Twenty years ago I was given a wonderful, thoughtful hand-crafted gift from a good friend, a sister member of the Ever Ready Club and faithful reader of the Postcard. It required a good deal of work and planning and even enlisted the secret aid of my daughter.
One afternoon while working at the Potting Shed, Carl Geyer came along and unceremoniously put what appeared to be a rolled up towel on the counter. Full of questions, I turned my attention to the towel and Carl slid out the door, answering none. It took but a moment for me to realize that his wife, my friend Donna, had crafted one of her personally designed and beautifully created hooked rugs for me. I was blown away then and I remain so today. It is a cherished treasure.
My rug is entitled Marion Memories and each item worked into it depicts a childhood item or a Marion place near and dear. It is a 28×45” work of art “painted” with strips of finely cut wool and hooked into piece of muslin. It is a rug for hanging and admiring, not ever for walking upon.
The 1950’s Marion places depicted are of the school, when there was only one, the original bank, Dad’s Sinclair gas station, now gone, and the Village Hall and noon whistle, likewise. Also gone but not forgotten is the Sun Theater, the Ann Arbor Depot and the water tower. Worked in heavenly blue are the waters of the Mill Pond cascading over the dam. In one corner I am reminded by a Marion Dairy milk bottle that “You can whip our cream, But you can’t beat our milk”.
Scattered between the Marion scenes are personal reminders of my Blevins Street, including the street sign and childhood items. My two-wheeled bicycle, a doll, stick pony and cowgirl hat, my yellow cat and Beatles records are all there. There is even a little me, dressed in a pink snowsuit.
Donna entitled the work “Marion Memories” and to this day this sweet rug still hangs in our bedroom. Those precious memories and this reminder of my friend are always there; when I go to bed and when I awake.
A native of the Evart area, Donna embraced life in small-town Marion. She devoted thousands of hours to this community and its various institutions. She helped to serve countless funeral and Old Fashioned Days VFW dinners as a member of the Ladies Auxiliary. As a faithful member of the Marion Arbor of Gleaners she worked tirelessly on behalf of Marion, planting trees and contributing to many causes which helped ensure that life was just a bit better for Marion’s residents. Donna and Carl both spent many years working on behalf of the Marion Food Pantry.
For nearly twenty years Donna Geyer has been the head Curator at the Marion Area Historical Museum. In that position she has overseen the collection and the records attached. She has organized countless events and was a driving force in the success of each Clark Day event, held in September. Her devotion to the Museum included becoming a trained curator and record keeper. She was the perfect choice to guide and care for the Museum’s collection and was the primary force behind several of the Historical Society’s publications, including the photo book, Marion, Michigan: A Pictorial History.
I have enjoyed the friendship of a precious few ‘historical’ folks in my time, and Donna Robinson Geyer was one of them. She enjoyed the true stories, things and events from the past, and deeply cared about her family their particular journey. Most people are bored beyond reason by such things. Others cannot get enough. The historical Donna loved all things Evart and Marion, her childhood treasures and memories and ‘Gone with the Wind’.
Donna and I spent a lot of time talking about the things we both remembered about growing up in our respective towns, the likenesses and differences between Marion and Evart; the schools and the holidays, the businesses, people and the common events we both loved.
For all of the things she shared, Donna Geyer was a tremendously private person. She did not talk about others, gossip or share a lot of what was going on with her personally. I am so deeply saddened by the illness and passing of my old friend. And I am so very thankful for her good, long and ‘historical’ friendship. Little did we know how much time the pandemic would take away.
I thanked Donna profusely then, and I thank her again now. Her rendering of my Marion Memories has proven to be a treasure beyond value, and beyond the memories. It reminds me that one of the best gifts of all is friendship. I am so very thankful to have been a friend of Donna Geyer. My deepest condolences to her cherished family.
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We also remember Marionites Lori Pritchard and Pat Leonard this week and send condolences to their families.
