Sugar Grove
By Paula Mitchell
Now that summer is over, so are the reunions. It appears that reunions stopped once the 35+ crowd joined Facebook, where they could, instead, catch up online. The old folks who organized and hosted theses gatherings have died off. After grandparents die, families just drift apart. These reunions once were the rhythm of life. It wasn’t just the food…it wasn’t just the gathering where stories were told, and it wasn’t just the music. Most families showed up early, with their casserole dishes, lawn chairs, and something in their heart that they couldn’t get anywhere else.
Yes, the old folks told stories…kids ran barefoot, and there was a continued bonding with family. How slowly, without anyone noticing, those gatherings just stopped. Perhaps life got busy, or maybe the folks got too distant.
Just trying to organize a whole mess of people who now live all over the country to come to a place they no longer feel connected to is no longer a priority to most families. They say they are coming and they don’t, or can’t…they are vegan and there’s too much meat…complaints of being too hot….too many bugs….too cold. Everyone wants to suggest how the reunion should be done, but no one wants to actually help to do it.
Storytelling strengthens kinship and also preserves cultural heritage. Research indicates that storytelling means passing down stories, experiences, and knowledge from generation to generation. These stories often contain lessons, morals and insight that can assist the younger generation in developing resilience.
Would that feeling of belonging, of being a part of something bigger than oneself, of being known by the people who watched one grow, be worth bringing back? Perhaps it will not be too late.
Life’s little lessons include the following:
- Make lists.
- Call a friend.
- Avoid clutter.
- Have a hobby.
- Stretch often.
Friday morning found a stark raving freeze on this community. Temperatures dipped to the low 30s, with promises for the day being quite enjoyable. The gardeners and florists stayed up late Thursday night, debating whether to cover plants for the frost or not. Naw, they decided about 10 o’clock, and hit the hay wondering if that was a good decision. The leaves are turning to a dishwater color. There’s always next year for their awesome beauty.
This week’s quotes are as follows:
“Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don’t.” — Bill Nye
“If you laugh with somebody, then you know you share something.” — Trevor Noah
“Home is the nicest word there is.” — Laura Ingalls Wilder
“The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.” — Maya Angelou
“Peace, like charity begins at home.”…Franklin D. Roosevelt
Definitely sitting by the fireplace is the best place to hear the “Talk of The Grove.”
Charles and “Pidge” Anderson had two “angels” visit them this week. They were Roger Bodkin and Gary Rexrode, who came and sawed wood for them.
Wesley, Becky, Nathan, Ben, and Emma Puffenbarger visited Cumberland, Maryland, and enjoyed walking along the canals.
Phil Downs paid a visit to the home of Sherry Wilfong this week. The two had lots to talk about.
The senior citizens enjoyed a hayride to Dickenson Mountain this past Thursday. Enjoying the ride from this community were Evelyn Varner, Brenda Fisher, Judy Rader, and Rose Brackman. They had a lovely time.
Paula Mitchell, along with daughter, Janelle Sroka of Charlotte, North Carolina, has returned from a reunion of Paula’s boarding school classmates from Papua, New Guinea. The reunion, which included 60 persons, had a Thursday to Sunday agenda in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
St. Paul Independent Lutheran Church had its annual pot pie following their worship service on Sunday.
Clickety-clacks for the chin waggers are as follows:
- The first Good Samaritan Society Nursing Home opened in a rented six-room house in Arthur, North Dakota, in March 1923.
- Chickens can distinguish between 100 faces.
- A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.
- A person’s eyes are always the same size from birth, but our ears and nose never stop growing.
- No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.
Continued birthdays include Ann Thompson, 16th; Sharon Crider, Jessica Parker and Tonya Simon, 17th; Jenny Rogers, Ruth Nelson, Terry Godfrey and Dwayne Borror, 18th; Betty Lou McGahey and Kenneth Morris,19th; Vonda Borror and Karen Schulz, 21st; Cindy Puffenbarger, Angie Propst and Gary McDonald, 23rd; Shelby Bible, 24th; Teresa Evick, 26th; Logan Fisher, 27th; Teresa Bowers and Jim Brown, 28th; Mike Simmons, 29th; Debbie Propst and Sue Sponaugle and Dottie Mitchell, 30th; and Judy Rose Rexrode and Chris Wilburn, 31st.
Concerns are for Mike Adams, Charles Anderson, Alfred Armstrong, Joan Ashley, Roger Ashley, Mercedes Aumann, Dave Basagic, Allen Beachler, “Bo” Boggs, Larry Byers, Joyce Calhoun, Marie Cole, Stanley Dahmer, Kim Davis, Steve Durham, Jennifer Errett, Isaac Eye, the Marie Eye family, Mary Eye, Carl Gant, the Betty Garrett family, David Gillispie, Patsy Green, JC Hammer, Sharon Harr, Steve and Armanda Heavner, Hannah Hedrick, Jack and Starr Hedrick, the Walt Helmick family, Chuck and Tracy Hiett, Jim Hiner, Evan Hise, Tim Hively, Edsel and Mary Ann Hogan, Julia Homan, Anne “Libby” Hoover family, Keith Hoover, Delbert Olin Hoover, the Roxann Hoover family, Debbie Horst, Bob and Cynthia Hurry, Mike and Lisa Jamison, Linda Jones, Richard Judy, Marsha Keller, Tara Kelley, Ruth Kile, Tom and Kim Kline, Tracie Knight, Laura Kropp, Melissa Lambert, Robert Lambert, Rex Landis, Donna Mallow, Roger and Skip Mallow, Audree Marsh, Anna Mauzy, Ed May, Gene and Joan McConnell, Gary McDonald, Neil McLaughlin, Rose Miller, Bruce Minor, Carroll and Dottie Mitchell, Tom Mitchell, Barbara Moats, Gloria Moats, Jim Moats, Sherri Moyers, Helen Nash, Aaron Nelson, Dominique Nelson, Dwight Nelson, Ruth Nelson, the Wilma Obaugh family, Cheryle Paine, Terri Parker, Andy Pond, Wayne Price, Janice Propst, Alda Propst, Mike Propst, Sheldon Propst, Virginia Propst, Eldon “Butch” Puffenbarger, Tom Rader, Willard Rader, Brandon Reel, Jason Rexrode, Jimmy Rexrode, Linda Fay Rexrode, Vesta Ruckman, Bernie Sasscer, the Eric Shockey family, Annie Simmons, Erin Simmons, Eva Simmons, Greg Simmons, Judy Simmons, Nelson Simmons, Tonya Simon, Robbie Sites, Mike Skiles, Bruce Smith, Ed and Carolyn Smith, Natalie Stephenson, Tina Stuben, Steve Stump, Linda and Larry Vandevander, the Sandra Vandevander family, Amy Vaus, Estelle and Don Wagner, Mary Louise Waldschlager, Amby Waybright, Jr., Mike Waybright, Rene White, Sherry Wilfong, Judy Williams, Patty Willis and Ann and Ed Wimer.
