Feed the Birds, Tuppence a Day

When we lived in Germany (decades ago, alas) the folks made it a point to travel and visit as many places as we could.  Dad said, upon our arrival in Wiesbaden, that "we were not going to be like those American's who hunkered down on the base and never saw anything while they were here."  We even lived "on the economy" in a house in a little town called Wehen (now it is part of a larger Taunus, I believe)  on Fleckenbornstrasse 16.  I've actually gotten to look it up on google maps, and sure enough, there it was! 

But I digress. One of the fun trips that we had was when Dad got sent TDY (militarese for Temporary Duty to London.  I have no idea how it was arranged, but for a week we lived in someone's flat or something.  At any rate it was not a hotel.  Dad had to work most of the week and it might have been two weeks.  But on the weekends and in the evenings we "did things."   I remeber watching the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace and riding the tube.   During that time we took a side trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon and stayed in a bed and breakfast  there.  We visited Stonehenge too, and THAT is a bit of a sore spot in the family.  My little brother was left sleeping in the car since the folks didn't want to disturb him and all he saw was the stones fading away in the sunset as the car headed back for London.  Ah, he does not like thinking about how close he got to it without seeing it and he has never quite forgiven them!

But he did get to visit the sights in London.  This is one of my favorite photos dated May 1967.   I have it in color somewhere.  (Hm. . .perhaps I should say "colour" considering the location.) But it is just as wonderful in black and white. With all the fun things we did, this picture is what I think of when I think of our time in London.  We bought pigeon food from a vendor and had a wonderful time feeding the birds for "tuppence a day". 

Mail from Maria Duval -- or Best Laugh of the Week

This week my dad got the most amazing letter.  He was informed that he had the select honor of being one of the special ones given the opportunity to have his future life forcast for free by Maria Duval of the Destiny Research Center.  This delightful opportunity will give him a chance to experience change, security, love, friendship and comfort.  Maria Duval is going to tell him the "Ultimate and Great Secret" that will give him all the things in life he has most desired.   

Dad is amazed at this splendid opportunity and can't wait to hear what this incredible person with the Astral-Clairvoyant abilities wants to predict about his future life. 

Oh wait --

Maria Duval -- what kind of a Clairvoyant are you?   I know you write that you are confident that you can help Dad realize all his hopes and dreams. 

I don't know how good you are at telling the future, but aparently your grasp on the past is a little more shaky.  Robert (dad) has been dead for 13 years and not likely to fill out your questionnaire and take you up on your offer!  He is already enjoying his future and he likely won't see you there!

Maria, your skill set seems to be a little shaky here!  You might want to get some continuing education hours under your belt.  

Probably this great Secret is not free either in spite of all the claims.  LOL!

1952 Salt Lake City Flood

This letter below was written by my Great Aunt and Uncle, George and Atha (Farnham) Sherwood and sent to my Grandparents, Herman and Susan Sherwood Weber who lived in Kendall, Wisconsin.  The letter mostly talks about the Salt Lake City Flood of 1952.  The letter describes their first-hand experiences and observations.  This is a public domain photo of the Jordan River that was the route of the flood waters. It's not too relevant, but it's always nice to have a photo on a blog post : -).   The scattered references to Orry (Orion), Homer, Richard and Georgie, are regarding their sons.  Great Uncle George worked for the post office and, although it is likely obvious to most, his reference to ship is aircraft. 

Salt Lake City, UT;
May 15, 1952

[Begins with Atha’s handwriting]

Dear Susan:-

Just got back this evening about 6 o’clock from W.S.C.S. convention in Montrose, Colorado and was glad to find a letter from you but sorry not to have written you sooner about the floods etc. Hadn’t found time to write Orry and Barbara much so asked Hattie if she would call them as she went through Chicago and relieve their minds until I could get a letter off to them.

Have been trying so hard to get a few things done which have been hanging on so long and been a big worry since I just couldn’t seem to ever get at them to get them out of the way. Will tell you all about them when I get back there as it’s easier to talk than write and I’ll probably have more time then. Have two more projects I’d like to complete so very much before our vacation and the one at the Church just about must be done before I leave.

