Another friend remembered

I just watched a memorial service for the Rev. Hal Harrison, which was held at the Springfield, VT Congregational Church, UCC, and broadcast live over Facebook. So here I am in Alpine, WY able to be "present" at a service for a friend in Vermont that before the age of the Internet I would have been unable to attend. Hal was Associate Conference Minister of the Vermont Conference from 1976 to 1995. That means he started in that position the same year Shirley started as a lay pastor of the Guilford Community Church (Easter Sunday, 1976). And indeed, he came to Shirley's Installation Service the following year. A few years after that, Hal invited me to join a committee to explore the creation of a school of theology for lay persons in the Conference. We worked for at least two years and our work resulted in the formation of the Vermont Academy of Spiritual Training, which came to be known aa the VAST program. It was a 3-year program, meeting one Saturday a month, 10 months a year. Hal became the Dean of VAST and I became the teacher for the Biblical courses. I taught two groups, which meant I took two classes of about 12-20 students through 3 years of biblical study - a very satisfying experience. Hal was a joy to work with. He was a gentle, compassioate, learned and spiritual man, with a great sense of humor. I always felt understood and supported by him. Later, he became a passionate advocate for Shirley's efforts to be ordained via an alternative route that did not involve a seminary degree, but rather recognized her learning through several sources, including her successful experience as a pastor in Guilford - leading to her ordination in 1994. When Hal retired he moved to Havenwood-Heritage Heights Retirement Village in Concord, NH. I kept hoping it would work to visit him there, but it never did, though I did see him at meetings now and then. He died last month at the age of 90. He was blessed to be able to be involved in teaching and learning right up to the end. Thank you, Hal, for all you gave to me, and may you thrive in the life to come!

The Rev. Hal Harrison

A very special day

Today was a very special day. First, it was Ellen's and my 16th wedding anniversary. It was really great to be here for that occasion, and we celebrated by the four of us going to Melvin's Brewing Co. for supper. They make very good beer there, and they have good pub food as well. Plus, it is a gorgeous spot, located within view of mountains and reservoir. The only down side was they had live music and it was too loud. So we had to sort of shout to carry on a conversation. But we had a good time.

Ellen, Jenny and Paul raise their glasses at Melvin's. I also had a lovely time today with Allen Schoonover, the former pastor of the Star Valley United Church, whom I have not seen for two years. He is fully retired and living in Lake Havasu, AZ, but they still have a house here at Star Valley Ranch, and they are here for the summer- escaping the heat. I learned that he and has wife both had COVID back in March, and he was pretty sick - in the hospital for seven days. But he is recovering well and glad to be alive. We met at a new cafe at the Star Valley Ranch lodge, while Ellen and Max were just down the hill at the pool. I so enjoy talking with Allen and that also made the day special. Finally, I resolved some issues with the new phone - figured them out myself, by golly - and was able to uplaod two new apps, one that identifies bird songs and a second that identifies plants. We had the second one on the old phone, but now we have it on the new, and Ellen had a great time trying it out. And one last thing - the Baker's new dog, Rollie, finally got over his strangeness with me, and let me take his picture! He is a sweet dog, but up until today, he has growled and barked whenever I came into the same room with him. But now we are friends.

Rollie letting me take his portrait.

Success!

Concerning the dent in the door of our car: I talked this morning with an insurance adjustor with USAA Casualty Insurance, the company of the woman who backed into our car yesterday. She had reported the claim as promised, and the adjustor said they accept full responsibility for the accident. He sent me a link that made it possible for me to take a series of photographs of the car, which I did, and I have submitted them. I will hear back from them with an estimate, and I can take that to the Brattleboro Collision Center in Brattleboro when we get back and they will do the work. USAACI will cover all the repair and will also pay for a rental car while work is being done. So we will just live with the fact that we can't open that door on the rest of this trip and get it fixed when we get back. So that wasn't too bad. We are having gorgeous weather here. Sunny and cool and low humidity. I'm actually wearing a flannel shirt today. In the morning the front porch is a delightful place to eat breakfast. Then in the evening, the back deck is perfect for supper.

The view off the front porch

Ahh! Nothing like a bowl of oatmeal! Tomorrow is Ellen's and my 16th wedding anniversary! It will become a National Holiday: Juneteenth. How thoughtful of them! We are all going to Melvin's Pub to celebrate.

