The Children’s Playhouse on Heart Island

One of the first—and only—structures the Boldts got to enjoy while Boldt Castle was being built is Alster Tower. Often referred to as the "Children’s Playhouse," this unique building offers a glimpse into the opulent recreational life of the Boldt family during the early 20th century and illustrates George C. Boldt's imaginative vision and love for his family.

Completed in 1899, Alster Tower was completed before the construction of the grand Boldt Castle. George Boldt, the millionaire proprietor of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, envisioned the tower as a space dedicated to leisure and entertainment for his family and guests. Unlike the main castle, which remained unfinished due to the untimely death of Boldt's wife, Louise, the family actively used Alster Tower during their summers on Heart Island. 

Alster Tower's design is a departure from conventional architecture created to reflect the charm of medieval European castles. The structure features slanting and uneven walls, ceilings, and roofs, and the deliberate irregularity adds to its whimsical character, making it the most architecturally unique building on the island. 

In Madison’s Mission, Mrs. Boldt rests in the Venetian Room and the Boldts entertain here, too. The Tower’s recreational facilities reflects Boldt's commitment to providing unparalleled entertainment. Its amenities included a two-lane Bowling Alley, Billiard Room, Venetian Room, Library, Shell Room and Theater with a stage for performances and entertainment. 

These features made Alster Tower the center for recreation and socialization for the Boldt family and their guests, even before the castle was ready to enjoy. 

After years of exposure to the elements and periods of neglect, restoration efforts are working to revitalize Alster Tower. The Thousand Islands Bridge Authority undertook extensive work, including masonry restoration, veranda reconstruction, and interior refurbishments. By 2014, the tower was reopened to the public, allowing visitors to experience its historical and architectural significance firsthand. And the work continues. 

Today, Alster Tower stands as a captivating piece of the Boldt Castle estate. Visitors can explore its unique rooms and envision the lively gatherings that once took place within its walls. The tower's distinctive design and rich history offer a fascinating glimpse into the lavish lifestyle of the Gilded Age elite. Whether you're an architecture enthusiast, a history buff, or simply curious, Alster Tower on Heart Island is a destination that promises to enchant and inspire.

ABOUT MADISON’S MISSION:

Step into the captivating world of Boldt Castle in 1903, where dreams are forged in the fires of adversity and love. Madison Murray, maid to Louise Boldt, harbors a singular mission—to care for her ailing mistress while hiding her own painful past. She meets Emmett O’Connor, but just as their relationship grows, tragedy shatters their world, and Madison is ensnared in a dangerous coverup. When Mrs. Boldt passes away, Madison is left reeling, can she move forward? Will Emmett forge a future alongside the woman who has captured his heart?

ABOUT SUSAN:

Susan G Mathis is an international award-winning, multi-published author of stories set in the beautiful Thousand Islands in upstate NY. Susan has been published more than thirty times in full-length novels, novellas, and non-fiction books. She has fourteen in her fiction line. Susan is also a published author of two premarital books, stories in a dozen compilations, and hundreds of published articles. Susan lives in Colorado Springs and enjoys traveling the world. Visit www.SusanGMathis.com/fiction for more.

"Big Drunk" Gets Baptized

by Tom Goodman

“The Baptism of Sam Houston” hangs in Independence Baptist Church in Independence, Texas

You’re never too ruined to be beyond change, and you’re never too admired to not need it. 

Sam Houston is a case in point.

At 61, the Texas hero became a believer and submitted to baptism in Ricky Creek near his home in Independence, Texas.  

One old companion of his wilder days winked at his dripping-wet friend and asked if he felt his sins had now been washed away.  

"Yes," said Houston, adding, "and God help the fish down below!"

Sam Houston in traditional Cherokee dress

If it wasn’t for the historical record, you would think Sam Houston was a made-up character in a Texas tall tale. 

He was born in 1793 to Scottish-Irish immigrants in Pennsylvania, the fifth of nine children. When his father died, the family moved south to Maryville, Tennessee, near today’s Smoky Mountains. At sixteen, Houston walked away from a clerk’s job in his brother’s store and disappeared into the wilderness. There, he was taken in by a Cherokee chief known to Americans as John Jolly, who gave him the name Colonneh—“the Raven.” Houston became fluent in Cherokee and lived between two worlds for years.

