A good many kossacks seem to be taking a break from the unhappy fights that have broken out in our community. While it is tempting to join them, but it is very likely no one would notice I was gone. As an alternative, I thought I'd offer the family cave as temporary retreat.
Join me below the squiggle.
My g-grandfather Cal was born in the hills of Pennsylvania and came of age in the hills of Ohio. In the 1850s, he followed his father Elias to Iowa, but I suspect the flatness of the land drove Cal north to Wisconsin. When he arrived here in 1856, there must have been an echo of "home" …
And, it remained home until his death more than 60 years later. It was here that he met the young woman who would become his third wife. (Cal's first wife had died in childbirth, and the second marriage ended in divorce; the children from each of those marriages were living with their maternal grandparents at this point of the story). Housekeeping in Wisconsin did not begin in a cabin or a soddy; no indeed, the first year was spent in a cave.
Great-aunt Helen, born during that first year, was none the worse for living in a cave … she lived to the advanced age of 84. As years went by, Cal's children continued to explore and play at the cave…here is my grandpa and a favorite woozle in an undated photo:
In fact, the cave became the site for family reunions … here is a photo near the cave in about 1908…Cal and his fourth wife (my g-grandmother) are at the far left in the photo.
The homestead has been out of the family for many years, but the current owners allow Cal's crazy descendants to continue to explore (if they ask). Here are some of my relatives at an expedition from last summer:
My grandfather told a story that he dreamt his father was crawling down the road from the house to the cave; Cal died the next day. I've been thinking that while it might not be a place I'd want to live myself, it is a good place to send my thoughts when the world gets to be too much. I think there would be a large group ready to understand me.
Where do you go for a family retreat?