A Sense of Sadieville...

In 1877 a black minister named Reverend W. H. Smith and a white land promoter named W. R. Hill founded Nicodemus, Kansas. They formed Nicodemus Township Company with five African Americans to create an all-black town for profit. They mainly recruited African Americans from Kentucky and Tennessee. In Sadieville is the Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church and the Rosenwald School. The school was built with money from the Rosenwald Fund, a chicago-based philanthropic foundation. By 1928, one in every five rural schools for blank students in the South was a Rosenwald school. This little school building in Sadieville and the Mt. Pleasant Baptist church in Sadieville are a part of this amazing history. The church in Nicodemus, Kansas has a brick in it that is labeled Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church for the church in Sadieville. This morning Cindy Foster, Sadieville City Clerk, and I walked to the Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church from the old train depot which is our city hall. The purpose of the walk was to get a picture of Cindy in front of this historic old frame church with her left hand held out. Cindy is working with a lady in Nicodemus, Kansas who is going to have her picture taken with her right hand held out by the church in Nicodemus. They will then meld the two pictures so that their hands are connected. Cindy told me they are in the process of making a documentary about the church in Nicodemus, Kansas and its connection to Sadieville may be brought up in the documentary. All of this is totally fascinating. Cindy is so dedicated that she and several citizens in Sadieville have formed the Friends of Sadieville Renaissance, Inc., a non-profit organization to help raise funds to restore and document Sadieville's history. As Cindy and I were walking back to the Depot after taking the pictures, we past a couple of the old buildings that are condemned and need to be torn down. We were discussing the lack of care given to some of the wonderful old structures and the possible history behind them. Cindy made the comment..."It is all the Lord's anyway." I said to Cindy, "And therefore we need to be good stewards of what he has given us." She agreed. I thought about that as I returned home to get those pictures off my camera and eMailed to Cindy. We should each take great care of whatever our little plot of this earth is that we have stewardship over. We should clean, tend, care, improve, enjoy and share all of this bounty. I saw someone throw a can out of a car window while driving down the Interstate the other day. How abominable that is. We have places at every freeway exit to stop and toss things in the trash. There is no excuse for this abuse of the beautiful earth in which we live. I just felt I needed to do this little soapbox thought today to help me remember what a beautiful world we have been given to live in. I want to remember to care and enjoy it as my Heavenly Father intended. I'm grateful for Claude who has spent countless back breaking hours improving our little bit of acreage. Now, I'm going to dust all 7 ceiling fans in my home to maintain this wonderful little home on our hill in Sadieville.