Christmas treats and traditions

This time of year the words “Christmas” and “tradition” seem to go hand in hand.

Tomte - a Swedish Christmas symbol

During the holiday season each group has their own beloved custom.

My husband’s family, for instance, is from Sweden. Their Christmas decor includes St. Lucia, Star Boys and Tomte.

I’ve never considered anything my family for Christmas did unique — until I’ve brought it up in conversation. The response I get when I mention my Christmas memories of enjoying a Clear Toy is usually a raised eyebrow. 

I’m Pennsylvania Dutch, but that doesn’t mean I ride to the office in a buggy. In a nutshell, the Pennsylvania Dutch (or Pennsylvania German) trace their ancestry back to the Palatinate of the Rhine. This group arrived in Pennsylvania before the American Revolution and is comprised of a variety of religions — including Anabaptists such as the Amish.

Enough talk of ancestry and history. Christmas is tomorrow and here’s a sample of what I and my fellow PA Dutch enjoy.

Bayberry candles

If there was one “tradition” my family did at Christmas, it was the lighting of the Bayberry candle. 
My dad would burn the candle every Christmas Eve to ward off evil spirits, as I was told. I believe this tradition was passed down from his grandmother. The candle is supposed to burn all night long. Other legends advise that the candle should be burned to the socket for good luck and wealth.

My mom usually sat the thing in a pot in the sink. I mean, who isn’t just a little nervous about a candle burning unattended all night? For that reason, as much as I love the scent of Bayberry, I don’t burn the candle. Instead I go the battery operated route on Christmas Eve.

Clear Toys

Another sign of the season was the appearance of a box of Clear Toys.

These are hard, sugary candies made in the shape of animals, Christmas symbols or toys. Usually they are colored red, green or yellow.

An assortment of Clear Toys

To satisfy my current Clear Toy craving I’d have to hop in the car and embark on a 12-hour drive. After living in La Porte County for nearly 25 years, I haven’t had too many opportunities to indulge in these treats.

Clear Toys can be found on the internet, but the price is a bit steep for me. Most online shops don’t guarantee that they will arrive in one piece.

Mince Pies

Mincemeat pies originated in Great Britain and, at some point, were adopted by the Pennsylvania Dutch. 

Made of mincemeat, raisins and a conglomeration of other stuff, this dessert is kept warm in the oven until Christmas dinner is over. Mincemeat can be made from real meat or bought in a jar.

Even though my father will describe a mince pie as “more-ish” — a Pennsylvania Dutch word meaning you want more of it — I really don’t have the same feeling for it. Maybe I just need to grow into it.

Dwight Schrute's version of the Belschnickle

The Belschnickle

The Belschnickle is just about the kind of Santa Claus I’d get. After being well versed in the likes of scrapple, red beat eggs and hog maw, I’m surprised that I had never heard of this guy until recently.

Certain areas of Pennsylvania Dutch Country still embrace him, but perhaps he doesn’t have the appeal that the more common St. Nick does. After all, he carries a pack of switches instead of a bag of gifts.

A grouchy bearded man, usually garbed in brown fur, the Belschnickle, is said to show up at your house prior to Christmas — and he knows who has been naughty. He either quizzes the children, and sometimes the adults, or asks that a song be sung. After that task is completed, he’ll toss candy on the floor.

Just don’t jump for the treats too soon or you’ll be on receiving end of his switch.

Whatever you celebrate this season, I wish you well. Live it up and enjoy the moments you have with your loved ones.

This column originally ran in the Dec. 24, 2013 edition of the La Porte County Herald-Argus

Of nostalgia and old homesteads

The following entry on my hometown of  New Oxford, Pa. appeared on my defunct "Kilroy Was Here" website. New Oxford is a Pennsylvania borough of about 1,600 people. 

Their school mascot is the Colonial and an early 20th century baseball player for the Brooklyn Superbas, Bull Durham (born Louis Rapheal Staub) was born there.

There is not much about the town on the web - which is why I'm re-posting this piece here. This time I promise I'll try not to editorialize about the trees in the center square -at least not too much.

What’s a New Oxford and why is somebody writing a soliloquy on it? New Oxford, Pa. was my hometown for the first eleven years of my life and quite frankly is the epitome of small-town America. Presently the town has several churches, is half of the Conawago Valley school system, and is one of south central Pennsylvania’s havens for the antique business.

One of New Oxford’s claims to fame is its circular park in the center square of the town. The town square sits in the middle of the intersection of the Lincolnway (Route 30) and Carlisle Street. In that respect there is no real intersection -just a lot of driving around in circles. The historic town of Gettysburg has a similar set up for its town square, but Gettysburg’s square is much more difficult to drive around. 

