The Free State of Van Zandt

We meet the greatest and interesting people here at Roseland!  The other day a group of long-time college friends – I must use the word “old” with great caution at my age - decided to join us for their periodic retreat.  Though they have scattered, they continue to get together once or twice each year and enjoy each others’ company.  They rotate the location, first in one person’s home town, then the next, and so on.  That way the burdens of hosting and travel are shared equally among the participants. 

One of the guests, Mike, is a history buff.  He asked me, “Do you know about the Free State of Van Zandt?”
History was never my favorite subject in school.  I can’t remember where I put the car keys five minutes ago, let alone the names and dates associated with people long gone.
“The Free State of Van Zandt?  No, I’ve never heard of it.”
“Yes.  Roseland is located in what was once called The Free State of Van Zandt. You should look into it.”  With that we changed the topic of conversation, but clearly the gauntlet had been laid down.

That was obviously a challenge no self-respecting man could reject, and I decided to check out the Free State of Van Zandt.  I figured it had something to do with the Civil War (here in Texas it’s also called the un-Civil War, War between the States, Second War of Independence, War of Northern Aggression, or War of States Rights).  I started researching. 

Information is not hard to come by, but the truth is.  Tall tales and colorful local history competed for my attention.  Early history is preserved through oral tradition and tales of questionable authenticity learned from personal friends.  Newspapers and such were non-existent in those days, but even if they were, can we ever be truly sure that they are accurate? 

Names familiar from the names of local towns come to life as influential families, courageous settlers, and perhaps scoundrels.  Stories resound with undertones of pride and success mixed with pragmatism and individual determination.  This is a brief summary of what I’ve learned about the Free State of Van Zandt:

Van Zandt County was originally carved out of Henderson County by the Texas State legislature in 1848; its boundaries were re-drawn in 1850 leaving its present boundaries.  The county had acquired the moniker “free territory” shortly after its formation.  The term however had nothing to do with the matter of slavery, but resulted from a fortuitous situation that allowed Van Zandt County and its residents to inherit none of the excessive debt burden carried by its parent Henderson County.  Hence the term “free territory” originally meant “free of debt”, not necessarily “free of slaves.”  In fact, the institution of slavery plays a significant and interesting role in Roseland Plantation’s pre Civil War history.  Furthermore Texas, as well as the owner of the plantation at the time, had joined the Confederate side.

President Lincoln abolished slavery through the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, but the order did not reach Texas until June 19, 1865.  This date is commonly celebrated as “Juneteenth,” the day of Texan emancipation by descendants of the slaves.  But back to Van Zandt County… 

In 1867 Texans decided to formally re-join the Union, but this did not sit well with many local residents in Van Zandt County.  The citizens of the county held a convention and declared themselves free and independent of the State of Texas, of the Southern Confederacy, and of the United States of America.  Subsequently they formed an army to fight for their liberty. 

In response General Sheridan, the Union officer in charge of reconstruction in the territory, sent a troop of cavalry to put an end to the rebellion.  The county, being heavily wooded, made it possible for the army of the Free State of Van Zandt to apparently repulse the invasion in short order with no casualties simply by sniper fire alone – using tactics similar to those the American militiamen had used to defeat the British during the Revolutionary War. 

Victory appeared quick, painless, and sweet to the residents of the Free State of Van Zandt.  The army proceeded to celebrate their victory in Canton.  It was a hearty celebration and most were overcome by the effects of excessive liquor consumption during the celebration.

However, Sheridan’s troops had not been defeated; they had merely regrouped.  At the height of the celebration by the army of the Free State of Van Zandt, Sheridan’s troops surrounded Canton and captured the entire army.  The Federal soldiers built a several acre stockade prison walled by logs rammed vertically into the ground.  This prison held the entire rebellious army. 

The prisoners were model captives and showed no inclination of causing trouble for Union.  Therefore as time passed the number of Federal guards on duty was reduced until there was just one guard to patrol the entire perimeter. 

When the rainy season came, the ground became soft, and the prisoners took advantage of the situation.  They loosened some of the surrounding posts, created a hole in the fence, and escaped to neighboring territories. 

Thus ended the saga of the Free State of Van Zandt, but the spirit of the community lives on.   Though the county may be subject to external authority, citizens still cherish their independence and resent external intervention.  County citizens still proudly remember their heritage of freedom from authority, and proudly resist any encroachment on their liberty – especially from Washington. 

More detailed histories are available at http://txgenweb3.org/txvanzandt/vzcfreestate.htm  (for Van Zandt County) and http://www.lsjunction.com/events/events.htm (for Texas).

