Special Delivery - May 13, 1998

Special Delivery - May 13, 1998
Bil Clinton was President and First Lady Hillary wrote a book "It Takes A Village" about caring for children.  Casco is a rural area (Village) that values life, family and community.  Over 100 caring people stepped up to help get four new arrivals off to a good start in 1998.  What arrivals, you might ask.  Well, I will tell you about them.

On May 13, 1998 (near Mother's Day) the Overhiser quadruplets were born in Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo.  Kim Overhiser carried the quads 7+ months and rested in the hospital a few weeks prior to delivery.  Dr David Peisner a specialist in high-risk babies did the delivery.  Allan and about 20 other people were in the delivery room helping.

• Adam Wayne, 3 lbs. 14.4 oz. and 17.5"
• Alex Wade, 3 lbs. 13.6 oz. and 16.75"
• Kortny Alise, 3 lbs. 6 oz. and 16.5"
• Kelsy Ann, 3 lbs. 9.4 oz. and 17"
• As a comparison, Aaron William was born December 9, 1996 and weighed 9 lbs, 14 ounces and was 23"
  

Kelsy and Alex were taken home on May 31 and Adam on June 2.  Kortny received a little more special handling and was taken to the farm on June 13.  That was Grandma June's birthday.  She would have loved caring for the quads but had passed away on March 3, 1997.  Rachel Brenner and Loretta Overhiser coordinated care givers and meal providers.  Other regular helpers from the Casco and South Haven community were Rachel Brenner, Loretta Overhiser, LouAnn Brush, Janet DeWitte, Martha Hamlin, Elenore Harry, Vivian Hendricksen, Ann Hibbard, Judy McMahon, Roberta Newton, Elenore Ransom, and Carol Wessling.  Grandma and Grandpa Myers, Grandpa Albert, and Aunt Doris were always there when needed.

Now here we are 15 years later and find four healthy, happy, hard working teenagers in training to become adults.  We have all enjoyed sharing in the upbringing and look forward to watching them progress.   

At The Farm May 11, 2013 

The cold spring has held back the blossoms.  As you may recall, last spring all of the fruit was lost from a late April freeze.  Some 80 to 100 bee hives have been rented.  The bloom is complete for the stone fruit (cherries, peaches, and plum).  The apples are in full bloom now.  Kortny and Kelsy marched with the Fennville Band today at the Holland Tulip Festival.  Aaron is playing in a basketball tournament.  Alex and Addam are playing baseball this spring.  Kortny is golie on the soccer team and kelsy is playing softball.  Aaron's driving is sure helping out in the transportation department. 

The Casco Kids Start Arriving

The Casco Kids Start Arriving

During the 1960s and 70s Allan Wade was the only kid living on the farm.  Then in the 80s and most of the 90s there were no kids on the farm.  The farm was home for several cats and dogs but for some 36 years no kids.  In to their 30s Allan and Kim got some fertility help and in the spring of 1997 God sent a boy.  Aaron William was born at 6:16 a. m. on December 9 that year.  He weighed in at 9 pound and 13.7 ounces and was 23".  Mom and Dad were impressed with his big hands and long fingers and big feet.  The AWO initials were chosen to keep with the family tradition.  The first day home he slept through the night.  Kim reports that Aaron is still skilled at sleeping especially in the mornings.  In all his doctor visits he was off the charts above average size wise.  

There had always been grand kids at the farm for special occasions but now there was daily excitement that comes from playing with and care for inquisitive youngsters.  Aunt Doris Overhiser Adkin was a frequent helper.  Doris was Albert's sister who had fond memories of growing up on the farm.  On February 9, 1997 Aaron was baptized by Pastor Tupper at the Casco United Methodist Church.  Grandma and Grandpa Myers were there along with Grandpa Albert.  Grandma June was in her final day of fighting cancer and left us on March 3, 1997.  The circle of life was continuing.  In July he learned to crawl and was able to get to the sweet cherry lugs and grab a hand full.  He also liked helping Allan drive the tractors.  Aaron enjoyed being the center of attention but was about to be surrounded with siblings.  We will cover that story next time.

At the farm April 1, 2013 
It has been a cold March and the fruit trees are just stating to wake up.  You will remember March 2012 when it was one of the hottest ever.  Trees started budding out and then got zapped by the killing spring freeze in April.  We all hope and pray this will be a normal weather year.

All five high school kids played basketball this year and are becoming very good.  The height and athletic ability of Allan and Kim has been passed along.  First born Aaron is a sophomore and the quads are freshmen.  Aaron had a fabulous basketball season.  At 6' 5" and size 16 shoes he occupied a large space under the basket.  He was named to the All State Class C sophomore first team and to his All Conference Team.  The time is coming when Fennville may have Aaron, Adam and Alex playing on the same team.  Kelsy and Kortny will also be on the team together.  Now if there is a co-ed league the Casco Kids would take on all comers.  Aaron now has his drivers license so is relieving Allan and Kim of some of the taxi driving.  Below see Aaron get the board and then score the bucket in the District Tournament.  He also got a hug from Jessica Solis.

