w YODER NEWSLETTER - Yoder Family Information

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Probably of the greatest interest to tne Yoder
tourist is tne panel or nlne small paintings ' Tnree
in a row, that at least in 19?8 was IlanS;ing on tne
waIl to the right, up front near what was the right
"arm of the transcript". The original paintings
were made in the 1620's and can give us some insight
into the life and legends of St. Joder. The
ph6tographs taken by Edith Joder of Basel in 1966
show the upper outer corners rounded in the likeness
of a church window, with wooden decoration
across the top, but the present pictures are a1most
square and on a simple square board. The
composition and content of the pictures in both
cases seem exactly alike; however one sharp-eyed
Yoder noted a slight difference in the foot of the
Devil, making us wonder about the originals. Have
they been restored? 0r have they been taken away'
either because of value or deterioration' and
repfaced with good copies? Officials at the Engleberg
Monastery, not far away, might be able to
answer these questions: and should a researchminded
visitor find out any more about this ' we
hope a report gets back to the Newsletter.
Meanwhile, for our immediate purpose of seeing
how St. Joder was portrayed, it makes 1itt1e difference
whether we are seeing the originals or thc
copies. Each of the pi-ctures has printed under it
a caption in German beginning with the word
At one time
but now inside
the chapel had a sloping wooden roof
we see a vaulted "plastic"
ceiling
with several arches. Snapshots brought back by
visitors show some slight variation and some decoration
seems to have been added from what we remembered
frorn our visit in 19'/8, suggesting that changes have
probably been made during the recent restoration. At
that time we saw that a large pai-nting in pastel
colors directly on the left wa1l had been partially
obliterated wrtn fresh plaster, and we see that some
smaller darker patches of Bibical scenes are sti1l
there. We may simply not have remembered a1l- tne
framed pictures and stations of the cross hanging
in tne chapel or pernaps tney nave bee,, shifted
around or were taken down during the renovation.
However, the three 1i-tt1e wooden figures are sti11
in tne left "arm of the transcript", standing
behirrd metal bars in a nicne at eye 1eve1. These
images had once beerr stolen but were retrieved and
si,.ce then kepr witn greater pro'uection. The altar
arrd al'uar pieces have apparently beerr relurb].shed
and are sai-d co snow workmansnlp of artls us and
CrsfuSh€rr at Lucern several cerrturies ago. At the
time or year ol our v1s1t, fl-owers graced the a1tar.
"Wie...
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