By Joann M. Ringelstetter
In 1928 and 1929, identical monuments were installed in each of the 12 states crossed by the National Old Trails Road (Route 40), also known as the National Road, which started in Bethesda, Maryland, and extended to Upland, California. These statues were commissioned by the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution to honor the courage, fortitude, and faith of the pioneer mothers on their journeys west.
The statues were created by sculptor August Leimbach and were made from a mixture of stone, marble, cement, lead ore, and a pinkish crushed granite from Missouri. With the large pedestal base, the monuments are 18 feet tall and weigh over 17 tons. The statues themselves are over 10 feet tall and they feature a pioneer mother holding a baby in one arm and a rifle in the other. A small boy stands at her side, clutching her skirt.
The front of each pedestal reads, “Madonna of the Trail, N.S.D.A.R. Memorial to the Pioneer Mothers of the Covered Wagon Days.” The back of each pedestal reads, “The National Old Trails Road.” The sides of the pedestals vary with inscriptions featuring national and regional history.
The National Road followed the route taken by the pioneers as they journeyed west in their covered wagons in search of a better life. The photo below is a small section of a large mural in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, created by artist Curtis Goldstein. It shows a covered wagon loaded with supplies and sitting next to a National Road mile marker.
Arlene B. Moss, chairwoman of the committee of the Daughters of the American Revolution, came up with the idea for these monuments. She said, “The statue is a fitting tribute to the brave pioneer mothers who aided so much in the progress of this country. These brave women backed their men folks through hardships, privations and during hard Indian battles. Without the pioneer women, there would have been no progress in this country.” The first statue was dedicated on July 4, 1928, in Springfield, Ohio.
At the dedication of this monument, Judge Harry S. Truman, President of the National Old Trails Road Association, and future president of the United States, spoke at the ceremony, saying, “They were just as brave or braver than their men because, in many cases, they went with sad hearts and trembling bodies. They went, however, and endured every hardship that befalls a pioneer.” One side of this monument has an inscription about local history. It says, "Three miles southwest of here General George Rogers Clark, commanding Kentucky frontiersmen, vanquished the Shawnee Confederacy, August 8, 1780, resulting in opening the Northwest Territory."
Three days later, on July 7, 1928, the second monument was dedicated in Wheeling, West Virginia. At the dedication, Arlene B. Moss said, "The monuments will serve as great national shrines. The beauty of these memorials will add to this country's natural scenic wonders and will remain as lasting memorials."
Frank Davis, Secretary of the National Old Trails Road Association, said, "While this is a memorial to the pioneer mothers, the project when completed in the 12 states, will also serve as a memorial to the present-day mother…”
On the side of this monument, it says, “To the Pioneer mothers of our mountain state, whose courage, optimism, love, and sacrifice made possible the National Highway that united the east and west.” The National Road, also called the Cumberland Road and the National Pike, had reached Wheeling, West Virginia by 1818. Today, the historic Wheeling Suspension Bridge, which opened in 1849, still carries the National Road across the Ohio River, where it continues to make its way westward.
Happy Shunpiking!
Joann
Photos in this blog post can be purchased as wall art, paper prints, downloads, phone cases, and keepsakes by clicking on the photo. You will be taken to the gallery website where you will see a big blue "BUY" button. Or to see all photos available, click on the "Browse Galleries" button on the menu at the top of this page. Thank you for your interest!
Shunpiking To Heaven Backroads Blog
Showing posts with label Memorials. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Memorials. Show all posts
Friday, May 15, 2020
Sunday, January 13, 2019
Hurricane Creek Mine Disaster
By Ruth A. Ringelstetter
In the spring of 2014, Joann and I were on a photography trip to Kentucky. One place we wanted to visit was a memorial to a mining disaster that occurred back on December 30, 1970.
Forty-eight years ago, 40 miners left their families to work in the Finley coal mine at Hurricane Creek, outside of Hyden, Kentucky. Just after lunch, an explosion rocked the mine. Thirty-eight miners were inside the mine.
