You know, I think we’re all history buffs at heart. Do you remember when you were in school… did you like history? Or social studies or the humanities?
Lots of people say “no” to that question but I’m not one of them. I loved to learn about other cultures and the history of all the nations of the world. I was blessed with a fabulous Grade 2 teacher who made the goings on of the world interesting and important to seven year olds.
Believe it or not, at that age I was interested in listening to the debates between JFK and Richard Nixon because I had learned that what happened in the United States would have an effect on my world too.
My favourite novels today are historical in nature, although I do enjoy a good mystery too. I don’t really believe the people that say no, they don’t like history or social studies though. Why, do you ask? Well, look around at some of the events coming up and how we are celebrating them.
The hamlet of Edgewater is celebrating its 100th birthday this weekend. Does that appeal to you? Most people would say that it’s interesting to poke around old buildings and machinery and remember what it was like back then. I’ll bet there will be big crowds for their events.
The Valley Echo is halfway through a four-part series on Valley Appreciation Day to help celebrate its 25th anniversary. I found last week’s article about the birth of the event very interesting and I’m looking forward to this week’s and the ensuing ones.
I truly believe we are always looking for our roots and celebrations like this encourage us to do so. Even family reunions fall into this category, if you think about it. They are all about our common history, with a fair bit of catchup as we learn about the current events happening in each other’s lives.
So enjoy the anniversaries, celebrations and reunions this summer — just don’t tell your kids that they are learning history!
I
