Over 30 people, the most in quite some time, attended the Isadora Memorial Day Gathering Monday afternoon. The weather was much nicer than last year, when it was unseasonably cold.
Billie Fern Wake was the oldest attendee at 103 years young. Her memory was as sharp as always. She recalled a time when Isadora had 100 people, it had two churches (Church of Christ and Methodist), a skating rink, two gas stations (one of which doubled as a grocery store), and thousands of people would attend the annual Isadora Memorial Day Celebration. The Walker Family Reunion, held at the schoolhouse, was also a big event there.
A cemetery board has kept up the Isadora Cemetery over the years. Board members are Kay Rowen, Laverne Walker, Rodney Martin, Brandon Allee, Clint Rowen, and Denise Rowen.
After some patriotic songs and a prayer, Jeff Blaine talked about the country’s 250th anniversary and George Washington. He noted that 1.4 million people have given their lives to their country over the years. He said that if you had a moment of silence for each of them, it would take three years to go through all of them. If you were to ready out every person’s name, it would take 80 days to get through all of them, assuming one for every five seconds.
Mr. Blaine talked about the time that George Washington, as a young man in 1755, was called to serve in the French and Indian War by General Braddock. Mr. Washington’s mother pleaded with him not to go, but Washington said that he trusted in God’s providence.
Their first mission was to take a fort that was held by the French. Unbeknownst to Gen. Braddock and his forces, the French had been reinforced by some Indian tribes, meaning that there were a lot more men present than were expected.
The expedition turned into chaos, men were falling right and left, and Gen. Braddock himself was killed. In the midst of the chaos, Mr. Washington took command and immediately realized that the British style of warfare, in which they lined up in formation and marched as a unit, would not work. The Indians immediately realized his value as a commander and tried to kill him, but despite four bullets going through his coat and two horses being shot from under him, Mr. Washington was not harmed, and he was able to secure an orderly retreat for his man.
False information is not a new thing; there were rumors that George Washington had been killed in the conflict and there were even copies of a speech he had supposedly given before he allegedly died to rally the troops. As soon as he got to a place where he was safe, Mr. Washington wrote a letter to his brother, John, to let his family know he was safe.
In 1770, George Washington was approached by an Indian while he and another man were surveying land. The Indian had fought in that battle and remembered Mr. Washington. “You were not a redcoat,” he told Washington. “The Great Spirit was protecting you. You will be a chief of nations and a founder of a mighty empire.”
Mr. Blaine talked about a man who had fought in the Korean War in some of the heaviest fighting who always wondered why he was spared and his friends were killed. Mr. Blaine said that God spares some people for a reason.
In the harsh winter of 1777, as recounted by Mr. Blaine, Isaac Potts allowed General Washington and his 12,000 men to shelter on his property at Valley Forge. Of those, around 2,000 died in the harsh conditions of extreme cold and disease. Mr. Potts was a Quaker and skeptical of armed conflict, but he threw all his efforts into the war after encountering Gen. Washington by himself in the woods in prayer. Mr. Potts came to realize that this was a spiritual struggle as well as a struggle for independence. Later, Baron Von Steuben drilled Gen. Washington’s men and helped instill discipline in the force and the French entered the conflict, allowing it to win victories until 1781, when the British surrendered at Yorktown.
“I know of a man who died at 33 years old and escaped death,” said Mr. Blaine, referring to the crucifixion of Jesus. “Jesus always lives to make intercession for us. If George Washington was not praying, where would we be now?”
“We have inherited these United States,” said Mr. Blaine. “Were it not for Jesus, would you have the ability to inherit Heaven? We have a great nation because many people bled and died, and we have a place in Heaven because one person bled and died.”
Debbie Thummel closed the gathering with the playing of “Taps.”
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