Brule Day has always represented the nearing end of summer for me. I grew up on a farm outside of in Brule, Nebraska, population 411. Brule Day is always on the first Saturday in August. It's one day to celebrate community - with a breakfast, parade, lunch, kids' games and a beer garden and dance. When I was younger, we'd participate in the parade and the kids' games, go home and work on the farm, and return to Brule for the street dance (held in the fire station a block from my grandparents' house). I didn't return to Brule Day for years - until I had kids of my own.
Now, Brule Day boasts a 5K in the morning in addition to the other activities. Many Bruligans (a nickname given to people from Brule by my sister-in-law's sister) participate along with many former Bruligans. Now, most of the kids who gather candy at the parade are out-of-towners - children of children who grew up in Brule.
Benny and I have traveled home for every Brule since he was one. Nate accompanies us if it works out. And now Lila does too. I've run in almost every 5K with my oldest and dearest friend since returning (only missing one year when I was pregnant with Lila). The kids enjoy the parade, lunch and penny toss before we head back to my parents' house for naps. Some day, I hope they can participate in the kids' games.
It's fun to give the kids a taste of small-town life. And it's great to reconnect with friends from high school and their families once a year.
2 comments:
This looks great!
My parents also grew up in similarly small towns, which we would visit each summer as children. I loved visiting! The fact that my grandparents knew who lived in almost every house just about blew my mind.
I think my mother and father, however, were a little less keen to see friends from high school. I seem to remember once hurriedly ducking out of a bank with my mom where her ex-high school boyfriend was working.
This reminds me of Heritage Days in Paul's hometown. I've only been once, and it was before we had kids, but I've always wanted to go back. Unfortunately, since Paul's parents moved to the Black Hills we don't have much of a reason to go back. Things like that are one thing I love about small towns!
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