Resting in Her Shade

It is said that one generation plants a tree, and the next one rests in its shade. Agnes Bettie Kenney Burgan, the Irish Matriarch, bought and maintained a home for many years. Four generations would find rest there, but the street that was referred to as a country road by at least one resident became crowded, and a bit seedy. What was once a respite from city life became part of it, and Vi Burgan Sullivan left for a quieter part of town with her husband, aged Aunt Annie, and her two children in 1952. The old "homestead in Homestead" is gone now, replaced by a community garden owned by the city. Just west of that neighborhood, a few houses similar to the duplex they lived in can still be seen. The Patterson Family Cemetery is just around the corner from there, albeit neglected, and the library and firehouse are closed. The family church building is being used by another denomination, and Clifton Park is still a pretty busy place.

I wish that I could have sat on that porch with my Mom, Margaret Mary Sullivan, and Granddad that day. But then, that wouldn't work, would it?