When taking my daily indoor walks I normally walk on the main floor from the gate 3 side to the front desk. In doing so, I walk past the small garden with the water fountain which as you probably know is located adjacent to the Fountain Room on the main floor.

I always pause and peer thru the window in hopes of seeing the 3 or 4 garden variety turtles which I know have a home in the ground near the rear end of the small lot. I am certain that there are both male and female turtles living there and I am also certain that they are now passed the breeding season.
However, I am baffled by the fact that I have not yet seen any young turtles that should have emerged from the den at the rear portion of the small lot. The adults come to the surface almost daily to feast on the food particles placed there for them by the Messiah employees working in the Evergreen Room.
Continuing my walk a short distance to the window on the other side of the hall there are presently two families of the Mallard variety of water fowl. The ages of the young vary considerably and therefore the heights of one family compared to that of the other also varies considerably.
As in the case of the turtles the Mallards are fed quite well which is probably the reason for the rapid growth of the peeps.

Ducklings

During the course of my daily walks I also occasionally meet up with a Messiah resident or two who bring their household pet dogs to the assisted living building where they pick up their daily mail. I, like so many other residents here at our building, have become familiar with one pet dog called “Maggie” who is the pet of Jerre and Carolyn Rutherford here at the Village. I am convinced that Maggie recognizes me by my voice and she is most receptive to the extra amount of attention I shower on her such as scratching her chin and ears. As you might imagine other residents here also pay a lot of attention to Maggie. I neglected to mention that Maggie is one of the popular Golden Retriever species of dogs. (See a picture of Maggie below).

Maggie

On my weekly visit to my Son and family in the Boiling Springs area I have learned to know another member of the Golden Retriever family, a Male whose name is ”Digmoore” and who like Maggie has also learned to recognize my voice and looks forward to the attention I always extend to him during my weekly visit. (See a picture of ”Digmoore“ below).

Digmoore

In conclusion, I am certain you will agree there are many interesting birds and animals such as pet dogs for us to admire as we make our daily rounds of the Messiah Village compound.
Bob Rickert (CarverBob).

About 20 years ago my son, Terry decided to cover an unsightly hilltop area on his property in the Boiling Springs area by planting about 1000 seedlings of the stately Norwegian Spruce and Pine trees on the hilltop area.

spruce in snow

The seedlings, at the time, were placed very precisely by Terry and I on 14 foot centers both North and South and East and West, and they stood about 8 or 10 inches tall when placed upright into the hilltop soil. Having completed the planting, there began as you might imagine, a continuous visual check, and periodic spraying of the seedlings to guard against disease.
Shortly thereafter, in order to control the weeds growing between the seedlings, it became necessary to control the weeds by utilizing a mower.

norway spruce trees

This chore became my weekly task over the upcoming years and to do so I was able to use a mower featuring a 60 inch cutting blade. It became necessary to cut the weeds between the seedlings in three directions namely East and West, North and South and of course diagonally. To complete one mowing required about 4 hours of my time each week for many years.
Now, after a period of about 20 years, we can admire a full grown forest of the beautiful trees which have grown to about 20 ft tall. The base of each tree measures about 14 feet and therefore leaves no room for additional mowing between the trees.
We are now also privileged to see numerous deer, and of course rabbits and fox, old and young, as they now have learned to take shelter in this beautiful forest of trees, to shelter their young.

Mature Spruce

The same can be said about the numerous birds that see fit to build their nests and hatch their young in our trees.
In conclusion it is amazing what one can accomplish, with a little extra effort and foresight.

Bob Rickert(CarverBob)

Although many of you may not remember the year 1938 or the Atwater Kent type radio (we had no television sets), we spent a lot of time listening to our battery driven radios.

It was during this time period that a young man by the name of George Orson Welles a director and narrator presented to us via the air waves his adaptation of the GC Welles novel “The War of the Worlds”. The broadcast was performed for a program entitled “Mercury Theater on the Air”.

