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I’ve often had people in the Indianapolis area ask me if I have family near where we are moving. My answer: “Do I ever!” My father is one of eleven children, and I am one of (I think I counted correctly) 30 grandchildren on the Shrode side. Much of the family still lives in southwestern Indiana or northern Kentucky, and I enjoy knowing that so many family members and other friendly familiar faces will be nearby. My parents live in Rockport, which only 20 minutes from our new home; my brother, Eric, and his family live in the nearby town of Richland; and my brother, Keith, and his family live in the Nashville, Tenn., area, which will be a mere two-hour drive from our new home.
The Shrode side (my dad’s side) of the family gathers annually on Labor Day weekend for a reunion in Dale, Indiana, which is located in Spencer County, the same county where Brad and I are moving. Spencer County also is the county where my ancestors settled in approximately 1809, and from tales I have read, the rolling contour of the landscape on the riverbank reminded them of the Alsace-Lorraine region from whence they immigrated in Germany (now France). I understand the Shrodes homesteaded shortly before the Thomas Lincoln family arrived, and from Spencer County, my ancestors have witnessed many of our country’s great events, including Indiana becoming a state. Somehow I find it apropos that I’m planning to move back to my ancestral American home in the bicentennial year of 2016.
When we celebrate the family reunion each summer with my aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins and beyond gathering for a great meal and some reconnecting, I cannot help but to remember my grandparents, Gilman and Betty Shrode. Gilman and Betty were married for more than 50 years and raised 11 children together. I only have my 5- and 6-year-old memories of both of them, but what I do remember was that they were sweet and generous people who demonstrated an extravagant generosity and hospitality that I’d like to mimic in my own life.
The first time we drove out to Maisto Mountain, we drove up our gravel road – traversing the two steep hills and listening to the tiny rocks pinging the underpinning of the car – and I could just see in my mind the drive out to my grandparents’ small Chrisney home. They also lived on a gravel road. We didn’t need reunions back then because the family often gathered on Sunday afternoons at Grandma & Grandpa’s home. Everyone was welcome. My maternal grandmother, who was a widow, even came along for the fun. When we arrived in Chrisney, I would run in the door and hug Grandpa. He always tickled me with his mustache, and he had a nice, sweet smell, which I later learned was the fragrance of his tobacco pipe. I would next run into the kitchen, hug Grandma, and make sure she was making her macaroni and cheese, which was my favorite. I really didn’t care what else we were eating, and somehow, with everyone in attendance bringing food, we always had enough food no matter how many people were there. As I made my way to the back porch, aunts in my pathway received hugs, and then I was out the back door to jump off the “huge” step – it was probably 12 inches high – and see which cousins where available to play.
Being one of 30 grandchildren, we never received gifts from our grandparents, and I don’t ever remember the TV being on in this house or more than a toy or two out to entertain us. Our grandparents didn’t spoil us, but they did make each of us feel special. Our entertainment included chasing Grandma’s cats, irritating the ducks by the pond, echoing our voices against the propane tank, and exploring the flower beds. I personally had a fascination with Grandma’s statue of Mary. I instinctively knew not to touch it, and I somehow knew it was Mary, I guess from my Sunday School lessons. The problem was that I wanted one at our house. My family is Protestant, so I distinctly remember asking if I could get one during a car ride home one Sunday afternoon. A long silence followed the question. My father, mother, and maternal grandmother sort of looked at each other like they didn’t know what to say. I knew at the silent pause that I wasn’t getting a beautiful Mary statue like Grandma had. After a long pause, my dad simply said, “You have to go to Grandma’s kind of church to have one of those in your yard.” Well, shucks, we’re boring, aren’t we?
My hope is that in the future, when guests arrive at our home, I can pass along some of that simple yet elegant Shrode hospitality that my grandparents always exhibited. I hope my three nieces and my four grandchildren will understand the joy of jumping off the back step, exploring the bank of the pond, going for a hike, finding the beauty in the flower gardens, watching the birds, listening to the frogs or the wind, or just understanding that everyone is welcome for dinner. Both sides of my family always have exhibited this type of hospitality, but my first memories of this are at that little house in Chrisney.
As you know, the framing is mostly finished at Maisto Mountain, so visible “picture-worthy” progress slows significantly at this point. Over the Labor Day weekend, we were able to finalize our kitchen plans and view a granite sample in the granite yard, purchase appliances, purchase bath vents, and plan where outlets and thermostats will be placed. Brad is currently working on lining up our work for masonry on our support poles for the porches and contracting vendor work for electricity, HVAC, and plumbing. We also have been able to box up some additional items at our Avon home.
Additionally, Brad has discovered four persimmon trees on the property this week, so we hope our future guests enjoy a good persimmon pudding, and he has been irritating a tortoise he temporarily named “Barney,” who hissed at him in the woods. Brad has fed Barney some flies and photographed his lovely shell, but he plans to return Barney to the woods. That’s really where Barney belongs, after all, and he’s a little large to be a pet.
Until next time, take some time to enjoy some of the simple things in life. We are making progress day by day, so we will post updates as we can.