We returned home last night after four days and three nights for activities related to the Germanna Reunion. The first of these was a Willheit gathering which toured several sites and ended up with a dinner and hay ride. I will be writing some more about this, especially about the house at Scotchtown where Mr. Chiswell lived (also Patrick Henry). Our most excellent leader was Johanna Wilhite Allyn. This was on Thursday afternoon and evening.
On Friday, from nine in the morning to four in the afternoon, I led a tour of Madison County to which we added some observations about Fleshman’s Run, Stevensburg, Cross Key Tavern, three of the Mt. Pony sites of Germanna people (Amberger, Kabler, and Zimmerman). In Madison County, after a brief stop at the Hebron Church for orientation, we drove by some of the prominent landmarks of the county, including White Oak Run, the Robinson River, and the original tracts of many of the German settlers who were the first settlers of the region. We had to choose our routes very carefully as we were in a large bus with 45 people on it. I would like to have visited more of the home sites but it just wasn’t practical in a large bus. As Deputy Sheriff Steve Huffman, whom we saw, said, “Some of these roads were designed for a horse and wagon.”
After this tour, which went as far north as Criglerville, we returned to the Hebron Church where we had a short question and answer session. At noon we had lunch in the social hall which was served by ladies of the church. Then we adjoined to the church where I gave a longer talk, and tried to answer some questions, about the congregation and the church itself, which covered the period up to the departure of Rev. Carpenter.
Somewhere between two and three o’clock we were in the town of Madison itself where the tour members could walk along Main Street and see several buildings. Two of the most popular sites, which were open, were the Madison County Library and the Courthouse. In the latter place, Joan Tanner helped several people, at least to the extent of orienting them to the records. At three thirty we had to leave to be back at the Germanna Visitor’s Center by four.
Then in the evening we had a Greet and Eat (barbeque) time at Salubria. This is an opportunity to talk with other people who are attending the Reunion. The conclusion of this, I was all too happy to fall into bed and sleep the rest of the weary.
(17 Jul 06)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.