By Meg Anderson
It’s been one hell of a 2020 so far. March brought us a Friday the 13th, a full moon and Daylight Savings Time when we set our clocks ahead one hour. By March 19 we went into a statewide lockdown, shelter-in-place mode, due to the coronavirus. This weekend Halloween is on Saturday, complete with a Blue Moon, the second full moon of the month, and our clocks fall back an hour earlier Sunday morning as Daylight Savings Time comes to an end. Some have opined this might return us to factory settings. We can only hope.
If not at least it will give us earlier light in the morning and maybe a little more warmth when my friend and I meet for our daily walk. In the last several months we’ve learned a lot about the traffic patterns in downtown Georgetown, ranging from the dubious to the dangerous. We have encountered those that sail through the various side street stop signs in an attempt to get ahead of logging trucks but one of the worst, as far as being a pedestrian, is the crosswalk located on Main and Harkness.
It’s an easy slider as the folks coming from upcountry have a pretty good grade to get going on; the folks leaving downtown are also on a good slope for gathering speed and both descents meet at that crosswalk.
Firsthand knowledge says logging trucks are the most respectful, as car people have a tendency to drive right on through it, ignoring the folks waiting to cross. Unfortunately, and not knowing the circumstances surrounding the incident, a young boy was hit in that very crosswalk on Oct. 18. The 9-year-old suffers from massive brain trauma and fractures to his pelvis, skull and possibly his ankle, and by press time, was showing slight signs of recovery.
The bottom line is: A crosswalk is a crosswalk is a crosswalk.
Each crosswalk was chosen for a well-thought-out reason. And each crosswalk needs to be highly respected as such. That particular crosswalk is used at least twice a day by Georgetown School students so drivers should be even more attentive. It just takes a moment of distraction to change the lives of so many. My best advice to all our Divide drivers is to simply slow down while driving through town. And my prayers go out to both of the local families involved.
Nancy Porter, whose ancestors came to the Georgetown Divide for the Gold Rush, has published a book based on her years of research. According to Porter, “Skeletons in the Closet: Adventures of a Gold Rush Family,” features tales of shootings, murders (including a rare hanging in Auburn), depression and alcohol, mining mishaps (including a quarry death), stagecoach robbery at Penobscot Ranch, tuberculosis and much, much more.
Porter provides both historical and family photos to illustrate the stories. Her family built and owned the Greenwood Hotel (Lee’s American Exchange) and the book revolves around the family tales she uncovered. You can find her book on Amazon and if you have Prime, you can read about her skeletons just in time for Halloween.
And speaking of Halloween, our town has once again chosen to defy the powers that be, and will have a celebration, sanctioned or not, for the kids and families on the Divide. Just as sure as there was a Georgetown Founders Day, there will be trick-or-treating on Church and Main streets.
My advice to drivers is, again, slow down. There will be children on the streets and they will be so excited they may dash out, so keep your eyes open and your speed low and we’ll all be happier at the end of the night. Also, whether or not Church Street is closed to traffic, please take a different route to your desired location.
And as a footnote I’d like to add that I wish our country well in the upcoming presidential election, which is only days away. My sincere hope is we can all accept the will of our fellow countrymen in choosing the best candidate for the job, no matter the party affiliation, and may we all find the strength to accept the outcome on Nov. 3.
I pray for no riots, no destruction and no harm upon our neighbors. I pray for peace …
