There are so many times that I've returned to my "home town" in rural Northern Indiana -- the town of Nappanee. I didn't document them all. Throughout college, of course, I came "home". And then I was married nearby to Gerry Nadel at a synagogue in South Bend in 1966, and I often returned to see my parents. After the divorce in 1972, and then during my years at Harvard Business School (1974-76), I returned many times to Nappanee. With Chad Keck, whom I married in 1976, and then with the children ... many trips back. My parents moved to Indianapolis in 1985 so my Dad could get the best cancer treatment available, and then my Indiana trips were to Indianapolis, often as stopovers during business flights. My Dad died in 1999, and the trips continued to Indianapolis, sometimes with a daytrip to Nappanee to say hello to my cousin Don Fervida and his family.
What a wonderful surprise awaited us at my cousin Don Fervida's house! He and wife Betty had just finished converting their big garage into a recreation room that could be used for church gatherings... and family gatherings too. We walked into an event filled with my Dad's remaining sisters, a bunch of my cousins, and counters laden with traditional get-together food like deviled ham sandwiches, fruit punch with sherbet floats, ambrosia salad, and many other delicious items prepared by Betty and the aunts.
It was a bit of a culture shock for Sofia -- not exactly the way things are done in Guatemala. My cousin Wayne Shepherd grilled her about her family background, so he could add to the genealogy book that he'd done for the Brumbaugh family.
My ancestors on my Dad's side first came to this part of Indiana in the late1700's. The family graveyard not too far distant from Don's house is filled with gravestones, some of which date back to the early 1800's.
Many times, it was difficult for my Canadian-born city-girl mother, Mary Elizabeth, also known as "Lib", to feel comfortable in this family fold, but she was good to my Dad (who died in 1999) and my kin understood and appreciated that. She saw clearly what the prevailing culture was, and said to me, hundreds of times, "There is more to life than Nappanee, Indiana." I believed her, and left for college out of state in 1964, and never really returned.
But for my Mom's funeral events, a homecoming of sorts was in order.
Part of her cremains are in that family graveyard on that county road.
There is no denying that there are Indiana roots in my background. But there are also strong, independent and clear-sighted traits that I inherited from my Mom. So it is always with mixed feelings that I return to a place that essentially shunned her because she was 1) a foreigner and 2) a "Papist" (she was an Episcopalian). She also smoked, liked a cocktail, played cards, danced, and spoke her mind. Very unlike the other Moms in town!
My cousin Don made us feel very welcome; he always did. Of all my relatives from my Dad's side of the family, he has a special place in my affections. So my sons and grandson had a grand time in the equipment barn on his farm!
After the family gathering in the big converted 3-car garage at Don & Betty's, we did a bit of of drive down memory lane. Nappanee can be a great town for tourists, with its Amish community and somewhat held-back-in-time feeling.
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| Martin Keck climbed up the two stories to sit in the cab of my Cousin Don's new Tractor. |
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| Matt Keck and my grandson Mateo also made the 2-story climb. Thrilling! |
After the family gathering in the big converted 3-car garage at Don & Betty's, we did a bit of of drive down memory lane. Nappanee can be a great town for tourists, with its Amish community and somewhat held-back-in-time feeling.
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| The whole family at the lunch counter at the Drive-In restaurant my Dad used to own: called Howard's Drive-In in the 1960's and early 70's There are more parts to the Going Home story, and I'll spin them out over time. But be forewarned: the Going Home events of 2020-2021 show a different side of Nappanee, Indiana than the tourism groups might promote... |
