I try to create a culture of celebration in our home. For life, for the little things, for wonder and for whimsy. I try to find the beauty around us and teach my son Wyatt to find it, and appreciate it and love it as well.
We are a homeschool family, and we love it. We love the freedom it gives us to explore a topic or idea more deeply, and I like that I can adjust our schedule around Wyatt’s other needs. Wyatt has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, and his week often has therapy, doctor’s appointments, naps peppered throughout which would make a traditional school schedule difficult. He is also an asynchronous learner, and I love that I can tailor learning to where Wyatt is at that moment.
We have a house full of animals and will probably add more because we like a zoo. We have one cat, Miso, who is a rescue. She is 14 years old and my little floofy girl. We also have one leopard gecko, Luna, a pictus gecko named Harlow, a pacman frog named Freddy, and two crested geckos, Applejack and Oliver. We love all of our little friends!
My husband Billy, Wyatt, and I are all curious, creative, stubborn humans which makes for some fun times around here. We love the outdoors, except we are not made for high temps so we retreat inside when the temps start to soar. We are nature lovers through and through. We are trying to downsize our lives too, to live more simply, to buy things that last and eat real food from small local farmers. (and of course Goldfish crackers) We live seasonally and are always up for adventure. We love books and reading, and can be found at the library at least once a week!
Last Friday I met my sister-in-law and niece at Greenfield Village for an early morning visit. I love it there so much, and as Wyatt and I ease into school, I hope to work some mornings there in to our schedule more often. But, this visit was just for fun, a last little vestige of summer before Dino Girl started school.
We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful morning either – not too hot or chilly, and the sun was shining and the sky was so blue. Perfect really. I had my wagon for Wyatt, and my niece wanted to ride in there with him too, so my SIL and I took turns pulling it around while we walked and chatted. And admired all of the gardens!
We made sure to stop and visit at our favorite houses, the Cotswold Cottage and the Dagget Farmhouse. I always joke if the world went sideways for real I would move in to the Cottage at the Village. It’s a real cottage too, moved here stone by stone from England.
And this farmhouse, I love everything about it. When we were there they had the interpreters inside making dye from flowers and spinning wool. The kids were enthralled with the spinning wheel; Wyatt kept asking to do it, while Dino Girl had lots of good questions about the process.
From here we wandered into the last, big garden. The kids were good sports but were starting to fade a bit by this time. And they were ready for the ice cream we promised them. We still had about twenty minutes before the frozen custard opened though, since it wasn’t even 11 am yet, so we rolled up into the garden. I love a late summer garden. I feel like the flowers are throwing all their colors at us, their last final hurrah before they completely fade away in the fall. Like look at me, look at me! So we did.
Finally, finally, it was time for frozen custard!
This little building is so sweet, isn’t it?
We got our treats, ate them up, and by this time, it was time to head home. I had my eye doctor appointment that afternoon so I needed to get back and get ready, yuck. It was a very relaxing way to end the week though, and we had the best time.
Fall is in the air my friends! And now that summer is starting to taper off into much cooler evenings, I am leaning in hard to autumn and all that comes with it. Including all things mushrooms (except the er, medicinal use sort) Then I learned yesterday that September is National Mushroom Month! Who knew mushrooms had a whole month of recognition? I didn’t, until my Alexa informed me yesterday. And seriously, mushrooms totally deserve recognition, let’s face it. I love mushrooms! They are so adorable, and I get so excited when I spot one in the wild. And they are so versatile, with a whole vintage and earth mother vibe, but also can get funky too, with the psychedelics and that woo-woo Alice in Wonderland stuff. And they are tasty in soup and on pizza.
I’ve always been a fan but I am happy to see them getting some recognition. Lately, I feel like their is a resurgence in mushroom decor that hasn’t been seen since the 1970s – and I’m not complaining! I went on Etsy the other day looking for some throw pillows for our bedroom, and found a bunch of neat things.
