Decoration Day/Memorial Day Memories

This weekend has traditionally been significant in the history of my hometown, Maple Hill, Kansas.

As a youth of 10 or 12, I remember everyone calling this Decoration Day.   Over the years, it became known as Memorial Day, a time when we pause to remember our family, friends and others who have served in the armed forces of the United States.

This year will be no exception as folks gather for Memorial Day services at the Old Stone Church and Maple Hill Cemetery.    The Old Stone Church, or Eliot Congregational Church, as it was known initially, is the parent church of the present Maple Hill Community Congregational Church.   Once each year, on Memorial Day, MHCCC holds its services at the Old Stone Church to honor its heritage and to salute veterans of the church and those buried in the cemetery that surrounds it.

This photo was taken in 2011 and shows members of the James Elmer Romick American Legion Post at Maple Hill lined up to fire a salute, play taps and then escort the colors into the church.  That has been the tradition as long as I can remember.

The Eliot Congregational Church, commonly known as the Old Stone Church, was dedicated in 1882 and was twice destroyed and rebuilt.   In 1955, the church burned to the ground leaving only the stone walls.   It was repaired and rededicated in 1963.    In 1994, the church including the stone walls, was destroyed by a tornado.    It was loving restored using the original stone, and rededicated in 1997.    Nothing was changed except new, modern windows were installed. 
The Avenue of Flags was a project of the American Legion Auxiliary, and many donated money to make it possible to have one flag for each of the fifty states line the cemetery road.

This photo of my mother, Lucille (Corbin) Clark and oldest son Nicholas L. Clark, Sr. was taken in 2010.   My Mom would shame me for saying that she was proud of her work with and for the Legion and America Legion Auxiliary, but she was a member for 73 years and served as president of the American Legion Auxiliary for many decades.  

Over the past ten years or so, a new feature has been included with Civil War reinactors bringing their cannon to the cemetery and firing their own salute to those veterans who are buried there.   The "soldiers" come in their respective uniforms, form ranks and fire the salute.   It's a very nice tribute.

My maternal grandmother, Mildred (McCauley) Corbin, all of my aunts, Joan (Corbin) Andrews-Frazier, Sarah Emma (Corbin) Justice, and Vivian (Corbin) Wild were members of the American Legion Auxiliary and worked on various projects.   My cousin, Bonnie (Thomas) Mitchell was also involved for many decades and her brother, Pinkney Thomas, was commander of the American Legion in Oklahoma.  It was decided that the Legion and American Legion needed a permanent home and meeting place in the community and funds were donated to purchase a lot on Main Street and build a new, brick American Legion Hall.

I have purchased many picture post cards of Maple Hill on Internet auction sites, and among them was this one.

I don't know the exact date when the photograph was taken, but the post card was used and the stamp cancelled in September 1916.   When I initially purchased the card, I thought that it was a photograph of the newly completed American Legion Hall.   But after closer examination, it was evident that the two-story brick building was instead the David Stewart General Store.  The Maple Hill Masonic Hall occupied the entire second floor.  This building burned in 1919 and the American Legion Hall was built on the same lot on the west side of Main Street in 1921.

Maple Hill was visited by many horrendous fires during it's early history.   Nearly every building was burned to the ground on both the east and west sides of Main Street.   The Stewart Family certainly sustained many losses during that time.   From the Maple Hill News Items in area papers, I've collected a little history of the Stewart family's businesses.

June 1890 - Gilbert Stewart, Maple Hill's pioneer butcher, has sold his business to his sons, David and Robert.    Gilbert Stewart came to Maple Hill from Paxico soon after the town was established and has been an integral part of the community since.

May 1901 - Fire destroyed nearly all the west wide of Main Street including Gilbert Stewart's Meat Market and Ice House.

July 19, 1901 - Dolly and Stewart's (David Stewart) stored burned to the ground.   Robert Stewart's barbershop also burned.

December 1902 - The newly constructed building owned by Dolly and Stewart burned to the ground.

October 20, 1903 - David Stewart's store burned to the ground but the building and contents were covered by $10,000 in insurance and he will rebuild.This time, the building will be brick and stone.