At nineteen, he returned home, founded one of Tennessee’s earliest schools, and soon after was swept into the War of 1812. He fought bravely and survived multiple wounds. Those scars opened doors. He befriended Andrew Jackson, studied law, entered politics, and rose quickly—congressman, then governor of Tennessee before thirty-five.

A brief, disastrous marriage ended his governorship in scandal. Later, while lobbying in Washington for Native American rights (where he preferred his Cherokee garb to business suits), Houston was publicly slandered by a congressman. He responded by publicly beating the man with a hickory cane. At trial, Francis Scott Key, author of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” served as his attorney. Despite the competent defense, Houston was convicted and fined.

Rather than pay, he fled west into Mexican Texas. 

Matthew Brady's photograph of Sam Houston

He soon found himself at the center of revolution. On his forty-third birthday, Houston signed the Texas Declaration of Independence from Mexico and led Texian forces to victory. Texas made him president of the new Republic, and when the Republic became the twenty-eighth state in the Union, Houston became its governor—making him the only man ever to be elected as governor of two different states. The state’s largest city still bears his name.

He stood six foot six. Weathered. Hard. Not exactly pious. Friends and enemies alike had called him “Big Drunk” from the days of his youth. 

But his wife, a devout Baptist, prayed for him faithfully. Houston himself later wrote that, at first, he attended church only out of respect for her faith. Somewhere along the way, though, it took. And at 61, he sought baptism as the profession of his faith in Christ. Word spread quickly: Texans came from far and wide to see the baptism of their hero. Rufus Burleson, the church’s pastor and the president of the fledgling Baylor University, conducted the ceremony.

He was re-elected governor in 1859 but soon clashed with Texas’s secession movement. Ever the Unionist, he refused to swear allegiance to the Confederacy and was removed from office in 1861. He died in 1863. Among the statements on his tombstone summarizing his life, he wanted the words “Consistent Christian.” 

67-foot statue of Sam Houston along Interstate 45 in Huntsville

Credit: Tiffany Hofeldt for Texas Highways

Sam Houston mastered reinvention long before it became fashionable. He crossed borders, rebuilt reputations, and outlived disgrace more than once. Yet Houston understood that a man may conquer nations and still need mercy. The most radical act of his life might be when he stepped into the water and admitted it.

The Other Irish--Scots-Irish Influence on America

 

In honor of Saint Patrick's Day, I wanted to share a bit about the Scots- Irish, often referred to as the Ulster Irish, who had a large influence in settling America.

   

The term Ulster-Irish refers to Lowland Scots and Northern English who were given land grants during the many wars and uprisings in Ireland in the 1600 and 1700s. England was determined to break the backs of the Irish Catholics by creating settlements of Protestants in Northern Ireland.

Even though the Ulster-Irish were loyal to England, they were treated poorly during the political upheavals to rid Ireland of its language and religion. And like many of the Irish Catholics, they emigrated to the colonies hoping to escape tyranny and religious persecution. This migration began in 1717, with many more shiploads of Scots-Irish to follow. 

   They populated the wilderness areas of Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, the Shenandoah Valley, and the Tennessee and Kentucky wilderness. The colonial government encouraged them to settle there to create a border between the civilized colonies and the natives. Even though religious freedom was the promise of the colonies, the English settlers disdained the Irish and their counterparts, the Scots-Irish. Moving was better than more persecution. Some colonies passed laws banning them from living there.

         Because these immigrants had lived on rocky, rugged terrain in both Ireland and Scotland, they easily adjusted to life in the Appalachian area. Many became trappers and traders and learned the hunting and fighting ways of their native neighbors.

Like the native tribes they lived among, the Scots lived in clans. Each clan has its own chieftain. The Indian clans had a similar hierarchy. Although there were conflicts, the Scots and Natives developed a mutual respect, even intermarrying.

John Ross- Cherokee Chief 

 Because the tribes had a matriarchal society the children's heritage passed through the mother. So the tribes accepted any interracial child. Because European-Americans recognized heritage through the father, there were several mixed-race men who served in political positions and chiefs of their tribe that helped bridge the gaps between the two worlds.