We have all been so very fortunate in that none of us have been damaged by the floods though it came within a block north of us and the neighbors, including George, worked until late into the night damming it off with sandbags and turning it back into the river still raging about 3 ft deep and about the width of the street down 13th South. They have now built a bridge across 13th South and Main street so the traffic can get through without going so far around as they had to do for several weeks. They have also made banks of sand about 5 feet high all along 13th South now in hopes it will take care of anything coming down from now on.  Have also had a few cold days and nights which have slowed up the thawing of snow in some places and helped a great deal.

They have dredged the Jordan river (and also the surplus canal) to lower the bottom and piled it along the banks to raise the height of the banks so they will carry all the water possible and have the situation pretty well under control now so we are hoping it will not spread to damage any more than it already has. It really is just too bad for the many homes and places who are flooded and evacuated and I feel so sorry for them but am so glad that all of the evacuees places did not get it as was feared when they were ordered to evacuate.

One night it came up into Richard’s front yard but not bad and their neighborhood was able to sandbag it off and now it isn’t bothering in that neighborhood.

Homer was fortunate enough to be a block north of the district evauated so he hasn’t had any flood trouble and only trouble with the water table rising so that it raised through the floor in his basement but again he was very fortunate as he and Dad hadn’t had time to pour a cement floor in his basement yet so they made a sump and put in an automatic sump pump and it is taking care of it very nicely.

Will explain in more details about it all when we see you. But unless something unexpected happens things seem to be under control now so that it is hoped it will not spread farther to do more damage.

As to how things are going to work out for Georgie so we can plan accordingly we will not know yet for a few days.

[Switches to George’s handwriting]

Dear Susan, Herman and all. On my lunch time at the airport and must hurry if get this off on trip 134. If this is pretty disconnected forgive as the boys have radio on pretty loud and it ain’t music either.

Anyhow, we still plan to leave here for Wisconsin June 7 as early as possible. Sort of expect to come through via Casper Wyo and through Sparta, but may decide to reverse and come in via Chicago and go back that or some other way. Will depend on how much time – if any – George has to be with us and when. Orion & Babs can come up to Kendall for a weekend if at all. So far not at all sure that there will be more than the old folks -- Dora, Guy, Atha & I. And reason I have not written sooner is partly uncertainly of my own position. An order forbidding further extension of annual leave privileges during June and rest of May came out, but our office expects to be able to accommodate me since I made verbal application over 2 months ago and posted probable dates of absence on the sheet at the Airport. This may still not work out if conditions of finances for balance of fiscal year becomes tighter.

As ship will soon be here must hurry on. We expect to have funds available for trip east so suggest you wait until we arrive then if we run into difficulty we can perhaps borrow what we need for return trip. Ha! Ha! Sounds ominous for you, if you are ever to get rid of us. That that way we can better gauge requirements and will not be carrying all eggs in one basket. Thanks for offer of loan – may have to after we arrive in Kendall, but hold until we see.

Bye - bye - ship here

Lovingly,

George, Atha and Family

Schipperke Blow Out

 Baxter, the World's Best Dog, was starting to look reddish again late this winter and the male half of the dog owners decided it was time to give him his annual massive brushing.  He has little brushes every now and then but at least once a year a Schipperke has a "blow out" of the under coat and it is amazing how much fur can be pulled off the dog without him looking at all different (except losing that redding tinge to his fur that appears as the undercoat loosens and works its way out).  Well, they went off to watch a TV show and brush and the end result was nearly enough fur for another dog.  The birds will like it as we put dog fut out for them to use in their nests in the spring.  Such a cumpfy little bed for a newly hatched bird!

 We told Baxter following this that he was "half the dog he used to be" but he just interpreted that as time to get a treat or something for putting up with all that brushing!

He doesn't look diminished at all! 

Les Schwab in Chehalis and our Guardian Angel

I meant to write this in January and give credit where credit it due, but as usual am behind on all of my projects! 