April 1919 - David Stewart has sold his store to Sam Wiley and will retire.

December 12, 1919 - Sam Wiley's two-story store and the Masonic Hall, burned to the ground last night and was a total loss.   Wiley had no insurance.

David Stewart went back into the grocery store business in 1924, but not in that location.   He purchased the store and goods of Russell T. Updegraff and continued in business until 1927 when he again sold his store and retired.

The Maple Hill American Legion Hall was destroyed in January 2002 when a heavy ice storm collapsed the roof.   The second story fell into the first and onto other nearby buildings.   Luckily no one was injured but it was decided not to rebuild the American Legion Hall.

On Sunday, May 27, 2012 friends and families will gather at the Old Stone Church to honor our veterans, just as they have for nearly 100 years.

Happy Trails!

Is There A Native American Connection In The Family???

A definitive answer to this question remains elusive and unsettled.     I believe that there may be several, and they all seem to be associated with the Cherokee Tribe, but I have not been able to find them on any of the tribal rolls or censuses that were taken.    All the possible connections are on my father's side of the family.

I'm going to include some photographs and let you decide if appearances have any bearing on this matter.

This is a photograph of Percilla (Treadway) Woody, who is my paternal 3rd great grandmother.    I obtained this photograph from the Georgia State Historical Society's Iconographic Collection in Atlanta.   On the back of the original photograph was written:  "Percilla Woody, 1799-1888, Lumpkin County, Georgia.   Cherokee Mid-Wife."  I was visiting the Cherokee Tribe's Heritage Center in Talequah, OK where I was trying to find some connection to the Treadway Family.    The person working in the genealogy department could not find any information about Percilla Treadway Woody, but when I showed her the photograph, she said, "Oh she's wearing an old medicine collar."   She went on to explain that this was a cloth and beadwork collar that was often worn by those among the Cherokee who were  knowledgeable about plants and their healing powers.   That's as much as I have ever found out.

This is a photograph of my great grandmother, Hanna Virginia "Vergie" (Miller) Jones.  She was born on the Potawatomi Indian Reservation in Jackson County, Kansas in 1875 and died in 1901.  Her father, William Washington Miller, was a tenant farmer for the Potawatomi on allotted land.  He was born in Andrew County, Missouri in 1848 and his mother, Cintha Wilhite, was born in Jefferson County, Tennessee in 1824.  There's a tradition in the family that Cintha Wilhite was also a Cherokee.    As a result of the Trail of Tears, the removal of the Cherokee from North Carolina and Georgia to Oklahoma, there were many Cherokee individuals and families who simply "dropped off" the caravan and remained in states they traveled through.  Many of the Scotch, Irish and German pioneers married Cherokee women.    Again, I have no evidence but if appearances count, Vergie (Miller) Jones sure has the beautiful characteristics of a Native American woman.

This is a photograph of my grandmother, Mable Rachel (Jones) Clark and her sister, Edith Belle (Jones) Strowig.  The date is not known, but they appear to be in their early 20s.   Both of these ladies have the characteristics of Native American women.    When Aunt Edith was in her 70s, and visiting my grandmother, I asked her if she knew anything about a Native American connection in the family.    All she said was, "It wasn't a popular subject when I was growing up and I didn't care anything about it."   Vergie (Miller) Jones died in 1901 when her daughters were very young.   Mable was 8 and Edith was 6-years-old.  They were taken to be raised by their maternal grandparents, William and Sarah (Wykert) Miller.  The Millers lived in a log house on the Potawatomi Indian Reservation about four miles east of Delia, Jackson County, Kansas.  All of their close neighbors, and many of their childhood friends, were all Potawatomi children.   To be trusted with farming the allotment land of the Potawatomi, it seems likely that the Potawatomi land owners would have given preference to someone with Native American blood and ancestry.   Again, I have no hard evidence but it is a reasonable connection.

When I was growing up, I spent an inordinate amount of time with my grandparents.   I don't know why but I was always interested in hearing the old stories.   I would beg my grandparents to tell me about "the old days" or "pioneer stories."   Of course, they were more than willing to do so.