More about Day Six

Yesterday - Day Six - began in Lusk, WY and ended in Alpine. The motel that we stayed in - The Townhouse Motel had been bought by the owners of the Best Western Motel, just a few doors down the street. Since the breakfast facilities at Best Western were way better than at Townhouse, its patrons are sent to Best Western for breakfast. And indeed, the breakfast was excellent. We were met outside by the owners, who were offering custom-made omelettes: you filled a bowl with the ingrediants you wanted in the omelette and they made it up. You could also avail yourself of a large breakfast buffet inside. We did that, but ate outside in the Western-themed area, even though it was quite breezy.

The outdoorBest Western breakfast area. The trip across Wyoming was quite lovely, as usual, and uneventful until the end. We csme through Douglas, Casper and Riverton, and then to Dubois, over the pass and down to Moran Junction, into Grand Teton National Park and down into Jackson. We made a short side trip outside Moran Junction to check out Buffalo Valley Ranch, which we later learned is the oldest Dude Ranch in the U.S., dating back to 1880! It was hopping with people - no sign of a pandemic there! Jackson was hopping even more. We had planned to get ice cream at Moo's -a favorite stop - but it was impossible to find a parking place, so we gave up. We went instead to the Whole Foods south of town where we got soup and cornbread - good parking there. So far, so good. But when we entered the Snake River Canyon down to Alpine, the traffic slowed to a stop. We learned there had been an accident up ahead. We crawled and stopped and crawled and stopped - and what would have been a half-hour drive to Paul's ended up taking over two hours. We never saw a crash site, so they must have cleaned it up well. We learned after we got to the house that Jenny, who travels the same road home from work, was stuck in traffic ahead of us. But it was great to finally be "home," and we were grateful.

Photos above: (1) Crowheart Butte in Fremont County, (2) a first glimpse of the Tetons, (3) teepees for rent as lodging at Buffalo Valley Ranch, (4) The long line of traffic in the Canyon; and (5) a beautiful sunset just as we arrived in Alpine. We got lots of hugs from Max and even more barks from their new dog - Rollie - who has a hard time with strangers! We stayed up pretty late talking, But the bedroom was fresh and cool when we went up to bed and we slept pretty well.

Another stroke of bad luck

Some days it's better if you don't get out of bed! Day Seven is such a day. (Seven was not lucky this time!). Today I ran a couple of errands in Alpine: I had a prescription that needed to be refilled because it would run out while we were on the road returning to Vermont. While I was in town doing that, Ellen asked me to mail a couple of post cards. So I went to the Post Office and as I was leaving the parking lot there, a large Ford pickup backed into me and dented the rear door on the passenger side! The woman who was driving said that she didn't see me - her pickup sits very high up. It dented the door enough to make it impossible to open that door. So I got all her identity and insurance information and her apology. When I then went to the pharmacy, I discovered that the nice little pharmacy that was here when we were last in Alpine (two years ago) was gone. Instead there is a huge, newly built supermarket, Broulim's Market. , which includes a pharmacy. So I went there. I was amazed when the man who waited on me remembered me! He had worked at the previous pharmacy, which evidently was absorbed by Broulim's. He said my prescription should be ready by tomorrow! When I came home, I reported my news, and Ellen took it in stride. She said that of all the doors, that was the one that was least urgent to have to open. I called our insurance agent back in Brattleboro and learned that we should wait for the insurance company of the driver of the truck that hit me to contact me. Only if they give me the runaround should I notify my insurance company, because when I do, it will go on my record, even though it was not my fault. Hmmm. It would be virtually impossible to find time on this trip for that work to be done, so I guess we'll live with a dented door until we get home.

The dent in the car door.

Across Nebraska

Well, last night at the Oakland Express Motel, despite the lack of AC because of a noisy fan, having the window open did give us air and eventually the room cooled down and we slept ok. And it was a good breakfast! So, it worked out. We left the motel at about 9:45am, and headed west on Rte 32 and then eventually on Rte 91 which took us across much of Nebraska, and then on Rte 2 which took us all the way to Wyomming. Both these routes were untraveled and we felt as though we had the road to ourselves much of the time. It was a lovely ride across Nebraska, greener than we were expecting. We stopped for gas and snacks and pit stops, of course, but otherwise it was uneventful except for one stop - Fort Hartsuff State Historic Park. We wanted to have at least one bit of education about the history ad culture of Nebraska (and Ellen always hopes there will be postcards!). From the Fort Hartsuff website: Located near Elyria, Fort Hartsuff is typical of Plains infantry outposts. It stood as a buffer between settlers and Native Americans, and to protect the Pawnee from the war-like Sioux, in the North Loup River Valley from 1874 to 1881. Because the main fort buildings were constructed of a lime/concrete mixture, many have survived. Acquired as a historical park in 1961, it has been restored as it was when soldiers patrolled the North Loup and Cedar river valleys and pioneered a new trail to the Black Hills gold fields in the 1870s. COVID-19 had restricted aspects of the site: no postcards, or even books for sale in the gift shop; several buildings closed. But we saw the barracks, officers residences, and a storehouse. It was just right, actually - just the right amount of time and walking.

