Rudolph Grotto Gardens and Wonder Cave

 This week I visited the nearby Rudolph Grotto Gardens and Wonder Cave. I had never heard of them. My friend, Miss Northerner, posted about her recent visit. It's only 76 miles from Tomahawk, so any easy day road trip.

The grotto was constructed by Fr. Philip J. Wagner, beginning in 1928. Fr. Wagner had faced some health issues while studying for the priesthood in Austria, for which he visited the Grotto at Lourdes, France. He promised he would build a shrine to the Blessed Mother if his health was restored. His health was restored and upon his return to the United States after ordination he was assigned to the parish in Rudolph, Wisconsin, where he spent the rest of his life.

He began work first on building the gardens out of the large potato field. He planted many different trees and bushes, and laid out different gardens. In 1927 he made his first attempt to build a grotto, piling up volcanic rocks gathered from nearby farm fields. He knew nothing about construction or masonry so the project failed. In 1928 he began using concrete in the construction and he had success through much trial and error. He had several volunteers who helped him, most notably Edward Rybicki, who began helping him when he was 12. Rybicki remained a volunteer up until his death in 1991.

Today, in addition to the Wonder Cave, there are various shrines and an impressive Stations of the Cross, in addition to the beautiful flower gardens. There are benches throughout the site where you can sit and rest, and admire the surrounding beauty. There is also a picnic area that can accommodate large groups. There is ample parking.

The only charge is for those who elect to go in the Wonder Cave. It is $3 for adults, $1.50 for teens ages 12-17, 50 cents for children ages 6-11, and free for those under 6.

The wonder cave was so interesting. It really gave me an appreciation of the hard work that went into making this cave. I was there on a very hot day, which I wouldn't do again, and it was very pleasant and cool inside the cave. I would caution anyone with mobility issues to probably not go in the cave. There are handrails throughout the cave, and there are lights, but the surface is somewhat uneven and some of the steps are quite high. I also think people over about 6 feet tall would probably have trouble and would be stooped down often. I am only 5'6" tall and I had to stoop several times to avoid hitting my head.

I plan to return on a cooler day. I didn't see everything I wanted to due to the heat.

A side note, you can get your Christmas cards postmarked Rudolph, WI. The procedure to do so is thus:

 Address, stamp, and seal all of your individual holiday cards.

Put all of your pre-addressed cards into one larger envelope or box.

Address the outer envelope to Country Christmas Station, U.S. Postal Service, P.O. Box 9998, Rudolph, WI 54475.

The Rudolph postmaster will then take your individual cards, stamp each one with the exclusive "Rudolph, WI" cancellation design, and send them on to your recipients. 

I plan to do that this year so look for my card come December.

Please go to Miss Northerner's Facebook page to see the inside of the Wonder Cave, I didn't even attempt to take a video. The Wonder Cave post was on August 2nd. Her page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/missnortherner

John Morris (1780-1854), Last Will and Testament

 This is a transcription of the will of John Morris (11 January, 1780-18 November, 1854), Ringwood, Passaic County, New Jersey. He was my maternal 2nd great grandfather. His wife was Rebecca Bird. 

Last Will and Testament of John Morris (October 6, 1854)

Know all men by these presents that I, John Morris of the Township of Pompton, County of Passaic and State of New Jersey, considering the uncertainty of this life and being of sound mind and memory, do make, declare and publish this my last will and testament.

First. I give and bequeath to my wife Rebecca, the use of the two upper front rooms with fire places in them in the house now occupied by me, during her natural life, together with all the household furniture belonging to the house, excepting two beds used by the hired men. She shall also receive during her natural life a comfortable support in food and clothing and whatever else may be necessary for her comfort, the expense of which support to be paid equally by my sons John and Charles, and who shall in addition pay her the sum of fifteen dollars per year each; and this shall be considered in lieu of her right of dower.

Second. I give and bequeath my son Charles the remainder of my dwelling house, the whole to revert to him at the decease of my wife Rebecca, together with the homestead farm, and all other real estate, dwelling houses belonging to me, excepting the farm and tract of land known as the Beach place, bought by me of Pierson; and also to have all the stock and all other personal property belonging to the lands devised to him.

Third. I give and bequeath to my son John Morris Jr., that tract of land known as the Beach place, bought by me of Wm Pierson, together with all the personal property in whatever form belonging to that place at my decease.

Fourth. I give and bequeath to my daughter Sarah the sum of one hundred dollars, and to my grandchildren, children of said Sarah, Henrietta Bannigan, John Bannigan and Peter Bannigan, three hundred dollars each, to be paid to the children when they respectively become of age, the interest to be paid them annually two years after my decease.

