First stop, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. So much 19th century history unfolded in this small town where the Shennadoah and Potomac Rivers meet. Occupation of Harpers Ferry by the Union and Confederate Armies seesawed back and forth eight times during the Civil War. And this is where John Brown's ill-fated Slave Rebellion ended tragically in 1859. Six years before Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown_(abolitionist)
John Brown (1800-1859), the Abolitionist. Lincoln referred to him as a "misguided maniac" because of his efforts over the years to free the slaves by violent means. Historians agree that Brown's raid in '59 was a major cause of the Southern secession a year later.
Harpers Ferry today. Still has an 1800's "look and feel" about it.
Pat, do we really have to buy more Civil War souvenirs?
Chris, ya' gotta get outta' the car now and then. Do your stretches. Let's take a walk.
Pat, can't we just have lunch?
Any time we're down in this neck o' the woods, we like to visit the Trappist Holy Cross Abbey near Berryville, VA. This stone building, the main part of the Abbey, was originally built as a hunting lodge back in 1784.
The Abbey chapel open to public. The Trappists are a worldwide contemplative religious order of monks. Formal name: The Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance with a lifestyle based on the Rule of St. Benedict (6th century). A life of prayer, penance, silence...and hard physical labor.
Holy Cross Abbey farmlands grace the west bank of the Shennandoah River just north of Berryville, VA. The Abbey, true to the ancient Benedictine tradition, is for the most part self-sustaining: they raise their own crops and cattle. And before the Christmas Holidays mail order out their renowned, homemade Christmas fruitcakes by the hundreds.
A couple of contemplatives --
Trappist Fr. Thomas Merton and friend...the venerable Dalai Lama (back in the '60's)
Merton is probably the best known American Trappist. His autobiog: The Seven Story Mountain.
Merton is probably the best known American Trappist. His autobiog: The Seven Story Mountain.
Pat! I wanna' join the Trappists and be a monk again!
No, Chris! Forget it! The Trappists aren't going to accept a rickety 78 year old codger like you. They want long-term investments.
Get back in the car -- NOW!!
Yes, dear.
And with that, Pat and I once more....went jauntily wending our way down the fog-shrouded Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. [Sing it again, Stan and Ollie!]
