Goodbye, Yoe

I've heard just about all of the "Yoe" jokes there are. "How are Yoe doin'?" "Where's Yoe mama?" And just the plain shout out "Yoe!"

It's been fun to have home town be Yoe Borough, Pennsylvania, a tiny town (0.2 sq. mi.) between Dallastown and Red Lion. It's been my home for all of my life. Growing up in Yoe, I knew all of the neighbors on our block. As kids we'd sleep out in the back yard at night, have fun building snow forts in the winter and go swimming in the summer. We'd walk down to the creek and sometimes play at Yoe Park. We've always had our cars serviced at Bug World and Yoe Service Center. As a little kid, I even remember when the railroad tracks still went through Yoe, one of the last remnants of the Ma & Pa Railroad. In 1993, we even went to the Yoe Centennial Celebration.

After living in Yoe for 30 years, my parents are moving. This past November my 91-year old grandma moved into a nursing home. My parents will be moving into her home in Hellam Township (not Hallam Borough)-- a house my grandpa built in 1946. It's the house where my mom grew up, and it's where I spent countless hours as a child and teenager.

Moving from our house in Yoe...

...to my Grandma's house in Hellam:

I spent last week at home helping my parents move some of their belongings into their new home. It's kinda strange that the next time I return to PA, I won't be returning to the house where I grew up. Yet, on the other hand, I think I would have felt a greater sense of loss if they would have had to sell my grandma's house, which is so rich in 63 years of family history.

While I was home, my brother and I came across some family "treasures," including old photographs, like the ones below.

My grandparents in front of their house in Hellam, not long after they moved in (late 1940s):

My grandparents' house in Hellam, circa 1960:

Picture of my grandparents with my mom next to the garage (1958):

Mom's high school graduation, taken in the back yard with my grandparents and aunt:

With this report comes a prayer request. Please pray for my parents during this stressful period of moving. Pray also that a buyer will purchase our house in Yoe at asking price (or above).