Historic Bethel German Colony

 John found out about the little town of  Bethel, Mo. in an old AAA guidebook. The town is on the National Register of Historic Places and has kept some of its buildings from the mid 1800s.  As our daughter and family were going to be out of town over the Memorial holiday weekend, we were looking for a couple of day trips to take over that time. The town of Bethel is located 48 miles northwest of Hannibal, on the banks of the North River. In 1855 the town had 650 residents, and now in 2023 it has a population of 132. When we arrived we were hungry and were fortunate to find that the one restaurant in town was open and still serving lunch. That was the Fest Hall restaurant- after the Colony disbanded the building became a pharmacy and dry goods store. After lunch we inquired of local people in the restaurant whether any tours were given that day of the town. We were directed to another building across the street, which was the town's historical museum. We met a lady inside that place who said she was the head of the town's historical society. She informed us that the museum had some of the town's historic artifacts, but the back wall of the building had fallen and not much was available to be seen currently. There are only a couple of times during the year when tours are given and then some of the historic homes are open. We were on our own to tour the town, and, armed with several pamphlets she gave us, we  headed out on foot.

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Keil Home

Bethel Colony was formed by charismatic Wilhelm Keil in Phillipsburg,Pennsylvania in 1844. His followers were drawn from the German Methodist Church. They were joined by other converts to Keil's doctrine of Christian communal living, all of whom then sold their property (gave that money to Keil) and undertook the difficult journey to northern Missouri. Former members of the Harmony Society, who had joined them, were accustomed to communal living and among them were skilled craftsmen who were largely responsible for the rapid development of this community. As we noticed in touring the town, each block had about 1 house on each corner and, in the middle, once was located a barn.In that building large animals and equipment were kept- shared by the residents of each block. "Viel Hande Machen Bald Ein Ende" was the motto of the colony. Translated that meant "many hands made quick work". This community differed from other communal society's of that era in the fact that other settlers were able to live in the colony who were not into sharing what they had, and had more of a capitalistic way of thinking. They owned some of the stores which sprung up in the town. The Keil house (also called Elim) is pictured above. It was built in 1848, and was 50 feet long, 35 feet wide and 42 feet high. There is the equivalent of 100 large trees in the woodwork of the structure. The first floor is divided by 4 rooms. The second floor is a single room, the ballroom. This was no austere puritanical group of people. My understanding was they did enjoy music and dancing. Through the years they kept a band.

Bethel Bandstand

Wilhelm Keil, Doctor Keil,later refered to as Dr.Keil, grew herbs on the third floor of his home. Currently his home is in the hands of private owners- as are several other of the older homes in town. There are still many homes in Bethel badly in need of repair. Funds are needed!

Vandiver Haus

The house pictured above is the oldest house in Bethel, and originally built as a fur trading post. More than 100 colonists stayed here during their first winter.

Bair House

Home of Rueben and Mary Bair,built in 1845. It contains many of the colony furniture. Behind this house is the colony bake oven, one of several ovens where the women set up a schedule to bake the community's bread. The oven, pictured below, has been reconstructed.

 

Colony School House

The school house was built in 1876, one year before the colony was disbanded. Last class taught here was in 1913. Over the years Bethel Colony became successful and thriving. But Dr.Keil was restless and in 1855 put together a wagon train of about 75 people and headed west to the Willamette Valley of Oregon. The community he started there ( named Aurora), as well as Bethel, were held to their purpose by Dr.Keil for 20 years- until his death in 1877. Eventually many more residents of Bethel settled in Aurora. In 1879 Bethel Colony dissolved after having broke its bonds with Aurora- its residents then numbered about 200.  Bethel was incorporated as a town in 1883. Fascinating town and history, but check first as to the times of their festivals in the spring and fall if you wish to visit!

