Norwich, NY

In the beginning of June I had to make a business trip to upstate New York. At the left is a camera phone picture of the Chenango County Courthouse in Norwich, NY. I lived in the area many years ago. It's a rural county with many small towns. In many ways the demographics and population are very similar to the area where I grew up.

One evening I had a chance to look around Norwich a bit. Driving around I had some feelings that things hadn't changed much since I left. There are a few new buildings and stores (e.g. Walmart) and some stores had closed. But basically the standard local merchants like McLaughlin's clothing, the Corner Cigar newstand, Garf's deli, Nina's pizza, etc. were status quo. That brought back memories.

On the other hand, there were times when it seemed like I hadn't lived there at all. I drove out to see the place I used to rent. It's about ten miles out of town near Chenango Lake (shown at right). I went out to the place using "the back way" and returned to town by the larger roads. I made that trip hundreds of times on the way to and from work. When living there I felt I knew every curve, sign, driveway, and house along the way. But driving out there I felt I really had to pay attention to make sure I didn't miss a turn! What has happened to my memory?

I drove past the old place and it looked terrible. There wasn't anyone home, although it seemed like someone was still living there. The grass was about 2 feet high, no flowers, tree branches down in the yard, and very little up keep. Just down the road some of land had been turned over to loggers. There were piles of large tree trunks and the side of the hill was torn up by the logging roads. As a whole, it was sad considering how pretty the place was with the large pond for fishing and swimming, tennis court, ski trails, garden, etc. Although my memory isn't great, I'll have to remember the place the way it used to be.