Marlee's Tour Of Marleewood: Part 4

 The sheriff was indeed going to go out to the parking lot to help folks set up tables for food. He even saw a trampoline someone had brought. As he looked out the window he saw Grandma Lu walking towards the back of the building just like he had come in. He thought about turning around and greeting her, but he had a feeling now wasn't the time. She may still be upset with the man he arrested and maybe even him. As he walked down the hallway towards the front entryway he looked at pictures that had been hung. There were even some framed photos of pets that had at one time been heroes not only in Grandma Lu's stories, but had newspaper clippings beside the picture with a rescue story beside the frame.

He stopped to look at a picture of a rather elderly lady and read a newspaper clipping of her picture in it as well. "Hmm, interesting."

"Yes, she certainly was, said Grandma Lu. That picture is one of many that have been taken of her. She had many names; Popcorn Mary, Greyhound Mary as well as Mary Owens, her legal name. She was this little town's self appointed historian. I had the pleasure of meeting her and had her give a very interesting talk to the residents at our nursing home in town; Northwood Hills.  I was working there as an Activity Director many many years ago. She wrote little books and saved things along her many years of living here for others to read and enjoy. She was a celebrity in her own right be being selected to be on the David Letterman show many years ago."

"I wrote a whole series of stories about her. Such an interesting lady for sure. Of course, there have been many interesting folks that have either lived here or were born here. For instance this is a picture of Edward Buchanan the actor. He was born here. Just a bit of trivia for you. He was born the same year as my father; 1903. Here's his picture down here."

He was just a little kid when he and his family moved to Oregon. I liked some of his shows. You know this little town has even had a Pulitzer Prize winner that was born here. Her name was Zoe Akins. She was born here in the 1880's if I'm not mistaken. She got the prize for writing a very good Drama. She wrote plays and poems. Here's a little more trivia for you, Mr. Sheriff. My mother's middle name was Zoe.

 "You see, everyone that has lived here or was born here is important. Of course, to our town they are important, but also to their families and friends. I don't know what's going on out on the parking lot, but it looks like there is food. If you live here long enough you will soon find out that I have a strong liking for sweets and my friend, Grandma B loves coffee. So you can see that along the years there has always been something sweet and a pot of coffee on hand at Marleewood. Speaking of Marlee, have you seen her? You would know her if you saw her. She'd talk your ear off and would either be playing with a puppy or any kind of animal for that matter or baking. Here's a picture of her on my phone. We named this place after her, but this place has it's own history as well. Maybe someday we can visit, but right now let's go outside to see what's going on."

&&&&

Nancy narrowly escaped out the side door without being caught snooping around for Grandma Lu's journal. She just knew there was the secret to the Next Generation series that she was working on in that old book. Nancy had found the journal she was writing about hidden under the window seat cushion. As soon as she could she was going to talk to her old friend about it. Why was she hiding it in the first place? She always was telling stories about her ancestors. Do good friends have secrets from each other? "It will have to wait. I hear clinking of glasses. Is someone making a speech? I have to get over there."

Picture rights of Mary Owens in the lower part of the  collage belong to Argus Leader Dark Room 1983

Marlee's Tour of Marleewood: Part 3

 "It looks like to me that the Quiet Room is going to be busy for awhile. When the sign is up we don't go in. That's just being polite, you know." The sheriff smiled and nodded his head. When Marlee took his hand he said, "Where are we going now?" Marlee grinned and said, "Well, a long time ago we all got invitations to a special party at the library here in town. It said that we should all get dressed up and be there at a certain time. We had to call the librarian and tell her if we were going to be there or not so she could be sure she had enough treats as well as chairs and tables set up. That was such a fun time."

This door that is closed now once was the beauty shop. My mom and my Grandma B are beauty operators and we had other ladies come in too and do everyone's hair. Oh it was such fun. Grandma Lu told us such funny stories about some terrible times for her at the beauty shops she went too. One time they turned her hair green. Well anyway, now the beauty shop is closed.  I think Grandma Lu has a lot of pictures of that time. Do you want to hear who was the speaker at the library? You will never guess in a million years.!

"Well, I can't guess because I'm new here. Who was the speaker?"

Grandma Lu! She was all dressed up like a pirate. She told us all kinds of neat things about pirates. Some things aren't even true!" She laughed as she told the nice man about the fun time that they had that day and told him that Grandma Lu even wrote a story about her being a castaway on a pirate ship and that she got kidnapped and was a princess!

The new sheriff was beginning to wonder about the older woman that cried when he arrested the man that was harassing her husband and her.

Marlee said it was time for her to go check on people that were cooking in the front and back kitchens, but that he could make himself at home if would like. He could also go outside and help the grownups set up tables and chairs. It was up to him.

He looked outside was amazed. The parking lot no longer looked like one. It was filled with outside toys and tables and chairs. People were still arriving. He decided he would go outside to see if he could be of help.

