Traveling with the Schroeders -- Fort Meigs, Perrysburg, Ohio

A free Saturday allowed our family to visit a fort from the War of 1812.  Fort Meigs is in Perrysburg, Ohio, and was constructed to prevent the British from advancing to claim territory for Canada which would become Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.  They had also enlisted help from local Indian tribes who were annoyed by Americans impeding on their territory.  The British had already come down Michigan, had captured Fort Wayne (Detroit) without firing a shot, and intended to sweep down into Ohio without any resistance.

The US commissioned Major General William Henry Harrison to build a fort along to Maumee River to stop the British soldiers' advances.  The fort eventually became one of the places from which the US troops beat back the British.  The greatest battle in the area was on Lake Erie where Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry defeated the British in a naval battle.  Another historical site to be visited eventually.

I did not expect Fort Meigs to offer as much as it did.  The fort has been reconstructed completely.  Its footprint was determined to within a foot of the original fort and beams of timber were placed around it.  Seven block houses have been rebuilt, originally designed to withstand canon ball fire from the British across the river--and they did.  The only other original remnants of the fort are traverses--large earthen mounds which were built up to absorb canon fire which was being lobbed into the camp.  The soldiers' tents were pitched behind these traverses which protected them quite well.  The traverses stopped canon fire from hitting the soldiers, and any efforts to lob canon fire over these traverses usually meant that cannon balls cleared the fort completely.  It was a brilliant design constructed very hastily by William Henry Harrison.  Due to erosion over the past 200 years, the traverses are only half the size they once were.

Side note: The one thing that I did not see (and maybe I just missed it in the museum) is who this "Meigs" guy is for whom the fort is named.  As best as I can determine, it would be Return Jonathan Meigs, Jr. who served as governor of Ohio at the time.

The cost of admission is $10 for adults; Peter was $5.  It is well worth the cost.  Photos are below.

The wooden horse (above) was used to discipline disobedient soldiers.  The soldier would have weights tied to his ankles and would "ride the wooden horse" for 30 minutes, perhaps several times.

The monument to Commodore Perry is in downtown Perrysburg where we had stopped for lunch.  A larger monument is in Put-In-Bay, Ohio, on an island in Lake Erie, which we will have to visit some day.

Intercession for our Leaders

With President-Elect Biden being sworn in as President Biden today, it will be appropriate to include him in our prayers this Sunday.

The prayer of the church will include numerous intercessions and petitions which will also allow the congregation to assent to each one with their, "Hear us, good Lord," "Hear our prayer," and "Amen."

Among the intercessions, we will include prayers for our newly inaugurated president, Joe Biden, the governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer, the mayor of Novi, Bob Gatt, and all governing officials, we will pray as follows:

M:    Preserve our nation in justice and honor, that we may lead peaceable lives of integrity.  Grant health and favor to all who bear office in our land, especially to President Biden, Governor Whitmer, Bob Gatt the mayor of Novi, and all those who make, administer, and judge our laws, and help them serve all citizens according to your holy will.

Cong:    Hear us, good Lord.

Such prayers are in obedience to the Scriptures which encourage this: "First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.  This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,  who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:1-4)

Christians ought to recognize what we pray for and what we do not.  There are some policy positions we would pray fervently against, such as the support and defense of abortion.  In fact, we will pray against that on the very same Sunday.  Such a prayer is not a personal attack on our leaders, but a plea that God would protect and defend the sanctity of life despite the opinions of our leaders--such an opinion that we consider abominable and a blatant sin against the 5th Commandment.  However, we do not seek the death of anyone.  We have been convinced by the Holy Spirit to agree with our God to be obedient to those in authority (Romans 13:1-7), to bless all who would oppose us (Matthew 5:11), and to willing suffer for doing good if we must (1 Peter 3:13-17).  

While we cherish the freedoms we have in our nation, our greatest good is not the kingdom of the United States but the kingdom of God.  If these should come into great conflict with each other, we will stand firm in the kingdom of God and still pray for our nation and its leaders as we have been directed by the King of heaven and earth.

While not everyone will be in agreement with the policies and positions of every politician, all Christians can be in agreement with the specific intercession, "help them serve all citizens according to your holy will."  When wouldn't we pray for that????

The history of Novi -- Twelve Oaks Mall & How Novi got its name

Here is something cool about the history of the city of Novi.  Novi celebrates 50 years as a city, but the history goes back much further.

There are a number of videos which tell the history of Novi, and I will link to two vignettes.  The first is about the history of the Twelve Oaks Mall, and how it transformed the city of Novi to the community it is today.

