Songs we sang in the car....Red River Valley, My Darling Clementine, My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean, Home, Home on the Range, and Don't Fence Me In...to name a few.
Yes, these were part of our family repertoire too. My soul swells whenI sing Red River Valley. And never really connected it to the Red River of the North in Manitoba and that the Roseau River is a tributary. Home on the range we sang mostly out of tune, but joyously.
Gosh, Jill, what a great read! Relatable, clever, witty, and nostalgic. Without being overly sentimental. I love the iconic Willie the Walleye. For me and my family it was the goats on the roof of Al Johnson's. Loved how you described that visceral and mental shift as the drive brought you near and around those temporal landmarks of nostalgia. Being back home to what is familiar is great....but the best experience is the GOING part of going back home. Thanks for sharing. Thinking of you! :-)
The goats on the roof of Al Johnson's signal you are now "up north" in Door County, Wisconsin. These local landmarks become part of our interior landscape.
They do indeed! And, interesting enough, the neuroscience shows that areas of connectivity in our brains related to emotion and social connectedness are "turned up" when we are encountering those nostalgic landmarks that, as you say, are part of our interior landscape. There literally are connection paths in the brain that are probably best described as exactly that, Jill, "landscape." I haven't researched this other part, but I think that I will, and that's the default mode network. I know you've heard of it. Given how it is all about reflection and sense of self and reminiscing, etcetera, I would think that that would be very active during those times. It's amazing how a memory becomes a current reality in the body and not just the mind. Anyway I very much loved this piece. Cheers to the Willies and goats that have contributed to our sense of place, time, and belonging.
I loved this piece so much. The way you wrote about your mother and father here is so evocative, and also took me back to the road trips in my own childhood. Great writing!
The Johnston car (first a 1961 Buick Electra 4 door, and later a 1969 Pontiac Catalina Wagon) made the trip from Deephaven/Wayzata for Independence Day and Thanksgiving most years to see extended family in Warroad. Four kids, seven years apart, tested the patience of my parents on the long haul north. Our favorite stops were The Sportsmen's Cafe or The Mug drive-in in Mora, Bridgeman's in Grand Rapids. If we were good, we might get to stop at Paul Bunyan in Brainerd or Bemidji depending on the route. No matter which way we went, Willie Walleye meant we were almost there, and those last 36 miles felt endless.
Great road trip memories! Definitely Bridgeman's in Grand Rapids. "If we were good,"...boy, that's a familiar phrase from my childhood too. We had a Chevy Impala (?62) and later a Chevy station wagon. Did your family refer to the "way way back" for the space behind the seats?
With three siblings, the way-way back must have been prime real estate on a road trip. I remember climbing over seats, feet hanging out the window, and all the dead insects on the windshields.
Every year, sometimes twice a year, my family drove from Mexico, MO to my grandparent's home in Toledo, OH. I think Dad started driving in the evening and drove all night to keep my brother and me sleeping, but there's no one left to ask now. Usually we met with aunts, uncles, and cousins when there for big meals. You met one of my OH cousins who is an author when she visited Ithaca. I remember the slow two lane highways, the treat of a cold coke, peanuts, and counting up the states we found on license plates. A fun post. Thank you.
What a great memory to have. Sleeping children made the road trip perhaps easier. I love learning that you have similar memories about visiting with your cousin Tina as a kid.
I liked the special glimpse into a family road trip you took. Car games! I remember those and to be honest, I still play them on long trips. Great look back on a good memory and the contrast to the same trip taken today!
Jill, My family used to drive on the same route 11 in Ontario on our way to the Georgian Bay for Summer vacations. I could relate to your great anticipation as the destination grew closer and memories of singing in the car.
Route 11 is also known as MOM’s Way. Manitoba-Ontario-Minesota. Warroad is near the western endpoint and Route 11 runs almost to Toronto at the Georgia Bay. What songs did you sing in the car on family road trips to Canada for summer vacation?
“This might have been the same year he gave her a waffle iron for Mother’s Day, which made her cry.” 😂 I gave my mom an electric can opener in 1975 ! Service service!!! Loved this story of heading towards family, place and history then and now.
A beautifully written portrait of your childhood and this area of the country, Jill! Car trips were definitely different back then with only (mostly) ourselves to entertain us. It was an ordeal too for us with air conditioning that caused our car to overheat on every slight hill. Do you have family in Warroad still? Hope you're having a wonderful visit there!
We are part of the family road trip generation. Yes, I'm visiting with my mother's sister, cousins, second-cousins, and other folks in Warroad and the nearby area. Gathering more stories and doing more local historical research while I am here. Thanks!
Except that there were five children in my family, I felt like I had been on this trip with you. I think what you had to say about music resonated the most with me, and we also were able to listen to the radio which had programs like the Lone Ranger and the Baby Snooks Show from whence came my nickname.
I didn't know the nickname came from the radio program! Yes, we had the radio but so far north there weren't a lot of radio stations you could tune into. Dad sometimes acted as a radio as he knew a lot of the jingles to radio advertisements and would sing them.
My parents named me Margaret Elizabeth and never called me that. When friends of mine would call the house and ask for Margaret, they would reply, "oh you mean Snooks!" thanks to Fanny Brice
Songs we sang in the car....Red River Valley, My Darling Clementine, My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean, Home, Home on the Range, and Don't Fence Me In...to name a few.
Yes, these were part of our family repertoire too. My soul swells whenI sing Red River Valley. And never really connected it to the Red River of the North in Manitoba and that the Roseau River is a tributary. Home on the range we sang mostly out of tune, but joyously.
