One of the joys of my morning walks is visiting with some of the long time citizens of my town. I am a newcomer. It will be 25 years this June since we moved here. It doesn't count that I claimed Stillwater as "my home town" when I was a kid. We would drive through Stillwater on our way to visit my mom's hometown of Somerset. I liked Stillwater and remember saying, "This is my hometown". Prophetic? Out of the mouths of babes... Anyway, I like to get these septugenarians and octagenarians to talk about their memories.
There was a local lady a few years back nicknamed Leapin' Lena. Everyone called her that. She could be seen walking around town-fast-, clutching her purse tightly against her body. She was outspoken and fiercely independent. One of my walking partners laughed when she told this story. Lena had a relative who brought her to midnight mass as St. Michael's church one year. During the service, there was a hush as the lights were dimmed and candles dimly lit the beautiful church. Lena was then heard to loudly say, "Who turned off the G___D______lights!" My bet is, she was only taken to that service once.
I am not sure if we had any ancestors or relatives this colorful, but am soliciting stories from my cousins and aunts and uncles. Maybe there is a Leapin' Lena or Buster in our family tree. I think if we shake the tree a bit we may find some interesting stories too.
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