Pond Creek, America!
Saturday, we had the great opportunity to reacquaint with our cousins from Dorset County, England. The last time Dave & Valerie Hardiman were in the US was in 1992 when I was 16 years old. In 1996, I traveled to England with the Oklahoma Baptist All State Choir and got to visit with them for a few hours at one of our stops.
Ever since I was very young, I have been told the stories of our family's history. In fact, in the fifth grade I even interviewed my grandfather and wrote an essay about my great grandfather's trip from England and his experience with the Oklahoma land run.
The story goes that there were four brothers living in Compton Abbas, England, one of those being my great grandfather. Each of the brothers desired to move to the states. The oldest came first and worked until he had enough money for his next brother to come over. Both of them worked and saved and then sent funds to the remaining two for their journey to the United States. I believe it was due to illness, that only one of the two came to the US. The cousins that came to visit are grandchildren of the remaining brother.
I hadn't heard or told the story in several years. It was refreshing to listen to the stories again. I forgot how much I enjoyed hearing them. Not only was it a reminder of the history of our family, but also brought back memories of the pride my grandfather and father had in our family's legacy. They had a great respect for their history and the generations that continued to live and grow right in the very place they staked their original claim in the 1900's.
I look forward to passing on the stories and the history my great grandfather started over a hundred years ago. Not many have such a tangible and vested history. I'm glad I have such a story to share with my children and grandchildren. I hope that the way I live my life with integrity, initiative, and sincerity continues the legacy for my own descendants.
No comments:
Post a Comment