Issue #13: Willow City's Secret Airport & Largest Dam Removal in U.S. History
First, Unraveling a Local Mystery...
Residents of Willow City have grown to notice that on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, very low-flying aircraft tend to take off from and land at an unknown nearby airport. Of course, it’s normal to see ranchers flying agricultural aircraft, but these are different. They fly the same route, at the exact same times of day, covering a vast area over northeastern Gillespie County. Some people describe them as expensive-looking private jets, others as unmarked military aircraft. We’ve been investigating.
The ubiquitous thread is, of course, the aircraft themselves, which fly over 3 days of the week at the same times. On these same days, eyewitnesses reported that back when Harry’s was open, 3 unfamiliar men patronized the restaurant, never speaking to anyone. Their secretive, yet well-put-together nature lead our eyewitnesses to conclude that they must have been from the government. After all, whatever quacks like a duck…
Certain eagle-eyed locals also note the aircraft’s home must be the Sandy area, just east of Willow City in Blanco County. Though there is some confusion about which side of Highway 16 the airport is on, the consensus seems to be the east side, which narrows down our search.
Speaking of confusion, another interesting common theme from our local eyewitnesses is the belief that this airport was abandoned. Locals date this from anywhere between 10 and 15 years ago. This is especially interesting given how it seems to run like clockwork today.
With these clues, our search is narrowed. We’ve uncovered a number of private airports in the area, with connections to the Texas Government and to Lyndon B. Johnson. We’re continuing to investigate, so stay tuned!
Also This:
Iowa Courts Debating New Abortion Law. On July 11th, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds announced a special legislative session for the sole purpose of passing an anti-abortion bill. A Fetal Heartbeat Law was already approved and signed in 2018, preventing abortions to be carried out in the state after a heartbeat had been detected in the unborn child. This measure faced years of litigation before ending in a 3-3 stalemate in the Iowa Supreme Court in June. Reynolds stated: “This lack of action disregards the will of Iowa voters and lawmakers who will not rest until the unborn are protected by law.” During the special session, Republicans passed another 6-week abortion ban which was signed into law on the 14th, taking effect immediately. A lawsuit against the ban, led by Planned Parenthood, was filed the same week and a county judge halted enforcement of the law on the 17th. Abortions cannot be stopped in the state while the law is being challenged in court.
Japan’s Population Drops for 14th Straight Year. All 47 prefectures in Japan saw a population decline in 2022, with a total population drop of almost 800,000. The average fertility rate in the nation is about 1.3, while a rate of 2.1 is said to be required for population maintenance. This trend (which has been ongoing since 2008) is causing school closures and there are an estimated 1.2 million small businesses owned by individuals in their 70s and 80s, with no apparent successor. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warns “Our nation is on the cusp of whether it can maintain its societal functions.” In 2018, lawmakers approved new visa categories to allow over a quarter million foreign laborers into the country, but the inflow of foreign residents halted abruptly in 2020 when Japan shut its borders and imposed lockdowns. Kishida has recently pledged 3.5 trillion yen to cover child birth and rearing allowances in attempt to coax an increase in national fertility. Cabinet Secretary Matsuno has promised labor market reforms through the government to “maximize the employment of women” in effort to stabilize the world’s third largest economy.
Largest Dam Removal Project in U.S. History Begun. The Klamath River along the California-Oregon border has been home to four hydroelectric dams for the greater part of a century. A bacterial outbreak in the reservoirs in 2002, which killed over 34,000 salmon, sparked advocacy from environmental groups and Native American tribes to remove the dams. With federal approval, the nonprofit Klamath River Renewal Corporation has already overseen the removal of the smallest of the four dams set to be demolished by the end of the next year. Native American tribes have been seed-saving for the past five years in preparation for this project. When the reservoirs are drained prior to each dam’s removal and lake water levels decrease, crews will be waiting at the ready to plant over 98 native species of flower, grass, and trees to grow in the newly sunned soil. Environmentalists hope the banks of the Klamath River will soon look like its pre-1918 state and Chinook salmon will recolonize and flourish once again.
