Memory lane and related new learnings

Today’s visit to my childhood-town-full-of-memories, Williamston, Michigan, reminded me of many tidbits of life I once thought about frequently. My dad’s anecdotal stories added many more dimensions to the memory bank. Here are just a few of things I want to both learn from, and remember always:

Barrett’s store is where my dad worked for many years when he was a student. He had to arrive before 8 a.m., stoke the wood furnace, shovel snow, and then when Mr. Barrett arrived at 8:55 a.m. my dad would leave and run to the nearby K-12 school where he spent 13 years. This store is still going strong and carries several lines of quality clothing and footwear lines.

The Williamston City Hall reminds me that my grandma and I would walk to the park every day and wait until the noon siren pealed out from this location. It was both a scary sound since it was a war-time community practice to be on watch for emergencies. The practice didn’t stop during peace time. It was also a happy sound since it meant we were to walk home and make lunch. I loved those days…very much.

Summit Cemetery is where my grandparents and other relatives are buried under the biggest catalpu tree I’ve ever seen. In this idyllic sand spot with a gentle hill there are countless reminders that many have served in wars across the decades, in particular the Civil War. Flags and monument markers tell the story, so many stories. One family lost eight babies in succession, almost one per year. The late 1800’s were not, it seems, kind to children. In this location there is also a 200+ year old White Oak tree that spans ‘a city block’. Well, maybe not that far, but it’s big. I wondered today about the merit of burial plots — the call back to the land is powerful and the sense of geo-space for memories has impact.

Grateful for:

• memories
• 175 years of sustained community presence for 1st Baptist Church in Williamston.
• parents and grandparents who model curiosity, exploration, and discovery.

Curious about:

• why are there so many wind turbines in southwestern Ontario, and why are they on the south side of the 401?