Orson Welles and the cast of mercury theater on the air

We were led to believe that we were being invaded by Martians. This caused nationwide panic and of course elevated Welles to instant notoriety. We later learned that neither the Martian invasion nor the nationwide panic were true.
As a seventeen year old at that time I can remember very well the excitement caused in our small town in Schuylkill County PA., by the Welles presentation.
Ironically several years later, in 1941, soon after I enlisted in the US Navy and reported to and boarded my ship “The USS Texas BB 35”, (a battleship which was moored in the channel at Portsmouth Maine because of insufficient water depth to receive our ship), we were confronted with a similar alert. At the time, I was assigned to a small group responsible for the maintenance of the boat crew. As a result of the alert, I was directed to man my 50 foot launch driven by a diesel engine, as were 4 or 5 others in smaller launches, and to head for the city of Portland Maine. This alert was also proven to be false and we were called back to the ship.
Since these earlier occurrences we have learned about and have seen pictures of so called flying saucers. To my knowledge the existence of the origin of flying saucers has not been proven. However, during the last few years we have learned that life sustaining ingredients such as water do exist on planets like Mars.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

We have also learned that our NASA folks do plan to land on Martian soil and spend some time on Mars, the nearby planet.
In closing, wouldn’t it be ironic if our NASA folks, upon landing on Mars, would be confronted by human like organisms, and in doing so, would give a great deal of credence to the author GW Welles, and his adaptation of “The War of the Worlds”?
Bob Rickert (CarverBob).

With the daily reports we receive on an hourly basis from Japan we realize that the destruction suffered by Japan is almost beyond description. On occasion reference is made by the newscasters to our experience occurring at Three Mile Island in the form of a nuclear meltdown. This took place on March the 29^th 1979 which is a date in my memory which I will not easily forget.

On the morning of the 29^th I found myself making a business call to a firm in Erie Pa. When we learned of the meltdown we also learned that flights to and from Harrisburg were canceled as well as all telephone calls were jammed because of overload. I was not able to call my office in HBG nor was I able to call my wife in Lemoyne. I am under the impression that the employees at Amp Inc. (My employer) were restricted to their office location. What to do? By listening to the local radio report we learned that the people in the HBG area were told to evacuate. I am under the impression that many people did just that. I couldn’t help but wonder whether my wife might also have evacuated and if so, where she might have gone.

At about 4.00PM we were able to fly from Erie to Pittsburgh where again we had to wait for further developments in the HBG area.

At about 6PM we boarded an Allegheny Airline plane in Pittsburgh and headed for HBG. At this point we still had no idea as to the seriousness of the situation we were approaching regarding the meltdown. Because of the prevailing winds at HBG our pilot had to approach the airport from the South which meant that we would fly directly over the cooling towers which were involved with the meltdown. In so doing the passengers realized that we were right over the cooling towers and were then staring into the inside of the cooling towers, one of which was involved with the meltdown.

After landing and leaving the plane I proceeded to enter the terminal building only to realize that it also had been evacuated. With no cabs waiting nor phones to be used I suddenly realized that for some reason or other I did not have my car waiting in the parking lot as during previous visits. Recognizing that I might have to walk to Lemoyne (About 10 miles to my home ) I headed for the front door of the terminal. There were no cabs to be seen except for one large black limousine parked nearby. I approached the driver and inquired as to whether he could take me to Lemoyne. He decided he could but would have to charge me $35.00 to do so.  I had no choice and sat down in the car. The driver  then proceeded to Lemoyne at which time he told me he would  not be able to drop me at my home but would do so on the square.  After then walking to my home I was pleased and relieved that Betty my wife chose not to evacuate but chose to stay indoors at home. As you can see when the newscasters refer to Three mile Island my thoughts begin to wander.

In conclusion and somewhat ironically while I was looking for a way home from the terminal, Terry one of my sons was waiting in his car nearby for a client of his who was also expected to arrive by air. Neither Terry nor I were aware of the others plans for the day.

Bob Rickert(CarverBob)

Greetings to all with a salivating thought.
In previous blogs I have referred to various interests of mine such as wood carving and or oil paintings. However not once did I mention my wife Betty’s talents such as her food preparation, employed by her to keep me and my three sons happy.
One of my favorites which she prepared on occasion, to keep us happy, was a “Potato salad “.
Please allow me to share this with you, and do enjoy.

Betty’s Perfect Potato Salad
2 ½ cups sliced, cooked potatoes.
1 teaspoon sugar.
1 teaspoon vinegar.
½ cup chopped onions.
1 ½ teaspoons salt.
1 ½ teaspoons celery seed.
¾ cup mayonnaise
2 hardboiled eggs, sliced.