One miner, A. T. Collins, was the lone survivor of this tragedy. He was just returning to the mine when the explosion occurred and was blown back over 60 feet. He is honored with a plaque on the statue of a miner at the memorial. The plaque says, “A.T. Collins, 1923-2007, Survived by his wife Dora, four children, six grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. He worked as the beltman. He was the lone survivor of the tragedy and was blown over 60 feet out of the mine.”
The memorial consists of 16 gates along a winding path that leads to the full memorial. On each post is a bronze miner’s hat representing one of the miners who was killed.
The hat above honors James Minton, Age 27, survived by his wife Geraldine, and his daughter, Sondra, two years old. He was a veteran, having served in the Army for three years. He performed in musical groups on many occasions. He lived in Manchester.
Honoring Lawrence Gray, Age 30, Survived by his wife Nancy, children, Charlotte, 9, Wade, 7, parents, Ballard and Ollie Gray, three sisters and three brothers. He lived on Elk Creek in Clay County. He worked in the mines at least ten years.
This helmet, honors Howard Couch, Age 34, Survived by his wife Daisy, four children, Phyllis Jean, 10, Berna Dean, 7, Charlene, 5, Eva Carol, 2, and his parents, Will and Elsie Couch. His twin brother, Holt was also killed.
Honoring Theo Griffin, Age 28, Survived by his wife Martha, and daughter, Sandra Carol, 6. He lived on Paces Creek in Clay County. He worked in the mines for four months. His brother-in-law, Jeff Spurlock was also killed.
At the back of the memorial is a long row of plaques with information about each of the miners who died in the explosion.
As you walk along reading the plaques, you see that many last names are repeated. For example, brothers Arnold and Armond Wagers were both killed in the explosion. Another Wagers is listed along with them, but doesn’t include any possible relation.
All in all, 65 children were left without fathers at the end of the day. Thirty-eight families were changed forever.
The most interesting thing about this memorial, besides its size and detail about the men who died, is that it sits at the site of the sealed mine.
The whole time we were at the memorial, we were the only ones there. It was a very serene place to spend some time honoring these men who perished just trying to make a living for their families.
If you get a chance to visit this or other memorials, we encourage you to do so.
Happy Shunpiking!
Ruth
Photos in this blog post can be purchased as wall art, paper prints, downloads, phone cases, and keepsakes by clicking on the photo. You will be taken to the gallery website where you will see a big blue "BUY" button. Or to see all photos available, click on the "Browse Galleries" button on the menu at the top of this page. Thank you for your interest!
In the spring of 2014, Joann and I were on a photography trip to Kentucky. One place we wanted to visit was a memorial to a mining disaster that occurred back on December 30, 1970.
Forty-eight years ago, 40 miners left their families to work in the Finley coal mine at Hurricane Creek, outside of Hyden, Kentucky. Just after lunch, an explosion rocked the mine. Thirty-eight miners were inside the mine.
One miner, A. T. Collins, was the lone survivor of this tragedy. He was just returning to the mine when the explosion occurred and was blown back over 60 feet. He is honored with a plaque on the statue of a miner at the memorial. The plaque says, “A.T. Collins, 1923-2007, Survived by his wife Dora, four children, six grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. He worked as the beltman. He was the lone survivor of the tragedy and was blown over 60 feet out of the mine.”
The memorial consists of 16 gates along a winding path that leads to the full memorial. On each post is a bronze miner’s hat representing one of the miners who was killed.
The hat above honors James Minton, Age 27, survived by his wife Geraldine, and his daughter, Sondra, two years old. He was a veteran, having served in the Army for three years. He performed in musical groups on many occasions. He lived in Manchester.
Honoring Lawrence Gray, Age 30, Survived by his wife Nancy, children, Charlotte, 9, Wade, 7, parents, Ballard and Ollie Gray, three sisters and three brothers. He lived on Elk Creek in Clay County. He worked in the mines at least ten years.
