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23 juni 2006
YPSIDIXIT and her adventurous friend hit the road to Toledo for a belated Father's Day cookout, lugging about 30 pounds of food and ice in a big cooler in the trunk. Along the way, we sight-saw. We stopped in the little cemetery off Dennison Road out in the country where I'd rested on my bike trip to Toledo last year. We examined the graves. Many Dennisons and Cones (Cone Road is nearby) and Kempfs; we wondered if the latter were distant kin to the Ann Arbor Kempfs. We examined one distinctive log-shaped grave by the mysterious log-grave artist whose work may be seen here, in Stony Creek Cemetery, and in Highland Cemetery. Shaped like a realistic six-foot-high log, the work appeared to be made of cast concrete--yet showed no signs of age.
We wandered on to Petersburgh and stopped to drift about. We visited an antiques shop and cruised the "downtown," consisting of a True Value, two churches, and "My Dad's Place Restaurant." It is a sleepy small town.
We passed many corn and wheat fields and arrived home. We had fun visiting with Mom and Pop, who expressed interest in the novelty of the cheese-filled brats I'd brought. I grilled brats for them and Turkey Burgers for my friend and I. We also had tater salad and regular salad. We sat near the bird feeder in my folks' big 2-acre woodsy backyard and a chorus of birds at a radius of about 20 feet scolded us unremittingly for being too close to the feeder, as a downy woodpecker pecked nonchalantly at the suet cakes.
We laughed a lot and had fun. I'd bought a "Crenshaw," which had been in the melon section of Kroger's but appeared to be a large gourd. I'd chosen it instead of watermelon or cantaloupe because I was curious. It turned out to be a fine, mellow, soft orange melon, softer than a 'loupe and fine-flavored. Very nice. It had a big cavity in the middle which we decided would be handy if one wanted to smuggle liquor as a bootlegger; just load up the syringe and fill up the Crenshaw.
Sunlight played in the leaves.
On the way back, bearing the gift of a pot of canna lilies, Y. relaxed and watched the bright yellow wheat fields and the deep green corn. She observed the setting sun lighting up the tips of her friend's camel-like brown eyelashes and making a corona of light around the edge of his face. Y. and friend talked and laughed back to Ypsi as the sun set. It was a day of quiet rural graves, things left unsaid, and sunlit fields stretching to the far horizon.
Posted by ypsidixit at 23 juni 2006 21:49
Comments
On the way back up Stony Creek Road we stopped at the Stony Creek Cemetery next to the Stony Creek Free Will Baptist Church, just across the street from the Grange.
Here we viewed another paragon by the log-grave artist, the famous "ship's captain" crave, consisting of a five-fot-high realistic tree trunk hung with a scroll and bearing a vine, a fern, and even realistic bark.
We also examined Washtenaw County's saddest grave.
This is a homebrew cement headstone that was clearly poured by someone in their backyard. It's simple, two-foot-tall, rounded-top shape bore a single name written unevenly with a stick: "CASLER." No other data, just the one enigmatic name. We left this lonely grave, at the very back of the cemetery, and returned to the land of the living.
Posted by: Laura at 23 juni 2006 22:18
Those are lovely back roads you traveled on. We used to take back roads south to visit a great aunt in Monroe until her recent passing. We miss her and those obligatory trips as well. A favorite pop stop was in the little town of Grape. My better half loves to stop at the cemeteries and explore the civil war graves, along the way.
Posted by: maryd at 24 juni 2006 08:12
OK, now I want to visit Grape. The rural route I always take is just west of US-23, but there are several east of the highway too, one going through Ida. Maryd, may I ask, how could one get to Grape? Let me make a guess: for some reason I'm thinking it's on a stream or river.
Posted by: Laura at 24 juni 2006 12:14
We would take Whittaker south till the end, and then there is a choice of left or right, to take another road south cannot remember the names, (one is dirt) but a map would show you. There are a number of routes. I've never taken any west of 23 though.
Posted by: maryd at 24 juni 2006 15:41
I'll try the east-of-23 route next time. Have a good map of Washtenaw and Monroe Counties, so I'm sure we can find a good route through many of the charming small towns.
Posted by: Laura at 24 juni 2006 16:20
Grape is a collection of buildings with a single white bread and soda pop store (where you can get grape soda!) on the north side of the Raisin River about six miles west of Telegraph on Custer Rd. For many years my late Aunt Bonnie lived across the street from the Waterloo Dam and we've taken about every route there is between Ypsi and Monroe to visit. The Whittaker Rd. route, mentioned by my wife, involves getting to Townsend Rd. which would be the continuation of Whittaker if a field wasn't in the way, so you have to go dirt to get around the field. (Townsend Rd. is paved and goes by the Milan Dragway. and becomes Plank Rd. which becomes Custer along the river. The store in Grape was a convinient stop to treat the kids on the way home from visits. You've probably gone by it but missed it. It's barely a wide spot in the road. A very pretty drive worth taking. Good luck!
Posted by: John D. at 24 juni 2006 23:09
John D.: Thank you for the info. OK, Grape it is, next time I head to my folks' place in a couple weeks or so. I appreciate your giving me the directions. I love meandering on the back roads and stopping off in the little towns to explore. A different world from AA-Ypsi, one whose big sky and horizon-to-horizon view rejuvenates my spirit.
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