Copper Creek

Jerry M. Rowe

Description

Copper Creek is the life story of Martin E. Tew, war hero in Isodora, Philippines, poet, rescue hero of two pilots in rough mountain terrain at the age of 74, philanthropist for Greek war survivors, owner of the Copper Creek mine in Arizona, owner of the Monte Bonito Ranch in Arizona, attorney, and he also spoke six languages. It includes facts about the mysterious Sibley Castle, and everyday life in Copper Creek.

Sujets

• Biography
• Autobiography

Informations

• Publié par: Archway Publishing
• Date de parution: 02 mai 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781665743006
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

COPPER CREEK
A BIOGRAPHY OF MARTIN E. TEW
JERRY M. ROWE


Copyright © 2023 Jerry M. Rowe.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
 
Archway Publishing
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.archwaypublishing.com
844-669-3957
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6657-4299-3 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6657-4300-6 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023908126
 
 
Archway Publishing rev. date: 04/21/2023
CONTENTS
1 The Tews
2 The Pattersons
3 Rushford Creek Again
4 Far Western Minnesota
5 First Financial Ventures
6 The Last Stew
7 Teacher
8 Is God Real?
9 Stuident, Teacher, Politian, Journalist
10 The Sea, Anti-Imperialism, And The War
11 Wedded Bliss And Father’s Death
12 Visiting Copper Creek
13 Sibley Castle
14 Miner
15 As President
16 Draft Dodgers
17 The League Of Nations
18 The Time To Rhyme
19 Child Of Light
20 Stanley And Sarah Patterson
21 Ranch Life
22 Martha Dies
23 Giving Thanks
24 The Hereafter
25 Banks Fail
26 Drought
27 Drought Breaks
28 Pants Too Small
29 “Rip Roaring?”
30 Picnics And Bungalows
31 Dreams And Reality
32 Restaurants, Theaters, And Presidents
33 Ranch Hands
34 What Could Have Been
35 The Greeks And Christmas
36 Greek Mathematicians And The Discovery Of America
37 Was Columbus Greek?
38 Pain Of Repairs
39 Soul Of Britain
40 Minnehaha
41 Hero Again At Seventy-Four
42 Greek War Relief
43 War Again
44 The Glory That Was Greece
45 Throat Trouble
46 Mayo Clinic
47 The Legacy
48 Copper Creek Today

This book is dedicated to
Ethel Madeline Patterson Ottenweller
Ethel passed away in 2000, but she had the foresight to save most of the documents and pictures that make up the heart of this biography. It had been her life-long dream to write about her Uncle Martin, but her love of arts and crafts kept her from it. She passed on the letters and photos to her daughter Zoe Ann Ottenweller Rowe, my wife.
CHAPTER 1
THE TEWS

