World Poetry Day - Immortality Through Our Descendants

Shakespeare...

DON'T CRINGE AND RUN AWAY!!!!

Shakespeare understood the importance of leaving behind children.  That they are our path to immortality.  We live on through them.  As long as there are descendants, we too live in some form.  I'm a big Shakespeare fan.  Can I wax poetic on all aspects of his works?  No.  I'm reading his entire works this year via the Shakespeare in a Year group.  I'm a little far behind, but even if I don't finish with the group I will finish.  It's different reading Shakespeare as an adult than as a high school kid.  You tend to understand more of it.  These are two of my favorite sonnets.  It made me realize how passionately he felt about having children.

Sonnet IX

Is it for fear to wet a widow's eye

That thou consum'st thyself in single life?

Ah! if thou issueless shalt hap to die,

The world will wail thee, like a makeless wife:

The world will be thy widow, and still weep

That thou no form of thee hast left behind,

When every private widow well may keep,

By childrens eyes, her husband's shape in mind.

Look, what an unthrift in the world doth spend

Shifts but his place, for still the world enjoys it:

But beauty's waste hath in the world an end, 

And kept unus'd, the user so destroys it.

No love toward others in that bosom sits, 

That on himself such murderous shame commits.

Die without leaving a child and the world weeps for the loss, while should a wife lose her husband (or vice versa), they continue to see their spouse in their children's faces.  You continue to live on through your children.

Sonnet II

When forty winters shall besiege thy brow,

And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field, 

Thy youth's proud livery, so gaz'd on now,

Will be a tatter'd weed, of small worth held:

Then being ask'd where all thy beauty lies,

Where all the treasure of thy lusty days;

To say, within thine own deep sunken eyes,

Were an all-eating shame and thriftless praise.

How much more praise deserv'd thy beauty's use,

If thou couldst answer - 'This fair child of mine

Shall sum my count, and make my old excuse-'

Proving his beauty by succession thine!

This were to be new-made when thou art old, 

And see thy blood warm when thou feel'st it cold.

As we reach the end of our lives we see that there is still so much life left.  Life that we issued.  Why wouldn't a parent as they grow old not look at their children and grandchildren and smile!

Amanuensis Monday - Good Advice Through the Ages

I was actually preparing to transcribe an article on the Peshtigo Fire for today, but when I opened the digital copy of "The Waynesboro Village Record" for October 26, 1871 and began looking for the article on the fire, the following article caught my attention and I figured I'd have a bit of fun today!

Waynesboro Village Record, 26OCT1871

"Some Things

Have ideas of your own.

Be sure your own doctrines are sound before pitching into other people's.

Ride and belabor your own hobby to your hearts content, but for heaven's sake do not quarrel with friends and neighbors because they refuse to mount with you.

If it hurts your feelings to be snubbed and bluffed off, remember that others may not like it any better than you do.

Conceal the weak points in your nature with an honest mantle of self-poise and independence, and then many an intended sting will not wound or give you pain.

Earn your own self respect and then you will not imagine people intend to slight you.

Be sure you meirit [sic] respect and then do not lay awake nights worying [sic] about other people's opinion of yon [sic].

Above all things be kind to the poor, the sick, the old, the young, and to your wife, if you have one; and go slow when attempting to revege an injury, for ofttimes that which seems an injury proves a benefit.

In short, be kind and considerate to your friends, keep your enemies at a proper distance, in thought and every other way, and be as good to yourself as you possibly can without wronging anybody else. - Elm Orlon."

I found it amusing that it was in the newspaper let alone on the front page!  It's so interesting to see how different the news can be, but what a great insight into what was seen as important during our ancestor's time! 

I certainly did note upon reading "Some Things" that some things are as true today as they were back then!

Sunday's Obituary - Valentine Herman

"V. Herman Of Allenton Dies Tuesday (hand-written 1954)
Valentine Herman, 63, of Allenton, died Tuesday, Sept. 21, in that village.

He is survived by his wife, nee Hulda Hahn; three sons, Erwin, Raymond and William; four grandchildren, three daughters-in-law, two brothers, Carl and George, and two sisters, Mrs. Elizabeth Zimdahl and Mrs. Dora Kuehl.

