subjects were very supportive of that kind of candor, even when it didn’t put them in the best possible light.
Pat Walters, supervisor of the Hebron branch of the Newark Public Library, gladly accepted a free copy of “Kid In the House” at Patty’s recent program on “Writing and Ghostwriting” at the Hebron Library on W. Main St. “Shattered” is already on their shelves, and is regularly signed out. Crossroads Florist Shop on E. Main also has copies available for sale, and they can be purchased at amazon.com or iUniverse.com.
Patty says “I have another project in mind, but I don’t want to jinx it.” She hopes someday to not spend more preparing and researching a book than she makes on it, but as long as young readers are using her work as a gateway into the world of reading, “it’s worth it.”
Thursday, April 17, 2003
Hebron Crossroads 4-20
by Jeff Gill
Two boys pedaling their bicycles in a wobbly formation down the shoulder
of a gravel road, baseball mitts looped over the handlebars and one
awkwardly one-handing the steering while balancing a bat over his
shoulder.
Is there any clearer sign that summer is getting very, very close?
And Easter for me is always the marker between spring and summer. .
.which can be delusional, I know, when the date falls in March.
A number of folks around town and by e-mail have asked me: how does
Easter's date get set? The answer is both simple and odd. Simply put, the
Sunday after the first full moon on or after the spring equinox is
Easter, which means the day can be any date from March 22 to April 25.
Calendar issues have to do with the tie between the Jewish Passover and
the events Christians call Holy Week, since the Hebrew calendar follows a
thirteen month lunar calendar (we're in the month of Nisan of the year
5764, by the way). The odd part is why we still date Easter this way,
which has to do with centuries of fascinating ecclesiastical history, but
if we'd listened to those Celtic monks a millenium and a half ago, this
wouldn't be so complicated. Not the first time the Irish were right and
weren't listened to. . .
Blessedly, this year Easter morn does not fall on either a snowy mid-
March or the even grimmer "time change" Sunday, as the great tradition of
Sunrise Services will be getting many of us up to greet the dawn.
The Lakewood Area Churches Sunrise Service will be at 6:30 am by the
upper picnic shelter at Dawes Arboretum. Bob Beyer's singing, Wes Baker's
praying, and my message will all share in the celebration, so come join
us, and then drop by Hebron United Methodist for breakfast. Wes will pour
me the ceremonial first cup of coffee as Lent officially ends, so please
join us.
Hebron UMC will have their Easter service at 10 am; Jacksontown UMC
worships at one service for Easter (not counting sunrise!) with a cantata
at 9:15 am.
Licking Baptist will have a sunrise service at their new building (1380
Beaver Run Rd.) at 7:00 am, with a breakfast after at the old church
(1609 Beaver Run) and worship with cantata at 10:45 am back in the main
sanctuary.
First Community in Buckeye Lake also has a sunrise service at their
building at 7:00 am, with a breakfast after, Sunday school program at
9:15, and their Easter cantata worship is 10:30 am.
Hebron Christian will open the Celebration of the Resurrection service
with baptisms at 10:30 am, and the senior choir will share the message
with a mix of anthems and poems starting with the old favorite "The Holy
City."
Last weekend we saw the full flower of soccer, baseball, and the Lakewood
levy committee in blossom. Major Kudos to Beth and Scott Walters for all
their work, along with dozens of helpers and Vicki Marshall flipping
hundreds of pancakes in the Creative Catering kitchen.
Almost 500 people came through the doors and the rest of the planned
budget for the Levy Campaign was raised, but what was really raised was
the spirit and mood of the community. "We really can do it" was a common
sentiment expressed, although you had to listen close to hear what was
said as the Lakewood Pep Band played from the dance floor in the center.
Many also noted that, with the kids playing away in our midst, and the
girls softball team waiting tables, that we had a clear picture of what
we'd lose if the levy doesn't pass. That, too, was a clear message of the
morning. Plenty of folks had to eat fast and run to go coach or ref or
drive in other activities that aren't supported by our schools budget,
but they were there because they know how much we need a full range of
activities to train and motivate and mentor youth today.
A final thanks to the gang at PAL Printing, who have loaned the old
Hebron Library building they bought to the Lakewood Levy committee. For
the duration, that space will be staffed evenings for you to pick up
flyers and yard signs, ask questions, or offer to help. Just stop by some
night and say "Hi!"
Kathryn Lockwood has her famous Easter egg trees up in the window of her
house at North and Seventh; the kindergardeners have passed in review,
and they'll be up a while longer. Yes, you're not only invited, you're
encouraged to go up on the porch to see them clearly: how else to catch
the fine detail of the "SpongeBob" egg? She will only admit to something
over 400 of 'em; the exact total you have to guess!
Next Saturday is "Desire of the Everlasting Hills" by Thomas Cahill for
the Books & Coffee discussion, an Easter-friendly book that's suitable
for any faith perspective you care to bring. Cahill looks at the impact
of the person Jesus of Nazareth on history as he already has for the
Irish and the Jews. 10 am, April 26, and the coffee will flow freely once
again! May's book is "The Warden" by Anthony Trollope, and both are
available at Waldenbooks in Heath at the mall, or just come to 612 W.
Main and join the discussion. . .we'll fill you in if you haven't
finished (started) the book.
Remember May 6, a day of decision for the Lakewood School District. You
need to be there. . .but first, see you at Easter services!