Book Review
Hill Country Landowner’s Guide by Jim Stanley
Jim Stanley is a certified Texas master naturalist who has lived in the Hill Country for over 20 years and is very familiar with our land- its problems and its potentials. Stanley shares his knowledge every week in articles published by the Fredericksburg Standard, covering topics like planting trees, preserving top soil, and managing wildlife. Moreover, he has written an excellent book entitled Hill Country Landowner’s Guide which ought to be read by every landowner in the area, at least once.
Hill Country Landowner’s Guide is written conversationally for anyone who owns ranchland or pasture land in central Texas and would appreciate expert guidance on perpetually relevant ecological fields. While the book does not cover issues involved with managing orchards, vineyards, row crops, or grass/hay, it does address eight main concerns for the Hill Country and ways to combat common problems. Land management concerns comprise of: overgrazing, over-browsing, cedar encroachment, soil erosion, reduced water availability, oak wilt, exotics and invasive species.
Interesting tidbits readers will learn include recommended deer population numbers per acre and annual harvesting goals, instructions for rainwater harvesting, tips for selecting plants to introduce to your land, and what the Hill Country’s topography looked like in the early 1800s. An appendix also lists common native plants and deer browsing preferences.
If you currently own land in the Hill Country, or are planning to someday, you will glean a wealth of beneficial knowledge by reading Stanley’s book. It can be checked out of the Texas room at the Pioneer Memorial Library by call number TX 333.79 Sta. You may also wish to purchase your own copy for reference.
Die Deutsche Ecke
SCENE: Workplace before opening
First Coworker: Where is the mailbox outside? I want to send this (holds up an envelope) out today, if it’s okay.
Manager: I don’t mind. It’s out by… (Interrupted by Second Coworker)
Second Coworker (who moved to the U.S. from Germany a few years ago): No, she wants to mail it.
Manager: Yeah, she can use the mailbox. It’s by… (Interrupted again by Second Coworker)
Second Coworker: No, like she wants to send something. (Turning to First Coworker) You want to mail that out, right?
First Coworker: Yes…. That’s right.
Second Coworker: (Back to Manager) See? She wants outgoing mail.
Manager: ….Right…
Confused looks by all.
Second Coworker: (Suddenly gets lightbulb moment) Do you mean to tell me that you can use the MAILBOX for OUTGOING mail?!?
Manager: Um… yeah.
First Coworker: You mean you don’t have that over in Germany?
Second Coworker: (Thoroughly excited and gleeful at this new information) We have mailboxes, but in Germany they are only for incoming mail. If you want to send something, you have to go to the post office.
Me (overhearing all the commotion): Why? They have to come by your mailbox anyway to deliver mail, so why don’t they also pick it up?
Second Coworker: (Nearly bouncing up and down with excitement) I don’t know! THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE!
First Coworker: (Teasing) That’s us Americans for ya, we’re clever like that.
Me: (Laughing) No, that’s us Americans for ya, we’re lazy like that. We don’t want to drive all the way to the post office every time we want to mail something.
Second Coworker: How does it work? (In anticipation of telling her husband, also native German, and trying it out soon)
Manager: You just have to put up the little flag on the side of the box.
Second Coworker: (Eyes growing wide) Does this work with ALL MAILBOXES? Like, could I mail something out of a mailbox that was not my own?
Manager: Um….generally you just use your own….but you can, yes…
The Good News
Popular Commentary of the Bible: New Testament Vol. II. By Paul E. Kretzmann, 1921. CPH.
“The So-Called ‘Social Gospel’”
One of the significant features of the present-day theology is its emancipation from what it sneeringly designates as the “other-worldliness” of Christian doctrine. The movement began in Germany, almost a century ago; it had reached a high point in America even before the World War, and has now, when “reconstruction” has become a watchword, even in religion, assumed alarming proportions. The object of the movement, as stated recently by a prominent speaker, is not the salvation of souls, but “that of Christ Himself, to establish the kingdom of heaven or a celestial civilization on earth, to fight all injustice and sin, individual or social.”