 

 

Home of the People's President

Maybe I shouldn't leave you guessing about this title, or maybe you do know your United States history!  The people's president was Andrew Jackson. From 1819 until 1821 he and his wife Rachel built the Hermitage (meaning of that word is a retreat or refuge). We toured that building during our stay in Nashville. It is one of our nation's oldest and largest historic site museums. The museum includes, besides the manor home; slave cabins and other out buildings, as well as gardens and the Jackson family graveyard. Outside of the immediate area of the mansion is the Hermitage church. 

Hermitage

Andrew Jackson purchased the above property in 1804, but the family initially lived in a two story log cabin until 1821 when the main center part of the mansion pictured above was completed. Rachel Jackson was able to live in the Hermitage until 1828, when she died. That same year Andrew Jackson became president (he served as President from 1829 until 1837). He died at the Hermitage in 1845.

 

Second Story of the First Farm Home 

Andrew Jackson's life encompassed some very tumultuous times in our nation's history. At the age of 13 he was a messenger boy for the Americans during the Revolutionary War. He fought in the War of 1812 as well as the battle of New Orleans. His farm was located in what was then the territory of Tennessee, designated at that time as the "wild west".  Native Americans during that time fought back to keep what they thought was their land, and initially there were also border battles with the Spanish who had purchased the territory. Jackson was revered and reviled by many. He built  his plantation on the backs of slaves. He started producing 200 acres of cotton on his farms, and the more he was able to produce on his own, the more cash he was able to invest in land, slaves, and luxury furnishings for his home.
Speaking of the latter, the wallpaper of the front hall immediately caught our eyes as we began our tour of the Hermitage. Andrew Jackson and his wife bought it when they visited France. The wallpaper, which extends up the stairs and to the second floor, tells the story of the "Odyssey" (a Greek epic poem by Homer). All of the mansion was decorated in 19th century period furnishings and also had a few artifacts used by President Jackson. Quite the place to visit!

 

President Jackson deeded some of the land on the Hermitage as a graveyard for his family. Pictured above is his tomb. The biggest sorrow in his life was the fact that his first wife Rachel did not live in the White House with him. Some claim that she died of a broken heart. She had been married before she married Andrew, and the divorce to her first husband was shrouded with controversy. Divorce was unusual in the late 1700s, as well as the required paperwork. Rumor had it that she was not divorced when she married Andrew, which she and Andrew contested to no avail. Politicians made the most of that scandal, and she realized that the nasty gossip would never stop once she became the First Lady of the land. From what I have read ( "The President's Lady" by Irving Stone) she probably died of a heart attack. Another interesting fact here was that their only son Andrew was adopted; he was a boy from a set of twins fathered by her brother. As she had not been able to produce, her brother and his wife were most generous sharing one of their own with her. I will conclude this posting with a picture from the Hermitage garden, which had some  springtime plants starting to bloom.

 

Trumpet Honeysuckle and Virginia Bluebells

Cheekwood Estate and Gardens

John and I had a goal of seeing a botanical garden while in Nashville, thinking that we just may see some spring flowers and blooming trees. A little bit of research led us to Cheekwood mansion and gardens. Cheekwood has 55 acres of cultivated gardens as well as a 1.5-mile woodland trail.

 

You may notice a ribbon tied around the tree in the picture above. Many of the trees in the gardens of Cheekwood had that same black and red ribbon. It was in memory of the people killed in the Nashville school shooting which had happened a week or so ago.

 

We did not spend as much time touring the gardens as we thought we would- it was an overcast cool day and springtime flowering was just beginning. Instead, we took a tour of the 30,000 square feet mansion pictured above. That is a 1930s home, formerly the home of Mabel Wood Cheek and Leslie Cheek. He was a wholesale grocer who also invested in Cheek Neal Coffee Company, the producers of Maxwell House Coffee. Today it is one of the "most intact country place era estates in America", according to the written information provided to us.  The building of it was inspired by baronial British manor houses, and, as most of the wealthy did back in that time, furnished with itemspurchased by the Cheeks on their trips to Europe.

Pictured above is a marble fireplace, and above it is an antique clock purchased from the Grosvenor House in London.