Fifth. I give and bequeath to my daughter Mary Ann one thousand dollars.

Sixth. I give and bequeath to my daughter Eliza one thousand dollars.

Seventh. I give and bequeath to my grandson Charles Morris, son of Alpheus Morris deceased, one thousand dollars, and to Amanda Morris, widow of my son Alpheus, two hundred dollars. In case of the death of my grandson Charles before becoming of age, the one thousand dollars to be divided equally among my children.

These legacies described as fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh, amounting to four thousand two hundred dollars, to be paid by my son John Morris Jr.

Eighth. I give and bequeath to my daughter Martha one thousand dollars, to be paid by my son Charles Morris.

Ninth. I do nominate and appoint my sons Charles Morris and John Morris Jr. to be the executors of this my last will and testament.

In testimony whereof, I have to this my last will and testament subscribed my name and set my seal this sixth day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty four.

Signed, sealed, declared and published.

John Morris

Witnesses

William V. Lamoreux
John H. Tidabock
Samuel Babcock

Norden Bombsight Maintenance School, Class 20, 1942

These are the names from my father's address book of his fellow Army Air Corps class mates at the Norden Bombsight Maintenance School, Class 20, they worked on the Norden bombsight &  the Minneapolis-Honeywell C-1 automatic pilot, both used in the B-17 & B-24.  The school was at Lowry Field in Colorado Springs, beginning in 1941. There are thirty three names in my Dad's address book.

I am creating this blog post to serve as a resource for anyone searching the names of these Army Air Corps soldiers. It can be hard to research where a specific person served in WWII due to the  fire that destroyed millions of World War II and other military records on July 12, 1973, at the National Personnel Records Center(NPRC) in St. Louis, Missouri. 

ChatGPT provided this Interpretive Summary of the names and home towns: This address book page reflects a wartime peer network centered around Lowry Field in 1942, likely composed of men in training or early service in the U.S. Army Air Forces. The concentration of Northeastern addresses suggests either pre-existing social ties or regional enlistment patterns, while the wide geographic spread—including Alaska and the Pacific Northwest—demonstrates the national scope of wartime mobilization. The presence of enlisted ranks (Privates) alongside more ambiguously identified individuals points to a shared training cohort rather than a strictly hierarchical network, capturing a cross-section of American society at a moment of rapid military expansion.

I don't know if Dad stayed in touch with any of his classmates or not. I did connect with a few of them in the 1990's. They reported that my Dad was the "old man" of the class, he was 15-20 years older than they were. He wasn't married and had been drafted, thus being older than the majority of men being drafted. I have the letters and when I find them I will add them here.

Here are the names and hometowns as recorded in Dad's address book; some are in my Dad's handwriting, some in the individual's handwriting.

Abbott, Art — Washington, DC
Boyd, Powell — Evansville, IN
Dougherty, S. E. — Kansas City, MO
Dygert, Worth S. — Russell, NY
Gargan, Joseph R. — New York City, NY
Graf, Winston C. — Manchester, NH
Griswold, Wayne A. — Mankato, MN
Hall, Ralph — Chamblee, GA
Hurley, Bill — Camp Stewart, GA (C.A. Bat (A.A.))
Janik, Chester — Lackawanna, NY
Marengo, Emmet L. — Minneapolis, MN
Marinoff, Joseph — Brooklyn, NY
McNally, Robert — Whitestone, Long Island, NY
Mikula, Irvin — Austin, MN
Miller, Howard — Afton, NY
Miller, Gregg M. — Washington, DC
Nygaard, Berdine T. — Livermore, IA
Prost, Bert J. — Chicago, IL
Quinn, Francis C. — Johnstown, PA
Reese, James W. — Madison, WI
Rice, Arthur V., Jr. — Marblehead, MA
Roberson, Robert B. — Newville, AL
Robertson, R. Elliott — Juneau, AK
Rochette, Irving R. — Old Saybrook, CT (Pvt)
Rosskamp, Paul — Westport, CT
Schoenig, Regis W. — Pittsburgh, PA
Scoville, Ray E. — Carthage, MO
St. John, Charles — Ithaca, NY
Stops, Oliver — Kennewick, WA
Stull, Ned R. — Trenton, NJ (Pvt)
Walton, Dan E. — Birmingham, AL
Ward, Francis E. — Worcester, MA
Zurfluh, Frank — Ridgway, PA