Funeral services will be held Friday afternoon, Sept. 24, at 1:30 o'clock at Zion's Lutheran church Kohlsville, the Rev. G. Kaniess officiating.  Interment will be in Union cemetery, Theresa.  In state at the Ritger funeral home, Allenton after 1 p. m. today (Thursday) and until 11 a. m. Friday, and from noon until the hour of services at the church."

Valentine was actually the son of Valentin Hermann and Ernestine Mueller.  The surname can be spelled with one or two n's at the end. Valentine Jr was my husband's great-great uncle.

Funeral Card Friday - Joseph Batzler

”Joseph Batzler, Others Pass On (hand-written, 1981 - unknown Wisconsin newspaper clipping)

Joseph "Tom" Batzler, 76, a lifelong resident of the St. Kilian area, died early Tueday morning, June 30, at St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac after a brief illness.

He was born in St. Kilian on March 27, 1905, to the late Jacob and Victoria Bonlender Batzler.  He was a retired farmer and truck driver for Baker Canning Co. in Theresa, and a member of St. Kilian Catholic Church in St. Kilian.

On June 7, 1932, he married Marcella Hurth in St. Kilian Catholic Church at St. Kilian.

Survivors include his wife; one son Gerald (Grace) of R. 3, Campbellsport; two daughters, Joann (Raymond) Sippel of R. 3, Campbellsport, and Susan at home.  He is further survived by eight grandchildren; one brother, Oscar, of Lomira; one sister, Miss Anna Batzler, of St. Kilian; many in-laws, other relatives and friends.  One brother, one sister and one grandchild preceded him in death.

Visitation at Miller's Funeral Home in Kewaskum will be from 4 to 9 p.m. Thursday with a prayer vigil at 8 p.m.  Services will be held Friday, at 10:30 a.m. at the funeral home and at 11:00 a.m. at St. Kilian Catholic Church in St. Kilian.  The Revs. Joseph McDonald and Arthur Kalinski will officiate and burial will be in the church cemetery.”

Happy Saint Patrick's Day from the Muppets

A friend of mine shared this clip on Facebook (through YouTube, of course!).  Such a sad song, but it made me smile.  Here's the Muppet's version of "Danny Boy" starring the Swedish Chef, Animal and Beaker!

Thriller Thursday - Some People Just Can't Be Good, Part III

The Plain Speaker, afternoon edition, August 16, 1950

Here it is!  The last installment of "Some People Just Can't Be Good".

"Betty Bronsavage Shot And Killed In West Hazleton Cafe; Slayer Suicide; Woman Figured In Freeland Death

Double Shooting Occurred at 12:40am - Couple Had Quarreled

Mrs. Betty Bronsavage, 33, of this city, who was acquitted of murder in the shotgun slaying of her common-law husband in Freeland on May 1, 1949, was shot to death early this morning in Beltz' Cafe, West Hazleton.

Her slayer, who police said was Andrew Harvilla, 60, a retired miner of Tresckow, then killed himself.

The murder and suicide is believed, police authorities said, to have been the result of a separation and quarrel between the two, who had been going together the past several months.

Deputy Coroner John Salvator, Jr. and Cpl. Frank Burtner, of the Hazleton detail, State Police, said that Mrs. Bronsavage, whose full name is Helen Elizabeth Bronsavage, entered the cafe alone.  Harvilla came in shortly after, and, with both standing at the bar, asked if he could buy her a drink.

Woman Refused Drink

Police said she was reported as having refused the drink, but that she asked Harvilla to call a taxi, after which she walked to a table and sat down on a chair.

Harvilla, after calling a cab, then walked to where she was sitting, pulled a .38-calibre revolver from his pocket, and fired one shot at her head, according to authorities.

As the victim sprawled into a grotesque position, apparently killed instantly, Harvilla walked away about eight feet, put the revolver to his head and fired again.

Autopsies on both bodies were performed this morning at the State Hospital by Dr. Jules Foldes, staff pathologist.

Results Of Autopsies

Deputy Salvator in releasing details of the autopsies, said Mrs. Bronsavage's death, a homicide, was due to a .38-calibre bullet severing the jugular vein and carotid artery.  It entered on her left cheek and left the body on the right side of the neck.  Harvilla's death, called a suicide by the coroner, was due to a bullet of the same calibre, which entered the head at the right temple and lodged in the brain, where it was found at the autopsy.