During the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, and the War of 1812 the Scot-Irish were recognized as fierce warriors. Adapting Indian war tactics, expert shots with the Long Rifle, and the use of the tomahawk, they made a difference in the American victories.

     

  Migrating into Alabama and Mississippi through the early part of the 1800s, they developed a unique frontier culture. A clan-style network between the various villages and their surrounding farms, ready to help one another. And each clan had its own local militia.

         Historical Scots-Irish leaders

 President James K. Polk's Scots-Irish ancestors settled North Carolina.

Sam Houston hero of Texas independent had Scots-Irish roots.

Davey Crockett- famous folk hero had Scot-Irish roots.

Davey Crockett

 

President James Monroe descendants immigrated from Ulster to Virginia.

President Jimmy Carter, Scots-Irish ancestors colonized Georgia.

Not all Scots-Irish were sympathetic to the natives. President Andrew Jackson whose ancestors were Scots-Irish hated the Natives and did all he could to ensure they were removed from the United States. Even those who had assimilated completely into the white culture. The first Trail of Tears took place during his administration.

Did you know? 

About one-third of the Continental Army were Scots-Irish. Their strong desire for independence helped shape the efforts to win the Revolutionary War. 

         Scots-Irish music influenced country music

The Celtic music of lowland Scots had a large influence on American country music. The fiddle was the main instrument and many of the ancient songs depicting historical events from Scotland and Ireland are still sung in the Appalachian Mountians. Bluegrass and early country music reflected their tempo as they began to create their own songs.

When I introduced my children to a video of Celtic music, they declared it sounded just like country music. Absolutely proud to know my ancestors had a hand in shaping it. Here is a sample of their music.

Any of you out there know if your ancestors are Scots-Irish?

Cindy Ervin Huff, is a multi-published award-winning author in Historical and Contemporary Romance.  She’s a 2018 Selah Finalist. Cindy has a passion to encourage other writers on their journey. When she isn’t writing, she feeds her addiction to reading and enjoys her retirement with her husband of 50 plus years, Charles. Visit her at www.cindyervinhuff.com.

I have a lot of irish characters in Village of Women in honor of my ancestors. 

 

 

 

 

 

UTILIZING YOUR GOD-GIVEN TALENTS

 

By Catherine Ulrich Brakefield

God gives us each a special talent. “To each one according to his own ability” (Matthew 25:15 NKJV). It is how we utilize that special gift that matters to God—and humanity.

You may have the gift of mothering, farming, teaching, or perhaps you have entrepreneur talents. You could have the gift of speaking, singing—or composing songs.

Mr. Ira F. Stanphill (1914–1993) was gifted with such a talent. He was an amazing songwriter who wrote six hundred gospel songs, which include: "Suppertime," "I Know Who Holds Tomorrow," “Room at the Cross,” Happiness Is the Lord,” and “Mansion Over the Hilltop.” 

A popular Assemblies of God gospel singer and songwriter of the 20th century, he wrote many of his songs during a period of deep personal turmoil. Still, he brought joy and hope to countless people throughout the world.

He was five years old, living with his parents in Mound Valley, Kansas when young Ira heard Claude Gilson, a blind pianist, playing for their prayer meeting. He came to their home to play classical pieces for the family after the church service. Little Ira listened mesmerized for hours. Gilson’s evident joy in playing through his blindness evidently impressed on young Ira how happiness could be found in sharing. Claude had overcome his handicaps, sharing his God-given gift with others.

Ira became a willing student, studying piano and performing his voice lessons. He learned to play the ukulele. He entered a contest with the hopes of performing on the radio. It wasn’t long before the station manager saw Ira’s talent. He was soon conducting 15-minute radio programs where he’d take requests for songs and play them on his ukulele!

Now a fourth grader, he mastered piano, organ, ukulele and accordion. But that wasn’t enough for Ira, he learned to play the xylophone, guitar, saxophone and clarinet.

But he still didn’t have what he’d seen in Claude. At age twelve, he had a born-again experience. He now understood his purpose. At age fifteen, he composed his first chorus, “Move Forward,” for a Christ’s Ambassadors (AG youth ministry) group. Amidst the chaos and hopelessness of the Great Depression, and at the impressive age of seventeen years old, Ira graduated from high school in 1932.