&&&&

Nancy had left B to deal with Grandma Lu and her sad mood. She quickly walked down the street and went through the side door. She was in luck! The Quiet Room was empty. She put the Do Not Disturb sign on the door knob and closed the door. She just knew that Grandma Lu had that journal. It was not make believe. She knew that everything in it was a diary that had been written by Grandma Lu's ancestors. She just knew it. She went through the desk drawers; nothing. She quickly went through the book shelves thinking that her old friend had hidden it in place sight with the other books; nothing. She looked at the old soft rocker and the magazine rack beside it. "I'm sure it's in here somewhere. She took all the magazines out and did not find the journal. Just as she was going to leave she looked at the window seat and wondered if it opened for storage. She tried to open it and found it was very heavy. She found all of Grandma Lu's photo books from years ago. She scanned through them and smiled. All the little children that had been coming to Marleewood for years and years, but no journal. She took ahold of the padded cushion and felt something hard other than the wood on the under side. "Hmm, what's this, Miss Lu? Oh you are good for an old woman. You can hide, but I can find. She saw the little slit in the thick paper that hid the old old journal. "Ahh ha! Now I either have to read this, or hide it and take it home with me. Neither idea is a good one. I hear Marlee outside the door. I'm going to leave this where it is, but when I can I'm going to see what secrets my dear friend is hiding. If I know Lu hiding this journal means there is something really important in there. It's not good to take it because that would be stealing so I am going to ask her today where the journal is. Maybe she will tell me what's in it. Yes, that's what I'll do."

Marleewood Tour Part 2: Rules Of Marleewood And Bon Bon

 Left alone the sheriff slowly walked through the door into a large room. It had flowered wallpaper on the wall like he had seen years ago at an old relative's home. He smiled when he saw an old rocking chair. "Mom would like this place. It's so peaceful and comfortable looking. He touched the handmade afghan that covered the back and smiled. She would like this also." He sat down in the chair and wondered how many people had sat here and whose it was. He was soon to find out.

"You are sitting in my chair, young man. You can give my friends tickets and put my stepbrother in jail, but you cannot sit in my chair!"

 The sheriff jumped up so fast he almost fell down at the feet of the older lady that he had seen crying earlier in the day. "This has to be Grandma Lu. The Grandma Lu who it seems the whole town loves. "Oh I am so very sorry. I didn't know. You know your friend was speeding. You don't want people to break the law do you? And I'm so sorry I made you cry, but that man you say is your step brother was breaking parole. There was nothing else I could do." Then the strangest thing happened. Grandma Lu started to laugh and laugh some more.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You are new to our little town, but this chair has a story I need to tell you. Sit! Not in my chair, but that one. It's close enough that you can hear me tell you the story of this chair." She waited until the young man sat in the chair closest to her. "You see this chair wasn't always mine. It used to belong to my mother-in-law and before that it either belonged to her father or her grandfather. It's history is a bit blurry before it was hers. You see she was one hundred three years old when she also yelled at me for sitting in this very chair!" The officer was amused as he watched the older woman finger the soft blanket that covered the chair. He listened to the story of the chair and shook his head as he listened. He was beginning to see why folks loved her. When Grandma Lu stopped talking for awhile he thought it might be a good time to ask some questions. "Would you  mind if I asked who some of these pictures are of and why they are important to Marleewood? There are quite a few of them.

"Of course not. Which one would you like to know about? Oh that one is Bonnie. She was my first cousin, but everyone called her Bon Bon. She was a character for sure. She came to visit Marleewood one time and had heard some local gossip about there being tunnels under Marleewood and almost got me killed!" She started laughing so hard she started to choke. He got out of his chair and said, "Grandma Lu are you alright? Do you need some water?" He watched as the older lady caught her breath and said, "No. I'm fine. Memories of her either make me laugh or cry. She is gone now, but she will never be forgotten." She got up and walked over to the Lost and Found Closet and said it all started here. Right here in this closet we set up a table with mittens, hats, gloves you name it that people would leave after being here for stories or cooking or just enjoying the Quiet Room over there. What she did was push against the wall and it opened! Yes it did. She insisted that we go investigate to see if in fact there were tunnels. Well I got down there, but she got stuck in the door way. It seemed like forever before we got rescued. Oh those were the days, however, every day with Bonnie was an adventure even when we were children out on the farm..."

Just as the sheriff was about to ask if the rumors were true they heard a whirring sound coming from the front kitchen. They got up and walked through the door only to find that Add was making chocolate chip cookies for the party. She was doing such a good job!

From the kitchen window the sheriff could see people still coming to Marleewood. It looked like a brother and sister were riding their bikes and a mom with four little boys were just arriving.

Marlee came in and said, "Well, officer. What do you think of Marleewood? I hope you like it because the people here do and you are invited to visit Marleewood any time that it is open. Right now we are having a Spring party. We can call it a Welcome to Marleewood party for you too. Okay? So do you have any real clothes? I have a police uniform. It's probably too small for me now because I'm growing up. Grandma Lu, do you have a picture of me in my police uniform in your picture book? Let's look quick before everybody gets here. Okay?"

