Papa's Place

 Watching TV the other night a commercial comes on advertising Air B&B using linking The National Parks with the American woman  using the Guess Who song American Woman.  I told Verna I thought this was funny that they would use a Canadian groups song to promote the National Parks.

All of this got me to thinking about a time in our youth BC (before children) when we had gone to see the Guess Who, one of my favorite groups, in concert at Washington Park racetrack.  This thinking led me to do some research and come up with some interesting Vandercar trivia which I questioned Verna on this morning.

Question # 1: When did we see the Eagles & Linda Ronstadt in concert at Washington Park?

Answer:  Saturday August 9, 1975  2 weeks after our wedding and obviously only a few days after returning from our Honeymoon.

Question # 2: When did we see the Guess Who and Sha Na Na in concert at Washington Park?

Answer:  Saturday August 23, 1975  2 weeks after the Eagles/Linda Ronstadt concert.

Question # 3: How much do you think we paid for tickets?

Answer: not sure but would have been $6 to $8 and free parking.

The closest Verna came to getting any of the correct answers was her guess of $15 for tickets, When given the correct answer her dreamy response was "Those were the days" followed by my response of "yes and so many to follow".

1975 was definitely a good year!!!

This validates the t-shirt that Verna recently bought for me.  The front of it reads "I may be old but I got to see all of the good bands"

 Look at this, a blog post from Papa. My first since February 2013. I have recently been encouraged to share some of the stories, that I tell, of my lifetime so I am going to try to make an effort to do that here. The stories I have been encouraged to tell are mostly from my past but I'm also hoping to share some current stories of the present time God has given Verna and I to enjoy in our retirement. That brings me to a story of great joy that we were privileged to share yesterday with our friends Lowell and Ruth Thomas.  They are friends of ours that have a cabin across the cove from us. They were both born and raised in the  Seymour Brownstown area starting a little over 85 years ago. They now have their home in Florida and enjoy coming to their lake home through the summer. Last night we treated them to a fish dinner at the Knights of Columbus hall in Seymour.

After dinner we decided to take a drive through Ruth's old neighborhood so she could show us the house that she grew up in. From there we headed West towards Brownstown to go see the house that Lowell grew up in and the one room Lutheran school that he attended. From the school we proceeded two drive to St. John Sauers Lutheran Church.  This is the church where Lowell was baptized and confirmed. When we got there he said "I wonder if the door is unlocked" to his surprise it was. So we took the liberties of going into the sanctuary so Lowell could reminisce of the days he spent there. I must add that he was so excited that he forgot his cane in the truck. After spending a few minutes just soaking in the beauty of that sanctuary Lowell said "Oh how I remember sitting in the balcony playing that pipe organ. I wonder if it is open".  I had already seen that the stairway to the balcony was open so I said "here you go, it is dark but using my cell phone I will light the way for you."  it did not take any coaxing to get him moving up the stairs. As I followed him shining the light ahead of him I could feel and hear the excitement growing within him with each step that he took. As he approached the organ his comments were "man this brings back so many memories of my time here as an eighth grader playing this organ." the next thing I knew he was sitting behind it, flipped the switch on and was ready to play and this is what we were treated to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfGrR7uvM5s

A couple more videos Verna took from the front of the sanctuary that gives a beautiful view of the organ pipes

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iOmJyIDqRg0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WViL5C-r5M

What a great time it was.  Following is a copy of Lowell's Facebook post today.

Today, I tried the door to the church who baptized me. St. John Lutheran at Sauers, an old, beautiful country church, out of Seymour IN. The door was unlocked. Went in. Became flooded with memories: Sitting on the boys' side in pews with friends every Sunday. The balcony wrapped around the nave. Went up stairs and relived December of Grade 8. The pipe organ. Flashback to two years of piano lessons. Christmas. Church without regular organist. I was placed on the organ bench because I could play hymns on a pump organ or piano. I was not asked to play. I was just led to do it. I did. Have not been the same since. I played for services at college and seminary, a few churches, subbing suddenly, as a pastor, when an organist was unable to lead. "To God be they glory, great things he has done." Twasn't I who did it.

19 David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked.
“Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.”
20 Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.
21 His attendants asked him, “Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!”
22 He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ 23 But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

She will not return to me.
Six words that will shape every one of my remaining day on Earth.
It was a season that was cut short, and we continue to grieve the loss of what she would have been.  Yet we also believe that David’s words bring unspeakable hope and remind us that we do not wait in vain.  No, she will not come back to us.  But the Lord has gifted us with the rest of the story. His Word is water to our thirsty souls, and we drink deep of the promise He has made to us.  If you have walked the valley of grief, or are walking it right now, I want you to know that I don’t have the answers.
I wholly believe that He is real and that He is in control.
I believe He is working everything in my life, and your, for good.
I believe He can.
But if He didn’t
I stand beside you in spirit, weeping, and I pray for the promise of eternity to be carved deeply, unmistakably, into the very fiber of your hurt.  Do you believe that the Lord is who He say He is and that He has accomplished what He say He has accomplished?  If you do, then know that you are walking a road that leads to Him and to your precious lost children.
No, they will not return to us.
But one day, not so far from now, we will go to them.

