Friday, August 26, 2022

Temperature 81 Degrees, Abundant Sunshine

Travel Day, Yesterday

But First

Age of Steam Roundhouse

Yesterday we were due to move out and head south again. However, we were also supposed to take a tour of the

which thankfully was only 15 minutes away from our site. The tour was from 10 am to 12 noon so we figured we would be on the road by 1 pm.

The Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum is more than a museum. It is a living, breathing roundhouse where talented restoration specialists work to preserve the locomotives, railroad cars, tools and machinery of the glory days of railroading.

I’ll have another blog all about it in a day or two but now to our travels.

After our tour of the roundhouse as planned we were on the road by 1 pm. We only had a 3 hour drive so we weren’t too concerned. Except for getting out of here.

Scenic Hills is a great RV park, however, the trouble with it is its location. It is off the beaten track and getting to it requires miles of back roads. Back roads that are narrow, that have no shoulder, that in the way they wind here and there remind one of a snake slithering across the ground, but the worse part of them are the blind hills. Even in a car they are a handful to drive. In a 40 ft class A they are a nightmare.

We had been on the road for about 30 minutes and I was driving with clenched hands. I just couldn’t wait to get to the interstate. Then it happened. I came up and over a blind hill and there in the road, in my lane was a small puppy just standing there looking like he owned the road.

I stood on the brakes, I mean I really stood on them. We stopped just inches from him. He gave me a dirty look and then slowly made his way to the side of the road. But my oh my what a mess we had in the rig. Our ice maker went flying and ended up in the sink. The coffee pot which was on the counter and full of water also went flying. It ended up on the couch where it emptied its contents of water. We had a flood. The windows – which slide forward to open – all opened up. The dishes in the closet all shifted and were all up against the door. Ms. Barbara caught them when she opened it. There was more that we discovered only later when we set up at our new site.

Then I looked in the rear view mirror. The semi-truck that had been following us was just inches from the rear of our toad. How he managed to stop I don’t know but I was so grateful that he did. If he had not been able to stop, our toad would have been in the rear of the rig. We were both shaking. Thankfully, that was the only excitement we had and the rest of the trip was uneventful.

A few hours later we saw the entrance sign for our new home for the next two weeks. After checking in we made our way to our site.

I don’t what you would call this site. It is basically grass with a few rocks thrown in for good measure. It is unlevel but the jacks quickly corrected that issue. The utilities were easy to access so hookup was easy. Albert is on the picnic table and doing his thing. But to call this a resort is a real stretch. However, it is the only game in town so here we are. At least it is clean, seems well maintained and taken care of.

We have all kinds of sightseeing trips planned in this region so we’ll be busy. In addition our good friends Isaac and Shelia will be here next week for a few days so we’ll have some catching up to do. All in all we’ll not be bored that’s for sure.

That then is where we are at on The Road of Retirement. We are, as we’ve said in the past and will continue to say, two of the most blessed people on the face of the earth. Yesterday, we definitely had an angel on our shoulder.

Thanks again for spending some time with us.  It’s always great to be able to share our story with family and friends. Comments? Feel free to share them with me. And always remember, cherish every moment of every day that God gives you and live those moments to the fullest. 

Our continuing mission remains the same: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before.

Wednesday, August 24, 2022

Giant Cuckoo Clock

Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Temperature 73 Degrees, Sunshine with periods of Rain

Amish and Mennonite Heritage Center

It’s sort of amusing to think that we really came here for just one attraction and we haven’t even been to it yet. Point of fact, we are due to visit it on Thursday morning the very day we are due to leave here. Now how did I mess that up? Ah well, I guess we’re going to get a late start on Thursday.

In the meantime we’ve found a lot of different attractions and museums to visit. This being one of them.

Once again we discovered this attraction almost by accident. We happened to go by it the other day coming back from somewhere and we both said Hey that looks interesting. Well, today we paid it a visit and what we discovered there was unquestionably amazing.

As you enter the parking lot your eye is naturally drawn to this mural on the face of the main building. The scene depicts 18th century immigrants arriving in the New World. It shows them arriving with all their worldly goods ready to start life anew in a new world.

This is the center piece of this museum. Housed in Mural Hall it is called the Behalt Cyclorama. Behalt means to keep or remember. It is a 265 ft long and 10 ft high mural in the round. It illustrates and helps all who view it to remember the heritage of the Amish and Mennonite people from their Anabaptist beginnings in Zurich, Switzerland in 1525 to the present day. It’s vivid colors and sweeping lines are breathtaking and staggering. Certain colors dominate certain historical periods: reds for times of persecution, blues and greens for times of greater peace and prosperity. Among many it has earned the nickname of The Sistine Chapel of the Amish and Mennonites.

About that word Anabaptist. It doesn’t mean against baptism but rather means to be baptized again. Those who belonged to this movement believed that their infant baptism was meaningless. They believed in adult baptism or literally a second baptism. For them the church was a community of Christians voluntarily committed to imitating Christ and to supporting one another. Baptism – the sign of church membership and commitment – was only for those old enough to choose the path of discipleship. Moreover, they believed that the state should have no part in directing the life and activities of the church. From the Anabaptist movement would come those we know today as Amish and Mennonite.