The three of them went back to the room everyone called the Quiet Room, but there was a problem. There was a Do Not Disturb sign on the door. Marlee looked at the Sheriff and said, "There is one rule you must know. When the sign is on the door, you cannot go in. It's a room that is really important to all of us. Sometimes you just need to be quiet and think or look out the window or even take what my Grandma B calls a power nap. So we will look for it later. Grandma Lu do you want to keep showing him around until it's time to eat? Whitlee and I  have to finish up in the kitchen. Thanks. I'm so happy you aren't sad now."

Marlee Gives The New Sheriff A Tour Of Marleewood Part#1

 The new sheriff sat in his car watching the people that lived in the small town. There were a lot of people including children walking towards the big building that they called Marleewood. There were a few that walked by his car towards the house where the older lady lived. They called her Grandma Lu. She had been so upset when he had arrested the man that morning. She had run into her house crying. He had felt terrible about that. He noticed that a woman had pulled up to the driveway and ran to the backdoor and knocked. "Hmm, she didn't wait for someone to come to the door. She just walked right in. That's not right.. Maybe I should go check that out. It is a small town though. I'm used to city ways. Maybe it will be okay; probably is a friend of hers. Still..."

He jumped when he heard someone knocking on his window. "Hi! What can I do for you? You want me to go to Marleewood? Well, alright. Is everything okay? Well, that's nice of you. Sure I would like a tour. "You know, I had heard that place was haunted. Evidently that is a rumor that's not to be believed", he chuckled. He got out of the car and walked beside the woman that had invited him to what was looking like a big deal across the street. He noticed that people were setting up tables and bringing outdoor furniture. The lady said, "Go ahead and go in the backdoor. Marlee is expecting you." Then she turned and walked back down the street towards Grandma Lu's house.

The sheriff knocked on the door and a young lady's voice said, "Come on in. We've been expecting you. Welcome to Marleewood"

The sheriff smiled as he watched a young girl doing the finishing touches to a homemade cheesecake. He hadn't seen anything like that since his mother made them. "Hello, I'm the new sheriff in town. A lady told me that I should come in and take a tour of this place." The girl smiled and said, "I know. I'm Marlee. My Grandma B and Grandma Lu named this place after me. It's a place where friends come and listen to stories. There are many rooms here. Each of them serve a purpose for the people here in this town. Do you want to see? I'm finished here now for awhile."

The sheriff smiled and said, "Sure. I'd love to see this place. It sounds wonderful." Marlee smiled and said, "It is. First off. This is the back kitchen. See all of the tables? Sometimes it was filled with people that just wanted to come and rest and have a cup of coffee. Actually Grandma Lu and I wrote a book right here at that table. Propunzel!  It was a good one."

 My Grandma B made sure there was always a fresh pot of coffee on. There's another kitchen too. It's where I had my very first cooking school when I was just a little girl." The sheriff smiled at that because this little girl couldn't be much more than five or six. Marlee continued. "It was a really big deal. We were on television and everything. We had trouble at first because we tried to get too big too fast. We were always running out of snacks. There was a little boy that lived far away that even sent us his allowance to help us buy snacks."

"I'm sorry to say that I was always the one that liked to spend money. So my grandma and Grandma Lu had a meeting and decided that I needed some help running this place. So I hired Charlie. She was in charge of finances. We didn't always get along. I thought that the more was better as far as ordering things, but she usually knew what was best. I did learn a lot from her. I miss her."

"What did you order? asked the sheriff. "Oh, we had a gift shop. Sorry. It's been closed for a long time and you are new here. Yes, I liked to order things. I even had my own computer when I was little."

"This place is really big, but I do see a lot of closed doors. Is Marleewood not open anymore?"

"It hasn't been open until today. When people started getting sick from a disease called Covid, we decided to close the doors because we didn't want people getting sick from each other. It was a bad disease and made people really sick. We had a sign on the highway coming into town because Marleewood used to be a tourist attraction for some reason."

"I'm sorry, but I have to go check on my cheesecake. You can make yourself at home. I'll be back in just a few minutes and show you around, Okay?"

&&&

Nancy and Grandma B were having a tough time convincing Grandma Lu to quit feeling sorry for herself and join them at Marleewood. "Come on, Lu. It's time to get over it! K.R. is back in jail and out of your life for good. I'll have to hand it to that new sheriff. He knew what he was doing."

Nancy patted her old friend on the back and said, "Hey he gave me a speeding ticket on the way over here and I didn't even get mad at him! He was right. But B is right too. You need to get over to Marleewood and forget all of this. We will chat after bit, okay? I really need to talk to you about you know, the journal... I saw Fran walking over there. He always knows when there's food, she laughed. Come on. Yes! Good for you. You can find time to finish your story. Good grief,  your friends are waiting to eat until you get there. Come!"