Roads to Wahpeton

Judy and I are on a nine-week summer adventure taking us northward to the Dakotas and then eastward to New York State before returning to home base in Florida. This means I am not doing a lot of finished writing. Nevertheless, I may, as with this article, post a bit of a travelogue which could encourage readers in their own travels.

There are many roads to Wahpeton, North Dakota; or, to any place for that matter. Six grandkids and their parents first drew us there, and they still do; however, when we go to visit we like to keep our eyes and ears open to learn something about the places we pass on the way. Every region and every community is like a book opened in the middle inviting us to learn something of the chapters which have led up to its present page.  

Obviously, we cannot take all the different roads to anywhere. So, with a bucket list of places Judy and I have highlighted on previous trips, and with a map which draws attention to other possibilities, we left Florida on our latest adventure. Perhaps your travels will cross some of the spots where we paused. Or, perhaps reading about these places will encourage you to look for your own points of interest on other roads.

Savannah

On this trip, our first stop was Savannah, Georgia. The power walk from our vehicle to our appointment with a carriage ride must have had some physical benefit, but it does not rate high on my more memorable moments. The historical district was very crowded in the early evening on July 4th and available parking spaces were blocks away. Nevertheless, the carriage ride itself was interesting - except when the guide was much too surprised that we had not seen Forrest Gump. Seems that an impressive scene from the movie was filmed there.

Of course, there is a lot more to see in Savannah than we were able to do in a couple hours late in the day. That means we have added a few more items to our list. Among them would be a more leisurely look at the early life of Lowell Mason who introduced music education to public schools, brought the singing of hymns out of the choir loft and into the pew, and composed, among many tunes, the music for "Joy to the World," and "Nearer My God to Thee."

Rock Hill, South Carolina

Second stop: a visit with one of Judy's cousins. I know this would normally be of little interest to the reader. 

HOWEVER, I mention it because of the lady on the left in the photo. Music lovers might be interested in knowing that Lois is the mother of one of the co-founders of Denver and the Mile High Orchestra. 

Eastern Southwest North Carolina

Third stop, a week long stay at a favorite place in the mountains of North Carolina – south of Asheville. What is especially noteworthy about this region is its opportunity to escape from things we often consider noteworthy. Here days can be spent chilling or hiking or a combination of both. In our case the hiking and chilling were interrupted by car problems. I mention that only to assure you that our trips, like some of yours, do not go exactly according to plan. In this case we made an unexpected transition from a seven passenger van to a five passenger SUV crossover. I had this compelling hankering for sardines as I transferred the things we had packed for our trip.

Route 64

Days later, snugly tucked into our newly acquired Escape, we pursued our next travel goal - to add more miles to our relationship with US Route 64. Over the years the residential stretch from Hendersonville, North Carolina to the Brevard / Sapphire region has become very familiar to us. Now we ventured farther along the beautiful, sharply winding drive among mountains and through hamlets such as Cashiers. Unexpectedly we had the chance to see the Nantahala Falls in the Nantahala National Forest. Someday we want to return and hike the steps and trails which lead around behind cascade.  Farther down river we passed mile after mile of white water rafters and kayakers. Then, after another stretch of mountain vistas, the highway leveled off and delivered us directly to Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Chattanooga

Different travelers look for different things. Our Pastor visits zoos. Of all the tourist possibilities in Chatanooga, we chose to visit Signal Point and Lookout Mountain, and reflected on accounts we have read concerning the military expeditions observed from those heights during the Civil War. We tried to visit Ruby Falls, but the waiting line was prohibitive for our time frame. You will want to think of that if you include the falls on your future itinerary. 

Sunday Morning

Meeting with folks for worship is still a part of our agenda even when traveling. This time we discovered CalvaryBaptist Church in Franklin, Kentucky.  Great folks who made us want to come back again.

