CHESTER, IL 8-22-2017

On the way to the Villa Antonio Winery to see the eclipse, the guide on the bus pointed out a few landmarks in the St. Louis area.  One of them is the Lewis and Clark Confluence Tower.  It was constructed to commemorate the 200^th anniversary of the year the expedition arrived at this place where the Missouri and the Mississippi Rivers meet.  Here, two hundred years ago, they pressed on and headed up the Missouri River.

Lewis and Clark Confluence Tower

Half house - the other half finished later with wood

Half house!  People smarter than the government!

Next, scattered throughout St. Louis you will see what are known as “half houses.”  Let me explain.  First, a fire swept through and destroyed everything.  So the townsfolk began the reconstruction of their homes.  When the houses were half way finished, they moved into them while they finished the other half.  So here’s what the government brain trust decreed.  They told the folks that they didn’t have to pay any taxes until the houses were finished.  Well, duh!  The clever folks rightly reasoned that this was a good reason not to finish building their houses and so lived in “half houses.”  Eventually, the government meatheads caught on (You think?), slapped their foreheads and changed this ruling.  Can’t let people go without paying taxes on stuff, now can you?!

Our next port was Chester, Illinois and the shore excursion took us on a “Tale of Tears.”  Learning this bit of history made the heart ache.  In the days of the USA’s infancy, as you know, the American Indians experienced a great deal of strife as their lands were being gobbled up.  The friendly and the not-so-friendly Indians were being swept off their tribal lands, rounded up and forcibly herded away.  They were dumped into the “Indian Territory,” land west of the official border of the USA, land that was not yet but would eventually become the state of Oklahoma.  This was in accordance with the “Indian Removal Act,” passed in 1830 by Congress and signed into law by Andrew Jackson who was determined to remove the Indians.  Government soldiers descended upon the tribes and thousands were deported, sometimes in chains and often at gunpoint, on foot, on horseback and in wagons, to strange lands west of the Mississippi River.  The tribes consisted of the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole and they (more than 50,000 souls) were marched 800 miles west.  Thousands did not survive the journey due to disease and starvation.  The path they walked is now a national landmark and the journey of these people is demarcated on the Trail of Tears map.  This was not one of the country’s proudest moments and we were heavy-hearted to see this memorial.

Our next stop was Altenburg, MO.  In 1838 there was a great deal of religious persecution in Europe and a group of 700 German people pooled their resources and left for America.  Five ships sailed but at the Mississippi River in New Orleans, only four ships arrived.  The fifth carrying people and all the possessions and survival tools of the entire group, was never seen again.  The group traveled up the river as far as St. Louis but wanted more wide open space to farm the land. The pastor of the group was a shyster and blew all of the travelers’ funds but some, who had never trusted him, had squirreled some of their money away.  They bought 4,500 acres of land for $2/acre in what is now Altenburg.  And there they were, out in the middle of nowhere.  More tears.  No homes, no tools, no food, no farm implements.  The German folks witnessed the march of the Indians, sickly, ghostly, near-death, across their new land.  Tears upon tears.  The two groups had their own brand of sorrow in their new environment.  Somehow, both enterprising groups rolled up their sleeves and survived.

Old cabins from the original settlers

Beer Barrel Polka!

Lunch served by the good folks in Altenburg

The folks of Altenburg happily welcomed and seated us at long tables where an authentic German meal was served for lunch.  An oompah band serenaded us while we enjoyed a choice of 4 different beers, German potato salad, koch kässe (cook’s cheese), fresh made bread, pot roast with roasted potatoes and carrots, chicken, dressing, gravy, cucumber-vinegar salad, pickled beets, coffee cake and blatz kuchen (bubble cake).  If I closed my eyes, I’d have sworn that the food came right from my Mom’s kitchen.  We felt at home and blessed and our hearts felt just a little lighter.

These are my people!