Curryville Porch Talk

The squeak and pause, squeak and pause of the porch swings in Curryville were very comforting to me. It meant that my neighbors were massaging their bodies and souls after a good days work. To me the sound of those swings in summer evenings meant that all was well and just as it should be.

Curryville is a tiny village in Blair County, Pa. There were about 100 people there when I lived there. I often said when I left in 1956 to join Brethren Volunteer Service, there were 99 people left. According to the internet, the population is now 101.

There used to be a train and a stop sign. There are no longer any trains and no need for stop signs.

Just to reminisce of my childhood in Curryville brings me to my knees in gratitude. I don't know how anyone could be raised more lovingly. I was nurtured to know that this was my town. I had part ownership.

Maybe our neighbors knew our family was poor, but I certainly was not aware of it. Maybe that is why I knew most every refrigerator in Curryville. Maybe that is why people gave me so many clothes. Maybe that is why we got homemade rolls when we mowed the neighbors yard. Maybe that is why the church paid my way to camp and sponsored me when I went into Brethren Volunteer Service.

Through it all, I learned the joy of helping people. That is what I saw those 18 years I lived in Curryville. It is still to me the most important and satisfying thing one can learn.

"The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its member." – Coretta Scott King

My daddy, Robert Cushing Fortney, was my buddy. He carried me to church when I was little. I patted him on his back the whole way, he said. I knew everyone in church and where they sat. I would stand on the seat to see if anyone was missing and would give the report to dad. He said he told me to stop fidgeting.

I said, "How do you stop fidgeting?"

He said, "You just don't do it."

He said I was still for a few minutes and then I jumped up on the bench and walked to him and told him, "It works."

My daddy was very clever.

At church, I learned that we should not swear (take God's name in vain) so I just did not do it. It worked. I have never spoken a swear word in my life.

We were taught that we should not drink alcohol. We never had alcohol in our house at Curryville. I never drank nor had alcohol anywhere I lived. I just didn't do it.

"If we do not discipline ourselves, the world will do it for us." – William Feather