As I sit here thinking about the vineyard demise across the street, I wonder how many other things change so quickly in a small town.

At the end of last week, the vines were coming down one by one.  This week, the big Earth movers came to pull the stakes out of the grown and level the land. Today, the vineyard is but a memory as the brown soil spreads out where the mustard seed used to grow in the rows.

Sorry, Donn, Willie and AJ here will be no more neighborly golfing-through-the-vineyard tournaments during Cherry Festival.

You can see right from our yard to the Mercyhurst North East baseball diamond.  This land was part vineyard, part orchard when I moved in 31 summers ago. The aroma coming in the windows in the summer was warm and rich.  Now, I will keep the south windows closed all summer, just to keep the DIRT out of my living room and lungs.

Progress is good, but so is harvesting from the Earth. I wonder who will tend to the grapes in 50 years.  Will there be farmers who know how to care for these precious fruits we grow along the shores of Lake Erie?