I won't bother to label these photos - they are all from Fort Hartsuff and speak for themselves. The one exception is the painting of The Battle of the Blowout. Here is a bit about that: One thing that makes Fort Hartsuff unique began with a skirmish between soldiers at Fort Hartsuff and the Sioux. With the Fort’s location near hostile Indians, there was always the chance for conflict. Only one major battle took place in the seven years that the Fort was in existence. It occurred on April 28, 1876, and it was called “The Battle of the Blowout.” A small party of Sioux raiders stole some things from settlers near the present-day town of Burwell, including some turkeys. Some civilians pursued them, and the Indians holed up in a sandhills blowout about a mile and a half north of what is now Homestead Knolls Campground on the Calamus Lake. The civilians sent word back to the Fort and Lieutenant Charles H. Heyl, 23rd Infantry, and eight enlisted men were dispatched to pursue the Indians. When the troops arrived, it was near sundown and fearing that the Indians would escape, Lieutenant Heyl and three soldiers charged the Indian’s position. In the unsuccessful assault, Sergeant William H. Dougherty was shot in the heart and killed. The Indians escaped after nightfall, and the soldiers and civilians returned home. The unique thing about this event was that three soldiers received Medals of Honor for their gallant charge. They were Lieutenant Charles H. Heyl, Corporal Patrick Leonard, and Private Jeptha Lytton. It was very rare for an Infantry soldier to earn a Medal of Honor as such honors were usually given to Cavalry soldiers.

Oh well!

We are in Oakland, NE tonight. Just over the line from Onawa, Iowa. It's a nice little motel, but there is one problem: our room is too far from the router to get WiFi. I'm sitting on a bench by the front door and it comes in fine here. When I go back to the room, which is at the other end of the motel, I lose it. Unfortunately, the people that run the motel all left at 9pm. It's sort of a family affair. They told us if we got here after 9pm, they would have to leave the key in a hidden place for us. We got here right at 9, they gave us the key and left. No lying in bed and watching a movie for us tonight! The other problem with the room is that the air conditioner is VERY noisy. Ellen refuses to have it on - and I can't blame her. The windows do open, however, so we can have fresh air. At the moment, it is very warm, humid fresh air! The one good thing about this place is that they serve a full breakfast with a menu you can order from - included in the price of the room. So we look forward to that!

The view from where I am sitting right now. Meanwhile, we had a nice trip across Illinois and Iowa. We took Route 20 from Bartlett, got onto Route 64, took that to Savanna, IL, across the Mississippi and into Iowa up to Anamosa, where I went to high school. We went to the cemetery where my mother is buried, and cleaned up her grave a bit. This is the same cemetery where the artist, Grant Wood, is buried. Then we had a picnic in Wapsipinicon State Park. Very nice, and old stomping grounds for me. Then we came west on U.S. Rte 30 (the Lincoln Highway), stopped for an early supper at a Culver's in Ames, and came on to Onawa and over the Missouri to here in Oakland. Tomorrow, we will have a nice ride across Nebraska on some roads we have not been on before. Our new cell phone is working well, but we still use the old one for eMail. At 6:30pm this evening, in the car, I was able to briefly join the Dummerston Church Monday evening zoom session! That was fun, though for some reason, the video wasn't working. It was on, but it was blank. They could hear me, but not see me; I could see them and hear them, but the noise of the car made it hard to hear conversations well, so I didn't stay. Next Monday we'll be at Paul's and should be able to join from there. BTW, I spent the summer of 1954 in Onawa, working as my father's assistant in the church there and in nearby Blencoe, Iowa. That's another story.

photos above: Mother's grave Picnic spot Pellicans near the Mississippi