RIP - Tensquatawa

RIP - Tensquatawa
On November 23, 2012 (black Friday) descendents of Tensquatawa visited his final resting place.

The relatives were: Corey and Max Overhiser 
Daniel, Luke, and Jameson Schmeltz (+ dad Chris)
Sydney House (+ dad Jeff)

If you have been following my blogs at "My Brother's Fruit" you may recall Shawnee Prophet (April 1, 2011) and White Invaders (May 2, 2011).  Those blogs reported how we are related to the Prophet.  This past Thanksgiving the Corey/Abby O family from MN and the Chris/Janine Schmeltz family from IL were visiting the Jeff/Jody House family in Overland Park, KS.  Below is Corey's account of a road trip in search of our roots.
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Corey Overhiser - "Just wanted to share some pictures of a small trip some of us took while we were in Overland Park, KS for Thanksgiving visiting Jody, Jeff, Ashley and Sydney House.  When most of the crew was out Black Friday shopping, the rest of us were sitting around discussing the family and school. The subject of our Indian ancestry came up. I was explaining how much fun Carly had putting together her Family Tree as a school project. And, that Lauren did a big project on Techumseh last year. Jeff House thought he had heard that Tensquatawa (Techumseh’s brother and said to be our Great, Great............Grandfather) was buried in  the Kansas City area. We did a Google search and discovered, in fact, that Tensquatawa’s final resting place was less than a twenty minute drive from the House household.

Daniel, Luke, Jameson, Max, Sydney, Chris, Jeff and I hopped in the minivan and began our pilgrimage to find the grave site located in Shawnee Mission KS on private property.  As we approached the modest neighborhood made up of predominantly Mexican heritage, we could make out a small memorial on the road side of a dead-end street. We pulled up at the monument outside of a white picket fence that encompassed about a 1/2 acre back yard of wonderfully maintained turn of the century home. The monument was well maintained and was reportedly erected in 1978.

Not long after we had gathered around Tensquatawa’s Memorial, we were approached by the property owner. Ernesto was very curious why we were interested in Tesquatawa. I explained that we may be direct descendents' of the Prophet.  Ernesto told us that many people have claimed to be relatives of the Shawnee Prophet. He was very nice and could see we were not up to mischief.  Ernesto told us that he has great respect for the Shawnee Prophet and bought the house to make sure that Tesquatawa’s final resting place would not be disrupted. He told us stories of people trying to dig on his land in order to uncover bones or artifacts and thus he is often chasing people away.

As the sun was getting low in the sky, Ernesto asked if we would like to come behind the fence and take a look around.

About thirty feet right behind the monument, straight north was a small depression in the landscape next to an old stump. This, Ernesto reported, was the sight of the shelter in which the Prophet lived out his last few years. The temperature while we were outside the fence was a chilly 35 degrees.  When we went inside the fence and approached the depression in the yard the temperature was noticeably  warmer; I would say 10 degrees warmer.  Ernesto told us that the landscape and the nearby White Feather Spring created this unusual characteristic.  We then walked northwest about 20 yards towards a small ravine that dropped approximately 50 feet. Again it was noticeably warmer. After reading a little more, I figure at that point we were very near if not directly on top of where the Prophet was said to be buried in his ceremonial blankets.  Ernesto also revealed he had heard that at the time of the Prophets death, his legs were broken.  I could not verify this information.  We walked back to the monument, said good bye to Ernesto and were on our way.

We all enjoyed our tiny Pilgrimage and made our shopping counterparts very jealous."

Best Regards, Corey Overhiser
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I (Martin) think we should, in the future, use the Tensquatawa spelling on the plaque now that Corey's Explorers have shared there research.
From Wikipedia:  Tenskwatawa, (also called Tenskatawa, Tenskwatawah, Tensquatawa or Lalawethika) (1775 – November 1836) was a Native American religious and political leader of the Shawnee tribe, known as The Prophet or the Shawnee Prophet.

Many questions remain.  What about Tensquatawa's daughter Marsha Bates (our ancestor)?  Did she remain in MI after the relocation?   

^{At The Farm January 1, 2013}
The fruit did not grow in 2012 but the kids sure did sprout up.  All five are in high school.  Aaron, a sophomore, is 6'4" and plays on the varsity for the second year (football, basketball and baseball).  The quads are all freshmen and play all the sports.  Also, in the fall they were all in the marching band and Kim was very active with the Band Boosters.

Kim and Allan celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary in 2012.  Allan continues as Casco Township Supervisor and has helped lead an effort to obtain a large parcel of Lake Michigan frontage for a Township Park.  Lots of extra trimming was completed because there was no fruit to harvest.  May 2013 bring a bountiful harvest for Overhiser Orchards and your family.

The Country School (2012) by cousin Clare Adkin was just published.  It tells the history of the Iddles one room school (1859 - 1962) that many of us Casco kids attended.  You can order the paper back book by contacting Clare: 2203 Alabama Ave., Durham, NC 27705    919-286-2055     clareadkin@nc.rr.com     Cost of the book is $15 + $5 shipping.  If you have not yet read Quiet Guilt (2010) by Clare, preview at  http://clareadkin.com/