Friday, November 22, 2019

DRAWDOWN 100 Solutions for Reversing Climate Change - Climate Reality Leadership and 24 hours of Education 2019


 
In March of 2019 I read this now to be classic summary of how to face climate reality and work together to deal with the new realities in the 21st Century. Looking back on my environmental educator journey and the formation of Faribault Area Committee for Environmental Quality in the early 1970's after the first "Earth Day" in April 1970, when I spoke at the U of M about how dumb our country was to use defoliants in Viet Nam...and how they were keeping military secrets..Then too, it was often about oil and the illusion of control of resources over compassion for people and ecosystems.
 Talking to Grade School kids around 1971 in my home town of Faribault Minnesota, McKinley Grade School talking about air pollution with a prop of a gas mask.  Photo in the Faribault Daily News--Also in the early 1970's, I began the research about family history when my grandpa, Noah Elwood Weaver died in 1973, I started to ask my dad about our family roots and especially the history of our Weaver and Eicher Family farms in Ohio -

And learning about current farming practice by reading stories such as I just found in Yes! Magazine that I subscribe to....The Way Climate Change Unites Us. Building Bridges https://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/building-bridges/climate-change-politics-farmers-20191121
 Here is my grandpa, Noah Elwood Weaver about 1910 in the spring on the Eicher Family farm.  His soon to be wife, Edna Helena Eicher was raised on this farm in Montgomery Co Ohio, where a variety of apple trees could be found.
 Here is Emma Esther Eicher, Edna's older sister, help her mom and my great grandma, Lane "Helena" Paul Eicher make apple butter inside the old Eicher homestead just prior to her death in 1913 after a surgery for her goiter, an enlarged thyroid that led to her gaining a lot of weight.

Apples and trees, planting of many types have played a big role in the Weaver family tree in my experience.
 Here in 1945 are my two younger brothers, Jim born 1940 and Jack born 1943, in the Weaver back yard on the hill the Dakhota call "Tate'paha"" windy hill, and behind them are 2 of the some 9 apple trees that had been planted by others prior to my parents buying the property in 1943.  We would harvest apples in the fall, and make apple sauce using a hand foley food mill and can the apple sauce



In the mid 1930's when my parents were still living in Ohio, they helped plant a variety of trees on the Chase Farm in Hancock County where Peg Glessner (Weaver)'s, mom, Inez Chase Glessner had been raised. Here is a photo of how they sheltered the seedings, ash, maple and tulip trees that my dad took in 1934. 
Property Weaver-Agerter Legacy on the Straight River Rice County 
 I learned the values of planting trees that are recognized through photosynthesis. As we all know "Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that can later be released to fuel the organisms' activities. This chemical energy is stored in carbohydrate molecules, such as sugars, which are synthesized from carbon dioxide and water – hence the name photosynthesis, from the Greek φῶς, phōs, "light", and σύνθεσις, synthesis, "putting together". In most cases, oxygen is also released as a waste product."

Part of the story, 16 acres along the Straight River near Faribault, that my parents and their friends the Agerters stewarded from 1942 - 1983.  In the summer of 1983 the land was transferred to the Nature Conservancy and River Bend Nature Center as the PH Weaver legacy gift. 
Camp Fire cooking with the Berhow family by the shed build on the "prop", Peg Weaver, in front with Ruth, Byron (By) and Marde Berhow in the back. The Berhows were some of my parents best friends in Faribault as they both arrived in town around 1939 and had young kids at the same time.
This author in the early 1970's, with some of the pines growing after Dewey Van Orsow and his scout troop planted trees in the field....as part of the 16 acres.   
Summary of the 700 seedlings of 6 species that were planted by the boy scouts in 1971.

