A Visit Home

One of the nice things about having a husband who is campaigning is that it gets us out a little more. Yesterday was one of those picture-perfect days to visit that most picturesque place where I started my life, Isle La Motte, Vermont -- which just happens to be in the county where he's campaigning.

The beach at St. Anne's Shrine, maybe a half mile from where our house was:

The two-room schoolhouse where I started school:

The view behind our house:  As a child, I did not know the lake was there! Can you believe it? All I knew about was the field that my father had planted with alfalfa for his cows. A bouquet of alfalfa was the gift that my mother suggested that I bring to my father on the last day we went to visit him in the hospital before he died. "He's so proud of his alfalfa," she said. 

I remember after some period of time, she had to come around the corner of the shed to find out what was taking me so long. I had about mowed down half the field by that point, I think. I was trying to find the tallest pieces, you see. Every time I'd break one off, well, the next one that was still standing looked taller. 

He died of myocarditis -- probably of viral origin, though they really didn't know much about it at the time -- at the age of 28. I was five, and I was the eldest of four children.

The library:

Mr. Jefferies watches David walk into the firehouse:

My paternal grandparents and my father are buried in the Catholic cemetery:

My father had been a Navy man, so in addition to his granite headstone, there is another flat stone commemorating that fact, and the VFW has put up a little flag near his headstone, as well. Laura H. is my mother.

 

Comments

[Kristen]

Thank you for sharing this.

[Seanna Lea]

That is a beautiful story, and a beautiful looking community to grow up in.

[Geri]

What a beautiful place to grow up! Your story about your father reminds me how much we've learn medically and how far we have to go.

[Carole]

Gorgeous photos of your childhood home, Norma.

[margene]

You live in a beautiful place Norma and your childhood home beautiful, too. Thank you for sharing your story.Thank you for being you.

[caryn speizer]

I don't know you, but I feel like I do, which is why I cried when I learned that you lost your father at such a young age. I'm so sorry.

[CindyCindy]

Thank you for taking us with you. And, thank you for sharing the story of your Dad. Such poignant memories.

[Paula]

Picture perfect indeed. What an adorable library!

[Vicki]

Gorgeous!!

[Anne]

Thanks for the pics! Great fun seeing your roots. :)

[Sherry]

Nice history you have, Norma. You inspire me!!! Have a great day. ~sherry

[gayle]

Growing things was bred in the bone. I'll bet your father would have loved your gardens.
What a perfect day to visit such a beautiful place.

[Lucia]

That is wonderful! While the sun shone on your birthplace, we were in Calvin Coolidge's birthplace in the fog and drizzle. That's New England weather for you.

[Lindsay]

Great post Norma. How about more about how your mom got through. Great photos too.

[Manise]

What a beautiful place to grow up!

[Patty]

Looks like a really nice day.

[Konna]

Beautiful pictures. Beautiful sharing of memories. Thanks.....

[Beth]

Oh, Norma, these photos make me homesick! I grew up in Northfield and went to a series of one-room, two-room, and four-room schoolhouses all through elementary school. Boy, I miss Vermont.

And what a powerful story about your dad. Thanks for sharing that with us.

[Tina M.]

Ohh... just the idea of losing my father at such a young age brought tears to my eyes, I'm sorry your family suffered such a devastating loss. Your wish to bring him the best of your love in the form of Alfalfa is heartbreaking.

It's good that you can remember him, despite being so young at the time of his death.

[DeeKnitter]

Oh, my, you sure make me miss Vermont. Especially during the summer. Sorry about your dad. My children lost their father early, but not as early as you. Your mother sure has raised you up right. Do you have a sister in law that taught at Trinity??

[Joannah]

That bouquet of alfalfa was a beautiful gesture and is a beautiful memory. Thanks for sharing.

[Cheryl S.]

That's a lovely place.

[marianne]

Norma, Norma, Norma. What a beautiful place to have a childhood. and talk about heart wrenching.. your bouquet of alfalfa, picking the very best in earnest. manO'MAN.
I had a great auntie Hazel (dad's side, dad, btw was also in the Navy) and I just love that name.
Thank you.
XOXOXOX

[Julie]

Great post - thanks!

[LaurieM]

It must have been an emotional trip.

[Sunnyknitter]

Thanks for sharing such personal memories. The landscape is gorgeous, I really do have to get out to that part of the world at some point.

[Elaine]

Thank you.....

[Lynn]

What great insight into your life! Thanks for sharing it. I'm not sure who I feel for more, you losing your dad at such a young age or your mom losing her husband at such a young age with so many young children to raise. I lost my mom at 13 so I can understand the pain, but as a mom now with young children, losing my husband would be difficult too.

And what a gorgeous area to grow up in!! I can see why Mr Jeffries was so enthralled!

[Laura47]

Thank you for sharing a piece of yourself that probably still has a lot of pain attached to it, but such a lovely and poignant story about the alfalfa. And I, too, am very sympathetic for your mom -- my MIL lost her husband when my husband, her eldest child, was just 18, and she had 5 kids younger than him as well, so it was a pretty tough time for her. If your mom is even half as strong as her, I'll bet she's a truly admirable woman! And the fact that she shares my name is also nice; I love hearing about strong women with my name.

Such a beautiful area to grow up in! And it looks like it's quite unspoiled, which is even nicer.

What is David running for?

[regina]

What a beautiful story. It makes me so sad to think of you and your siblings losing your dad so young, and to think of your mom going through so many years without him. Your childhood home is a really beautiful place. Thanks for sharing it. You really are a wonderful writer.

[Kelly]

Thanks for sharing your story. Your mom must be an amazing woman, you sure turned out well!

[Jennifer]

*sob* What a great post. Love the pictures and the stories.

[Carol]

Thank you for sharing stories about your childhood. It looks like a wonderful place to grow up. Your dad would be proud of how you turned out!

[Cookie]

Oh honey. What a beautiful place for such a heartbreaking story.

& David just left you two in the car?!

xo

[Ann]

I should have text you. We were in North Hero yesterday! It was a beautiful day for a ride.. we ate at the blue paddle in South Hero. Beautiful Pics

[lisa]

Did Jeffries go swimming?? Cute, and sad, about the alfalfa... My friend lost her dad when she was maybe 9 and he is to this day "daddy".

[elizabeth a airhart]

tis a beautiful valentine you have
written a lovely lovely valentine

[Laurie]

Oh that was so young. I didn't know that. I love your alfalfa story. Your mother must be amazing.

[Mike]

Great post Norma. I didn't realize where you hailed from. I like the area a lot and exhibited at Fisk Farm last summer. My friend Bill Biddle lives nearby up there and so we've spent some time wandering and canoeing in the area.