Oh, Tannenbaum

Long before the advent of Christianity, the boughs of pine, spruce and other trees that remained green year around were hung in homes to ward off evil spirits and Illness.  Many ancient people believed that the sun was a god, and that winter came each year because the sun god had become ill and weak.   Evergreen branches reminded them of all the green plants that would spring back to life when the sun god regained his health and returned (which, of course, he inevitably did) bringing summer and a plentiful bounty with him. 

Germany is credited with starting the tradition of Christmas trees as we now know them, when devout Christians brought  them into their homes in the 16th century.  Martin Luther, the Protestant reformer, is said to have been the first to add lights to a tree.   Observing the star-lit sky one winter night, he decided to re-create that scene by adding candles, attached by wire, to the branches of his family's Christmas tree.

This stately tree graces the parlor in a Victorian bed-and-breakfast
in Hannibal, MO.  Yvonne and a long-time friend from college
recently stayed here during their annual visit.

While German immigrants had Christmas trees in their homes and communities in America as early as 1747, Puritan New England tried hard to stamp out the "pagan mockery" of the festivities.  In 1659, the General Court of Massachusetts colony enacted a law outlawing Christmas carols and decorated trees, and making any event - other than a church service - that celebrated December 25 a punishable offense.  That stern solemnity continued until the 19th century, when the influx of German and Irish immigrants undermined the Puritan legacy.

In 1847, the popular British monarch, Queen Victoria, and her husband, Prince Albert,  were sketched in the Illustrated London News standing with their children around a Christmas tree. Unlike the previous royal family, Victoria was very popular with her subjects, and what was done at court immediately became fashionable—not only in Britain, but with fashion-conscious East Coast American Society. The Christmas tree had arrived.

This Victorian-era tree is set up in the parlor of Henry Shaw's home
at the Missouri Botanical Gardens (Shaw's Garden) in St. Louis

Another beautiful Victorian Christmas tree at Shaw's Garden

Electricity brought about Christmas lights, making it possible for Christmas trees to glow for days on end. With this, Christmas trees began to appear in town squares across the country and having a Christmas tree in the home became an American tradition.

One of two Christmas trees in our house. This one is in the living
room, with a green tree in the family room.  Sophie relaxes on
the back of the couch, waiting for Santa Claus

And so, in this edition we share with you a few of the Christmas trees and Christmas decorations in our community.  But among all the glitter, we pause to remember the birth of a little Child in a manger in Bethlehem two thousand years ago.  We pause, too, to reflect on the blessings we have received in our lives, the blessings of freedom, of health, and especially the blessings of family and friends.  We wish all of you the most wonderful and joyous Christmas and the blessing of good health, a loving family and supportive friends in 2016.

St. Peter's United Church of Christ in Washington, MO has a wonderful holiday tradition.
Other churches in town, schools, businesses, civic organizations and individuals are
invited to erect and decorate trees at St. Peter's.  This year, 85 trees were decorated.

The public is then invited to view and "judge" the trees.  Each can of food donated to the
local food pantry is worth one vote.  Literally thousands of cans of food are collected
for the food pantry.  The creators of the winning tree get "bragging rights"

A lot of unique trees, including this one, with green lights in the shape of a
tree, with the area inside the lights completely covered in ornaments.

Or this one at St. Peter's, completely covered in butterflies

Of course, the most famous television tree of all, Charlie Brown's tree from
the holiday classic "A Charley Brown Christmas" is there at St. Peter's, too!

This tree represents "sweets", with cotton candy, gingerbread men
and lollipops. Note the canned goods piled underneath.  Each can
represents one "vote" for this tree.

In a nod to the opening of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens", the
Washington Public Library created this Darth Vader-styled tree

This unique tree at Yvonne's parents' house was created by her
Mom.  It is completely covered in little Santa Claus figures
from the 1940's and 1950's.  Each Santa is 2 to 3 inches tall

One of the trees at St. Peter's UCC has as its theme "The Twelve Days of Christmas".
This is a close-up of "Eights Maids a-Milking"

A tree at St. Peter's completely decorated in a "Fishing Tackle" theme

Close up of some of the details on the "Fishing" tree, including a lure (hooks covered
with tape), and a bobber.  The yellow and blue "garland" is nylon rope

The bodies of these hand-made "people" ornaments on this tree at
St. Peter's UCC are pine cones and the heads are crocheted.