  
Letter from Ron Osterbauer, Feb 1982, River Bend Nature Center to Peg Koering of the Nature Conservancy  with cc to Charlie Turnbull and Orwin Rustad of Faribault on the board of directors.
Map at River Bend Nature Center, as photographed by this author in the Autumn of 2019, noticing the Weaver Cabin Remants near the the bend of the river,
Visited Rice County this autumn we stopped by a family orchard on St Paul Road on the east side of Faribault on our way through Cannon City, Northfield and back to the Twin Cities.  Stopped by this orchard that the Minnesota Trump family has run since 1954.  Check out this link: http://www.trumpsorchard.com/about_us_history.php
  
Tasty non pasteurized cider too   -- And once again I picked a bunch of local apples here in the Twin Cities and processed them by hand in this foley food mill, and then canned them to put in the freezer for sharing over the next year. 
 

 Here as some of the sauce jars of cranberry apple and regular apple sauce at the end of harvest season this October.  Some tomatos, fennel seed to celebrate too.










Sunday, August 25, 2019

1846- 48 Visions of the Mississippi River Vally from painter Henry Lewis

 Haha Wakpa (Dakhota) image painted by Henry Lewis after his 1946-48 journeys to sketch the Mississippi River Valley.
 The Bdote, the confluence of the HahaWakpa (Mississippi River) coming out of the gorge-valley and the Mnisota Wakpa, (Minnesota River) that gives the state our name)  - St Peter's to the white Christian Settlers of the time coming from the right.  Notice the prairie on winta tanka, the big island.
The wide valley of the Mnisota Wakpa in the 1840's.....

From The Valley of the Mississippi Illustrated, Henry Lewis, c 1967 Minnesota Historical Society, Originally published in German 1854, Das Illustrirte Mississippithal by Arnz and Company Duesseldorf

Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Climate Reality Leadership Training Aug 2019 - Connections with butterflies and more

Minnesota Trainees, with mentor Mike Murphy to my right, who sent out this photo. 
Attending the Minneapolis-St Paul Climate Reality Leadership Training here Minnesota this past weekend, Aug 2-4 to continue to make a stand for protecting our planet from excess use of fossil fuels by we 2 leggeds.    Thanks to Chicago Bob Shiel for his invitation to join with him to attend the 42nd training.    My own experience with the butterfly and moth nations is what came up for us during the training, where we learned to share our experience in Nature/Creation, and how living here on planet earth, mother earth, ina maka has being changing and evolving . According to the Dakota online dictionary, from the U of M https://fmp.cla.umn.edu/dakota/ Kim anana is Dakhota for butterfly -- So many memories of my earth journey, being amazed by the transformative nature of butterflies and moths.....and seeing the change in the habitats just here in my home state of Minnesota is quite humbling.  Will share a few thoughts on my journey especially having listened to Robin's fire fly story who told her Richfield MN story on Sunday before over 1100 plus folks at the Convention Center.  She was a member of our Minnesota Table #24 during the weekend, and was inspirational for us.

 Bob Shiel took this photo on the weekend training, and here, as I  carrying the spiral notebook that includes many of Al Gore slide deck we can build a presentation from.



Here is a black and white photo of me with a homemade butterfly net, in 1954, taken by my dad, out in front of the family cabin Sunset Beach, Pelican Lake at age 7.  Somehow,  I was already moved by these colorful 6 leggeds, and had curiosity to learn more about them.   Had the Peterson Field Guide to butterflies and then learned about the larvae, specific to each species.


In 1959, at age 12 prior to attending 6th grade, I visited Ohio and both sets of grandparents, and I think Inez Chase Glessner, made me this homemade butterfly net, during my stay in Findlay, prior to my travel to the Greater Miami River Valley, where granddad Weaver, AKA Noah Elwood Weaver, captured this photo of me at Ft Ancient -- At a family reunion of his second wife, Virginia Magee's, expanded family, I remember collecting pipevine, zebra and spicebush swallowtails, that really excited my curiosity, and remains burned into my memory as a peak life experience for a young boy!

