Tree Planting 1971 Visits to the "Prop" 1972 the 16 acres of mostly woods purchased by the Agerters and Weaver ca 1940

My parents with friends Ken and Peggy Agerter purchased 16 acres on the Straight River south of Faribault in the early 1940's.  In 1942 they constructed a shack from a chicken coop they moved onto the land.     In 1971, concerned that the development proposed by the Chadderdon Development firm would threaten the natural area, the Weaver family decided to plant some pine seedings with the aid of a Scout Troop led by Dewey Van Orsow . Tom worked with Dewey at Tom Taylors surveying group in the summers while in college in the 60's.

 With Peg Weaver's 1965 Plymouth Belvedere in the background, some of the pine seedings are seen in the foreground. 
 
 Summary of 700 hundred seedlings planted in the field in 1971 with the Scouts Supervised by Dewey Van Orsow.....cost of $17.00 that I ordered

In the spring of 1972, the Weaver and Agerter's visited the prop.  Here is Ken Agerter building a fire, with PHW taking a photo, while Tom Weaver with beard and camera, is next to Peggy Agerter.  Note birch trees and river below.

Picnic early spring 1972, Peggy, Ken Agerter, and Peg Weaver ..

Tom Weaver with machete that he learned to use as a surveyor to clear paths, with Ken Agerter. 

 Later spring 1972 on the bluff looking down at the bridge over the Straight River.  Peggy, Ken Agerter, with Peg Weaver. 
Bluff picnic area 1972, prop in Walcott Twp along the Straight River bluffs, Ken Agerter and Peg Weaver.

 Dam on the Straight River from the "prop" side on the west side, looking over to the State Land in 1972.  This is the area now set aside as River Bend Nature Area.

Peg Weaver along the train track on the back side of the prop, taken in 1972, by PHW

View of Straight River Valley from prop bluff in 1972.

 Here in 1942 Ken Agerter, Peg Weaver above, By Berhow, Pete Weaver below footings for the shack slab on the prop.

 Photo of the dam along the Straight River with the prop on the right.

 1942  Peg Agerter, By, Ruth & Marde Berhow; Ken Agerter. Mary Henning with her two sons. (Shattuck School) Peg Weaver, photo by Paul H Weaver on prop.

1942 prop gathering,  Ken Agerter, woman? Peg and Pete (Paul H) Weaver, 

Betty Kickmuhler, sister of Peggy Agerter. 

 

1942 - Completed Prop 'cabin' with Pete Paul H Weaver MD in the doorway -

From Rememberings, Autobiography by Margaret G Weaver, self published in 1993 p 45-6

"The Agerters and the Weavers, enjoying the out-of-doors, decided to buy a small parcel of wooded land near Faribault. The County Surveyor, Walt Dokken, understanding our wants, helped us find what came to be known as "The Prop," sixteen acres of slightly hilly woods along the Straight River, with a small stream and a few birch trees, which were rare in this area of Minnesota. In the process of looking for a suitable place, we spent time at what we called the Langslag Property, which had many attractive red-berried shrubs, hearts- bursting-with-love,    Euonymus atropurpureus.    I was sorry that we found none of this at the Prop.

Wanting a shack at the Prop, we bought Mrs. Saufferer's chicken coop, sawed it into four sections and secured a permit from the Highway Department to have a truck haul it to our place. (See picture #3, p. 136.) In the meantime we had fun making a simple road in the form of a loop, cutting down trees by band with a cross-cut saw and securing the right-of-way beside a small railroad track. A cement foundation was made to support our shack (my one and only experience at puddling). After scouring the coop and putting it back together, we painted it brown with yellow window trim. It was nifty!
Ray Lieb, a pharmacist who owned a quarry near Faribault, gave us limestone for a fireplace. Pete and Ken built a handsome, huge fireplace which worked beautifully. Such fun we had in our dirt-floored shack. Beer left in the shack was frozen beer in the winter. Pete had a telephone installed on a telephone pole, so that he could be reached in case of an emergency. Although this was long before my mushroom days, I remember seeing many interesting fungi during one wet summer, some that I have never seen again. The Prop was a fun place to have picnics with: Jim and Carol O'Neil; Mary Henning and her boys, Stan and Butch, (Don Henning, Headmaster of Shattuck, was serving as Chaplain in the Military Service);By, Marde, Ruth and Tom Berhow; Peggy's parents, the Harlans, and Peggy's sister and her husband, the Kicksmillers.

