PRESSED BETWEEN THE PAGES
DeAnn (Wolkow) Kruempel, Columnist
Beautiful Noise
All it takes is a small, seemingly insignificant sound. The whisper of wind through the trees. The pounding of wings as a bird escapes from her nest. Distant “peeps” from the back aisle when entering the farm supply store. Rain pounding on the roof. A lone cow mooing from a remote pasture.
Noises from our childhood act as powerful memory triggers in adulthood, especially if those noises were linked to specific emotions. Pressed between the pages of my mind are the sounds of the farm. I especially remember stepping off the bus to be greeted by the whirring and clicking of the windmill, chickens cackling in the henhouse and calves calling to their mothers in the barnyard. It was not noise to me, but the happy, gentle music of home. Different sounds bring back different memories for everyone, even for siblings.
The baby chick babel at the farm store opens memories pressed between the pages of my mind. I sit on a straw bale next to Mom in the brooder house. We quietly watch the balls of fluff scurry from heat lamp to feed to water. In my heart song I can hear the tiny feet pitter-pattering on the straw-covered cardboard that lined the floor. I can feel the warm softness on my face as I hold a baby chick close. Few words were spoken in that small building many years ago, but those happy moments come back to me time and again.
Deloris and Dorothy recall the windmill sounds. Though the noise varied according to the strength and direction of the wind, it provided a constant background cadence for the other melodies that fleeted in and out of the song. A cow would call to her calf far out in the pasture.
Today when the north wind brings me a similar sound from a few miles away, visions of new life on the farm flash into my mind. I see baby calves and lambs frolic in their pastures. Fluffy tails of twins and triplets wag in unison as the babies enjoy the milk bar.
Occasionally I hear a clunking sound—metal on metal. The sound opens a book of memories: swinging high in the branches of the tree swing as the breeze carries the distinctive sound of small metal doors closing. Behind me in the hog pasture the little pigs are finding grain in the feeder. They have learned to lift the hinged trough covers with their snout, gobble grain and let the cover flop down. The sound added percussion to the music of the farm.
When we hear a noise similar to a sound from our childhood, we can be transported back in time, recalling images and emotions triggered by the noise. Everyone’s memories are different, as well as the sounds that initiate them. Researchers believe that sounds experienced during adolescence are especially memorable throughout life.
What noises take you back to your growing-up years? Animal calls? Bird song? Music? Nature? Machines?
Whatever sounds trigger your memories, I hope they come back to you like a favorite song and fill your heart with happy, beautiful memories. I hope they make you smile.
The author’s column appears in a growing number of Midwest newspapers. Kruempel compiles and publishes the column stories every year. She has also published a historical fiction series, “Promises to Keep.”
Her ten books are available on Amazon. Signed copies may be purchased at the Harrison County Welcome Center. Contact Deanne at deannkruempelauthor@gmail.com.