 
As late as 1964, I am seen as likely a Junior in High School, with the new family 1964 Chrysler station wagon, with a butterfly net - adding to my collection.     I recall I did one Science Project about Butterflies and Moths, the lepidoptera during high school - and am still fascinated by the variety and colors of so many species.  Check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepidoptera
 
Here are the two frames of Minnesota Butterflies and Minnesota Moths that I created that were on display at the Palmer Weaver Family Cabins for many years in the late 1960's through the early 21st Century.   
As the family historian, one of the things I have been archiving is this tray with framed butterflies.  It was given to "Len" Leonard Cowles Glessner and his wife of 50 years, Emeline "Emma" Chappelear Glessner in 1927 to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary from friends in California. Likely species native to California. 

And just yesterday, in the neighbors garden about 1/2 mile from the Mississippi River, I took this photo of a Tiger Swallowtail drinking nectar from a native species to north america, the turks cap lily, Lilium superbum.








Thursday, June 13, 2019

Faribault Area Committee for Environmental Quality --Archives Recycling -Education Fundraising 1970-71




While preparing to downsize and move, I found an old environmental folder I had pretty much given up finding.   I small environmental group that I co founded along with folks like Poppy Batchelder, Kay Janky,  Betty Kaul, Fran Minnick, Harry Vohs in Faribault in 1970 - 71 after the first Earth Day in 1970 . I had presented at the U of M Coffman Union about the dangers of 3, 4, 5 T and what the US was doing putting defoliant on South East Asia. Anyway, Local activist work to educate citizens about ecology and the natural systems. FACE-Q  Faribault Area Committee for Environmental Quality...folks eventually ended up founding River Bend Nature Center -- Some of the papers we found :

 Labeled "Jefferson"  Tom Weaver 1971 being an environment spokesperson for FACE-Q in the fall 1970 through summer of 1971 at Jefferson Elementary School.
Labeled "McKinley" at the Faribault Elementary School, showing a gas mask to support clean air...Tom Weaver a sophomore medical student.  

Above -Building on past notoriety as a basketball player the FACE-Q group had a fund raiser Feb 14, 1971 at Faribault Senior High - Below, FACE-Q members Fran Minnick and Harry Vohs at the recycling station south and west of the viaduct where we collected glass to recycle at Brockway Glass in Rosemount as an early awareness project.




Letter from Les Swanberg, editor of the Faribault Daily News who supported my writing a column we called Environment Quality?
Above Program for Fundraising Basketball Game sponsored by FACE-Q Feb 13, 1970 --with participants and volunteer acknowledgements below.




 
April 22, 1970, Introductory column that I wrote from my dorm room at the U of M - Centennial Hall
 
Column #2 in April 1970---17 columns in all were published through April 1971. 

Monday, May 13, 2019

Solar Power at Pax Christi - Thinking of the spirit of Fr Tim Power


 About a year ago,  I decided to join a solar energy coop, Cooperative Energy Futures whose vision it is to build solar arrays and gardens to support the grass roots in the area.  I recently was invited to attend an open house out in Eden Prairie, the suburb where my mom, Peg Weaver passed in Aug of 2017.   I had known a progressive Catholic Priest Tim Power, who participated in the Ecumenical Center at St Johns, when I did while living in St Cloud after I began to pray with my Lakota relatives in South Dakota..  Tim had grown up in Faribault born in 1939, and I learned his parents Tim and Theresa sold their home to my parents in 1943.  My sense of humor of Solar Power in the church that Tim Power helped create.  Here is a link to celebrate his 35 years at Pax Christi with him interviewed- Fr Tim Power Reflecting on 35 years  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYLykionY3A
And here is the find a grave link for Fr Tim's gravesite in Eden Prairie  https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/170502762/timothy-john-power
 
Here is Bruce who works for C E F, Cooperative Energy Futures, on top of the roof talking about the array, the components and all, with other members prior to the annual meeting. 

 Solar Panels on the roof looking NW toward Bloomington with the ski jump in the distance. 

Array looking west.  

 
Marshall, an employee of Apadana, was inside prior to the food and meeting and invited me to drive his white Tesla. As this was a solar power gathering, it attracted folks on the cutting edge of solar and power storage.  I found I could fit into his car and yes, fast acceleration too!  Thanks Marshal and also John Ehresmann, president of Apadana Solar in Golden Valley for there inviting me to join them and their table along with my friend from the Twin Cities Men's Center, Paula Overby. 