Christmas Teas

Every year Roseland Plantation hosts a special Christmas Tea.  These Teas are truly memorable:
 
•    We delight the taste buds with our home made scones, sandwiches, and desserts.
•    We satisfy the eye with the royal elegance of our table settings.
•    We capture the imagination with beautiful seasonal flowers and decorations. 
•    And we top all this off with Roseland’s famous historic plantation tour.

Come join us for one of our 2010 Christmas Teas on December 5, 6, 7, or 8.  Get into the holiday mood without the rush and pressure of the season. 

Christmas is about Peace and Joy.  Experience both at our Christmas Tea. 

We have already received many reservations and space is limited.  Come, be our guest.  One, two, four, or more; no minimum group size requirements.  More information is available at http://www.roselandplantation.com/hightea.html under “Special Seasonal Festival Teas.”   …or you can simply call us at 903-849-5553.

God bless and happy holidays.

Steve

What Happened?

Wow!  It’s November already!  What happened to September and October?  Where did it go?

October is our busiest season of the year, and this year it has been busier than ever:

• We hosted weddings every weekend.  
• We held the annual Rose Festival Teas – a very successful event this year.  
• We hosted many reunions, weekend getaways, silver and gold anniversaries, and other special events.  

There was not a moment to catch our breath. 

This October was the best month Roseland has ever experienced, and here it is the middle of November already!  We’re looking forward to Thanksgiving celebrations at Roseland, then the Christmas Teas, then Christmas and New Year celebrations and weddings.  I bet in a couple of months we’ll look back and ask “What happened to November and December?”

So come to Roseland and join the festivities, renew old friendships and family ties.  After all ‘tis the season to be jolly!  …and Roseland is the place to experience it best.

Bittersweet

Note:  I started to write this mid-September; then life happened…

Seasons come, and seasons go.  My favorite seasons are summer and spring.  Summer brings sailing, swimming, long days, warm weather, and lots of outdoor activities.  Spring is beautiful, heralds the coming of summer, and symbolizes rebirth after trials. 

My least favorite seasons are winter and fall.  Winter is simply bitter and cold with much darkness and short daylight - more so up North than at Roseland, thank God. Colors fade into drab browns and grays with momentary splashes of brilliant white when snow falls. 

East Texas winters are not nearly as depressing as the winters up North.  Winter for the most part is actually a very pleasant time of the year with relatively mild temperatures, a fair number of sunny days, with just enough greenery to tease the eye and provide a fleeting reminder that all is not dead. 

To me fall is the saddest of the four seasons.  It signals the end of summer, my favorite time of year, and the coming of winter, my least favorite time of year.  As with fireworks, nature seems to provide us with a grand finale of colors after the long summer show, then the stage closes. 

Fall represents a time of closure, a time of re-grouping, of preparation for the trials of winter.  Summer toys are put away, winter clothes are brought out in anticipation.  “Button down, store up, prepare,” we are taught. 

September has been such a month, and last week in particular has been such a week:
•    We closed to pool – the water is too cold for swimming now.
•    Some leaves began to turn.
•    Illnesses of elderly family members foreshadowed a tough winter coming.

…those were the bitter parts of fall, but then there were sweet parts, too:

•    The roses we planted this year burst forth in colors and fragrance beyond imagination.
•    Jennifer and Johnathan were married in early October.  What a joyful occasion that was!
•    Brayden continues to grow.  He is such a joy!
•    I visited our church family in Denver and recalled the delightful days Debbie and I had spent with them.
•    The gang from Houston came to visit us for a family celebration.
•    God continues to send us guests who leave as family we have known all our lives.  We share experiences, whether that be sorrow, illness, joy, or memories.

We keep receiving blessing after blessing after blessing.  The Lord is good.  The Lord if faithful and true.  Life is bitter yet sweet:  Bittersweet.  So let the winter come, it’s only a few months until the rich sweetness of spring engulfs us once again.

Praise God!

Flying Armadillo

Who has driven through Texas and not seen armadillo road kill?  Because of this I’ve always pictured armadillos as blind, dumb, lumbering tanks too stupid to avoid vehicles.  Not necessarily so!

Armadillos are an amazing group of mammals from South America.  There are twenty different species of armadillos, all closely related to sloths and anteaters.  They have a hard bone shell and short strong legs well suited to digging.  They eat insects such as ants, beetles, and grubs.  Their tongues are sticky, like an ant-eater’s to better catch the insects.  Armadillos do dig little annoying holes in the yard to get at these delicacies, but the holes are not particularly destructive. 

