TRIVIA

When I was in the fifth grade, in about 1943, Miss Henderson distributed books to the class and told us we would be reading Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Evangeline. Miss H. read a few lines in her wavery, dramatic way. I ignored her voice, shut it out, and read on by myself. I was hooked. I took the book home that night, and read the whole poem - all the many pages of it. At that age, I was pretty much over-dramatic myself. What else could I do? I set out to write a similar epic. It was much longer and more romantic than Mr. L.'s poem. It was also a pathetic imitation, but I wallowed in it for a while, as only a ten year old girl can. Eventually, I did realize that mine was rubbish, but I've always remembered Mr. L.'s Prologue, which is lovely. (See yesterday's post.)

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All of this recollection of days gone by started me wondering how accurate my memory is concerning the old neighborhood and school. My childhood friend, Jack, has already corrected me on some things I have mis-remembered of more recent history.

I went to Scroogle. (Scroogle, for those unfamiliar, is Google, without cookies or search-term records, and with access log deleted within 48 hours.)

Aren't computers wonderful? (sometimes) I learned all kinds of things about my school and my old home town:

There's a place there now called Indian Rock Park. I wonder if it's near the woods where Jack and I used to find arrow heads.

There's a Swedish log cabin near Darby Creek, circa 1654, which may be the oldest in North America.

Thomas Garrett, for whom my school was named, was a famed abolitionist who lived there before 1822, and then went on to Wilmington where he was Station Master at the last stop on the Underground Rail Road.

And my old school was built on ground once used for a prison where prisoners had been murdered and buried in unmarked graves. Later there was an orphanage there where another murder occurred. So today, there are tales of hauntings on the property.

What fun! I'll have to explore further.
And all this thanks to Scroogle.

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And one more thing - more in keeping with the Merry Month of May -

This is the annual picture of Isaac, sitting amidst the purple ice plant in
Pacific Grove. It makes a beautiful carpet of flowers every year about
this time.
Kitty may post these pictures too. They are hers, after all. But I don't think she'll mind too much if Grandmom posts them as well.