 In the picture above you are looking at the "transverse hallway". Notice the tapestry on the wall  of the previous room, and also the large beautiful wooden door. That picture may give you an idea of the grandeur of the mansion. Maybe one more picture is needed here, that of the dining room.

Over time the Cheek family amassed and displayed a large collection of paintings, furniture, textiles, silver, and books. Their collection focuses on works of art from the 1870s through WW11. There was a lot to see in this house and we spent most of our day just touring it..We did walk around some of the grounds outside, where we saw the outdoor sculptures of Cheekwood. This is one place I would love to visit again, preferably at summer time!

 

Highlights of Our Time in Nashville

 The weather was overcast and cool during our stay in Nashville, however we only had a few days there so we just had to make the best of it and keep moving on. In my last posting I mentioned some old mansions and gardens which we toured, but I will save them for the next two postings and here give a quick snapshot of different notable places within the environs of  Nashville which we briefly explored.

Nashville is the capital city of Tennessee. In our past travels we usually made it a point to check out the capital building of the different states. It was a mistake trying to tour this one. The capital building is located on one of the highest hills in Nashville. No parking is available near the capital, it is only for the legislators when the house and senate is in session. So we climbed the steps pictured above. The building was erected in 1859. We had missed the last tour of the day, but I happened to listen in on the last few minutes of that tour and learned that in 1866 a particularly bitter fight in the legislature happened over the ratification of the 14th Amendment,which granted citizenship to African Americans. A shot was fired from the stairs above the first flight of stairs which put a chip in the handrail. The Amendment was opposed by many in general assembly. The chip was an interesting feature of the building, as well as some wall murals and ceiling frescoes. Protests happened at this capital a day after we were there, which were in regard to the firing of two African American legislators who had objected to the availability of guns in Tennessee.

Nashville is located on the Cumberland River, pictured above. River cruises are available, however the boats were not running while we were there. Also pictured above is Nissan Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans as well the Tennessee State University Tigers. We heard the TSU Band play at the Ole Opry Show which we attended while in Nashville; that was a bit of departure from the the usual music which we heard that evening! But it is a good sounding marching band.

Home of the Grand Ole Opry

About a 10 minute walk from the building above is the Gaylord Opryland Resort. No, we did not stay there while in  Nashville, but did visit it just to look at some of its sights.

When John mentioned a riverboat cruise, this is what I thought he was talking about- but there is a waterway within the resort. The hotel is very large with 9 restaurants and bars. If you want a destination Opryland wedding this would be the place- it has 6 ballrooms.  It is a beautiful place with many available rooms, a bit more expensive than the hotel we chose for our visit to Nashville.

 

 

 

 

A Trip to Nashville

 John and I had a week free with no doctor's appointments or babysitting requires ( our daughter's family was in Florida).  We had to go somewhere, preferably south to see springtime in all of its glory. In St.Louis the redbud trees were starting to pop out, but that was all. We just had to see more than that, as well as some green- maybe trees with leaves. Winter can be so grey and we were so done with that! Nashville is not much further south than St.Louis, but we soon discovered that it had a bit more to offer in the way of springtime at this time of the year. Unfortunately, our first day in Nashville was overcast and a bit cool to our taste. But that was still okay as we were out and about, doing something different than our usual routine back home!  The weather did get better before we returned home!

In 1897 Nashville held a Centennial Exposition to celebrate Tennessee's first 100 years of statehood. At the close of the six month Exposition all of the buildings were dismantled except the Parthenon. Back in the time it was designed as a Fine Arts Building. In the 1920s its pediments were crumbling and the plaster decaying. The building was not made of any permanent materials. The city authorized the reconstruction of the building with permanent materials. It was to be a complete replica of the original Athenian temple,inside and out. What had been the basement of the old building became gallery space to exhibit fine art. The Nashville Parthenon reopened in 1931, and the city gained the nickname "Athens of the South".  It is a good distinction as there is no where else in the world a replica of the Parthenon. The title Athena Parthenon translates into "Temple of the Maiden".  In Greek mythology Athena, born from the head of her Father Zeus, inherited her Dad's power and wisdom. She is considered a goddess of wisdom and useful arts, as well as a protector of cities. In 438BCE Athena was the protector and patron of Athens Greece.

