Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Clarksville, TX

Established 1833 Pastor Jack Holt

This church and cemetery are found northeast of Clarksville. From Clarksville you’ll take FM 1159 for about 3 miles to the to FM1700. There, you’ll turn right and head East about 2.9 miles. Turn right on CR 3205. Just down the road a short way is Shiloh Church and the Madras Cemetery. I found this church and cemetery while driving around on Google Maps and satellite views looking for a place to photograph the 2024 solar eclipse. I preferred to have wide open fields/pastures to shoot time lapse. I was pleasantly surprised to find this little church that appears to be well maintained as does the cemetery. There isn’t a large parking lot so I don’t know how many it serves. I’d love to learn more. I’m not a Presbyterian but my cousin is a Presbyterian pastor and I love to learn about church’s histories especially these in the rural areas of America.

The sky was partly cloudy. It was mostly cloudy when we got there but clouds broke up as the morning met noon and we had an hour left before totality. There was another couple there situated near the cemetery with their camera gear and chairs. We met them when we came up to the location and introduced ourselves. They are originally from North Carolina but said they were visiting here from the area in DFW near Speedway. They had already seen the last two eclipses, 2017 and 2023. I set up my tripod near the fence to the right of the church facing the West for time lapse. The boys were back near the car seated in their fold out chairs in the shade with their solar shades. As time passed, the sky became darker, the light changed dramatically. The sun was almost covered by the moon and it was almost dark. I noticed the streetlight near the building came on. We waited the 4 minutes 23 seconds taking pictures of the eclipse, standing in almost darkness. There was light to the east and gradually it shifted to the West.

We did not stay long after there was light. It took a bit of time for that moon to move completely away from the sun. We packed up our items and gear, placed carefully in the truck of the car and drove up to the church were we met the other two who were overjoyed to have watched this solar occurrence. We were too. We celebrated my son’s 15th birthday by watching the Solar Eclipse of 2024.

Finding information and history on this historical church was not easy, that is until I searched for Pastor Jack Holt. I found him first at “The Laymen’s Corner” Wednesday 11/27/2013. Laymen’s Corner/Forney Messenger “Faith is the Substance of Things Hoped For, The evidence of things not seen. Heb 1:11. This is the fourth Minister to answer the three questions about the above scriptures. Rev. Jack Holt is Pastor of the Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Church (Oldest church in the state) at Clarksville Texas. In his early years, Jack served as a motivational speaker to various companies. He served in the U. S. Army as a cook, and after retirement attended the Presbyterian Seminary to assume the pastor’s position. He also now sings Gospel songs and does devotionals at four different nursing homes there around Clarksville.” With a bit more googling, I then found him on a video talking about this church. I will share it here. Jack Holt pastor of Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Church-Shiloh’s 182 anniversary celebration

 

Total Eclipse, 2024

This was shot at Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Church lawn in Clarksville, TX.

 

The Great American Eclipse–2017

As I prepare to pack gear for the eclipse of 2024, on Monday, I reflect on the experience of August 21, 2017. I took a couple days off work and journeyed north to Beatrice, Nebraska that was on the totality line. I researched about a month or two ahead of time. Because hotels, lodging, RV parks, etc, were booked the year prior, I chose to stay in Marysville, KS about 30 miles south of Beatrice. Beatrice never had so much business and excitement in their town and I could feel the energy.

I left the house about 8 pm Friday night. Maybe it was Saturday evening. I drove to Gainesville and dipped down to California Ave to pick up a double espresso or two. I planned on driving all night. And I did. There are dark distances on the 77 north of Wichita. It is easy to lose track of the direction you are driving. As I neared the northern part of Kansas, lightning flashed across the north sky. I was getting low on gas and stopped in Riley at about 2 am. I was still wide awake from the Starbuck’s energy drink. I arrived in Marysville about 3 am, unloaded my car, checked in and was still wide awake. My room was comfortable enough. It was a Day’s Inn. Clean, nothing fancy. I just needed a place to sleep. Left a message for my husband that I was safe and sound and still awake. I Love Lucy reruns were on about this time and halfway through an episode of the antics of Lucy and Ethel, I managed to dose off.

Awake at 9:30 I missed the continental waffle and orange juice breakfast. It didn’t matter. I had exploring to do. After getting dressed, I drove up the 77 turning here and there until I got to Beatrice, opened maps, and began looking for places to watch the eclipse. I’ve worked in Nebraska a time or two but was unfamiliar with this area. Hungry, I stopped by a busy cafe for a basic breakfast of eggs, hashbrowns and toast. A blue and white tour bus was parked in the driveway across the street and after I left the cafe, I noticed people were getting on and off. I asked a woman about the bus and she states it is a bus tour of Beatrice. I got on! From there, I learned where most points of interest were and a bit of history of this city of about 12,000. There was excitement everywhere. Vendors were found selling t-shirts and memorabilia, solar glasses. People from anywhere and everywhere were here. I met a couple from California, a family from Austin, TX, and others from North TX and Oklahoma. Once back at my car, I drove out to the fairgrounds to see how I could set up for the eclipse the following day. There wasn’t much there. I expected a full course of food trucks, inflatable slides, vendors, etc. The big attraction was out west at Homestead National Historic Park. Parking was getting full at midday. Bill Nye The Science Guy was there, NASA speakers, NPS rangers with many activities and programs. There was plenty of room to set up however, I did not know how many people would be there tomorrow. Furthermore, there were big puffy clouds floating around in the sky. I had to have plan B.