The last three weekends we've tried to spend as much time as possible in Southern Indiana helping James and Shel on their house.  I love that type of work and have really enjoyed the time there.  However I received an email from Jim Berning asking for volunteers to help with the construction of the first of several new cabins being planned at Camp Lutherhaven.  I told Verna I thought I needed to give some time to Camp also, so Friday afternoon I left to ride my motorcycle over to Camp. I planned on spending the night and helping with construction on Saturday.  Before I left I told Verna that there was only one thing better than a motorcycle ride and that was a motorcycle ride to camp.  I had a great ride over there the fall colors along route 24 were spectacular.

This is what we started with early Saturday morning.  A good sized crew with a slab and a pile of lumber.

By the end of the day this is what we had come together.  It's actually going to be three cabins under one roof.

By the end of the day the crew had shrunk down to only four of us left and I was thinking that I needed to get on the road headed back to Lafayette, but I stuck around and helped clean-up and pick-up all the tools.  Before I left I jokingly commented to Jim that I was going to head of into the sunset.  As soon as I got out on the open road I was immediately rewarded with one of the best sunsets that I've seen in quite some time.  I thought to myself that I should stop and take a picture, but then I thought no this is my reward from Delia just between me and her, kind of like she was saying "Thanks Papa I know some of my cousins will enjoy that new cabin one of these days.

Oh yea, before I left I texted Verna to let her know I would be on my way.  I sent a message saying the only thing better than a motorcycle ride is a motorcycle ride that leads me back to you!  She replied yea, yea.  Not so sure that she believed that line, but it was great to be back home in a warm house.

It is with a heavy heart today that I think about God finishing the chapter about our dear Granddaughter's time here on earth. 8 months is such a short time for her to have made such an impact on our lives. Of course we are very saddened by the loss that we've experienced but the optimist in me won't let me stay sad for long as it amazes me to look back over this time and see how evident it was that God was very much present through this whole ordeal. Time and time again things would just fall into place and just work out better than if we would have been trying to make our own plans.

PRAISE GOD FOR HIS GOODNESS!!!

The service for Delia was amazing and just one of the many things that will live on in our memories of this special child of God.
I feel honored to have been able to have a small part of it with her eulogy and I just wanted to share that small part with those who were not able to attend.

DELIA'S STORY

HI, for those of you who may not know me my name is Mike Vandercar, I am Michele’s father.  I’m also proud to say that I am Papa to six lovely granddaughters and one grandson, I’m still hopeful of that boy girl ratio being improved as my wife Verna and I are anxiously awaiting the arrival of another grandbaby early next year.

My grandchildren have gotten to know me as quite a storyteller which I enjoy very much even though I can’t get Levi to believe all the stories I tell them.

With this said I would like to tell a true story to my newest Granddaughter Delia.   Some of you may already know this story but I would welcome you to listen in, for if this story had not unfolded the way that it has we would not be here today.

Once upon a time there were  two young people we will call them Mike, the son of Robert & Helen Jean Vandercar, and Verna the daughter of Albert & Verna Elser, my mother-in-law who I’m happy to say is with us here today.  One day Mike said to Verna “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me” and asked her to marry him.  She said Yes, “I Will”.

The next thing you know they had three sons, Joshua, Luke & David.  Just when they thought that their family was complete God surprised them with another child, Michele, affectionately known to me as “Michele My Belle”  and what a blessing she was to this young family.

Mike went off to work and Verna stayed home to raise their family, that’s what you did in those days.  Michele’s dream for the future was to grow up and be a Mom just like her Mom.  Seasons passed until one day Michele met the love of her life one summer at Camp Lutherhaven.  This relationship flourished and faltered but eventually took root and lead us to August 2, 2008 one of the most bittersweet days of our lives as we gave up our little girl to James Rockhill so that they could start their new life together.

Again time marched on as it always does and soon Michele & James announced that they were going to add to our list of grandchildren and the next thing we knew we were headed to Georgia to welcome Eliza June into this world.

