respublica

Is snow fun or not?

Snow may be fun if you get to be outside. 

Tree trimming in the snow

We're having some tree work done in Collinsville and snow doesn't keep the guys from Gildersleeve away so during the beginning of what could be a pretty deep snowfall, there they came. 

 

The neighbors came and took a bunch of the cut up limbs for their wood burning stove.

This was just the first of several trees.

Last year on this date

Someone on campus sent me this ahead of what would be an impending icy mix of weather. Today, ahem, maybe a lot of snow. 

 

 

And here is what we got March 1 last year. 

Thank you for this lovely news Chester Lampkin

KSDK

So glad this isn't a leap year

Woke up this morning to the local news trumpeting 4-7 inches of snow headed our way beginning in the late afternoon. Just stunned by this.

Had just about enough of February.

It's time

3 degrees as we wake up this morning.

Just dreaming.

Who's on Facebook

From the PEW Research people, a chart showing the percentage of people in various categories who use Facebook.

It looks like most everyone of all ages all income brackets all educational backgrounds.

Holy Cross church building centennial year

Holy Cross in Collinsville was established in 1848 and saw the construction of 3 church buildings with the last being what is used for worship currently.

The first was a brick structure, the second made of wood frame. (1855)

Then in 1914 it was decided by the members that a bigger church was necessary, the cornerstone was laid and construction finished in 1915. It began with Pastor von Strohe and finished with pastor Klein.

This is how it looked in 1915. Over the years the front entrance has been altered to allow for fewer steps and for a more centered access. The cost was estimated to be $21,350 for the building and $30,000 for necessary furnishings. Member John Schroeppel donated half the bricks needed, Henry Eberhardt was the builder, the organ bought from the Wicks organ company ($2000), carpet paid for by the Ladies Aid, 3 good bells paid for by the Young Men's Society and the stained glass windows paid for by individual members.

As a side note, builder Henry Eberhardt was also the builder of the Miner's theater as well as the UMB 1st National Bank.

Interestingly, what was the front entrance shown in the picture above was bricked over in around 1948 or somewhat later. But if you look at the left side of the building, you can see the outline of the original doorway very clearly. How this can be mystifies me, but so it is. 

 

Here is a better view of the old door shadow, Click to enlarge the pictures to see better.

And looking at the church from another angle, you can see other designs in the brickwork.

But you have to make the pictures bigger to see.

Oddly, another Lutheran church, Zion, was established in 1847 one year before Holy Cross and a new church around the same time (1920-ish) and was/is almost a twin of Holy Cross. It stands without much alteration from the original in Palmyra Missouri. 

This church is still active but whoa, those outside stairs. As you can see, they did not change much, especially the entry. Their windows and pews and altar are in the same places and in the same numbers as Holy Cross's. The windows have the same stained glass borders but the images in the center are different. How amazing is this?

Holy Cross window

Palmyra window

Interesting to go back in time and see what has continued.





 

Snow everywhere again

Woke up this morning here in St. Louis to another snow. The streets are covered, the temps are dropping and cars are sliding on off ramps during rush hour. But we aren't the only ones. The southeast is getting more snow and cold than they've had in years, the Carolinas, Alabama, Virginia etc etc. Here's a picture of a snow related traffic problem on a highway in Alabama.

Semi trucks! My worst driving nightmare. Here's a story from yesterday. I picked up Christian and Connor from their school in Webster Groves and then Nick from his babysitter so we could go over to Collinsville for mid week Lenten service at Holy Cross. As we were driving in the right lane on I-44 we noticed a huge tractor trailer right on the bumper of a mid-sized gray car in the middle lane. I mean that truck was inches away from the car and stayed that way for some miles until the car moved to exit. Even the boys in the back seat were watching this with disbelief. If something were to have come up which involved stopping quickly, that truck would have been inside that car.

Actually, the boys were so affected by this that when we got into Illinois and the traffic eased a bit, they noticed another big truck and talked about how it looked like the same one that bullied the car. I give those big rigs a wide berth. You just never know.

Tweet of the day-kitchen utensil version

Just the thought of this made me laugh last night. From Dimitri Sotis WTOP

"Too cold to grill outside right now so Paul Kita tells you how to use a blowtorch in your kitchen."