At the corner of Rue de Californie and Rue Crocker sits the Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste. The Church was originally built at the end of the 15th century on the foundation of the Notre-Dame de Pitié chapel in 1489, then later of the Sainte-Barbe chapel. In 1846, the bell tower was erected.
The church sustained damage but not as much as the rest of the town in World War I. When the town was chosen by the California Committee and the French Government to be rebuilt in 1916, the citizens asked that their little church be first on the list. It is also where Daisy and the General married in 1917. The Church in 1914, 1917 and today
Planning a vist to Nancy, Luneville and (of course) Vitrimont, I wanted to visit Verdun for a day. From Nancy it's an easy 1 hour+ drive. Daisy wrote of the devastation in the northern part of the front and it is well worth a visit today.
However ... I needed a simple map. What I found were endless sites trying to sell me a map or a tour. Some sites had great info, but no directions or details showing order or access. There are busses and drivers aplenty if that's what you want. But if you want to tour at your own pace by bike, foot or car, I offer my self-guided do-it-yourself Verdun visit. I created a route and some basic info, knowing I had plenty of history to accompany me on site. My two adult sons had done some research, but the Verdun Memorial Museum was a perfect place to start. This is what I offer here. Ten must-see Verdun sites. I'll add further comments and maybe more sites later. But for now - here's a free map to help you navigate the memorials and battlefields of Verdun. Verdun Self Tour Map
An easy to follow free map for a day tour of the Verdun Battlefields, Memorials & Monuments
(excerpt from Chapter 10 - Banjos, Bohemians and the Barbary.)
And then the dreaded letter arrived that would take Dan away from me too. Willis wrote to tell Daniel that he and William Hearst, the new young publisher of the San Francisco Examiner, were in discussions to design schematics for a proposed San Francisco World’s Fair in 1900. His first assignment was to go to Chicago and meet with the Chief Architect for the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition, Daniel Burnham. He was to write and draw a series of articles about the site and bring back ideas and information on cost and construction. He wanted Daniel to join him. "Daisies still look upward, However dark the hour." ![]() This 19th century song could have been written about Daisy Polk. She was uprooted and replanted throughout her life, and she always looked upward or forward. By any definition, she was resilient. Here are Daisy's thoughts about her name (excerpted from Book One - Chapter 6; Cotillions, Clubs and Courtship; Kansas City: 1887-1889; No-one was more aptly named than I. Daisy was a popular name to be sure. But it fit me as well as any name could. A daisy is the definition of resilience and simple can-do. Where nothing else grows, there will be daisies. From a crack in a busy city sidewalk to a field kissed by the sun and blessed with rich soil, a daisy is a flower that can grow anywhere and thrives despite any and all weather conditions. I had grown up a daisy, whereas my Endemial was the family rose. She needed nurturing and tending to show her best bloom and train her natural beauty and gifts. No amount of tending changes a daisy. A daisy just is. (excerpted from the Chapter Steam, Shadows and Smoke, Book One)
Hot Springs was a curious place in 1882. It was a mixed-up sort of place. Fancy in some parts and so natural, steamy, muddy and messy in others. There were grand hotels, fancy carriages and broad promenades for fine ladies and gentlemen to parade up and down on the Avenue. Then there were the shacks across the creeks, or up the hills that served as reminders of what lay underneath and behind the curtain of finery. It was like being in two different worlds at the same time. For every elegant lady with an ostrich plume in her hat entering a grand Hotel Spa, there was a man on homemade crutches who probably hadn’t eaten in days heading to the free Government Baths for the wondrous cures that were offered. I guess gift-giving is like home building. Who doesn't love a unique personalized gift that says "I carefully chose this for you." And I even give credit to those who just give it their best shot. Because, the thought really does count. Especially, when you can see the thinking behind it!
My brother has a knack for this type of gifting. One year he gave me a refurbished sign I had carved for my grandmothers house. The sign we believed stolen long ago. He found it in a sorry state while clearing brush at the fence-line. Repaired and renewed, it now graces the wall above my doorway. He's given other meaningful, memorable gifts over the years, many Polk drawings and ephemera, but this year was something I didn't even know existed! In 1896 the San Francisco Call newspaper featured an article referring to "Sanchez' bar" in Monterey. The big news was that architect Willis Polk and artist Charles Rollo Peters were prepared to enjoy a drink and view the famous art and writing on the walls when they found the bar with a new name and new ownership. Worse yet, the new owner had destroyed the precious work by painting the walls. The destroyed vignettes were known works by William Keith, CR Peters, Jules Tavernier, Daniel Polk, Albert Bierstadt, John Muir, Ernest Piexetto, Xavier Martinez, Robert Louis Stevenson and many more. Willis was so upset at the destruction, he immediately took a train back to San Francisco.
![]() Original Coppa's Restaurant was a legendary bohemian gathering place in the Montgomery (Monkey) Block where the Transamerica Building now stands. Its crowning glory were the wild murals, created by the artists and writers who made the place their second home sitting for hours at the center table in a long, narrow room with 21 tables. The leader of the San Francisco Bohemians was Porter Garnett, a writer, editor, designer and co-creator, with Gelett Burgess, of the 1895 literary magazine The Lark. The group also included the painters Xavier Martinez, Ernest Peixetto, Maynard Dixon, poets and writers George Sterling, James Hopper, sculptor Robert Aiken, Willis and Dan Polk were also frequently in attendance along with many others. The late evening libations were decidedly misogynistic and never included wives. Women were included on occasion if they were pretty enough, or a current girlfriend for a one time review.
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STORIES
11.11.11 THE LITTLE CHURCH VITRIMONT SCRAPBOOK TOUR VERDUN WR HEARST PLANS SONG: DAISY HOT SPRINGS 1882 A WILLIS POLK GIFT THE RLS CONNECTION 1896 EARTHQUAKE TALES FROM COPPA PANDEMIC OF 1889 THE BOMB THAT SHOOK SF MILAN:CITY OF WATER POLK ON THE MAP FEATHERS, FASHION & FLY FISHING RARE AVIATION FILM - WWI 1914-17 1906 SAN FRANCISCO WTF FILES - TECHNOLOGICAL GET ME OUTTA HERE! NO HORSES, NO TENTS, NO $ DAISY IN FRENCH LITERATURE DAISY ON FILM! THE WHITE DEATH THE SYMBOLISM OF FLOWERS POSTE DE SECOURS WWI TRAVEL 1900: LONDON TO PARIS DAISY: REST IN PEACE KEITH'S, DRANE'S & KENTUCKY MOTHER: MISSOURI COMPROMISE Topics
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