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and a skilled hider of
Easter eggs. So good, we'll be finding them in the yard for months. If
you have post-Easter tales to tell or news of local interest, call 928-
4066 or e-mail him at disciple@voyager.net.
by Jeff Gill
Two boys pedaling their bicycles in a wobbly formation down the shoulder
of a gravel road, baseball mitts looped over the handlebars and one
awkwardly one-handing the steering while balancing a bat over his
shoulder.
Is there any clearer sign that summer is getting very, very close?
And Easter for me is always the marker between spring and summer. .
.which can be delusional, I know, when the date falls in March.
A number of folks around town and by e-mail have asked me: how does
Easter's date get set? The answer is both simple and odd. Simply put, the
Sunday after the first full moon on or after the spring equinox is
Easter, which means the day can be any date from March 22 to April 25.
Calendar issues have to do with the tie between the Jewish Passover and
the events Christians call Holy Week, since the Hebrew calendar follows a
thirteen month lunar calendar (we're in the month of Nisan of the year
5764, by the way). The odd part is why we still date Easter this way,
which has to do with centuries of fascinating ecclesiastical history, but
if we'd listened to those Celtic monks a millenium and a half ago, this
wouldn't be so complicated. Not the first time the Irish were right and
weren't listened to. . .
Blessedly, this year Easter morn does not fall on either a snowy mid-
March or the even grimmer "time change" Sunday, as the great tradition of
Sunrise Services will be getting many of us up to greet the dawn.
The Lakewood Area Churches Sunrise Service will be at 6:30 am by the
upper picnic shelter at Dawes Arboretum. Bob Beyer's singing, Wes Baker's
praying, and my message will all share in the celebration, so come join
us, and then drop by Hebron United Methodist for breakfast. Wes will pour
me the ceremonial first cup of coffee as Lent officially ends, so please
join us.
Hebron UMC will have their Easter service at 10 am; Jacksontown UMC
worships at one service for Easter (not counting sunrise!) with a cantata
at 9:15 am.
Licking Baptist will have a sunrise service at their new building (1380
Beaver Run Rd.) at 7:00 am, with a breakfast after at the old church
(1609 Beaver Run) and worship with cantata at 10:45 am back in the main
sanctuary.
First Community in Buckeye Lake also has a sunrise service at their
building at 7:00 am, with a breakfast after, Sunday school program at
9:15, and their Easter cantata worship is 10:30 am.
Hebron Christian will open the Celebration of the Resurrection service
with baptisms at 10:30 am, and the senior choir will share the message
with a mix of anthems and poems starting with the old favorite "The Holy
City."
Last weekend we saw the full flower of soccer, baseball, and the Lakewood
levy committee in blossom. Major Kudos to Beth and Scott Walters for all
their work, along with dozens of helpers and Vicki Marshall flipping
hundreds of pancakes in the Creative Catering kitchen.
Almost 500 people came through the doors and the rest of the planned
budget for the Levy Campaign was raised, but what was really raised was
the spirit and mood of the community. "We really can do it" was a common
sentiment expressed, although you had to listen close to hear what was
said as the Lakewood Pep Band played from the dance floor in the center.
Many also noted that, with the kids playing away in our midst, and the
girls softball team waiting tables, that we had a clear picture of what
we'd lose if the levy doesn't pass. That, too, was a clear message of the
morning. Plenty of folks had to eat fast and run to go coach or ref or
drive in other activities that aren't supported by our schools budget,
but they were there because they know how much we need a full range of
activities to train and motivate and mentor youth today.
A final thanks to the gang at PAL Printing, who have loaned the old
Hebron Library building they bought to the Lakewood Levy committee. For
the duration, that space will be staffed evenings for you to pick up
flyers and yard signs, ask questions, or offer to help. Just stop by some
night and say "Hi!"
Kathryn Lockwood has her famous Easter egg trees up in the window of her
house at North and Seventh; the kindergardeners have passed in review,
and they'll be up a while longer. Yes, you're not only invited, you're
encouraged to go up on the porch to see them clearly: how else to catch
the fine detail of the "SpongeBob" egg? She will only admit to something
over 400 of 'em; the exact total you have to guess!
Next Saturday is "Desire of the Everlasting Hills" by Thomas Cahill for
the Books & Coffee discussion, an Easter-friendly book that's suitable
for any faith perspective you care to bring. Cahill looks at the impact
of the person Jesus of Nazareth on history as he already has for the
Irish and the Jews. 10 am, April 26, and the coffee will flow freely once
again! May's book is "The Warden" by Anthony Trollope, and both are
available at Waldenbooks in Heath at the mall, or just come to 612 W.
Main and join the discussion. . .we'll fill you in if you haven't
finished (started) the book.
Remember May 6, a day of decision for the Lakewood School District. You
need to be there. . .but first, see you at Easter services!
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and a skilled hider of
Easter eggs. So good, we'll be finding them in the yard for months. If
you have post-Easter tales to tell or news of local interest, call 928-
4066 or e-mail him at disciple@voyager.net.
Sunday, March 30, 2003
Notes From My Knapsack (April 2003 "The Church Window" Hebron Christian Church)
After the forsythia blooms, is it two or three snows? Either way you know the old saw, we’re one down.
Daffodils look none the worse for wear after their long months deep underground, waiting for the lengthening of days and the growth of warmth, and I’m counting on the trillium out at Dawes to start to blossom very soon.
Perennials follow the signs of the seasons, and can’t be denied their nature, even though the occasional late snow might set them back. Easter, however, is different; the Resurrection is a flower of a different color.
The first robin, no matter how welcome, only proclaims the spring. Christ’s death and resurrection literally began the eternal Springtime for God’s people; Jesus doesn’t announce new life, he IS New Life, being born in us every day.
