Jim gave me a tremendous gift last Thursday. We spent the week in Maryland and Virginia, visiting my brother and his wife, my niece, and four presidential houses (Mount Vernon, Monticello, Montpelier, and Highlands) in Virginia.
Thursday night he booked us at the charming Stained Glass Inn in Sunbury, PA, kitty-cornered from my old elementary school, St. Michael Archangel. (It’s now called Saint Monica.)
Friday morning Jim had a business phone call and I took a ‘walk’ with R’el: talking on the phone as she walked home from Bellevue Hospital and I explored the south side of Sunbury. When Jim was free we walked along the sea wall dividing Sunbury from the Susquehanna River. I don’t know why we always called it the sea wall, it must have been my dad’s name for it.
I read that the ‘flood wall’ was conceived after a disastrous flood in March 1936. Native Americans had told British colonists that Sunbury flooded every 14 years. Built near the confluence of the north and west branches of the Susquehanna River, it has suffered many floods over the years. The flood wall was officially finished in 1951 but was already protecting the city from flood in 1950. I remember in 1960 my dad telling us that the river had flooded: I was about four years old.
After the walk along the wall and seeing the profile of Shikellamy, we drove to Northumberland, the town across the river where I lived until I was nine. We called it Norry. I felt like Scrooge in Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol, every sight bringing up memories: there’s where the pond was where we ice skated; there’s the street sign that I would swing around calling, “Annnnniiiiieeeee! Can you come out and pla-aaayyyyy? I wasn’t allowed to cross the street and Annie Scully lived across King Street and Seventh Street. So many memories came rushing back and I savored each one.
679 King Street was vacant with a notice in the window. We learned from some people on Eighth Street that a doctor lived there and that perhaps he had died. Since the house was unoccupied, I peered in the back porch window and remembered practicing piano and meeting the washer repairman. I felt free to walk in the yard, pointing out to Jim where the forsythia, lilacs, magnolia, apple trees, grape arbor, peonies, cherry tree, and sandbox (with plentiful splinters) were. It’s mostly grass now, with one large evergreen to the side. The peach tree, which always looked sickly, was surprisingly healthy. The yard is small; how does it hold so many memories?
What a gift. Thank you, Jim.
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I just pulled up Maps to look at Sunbury, Northumberland, and Danville. The landmark Google chose to highlight was Weis Markets. Are you still a shareholder? As a kid, I thought you owned stock in Wise potato chips. It turns out Wise's headquarters are on the Susquehanna, less than 40 miles upstream from the sea wall.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I'm not a shareholder. Years ago I got the strangest notice from the Commonwealth saying that the stock was abandoned property and had been sold. Okay, so how did they have my address to tell me that and not have my address to let me know I was in danger of losing the stock? I inherited Weis stock from my parents, but sold it to diversify my holdings. I still enjoy visiting Weis Market. I wish they were in Massachusetts (though I'm very happy with Market Basket.)
ReplyDeleteTo be clear: the stock I lost was the original share of Weis stock I bought when I was about 7 or 8. Carl and I even took off school and went to a shareholders' meeting in Sunbury. What a day! Everyone spoiled us with attention and candy. That original share split several times-it was a great investment. Dad used some of his stock to pay for my college education. Thank you, Dad!
ReplyDeleteBelieve it or not, I still have my original Weis Market shares. I do not know how many I originally bought. Nor when it was bought.... sometime after 1966.... probably the early 70s?
ReplyDeleteWhen it was my turn to pick a stock, I followed the lead of my 2 successful siblings, even though I had no memory of even being in a Weis Market! I remember the stock splitting a number of times, and maybe once or twice pitching in some money so I could get a full share instead of cash for the fractional share after a split. I now have 10 shares, each worth about $70. Google only has the historical prices back to the early 1980s, when the price was about $5...and shows 3 splits since then, each 3:2. They still pay quarterly dividends (average of .30 the past few years).
I asked Carl if he still had his; he said he sold them when they were buying their house.
Occasionally I think of selling them, just because then I would have one less thing to manage (e.g. report on my taxes, website password, etc.)
I don't know why the above comment is from "anonymous", it's me, Maggie!!!!!
ReplyDelete