June, a month of memories

Remember the song, "June is Busting Out All Over?" When it was first popular I was pregnant in June. In fact we have two children with June birthdays, and my own is also in June. This year my birthday will be celebrated on the weekend of the Fourth of July to coincide with a reunion of Lester's family so that our out of state children can make one trip do for both events.

But this June will be memorable for us this year because of the activities around the celebration of our sesquicentennial and Bushwhacker Days. Father' s Day comes in there somewhere also along with those celebrations, so it should make a full week.

I remember the Centennial Celebration very clearly even though we did not live in Vernon County at the time. But we were close enough, over at Stockton, to come see my father as Governor in the huge pageant and to see the parade and all the exhibits. It was fun to see how many of our town and county leaders got into the spirit of things and grew beards or dressed in old-style clothing.

This type of costuming is not being promoted for this 150th celebration. It wouldn't be very noticeable if we did try it however. Many men already wear a variety of beards, mustaches and goatees. Women's casual wear can vary from shorts and mid-rifts to ankle-length dresses with no one even concerned about the variety. Fifty years ago we conformed more closely to a common dress style so anything different was noticed.

The Bushwhackers Days are special to me because they are something that not every town has. The type of celebration is very similar to Ft. Scott's Good Old Days; Stockton's Walnut Festival and other nearby events. But what makes ours unique is the emphasis on the history of this region. When I was growing up I was not aware that I was living on the grounds where serious skirmishes and battles of the Civil War took place.

We had no idea that some of our neighbors in the north part of the county were run off their farms, put in camps if they didn't leave the area, and had their homes and crops burned or destroyed.

Since the Bushwhacker Days began we have had yearly reviews about our history and our young people entering the contests learn more than I ever knew until recent years.

I am proud that with the leadership of the Bushwhacker Days activities, the Vernon County Historical Society and especially the Bushwhacker Museum and its staff we now know about our heritage and can be aware of the good and bad parts of that history.

Another tradition of June is weddings. We followed right along there also.

In fact two days after my 21st birthday on June 2, Lester and I were married on the lawn of our family farm. Everytime I mow over the place where the temporary background for our wedding ceremony was placed 59 years ago, I remember the occasion as well as other event that happened in that same lawn. There are many things to remember -- from a merry-go-round our brothers made for us, to a miniature golf course they constructed in the same portion of the lawn where our wedding was held several years later.

Yes, June will be busting out all over again this year but I'm glad that my wedding and the births of two of our children will only be celebrated in memory. Been there, done that, and don't need a tee shirt.