The Stories Blog #6 10|26|14

       I was walking through the halls of this grade school and everything felt so nostalgic. The smaller chairs, the basketball game that was being played in the gym, the individual students art projects adorning the hallways. It brought back so many memories of when I was still in grade school. Seeing all the parents with their children reminded me of parent-teacher conferences. All the kids staying right on their parents’ hips and pointing out their artwork when they would float past. I was interviewing the people with my friend Cecily. Cecily and I had been talking about how we were interviewing all adults and that it would be a great idea to interview the kids as well! The young were going to be the next generation in this town and that meant they might have a say in what’s happening in Conneaut Lake. We had talked to a couple of children and they had told us about their projects and what they had learned in school. The children said they loved playing at the beach and how they would love if there were playgrounds installed for them to play at. But one young girl and her mother truly stuck out to me. The daughter was so eager to speak to us. Excitement read all across her face.
      Cecily and I started with our simple questions to warm up the conversation, like what their name was and how long they had resided in Conneaut Lake. But it blew my mind. The girl’s family had been there at Conneaut Lake for generations. The mother and her family had grown up there. Her mother said that she wanted to keep their family in Conneaut Lake for as long as possible. You could tell by the vibrant smiles on their faces and they way their voices became faster and higher when they spoke, that Conneaut Lake really meant something to them. It wasn't just a place, it was their home. They loved everything about the town: the people, the stores and shops, the history, and the lake itself. When they talked about it, it was unusual. It had been a long time that I had talked to someone who loved the place where they lived so much. I think its something that’s uncommon today. People live where they have to live whether it for work or what they can afford. They don’t really live their because they love the history or really care about its welfare. Its amazing to know there are still people out there that want to know all about where they live.
     When Cecily and I were beginning the questions about what they would like to see happen in Conneaut Lake and about what part of Conneaut Lake is their favorite, Cecily and I learned something. This girl had been part of the historical society since she was in second grade. Her mother and her would research the town and learn everything they could on it starting in second grade. Their love for this town kept growing as they spoke and you could tell from the gleam in their eyes. Their responses to our questions were how they loved Conneaut Lake the way it was. They wanted it to stay the same with the same small-town-feel and how the loved the people who lived there. Every response was warm and genuine when they spoke. It was really spectacularly beautiful to know that a place could mean so much to someone.


I want to hear more about Conneaut Lake as whole. I think it would be fun to hear all the local lore and maybe even some love stories. I am such a sucker for love stories. It has a rich history so hearing the local lore and ghost stories would paint a huge picture. Thats how story telling started for the most part. Sitting around a fire talking about monsters and creatures that surrounded them.

Jottings #2 10|5|14 Blog #5

• warm
• welcoming
• sparkling water
• seemed really excited to be on this ride
• gentle breeze 
• it made the lake seem so much more alive then it was the other day
• so much history about one little lake
• unfair taxing since the earliest point in time
• the past was thriving 
• socioeconomic status
• there is two extremes, you're either extremely wealthy or you're not
• all the houses on the lake were not a representation of what the houses in the town were like
• they were majority vacation homes
• people only stayed for the summer 
• versus people who lived there year round
• two completely different lifestyles 
• they all lived together too 
• imagine going shopping with someone who is on a completely different level of income
• money is usually more power
• Do these people who live there only for the summer have more say?
• They people seemed warm and welcoming 
• A lot of them waved at us
• Is the town run by people who have more money
• Sometimes they can forget the underdog or not understand the lifestyle of those who have less money than they do
• Its tougher for someone who doesn't have money as a crutch to get up and support themselves in a town that has that much of a separation between the wealthy and the not so wealthy
• corruption
• so much corruption