What a wonderful Veterans Day Josey and I enjoyed. I was invited to be part of a re-dedication ceremony for a war memorial erected right down the street from our home. This particular memorial is in honor of Corporal Oscar Hix whom was the first (and possibly 'only') South Thomaston resident known to have died in World War I. Something I found very interesting, was a type of segregation between people of local communities. Not racial segregation but, it was a kind of pride that definitely divides. We are talking here about communities of 'maybe' 2000 residents. And yet there are very distinct feelings of pride about ones place of origin. Its somthing that is foreign to me. Then again, I am the "foreigner".
I never did well in school when studying history. I am not very proud of that - it just wasn't interesting to me. And someone with my smarts (or lack of it) needs a personal interest to motivate them to learn. But the Marines I met while pastoring close to Marine Corp Base Quantico sparked a new appreciation for the discipline of study. In case you don't know, learning and knowing 'war history' is HUGE for officers in the Corp. Its only now, in my early 50s that I realize how important history should be. And I am more motivated than ever to learn.
I think the most enjoyable part of the ceremony was not my participation in the ceremony itself. However, I felt tremendously honored with the invitation. The real joy was in meeting so many interesting people from the village. I was introduced to most of the South Thomaston Historical Society, and then to some of the 'history makers' themselves. It was fascinating to hear a 97 year old woman speak about her memories of the area. And we saw a few pictures of our street taken back in 1912. WOW ... that's rich!