Texas is populated by the nine-banded armadillo, a cute little creature.  We have a locally resident armadillo family at Roseland.  I’ve seen it many times in the evening and at night slowly crawling along the ground, digging for insects.  Usually it ignores me; it has poor eyesight.  But it does have good hearing and sense of smell.

One afternoon, as I was taking wedding pictures, I noticed an armadillo in the yard next to the rose garden.  I sneaked up on it, and clicked a picture.  The shutter’s small clicking noise must have alarmed it because it took off into the air and quickly disappeared.  It literally flew about 15 ft!  Don’t believe me?  Take a look at the following pictures.

Here are some interesting facts about the nine-banded armadillos of Texas:
•    Contrary to popular belief, the nine-banded armadillo cannot roll into a ball to escape predators.  It must rely on its armor, speed, and agility to survive. 
•    The female always gives birth to four identical young from the same egg.
•    Some females have been known to delay birth for up to two years after fertilization to compensate for stressful situations.
•    Armadillos are excellent swimmers (they do the armadillo paddle which is similar to dog paddle).
•    Armadillos can go a long distance underwater, typically walking on the bottom; they can hold their breath for up to six minutes at a time.
•    Armadillos have been known to float long distances by gulping air into their intestines, essentially creating a balloon inside a shell.
•    The nine-banded armadillo is not a threatened species (its population is actually growing), but its ownership in the U.S. is regulated.  For example it’s illegal to own one in Maine, and Montana classifies it as livestock with the same requirements and restrictions as cattle.
•    Armadillos are edible (must be cooked thoroughly as they can carry leprosy); can be substituted for pork, chicken, or beef; and is part of the local diet in many parts of South America.
•    Armadillos have been used for research into leprosy, multiple births and other reproductive issues, HIV studies, skin and organ transplants, cancer, and more.

Armadillos are cute.  And yes, they can fly!  Come to Roseland Plantation in Ben Wheeler, TX, and see our flying armadillo.  You can learn more about armadillos at https://www.msu.edu/~nixonjos/armadillo/index.html. 
 
One day, perhaps, I’ll tell you about flying pigs, too…

Pigs

 
I’ve been quiet of late because I’ve been consumed by that favorite activity all of us face periodically:  Taxes.  I can no longer bear it, and must work on something else just to maintain sanity.  So I thought I’d work on the blog a bit.

I received a forward particularly applicable to Roseland Plantation the other day and thought I’d share it with y’all.  Hey, I’m allowed to say that – we’re in Ben Wheeler, Texas!

Please don't stop reading till you reach the end...

As you know, we have a wild pig problem here at Roseland Plantation.  In fact we have a wild pig problem in Texas.  For example, half of all U.S. ferile pigs reside here in Texas.  Yes, we have the largest population of ferile pigs in the entire country because
1.    They are prolific reproducers
2.    They are extremely canny, wary, crafty, and “street-wise”
3.    They are migrant and totally unpredictable.

Tough it may sound like I’m talking about people, I’m not.  I really am talking about wild pigs.  Let me give you an example.

Last year we created a beautiful wild flower garden at Roseland Plantation.  The idea was to make a terrific photo op for our brides.  And it was just beautiful – a sea of flowers.  Well, the pigs decided they liked it, too, and proceeded to make themselves at home.  They began by tilling a small, barely visible spot in the middle of the wild flowers.  Slowly, however, they got more comfortable with the situation, continued to enlarge their territory and destroy more and more of the wild flowers. 

They were tricky and unpredictable.  They would do some damage, then disappear for a while.  Sometime later they would come back unexpectedly to continue the process. 

We could sit out there all night every night for weeks and not see a pig.  Then one night, when we weren’t watching, they would show up and do their dirty work.  Ultimately they destroyed well over half of our wild flower field.

After about a month or two of this cat and mouse game (perhaps more appropriately called “man and pig game”), they were clearly winning.  One could now actually see the damage from a distance because they had destroyed the wild flower field to its edge, and it’s not fixable this year.

It’s too late to fix the mess they made.  The wild flower field looks horrible now and the season for planting is past.  The pigs destroyed something special and precious.  Perhaps we’ll be unable to recover for two years if they destroyed the seeds for next year’s crop of flowers.  We won’t know until next year, but as a minimum they cost us a lot of unnecessary work and money.

