Looking at Herkimer

My daughter is visiting her husband’s family in Herkimer, NY this week. Herkimer is a town I can never forget. It is about mid-way between the two pivotal cities in my life when I was a kid, Lowell, Massachusetts and Rochester, New York. A lot of what I write draws from events that occurred in these towns.

Our early trips between the two cities were by train and I remember very little about the countryside passing by outside the train. Inside the train it was a different story. I remember going back and forth from one car to the next with my sister, much to the annoyance of the conductor and the other passengers. I also remember one drink after another from the water dispenser using those cute triangular paper cups that I never see anymore. It was about a 13-hour trip so I also remember that at some point we would both get sick.

In time we began taking the trip by car, always using routes 2, 5 and 20, roads that passed through every town—and I do mean every town. It was a longer trip this way—usually two days and while mom enjoyed the scenery us kids found it very tedious. As with the train, we usually showed our displeasure by getting sick at some point.

In 1957 one of the marvels of the 20th century was created. The New York State Thruway followed the same route as the other roads but usually traveled far enough away from the towns that the only way you knew they were there was because the exit signs announced them.

Herkimer sits on the banks of the Mohawk River and what I remember most about it is that it was big enough that I knew it was there and at the same time it was small enough that I could see the whole city at one glimpse. We never casually just found ourselves in Herkimer and we never needed a sign telling us where the city was. The city, itself, called out to us and to other travelers as we drove by, “Hey, travelers, this is the city of Herkimer.”

There are other similar cities. Albuquerque and Salt Lake City come to mind. But Herkimer is the one I remember from those trips where we must have passed through or by a hundred villages, towns or cities and seemingly none ever stood out from the rest.

Unlike a lot of cities, if someone tells me they’re going to Herkimer, I can picture in my head exactly what they’ll see when they get there.