Chris Loehmer Kincaid's Blog, page 43

The Devil is in the Details, Dells post #8

     On Wednesday, I told you about my ascent to the top of the trail at Devil’s Lake State Park.

The views were truly breathtaking.

But I was now on a more traveled trail,

which meant signs of mankind.  

Devil’s Doorway.

What looks like a man’s face in the rock.

Balanced Rock and a man on the rock.

Devil’s Lake.

And the descent down to it.

The sign says to stay on the trail. Really?

Some people were more prepared and much more ambitious than me. 

But oh, so worth the trek. 
 

The Devil Made Me Do It, Dells post #7

     Monday, October, 18, once again held the promise of being a great day on my fall vacation. By 10:30, with the sun shining and a temperature of 53 degrees, I arrived at a quiet Devil’s Lake State Park.

I checked this map and thought I would follow Grottos Trail to CCC Trail along East Bluff Trail and back down Balanced Rock Trail. That’s only two miles, I could do that.

But when I got to Potholes Trail, I was intrigued. I also thought that maybe two miles was going to be a bit much. I knew the trails were going to be steep and rocky, and I wanted to enjoy the hike and take too many pictures.

So up that trail I went.

Though calling it a trail was not all that accurate. I know that thousands of people hike this area every year, but really? They call this a trail?

Oh, but it was beautiful.

And I’m tougher than I look. Okay, really, just bull-headed.  

But I was also alone and not as prepared as I could have been. 

All I had for sustenance was a packet of Fruit Snacks in my pocket.

This narrow passage between the rocks was almost my undoing.

But I finally made it to the potholes.

And the view? Nothing like it anywhere.

Come back Friday for more scenes like this as I hike back down the bluff.

Fourth Sunday in Lent, 2022

   We’ve had a definite setback in our spring-like weather. It’s been pretty cold around here the last week, with a fresh, thick layer of ice on top of the snow. And the wind yesterday had a bite to it. Of all the months, March is the most unreliable. It’s like a hormonal teen-age girl – things can go from good to horribly bad in a split second.

Luckily, God is always reliable, even though He has been known to send out some fire and brimstone. But no matter what, He always hears our prayers.

Matthew, chapter 6, verses 1 through 13, New King James Version

Do Good to Please God

“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.

The Model Prayer

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."

 

Oops, Just a Little More from Baraboo, Dells post #6

     On Wednesday, I thought I’d shown you everything I’d seen in the city of Baraboo last October. Well, going through my pictures, I realize I totally forgot about two little parks.

Attridge Park is a nine-acre park on the west side of the Baraboo River.

Towards the north end of the little park, the Milwaukee Ironworks Bridge, built in 1884, connects it to Lower Ochsner Park.

The other end of Ochsner Park hosts the Baraboo Zoo, but I didn’t head in that direction. Instead, I turned south and found the memorial of the SS Tuscania.

The SS Tuscania was a luxury liner named after Tuscania, Italy. In February 1918 the ship was torpedoed and sunk by the German U-boat UB-77 while transporting 2,000 American troops from New Jersey to Europe.

Part of a convoy of 14 various ships, it had been nearing the coast of Ireland, when the German torpedo ripped through its side. The British destroyers, Grasshopper, Mosquito, and Pigeon, raced to the rescue, taking on board over 1,500 people. Others from the Tuscania were rescued by smaller ships in the area and some managed to make it to shore in lifeboats. 230 men, however, perished that night, 201 of them American servicemen.  

Twenty-one of the survivors were from Baraboo.

Back across the Baraboo River is the current home of the Sauk County History Center. Built in 1917, the building has been operated by the Historical Society since 2007.  

The building was once offices for the Island Woolen Mill. Established in 1863, the Mill complex consisted of multiple connected buildings and was once considered the largest woolen mill west of Philadelphia.

The Mill closed in 1949 and sat empty for decades until a fire in 1969 destroyed most of the buildings

For more information:

On the SS Tuscania - https://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/communicate/press-media/wwi-centennial-news/3988-ss-tuscania-sinking-by-u-boat-in-1918-kills-200-americans.html

Another article on the ship - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Tuscania_(1914)

Monument of the tragedy on the Isle of Islay - https://www.islayinfo.com/american-monument.html

History of the Woolen Mill - https://saukcountyhistory.org/history-center

Baraboo, Dells post #5

   I apologize for not writing in the proper order about my trip last October to a condo in Wisconsin Dells. I just think some things are more important.