Roseland's Wild Flower Field Before the Pigs (June)

Same Wild Flower Field After the Pigs (August)

The whole process reminds me of Debbie’s battle with cancer.  At first it ate her internally; everything looked fine on the outside.  When the symptoms finally became visible, it was too late.  Irreparable damage had already been done; the outcome was determined long beforehand.  But let’s get back to the story about wild pigs.

Now we’re on the hunt for wild pigs, but we have been mostly unsuccessful.  They are well hidden and crafty. 

Then I received the following email.  (It has been modified slightly from the original.)  I thought it was most helpful for us hunting pigs at Roseland and will follow its instructions.  But it also holds a significant lesson for every American: 

Subject:  CATCHING PIGS

There was a chemistry professor in a large college that had some exchange students in the class. One day while the class was in the lab, the Prof noticed one young man, an exchange student, who kept rubbing his back and stretching as if his back hurt.

The professor asked the young man what was the matter.  The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country's government and install a new communist regime.  In the midst of his story, he looked at the professor and asked a strange question. He asked:

"Do you know how to catch wild pigs?"  The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The young man said that it was no joke.

"You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come every day to eat the free corn.

“When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming.

“When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence.

“They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side.

 “The pigs, which are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat the free corn again.

 “One day unexpectedly you slam the gate shut on them and catch the whole herd. Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom.

“They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught.  Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity.  Then you kill them and eat them."

The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening in America. The government keeps pushing us toward Communism/Socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tax cuts, tax exemptions, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, etc. while we continually give up our freedoms, just a little at a time.
***

Think about it.  The Bible says the debtor is slave to the lender:
•    Who owns your house?  The Government agency which ultimately holds the mortgage note.
•    Who owns the bank where you keep your money?  The Government which bailed it out and insures its contents.
•    Who owns the company that makes your vehicle?  The Government that owns its stock for bailing it out.
•    Who owns your health?  The Government who now mandates every detail of your health insurance – including prescriptions on how your illness is to be treated.
•    Who is responsible for your livelihood?  The Government who pays your unemployment, retirement, and most likely job through tax benefits, incentives, etc.
•    Who is responsible for your physical and financial well-being and safety (think regulations)?  The Government who regulates every aspect of our daily lives.
•    Who funds and defines the details of your children’s education?  The Government.
•    Where were most of the few stimulus package jobs created?  In the Government.
•    Who defines what you can and must say to be politically correct and acceptable?  The Government.  (By the way, our “politically correct” is functionally equivalent to Communism’s “party line.”)
•    Who owns you?  You guessed it - the Government… 

Little by little, in imperceptible steps based on good intentions and human logic, during the past century we have turned the Constitution upside down:  We have willingly become servants of the Government, not the other way around!  And we have none to blame but ourselves.  We have built our own trap and willingly entered it seeking free corn.  Like wild pigs in a trap, we are milling about gobbling up free corn blissfully unaware of the danger.

One should always remember two truths:
1.    There is no such thing as free corn.
2.    God created each of us with free will and made each of us responsible for ourselves, our family, and our nation - not a nation responsible for our family and us.

So God help you, me, and America the Beautiful when the trap’s gate slams shut because we’ve ignored these truths!  God help the Home of the Free, the Light to the World, the Dream of all oppressed peoples everywhere when the trap’s gate slams shut!  Because the trap’s gate is closing, closing, closing quickly – unless we Americans wake up. 

Vote, but think before you vote!  Change is not always good, nor is it always for the better.  In fact, history has demonstrated repeatedly that unplanned, impulsive, mindless, careless, rushed, or forced change almost invariably results in disaster. 

What looks so good today will be our children’s and grandchildren’s nightmare.  It’s kind of like sin…  Looks great tonight; but tomorrow morning the pain begins; will continue for a long, long time; and will hurt many loved ones.  It’s a Biblical lesson we need to remember every day. 

Beware and think.  Don’t be fooled.  Don’t be lulled into complacency by free corn.  Sometimes – usually in fact - the correct path is not quick, easy, or painless.  Our history and The Bible teach that.  Do we?

How many great Americans from our illustrious past would stand in line to accept a handout?  Whatever happened to the great American icon – the self-sufficient cowboy?  Have we buried him and replaced him with a beggar for scraps from Uncle Sam?  In fact, have we willingly transformed Uncle Sam into our personal Sugar Daddy?  It’s hard to say “No, thank you!” to free corn, but that’s the only way to stay out of the trap. 

