Well, the big birthday Seven-Oh has come and gone for me. I don’t feel a whole lot older than I did at this time last year, however old age is one of those things that creeps up on you bit by bit. Maybe a little more gray and couple extra wrinkles but slow enough so I don’t really notice it. Sometimes there’s a bit of stiffness in the morning but that goes away quickly once I start moving. Not often, fortunately, though when it does, it brings to mind the late comic Tim Conway’s character The Old Man, barely moving at a shuffle.
So what has changed over the years I’ve lived in my home town? Quite a bit and yet a lot is the same. It was and still is a small town. There was a Newberry’s store eons ago with rows of little bins with trinkets fascinating to a small child. Now the Newberrys is long gone. I’m old enough to remember shoe stores that would measure your feet and order shoes which would fit and not cause discomfort. Yeah, you paid a little extra for them but it was worth it. Now the small town shoe stores are gone as well so you order online while you cross your fingers.
Big box stores like Walmart and Home Depot have muscled in, wiping out most of the local clothing and hardware stores we used to have. But some small businesses have managed to soldier on and prevail. A local candy and gift shop is still hanging tough, though the Covid shutdown threw them for a loop. A book store which started up over fifty years ago has gone through multiple incarnations and still prevails in spite of Amazon. Also enduring is the local diner as well as a small restaurant on Main Street.
Residential neighborhoods still look the same, though people have come and gone, with small town suburbia slowly spreading into the countryside. Both the fire and police departments have their own buildings now, moving out of the Town Building where they formerly resided, in order to avoid the traffic and stop lights on Main Street as well as escaping from very cramped quarters. The only drawback to that is that their new digs are just a few streets away from me, so I hear them whenever they go bombing out on a call.
Some changes seem to fall into the ‘How Long Will That Last?’ category. All of the big box stores built themselves on the local flood plain, becoming obvious whenever a heavy rain happens, which seems to be happening with more frequency now. The flooding we had last July turned Walmart and Shaws into temporary islands and caused water damage at Walgreens. The much touted Riverside walk next to the Ammonoosuc River with picnic benches and wrought iron railings experienced a small land-slide at one end putting the picnic area at risk. Ominous looking cracks have appeared on the small sidewalk running along the river. Since the riverbank at that point is extremely tall and steep, any repair job will be complicated as well as expensive. Even if it’s done, the can is only being kicked just so far down the road. Land slump happens.
Nature itself has undergone changes. Rainfall seems to be in the feast or famine area. After a number of years of abnormally dry weather, we now get deluged with heavy rains. While it hasn’t gotten a whole lot warmer over all, the growing season is extending itself. Fall frosts seem to be receding into October when once they began in early to mid-September. Last winter’s temperatures almost never fell below zero degrees Fahrenheit, something I found unprecedented, having lived here my entire life. I’m curious to see what this coming winter will bring.
When I was a child, cardinal birds were a rare and exotic sight. Now they are nearly as common as robins. It’s been ages since I saw any indigo buntings, scarlet tanagers or Northern orioles. They may still be around but greatly dwindled. The orioles used to build their nests on the elm trees around town. Unfortunately Dutch Elm disease blasted the once-elegant trees lining Main Street and are sadly long gone. The change in vegetation as well as much development have altered the environment, making it less suitable for these lovely birds.
Other invasives are gradually altering the landscape. Now we’re watching for the emerald ash borer and the hemlock wooley adelgid. Queen Anne’s Lace, Japanese knotweed and garlic mustard are steadily invading, looking like they’re here to stay. There’s been no sign of the Joro spider as yet, so it’s too soon to know if it will have any effect on the local weaver spider population. Naturalists seem to think it’s not having too much of an impact. Let’s hope they’re right.
Virginia creeper (a native plant) began making its appearance in my area about twenty years ago, probably seeded in by turkeys and other birds who like to eat the small blue colored berries,which are inedible to humans. I’m not sure if it was here in Northern New Hampshire to begin with but it is definitely expanding its range. The vines grow vigorously anywhere they can (which is pretty much everywhere). I’m constantly pulling them up, leading me to dub them the Kudzu vine of the northeast. Their saving grace is the handsome garnet color they turn in the autumn.
I’m sure there are more changes to come. Barring accident or illness, I anticipate another twenty to twenty five years of life, as both my parents lived to be 91 years old. We seem to be living in interesting times now. While I don’t expect total apocalypse, things will definitely never be the same. I think we’re resilient enough to get through it.
Peace, long life and a quiet October to all.
