Saint Nicholas Day at Fort Klock
T oday is December 4 of a new century, which had its beginnings only eleven years ago. I am here alone at Fort Klock on a snowless but frosty morning. Often that has been the case for over a half century. Why have I come? To start the fires in the three fireplaces in hopes it will remove some of the chill that would have otherwise net those who come to help us celebrate this St. Nicholas Day. This is a Holy Day doubtless familiar to those German pioneers who first chose this site for their new home in a new country—America. The fires have started and it might be a little warmer in here than it is outside. If I do not sit too far back from the fireplace, my fingers will stay warm enough to grip the pen. It is not too difficult to sense the triumphs and tragedies that have occurred in this old house while sitting here in its majesty of silence. Are there other sounds besides the crackling of the fire? Some of those from way back two hundred years ago are so muffled that this human ear ca...