Most importantly, have we betrayed the faith of our founders, the faith of Adams’ invisible hand (the hand of the Almighty) that guided our nation from its youth to greatness – and replaced it with faith in the mirage of our human perfection and power?  Have we abandoned our founding principles and been conformed to this world, rather than conforming the world to the image of our creator, Christ Jesus?  Have we, in the heat of worldly passion, sinned and betrayed The One who loves us more than anything, the very source of our existence?  The only one willing to die for us?

Having been born in Hungary, lived under Communist rule, and experienced the failed 1957 Hungarian revolution, my heart bleeds for our children and grandchildren.  The trend is crystal clear.  I see, understand, and pray that enough Americans will remember and cherish what made America so unique and special in all the world - before it’s too late.  I pray that enough will understand well enough to avoid all of us being caught like wild pigs in a trap. 

The end result of a trap is never pretty or pleasant for the victim.  Wild pigs caught in a trap make a most tasty meal!

Please, please don’t saddle our children and grandchildren with the cost and consequences of our sins!  We have replaced faith in the one true Creator, The One and Only.  We have made laws we create our King, the Government we choose our God.  Just like the Israelites of Biblical times, who ultimately ended up in captivity because of their sin, we too have become captives because we want free corn.  But the Government does not allow us to teach that to our children in school…

Khrushchev once boasted that one day America will become Communist without anyone firing a single bullet – and we are about to prove him right.  It may already be too late.

Lord, please don’t let it be so!  Lord, please don’t let this cancer eat up our wonderful nation the way cancer consumed my beautiful wife!  I recall how the pigs destroyed the field from the inside out, how the cancer destroyed Debbie from the inside out, and now I see a similar process of destruction in our nation.  By the time the symptoms became visible with the pigs and with Debbie, it was too late to recover.  May it not be so with America, Lord I pray, though the walls and the gate of the trap are solidly in place!

The pigs at Roseland taught us another important lesson:  We have built a beautiful garden that others will appropriate, use for their own purposes, and destroy if we're not vigilant every single day and guard it zealously.  But we must rest sometime, and the enemy always comes to destroy when we're resting, distracted, or inattentive.  It's the same with America.  Only the Lord can protect us always, without rest and ceasing.

We can pretend to be gods ourselves and end up ensnared in the trap of our making, or we can freely confess our sin, repent, and turn to The LORD our maker who alone can graciously save us from ourselves.  It’s our choice as individuals.  It’s also our choice as a family and a nation.

...and now it's time to put out free corn and trap the Roseland pigs.

Blueberries

Roseland is truly special.  We have some amazing experiences.  We have felt the hand of God; we have seen His miracles.  But sometimes it’s the quiet moments when we sit down with our guests and just converse that make Roseland unforgettable.
 
Since those talks are private conversations, we cannot blog about their content, which may freely range from the weather to politics to religion to health matters and then to whatever else seems to be of interest.  One of the things I’ve noticed here at Roseland is that God seems to bring guests into our lives who are experiencing difficulties like ours; inevitably by the end of the conversation and visit we both feel blessed to be part of the same family – the family of the Lord.  In fact, many times saying good-bye to our guests reminds me of saying good-bye to our distant relatives after a Thanksgiving holiday.  We’re overflowing with joy because they came, sad they’re leaving, but peaceful in the knowledge that we will meet again and resume our relationship right where we left off.

So what does all this have to do with blueberries?  Actually, quite a bit.  The blueberry season is June and July and we have two nearby blueberry farms where guests can pick fresh blueberries right off the bush.  As a result we’ve had several couples come specifically to pick blueberries.  In the evening we struck up conversations that blossomed into friendships during the visit.  All because of blueberries.

What’s so good about blueberries?  Actually quite a bit.  Blueberries look good on the plate and taste good; they also have some incredible medicinal value.  Blueberries are high in anti-oxidants and vitamins that help prevent heart problems and other severe illnesses, including cancer. 

Furthermore, this last season I learned from our guests that blueberries can help ease the pain of arthritis:  Their arthritis pains have lessened since they started eating a cup of blueberries a day.  Consequently they’ve cut back on traditional drugs. 

Other guests have told me of yet another benefit:  The blueberries keep them regular.  So not only do blueberries help relieve arthritic pain (we need fewer pain pills), but they help relieve the cramps caused by any pain pills we may choose to take.  That’s so God:  Two for the price of one!

So for all you readers out there:  Start eating blueberries.  They look good, taste good, and are healthy for you.  And then come back visit us at Roseland next June or July so we can talk about blueberries and anything else that comes to your mind.  After all, we’re family…