Kandern

Our final day of all staff conference started with a field trip to the local WWI, WWII memorial.  As our director stood on the wall, we (one hundred sixty staff) looked out over the valley which houses our new home, Kandern.  We learned much about the town, some of which I will recount.

The WWI, WWII Memorial as it
looked last November

Kandern is a Celtic word which means "clear water".  Rather ironic right now, as the stream, Kander, is being reconstructed to allow for the 100 year floods.  Two streams come together in the town, but I can't remember the name of the other one!  The town sits in a bowl-like valley which opens to the south, giving us weather from the Mediterranean Sea.  Many of the hills and towns around Kandern support vineyards and wineries due to the "moderate" climate.

Evidently, the earliest mention of Kandern occurred in France around 775.  Imagine that!  Over 1,000 years before the United States began fighting for freedom from Britain.  Although there are no buildings left from that era, artifacts dating back over 5,000 years have been found in and around Kandern.

Several famous people lived in this town.  One man invented endoscopy, another, the spool.  The two men whose names I remember are far more interesting to me.  The painter August Macke's sister lived in the house just half a block down the street from us.  He painted a number of pieces in and around Kandern which have been highlighted on a walking tour through town.  Sadly, August was one of the early casualties of World War I.

Sutter birthplace

I had the pleasure of teaching about the second man in 4th grade history.  Johann August Sutter was born in a big yellow house located just behind Black Forest Academy.  I've walked by the house many times since we moved here.   For those who don't know, Sutter's lumber mill in Coloma, California (just east of Sacramento) was the location of the gold discovery of 1849.  He owned property in Sacramento, too, and built a large fort there.  Rumor has it that a large oak tree in the fort was sent as a gift from the town of Kandern.

Looking north east at Kandern from the
War Memorial yesterday

The director gave us so much more information which I don't remember.  The field trip gave us a bigger picture of what we are about at Black Forest Academy; to help us understand the deep roots of the folks who have lived here for hundreds of years.   He closed by mentioning the 500 or so names listed on the War memorial.  They represent about ten percent of this community, lost through war.  Amazingly, once the students all arrive, the total population of those at BFA will also equal about ten percent of the town's population.  A coincidence?  One might think so, but I believe God has a plan for this town and a job for the ten percent.  For such a time as this, God calls.