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Celebrations of Life Stories Harry Chappelear Glessner Values as a grandpa - and the Glessner Family tree

Here in 2019, we are embarking on a new Journey of supporting others write their powerful and healing stories about their family.  At the end of 2018 spirit led us to meet with Tracie Bluse Ward, the Founder and President of Celebrations of LIfe,  past, present and future author of Life Reflection Stories, Your legacy of Wisdom, c 2012-15 A workbook for sharing your experiences of life and wisdom. On page 29 she prompts us to "Create a simple family tree representing your mother's family so that loved ones know who you are referring to as they are mentioned in their stories."  So having worked on genealogy for 44+ years, I know this part well. And I looked around my nest the morning during meditation, and who do I see?   Peg Weaver's dad, Harry C Glessner, my maternal grandpa sitting in the living room in Faribault playing Chinese Checkers with me, his youngest grandson in 1953.   The Glessners would drive or take that train from Findlay Ohio to visit us, and a couple of times each grandson, went back to Ohio to be with both sets of Grandparents, thus our connection to Ohio the birthplace of both Peg Glessner and Paul H Weaver.  And here at the photos that trigger memories for me to write today.

 1953 Faribault MN Weaver family home up on the hill "Tatepaha" windy hill, that the Pete and Peg Weaver purchased in 1943 prior to the birth of their second son, John "Jack" Eicher Weaver.  Granddad Glessner in his business like tie (he rarely was seen without wearing a tie). We are in the large living room,  the Encyclopedia Brittanica behind, with the bas relief scuplture of Mozart Paul H Weaver made at Antioch college above. I am 6 years old here, and playing the checkers game with my 68 yr old grandpa.
 Harry C Glessner, 1918,  age 33 with an Oakland Automobile  --My mom said he loved to visit California as he healed from an infection there prior to marriage  ---Here is a reflection from Peg Weaver's memoir Rememberings of an 83 Year of Grandma, p 9 "GRADE SCHOOL DAYS
"Eugenia Guise, my fourth grade teacher, also taught music to all the grades at Lincoln School. Bess Byal, my fifth grade teacher humiliated me when she announced in front of the class that all I had to do was whine a little and my mother would let me stay home from school. Much of that year, I felt lousy and nauseated, using the word "stuffy" to designate this feeling. I believe that I missed almost half of that year, including a trip to California. In my grade school classes, I think that there were two "black girls".Because meals weren't served at school, I walked home for lunch. One day, in first or second grade, I thought it would be fun to take my lunch. When I went down to the big, basement room to eat with the other kids, nobody was there. Not knowing that my grade had been dismissed early, I was too lonesome and trudged home with my lunch. Every February a Valentine box was full of mostly humorous cards. Mercer Pomeroy, who bragged about his biceps, receiving many green, flexed, upper arms."
Over the years, especially after my father died in January 1982, during a very cold winter time at Pelican Lake, Peg, my mom and I opened up to being rigorously honest. With many visits to her home and Pelican Lake and she meeting my sweat lodge, MN Hollow Horn Bear Tiospaye Sun Dance friends at the Palmer Weaver family cabins, we learned to trust each other deeply.  At Sierra Tucson in Arizona on the desert in 1987, where I went to treatment for suicidal Co dependency April - May 1987,  we both shared in Al Anon 12 step recovery language. She was confronted about being a "People Pleaser" by her counselor, Mary Ann, and she began to reflect on her behavior around her high functioning alcoholic medical doctor husband, and as I came out as a gay, two spirited son and father, she was a great listener and learned to not judge and focus on her own recovery.  What an amazing gift to have 1987 - 2007. 20 years of an honest relationship between mom and son!  Very grateful indeed .
Wedding Photo of my parents 1935, reception at Harry and Inez Glessner home 204 Glendale Ave S Findlay Ohio.  L- R  Noah Elwood Weaver (father of groom), Peg Glessner (bride), Paul H "Pete"Weaver (groom). LC Leonard Cowles Glessner (Peg's grandpa), Esther Eicher (groom's Aunt), Inez Chase Glessner, (Peg's mom), Harry C Glessner, (Peg's Dad), Mary E Glessner (Peg's Aunt) and Edna Helena Eicher Weaver (groom's mom).

