Rings of Growth

What do you do with a big stump in your backyard? Make a Time-Line of course. Supposedly each growth ring marks one year as the tree trunk grows outward. They say that a thick growth ring means there was plenty of rain that year; a thin or group of thin growth rings, means drought. Also, I noticed that the center of the concentric rings of the trunk was not exactly in the center . The trunk was skewed so that thicker growth rings were toward the southern exposure. Does the tree grow faster on the sunny side of its truck?

In any case this was an old, big oak. My grand kids came over and we placed push pins into the exposed trunk to mark their birth years, young. The pins representing the parents' ages were mid-way on the trunk where the kids are pointing. And finally the old man. Egads! closer to the center. We didn't count all the rings, but I estimate the tree was about 90 to 100 years old- and no, I'm not THAT old.

Incidentally, the common name of this tree is called "Willow oak". Where is that forestry Professor? I will have to get back to you to give you the scientific name.

The Carolina Chain Saw Massacre

I was devastated when my big oak tree was killed by a lightning strike the summer before last. First, there was just a large "w" shaped line of dead leaves going through the lower branches. I was suspicious of a large, vertical rip in the bark that went from the base of the truck to high in the branches. Then, this past Spring, the giant tree did not leaf-out. Even then, I refused to believe it was dead, because I really loved this tree. Maybe it was a late bloomer- a late leafer. Furthermore, it was the respected grandfather of our Sterling Park neighborhood. I used to sit peacefully and protected under its huge, spreading branches and contemplate my "New Chapter in Monroe". The big oak had become a part of my life. But finally, I had to declare it deceased, particularly, when one of those huge branches fell down on the fence between me and my neighbor and slashed the power line in half so it lay on the ground, sparking and crackling. Duke Power was called in to splice the line together. By the way, I was on Thanksgiving holiday in Maryland when it happened.

A few months ago, I talked to a contractor who was removing branches from the right-of-way for the power line in my backyard. He told me that dead trees like my big oak usually didn't just fall over. Instead, they would drop their limbs one by one after being weighed down by rain and ice or bent to the breaking point by the wind. Since it was going to cost several thousand dollars to cut it down, I thought I would wait for the slow demise of the tree's branches hoping that I would be buried before it was. However, I heard a frightening story from a former forestry professor at Virginia Tech. He was called in to testify at a court proceedings in Virginia in which a man was suing his neighbor because a branch from a dead tree in his yard broke off; went through the roof of the car the man was seated in, and maimed him for life. The case was settled out of court for millions of dollars. DOWN came my beloved big oak. My Social Security benefits could pay off thousands but not millions. Who am I kidding: SS benefits can't hardly pay my heating bill. But then, there is always the wood stove.

The Moravian "Putz"

I learned a new word this past Xmas season: "PUTZ". It comes from a group of early German immigrants called Moravians who gave us many Christmas traditions. The term referred originally to a nativity scene placed near the Christmas tree- or, what the Germans called a Tannenbaum. It included figures of the magi, shepherds, the three Kings, and stable animals like donkeys, sheep, and the exotic camel. Later, the Putz evolved into other types of seasonal, winter scenes with houses, light poles, fences, and little figures of people and pets. My mother used to place a large piece of matted cotton on the floor which represented snow and then placed a round mirror on the "snow" for an ice-covered pond. There is more history to this story in the magazine, "Carolina Country", December, 2007, page 13. The article included a picture of the miniature village scene shown here in the accompanying collage- the right bottom corner (click on image to enlarge). The other image is of a stable my father made from the thin boards of a packing crate for produce- apparently Blue Flag grapes. They use cardboard boxes to ship produce nowadays.

The Moravians were a protestant christian group led by a Catholic priest, John Huss. They sailed from Germany in the first quarter of the 18th century and landed in Georgia, but migrated north to Pennsylvania and settled there. However, a few years later, a group of Moravians moved to North Carolina, bought land, and built a community which they called Wachovia after the River Wach in their ancestral homelands in Prague. Here they established a bank called Wachovia and set up an account for me. Ha, just kidding- However, this is indeed the namesake for one of the largest financial institutions in America today. It was founded in the former community of Wachovia which grew into the metropolis of Winston Salem, North Carolina. The Moravians still run a living history museum in Salem, NC. I've been there once- to make a withdrawal.

