THE Trip, Jasper County Misouri, Spending Thanksgiving With Mother Nature, Praying Hands And Zach

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Man and I picked Jasper County Missouri to stop for several days during the Thanksgiving holiday.  We wanted to be off the road for a few days before/after.  We found a campground that gave discounts for Passport America members.  We have been members for well over a year, and had yet to find a member campground that worked into our travels.  Well, this one did.  We found the George Washington Carver National Monument here and the Precious Moment Chapel, and - - ZACH.

ZACH is my great great grandfather, via one illegitimate birth, non-provable link but, totally accepted by Trumbo researchers and all the locals of Rockingham County Virginia.

But, more on him in a moment - -

So, we pulled into this campground, to discover it is in new ownership, open for 3 months.  The new owner is a charmer, nice, nice fellow.  We paid for our discounted camping, and with his smiling and affable assistance found a campsite right by the pond.  If you are a friend over at Facebook you will have read the posts with what followed in the next several days:  tornado watch, turned to tornado warnings (within 6 to 10 miles from us), flooding rains which at one time deposited 2 inches of rain right outside Tana's door, slides pulled in for over 6 hours, and now saturated ground that is draining off s-l-o-w-l-y.  Next comes bitter cold weather, well below freezing and of course, the standing water gets that freezy glaze stuff on top.  We are safely parked on a concrete pad, but, mmmmm, I am not sure how Man will get the utilities unhooked when we leave, stay tuned.  (This kind of weather is part of RVing we DO NOT like, especially that tornado stuff.  Believe me, when the sun rises the next day and you are still in one piece, you are very thankful and happy!)

The pond is a goose magnet, seriously, in the early AM there must be a couple of hundred of them.  One night sitting here at my desk, looking out the window at the pond, I witnessed the graceful approach and landing in the pond at dusk by several gaggles of geese.

Flooded campsite, and gaggles of geese. 
(Stay tuned over at Reflection's Flora and Fauna
in the next few days, a nice close up of
some of these dudes and dudettes!)

Now, back to Zach.  On Wednesday, one day prior to Thanksgiving, we head out for Webb City Library.  After a few minutes of snooping around on the net, I had discovered that this library had the only filmed newspapers for the year young Zach died, 1871.  I have an obituary/death notice for Zach that was published in Rockingham County, Virginia, but, I was curious if we could find one in the Jasper County Missouri area.  I was really fishing, with no bait, so to speak, I really did not have very high hopes, but, maybe I could find mention of his lingering illness prior to his death.  The volunteers at the Webb City Library have indexed the old newspapers (CLAP CLAP CLAP) for obituaries, births and marriages, and nope, Zach was not indexed.  I looked at the newspaper microfilm anyway, just in case it was missed (doubtful) or that illness mention.  Nadda.  Oh, well, I tried.

Gotta share this "discovery".  On the way to Webb City we happened onto this, dedicated in 1974, it is 32 foot tall.  You cannot miss it, very impressive, another delight discovered along our route.

Next, on to Georgia City Cemetery to visit Zach's grave.  Cousin Rebecca had visited here a few years ago on my behalf and request.  She still tells me today how hard it was to find this cemetery.  The nice genie volunteers at the Webb City Library had never heard of it, asking me where it was.  Because of Rebecca's prior visit, a newspaper article about the reclaiming the cemetery from the prairie, the Internet (GoogleMaps and GoogleEarth) and my computer program Streets and Trips, I had an easier time finding it than did Rebecca.  Thanks to Rebecca for paving the way.



Gate sign, Georgia City Cemetery,
near Georgia City and Modoc, Jasper County, Missouri

Man and I arrived, pulled off the road onto a service parking area, he pulled within 50 feet of Zach's grave.  It was cloudy (wahhooooo, exclaims the genie shutterbug) and I think I got some nice photos.  I took several  (LOL)

You will note this stone is inscribed Z.Z. Treembo, I have blogged about this stone and spelling before. 

Zachariah Z. Trumbo was born March 28, 1848 at Brocks Gap, Rockingham County, Virginia to Benjamin Trumbo and his first wife, Cynthia Ann (nee Riddle) Trumbo.  He died May 29, 1871 near Medoc, Jasper County, Missouri, he was living with his aunt Dorothy and her husband, Rev. Levi Hess at the time of his death.

And, that dear readers, friends and family, is how I got to spend the Thanksgiving weekend with wind, rain, cold, geese, praying hands, and my great great grandfather, Zach.

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