(Etsy product links are affiliate links)
First, those pillows that led me down the rabbit hole. Aren’t they adorable? We are doing our room with nature accents and I love all three! I don’t think our bed needs all three, but they are super cute. I could not tell you which is my favorite either, because I love snails, mushrooms, and moths. And then I stumbled into some t-shirts. I love the simplicity of the “be down to earth” embroidered t-shirt, as well as the message, but then the “Morels Are Calling” shirt is also really cool. Morel hunting in Michigan is on my bucket list too, so there is some truth to this shirt. I have heard that people literally fight over them in the woods though! I would probably go out with a guide and a group, as I know Northern Michigan has some guided hunts in the spring, I believe.
That toothbrush holder just makes me smile, which might be a good thing in the morning when I need a bit of a smile, as I am not a morning person. (unlike my child) Mushrooms are all cute, but the Amanita is the cutest. I have only spotted two while hiking before and I totally nerded out when I did. I also love the moody autumnal feel of the black and gold mug, while the mushroom tea cup is perfect for a cuppa while reading. I saw that they make mushroom coffee. Anyone ever try that? I would love to hear what you think of it if you did!
I also spotted these masks that are not only mushroom themed, but also bugs! Be still my little nature loving heart. I ordered Wyatt some science and nature themed masks from Piccolina and was so bummed they were sold out of the adult sizes, and when I saw these on Etsy I decided I will have to order them. They are just too cool. The pet tag caught my eye as well – first because I have a gecko named Luna ( who does not wear a collar of course) but I do have three cats. Hmm. But which cat to wear it?
Processed with MOLDIV
I feel that I would be remiss to not mention some other mushroom favorites while I am at it! If you like podcasts, definitely listen to Alie Ward’s Mycology with Dr. Tom Volk pod on Ologies. And don’t miss Fantastic Fungi on Prime Video. I think it might also be on Netflix. It was sort of mind blowing and all the cinematography is amazing. And finally, one of my very favorite autumn soup, this Wild Rice and Mushroom soup from Gimme Some Oven. It is absolutely delicious, smells amazing when it is cooking, and is perfect for those chill fall evenings, especially if you have been outside all day. (or even an hour!)
So what about you? Mushrooms are so polarizing. People love them or hate them. Yay or nay?
Last week we started homeschooling again – I can’t believe this kid is in first grade! Where does time go? I am pretty sure he was just a tiny baby like yesterday. Here we go again, barefoot and crazy hair and all!
We are still finding our rhythm, the pace of our day. First grade is a little more demanding but I still want it to be enjoyable and not a chore. I want Wyatt to look forward to our learning time everyday, and with only week one under our belts, we are still muddling through. We will get it though. I am hoping to do a homeschooling curriculum post this Friday; I am so excited about what we are doing this year and want to share!
We visited Belle Isle and the new garden installation, the Oudolf Garden. It was so beautiful! This garden was designed by Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf, after he received a “love letter from Detroit” written by the volunteers of the Garden Club of Michigan. Apparently he was impressed by the energy of our city. Oudolf has designed places like the High Line in New York, as well as the Toronto Botanical Garden to name a few. It was pretty neat to see this four season garden and know that a famous garden designer was behind it all.
I enjoyed walking around the gardens with my family, but I was also really excited to move on to the next part of our day – adopting a Pacman Frog. As you all know, I am a lover of all creatures and my sweet little Dash passed away recently. My butterfly project will be finished soon, and I feel like our house will feel sort of empty, or as empty as it can feel with three people, three senior cats, two leopard geckos, and a ghost mantis sharing 900 square feet can feel. But there is always room for a few more, right? Especially a Pacman frog. These frogs are not really a pet you can interact with physically. In fact, handling them is not good for them. And sort of not good for you, as they have teeth and can bite as they are aggressive eaters. They also spend a lot time just sitting in one place burrowed down. Am I selling this frog or what? Lol. However, they are super cute and easy to care for and kind of just what I was looking for. They can live in a smaller tank, and don’t require too much. Plus, cute, again. I think she might be a chocolate mint pacman, but she could just be the “normal” version. Either way, we loves her already. So without further ado, meet Freddie the Frog!