Lincoln's Boyhood Home

From Franklin we crossed Kentucky in time to visit Lincoln’s Boyhood Home just across the border into Indiana. The place where our sixteenth president lived from age seven to twenty-one has been transformed into a pleasant and informative walk with a significant memorial and a modest museum. As well as a replica of his home, you can see the specially preserved foundation of the actual building.

George Rogers Clark and Tippecanoe Too

Have you heard of Vincennes, Indiana? Here a pivotal event in our nation’s history played out during the American Revolution. Any preacher who wants illustrative material about fighting the good fight should become acquainted with the daring expedition of George Rogers Clark (older brother of William Clark of Lewis and Clark fame). When Clark's small and weary troop raised the American flag over the captured British fort in Vincennes, they made it possible for the stars and stripes, eventually, to be hoisted in every community from there to California. The great story unfolds in this memorial and reminds us that people who accomplish great, life-changing things are not always honored or remembered. 


Also in Vincennes can be found insights into the life of our ninth and shortest termed president, William Henry Harrison. His Grouseland Mansion, located within sight of an historic encounter with Tecumseh, tells much about the man and what kind of a president he might have been had he not died a month after his inauguration.  

When we left Vincennes we crossed the Wabash River and instantly gained an hour as we entered the Central Time Zone. 

Cousin Ulysses

From the Wabash we drove straight across Illinois, made our way around the tangle of the St. Louis interstate connections and visited the homestead of President Ulysses S Grant, our eighteenth chief executive. Somewhere in my archives I have the information which links my family line into his through the Delano's, the maternal line of Franklin D. Roosevelt. For me, Grant's home is the first presidential house which relates to anything with which I am familiar in my era. I could easily picture this building on the streets of my youth. Seeing a photograph of him and his family on the front porch corresponds with similar family photos among my own forebears. The color surprised me, though, until I remembered they had color back then and realized this choice reflected the Victorian influence of his times.

Why Integrity Is Low On the List of Presidential Qualifications

You may have guessed, Judy and I have a goal of visiting as many presidential sites as possible. Travelling northward from St. Louis, we added one more notch to our collection with a day-long visit to the birthplace and museum / library of our thirty-first president, Herbert Hoover. His was the first of its kind and prompted President Truman to establish one of his own. Since then libraries and museums have become common for each president. While history records that the two campaigns of William Henry Harrison inaugurated the vicious character with which we are familiar in these contests, the Roosevelt / Hoover battle may stand as the beginning of the end for successful campaigns based on integrity. Of particular note is the point that Roosevelt (also a cousin of mine) enacted programs which Hoover had, himself, tried to steer through congress in an effort to deal with a depression he had warned about long before becoming president. 

Oh, and By the Way

By this time in our journey, our eyes were set on our destination and a readiness to get off the road for awhile. However, we did not wear blinders. While I drove, Judy discovered two unplanned points along the way. One was the location of a little brown church in Nashua, IA. There, before the church was built, William Pitts visited the community and wrote a poem about a little brown church. Several years later, when he returned, he was amazed to discover one had been built. That prompted him to dig out his manuscript for publication. It has since become famous in the song, “The Little Brown Church in the Vale.” 

The second impromptu stop was at the rather extensive Nobles Pioneer Village, also in Iowa. Three "streets" feature all the kinds of buildings you would expect to find in such a place, including railroad buildings and a grain elevator and a couple different two-story houses. Many were transported there from nearby communities. Each building is cluttered with a vast array of paraphernalia from many decades including and since the pioneer days. A town hall includes posters advertising the occasions when William Jennings Bryan and other individuals visited the community.

I feel compelled to mention that among the buildings was a barber’s shop. The reason I mention it is because, in that barbershop was a machine the history of which would be especially interesting to pursue. It was, obviously, a tremendous failure; but I would like to know how many gave it a try. 

Journey's (Temporary) End

With those stops cared for we proceeded to Wahpeton and settled in for a few days. Goal for this venture - get to know the Red River valley a little better. It began with the very first North Dakota rest area on I-29. There we discovered Lake Agassiz. If God allows, I'll share that discovery and some others later.