People had already posted pictures of Fox River Grove and comments were appearing. Of course, being a woman of MANY words....I piped right in. There were discussions about the Picnic Grove (our old amusement park), the Tastee Freeze, the candy store, the burger joint, the Marina,the castle, the ski jump and so much more.
I suggested my sisters that live in TN and SC join up and it turned into a weekend of the three of us, plus another old time "Grovers" writing about their memories of this awesome little town as well. We talked about so many things from our childhood like standing in the frigid weather at the ski meets every year (my brothers jumped when they were younger) to things like my sister buying angora at the dry goods store to wrap around her boyfriend's class ring.
There were moments when the tears filled my eyes as I remembered a gentler, kinder day when kids got to be kids. When you could run and play and just never worry about anything. Parents didn't worry either. It was a different world.
People use to make fun of Fox River Grove. Yes, it was a tiny sleepy little town with few people, but to us then and to us now...it was the greatest place in the world to spend a childhood!
Facebook is definitely a strange world in itself....with all of the games people play and hundreds of ads appearing that are soooo geared to your profile. Are you on Facebook? If you are, do you spend much time on there? Do you use a social networking site to keep in touch with family? Do you use one to reconnect with old friends? Has it had any kind of impact on you either positive or negative?I sure had fun on there this weekend. Please share your thoughts.
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19 comments:
Sounds like a great trip down memory lane. I do miss the way things were when we were growing up. I haven't taken the Facebook plunge. Part of me wants to, but part of me doesn't want to risk another invasion of privacy. Still thinking about it...
I went in kicking and screaming, but encouraged by my boys. I have learned to love it. It speaks of community and our connectedness. I even have a friend from India whom I've never met. It's a great way to connect different aspects of our lives.
I've learnt never to say never, but at present I am not in favour of joining these social networks Facebook, Twitter, My Space, etc..
I can't give a particular reason for that, it's just that I don't like that kind of exposure and I have feelings of 'too much' - too much time spent online, too much connection and contact. I want more time for myself, more sanity, more peace of mind.
I took the plunge last spring when a long lost friend invited me. Since then I have reconnected with a lot of people I knew in high school. I don't post much on it, less and less as time goes by. I do not like that my sibs have allowed their children to get their own pages and invite me to friend them. I don't do it. I am friends with my adult nieces and nephew, but not the kids.
Your childhood hometown looks like a wonderful place to grow up. I grew up in a town of about 40,000. We walked everywhere and rode the bus. In the summer we were out the door in the morning with the rule being we had to be home by dark. No one worried.
I actually joined when we were snowed in here in Maryland. My daughters had encouraged me to sign up before and I just never bothered. Most of my "friends" are family, but even have had some people from high school find me without me putting in my maiden name and I graduated many, many years ago.
It took a long time for me to join FB but after a lot of encouragement from school friends and relatives I took the plunge. It's enjoyable and an easy way to stay connected to relatives I don't see often. I've started limiting my time online though. I can see how some get addicted to it.
wow what an awesome trip down memory lane for you =D. I've kept in touch with people of my graduating class esp. my elementary class and we had a reunion and that was fun... I still use it to keep in touch with friends and family =D
like many here i was resistant to FB but it's my new favorite thing. i have reconnected with so many people and also connected with new people. it's been a great way to share pictures, etc. in a quick and easy way and i love seeing the new babies, graduates, weddings, etc. that i wouldn't have seen before.
the biggest problem with FB has been the people wanting to connect that I really don't want to connect with so I've learned to use the ignore button ;-)
i have 2 fan pages as well for my two businesses and it has been an awesome way to connect with people with that, too.
reconnecting with the home town is a fun thing--i still live in mine but as you know recently posted about the downtown, etc. and i've heard from a lot of people i grew up with as result...
I have a FaceBook thingy--but I don't spend any time--other than to delete all the emails saying I got poked or tickled or something like that. I blog and that's more than enough for me, along with regular emails and telephone calls. :D
What a pocket full of memories about a beloved place! It sounds so sweet...I'm not on FB. Many reasons.
Wonderful pics and you wrie about your memories so well.
I made a decision not to use facebook. I know it is important to many, but I will not add one more thing that makes me stare at a screen instead of people.
I've actually been writing more letters...with a pen.
I'm on Facebook and I've found it a great way to keep up with my grandkids. It's great!
I've not joined facebook and I am scared to try,I am a bit of a private person and my blog was quite a big jump for me, maybe one day.
Love Jillxx
It really shows this is a small world after all. I'm on FB, but I basically never use it. I have an account and a profile and such, but I'm rarely on it.
Hi Kathy, first, I hope your craft show goes well. Second, love the pictures. And third, Facebook is facebook. It's what you get out of it. But I have a GOOD story. Without going into too much detail, I inadvertently reunited my brother and his long lost son! REALLY - I know it sounds weird, but it's true. And I had no idea I was doing it. So, yeah, Facebook can be a good place. Plus I have a fanpage which I've been horrible at. But now I'm trying to pay more attention. :)
Hi Kathy, first, I hope your craft show goes well. Second, love the pictures. And third, Facebook is facebook. It's what you get out of it. But I have a GOOD story. Without going into too much detail, I inadvertently reunited my brother and his long lost son! REALLY - I know it sounds weird, but it's true. And I had no idea I was doing it. So, yeah, Facebook can be a good place. Plus I have a fanpage which I've been horrible at. But now I'm trying to pay more attention. :)
I am on facebook. I was really addicted at first, but now i don't spend much time on there. It is nice to have a way to connect with people who you'd otherwise never see or talk to.
Your hometown sounds awesome!
I check facebook once or twice a day just to see if anything exciting is happening. I love when people post pictures!!
Life was simpler and more innocent then - I miss it.
I'm on FB and have been for a couple of years but rarely go on. It is nice to be able to connect through pictures but the rest of it just does not grab me.
One good pay-off from it was I reconnected with a high school friend I had not communicated with in more than 30 years and we live a couple of hours apart, email all the time and have even gotten together a couple of times!
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