Now you see her, now you don’t! I am seriously considering making some videos or designing an Outschool class with all of my creatures – I would love to share them and their care with elementary students somehow. One day it might be neat as well to share them in person with elementary schools as well!
I have a whole “wish list” of reptiles I would love too add to our home wildlife classroom – a Russian tortoise (a rescue one), a crested gecko, mourning geckos and dart frogs… they bring joy to our whole house, honestly. Even little crazy frogs like Freddie here. And eventually we will! For now we are very happy with all of our menagerie as it stands though.
We finished our first week of school and I finished two books! I am not quite sure how that worked but it did! Lol. We took Friday off and went to Greenfield Village with my sister-in-law and Dino Girl so the kids could hang out before Dino Girl goes back to school this week. And..I also got glasses. So did Billy. We left Wyatt with my mom and went to our eye exams together, where we learned we both have perfect distance vision yet have some typical sight issues that occur with aging, or so we were told. Like when I have to hold things with small print at arms length to read it… Our glasses come in on the 17th and I am sort of excited. I have been getting headaches when I read for too long so it will be nice to read without it causing one. Our vision exam was sort of crazy! It was done by a remote technician. I felt like I was in the future. The tech who was there set me up in the room with the eye thing in front of my front of my face. There was a giant monitor on the wall, and a remote technician zoomed in and did the exam, switching things digitally. Then when she was done she sent it to the doctor, who also remoted in on the monitor to explain about the results. It was wild. But it also seemed super efficient.
Anyway, on to the book stuff.
Read Last Week:
Fire Keeper’s Daughter was excellent. It might be the best book I have read all year honestly. I loved it and am looking forward to reading more by this author. I also finished up The Running Hare, which I also loved. But I love John Lewis-Stempel and usually find zero faults with his books. Wyatt and I also started reading The Magic Tree House books last week, while Billy is listening to Six of Crows and The Bone Witch.
Reading This Week:
I started this a few weeks ago and then decided I wanted to keep it for September. I am weird sometimes. But now it is September and I am excited to start it! (again) I loved House of Salt and Sorrows so I am eager to read this one.
I figured since it was back to school week for us, I should probably get to working on my own overdue projects~ and knocking out a few reviews.
Let’s start with…
Oh man, did I love this book! I’ve recommended it all over the place and at one mom’s wine night I went on and on about how much I loved this author’s writing. It is beautiful, full of nature, and also moments from an 80s childhood that I could totally relate to. The imagery and how we can learn lessons from the creatures around us was just so gorgeous and poignant as well. And it made me feel proud as well, of how I am raising my child, to observe nature around us, to know the names of bugs and birds. Nezhukumatathil shares a story in this collection of talking a class of students, young kids, who had never ever heard of fireflies. Thought they were fake, made up! I wish every child, and every adult could find such wonder in the world around us, as Nezhukumatathil does. If you haven’t read this, I urge you to do so!
I love a book set in Michigan, especially on the most mysterious of all the lakes, Lake Superior. If you have ever stood on the shores of Superior, you will know what I mean when I say it holds its secrets and has its dark mysteries. So a gothic suspense set on these shores is a match made in heaven. I really enjoyed this read, which took the reader between two times, set in the same place. Two women, each with their own set of problems. There were so many threads to this story, and each one was as interesting as the next. Definitely a book to read when you want to settle down with a cup of tea and a book with a bit of a spooky vibe.
This book was legit crazytown and I was 100% there for it. 10/10, highly recommend. It was a trippy ride all the way through and I could not stop reading it. There were shocks and surprises and twists everywhere that the reader just doesn’t see coming. My mom and I could not stop talking about it! If you like true crime and dark reads, this book is perfect for you. Even if you don’t, I suggest you give it a try!