"God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself," not to reconcile God to us, but to "re-concile" – to "again-unite-hearts" as the word means at its roots – us to God. When we stand and face the cross, and face that God’s love is that deep, and that real, and that willing to overcome every barrier including death itself, then our "hearts again unite" with a God who truly loves us that much, and we are reconciled.
The forsythia blossoms will fade and drop, and we may dig up some old bulbs and plant new ones. Robins may even decide to pass on through and head for Ontario for the summer. But the Spring that Easter proclaims is with us always.
In Grace and Peace,
Pastor Jeff
* * * * * * *
Lakewood Levy Fundraising
Pancake Breakfast
Sat., Apr. 12
Creative Catering
8 am to 11 am
$5 all you can eat;
$3 for 12 and under
* * * * * * *
Interfaith Legal Clinic
Wed., Apr. 16
At Hebron Christian
(last time this year,
held every month around Licking Co.)
Open to Low-income and elderly folks
Needing advice on legal concerns
Doors open at 5:30 pm,
Clinic from 6 to 8 pm
Number of clients seen depends on the
Number of lawyers available, all of whom
Are donating their time as part of their own faith.
* * * * * * *
Other items: Time change this Sat. the 5th; Eagle Court of Honor Sun. 6th David Scheiddegger T-27 chartered to Hebron American Legion; also wedding(s) Sat. Apr. 26, 1:30 pm and 5:30 pm.
Other info:
Last Mark Bible Study meeting 16 April 10 am
Maundy Thurs – 6:30 potluck, 7:30 worship
Prayer Vigil
Good Friday service – 7:30 pm
Easter Egg Hunt Sat. (not sure of time, will ask Connie this Sunday)
Lakewood Area Churches Sunrise Service at Dawes (7 churches partic.)
6:30 am, Jeff Gill preaching, Hebron Chr. Handbells ringing
after, breakfast at Hebron UMC, Nelson Workheimer Memorial Breakfast
Celebration of the Resurrection 10:30 am, beginning with baptisms
* * * * * * *
Pastor's "Frequently Asked Questions" Top Ten List Rev. Jeff Gill, pastor
1. How do I know I’m forgiven/accepted by God?
Jesus died on the cross to reconcile us to God, not God to us. God loves us, and sent Jesus to show that love, which overcomes suffering and even death. When we accept that love as real, when we have our own relationship through Jesus Christ to God’s love, we are reconciled/reunited, overcoming our own fears. God does the forgiving, seen in Jesus’ sacrifice and self-giving love on the cross; we simply do the accepting.
2. Do you have to be baptized to be forgiven?
Not quite! Baptism is Christ’s gift to the church that shows us how our sins are forgiven, and gives us the experience that leads to a knowledge of that forgiveness. If we aren’t baptized, we won’t truly know ourselves as a forgiven people, and won’t experience the empowerment of that grace/gift. So the church is given the responsibility of showing people how to reach "abundant life" on earth as well as eternal life in heaven, and that is through baptism. We take that responsibility very seriously.
3. How do I pray?
Talk to God. Really! With our youth group, I’m always saying a prayer only needs "Dear God: Thank you. Amen." Now, those three parts can use some developing (invocation or "addressing" God, thanks and hopes, and a closing). A regular prayer life should follow a regular pattern and rhythm (again, for our needs, not for God to listen!), and Bible reading can be a tool for this: to point you on the way, to give you models for prayer, to get you in the mood. Devotional books are available for every kind of person nowadays, but don’t let them get in the way of offering your very own hopes, fears, dreams, and intentions. The Psalms are a good starting point for anyone.
4. What translation of the Bible should I use?
For many of us, the best one is the one we’re used to: I grew up with the Good News/TEV and the Revised Standard Version (RSV). At camp and in college I found many friends used the New International Version (NIV) which is a very good translation. Both RSV and NIV have "newer" editions out as well. The Living Bible is a paraphrase, and hard to use for study but is helpful for simply reading long passages of the Bible, but the New Living Bible is the best reading and study Bible I’ve seen since the TEV. You can find the TEV for daily reading at http://www.dailybible.com/tev/, or the NRSV texts we use for Sunday worship at http://divinity.library.vanderbilt.edu/lectionary/ or http://www.disciples.org/internal/resources/lectio2003.htm
5. Does our church give to missionary work?
Ten percent of our church income is used for supporting mission and ministry outside the congregational walls; over half that goes to the Disciples Mission Fund which funds both the general church (global and national) and the Christian Church in Ohio, our region. The rest is for our work and witness with people in need here in the Lakewood area and Licking County. There are also special giving opportunities to support outreach that you care about, such as through the CROP Walk, CCH Walk, or Week of Compassion.
6. Can I take communion?
If you believe that God through Jesus Christ is calling you to join us at the communion table, yes. Obviously, that means different things to different people, but our tradition is very firmly rooted in simply offering the invitation in Christ’s name. It’s between you and God as to whether you are "ready," and we don’t think it is anyone else’s responsibility to approve or disapprove of that decision. Some families allow children to receive, and some don’t, which is a matter of conscience for each parent, but it has never been the tradition of the Restoration Movement to require baptism as a condition for taking communion.