He responded to the mayhem by singing gospel songs in jails, on street corners, on the radio and participated in revival crusades, and tent campaigns.

He left for Chillicothe (Missouri) Junior College at twenty-two years old. Then, afterward, he served as youth and music director for J. M. Cockerell’s church in Breckenridge, Texas. During that time, he published his first song, “Afterwhile,” in 1935. “After the Showers” and “There’s a Savior Who Cares”.

It was in the following year, when Ira was to preach in Arcadia, Kansas; Pawhuska, Oklahoma; and Springfield, Missouri, that while in Springfield he would meet his future bride.

The musical family of K. H. Lawson was part of the Southern Missouri District, when Ira noticed one of his daughters. Zelma played the piano by ear and accompanied her parents on a local radio program.

Soon, Ira and Zelma went to church together, attending rallies and other events. Both held a common interest—music. On April 23, 1939, they were married in Central Assembly Church.

With Hitler marching across Europe, and America entering World War II, people needed hope and encouragement, and gospel music was the solace Americans needed to hear! Ira joined the team of evangelist Raymond T. Richey in 1941 to tour and sing during those crucial war years.

One very popular song, “Room At the Cross,” written in 1946 became one of Ira’s best loved hymns. However, it wasn’t easy for him to write. Perhaps because of the time restriction he’d placed upon himself.

During a meeting at Riverside Church in Kansas City, Missouri, and given some possible titles for a song, it was his objective to write the song before the service. So, he wrote this song between Sunday School and church. Completed, he sang the song to himself, and decided it wasn’t ready.

So, he asked the congregation for another chance and more time! He felt confident he’d have a song for the evening service. He told them of the ideas he had for a title, and then prayerfully chose “Room At the Cross.” This was such a success that in the coming years, “Room At the Cross” became the closing song for each alter call of the Revivaltime radio broadcast.

Then, sadly, it happened. After nine long years of trying to make his stormy marriage work, Ira and Zelma were divorced in 1948.

This was an extremely hard time for Ira, because Zelma took his five-year-old son with her, they never reconciled. During this very dark period of Ira’s life, he wrote a hundred and fifty songs, including “I’ll Trust in Him Though I don’t Understand,” We’ll Talk it Over,” “I Don’t Know About Tomorrow,” and “Mansion Over the Hilltop.”

Ira is the first to say, he could not have written “Mansion Over the Hilltop” without a businessman’s disillusionment, and a little girl’s faith.

See next month’s blog for the exciting conclusion of “Utilizing your God-given talents!”

 

        WALTZ WITH DESTINY: Waltz into the Big Band Era and the splendors of Detroit's ballrooms with Esther (McConnell) Meir as a story-book romance swirls into a battle for survival. Guys like Eric Erhardt remembers those days vividly: "The outside world all thought Americans were too soft, and not much more than playboys, and we wouldn't be able to fight—man, did we show them!

"…Waltz with Destiny is the crown jewel of the Destiny Series! Brakefield brings 1940s Detroit to life, along with the WWII battlefields of Italy...You won't want to put this one down!"

Catherine is the award-winning author of Wilted Dandelions, Swept into Destiny, Destiny’s Whirlwind, Destiny of Heart, Waltz with Destiny and Love's Final Sunrise. She has written two pictorial history books, The Lapeer Area and Eastern Lapeer, and short stories for Guideposts Books, CrossRiver Media Group, Revell Books, Bethany House Publishers. Catherine and her husband of fifty-three years live on a ranch in Michigan, has two adult children, five grandchildren, four Arabian horses, three dogs, two cats, one bunny, and six chickens. See CatherineUlrichBrakefield.com.
https://news.ag.org/en/articles/news/2025/05/this-week-in-ag-history-may-25-1952  

https://ifphc.wordpress.com/2025/05/29/ira-stanphill-the-story-behind-the-beloved-assemblies-of-god-gospel-singer-and-songwriter/

Unending Battle: The Medicine that Enslaved

by Sherry Shindelar

When General Robert E. Lee formally surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 8th, 1865, soldiers across the South laid down their arms as the news spread. But peace didn’t come for everyone. Too many Civil War soldiers who survived their battlefield wounds and camp illnesses returned home to fight another battle: dependency on the opioid-based medicines that had helped save their lives.