When we first entered the Nashville Parthenon we were on the lower level where there were exhibits detailing the history of the building, and also the Cowan Gallery of American Art. On the next level, in the East and West Galleries, we saw Athena. The modern copy of her was sculpted between 1982 and 1990 by Nashville artist Alan LeQuire. It is made of gypsum cement, reinforced with fiber glass on a steel frame and gilded with 8 pounds of gold. She stands 41'10" tall. The statue of Nike, goddess of victory, is in her right hand. She stands at 6'4" and has in her hand a laurel wreath with which she is preparing to crown Athena.  Nike is pictured below. Hard to believe that she is over 6' high!

One last picture here is that of the shield of Athena.

It is fifteen feet in diameter and is also awesome to see up close! On the exterior is a depiction of the battle between the Greeks and the Amazons. In the center of the shield is the grotesque head of Medusa, slain by Perseus with assistance from Athena. Perseus was so thankful for her help that he gave her the head to put on her shield as an additional defense weapon. Greek mythology is fascinating, I remember learning a little of the stories in my high school Latin classes.  We had a couple more interesting days in Nashville touring the Hermitage as well as the Cheekwood mansion and  gardens. More on them next!

 

Orchid Show at St.Louis Botanical Garden

 

We attended the orchid exhibit one day before the show would end for this year. The crowds were heavy and we needed to wait in line for about thirty minutes- but it was worth it! I snapped photos of so many of those blooming beauties!. About 70% of them are tropical epiphytes growing on other plants in tropical rain forests. Species pictured below is called Meadow Gold. The gardens provided informative signs with the orchids displayed.

 

I also learned, from the information provided, that orchids can be found in different shapes and colors, also fragrances. Individual species attract their favorite pollinators with varying particular features. The orchid pictured above had an awesome peach smell. Pictured below is another different type of orchid.

After walking through the orchid exhibit (which was located in the new visitor's center, by the way),  we walked over to the Linnean House. This building, a favorite of mine during the winter months, houses such warm season plants as begonias, citrus, and camellias. There was one blooming orange tree when we entered the building, and its blossoms gave off a wonderful smell which permeated the whole room of plants! According to the garden information provided in this area, "South and east Asia is home to an immense floral diversity due to a subtropical climate, many mountain ranges, and     numerous archipelagos". Unfortunately, rapid population growth and habitat loss in this region is endangering many plants and their ecosystems. There is a big need for conservation efforts.

There were not many blooming Camellias in the Linnean House- they are suppose to bloom from late December to early April. I also learned that there is only one species of Camellia that gives off a wonderful fragrance. The one pictured about was hanging over a sign providing information about tea. Tea, of the Theaceae family, belongs to the genus Camellia. Most of that species can be found in China. One-third of the 250 species in the tea family are being threatened for the same reasons I mentioned above, in regards to all tropical plants.

I am concluding this blog with an ugly plant which we noticed in the Linnean House. Leave it to John to find it! It is a welwitschia plant, which grows only two leathery appearing leaves shaped like straps in its entire lifetime of about 1,500 years. The leaves curl up at its base as it grows, and the plant never sheds its original leaves. So come on out to the Botanical Gardens in St.Louis- you never know what you may see or discover!

New Orleans, Louisiana

John and I were more than ready for some time away from St.Louis, having made no long distance trips during the summer. We started thinking that a train trip would be fun again, and there was a direct Amtrak route from Carbondale, Illinois to New Orleans. My sister Linda lives in NOLA, which was the main reason we picked that city. Only problem with that idea was that we would have to leave downtown St.Louis by bus (provided by Amtrak) at 11pm to get to Carbondale by 1AM to board the train. Not the best of circumstances, but we did it and survived. The train was full of passengers coming back, and spending the night hours sleeping upright in a coach seat is not conducive to sleep. And what a big disappointment to learn that Amtrak no longer has a dining car! Just on a few routes out west.

