From the August 31, 2006 column “Do You Remember” in the Warren County Record appeared with events of 100-years ago: “Mrs. Adolph Schake and her son left Thuesday morning for Cleveland, Ohio, on a visit with relatives.”

Undoubtedly this was the first out-of-state trip for my grandmother. Baptized at the bier of her father; soon her mother died resulting in her being reared as an orphan by an uncle whose surname was Ritter. As a very young girl she was a ‘live-in maid’ for the Kurt Schake family of my great grandfather. She and Adolph eventually married in middle age and rear their family of five. The relatives they visited in Cleveland were half-brothers to Kurt. He and those two brothers all came to America from Lippe in the 1850s.

To learn more about how these German families lived both in Germany and on the Missouri frontier proceed to my electronic book at http://www.rootsweb.com/~mowarren/schake/intro.html    

Lorna Hainesworth of Randallstown, Maryland e-mailed me earlier in the week asking this question. Likely many other guests will also be asking the same question as the Lewis and Clark reinactors arrive September 20, 2006 to participate in local celebrations.  

I directed Lorna to page 161 of La Charrette where old La Charrette Village is superimposed upon present-day Marthasville, Missouri. Today nothing remains of the old village site. It once represented 4,100 feet of river-creek frontage which itself has migrated over the past 200 years. As visitors look south from Marthasville, and east and west, all the farmland which comes into view once was part of La Charrette Village. There were no ‘city limits’ as today, just a cluster of cabins along the interface of of Charrtte Creek and the Missouri River as part of their large farms. When crossing Highway 47 and 94 or the popular Katy Trail, all are crossing over old village property… but not exactly where their cabins once stood. 

Just as for the celebrations there in 2004, it appears as if many from across the nation will ask, “Where was the old village?” Shout for joy as you celebrate their frontier spirit!