Dec 23

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Today I am re-posting a blog I wrote several years ago, the story of the first time I heard the beautiful Christmas song Mary, Did You Know.

“Mary, Did You Know” by Buddy Greene & Mark Lowry.

It was in the early 1990s at a small live concert and the song was sung by Buddy Greene, one of its composers.

A friend had asked us if we would like to go to Fort Recovery to hear Buddy Greene, a Christian musician known for playing the harmonica. My friend and her husband had seen Buddy perform several times and she knew that I liked harmonica music. Our son Jeff, who was around 12 at the time, also went along, so it would have been about 1994.

I do not remember where the event was held, only that it was at a church in Fort Recovery. Chairs were set up in their fellowship hall and a small group had gathered that Friday night to hear some Christian music played on the harmonica. We had seats in the first or second row and we even got to meet Buddy Greene after the show.

Buddy Greene is quite talented and is a very good entertainer. In addition to the harmonica, he played his guitar, sang, and talked. He had several harmonicas and played them like I had never heard a harmonica played before.

He played traditional harmonica numbers, such as Orange Blossom Special, as well as hymns, Gospel songs, and even a few classical pieces. I never thought of Bach’s Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring as a harmonica number, but Buddy played it beautifully on his harmonica.

Toward the end of the evening he sang Mary, Did You Know, a song that he helped compose. That was the first time we had ever heard the song and it immediately became one of our favorite Christmas songs. Buddy explained that his friend Mark Lowry wrote the lyrics and asked him to compose the melody.

What a wonderful piece of music that has become a favorite Christmas song for many. I still get chills every time I hear it because the lyrics are so profound and meaningful.

The lyrics were written in 1984 and Buddy composed the music sometime after. Mary, Did You Know was first recorded by Michael English in 1992 and has since been sung and recorded by many others.

We got to hear it when it was a relatively new song and were privileged to hear it performed live by one of its composers.

Most recently, we saw bluegrass performer Rhonda Vincent and her band the Rage twice and she sang Mary, Did You Know at both concerts. They dressed up for their version of the Nativity during their Christmas concert.

Rhonda Vincent & the Rage, Berlin, Ohio, December 2022

Rhonda sang Mary, Did You Know beautifully and accompanied herself on her acoustic guitar. You could have heard a pin drop when she sang it.   

Rhonda Vincent, Berlin, Ohio, December 2022

Rhonda Vincent, Berlin, Ohio, December 2022

Merry Christmas from Karen’s Chatt!

Dec 20

Tombstone Tuesday-Dash Meaning

We took a little vacation to Holmes County a couple weeks ago. The weather was pretty nice for December and while there we took the time to visit one of my favorite cemeteries, West Lawn Cemetery, in Baltic, Tuscarawas County. Some of my Scaer/Scarr ancestors lived in that area in the late 1800s before moving to Allen County, Indiana. In fact, my great-grandfather John Scaer was born in Baltic in 1865.

Baltic, Tuscarawas County, Ohio

West Lawn Cemetery is on the west edge of Baltic and is located on a hill.

West Lawn Cemetery, Baltic, Ohio

We usually visit this cemetery when we are in the Holmes County area, along with a stop at one of our favorite wineries, the Baltic Mill Winery, located in a beautiful old mill in town.

Baltic Mill Winery

It was a nice sunny day when we were at the cemetery and on this visit we explored the new section.

I noticed this saying, inscribed on the Baab tombstone.

Dash inscription, West Lawn Cemetery, Baltic, Ohio, Baab monument

DASH WAS LIVED TO ITS FULLEST  

It took me a few seconds to understand its meaning.

Can you figure out the meaning?

Dash inscription, West Lawn Cemetery, Baltic, Ohio, Baab monument

The DASH refers to the dash between the birth and death years. In this case, the dash between 1932-2022.

On many tombstones, and in genealogy in general, the vital statistics of a person’s life are reduced to two dates, their birth date and their death date, with a dash between the two dates.

The birth and death years are important but there is so much more to someone’s life.

For most people, most of their lifetime is what happens during the time period represented by the dash. The period of time between the two dates.

The dash is your life.  

We should all make the most of our dash.

Dec 16

1909 Christmas Greeting to Effie Morrison

Sending Christmas greeting cards has been a tradition since the 1840s and Christmas postcards were certainly popular in this area in the early 1900s.

This is another Christmas postcard, postmarked Willshire, Ohio, December 23, 1909. It is addressed to Mrs. Effie Morrison, Willshire, O.

1909 postcard addressed to Effie Morrison, Willshire postmark.

The sender wrote the note on 12-22-1909, from Willshire, O, and wrote:

I wish you all a Merry Xmas and a happy New Year. Lillie R.

The message is short and sweet.

1909 postcard addressed to Effie Morrison, Willshire postmark.

I don’t know who Lillie R. was but there were two Effie Morrisons living in the area, both living in Black Creek Township, Mercer County.