Our hotel was near the French Quarter of New Orleans. Once we had checked in and started walking to find our supper, I glanced up and noted the palm trees. It was like being in Florida again, and, unlike up north at this time of the year,, we could again don shorts, tees and sandals on our feet. After a wonderful seafood supper in the French Quarter, my sister Linda (who was so kind to meet us at the train station) guided us several blocks over from the restaurant to board the trolley to her church for our evening entertainment.  It was her recommendation that we not rent a car for the weekend we would be there, because in NOLA parking is bad. So we walked a great deal and/or boarded a trolley- not bad at all and safe despite the multitudes using the trolley with us. Friday evening we heard a wonderful jazz concert. Bethlehem church was using the concert to raise money for their affordable housing fund. They have already built one house for two families and plan to build three more. The church also provides food  for over 100 people several days a week- by now it may be more than that as other institutions are helping them with that. I have to give a big shout out of thanks to that church and wish them continued success in caring for the less fortunate. 

And on that note, pictured above is a sculpture we saw the next day at the Besthoff Sculpture Garden. Our niece Kat drove us to this garden, which is near the New Orleans Museum of Art. The title of this sculpture is "Together We Stand". The information sign by it says that George Rodrique was the artist- and there was a date of 2005. That was when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans very hard, breaking its levees and flood walls; some neighborhoods had water as high as 10feet deep.

At the time when we were in New Orleans we were a week away from Halloween, so the above spider sculpture caught my eye. Very appropriately placed under a live oak and hauntingly draped with Spanish moss! We saw many more sculptures in this garden, but I must move on to other points of interest which we saw in our short time in NOLA.

Pictured above is another live oak- but this one in particular is historical. It is called the Dueling Tree. Back in the day when feuds were settled by sword or pistol, this was the spot where the quarreling men chose to meet and fight each other. Needless to say, it is a very old oak tree.

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We found this interesting monument in Crescent Park, which is located along the Mississippi River. It was built in thanks to the Latin American workers who helped rebuild New Orleans after the 2005 hurricane.

And this is typical New Orleans- a Halloween parade in the French Quarter, complete with floats and many costumed people. Beads and candy were thrown, and a constant smell of weed in the air!

Kat was also kind to drive us over to the areas of the city which had the most Halloween decorations, and we did see a few mansions which were very creatively decorated! Music was heard and dancing skeletons were seen in the windows of one of the homes. We also checked out some of the costume shops and I will leave you with one more picture so typical of NOLA.

Missouri Botanical Garden

Several weeks ago John and I had the privilege of attending the grand opening of the Taylor Visitor Center of our St.Louis gardens.   It was a good transformation, way beyond what I imagined it would look like.  Even the outside of the building has a different appearance, as you can see in the picture abov

The high midsection of the building, which you may notice in the first picture above, is the glass atrium. That part of the center immediately caught my attention as I entered the center.  The soaring atrium was designed to let in "dappled natural light", causing one to feel like they were in clearing in the woods- according to the garden's brochure. It did not give me that feeling, but still is very pretty. Continuing with the theme of trees, the terrazzo floors were designed to look like a forest floor sprinkled with leaves from the many different kinds of trees in the garden.

One other new feature in the center, besides new changes in the cafeteria on the first floor, is the area above the information desk. The lighting was designed to appear like the "light and shape of fireflies".  

I was disappointed that, once we stepped outside, we were not greeted by beautiful landscaped gardens! No, on second thought, I realized that construction of the center began in 2019 and ended in this month of 2022. The final phase of renovation is not expected until spring of 2023, when the surrounding landscapes of  the newly constructed areas will be completed. Something else, which I should mention here, is that the gardens now have a 50,000 gallon collection system that will support 92% of irrigation for all of the greenhouses.

