Our first day of driving was Monday, the 9th of September. We headed northwest to the Patterson home and family farm in Mercer, PA. We had wanted to begin our trip with a visit to Joyce’s family, most importantly her Aunt Caroline who had been having a rough time with pneumonia and a bad fall. Aunt Caroline is a regal, beautiful lady of 95 years who looks 20 years younger.
It was great to see her smiling, having gotten over the pneumonia and feeling stronger. Joyce has some longevity in her genes I’m thankful, for many of her relatives have lived into their 90’s and both her parents are doing well in their 80’s. Last fall and into spring had her father Russ chopping and splitting wood for his son Randy’s maple syrup-making venture.
His other pastime is restoring antique vehicles which, with arthritic hands and a touchy back, isn’t easy but he has some beautiful antique cars that have been meticulously restored with the emphasis on staying true to original form.
It was great to see her smiling, having gotten over the pneumonia and feeling stronger. Joyce has some longevity in her genes I’m thankful, for many of her relatives have lived into their 90’s and both her parents are doing well in their 80’s. Last fall and into spring had her father Russ chopping and splitting wood for his son Randy’s maple syrup-making venture.
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| Photo by Ashley Rodgers |
Evelyn, Joyce’s mother, is doing well and even with a bad knee happily went on a trip to Hawaii with the family. She likes to play golf and I suspect the new knee replacement will have her enjoying it more. Even though life deals out its ups and downs to the Patterson family, theirs is a philosophy of tenacity and determination with some stubbornness thrown in for spice.
The family farm is surrounded by farming with a large contingent of Amish farmers riddled throughout the county-wide area. It is often that I will sit out on the deck that looks across the front meadow and hear clip-clopping hooves on the road to eventually see a little black buggy moving briskly by. Being a horse lover, I worry about the modern horsepower running into the real deal just beyond a hill or in the dark. Somehow there is a meshing of the two societies but no doubt there are difficulties that arise. What is interesting however, are some of the similarities. Young people are inevitably drawn to breaking a few rules, even among the Amish who value community and conformity above all else. Russ relayed an instance of such a rule-breaking a while back. He was walking his property of just under a 100 acres one day and came across a hidden cache of beer that a group of neighboring Amish boys had put there for safekeeping. Well, needless to say, it wasn’t as safe as they thought and Russ got a free case of beer.
The family farm is surrounded by farming with a large contingent of Amish farmers riddled throughout the county-wide area. It is often that I will sit out on the deck that looks across the front meadow and hear clip-clopping hooves on the road to eventually see a little black buggy moving briskly by. Being a horse lover, I worry about the modern horsepower running into the real deal just beyond a hill or in the dark. Somehow there is a meshing of the two societies but no doubt there are difficulties that arise. What is interesting however, are some of the similarities. Young people are inevitably drawn to breaking a few rules, even among the Amish who value community and conformity above all else. Russ relayed an instance of such a rule-breaking a while back. He was walking his property of just under a 100 acres one day and came across a hidden cache of beer that a group of neighboring Amish boys had put there for safekeeping. Well, needless to say, it wasn’t as safe as they thought and Russ got a free case of beer.
-Kelly
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