We could not have picked a more perfect ending for our Potluck Paradise Tour of Southwestern Minnesota in June of 2010. The Friends of the Graceville Public Library put on a potluck before our presentation. We gathered in the community center a block from the library. The building had been the school connected with Holy Rosary Church. For our visit the tables and chairs were lined up between the basketball hoops and the kitchen was filled with the fabulous aroma of warming hot dishes.
It was like stepping through a magic portal or a time machine. The linoleum-tiled halls were lined with wooden doors opening into the classrooms of the past. We could almost hear the voices of generations of school children echoing off the concrete block walls. The building was filled with the spirits of joyful community. And tangible evidence of a great many potlucks.
As it had at all of the stops on this tour, our formal presentation ended by evolving into conversation. The distance between audience and presenter evaporated in exclamations of shared memories of recipes, food, family life, and the power of women's community.
Our thanks and deepest appreciation go to those of you who invited us and worked so hard to make each stop such a success, We send our best wishes to the wonderful people who came to the seven libraries or town meeting rooms. You took us into your community if only for an hour or so and we are the better for the experience.
This is Potluck Paradise and we could not have wished for more.
No comments:
Post a Comment