I would visit my paternal grandmother, Mable R. (Jones) Clark at the Maple Hill Central Office where she was the chief operator.    In between calls, she would often tell me stories and show me old pictures and family treasures.    Among those treasures was a set of beadwork cuffs and moccasins.  The background color of beads was a pretty gold and down the center of the beadwork were violets with a green stem and leaves.   She said that they were given to her by Mary Maqua (Bear) the mother of one of her friends on the Potawatomi Indian Reservation, where she grew up.    I have those objects now and about 20 years ago, my daughter was interested in them and copied the beadwork pattern on moccasins she wore.  

When I was young (under 10 but I don't remember what age exactly) my Grandmother Clark called me one day and said, "My Indian friends are coming from Delia and we're going to make hominy."  Grandmother invited me to come to the Central Office and be "seen and not heard."   I lived only a short distance away and walked to the Central Office.   Pretty soon a car with four women arrived and in the trunk they had baskets of corn.    In the old days, Grandmother said that they made the lye needed to soften and remove the hard outer shell on the corn kernel, by running water through barrels of wood ashes.   She said when the water that drained through the barrel had enough lye content, an egg would float on top the water.   Then they'd put the corn in the water and soak it until the other husk came off.    After that the soft inner kernel was washed and the lye caused it to "puff up" and form the hominy.   That was then dried on old window screens.   Grandmother would put cheese cloth over the screen, pour on the corn kernels and then cover them with another layer of cheese cloth to keep the flies off.   The corn would dry in the hot sun and would then be stored until needed.   The dried corn was then mixed with water and re-hydrated in cooking.   Salt pork was usually added to give it flavor, but Grandmother also said that if you didn't have pork they often added rabbit, squirrel or other meat they could hunt in the timber.

Here's a good website with complete instructions if you'd like to try and make hominy:

http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/topic/24412/t/How-To-Make-Hominy.html

Grandmother Clark loved to visit her Potawatomi friends and often took me with her.   As time went by, some began to pass away and she would go to the "drum" funeral ceremonies.    In the summer, the Potawatomi held a fair and pow wow and Grandmother would take me (I don't remember if she also took my brother Gary Wayne) and we would go to Mayetta for the day and visit with those she was acquainted with.

So can I prove that our family has Native American ancestry:   No.   But the evidence is pretty compelling.   If anyone reading this article has information that would shed more light, please write me in the comment section at the end of this article.

Happy trails!

John L. and Lucille (Corbin) Clark: A Second Son

GARY WAYNE CLARK

Gary was born to John L. "Tim" and Lucille (Corbin) Clark on January 26, 1947 Christ's Hospital (now Stormont Vail Hospital) in Topeka, Kansas.  He weighed 8 pounds and 6 ounces.  Tim and Lucille were living near Silver Lake, Kansas. Gary was in the first class to go to school in new grade one-story brick Maple Hill Grade School as a first grader in 1953. He graduated from Maple Hill High School in 1965.

This is a photograph of Gary W. Clark taken in 1949 as he was about to receive the merchant's treat from Santa Claus at the Maple Hill Town Christmas Party in the American Legion Hall.   The little girl in the dress with the sailor's collar is Trudi Mee, daughter of Lyndon and Marie (Beach) Mee.

Gary started to work for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe  Railroad in August 1965 in the audit office in Topeka, Kansas. He got drafted into US Army in March 1966. He went to basic training in Ft. Leonardwood, Missouri and then attended Advanced Individual Training at Ft. Polk, Louisiana. He went through eight weeks of infantry training, but then, due to an injury, was transferred to clerk training. He Left Louisiana in October of 1966 and was stationed with the 1st Battalion of the 33 rd Artillery in the Personnel office in Ansbach, Germany. He attained the rank of Specialist 5 prior to discharge in March of 1968.

This is a photograph of Nicholas Leander and Gary Wayne Clark taken in 1948.  Mother had taken us to Topeka where we'd gotten shoes at Montgomery Ward.   The had the photo machine there.

