“Our brother, Paul, is still unheard from since his 1952 Tsingtao, China imprisonment. Pray for him.”

That quote is from a Christmas card to my grandmom (see first three images). The “Paul” was Paul J. Mackensen, Jr. He was the son of Reverend Paul J. Mackensen, the pastor of my grandmom’s church (St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, Pratt & Clinton Streets, Baltimore, Maryland, see fourth image). Paul was a seminary student who went to China as a missionary in 1948. Mao’s forces drove out Chiang Kai-shek in 1949, so Paul was there during an especially volatile period. Paul was convicted of espionage, imprisoned, and released in 1957. He remained in China teaching English until he returned to the US in 1960. I believe St Paul is now Breath of God Lutheran Church at the same location).

The mysterious pull of Paul Mackensen

http://www.breathofgodlc.org/

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Cub Hill Historical Mystery

Cub Hill/Hickey School Area History

Mysterious Death of Two Brothers at the Maryland Training School for Boys in 1922 & 1925

George Mohl: DOB 1/28/1907
DOD 11/10/1922
Cause of Death “Chronic Endocarditis”
“Mitral Regurgitation”
Contributory “Unacute Exersalation”?
Secondary “acute dialation” ?
1920 Census George Mohl/10 years old/Inmate

John Mohl: DOB 1905
DOD 1/18/1925
1920 Census John Mohl/16 years old/Inmate
Occupation “Musician”/“Institution”
(The Maryland Archives has no death certificate for John)

No family members came to claim either of the bodies, and the boys were buried at a local church.

In the 1910 census, both boys were at home in Baltimore with their parents (Charles & Katie Mohl) as well as four other siblings. The 1920 census list both boys as “inmates” at the Maryland Training School for Boys. Their father Charles and the four other siblings are not listed in the 1920 census, but their mom is listed as 51-year-old Katie Mohl, a “widowed” “charwoman” employed at a “shirt factory.”

The 1918 Flu Epidemic occurred between 1910 the 1920 census. The boys may have been placed in the school because there were no surviving adults able to care for them. The training school was not exclusively for delinquents then. Orphans were also placed there.

I find it so sad that they passed away so young with no family there. Their mom was alive in 1920, as evidenced by the census, but I don’t know if she was still alive when the boys died in 1922 & 1925. Judging from her situation in the 1920 census, even if Katie was alive in 1922 & 1925, she may not have been in a financial position to make the boys final arrangements.

At that time of their passing, Pine Grove Methodist Episcopal Church was located on Old Harford Road between Cub Hill Road and the current location of the Hickey School campus. Approaching from Cub Hill Road, the church was on the left about where the electrical boxes are now. The church had a cemetery. The church burned and was razed sometime before 1962. That cemetery location has since been lost. Just to further complicate the mystery, the US Geological Survey map shows a cemetery on some high ground near the old school entrance farther down Cub Hill Road. The 1857 Baltimore County map shows Pine Grove Chapel on Cub Hill Road down near the cemetery on the later USGS map. This means there may have been two different chapels and two different cemeteries at various times.

Something happened that caused George & John to be lost to their family; I don’t want them to be lost to history as well. I hope to find their final resting place as well as why they both died so young.

Check back for updates; this research is a work in progess.

27th Annual World War II Weekend 2017

An interesting side-trip:

27th Annual
World War II Weekend
June 2, 3, & 4, 2017
Reading, PA (2 hours from Baltimore)

In my experience, the biggest & best World War II commemorative event in the country
● Air show with vintage World War II aircraft
● Several hundred re-enactors of every description
● Military vehicles & displays
● And most important, veterans of the war will be in the hangar
to meet the public
(if you have young kids or grandkids, this is a rare opportunity
to hear from the men & women who were there, as well as an
opportunity to show our appreciation)
● Military Flea Market with historic artifacts, military surplus
goods, T-shirts, movies, toys, posters, etc., etc.
● Sign-up for the Warbird Rides and fly aboard a vintage World
War II aircraft. It’s pricy, but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
My son rode on the B-17 in 2008; it was memorable
experience (see certificate & photos)
● Hangar dance with Big Band music on Friday & Saturday
evenings

Hosted by the:
Mid-Atlantic Air Museum
Located at the Reading Regional Airport
11 Museum Drive
Reading, PA 19605
http://www.maam.org/maamwwii.html

If you have difficulty finding a hotel room in Reading, PA, try nearby Morgantown, PA (Holiday Inn or USA Inns & Suites)

(in the interest of full-disclosure, as a vendor at the military flea-Market I have a minor pecuniary interest)