We Are Community for the week of August 1st, 2022, by Joyce Steiner

We Are Community 108

Grew up on a farm just northwest of Tennessee, IL.  Some of our closest neighbors were Floyd and Thelma McCollough who had two daughters, Marge and Millie.  Just saw on facebook that Millie lost her husband, Larry Fentem.  Also saw that a classmate, Dorothy Kipling, lost her husband, Kent this week too. Both these ladies had been married over 50 years.  I only had Ben for 25 and know that it would be vey difficult to go on after such long marriages. Our sympathy and love to these families.

Gerhard Jung spoke at Living Faith UMC this morning on his journey that began when he was six years old in Poland and ended in Adams County, Il.  His mother and he and his siblings and some other family members traveled in a wagon over 700 miles to escape as the Russians invaded Poland.  It took his father two years to eventually find them.  They traveled by boat to New York and then by train to Illinois.  They had three sponsors here.  Gerhard eventually learned English and got his college degrees and ended up being school superintendent of some school districts in this area.  We, as a country, are no longer always welcoming to immigrants.  Hearing this story should give us pause.  Unless you are full blooded American Indian, you too are the product of immigration somewhere up the family tree.  Look around you and you will find family names of many different countries.

May have mentioned that the antique mall, Sullivans Antiques and More, in Quincy is closing so I had to move all my things out of the mall.  On Monday I took an empty van and the Baldwins took an empty pick up and we packed boxes and moved furniture out of the mall.  Most of the boxes now reside in the back room of one of my stores as I only got two of them unpacked this week.  I was also able to buy some lovely furniture and picked that up on Tuesday morning.  The gentleman who I bought the things from and a friend were very nice to deliver the pieces I could not get in the van.  Just wonderful guys.  Thanks so much.  Plymouth Rock Antiques is bursting at the seams as we say.  There is a pink tag sale to make room for all the new arrivals.

Not a fan of raccoons as they climb up on the roof and do damage.  They also dig in flower pots.  So, I was not happy this week when I observed a mother raccoon with five children crossing the street near my home.  Run down and falling down homes and buildings are great places for raccoons and other animals to live.  There is also a groundhog in the area who I believe likes tomatoes.  Plymouth needs to get those dilapidated buildings torn down.

Was sitting on my patio one evening this week and noticed that it was not a kitty eating out of the food dish.  It was a young possum not a raccoon.  Possums are so ugly that they are cute. Did not bother him/her.

Spoke of former neighbors earlier.  Also when growing up on the farm, we had neighbors to the south named Beckner.  Facebook is such a good way to reconnect with old friends.  Gary Beckner now lives in North Carolina and posts videos on Facebook.  He spends many hours watching deer and other wild life.  Enjoy his videos.

Did one of my mini vacations to the banks of the Mississippi today.  Finally caught the water lilies in bloom.  They are all yellow.  Yellow is my favorite color so enjoyed them for a few hours this afternoon along with a sub and other goodies.  It I s just so lovely to go sit on the river bank for a few hours and enjoy the water, the flowers and the view.  We are so fortunate to live so close to the Keokuk damn which backs the water into lake Cooper which is a mile wide between Hamilton and Nauvoo.

Have a great week.  Tomorrow is August already.  Not sure where the summer went.  Scatter Kindness.

Posted in Plymouth News