Fairview, Michigan (1) -- Move #5
If you click on the link, you'll see a current map of the thriving metroplex of Fairview Michigan.
Now, if you don't recall, you may also want to go to the archives of this blog and click on the blog labeled "Daddy." This will give you a little bit of background info on the city of Fairview, where my dad was born and raised.
As i said, i was in the second grade when we moved to Michigan. It was really great because i got to meet a lot of my family that i had never met before. My grandma, two uncles, one aunt, and 2 great aunts lived there or a within a couple hours drive from us. And i had cousins and second cousins and third cousins....it was crazy! When i registered for school, i even found out that my TEACHER was my cousin!
It was also very different because Fairview is a dairy farming town. And Dad's 2nd cousin, Ray, was a dairy farmer. So when we needed milk, we took 2 big one gallon glass jars, and we went to the farm, and we walked out to the place where they milk the cows. And we would put our jars up to the spout at the bottom of this tank where the milk went in, and we would just pour ourselves some milk! Then we would take it home, and after you let it settle, you have to skim the cream off the top. And that's how you can make butter. After you skim the cream off the top, you churn that to make butter. We didn't do much butter churning, but i know that that's what you use.
There were also lots of places where we could get fresh eggs. I don't remember which one, but i'm sure that was one of Dad's cousins too. And those eggs were GOOD! They were really dark orange in the yolk, and they tasted very yummy!
We got to live in a rent house in town, and it was close enough that i could walk to school. That was pretty neat. I found out that i was related to most of my classmates too. Remember Ray - with the dairy farm? His son Marty was in my class. My 2nd cousin, Angie was in my class; and my 3rd cousin Marika was also in my class. Vaughn was my cousin. Lloyd was my cousin. Tara was my cousin. Well, you get the idea. There was nothing weird going on, mind you. Everybody in Fairview kept pretty good track of whose cousin was whose and how far down the line, and everything was kept straight. I just wanted to let you know that.
Our house was right down the street from my friend Talashia, who oddly, was NOT my cousin. Talashia's family was from Holland. Her dad's name was Henk. Talashia and i shared a little in common because her dad was from Holland, and my mom was from Sweden, and those two countries eat similar pancakes. Talashia had a little brother named Dimitri. Talashia and i had a lot of fun together, and sometimes Talashia helped me get in some trouble.
Who would've known that a gallon of milk and a garden of peas could get you in so much trouble! I'll tell you about that next time....
Now, if you don't recall, you may also want to go to the archives of this blog and click on the blog labeled "Daddy." This will give you a little bit of background info on the city of Fairview, where my dad was born and raised.
As i said, i was in the second grade when we moved to Michigan. It was really great because i got to meet a lot of my family that i had never met before. My grandma, two uncles, one aunt, and 2 great aunts lived there or a within a couple hours drive from us. And i had cousins and second cousins and third cousins....it was crazy! When i registered for school, i even found out that my TEACHER was my cousin!
It was also very different because Fairview is a dairy farming town. And Dad's 2nd cousin, Ray, was a dairy farmer. So when we needed milk, we took 2 big one gallon glass jars, and we went to the farm, and we walked out to the place where they milk the cows. And we would put our jars up to the spout at the bottom of this tank where the milk went in, and we would just pour ourselves some milk! Then we would take it home, and after you let it settle, you have to skim the cream off the top. And that's how you can make butter. After you skim the cream off the top, you churn that to make butter. We didn't do much butter churning, but i know that that's what you use.
There were also lots of places where we could get fresh eggs. I don't remember which one, but i'm sure that was one of Dad's cousins too. And those eggs were GOOD! They were really dark orange in the yolk, and they tasted very yummy!
We got to live in a rent house in town, and it was close enough that i could walk to school. That was pretty neat. I found out that i was related to most of my classmates too. Remember Ray - with the dairy farm? His son Marty was in my class. My 2nd cousin, Angie was in my class; and my 3rd cousin Marika was also in my class. Vaughn was my cousin. Lloyd was my cousin. Tara was my cousin. Well, you get the idea. There was nothing weird going on, mind you. Everybody in Fairview kept pretty good track of whose cousin was whose and how far down the line, and everything was kept straight. I just wanted to let you know that.
Our house was right down the street from my friend Talashia, who oddly, was NOT my cousin. Talashia's family was from Holland. Her dad's name was Henk. Talashia and i shared a little in common because her dad was from Holland, and my mom was from Sweden, and those two countries eat similar pancakes. Talashia had a little brother named Dimitri. Talashia and i had a lot of fun together, and sometimes Talashia helped me get in some trouble.
Who would've known that a gallon of milk and a garden of peas could get you in so much trouble! I'll tell you about that next time....
Bwuahahaha.... I have a horrible memory so I have to admit that I do not remember us EVER getting into trouble at all. I know this much be true because I would never, ever get into trouble myself :o) Anyway, two clarifications.... it's Talashia (with an i) and dad's name is Henk. I have to give you props though for the great memories!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Talashia! =) I have corrected my mistakes, and thank you for letting me know. I really want my memories here to be as accurate as they can be. =)
ReplyDeleteHey, Beth, Angela ("Angie") here. Those memories are so fun. We got fresh milk from Ray and also from my Uncle Delbert as well. Same thing...2 big glass gallon jugs. Those gallons seemed so huge back then. hahaha!
ReplyDeleteAlso, did you mean your cousin Marika? We never had a Marissa in our class.
Hey Angela. :) Yes, you are right. When i wrote these posts several years ago, i didn't have the benefit of verifying my names against facebook friends. I'm sure you'll notice this is the second edition i'll have to make to this post because my memory on names isn't always spot on. Ha! Thank you for reading and thank you for the correction. I'll fix it up. <3
ReplyDelete