Autumn twilight descends with a gentle glow. I join the Long Grove October Fest celebrants to recognize the towns German heritage--a sufficient reason for a party. In the 1800s a band of families took their living from the prairie soil, establishing a blacksmith shop, dry goods store, hotel and a tavern at the crossroads of an old Indian trail. The majority of buildings in the town were built by later descendants of those families. Their names are inscribed upon the tombstones in the cemetery by the village community church, Ruth, Sauer, Stempel, Umbdenstock and Zimmer.
I lean upon the railing bordering the sidewalk overlooking the intersection of Old McHenry Road and Robert Parker Coffin Road. Adults, small children, infants in carriages line the brick cobbled sidewalk. A buzz of conversation and laughter surrounds me. The caress of the leaf scented breeze and stout German beer conspire to put everyone in a lighthearted mood. I thought about the delicate, strenuous, focused work---the constant care required to raise and maintain a family or to care for a town.
I remember the display of bonsai trees that I viewed a few days ago. They are small gems of life, the product of many years, and in some cases, several generations of nurture. A small town, a family, or a bonsai tree, are all alike. All are works wherein nurture and assiduous solicitude, have a cumulative effect. Celebrating October in Long Grove, we pause in this perspective, bathed in the fading light of this autumn day.
May all of us live, love, and build well.
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