Wheeling, West Virginia was our last stop before we reached our final destination of Celina, Ohio. I awoke about 3AM Saturday morning to see snow coming down fairly hard outside our motel window. In the morning a couple of inches was on the ground, and it was still coming down. I overheard an employee comment that her car took one nasty slide when she was on her way to work. It seemed questionable whether we would make our destination that day. We had plans that evening to go out to dinner with members of my family.
Fortunately the storm was moving eastward, however we still had flurries through out the day. Interstate highway 75 was clear and we arrived at our destination on time as planned. The storm had not affected the arrival of any of the family members. We had time to even do some visiting before supper at the motel.
Pictured above is the church of St.Paul Rockford, Ohio. My brother Bishop Marcus Lohrmann led the service there on Sunday morning- it was his final visit there as bishop. He is retiring this summer after serving 18 years as a bishop for the Northwestern Ohio Synod. Family members who live nearby in Ohio, as well as others of us who feel strong ties to St.Paul, thought it would be fun to come together that week-end and attend the service on Sunday. On March 27, 1976 John and I were married at this church. My Dad was pastor here for 5 years, and he as well as our mother and brother are buried in the St.Paul cemetery.
The church has not changed much, however the ceiling got my attention. In the past year the church decided to change the color from white to gold. The church was built in 1903 and nave had an embossed tin ceiling. Apparently painting it gold brought out the decorative motifs. It is quite beautiful!
The members of St. Paul were quite welcoming to our family group of 15. They had helped us with lodging needs and included us for the lunch which they served after the church service Sunday. I do believe that my Dad would be quite pleased that St.Paul has continued to be successful in its ministry in the ensuing years that have passed since the early 1970s. It certainly has been blessed to be a blessing to its members as well as the community of Rockford!
Pictured above is the path into Cumberland Falls State Resort Park. For the rest of our trip we saw the beautiful sights of spring in blooming trees and plants. Winter finally left us!
On Monday John and I stopped at Cumberland Falls in Kentucky, on our way to Atlanta Georgia to visit my sister Linda. We had taken a detour off our route to Atlanta to visit the museum of Colonel Sanders. There we found information regarding this park which is located outside of Corbin, Ky.
These falls are called the "Niagara of the South". It has a wide curtain of 125' and plunges 60' into a boulder strewn stream. It is famous for its moonbow, the only one in the Western Hemisphere. On a clear night under a full moon the mist from these falls create a moonbow. Next time it will occur will be April 19, in case you are ever down this way at that time. For some strange reason on this trip we saw four rather large waterfalls, which was great because during the spring months they are flowing heavily after the snow melts.
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