September!! I can’t believe it is September already. Because whether the weather knows it or not, summer is beginning to wane. I see it in the darker mornings, I felt it in the breeze yesterday. The last of the butterflies are getting ready to migrate. My summertime nail color seems all wrong, it is no longer time for bright berry pink.
It’s not quite over yet, however. My garden is still producing so many tomatoes we can’t keep up, no matter how many tomato and cheese sandwiches we eat – tomatoes fresh from the garden, sprinkled lightly with salt and pepper, set between two slices of cheese on toasted sourdough or pumpernickel rye bread. Yum! Served with a handful of Aged Cheddar and Black Pepper Lattice chips from Aldi’s. We eat it more nights than we probably should for dinner, but it is easy and we like it so much, and we know that its time is coming to an end. Soon we will be eating more soup, heartier dinners, chili. So we are making the most of our summertime sandwiches while we can, and feeling quite carefree about it.
I do feel like we are trying to soak up what is left of the summer. The other day my little niece Dino Girl came over and spent the day, and we gathered flowers from my garden and “captured summer in a jar” as best we could, in the hopes that the bright colors will linger and sustain us in the dark of winter.
I will miss all of our little garden creatures, the butterflies and caterpillars, the grasshoppers, katydids, cicadas. The birds darting in and out. The toads and the hardworking bees. The fireflies at night, probably my favorite most of all. Although, the giant broad-winged katydid was in our house, singing from on top of the curtain rod. We let him go and could not believe how well he was camouflaged on our apple tree. I won’t miss finding weird bugs inside.
Everything is tinged in that golden glow – that late summer yellow of sunflowers and black-eyed Susans, and will turn to the brilliant yellow of autumn leaves in a few weeks.
But good things are around the corner as well, school has started for us again, and the spooky season of Halloween is coming up. Books about ghosts and witches, scary podcasts and movies, trips to the orchard, another round of The Wild Hunt. Cider by the fire with my brother and his family. A camping trip this month. Chestnuts. A girl’s day with my crew, doing who knows what but something. A field trip to a castle and a field trip to find fossils and rocks. There are so many good things on the horizon, these that I have mentioned and hopefully many others. And let’s be honest. Isn’t fall the best of all?
The last year has been a whirlwind of trials and triumphs for the Tanner family.
With injuries, near foreclosures, and a family tragedy behind them, Jason Tanner, the oldest of the Tanner children is facing his own struggle after his longtime girlfriend, Ellie Lambert, overhears the secret he’d planned to tell her himself. Now, in addition to trying to keep his family’s dairy farm sustainable during a hard economic season, Jason is dealing with the heartbreak of Ellie’s decision to end an almost 10-year relationship.
In an effort to bury his feelings, he throws himself into his work on the farm and into volunteering with Spencer Valley’s small volunteer fire company, where tragedy strikes the foundation of his faith during an already vulnerable time.
Ellie has her own challenges to face as she tries to navigate a time of life where her expectations have been turned upside down and shaken out.
As she copes with the decision to walk away from her relationship with the man she saw as her best friend, her flighty, less responsible younger sister shows up to further complicate an already complicated situation.
My Thoughts:
In the first book in The Spencer Valley Chronicles, The Farmer’s Daughter, we meet the Tanner family, and follow along as Molly and Alex begin their new romance. In this second book, Harvesting Hope, we focus on Molly’s brother Jason and his long time love, Ellie. Although, there is trouble in paradise.
Howeler has a gift for writing characters that could have stepped off the streets of any town and into the pages of a book, they are so real. They are complex, full of life, multi-dimensional, and just have that spark that makes one empathize and relate to the characters they are reading about. Jason’s struggles with his own guilt over a past mistake, the way he throws himself into one thing after another, working hard so he doesn’t have to think too much, Ellie’s devotion to her parents, her frustration with her little feckless sister that fights against her natural protectiveness as an older sister – these are all such humanizing traits that make these characters so real.