After several visits to Georgia we got the news of a deployment to the other side of the world and shortly after that news of more grandbabies on the way in Indiana, Minnesota and Korea.  Unfortunately as my father once said “God does not always want the old dried up flowers, sometimes he takes the first blooms”  We lost our Minnesota grandbabies as some of the first blooms and shortly thereafter learned of the plans that God had in store for Delia also.

As heartbreaking as this was for us the many “Words of Love” shared has helped us to remember that this is truly God’s plan and even though we do not and may never know his purpose we will openly accept it and “With a Little Help From My Friends”, which I’ll paraphrase to say with a lot of help from our dear friends and family, we will persevere and get through these troubling times.

Now I would like to direct my words towards my newest Grandbaby Delia,  Oh how I wish that I could hold you on my lap and tell you how much your Mommy and Daddy love you and how much they have done for you but it is not to be.  I will have to rely on my dear friend Jesus to hold you on his lap and tell you a true story of the best Mommy and Daddy that he gave to you.

Delia please know that Nana and Papa love you very much and are looking forward to meeting you and spending eternity with you in God’s house.

Early in the weekend I was thinking of making a post on the fourth stating that  Maggs, Macy, Georgia and I were the only ones in our immediate family that are still in Indiana to celebrate the holiday.  Well....they didn't do much celebrating.  Between the thundershowers and the fireworks they spent pretty much the whole weekend hovering around me.

Finally on Monday evening I put them all in their crates, hopped on my bike and went downtown to enjoy some of the celebration.

I started at D.T. Kirby's, what has become one of our favorite watering holes, for a 32 oz. Old Style and a sandwich that they call the Wedge.  Hot turkey, ham, and roast beef with motzerella, grilled onions and green peppers on homemade bread.  Yummy good.

Then a short walk down to Riehle Plaza to see the Lafayette Citizens Band and the Freedom Singers in a Stars & Stripes Celebration.

Which also included a performance by the Tippecanoe Fife & Drum Corps.

The whole time wishing that Nana would have laid out an outfit like this for me to wear so that I could have taken center stage dancing with this party-goer.

The dogs were fine in their crates with the stereo blasting so that they could not hear the fireworks and all in all it was a good weekend.

Shel posted these Halloween pictures of Eliza from this year and last year.

When I saw them I thought, Oh I should have gotten my costume together last year and gone to Georgia to go trick-or-treating with Eliza. I went into the basement the other day and this is all I could find that was left over from past Halloween costumes.

Then I decided to take a look and see if I could find a picture from the last time my pumpkin costume was used.  I couldn't find one so I had Steph email this one to me.

This was from 1985 and was quite a pumpkin patch.  So I guess the vines continue to grow and produce new fruit.

While I was looking for the Pumpkin Patch picture I found several others that I thought I would post just for the fun of it.  Hope you enjoy the memories as much as Verna and I have.

We'll start with Joshua as Cookie Monster from 1978

Verna, Joshua (??a devil ??), and Baby Luke (the angel) from 1979

Luke the clown, David the bunny and Joshua in my old cowboy clothes from 1981

A bat, a bug and a tiger from 1982.

Robot, witch, devil and a mouse in1983.

Army man, Sox player, scarecrow, and the tiger once more at Broken Arrow Campground.  David won a prize this year for his scarecrow costume.

We were camping with good friends that weekend who I thought needed to be in this review.

Jumping ahead to 1989 we have another cowboy, a good looking woman, m&m's and what I would call a Dancing Wafflebird.

A cowboy for the third time, Pirate, Davey Crockett and another mouse in 1990.

Hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane.  I know we had tons of fun making these memories and are looking forward to making many more.

Checking out some of the other Vandercars on the net and came across this guy's blog. about Lewis Vandercar.

http://miamimemories.blogspot.com/2007/07/lewis-vandercar-miamis-andy-warhol.html

I remember reading about this once before on the web and I suppose Nancy will want to see if it is still sitting on this point.

but I had not seen these

I can't say that I would have agreed with all of Lewis's views on life and such but it seems like he would have been an interesting character.

Saw this at the state fair and the first thought that immediately came to mind was "Bitty Bug"

When you're in Fairbanks, Alaska and you decide to take a road trip your choices of where to go are pretty limited.  There are only three roads that will take you out of town.  One goes to the Southeast, one goes North, and one goes Southwest.  The guys in this VW took the Southeast route and ended up stopping at the campground we were at in Beaver Creek.  They looked like in another time they could have been on thier way to Max's farm in upstate New York.  I really liked their ride.

They were just out for a drive and to have some fun, which may not have been possible if not for the efforts of the guy and dogs that piloted this sled/buggy to the Worlds Fair in Chicago and then on to Washington DC to lobby for a road from the lower 48 up to Alaska.

For more interesting pictures, videos, and history of Slim Williams click on his name.