This helmet, honors Howard Couch, Age 34, Survived by his wife Daisy, four children, Phyllis Jean, 10, Berna Dean, 7, Charlene, 5, Eva Carol, 2, and his parents, Will and Elsie Couch. His twin brother, Holt was also killed.
Honoring Theo Griffin, Age 28, Survived by his wife Martha, and daughter, Sandra Carol, 6. He lived on Paces Creek in Clay County. He worked in the mines for four months. His brother-in-law, Jeff Spurlock was also killed.
At the back of the memorial is a long row of plaques with information about each of the miners who died in the explosion.
As you walk along reading the plaques, you see that many last names are repeated. For example, brothers Arnold and Armond Wagers were both killed in the explosion. Another Wagers is listed along with them, but doesn’t include any possible relation.
All in all, 65 children were left without fathers at the end of the day. Thirty-eight families were changed forever.
The most interesting thing about this memorial, besides its size and detail about the men who died, is that it sits at the site of the sealed mine.
The whole time we were at the memorial, we were the only ones there. It was a very serene place to spend some time honoring these men who perished just trying to make a living for their families.
If you get a chance to visit this or other memorials, we encourage you to do so.
Happy Shunpiking!
Ruth
Photos in this blog post can be purchased as wall art, paper prints, downloads, phone cases, and keepsakes by clicking on the photo. You will be taken to the gallery website where you will see a big blue "BUY" button. Or to see all photos available, click on the "Browse Galleries" button on the menu at the top of this page. Thank you for your interest!
Saturday, March 3, 2018
Hug a GI Day
By Joann M. Ringelstetter
Photos in this blog post can be purchased as wall art, paper prints, downloads, phone cases, and keepsakes. Just click on the desired photo and look for the blue “BUY” button.
March 4th is National Hug a GI Day, a day to show our appreciation to GIs, the people who serve in our armed forces, with a friendly hug. And it nudges me to tell a story of a veteran we met in Rockford, Illinois on the first day of last year’s spring photography trip.
It was April 23rd and the day was a sunny, blue-sky kind of day. We left home mid-morning and headed south, crossing the Illinois border a little before noon. After visiting historic Macktown, one of the earliest settlements in northern Illinois, we drove into downtown Rockford. First, we photographed some old neon signs and then we parked in front of the Veterans Memorial Hall and Museum.
This building is also known on the National Register of Historic Places as Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall. A memorial stone in front of the hall says: This memorial hall, the first of its kind in the United States, dedicated to our veterans of all wars, was completed in the year 1903 with dedication ceremonies on June Third of that year by our twenty-sixth President Theodore Roosevelt with these words: "No more fitting memorial could be erected to the men who fought than a hall such as this.....a hall beautiful because of the uses to which it is consecrated."
After capturing a few photos of this beautiful hall, I walked down to the corner where there was a veterans memorial, entitled “Victory.” The sculpture, by Gene Horvath, depicts men and women of diverse ethnic groups from all branches of the services.
The plaque below the sculpture reads: “To all Veterans, to our neighbors and friends, to the men and women who served in every branch of the Armed Forces in time of war or peace, we dedicate this memorial. Remembered here before us are brave veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf conflicts. United by love of country and service to each other we celebrate our ethnic diversity as we salute each individual’s victory of courage over fear and hardship. We will not forget our comrades who died.”
As I stood in front of the memorial, a man approached me with a big smile on his face. He asked me if my sister was in the car down the street. I told him she was, and he said, “She told me that I should have you take my picture in front of the memorial.” I must admit that I was a bit confused at first.
He told me his name was Mark and that he was a veteran who had served in the Persian Gulf War and that he had suffered injuries and was a Purple Heart recipient. So I told him to stand in front of the sculpture and as I snapped a couple of pictures, he held up his hand and sang some kind of marching tune. I only wish I would have thought to take a video.
