Hebron Crossroads 8-17-03
by Jeff Gill
Red. Deep, dark, glowing, vital red; cherry tomato red, with streaks of russet yellow echoing the seeds rougher gold inside.
There's no doubting that the tomato crop this year is small and slow, no doubt to a severe drought of sunlight with the excessive surplus of water, agua, liquid precipitation.
But oh, do they taste sweet and strong!
No one has left tomatoes on my doorstep anonymously, nor have they appeared on the driver's seat of cars incautiously left unlocked as in years past. There won't be quite the same abundance of marinara, or "red sauce" this fall, or of homemade salsa in the Gill residence, but the cherry tomatoes tast absolutely heavenly.
We've got a pot of basil going, too; it has a strong and savory taste to it as well. Nature is going for density over quantity this year, and we'd best enjoy it. Scissored up over a cold pasta salad or just on top of angel hair and olive oil with parmesan is a great late summer dish, especially as i'm way too lazy to make pesto. (Climb the mountain, pick the pinon nuts, crack and grind them, wash the tree resin off my. . .what? They have pine nuts at Kroger? Nevermind. . .)
Green is also dark and deep right now. Francis Mayes, the poet, talks of "the green fuse" of spring, but it's the mid to late August explosion of wildflowers straight up into the sky that amazes me with nature's resiliency and surprise. Ironweed in particular: boom, right up in a deep green shading to purple stem with flanging leaves, growing seemingly overnight and then a kapow of glowing purple majesty.
Brown is starting to fringe the trees and fields. Searing heat at the margins plus the work of voracious mites on the locust trees gives a distinct hint of autumn in various corners and pockets, but with less yellow than you might expect with as cool a summer as we've had.
Dark pockets of dim shadow are filling the voids under the heavy canopy along treelines; even at noon -- no, especially at noon, the dim recesses of the woodlots are a kind of dark you only see in high summer, a darkness suffused with light.
But there's also no whiteness of sumulus clouds like you get in August, with the ridged columns of white lined out by a shadowed blue that hints of the water inside them, waiting to fall thousands of feet to pund you tomatoes yet again.
And the pink of evening cloudbanks in the west, shimmering into a magenta on the way to night.
Turquoise at the dawn to come around again, and the light strikes the dull silver of the cages around the tomato plants, with their heavy green leaves spilling out through the rungs, shading the occasional dot of. . .red, as a larger sphere in the east bumps up over the horizon to echo its smaller cousin hanging from the vine, glowing tomato red in the early morning murk low in the sky.
So, have you bought a box of crayons yet for your child's back to school? Lord have mercy: lime fizz green, neon yellow, electric gonzo blue, ethnically diverse brown, snazz-bo silver, fright-house severed finger red, zone of lethal radioactivity chartreuse. (I may have made up a few of those last ones) What will the Little Guy color with these? Kindergarten will be a fun year, I have no doubt; we just want him to enjoy it, too.
But I do hope that the primary grades still use the primary colors, occasionally. Still, we have only ourselves to blame for the fact that he thinks that rodents have three fingers (see Mouse, Mickey), octopi have pets who are made up of fast food parts (you don't watch Oswald and Weenie-dog?), and that a box of crayons have no colors found in nature.
On the other hand, when I read him "The Wind In The Willows," the idea of a Water Rat rowing a Mole across The River isn't strange to him at all, and that's how it should be as the summer of 2003 comes to a close.
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and proud possessor of a 64 color box of crayons, the old set that includes "burnt sienna." If you have stories of lost colors, primary or elementary, call 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
Tuesday, August 12, 2003
Sweet Corn Festival 2003
By Jeff Gill
“Heritage Village at Historic Lions Park” is the latest attraction at the 57th annual Millersport Sweet Corn Festival. Starting Wednesday, August 27 and ending at midnight on Saturday the 30th, the midway, entertainment stages, and all the long standing attractions will join the newest, attracting tens of thousands to this village at the west end of Buckeye Lake.
That, and lots of buttered sweet corn to eat!
“We started out in 1996 to create an area where our history will live on for the benefit of future generations,” says Ron Keller, general chairman for this year’s edition of the festival. “Ohio statehood and our 200 year history are visible in this collection of historic buildings.” Near the Lions’ clubhouse on the festival grounds, a local “Greenfield Village” of relocated and refurbished structures, from a covered bridge and a canal barge to an early gas station and pharmacy, is open for visitors with hosts and hostesses scheduled through the run of the event.
For a county with no official “county fair,” residents of Licking County have a wide range of choices through the end of the summer. Especially in the southern half of the county, residents are kept busy with following the 4-H displays up to the Hartford Fair in Croton (just ended), supporting many local non-profit organizations through their food booths at the Sweet Corn Festival, and winding down the season (and starting the fall) at the Fairfield County Fair in Lancaster.
But groups like the local Lions Clubs, the Buckeye Lake Youth Association, and Lakewood Band Boosters all raise a significant portion of their funds each year through this four day celebration of food. “We have 80 charitable groups from eight counties in central Ohio who sell food and raise funds at the festival,” says Keller. “Many people don’t know how important that part of the Sweet Corn Festival is.”
The Millersport Lions Club is the sponsoring organization, as they have been since 1946 when the first plans were laid after World War II to put on a fun and fund-raising activity for the Buckeye Lake area. Fairfield, Licking, Perry, and Franklin Counties have always been well represented in both the participant and the visitor side of the festival, and some visitors have been spotted from as far away as Australia and Japan.
This is probably one of the most family friendly activities in central Ohio, with no entry fee to the festival grounds and entertainment on four free stages. You can pay for parking if you want, but free parking is easily available, and the cost for the midway attractions is some of the lowest you’ll find.
As for food, from ears of butter-dunked sweet corn to boxes of freshly fried doughnuts, you won’t find better deals anywhere, anytime.
For most festival goers, Wednesday at 6 pm is the real beginning of the program, with the Sweet Corn Parade starting out at Millersport High School and turning downtown out to the festival park. Many area marching bands are making their first public appearance since organizing at band camp earlier in the month, and are testing out new music and routines.
With the state “festival season” winding down, an amazing number of “Strawberry Queens” and “Pork Princesses” from all over Ohio appear in the parade, a pretty counterpoint to the raucous assortment of Shriner vehicles and antique fire engines and other assorted entries, along with some very attractive floats and rolling displays by a variety of local organizations and businesses.