M artin E. Tew’s parents, Eric Tew (1831-1906) and Barbro Lien (in America would have been Barbara Lee and also written Langedragtslien)(1836-1873), were married in 1859 in Valders (Valdres), Norway. Erik was in another portion of Norway helping to build a highway. He lived in Valders and in that mountainous region he met Barbro, she lived nearby, but she moved to Valders and married him. It is interesting to note in later years that Stoddard, Burton, Holmes and other world travelers, called Norway the most beautiful country in the world. Valders is claimed to be in the most scenic part of Norway. The legends tells that King Olav was here when he negotiated with the farmers of Slidre on his christening march in 1023 . This district is apparently the last to be christened in Norway . One thing is for sure; the people of Valders are quite stubborn when it comes to what their beliefs. Only after the king had burned farms in the area and caused a lot of trouble the Valders people agreed to be christened. The postal route between Oslo and Bergen was the first postal route in Norway and was opened in 1647 . The route went through Valders , over Filefjell down to Lærdal, by boat from Lærdal to Styve, and to Gudvangen and to Stalheim before continuing on to Voss and Bergen. Vang Lutheran Church is recorded as the first-ever Lutheran Church built west of Winnipeg, Manitoba. The original Vang congregation was formed on May 18, 1899 . The name “Vang” was chosen to commemorate the birthplace of its founding members - Vang, Valders .
Of worldly passions, Martin’s parents had few, but in everything really worth while they were rich. No better examples could be found of sound minds in healthy bodies.
Eric was of medium height (5 feet, nine inches tall), possessing great muscular strength and endurance. By example, he taught his children to be hardy – to stand up against bitter cold or blazing heat without flinching. Being deep chested and having large limbs, he could lift great logs upon the sled that brought the year’s firewood. In the heat of July and August he swung the scythe and cradle from early morning until late in the evening, seemingly without tiring.
Erik and Barbro immigrated to the United States in 1861 and settled into a four-room log cabin (2 rooms upstairs and two rooms downstairs) 7 miles north of Rushford, Minnesota on Rush Creek in Winona County, where Erik’s elder brothers Ole and Even, had farms. A third brother, Gulbrand, had a farm near Decorah, northern Iowa. Rushford was named for the spot where the nearby Rush Creek could easily be forded. The town had been established in 1854. Though bluffs surround the town, the most impressive is Magelssen’s Bluff, a 440-foot dominant presence over the town.
Erik’s farm was in a little valley nestling between picturesque bluffs, wooded on the shady slopes and grassy on the sides toward the sun. Along this valley with its many springs flows Rush Creek, which joins the Rush River in Fillmore County, Minnesota, which was where the post office was. Rushford was the nearest town and across the line in Winona County.
The following year Gilbert O. Tew, Martin’s eldest brother was the first to be born in the four-room cabin in August 1862 (1862-1924).
Another year passed and Mary Tew, Martin’s eldest sister, was born Dec 4, 1864 (1864-1939).
Martin E. Tew was born February 11, 1869, the third child to the family and the second boy (1869-1948).
As a young boy one of Martin’s tasks was to bring his father, Erik, fresh drinking water, often with a little vinegar in it, for lemons were out of the question. Clabbered milk was also a favorite drink. Before working the fields, breakfast was served, lunch at noon, and dinner after dark. At 10:00 a.m. and again at 4:00 p.m. a meal was carried to the meadow or field, making five meals a day. The afternoon lunch was called “coffee.” Erik had no more schooling than Washington or Franklin or Lincoln, but was called upon to teach in nearby pioneer communities where regular schools had not yet been established. Only the common elementary subjects were taught. He also led the children in singing, using a “psalmodikon”.
The psalmodikon is a very simple musical instrument, namely to play chorals on. It has the Greek word “Psalmos” - a song). It is a narrow box-like stringed instrument, placed on a table and bowed like a violin – to accompany sings-a-longs. The psalmodikon was inexpensive to build, was not used for dancing, took up little space, and could be played by people with little musical training. Its slow, melodic quality worked well with the hymns of the period. Examples of older printed music from these churches often have numbers written over the words. These corresponded to numbers painted on the fret board of the psalmodikon.
As a free man shaping his own destiny, Erik held firmly to the thought that he must not be a liability to the government or a burden on the taxpayers, either in his prime or in old age, but must provide for his declining years. Shunning debt as an evil, he believed with Franklin that “He who goes borrowing goes sorrowing” and with Shakespeare that “Borrowing dulls the edge of humanity.”
Rare among women was Barbro Lein Tew, Martin’s mother. Coming from a family of stalwart and athletic people; tall, well framed and in perfect health, she was also gifted mentally. In that essence or force which Paul calls “the greatest of these”, and which a noted writer in his book on the subject describes as “the greatest thing in the world”, she was rich. The beautiful fruit of it was unselfish sacrifice and thoughtful service for others. She wrote poems of rare beauty and sincerity of thought and feeling. These were sought after by ministers of the churches, who called them hymns. These beautiful poems were destroyed when the family home burned down a few years after her death.
Edward (1873-1937), Martin’s next brother was born October 30 th , 1873. A few days later, one of the neighbors needed some help and Barbro got up too soon for her own health after giving birth to Edward, and on her way to help a neighbor in need, crossed a creek over an icy log where she slipped and fell into the frigid water while holding her baby, Edward, high above her head.
She became chilled. A severe cold developed and turned into pneumonia and she later died. There was no mother now to take care of baby Edward, so he was cared for by Jerome and Jette Patterson of Luck, Wisconsin, who had no children and about two years later he was adopted by the couple.
Luck was originally two settlements, one on Big Butternut Lake and one further west was founded by Danish immigrants in 1869, near the present site of state highway 35. The two settlements knew it was impractical to remain as separate entities, but disagreed about which