When the photo session was finished, Mark told me that everyone called him Smiley, which was a great name for him because he had been smiling the whole time. He said everyone at the Veterans Memorial Hall knew him. Then he told me it was his birthday that day and he was wondering if I could spare a little change because he was on a mission to collect enough change to maybe get a motel room for the night and “watch a little TV.” He said he needed only another $13 to make that dream come true.
I wished him a Happy Birthday and told him I didn’t have any change on me, but if he wanted to walk back to the car with me, I would give him something. On the way back to the car, he told me that he was homeless because the injuries he had suffered in the war made it hard for him to work. I could see that he was having trouble with his feet and with his eyes.
When we got back to the car, I put my equipment away and Mark continued to talk. He gave Ruth and me his full name and rank and then talked about the war and the injuries he had suffered. As he talked, I grabbed a small notebook and wrote down some notes. Of course, I couldn’t help but wonder about the truth of all this, but it didn’t really matter.
Here was a fellow human being a little down on his luck, but still as good-natured as could be and who had such hope that by nightfall he could collect enough change to get a cheap motel room with a TV.
I reached for my wallet and took out a $20 bill. I handed it to Mark and said, “Happy Birthday, Mark. Get yourself some lunch and enjoy that motel room tonight. He looked at the money in his hand and tears filled his eyes. Then he hugged me and said, “No one has ever been this kind to me. Thank you so much.” As he headed down the street, Ruth told me that all he had asked her for was a penny. And then we laughed as we heard him say, “Now I can even get some chips!”
Whether you do it in person or through email, text, or social media, give a GI a hug!
Photos in this blog post can be purchased as wall art, paper prints, downloads, phone cases, and keepsakes by clicking on the photo. You will be taken to the gallery website where you will see a big blue "BUY" button. Or to see all photos available, click on the "Browse Galleries" button on the menu at the top of this page. Thank you for your interest!
Happy Shunpiking!
Joann
Photos in this blog post can be purchased as wall art, paper prints, downloads, phone cases, and keepsakes. Just click on the desired photo and look for the blue “BUY” button.
March 4th is National Hug a GI Day, a day to show our appreciation to GIs, the people who serve in our armed forces, with a friendly hug. And it nudges me to tell a story of a veteran we met in Rockford, Illinois on the first day of last year’s spring photography trip.
It was April 23rd and the day was a sunny, blue-sky kind of day. We left home mid-morning and headed south, crossing the Illinois border a little before noon. After visiting historic Macktown, one of the earliest settlements in northern Illinois, we drove into downtown Rockford. First, we photographed some old neon signs and then we parked in front of the Veterans Memorial Hall and Museum.
This building is also known on the National Register of Historic Places as Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall. A memorial stone in front of the hall says: This memorial hall, the first of its kind in the United States, dedicated to our veterans of all wars, was completed in the year 1903 with dedication ceremonies on June Third of that year by our twenty-sixth President Theodore Roosevelt with these words: "No more fitting memorial could be erected to the men who fought than a hall such as this.....a hall beautiful because of the uses to which it is consecrated."
After capturing a few photos of this beautiful hall, I walked down to the corner where there was a veterans memorial, entitled “Victory.” The sculpture, by Gene Horvath, depicts men and women of diverse ethnic groups from all branches of the services.
The plaque below the sculpture reads: “To all Veterans, to our neighbors and friends, to the men and women who served in every branch of the Armed Forces in time of war or peace, we dedicate this memorial. Remembered here before us are brave veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf conflicts. United by love of country and service to each other we celebrate our ethnic diversity as we salute each individual’s victory of courage over fear and hardship. We will not forget our comrades who died.”
As I stood in front of the memorial, a man approached me with a big smile on his face. He asked me if my sister was in the car down the street. I told him she was, and he said, “She told me that I should have you take my picture in front of the memorial.” I must admit that I was a bit confused at first.
