My Dear Tilla

Painting on my day off really isn't what I enjoy doing, but there are occasions when I do have to suffer through labor pains. Unfortunately, when I asked my good friend Jerry Shertzer if I could borrow his ladder, he said yes. I was hoping that he would say no, so that I could procrastinate a little longer about getting my ladder out of Matt's garage. So I painted for about 5 hours on Friday and found that my body has deteriorated into such a miserable state of ill repair. I really need to start some kind of conditioning program...soon (as I sit here eating another doughnut). During one of my frequent breaks from painting, I sat down and did some basic research for another blog article. This effort was an extremely taxing process also, because many of the muscles, which had just been tortured by climbing up and down that blasted ladder, were screaming at my brain for what it had just demanded of them. I'm sure that the majority of my muscles had decided long ago that they must have reached retirement age and were permanently put out to pasture, so this was quite a shock to them.

Have you ever heard of Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky? It was founded in 1890 and named after Bishop Francis Asbury, the "Father of American Methodism". Wilmore is just south of Lexington and not far from my old stomping grounds at the Bluegrass Army Depot outside of Richmond. One of the more famous alumni of Asbury College is the current Governor of Ohio, Ted Strickland, who delivered the following comments at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, "You know, it was once said of the first George Bush that he was born on third base and thought he'd hit a triple. Well, with the 22 million new jobs and the budget surplus Bill Clinton left behind, George W. Bush came into office on third base and then he stole second. And John McCain cheered him every step of the way." Being a baseball fan and former owner of the Texas Rangers, I'm sure that George W. got a big chuckle out of that. Another of Asbury's alums was Dean Jones (although he didn't actually graduate in his Class of 1953, he was later awarded an Honorary Degree in 2002). Dean was famous for his role in Disney's "Love Bug" movies, which I'm sure you all fondly remember. Those movies were considerably more successful than George W.'s presidency.

Long before the establishment of Asbury College in Wilmore, the Indiana Asbury University was established and named for the same gentleman. Years later, when a rich businessman by the name of Washington C. DePauw donated a handsome sum to the University in 1884, the school changed its name to DePauw University. DePauw University has some baseball ties within its alumni also. Buzzy Bavasi, the former GM of the Dodgers, Angels and Padres, and Ford Frick the former Commissioner of Major League Baseball (the guy who attached the asterisk to Roger Maris' record 61 home runs), were both DePauw alums. A couple of other alums were the father-son combo of Bill and Scott Rasmussen, who co-founded the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network in 1979, which was later shortened to ESPN. And just where would we be without them?

Back in the early days of Indiana Asbury University (in 1847), a young student sent this note home to his father, "At present I enjoy remarkable good health, and can cheerfully say that I have so far spent my time since I left old Green (sic) County in a flow of high spirits. Sickness prevailed here more during the fall than it has for a number of years, the cause of which, I believe, is unknown. The number of students in attendance during this term is about 175 which exceeds that of any previous term, and of course renders the lower departments of study too much crowded for convenience, or thorough drilling, or rapid improvement. There is some probability that this will be remedied by the creation of another teacher...." (I've suspected all along that teachers were created and not born or hatched, but that's a subject for another blog.)

"I am boarding at Mr. Dicks at 1.75 a week. I commenced boarding at Mr. Talbotts (at 1.50 per week) a very large boarding house which accommodates about 22 students but the noise, confusion, and disturbance, was so intense and continuous that it required more concentration of mind than I could command to learn anything save that which if learned ought to be unlearned....I think it will take about $20 or $21 more to pay my expenses for this term since my books cost me $7.00." (I tend to remember books costing a great deal more when my kids were in school.)

I love that phrase, "more concentration of mind than I could command"; it fits well with my current debilitated mental status, which appears to be in an irreversible state of confusion.

Sixteen years later, an older version of that lad would write these words to his father, "We arrived here on the 19th inst, having been on the war path for about seventy-five days. We have marched over eight hundred miles, often on forced march. History furnishes no parallel to rival the march of our Division since the 10th day of Sept, you will remember that we are in the 4th Division (of Sherman's old Corps) commanded by Genl. Ewing." The young lad had grown to be a man and now was getting another education.

The young lad who was spending so much of his father's hard earned money at Asbury University, later received a law degree from Indiana University and enjoyed a successful law practice in Bloomfield for many years. Aden G. Cavins was a prominent citizen in Bloomfield at the beginning of the Civil War and thusly, was made Captain of his unit as it was recruited. He rose to the rank of Colonel prior to the war's end and fought in many battles throughout the south. During his time at war, Aden Cavins wrote often to his wife, Matilda (My Dear Tilla) and occasionally to his father Samuel. The letters are a descriptive account of his life during these four years and provide a brief glimpse of the hardships suffered by soldiers at war. Prior to his death, Aden and Matilda Cavins began putting these letters together for publication. Both of them passed away however before they could finish this effort, but their children completed the task. The result was a book entitled "War Letters of Aden G. Cavins". If you have any interest in the study of the Civil War, I would recommend reading this book. It is an excellent description of troop movements, both on land and river, and a nice eyewitness report on some very interesting observations of civilian-soldiers at war.

The Cavins family resided where Marcus "Red' Oliphant now lives on Seminary Street. Setting out in Red Oliphant's yard is an old cupola that once sat atop the Greene County Courthouse. In 1886, when the old courthouse was torn down, Colonel Cavins bought that cupola for his daughter to use as a playhouse. (Speaking of fellow alums, Red graduated from West Point in 1952, just a few years ahead of Ol' Simmons). Go Army.

Aden and Matilda Cavins' daughter, Margaret, married Charles E. Henderson, who, at the time, was a law partner of her father. One of their children, Laurens Livingston Henderson, Sr. presented a copy of this book to Jerry Shertzer's Aunt Freda back in 1980. Jerry graciously allowed me to borrow that book and it was a wonderful read. I shall forever be grateful to him for loaning me that book, but not the ladder. You might want to come and get that ladder Jerry, before it kills me and by the way, I'm done with the book too. Thanks.