My mom commented on this in her memoir and has a description on page 135 (photos separate in her self made book from 1993. Here is her text  from Rememberings - p 31 PEG MARRIED PETE
My parents didn't want me to marry someone who was still in school, someone who wasn't established and doing well financially. My mother didn't think I was prepared to get married because I didn't know how to cook. My reply: "any one who can read can cook". Since she didn't use a cookbook, she didn't understand. One of parent's great concerns was that I would become pregnant while Pete was in school and while I was working. Pete and I put forth arguments for getting married while he was in school: that there were good birth-control procedures; that it would cost us no more to be married and live together than to live separately; that I would continue to support myself and Pete's parents had agreed to continue to support him until he finished Medical School, as they would have done if he hadn't married. My parents made a trip to West Carrollton to try to convince Pete's parents to discourage and disapprove of our marriage. At age twenty-five we could not be dissuaded from being married at the beginning of Pete's sophomore year in Medical School. Married students were not common in those days, only three married couples in Pete's class.
We were married at the First Presbyterian Church, Findlay, Ohio, in the late afternoon of September 14, 1935, with the Reverend John David Lindsay officiating in a double ring ceremony. Though my parents were disappointed in not having a big wedding for their daughter, a wedding with white wedding gown and a large wedding party, they agreed to a simple affair. I thought that a pretentious ceremony would be in appropriate for a student and his bride and I preferred more practical spending of money. On the morning of my wedding day, my father was a bit nervous, driving through a red traffic signal. No invitations were sent, the custom of open church being observed, an announcement placed in the Findlay paper to that effect.(see Rememberings of a 83 year old Grandma
 
Having traced the Glessners back to Pennsylvania during my 44 + years of Genealogical Research  - I had to find the Glessner Covered Bridge in Somerset Co......my ancestors were all German farmers and here is may family tree with me at the 7th Generation! Mitakuye Oyasin

Harry Glessner gave to his 3 grandkids, 100 shares each  of Detroit Edison Stock in 1967, worth $10,000 each. I was 20 and at Carleton College, Jack 23-4 and living in Illinois Monmouth area, Jim was living out east and newly married. We pooled our resources to buy 90 acres of land on big Pelican Lake for $27,000  and the rest is history of how we worked together to rent the Palmer cabins and then went our separate ways.   Harry C Glessner carried on the Glessner Medicine company that his father LC Glessner created in the late 1800's.  He liquidated the company in the 1960's and the family got Royalities for many years.  Thanks Grandpa Harry for your values and teaching about business.

Glessner Descendants Chart Johann George 7 generations created through Tom Weaver Dec 2016


