http://www.portalsintimeinc.com/blog A blog for discussing 18th century American history en-us Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:12:52 GMT Tue, 26 Oct 2010 02:43:22 GMT CF Blogger by DayDream Inc http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss info@portalsintimeinc.com info@portalsintimeinc.com http://www.portalsintimeinc.com/blogdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=E66B228E-C29C-C65E-1E54689E15D4CF4A One time a Baptist minister asked Daniel Boone if there was ever a time in his life if he had expereinced a change in his feelings towards the Savior. " Boone replied:No sir! I always loved God ever since I could recollect." (quoted from John Mack Faragher's book; Daniel Boone, the life and legend of an american pioneer Woods walking Tue, 26 Oct 2010 02:43:22 GMT http://www.portalsintimeinc.com/blogdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=E66B228E-C29C-C65E-1E54689E15D4CF4A http://www.portalsintimeinc.com/blogdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=ACAC19E7-C29C-C65E-17EE7A04C684A72D The following lyrics are from the soundtrack of the movie HOW THE WEST WAS WON. It came out in the sixties and though it was kind of hokey, the soudtrack did capture an inspirational sense of our nation's westward expansion.How the West Was WonThey came with Bible fist and gunAnd they fought until the job was doneThe winning of the WestPromised land the land of plenty rich in goldHere came dreamers with Bible fist and gunBound for land across the plains their wagons rolledHell bent for leather that's how the West was won(Stride by stride they tamed the savage prairie landNothing stopped them no wind nor rain nor sunSide by side these pioneers from every landAll pulled togetherthats how the West was wonAnd they sang of the day when they would rest their bootsIn a land where the still waters flowWhere the dreams of a man and wife could put down rootsAnd their love and the seeds of love would growAnd grow and growDream by dream they built a nation from this landForged in freedom for every mother's sonHere it is the beautiful the promised landWe won't forget them and how the West was won Woods walking Thu, 14 Oct 2010 21:36:21 GMT http://www.portalsintimeinc.com/blogdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=ACAC19E7-C29C-C65E-17EE7A04C684A72D http://www.portalsintimeinc.com/blogdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=D38C2164-C29C-C65E-155495B624F2D0B3 The following is a quote I heard and copied from the History Channel's series called "The Real West." It was spoken by a Native American, probably in the latter years of our Western expansion, but I don't know who. I do know that it affected me deeply. It sure made me refect on the great changes that have occured on this continent since Europeans first arrived. Here is the quote:In a past that is now lost forever, there was time when the land was sacred and the ancient ones were as one with itA time when only the children of the Great Spirit were here to light their fires in these places with no boundariesWhen the forests were as thick as the fur on a winter bear, when a warrior could walk from horizon to horizon on the backs of the buffaloAnd in that time, there were only simple ways; I saw with my heart the conflicts to come. And whether it was to be for good or bad, what was certain was there would be change Woods walking Tue, 06 Apr 2010 14:35:28 GMT http://www.portalsintimeinc.com/blogdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=D38C2164-C29C-C65E-155495B624F2D0B3 http://www.portalsintimeinc.com/blogdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=4E431764-C29C-C65E-169761D55C533DF0 The two people pictured here are my mother and father. Both of them have past from this world to the next in the last two years. I am still experiencing the grief associated with such a loss. My teenage years at home were turbulent and painfull, mostly due to things that were going on inside of me that no one, especailly me, knew how to deal with. I am thankful that mom and dad stuck with me over those years, even when I hurt them and made thier life miserable. That began to change at 17 when Christ came into my life. The process of reconcilliation began at that time and I am happy to say that my adult years have been filled with many happy and pleasant memories with mom and dad. I was present at both of their passings and wish that our time here on earth together could have been longer. But I am thankful that the time we did have was meaningful. God is a God of reconcilliation, change and healing. On the personal side Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:23:24 GMT http://www.portalsintimeinc.com/blogdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=4E431764-C29C-C65E-169761D55C533DF0 http://www.portalsintimeinc.com/blogdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=9630DCD3-C290-693D-578B083DBF1AC818 Recently I traveled to Williamsburg, Virginia. Here, I met James Ingram, the man in the photograph standing next to me. As an interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg, he depicts a Baptist minister in Virginia in the 1770's. The colony of Virginia had a church/state government and the Anglican Church was the official church. People of other religious that wanted to practice