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This is my grandpa John Regan, at his birthplace in Tara Township, Minnesota. The sun is in his eyes, and he looks a bit uneasy, as if his mom just pushed him out of the car: “Quick! Go stand out in the field, and we’ll take your picture!” Judging from his outfit, it must have been a special birthday or graduation. We’ll never know for sure, but certainly someone wanted to document this day and this place.

This place in Tara Township is not only where Grandpa was born but also the land his father and grandfather farmed. I think about how hard life was for them, the sacrifices they made, the grief they endured, and the joy they found. It has been years since Mom and I visited this place, saw the abandoned house tucked back in the grove of trees, with walls falling in on themselves where Grandpa was born and remembered.

Tara native Betty Doherty told us earlier this year that the house was pulled down and no trace remains. The 1896 Catholic Church was razed several years ago. Soon there will be nothing tangible left of our people’s lives in Tara and Clontarf other than their gravestones in the cemetery. I will go there, to this place where my grandpa stood, and remember.