Up on the Hill 7-18

Laurel Hill School graduated thirteen high school students 62 years ago this summer. Those young people, innocent of the ways of the world, flowered into unique identities that carried the scars of World War II.

Despite this past, they pressed on, following the rainbow of the American dream. They learned to embrace their past, scars and all, and try to reclaim their history by “turning back the pages" to remember the lessons of

previous generations.

Six of the 13 have passed away and the remaining group is just thankful for each blessing of life. For the past twelve years we have held annual reunion luncheons. This year we have been waiting for one to recover from knee surgery. A 63rd reunion date is set for Saturday, July 28th at the Laurel Hill Grill.

One of our classmates, J.S. Steele, and friend Donald Reeves from Baker visited with us recently. Donald has a storehouse of information from several local schools. We looked at pictures and identified a few faces ... seems like only yesterday until you try recalling a name to match a face.

Beware of scam artists! Last week in our neighborhood an elderly couple and a recent widow were two of the families contacted about their bank account.

The fright that it can cause someone who is struggling in a new walk of life in widowhood is terrible. Yes, reports were made to the police and hopefully we will all take note of strange phone calls.

The bank never calls wanting our account numbers or with threats to close our accounts. These bad people say that your account number is all over the Internet. They sometimes work in pairs, playing the bad guy and the good guy as they talk to the innocent on the phone.

The Hilltoppers met for lunch in the Porch room at the Laurel Hill Grill on Tuesday. Laurel Hill's Citizen of the Year, Dr. Mabel Jean Morrison, Eula

Mae Harrison, Bertie Ann Campbell, blueberry picking Trecia Chedister,

Cassie Rogers, Janet Twitty, Norma Flournoy and McDonald Campbell added to the many discussions of local interest. A rousing discussion of snake encounters (they told me not to mention the snakes!); local activities and family news.

Blueberries linger in the tops of the trees but I don't climb ladders anymore to reach for them. My hip and knees are working too well to risk a fall! I have enjoyed the blueberries, picking, sorting, bagging and most of all the sharing with friends. The freezer has a supply for winter, a visiting niece and granddaughter. I got two pickings of figs and called

Janet Twitty! I proclaimed the tree hers to harvest ... and race with the birds for the fruit.

Flashback in time: Do you remember summer evenings at dusk when the brown and soft-bodied fireflies came out and we marveled at their lights? We called them lightning bugs. They darted about in the yard, giving children a path to chase. No batteries! Children often gathered the little bettles and dropped them into a glass jar for a closer view of their built-in lights. Light production in fireflies is due to a chemical reaction that takes place in specialized light-emitting organs, usually on the lower abdomen.

Kids, the firefly is the official insect of the state of Pennsylvania!

Psalm 133:1 says: How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!