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It was mid-1999 when my family moved to Dodgeville from Platteville.
My mother enrolled me in summer school at Dodgeville Elementary so I
could meet new people and make new friends. I had just finished fourth
grade, and was to be starting fifth grade at Ridgeway Elementary.
Like many children in the 90s, I was obsessed with Beanie Babies. You
know, the little novelty animals that millions of people across the globe collected
at the height of their popularity.
Chocolate the Moose was born on my birthday, April 27. And of course, I
had other favorites. My sister, Gina, did too.
Our new home was on Chapel Street, across the street from where the old
middle school used to stand and where the new Health and Human Services
Building stands now. We were a short walk away from just about anywhere
in town.
With the leftover bucks we saved from the movie last week or the two dollars
we had left from basketball game we went to last night, Gina and I would
walk down to Linens and Accents and browse all the items, particularly the
Beanie Babies.
We had dozens of them (actually a lot more than I'd like to admit), but
were always interested in seeing what new ones had just arrived at Linens
and Accents.
Mom would walk down with us occasionally to browse items in the store.
Dad would walk down to expand Mom's never ending candle collection
when a holiday or birthday was coming up.
As I read Florence Crubaugh's Spotlight this week, I couldn't help but remember
why I frequented Linens and Accents, and the memories that came
with those visits.
The only unfortunate part of sharing this memory is that Mom has probably
unearthed my tub of Beanie Babies from the attic and will probably be
requesting that they follow me home.
I'm sure my memory is just one of many that people will be remembering
and sharing during this time. Thank you for being a part of this community
Florence. Enjoy retirement!