The second is probably the most legendary about the city: How did Novi get its name?  This interesting video ends up not giving the answer, but all the most popular theories are given.

Local Tourist: Slavery at Monticello (Charles Wright Museum, Detroit)

On Sunday, March 31, the Local Tourist and his lovely wife went to Detroit to visit the Charles Wright Museum of African American History.  While it would have been nice to walk through their main exhibit, we went to see a temporary exhibit, "Slavery at Monticello."  This featured the stories of a conflicted Thomas Jefferson who was on record for decrying the institution of slavery, and yet retained his slaves throughout his life.  There was a lot of focus on his relationship with Sally Hemings, but it also noted that there were three other families who can trace their history back to Monticello.  No doubt, Jefferson was a victim of his age and benefited from a terrible practice.  The exhibit also noted how a number of the slaves from his estate went on to be notable contributors to society once they were freed.

If there is any criticism of the exhibit, it is that the material got a little repetitive after a while.  I am sure this is due to the limited resources they had.  (They were probably also anticipating that not everyone would read everything.)

Behind this statue of Jefferson is a wall with the name of every slave who lived at Monticello.

Sally Hemings, through whom Jefferson fathered five children.

After a couple of hours touring the "Slavery at Monticello" exhibit, we walked about a block and a half to the main branch of the Detroit Public Library.  They offer free tours, which are now on our list of things to do.  We just walked through the library for about 15 minutes before it closed for the day.  This building is fantastic, and I wish that more buildings were made like this today.  This is a library that begs to be visited.  Here are a few peaks inside.

Does your library look like this???

Traveling with the Schroeders -- family vacation

Part of our family vacation this year took us to some historical sites out east.  We went to Harpers Ferry, WV, Antietam National Battlefield, and Fort McHenry in Baltimore.

We enjoyed our times at these places, and rather than give several paragraphs of description, I will just insert the photos.  Enjoy.

The main street at Harpers Ferry.

Looking up a side street.

John Brown's Fort, from which John Brown was finally arrested.
He was later tried and hanged for insurrection and treason.
This fort has been moved several times, so this is near the original site but not on it.

From Antietam National Battlefield.  These cannons are aimed at the Bloody Cornfield.

The sunken road, or Bloody Lane.  You can find a famous photograph of the battle's aftermath here.

Burnside Bridge, where the Union finally found some success at Antietam.
Nevertheless, the Battle of Antietam was not really a victory for either side.

Welcome Center at Fort McHenry, Baltimore.

Cannon, like the one used in the War of 1812, overlooking the Chesapeake Bay.

Birdseye view of Fort McHenry.

KOA Campground at Harpers Ferry.

Vacation and New Ventures

Our family vacation this year took us to Indiana and Kentucky.  The days of the whole family going on these trips have ceased.  Summer jobs keep some home.  Pursuing careers keeps some away from home.

Still, most of us went to Indiana to stay with Laura's parents for a number of days.  The kids went swimming at Forest Park in Noblesville.  We had a 4th of July celebration with more of Laura's family.  On Monday, July 3, we went to the Louisville Slugger Museum (Hillerich and Bradsby Co. -- look at the trademark on the bat) and then on to Abraham Lincoln's Boyhood Home in southern Indiana.  Some photos of that are below.

But then we got news that Faith had received an emergency call to serve as a 1-2 grade teacher at Emmaus Lutheran School in Phoenix, AZ.  After several days of phone calls, questions, discussions, and prayers, Faith has decided to postpone her final year of college and teach in Phoenix.

This news, as well as the predicted rain and storms, re-directed our vacation plans.  Instead of continuing on for a few days in Kentucky, we came home.  Laura is preparing to hit the road and go with Faith to Phoenix to help her get settled there.

The family adventures continue.

Based on excavations, this is believed to be the foundation of the home Lincoln lived in for about 14 years in Indiana.

Local Tourist -- River Raisin National Battlefield Park

Today we took a quick run down to the Monroe area to look at the River Raisin National Battlefield Park.  Little did we know that this Saturday was an anniversary of the War of 1812 battle which took place in this area.  Sadly, most of the festivities and re-enactments were in the morning, so we missed that.

Still, we enjoyed the 15 minute video about the battle and ensuing battles which revolved around the River Raisin site.  Peter also got to be a Junior Park Ranger here.

Some photos.

Peter, hard at work trying to figure out his Junrior Ranger assignments.

The oath of a Junior Ranger, successfully completed.