Post - Parham

 

Well, it's been a while, folks.

And you may not know that, even now. Just this moment, I logged onto this blog for the first time in a very long time, to learn that Feedburner is going away. Feedburner was the magic that notified you of the arrival of another post on this blog. Clearly, I have not kept them busy enough of late, and they have become discouraged. Perhaps you, too, have given up looking for new old news. 

Well, I'm back. Feedburner, not so much. The name slays me - I remember our father, ever the practical farmer,  calling pleasure horses hayburners. Feedburner conjures up an old nag with one of those feedbags over its nose. 

Which is all I have to say about all of that.

Parham is quite another matter. This horrible 'time' we have endured together for the past 16 months has created its share of tension and mental anguish, leading to some tragic stories which have not received much attention. Nor have the people impacted by the tragedies, so intent have we been on the need to distance and stay well.

I was looking for Parham stories and came across, not for the first time, the outstanding local online paper the Frontenac News. If you follow this link you will arrive at an account of the saddest event to hit Parham, perhaps ever. I won't retell the senseless and violent episode that changed Parham's pretty historic streetscape, and many if not all of the inhabitants of the village, forever. I'll just say that the photos of the 1887 St. James Anglican church that I took on my visit 7 years ago represent a view that you will no longer enjoy as you drive through the village. The red brick manse and the church were destroyed by fire in June 2020. 

Nor will you enjoy this view captured by Streetview, and not yet changed. Hope they don't revisit. At least the locals will have that. The event broke so many hearts. There's even a fine song written by Greg Tilson of the Kingston-based group The Gertrudes, performed by the group and supported by guest artists like Georgette Frye and members of the Kingston Symphony, among others. The well-produced video can be found at this last link I've posted. A fine project to lift dashed spirits.

So, I will share with readers who might come across this post, these photos. Parham has a special association for me. I once stayed at  the red and white house, summer retreat of a family whose scion I was dating. This was years and years before I found the true love of my life, and my travelling companion for 44 years, whom I lost last December.

So, July 2021. I'm on the road again. Don't wait for Feedburner to tell you I've enjoyed another village with interesting architectural history. You'll wait a long time.