I was wrapped up in this story from beginning to end – I never knew what was going to happen from one moment to the next, and there were some situations that kept me on the edge of my seat, anxious for the outcome! There were moments that made me chuckle, others still that made me laugh out loud. And then the scene where three shirtless men have a wood splitting competition – pure masculinity, right there. And the kind that a woman doesn’t mind being witness too, either. The dialogue is so true and raw and honest though at other moments, when they talk about how to keep a farm afloat, mistakes they made that roll over and over in their thoughts, long-ingrained ideas that they can’t shake.
The last half of this book kept me glued to the pages until I was finished. So much happened, so much craziness that I needed to know if everything worked out in the end! I won’t tell you though, you will have to read that for yourself! However through it all, there is the foundation of love. And hope. Love for your spouse, your new love, your old love, your neighbor, you sister, your parents. Your community. Just so much love. And I loved it.
Harvesting Hope is available now on Kindle. If you are looking for a feel good read with wonderful characters, look no further. I greatly enjoyed this book and I can’t wait for the next one!
I feel like last week was a mad dash to the finish line – we start school tomorrow! Am I ready? I don’t know! I am excited to begin our new curriculum and learn all the new things with Wyatt this year. His science curriculum this year includes a huge section on geology and rocks and minerals and I have to admit I am super excited about it. And I learned my brother has a rock tumbler… I may be sending some rocks his way to tumble for us. We also had my mom and niece over for a day and the kids had such fun together. All day playing, making messes, eating, being crazy. It was good.
I also had a pretty emotional day on Thursday. When I woke up in the morning I discovered that my little Dash had passed away overnight. She had been declining so I wasn’t totally surprised but I felt really hampered by not being able to do much. She was a tiny unhandleable anole. I feel like she was an older girl when we rescued her, as wild caught reptiles you never know. I don’t support the idea of wild caught reptiles and adopted her because she looked so miserable in the pet store. I was absolutely shattered however even while knowing it was coming. Billy arranged her sweetly in a little tea tin surrounded by flower petals and we buried her in the lavender. It’s funny how these small creatures can charm their way right into your heart but they do.
Read Last Week/Reading This Week:
I finished The Family Plot and it was fabulous!! It was crazy twisty and I couldn’t stop reading it. A good way to gear up for spooky season!! I also started and read about half of The Running Hare. I love John Lewis-Stempel and always slow read his books to savor them a bit more.
I also started Fire Keeper’s Daughter. And wow, I love this book so much. Boulley is a Michigan author writing about her Ojibwe community in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I love supporting Michigan authors and it is always so neat to read a book set in your home state. I have been to so many of these places mentioned in the book. I am also learning so much about the Ojibwe. I may end up going down a few rabbit trails…
Posted Last Week:
I posted my Hometown Views: Main Street post, alongside Lisa at Boondock Ramblings. I learned some new stuff from her post, the most startling about Marie Antoinette. Did you know she had a connection to Pennsylvania?
I also posted my latest Butterfly Update. We are getting close to the end folks!
Watching:
We have been kind of skipping around, not seeming to land on anything too long. We watched a few episodes of Nancy Drew before deciding we want to save it for fall. We watched McDonald and Dodds on BritBox which we really love. We watched a few Death in Paradise, and then last night started Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple.
And that is about it from our little refuge! How are things going for you?
So yeah, this will probably be one of my favorite pictures from this summer. Just a boy and a butterfly.
We are getting so near to the end of our butterfly project. It seems odd without tanks of hungry munching caterpillars everywhere. Things are quiet. Not that you could hear them, but.. it just feels quieter. The summer is winding down and that is just one of the signs.