With the Sweet Corn Festival in full gear, each night is some kind of “corn eating contest,” with Saturday night culminating in the Grand Champion Corn Eating Contest, featuring each night’s champs.
Saturday, August 30, starts the last day of the affair with the Ken Keener Classic 5-K Run, open to all ages (call 740-246-6101 to register). Word has it that runners are looking for fresh cut French fries as soon as the race is over, causing the deep fryers to start early, as they’ll run late to the midnight drawing for the $10,000 Sweet Corn Festival Raffle Grand Prize.
Through the last day is also the Amateur Talent Show on the bandstand stage, with cash prizes for the top five finishers (call 740-246-5680 to register).
When the last box of doughnuts is sold for church coffee hour the next morning, and the raffle announcement echoes off the emptying grounds of Lions Park, it will be both the end of the 57th Sweet Corn Festival, and the start of the 361 days of planning for the 58th, which will be as it always has on the Wednesday through Saturday before Labor Day, 2004!
For more information and a complete schedule of the 57th Millersport Sweet Corn Festival, click on www.sweetcornfest.com.
By Jeff Gill
“Heritage Village at Historic Lions Park” is the latest attraction at the 57th annual Millersport Sweet Corn Festival. Starting Wednesday, August 27 and ending at midnight on Saturday the 30th, the midway, entertainment stages, and all the long standing attractions will join the newest, attracting tens of thousands to this village at the west end of Buckeye Lake.
That, and lots of buttered sweet corn to eat!
“We started out in 1996 to create an area where our history will live on for the benefit of future generations,” says Ron Keller, general chairman for this year’s edition of the festival. “Ohio statehood and our 200 year history are visible in this collection of historic buildings.” Near the Lions’ clubhouse on the festival grounds, a local “Greenfield Village” of relocated and refurbished structures, from a covered bridge and a canal barge to an early gas station and pharmacy, is open for visitors with hosts and hostesses scheduled through the run of the event.
For a county with no official “county fair,” residents of Licking County have a wide range of choices through the end of the summer. Especially in the southern half of the county, residents are kept busy with following the 4-H displays up to the Hartford Fair in Croton (just ended), supporting many local non-profit organizations through their food booths at the Sweet Corn Festival, and winding down the season (and starting the fall) at the Fairfield County Fair in Lancaster.
But groups like the local Lions Clubs, the Buckeye Lake Youth Association, and Lakewood Band Boosters all raise a significant portion of their funds each year through this four day celebration of food. “We have 80 charitable groups from eight counties in central Ohio who sell food and raise funds at the festival,” says Keller. “Many people don’t know how important that part of the Sweet Corn Festival is.”
The Millersport Lions Club is the sponsoring organization, as they have been since 1946 when the first plans were laid after World War II to put on a fun and fund-raising activity for the Buckeye Lake area. Fairfield, Licking, Perry, and Franklin Counties have always been well represented in both the participant and the visitor side of the festival, and some visitors have been spotted from as far away as Australia and Japan.
This is probably one of the most family friendly activities in central Ohio, with no entry fee to the festival grounds and entertainment on four free stages. You can pay for parking if you want, but free parking is easily available, and the cost for the midway attractions is some of the lowest you’ll find.
As for food, from ears of butter-dunked sweet corn to boxes of freshly fried doughnuts, you won’t find better deals anywhere, anytime.
For most festival goers, Wednesday at 6 pm is the real beginning of the program, with the Sweet Corn Parade starting out at Millersport High School and turning downtown out to the festival park. Many area marching bands are making their first public appearance since organizing at band camp earlier in the month, and are testing out new music and routines.
With the state “festival season” winding down, an amazing number of “Strawberry Queens” and “Pork Princesses” from all over Ohio appear in the parade, a pretty counterpoint to the raucous assortment of Shriner vehicles and antique fire engines and other assorted entries, along with some very attractive floats and rolling displays by a variety of local organizations and businesses.
With the Sweet Corn Festival in full gear, each night is some kind of “corn eating contest,” with Saturday night culminating in the Grand Champion Corn Eating Contest, featuring each night’s champs.
Saturday, August 30, starts the last day of the affair with the Ken Keener Classic 5-K Run, open to all ages (call 740-246-6101 to register). Word has it that runners are looking for fresh cut French fries as soon as the race is over, causing the deep fryers to start early, as they’ll run late to the midnight drawing for the $10,000 Sweet Corn Festival Raffle Grand Prize.
Through the last day is also the Amateur Talent Show on the bandstand stage, with cash prizes for the top five finishers (call 740-246-5680 to register).
When the last box of doughnuts is sold for church coffee hour the next morning, and the raffle announcement echoes off the emptying grounds of Lions Park, it will be both the end of the 57th Sweet Corn Festival, and the start of the 361 days of planning for the 58th, which will be as it always has on the Wednesday through Saturday before Labor Day, 2004!
For more information and a complete schedule of the 57th Millersport Sweet Corn Festival, click on www.sweetcornfest.com.
Thursday, August 07, 2003
Hebron Crossroads 8-10-03
By Jeff Gill
There’s a figure from Newark’s history who passed through our Hebron Crossroads many times, needing some special attention from all corners of Licking County.
Israel Dille, whose portrait by local legend 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, in 1802, and was buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery after his death in Washington DC in 1874. His monument. . .well, more about that later.
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 county commissioner, a mayor of Newark, held a variety of other 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.
He helped to bring the now 150 year old Ohio State Fair to Licking County, put on within the vast embrace of the Great Circle earthworks now at the entrance to Newark Earthworks State Memorial. It is still known to some old-timers as "the Fairgrounds Circle" since it was the county fair grounds for many years afterwards.
One of the organizers of the nascent 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 lost his only 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 poet Walt Whitman, who noted with sorrow 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!); he was known by his contemporaries as an authority on archaeology, botany, geology, and meterology (keeping Licking County’s first systematic weather records).
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."
Not long ago, though, there was on the grounds of the county courthouse a plaque noting that, long before Dawes Arboretum, there was 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 during his term as mayor as another silent gift to all of Licking County, 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 mull over our patriotic reflections this bicentennial year.
Dille, with his forward looking and advanced thinking approach to public policy, was on my mind recently as Congress had a hissy-fit over a program that clearly not a one of them understood. I can just see the twinkle Amzi Godden tried to capture in his marvelous portrait (you really should go see it) as Dille might read through the idea of a "forecasting marketplace" for the finest minds of the country to place bets on likely future events.
