I stopped in yesterday to speak with Joel who is the Collection Manager at the Mennonite Heritage Center to see how things are going. He just needs to hear back from two other members but it looks like they will be accepting the Golden Eagle
The local historian who knew both my great uncles was told this story. ( My uncle did NOT shoot both eagles, that needs to be clarified thru the family )
Quote:
Here’s the story that John Ruth sent me about the eagle incident (he must have heard the story from Levi Landis). Attached is also the photo.
“Levi C. Landis recalled that as he was supplying a box of butter to a customer, even though rationing was on (he thought it was in 1944), they saw an eagle folding its wings in a swooping dive toward a drake below their house. The drake was too big for the eagle to carry off, so all they saw was a puff-cloud of white feathers. Then the eagle flew over to Levi’s Uncle Jake Alderfers, and was found in the chicken house tearing the heads off of chickens. So Jake’s son Walton shot it. Game Warden P. D. Gerhart came and demanded the eagle and a fine. Jake, however, dismissed him, saying that unless he was paid for the chickens, Gerhart could not have the eagle. Later Walton acknowledged to Levi that he had also shot the mate of the eagle, between the farms of neighbors Wellington Clemens and Russell Seese. Realizing that this was illegal, he said, “Ich hap ’n dapper begrabt” (I quickly buried it).”
-Joel
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Picture , from left to right
Walton Alderfer, back Henry Landes, Thelma Alderfer and Wellington Alderfer.
Thelma was Walton's wife and that's her Dad behind the group