Cemeteries – Valerie's Voice

Old Frontenac

Glorious fall days…blue skies, sunshine and colorful landscapes… continue to linger on and on. We like to take advantage of them…so not much gets done on the home-front…but those things will wait…we have winter ahead of us.

We headed east in the morning towards Frontenac State park, through beautiful farm country. Along the way, close to the fence, were the unique Dutch Belted cows laying in a field, soaking up the sun. What a pretty sight. I discovered these striking and unusual looking cows (and special breed), on a farm along County Road 9 a few years ago. I look for them whenever we pass their way. When I got out to take a photo, the girls became alarmed and most stood up…I was sorry to disturb them. They were all laying down again as we passed them on our way home several hours later.

Overlooking the Mississippi River from Frontenac State Park.

We continued to the state park and drove up to the Mississippi River overlook in the park. The river was lovely and calm. We hiked along the river for a while,

then we found the recently acquired section of the park and hiked hilly trails. The fall temperatures were climbing and we soon shed our jackets.

A newly acquired section to Frontenac State Park.

After hiking, we wanted to find a place near the water to eat our picnic lunch. We found a beach and boat landing in Old Frontenac, with a picnic table close to the water’s edge.

Perfect. We sat on one side overlooking the river and saw a couple of eagles, lots of gulls and swans, and a few boats. The water was calm and the sun was bright and I wanted to stay there all afternoon, but we had more to explore.

A beautiful mansion overlooking the Mississippi River in Old Frontenac.

An old stone fence surrounding the mansion.

A few years ago, when we camped at Frontenac State Park, we drove through Old Frontenac near-by. It’s a small village along the river….no stores, only unique houses on packed, dirt roads, an old cemetery, and a church.

One of several gated sections in the Frontenac Cemetery, established in 1867.

I have always wanted to walk through this town, or ride a bike, since you can see more than from a car. So we brought our bikes to ride through this quiet town, off the beaten trail. It was fun to ride around and look at unique houses…no cookie cutter houses here. And, riding through the old cemetery garnered thoughts of spooky stories, so close to Halloween.

Halloween decorations on a front porch in Old Frontenac.

Later that afternoon, as we drove back home into Northfield, we commented on how our town was still the most colorful place of all…with a lot of maples still full of red leaves hanging on.

Our neighbor’s tree outside our bedroom window.

A Prairie Walk

It felt like a fall day. Instead of going to our town’s annual celebration downtown we chose to hike on quiet prairie lands with the only sounds being our voices and the wind rustling through the trees and grass. Clear, blue skies full of sunshine added to the glory of the place. The setting has two picturesque, historic churches facing each other in a well-kept, hill-top cemetery with interesting headstones and scenic views. At the edge of the cemetery is a huge, old burr oak tree. It’s so majestic!

The trail is a wide swath mowed through tall prairie grasses that have a touch of gold to them. Scattered throughout are native, autumn wildflowers in bloom, and off in the distance are trees with hints of fall colors on their leaves. We took a long, leisurely walk and imagined ourselves back in time when many settlers came to live on the prairie in Southeastern Minnesota.

We talked with a volunteer out collecting seeds for planting on this otherwise unoccupied trail. He is on the Preservation Board that concentrates on preserving this prairie land and the two churches. He told us there is a Cemetery Board to care for the cemetery upkeep. Both boards rely on volunteers. We visited with him for a while and thanked him for his work.

The path progressed along to the back of the property, bordering Minnesota Scientific Natural Lands and a state park. A couple years ago we discovered puffball mushrooms along these property lines; white mushrooms the size of soccer balls. We looked for them again this year but only found one misshaped one…hopefully it just the beginning of their growing season and we’ll spot more on our next walk through the prairie…we will go back.

Autumn is in the air.

Seven Generations

Reading Audrey Helbling’s Minnesota Prairie Roots blog on Oak Ridge Cemetery in Faribault prompted me to write about a very special cemetery to our family.

In Lancaster County Pennsylvania, where my husband grew up, there are many old cemeteries simply because the East Coast was settled much earlier than the Midwest. Outside the doors of Middle Creek Church of the Brethren, the country church my husband attended as a child, is an cemetery surrounded by picturesque, small farms in the rolling countryside of Southeastern Pennsylvania.

In Middle Creek Cemetery lies seven generations of the Bollinger clan. My husband enjoys genealogy research and has traced his family back to Rudolph Bollinger who came over from Switzerland about 1720. Rudolph is not buried in this cemetery but his tombstone was found in a farm field nearby. This was a very exciting discovery by my husband and his brother. Rudolph (died 1770) is the fifth great-grandfather of my husband.

The first Bollinger in the church cemetery in my husband’s lineage is Abraham Bollinger, a son of Rudolph. His tombstone in German tells us he lived from 1756 to 1814. My husband’s younger brother Richard, who died in 1986, makes for the seventh generation.

Since Abraham, each succeeding generation of males (and their spouses) in my husband’s direct Bollinger lineage have been buried in this cemetery. On our last trip to Pennsylvania we visited each graveside. I think it is unusual to have seven generations buried in one cemetery in the Untied States. It’s a wonderful family history.