When Kent and I bought BannockBurn 1878 last fall we knew we were taking ownership of a property that had special memories to many people.
So many families have lived, loved and laughed here.
All of them contributing to what she has become.
I wondered if we would be contacted by some of those people… especially since there is so much shown online with the blog, website and my social media outlets.
There have in fact been quite a few emails, FB messages and even a few people knocking on the door eager to share there knowledge and memories with us.
If you are reading this and have some memories, photos or history to share please feel free to email me or leave a comment here. Gathering up a complete history of the property is something I feel is very important.
This is the oldest photo we have of the house. It shows the McFarlane family outside the front door.
If you follow the blog you may have read the post I wrote about finding BannockBurn 1878 and going to see James McFarlanes grave. It seemed like a very natural and respectful thing to do… almost asking his blessing on our stewardship of the home he built.
A few weeks back I got an email from a gal named Ruth-Anne. Her grandparents the Grunewalds owned the house between the 1960-1980’s . She had spent many happy times here and although she had moved away many years ago it remained a special place to her. She asked me if it might be possible for her and her brother Paul to come for a visit.
We agreed with the understanding that they would have to take us as we were given the state of renovations here currently.
When they arrived she was quite emotional… not in a weepy way just taking it all in. I wasn’t surprised. After all, this place seems to make most people a bit emotional.
We gave them a tour inside and out and it was wonderful to hear their memories, ask them questions and just enjoy watching them go back in time.
This is a photo of Ruth-Anne taken here on her third birthday.
Isn’t she adorable!
Well, the story gets better! It turns out that this trip was a little birthday trip for Ruth-Anne. It was actually her birthday the day they came to visit 50 years to the day that this charming pic was taken!
How fantastic!!
They let me take a quick photo before they left. ( I know… she looks about 25 right!! )
It really was wonderful to meet them! We sent them home with some of the maple syrup we had made here in the spring and they left us with a red current bush! There had been red currents here when they were children and they thought it would be a fitting gift… I couldn’t agree more!! We planted the bush with our new plantings of raspberries and strawberries. Every time we pick currents we will think of their families contributions to this place. It marries beautifully with our goal of re-establishing the orchard that we know James had here in his day.
This week will be another whirlwind of activity. The gardens are exploding with bounty. There is still painting and flooring to be done and then we will be ready for the kitchen cabinets to be installed!!