So, to retrace. Friday, October 15, Hubby and I drove down to a condo at Christmas Mountain Village just west of the Dells. You already heard about our escapades on Saturday.

Sunday morning, Hubby had to head home, so I had most of the day to myself. It was sunny and warm (warm for Autumn, anyway, around 65 degrees). My initial plan was to hike some trails at Devil’s Lake State Park, but as you can imagine, with the amazing weather and being a weekend, the park was packed.

I drove up to Baraboo and spent most of the afternoon wandering the streets of the town. It is a quaint little place. 

Riverwalk along the Baraboo River
One of the many barns at Circus World Museum, which was closed for the season. 
I'm not going to bore you with pictures of all the barns, because, yes, I took a picture of each one.
Does not look like a comfortable place for the seal lion to travel in. Plus, it's not a seal lion - it's either a seal or a sea lion. 
Evidence of the circus is everywhere in town. 
The Al Ringling Theatre. 
The Ringling Mansion. 
Adjacent to the Al Ringling Brewing Company. 

The Baraboo Civic Center
And several churches 
Coz you know how much I love church buildings 
Or any old building. 
The historic Sauk County Courthouse. 
The obligatory courthouse statue. Sorry that I didn't get the name on it. 

And the commemoratory cannon.  Glad someone could read what the sign under it said. 
For more information: 

Sauk County Courthouse - https://www.co.sauk.wi.us/artsandculture/sauk-county-courthouse

Baraboo history - https://www.cityofbaraboo.com/index.asp?SEC=EF52FADB-2CE6-437D-A3CE-DA9B9E6DB916

Baraboo Civic Center - https://www.cityofbaraboo.com/index.asp?SEC=92264A06-0E5E-4226-856C-C936393450F8

Circus World Museum - https://www.circusworldbaraboo.org/

Al Ringling Theatre - https://www.alringling.org/history-and-restoration

Al Ringling Museum - https://alringlingmansion.com/

Al Ringling Brewing Company - https://alringlingbrewing.com/ 

Third Sunday in Lent, 2022

(Moon set this past Thursday morning)

 Hard to believe it’s the third Sunday in Lent. Only three more weeks until Palm Sunday. The snow is melting here in the Northwoods and Spring seems to have arrived. Everyone’s been saying we’ve had a hard Winter, but I didn’t think it was too bad. Plus, if it doesn’t get dragged out until April, I’m okay with that.

But what does Jesus have to say to us today during his Sermon on the Mount? And what does it mean to us?

Matthew 5, verses 33 through 48, New Living Translation

Teaching about Vows

“You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.’ But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. Do not even say, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black. Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.

Teaching about Revenge

“You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.

Teaching about Love for Enemies

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

How are we all doing with loving our enemies this week? Even if it is an enemy who lives halfway around the world and you will never meet them, it’s still an enemy who affects our lives. Are any of us loving them? Only by the grace of God. 

BOW Wow (which is not about dogs), Wisconsin Dells, Post # 4

   On Wisconsin Hwy 12, seven and a half miles north of Prairie Du Sac or eight and a half miles south of Baraboo, is the Museum of Badger Army Ammunition.

In October of 1941, newspapers around the area announced that a Powder Plant would be built. Over 10,000 acres of prime farmland would be acquired by the Federal Government, land which included 74 farms, 3 schools, 3 churches, and 3 cemeteries. All those families were displaced.

The site was originally called the Badger Ordnance Works or B.O.W., but eventually became the Badger Army Ammunition Plant. When Pearl Harbor was attacked in December of that year, construction began in earnest on the largest propellent factory in the world.

It operated during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, after which, it remained in a state of readiness until 1998. Shortly after that, the long process of deconstructing the plant began.

It took only seven months to build the massive operation on 7,400 acres, consisting of 1,400 buildings. Yet it would take ten years for most of that to be cleaned up. 

The land has been divided into three sections. 3,385 acres is the Sauk Prairie State Recreation Area and is public land. 1,550 acres are owned by the Ho-Chunk Nation. And 2,220 acres is the USDA Dairy Forage Research Center land.