Interestingly enough, years ago it the idea of tearing out the square and making it an four way intersection was proposed. Now imagine all the cars and semis barreling through this tiny place if they were granted an intersection. Traffic is already enough of an issue, but at least there's a pretty obstacle to slow folks down. Tearing out the square didn't get too far. During the bicentennial, the square was divided up and sold to the residents. So, yes, that square is actually private property -with multiple owners.

Several year’s back, New Oxford’s square was much more attractive than Gettysburg’s treeless lot. The tree-lined square of New Oxford was home of the town’s annual antique market and a victim of Halloween decorating (according to local lore, the kids of the town would decorate the square with any piece of junk they could find).

Unfortunately a harsh storm in the early 1990s tore many of the trees out of the center square. Following that occurrence, it was later decided that the park should have a fountain in the center of it. Subsequently more, more, and more trees were removed from the square. 

History

According to local lore and history, the town of New Oxford acquired it’s moniker from an ox-head that adorned an inn located in one the area’s popular (although not populous) thoroughfares. "Oxford-Town" was laid out in 1792 by one Henry Kuhn and became a borough on Aug. 20, 1874. 

The word "New" was added to Oxford so that the town was not mistaken for another similarly named Pennsylvania town. The word ford, in New Oxford, refers to the fact that the Ox-headed inn was located by a creek ford. 

The New Oxford College and Medical Institute was founded in 1864 by Dr. M.G.D. Pfeiffer. The town was the bastion of medical learning until after the Civil War ended. 

Interestingly enough, New Oxford is positioned between two of south central Pennsylvania’s most famous Civil War battle locations: Gettysburg and Hanover. Presently New Oxford has tried to replicate that era by restoring many local 18th and 19th century homes as historical landmarks.

Scenes from the town

George Washington slept here! 

Yes, George Washington did sleep in the patriotically decorated building with the wraparound porch. 

I'm not sure, but I believe the place was some sort of tavern at that time. 

This shows how old of a town New Oxford is. 

Well that looks like fun, driving in circles. This picture attempts to illustrate the traffic navigating the square (or rather circle). Check out the semi heading down Lincolnway (U.S. 30) West. Those are only two-lane roads. 

As mentioned earlier, Gettysburg has a round-about as does Abbottstown, another town east of New Oxford along U.S. 30. I think these things drove my husband nuts on our vacation there.

At right is the Park Hotel. I believe the rooms above are rented. The bottom part is a bar. I don't really know too much about the place. 

Once when I was a kid I remember seeing bikers coming to the place in droves.


My father apparently frequented the place in his youth. He claims it had a dance floor.

Another shot of the Park Hotel at left. The shop at the bottom of the red brick building on the right was once upon a time known to kids far and wide as "George's." 

It's real name for quite a while was The New Oxford Variety. It was a five and dime that sold just about anything. 

There was nothing like a Saturday afternoon walk to Georges... The shop was the primary candy source for the youth in town.  Other critical items we bought were trendy pens and pencils and embroidery floss for making friendship bracelets.   

The stones of the church at left, St Paul's U.C.C., were laid by my grandfather, Solomon John Haverstick. Now, I'd continue with the cemetery story... but I might get in trouble for that ;-)

Postcards of New Oxford

Here are two views of Emory United Methodist Church. This church has a fine clock tower and makes a lovely bonging on the hour and half hour. It really is a lovely church. On the inside, two large staircases lead to the upstairs sanctuary. This is actually quite fun because when sitting in this particular sanctuary the structure is such that everyone leans to the side. 

 

Above and at left are some examples of New Oxford's brick sidewalks.

 These side walks are along Route 30 and my father has informed me that water used to squirt up from under the bricks when it rained. 

 I guess that would be more amusing than jumping in puddles. 

This postcard is of New Oxford's one and only train station. 

Formerly the Western Maryland Railroad Station, this station is now a railroad museum. 

The station opened in 1892 and its last running was on December 31, 1942.

A Hoosier soldier with Pennsylvania roots

This week marks the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg — anyone that’s seen my photo bombs and re-posts from the Gettysburg National Military Park’s Facebook page is probably aware of that and rolling their eyes right about now.

A little background on why I’ve been geeked about this:
I was born in Hanover, Pa., which marked the 150th anniversary of its own Civil War battle on June 30. We lived in a Civil War era house in New Oxford - a small town on U.S. 30 about six miles east of Gettysburg. The homes of my distant relatives, including Jacob Weikert and Hettie Weikert Shriver were used as hospitals.

Now on to the point of this post.
This story tells of Col. John Wheeler, a soldier from ‘da Region who fought at Gettysburg.

It reminded me of a story I wrote some 10 years ago about another Civil War soldier who once lived about 15 miles from Gettysburg and fought for a regiment out of Northwest Indiana.