One of our favorites, this tree at St. Peter's is titled "Heroes" and is
decorated with pictures of U.S. servicemen from WWII to the Vietnam era

Hand-knit "people" ornaments made by Yvonne's Mom have
a prominent place on the tree in our family room

Some more of the trees on display at St. Peter's UCC.  The one in the
foreground is hung with license plates from all over the Midwest.
It was decorated by a police officer and his family

This tree at St. Peter's is decorated in a Mardi Gras theme

This "Mizzou" themed tree at St. Peter's UCC was decorated
by the Mizzou Alumni Association of Franklin County

Close up of some of the ornaments on the Mizzou tree

A traditional Nativity scene outside of St. Francis Borgia Catholic Church in Washington, MO

A non-traditional Nativity scene, created in the rear of a vehicle for the Washington
Holiday Parade.  The "float" was sponsored by a local bed-and-breakfast
A sign on the side of the float read "There IS room at The Brick Inn"

Another unique Christmas Tree, this one at a local shop called
"Not Just Cut & Dried", owned by another woman who
attended college with Yvonne

This tree at St. Peter's UCC was decorated by the Quilters' Club.  All of those ornaments
were hand-quilted and then stuffed with foam 

This tree at St. Peter's UCC was erected by a company that
sells radio communication equipment, including towers.
Santa is climbing a radio tower draped in garland and lights.

This tree at St. Peter's UCC is really striking, done in all
red and white lights, with red ornaments

A Victorian child's Christmas on display at Shaw's Garden

A Victorian Village set up at St. Peter's UCC in Washington

Close-up of one of the buildings in the Victorian Village

We were told that this village represents about half of the collection of miniature
buildings owned by the woman who set up this display at the church

One of our favorites - an enormous tree covered in electric blue LED lights on  the grounds
of the Missouri Botanical Gardens (Shaw's Garden) in St. Louis

The beautiful lobby of Powell Symphony Hall in St. Louis features a 10-foot green tree
decorated all in red.  Santa was there visiting with kids attending the holiday concert

This tree at St. Peter's UCC continuously "snows"

 

The City of Washington Municipal Christmas Tree.  The Missouri
River can be seen on the left side of the photo  

A unique "upside-down" tree at St. Peter's UCC

More trees at St. Peter's UCC in Washington, MO

This tree at St. Peter's UCC includes a snowman built right on top of the tree

We happened to catch Santa gassing up his ride at a local gas station.  We have heard that following his busy night on December 24, he is heading out in his RV for some much needed rest, and looking for his own Road Stories.   

Santa fills up the gas tank...

...and gets ready to hit the road for a well-deserved vacation

We would like to dedicate this holiday edition of Road Stories to Yvonne's Mom and Dad, Tracy and Dorothy Brown, who this month are celebrating their 67th wedding anniversary.  Happy anniversary...we love you.

Dorothy and Tracy Brown

The Black Madonna

Tucked back in the quiet La Barque Creek valley in rural Jefferson County, Missouri, is a shrine...a shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Czestochowa and, at the same time, a memorial to the life-long work of one Franciscan missionary.  The Black Madonna Shrine and Grottos is an example of what one man with faith and artistic vision can create.

Our Lady of Czestochowa, the Black Madonna

Sign at the entrance to the Black Madonna Shrine

The history of Our Lady of Czestochowa (chen-sta-ho'-va) goes back 2,000 years.  Legend has it that St. Luke, one of the four writers of the Gospel, painted a picture of the Virgin Mary on the top of a cypress wood table owned by the Holy Family.  It was venerated for centuries and was later associated with Constantine the Great, the first Christian Emperor of Rome.  Eventually, it was brought to Kiev, Russia, where it remained for 579 years. In 1382, for safekeeping, the painting was entrusted to the Basilian Monks of the Greek Rite near the village of Czestochowa.  A few years later, it was given to the Latin Rite Hermits of St. Paul, who are still in Czestochowa today.  The painting has a tumultuous history associated with warring rulers and countries as well as miraculous events. 

