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By: Jim Fitzpatrick |
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Email: jim@nunica.com |
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Local Farmer in Polkton Township writes for the Coopersville Observer. |
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Along Brandy Creek By Jim Fitzpatrick
The Coopersville Observer September 18, 2006- - No. 77 |
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Ted and Wilma lived along Leonard Road. They built their house themselves, on the north bank of the Grand River. That was when Leonard was often referred to as “River Road.” The surface was gravel then. Cars traveling east and west passed in a cloud of dust on hot summer days. In winter, snow plows didn’t often come through for a day or two after a good snow and blow. Zylstra’s grocery was in Eastmanville, two miles to the east. The “County Farm”; across the road and less than a half mile to the west. There weren’t as many neighbors then, as there are now along that stretch. Stella and Fergy had a place next door; good neighbor John O’brian and his wife, a little beyond.
It wasn’t long before the young married couple had a baby girl in their house on the Grand. Wilma’s sister was newly married, too. She and her husband were bringing up three little boys on a farm to the north, along Brandy Creek. The first cousins grew up almost like brothers and a sister; going back and forth from one place to another as often as they could. The girl, she liked spending time on the farm. The boys, they enjoyed hanging out on the river for a change. One summer, Aunt Wilma and Uncle Ted took the two oldest boy cousins along with their daughter on a vacation to Niagara Falls. Up until then, they hadn’t been away from the farm for more than an overnight stay at Grandma’s house. The trip opened up their eyes a bit; their first good look at the world beyond!
Ted and Wilma went on to live for more than eighty years. They continued to treat their three nephews like sons of their own, even after the boys grew up to be bigger boys and moved on into the world as adults. The girl cousin and the boy cousins still keep track of each other pretty close. The house along Leonard has new owners now. But, it is still Uncle Ted and Aunt Wilma’s house to most of us. And, that special aunt and uncle, they are not far away. They’re resting on the hill, in a quiet little cemetery plot, at Eastmanville. |