(over)
7. Can I give to the church? (Yes, people frequently ask this!)
Stewardship is what we can our responsibility as Christians to be "accountable" for how we use our time, talents, and money that God has given us. Giving to the church or other ministries is a good way to put thankfulness and service before our own desires, which is what folks mean by "giving off the top." We teach stewardship through proportional giving, or "tithing," where we commit to a) prayerfully plan our own use of resources each year, and b) make giving a part of that plan as a spiritual discipline. But you do not give as "dues" or even really to "support the church," and definitely not to be forgiven! We give as a way to keep our perspective on where what we have comes from, and where everything goes back to. And we have envelopes to help you remember. . .
8. Do we own our own property as a church and/or hire and fire our own clergy?
Yes, this is what is known as a "congregationally governed" fellowship, where we are in covenant with other churches (such as our region, the Christian Church in Ohio) to have staff and own a camp and things we need to work together to do. But the regional staff can only ask, not tell our board or officers what to do. In fact, our tradition honors local leadership under a Biblical principle called "the priesthood of all believers," where our elders preside at the communion table. As pastor, I am a trained evangelist called to serve here as the "preaching and teaching" elder in Paul’s words to Timothy, which he calls an office worthy of paid salary. . .but not a higher office! We can have communion when the pastor’s not present, and even members of the diaconate may baptize, if appropriate.
9. Is our budget and financial information public knowledge?
Our church budget and all expenditures are public knowledge, including staff salaries and benefits. What individuals and families give is known only by the financial secretary and treasurer (and perhaps an assistant); not even the pastor or elders know what anyone gives; unless, of course, you tell them. Some need a letter from the church for tax purposes, which the financial secretary sends.
10. What do the Disciples of Christ believe about. . . . .
Depending on how you end that question, it might actually rank higher than number 10, but in general, the answer is "They don’t." At least, in the sense that a group or body has published an official point of view which all members of our fellowship agree to, that’s not "the Disciple way." Our General Assembly, every other year, or a Regional Assembly in the years between, may pass a resolution on various subjects, or the General Minister and President or Regional Pastor may offer a letter for reflection and spiritual discernment, but nothing binding on all Disciples of Christ congregations exists.
An open communion table celebrated weekly, an emphasis on believer’s baptism by immersion, and a commitment to Christian unity through individual conscience in reading the Bible are the "essentials" of our fellowship, reflected by this guiding principle used by Alexander Campbell in the early 1800’s, itself taken from an earlier era:
In essentials, unity
In non-essentials, liberty
In all things, charity
As we take seriously our responsibility to wrestle with what the words of the Bible and the Living Word of Christ in our midst are telling us, those phrases still guide us!
After the forsythia blooms, is it two or three snows? Either way you know the old saw, we’re one down.
Daffodils look none the worse for wear after their long months deep underground, waiting for the lengthening of days and the growth of warmth, and I’m counting on the trillium out at Dawes to start to blossom very soon.
Perennials follow the signs of the seasons, and can’t be denied their nature, even though the occasional late snow might set them back. Easter, however, is different; the Resurrection is a flower of a different color.
The first robin, no matter how welcome, only proclaims the spring. Christ’s death and resurrection literally began the eternal Springtime for God’s people; Jesus doesn’t announce new life, he IS New Life, being born in us every day.
"God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself," not to reconcile God to us, but to "re-concile" – to "again-unite-hearts" as the word means at its roots – us to God. When we stand and face the cross, and face that God’s love is that deep, and that real, and that willing to overcome every barrier including death itself, then our "hearts again unite" with a God who truly loves us that much, and we are reconciled.
The forsythia blossoms will fade and drop, and we may dig up some old bulbs and plant new ones. Robins may even decide to pass on through and head for Ontario for the summer. But the Spring that Easter proclaims is with us always.
In Grace and Peace,
Pastor Jeff
* * * * * * *
Lakewood Levy Fundraising
Pancake Breakfast
Sat., Apr. 12
Creative Catering
8 am to 11 am
$5 all you can eat;
$3 for 12 and under
* * * * * * *
Interfaith Legal Clinic
Wed., Apr. 16
At Hebron Christian
(last time this year,
held every month around Licking Co.)
Open to Low-income and elderly folks
Needing advice on legal concerns
Doors open at 5:30 pm,
Clinic from 6 to 8 pm
Number of clients seen depends on the
Number of lawyers available, all of whom
Are donating their time as part of their own faith.
* * * * * * *
Other items: Time change this Sat. the 5th; Eagle Court of Honor Sun. 6th David Scheiddegger T-27 chartered to Hebron American Legion; also wedding(s) Sat. Apr. 26, 1:30 pm and 5:30 pm.
Other info:
Last Mark Bible Study meeting 16 April 10 am
Maundy Thurs – 6:30 potluck, 7:30 worship
Prayer Vigil
Good Friday service – 7:30 pm
Easter Egg Hunt Sat. (not sure of time, will ask Connie this Sunday)
Lakewood Area Churches Sunrise Service at Dawes (7 churches partic.)
6:30 am, Jeff Gill preaching, Hebron Chr. Handbells ringing
after, breakfast at Hebron UMC, Nelson Workheimer Memorial Breakfast
Celebration of the Resurrection 10:30 am, beginning with baptisms
* * * * * * *
Pastor's "Frequently Asked Questions" Top Ten List Rev. Jeff Gill, pastor
1. How do I know I’m forgiven/accepted by God?
Jesus died on the cross to reconcile us to God, not God to us. God loves us, and sent Jesus to show that love, which overcomes suffering and even death. When we accept that love as real, when we have our own relationship through Jesus Christ to God’s love, we are reconciled/reunited, overcoming our own fears. God does the forgiving, seen in Jesus’ sacrifice and self-giving love on the cross; we simply do the accepting.
