Worth a Thousand Memories

We have all heard that pictures are worth a thousand words. And we all have those special pictures that, no matter how much time has passed, or what else is going on in the world, will always call up the memories and emotions just like the first day we looked at them. My Mother gave me one of those pictures the other day.


Yep, that's me and my Grampy Towle on his tractor. The potato farm in Northern Maine. 1972. Now I have lots of memories of Grampy from growing up, but not of Grampy on the farm, working the fields, driving his tractor. The Grampy Towle I remember had already sold the tractor, and the farm, and moved into a modest house in town, and become a Postal Carrier. I remember the soft spoken man, sitting on the couch, who welcomed us with that wonderful Northern Maine tone as we walked through the door each time we came to visit. Terrific memories, but not this picture.

What makes this picture so special is the connection it provides between me and my Mother. In addition to the Grampy Towle that I know from growing up, I know the Grampy Towle from the farm. The strong, proud, working man of my Mother's youth. The man from all of her stories who worked the potato fields and raised six girls on a farm in the Northern tip of Maine. The man who only had to speak to get his kids on the straight path when they would start to mis-behave. The man who provided the foundation, learning, structure that have been handed down to me through my Mother. This is the man my Mother knew, and with this picture, I knew as well.

Pictures provide a thousand memories. A document of history that we may not have known we were a part of. And, in some instances, provide a unique and valuable look at where we came from.