Col. William Howard Blake

That story, published in The News-Dispatch on January 19, 2003, is as follows:

“Colonel commanded Bloody Ninth at Battle of Shiloh”
Civil War Col. William Howard Blake, known to his family as Howard, was born on Jan. 22, 1826, in Hampton, Pa., just northeast of Gettysburg. And while his roots are in Pennsylvania, his ties to Michigan City are strong, too.
Blake’s father and uncle were both involved in the mercantile and freight business in Hampton, and two years after Blake was born, the family sold their business and moved to Indianapolis.
Later, they moved to Frankfort and built the city’s first tavern., but the elder Blake’s principal business there was a ginseng factory.
Blake attended common school in Indianapolis and Frankfort and went on to take some college classes. While still in his teens, he taught school for two years in Clinton County, Ind.
At 18 he was appointed to West Point Military Academy through a recommendation from U.S. Rep. Henry S. Lane. The appointment stirred up some controversy since Lane was a member of the Whig party and Blake’s father was a Democrat.
Even though Blake excelled scholastically at West Point, he never graduated due to an undisclosed physical defect. He returned home briefly to brood over his misfortune and then moved to Mississippi and taught school near Vicksburg.
During his stay in Vicksburg, Blake caught “Gold Fever” and joined 100 other men on a trek to San Francisco. After spending seven years mining for gold, he made his way back to Indiana only to be arrested by one of Santa Anna’s men in Mexico and imprisoned as an alleged spy.
He spent 10 days in an 8-foot by 10-foot underground cell until he was moved to a more spacious cell for three weeks until he was released.
Blake returned to Frankfort where he studied law before moving north to Michigan City where he opened his own practice. His practice was advertised in the Dec. 15, 1860, Michigan City Enterprise. Law soon became bland for Blake and he ventured to the Dakota Territory where he opened a trading post among the Sioux.
He returned to Michigan City just in time for the city’s involvement in the Civil War. Under President Abraham Lincoln’s request for 75,000 volunteers, he organized a group of men that became Company B of Ninth Indiana Regiment, also known as the Bloody Ninth. Blake started his Army career as a captain on April 22, 1861, and rose in rank, becoming a colonel on Aug. 20, 1862.
Blake stepped into Civil War fame when he commanded the Bloody Ninth at the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee. During the battle he was distinguished for his acts of personal bravery.
Due to ill health, Blake reluctantly left active service on April 16, 1863. Lincoln then appointed him U.S. Consul at the port of Manzanilla in Colima, Mexico. After several years, he grew tired of the position and pursued farming and mining.
His last journey was to Guadalajara, Mexico where he accepted a position as professor of English Literature at the State University. He died Oct. 25, 1882, in Guadalajara after suffering a stroke.

That story was packaged with another story about two men who had taken an interest in Col. Blake. They were trying to verify where he was buried in order to have a historic marker placed there.


Two veterans join to uncover grave of local Civil War colonel
John H. Wendt of Michigan City and Alfred J. Herbst of Kingsford Heights have asked U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar to support their effort to put up a historic marker at the grave of a Michigan City Civil War soldier who is buried in Mexico.
Col. William Howard Blake organized and eventually gained full command of Michigan City’s Co. B of the Indiana Ninth Regiment. The Michigan City unit, which was based at Camp Anderson near Michigan Boulevard and Carroll Avenue, saw a significant amount of action at the battle of Shiloh in Tennessee, a major victory for the Union.
Wendt and Herbst said they feel Blake’s service to his country merits recognition. “I think the fellow did do a service to the country, and I think he deserves some sort of a monument,” Herbst said.
Wendt first became interested in the Civil War when he adopted it as a hobby and began collecting war memorabilia.
“More and more I became interested from a research standpoint,” he said. “I started to narrow down my field.” Since the topic was so broad, he decided to focus his interests on La Porte County’s involvement in the war.
As Wendt discovered more about Blake, Herbst joined in to help with the field research. Herbst made three trips to Guadalajara, Mexico, to locate Blake’s grave. “Once I got into it, I wanted to find out more,” Herbst said.
Herbst discovered through historical records, Blake’s grave was in a walled cemetery in Guadalajara. The records gave Herbst detailed directions to a large headstone, and while the name has been chipped off the headstone, three people - a guard, a caretaker and the cemetery’s manager - all confirmed that the headstone was Blake’s.
Area Civil War history, as Wendt found, is available at the Michigan City Public Library.
“There’s tons of material in our library,” Wendt said. “All you have to do is dig it out.”
Researching Blake, though, was not easy.
“It just doesn’t all jump out at once when you start going to the library,” Wendt said.
Obtaining information was a system of favor trading for Wendt. Fellow researchers would supply him information in exchange for whatever historical material he could give them.
“People are very generous in the help they extend,” Wendt said. “They’re willing to exchange information. I have met so many truly nice people in doing this research.”
Herbst said that in the process of his research in Mexico, he learned a number of trade secrets.
“You do have to bribe them to get the information you’re looking for,” he said.
Calling themselves “ex-step-brothers-in-laws twice removed,” the duo has much in common outside of Civil War research. Both are graduates of Purdue University as well as Army veterans. “You find that people who have served are more into this rather then people who have not served,” Wendt said.
Wendt joined with the Army while attending Purdue and becoming involved with ROTC. He served directly after Korea.
“I had to serve,” Wendt said. “I liked the Army. I would have stayed in had I not been married.”
Herbst’s opinion of being in the service differed slightly from Wendt’s.
“I didn’t care that much for it,” he admitted. “Now that I’m out, it’s OK.”