2. Do you have to be baptized to be forgiven?
Not quite! Baptism is Christ’s gift to the church that shows us how our sins are forgiven, and gives us the experience that leads to a knowledge of that forgiveness. If we aren’t baptized, we won’t truly know ourselves as a forgiven people, and won’t experience the empowerment of that grace/gift. So the church is given the responsibility of showing people how to reach "abundant life" on earth as well as eternal life in heaven, and that is through baptism. We take that responsibility very seriously.
3. How do I pray?
Talk to God. Really! With our youth group, I’m always saying a prayer only needs "Dear God: Thank you. Amen." Now, those three parts can use some developing (invocation or "addressing" God, thanks and hopes, and a closing). A regular prayer life should follow a regular pattern and rhythm (again, for our needs, not for God to listen!), and Bible reading can be a tool for this: to point you on the way, to give you models for prayer, to get you in the mood. Devotional books are available for every kind of person nowadays, but don’t let them get in the way of offering your very own hopes, fears, dreams, and intentions. The Psalms are a good starting point for anyone.
4. What translation of the Bible should I use?
For many of us, the best one is the one we’re used to: I grew up with the Good News/TEV and the Revised Standard Version (RSV). At camp and in college I found many friends used the New International Version (NIV) which is a very good translation. Both RSV and NIV have "newer" editions out as well. The Living Bible is a paraphrase, and hard to use for study but is helpful for simply reading long passages of the Bible, but the New Living Bible is the best reading and study Bible I’ve seen since the TEV. You can find the TEV for daily reading at http://www.dailybible.com/tev/, or the NRSV texts we use for Sunday worship at http://divinity.library.vanderbilt.edu/lectionary/ or http://www.disciples.org/internal/resources/lectio2003.htm
5. Does our church give to missionary work?
Ten percent of our church income is used for supporting mission and ministry outside the congregational walls; over half that goes to the Disciples Mission Fund which funds both the general church (global and national) and the Christian Church in Ohio, our region. The rest is for our work and witness with people in need here in the Lakewood area and Licking County. There are also special giving opportunities to support outreach that you care about, such as through the CROP Walk, CCH Walk, or Week of Compassion.
6. Can I take communion?
If you believe that God through Jesus Christ is calling you to join us at the communion table, yes. Obviously, that means different things to different people, but our tradition is very firmly rooted in simply offering the invitation in Christ’s name. It’s between you and God as to whether you are "ready," and we don’t think it is anyone else’s responsibility to approve or disapprove of that decision. Some families allow children to receive, and some don’t, which is a matter of conscience for each parent, but it has never been the tradition of the Restoration Movement to require baptism as a condition for taking communion.
(over)
7. Can I give to the church? (Yes, people frequently ask this!)
Stewardship is what we can our responsibility as Christians to be "accountable" for how we use our time, talents, and money that God has given us. Giving to the church or other ministries is a good way to put thankfulness and service before our own desires, which is what folks mean by "giving off the top." We teach stewardship through proportional giving, or "tithing," where we commit to a) prayerfully plan our own use of resources each year, and b) make giving a part of that plan as a spiritual discipline. But you do not give as "dues" or even really to "support the church," and definitely not to be forgiven! We give as a way to keep our perspective on where what we have comes from, and where everything goes back to. And we have envelopes to help you remember. . .
8. Do we own our own property as a church and/or hire and fire our own clergy?
Yes, this is what is known as a "congregationally governed" fellowship, where we are in covenant with other churches (such as our region, the Christian Church in Ohio) to have staff and own a camp and things we need to work together to do. But the regional staff can only ask, not tell our board or officers what to do. In fact, our tradition honors local leadership under a Biblical principle called "the priesthood of all believers," where our elders preside at the communion table. As pastor, I am a trained evangelist called to serve here as the "preaching and teaching" elder in Paul’s words to Timothy, which he calls an office worthy of paid salary. . .but not a higher office! We can have communion when the pastor’s not present, and even members of the diaconate may baptize, if appropriate.
9. Is our budget and financial information public knowledge?
Our church budget and all expenditures are public knowledge, including staff salaries and benefits. What individuals and families give is known only by the financial secretary and treasurer (and perhaps an assistant); not even the pastor or elders know what anyone gives; unless, of course, you tell them. Some need a letter from the church for tax purposes, which the financial secretary sends.
10. What do the Disciples of Christ believe about. . . . .
Depending on how you end that question, it might actually rank higher than number 10, but in general, the answer is "They don’t." At least, in the sense that a group or body has published an official point of view which all members of our fellowship agree to, that’s not "the Disciple way." Our General Assembly, every other year, or a Regional Assembly in the years between, may pass a resolution on various subjects, or the General Minister and President or Regional Pastor may offer a letter for reflection and spiritual discernment, but nothing binding on all Disciples of Christ congregations exists.
An open communion table celebrated weekly, an emphasis on believer’s baptism by immersion, and a commitment to Christian unity through individual conscience in reading the Bible are the "essentials" of our fellowship, reflected by this guiding principle used by Alexander Campbell in the early 1800’s, itself taken from an earlier era:
In essentials, unity
In non-essentials, liberty
In all things, charity
As we take seriously our responsibility to wrestle with what the words of the Bible and the Living Word of Christ in our midst are telling us, those phrases still guide us!
Friday, March 28, 2003
Hebron Crossroads 4-13-03
By Jeff Gill
Happy Thomas Jefferson’s birthday today; Virginia used to celebrate it, but probably doesn’t anymore (federal holidays and contracts and such).
