St Vincent Memories Tracks a Minnesota Small Town's History

Trish Lewis of St. Vincent Memories St Vincent Memories is a blog about a very small town somewhere in Minnestoa. It represents one of the many reasons we keep placeblogs--to chronicle the history of very small places that mean a great deal to us. Blogger Trish Lewis started keeping St. Vincent Memories in October, 2005 and has answered a few questions about what it is that keeps her going:

Placeblogger: Why a placeblog on St. Vincent - Was something going on that got you writing about it? Was that your original intention?

Trish: Yes and no - let me explain...No there was no particular event that triggered it, but yes, 'something was going on'. That something was a deep lifelong love of my hometown and the certain knowledge that I'd always wanted to explore its history and people more. I also wanted to share what I found with others, particularly those who were natives and/or expatriates of the town and surrounding area.

P: What's been your best and worst moments on your blog?

Trish: The best moments are when someone out of the blue contacts me and connects with me and their old hometown (or their ancestor's hometown as the case may be). I have had people I had never heard of connect with me via people either I had known or my mother or grandmother had known at one time, and it's like reconnecting with a family member. It's hard to explain to someone who isn't from a small town or doesn't have deep roots in a community generations-long. You know everybody and everybody knows you. I really cannot think of a truly bad moment, to be honest.

P: What's your software?
Trish: Blogger.com-- it suits me great, it gets the job done.

P: What are the future plans for your blog and for your community?

Trish: My plans for the town blog is to continue to uncover the mysteries of our past as well as document the known. The move I find, the more there seems to be found. Reality is the best fiction there is. As far as plans for my hometown, that's hard to say. I don't live there anymore, although I'm not far from it. I know enough about it, keeping in close touch with people from there, to know it'll be around for quite awhile, but it'll likely slowly fade away. I saw the film A TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL years ago and identified strongly with the lead character. I can see myself someday going back to St. Vincent and paying my respects before I pass this mortal coil...