As I was jogging this morning, I came across this marker. I have driven by it dozens of times before. It’s on the same road my wife’s parents have lived for over twenty years. Yet, this morning was the first time I read the marker.
The town my wife grew up in has much history. The Treaty of Greenville opened parts of Ohio, Chicago and Detroit to the pioneers. Tecumseh was not thrilled about this and protested on this spot. From this spot, he could light bonfires and let the soldiers in Fort Greene Ville know his displeasure.
I am not one to debate the merits and atrocities of US westward expansion. My family history suggests I have Iroquois ancestors and they would have suffered under Colonial rule. Yet there is no denying my family benefited from it.
What I was focusing on was the voices from the past. Have you ever wondered who was here before you? What happened on a spot that seems so ordinary? Could something exciting have happened on the very spot you are sitting?
In many cases, we may never know. However, this morning I got quite a reminder that quiet spots along a highway may hold far greater secrets than we may realize.
