Friday, July 4, 2008

Celebrating the Fourth of July with a Trip Down Memory Lane

The old opera house in Mantorville, Minn.
The Hubbell House Restaurant, Mantorville, Minn.
Main Street in West Concord, Minn.

The house where my two children grew up.

Memory tells me that small towns celebrate holidays such as Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Labor Day with much more enthusiasm than urban areas.

A few years ago, nostalgia on the Fourth of July drew me back to Dodge County, Minn. where we lived when my daughter and son were growing up. Jean-Marie and Steve both graduated high school in the village of West Concord, located on Rte. 56 between Rochester and Owatonna.

During their high school years, the kids worked part-time at local business places. And in their spare time, they performed in melodramas staged at the old Opera House located in nearby historic Mantorville. Mantorville also boasted the highly rated Hubbell House Restaurant.

Our house on Irvine Street in West Concord was over 100 years old when we sold it in 1980 to move to the Twin Cities. Today it looks just the same as it did when we moved out 28 years ago.

My thanks to Katalusis readers for joining me on my detour down Memory Lane in small town America and a very happy Fourth of July, 2008 to each of you.


2 comments:

  1. Lovely pictures Virginia. Have a lovely fourth.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Anonymous,

    Thanks for stopping by. You have a lovely Fourth, too. And please do keep in touch.

    ReplyDelete