Then he’d log on to the internet and click on www.longbets.org to see how his forecasts were doing in attracting speculation and investment. That’s right, the very thing senators and representatives derided as "bizarre foolishness" has one of the few self-supporting presences on the web, started by two of the founders of Wired Magazine and the Whole Earth Review. We need some Israel Dille’s in public life again, that’s for sure.
Astronomy and deep time would have sparked Dille’s twinkle as well; late at night, look to the southwest to see Mars as close as it’s been in 60,000 years (paging Dr. Wells, attention, H.G. Wells, your agent is calling). Bright and fiery, even a good pair of binoculars will reveal some green shot through the orange background, and at the right angle, a jaunty cap of white at the north pole. We’ll be celebrating Ohio’s quadricentennial before Mars is anywhere near this close again (AD 2200 or so), so go check the Red Planet out tonight.
The Perseid meteor shower is this weekend, but a full moon all night Aug. 12 is right on top of the peak activity evening, so we won’t have much to record in the make a wish department. Just salute the boundless curiosity and creativity of Licking County pioneers as you gaze at the heavens this weekend.
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church; he has a pair of bionculars and isn’t afraid to use ‘em! 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, needing some special attention from all corners of Licking County.
Israel Dille, whose portrait by local legend 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, in 1802, and was buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery after his death in Washington DC in 1874. His monument. . .well, more about that later.
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 county commissioner, a mayor of Newark, held a variety of other 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.
He helped to bring the now 150 year old Ohio State Fair to Licking County, put on within the vast embrace of the Great Circle earthworks now at the entrance to Newark Earthworks State Memorial. It is still known to some old-timers as "the Fairgrounds Circle" since it was the county fair grounds for many years afterwards.
One of the organizers of the nascent 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 lost his only 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 poet Walt Whitman, who noted with sorrow 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!); he was known by his contemporaries as an authority on archaeology, botany, geology, and meterology (keeping Licking County’s first systematic weather records).
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."
Not long ago, though, there was on the grounds of the county courthouse a plaque noting that, long before Dawes Arboretum, there was 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 during his term as mayor as another silent gift to all of Licking County, 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 mull over our patriotic reflections this bicentennial year.
Dille, with his forward looking and advanced thinking approach to public policy, was on my mind recently as Congress had a hissy-fit over a program that clearly not a one of them understood. I can just see the twinkle Amzi Godden tried to capture in his marvelous portrait (you really should go see it) as Dille might read through the idea of a "forecasting marketplace" for the finest minds of the country to place bets on likely future events.
Then he’d log on to the internet and click on www.longbets.org to see how his forecasts were doing in attracting speculation and investment. That’s right, the very thing senators and representatives derided as "bizarre foolishness" has one of the few self-supporting presences on the web, started by two of the founders of Wired Magazine and the Whole Earth Review. We need some Israel Dille’s in public life again, that’s for sure.
Astronomy and deep time would have sparked Dille’s twinkle as well; late at night, look to the southwest to see Mars as close as it’s been in 60,000 years (paging Dr. Wells, attention, H.G. Wells, your agent is calling). Bright and fiery, even a good pair of binoculars will reveal some green shot through the orange background, and at the right angle, a jaunty cap of white at the north pole. We’ll be celebrating Ohio’s quadricentennial before Mars is anywhere near this close again (AD 2200 or so), so go check the Red Planet out tonight.
The Perseid meteor shower is this weekend, but a full moon all night Aug. 12 is right on top of the peak activity evening, so we won’t have much to record in the make a wish department. Just salute the boundless curiosity and creativity of Licking County pioneers as you gaze at the heavens this weekend.
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church; he has a pair of bionculars and isn’t afraid to use ‘em! If you have news to use, just e-mail disciple@voyager.net or call 928-4066.
Sunday, July 27, 2003
Hebron Crossroads 8-03-03
By Jeff Gill
Hartford Fair time is coming around again, which means that summer is winding down. Of course, summer isn’t over, no matter what the temperature does or the first day of school starts on, until the Millersport Sweet Corn Festival winds up, so we’ve got some time.
Before I turn to the fair (or fairs), kindergarten prescreening is next week on Wednesday and Thursday at Hebron Elementary, where our Little Guy is starting this year. If your little one is starting kindergarten this year (and I hear some wonderful new kindergarten teachers have been hired for the building already to meet the all-day needs for Hebron and Buckeye Lake), make sure they get a time slot next week to get ready for this big new step in their life. Call 928-2661 for more info.
Supposedly, we have no “official county fair” in Licking County, but wherever our 4-H judging is shown off is official enough for me. Prime Producers 4-H is getting their rocket powered booth ready, with some help from Martha Neutron or someone like that, and I can’t wait to see it and the barrel racing and the hog barns up in Croton (Hartford P.O.), or is it Hartford (Croton P.O.)? Anyhow, sometime remind me to tell you about the story of the Halcyon Academy. . .
But this is the 145th Hartford Fair up in the northwest corner of Licking County, where since before the Civil War the lambs have been shown and the tomatoes compared. Quilts, cobblers, whittlin’, hobby projects, and all the stuff of which dreams are made of. . .or at least idle activities are made of can be found on display.
Way back when the first eastern settlers came to Licking County, the Beards and the Greens and the Bevers and the Cooperriders and the Staddens (to name just a few pioneer families) wondered how the next farm’s harvest came in, or how their calves looked compared to grandma’s whiskey rubdown treatment.
Even preceding the venerable Hartford Fair, Isaac and Ezra would lean over the fence rails and say, “Howzabout those turnips? You use livestock manure, or mix it with swamp mud?” Next thing you know, you’ve got a county fair . . . official or otherwise.
So this week, I hope to see you up there; the omnipresent Newspaper Network of Central Ohio probably has a booth there (insert editorial comment here, Amy!) and maybe we can move the Hebron Crossroads temporarily up there for a week.
They aren’t kidding when they call it “145 years of family traditions,” and their year-round web site, http://www.hartfordfair.com has a full schedule and other information on it (or call 893-4881, but they won’t answer too fast next week, and don’t ask to page someone). Along with the Ohio State Fair, which is also beginning about now, they are one of the real perks of living in Central Ohio, and you really should take advantage of them!