I have stopped bringing in eggs and caterpillars, so this group that I have right now will be the last. After a certain point, I don’t want to raise them if when they eclose there is a chance that it would be too cold to release them. Currently, I have fourteen monarchs in chrysalis. These guys should be the super monarchs, the ones that make the journey south where they will stay for the winter.
For some reason, a bunch of them decided to go into chrysalis in the same area. I wonder if there was a reason behind that?
I also have seven black swallowtails in chrysalis, with four still eating and growing. Black swallowtail chrysalides can overwinter while monarchs can’t, so I am not as concerned with these guys.
As for releases, it was a crazy few weeks! I was watching my sister-in-laws chrysalides and caterpillars while they were on vacation, and while they were gone I released 15 of her butterflies. It was crazy, between hers and mine! Some of them stuck around for photos while others took immediately to the skies.
I did find a little sad one in the yard one morning. I don’t know what happened to it, but it could have been attacked by a bird or a cat or who knows what else. I was walking through the yard, and happened to glance down to see a butterfly with a torn wing crawling across my path. I have a very tender heart for all creatures, and I could not leave it out there to suffer. I didn’t know what I was going to do with it, but I knew it wasn’t staying out there like that. So, I brought it in and did some googling and decided to keep it for as long it is lived. Here is little Flippy Bohannon. The name is probably a little insensitive since it couldn’t fly, only crawl or flip around, but he lived with us a few days, eating peaches and looking at the sun until he wasn’t anymore. He is buried in our butterfly garden now.
Incidentally, one of the butterflies of my Chrissy’s (my SIL) eclosed and was born without a wing! Just one little wing. She is keeping hers around too, just letting it live its best short life safely in her house.
So things are pretty slow around here for now, but the next update, maybe in two weeks, I will have released all the super monarchs.
The tally: Black Swallowtails – Males: 8, Females: 6 Monarchs – Males: 17 Females: 10
I will make a list of them and their names in my last post, after I release this last group of monarchs. I can’t believe summer is almost over!
Hi all! Recently,Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I started a new blog feature called Hometown Views, where we share different buildings, traditions, memories all from our hometowns. We started this because during our online friendship we have enjoyed comparing the areas we live – rural to suburban outside Detroit. This week is all about our respective “Main Street”.
Our main drag here in Wyandotte is Biddle Avenue, named for Major John Biddle, who had served in the War of 1812 and then settled here in the Detroit area. The city has been around, settled by non-native settlers, since 1854. Before that the Wyandots lived here, forming their village of Maquaqua. I have read that the descendants of the Wyandots that used to live here now live in the Amherstburg area of Canada, across the Detroit River.
So pretty right? Times may have changed, but the street still remains charming in my opinion. This is how it looks today.
Our main street of Biddle Avenue has its own roving photographer, Kelly Christopher Luttrell. You can spot him and his camera roaming about the streets of Wyandotte on pretty much any given day – and almost any given time. He is up early most days, photographing the sunrise above the river. He is out in blizzards and rainstorms, hot days and windy. His collection of photos of the city are an archivists dream. He was even designated the city’s photographer by our last mayor, and no one has as much city pride as Kelly. We graduated together, and he was kind enough to allow me the use of a few of his photographs for this post. He is an all around good dude. He even made a Wyandotte calendar!
My family has lived in this city since 1950. My mom remembers running these streets, going to the movies at one of the three movie theaters that used to stand here. My dad bought his clothes at the store that is visible in this last photo, the one with red marquee. And, all through college, I worked at the store that used to be in the building next store, an office supply store named Gail’s Office Supply. The Gail family owned it, and if you remember the show WKRP in Cincinnati, Max Gail played a character in that show. I loved that job – all the pens! All the stationary! And even cooler, Billy worked two jobs right nearby – the first a few blocks down, at an art gallery as a framer, and also at the old Wyandotte Theater as a projectionist. Billy and I used to meet for lunch every day at the little diner on the corner, located a few doors down from Gail’s. I was young and as a young ‘un could eat french fries with ranch dressing with a black coffee every day for lunch. We ate there for years, until a coffee shop opened up right next door to Gail’s, Java Joes, then we practically lived there, lunch and in the evenings, hanging out with friends. My brother worked at Gail’s too, and later at Java Joes. So much of my personal history, right there one little block.
