Our Summer Vacation - A Walk Down Memory Lane
This year we meet with my husband's four sisters and their spouses for a sibling reunion. They decided to take a walk down memory lane and go to all the places they lived as children. We came from three states Oregon, Montana, and Oklahoma to all met in Lincoln, Nebraska where the youngest sister lives.
Jerry and I started the trek a couple days early by going to the Amana Colonies in Iowa where my husband lived when he was a teenager. I took a picture of the house and the shop where his dad worked, and the Ox-Yoke Restaurant where his mom worked.
Then we became tourists the rest of the time we were there.
I found the history of the Amana Colonies very interesting. The colonies have seven quaint villages amid 26,000 acres of farm and timberland along the Iowa River. They were established in 1855 by a group of Inspirationists from Germany. It was a communal society until 1923.
After our time in the Colonies, we met up with Jerry's sisters in Lincoln, Nebraska and went to Missouri Valley, Iowa to the farm where they lived for 10 years. We took pictures of the farmhouse, tree, and swing they played on when they were young children. They spent a lot of time sharing stories of all that happened in that area. The schoolhouse they went to has been torn down but we did see the hilly road that they walked on every day to get to school.
The next day we went to Genoa, Nebraska to see the family farm. There were many memories in that location. Then we made a trip to the cemetery. We also saw the house in the town where his parents eventually retired. A family friend found out we were coming to town and insisted on cooking all of us a home-cooked meal.
In the evenings we did lots of visiting and going through over 2,000 pictures to try to identify all the family members in the pictures. It was a wonderful time of reconnecting with family that lives so far apart geographically.
While we were there we also celebrated one of his sister and brother-in-law's 47th anniversary and a nephew and niece's 13th anniversary. I came home with over 350 pictures and hope to compile a scrapbook of my husband's growing up days.
It was fun hearing all the childhood stories from the perspective of each person. The five of them were only a year apart in age but they all saw things a little differently. They keep saying over and over that their parents worked hard and they didn't have a lot of material wealth but always had enough food to eat. For several years their best and only friends were each other but once they started attending school they began to make friends outside of the family circle.
That week we laughed a lot, reminisced, and made new memories. I am so glad we made that trip down memory lane with these five farm kids!
 |
| Seven villages in the Iowa farm country |
 |
| My husband lived in East Amana |
 | ||
| Hundred-year-old farm house where my husband and his family lived. |
I found the history of the Amana Colonies very interesting. The colonies have seven quaint villages amid 26,000 acres of farm and timberland along the Iowa River. They were established in 1855 by a group of Inspirationists from Germany. It was a communal society until 1923.
 |
| Everywhere we looked there were beautiful flowers! |
 |
| A communal kitchens were they fed over 30 people a day. |
 |
| The Heritage Museum |
 |
| This mill is still in operation |
After our time in the Colonies, we met up with Jerry's sisters in Lincoln, Nebraska and went to Missouri Valley, Iowa to the farm where they lived for 10 years. We took pictures of the farmhouse, tree, and swing they played on when they were young children. They spent a lot of time sharing stories of all that happened in that area. The schoolhouse they went to has been torn down but we did see the hilly road that they walked on every day to get to school.
 |
| My husband in front of the house he lived in as a small child. |
The next day we went to Genoa, Nebraska to see the family farm. There were many memories in that location. Then we made a trip to the cemetery. We also saw the house in the town where his parents eventually retired. A family friend found out we were coming to town and insisted on cooking all of us a home-cooked meal.
 |
| The family farm |
In the evenings we did lots of visiting and going through over 2,000 pictures to try to identify all the family members in the pictures. It was a wonderful time of reconnecting with family that lives so far apart geographically.
While we were there we also celebrated one of his sister and brother-in-law's 47th anniversary and a nephew and niece's 13th anniversary. I came home with over 350 pictures and hope to compile a scrapbook of my husband's growing up days.
 |
| Celebrating two family wedding anniversaries |
It was fun hearing all the childhood stories from the perspective of each person. The five of them were only a year apart in age but they all saw things a little differently. They keep saying over and over that their parents worked hard and they didn't have a lot of material wealth but always had enough food to eat. For several years their best and only friends were each other but once they started attending school they began to make friends outside of the family circle.
That week we laughed a lot, reminisced, and made new memories. I am so glad we made that trip down memory lane with these five farm kids!
 |
| Two older sister and two younger sister |
 |
| They all loved to swing under this big tree. |
Comments
Post a Comment