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church, and a pretty fair fairgoer; if you have tales of the midway or sad stories of elephant ears gone wrong, call 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
By Jeff Gill
Hartford Fair time is coming around again, which means that summer is winding down. Of course, summer isn’t over, no matter what the temperature does or the first day of school starts on, until the Millersport Sweet Corn Festival winds up, so we’ve got some time.
Before I turn to the fair (or fairs), kindergarten prescreening is next week on Wednesday and Thursday at Hebron Elementary, where our Little Guy is starting this year. If your little one is starting kindergarten this year (and I hear some wonderful new kindergarten teachers have been hired for the building already to meet the all-day needs for Hebron and Buckeye Lake), make sure they get a time slot next week to get ready for this big new step in their life. Call 928-2661 for more info.
Supposedly, we have no “official county fair” in Licking County, but wherever our 4-H judging is shown off is official enough for me. Prime Producers 4-H is getting their rocket powered booth ready, with some help from Martha Neutron or someone like that, and I can’t wait to see it and the barrel racing and the hog barns up in Croton (Hartford P.O.), or is it Hartford (Croton P.O.)? Anyhow, sometime remind me to tell you about the story of the Halcyon Academy. . .
But this is the 145th Hartford Fair up in the northwest corner of Licking County, where since before the Civil War the lambs have been shown and the tomatoes compared. Quilts, cobblers, whittlin’, hobby projects, and all the stuff of which dreams are made of. . .or at least idle activities are made of can be found on display.
Way back when the first eastern settlers came to Licking County, the Beards and the Greens and the Bevers and the Cooperriders and the Staddens (to name just a few pioneer families) wondered how the next farm’s harvest came in, or how their calves looked compared to grandma’s whiskey rubdown treatment.
Even preceding the venerable Hartford Fair, Isaac and Ezra would lean over the fence rails and say, “Howzabout those turnips? You use livestock manure, or mix it with swamp mud?” Next thing you know, you’ve got a county fair . . . official or otherwise.
So this week, I hope to see you up there; the omnipresent Newspaper Network of Central Ohio probably has a booth there (insert editorial comment here, Amy!) and maybe we can move the Hebron Crossroads temporarily up there for a week.
They aren’t kidding when they call it “145 years of family traditions,” and their year-round web site, http://www.hartfordfair.com has a full schedule and other information on it (or call 893-4881, but they won’t answer too fast next week, and don’t ask to page someone). Along with the Ohio State Fair, which is also beginning about now, they are one of the real perks of living in Central Ohio, and you really should take advantage of them!
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church, and a pretty fair fairgoer; if you have tales of the midway or sad stories of elephant ears gone wrong, call 928-4066 or e-mail disciple@voyager.net.
Notes From My Knapsack -- August 2003 "The Church Window"
It was hard to miss, sitting on the platform during commencement June 8th at Lakewood High, hearing how often people referred to a "small" school like ours. . .especially the youth saying it.
Some of you have heard me say already that we need, at Hebron Christian Church, to get out of the mindset that we're "a small church." Of course, as with the seniors who made the same reference on their graduation day, "small" can be an acknowledgement of affection, a statement of a good quality we want to affirm: we're not "big," as in "nameless" or "anonymous" or "impersonal." And some of the comments about smallness are invocations against what we fear as the area develops and changes and, yes, grows.
But for our congregation and our schools and our area, it's important that we have an accurate and honest understanding of where we're at, and what our benchmarks and comparisons ought to be in measuring healthy growth and effective development.
The Yearbook of the Christian Church comes out in July, and once again we can see a number of interesting statistical facts about who and where we are. Out of about 200 churches in the Ohio region, our worship attendance average puts us around the 75th percentile. That means 25 percent are larger than us, and 75 percent are smaller.
Our budget (operating funds) is a bit behind that, closer to 70th percentile, and our outreach behind that, and our Disciple outreach is almost right on 50th percentile. That shows room for growth, but still isn't "small."
Some figures don't go in the yearbook, like our 12 youth to church camps this summer (plus supplying a director and a counselor to the camping program); others are harder to compare because most churches don't have clerks like Dave D., but our average age in worship is strikingly lower than the average for Protestant churches as a whole.
Add to that the fact that we have a fascinating new challenge that relatively few Disciples' churches in Ohio and around the US and Canada have -- our area is, in fact, growing! -- and you see a picture of a congregation that may not be World Harvest or Grace Brethren, but is an important part of the life of the Christian Church in Ohio, and beyond.
We don't need to brag, and we shouldn't be shy, either, about taking our light out from under the proverbial bushel and letting it shine. In fact, one of the clearest signs of the health and vitality of Hebron Christian Church is how often our fellowship is mentioned when there's community work to do. 9/11, wagon trains, help for a family after a fire, parking cars at National Trails: our name gets called, and our people repsond.
How we can continue to invite and include others into a fellowship with this kind of history and trajectory is what your elders will be studying and reflecting on during the five Sundays of August. Pray for us and be ready to hear what we come out with as we study "The Purpose Driven Church" and look honestly and accurately at where we are and where we're going as God's people in Hebron!
In Grace and Peace, Pastor Jeff
* * * * * * *
Choir practice begins Thursday, Sept. 4, at 7:00 pm. Come and sing, all are welcome!
It was hard to miss, sitting on the platform during commencement June 8th at Lakewood High, hearing how often people referred to a "small" school like ours. . .especially the youth saying it.
Some of you have heard me say already that we need, at Hebron Christian Church, to get out of the mindset that we're "a small church." Of course, as with the seniors who made the same reference on their graduation day, "small" can be an acknowledgement of affection, a statement of a good quality we want to affirm: we're not "big," as in "nameless" or "anonymous" or "impersonal." And some of the comments about smallness are invocations against what we fear as the area develops and changes and, yes, grows.
But for our congregation and our schools and our area, it's important that we have an accurate and honest understanding of where we're at, and what our benchmarks and comparisons ought to be in measuring healthy growth and effective development.
The Yearbook of the Christian Church comes out in July, and once again we can see a number of interesting statistical facts about who and where we are. Out of about 200 churches in the Ohio region, our worship attendance average puts us around the 75th percentile. That means 25 percent are larger than us, and 75 percent are smaller.
Our budget (operating funds) is a bit behind that, closer to 70th percentile, and our outreach behind that, and our Disciple outreach is almost right on 50th percentile. That shows room for growth, but still isn't "small."