Just where this movement has led its exponents, may be seen from various books and pamphlets which have appeared in recent years. Only a few of the errors which are tending to undermine the foundations of our faith can be noted here. They speak of a “development of the Christian religion,” whereas the content of Christian faith is fixed in Holy Writ. That they regard neither Scriptures nor history is seen from the statement of a writer who speaks of “the new theology of Paul” as being the “product of fresh religious experience and of practical necessities,” who writes of the conversion of Paul in the following words: “Paul’s experience at Damascus was the culmination of his personal struggle and his emergence into spiritual freedom. But his crisis got its intensity from its social background. He was deciding, so far as he was concerned, between the old narrow nationalistic religion of conservative Judaism and a wider destiny for his people, between the validity of the Law and spiritual liberty, between the exclusive claims of Israel on the Messianic hope and a worldwide participation in the historical prerogatives of the first-born people.”
If one can so coolly dissect the miracle of conversion, it is not surprising that all the fundamental doctrines of Christianity fall before his onslaught. The doctrine of the fall and of inherited sin, so plainly taught in Scriptures, is set aside as of little consequence. The existence of Satan and of the evil angels is calmly denied: “The demons have faded away into poetical unreality.” Salvation becomes merely “the voluntary socializing of the soul.” Conversion is but “our own active break with old habits and associations and our turning to a new life.” Not a word of God’s quickening power. Saving faith does not fit into the new system, and so it is calmly set aside: “It is faith to assume that this is a good world and that life is worth living…. It is faith to see God at work in the world and to claim a share in His job.” With regard to the benefit of Baptism the statement is made: “Original sin and baptismal regeneration seem to be marked for extinction.”
But the climax of blasphemous exposition is reached in the chapter on “The Kingdom of God.” The author expressly says: “This doctrine is itself the social gospel. Without it, the idea of redeeming the social order will be but an annex to the orthodox conception of the scheme of salvation…. The kingdom of God is humanity organized according to the will of God.” So that is the aim of the social gospel, to establish the kingdom of Christ, the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God here on earth, as an outward visible organization.
In forming the proper and just estimate of this movement, we are guided by the fact that the Bible stresses the otherworldliness of Christ’s reign and kingdom. “My kingdom is not of this world,” Jesus tells Pilate, John 18:36. And to the Pharisees He says: “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation,” Luke 17:20. Altogether in harmony with this fact, Paul writes to Timothy: “The foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal. The Lord knoweth them that are His,” 2 Tim. 2:19. This fact is supported by a great many passages in all parts of the Bible. The believers are called guests, strangers, pilgrims in the world, Ps. 119:19; 1 Pet. 2:11; Heb. 11:13; Ps. 39:12. The Apostle Paul dwells upon this fact in many of his letters. He says of the Christians that they groan within themselves, waiting for the redemption of their body, Rom. 8:23. To the Corinthians he writes: “We are confident, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord,” 2 Cor. 5:8. His eager longing is expressed to the Philippians: “Having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better,’’ Phil. 1:23. And of all Christians he says: “For our conversation is in heaven,” Phil. 3:20. The Colossians he admonishes: “If ye, then, be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth,” Col. 3:1-2. Cp. Heb. 13:14.
On the basis of these plain passages we Christians reject the social gospel of these latter days with uncompromising emphasis. We know that the life of the Christians here on earth is but a preparation for eternity, that our work as well as our recreation is included in this making ready for our great homecoming. Our money and goods are not our permanent possessions, but are only entrusted to us as stewards, to be used for the glory of God and for the welfare of our neighbor, Ps. 62:11; Jer. 9:23; 1 Tim. 6:17. Husband, wife, and children are gifts of God, and it pleases the Lord if we are happy in the circle of our family and elsewhere, and yet it remains true: “It remaineth that both they that have wives be as though they had none; and they that weep as though they wept not; and they that rejoice as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy as though they possessed not; and they that use this world as not abusing it; for the fashion of this world passeth away,” 1 Cor. 7:29-31.
Only if we keep these facts in mind shall we be able to lead our lives on earth in harmony with the Word and will of the Lord. Incidentally we reject the insinuation as though we, in our care for the world to come, were forgetting the duties of this present life. It is just because we have the right conception and estimation of the eternal possessions which await us that we guard against the loss of these wonderful gifts both by sins of commission and of omission. It is because we know what our Savior did for us in unselfish love that we are all the more ready to serve our neighbor in all works of love and mercy and to perform all the duties which devolve upon us as citizens of the state. In this way we are in the world, but not of the world, and await with eager longing the day of the revelation of the Kingdom of Glory.