:Youth As Well

The lemon nut bread is baking now, and as the scent of fresh lemon fills my small living space, I become nostalgic.

This simple loaf of bread was a best seller every year when Barbara Tyree opened not only her lawn, but lovely home for the annual Madonna Heights garage sale.

It was a different era, and possibly my memories may be wrapped in lavender gauze. Still it was always such a fun event.

Barbara and her equally generous husband, Bill, had recruited us from near and far to support and sustain the beautiful retreat for troubled girls on Burrs Lane in Huntington.

Their beautiful lawn was pristine in the morning as we arrived. As “The Ladies” drove away shortly before the moon chided us to leave, their now trampled lawn could bring a gardener to tears.

The traditional garage sale quickly developed into more than a small success financially. It eventually became one of the most lucrative fundraisers for Madonna Heights..

I thought about it as I read today of the upcoming shortages our country faces.

Then I remembered the two items that sold so quickly. Barely used prom dresses from our daughters were a major item and purchased immediately, but so were wire hangers. There was never any explanation for that disparity. I remember the wives bought the gowns; their husbands purchased the hangers. And occasionally, there were a few disagreements and/or questions of “Why?”

I made the lemon nut bread because it was simple and I could divide the recipe into individual loaves rather than the full size.

The annual October garage sale was a time and place in our complacent lives when there was no worry about Covid. We only feared excessive calories. However, all the varieties of homemade cookies disappeared quickly with the shoppers who arrived early in the crowded driveway.

Many of Barbara’s “Ladies” have departed this world, but their daughters and yes, granddaughters, now carry the torch of generosity that always shone so brightly for the young women living on Burrs Lane.

Whenever their memory sprinkles a glow in my now distant life, I feel the warmth and only remember laughter, love and of course, other days

And perhaps youth as well as lemon nut bread.