Some figures don't go in the yearbook, like our 12 youth to church camps this summer (plus supplying a director and a counselor to the camping program); others are harder to compare because most churches don't have clerks like Dave D., but our average age in worship is strikingly lower than the average for Protestant churches as a whole.
Add to that the fact that we have a fascinating new challenge that relatively few Disciples' churches in Ohio and around the US and Canada have -- our area is, in fact, growing! -- and you see a picture of a congregation that may not be World Harvest or Grace Brethren, but is an important part of the life of the Christian Church in Ohio, and beyond.
We don't need to brag, and we shouldn't be shy, either, about taking our light out from under the proverbial bushel and letting it shine. In fact, one of the clearest signs of the health and vitality of Hebron Christian Church is how often our fellowship is mentioned when there's community work to do. 9/11, wagon trains, help for a family after a fire, parking cars at National Trails: our name gets called, and our people repsond.
How we can continue to invite and include others into a fellowship with this kind of history and trajectory is what your elders will be studying and reflecting on during the five Sundays of August. Pray for us and be ready to hear what we come out with as we study "The Purpose Driven Church" and look honestly and accurately at where we are and where we're going as God's people in Hebron!
In Grace and Peace, Pastor Jeff
* * * * * * *
Choir practice begins Thursday, Sept. 4, at 7:00 pm. Come and sing, all are welcome!
Monday, July 21, 2003
Hebron Crossroads 7-27-03
By Jeff Gill
What a sight, what a sound: about a dozen couples standing at the close of a worship service, all in unison renewing their wedding vows.
Along with Sherman and Evelyn Clay celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, we had everything from a couple with 59 years of marriage under their belts (thanks Forrest and Ginny Sands!) to a couple getting married next year sitting among all these veterans standing, whispering the words to each other for practice.
That was way cool, to use a mildly unministerial term, and I just hope to get to do it again someday!
It was also good to have Randy Clay back to preach; he’s a Timothy of our congregation, as we call those who go into the ministry after being raised in a particular church, and also the head of Suran Systems, which is one of the leading computer software companies focused on congregations. Randy has built quite a business up from scratch, which relatively few people succeed in doing. . .let alone clergy! Hebron has good reason to be proud of Randy.
While I’m talking church, let me note that this weekend is Vacation Bible School for pre-K through 5th grade co-sponsored by the United Methodist Church of Hebron and Hebron Christian Church, hosted this year at Hebron Christian, 610 W. Main St. We’re having an opening program Friday night at 6:30 pm for “What Did Jesus Do?” with an introduction to life in Bible times, and then all day Saturday, from 9 am to a family picnic at 4 pm. (Children in K or pre-K need to have an adult staying with them through Saturday to participate.)
We’ll be collecting an “offering” of light housewares and paper products for the Licking County Housing Coalition, to help furnish their transitional housing units. Saturday morning and in the closing program, as well as in worship Sunday, we’ll gather up paper towels, tissues, and toilet paper; also kitchen utensils, dishdrainers, liquid soap dispensers, and similar items.
The Coalition is always looking for these items because they go with the family as they leave transitional housing and re-enter the housing market, and each unit has to be refurnished. New sheets and towels are also welcome!
Come on down and join us in our “WDJD?” theme, and if your church still has a VBS in August, let me know through the contact info at the end of the column.
A regular health and safety note for everyone around this time of year: remember that our landscape is changing as the corn grows. Driving up to intersections you may be used to “coasting” through is a very different experience, with the stalks now roof high even for pickups and minivans. Lines of sight are blocked, and even stop sign intersections require an extra measure of caution.
This lasts only a few weeks a year, but in our otherwise level or rolling rural landscape, we’re not used to treating every corner like the intersection of two streets in downtown Columbus. For a little while, they’re all that, and with school out and kids about on bikes, we all just need a little more care.
Last weekend there was a very nice wrap-up cookout for all the Bicentennial Wagon Train participants down US 40 at Herb-and-Ewe, which hosted a lunch stop for the “Path To Statehood” caravan. We enjoyed the glow of a job well done, and also just plain done. Everyone was intrigued to hear that at the closing day in New Paris, which Marcia Phelps attended on our behalf, the wagoneers had a meeting about doing two weeks next summer crossing Indiana along the old National Road. Some of us may just have to do a road trip in summer ’04 to see how those Hoosiers do with hosting a wagon train.
Anyhow, I hadn’t been to Herb-and-Ewe since long before their new building went up. Barb Wade has a wonderful business there with herbs and myriad scented products and garden plants and ornaments, which can be seen most days from 10 am to 6 pm, with lunch from 11 am to 2 pm served in their roomy dining area or on the porch overlooking a stretch of the old US 40 road bed.
The food is great, as I can now testify, and even my Little Guy enjoyed running all over the terraced gardens and landscaped areas all around.
Barb is also hosting the stray murder mystery dinner and other special programs; keep your ears open for the next event at Herb-and-Ewe. . .i know I will!
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and grower of a few pots of basil, sage, and rosemary; if you have thyme to tell a garden story, e-mail disciple@voyager.net or call 928-4066.
By Jeff Gill
What a sight, what a sound: about a dozen couples standing at the close of a worship service, all in unison renewing their wedding vows.
Along with Sherman and Evelyn Clay celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, we had everything from a couple with 59 years of marriage under their belts (thanks Forrest and Ginny Sands!) to a couple getting married next year sitting among all these veterans standing, whispering the words to each other for practice.
That was way cool, to use a mildly unministerial term, and I just hope to get to do it again someday!
It was also good to have Randy Clay back to preach; he’s a Timothy of our congregation, as we call those who go into the ministry after being raised in a particular church, and also the head of Suran Systems, which is one of the leading computer software companies focused on congregations. Randy has built quite a business up from scratch, which relatively few people succeed in doing. . .let alone clergy! Hebron has good reason to be proud of Randy.
While I’m talking church, let me note that this weekend is Vacation Bible School for pre-K through 5th grade co-sponsored by the United Methodist Church of Hebron and Hebron Christian Church, hosted this year at Hebron Christian, 610 W. Main St. We’re having an opening program Friday night at 6:30 pm for “What Did Jesus Do?” with an introduction to life in Bible times, and then all day Saturday, from 9 am to a family picnic at 4 pm. (Children in K or pre-K need to have an adult staying with them through Saturday to participate.)