Johann Georg GLAESENER
  b. 1693,  Straßen, Neuwied, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
  d. 1 Apr 1783,  Straßen, Neuwied, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
& Barbara WERNET
  b. 1690, Elm, Main-Kinzig-Kreis, Hessen, Germany
  m. 1715, Koellin, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
|            Heinrich  (Henry) Johann Glessner  - 1st Glessner with brother Jacob to emigrate from Germany to PA
|              b. 1728, Bingen Am Rhein, Germany
|              d. 14 May 1814, Brothersvalley Twp, Someret Co PA
|            & Anna Elizabeth ADAM
|              b. 25 Jul 1734, Germany
|              d. 21 Mar 1802, Brothers Valley Twp, Somerset, PA
|              m. bef 1761, Germany
|            |            Peter (Petrus) Glessner* 2nd gen farmer moved to OH from PA
|            |              b. 1 Sep 1767, Somerset PA
|            |              d. 15 Apr 1836, Columbiana Co OHio
|            |            & Margaret (Margaretha) "Peggy" SCHAAFEN (SCHAAF)
|            |              b. 27 Oct 1777, Someret Co PA
|            |              d. 1 Aug 1845, Columbiana Co OHio
|            |              m. 1818, Columbiana Co OHio
|            |            |            Lewis Glessner – 3rd Gen farmer,postmaster Delaware OH, 1861 Findlay OH newpaper editor
|            |            |              b. 1 Sep 1811, Somerset PA
|            |            |              d. 3 Mar 1879, Findlay OH
|            |            |            & Georgiana COWLES
|            |            |              b. 18 Feb 1820, Delaware OH
|            |            |              d. 30 Sep 1907, Findlay OH
|            |            |              m. 8 Apr 1838, Delaware OH
|            |            |            |            Leonard Cowles Glessner 4th gen newspaper editor IL, MO, Glessner Co Findlay OH
|            |            |            |              b. 17 Mar 1853, Delaware OH
|            |            |            |              d. 11 Dec 1936, Findlay OH
|            |            |            |            & Emeline “Emma” CHAPPELEAR
|            |            |            |              b. 25 Aug 1855, Camden Point, Platte, MO
|            |            |            |              d. 7 Jul 1929, Findlay, Hancock Co,  OH
|            |            |            |              m. 12 Sep 1877, Farmer City, DeWitt, Illinois
|            |            |            |            |            Harry Chappelear Glessner 5th Gen – Glessner Med Co, President Findlay
|            |            |            |            |              b. 17 Aug 1885, Sedalia MO
|            |            |            |            |              d. 27 Sep 1973, Blanchard Valley Hospital, Findlay OH
|            |            |            |            |            & Inez CHASE
|            |            |            |            |              b. 8 Feb 1888, Findlay OH
|            |            |            |            |              d. 12 Dec 1978, Findlay OH
|            |            |            |            |              m. 25 Mar 1908, Findlay OH
|            |            |            |            |            |            Margaret Mary Glessner  6th Gen – 1st College Ed Oberlin 1932
|            |            |            |            |            |              b. 3 Jun 1910, Findlay, Hancock, OH
|            |            |            |            |            |              d. 10 Aug 2007, Eden Prairie MN
|            |            |            |            |            |            & Paul Henry Weaver
|            |            |            |            |            |              b. 24 Dec 1910, West Carrollton, Montgomery,  OH
|            |            |            |            |            |              d. 29 Jan 1982, St Josephs Hospital Brainerd MN
|            |            |            |            |            |              m. 14 Sep 1935, Findlay OH
|            |            |            |            |            |            |            Thomas Glessner Weaver Glessner 7 th Gen
|            |            |            |            |            |            |              b. 18 Feb 1947, St Lucas Hospital, Faribault Minnesota

Sunday, January 20, 2019

Honoring Ina Maka and Traditional Dances of Life in the Southwest

Left Taos the town after a warming breakfast on Bent Street, under heated pipes!  Red and Green Pepper salsa that some of the locals call Christmas -- Wow such the bearing the x Cross still lingers here in Pueblo Country after centuries of dealing with what some call the "settlers", the immigrants the Spanish first to this area....and the Pueblo Revolt of 1610 and later conflicts with the taking of human life.   Curious about which ways of being with our Creator and Creation really support all of life,  Mitakuye Oyasin

 Here is the Canyon of the Rio Grande just west of Toas, looking northeast.

 
Canyon of the Rio Grande in the north of NM looking south outside of Taos
 Jemez "hay-mez" Pueblo welcoming center, with the very red sandstone behind in Jemez Canyon where we stopped briefly after driving through the Jemez Mountains from Los Alamos etc.
Horno oven at the Jemez Center......

 Jemez Mountains and red rocks by Jemez canyon from I 40 looking north.
Laguna Pueblo from I 90 looking south

 Framed Zuni Image by Artist Hubert "Patrick" Sanchez we picked up in Zuni Pueblo Middle Village
Detail of Zuni Acrylic done by Patrick for yours truly