19th Medicine Bottles

I first heard of laudanum when I watched the movie Amazing Grace about William Wilberforce’s eighteen-year battle to end the slave trade in Great Britain. Wilberforce played a pivotal role in ending the slave trade and eventually slavery itself in Britain by speaking, campaigning, and introducing bills into the British parliament. However, Wilberforce was also addicted to laudanum, a tincture of opium.

William Wilberforce by Anton Hickel

It wasn’t his intention to become dependent upon a drug. A doctor prescribed it to him when he was twenty-nine years old for ulcerative colitis and other health ailments. Laudanum was used to treat a number of health issues and ailments in the 18th and 19th centuries, and no one, including doctors, had much understanding about addiction and dependency. The word addiction didn’t even exist as we use it today. But the soul-deep struggle was very real for too many people, even a man of faith like Wilberforce.

Addiction is pernicious, and laudanum took its toll on Wilberforce. He suffered physically, mentally, and spiritually from its poisonous effects.

But in the midst of his battle with the drug’s hold upon him, he poured his heart and strength into seeking reforms in many areas of British society, including the abolition of slavery; factory conditions; curtailing violence; educating children in reading, hygiene, and the Bible; and preventing cruelty to animals.

Years later, I learned that even some of the nineteenth-century authors that I admire, such as Louisa May Alcott and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, also struggled with laudanum dependency.

Louisa May Alcott

In the nineteenth century, doctors and the public viewed opium, in its various forms, as an essential medical tool. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers were wounded in the American Civil War, and many more suffered from debilitating and potentially life-threatening illnesses. A Civil War medical manual, quoted in Dr. Jonathan Jones’s Opium Slavery, states that opiates were as “important to the surgeon as gunpowder to the ordinance [military weapons].”

Civil War Convelescent Camp (Library of Congress)

Unfortunately, the medicine that saved their lives, too often, enslaved them for years after the war. According to Dr. Jones, “Veterans, their families, and communities struggled to cope with addiction’s health and social consequences, which included much victim-blaming that compounded suffering unnecessarily.” Too often, society’s reaction hindered instead of helped the men’s recovery.

My heart went out to Wilberforce, the tens of thousands of soldiers, and others enslaved to laudanum or other substances through no fault of their own. For many, once infected, it could be a lifelong battle, one that many did not win on their own. But there were victories.

Broken shackles

And I love to write about soul-deep struggles and victories. That is why I chose to write Texas Reclaimed.

Addiction still enslaves today, but that doesn’t have to be the end of the story.

Recently, I asked a friend of mine about his own deliverance from addiction. He had this to say, “It was a lifetime ago, my addiction was strong, but my pain was stronger. I’ve lost so much in my life, but then I found that God’s love was deep, and He was even bigger to forgive. Out of His mercy He set me free, and through His grace He healed me from my past.”-Rev. Mark Little Elk

Sunrise by Becca Herbstritt

That is my prayer for all of those who struggle.

Sherry Shindelar

Originally from Tennessee, Sherry loves to take her readers into the past. A romantic at heart, she is an avid student of the Civil War and the Old West. Sherry is a multi-award-winning writer. She currently resides in Minnesota with her husband of forty-one years.

Connect with Sherry: website, newsletter, Amazon, FB, Goodreads

Texas Reclaimed

Can love blossom between a woman haunted by her family’s past and a man with a war-scarred heart?

Cora Scott is determined to hold onto her family's Texas ranch and provide a stable home for her young half brother, Charlie, despite the mounting challenges of post-Civil War frontier life. But when a scheming creditor threatens to seize their land, she must accept help from Ben McKenzie, a former Yankee soldier sent by her late brother. Though Ben's generosity and strength draw her, the man's private struggle she stumbles upon—too reminiscent of her father's alcoholism—makes her question whether she can trust her heart to him.

Ben McKenzie arrives in Texas intent on fulfilling his promise to his dying friend to protect Cora and Charlie. While using his inheritance to save their ranch, he battles not only the loss of their cattle but also his dependency on laudanum—a medicine that turned into a curse after his imprisonment at Andersonville. As his feelings for Cora deepen, he must choose between his promise to his father to take over their Philadelphia newspaper and his growing dream of a life with Cora in Texas.