We had spent the afternoon at the Prop when we heard about the bombing of Pearl Harbor on our car radio as we were returning home. That night we went to Roger and Isabelle Kiekenapp's for a scheduled bridge club meeting, but were too shocked to play bridge.
Dr. Rumpf who was in the Army Reserves and had been called into service, suggested that Pete try to resign his commission in the Reserves because Faribault was becoming very short of doctors. I am so thankful that Pete was successful in this, that he didn't have to go to war. He was certainly busy, handling the duties of Shattuck and St. Mary's Schools in addition to an enlarged practice due to the absence of so many doctors. Only one of our close friends was in the war, Carl Stabbert, a dentist.

Glessner Family Findlay Ohio Lewis Glessner Newspaper Publisher Leonard Cowles Glessner and Children

Here is the earliest portrait I have of Lewis Glesssner- Nichols Studio, Findlay Ohio - He moved from Delaware in 1861 and died in Findlay in 1869 - He married Georgiana Cowles in Delaware Ohio in 1838, and was the postmaster there prior to his move to northwest Ohio -
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=49893027

Family links:  Parents:   Peter Glessner (1767 - 1836)   Margaret Schaaf Glessner (1777 - 1845)  Spouse:   Georgiana Cowles Glessner (1820 - 1907)  Children:   William Legget Glessner (1840 - 1926)*   Edward Cowles Glessner (1844 - 1864)*   Fredrick Henry Glessner (1846 - 1936)*   Florence Glessner (1849 - 1926)*   Clara Glessner (1851 - 1863)*   Leonard Cowles Glessner (1853 - 1936)*   Douglas Glessner (1856 - 1910)*   Laura E. Glessner (1859 - 1958)*   Eleanor Glessner White (1863 - 1940)*

 Lewis Glessner was the patriarch of the Glessners who moved to Findlay from Delaware OH.

 

p13PictoralHistoryofFindlay1999HancockHistoricalMuseum

Certificate of Lewis Glessner serving as Postmaster in Delaware OH.  1845
 

Lewis Glessner purchased the Hancock County Courier in 1861, which was published as a Democratic pacifist paper during the Civil War supported by the Republican president.
The Census of 1870 in Findlay includes : 870 US Census  Findlay Hancock Co OH
Lewis C Glessner     Editor Courier  58
Georgianna Glessner   Keeping House 49
Fredrick Glessner    Printer  23
Florence Glessner 20
Leanord Glessner   Printer  17
Douglas Glessner  13
Laura Glessner 11
Ella Glessner  7

The family home, in 1875 is illustrated in this drawing.  Was on West Sandusky St  Lewis is my great great grandfather,  and a few years ago, I visited the Maple Lawn Cemetery and acted the part of Lewis near the time of Halloween, 

 

This is the large monument for the Glessner Family in Maple Lawn Cemetery. Lewis and Georgiana Cowles are buried here Block B, Lot 60,I acted the part of Lewis Glessner at part of the Spirits Arise Fund Raiser for the Hancock Co Historical Museum. Here I am in 2003 at the Glessner Plot.

 

Leonard Cowles Glessner, was Born in Delaware OH in 1853 March 17, and always wore green ties according to my mom,  He played golf as an older man, and died 11 Dec 1936 being hit by a car in downtown Findlay.  

 Lewis William Glessner, Mary Eleanor Glessner, and Fred Chappelear Glessner in a portrait ca 1892 as the birth dates of the three are- Lewis Wm -9 Nov 1878 Farmer City IL, Mary Eleanor, 30 May 1887 Sedalia MO, and Fred. b 17 Aug 1885, Sedalia MO -  Fred my grandfather, later changed his first name to Harry, according to my mom, as he did not like his name and did not  want to be thought  of like his uncle Fred.  

 Leonard Cowles Glessner and Emma Chappelear ( b 25 Aug 1855 Camden Pt MO) were married 12 Sep 1877 in Farmer City IL, where Leonard had purchased the local newspaper.

