There is a lot happening now in our lives. There was a lot happening then in this County. Why use different adverbial phrases between the first two sentences? Now don’t get excited, this is not a sneaky lesson in grammar but it is about defining some of the different types of history.
The present is history happening now. That happens in our lives because for it to be now we need to be alive and alert. However, a little later it becomes history. The fact is, for history to exist we have to remember what happened some time back.
The further back it happens, the less likely we are to remember it as part of our lives. We record history by keeping records. Sometimes those records are orally recorded or stories, many of them become known differently than what actually happened.
Now, most of us know about Paul Revere’s ride back about 237 years ago. The most of us remember the version in Longfellow’s poem “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.” Actually three men were riding that night. A gentleman named Dawes and a doctor named Prescott, as well as Paul. The British caught and arrested all three. Dawes escaped and rode off, but he got lost in the dark. They didn’t have night lights then. Dr. Prescott escaped and actually made it to Concord. Paul was finally released, but his horse was gone, so he walked back to Lexington.
Obviously Longfellow couldn’t say, “Listen my children and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Dr. Prescott.” It wouldn’t have been much of a poem. This is not to belittle Paul. He organized the ride; for that he deserves credit. However, he was unlucky so: Longfellow wrote the Poem and he became famous. That is why it is so important to preserve and protect history.
Again, that is why we are organizing “Remembering Indianola- Queen City of the West.” We hope to keep some of the history, like the immigrant struggles and successes, in our memories. We hope to bring to light some of the glories of that era.
That event is one of the things happening now in our lives. It is about one of the things that happened in our area. It takes little research to find things that have happened in this County. We know a little about the KaranKawa Indians, there is a large collection of that memorabilia at the museum; we are continuing to learn about LaSalle and his first foreign colony. (See the display in the museum.) This event focuses on Remembering Indianola. We are working on Civil war events, and other elements of our history as we march from then till now.
The Friends of the Museum have the beginnings of a long and difficult track to building a new, beautiful and larger museum because we have more to remember. Those are some of the things happening now in our lives relating to things that happened then in our county You can make it part of your lives by attending events, joining in activities and enjoying our rich heritage.