You could celebrate by having peas with dinner, those being his favorite food, or just read his best known work. . .it’s quite short, with the title "The Declaration of Independence." Good reading for these times.
Tom never personally walked through the Hebron Crossroads, but just north of them, exactly one year to the day before he and John Adams both died on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration, an event took place which literally made this crossing.
July 4, 1825, a party of dignitaries joined in breaking ground at what was thought to be the "highest" spot surveyed on the Ohio and Erie Canal. A marker stands just into Heath on the east side of Route 79, with half a lock (better than none?) making the stone wall that overlooks the road.
Shortly after the canal was begun, a project dreamed of by George Washington and politically championed by Jefferson’s Secretary of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin, was surveyed through Ohio with much less fanfare: The National Road, now marked as it should be as the "Historic National Road."
Jefferson and many of the founders knew that a connection between the Chesapeake watershed and the Ohio River valley would be vital for the new nation’s economy. In fact, Washington harbored a hope that a canal could be cut to connect the two, which lay the foundations for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.
It didn’t go that far, since technology of the time couldn’t set the locks and holding ponds up on steep hillsides. The irony was that this beginning of a canal became the route for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, the ol’ B&O, which crossed to Wheeling in the 1850’s and then shot across the hills and plains of Ohio, killing the recently completed canal.
Our stretch of the canal, in turn, became the bones of Ohio Route 79. That skeleton has been visible for years snaking from side to side of the road, but much of it is passing from few after a brief exposure under the saws and graders of ODOT.
You can see the canal itself along Canal Road south of Hebron, and you can easily trace the line through Canal Park, among the Ours Garage buildings, between the angled buildings south of Main, and then across the National Road just west of the Hebron Mill.
That’s Basin Street, and a turning basin and lock stood there where the Fire Department and American Legion hall stand. Northerly, you can look back south from the drive-up window at McDonalds and see the double line of trees marking the "prism", which is the architectural term for the space in the earth where the canal was.
Now get on 79 (if you dare, but you’ll have plenty of time to rubberneck). West of the road the canal is still water-filled past THK, and then the channel leaps east of the road, where it also will begin to disappear over the next few weeks.
I’ll be curious to hear if any of the old aqueducts across Beaver Run or creeks north of there are re-found, and a Hopewell period mound, much eroded in a field north of Geiger Pond may reveal some subsurface structure as the new lanes are cut and built up.
Two other turning basins can be seen west of the road, but most of one and part of the other are marked for destruction; by Jimmy’s Truck and Van and on north just opposite Batteries Unlimited. As you come up to the light for Kaiser, the prism is clear and obvious on the east, but may already be gone by the time you read this.
Right past the Ohio Canal monument in Heath, a spur launched off to the west which was the Granville feeder, wandering behind Heath Church of Christ and now invisible until you come upon it between Cherry Valley Road and the former Showman farm. The aqueduct, allowing the canal to cross Raccoon Creek, is incorporated into the old "Showman Bridge" underneath the modern roadbed.
But the main line of the canal runs beneath modern 79 all the way to the Union St. exit, where the prism itself is long gone, but the path is still visible in the oddly angled fronts of the warehouses east of you.
Cutting sharply to the east at Famous Supply, the route can still be traced at intervals through the neighborhoods south of Main in Newark, and most clearly along. . .Canal St., which sounds like where we began in Hebron.
If you don’t or can’t take alternate routes to 79 during the horrendous days of construction ahead, at least you or your passengers can play a little "spot the canal" along the way. . .while you still can.
Next week: Easter services around the area and Easter Egg Hunts are everywhere for Saturday the 19th. Our local Lakewood Area Churches Sunrise Service is at Dawes Arboretum by the Picnic Shelter at 6:30 am on the 20th. Bob Beyer of Jacksontown United Methodist is leading the singing, Wes Baker of Hebron Methodist is offering prayers, and my wife’s husband is representing Hebron Christian with the daybreak message. Hope to see you there as the sun rises on Easter Day!
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and a local historian and archaeologist; from excavating old canal locks in the past, he knows that they smell pretty interesting 175 years later after the mule-drawn boats dumped their chamber pots out while waiting for the lock to fill! If you have aromatic insights into history or current local events, call 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
* * * * * * *
Hebron Crossroads 4-6-03
By Jeff Gill
Yellow!
Green is considered the official color of Spring ™, which is probably the idea of the lawn care companies. For me, the splashes and cascades of yellow mark the start of the season: forsythia in bloom (so is it two or three snows yet?), willow wands bright against the grey of most tree bark soon to be hidden, and the best exemplar of yellow in springtime. . .Peeps.
That’s right, the yellow hue not found in nature, but proclaiming nature’s glory; a solid mouthful of sugar temporarily masquerading as a baby chick. They probably have the "other" seal of approval from the dental associations.
Stale is my preference, so they have a bit more body to them. Perhaps I should say "well aged" as a connoisseur of the seasonal sugar bombs. Do you have serving suggestions for Peeps at Eastertide? Send ‘em in to disciple@voyager.net or call 928-4066, where some of you got your voter registrations.
Speaking of the Lakewood levy campaign (you didn’t think I’d not get around to that, did you?), therre’s the yellow of a square pat of butter atop a stack o’ flapjacks. The levy committee is having a Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, April 12, from 8 to 11 am in the Creative Catering facility on W. Main St.
