Little Dutch Boy visits New Harmony

A couple of months ago, I was conversing with my twin cousin about hair, complaining that I don’t like mine (never have) and wishing I could do something about it. She said, “yeah, that little Dutch Boy haircut isn’t doin’ you any favors.” I laughed, because we always laugh, but inside I was like, Wow! do I really look like the little Dutch Boy? I became quite hell-bent on letting my hair grow longer, although Ronna’s suggestion was to cut it short, and my vanity assured me that my longer tresses were rather princess-esque, In real life my hair just splits as it grows and last Thursday I had to get a deep cut.

You kids probably don’t remember Dutch Boy Paints, well-known for their Pure Lead Paint, whose logo/trademark was a popular figure back in my long-gone youngster days. I barely remembered, but felt a little uneasy when I googled the image… Later, while we were browsing an antique store in New Harmony, I came across a drum major hat for sale. When I donned the chapeau and checked the mirror, I realized…

OMG, I Do look like the Little Dutch Boy!!!

Might as well embrace it…

Friday was one of those perfect days of almost-summer: lots of sunshine and no humidity. We were watching the forecast, but ignored their warnings of rain on Saturday and loaded Goldie with some overnight rations, pjs, and drove up to New Harmony. Our first stop was at Wilson Auctions where we previewed their Saturday auction items. There wasn’t much we were interested in, though we did ponder buying the pink golf cart. From there we went down the street to the town clerk and rented a camping spot at the village’s sweet little Murphy Park. From our campsite we could walk all over town, and that’s what we proceeded to do.

While we enjoyed sitting in camp and watching some kids play for hours, we ended up walking “downtown” for lunch at the Yellow Tavern and on out to the Atheneum for the Firefly Festival. Turns out the Firefly Fest attracts quite a crowd, but honestly it was mostly local families who turned out for the Kid’s Korner of activities inside the building. There were two shuttles to drive folks down into the dark holler near the river to see the swarm of lightning bugs that live and play down there.

We hung around a little while and then strolled through the labyrinth, and the Peace Garden.

From the quiet of the gardens, we followed the sounds of music to the Red Geranium, where we caught the tail-end of a “band” called Headliners. After some cheesy fries and a Stella, we walked on back to camp.

I woke abut 7 am the next morning to the sound of rain, steady rain that went on for over an hour before letting up. We moseyed around before breaking camp, so we got to the Antiques Show just as they opened inside the Ribeyre Gym. The vendors outside were mostly still covered up from the rain, so we went over to the Library and bought some $1 books, and to the Farmers Market for some fresh zucchini. I bought a quilt from one of the vendors and we were done. This is the 22nd year for the Golden Raintree Antiques Show, but every year it gets smaller and smaller. New Harmony used to have two blocks of antique stores, but they are now down to three shops, and there’s a block on Church Street that is completely empty. If I were younger, I’d get something going there, but alas, I am not.

We spent an hour or so at the Auction House. Seeing how the prices at the auction were about an eighth of the prices at the Show, I don’t wonder why antiques don’t sell anymore. Admit it, Boomers, nobody thinks our old stuff is worth what we think it should be…

I’m cold! The clouds are supposed to clear out and let the sunshine in, but in the meantime I’m bundled up. The week ahead looks sunny, warm, and dry. Hope it’s nice in your neck of the woods.

Peace