We’ll be collecting an “offering” of light housewares and paper products for the Licking County Housing Coalition, to help furnish their transitional housing units. Saturday morning and in the closing program, as well as in worship Sunday, we’ll gather up paper towels, tissues, and toilet paper; also kitchen utensils, dishdrainers, liquid soap dispensers, and similar items.
The Coalition is always looking for these items because they go with the family as they leave transitional housing and re-enter the housing market, and each unit has to be refurnished. New sheets and towels are also welcome!
Come on down and join us in our “WDJD?” theme, and if your church still has a VBS in August, let me know through the contact info at the end of the column.
A regular health and safety note for everyone around this time of year: remember that our landscape is changing as the corn grows. Driving up to intersections you may be used to “coasting” through is a very different experience, with the stalks now roof high even for pickups and minivans. Lines of sight are blocked, and even stop sign intersections require an extra measure of caution.
This lasts only a few weeks a year, but in our otherwise level or rolling rural landscape, we’re not used to treating every corner like the intersection of two streets in downtown Columbus. For a little while, they’re all that, and with school out and kids about on bikes, we all just need a little more care.
Last weekend there was a very nice wrap-up cookout for all the Bicentennial Wagon Train participants down US 40 at Herb-and-Ewe, which hosted a lunch stop for the “Path To Statehood” caravan. We enjoyed the glow of a job well done, and also just plain done. Everyone was intrigued to hear that at the closing day in New Paris, which Marcia Phelps attended on our behalf, the wagoneers had a meeting about doing two weeks next summer crossing Indiana along the old National Road. Some of us may just have to do a road trip in summer ’04 to see how those Hoosiers do with hosting a wagon train.
Anyhow, I hadn’t been to Herb-and-Ewe since long before their new building went up. Barb Wade has a wonderful business there with herbs and myriad scented products and garden plants and ornaments, which can be seen most days from 10 am to 6 pm, with lunch from 11 am to 2 pm served in their roomy dining area or on the porch overlooking a stretch of the old US 40 road bed.
The food is great, as I can now testify, and even my Little Guy enjoyed running all over the terraced gardens and landscaped areas all around.
Barb is also hosting the stray murder mystery dinner and other special programs; keep your ears open for the next event at Herb-and-Ewe. . .i know I will!
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and grower of a few pots of basil, sage, and rosemary; if you have thyme to tell a garden story, e-mail disciple@voyager.net or call 928-4066.
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
Hebron Crossroads 7-20-03
By Jeff Gill
Sherman and Evelyn Clay will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary this weekend (and my own parents just had their 45th as it happens). Many if not most of the Clay and Ours families (plus various Slaters, Jones, and others) will join in the festivities, which they’re generously sharing with Hebron Christian’s congregation as they and any others who wish will renew wedding vows at the close of the 10:30 service.
What makes a long lasting marriage? Even those celebrating will quickly concede that good health and some luck play a part, but beyond that, answers vary.
One factor that is very unfashionable to credit is perseverance. Go ahead, look it up. You don’t see that word very often in an age of high mobility, frequent moves, regular career changes, and disposable clothes.
Perseverance is persisting, “keeping on keepin’ on,” staying the course. While there’s not a natural market for perseverance these days, the general lack of this quality keeps some interested. A book on this subject by Eugene Peterson, a Presbyterian pastor, is called somewhat lengthily “A Long Obedience In The Same Direction” and has never gone out of print in the quarter century since I first read it.
Peterson offers, on one level, a study of the “Songs of Ascents” from Psalms 120 to 134, and talks about pilgrimage. On another level he’s inviting us to reflect on the necessity of perseverance and persistence in most of life, where the dishes always need washing, the trash always has to be taken out, and the next meal is always coming soon.
Just as reaching the beauty of your anticipated destination requires so many everyday, simple activities (like putting one foot in front of the other, and washing your feet at the end of a dusty day), the truest love may be expressed in taking out the trash reliably, pulling weeds consistently, coming back home at the end of the day reliably.
In marriage, we’re conditioned to think in terms of true love as being thunderbolty, suddenly “knowing” the one you’re “meant” to be with, of fate and kismet and first sight kind of stuff. It’s not “romantic” to talk of endurance and consistency and faithfulness.
But the 40 and 45 and even amazing 50th anniversary celebrators, like Evelyn and Sherm, invite us to think about the epic quality of romance symbolized by hanging in there, working through challenges, maintaining a relationship through changes and setbacks and the sheer passage of years.
If Ulysses is epochal for staying in focus on just getting home over decades in “The Odyssey,” why isn’t it just as epic to then stay with Penelope on the island of Ithaca for decades ever after? As Tolstoy says in opening one of his epics, “All happy families are happy the same way; every unhappy family is unhappy differently”. . .and we all know whose story is more intriguing to tell.
So let’s set some time aside for the simple unvarnished tale of faithfulness and perseverance, and share a toast and eat some cake in honor of the Clay’s and the Gill’s and all the couples who took luck as they found it and made persistence their virtue and are celebrating a round number’s worth of anniversaries. Long may they wave!
I had the pleasure of directing the Clay’s van, for once not delivering a stromboli to my house from Clay’s Cafe, into one of the ad hoc parking zones established by Dawes Arboretum for last weekend’s “Picnic With the Pops.” Somehow I keep ending up in an orange vest these days. . .
The weather couldn’t have been better and the venue is working out well, with the necessary qualifier that Dawes is temporarily looking more like a logging camp than an arboretum, due to the red oak blight that they’re fighting. Add to that the limb drops and tree falls from the recent windstorms we’ve had, and the axe, chain saw, and stump grinder have all been hard at work.
Once the Columbus Symphony Orchestra swung into action, all was beauty again. Their annual appearance is a great new Lakewood area tradition that deserves our support, with just a ten dollar ticket: parking and the view are all free! Bring your own picnic basket or sack o’ food, a blanket or lawn chair, and your weekend is complete.
Wonder if we can get ‘em back for a fall concert. . .
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and married for a mere 18 years to the lovely Joyce Meredith; if you have tales of marital bliss or family adventures to share, e-mail disciple@voyager.net or call 928-4066.
By Jeff Gill
Sherman and Evelyn Clay will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary this weekend (and my own parents just had their 45th as it happens). Many if not most of the Clay and Ours families (plus various Slaters, Jones, and others) will join in the festivities, which they’re generously sharing with Hebron Christian’s congregation as they and any others who wish will renew wedding vows at the close of the 10:30 service.
