I Was Born by the River . . .

No, I wasn't born by the river in a tent. But I love the song and everything it represents now with the inauguration of Obama. I thought it would be great with some old Neosho River and Oswego, Kansas hometown pictures. The river was a big part of Oswego, Kansas lore.

Supposedly, the river helped protect Oswego from tornados because of the town's position on a bluff above the river. Supposedly, the town was named for a suicidal Indian with a Norwegian accent who yelled os' we go as he jumped from the high bluff into the river below (that tale came from my dad). Smirk smirk smirk. As a child, I believed the lore. We got our water from the river, ate catfish from the river, parked by the river, explored and hiked along the river -- you get the drift. And supposedly, Oswego was Catfish Capital of the World. Wish I had a $100 bill for every town with that designation.

Neosho River bridge.

Neosho River dam down below the town park.

Old town water plant.

The big building is the Oswego Hotel. I saw it listed for sale online recently. People keep trying to make it into something!

A town celebration back in the early 1900's.

The town bakery on Commercial. It was still there when I was a kid and they made the best creme horns and cookies. We used to hit the place after school. The downtown was fairly thriving up through the 1960's.

My grandmother in front of my grandfather's garage. He sold and repaired cars. He lost the business during the Depression.