Being thankful for friends

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At Thanksgiving, we have dinner with our family or friends. We usually offer thanks for our families and the meal we are having and wish our friends goodwill.

I ran across this poem amongst the files at the Salmon Brook Historical Society. It was written by Mrs. Olive Allshouse Devnew about her good friends, the Greens, who lived at 109 West Granby Road at the corner of West Granby Road and Barndoor Hills Road. In the poem, she expresses her admiration and love for her neighbors. Perhaps you know a family in Granby that you admire, as Olive Allshouse Devnew did the Greens. Happy Thanksgiving!

Todd Vibert

The Greens at Bushy Hill.

There’s a stone house on the corner- vivid in memory
There’s a lovely family in it, that I’m always glad to see.
Just drop in some day and call- it will give your heart a thrill
It’s a family of C. A. Greens in Dear Old Bushey Hill
The Father and the mother are the grandest folks that live
They’ve handed down a healthy birthright, the best there is to give
Folks like these are very few- just search where ere you will
You’ll find no truer parents than the Greens of Bushey Hill.
First there’s dainty Ever- she fits in everywhere
How many souls she’s gladdened with her thoughtfulness and care.
There’s Allen- always faithful- the first cherish son
When he drops in for a visit- there’s always lots of fun.
And May- the belle of the family, is musical and fair
She’s helpful in all kinds of ways and always does her share.
Blanche- the moderate, patient one, as gentle as can be
She is of all the others, the dearest to me.
Mardula- a smarter, jollier girl I vow I’ve never seen
I hear her say “I shan’t have my name, Old Duler Ryer Green.”
Then Anna- quick of wit and bright, she always seems so gay
The house is big and lonely whenever she’s away.
Helen is true blue of course, and might hard to beat
With more executive ability, than half the men you meet.
Go and see them all together, you’ll be welcomed by them still
There’s no finer family on God’s Footstool, than the Greens of Bushey Hill.

—Written by Olive Allshouse Devnew