Good thing the past is behind us.

I often feel the immense weight of history pressing down on me when I think of my ancestors (and even the ancestors of others). This is one reason why I absolutely love Google Books. Doing research into one's own history can be pretty enlightening. Here are a few of my recent finds that pertain to my own history:

Rural Social Study of Clay County, Iowa

This link contains a pretty detailed snapshot of survey results of what it was like living in Everly, Iowa (my hometown) in 1916. It is especially cool to read the demographic info with the knowledge that some of the people that were discussed were my direct ancestors.

The Creation of Templar Park in Spirit Lake, Iowa

This link was a little more disturbing for me. A little back story is needed to understand why. Long before I was born, my family was somehow was able to acquire land for a cottage in Templar Park, along the shore of Big Spirit Lake. I'm afraid I don't know the details behind it, but I believe it has something to do with my grandfather or great-grandfather being a member of the Masonic order. This modest little cottage was a favorite vacation spot of ours when I was growing up, especially for me, a little girl with a summer birthday and a love of swimming.

So here I am, trying to learn a bit about the origins of Templar Park, when I come across this line:

Grand Commander Guest, in the opening remarks of his address, says: "We are assembled here to-day for the second time 'under our own vine and fig tree,' under the shadow of 'God's first temples,' on the banks of this beautiful lake (Spirit Lake), where a few years since roamed the untutored savage."

Eek. I suppose I should not be suprised at the callousness, but it still weighs heavy on my heart. Reading through the book about Freemasonry, I was struck at how ridiculous their proceedings are, and I have to wonder how seriously they took themselves or whether this was just some fun social club where they dressed up and felt important.

So of course, all this just makes me even more curious and dying to find more info about how the region was settled, how my ancestors played a part, and what that says about me as a person (if anything). Which just digs me further and further into the rabbit hole that is Google Books. So to Google Books, I say....thanks?