Memories about my family
I think this story is appropriate at a time of grief in my brother Ronald’s family. It is a small story but Ronald’s actions helped all of us and our home stay safe. This happened the very day the attached picture of Ronald was taken. Perhaps he remembers. I did not. But David remembered, and this is what he told me. Continue reading “A Ronald story”
More stories about the farm dogs.
As Danny said, Brownie was a friendly dog, my favorite pet and I think Hazel’s favorite of all times. Dad’s half sister, our Aunt Lola, gave him to us. She told us he was a quarter Eskimo. And, yes, Brownie had a lot of hair. He was miserable in the hot summers. This was the time before there was a pond on the farm, so Brownie would go almost anywhere to find a body of water so he could wallow in it and cool off. Continue reading “David and Brownie”
A couple more farm dog stories The couple of stories below were told to me by Hazel during my stay with her in August, 2005, after she had had a bad fall. There was time to talk about things we remembered, and this included a couple of dog stories. I had forgotten that they had happened until she remembered and began to reminisce about Brownie one day. Continue reading “Hazel and Brownie”
Have you ever seen fox fire? Do you know what it is?
One night probably in the early 1950’s, my brother David had gone over to Clarice and Aaron’s house to watch television. My oldest sister Clarice and her husband Aaron were one of the first in the country to have a television set at that time. Lots of people would invite themselves to spend an evening watching the new exciting entertainment. David went over pretty often. Continue reading “A David story”
Clarice and Alline have both talked about something they remember about the morning after Frank was born. They said that Aunt Lola, who was staying with Mom, showed the baby to them and said, “Now just look at your little blue-eyed brother.” Both of them also recall that Frank had curly hair right on top of his head even when he was very small. One memory that Hazel told me about happened when Frank was just a toddler. She said one day he got a new pair of overalls. The girls thought he looked cute, so they wanted to show him off. She remembered that they led him out across the field (in front of Ronald’s house today) to Grandma Williams’ house (still standing) to let Grandma see her little grandson. They were very proud of him. Continue reading “My brother Frank’s birthday”
Today is the anniversary of my brother Ernest’s birthday. You may remember that Ronald and Danny both wrote wonderful tributes to Ernest about a year ago. If you can, I encourage you to read them again. They are outstanding. With the following thoughts, I would like to honor my brother, too. If you knew Ernest, you cannot help but miss him now that he is gone I miss his laughter. I miss his stories. I miss his energy and happy presence in our gatherings. He was a wonderful brother. Continue reading “My brother Ernest”
I would like to present some thoughts about my brother Reed to honor his birthday today.
So many people remember Reed for his sense of humor. And we all know it was wonderful indeed. He had a dry humor (something like Linda inherited, I think). But whenever most of my brothers and sisters talk about Reed, they remember that he was always a serious, hard worker. I think it must have been true all his life, as soon as he was able to do any kind of tasks about the farm. Donald says Dad counted on Reed to be the most responsible of the bunch after Ernest and Frank went into the service. For example, some time in the winter months when the school bus didn’t run, the boys would (happily) come back home, and if they were lucky, they would get to go hunting. When they started for the woods to hunt, Dad always let Reed be the one who got to carry the gun. Continue reading “Thoughts on my brother Reed”
My brother Cleo was a few years ahead of me; so, of course, I cannot recall him as a youngster. But I remember things that my sisters have said about him when he was a little boy. Hazel said that our neighbor Eddie Salyers, who liked all of us kids, especially liked Cleo. Eddie referred to Cleo as that “little dark-eyed boy.” My sisters also have made similar remarks. Maybe Eddie and the others noticed Cleo’s brown eyes because all his older brothers had been born with blue eyes. I am not sure. But maybe that was the reason. Anyway, Hazel said that it was Eddie who took care of Cleo the night his younger twin brothers were born. Continue reading “My brother Cleo”