Historical Potpourri

I’m in history mode this week. I kept the March 22^nd issue of our local paper because the Rewrite column contained several interesting items. The first which grabbed my attention dealt with the weather

One hundred twenty-five years ago the stage coach driver between Elko and Tuscarora changed seven times from wagon to sleigh to stage. It’s unclear whether that progression occurred twice more or if the wagon-sleigh-stage counted as one change (which sounds very work-intensive and should have taken about three days for the journey). Whatever that entailed, it had to be back-breaking work and cold to boot.

During that same week in 1890 a couple of fellows went by horseback to Moline Canyon (not familiar with that name) and during their three hour trip counted 96 horses dead. That coincides with the sheep rancher I wrote about several weeks ago who lost several thousand head of sheep during a snowstorm—also during the winter of 1890. It was not a friendly time for man and even less so for beasts.

A rancher from Deeth told the reporter his hay corrals were totally depleted whereas in years past he would still have 500-700 tons of hay remaining at this time of year. Sounds like a lot of hay to START the winter, much less end the season. At any rate, he was accustomed to having hay left at the end of winter, but the winter of 1890 didn’t happen that way.

Moving on to the week of March 22, 1915 it appears that the winter was less difficult as thousands of ducks were reported to be nesting in the slough and creeks near Hylton. This news item came by way of the proprietor of the Hylton Hotel. Apparently Hylton was a settlement in Ruby Valley. If any blog readers are familiar with the location of this settlement, it would be fascinating to hear about it.

That same week 100 years ago, the Starr Valley girls beat the girls from Metropolis at basketball. I’m guessing the game was at Starr Valley although the news item doesn’t say so. However, there was a dance after the game so at least it made it worthwhile for which ever team had to make the trip.  (I have seen remnants of the Metropolis school in years past but had no idea there was a high school in Starr Valley.)

Interestingly enough, there were at least two dairies in the Elko area 100 years ago. One bought out the other, increasing the total milk cows to sixty, all of which would be located at the Russell Ranch.. The seller, a Mr. Charles Keass intended to homestead on Meadow Creek. For some reason it seems strange to think of milk cows rather than beef cows in this area.

Then our history lesson moves to 75 years ago when a news item reports that the ice harvest had failed in Carlin. This caught my eye because I wrote a blog post early in the year about ice harvesting. It seems that if the area had only had 72 more hours of cold weather, they would have been able to cut a normal harvest, but the warm weather prevented adequate thickness of ice to form. Fortunately, there were 23,000 tons of ice remaining for the summer of 1940 and if the next winter's weather brought the usual cold temperatures, the Carlin company would once again be able to harvest 60,000 tons of ice.

Most likely many rural areas in the US during 1890, 1915 and 1940 experienced somewhat similar weather/activities as did Elko County. I guess those days in the past could be called “the good old days”—but not by meJ

Epiphanies

Think of epiphany as an "ah-ha moment" rather than  in a particularly religious sense. My experience was Biblically based but had nothing to do with the Church calendar. Checking my thesaurus yielded additional meanings of epiphany to include words such as: insight, realization, understanding and comprehension.

The particular epiphany that dawned on me this past week was due to something Sarah Young wrote in Jesus Calling for the meditation on April 10. She was referring to Romans 8:28 where the Apostle Paul writes about how all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose.

For some reason I always understood that verse to be referring to life’s adversities such as loss of a job, death of a beloved friend or family member, chronic illness—anything, I now realize, having to do with outside circumstances bringing pain or discomfort. The verse does of course refer to such difficulties, but thanks to Sarah’s insight, there is even more benefit from God in this wonderful promise, and here it is:  God can take my mistakes and sins and recycle them into something good by His transforming power.

It was like a light bulb went on in my brain! Even my own, very personal screw-ups can be turned into something good by my Best Friend. How awesome is that.

Would you believe there was icing on the cake that day? I have been reading through the Psalms and was ready for Psalm 126. There the psalmist is describing the ecstatic joy of Israel as they return home from exile in Babylon. He says they were laughing and singing, praising God for bringing them back to Jerusalem. I can imagine the travelers could hardly contain their joy as they caught sight of Mount Zion. They probably felt so full of joy they were almost physically bursting with it.

The psalmist finishes his poem with the beautiful words, “They who go out with tears shall reap in joy.” For me, that brings God’s promise around full circle from the Old Testament to the New to us in the 21^st century. That kind of joy is available to us as we see God work in all our distressing circumstances, whether they are of our making or not.  He loves to turn our tears into joy, those horrendous happenings into productive positive results. Only a God of miracles can achieve that! 

New Beginnings

As I stare at it, the title is somewhat redundant. But carrying the idea forward, I think of second chances, renewal, rebirth, or---resurrection.

For the believer in Christ, perhaps Resurrection Sunday could even provide more impetus for a renewed look at life than January 1, the traditional time to make New Year’s Resolutions. What better time to evaluate one’s life, particularly in a spiritual sense, than at the time we celebrate such an awesome happening. Not only did the God-Man, Jesus, die and become alive again, but He also paid humankind’s sin-debt enabling us to have eternal life with Him after our relatively brief sojourn on this planet. Therefore, it seems to be an especially relevant time for an inward look that might result in a renewal for our spiritual selves.

In connection with Resurrection Sunday, I never cease to be amazed at God’s perfect sense of timing. For as our planet Earth is ready for rebirth (or resurrection) with the plant life cycle—at least in our hemisphere—so our Savior became alive again in a totally unique fashion.    

The inserted picture of tulips from my front flower garden consists of flowers that actually bloomed at the end of March—an unheard of happening, at least during my 24 years of living in this high desert country. How much more wondrous was the resurrection of our Savior, particularly as His followers never though they’d see him again. Yet because of the Resurrection on that day, I know, without a doubt, that I will see my husband again—and my parents, and my grandparents, and his parents and some dear friends—the list could continue on.

So, I challenge any readers, including myself, in light of Resurrection Sunday, to intentionally make Monday the beginning of the rest of your life. Take time on this special Sunday to look at relationships, habits, desires, and goals as you imagine Christ in His Resurrection Glory might look at them. As His light shines on your path, follow the leading He gives your life’s journey.