In 1968, Gary returned to work at the Santa Fe audit office. He transferred from the audit office to car service accounting so he could work nights while attending Washburn University in Topeka during the day. Gary completed one year at Washburn and then transferred to Emporia State Teachers College in the fall of 1970. He worked at Iowa Beef Packers in the slaughterhouse in Emporia, Kansas for the summer of 1971. He left there and got a part time job with Fleming Foods in Topeka as a billing clerk in the warehouse at night. He worked there until graduating with a BS degree in Business Administration in May of 1973.

From there he drove a truck on a harvest crew with friends until the Fall and then went to work for Woolco Department Stores in the Credit department as Assistant Credit manager. He Worked there until the Fall of 1974 when he went to work for Kansas Department of Health and Environment as an Accountant in the Business Office. In August of 1975 he accepted a position with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation as their Accountant/Business Manager.

Gary married Teresa O'dell in March of 1976. They were divorced in 1985. They had no children.

Poor Gary Wayne had to suffer with having his photograph taken with me time after time---sorry Gary.   This photograph of Gary W. on the left and Nicholas "Nickey Lee" on the right was taken about 1949 or 1950 in front of the Maple Hill Central Office, Maple Hill, Kansas.

Gary continued with the accountant job at KBI until December 1981 when he took a job as a trainee in the KBI Forensic Crime Laboratory as a Forensic Document Examiner. This involved a two year training program which included working with an experienced Forensic Scientist in his area of study and he also attended a number of training sessions with the Federal Bureau of Investigation Training Academy as well as The United States Secret Service Training Division. After completion of training, he completed the certification testing conducted by the American Board of Forensic Document Examiners. This was approximately a six month process and included written tests, completion of practical problems and demonstration of your findings to a panel of board directors. By passing this testing, Gary became a Certified Forensic Document Examiner, one of only about 100 individuals in United States and Canada who had successfully completed this process. In order to maintain this certification it was necessary to attend week long training seminars with professional and scientific organizations each year to learn new techniques and methods and share information with other Forensic Scientists from other Laboratories. Gary is a member emeritus of the Midwest Association of Forensic Scientists and the International Association for Identification.

This picture was taken on Thanksgiving Day, 2004 at the home of Gary W. Clark in north Maple Hill, Kansas.  First row L-R:  Josh Clark, Katy Clark, Brenda Clark, Lucille Clark, and Karen Clark.   Back Row, L-R:  Steven Clark, Stanley Clark, Gary W. Clark, Timothy John Clark and Nicholas L. Clark, Sr.

A Forensic Document Examiner's work includes the comparison of questioned and known handwriting and hand printing for the purpose of identification of the author or the detection of forgery of all types of documents. Besides handwriting comparison, they also performed paper and ink comparisons, comparison of mechanical impressions on documents such as those made by typewriting devices, adding machines, photocopy machines, rubber stamps, computer printers, printing presses etc., for the purpose of identifying the source of documents or proving that documents were not made on purported devices. They also examine counterfeit currency, checks, and money orders, etc.

Uncle Gary W. Clark used to take his nephew Nicholas Clark, II fishing.   This picture was taken in about 1976 after they had been on a fishing excursion.

Examinations also included detection of indented impressions on documents that could not be seen, in most cases, with the naked eye. When you write on a pad of paper and then tear off the top sheet, often indented impressions are left on the next sheet of paper below the surface where the original writing was made. If the pad is found at a suspects residence, in their possession, or in their vehicle, etc.. These types of impressions are often very important in connecting a suspect to a crime such as threatening letters, drug transaction notes, bank robbery notes, etc. The impressions must be developed using the Electrostatic Detection Apparatus or by using specialized lighting and photographic techniques.

Mylar film ribbons and cartridges from suspect typewriters were often submitted for detection of words and letters on their surface that were also found on documents in question. This was done by using transmitted light to detect the characters and then photographing the characters on the ribbon. Then a side by side comparison of the characters found on the ribbon and the text of the document could be made. This was often useful in connecting individuals to counterfeit documents or in some cases threatening letters sent to individuals.