Sprinkle the potatoes with sugar and vinegar, add onions, seasoning and mayonnaise.
Toss to blend.
Carefully “Fold in” eggs and “chill”.
Serve in lettuce lined bowl and garnish with parsley, sliced radishes and cucumbers and add extra egg slices if desired.
Makes 4 servings.

Note: For extra crunch and change of pace add ½ cup sliced celery and ¼ cup sliced sweet pickles.

PS, If you want a second helping, that is a real compliment to the chef!
Enjoy
Bob Rickert(Carver Bob)

For those of you who graduated from your high school in the year of 1939 you are probably aware of the 72 year time span between then and now. In my case the fact that I graduated from my school (Hegin’s Twp High School located in Schuylkill County Penna.) in 1939 was doubly important. The British Royalty King George and Queen Elizabeth visited the USA for the first time on the day we graduated.

The following day our local newspaper (“The Valley Citizen”), took full advantage of the Royal visit by granting them two full columns on the front page. To our surprise, on the same day, the class of 1939 Hegins Twp High school’s graduation write up also appeared on the front page of the Citizen.
I am not certain but I think our graduation exposure by the “Citizen” on the day after our graduation prompted the following action.

With the exception of the four, World War 2 years, when many of our class mates including myself, served our country in one branch or other of the military, the class of 1939 have met in reunion. Recently we have met in reunion twice each year. Our first meeting, which normally takes place in April of each year, is normally referred to as our planning meeting. Our first of two meetings planned for 2011 is now scheduled for April the 14th and will take place at Jacks Spot in Pitman Pa., and is located near the Purple Pump.
As an aside, one of our former teachers who is well over a hundred years old is still living and has attended our reunion until recently.
Even though our annual attendance has diminished through recent years our enthusiasm has not. We anticipate an attendance of about 12 or 14 out of the original 82 class members.
In closing I would encourage all of you high school graduates who have been remiss throughout the years, to attend your next class reunion and rekindle your former friendships. You have probably noticed since your graduation that the years go by rather quickly.

Bob Rickert ( Carver Bob )

Much has been said and written by others describing the depression years, while living in the coal region (Schuylkill county). With this blog I want to shed additional light on the subject time frame, having lived there as a teenager during that period.

To set the scene, visualize if you will, living in a home with my parents and six brothers and sisters (eight seated at the dinner table) with only one brother employed, earning six dollars per week.
As you might imagine a variety of foods to select from at the dinner table was quite limited, and usually consisted of “home made bread and potatoes” prepared in various forms. The bread was baked by my mother by utilizing the three bags of flour given to our family, as well as other needy families, on a monthly basis.

To enhance the earnings mentioned above my three brothers and I would seek out local opportunities where we were able to earn a dollar or two, to give to our Mother, to pay for food.
As an example, I found a job where I was able to earn one dollar per week by sweeping the loose hair from the floor in the local barber shop, before going to school in the morning. This dollar was then given to my mother. If she saw fit to do so she might return a dime or a quarter to me. If she did not do so, no questions were asked .My brothers followed the same procedures.

During this period of time our one local bank closed its doors and impounded what few dollars the local breadwinners were able to amass. When the bank finally reopened, some years later, they were able to recoup 10 cents for every dollars previously deposited.
At that time, coal mining was the principal occupation in our area but the mines were also shut down, throwing the local men like my father out of work, without any additional income to support and feed our family. My brothers also became coal miners later on.

As a result of the closing of the mines the local men picked up their shovels and headed for the hills beyond, hoping of course to find a vein of coal from which to earn a few dollars. This procedure soon became known a “Bootlegging coal”. If coal was found it had to be brought back to our back yard to be cleaned and sorted by size during the evening hours, only to repeat the same process early the next morning.

It was about that time that the term “Coal cracker” originated and still exists to this day.
My function, prior to approaching my daily “home work “was to break down lumps of coal with a hammer in order to fuel my mother’s cooking stove which also provided heat for the first floor of our home.
I have not mentioned in this blog that I was one of 14 children in my family. With 7 brothers there were always “Hand me down clothing” for me to wear and therefore was not a problem for me.

