KATHIE CASE

508-627-5349

(kathleencase@comcast.net)

As the weatherman keeps saying, we are being teased with the fall-like weather. I don’t think any of us are complaining. It’s cool at night and warm during the day. How perfect is that?

Happy birthday to all who celebrated their day this past week. Big balloons go out to Chimari Dockery, who celebrated his day August 3; Paige Herrick and Zachary Ward, August 5; and Brandon Hammond, who celebrates his day today, August 9.

Special birthday wishes go out to Floyd Norton, Pam Dolby and Melanie Rankow Prescott, who all celebrated their day August 5.

It is August. The traffic is different and the people are different. It does not seem possible that the time is going by so fast. My parents used to tell us not to wish for time to go by so fast, because as you get older the time does go by faster. As usual they were right, so enjoy the next few weeks as they are the most fun of the summer.

Even though I never had the pleasure of meeting my father in law, Ralph Case, I can now almost understand him through my husband Ralph’s life.

Ralph Case, the first, was a builder. He was partners with Ed Tyra in Case and Tyra Builders. Their shop was next to where I live now and it was full of many treasures. You may recall Ed Tyra’s shop across from Morning Glory Farm. If you were looking for a part for an old machine or cabinet that was built between the 1960s to the 1980s, or maybe even earlier, or if you needed a part or even a screw, you could count on Mr. Tyra to have what you needed.

They both collected wood, screws and whatever they needed to build a house or garage. Our house was built in 1948 by both men. When we put our addition on in the 1980s, Eric Magnuson and Alan Crossland did the construction work. One day they left a piece of wall open so we could see the art work of both men. There was a board that had a knot on the top that was higher than the level of the board. The next board was cut to fit the knot as to not waste any of the found planks. We laughed about it for a long time.

This summer, as Ralph and I had planned to do, I applied to have the windows replaced in the house as they were still the original windows and needed new glazing. The contractor, Jim, came into the house after replacing the last three windows and he had a board in his hand. He said, “I thought you might be interested in this,” and he turned the board over. It was signed by Frank Norton, Edgartown, Mass. My niece, Amanda, looked up Frank Norton’s name and the last Frank was in the late 1800s. I talked to Melissa Norton Vincent and she said it was her great-grandfather.

Now the mystery is in where Case and Tyra got the wood. Was it from the dump, or did Mr. Norton take a house down and they collected the wood from it? We may never know the answer, but I know that most of the wood in this house has lasted a long time, considering that much of it was used wood. I now also know why, when Ralph went to the dump on Clevelandtown Road, he would come home with more than he left with. Since he passed I have been finding a lot of his treasures that he managed to hide from me.

Last Saturday I went to Bob Avakian’s photography show at the Dr. Daniel Fisher house. Bob has the talent of capturing the perfect night light on his subject. There are lighthouses, homes, landscaping, the Sweetenwater Farm and many more. Each has its own character of light and shading. My favorite is the back of Sweetenwater Farm with all the stars in the sky. If you want to see some of his work or get in touch with him, you can email Bob at bobavakianphotography.com

Have a great week and keep the home candles burning.