I drove East and found Filley, a town of about a 100 people. A postcard was mailed from their post office the next morning because that’s what I do. And Filley is where I photographed the 2017 eclipse. Prior to this event, no solar eclipse had been visible across the entirety of the United States since June 8, 1918;  and not since the February 1979 eclipse had a total eclipse been visible from anywhere in the mainland United States.^[2

We now expect a cloudy sky for the Eclipse of 2024 and a bunch of ridiculous conspiracy theories. I’ll drive East and see what becomes of the 1 o’clock hour.

 

Hope, New Mexico

When I was a kid, I used to read the phonebook.

In the 70’s our form of communication with the outside world was the written word and the telephone. I was interested in people and their places, business, and church addresses. And most people had their phone number and address listed in the phone book. Our phone book in Hobbs, NM was about a half inch thick. That’s what I remember. It had white pages and yellow pages and I often paged through looking for people I knew.

As I write this, I’m also browsing the web looking for a phone book from that era and am unsuccessful. But I remember having a phone book for Lea County, Hobbs and Lovington and maybe Monument. There was also the town of Hope written on that cover. That’s what I remember. I didn’t know much about phone books back then or who determined what went in one especially the yellow pages and I do remember asking mom, “Where on Earth is Hope?” I’ve now made contact with a group who manage a page for Hope, NM. Let me ask.

I asked and this town was in the Eunice/Carlsbad phone book.

During my childhood, Hope was a town we passed through but thought nothing of it. We drove to Cloudcroft or beyond for a church function or maybe to White Sands with visiting family. Hope had never been any point on the map I cared about except when it was on the cover of a phone book. And I do remember that section being very small. My husband said he passed through while growing up in Lea County not paying Hope any mind.

This past weekend as we sped home from somewhere West of Cloudcroft, we discovered ahead of us the town of Hope, NM. I made a point to stop and look. As we grow older, people and places mean more to us it seems. I pulled off the road and took some pictures of some buildings on the main street. In this case, the 82.

The basketball court in the picture above looks to be in pretty good shape. It’s the last day of Winter so the trees still look pretty bare.

Across the street on the Northwest corner of Main St and W 1st. According to a thread about this town, there was “a bar upstairs and maybe downstairs at one time, store downstairs. Way back a doctors office in the back room downstairs”. It was the same building the bank was located. The Wellhead Building was constructed in 1905 of artificial stone blocks weighing 55 pounds each. It is also written: “They are cement bricks. There were two brothers in the 20’s that came to the Pecos Valley and set u a cement company and produced those bricks. There are about a dozen or so houses in Artesia built with them also. There was a piece written about the whole story a few years ago. I don’t remember where I read it. There are several other buildings made with them in Hope. The building that houses the Wellhead Brewpub is also made with them.”

I found this image on the web. This is the view down Main Street. I Google info and end up down the rabbit hole spending a few hours reading history of Hope. And there are stories abound.

There is a date on this image, 1924. There is much more research to do about a town I’ve only travelled through with only a memory of a dusty afternoon along the highway.

 

Lobo, Texas

Located in Culbertson County, Texas, Lobo is nothing more than a memory of a town that struggled to survive. It was abandoned in 1991, not too long ago. According to various online sources, the town is owned by three residents from Germany.

We drove past with no indication of a town ahead. Dilapidated structures and overgrowth were seen behind a barbed wire fence. And then I saw this building. What got my attention were the words on the wall.

We turned around, parked outside the fence. The wind was gusty and rain had begun to fall. No Trespassing signs were posted on the fence. We could see multiple vacant buildings situated behind this one. Apparently the only people allowed on the property are the owners, their family members and their friends.

The structure next to this appears to be a modern hotel, suffocated by overgrown trees and bushes. I say modern because way back in the day, there was a hotel in 1910. There’s a pool behind this. It looks like attention has been paid to the property here and there due to various sections of painted walls.

Highway 90 is where you will find Lobo and is a scenic drive through Texas that will provide interesting sites and a few ghost towns like this one. Lobo is between Van Horn and Marfa. Enjoy your trip.

There is a https://youtu.be/lC1q9gfrBB4 video found on YouTube that allows the viewer a glimpse of what is left of Lobo, Texas