The Preface to “Foundations - A Chronicle of a Small Town” is worth rereading for appreciation: History. What an awesome word! While for most of us, the term “history” invokes recollections of school classrooms in which we struggled to memorize names and dates in some form of chronological order, mostly in order to pass an exam at the end of each chapter, almost always wondering just why we needed to know this stuff. We must agree that the recorded events of history are our FOUNDATION.
Just as a home is built on a strong foundation, so must our lives. The foundation, the groundwork, for the future has been laid by and relies solely on the events of the past. In this book, as we examine the events of the beginnings of our community, it’s easy to see why Middle River is populated by such spirited citizens today. As we read of the trials of the pioneers, the hardships they endured, their will to survive and overcome, we gain a sense of our own fortitude. They couldn’t take the easy way out simply because there was no road.
It’s truly amazing to comprehend what life must have been like without all of our “modern conveniences.” To imagine what life must have been like not just before cars, but even before roads; not just before indoor plumbing, but before wells and pumps, not just before appliances, but before electricity; and the list could go on and on; for most of us is impossible. Thank heavens there were those who wrote accounts of the past! It does, however, make one wonder just why those times are referred to as “The good old days.” Many of the readers of this book will not remember a time before computers. That’s why it’s imperative to have written history. From it we should gain an appreciation of the present and the future.
The history contained within the pages of this book is somewhat different than the history we are used to reading. Yes, there are recorded events of the past, without which it couldn’t be called a historical account. Yet, we have also attempted to provide a “living history”, an account of those things of which we are proud today, in addition to the things which most affect our lives at this point in time. After all, we are the history of the future generations.
So, who will take the reins to continue to “build” Middle River’s historical structure from 2005?