As a follow up, the marker was eventually installed on Veteran’s Day in 2006, after years of negotiating with Mexican officials. Apparently the delay had to do with the fact that was a national historic site — in Mexico.

If only they would have used their FOIA for niceness instead of evil

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
Just because the second amendment allows you to have a gun, doesn’t mean you should use it.
Just because the first amendment gives you freedom of the press doesn’t mean you should print it.
Since the tragedy in Newtown, Conn. print media, broadcast media and social media has been saturated with talk of gun control - for and against. There’s probably more of this talk (and more talk of the monster that caused this) than talk of the victims, babies really, that perished.
I tend not to talk about gun control. At a young age I was taught a few things about guns - particularly I was taught not to discuss what I do or do not have.
So, I’m not going to talk about gun control. I’m going to talk about reckless journalism - if you want to call the now infamous interactive map created by The Journal News actual journalism.
This handy-dandy map gives the names and addresses of individuals who had been issued pistol permits in Westchester and Rockland counties in New York. The map doesn’t indicate whether these residents actually have handguns, just that they have a permit.
The information is indeed public record and was obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. Sure, like information from a police blotter, it can be published. Whether it should be published is debatable.
Mostly what it appears to be is busybody gossip. Publishing a laundry list of names and address of people that *may* have a pistol doesn’t prove or solve anything. Perhaps some of these names and addresses are out of date and the potential gun owner has moved away.
This list also looks a lot like a catalog for crooks who may be in the market for weapons - ones they’ve stolen that is. So what’s the real loaded gun in all of this?
An article from the Poynter Institute called out The Journal News for this. The phrase “it is journalistic arrogance to abuse public record privilege...” was used.
Perhaps the paper should have considered a few points from The Society of Professional Journalist’s code, particularly those about minimizing harm:
•Recognize that gathering and reporting information may cause harm or discomfort. Pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance.
•Recognize that private people have a greater right to control information about themselves than do public officials and others who seek power, influence or attention. Only an overriding public need can justify intrusion into anyone’s privacy.
If this kind of reporting is OK, then here’s a thought: Why don’t we print the names and address of bad drivers? I’m threatened by inept and careless operators of two-ton weapons -er vehicles- multiple times a day.

It's time to quit

I must stop buying clothes.

Seriously, I'm probably a shop-a-holic. When I go in a store, I can't stay away from the clothes - and most of the time I end up walking out to the car with a shirt... a new pair of jeans... a jacket... the list is endless.

This is a particularly bad habit I have to give up for multiple reasons.
I won't get into the monetary reasons — we all know what those are. Puke.

Right now my house, in various areas, is on the cusp of becoming something out of hoarders. Well, OK, there's no ceiling high mountains of pop bottles and pizza cartons or billy goat paths through piles of random furniture and tchotchkes, but clothing storage has gotten ridiculous.

I live in a 100 year old two-story house. Back in 1910 they weren't the clothes horses we are today. The master bedroom has one small closet -and it's all mine.

My husband's clothes have been relegated to the linen closet in the hallway. Obviously he's much more minimalist in the fashion department than I am.

All of my apparel certainly does not fit in this closet. I also have an over stuffed dresser. I can't say what all that even contains, but I can say it's so full I've been having trouble fitting my PJs in it.

But wait there's more!

I change out my clothes by season. Right now the fall clothes are in the closet. Stored in bags in the laundry room are winter, spring and summer's stuff.

Did I mention earlier that all of my husband's clothes are in the linen closet? He also shares closet space with - well - linen. And blankets. And a TV.

There's also the addiction part of it. There's some kind of high associated with getting something new, even if it's a tank top - though preferably one with sparkles.
 
I love a glass of wine - or two. I also love margaritas. Having just had a baby, I have found giving up alcohol isn't so hard. Giving up bringing home a new T-shirt - that's asking a lot.

My goal is to see how long I can last without something new. I'm pretty sure this is going to be painful.