Back In Michigan

Saturday, May 6, 2023

We crossed into Lower Michigan going North on I-69 then turned East on US-12  Friday afternoon and spent our first night at a Walmart in Jonesville, MI. Saturday morning we continued traveling further North and East. The next couple of weeks we will be near our Son, our Daughter-in-law, and four of our Grandkids. It is going to be a busy time, and if I have my way, filled with hugs lots of hugs. 

The blog will be in Missouri one more day.

Monday, May 1, 2023

Today we decide to do a little exploring. Fingerscrossed the "Little Black Limo" gets us around and back. (It did just that...😎)

Outside our door, one wish and three future wishes.

Leaving the Pershing State Park we had two destination's planned: General John J. Pershing Boyhood Home Historic Site and The Locust Creek Covered Bridge. First we made a stop in a picnic area at the park to see the Mothers Memorial.

One of several redbuds in the park. 

The park's War Mothers Memorial was dedicated in 1940 by the Missouri chapter of the American War Mothers organization.

War Angel
“The sacrifice of the soldier will never exceed the sacrifice of his mother.”
General of the Armies of the United States, John J. Pershing.

The American War Mothers was founded in 1917 by Alice Moore French. September 29th 1917, became known as “Founders Day” of the American War Mothers. In the beginning membership only include Mother's whose son's and daughter served in World War I which made it a dying organization from day one. Over the years there were several amendments  to the congressional charter which included "verbiage to include any future American Wars". In 1929 the Missouri chapter of this organization commissioned an inmate John Schultz in Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary to carve the marble statue that is at this location called the War Angel. It was to located in Kansas City, MO at the WWI Liberty Memorial but the new curator refused to take it because of its connection to an inmate and it wound up at the future site of the General Pershing's Museum at the Pershing State Park.

This statue has been in the elements during this time but there are plans from what I have read to restore her and redesign the base and she will be the centerpiece of eight gardens. The article mentioned eight canisters of  dirt from each of the eight WWI American cemeteries in Europe and that she will look over her sons and daughters forever.

Our next stop was at the General Pershing State Historical Site in Laclede, Missouri. The buildings themselves were not open but we did not expect them to be. Interestingly we spent time in Columbus, New Mexico at the Pancho Villa State Park in April of 2018  learning about the Battle of Columbus in 1916 and General John "Blackjack" Pershing's Punitive Expedition into Mexico in March of 1916. The Visitor Center at the Pancho Villa State Park has a museum and we were lucky enough to hear about what was on display from one of the most interesting and knowledgeable docents we have ever met. 

Gen. John J. Pershing Boyhood Home State Historic Site interprets the life of one of America's war heroes. His small town upbringing supplied him with a work ethic that earned him the highest military rank his country had to offer - General of the Armies of the United States.

A statue of "Black Jack," sculpted by Carl Mose in the 1950s, stands by the house and is surrounded by the Wall of Honor, a semicircle of granite tablets inscribed with names of war veterans.

The titles on the granite tablets.

“A ‘Wall of Honor’ was erected in the 1980s,” said Heaney, describing the marble blocks surrounding the Pershing statue. “The inner walls list the names of World War I veterans and the outer walls contain names of veterans from World War II to present,” he added. A brochure from the Pershing Park Memorial Association notes that veterans can have their name added to this memorial for a nominal fee.

John Joseph Pershing, throughout life known as "Jack," was born Sept. 13, 1860. The Pershing family moved into the house in Laclede when John was 6 and stayed there until 1885.

Clicking on the picture should open it in a new window 
to read the plaque which is in front of his boyhood home.

Pershing held a teaching position at Prairie Mound School and eventually saved enough money to attend Kirksville Normal School (now Truman State University), where he received his teaching degree in June 1880. He returned to Prairie Mound School until the fall of 1881. It was then that Pershing saw a newspaper article concerning the competitive exam for entrance into the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Pershing took the test on Oct. 20, 1881, qualified and was nominated to West Point, where he graduated in 1886.

 

General John Joseph “Black Jack” Pershing began his rise through the ranks of the U.S. Army with distinguished service in the Spanish-American War and the Philippines. After leading U.S. forces in pursuit of the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa, Pershing served as commander of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) during World War I.

The Pershing Park Memorial Association  purchased the Prairie Mound School House in 1982—the building where Pershing taught classes prior to his military service. Once located several miles outside of Laclede, the school house was moved to the Gen. John J. Pershing Boyhood Home State Historic Site in 1983, renovated in the 1990s and now serves as a museum.

Our last stop was to see the Locust Creek Covered Bridge a State Historic Site.

There was a small parking area, the walking bridge, and a
sign that said it was 1/4 of a mile to the Locust Covered Bridge.

Locust Creek Covered Bridge trail is an out and back trail that leads to one of only four historic covered bridges left in the State of Missouri. It follows a historic roadbed that consists of loose 1-inch gravel. The Locust Creek Covered Bridge was built in 1868. The nation's first transcontinental road, Route 8, passed over the bridge.

The completion of U.S. Route 36 in 1930 bypassed the bridge, and decreased its use. The course of Locust Creek was changed sometime after World War II, causing the bridge to span a dry creek bed. When the creek bed filled with silt, it left the bridge sitting in mud a lot of the time.

After the state acquired the bridge in 1968, the Locust Creek Covered Bridge State Historic Site was created. They repaired the bridge, replacing much of its structure. In 1991, the Missouri Department of Conservation raised the bridge by six feet to protect the wooden frame and flooring from the muddy, wet ground.

Also called the Linn County Bridge, it is the longest of the four remaining Missouri covered bridges. It is 151 feet long, and 16 feet 8 inches wide. It is located about three miles west of Laclede.

Setting out and walking over the bridge looking
down at the creek below.

The view out the other end.

Walking back through the entrance.

One last picture as we head back down the trail.

It was a good day and we enjoyed checking out all three places. 

The sites at the Pershing State Park are pretty much surrounded
by trees. Tonight's sunset peeking through those trees.

The sunlight hitting the forest floor.

Looking out our front window.
This is a 1995 Ford still pulling a 5th wheel.

The last of today's light on our view. Not many campers
on the week days. It was very quiet Sunday and Monday.

Did we enjoy our time at Pershing State Park? The answer would be, yes with no reservations. Would we come back? That answer would probably be not with the Stinger "B".  It was a tight squeeze into the camping area itself and then the sites like so many state parks were built for smaller rigs. If in the future we downsize and we were on this route the answer would be never say never. 

We are glad you stopped by!

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.