Welcome to Harmony.
Church is beautiful.
The Harmony water tower
can be seen above the
roof tops.
An Accordion player
"serenades" passersby.
Harmony stands at the
crossroads of the
21st & 18th centuries.
A nearby Amish community keeps to the old ways while Harmony residents enjoy all the conveniences of modern life.
The old Bank Building
is now home to
Big Woods Graphics.
Minions is playing
at The JEM.
American Restaurant is on
the first floor oft he Risland
& McGee Building
I wish that all older
buildings had dated
cornerstones.
Old Ways New Ideas
Gift Shop
in an old Granary.
The Hobo Camp sits next
to the Harmony-Preston
Valley State Trail.
I think of my Uncle Andy.
Life on the farm in Schodack, New York in 1920 was too confining for my Dad's older brother, Andy. Struck by wanderlust in his teens, he stitched together scraps of canvas to make a rucksack (Dad's word). My Dad (Stanley) and sister Roe (Rozalia), stumbled on Andy working on his sewing project in the barn. The five and six year olds were sworn to secrecy.
Andy left the farm and rode the rails west, working odd jobs and occasionally mailing post cards home. He got as far west as Pikes Peak in Colorado before deciding to return home. After hugs and kisses from Mother, Andy cleaned up and joined the family for supper. The other children, Paul, Stella, Roe and my Dad, were then sent outside to do evening chores. Mother and Father took Andy into the parlor and he got a stern talking to. Andy's youthful "traveling days" were over. He worked on the farm until the family moved to Albany, in 1922.
A Hobo naps in a shed
next to a Railway
Andy's adventure came to light in the early 1980s when my Dad found the post cards Andy sent his parents as he traveled west. They were among the things my Dad received after Paul, his oldest brother, died in January, 1981.
I gave the post cards to Andy's children, Andrea, Diane and Raymond when I shared the story with them.
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