In the early morning of April 1895, a fire broke out in a livery stable in downtown Tahlequah. Before the blaze was extinguished, it destroyed much of the town: dry goods stores, grocery store, church, residences. The fire happened long ago, is a part of history, and many people have forgotten but in the restoration an the old building, traces of charred wood were found.
I can imagine the fear and the courage of those who fought the quickly-spreading inferno. In my mind, I can hear people shout, see them running for water, trying to save belongings by hauling them out of buildings, telling the children to keep back. Years slip away and I am there, watching, listening, as the fire roars.
This long ago time has been covered over and mostly forgotten, but when someone decides to strip away the layer upon layer that time has built, there it is, a reminder of yesterday’s people, yesterday’s town, yesterday’s emotions.
We too are writing history, layer by layer. Some day, a future generation may discover something, a long-lost object or book that will pique the imagination. Somebody with curiosity about what has gone before will start digging and peeling away accumulated years until the past and the present come together again, one layer at a time.
I save lots of things and when I come across them they take me back to earlier days.
So do I, Morgan.