Here is a document I found on line with Ancestry, where "Uncle Lewis" died, in the Elks Club in San Francisco as noted on this funeral home paper - He had lived in San Francisco for 39 years, and when I visit SF I went with this paper and had lunch in the Elks Club with my friend Rick Borutta who had moved from NY out to California - I later drove to Madronia Cemetery in Saratoga and took grave site photos and put them up on Find a Grave - hoping others of his line, might look me up!

Burial plot in Findlay of Inez Chase and Harry Chapplear Glessner.  Inez and my mom, were red heads, and I have recently enjoyed tracing the Chase Family Genealogy from Ohio, back to New York, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, then to Chesham Buckinghamshire England and back to Ireland as well.
 
In 1972 I visited Finday and the Glessners with my mom, Peg Glessner Weaver, and decided to find Glessner Ave which was named after our early Glessner pioneers to Findlay, Lewis and Georgianna Cowles Glessner who arrived here in the early 1860's.   Inez, at age 84,  on the left was born on the Chase family farm in 1888, the daughter of Justus Zedikiah Chase, in Liberty Twp.  My mom, here, then 62, still had a tinge of the red, auburn hair, that she inherited from the Chase lineage.

 
1972 Inez Chase Glessner at age 84, with Tom Weaver, this author during past of my "hippy phase", then a U of M Medical Student, age 25, visiting Findlay Ohio with my mom, Peg Weaver.  

Journey Back from Rosen Congress to Minnesota - Dryness and Fires, Food, History and Reconnection in the West.

 

When the Congress ended on Saturday around noon, one of the participants who had a plane leaving in the evening, asked about a ride and going hiking.  So we agreed to head to Pemberton and walk along this trail by a green colored river.  Very warm in this area .and a fun hike after many days in doors!  

 Jane Agerter Lacy,  a fellow Faribault class of 1965 grad and I have been in conversation off and on recently. Our parents knew each other from their mutual connection to Shattuck School and the Cathedral.  In fact the two families owned property on the Straight River together and the parents built a shack on the prop, as they called it in the early 1940's, Ken and Peggy Agerter and  Pete and Peg Weaver shared a lot of activities as my mom, wrote in her memoir. 

I left Jane and Al's Place in Issaquah, outside of Seattle around noon on Sunday, and visited a friend Harv Brenneise on Capital Hill in Seattle and had Pho in the neighborhood.  Seattle seems like such a much bigger city than when I last visited 20 years ago.  Busy with freeways, and quite a hot summer! 

So I headed south to see what Portland might be like, and was quite warm as I drove by Battle Ground and Vancouver.  A friend in Portland was not available to see me, so I made the decision after a good meal on the island in the middle of the Columbia River, and talking with Ernie and Margaret Campbell, that going up the Columbia Gorge, on a Sunday evening was the best fit!    I found a motel in my price range in Hood River, and took the scenic route part of the time on old US 30, past Bridal Vail and other falls on the south side of the river. 

http://www.historicthedalles.org/columbia_gorge_waterfalls.htm 

Dry looking fields above the Columbia on scenic US 30. 

 
Dry fields again along the scenic route.  

Columbia River from an overlook.   Smoke in the air from the Rowena Fire.

  

White fire fighter vehicles at a pull over view point above Rowena, with my pony in front.  

At one point on the trip here above the town of Rowena on scenic US 30, I could see plumes of smoke. I was here on Aug 11, and the fire fighters here on the overlook, now were in "mop up" phase. 

Here is what was going on a couple of days before "

ROWENA, Ore. (AP) — A wildfire in the Columbia Gorge is threatening homes in the community of Rowena, between Mosier and The Dalles."

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2014/08/06/columbia-gorge-wildfire-rowena/13668955/

Monday Aug 11.  Well, finding my lodging in Hood River got me there in an easy does it manner.   Safely through the fires of the day, and great scenery of the Columbia Gorge.   Just down the street I found a nice cafe that served me a latte' to wake up.  I decided on a local omlet with potatoes, as I had learned the town is also noted for cherries.  I simply asked for one pancake on the side, and OMG, this is what they served. American oversized portions!  Nice cherries, and I took the two cakes to Walla Walla, when Ernie Campbell and I could share for breakfast on Monday AM

 

Hood River omlet with a "side of a cherry pancake "  :-) 

For many years I have purchased Pendleton Blankets for give aways and well as factory seconds from the Faribault Blanket Mill in my home town.  Well, here is the Woolen Mill in Pendleton where many of the trade blankets have been made for years, with my HRC Equal Rights Magnesium Pony parked outside. 

 

One of the photos of the history of trade in the Pendelton Area on the wall . 

 Here is the home of Margaret and Ernie Campbell with Ernie in front. Ernie is 20 years my senior.  We worked together from 1967-1968 for three summers doing youth adventure trips through the Cathedral of Our Merciful Savior (Episcopal) in Faribault, when I was home summers from Carleton College in Northfield.  Check out Ernies cool photos of our 1967 trip

http://prairielakesjourneystwospirit.blogspot.com/2014/08/1967-photos-bwca-faribault-episcopal.html

And then mine as well

rairielakesjourneystwospirit.blogspot.com/2014/08/1967-faribault-cathedral-youth-bwca.html

 
Margaret and Ernie Campbell who moved from Faribault to Walla Walla in 1969.  Ernie was the priest at the local Episcopal Church most of their time here.  

 Tom Weaver, this author and Ernie Campbell Walla Walla WA. 

 As I drove east from Walla Walla, through the dry hills of Washington and then here in Idaho, the smoky haze got  more and more intense.  Hot and dry, fire season in the west - High and Severe Fire Danger. 

 
My goal on Tuesday was to make it into Montana past Missoula, and I noticed a lot of the history here, the Nez Perce horses of the tribe made famous by Chief Joseph.   

 Dry and smoky as I followed US 12 in Idaho, Clearwater River, then up to Lolo Pass

 Still smoky until I got close to the pass.

 Here I was close to the pass. 

 After a rest in Butte, I headed east, looking for a place to share some good food.  I remembered my Carleton classmate Lance Craighead, lived in Boseman, so I called him up.  Interesting he was doing a fund raiser for the Craighead Institute and Foundation, started by his dad and Uncle, 50 years ago down in Jackson WY, where he had lived for a short while. Anyway, Lance directed me to downtown Bozeman where I had a great cup of latte' with a breakfast too.  Thanks Lance.

Donate here, early and often.  :-)

http://www.conservemontana.org/content/craighead-institute/cnm3E8DD645444A64B22

 Having read the diaries of Lewis and Clark years ago, I was curious about this National Monument.
From Wiki " Pompeys Pillar National Monument is a rock formation located in south central Montana, United States. Designated a National Monument on January 17, 2001, and managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, it consists of only 51 acres (21 ha), making it one of the smallest National Monuments in the U.S. It was previously designated a National Historic Landmark on July 25, 1965.^[2] The new Pompeys Pillar Interpretive Center opened in 2006. Exhibits in the 5,700-square foot center relate the journey of Captain William Clark and his detachment, including Sacagawea and her son Pomp, down the Yellowstone River Valley in 1806.
The pillar itself stands 150 feet (45 m) above the Yellowstone River and consists of sandstone from the late Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation, 75 – 66 million years ago. The base of the pillar is approximately 1 acre (0.4 ha).
The pillar features an abundance of Native American petroglyphs, as well as the signature of William Clark, co-leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Clark's inscription is the only remaining physical evidence found along the route that was followed by the expedition.
The inscription consists of his signature and the date, July 25, 1806. Clark wrote that he climbed the sandstone pillar and "had a most extensive view in every direction on the Northerly Side of the river". He named the outcropping after Jean Baptiste Charbonneau—the son of expedition member Sacagawea—whom he nicknamed "Pompy". His original name for it was "Pompys Tower"; it was changed to the current title in 1814.

 The sandstone with many inscriptions. The framed on to the right is William Clark's.  Here from the wiki site. 

 View from the top of the sandstone formation "Pompey's Tower" as I saw the Yellowstone River.

 Looking to the northwest at the Yellowstone River from Pompey's sandstone "Piller"

 Piller in the distances with wheat field in front.