This is something I had been thinking of doing for quite some time, but now the time seems right. Spurred on by a few recent comments and some fascinating emails, I've decided to launch the MCH Nostalgia Forum. It's a stand-alone page on the blog here (accessible from the tabs above), designed to be an outlet for stories and memories of a more recent nature than are usually covered on the blog. Here is what I put as a lead-in to the page (because yes, I am that lazy):
"Nostalgia is what you can remember. History is what your grandparents remember." -- I don't know if any wise man ever said that, but someone should have. Obviously, the general scope of this blog is the older history of Mill Creek Hundred -- from the late 17th Century up until the early 20th Century. Of course, the region didn't stop then, though. There are many stories to be told from the last 75 years or so of the area's history, too. This page is an open forum for anyone wishing to share any stories, recollections, reminiscences, or questions relating to the later history of Mill Creek Hundred. This can be anything from a full-blown story, to "Does anyone remember the old store on the corner?" Who knows -- maybe you'll jog a long-buried childhood memory for someone, or they'll do the same for you.
As we go along, I'll try to post some random pictures here showing sights from MCH in the 20th Century. (And if anyone has any of their own they'd like to share, you can email them to me.) After all, these pictures and stories are the history of Mill Creek Hundred, to. By sharing them here, maybe we can make it easier for the historians of the future to piece together our story. (That, and I hope it'll be fun, too!)
One of the reasons I didn't do this earlier was that I wasn't sure if there would be enough people interested in participating in something like this, but now I think there are. This should be a great way for all of us to learn (or remember) a thing or two, too. You'd be surprised how much easier it is to find information about the area for 1850 than for 1950. My own reminiscences only go back so far, but I'll add my own to the mix, too. If this page takes off well enough and generates enough momentum, I could see potentially spinning it off into its own site one day, but we'll see.
I hope to have fun with the pictures, too. Every once in a while I see a newer picture that's really cool, but doesn't quite fit in with this site. Now I have a place to post them. As always, I'm always happy to take submissions, too. I hope everyone enjoys this!