What makes a long lasting marriage? Even those celebrating will quickly concede that good health and some luck play a part, but beyond that, answers vary.
One factor that is very unfashionable to credit is perseverance. Go ahead, look it up. You don’t see that word very often in an age of high mobility, frequent moves, regular career changes, and disposable clothes.
Perseverance is persisting, “keeping on keepin’ on,” staying the course. While there’s not a natural market for perseverance these days, the general lack of this quality keeps some interested. A book on this subject by Eugene Peterson, a Presbyterian pastor, is called somewhat lengthily “A Long Obedience In The Same Direction” and has never gone out of print in the quarter century since I first read it.
Peterson offers, on one level, a study of the “Songs of Ascents” from Psalms 120 to 134, and talks about pilgrimage. On another level he’s inviting us to reflect on the necessity of perseverance and persistence in most of life, where the dishes always need washing, the trash always has to be taken out, and the next meal is always coming soon.
Just as reaching the beauty of your anticipated destination requires so many everyday, simple activities (like putting one foot in front of the other, and washing your feet at the end of a dusty day), the truest love may be expressed in taking out the trash reliably, pulling weeds consistently, coming back home at the end of the day reliably.
In marriage, we’re conditioned to think in terms of true love as being thunderbolty, suddenly “knowing” the one you’re “meant” to be with, of fate and kismet and first sight kind of stuff. It’s not “romantic” to talk of endurance and consistency and faithfulness.
But the 40 and 45 and even amazing 50th anniversary celebrators, like Evelyn and Sherm, invite us to think about the epic quality of romance symbolized by hanging in there, working through challenges, maintaining a relationship through changes and setbacks and the sheer passage of years.
If Ulysses is epochal for staying in focus on just getting home over decades in “The Odyssey,” why isn’t it just as epic to then stay with Penelope on the island of Ithaca for decades ever after? As Tolstoy says in opening one of his epics, “All happy families are happy the same way; every unhappy family is unhappy differently”. . .and we all know whose story is more intriguing to tell.
So let’s set some time aside for the simple unvarnished tale of faithfulness and perseverance, and share a toast and eat some cake in honor of the Clay’s and the Gill’s and all the couples who took luck as they found it and made persistence their virtue and are celebrating a round number’s worth of anniversaries. Long may they wave!
I had the pleasure of directing the Clay’s van, for once not delivering a stromboli to my house from Clay’s Cafe, into one of the ad hoc parking zones established by Dawes Arboretum for last weekend’s “Picnic With the Pops.” Somehow I keep ending up in an orange vest these days. . .
The weather couldn’t have been better and the venue is working out well, with the necessary qualifier that Dawes is temporarily looking more like a logging camp than an arboretum, due to the red oak blight that they’re fighting. Add to that the limb drops and tree falls from the recent windstorms we’ve had, and the axe, chain saw, and stump grinder have all been hard at work.
Once the Columbus Symphony Orchestra swung into action, all was beauty again. Their annual appearance is a great new Lakewood area tradition that deserves our support, with just a ten dollar ticket: parking and the view are all free! Bring your own picnic basket or sack o’ food, a blanket or lawn chair, and your weekend is complete.
Wonder if we can get ‘em back for a fall concert. . .
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and married for a mere 18 years to the lovely Joyce Meredith; if you have tales of marital bliss or family adventures to share, e-mail disciple@voyager.net or call 928-4066.
Sunday, July 06, 2003
Hebron Crossroads 7-13-03
By Jeff Gill
If you had a seat on the shady side of Main Street, looking across at the sunlight striking the rough, weathered face of the Hebron Mill, you saw the best backdrop imaginable for the entry of the “Path To Statehood” wagon train into town.
Hebron Village did a wonderful job with a welcoming banner and a straw bale softened platform, Brezina Design & Construction had a laden board covered with food for the wagoneers (since they hadn’t eaten a bite for 2.6 miles, after all), and the Hebron Crossroads turned out.
Driving back from the high school early that morning towards town, there were vans and cars and pickups already angled along US 40, waiting to catch a good view of the 14 mule drawn prairie schooners (carts, really, most of them were, and more authentic for all that I was assured).
Once inside the village limits, from the cemetery to the municipal building there were lawn chair clusters and clumps of standing viewers shading their eyes to the east, watching for the first sign that “they were coming.”
Our Hebron Police stood ready to block off US 40 for the program, routing cars briefly to the south; Lt. Brooks and his crew was out in force, but smiling as much as any of the crowd. Fire Chief Weekly walked over from the station to check the coffee for the wagon train, both he and I pronounced it “good and strong” while some just said “strong” and accused me of making it, or at least of scooping the grounds. Not true!
Carlos Brezina was proudly looking over the gathered crowd, all admiring the work his crews had done on the restored mill (in the official bicentennial brochure, a typo labeled the Hebron stop “Resort Mill,” which produces a number of wild ideas: bed and breakfast, hotel, hot tub party barn. Carlos seems happy with it the way it is, though).
Suddenly the flashing lights heralded the coming of the first wagons down the National Road, and all eyes went to the east. As they pulled up behind Russ, the head wrangler on his horse (and did you see his assistant, SpongeBob Cowboypants? He had the yellow neckerchief. . .), they quickly formed a double line in front of the mill, where the wood above and the leather and brass below made for a visual harmony of history remade.
On one of the first wagons was our mayor and his boss, Clifford and Rose Mason, in full authentic regalia. They had camped out with the group at Lakewood the night before, enjoyed the breakfast from Jacksontown United Methodist’s good folks, and were riding aboard all day.
Disembarking, our village was greeting the riders and wranglers with bursts of applause and offers of cookies, and obviously both were welcome. Overheard was one person asking Bill Ours how he’d go about towing one of these vehicles, but he either was looking very thoughtfully at the problem or didn’t hear the question.
After a bit of the usual milling around, with a background of traditional music on the sound system (thanks Mike, Linda, and Tonya!), the dignitaries stepped up to the microphones and gave us a brief program, highlighted by the very clever proclamation from our mayor and council.
You have to know that the folks on this wagon train have heard, and will yet hear, more “Proclamations” than you can shake a 200 year old stick at. The one they heard in Hebron will likely be the most unique one and enjoyable to hear of their entire trip.
