Abandoning Stars Wars

The sets from a movie shot a long time ago in a desert far, far away are crumbling. The sun over North Africa is harsh. The climate and sand, unforgiving. And yet, surprisingly, some of the “buildings” have held up rather well.

Ironically, this set, a stand-in for the planet Tatooine, mirrors the Star Wars story and that of its creator George Lucas, the meteoric rise, imperial aspirations, and subsequent downfall. A mighty crash to the world of mere mortals.

Slowly and steadily, like the Roman Empire, Lucas and his empire have been reduced. First, it degraded into crass commercialism. Then, the art suffered. The majestic storytelling was no longer there. The master had lost his touch.

The final, sad chapter was selling out to a huge conglomerate. Disney now controls the destiny of the franchise and clearly intends to suck whatever money it can from what remains.

I abandoned the Star Wars universe, at least it’s numerous reincarnations, long ago. I still adore the original trilogy and the campy made-for-TV movies Caravan of Courage and The Battle for Endor. There’s even a certain something, something adorable and admirable, in the embarrassing holiday special.

The beginning of the end for me was the re-release of the films in 1997. I had never seen the original films in any theater. It was my big chance to experience Star Wars as it was intended: on a giant screen, projected in a dimly lit theater, complete with surround sound.

Sadly, Lucas had tinkered with the films, adding news scenes and messing with digital, thanks to help from computers. The result was terrible. The computer generated characters were often obvious to identify, a strange sheen emanating for them. I was disappointed. But in my mind I edited out what I didn’t like. I did my best to ignore the garbage.

The Clone Wars series had some great moments. Yet, it too was often overburdened by the excesses of Lucasfilm and the creator George Lucas. Sometimes the story lines went too far. Some of the scenes, particularly battles and fighting, and stories were lazy, relying too much on what’s come before. A shoestring budget and a man or group out to prove themselves are mighty things indeed.

ajh

A Doughboy’s Helmet

An American soldier’s helmet from World War I is for sale. The original owner served in the 42nd Division, the Rainbow. My great uncle was part of the Rainbow as well.

It is a unique piece of military history, painted with a camouflage motif alongside placenames, including St. Mihiel and Argonne Woods, where its owner served and fought. The current owner lives in Turner, Oregon, not far from where I grew up and lived for most of my life before moving north.

ajh

Ms. Ingram

The Internal Revenue Service official in charge of the tax-exempt organizations at the time when the unit targeted conservative groups now heads the IRS office responsible for overseeing the health care legislation commonly known as Obamacare, according to ABC News. Her name is Sarah Hall Ingram.

She’s letting her successor and former deputy, Joseph Grant, and others take the blame thus far. Ingram has received more than $100,000 in bonuses in recent years.

I am digging around to see what more I can find about her. A blogger at Slate has a brief timeline of events.

Ingram gave a speech at Georgetown in 2009. The hypocrisy is noteworthy.

“I believe that adherence to principles of good governance is entirely consistent with both your task to accomplish your charitable objectives, and ours, to see that the tax-exempt sector complies with the Code. Indeed, I think practicing good governance helps advance these goals. I see good governance, then, as a tool – something practical and useful.”

I hope she is charged criminally and spends some time in jail. As a member of the District of Columbia Bar, she also needs to be disbarred.

ajh

The Incredible Story of Americans and Germans Fighting the Nazi Menace, Together

I’ve been reading about this fascinating story of a battle at the end of World War II where American soldiers and French prisoners of war fought alongside Germans against hardcore Nazi SS units. Hitler had already died by his own hand, yet some die hard Nazis refused to accept defeat. A man has researched it thoroughly and penned a book, The Last Battle.

ajh

The Pastor in Bütow

Wittenberg, Germany in the time of Martin Luther

My mother’s family had been German Lutherans for more than a hundred years, probably much longer. Unfortunately I haven’t found many German records of my ancestors beyond the late 19th century.

However, today I came across the name of one of the pastors in the major town in the area where my ancestors lived. The family, my family, may have lived there for centuries.

His name was Szimón Krofey.¹ He was born in 1545 in the village of Dampen, not far from the villages of my ancestors.

His father, the mayor of Dampen, sent Szimón off to the university at Wittenberg, where Martin Luther had entered as a student and never left. Luther became a professor and figurehead of the university.

Despite Luther’s death in 1546, the year after Szimón’s birth, his remarkable influence upon Wittenberg, the university and Northern Europe also extended to Szimón personally. In 1579, upon finishing his studies, Szimón returned to his roots, becoming pastor of the Lutheran church in Bütow.

When and how my ancestors converted isn’t known. I assume they were Christians, Catholics, who became Lutherans. Did Reverend Krofey have something to do with it?

More than three hundred years later, in 1880, my great grandparents were married in that very Lutheran church in Bütow.

ajh

1. Sometimes his name is translated as Simon or Shimon Krofey, which looks Jewish to me. (Think Shimon Peres.) It is the Hebrew form of Simon or Simeon. In Kashubian, it is Szëmón Krofey.

Adolph Ferdinand Gehlen, Chemist

Adolph Ferdinand Gehlen (1775–1815)

Adolph Ferdinand Gehlen was a German chemist. He was born in 1775 in Bütow, Pomerania. My ancestors probably knew him. Gehlen died young as a result of his experiments, in 1815.

ajh

The Parkers

Reading about a little frontier settlement in Texas called Fort Parker has been fascinating. There’s a connection with my Parker branch. The proper word may be connections.

The other day while browsing through the books at a sale for my littlest nephew’s school, I discovered a paperback copy of Empire of the Summer Moon. A name in the subtitle, Quanah Parker, piqued my interest. I had read about the connection before, but had not really probed much deeper.

My Parker tree traces back to John Green Parker, a Civil War vet. He served in the 123rd Illinois Infantry with John T. Wilder. His father was Jephthah, or Jeptha,  Parker, his mother, Sarah Jane Green. Jephthah was born in 1823 near Palestine in Crawford County, Illinois.

Crawford County, Illinois is the key. What happened years later in Texas is legendary. Some of the Parkers decided to relocate from Illinois, choosing central Texas to build what became known as Fort Parker. In 1836, the settlement was attacked by Native Americans, killing most and taking five captive.

One of those taken, a young girl, was a daughter of Silas Mercer Parker and Lucinda (Lucy) Duty.¹ Her Comanche name was Naduah. She was born Cynthia Ann Parker in Crawford County a year or two after Jephthah. She is famous for refusing to return to her Anglo family the Parkers and for having a son named Quanah. Quanah became chief of his tribe. He later added his mother’s name to his, becoming Quanah Parker.

James W. Parker, brother of Silas, was the first of the Parker family to go to Texas. James W. is a name that has been passed down for generations among the forefathers of John Green Parker.

Silas and James were the sons of John Parker and Sarah White. John is also known as Elder John Parker. Both John and Silas were killed during the attack on Fort Parker.

Many researchers list Baltimore, Maryland as John’s birth place. He was born on September 5, 1758. His first wife Sarah (Sally) White died in Crawford County, Illinois on July 28, 1821. He remarried. On March 21, 1825 in Crawford County, Illinois, he wed Sarah (Sally) Duty.² She, too, died during the massacre at Fort Parker.

I haven’t definitively connected the Parker family of Texas with my Parker branch. But I am convinced that there is one.

ajh

1. Some record Lucinda Duty as Doty, another connected family with ties to Crawford County, Illinois.
2. I wonder if Sarah Duty could actually be Sarah Doty.