A HIAWATHA REUNION

                      A TOWN REUNION
I went to McDonalds with my Hiawatha Hat. 
The guy looked at it and said, "What is that.?
I told him it was a day for a lot of musings,
About things that were old and sometimes confusing.

What do you mean and whats it all about?
It's the town of my youth, I almost did shout.
While gathered we talk of cars, people and food,
And anything else, if we are in the mood.

Pictures are laid out on the tables you see, 
They lay there for old timers to come and see.
There are pictures of things, cars, homes and People
And even a small Church, but without a steeple.

What is it that drags us and brings us back,
To the place we dug coal that was very black.
The towns people were friendly, or so it seemed to me.
It was a real great place to raise a family.

At the reunion some were old, and in wheelchairs they sat.
They talked of the old days and our Hiawatha Hat.
We talked of games, of snow, and of baseball bats.
Yes this small coal town was where it all "was at."

It was a magical place, this old town of ours.
There is not much left except sagebrush and cows.
After lunch we sat down and the musings begin, 
And so many are talking is sounds like a din.

 

As we look at scrap-books, we see old friends and we laugh
And the black faced miners seem to need a good bath.
Much of our conversation is about sporting teams, 
And some guys had dreams of being on national league teams.

As we thumb through the books a picture makes us smile.
And my mind thinks of other things all the while.
The ladies are animated and their arms they are waving,
If you did not know what was happening, you would think they were raving.

So at noon luncheon arrives, KFC Chicken of course.
Some are not hungry and some eat like a horse.
Soon luncheon is over, hugs and goodbyes have been said,
And many leave with new memories, stuffed in their head.

A lot of old memories have come to see light.
I have thought of many, both by day and at night.
Some of us were old, and some others were gone 
I hope next year I'll be here, to get tired and Yawn.

And if I make it next year, in my Hiawatha Hat,
And someone asks,"what is that," I can
Explain to them that, in its day, Hiawatha was where
All these things, "WERE AT", you might say.

W.R. Baldwin --14 Aug 2016