Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-06-15
T is not fair to say goodbye to a
little church without visiting the
graves that lie about II and jotting

above them. IL would seem IKE negiect
Of duty The Rambler will take the
time and put himself to good deal OF
pleasant trouble or travel TO record all
the facts which he can gather concern
ing an old church and will recall out OF
the past as many memories relating 10
that church as his small ability az
chronicler will permit. He does this for
various reasons. One OF these is that
he wants to be fair and just TO the old
church and the people to whom it is
spiritual home.
Everybody knows with what tender
sentiments men and women think OF
their "church home" They may mol ne
especially pious nor heavily learned pu'
any plain little humble church set on
The public road or back from the public
road, in a grove OF trees, is rev.
crcnt place to them. There the'r
father and mother were married
there they were baptized. there they
lisped their Sunday school lesson or
their catechism. there they went I"
service as sweethearts and heard
nothing OF the sermon. there they
were married. there they went every
Sunday--especially when it didn't
rain or snow or blow or when 1t
wasn't too hot or too cold-untti
their hair turned gray, and there un-
der trees and among the blooming
vines and towering bushes rest the
ashes Of kindred and old acquaint-
anres. To these people II is a shrine.
Another reason liz that the Rambler.
better than anybody else. knows how
hard II is to gather facts about many
churches and churchyards that are
only hundred years old, He knows
from this experience that perhaps a
hundred years from now all records Of a
church may he lost. and that descend
ants Of people praying there now will
he cropping around for a few facts
about It. But some man going
through the files of The Evening Star
In the Washington Public Library or
the Library of Congress will find that
there was a strarla fellow. who de-
v6ed and developed set Of MARIA
tives. called 1.-THE Rambler and that
he wrote about churches. homesteads
farms and roads Of century ago
that is. away back in the year 1919.
AN traces of the church have long
been obliterated. The Oldest inhabit-
ant cannot recall that his grand
father knew where the church stood.
There are neighborhood legends tina,
II stood here and that it stood there.
The names Of the pastors are forgot
ten and the graves and gravestones
have disappeared. Rows Of houses
stand or crops grow where the grave
yard was. Perhaps a city street. noisy
with traffic. leads through 1t.
Turning the old and yellow pages
Of The Star of a century ago the
searcher will find the topography of
the region so described that the van
ished church can be relocated. The
line of an ancient road can be traced.
An ancestral home can be plotted.
All the facts there were obtainable a
hundred years ago are there SET
down. Generally. all important ana
many unimportant landmarks i'm the
neighborhood are registered and de-
scribed. Perhaps some or one of
these will survive as a feature of the
landscape. Perhaps you are smiling
at this and saying. What is the use
OF all this and what a trifiing service
1t Is. and what can prompt man to
put himself to SO much trouble 10
perform it?"
We'll. the answer is that it is
small service. though one Of perma-
nent value, that the man who is doing
it takes pleasure in doing it in spite
OF some, uncomfortable and inhospi-
table experiences, and that he is wei
paid for doing 1t. "Ah," cries or NUT
tiers the shrewd and worldly reader.
there lies the real reason"' He Is
paid for doing it. He makes money
out Of It," The answer to that rs
that the Rambler would make just
as much money writing other
stories instead of these and could
turn them out in less time and with
less work than required for the aver
age "ramble." So the money that is
paid for the ''rambles" is one reason,
but not the only reason, and mos,
likely not the main reason.
Then, another reason why the RAM
bier puts himself to the trouble of
getting all the facts possible about
subject is that he wishes to show