It was a fascinating drive through the many access roads, though it was a dreary, damp day. We were lucky that we had picked up a map at the museum.

Thoelke Cemetery. The foundation of Immanuel Evangelical Church is nearby, but we never found it that day.

Pioneer Cemetery contains graves of some of the early settlers to the area, but unfortunately is on land owned by the Ho-Chunk, so this was all the closer we could get.

I hope I can go back again someday to explore more deeply.
 For more information, click on any of these links. 

The basics - http://www.badgerordnancehistory.org/ 
When we were there, we met the man in the article. He was so knowledgeable and helpful, passionate about this site as well.  https://www.jsonline.com/story/life/green-sheet/2017/06/08/wisconsin-home-largest-munitions-plant-world-museum-reviving-its-story/374526001/
A long article, but worth the read if you want to do a deep dive, also pictures of the buildings are at the end.  https://www.jmc.army.mil/Docs/History/Badger%20Army%20Ammunition%20Plant%20-%20V3%20Internet.pdf
And what would we do without Wikipedia -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badger_Army_Ammunition_Plant

What Is Freedom?

     While I was in the Dells on vacation last October, one day we visited the grounds of the former Badger Ammunition Plant near Sauk City. I’m going to tell you all about the place another time; I thought it was fascinating. Not sure why, but I did. Thinking about it today, I’m reminded of the quote about history repeating itself.

Inside the Badger Army Ammunition Museum, I found the following poem, hanging on one of the walls. I tried searching for it on the internet, but came up empty. I hate reprinting articles without giving proper credit, but all I can say is that at the end was a blurb that it was used by permission of the Louisville Journal-Courier, as shown in the second picture. Hope that gets me out of plagiarism charges. In any case, I love this poem and am willing to risk arrest, because, well – that’s what freedom is. Don't take it for granted; we all need to keep fighting for our freedom.  

What is Freedom?

From the archivea of broken peace we are bringing out old words and dusting them off for use again, as shining lanterns to lead us through the darkness of another war.

Words like freedom, justice and truth – all of them hard to define, none of them used more frequently than freedom.

You cannot say what freedom is, perhaps, in a single sentence. It is not necessary to define it. It is enough to point to it.

Freedom is a man lifting a gate latch at dusk and sitting for a while on the porch, smoking his pipe, before he goes to bed.

It is the violence of an argument outside an election poll, it the righteous anger of the pulpits.

It is the warm laughter of a girl on a park bench.

It is the rush of a train over the continent and the unafraid faces of people looking out the windows.

It is all the howdys in the world, and all the hellos.

It is telling Roosevelt how to raise his children; it is Roosevelt letting them raise themselves.

It is Lindbergh’s appeasing voice raised above a thousand hisses.

It is asking for war; it is Gen. Hugh S. Johnson asking her to keep quiet.

It is you trying to remember the words to The Star-Spangled Banner.

It is the sea breaking on wide sands somewhere and the shoulders of a mountain supporting the sky.

It is the air you fill your lungs with and the dirt that is your garden.

It is a man cussing all cops.

It is the absence of apprehension at the sound of approaching footsteps outside your closed door.

It is your hot resentment of intrigue, the tilt of your chin and the tightening of your lips sometimes.

It is all the things you do and want to keep on doing.

It is all the things you feel and cannot help feeling.

Freedom – it is you.

 The website for the Ammunition Plant is: http://www.badgerordnancehistory.org/

 Here is background information on the names mentioned.

Westbrook Pegler was a columnist in the 1930s and 1940s, who opposed the New Deal and criticized the Supreme Court, the tax system, and labor unions. Pegler initially supported President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but soon became one of Roosevelt’s sharpest critics, feeling the president was abusing his power. The journalist also had a strong dislike for Eleanor Roosevelt. In general, everything I read about Westbrook Pegler made me consider him to be the writer’s version of a loud-mouthed jerk.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor had five sons and a daughter, although one son died in infancy. He was not very involved in raising his children, as he was so occupied with his work. He also believed that childrearing was a wife's task, but that was a common view in the early nineteen-hundreds. No matter what Pegler’s opinion was of the Roosevelt children, they turned out just fine.