He told me his name was Mark and that he was a veteran who had served in the Persian Gulf War and that he had suffered injuries and was a Purple Heart recipient. So I told him to stand in front of the sculpture and as I snapped a couple of pictures, he held up his hand and sang some kind of marching tune. I only wish I would have thought to take a video.
When the photo session was finished, Mark told me that everyone called him Smiley, which was a great name for him because he had been smiling the whole time. He said everyone at the Veterans Memorial Hall knew him. Then he told me it was his birthday that day and he was wondering if I could spare a little change because he was on a mission to collect enough change to maybe get a motel room for the night and “watch a little TV.” He said he needed only another $13 to make that dream come true.
I wished him a Happy Birthday and told him I didn’t have any change on me, but if he wanted to walk back to the car with me, I would give him something. On the way back to the car, he told me that he was homeless because the injuries he had suffered in the war made it hard for him to work. I could see that he was having trouble with his feet and with his eyes.
When we got back to the car, I put my equipment away and Mark continued to talk. He gave Ruth and me his full name and rank and then talked about the war and the injuries he had suffered. As he talked, I grabbed a small notebook and wrote down some notes. Of course, I couldn’t help but wonder about the truth of all this, but it didn’t really matter.
Here was a fellow human being a little down on his luck, but still as good-natured as could be and who had such hope that by nightfall he could collect enough change to get a cheap motel room with a TV.
I reached for my wallet and took out a $20 bill. I handed it to Mark and said, “Happy Birthday, Mark. Get yourself some lunch and enjoy that motel room tonight. He looked at the money in his hand and tears filled his eyes. Then he hugged me and said, “No one has ever been this kind to me. Thank you so much.” As he headed down the street, Ruth told me that all he had asked her for was a penny. And then we laughed as we heard him say, “Now I can even get some chips!”
Whether you do it in person or through email, text, or social media, give a GI a hug!
Photos in this blog post can be purchased as wall art, paper prints, downloads, phone cases, and keepsakes by clicking on the photo. You will be taken to the gallery website where you will see a big blue "BUY" button. Or to see all photos available, click on the "Browse Galleries" button on the menu at the top of this page. Thank you for your interest!
Happy Shunpiking!
Joann
Friday, November 10, 2017
Richland County Veterans Memorial
By Joann M. Ringelstetter
Photos in this blog post can be purchased as wall art, paper prints, downloads, phone cases, and keepsakes. Just click on the desired photo and look for the blue “BUY” button.
On October 15th of this year, Ruth and I started our day of photography at first light in the city of Richland Center, Wisconsin. After photographing several old buildings, we decided to stop at the Richland County Veterans Memorial for the first time. This memorial is sandwiched between Highway 14 and the edge of a commercial area, so we didn’t think it was going to be much of a photo opportunity. But we were wrong!
The mission of the Richland County Veteran’s Memorial Committee, formed in 2003, is “to honor Veterans of Richland County, Wisconsin…those who have served, those who are serving, and those who will serve.”
According to their website, the memorial “lists names of individuals who have been military personnel of a war, conflict, or in peacetime, a resident of Richland County at some period in their life and who have been honorably discharged by the military.”
I was happy to see that it also honors war dogs.
This veterans memorial is very unique and it is one of the nicest memorials I’ve ever seen. There are 11 granite monuments arranged in chronological order by date and war, starting with the War of 1812.
Each monument has a unique design and each one causes you to stop and reflect, such as this monument honoring World War I veterans.
Or this one honoring Vietnam War veterans.
I didn’t know the story behind this veterans memorial until I had spent a half-hour among the monuments and was heading back through the arched entrance on my way back to the car. It was then that I noticed a plaque honoring Mariel Beeman Kepler, who was a Richland County resident for her entire life.