St. Luke painted Mary with olive skin, which is in keeping with her Middle Eastern heritage.  (It was not until the Renaissance, centuries later, that the Blessed Virgin was portrayed with fair skin and blue eyes.) A fire destroyed the chapel in Constantinople where the portrait once hung. Miraculously, the painting and a small section of the wall on which it hung were spared, but the soot and intense heat further darkened the faces of Mary and Jesus, and the painting became popularly known as the Black Madonna.  

This copy of the portrait of the Black Madonna was commissioned
to replace the one that was destroyed in the chapel fire.  It arrived
only weeks before Brother Bronislaus' death.  Another copy of the
painting can be found in the Pope's private chapel in the Vatican

In 1927, Cardinal Glennon, the Archbishop of St. Louis, invited a group of Franciscan Missionary Brothers to emigrate from Poland to establish a nursing home for men.  One of the Brothers who came to this rural area near Eureka was Brother Bronislaus Luszcz, OSF. 

Brother Bronislaus Luszcz, OSF

As a young man in Poland, Bronislaus witnessed many pilgrims pass through his village to visit the monastery in the town of Czestochowa to pay homage to Our Lady of Czestochowa, the Black Madonna.  Brother Bronislous was touched by the faithfulness of these people and wished to share their faith and devotion with others in his adopted land. While most of the Brothers cared for the men in the nursing home, Brother Bronislaus was assigned the job of caring for the grounds...landscaping, planting flowers and shrubs. He went a step further and created a grotto - or rather a series of grottos - in honor of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Czestochowa, the Black Madonna.  The grottos were a labor of love and faith created with no assistance from others and without the use of power tools. The Black Madonna Shrine and Grottos are the tangible expression of one man's faith and devotion.

Brother Bronislaus began his work in 1937 by clearing a section of woods, building a beautiful cedar chapel and placing a painting of Our Lady above the altar.  He then began working on the grottos themselves.  The first grotto that Brother Bronislaus built is known as Our Lady of Sorrows Grotto.  A perfectionist, Brother Bronislaus worked on this grotto for years, tearing it down and rebuilding it several times.

The Our Lady of Sorrows Grotto, the first one that Brother Bronislaus built.
He tore it down and rebuilt it several times.  A "grotto" is defined as "a
cave or an artificial recess or structure made to resemble a natural cave"

The original cedar chapel that Brother Bronislaus built.
It was destroyed in 1958 by a fire set by an arsonist.

These are the final bells ever struck by the Stuckstede Bell Foundry of St. Louis.
They are sitting on the foundation of the original bell tower from the wooden
chapel. The bell tower survived the fire, but was later demolished due to decay.

In the mid-1960's, an outdoor, covered chapel was built to replace the
burned wooden chapel. The mosaic wall behind the altar was created
by Frederic Henze in memory of his friend, Brother Bronislaus.

Close-up of the altar and portrait of the Black Madonna.

Brother Bronislaus used discarded bits and pieces in his creations. He ingeniously crafted flowers and flower pots from electrical fixtures that had been tossed aside. He utilized costume jewelry and sea shells that were donated. He saw beauty and usefulness where others saw only refuse to be thrown out.  Flowers were also made by pouring concrete in cupcake pans.  Jello molds became flower pots.

The green-tinted foot of this flower pot is an
up-side-down Jello mold. The flowers themselves
are made of concrete poured into cupcake pans

Bits of costume jewelry, buttons, and sea shells are used to
decorate the grottos

Bits of colored glass set into the recesses behind intricately
hand-made decorative stone scrollwork provides
illumination when the sun shines on the grottos

Brother Bronislaus created 3-D effects in many of the grottos. The stone is native Missouri
Tiff rock (geological name Barite) mined at Potosi, some 30 miles south of the site

Costume jewelry, religious medals, and buttons, or whatever else
he could find, all became part of Brother Bronislaus' materials

Brother Bronislaus continued working on the grottos until the day he died.  On August 12, 1960, already weakened from a bout of Asian Flu, he was overcome by the summer heat.  Members of his order knew something was wrong when he failed to return for evening prayers.  A search ensued, and his body was discovered in front of the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Grotto.

