When I was nine years old, we moved from Bloomfield, New Jersey, to Rouses Point, which is in upstate Northeastern New York, on the border of Canada. We were lucky enough to live on Lake Champlain, a beautiful area at the edge of the gorgeous Adirondack Mountains.

I was introduced to the details of this move in a way not suited to a nervous little nine year old girl. I was in the fourth grade, and we were learning about the fascinating history of New York State. My teacher, Miss McGlynn, wove an exciting true tale about the Iroquois Indians living in a beautiful area in New York. They lived mostly in long houses, hunted and fished for their food, made fur clothing out of the animals they caught, and along with five other Indian tribes, fiercely protected their homes from other tribes trying to steal their land. She explained scalping, bows and arrows, and tomahawks. I listened, spellbound, until she made an announcement.

"Here is some very exciting news! Terry's family is moving to that exact area in June."

I could feel myself shaking with fear. I knew my parents were discussing moving, but I never dreamed they would bring our family to a place like that!

I could not sleep, I could not eat. I did not want to go to school, as we were still discussing the wonders of Indian territory. My parents kept asking what was wrong, but I did not want to hurt their feelings about their plans. I was absolutely terrified at the thought of living in a long house, and trying to avoid a scalping!

Finally, after days of trying to stay home from school, my parents managed to get me to explain my behavior. I blurted it out, tears in my eyes. I could see they were trying to suppress smiles, until my father finally burst out laughing.

"That was over 400 years ago!" explained my father. "We are moving to a beautiful place filled with friendly people on gorgeous Lake Champlain!"

I was very relieved, but during our first few months there, I did peer around bushes just in case there were still any of those scalpers around!