I’m not sure if
any connection was intended, but our small town used the Columbus Day weekend
to commemorate some explorers of our own. We did it by communing with the spirits of the people instrumental in making our town a reality.
On
Sunday night, some fifty (hard to be sure – it was pitch black) or more of us
gathered in Adams Cemetery
to hear the stories of our early settlers. It was a beautiful night, only about
60 degrees, with a clear star-sprinkled sky above. We all parked on the edge of
the small graveyard and carefully worked our way to the first gathering point,
flashlights our only weapons against a sudden face plant into someone's historical
resting place.
In
caps and capes, members of our town’s athenaeum society took on the roles of
past residents, the only light from a nearby flashlight in case they forgot
their lines.
We
learned about local participants in the French and Indian War, our town’s part
in Shay’s Rebellion, and the trail Henry Knox used at the end of town when transporting
his cannon from Fort Ticonderoga.
This
was not an evening for flagging attention spans. The presentations were
interesting and just the right length, and anyway, if you lost focus there was
a pretty good chance you would fall over one of the small headstones crouching less that a foot above the grass or walk into a huge table monument recognizing the most notable.
A
perfect evening, and what could be better than an event that ends with free apples?
Entertaining near-Halloween post. This is your former student, by the way, whom you saw today at Randall's Farm! Just thought I'd check out your blog. You're very funny :)
ReplyDeleteHey, Ms Blackwood (I know who you really are - what power!)
DeleteBut then, I have few secrets from you since you've spent 185 days staring at me as I pontificated at the front of the room.
Oh, and to any of my readers who are romance fans, check out C.M. Blackwood's books - yes, that's plural - at Amazon.
DeleteWhat an amazing event. Clever presentation too.
ReplyDeleteHow I wish my city would do something similar.
I really like your community. We should do something like that here as we have lots of historic folks.
ReplyDeleteSounds like an interesting way to spend an evening and yay for free apples.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting! Never heard of such an event, and then to end with free apples.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun that would have been, with perfect weather and just the right time of year, too. Thanks for sharing your great pictures of the "departed" town residents! :-)
ReplyDeleteI think I should have moved to an even smaller town.
ReplyDeleteWhat a really neat idea. I hope there were youngsters there to learn how their road was paved.
ReplyDelete