Grotto of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, where Brother Bronislaus
died on August 12, 1960.

These intricately hand-made kneelers, where visitors can
pause to pray, are located in front of several of the grottos

The Assumption Grotto

The Garden of Gethsemane Grotto, with the Crucifixion Overlook on the ridge above it

The Nativity Grotto,the only "natural" grotto, or cave, on the site

The St. Francis Grotto, in honor of the founder of the Franciscan Order, St. Francis of Assisi

These rabbits on the St. Francis Grotto were made from concrete poured into cake molds 

The St. Joseph Grotto.  Note, again, the intricate stone scroll work.

A bridge on the path as you enter the area of the grottos, with hand-made stone railings

A plaque in recognition of Charles Bendel, the sculptor
who created the statues used in the grottos

Constructed over a 10-year period, the Life Memorial is a tribute to LIFE.
The cross is the original one made by Brother Bronislaus for the Crucifixion
Overlook. The stones at the base are from the original monastery
that the Brothers lived in when they arrived in Eureka in 1927.

Cornerstone from the original monastery building. When the Brothers arrived in 1927
they rebuilt and moved into an old abandoned Sisters of Mercy convent on the.
property that had apparently been built, according to its cornerstone, in the 1880's. 

One of the Stations of the Cross, and a portion of the wall that
defined the original grotto area. On that path, you can just
see the railings of the bridge shown in a previous photo.

In the late 1960's, a drunk driver lost control of his car and
hit the wall, destroying a portion of it.  It was never rebuilt. 

The Black Madonna Shrine is part of a 200 hundred acre Franciscan Mission. The Saint Joseph's Hill Infirmary closed in 2008. The Infirmary, the monastery, and out buildings are not open to the public.  The grounds and buildings are used for retreats for religious orders from not only the St. Louis area, but around the country.  Mass is offered most Sundays at Sacred Heart Chapel.

 The St. Joseph's Hill Infirmary building, now closed.  Mike's uncle, John,
was a patient here at the time of his death in 1985. 

The rooms with lots of windows for natural lighting in the pentagon-shaped section
at the end of the building were day rooms or lounges for the patients on each floor.

Cornerstone of St. Joseph's Hill Infirmary.  The building does not
look 70 years old. We wonder if this cornerstone was from an
older building that was replaced by this one?

Residential buildings of Our Lady of Angels Monastery behind the Infirmary building.

This is the only remaining original building that was on the property when the
Franciscan Missionary Brothers arrived in 1927. It probably dates back to the 1880's

The Black Madonna Grotto receives no financial support from any parish or diocese. Its upkeep is dependent on contributions made by visitors and friends.

The Black Madonna Shrine and Grottos is open daily...phone (636) 938-5361 to verify operating hours.  The address is 100 St. Joseph Hill Road, Pacific, MO 63069.   For more information, visit this web site

http://www.franciscancaring.org/blackmadonnashri.html

An overview of several of the grottos.

Another view of several more grottos

On a trip to Wisconsin to visit her cousin several years ago, Yvonne stopped to visit the Holy Ghost Grotto in Dickeyville, WI, constructed between 1925 and 1931 by Father Mathias Wernerus.  Then, not quite two years ago, while traveling through Alabama, we happened upon the Ave Maria Grotto in the town of Cullman, the life-long work of Brother Joseph Zoettl.  We wrote about our visit to the Ave Maria Grotto in a blog entitled Ora et Labora in May of 2014.

http://ramblings-and-rumblings.blogspot.com/2014/05/ora-et-labora.html

This statue of a boy holding his dog on his lap
was one of Brother Bronislaus' favorites.

In a small town half-way between Huntsville and Birmingham or in a remote valley in northwest Jefferson County, you can never tell where you will find your Road Stories.

Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan Order

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy.

O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;

to be understood as to understand;

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.