During World War II, Mariel attended Richland Center High School and collected all the local newspaper articles about Richland County servicemen, which she put in scrapbooks. Years later, her husband, Downing, who had served in World War II, urged her to organize and share her scrapbook information.
In 2004, Mariel’s book, entitled “World War II – News of Our Men and Women in Service, Richland County, Wisconsin: A Scrapbook Collection,” was accepted into the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. And the sales of this book contributed to the creation of the Richland County Veterans Memorial.
In October, 2014, at the age of 89, Mariel saw her dream for a Richland County veterans memorial fulfilled when she visited the newly completed Richland County Veterans Honor Roll, traveling its paved walkways in her wheelchair. Unfortunately, Mariel passed away in January, 2015, just five months prior to the final dedication of this very special memorial.
This memorial honors over 8,300 Richland County Veterans, including those in the National Guard Reserves. When I think about that number for just one county in one state, it makes my head spin to think of the number of veterans across the country. And as I write this on the eve of Veterans Day, it also makes me even more grateful for the service to our country of all veterans, past, present, and future.
The Richland County Veterans Memorial is located at 450 S Main Street in Richland Center, Wisconsin.
Photos in this blog post can be purchased as wall art, paper prints, downloads, phone cases, and keepsakes by clicking on the photo. You will be taken to the gallery website where you will see a big blue "BUY" button. Or to see all photos available, click on the "Browse Galleries" button on the menu at the top of this page. Thank you for your interest!
Happy Shunpiking!
Joann
Photos in this blog post can be purchased as wall art, paper prints, downloads, phone cases, and keepsakes. Just click on the desired photo and look for the blue “BUY” button.
On October 15th of this year, Ruth and I started our day of photography at first light in the city of Richland Center, Wisconsin. After photographing several old buildings, we decided to stop at the Richland County Veterans Memorial for the first time. This memorial is sandwiched between Highway 14 and the edge of a commercial area, so we didn’t think it was going to be much of a photo opportunity. But we were wrong!
The mission of the Richland County Veteran’s Memorial Committee, formed in 2003, is “to honor Veterans of Richland County, Wisconsin…those who have served, those who are serving, and those who will serve.”
According to their website, the memorial “lists names of individuals who have been military personnel of a war, conflict, or in peacetime, a resident of Richland County at some period in their life and who have been honorably discharged by the military.”
I was happy to see that it also honors war dogs.
This veterans memorial is very unique and it is one of the nicest memorials I’ve ever seen. There are 11 granite monuments arranged in chronological order by date and war, starting with the War of 1812.
Each monument has a unique design and each one causes you to stop and reflect, such as this monument honoring World War I veterans.
Or this one honoring Vietnam War veterans.
I didn’t know the story behind this veterans memorial until I had spent a half-hour among the monuments and was heading back through the arched entrance on my way back to the car. It was then that I noticed a plaque honoring Mariel Beeman Kepler, who was a Richland County resident for her entire life.
During World War II, Mariel attended Richland Center High School and collected all the local newspaper articles about Richland County servicemen, which she put in scrapbooks. Years later, her husband, Downing, who had served in World War II, urged her to organize and share her scrapbook information.
In 2004, Mariel’s book, entitled “World War II – News of Our Men and Women in Service, Richland County, Wisconsin: A Scrapbook Collection,” was accepted into the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. And the sales of this book contributed to the creation of the Richland County Veterans Memorial.
In October, 2014, at the age of 89, Mariel saw her dream for a Richland County veterans memorial fulfilled when she visited the newly completed Richland County Veterans Honor Roll, traveling its paved walkways in her wheelchair. Unfortunately, Mariel passed away in January, 2015, just five months prior to the final dedication of this very special memorial.
This memorial honors over 8,300 Richland County Veterans, including those in the National Guard Reserves. When I think about that number for just one county in one state, it makes my head spin to think of the number of veterans across the country. And as I write this on the eve of Veterans Day, it also makes me even more grateful for the service to our country of all veterans, past, present, and future.
