Beresford VFW and Faith in Action

South Dakota – Saturday October 26,  and Sunday October 27

I spent the whole weekend in Beresford, spending time with my dad and Joan, enjoying a breakfast with my cousin Jay, and visiting the cemetery where my aunt Gloria had recently been laid to rest. I “visited” my other aunts, uncles and paternal grandparents out there too.  I even did all my walking in town – nearly 17 miles in 5 different walks during the 2 days. I literally walked up and down all the tree-lined streets in town – many of them more than once.  Beresford’s downtown area isn’t exactly thriving (and seemed like a deserted ghost town on a Sunday evening!) but the residential streets haven’t changed much since my youth when we would visit in the summer. I could almost imagine I was back in the 1960s with parents raising families in homes that have seen generations come and go; kids riding bikes down the streets; dogs barking; the city swimming pool which always seemed like such a huge pool (but the scary/thrilling high dive is long gone); the same concrete block building that housed the changing rooms and wire baskets for clothes (and sold yummy orange push-ups for an occasional treat); the city park; the golf course; and family reunions. There always seemed to be so many relatives around when we were there, and I marveled that my cousins who lived there seemed to know absolutely everybody in town! Nearly all of the older generation has passed on, but they’ve left happy ghost memories behind.  Most poignant was walking past my late aunt and uncle’s house – they have both passed away since I began my journey, and they lived in the same house as long as I’ve been alive, and walking in the kitchen door on the side of the house to visit them was always part of a trip to Beresford. I think I relived all those happy childhood memories while walking up and down all the streets. The sun was out and it was a beautiful late fall weekend, and there were still pretty leaves on the trees. There were plenty to scuffle through on the sidewalks too and the air smelled like fall. There was also a bike trail out by the golf course, so Tula and I walked on that also.

I made a couple donations in town too. On Saturday, my donation went to the Beresford VFW in honor of my dad, and in memory of his 6 brothers who all served in the military. They were all proud to be American and proud to have served, and they all enjoyed a beer or 2 and each others’ companionship down at the VFW hall. The VFW is getting ready to hold a membership dinner and continues to support its troops. On Sunday my donation went to Faith in Action – the Beresford Food Pantry. I wanted to make a donation to that one because it has the same name as the food pantry in my hometown. The food pantry is only open on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I called to see if I could get any other information, but those were the only times they were available, so I just mailed in my donation with a note.

So it was nice to have a relatively quiet weekend that only involved a couple short trips in the car, yet I got my donations and walking done, which is a good thing, because there was no shortage of good food – I think I was a little piggy!  And then I just wanted to curl up in a comfy chair and read a good book, which I haven’t had time for since I left – that will be something I can look forward to when my journey is over. It was a good weekend.