However, church and state leaders at the time believed that such thinking was too radical and if allowed to continue would challenge the unity of the church and state. Hence, the movement could not be allowed to grow and thrive. Thus, members of the new movement faced fierce opposition from both state, and Catholic and Protestant authorities. Many were imprisoned and tortured, others were beheaded or burned at the stake. But the movement as we know survived, not only survived but thrived and continued to grow. Even as it does today.

Let’s take a look at some highlights of the Behalt Cyclorama.

It begins and ends with the figure of the risen Christ. Christ alone is the foundation of the Amish and Mennonite faith. He is the one that they faithfully serve in this life as his disciples.

Martin Luther was a German monk and professor of theology. He sparked the Protestant Reformation in 1517 when he nailed his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg.

The first recorded Anabaptist adult baptism. George Blaurock asked to be baptized on his confession of faith. He in turn baptized others who were present.

Thousands of followers of the Anabaptist faith were persecuted, imprisoned, tortured and burnt at the stake for their faith. Many of them at the time of their death would testify to their faith. This is a portrait of the death of Michael Sattler dying for his faith. To prevent him from testifying when he was burnt at the stake, they first cut his tongue out. Eight days after his death his wife was put to death by drowning.

As I viewed this and other such like paintings I was forced to ask myself Would I be willing to die for my faith? I would like to think that the answer is yes but I hope that I never have to make that decision.

Leaning on the staff is a portrait of Jacob Amman. He is the recognized founding father of the Amish movement.

The gentleman pictured above leaning on the staff with the paint brushes in his pocket is a self portrait of Heinz Gaugel. He is the artist who painted the Behalt Cyclorama. He made a commitment to painting it after a friend said to him one day I wish there was some place all the tourists in this area could go to learn of our heritage and faith. He in turn replied Tomorrow I will begin working toward that goal.

OK. The above is just a brief snapshot of the Behalt Cyclorama. The guided tour lasts a full 30 minutes and our guide was excellent. If you are ever in this area let me encourage you to take the time to take the tour. It’s a wonderful way to learn about the people in whose midst you find yourself when in this region.

After our time in Mural Hall we moved into the small museum that is also a part of the Center.

There was a display showing the various forms of head coverings that the men and women wear. I was surprised by the variety on display. I wish I could tell you when and why each is worn but I forget to take a picture of the small plaque in the middle that listed each.

A painted blanket chest done in the traditional Pennsylvania Dutch Folk art style.

In terms of communication among the Amish.

Our guide called The Budget the Facebook of the Amish.

Less they forget their past.

In the late sixteenth century the Amish and Mennonite’s were becoming more socially secure and accepted among those around them. Fearful that they would forget Jesus’ teaching of simplicity and humility, and the need to sacrifice if necessary for their faith, a Dutch Mennonite minister believed that they needed to be reminded of their martyr pass.

He began collecting stories of Anabaptist martyrs and in 1660, he published these stories in a 1,478 page book entitled the Martyrs Mirror. It included an explanation of Anabaptist beliefs as well as numerous graphic stores of martyr tales. The second edition published in 1685 included some 104 graphic illustrations. Today this book is found in most Amish homes and reference to it is common in Amish circles.

Turning to worship on Sunday.

Did you catch that? 14 to 30 minutes to sing the four stanzas of Loblied, hymn number 131!

That concludes our time at the Heritage Center. It was well worth the visit and I would recommend a visit to anyone who happens to be in this region.

Well, our time here is quickly coming to an end. We have one more museum to visit and we’ll do that Thursday morning prior to our departure. We could leave on Friday but we both much prefer moving out on our scheduled day. Our visit to this region has been enlightening and informative. Not to mention relaxing and peaceful. The perfect blend.

Thanks again for spending some time with us.  It’s always great to be able to share our story with family and friends. Comments? Feel free to share them with me. And always remember, cherish every moment of every day that God gives you and live those moments to the fullest. 

Our continuing mission remains the same: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before.

Sunday, August 21, 2022

Temperature 72 Degrees, Overcast with Rain

Historic Roscoe Village

Well last night proved to be most interesting. First, it started to rain. OK, it wasn’t too bad. Then the thunder and lightening started, and Proton was in my lap immediately. Within minutes, however, the situation got ugly. The tornado sirens around the park began wailing and our phones went off with tornado alerts. Where in the world could we go? Unfortunately, nowhere. So we sat tight and listened carefully for the sound of a train which would mean the tornado was coming through. Thankfully, it never came. It went about 6 miles to the east of us. We dodged a bullet.

That was last night. Earlier in the day we did some more sightseeing. While looking for places of interest in this region an online search came up with

The little bit we learned online about Roscoe Village intrigued us so we decided a visit was in order. Our first stop, as is always our practice, was to the Visitor Center. There we learned about the town itself. The port town that was Roscoe was established in 1816 but it remained a small and unimportant Ohio town for years because of its location far from any other major city.