Pictured above is another view of the new center, in the background. Despite the disappointment of seeing flower beds with only dirt in them behind the building, there was still the beauty of the water lilies in the pond next to the Linnean House. You can see the corner of that brick building in the picture above. I believe that building use to offer a variety of azaleas, rhododendrons, and camellias. I loved to see them blooming during the winter months! But that will be changing, as the building will be returning to what the conservancy was originally designed for back in 1882- to be an orangery with displays of citrus and Mediterranean plants.

 We ventured further into the gardens and once again saw all of its floral beauty. As usual, we enjoyed our day there, but it was a hot one. I will end this posting with a picture of a familiar scene in the garden- a lily pond decorated with yellow and orange Chiluly glass balls and a variety of sculptures.. The climatron greenhouse can be seen in the background.

 

 

Missouri State Fair at Sedalia, Missouri

 No big road trips for John and I this past summer, although it would have been smart for us to have found some cool spot north of Missouri!  Well, we did a few weekend trips- just nothing to write about.  Our daughter and son-in-law enjoy those short trips with their camping trailer, and sometimes we tag along.  When they told us of their plans to attend the state fair, we decided to join them.  It had been at least a good ten years since we had been there. And, as we discovered, the Missouri Fair is as great as ever, with lots of different demonstrations; rodeos, bull riding, tractor/truck pulls, music shows- and that is to name but a few of the fair's attractions over the two weeks it was running.  I am a bit of a history buff so something that was a bit different from the usual fair trappings did capture my interest soon after we entered the fair grounds: the French Merci Train.

In 1947 the United states collected food and other items from all of its states and sent them to Italy and France to sustain their people after World War 11. France returned the kindness with a collection of box cars filled with gifts for every state in our union- the cars were called the "Merci Train".  The fair had on display the Missouri box car, pictured above.  The car was built in 1873 and was used during the wars to transport men and horses- to be exact, 8 horses and 40 men. Next to the box car is a "Gratitude Garden".

The fair had many shows which a whole family could enjoy, and one such show was enjoyed by all of us, including the grandchildren. It was a juggling act performed by a gentleman from London,England.

Our son-in-law Spencer, along with 8 other men, agreed to help the juggler toss knives in the air while balancing on a rope held tautly by the two teams of men. The performer was successful and fortunately no one got stabbed by a flying knife! After the show our group broke up, each of us having different interests in the various buildings of the fair. Our daughter saw in the Missouri Agriculture hall the similar sculptured butter cow which we had seen when we last visited the fair. Some of us had an interest in entering the chicken building where a rooster calling contest was to be held.

As we wended our way through that building we walked down rows of caged chickens. The one above caught my eye as she had received a first prize ribbon.  Quite an unusual chicken; the sign on her cage said that she was of the Sebright variety- a breed of chicken known for its ornamental feathers, tiny white eggs and provided very little meat. Why have a chicken like that?  Well, it is a friendly chicken, my guess is that she is a great pet! I got a bit bored with the rooster calling contest- an elderly gentleman walked between two rows of caged roosters a couple of times and rated their crowing. A rooster may crow magnificently one moment, then when the judge walked by the rooster became silent and received a low score.  One contestant's owner covered the cage of her rooster and uncovered him as the judge walked by- that one attempt did not get any cooperation from the rooster. Like I said, I got bored with that contest very soon!

I always enjoy looking at the 4-H club products created by children. My mother grew up on a farm and belonged to that club ( she often informed me that the 4- H stood for head, heart, hands and health). Mom won first prize in a Michigan State Fair for food which she successfully canned in glass jars. I was very impressed to see what the 4-H club members of Missouri had to show with their sewing and cooking skills!  Unfortunately we did not see much of the fair the day we were there. The temperature was 90 degrees and only climber higher while we were at the fair. Little amount of shade and few benches to sit on made it difficult for John and I to walk around the fair. We had to pass on watching the grandchildren doing the carnival rides. And the distance from one attraction to another seemed to get longer and longer!  The fair trolley cars were no help for us- every car was full! We decided that the best course of action was to find a cool spot to sit and wait until the rest of our group were finished with their day at the fair.