Words of Wisdom

A wise man learns by the mistakes of others, a fool by his own. --Latin Proverb

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Rossman Reunion : Full of Ideas

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone!  Yesterday, was the annual Rossman family reunion.  I had a great time catching up with family that I hadn’t seen in a while as well as stuffing my face with a bunch of yummy food.  Many people asked me how work was going and what I had been up to.  All I could talk about was my blog and everyone seemed really interested in it.

My grandmother talked about about her old high school, which was located on French Ave. where Sanford Middle School stands today.  She told me that two schools in the state of Florida got selected to go to a national band competition in New Orleans; her school being one of them.  She remembered how they were informed that sleeping arrangements had already been taken care of but they had to bring their own bedding.  When they arrived, they discovered that they were sleeping in abandoned barracks.  She said there were no covering over the windows and they had to tack sheets up, and that the beds weren’t the cleanest place she had ever slept to say the last.  She also mentioned that they were each given $3.00 every morning to go and get breakfast, even though $0.75 would have been plenty.

One of my aunt’s mentioned that what she finds most interesting is all of the different business that have come and gone and moved throughout the years.  She said that where the DriveTime car place is on 17-92 used to be a McDonald’s when she was in school.  The Taco Bell on 27th/17-92 used to be a fish and chips restaurant.  Burger King was behind the pest control place and the old Zayre’s plaza was where the on-ramp for 417 was built.  This was all very interesting to me and I couldn’t help but wonder what my older family members could remember. 

Anyways, I have a feeling that I will start interviews sooner rather than later beginning with my family, which was an avenue that I hadn’t even thought of before.  Hopefully, I will be able to make it down to the Museum this week, if not next weekend at the very latest, to pick up some reading material and do some research.  I also need to spend some time going through old family photos and speaking with my great aunts and uncles.  All in good time… Today however, I’m going to get dressed, grab a bite to eat (in Sanford of course) and head to the Flea Market.  I wonder how long that place has been there… maybe I can find some information on that while I’m there.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone.

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