Mrs. Bronsavage, was the center of a sensational case last year.  Louis Broton, 30, of Harleigh, with whom she had lived for seven months, was found dead, the victim of a shotgun blast, on the early morning of May 1, 1949, in a small two-room house on Butler Terrace, west of Freeland, which the two had rented only a few hours earlier.

The woman told state police that Broton had committed suicide, but after continued questioning, allegedly admitted that she shot him in his sleep.  She told police Broton had threatened to kill her several times and that night had brought the shotgun home.  In fear of her life, because of the threats, she killed him.

Was Acquitted Nov.1

She was indicted for murder by Luzerne County Grand Jury August 31, 1949 and was brought to trial.  The jury, believing her story of self defense, acquitted her on Nov. 1

After her acquittal she lived in McAdoo and the moved to Hazleton, residing in several boarding houses here.

Harvilla Was Retired

Harvilla who retired from mining work several years ago, had worked in Jeanesville.  He was born in Europe but came to this country as a young man and resided in this section ever since.  His wife died about two years ago.  There are no survivors in this country, but (unk) people said he had two brothers and two sisters living in Europe.

Police said this morning that Harvilla sold his home several months ago, and had been seen in the shooting, which occurred at approximately 12:40 o'clock.

Mrs. Bronsavage is survived by her husband, a crippled miner, from whom she was separated; a daughter, and several brothers and sisters.

Coroner Salvator released Harvilla's body to the Jupina funeral establishment in McAdoo.  The funeral will be held at a time to be announced later.

Up to press time, no one had claimed the body of Mrs. Bronsavage."

"2 Victims of Tragedy Were Buried Yesterday

The two victims of a tragedy, a murder and sucide [sic] at a West Hazleton cafe at an early hour on Wednesday morning, went to their final rest yesterday afternoon.

Andrew Harvilla, 60-year-old Tresckow widower, who fired the shot that killed Mrs. Betty Bronsavage, 33, and then turned the gun on himself, was buried in the Mount Laurel cemetery.  The body had been at the Jupina funeral home in McAdoo.  Mrs. Bronsavage was laid to rest in Calvary cemetery at Drums.  The body was at the Conahan Funeral Home on North Vine street after the Catholic Charities had directed that such provision be made.  As the body was laid to rest in unconsecrated ground.  Rev. A. P. Malony intoned a final blessing."

Anthony Bronsavage Jr

She abandoned her family leaving a husband, severely disabled from a mining accident to care for their small child. Anthony Bronsavage Jr did have some help from family to care for their daughter, but their abandonment is inexcusable.  Perhaps ironically she was in turn abandoned...by her religion.  While Catholic Charities appeared to have claimed the body, she was buried in unconsecrated ground.  This is no doubt a result of her sensational trial from the previous year as well as her habitual infidelity.

Why was she buried in unconsecrated ground?  Now I was always taught that if you were naughty, you were buried in unconsecrated ground, but no additional explanation of what unconsecrated meant was ever given.  I did some research and found a pretty good explanation as to who did not have a right to a "Christian burial" on www.newadvent.org.  It went on to state in a particularly long article on burials, "notorious sinners who die without repentance, those who have openly held the sacraments in contempt... and who showed no signs of sorrow..." were not entitled to Christian burial.  OK...very naughty.

Anyway, enough of that.  So what is the significance of consecrated ground vs. unconsecrated?  Something that has been consecrated takes on a new significance and now falls under "Divine protection".  Consecration is permanent and is only performed once (unless something becomes desecrated), while a blessing is not and may be done over and over again.  

What does this essentially mean? There are many details about the Catholic faith, dying in mortal sin instead of in a state of grace, and the determination of heaven and hell to briefly state the significance.  However, I would think that the blessing was done out of the belief to pray for the dead even though it was probably the belief that her soul was lost.  I will actually have to talk to my priest about this one!  Acquitted of murder, abandonment of her husband and child while sleazing around...I don't think they thought much of her soul, but prayed for it none the less.

Too bad little miss Betty just couldn't be good...

Wordless Wednesday - Turnbach Family Photo

This photo was originally passed on to me by William Turnbach, Jr.  He sent me the key on a floppy disk back in 2001, but the file wouldn't open.  Since then Bill's passed away, but other cousins that I've found in that line have helped name some of the people in the picture.  I have high hopes that someday all of them will have names!