We learned that all that changed in 1820 with the building of the Ohio and Erie Canal. The Ohio and Erie Canal was built during the 1820’s and 1830’s. The canal traveled through the Cuyahoga Valley connecting Akron, Ohio with Lake Erie. It also had connections to other canal’s in Pennsylvania.

The canal brought unheard of prosperity to cities along its route. For a fact, cities boomed wherever the canal went. During its first ten years property values all along the canal increased, sometimes as much as 300% from pre canal days. The town of Roscoe was no different. Almost overnight it became a bustling port on the canal. In time it became the fourth largest wheat port on the 350 mile canal system that stretched from the Great Lakes to the Hudson River.

The town of Roscoe thrived into the 1860’s. But with the coming of the railroad in that year the town began a slow decline. With the epic flood of 1913 the town was literally swept away.

Today, thanks to the generosity and hard work of many the town has become a living museum so that people can step back in time and see what a thriving canal town was once like.

Let’s go see what it is in the Visitor’s Center.

When entering you immediately notice this beautiful mural. It is entitled Canal Days and depicts the town of Roscoe when it was bustling with activity.

Immediately in front of the mural is a diorama of a typical canal lock. Then, as now water enters and leaves the locks the same way – using the force of gravity.

The next several diorama’s were of the actual digging of the canal and the construction of a typical lock.

Stop and think about it – no modern tools here. No trucks, no bulldozers, no steam shovels – it was all done by hand.

Really, 30 cents a day? Six days a week, sunup to sundown? Then, too, we discovered that on average about 6 men per mile would die usually from canal fever or what we know today as malaria. It was a tough way to make a living.

Regarding the locks on the canals.

A diorama of lock building.

Here, you can clearly see the large sandstone blocks that made up the walls of the lock; and, the wood planks that were installed on the floor of the canal.

Look closely at the lock gate door, note the little window in the bottom of each door? This is what was opened and closed in order to let water either enter or exit thereby adjusting the level of the water in the lock.

Time now to take a living history tour of the recreated canal town of Roscoe. Today, the town is a mix of restored homes and shops depicting life during the canal era, and modern day shops selling all kinds of goods.

A snapshot now of the restored structures that are a part of the living history tour.

This is the oldest house in Roscoe. This was the home of Daniel Boyd the village weaver. He made the cloth that families would then take and sew together to make pants, dresses, etc. A total of ten lived in this one story house – the parents and 8 children. The parents slept in the bed, the infant in the bed next to them and the remainder slept on the floor.

The school house. Nothing fancy just what was necessary to impart a quality education.

This is the way that they were taught to write. Compare that to what our children are taught today. Sometimes I believe we are going the wrong way.

A typical reading lesson.

Clean chimneys? If a woman marries she is fired? A raise of 25 cents per week after five years? You really had to want to be a teacher I would think.

The doctor’s house. What was interesting about this house was that there was no kitchen. Not that you could see. We discovered that it was located in the basement along with the pantry. Dr. Johnson the owner of this house lost his wife shortly after the birth of their third child. He went on to raise his three children on his own while also building a successful medical practice in the town of Roscoe.

The doctor’s office was adjacent to his house. Dr. Johnson practiced medicine in Roscoe for 50 years. It is said that he never refused to see a patient no made whether they could or couldn’t pay.

What was nice is that each stop on the living history tour had a life size touch screen inside. Once activated it would give you about a two to three minute presentation about the structure that you were in, its owners, and what it meant to the town of Roscoe.

We had one more stop, one more must activity that we wanted to do.

We wanted to step back in time and take a ride on an authentic canal boat.

We were ready to ride a horse drawn canal boat on a section of the Ohio and Erie Canal.

Our captain was interesting and informative. For instance he told us the person who drove the horses along the tow path was called a hoagie. Furthermore, the typical hoagie was a homeless child of about six to eith years of age. They would walk with the horses for 10 to 15 hours per day, then they would bed down with the horses on the tow path and wait for a boat going the other way and they would go again.

He also shared with us what would happen when a north and south bound boat met. Since the tow path was only on one side of the canal, then what? First of all the north bound boat always had the right of way. So, how did they pass? The south bound boat would drop its tow rope which would sink to bottom of the canal – it was only 4 feet deep – the north bound boat would glide over it, then the rope was retrieved and the south bound boat continued on its way.

Two horse power – literally – by the name of Tim and Diesel. It was such a pleasant and relaxing trip. You could close your eyes and imagine what it must have been like when there were dozens of boats moving in each direction. A simpler time for sure.

So, that is how we spent our early Saturday afternoon. It was a delightful time out and about. Once again we learned so much and were able to just spend time together. There is nothing better than that.

Thanks again for spending some time with us.  It’s always great to be able to share our story with family and friends. Comments? Feel free to share them with me. And always remember, cherish every moment of every day that God gives you and live those moments to the fullest. 

Our continuing mission remains the same: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before.