The Wyandotte Theater was said to be a playhouse before a movie theater, with a connecting underground passageway to the apartments across the parking lot. I haven’t been able to substantiate this claim but I like this story so I included it. It did have a giant stage in front, which I know from obviously going but also because one time my mom, brother and I went to the see Care Bears movie when my brother was like five. At the end of the movie during the credits, my brother, always a wild child, broke away from my mom, and ran up the stairs on to the stage to dance with the Care Bears on screen. And of course, my mom made ME go and get him…
The theater during my mom’s youth. I can guarantee you she is probably in this photo somewhere. (Photo by David Zornig)
But before this theater showed The Beatles, it showed a bit older fare..all the way back in the 1930s. It opened in 1938, with the “Main” as it was called, seating 1500 people. (Lisa your whole town could fit in here twice!) The “Annex” opened in 1941, and sat 800.
Here is a bit more legend for you. When Billy worked there, I would go hang out with him in the projection room, which had a huge vault door. He told me that the vault door was there because in the olden days the old film could catch fire easily and the projectionist would have to slam the door shut, hoping that the vaulted door would prevent the fire from getting too out of control before the building could be completely evacuated. This could be a tall tale, so don’t go telling your friends this is fact. It was neat to sit in there, but I hated closing up the theater at night. I always helped so that we could leave earlier and hang out, but dang it was so dark in there after lights were out. Like pitch black, especially in the Main. And there was of course, the ghost. It was said that a previous projectionist had killed himself in the Main, and that he haunted the theater. Because every old theater needs a ghost. I do remember one night though Billy went to go turn off the lobby and marquee lights while I waited in the lobby with another friend of ours who worked there. The lights went out, Billy walked into the lobby, and boom – all of a sudden the lights were back on. So Justin and Billy both went the second time to turn them back off, leaving me alone in the dark, which I was a little scared about. The lights went off, and as soon as they got into the lobby again, boom, back on. Again! We all looked at each other and mutually decided it was time to take off!
Sadly, the theater couldn’t hold its own against the bigger box offices, and eventually closed, and was demolished. That was a sad day for every Wyandotte resident, I think.
Back to Biddle, let’s end on a lighter note! The Wyandotte Parade. I love a parade, and apparently so does our town. Every 4th of July and Christmas, citizens from the area gather to watch the bands, the police, the floats parade by. And I love it.
All photos here are taken again from the Bacon Library’s Online Local History Archive. The first is in 1920, then 1959, and then finally 1988, when George Bush visited and walked in the 4th of July Parade. (Bill Clinton actually visited too although in a later year, and gave a speech on the porch of the library, that same one pictured. All the businesses on Biddle closed that day, including Gail’s and we all walked down to watch.)
And a few more from recent history, mine. Gotta love my mom’s yellow sunglasses in that first photo! I’m with my two cousins Brian and Melissa in the second picture, but I am the one with my arm outstretched like a little beggar. The one with the dog – I am in the black coat walking my dog Penny (I miss her so much!) who I adopted from the pound, and my SIL is in purple walking her pound puppy Sassy. We were walking with the pound to show people what amazing dogs you can find in the pound (and cats, but they don’t really like parades…).
Wyatt’s first parade! You can only see the tippy top of his head – don’t worry he could breathe because I was a nut and checked like every two seconds. And, why am I also always holding a McDonald’s coffee?
I feel like I could tell you so many more stories, but we will leave it here for now. I hope you enjoyed this little journey! Now take a minute to walk along Lisa’s Main Street in Dushore, PA!
Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.. 