$5 for all you can eat, with kids under 12 $3, and these funds defray the cost of the election to fund our schools on May 6, as well as giving the community a chance to turn out and get motivated. Nothing motivates quite like maple syrup and good fellowship, so come and eat, since there’s no easier way to help the cause of our Lakewood School District.
Don’t forget this is time change weekend; you know, "spring *forward*, fall back," so prepare to lose an hour of sleep this weekend. I remember that rhyme, but not the difference between Daylight Savings and Standard. Which are we leaving and which are we entering? No one ever had to care until we needed to answer that question while setting up our computer or VCR.
All I know for sure is that Indiana, my home state, disliked FDR so much (who started it, although England had it long before) that they wouldn’t adopt it, and still haven’t. . .which is a long time to hold a grudge, even in politics. They say it was the dairy farmers, but if that were true, Wisconsin would be the state out of step.
While you’re adjusting your clocks, let’s adjust something else. If you didn’t know already (unlikely), Route 79 north to Heath, Newark, and Nellie is, shall we say, "having some work done," which is like Joan Rivers saying. . .well, same point.
The tie-ups have already been monumental, and ODOT has helpfully said in print the moral equivalent of "you’re on your own: good luck!"
So, while this "alternate routes" business is obvious to some, there are many new folks to the area (or even those who just don’t get off main roads much) who need a reminder.
Beginning to the west and going east: you can go north on Rt. 37, on Canyon Road, and on the already crowded Thornwood Drive. All will get you to Cherry Valley Road, W. Main beyond the hospital, or up to Rt. 16 to go back over to Newark.
Lake Drive and Licking Trails get you north between 79 and Rt. 13, which will itself be narrowed or closed for work this summer (at the same time as 79? Does that sound odd to you? Yep.), but you may be able to use them to get around particular tie-ups through the next few months and (sigh) years.
Rt. 13 takes you right into downtown Newark, or you can cut west at Hopewell which is, blessedly, completed. Thee you have the Linnville Road option, which gets you around to the intersection of 13 and Hopewell from the east.
When I have to start going down to Brownsville to head north past Flint Ridge or take Brushy Fork Road to get to 16, we’ll know its getting bad.
Seriously, stepping west to Luray and going up 37 is a smart move for almost anywhere you’re going north of Rockwell, especially after dark or in bad weather. We all need to think and drive alternate routes, because this work is going to be big, long-lasting, and utterly unpredictable.
If you have word about any church’s Easter Sunrise services or special children’s events on Saturday, please let me know THIS WEEK! Thank you.
And aren’t you at least thankful that we got our Kroger before this project began? Take the good news where you can find it.
More on the area we’re all going to be stopped in the middle of in this column next week, unless you take those alternate routes to the Hebron Crossroads.
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and an egg roller from way back; if you have an Easter Egg Hunt to publicize or other news of local interest, call 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
By Jeff Gill
Happy Thomas Jefferson’s birthday today; Virginia used to celebrate it, but probably doesn’t anymore (federal holidays and contracts and such).
You could celebrate by having peas with dinner, those being his favorite food, or just read his best known work. . .it’s quite short, with the title "The Declaration of Independence." Good reading for these times.
Tom never personally walked through the Hebron Crossroads, but just north of them, exactly one year to the day before he and John Adams both died on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration, an event took place which literally made this crossing.
July 4, 1825, a party of dignitaries joined in breaking ground at what was thought to be the "highest" spot surveyed on the Ohio and Erie Canal. A marker stands just into Heath on the east side of Route 79, with half a lock (better than none?) making the stone wall that overlooks the road.
Shortly after the canal was begun, a project dreamed of by George Washington and politically championed by Jefferson’s Secretary of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin, was surveyed through Ohio with much less fanfare: The National Road, now marked as it should be as the "Historic National Road."
Jefferson and many of the founders knew that a connection between the Chesapeake watershed and the Ohio River valley would be vital for the new nation’s economy. In fact, Washington harbored a hope that a canal could be cut to connect the two, which lay the foundations for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.
It didn’t go that far, since technology of the time couldn’t set the locks and holding ponds up on steep hillsides. The irony was that this beginning of a canal became the route for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, the ol’ B&O, which crossed to Wheeling in the 1850’s and then shot across the hills and plains of Ohio, killing the recently completed canal.
Our stretch of the canal, in turn, became the bones of Ohio Route 79. That skeleton has been visible for years snaking from side to side of the road, but much of it is passing from few after a brief exposure under the saws and graders of ODOT.
You can see the canal itself along Canal Road south of Hebron, and you can easily trace the line through Canal Park, among the Ours Garage buildings, between the angled buildings south of Main, and then across the National Road just west of the Hebron Mill.
That’s Basin Street, and a turning basin and lock stood there where the Fire Department and American Legion hall stand. Northerly, you can look back south from the drive-up window at McDonalds and see the double line of trees marking the "prism", which is the architectural term for the space in the earth where the canal was.
Now get on 79 (if you dare, but you’ll have plenty of time to rubberneck). West of the road the canal is still water-filled past THK, and then the channel leaps east of the road, where it also will begin to disappear over the next few weeks.
I’ll be curious to hear if any of the old aqueducts across Beaver Run or creeks north of there are re-found, and a Hopewell period mound, much eroded in a field north of Geiger Pond may reveal some subsurface structure as the new lanes are cut and built up.
Two other turning basins can be seen west of the road, but most of one and part of the other are marked for destruction; by Jimmy’s Truck and Van and on north just opposite Batteries Unlimited. As you come up to the light for Kaiser, the prism is clear and obvious on the east, but may already be gone by the time you read this.