This photograph was taken in front of the Old Dutch Mill in Wamego, Kansas on our mother's 88th birthday, April 22, 2010.  Lucille (Corbin) Clark is on the left and Gary Wayne Clark is on the right.

The most important part of a Forensic Document Examiners work, besides reporting results of examinations to contributors to aid them in their investigations, is of course to appear in Criminal Courts as an expert witness, to demonstrate and explain his or her findings to a Jury and assist them in determining the guilt or innocence of suspects charged with crimes.

Gary retired from the KBI Laboratory in 2003 after enjoying many years of an interesting and rewarding career. He is now enjoying his leisure time fishing, hunting, golfing and the rest of his time he just wastes doing whatever he wants to. Life is good.

Nick's Additional Thoughts.

Thanks for writing the above information Gary, but as your older brother, I'll take the prerogative to add a couple of things. 

When Gary was in his early teens, he was playing softball and slid into the base and dislocated his hip bone from the socket.  He had a lot of pain and so our Mom took him to Dr. Orval Smith at St. Marys, who said it was a pulled muscle.  So Gary tried to continue to play basketball until he no longer could. That is when the folks took him to Kansas Crippled Children and they sent me to an Orthopedic clinic, operated by Drs. Trees, Joyce and Kroll. Dr. Joyce had me walk for him and knew right away what was wrong.   Surgery was needed.  During the operation, they had to cut a wedge out of Gary's hip bone in order to straighten it as it had bent quite a bit from walking and running on it. They pinned the bone together after removing the wedge. Then they pinned the hip back into the socket.  Gary's right leg wound up about an inch shorter than the left but they told him he could do anything he was able to do. They later operated on him again to remove all pins after the bone and socket had healed.  .

 

This photograph was taken sometime in the 1990s at our mother's home in Maple Hill, Kansas.  L-R are Gary W. Clark, Steven Clark, Lucille (Corbin) Clark, Stanley Clark and Nicholas L. Clark.

Gary was in the hospital for several months and then came home.    I'll never forget the day he was brought home because of what happened.    He was in a body cast, plaster from under his arms all the way down to his knees.   I've forgotten how much that cast weighed but it was many, many pounds.  He was carried into the house and put onto the bed, and I don't think two hours had gone by until the tornado siren went off.   We couldn't see a tornado but the radio was telling us that there was a tornado and that it was headed for Maple Hill.  We all began to think of what we should do.    We didn't have a basement in our house but we could have carried him back outside and across the road to our neighbor's house.  The people had left that had delivered Gary and there was just Mom, myself and I believe Grandmother Corbin and Aunt Bonnie Mitchell.   There was no way we could carry him out of the house and across the street.

Our mother, Lucille (Corbin) Clark, stayed calm.   She said, "We're all going to stay right here and pray for that tornado to miss us."    I don't remember the prayers, if they were audible or silent, but that's just what we did----and the tornado never materialized.   Our mother had the strongest faith of anyone I've ever known.   She was always optimistic and saw the good side of everything.   God bless her!

I was given a 4-F classification when I went for my draft physical, because I had and still have high blood pressure.   We all through because of Gary's hip replacement he would not be taken into the military service.   They saw all of his medical records and still took him into the service.   The rigorous training he received at Ft. Leonardwood and later at Fort Polk was too much for his leg and he eventually had to undergo surgery for varicose veins.  He  had to walk on crutches for a couple of weeks after surgery and wrapped it for a month with bandages.    Rather than give him an honorable discharge, the U.S. Army sent him to Germany where he had lighter duty.   If there was one blessing, it was that he didn't have to go to Viet Nam, which is where he was headed from Ft. Polk. 

Lastly, I want to mention that Gary lived with our mother, Lucille (Corbin) Clark for the last five plus years of her life.  It was such a blessing for them both, but speaking for myself, I want to thank Gary for all the love and attention and kindness he showed Mother over that time.   She could not have stayed in her home from age 85 to age 90 without her help.   It was always her wish that she not be put into a nursing home and Gary made that wish come true.   I know that there were benefits both ways but our family will always be grateful to him for the gift of those years added to Mother's freedom and life.