The Richland County Veterans Memorial is located at 450 S Main Street in Richland Center, Wisconsin.
Photos in this blog post can be purchased as wall art, paper prints, downloads, phone cases, and keepsakes by clicking on the photo. You will be taken to the gallery website where you will see a big blue "BUY" button. Or to see all photos available, click on the "Browse Galleries" button on the menu at the top of this page. Thank you for your interest!
Happy Shunpiking!
Joann
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
The Day the Music Died
By Ruth A. Ringelstetter
The Winter Dance Party Tour began on January 23, 1959 at the Million Dollar Ballroom in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Nearly 6,000 young people turned out for that first concert. The tour was set to cover 24 cities in 24 days. The artists on the tour were Buddy Holly and the Crickets, The Big Bopper (J. P. Richardson), Ritchie Valens, Dion and the Belmonts, and Frankie Sardo.
Planning for the tour was done haphazardly and had the stops zigzagging across multiple Midwest states, sometimes with as many as 360 miles between concerts. A bus had been rented for the tour, but after just a couple of days, the bus proved to be very unreliable between breakdowns and little or no heat. It was a cold and snowy winter in the Midwest.
By the time they reached The Riverside Ballroom in Green Bay, Wisconsin for the February 1 concert, Carl Bunch (Buddy Holly’s drummer) had left the tour with frostbitten feet.
The next night, the bus limped into Clear Lake, Iowa, where the artists performed at the Surf Ballroom. By that time, Buddy Holly had had enough of the freezing bus and he was tired. He decided to charter a plane to take him to Fargo, North Dakota. There he could get some rest, and join the tour the next night at Moorhead, Minnesota.
It was a four-seater plane, so there was room for the pilot and three passengers. The original plan was for Buddy Holly, Tommy Allsup (Holly’s guitarist), and Waylon Jennings (Holly’s bass player) to take the passenger seats. At the last minute, The Big Bopper, who was suffering with the flu, asked Waylon Jennings for his seat. Waylon agreed. Ritchie Valens asked Allsup for his seat, and they decided the winner of a coin toss would get the seat. Valens won the seat.
The plane took off from the Mason City Municipal Airport around 1:00 A.M. on February 3, and crashed minutes later in a field about six miles northwest of the airport. All three musicians and the pilot were killed in the crash. At the time of the crash, Buddy Holly was 22, The Big Bopper was 28, Ritchie Valens was 17, and the pilot, Roger Peterson, was 21.
In 1972, Don McLean released his single “American Pie” which referred to the crash as “The Day the Music Died”. McLean delivered newspapers when he was young, and learned of Buddy Holly’s death in the newspaper on the morning of February 4, 1959. In the song he uses the line “February made me shiver, with every paper I’d deliver.”
Several years ago, I learned that there was a memorial at the crash site. When I went to mark the spot on the map, I saw that we had been very near the site on a previous trip. This was before I marked the site, so I didn’t even realize we were that close.
On a return trip to the area in June of 2015, we decided to make the crash site memorial our dawn photography stop. It had rained some overnight and the ground was wet. The site is marked by a large pair of Buddy Holly glasses. From the glasses at the roadside, you follow a path down into the field to the actual crash site and memorial.
The memorial was erected in 1988 by Wisconsin fan Ken Paquette. Michael Connor of Clear Lake, Iowa, crafted the Buddy Holly glasses marking the site. The original monument was only to the three musicians. It wasn’t until 2009 that Paquette added the memorial to the pilot, Roger Peterson.
Visitors to the memorial site leave their own mementos. Some leave glasses, some leave coins, some leave flowers, and some leave a bottle of liquor.
After our stop at the crash site memorial, we went on to Clear Lake to photograph the Surf Ballroom, where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P “The Big Bopper” Richardson performed for the last time.
