Small Town Slice

The aroma is heavenly on Wednesday mornings at the Senior Center.  Except for the last Wednesday of the month, when birthday dinner at noon preempts cinnamon rolls at 9, folks gather for this sweet start to their day.  The rolls don’t always come out right at 9, so we sit chatting, waiting like little birds chirping to be fed.

This past Wednesday I arrived promptly at nine, anticipating a senior center cinnamon roll and fresh coffee to warm my tummy on a cold Montana morning. The smell that greeted me was not fresh bread, but roast beef being prepared for the birthday dinner later.   Alas, I had forgotten it was the last Wednesday of the month.

However, a couple of other members had also forgotten.  One of them was George, a Columbus native, born in a little house behind the EUB church, delivered by his grandmother, “the closest thing this town had to a doctor or nurse back then,”  nearly a century ago. 

George happily shared stories of his life in this area.  In 1959, married with two small children and another on the way, their home burned to the ground.  They slept that night in the car, George totally devastated, unable to see how they would go on.  But the community rallied, helped him rebuild.  While their home was rebuilt, they lived in shack like quarters, initially without plumbing or electricity.  George was resourceful, having taught himself the plumbing and electrical trades.  His daughter laughed that they were the only place around with a lighted outhouse. 

George took his two little sons with him when he worked, said from an early age, they were never without a tool in their hands.  One became a plumber and the other an electrician here in town.  I realized one son was someone I am aware of in the community.  I made the connection to his daughter when he mentioned she is in the nursing home due to cerebral palsy.  She joins us when our church offers a service at the home on the third Friday of each month.  Now I will be able to tell her I have met her father. 

These little connections sweeten life like delicious cinnamon rolls!

May we be bearers of hope, the “wait staff” of Hope’s Café for each other and all those we encounter.  Shalom, Kate

Hope’s Café Bonus:  The senior center here is well supported by the community.  I learned recently that many of the other small towns around are limited in the days they are open and the meals they serve.

P.S. The movie I mentioned last week that I hadn’t been able to locate about the peace reached in Ireland, I discovered is “The Journey.” Worth watching!