The Gift of Memories

Welcome to another week!

My Fallowfield United Methodist Church family and friends had a blast at Waldameer last Wednesday. It was cool – in the upper 60s, so most of us rode the rides and skipped Water World.

Waldameer reminds me of Conneaut Lake Park in the 1980s. Conneaut Lake Park sold some of its rides, including the Sea Dragon, to Waldameer. I used to love going to the Midway and riding the Ultimate Trip, Paratrooper, and Sea Dragon. These were my absolute favorite rides. The butterflies-in-my-stomach feeling I got when I rode the Sea Dragon is one of the greatest pleasures in life. I feel so carefree on that ride. It’s my happy place.

I can see my little sister and I slamming against the door of the Ultimate Trip while we spun from one corner of the building to another. I see the black lights making white shirts look fluorescent while Van Halen blared.

One ride I hated at the park was the Wild Mouse. I thought the car would blast right off the track and I’d plummet to the blacktop below. But it never did. I also loved the Yo-Yo, which Waldameer calls Flying Swings. The stomach flip-flops I felt while flying through the sky made me feel blissful.

Conneaut Lake Park isn’t like this now, but it’s a blessing to remember things as they were and to cherish the time I spent there. I think God is very kind to let people have memories of happy times. Can you imagine what life would be like if we lived moment to moment and had no memory of what we’ve experienced or with whom we experienced it?

Another place where I made a lot of happy childhood memories is at Fallowfield United Methodist Church’s Crawford County Fair pie booth. I loved waiting tables. It was fun seeing people smile and close their eyes as they savored their first bite of homemade pie. After a while I learned what repeat customers’ favorite pies were and how much whole milk to add to their coffee. It was always a happy transition from the isolation of summer (Adamsville seemed far away from Conneaut Lake before I learned to drive) to the frenzy of the school year.

Pie was and is the center of the fair for me. Fallowfield’s first pie make will be on Monday, July 27, starting at 5 p.m. We’ll make and freeze apple, peach, rhubarb, and strawberry-rhubarb pies, as well as pie crusts. We’ll make one flavor of pie and one-crust pie crusts at each bake.

We will have pie makes on August 3, 10, and 17, too. This year’s fair runs from August 22 through 29. As always, all net profits from the fair project will support local and foreign missions.

Have a wonderful week. Blessings!