One of the things I love best about living in New England is the beautiful colors of fall. Every year I try to find some way to take in the magnificence of the glory of Autumn. This year we decided to take a Columbus Day trip to Quebec City. This would kill two birds with one stone; see the fall colors, and visit a beautifully kept French/Canadian city.

Our journey began on Saturday morning. As we traveled north on I-93 we were greatly rewarded with some of the most beautiful fall colors imaginable. Vista upon vista provided the most glorious hues and landscapes. The pictures we took do not do justice to what our eyes beheld.

As we neared the Vermont border, Janet recalled her youth, living in Danville, VT. I asked if she wanted to visit, but she thought it would be too far out of the way and she wouldn’t remember anything anyway. As we neared St. Johnsbury we saw a sign that said Danville, 5 mi. It didn’t appear as out of the way as anticipated, so we thought, what the heck, let’s give it a shot.

As we entered the town, the curtain shrouding Janet’s memories began to draw.  Immediately she identified the library.  Then she directed me to the sign pointing us to the school which we circled two or three times to recollect the memories. It was apparent that the building had been remodeled, but she was able to identify where the classrooms she attended 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade by their proximity to the field adjoining the aforementioned library.

Our next mission was to find the house the Sheppard clan resided. I knew from years of stories that this house had once been a one room school house. Peacham Road stood out in Janet’s memory so we began our search for the one time abode. At first, nothing appeared familiar. Then we entered Harvey’s Hollow and memories came flooding back. “I used to ride my back to this girl’s house.” “This is where we, that’s where we.” But still we couldn’t find the house. After 15-20 minutes of back and forth, we stopped at a site with a dilapidated garage, and the gutted basement of a house. Walking back and forth we considered this might the place. Jim and June couldn’t be reached by phone, so we called Steve. Though he was too young to remember the house, he did know that Ken and Alicia had visited in the 90’s and found the house to have been moved. This was the place. Janet began piecing the memories together and identifying the chimney, where her parents room had been, and finally where she had stayed. What a thrill to visit this prominent place in Janet’s childhood. But the best was yet to come.

Driving back into town, we had to visit the town library. In the late 60’s and early 70’s the school didn’t have a library. It was not uncommon for students to cross the field and check out books. Janet loved reading and this was the highlight of her day. Throughout her three years in Danville this was a weekly, if not daily, routine. We stopped to take a picture, and met the husband of the current librarian. We recounted her tale, and he mentioned his children and many others had also spent their lunch periods going to the library.  We journeyed inside and it was like jumping back in time. Janet remembered every detail as if it were yesterday. Her face glowed as she recalled the inception of her love of children’s literature.

Janet and I were together for 27 years before I was able to see any of her childhood residences. Earlier this year we visited Interlaken, NY where some of her best memories lay. Danville was a missing piece of the puzzle that I was excited to see. The beautiful colors of fall combined with Janet reliving some beautiful memories made for one of the best reasons to be living in New England like a tourist!

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller