Down country roads and through rolling hillsides, over rivers and streams, to a fairly new subdivision outside of Chambersburg.
The next morning, farmers market. Tiny, and about one third of the booths were womaned by Mennonites. Jams, beef, veggies. Baby goats and sheep. Women in long dresses and caps covering their tied up hair.
Chambersburg. No, it's not a town. In Pennsylvania, it's a borough, with a population around 18,000. It hosts a small Presbyterian college and people from a surprising number of places: Dominican Republic, Mexico, Guatemala, Puerto Rico.
Bookstores, antique shops, thrift stores. Small markets with foods I've never seen.
Civil War history. A fountain sits in the middle of town to commemorate the over 5000 county residents who served in that war. Much of the borough was burned down by the Confederates. Abolitionist John Brown boarded there while preparing for the raid on Harper's Ferry.
All the Burrs and direct descendants of my grandparents (a grand total of seven) gathered in Chambersburg for Bruce's wedding. Now that Cindy has married Bruce, there are eight of us. Likely one of the tiniest families going.
Clouds began stacking up about two hours before the wedding. Rain began, and as we climbed into the van, lightning stuck so closely, we thought it had hit one of the few remaining Burrs. But we made it out, drove through the storm, and got to Cindy's (and now Bruce's) cabin just as the sky cleared, only minutes before the wedding was to begin.
Music, vows, and hors d'oeuvers out on the cabin's deck, then we drove to Emily's Restaurant, where Emilie and Emilie stood scowling at the misspelling.
Champagne toasts and dinner at nine - about four hours past my eating time! And then back to Cindy and Bruce's house where the Burrs (minus Bruce and Cindy!) bedded down for a second night.
A family reunion is in the offing for summer 2011.
With only eight family members, family reunions should be easy to achieve...
ReplyDeleteLet me tell you sometime about my family reunions!