I flew up Friday to take care of some business concerning our house in Franklin. After that I headed over to visit with Aunt Lousise. As I pulled into her drive way a ground hog scampered ascross the grass. There was Aunt Louise. I must say that for a lady who will be Ninety years old March 3, 2008, and is recovering from cancer, she looked great. We went inside and I gave her the letters that Lila and Ceci wrote and passed on good wishes from all of the family. She really enjoyed them, truth is she loves hearing news from the entire family.
We went into the living room and sat down. There are so many memories in that house. So many connections to the past. There is a chair from Sara Bear, that table belonged to the Mc Griffs. Aunt Louise told story after story about this relative or that. It was a wonderful time. We talked about a Bear family cook book after remembering back when Lila, Ceci and I visited Nancy Serra and Aunt Ruth. Nancy, Lila and Ceci made Orange Cookies from a recipe that was hand written by Sara Bear. Aunt Louise will be looking through her recipes. She is sure she has one or more written by Sara. We might even convince her to part with her secret recepie for the chile sauce used at the Dairy Isle.
We decided to try some place different, so we drove out to Seneca and tried a little restaurant near the Bear's Den. The gentleman that bought Bear Furniture from Uncle Don and Aunt Louise, opened a second store that just sells mattresses. The food was okay. It is geared towards a younger audience. The have speciality hot dogs and all sorts of ice cream sundae's.
A 90th birthday is a very rare thing indeed. It is the same day as our anniversary. It would be nice if as many Bears as possible were able to turn out. We will need to contact her nephews Roy (who lives near her) and Rick Riddle. I can notify the west coast Bears well enough and I'm Sure Dr. Bob Bear will take care of the east coast. Then it hit me. That same year, My mom (Laura) turns 70 and my dad (Jim) turns 70 as well. Then just when you think you can relax, 2009 will Aunt Ruth's 100th birthday. Better confirm that date.
While there on business, we listed the properties in Franklin that had been owned by people with the last name of Bear. The normal people you would expect came up on the list. Uncle Ted (Chester) was listed quite a few times. We then did a list of Mc Griff, but no one came up. Then we tried Mc Cracken. There was quite a list. Wonder if any of them are related to us.
I was awoken the next morning by a terrible racket outside. There were so many sirens and emergency vehicles. It seemed they just kept coming. I was tired as I was still dealing with a three hour time zone difference. I turned on the TV worried that perhaps there had been a terrible accident, or a terrorist strike. It was neither. It was something glorious. The 298th Army Transportation Reserve from Franklin Pennsylvania was returning from over a year in Iraq. All the the buildings facing the route were decorated with signs and decorations welcoming "their" troops home. There were three buses full of reservists. They were were escorted by an long line of Vietnam Vets on motorcycles. Every police car in Franklin was there. The people lined the streets to welcome home their hero's. There wasn't a dry eye in the town.
As I left the hotel, and noticed that the Franklin Club is up for sale. It is such a beautiful building on the outside. I was inside a few years ago and it was a bit run down, but not terrible. They are asking for $300,000. I can't imagine what it would cost if it were in California. Aunt Louise said the problem was membership. As the old guard died off there weren't enough new members to keep up with things. Eventually, they even opened up the restaurant to the public, but it was too late. As I drove out to through town I notice that many of the neighborhoods seem to be improving quite a bit.
After breakfast, I picked up Aunt Louise and we went to church. The church she has always attended and was married in is in the lot adjacent to her house, but two years ago there was a terrible storm. In the morning the steple was on the ground. When they started to look at what it would take to repair the church, it became obivious that years had taken a toll on the church. It was decided they would need to tear it down and build a new one. They have been working
on plans for the new church and raising money ever since. In the mean time we went to church at the Sugar Creek Civic Center. They have two services each Sunday, because the entire congregation will not all fit at the same time.
The church service was wonderful. The members all know Aunt Louise. It seems everyone in a 100 mile radius knows her. They told me how she had told them so much about me and our family, it was very touching. So many of them knew Uncle Don and one even knew Grandma (Mary Bear). One of he friends was from Germany which gave me a rare opportunity to speak German. Just as we started one of the other ladies said we don't understand a word. That is when I explained that "Niemand heir spricht Deutsch" means that "No one here speaks German". Just goes to show that a church is a group of people, not a building.
After church we visited some family sites such as the Presbiterian church that Sara Bear had attened along with her family growing up in Franklin. There was the apartment where Sara Bear lived and many of her grandchildren had visited her there. Aunt Louise showed me the gas station where Uncle Don first had his business partnership. It is still a gas station (Sheetz). A portion of the original building still stands. We visited the Mc Griff farm outside of town. It looked much better than the last time I saw it. A family with children has moved in and really cleaned it up. There is even a little playground with swings and a slide.
We finished up with a visit to the cemetery. There they were, but wait. Where was Isabel. She spent her final days in Franklin. Louise said "You had to ask that question, didn't you?". Even though it was her wishes to be buried along with her family, Jamie (her son) had her ashes scattered on a wooded area atop of a hill overlooking Franklin, the town she loved so much. Aunt Louise, thought she might have purchased a plot near the family. She wasn't sure if Jamie knew that and said she would check with the cemetery office when it is open. By the way, Ted has a marker there, but he is not buried there either. It was his wish to have his ashes scattered on the banks of the Alegany.
Did you know that Uncle Don worked briefly for the railroad? Not sure which one. He worked as a fireman on the line between Oil City and Buffalo New York. He didn't like the work. He told Aunt Louise that it was freezing. Aunt Louise's brother worked for the railroad inspecting the connections between cars. He actually retired from the railroad and pursued a career with the local Fish and Game department.
We ate lunch at Bonanza. A flood of childhood memories hit me as soon as I walked in the door. I could just see Uncle Don, bringing us in and taking us to dinner. While there we ran into her Great Niece Katie, daughter of her nephew Rick. She works there and is 16. After lunch, we went back to her house, I dropped her off at her house. Sherry will be visiting her in October. She is not sure if Ashley will be able to come or not as she has a new job. As I crossed the one way bridge out of Sugar Creek I was hit with a bit of sadness. In many ways Aunt Louise is out last link to our past. She lives alone in her home surrounded by friends and family. She has no cell phone, no Internet access, not even a computer and yet, has lived an amazing life. She still takes medicine for breast cancer. She gets a major test once a year. So far she is clean.
On the way out, I stopped briefly at Polly's (Dairy Isle). I ordered a small ice cream cone. Polly used to work for Aunt Ruth when it was the Dairy Isle and brought it from her when Aunt Ruth and Uncle Don retired. She asked permission to change the name. Aunt Ruth said she didn't think she could have run the Dairy Isle without her help. Polly passed away. They used to dip the cones in chocolate. Not today. They only had Key Lime or Berry for a coating. I reflected on all of this, threw out the rest of my ice cream cone. It just wasn't as good as when it was the Dairy Isle. I got back in the car and made my way to Pittsburgh to catch the plane home.