Former National Park Seminary, Forest Glen, MD

After the Scottish Xmas Walk in Alexandria a few weeks ago, we went over to what my friend described as a "castle" in the Maryland suburbs outside of Washington, DC. Our plan was get more mileage from our Scottish attire and take pictures of ourselves in a medieval setting. I was raised in Bethesda, Maryland, and only now am I learning of the various historical places and events of my old neighborhood.

The castle turned out to be the former campus of the National Park Seminary, and it does indeed have a formidable history. Back in the late 1870s, a developer decided that Forest Glen would be a nice place for Washingtonians to visit and perhaps move to in order to escape the muggy and buggy environs of the District of Columbia. Forest Glen is a few hundred feet higher than the drained swampland of DC. In the Glen, a cool, shaded ravine runs from Carroll Springs to Rock Creek in the National Park of the same name. The traffic from the ever-present Beltway hums somewhere over the rims of the Glen. A hotel was build first to lure potential, 19th century clients to visit and ponder the possibility of purchasing a lot in the community. When the buyers balked, casinos were added to the hotel to make it more attractive. Nevertheless, the idea of "moving out" to Forest Glen failed.

Eventually the hotel was sold to a couple of educators who were teaching at an urban school in Norfolk., VA, but wanted to start a school in the countryside to propose their unique educational philosophy. Essentially they emphasized the Social development rather than the intellectual training of young ladies, in particular rich young ladies, with family names like Boyardee, Chyrsler, Heinz, Swift, and Hershey. So, they built rich archetectual buildings to become sororities in which the girls did not reside but attended balls, dances, and festivals- and to form secret literary clubs.

Incidentally, four of the five wealthy families just mentioned made their fortunes in the food industry. I believe I would have enjoyed knowing my fellow comrades.

After this heyday, the Seminary changed hands and changed educational philosophies toward more utilitarian means during the Great Depression. They also changed its name from Seminary to College. Finally, the complex was taken over by nearby Walter Reed Army Hospital to be used as a hospice for convalescing soldiers during WW II.

The Army let the property run down after the war. Though the complex was declared an Historic Site in 1972, it continued to deteriorate. Fortunately, a grass roots organization was formed to make the public aware of the community's history and to save the buildings from being demolished.

Recently, the property was bought by another developer who will, as was the original intention a century ago, develop the property into condominiums and single family homes. Read more here. Montgomery County has restricted the contractor to preserve at least the shells of the previously elegant buildings. The picture above shows one of the future residents who came by to check on the construction. His computer room will be in one of the turrets at the end of the covered walkways in the background of the photo.

We got our pictures playing bagpipes on the premises of the former National Park Seminary, turned college, turned convalescent home for soldiers, turned condominiums. After all, it was a place to become aware of other cultures. A Japanese Pagoda was one of the first building on the campus to be renovated. By the way, Ben was standing on top of a concrete drain pipe which was ready to be installed.

A Dutch windmill, which has lost its arms, was used as the house for the Kappa Delta Pi Sorority. Across from it was the Swiss Chalet. The bag pipers were removed to show more detail.

Fröhliche Weihnacht- my German heritage

The above images were sent to me by my friend and fellow genealogist, Rudolf Kerbitz, who lives in Wesel, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. They were created by his talented mother, the late Mrs. Charlotte Kerbitz, nee. Nürnberger. The artistic craft is called handschnitte or scherenschnitte. The artist cuts out a silhouette by hand with nothing other than scissors and paper. Rudolf recalls his mother did not use a pattern or template, but rather, whittled out the design immediately from her imagination. The craft is unbelievably detailed as seen in larger resolution images.

The image on left is captioned, written in Sutterlein, which means in English, "cheerful or merry Advent Season". The picture is of 7 cherubs dancing around a candle which Rudolf suggested reminded him of the 7 great grandchildren that surrounded my mother in the picture I posted earlier on my blog.

Read more, in German, in Rudolf's article on his mother's art- or go there for the images. Scherenschnitte was brought to America by German and Swiss immigrants, and you can Google many English language sites for more information, such as this one.

Another fantastic "gift" which Rudolf gave me this Christmas is information which will apparently push my pedigree back another generation. My great, great grandfather, Anton Gailliot, who was a Master Shoemaker in Wesel, the town where Rudolf Kerbitz now resides, was the son of JOHANN GAILLIOT and ELISABETH PEIRNE or Pierre. The data are from a marriage record in a just-published transcription: Marriages of St. Mariae Himmelfahrt, Wesel, 1835-1849. The Transcripton recently became available in a limited edition print in Wesel. How wonderful will this Weihnacht be remembered. Danke schön, Herr Rudolf Kerbitz.