Visitors
While we were in LaGrange, we had my childhood schoolmate Paul and his wife Shelly over for dinner (hamburgers and grilled potato wedges). My sister and brother-in-law (Deb & Roger) joined us as well. We also went to Fort Wayne and had dinner at Bagger Dave’s with my college roommate Barry and his wife Mary Jane. Near the end of our stay, Beth’s brother Dick was on his way back from his epic van journey to Alaska and we invited him to stop in and stay with us as he passed by on US-90. He was able to park in the back yard and spent two nights with us, including another meal with my sister and brother-in-law (taco salad). We think Dick is the first of Beth’s siblings that Deb and Roger have met.
Rebuilding the Bell Stand
When my Mom’s parents sold their farmhouse they brought their farm bell to town and mounted it on their barn (they lived next door to us). The bell has been in the family for several generations. It was on the same farm when my grandmother was growing up. Based on the markings, the bell was made by C. S. Bell in Hillsboro, OH between 1875 and 1882. When Grandpa sold the house next door the bell was removed from the barn and Mom & Dad took ownership. Dad built a stand for it out of treated landscape timbers nearly thirty years ago and they were rotting, so we tore it down and built a new one.
Trip from Cincinnati to LaGrange – 8/13/2023
Today we headed North to Mom & Dad’s house in LaGrange, IN. We left the FMCA Campground in Cincinnati at 9:30AM EDT and arrived in LaGrange at 2:30PM EDT. Mom & Dad, who had been attending a family reunion, pulled in the driveway right behind us. We stopped at the Walmart in Van Wert, OH for fuel and ate the sandwiches Beth had made in the parking lot. Shortly after we finished setting up the camper my sister and brother-in-law Deb & Roger arrived. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the back porch catching up and enjoyed our first Eckrich Hot Dogs in two years for dinner.