Hope I have been able to share some light on the depression years, a period I shall never forget.
Have a Happy Holiday!

In a previous post I have made reference to an old battleship called the USS Texas and made known that I served aboard the ship during WW11.

© Bob Rickert Photography

For the last few years my three sons and one grandson have let it be known that they would very much like to visit the ship which is located near Houston Texas.

We finally chose a date for our visit which coincided with the date set by the people at Texas for the annual ships reunion. October the 8^th thru the 11^th, just passed , was chosen by us to fly to Houston.

In order to set the scene you will need to know that my ship, the USS Texas is now approaching 100 years of age, and I am told it was the only Battleship in the world to fire on three continents during World War II, Europe, Asia and Africa.

The people in Texas have taken claim to the old ship and with the help of many volunteers are in the process of restoring the old ship and will make it presentable to  a daily surge of tourists.

© Bob Rickert Photography

As my sons and grandson went aboard the ship on the morning of Saturday the 9^th we were greeted by special escorts who had been alerted to our visit. They also knew  that I served on the ship during the WW11 period as a Chief Petty officer, with duties including the engine rooms.

Our tour of the ship included many different areas but most importantly a visit four decks below the main quarterdeck which housed the main engines.

© Bob Rickert Photography

While there I was able to illustrate the workings of the very large 4 cylinder engines which were driven by steam.

I participated in an extensive interview by the restoration group spokes person, which enabled him to learn more about the ships propulsion  engines under sometimes adverse conditions, especially during our stay in the South Pacific and during the Iwo Jima and the Okinawa invasions.

While aboard we attended a special ceremony, honoring those of us whom had served aboard the old ship. This was quite impressive.

© Bob Rickert Photography

We were fortunate in having one of my three sons, a professional photographer, in our group, who in turn was able to take hundreds of pictures .

© Bob Rickert Photography

We were able to conclude our tour on the following day and then fly home on Monday the 11^th.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my Sons Bob Jr, Terry and Scott and my Grandson Parker for their effort in making our visit to the USS Texas a complete success.

© Bob Rickert Photography

PS I have already heard reference made to a subsequent visit to the ship, within the next year or two time frame.

It seems like just yesterday but actually, it has been 65 years ago since I first visited the Island of Okinawa in the South Pacific ocean area as a member of the US Navy and while aboard the Battleship USS Texas BB35,during WW2.

Okinawa 1945, Courtesy of USAAF

Unfortunately we left Naha the capital city in ruins and after 52 days and thousands of deaths, moved on to the Philippine Islands and while there, we prepared for our next move which was to be Japan proper( scheduled for November 1945 ) and while there, a potential loss of a million American lives. Fortunately for us but most unfortunate for the Japanese WW2 came to an end before our invasion of Japan.

USS Texas BB-35

Little did I realize as a 24 year old Chief Machinists Mate serving on the battleship USS Texas that during the next 65 years my future wife Betty( for 63 years) and I ,would be blessed with three Sons and Ultimately four Grandchildren. During the ensuing years my Son Scott also served on Okinawa as a member of the Marine Corp and his Son,(my Grandson) is presently also serving on Okinawa as a member of the US Marine Corp.

More ironically,  little did I then realize back in 1945 that some day in the future I would be able to communicate with my Grandson via E-Mail ,while he is a member of the US Marine Corps and  serving on Okinawa in the South Pacific, or via telephone. During my last communication with Dom (my Grandson) I asked him to provide for me a picture of Naha, the capital city of Okinawa  in its present form and after its complete rebirth from total destruction 65 years ago.

Okinawa today

Dom has replied by telling me that the city of Naha in its present form has grown into a beautiful tropical city.

Having lived here at Messiah Village for about three years, in the assisted living area, my wife, Betty,  and I had been most content and pleased that we chose to live here.

I am sorry to say that I have lost my wife on August 4^th 2009 but have come to realize the advantage I now have in continuing to reside here at Messiah Village, amongst our newly acquired friends here both residents and employees.

The prevailing, daily atmosphere, created by these good folks have helped in large measure to ease the pains one feels after losing a loved one after 63 years of marriage.

I would encourage all who are considering retirement to a community, to consider Messiah Village when planning for your future.