More Memories

Thanks to Mary Hansen for sending me these two photographs of Mom and Dad, the first taken on their wedding day standing on the front steps of the church on April 12, 1941. My grandfather, Rev. James A. Bain stands behind the newly married couple. The second is a photograph taken in July 1998 when Mom, Dad, Mary Margaret, Mary, Laura and I toured upstate New York and parts of Ontario for a week. We drove through the industrial town of Cornwall, Ontario where they were married, found what used to be the church, and had them pose for another photograph. The structure had since been converted into a martial arts studio; who knows what it might be in 2008!

We shared a great trip together in 1998. Mom and Dad mention it frequently, in part because it was their last trip to New York state and Canada, back to their true roots. That particular week in July was selected because of their 60th reunion at Houghton College, the place where they met and courted. After several days attending festivities related to the reunion, we were on the road in our rented mini-van that held the six of us plus luggage and snacks (beer for Dad) quite nicely. The rest of the trip was all about driving through small and medium sized towns where Mom and/or Dad had lived decades past (Olean, Filmore, Huevelton, Clayton, Watertown, Cattaragus, Lisbon), visiting relatives (Dad's cousins and extended family), walking through the old family cemetery in Newington, Ontario where Della and Jim Bain were buried, and enjoying the many wonderful stories recounted along the way. Mary recorded a lot of the history on tape and created a wonderful album of memories of that special time we shared together.

On the final day of the trip we were in Buffalo, NY and had another mini-reunion, this time with relatives on Mom's side of the family (two of my first cousins and their wives). Later that day, Mom re-connected with a childhood best girlfriend who she had not seen for almost seventy years. "Maribelle" was someone I had known about from stories Mom told of her early life in Cattaraugus, NY when as children she and Maribelle were inseparable in their small town adventures. Mom and Maribelle had lost touch during their teenage years but by some miracle, reestablished contact by letter in the mid 1990's. I will never forget the image of Mom and Maribelle sitting in the hotel room, drinking tea and reminiscing, their older faces smiling and reflecting back on the times when their youthful energies and innocence fueled a friendship that withstood time and distance. They have kept up their connection by phone since then. Amazing.

That trip to upstate New York and Ontario was much bigger than just a week on the road with family. The experiences and memories are the glue that bind us, one to another.