It appears that no story is ever quite complete. The following story is about Lewis Charles Heckel, my granduncle on the Vadnais side of the family, who I previously wrote about. I don’t quite remember how I stumbled upon the story, but I’m sure glad that I did!
The story compares Lewis to Luther Burbank who was an American botanist, a horticulturist and a pioneer in agricultural science. He developed over 800 strains and varieties of plants. I believe it’s a well deserved comparison.
Lewis’ grandson Richard, pictured in the newspaper article, is the person that provided me with this picture. I have spent numerous hours in an attempt to fill in this part of Lewis’ life, that of a soldier and more specifically as a Rough Rider during the Spanish-American War (late April to December 10, 1898). I found a Lewis Heckel on several muster rolls dated from 1897 to 1906. I think a few of these may be referring to Lewis Charles Heckel, but I don’t think that he is the person being referred to on the muster rolls after 1900. If the few that I think are actually Lewis Charles Heckel, then they convey that he was a private with the 20th infantry, company B and in September of 1898 he was at Camp Wikoff on Long Island recuperating from some illness, followed by his being discharged on January 7, 1900. It should be noted that Camp Wikoff was where many of those that fought during the Spanish-American War were sent to recover.
Thanks for visiting, come back soon,
Cynthia
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