The words were crafted in a 19th century manner, enjoining the citizens of our fair village to offer every courtesy and assistance to these venturers, allowing the use of our watering troughs and hitching posts as they pass through, and wishing them well as they follow the path many before them have ridden through Hebron to points west.
It went on in a flowery and fictitious vein for some time, but the wagon train folks, connoisseurs at this sort of thing by now, leaned in to hear it all the way through.
Then the passengers and crew, after a brief response with one eye looking on down the trail, clambered back on board and they rolled forward to the cheers of the crowd.
Heading out of the village were yet more delighted onlookers and clusters of video camera wielding wagon fans. Kathryn Lockwood’s daughter Pat had a friend from her Columbus church walking with the wagon train, so they brought a special cheering section to set up in front of Hebron Christian, and front porches all the way down Main Street were jammed.
And as the sun rose higher, you could see the one understandable anachronism the wagon train participants indulged themselves in: almost every horseback riders and most of the teamsters on the wagons had day-glo bright water pistols, and they merrily squirted one another and passers-by while riding along.
You could tell their spirits would keep them going all the way to New Paris and the Indiana line on the 14th as we waved them goodbye, steadily dwindling up Sunset Hill and leaving us to the west.
Unless, of course, you dashed around them to get ahead and repeat the process all over again later that day; and many did!
We’ll long remember the 200th birthday of our state here at the Hebron Crossroads.
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and just smart enough not to wear authentic wool and heavy linen on a midsummer’s day; if you were brave enough to wear the real deal and join the wagon train, and want to share your story, e-mail disciple@voyager.net or call 928-4066. The responses may be a bit slow because you columnist is off to church camp, so it’s filler for a couple weeks, but we hope good filler, like Twinkies.
By Jeff Gill
If you had a seat on the shady side of Main Street, looking across at the sunlight striking the rough, weathered face of the Hebron Mill, you saw the best backdrop imaginable for the entry of the “Path To Statehood” wagon train into town.
Hebron Village did a wonderful job with a welcoming banner and a straw bale softened platform, Brezina Design & Construction had a laden board covered with food for the wagoneers (since they hadn’t eaten a bite for 2.6 miles, after all), and the Hebron Crossroads turned out.
Driving back from the high school early that morning towards town, there were vans and cars and pickups already angled along US 40, waiting to catch a good view of the 14 mule drawn prairie schooners (carts, really, most of them were, and more authentic for all that I was assured).
Once inside the village limits, from the cemetery to the municipal building there were lawn chair clusters and clumps of standing viewers shading their eyes to the east, watching for the first sign that “they were coming.”
Our Hebron Police stood ready to block off US 40 for the program, routing cars briefly to the south; Lt. Brooks and his crew was out in force, but smiling as much as any of the crowd. Fire Chief Weekly walked over from the station to check the coffee for the wagon train, both he and I pronounced it “good and strong” while some just said “strong” and accused me of making it, or at least of scooping the grounds. Not true!
Carlos Brezina was proudly looking over the gathered crowd, all admiring the work his crews had done on the restored mill (in the official bicentennial brochure, a typo labeled the Hebron stop “Resort Mill,” which produces a number of wild ideas: bed and breakfast, hotel, hot tub party barn. Carlos seems happy with it the way it is, though).
Suddenly the flashing lights heralded the coming of the first wagons down the National Road, and all eyes went to the east. As they pulled up behind Russ, the head wrangler on his horse (and did you see his assistant, SpongeBob Cowboypants? He had the yellow neckerchief. . .), they quickly formed a double line in front of the mill, where the wood above and the leather and brass below made for a visual harmony of history remade.
On one of the first wagons was our mayor and his boss, Clifford and Rose Mason, in full authentic regalia. They had camped out with the group at Lakewood the night before, enjoyed the breakfast from Jacksontown United Methodist’s good folks, and were riding aboard all day.
Disembarking, our village was greeting the riders and wranglers with bursts of applause and offers of cookies, and obviously both were welcome. Overheard was one person asking Bill Ours how he’d go about towing one of these vehicles, but he either was looking very thoughtfully at the problem or didn’t hear the question.
After a bit of the usual milling around, with a background of traditional music on the sound system (thanks Mike, Linda, and Tonya!), the dignitaries stepped up to the microphones and gave us a brief program, highlighted by the very clever proclamation from our mayor and council.
You have to know that the folks on this wagon train have heard, and will yet hear, more “Proclamations” than you can shake a 200 year old stick at. The one they heard in Hebron will likely be the most unique one and enjoyable to hear of their entire trip.
The words were crafted in a 19th century manner, enjoining the citizens of our fair village to offer every courtesy and assistance to these venturers, allowing the use of our watering troughs and hitching posts as they pass through, and wishing them well as they follow the path many before them have ridden through Hebron to points west.
It went on in a flowery and fictitious vein for some time, but the wagon train folks, connoisseurs at this sort of thing by now, leaned in to hear it all the way through.
Then the passengers and crew, after a brief response with one eye looking on down the trail, clambered back on board and they rolled forward to the cheers of the crowd.
Heading out of the village were yet more delighted onlookers and clusters of video camera wielding wagon fans. Kathryn Lockwood’s daughter Pat had a friend from her Columbus church walking with the wagon train, so they brought a special cheering section to set up in front of Hebron Christian, and front porches all the way down Main Street were jammed.
And as the sun rose higher, you could see the one understandable anachronism the wagon train participants indulged themselves in: almost every horseback riders and most of the teamsters on the wagons had day-glo bright water pistols, and they merrily squirted one another and passers-by while riding along.
You could tell their spirits would keep them going all the way to New Paris and the Indiana line on the 14th as we waved them goodbye, steadily dwindling up Sunset Hill and leaving us to the west.
Unless, of course, you dashed around them to get ahead and repeat the process all over again later that day; and many did!
We’ll long remember the 200th birthday of our state here at the Hebron Crossroads.
Jeff Gill is pastor of Hebron Christian Church and just smart enough not to wear authentic wool and heavy linen on a midsummer’s day; if you were brave enough to wear the real deal and join the wagon train, and want to share your story, e-mail disciple@voyager.net or call 928-4066. The responses may be a bit slow because you columnist is off to church camp, so it’s filler for a couple weeks, but we hope good filler, like Twinkies.
Wednesday, July 02, 2003
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.
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.
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
http://
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
persuit.
What Matrix Persona Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
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
persuit.
What Matrix Persona Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
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.
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