Merry Christmas All

A Merry Christmas from my family's archives. Below is a family Christmas card actually more ancient than I.


This next one was given to my mother from my father in the 1930s.


Peggy has made many handmade ornaments over the years, like this one hanging on her parents' tree in 2004.



Peggy and I once visited the Church of St. Nicholas! And, yes, it is that St. Nicholas. The 4th-century Bishop Nicholas of Myra, Turkey, who was generous, loved children and probably gave toys to tots. Early legend has him riding a white horse and throwing coins through open windows to impoverished families. He eventually became the Dutch "Sinter Klaas" and after they settled in New Amsterdam (now New York), that was corrupted to "Santa Claus."

There are many such churches. This one is in Padua (Padova), Italy.

Peggy and I are lovers of felines. Many cats have taken part in our Christmas festivities over the years:





And to all, a good night.

Remembering a Beloved Family Member

This is Peggy's cousin Melba's hubby, Dick Callender, fishing in the Rogue River at Farewell Bend, in Oregon in 2000. He left us for heaven in 2012, so this is Melba's fourth Christmas season without him. Dick and Melba have been part of our family Christmas celebrations for many years, and we are happy to have Melba with us once again in Missouri. Dick has left an unfilled place in our hearts, but that will change when we gather once again in heaven.

My Wife and My Dad Fishing the Pit

This recently scanned slide is one of my all-time favorite shots. Peggy and my dad casting lines in Pit River near Big Bend in 1979.

The most popular Christmas carol of all time

The words to "Silent Night" have evolved over the nearly two centuries of its existence. Early English translations from Joseph Mohr's original German read this way:

Holy night! Peaceful night!
Through the darkness beams a light
Yonder, where they sweet vigils keep
O’er the babe, who, in silent sleep,
Rests in heavenly peace.

Still, our first verse is pretty close to this. And it's been translated into more than 200 other languages. It is said that it reigns as the most popular Christmas carol of all time.

Today Is the 74th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor Memorial at Springfield National Cemetery. 

The inscription reads:

In Memory of Members of the U.S. Military Forces who gave their lives during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and other military installations on Dec. 7, 1941, a date that will live in infamy.

"Remember Pearl Harbor" 

"Keep America Alert"

Dedicated By Missouri Ozark Chapt. 6 

Pearl Harbor Survivors Association

Aug. 8, 1992 

Civil War "Drummer Boy" Orion Perseus Howe, Medal of Honor Recipient

12/29/1848-1/27/1930
He is buried in the Springfield [MO] National Cemetery.

Photo: Public Domain

CPL CO C
55 ILL INF

Received the Congressional Medal of Honor for service in the Civil War. A musician in Company C, 55th Illinois Infantry, he was cited for bravery at Vicksburg, Mississippi, May 19,1863.

The regimental historian for the 55th Illinois is quoted in the 1932 book Sherman: Fighting Prophet by Lloyd Lewis:

“We could see him nearly all the way…he ran through what seemed a hailstorm of canister and musket-balls, each throwing up its little puff of dust when it struck the dry hillside. Suddenly he dropped and hearts sank, but he had only tripped. Often he stumbled, sometimes he fell prostrate, but was quickly up again and he finally disappeared from us, limping over the summit and the 55th saw him no more for several months.”

His medal citation: "A drummer boy, 14 years of age, and severely wounded and exposed to heavy fire from the enemy, he persistently remained upon the field of battle until he had reported to Gen. W. T. Sherman the necessity of supplying cartridges for the use of troops under command of Colonel Malmborg."

Howe was awarded the medal on April 23, 1896, when he was 47.

Sources:
Find A Grave Memorial# 19578
Child Soldiers in the Civil War by Rebecca Beatrice Brooks on the Civil War Saga blog, accessed 11/16/15.

See more photos of the historic Springfield National Cemetery (which is in our hometown) here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/hornkl/albums/72157640147228915

Mary Dyer Statue Inscription, Boston

Mary Dyer Quaker Witness for Religious Freedom Hanged on Boston Common 1660 "My life not availeth me in comparison to the liberty of the truth."

Author and Dyer expert Christy K. Robinson has demonstrated that these words are likely not those of Mary Dyer (my ancestor). They do not match the words of the extant letter in Mary's hand. Robinson believes that Edward Burrough, a Quaker minister who wrote a pamphlet to King Charles II, wrote the words and appended Mary's name. The Boston magistrates had written a pamphlet defending the execution of Dyer in June 1660 and Burrough refuted them and used "Mary's words" as part of his ammunition. It worked and King Charles ordered Governor John Endecott to cease any further executions. From henceforth all capital cases would have to be referred to England for trial.

Additionally, Robinson points out that Mary would not have been executed on Boston Common but outside the city gate. (Executions did not begin on the Common until the 1800s.)

For author Robinson's article on this, see "A mystery cloaked in the obvious" at marybarrettdyer.blogspot.com/2014/02/a-mystery-cloaked-in.... Also see her fine non-fiction work, The Dyers of London, Boston, & Newport (2013), as well as her two fact-based novels.

Civil War Soldier Reinterred at Springfield National Cemetery

A Civil War soldier who was killed at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek, August 10, 1861, was buried at Springfield National Cemetery on October 17, 2015. This was four years after his remains were discovered at nearby Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield. The burial was considered a reinterment, because he had apparently been given a battle site burial. A committal service was held the same day of the burial, with full military honors, Civil War reenactors, and remarks by dignitaries. It was 2011, when a visitor to the National Battlefield park saw a bone protruding from an embankment, then found other bones and artifacts as he dug around the bone. Removal of artifacts and especially human remains from such a site is illegal. Ten days after taking the artifacts, the individual returned them to the National Park Service. The man could have been given a prison sentence of up to two years and fined up to $20,000. Instead he was allowed to pay $5,351 restitution and do several hours of community service. [Sources: "Civil War soldier’s remains finally laid to rest" by Jon Swedien, Springfield News-Leader, October 18, 2015, accessed Dec. 1, 2015. patriotguard.org, accessed Dec. 1, 2015.] Ken Horn photos, Dec. 1, 2015