Memorial Day in Hardwick

Well . . . it's doubtful that Memorial Day can get any more meaningful for the Andersons of 'The Andersonian' fame. It seems that the town of Hardwick, the epicenter of all things Anderson, decided to build a memorial to the veterans from Hardwick. As if that wasn't cool enough, here's two more tidbits of irony:

1 - Our own family is well represented on the memorial, with tribute paid to Grandpa Elmer, Orrin and Bob (don't miss the old Anderson Hardware shirt in the photo).

2 - The actual memorial was built on the site of the former international headquarters of Anderson Hardware.

We got the news of the memorial just last week, prior to the dedication. Although now it seems that Joan may had an earlier blog post about the memorial. Orrin, Karen, Kristin and Robert attended the actual dedication ceremony. Wes and Patty Pierson are the only names and faces that I recognize from the event. But I'm sure there were others there that various family members will have memory of.

As you'll see in the photo below with Orrin and Wes Pierson, the memorial sits right where the old store used to be. The building next door still stands and can be seen in the background.

What a blast to see snapshots of Hardwick - in so many ways the same little town it always has been. My last memory of Hardwick was Grandpa Elmer's funeral as we left the church and the town fire siren went off in his honor. What a great memory.

Well, enjoy the photos and everything they mean. For some of us, it was home and childhood. For others, it was the focal point of Christmas, the 4th of July and the cousins birthdays. Some may not even remember this place at all. But I do.

Hardwick was the place with a cool fire escape that we could slide down. It had the ever present aroma of lilacs and propane. I remember the post office and the old, worn dishes at the cafe across the street. Anderson Hardware was a place where there were many rooms to explore, a porch that everything seemed to roll off of and where a mean old dog lived in the basement. It was a place where you could always find angel food cake, a drawer full of caramels and perpetual slide shows of family, family and more family.

And now it's a memorial. How fitting, since I've always thought about it as a place of honor and memories and legacy. So it seems the saying is true . . . no matter how many years pass by, you can always come home again.