Lindbergh refers to Charles Lindbergh, of course. Prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, he had been opposed to the United States getting involved in World War II. One of his journal entries at the time stated: "it seems improbable that we could win a war in Europe.” He also seemed to have a dislike, or maybe more a distrust, of President Roosevelt. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, however, and our declaration of war, he joined the fight in the Pacific.

Dorothy Thompson was an American journalist and radio broadcaster. She had been working as a journalist in Europe, when in the late 1920s, the New York Post appointed her head of its Berlin bureau in Germany. There she witnessed firsthand the rise of the Nazi party and in 1931, she interviewed Adolf Hitler, writing the book, “I Saw Hitler”. She wrote about the dangers of him winning power in Germany.The Nazis considered both the book and her articles offensive and, in August 1934, Thompson was kicked out of Germany.

General Hugh S. Johnson was a U.S. Army officer, businessman, speech writer, government official and newspaper columnist. He is best known as a member of the Brain Trust of Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1932–34, writing numerous speeches for FDR and helping plan the New Deal. FDR fired him, however in 1934, for having Fascist inclinations. As World War II began raging, Johnson endorsed isolationism—staying out of the conflict. In a story he had written previously in 1911, he had Japan invading and conquering California.

Second Sunday in Lent, 2022

 It is the second Sunday in Lent, so here is more of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. Be sure to read to the end, as it these words are quite fitting for these times.

Matthew 5, verses 13 through 26, New Century Version

You Are Like Salt and Light

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its salty taste, it cannot be made salty again. It is good for nothing, except to be thrown out and walked on.

 “You are the light that gives light to the world. A city that is built on a hill cannot be hidden. And people don’t hide a light under a bowl. They put it on a lampstand so the light shines for all the people in the house. In the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do and will praise your Father in heaven.

 The Importance of the Law

“Don’t think that I have come to destroy the law of Moses or the teaching of the prophets. I have not come to destroy them but to bring about what they said. I tell you the truth, nothing will disappear from the law until heaven and earth are gone. Not even the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will be lost until everything has happened. Whoever refuses to obey any command and teaches other people not to obey that command will be the least important in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys the commands and teaches other people to obey them will be great in the kingdom of heaven. I tell you that if you are no more obedient than the teachers of the law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus Teaches About Anger

“You have heard that it was said to our people long ago, ‘You must not murder anyone. Anyone who murders another will be judged.’ But I tell you, if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be judged. If you say bad things to a brother or sister, you will be judged by the council. And if you call someone a fool, you will be in danger of the fire of hell.

“So when you offer your gift to God at the altar, and you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there at the altar. Go and make peace with that person, and then come and offer your gift.

“If your enemy is taking you to court, become friends quickly, before you go to court. Otherwise, your enemy might turn you over to the judge, and the judge might give you to a guard to put you in jail. I tell you the truth, you will not leave there until you have paid everything you owe.”

I’m sure you are all already doing this, but remember to pray for the people of Ukraine as well as the many people of Russia who are only pawns to a dictator. 

A Ride on the River, Dells Post #2

     I never like doing the traditional touristy things. Too many people, usually too expensive, oftentimes not worth it, just a lot of hoopla. Yet, that Saturday afternoon in mid-October, when Hubby and I were in Wisconsin Dells, I decided that, yes, we should do a touristy thing.

 

I got us reservations for one of the Dells Boat Rides.

We saw all the sites one sees along the Wisconsin River north of town. 

It was unseasonably warm and the sun was shining, but I don’t know if I would have gone kayaking.

We did hear about the history of the Wisconsin River and this part of our state. Heard all the tall tales too.

Walked into Witches Gulch.

And back out again. 

Saw the most ostentatious attraction in the area. 

For a dog, that is not much of a jump. And watching her up there, she clearly loves jumping, as any young, healthy German Shepherd would. Okay, plus treats were involved. And a net underneath. 

It still was a beautiful boat ride. 

And not nearly as cold as this looks.
For more information, click on these links:         Wisconsin Dells Boat Rides - https://www.dellsboats.com/upper-dells-tours/
     History of the Dells - https://www.wisdells.com/media/facts/history.htm