their particular faith were called dissenters. A dissenter was allowed to practice their faith, but at a cost. Baptist dissenters were especially feared because they believed that the Bible was what they should base their faith on and not the tenants of any single church. Dissenting preachers were required to get a license to preach and could not even legally marry someone without doing so. The church/state religious machine did not recognize a marriage between a black couple. And a black, Baptist preacher was a concern with slaveholders because it was thought that their preaching might incite slaves to riot. One black minister, named Moses was publicly whipped. Thank God for the first amendment which protects our religious rights!! James Ingram was a great person to talk to. Woods walking Sun, 31 May 2009 10:22:13 GMT http://www.portalsintimeinc.com/blogdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=9630DCD3-C290-693D-578B083DBF1AC818 http://www.portalsintimeinc.com/blogdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=8888F122-C290-693D-50AAA4065310DB0A Daniel Boone's 16 year old son James was killed near the very spot I am standing in 1763. Boone was leading his family to Kentucky and James and a party of people were sent to retrieve some supplies. As they were camped only a few miles from the main party, Indians attacked the group. James and two others were wounded right away and could not escape. What followed is a grim story of human torture and death. When the bodies were found, they had knife wounds all over their hands and arms where they had tried to fend off their attackers. The boys were wrapped together and buried in a shallow grave covered by rocks--so the wolves would not desecrate the bodies. One year later Daniel returned to the site to get some closure. The image of a father still stricken with grief and remorse while he replaces some of the stones moved away by wild animals fills my mind with images of a very raw and violent frontier. Daniel described the experience as the most melancholy of his life. Woods walking Thu, 28 May 2009 18:43:44 GMT http://www.portalsintimeinc.com/blogdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=8888F122-C290-693D-50AAA4065310DB0A http://www.portalsintimeinc.com/blogdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=BA805E1E-C290-693D-57058410DDB92826 In september I was a presenter at the Simon Kenton Festival in Maysville, Kentucky.At that event, I met the primary chief of the Piqua Shawnees, a very fine (and knowledgeable) gentleman named Gary Hunt. At the event I was supposed to be protraying Daniel Boone and doing a biographical sketch of his life. As I was talking to Gary, (it was nothing he said) I was hauted with the thought that the great Shawnee nation was all but decimated by Euro-Americans like Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton coming into Kentucky, Tennessee and later Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. Even though Boone and Kenton were adopted into the Shawnee nation and were liked by their Indian captors, it was sobering and a bit embarassing for me to think that what we were clebrating as part of our "great westward expansion" was what Native people might think of with sorrow as the beginning of the end of thier culture. Note if you wish to respond to this, click at the bottom where it says "read more" and a page will pop up where you can post a response. Woods walking Wed, 01 Oct 2008 22:21:26 GMT http://www.portalsintimeinc.com/blogdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=BA805E1E-C290-693D-57058410DDB92826 http://www.portalsintimeinc.com/blogdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=5E2E9746-C290-693D-5759A3D65F2EEFDF In the spring of 2003, Larry Spisak, John Hayes, Gene Shadley and myself spent a day and a night on the Big Sandy River in West Virginia. Walking into this beautiful area, we dressed in authentic 18th century attire, carried flintlock rifles, hand forged knives and belt axes and carried a blanket to sleep under. That evening, we slept in a large rock cave that looked like it could have housed Archaic Indians thousands of years ago. That cave kept us dry from a strong thunderstorm that pounded the river valley. Walking the old trails, I was filled with a sense of history and could almost visualize frontiersmen in linen and leather walking the same paths that we were. Note if you wish to respond to this, click at the bottom where it says "read more" and a page will pop up where you can post a response. Woods walking Sun, 14 Sep 2008 00:07:03 GMT http://www.portalsintimeinc.com/blogdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=5E2E9746-C290-693D-5759A3D65F2EEFDF http://www.portalsintimeinc.com/blogdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=9D3E63BC-C290-693D-530DCA2DD207EF39 Thanks for visiting the blog. This blog is brand new and I'm still getting it set up and figuring out how to manage it. Feel free to post a comment and I will review and approve messages as quickly as I can. I hope to make this a busy area in the future and will post information about my interests, up coming presentations and anything else that comes to mind. Welcome Wed, 30 Apr 2008 02:52:01 GMT http://www.portalsintimeinc.com/blogdisplay_blog.cfm?bid=9D3E63BC-C290-693D-530DCA2DD207EF39