Right now, Perry County is gearing up for a very special event which will occur this August…..a total solar eclipse. People from all over our country and all over the world will be visiting our area for this astronomical phenomenon. These people will need places to stay. It is my understanding that all the hotels … More Keepers of the Hotels
The Louisiana Purchase had just been made by the United States in 1803-1804. It did not take long for a Revolutionary War veteran by the name of John Manning to acquire a piece of this new American land in what later became Perry County, Missouri. He acquired a piece of property along the banks of … More The First Manning of Wittenberg
I was attracted to this story because of the name Gothard Pfennighausen. As near as I can tell, this name means something like “penny house” in German. He married Emma Hooss on June 9th at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville in 1890. Gotthard’s trail led to many different places…..and several changes in names. Plus, there … More Name Changing
First of all, a Perry County pronunciation lesson. Around here, the name Oehlert is pronounced Ay-lert. June 8, 1856 was the occasion of a double wedding at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. The pastor of Trinity at the time was Rev. Georg Schieferdecker. Here are the marriage records you find in the Trinity, Altenburg church … More Alert! Double Oehlert Wedding
This is retired U.S. Air Force and Civil Serviceman, Ralph P. McLain. Ralph is from Augusta, Georgia. He served in WW II with Perry County fighter pilot, Ray Littge. He was in the 352nd, 486th Squadron. Ralph completed his pilot’s training, but they were in desperate need of radio operators, and he also had his … More Retired Airman, Ralph P. McLain
Bertha Magdalena Mueller was born on June 7, 1878. Bertha is the one responsible for bringing together the Loebs and Schmidt families. Bertha was my grandmother; She was Gerard Fiehler’s great-grandmother. First, let me say a little bit about Bertha’s pedigree. Bertha was the daughter of Ferdinand and Amalia (Theiss) Mueller. There were eight children … More The Loebs-Schmidt Connection
We are part of Cardinal Nation here in the East End of Perry County, and we are in the midst of the baseball season. This year, we grudgingly admit that we are suffering as we watch the St. Louis Cardinals struggle through their schedule. They are presently playing the Cincinnati Reds, and they lost another … More Building a Baseball Team
Today we say, “Happy Birthday” to Theodore Heinrich Kassel who was born on June 5th 128 years ago in 1889. His most notable accomplishment in Perry County was as the owner and operator of the Frohna Machine Shop. I wish I was at home to get some local input for this story because there are … More Frohna Machine Shop
I was not quite sure what to call a group of swans, so I looked it up. Although there are several options that are acceptable, the answer which seemed the most applicable is bevy. The picture below shows a bevy of Swans. The children in the back row of this photo were the children of … More A Beautiful Swan Joins the Bevy
June 3, 1895 was a wonderful day for Carolina Weis. It was her wedding day. She married Friedrich Zerbst in Jacob, Illinois. It was a day to celebrate. However, Carolina’s life would be one which was visited by tragedy on several occasions. Carolina was the daughter of Gustav and Anna (Weseloh) Weis. August was a … More Such a Tragic Story
