The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1889-11-09
MAKES HIS OWN oops.
A Pennsylvania Dutohman Who
Worships Three Hundred Homes
NADIA Idols

A Pennsylvania Dutohman Who
Worships Three Hundred Homes
Made Idols.
A most remarkable character has
just been unearthed here, says Read
ing (Pa-) letter to the Philadelphia
Press. He is thorough idolater and
daily bows down to gods of his own
manufacture, within sound of the
church-going bells, as reverently and
devoutly as the most pious Hindoo or
Zulu. He has made religion entirely
his own, and has evolved out of it some
800 or more gods, who dwell in and
speak through the same number of idols
OF clay, which form the chief furniture
of his house. He is constantly making
the acquaintance of new super
natural beings, and as soon as he does
so he proceeds to make an image,
which is supposed to represent the out
ward and physical habiliments OF the
new divinity. All of his gods are
hollow and are from time to time filled
with such food as he thinks their
peculiar nature demands. Among
others he has god OF medicine.
This is filled with pills and odd pre-
scriptions, and whenever he feels I'M
we'll he prays to this divinity, and al
ways, he says, with beneficial results.
He has a god of sewing-machines,
which is filled with blank contracts for
the purchase of machines on the in
stallment plan. He claims that the
worship OF this god will help any one
to get sewing-machine, though no
instances of its successful use are
given. He has one image which he
calls the god of preachers, and says it
has congregation of 800 in its stom-
ach. He has one god which he says is
inhabited by his own celestial spirit,
and another which contains the spirit
of his mother.
The god of the Reading railroad
company occupies prominent position
among his collection. The interior of
this god is filled with cabb ge, and it's
particular mission is to keep COWS off
the track and prevent accidents gener-
ally. There is god of horses, filled
with hay and oats; a god of fruit, filled
with apples; god of the weather.
that regulates storms and floods; god
OF watermelons, god OF truth, which
is in the shape of a hand, and gods
which represent almost everything
imaginable.
He has these images set up on
shelves in his cellar and his garnet and
worships them constantly according to
his needs. His name is William
Christoph Clemmer and his house is
at GA Locust street, where he lives
with his wife and six children. He is
a brickmaker by trade and works
regularly at one of the brickyards of
the city, occupying all OF his spare
time with his idols, which he fashions
out of clay obtained at the brickyard.
He is Pennsylvania Dutchman ana
can not speak English, is unlettered
and can scarcely read, so that all his
strange ideas about the deities which
he worships are evolved from his own
imagination. A great many of his
gods are supposed to contain the
spirits of his friends living and dead,
but he has gods also which represent
those whom he considers his enemies.
These he has set apart by themselves
and they are treated with great defer
ence and consideration, so as to
placate them and ward off as much as
possible any harm they may intend
toward him.
Clemmer's mania does not seem to
interfere at all with his regular occu-
patton, though the purchase of food
for them cuts down somewhat the sup
ply of his family. He is allowed to
have his way in the matter, however.
lest if he should be thwarted he might
become violent. The images are very
rude and inartistic. but there is con-
siderable expression in the faces of
some of them and in all cases the out
ward lineaments are supposed to be a
reflection of the particular spirit
within. He has been three years in
making the collection and it is his am
bition to build temple on Mount Penn
as a permanent home for his deities,
where they can be worshiped and con-
suited by everybody. He pretends
that he has revelations everyday from
some of his gods and that they regu-
late every action of his life and tell
him what to do in every emergency.
Clemmer allows no one to NEEDLE
with the idols when he is not at home,
but when he is there he is glad to show
and explain them to anyone and en-
deavors to impress everyone with his
peculiar beliefs, having no doubt that
all the world will sooner or later see
the neceSsitv nf consllltinc his GODS