city at night

city at night

Friday, January 1, 2016

Ringing in the New Year... Literally

My great-grandmother, Susanna Marti, came to this country from Switzerland with her parents and siblings in 1873 when she was nine years old.  In 1885 she married my great-grandfather, Charles Plau, the son of a German immigrant.  The Plau family owned a farm in Middleburg Township, Ohio.  (That land is now a suburban housing development.)

I have a number of items which belonged to Susanna, including a dinner bell, more than 100 years old, which she used on the farm.

Every New Year's Eve, I open the front door of my house, and at the stroke of midnight, I ring my great-grandmother's bell.


I wonder if the neighbors think, "Who the heck is ringing that bell?"


Happy 2016!

2 comments:

  1. What a lovely tradition! Happy New Year!

    Saludos,

    Kim G
    Boston, MA
    Where, according to a neighbor, the children of the neighborhood are about to make a little parade banging pots and pans.

    THAT should rouse the hangover cases, haha.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gracias, Kim. Happy New Year to you too, y ¡buen viaje!

      Delete