Ghost Community

Freidenburg

 

          Over there on the horizon a small building sits below the rise.  Looks like any other building on the vast expanses of the prairie.   The little building is a Mennonite Church.  The only reminder, that Mennonite’s settled the area at the turn of the 19^th century. 

           

            The Mennonites had emigrated to the Volga region of Russia from Germany at the invitation of Katherine, the ruler of Russia at the time.  They along with numerous German moved to the Volga and settled in as farmers, merchants etc.  Later in the 19^th century Katherine was overthrown by the Tsars.  This brought about violent turmoil in Russia.  The Bolshevik’s were at odds with the Tsars, the beginning of the Russian revolution.  The Tsars needing more soldiers began to conscript the Germans.  There had been an agreement with Katherine that there would be no military conscription of the German immigrants into the Russian Army.  The Tsars scoffed at that and began drafting the Germans.  Soon the Germans were fleeing Russia.  Many of them heading to the homeland and many more going on to the New World.

            Crossing the pond and into the New World, a small group of Mennonite’s journeyed to the prairie of eastern Colorado to a place called Pleasant Valley to settle.  Here they began their American dream, homes were built, schools and their church.  The church is all that remains. 

            There are a few descendents in the area that take care of the grounds and the building.  Some of the graves are fairly recent and the grounds mown. 

            Over that away was the Post Office, called Bakerville.  Not sure if one of the Mennonites operated it.  Like so many country Pot Offices, it appears to of been operated out of a farm house.  To the north is the fading village of Vona, which many consider as their hometown. 

 

            At a local library I was going through some local history books and found a story in one of the older books about the settlement.  I had a map from a history group of the county that showed the cemetery location and the area as being Pleasant Valley.  It wasn’t in any of the more modern books or on digital maps or old trail maps.  Just one of those things found by accident.  It took two trips, for the first time I was in the little van.  The church and cemetery are down a two lane path and the van does not have much clearance, so I got the pickup with more clearance and bounced down the pasture path to the dead end.

 

 

            There were a few bovines along the way and the buffalo lounged about.

 

            It is one of those fascinating little chapters on the prairie that is fading.  Pleasant Valley is pretty empty, there are some scattered abandoned homesteads.  Mostly it is livestock to converse with. 

 

 

 

presidential

 

Hillary Supporters

            What kind of person supports Hillary for president of the United States?

 

To get an idea of this kind of support one has to go back in time a ways.  When Hillary’s husband, William Clinton, came out of Arkansas to be elected president of the USA, they were under investigation.  Bill and Hillary Clinton were involved in a land development that was under investigation for wrong doing.  It was known as the Whitewater Scandal. During the first years in the White House there were denials of any wrong doing by the Clinton’s, yet the investigation continued.  Eventually the Whitewater Scandal went away. 

During this time Hillary did not speak out in any way about what was going on.  Then allegations of sexual affairs began to surface.  Numerous women stepped forward saying they had sexual affairs with William Clinton.  These allegations were dismissed by the President as having never happened.  The allegations soon became back page news.  Again Hillary said nothing about the allegations. 

Then a White House intern came forward saying she had sex with William Clinton in the White House.  The intern stated that she had oral sex with the President while he was on the phone talking about the affairs of the state.  These allegations were investigated and were validated as being the truth.  Again Hillary said nothing about the sexual liaisons her husband was involved in. 

The implication is that Hillary accepted lying and cheating by her husband.  Even after President Clinton was impeached, Hillary did not condemn his actions.  It was acceptable behavior, the appearances that presidential candidate gave.  So just by actions one can assume that Hillary Clinton accepts that cheating and lying is acceptable.  So when looks at all of the allegations that surround her today, one can make a pretty good assumption that the allegations are fairly accurate.

So where does this leave the people that support Hillary Clinton for President.  Are they cheaters and liars?  It would appear that they accept cheating and lying as a moral value. 

Yet is that all bad. 

Consider if you need an attorney.  Find one that was a Hillary supporter and they probably will lie and cheat for you to win the case.  Then there are the tax people.  Come tax time find a bookkeeper/accountant that supported Hillary.  Let them prepare your taxes.  If they lie or cheat on your taxes, they will have a good contact in the IRS.  It seems like to deal with government one should consider cheating and lying as a modus oprendi.  For the parents that want their children to have good grades.  Find a teacher that supported Hillary.  Then cheating and lying in the classroom will be acceptable.  Out of the school will come students that are very proficient in lying and cheating.  They may not know much but they sure can tell a good story. 

So ask, what kind of person is going to vote for Hillary Clinton, is she presidential material? 

 

Tuttle, CO

 

It was a pain to find because of my preconceived notions.  I was expecting it to be there but it was over there.  Then when I only read one part and ignore the other books that is what happens. 

The Tuttle Post Office Is advertised by a local group and part of a variety pack of interesting places they advertise for their part of the plains. 

Out in the pasture sit the remains of the Post Office and general store.  There are some foundations from other buildings next to it.  In the weeds they are are well buried.  There is no public access, just a long distance view from the road. 

The sign they made for it had a good case of sunburn and will soon be replaced by another. 

Being made of stone with a tin roof, it should withstand the elements for a few more years.  It appears it was a prosperous place at one time from its size.  Yet the neighborhood around it is pretty vacant today.  The nearest house are back that way a few miles and the same the other direction.  Even the horizon is a rolling void of homes, just waving grasses. 

As the crow flies, the Tuttle Ranch is about 5 miles south.  By the modern country road of today it is about 9 miles around the bend and over the river.  The Tuttle Ranch had the mail contract during the late 1800’s and was the Post Office until the contract was awarded to another.  The Post Office moved to the General Store to the north but the name Tuttle was retained. 

There were a variety of Tuttle’s in the area and they were involved in some type of range war.  Information I have found has been very limited.  Hopefully one of these days I’ll turn over the right rock and find what I want. 

The two Tuttle ranches that show up on the map were with a couple of miles of each other and were on the freight road and Stage route following the Republican River. 

During the 180’s this area was hotly contested by the white invaders and the Indians.  There were more then a few Indian attacks on the ranch houses and the stage.  Some the locals I talked with, talk about finding all kinds of arrowheads in the area and other reminders of the when the Indians lived in the area.  Small caves in the area with smoke covered openings.

The Tuttle Ranch is no more, it was washed away by the flood of 1935.  The Republican River was visited by Noah.  Flood waters a mile wide and 20-40 feet deep.  This massive flood changed lots of things and today the dry stream bed looks so innocent. 

Back down this pasture trail a few hundred yards is where the Tuttle ranch had been.  Today very serene and peaceful and one can see why it would make a nice setting for a ranch.  Very contrasting where the stone Tuttle Post Office sits. 

Turning around a looking the other way a short distance is where station 21 for the Leavenworth and Pikes Peak Stage Station would have been. 

Like so many things in eastern Colorado, on private property and posted. 

Yet it is fascinating to drive the country roads and ponder what it would have been like to be riding over the country and see Indians ride up over the horizon. 

Instead now days I find some neat old abandoned homesteads.  Yet this was the heart of the Plains Indian Wars during the 1860’s while the Civil War was going on.