Gary continues to live in Maple Hill, Kansas and as he says, "Life is good!"

Happy Trails!

The Children of Nicholas L. Clark: Nicholas L. Clark, II and Amelia "Amy" M.V. Clark

I am pleased to be the father of two wonderful children:

Nicholas L. Clark, II

Nicholas L. Clark, II was born May 1, 1973 at St. Francis Hospital in Topeka, Kansas.   Nicholas spent the first seven years of his life at Moundview Farm in Maple Hill, Kansas and then moved with his parents to Moscow, Idaho, Green Bay, Wisconsin, Jacksonville, Oregon, Muncie, Indiana and Lafayette, Indiana.

Nicholas attended schools in Idaho, Wisconsin, Oregon and graduated from Burris Laboratory School, the teacher training academy, for Ball State University, in Muncie, Indiana.  Nicholas attended Ball State University and graduated from Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana with a Bachelor of Science.

Nicholas was married to Natalie Bachynsky at Burrows Presbyterian Church, Burrows, Indiana by his father, Pastor Nicholas L. Clark, Sr.  Natalie Bachynsky is the daughter of Leo and Helen Bachynsky, of Smithfield, Virginia and is also a graduate of Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana.

Wedding photograph of Nicholas L. Clark, II and his bride Natalie Anne Bachynsky taken at Burrows Presbyterian Church, Burrows, IN.

Nicholas and Natalie are the parents of two children:  Liam Timothy Clark born November 26, 2005 at Home Hospital in Lafayette, Indiana and Mia Olena Clark born March 26, 2007 at Home Hospital in Lafayette, Indiana.

Nicholas worked at Kirby Risk Electric Supply in Lafayette, Indiana until he and his family moved to Suffolk, Virginia where he is employed at Electrical Equipment Company, the premier distributor of electrical supplies and equipment in Norfolk, Virginia.

This photograph was taken in December 2008.  Left to right are Natalie, Liam and Nicholas holding Mia Clark.

Nicholas, Natalie, Liam and Mia Clark live in Suffolk, Virginia.


















Amelia Mary Verona Clark

Amelia Mary Verona "Amy" Clark was born on March 30, 1977 at St. Francis Hospital in Topeka, Kansas.   Amy spent the first several months of her life at Moundview Farm in Maple Hill, Kansas and then moved with er parents to Moscow, Idaho, Green Bay, Wisconsin, Jacksonville, Oregon, and Muncie, Indiana.

Amy attended schools in Wisconsin, Oregon and graduated from Burris Laboratory School, the teacher training academy for Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.   Amy was a Rotary Exchange Student in Barcelona, Spain during her junior year at Burris Laboratory School, where she graduated with honors.

This photo was taken when Amy Clark graduated from Miami University of Ohio.  L-R are Amelia "Amy" Clark, her paternal grandmother, Lucille (Corbin) Clark and her brother Nicholas L. Clark, II.

Amy received a full academic scholarship to Miami University of Ohio in Oxford, Ohio and went on to receive her MBA from Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio.

A photograph of the wedding party of Richard James and Amelia "Amy" (Clark) Allendorf.

On October 18, 2002, Amy was married to Richard James Allendorf, son of Richard Henry and Linda (Scherpenburg) Allendorf, Cincinatti, Ohio.   They were married in the Kumler Chapel on the Miami University Campus in Oxford, Ohio.

Amy and Rich are the parents of three boys:  William Henry Allendorf born March 25, 2005 in Iowa City, Iowa; Wyatt Nicholas Allendorf born October 11, 2007 and Weston James Allendorf born December 23, 2011 both born at Cincinnati, Ohio.

L-R:  Wyatt Nicholas, William Henry and Weston James Allendorf taken in 2012.

Rich is also a graduate of Miami University of Ohio where he was the recipient of a basketball scholarship and played center for their team.   Rich has an MBA from the Xavier University of Cincinnati and is employed at Procter and Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Amy was last employed by Toyota Corporation in their marketing department before becoming a full-time mother.

The Allendorfs live in Loveland, Ohio.