I have been thinking a lot about how life in this area now and how it was way back when I was growing up. Thankfully, it hasn’t changed that much! It is the middle of the summer and church picnics, county fairs, and tractors pulls are all going on. Gardens are producing and everyone including seniors, young couples and children have a summer state of mind living in this magical place.

As I write this article, I am sitting at the kitchen table enjoying a bowl of homemade vanilla ice cream from the Stony Hill Church picnic. What a flood of memories this brings back. Since it’s an election year, you see politicians introducing themselves and kids running around having a great time at the picnic. You see people sitting in chairs telling often told stories, listening to music, and like the Randy Travis song says, “As long as old men sit and talk about the weather, - old women will sit and talk about old men.” As far as I’m concerned: “I’m going to love this forever and ever, forever and ever, Amen.” Brother David remarked that it was good to see so many young people enjoying themselves, if they are having fun that will ensure the picnics remain an annual event.

Cousin Ron is coming back to Missouri from Georgia and is bringing one of his grandsons. They all plan to attend the Montgomery County fair next week for a bit of country fun. The entire family is looking forward to this shared experience. Growing up, I never missed the Gasconade County fair. I used to love seeing all the exhibits, the farm animals, and the grandstand events as much as I enjoyed the carnival rides. My favorite thing was to look at all the gleaming HUGE farm tractors and combines on display. I used to climb up into the cabs and pretend I was driving one of those huge machines and dreamed of the day when Dad would buy one for our 36-acre farm. Sharing that dream with Dad on the way back from Owensville, he reminded me: “Boy, our farm isn’t big enough for one of those to turn around on.” Oh well, a boy can dream. Perhaps one day I will be able to drive one of those tractors or combines. I am only 73, there is still hope.

My better half wants to attend a truck pulling contest, which will be a first for her. Having grown up spending summers in Oklahoma, she attended a lot of rodeo’s but never a truck pull. We’ll make that happen this year, either at the fair or “Pulling for the Park” later this summer in Rhineland. I’m looking forward to this too.

The crops look great, the garden is starting to produce, and those bacon and tomato sandwiches are as mouth watering as ever. Ruthann is looking forward to canning pickles. We seem to have a good crop of cucumbers this year along with an abundance of dill for the first time in several years. She has made the best pickles for almost 50 years now.

Living in town, we can hear kids always playing outside. They ride their bikes up and down the street. We love it. This past week our youngest grandson came from Nashville to visit us. We went swimming in the pool, he loved the library and play area, saw cute puppies, a pair of mules and miniature horses. We ate lots of ice cream sundaes and popsicles.

I took him fishing for the first time on the old family homestead. He was wearing MY dad’s old straw hat and like I did growing up fished using an old cane pole with worms for bait. He looked like Huckleberry Finn. He caught two beautiful sun perch, we saw two large carp fish, swimming in the shallow waters at the bank and was excited as I was for our success. We had a ball.

I was glad to be able to share that memory with him. On the way home, as I often do, I was thinking about the day in my mind and must have said out loud “I love my family.” From the back seat, in his booster seat, little Lathan replied: “I love you too, Papa.” My heart melted, what a day, what a memory! Talk again next month.

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Bruce Heberle, grew up in Gasconade County. He lived in Hermann from 1952 through 1974. Since that time, he has lived in Kansas City, Wichita, South Bend, Dallas and now resides both in Destin, Florida and has a second home in Hermann.