Right past the Ohio Canal monument in Heath, a spur launched off to the west which was the Granville feeder, wandering behind Heath Church of Christ and now invisible until you come upon it between Cherry Valley Road and the former Showman farm. The aqueduct, allowing the canal to cross Raccoon Creek, is incorporated into the old "Showman Bridge" underneath the modern roadbed.
But the main line of the canal runs beneath modern 79 all the way to the Union St. exit, where the prism itself is long gone, but the path is still visible in the oddly angled fronts of the warehouses east of you.
Cutting sharply to the east at Famous Supply, the route can still be traced at intervals through the neighborhoods south of Main in Newark, and most clearly along. . .Canal St., which sounds like where we began in Hebron.
If you don’t or can’t take alternate routes to 79 during the horrendous days of construction ahead, at least you or your passengers can play a little "spot the canal" along the way. . .while you still can.
Next week: Easter services around the area and Easter Egg Hunts are everywhere for Saturday the 19th. Our local Lakewood Area Churches Sunrise Service is at Dawes Arboretum by the Picnic Shelter at 6:30 am on the 20th. Bob Beyer of Jacksontown United Methodist is leading the singing, Wes Baker of Hebron Methodist is offering prayers, and my wife’s husband is representing Hebron Christian with the daybreak message. Hope to see you there as the sun rises on Easter Day!
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and a local historian and archaeologist; from excavating old canal locks in the past, he knows that they smell pretty interesting 175 years later after the mule-drawn boats dumped their chamber pots out while waiting for the lock to fill! If you have aromatic insights into history or current local events, call 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
* * * * * * *
Hebron Crossroads 4-6-03
By Jeff Gill
Yellow!
Green is considered the official color of Spring ™, which is probably the idea of the lawn care companies. For me, the splashes and cascades of yellow mark the start of the season: forsythia in bloom (so is it two or three snows yet?), willow wands bright against the grey of most tree bark soon to be hidden, and the best exemplar of yellow in springtime. . .Peeps.
That’s right, the yellow hue not found in nature, but proclaiming nature’s glory; a solid mouthful of sugar temporarily masquerading as a baby chick. They probably have the "other" seal of approval from the dental associations.
Stale is my preference, so they have a bit more body to them. Perhaps I should say "well aged" as a connoisseur of the seasonal sugar bombs. Do you have serving suggestions for Peeps at Eastertide? Send ‘em in to disciple@voyager.net or call 928-4066, where some of you got your voter registrations.
Speaking of the Lakewood levy campaign (you didn’t think I’d not get around to that, did you?), therre’s the yellow of a square pat of butter atop a stack o’ flapjacks. The levy committee is having a Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, April 12, from 8 to 11 am in the Creative Catering facility on W. Main St.
$5 for all you can eat, with kids under 12 $3, and these funds defray the cost of the election to fund our schools on May 6, as well as giving the community a chance to turn out and get motivated. Nothing motivates quite like maple syrup and good fellowship, so come and eat, since there’s no easier way to help the cause of our Lakewood School District.
Don’t forget this is time change weekend; you know, "spring *forward*, fall back," so prepare to lose an hour of sleep this weekend. I remember that rhyme, but not the difference between Daylight Savings and Standard. Which are we leaving and which are we entering? No one ever had to care until we needed to answer that question while setting up our computer or VCR.
All I know for sure is that Indiana, my home state, disliked FDR so much (who started it, although England had it long before) that they wouldn’t adopt it, and still haven’t. . .which is a long time to hold a grudge, even in politics. They say it was the dairy farmers, but if that were true, Wisconsin would be the state out of step.
While you’re adjusting your clocks, let’s adjust something else. If you didn’t know already (unlikely), Route 79 north to Heath, Newark, and Nellie is, shall we say, "having some work done," which is like Joan Rivers saying. . .well, same point.
The tie-ups have already been monumental, and ODOT has helpfully said in print the moral equivalent of "you’re on your own: good luck!"
So, while this "alternate routes" business is obvious to some, there are many new folks to the area (or even those who just don’t get off main roads much) who need a reminder.
Beginning to the west and going east: you can go north on Rt. 37, on Canyon Road, and on the already crowded Thornwood Drive. All will get you to Cherry Valley Road, W. Main beyond the hospital, or up to Rt. 16 to go back over to Newark.
Lake Drive and Licking Trails get you north between 79 and Rt. 13, which will itself be narrowed or closed for work this summer (at the same time as 79? Does that sound odd to you? Yep.), but you may be able to use them to get around particular tie-ups through the next few months and (sigh) years.
Rt. 13 takes you right into downtown Newark, or you can cut west at Hopewell which is, blessedly, completed. Thee you have the Linnville Road option, which gets you around to the intersection of 13 and Hopewell from the east.
When I have to start going down to Brownsville to head north past Flint Ridge or take Brushy Fork Road to get to 16, we’ll know its getting bad.
Seriously, stepping west to Luray and going up 37 is a smart move for almost anywhere you’re going north of Rockwell, especially after dark or in bad weather. We all need to think and drive alternate routes, because this work is going to be big, long-lasting, and utterly unpredictable.
If you have word about any church’s Easter Sunrise services or special children’s events on Saturday, please let me know THIS WEEK! Thank you.
And aren’t you at least thankful that we got our Kroger before this project began? Take the good news where you can find it.
More on the area we’re all going to be stopped in the middle of in this column next week, unless you take those alternate routes to the Hebron Crossroads.
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and an egg roller from way back; if you have an Easter Egg Hunt to publicize or other news of local interest, call 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
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