The first was Effie R. (Koontz) Morrison (1869-1959), the daughter of Joel and Anna J. (Frock) Koontz. She married Robert R. Morrison (1870-1933) about 1896 and in 1910 they lived south of Willshire, in Black Creek Township, on Brandt Pike, which likely is now State Route 49. Robert and Effie moved to Celina by 1920. They had no children and are buried in North Grove Cemetery, Celina.

I suspect this postcard was sent to Effie R. since they probably had a Willshire address.

The other Effie, Effie A. (Latimer) Morrison (1871-1945), lived on Rutledge Pike, Black Creek Township, in 1910 and probably had a Rockford address. Effie A. was the daughter of John and Emily (Stevenson/Stephenson) Latimer and married Frank D. Morrison in 1894. Frank D. Morrison (1868-1964) and Robert R. Morrison were brothers, so the two Effies were sisters-in-laws. Effie A. and Frank D. Morrison had four daughters Hattie, Lottie, Bessie, and Mabel. Effie A. (Latimer) Morrison is buried in East Bethel Cemetery, Black Creek Township.

Another nice vintage Christmas postcard.

Dec 13

Tombstone Tuesday-Lighthouse Symbol

Lighthouses have stood on coastlines for centuries, warning and guiding sailors to a safe passage.

A lighthouse image inscribed on a tombstone can have several meanings.

Lighthouse symbol, West Lawn Cemetery, Baltic, Tuscarawas County, Ohio

Lighthouses symbolize strength. Most stand on the edge of cliffs and rocks, standing strong against the storms and rough sea waves.

Lighthouses symbolize vigilance. The lighthouse keeper is reliable, always on duty at the lighthouse, keeping watch 24 hours a day, every day of the year, guiding sailors.

A lighthouse is a source of hope and can be a lifesaver. Its beacon of light guides people to a safe haven, especially those lost at sea and ships seeking safe harbor. Lighthouses are erected in locations where there would likely be death without them. Built near dangerous rocks, hidden sandbars, and strong currents, they give hope for safe passage.

Lighthouses are a guiding light and an important navigation tool, guiding sailors safely to shore. They symbolize the hope and faith in Jesus as the Guiding Light. In addition, the Guiding Light Principle encourages people to follow a moral and right path.

The lighthouse provides safety for the lighthouse keeper and people on the coastline who may need shelter.

Finally, the lighthouse symbolizes the end of a journey. One has crossed the sea of life, the journey has ended and the lighthouse is a welcoming sign the journey is coming to a happy ending.

Dec 09

1910 Christmas Greetings to Adam Dietrich

I recently acquired this nice old Christmas postcard, addressed to Mr. Adam Dietrich, RR 2, Willshire, Ohio.

c1910 Christmas postcard to Adam Dietrich

It has no stamp on it and was never postmarked. It was likely given to Adam Dietrich in person, perhaps with a Christmas present. The postcard dates roughly to 1910. A clue is that United States postcards did not have a divided back, a line separating the address area and the writing area, until 1907.

c1910 Christmas postcard to Adam Dietrich

The postcard is addressed in English but the message is written in German, written in the old German script.

Signed Edna, c1910 Christmas postcard to Adam Dietrich

I do not know German but I can somewhat read the old German script and am fairly good at picking out names. The message is a Christmas and New Year greeting. I was able to pick out a couple words:

Merry Christmas (Froehlich Weihnachten) and year (Jahr).

And most importantly, Von Edna.

The postcard was from Edna.

Edna who? Just who was Edna? The Dietrichs and Schumms intermarried and I have a lot of genealogy information about the Schumms, but some about the Dietrichs .

The postcard was likely written to Johann “Adam” Dietrich (1828-1912), a German immigrant who would have spoken and read German for sure.

Adam Dietrich had a son Johann Adam (1860-1903). Since the son was deceased before 1907 (the divided card date), the card was likely written to the elder Dietrich.

Another of Adam Dietrich’s sons, Ernest George Dietrich (1864-1905) had a daughter Edna Magdalena (1901-1986). Edna probably went to one of the Lutheran parochial schools in the Schumm area, where they taught German and the old German Script. These parochial schools taught pupils to read and write German before WWI and the families probably spoke German at home. I remember that Velma Schumm (1914-2016) could read and write German. She once showed me one of her old schoolbooks, in which she practiced writing the old script.

This Christmas greeting could have been written by Edna Dietrich to her grandfather, Adam Dietrich. Edna would have been around 10 years old at the time, old enough to write the message.

That is my best guess.

If this is the correct Edna, her mother, Clara Rosina Schumm (1875-1936), was the daughter of River Henry Schumm and Rosina Schinnerer. Edna’s father Ernest George Dietrich died in 1905 and her mother Clara (Schumm) Dietrich married Carl Merkle (1869-1963).

Edna Dietrich went on to marry George Jacob Hofmann in 1925 and they had five children.

Whoever Edna was, she had very nice handwriting. I just wish I could read her whole message!