When one volunteers for military service, one knows that there is the very good possibility that they may never return home. Soldiers in earlier wars also ran the real risk of dying from disease without ever seeing the battlefield. In cases like this one, the soldier returned home from military service without a scratch butContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private Clarence Ludwig”
Monthly Archives: December 2021
Fallen Heroes: Private John Warner Carr
The fields of France claimed a number of Tuscarawas County’s young men in the summer and fall of 1918. The names of those fallen heroes, who advanced across no-man’s land never to return, filled an entire column of the newspaper after the war. This is one of those heroes. The Carr family was one ofContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private John Warner Carr”
One Clock’s Tale
Antiques often come with a life story of their own. Like a person’s own story, the story of an object often includes aspects that can be neither proven or disproven. Connections to historical figures and events are often touted as a reason to enhance the monetary value of an object. Trying to trace the storyContinue reading “One Clock’s Tale”
“For Both White Men and Indians”: Tuscarawas County Gunsmith George Biddle
The discussion of the making of the uniquely American long rifle is a subject most often associated with Pennsylvania or Kentucky. There were, however, gunsmiths who produced these artistic and practical objects in other regions. Many of those gunsmiths, like the subject of this story, learned their trade in a gunsmith shop in Pennsylvania. TheyContinue reading ““For Both White Men and Indians”: Tuscarawas County Gunsmith George Biddle”
Fallen Heroes: Private Harold Dean West
It is not uncommon for multiple sons to serve their country in a time of need and sacrifice. One local family provided three sons for service during the Second World War, but only two of their sons would survive the conflict. This is the story of that fallen son. The West family was living inContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private Harold Dean West”
Fallen Heroes: Private Christian Blickensderfer, Jr.
Imagine my surprise to discover a Tuscarawas County hero who was from my small hometown of Lititz, Pennsylvania! Typical fallen heroes’ stories focus on those who gave the ultimate sacrifice while in service. In this case I have chosen to once again look at the service of another Tuscarawas County hero who fought for ourContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private Christian Blickensderfer, Jr.”
“Blackstone, Poetry, and Family Troubles”: A Poisoning on Crooked Run
This week we are going to revisit a family we first met in a previous Tuscarawas County story (The Witch of Stonecreek), only this time it is a different Fisher family member who is a major character in the tale. Members of the Fisher family of Crooked Run were no stranger to being in theContinue reading ““Blackstone, Poetry, and Family Troubles”: A Poisoning on Crooked Run”
Fallen Heroes: Sergeant Robert J. Wherley
Patriotism and the desire for service are often driving forces when one makes the decision to serve their country. That service often begins at a time of peace, but is punctuated by the ultimate sacrifice in a subsequent conflict. This fallen hero, determined to serve his country as the Second World War ended, is oneContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Sergeant Robert J. Wherley”
Noel B. Poirier 