Gosh, Jill, what a great read! Relatable, clever, witty, and nostalgic. Without being overly sentimental. I love the iconic Willie the Walleye. For me and my family it was the goats on the roof of Al Johnson's. Loved how you described that visceral and mental shift as the drive brought you near and around those temporal landmarks of nostalgia. Being back home to what is familiar is great....but the best experience is the GOING part of going back home. Thanks for sharing. Thinking of you! :-)
The goats on the roof of Al Johnson's signal you are now "up north" in Door County, Wisconsin. These local landmarks become part of our interior landscape.
They do indeed! And, interesting enough, the neuroscience shows that areas of connectivity in our brains related to emotion and social connectedness are "turned up" when we are encountering those nostalgic landmarks that, as you say, are part of our interior landscape. There literally are connection paths in the brain that are probably best described as exactly that, Jill, "landscape." I haven't researched this other part, but I think that I will, and that's the default mode network. I know you've heard of it. Given how it is all about reflection and sense of self and reminiscing, etcetera, I would think that that would be very active during those times. It's amazing how a memory becomes a current reality in the body and not just the mind. Anyway I very much loved this piece. Cheers to the Willies and goats that have contributed to our sense of place, time, and belonging.
I loved this piece so much. The way you wrote about your mother and father here is so evocative, and also took me back to the road trips in my own childhood. Great writing!
Glad it brought back memories of your own. And thanks for the compliment.
The Johnston car (first a 1961 Buick Electra 4 door, and later a 1969 Pontiac Catalina Wagon) made the trip from Deephaven/Wayzata for Independence Day and Thanksgiving most years to see extended family in Warroad. Four kids, seven years apart, tested the patience of my parents on the long haul north. Our favorite stops were The Sportsmen's Cafe or The Mug drive-in in Mora, Bridgeman's in Grand Rapids. If we were good, we might get to stop at Paul Bunyan in Brainerd or Bemidji depending on the route. No matter which way we went, Willie Walleye meant we were almost there, and those last 36 miles felt endless.
Great road trip memories! Definitely Bridgeman's in Grand Rapids. "If we were good,"...boy, that's a familiar phrase from my childhood too. We had a Chevy Impala (?62) and later a Chevy station wagon. Did your family refer to the "way way back" for the space behind the seats?
We did. It was a prime place in the station wagon with the rear facing seat and two-way gate.
With three siblings, the way-way back must have been prime real estate on a road trip. I remember climbing over seats, feet hanging out the window, and all the dead insects on the windshields.
Every year, sometimes twice a year, my family drove from Mexico, MO to my grandparent's home in Toledo, OH. I think Dad started driving in the evening and drove all night to keep my brother and me sleeping, but there's no one left to ask now. Usually we met with aunts, uncles, and cousins when there for big meals. You met one of my OH cousins who is an author when she visited Ithaca. I remember the slow two lane highways, the treat of a cold coke, peanuts, and counting up the states we found on license plates. A fun post. Thank you.
What a great memory to have. Sleeping children made the road trip perhaps easier. I love learning that you have similar memories about visiting with your cousin Tina as a kid.
I liked the special glimpse into a family road trip you took. Car games! I remember those and to be honest, I still play them on long trips. Great look back on a good memory and the contrast to the same trip taken today!
We’re never too old to play car games on a long road trip! What games did you learn as a kid?
Jill, My family used to drive on the same route 11 in Ontario on our way to the Georgian Bay for Summer vacations. I could relate to your great anticipation as the destination grew closer and memories of singing in the car.
See Wikipedia on Route 11 in Ontario.
Route 11 is also known as MOM’s Way. Manitoba-Ontario-Minesota. Warroad is near the western endpoint and Route 11 runs almost to Toronto at the Georgia Bay. What songs did you sing in the car on family road trips to Canada for summer vacation?
“This might have been the same year he gave her a waffle iron for Mother’s Day, which made her cry.” 😂 I gave my mom an electric can opener in 1975 ! Service service!!! Loved this story of heading towards family, place and history then and now.
A beautifully written portrait of your childhood and this area of the country, Jill! Car trips were definitely different back then with only (mostly) ourselves to entertain us. It was an ordeal too for us with air conditioning that caused our car to overheat on every slight hill. Do you have family in Warroad still? Hope you're having a wonderful visit there!
We are part of the family road trip generation. Yes, I'm visiting with my mother's sister, cousins, second-cousins, and other folks in Warroad and the nearby area. Gathering more stories and doing more local historical research while I am here. Thanks!
Sounds fun in many ways!
Ha. Thanks ... now I'm going to have John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt running through my head for the rest of the day. :-)
Tra-la-la-la--la! Earworms.
Welcome "home"!
Fun memories. Our family used to play the alphabet game too. And we pored over the maps.
I'm glad you had similar fun memories of road trips. I still love to pore over a printed map.
Except that there were five children in my family, I felt like I had been on this trip with you. I think what you had to say about music resonated the most with me, and we also were able to listen to the radio which had programs like the Lone Ranger and the Baby Snooks Show from whence came my nickname.
I didn't know the nickname came from the radio program! Yes, we had the radio but so far north there weren't a lot of radio stations you could tune into. Dad sometimes acted as a radio as he knew a lot of the jingles to radio advertisements and would sing them.
My parents named me Margaret Elizabeth and never called me that. When friends of mine would call the house and ask for Margaret, they would reply, "oh you mean Snooks!" thanks to Fanny Brice
What a great story!