July 19, 2018

Sagamore Hills, Ohio to go work Bellbrook, Ohio

We get going a little bit slowly this morning. It had been so nice to settle in to our Airbnb home. But now time to go out. We had to drive across the state of Ohio with a couple of stops.

Whenever we get to Ohio, one of the must stop places is the town of Delaware. It was outside this town that Dick's grandparents had their farm, a special place for him when he was growing up. The farm is no longer a farm, but now is the site of a big warehouse.

When we stopped for gas near downtown Delaware, Patty made a quick pilgrimage to the monument next to the gas station parking lot for President Rutherford Hayes, who was born at this location in 1822. He was one of the presidents who lost the popular vote but won in the electoral college.  While in office in the 1870s, he effectively ended reconstruction. Ohio had eight presidents who were born in this fine state. This is a rather modest acknowledgment for this president.  We will stop at the Hayes National Historic Site in Fremont, OH on a latter trip.

Then we made a stop at the Oak Grove Cemetery.  This is the real reason for coming to Delaware. It is in this cemetery that Dick's parents, grandparents on both sides, and great grandparents are buried. We like to make a stop and do a little remembrance of them, as well as tidying up the site. The Weaver monument is under a Shagbark Hickory, which adds a lot of nuts and twigs. It always looks a little better when we're done. We also spend a little time reflecting on the lives of these people who were so dear to Dick. It is a sobering reminder of how quickly life passes by.

When we completed our pilgrimage to the cemetery, we headed to the western part of Ohio.  We deliberately took two-lane country roads.  Enjoying the lack of heavy truck traffic and the lush fields of soybeans and corn.  Much of the drive was very picturesque.

It was in this area that Dick had spent much of his childhood and his 30s.  One of his favorite places is Young's Dairy.  Famous for its Jersey cows, the homemade ice cream is wonderful.  The day was heating up so we had to stop for a treat.

Then we continued on South for a visit at the Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument in just East of Xenia Ohio. This is a rather new unit of the National Park Service. We had visited it two years ago and could only peek in the windows of this house where Charles Young had lived. Much work had happened in the last couple of years, and we were thrilled to be invited inside by a couple of Young Park service interns. There we got to see an excellent movie focused on Charles Young who was an African-American man who was born into slavery and the third African-American graduate of West Point Military Academy. He had a very successful career in the military that included commanding a unit of buffalo soldiers in Sequoia National Park and as the military attaché to Liberia.

In our discussions and tour of the home we learn Many fascinating stories about Charles Young and about the important military service that so many African Americans served for our country. Buffalo Soldiers were the name given by Native Americans for black soldiers on assignment to the plains after the Civil War.  The soldiers appreciated the name because it was not based on the color of their skin.  Instead, it was due to their hair reminding the native people of the buffalo.  We have seen evidence of the wide-spread use of these troops including patrolling Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Sequoia National Parks.  We had just recently seen that they had been in Skagway, Alaska to put order to the rampages of the people flooding to the gold field in the Yukon. We are very pleased at being able to watch this newly open to the public historic site mature. We will be back.

Then we drove on to Dick's brother, John and sister-in-law Sajona's house. We were warmly greeted and settled in for a long-awaited time of catching up conversations. We were soon joined by their daughter Courtney and, a while later, by grand-daughter Caetey and her boyfriend Tim. We had a great dinner and good time talking. It's so precious to have time with family!