Dear Readers: I do believe in miracles, so why was I surprised when arriving at Handy on Friday, Sept. 13, that there had been a rain shower? Rainwater was still standing, so I must have just missed it. Then I recalled the rainbow in this direction I had seen while driving east on U.S. 60. Don't know if my poem had anything to do with it, but I like to think so.
I was too late for the Friday night singing, so I missed seeing my nephew Jim Davis and his sweet wife, Pat, visiting from Campbell. I see from her Facebook post that cousins Jim and Ervin teamed up their guitars. Not many turn out for these First Friday get-togethers, but it's a good social time and you don't have to make a reservation.
John and Janet Hoskins took the lead in church Sunday, filling in for June Watson. Prayers were answered and June was released from the hospital. Recovering at home, she expects to be right back holding forth at church soon.
Landon and Cole Watson caught a few small bass from my pond, although the water level is the lowest it's ever been.
The Adairs are geared up for a surprise birthday wingding for Doug in Kansas City, with him coming from Las Vegas and Angie from Virginia. Jeff and Beth are making all the preparations, with the theme being “Dig Me: 60 and Still Under Construction.”
The project he's working on is now in the homebuilding and community development phase, with the dedication of a park last week. Think what he could do for Handy... if we could entice a well-heeled developer to back it.
A hundred years ago, Handy had a school, a store, a post office, a grist mill and several working farms that supported large families to serve as a labor pool for hired hands. That scenario aged out, and in recent years Handy has not had a youth population. There are signs that is changing, as we now have a couple of households with children. More like that would reinvigorate the community. Land is lying idle that could be subdivided into home and garden spots — the rural American dream.
In October, watch for my column titled “Handy, My Camelot?” recalling the way it was back when….
Maggie Adair is a native of Handy near the Oregon-Ripley county line, about 8 miles east of Wilderness. Eighth in the family of Elmer and Catherine Probst, she left at age 17 for college in Kansas City, where she married, raised a family and pursued a varied career. Always maintaining her roots in Handy, she is now retired and resides in both places. She can be reached at maggie.adair@icloud.com.