The Surf Ballroom is largely unchanged since the 1950’s. A concrete memorial to the three musicians and the pilot stands outside the ballroom. Every February since 1979 the Surf Ballroom has held a “Winter Dance Party” tribute show in honor of the three stars.
If you’re ever in the area, stop and pay your respects to four young men who left this earth far too early.
Happy Shunpiking!
Ruth
The Winter Dance Party Tour began on January 23, 1959 at the Million Dollar Ballroom in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Nearly 6,000 young people turned out for that first concert. The tour was set to cover 24 cities in 24 days. The artists on the tour were Buddy Holly and the Crickets, The Big Bopper (J. P. Richardson), Ritchie Valens, Dion and the Belmonts, and Frankie Sardo.
Planning for the tour was done haphazardly and had the stops zigzagging across multiple Midwest states, sometimes with as many as 360 miles between concerts. A bus had been rented for the tour, but after just a couple of days, the bus proved to be very unreliable between breakdowns and little or no heat. It was a cold and snowy winter in the Midwest.
By the time they reached The Riverside Ballroom in Green Bay, Wisconsin for the February 1 concert, Carl Bunch (Buddy Holly’s drummer) had left the tour with frostbitten feet.
The next night, the bus limped into Clear Lake, Iowa, where the artists performed at the Surf Ballroom. By that time, Buddy Holly had had enough of the freezing bus and he was tired. He decided to charter a plane to take him to Fargo, North Dakota. There he could get some rest, and join the tour the next night at Moorhead, Minnesota.
It was a four-seater plane, so there was room for the pilot and three passengers. The original plan was for Buddy Holly, Tommy Allsup (Holly’s guitarist), and Waylon Jennings (Holly’s bass player) to take the passenger seats. At the last minute, The Big Bopper, who was suffering with the flu, asked Waylon Jennings for his seat. Waylon agreed. Ritchie Valens asked Allsup for his seat, and they decided the winner of a coin toss would get the seat. Valens won the seat.
The plane took off from the Mason City Municipal Airport around 1:00 A.M. on February 3, and crashed minutes later in a field about six miles northwest of the airport. All three musicians and the pilot were killed in the crash. At the time of the crash, Buddy Holly was 22, The Big Bopper was 28, Ritchie Valens was 17, and the pilot, Roger Peterson, was 21.
In 1972, Don McLean released his single “American Pie” which referred to the crash as “The Day the Music Died”. McLean delivered newspapers when he was young, and learned of Buddy Holly’s death in the newspaper on the morning of February 4, 1959. In the song he uses the line “February made me shiver, with every paper I’d deliver.”
Several years ago, I learned that there was a memorial at the crash site. When I went to mark the spot on the map, I saw that we had been very near the site on a previous trip. This was before I marked the site, so I didn’t even realize we were that close.
On a return trip to the area in June of 2015, we decided to make the crash site memorial our dawn photography stop. It had rained some overnight and the ground was wet. The site is marked by a large pair of Buddy Holly glasses. From the glasses at the roadside, you follow a path down into the field to the actual crash site and memorial.
The memorial was erected in 1988 by Wisconsin fan Ken Paquette. Michael Connor of Clear Lake, Iowa, crafted the Buddy Holly glasses marking the site. The original monument was only to the three musicians. It wasn’t until 2009 that Paquette added the memorial to the pilot, Roger Peterson.
Visitors to the memorial site leave their own mementos. Some leave glasses, some leave coins, some leave flowers, and some leave a bottle of liquor.
After our stop at the crash site memorial, we went on to Clear Lake to photograph the Surf Ballroom, where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P “The Big Bopper” Richardson performed for the last time.
The Surf Ballroom is largely unchanged since the 1950’s. A concrete memorial to the three musicians and the pilot stands outside the ballroom. Every February since 1979 the Surf Ballroom has held a “Winter Dance Party” tribute show in honor of the three stars.
If you’re ever in the area, stop and pay your respects to four young men who left this earth far too early.
Happy Shunpiking!
Ruth
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