It all began on January 5th, end of a typical weekend trip to Portland -- still working on the folks estate and now with no sister (sniff) to help out any more.  But that aside, we had driven to Portland and were back on the way home.  We stopped at McDonald's at the 72 mile marker and grabbed a dollar sandwich each.  We got right back on the freeway and headed north again.  Shortly after merging on to the freeway (just past the Uncle Sam sign with his pithy political remarks) I thought the car was getting rather noisy.  It kept getting worse and I turned off the radio and immediately identified the noise and the increasing vibration.  Yup, a flat tire.  Sigh.  There was a ramp a little ways ahead and I slowed and limped that direction.  Added to that I got to listen to the excited voice of my daughter, who knows something about car repairs, yelling - "Stop the car mom! Don't keep driving!!"  However, I am much more willing to ruin my wheel than I am to be parked next to vehicles rolling 70+ MPH.  You can replace a tire and a wheel. You can even replace a car.  Husband, kids and the "worlds best dog" are bit harder to come by. 

We pulled past a little bridge on the ramp and finally off to the side.  We all hopped out and sure enough, there was the tire, flat as a pancake.  My husband and daughter started unloading the cargo area of the van (no rain, thank God!) to get to the "donut" and while they dug stuff out, I looked up a a man had pulled over and came back to ask if he could help.  He said that they had had some sort of car trouble a couple of weeks before and he wanted to pass the favor on.  My husband said, "I think we've got it."  But, looking at the quickly approaching darkness I said, "Sure, I'm sure we could use the help to do this quickly because the sun has already gone down."  Then the reality of our situation hit as we realized that for some reason our car jack was missing.  (In fact, we think it might have gotten left at another Les Schwab awhile back -- but that is another story for another day.)  Whoa!  Now we really did have a bit of a problem.  I asked the man, "Do you have a Les Schwab here?" and he said yes.  I asked him how late it was open while at the same time looking at my phone to see what time it was.  He said 5:00 and I realized we had five minutes.  So I asked if he could possibly drive to Les Schwab and see if they could come and rescue us.  I got his phone number from  him and called his phone to put my number into his missed calls and off he went.  We started reloading the cargo and it got darker and darker. 

About ten mintues later our wonderful "Guardian Angel" called and said that "they were on their way," and we thanked him for his assistance.  About 5 minutes after that the Les Schwab truck rolled up in front of us and the very helpful employee quickly whipped out their wonderful equipment and quickly go the tire off and the donut donut on.  Fortunately we had a flashlight because by then it was completely dark.  We then followed hm up Main Street to Market Blvd and crossed the road into their facility.   All four of us and the dog bounded out of the car and into the reception area.  In record time the two employees still there placed a new tire on the wheel, removed and gave us back the donut, wrote up the bill, took our payment and off we all went.  Us,"on the road again" and them, to whatever plans they had scheduled for the evening.  It was 5:35 and we were merging back on the freeway.  We couldn't believe how quickly everything had happened.  We called our Guardian Angel back and let him know that we so appreciated his help and that we were all rescued.  We never did get his name, so we will stick with the fact that God sent him to help us out in our time of need and we are grateful!  We also so appreciated the guys at Les Schwab who helped us out on short notice when they probably would have much preferred not to stay late! 

So thanks again to our guardian angel on off-ramp, Chehalis Les Schwab employees and to God who orchestrated events so that we hardly missed a step on our homeward journey. 

CHEHALIS

36 N Market Blvd
Chehalis, WA 98532-2622                   
(360) 748-0295
Mon-Fri: 8:00am - 6:00pm
Sat: 8:00am - 5:00pm
Manager: Nathan

THANKS!!!!!

David McIntyre - Ships Ohio and Dale

I had read awhile back that my great-great-Great grandfather David McIntyre had served in the US Navy in the Mexican War from 1846 to 1849.  This info was from his obituary as well as a book of history of Crawford County, Wisconsin.  However, I had no confirmation from any other source.  While I thought it was likely to be true, there is always the possibility he was padding his resume so to speak :-).  My distant McIntire (our families spelled them differently) cousin Kristine had suggested I contact the US archives and so I went on line and in my wandering through their site found a contact email.  I wrote, gave them the particulars on David McIntyre (including maybe McIntire) along with his birth and death dates, location and spouse name. 

To my great excitement, I received an email back confirming that David McIntire (the spelling in their records) was in the Navy and I am now in process of ordering copies of the documents from the file.  Chris, the wonderfully helpful archive specialist  told me in his original reply email that he is sure this is my David McIntire (uses that spelling) because after the war he was in Prairie du Chien, was a blacksmith, and his wife's name was Louisa.  David McIntyre was a blacksmith and in Prarie du Chien was working for the railroad in that capacity.  Chris wrote that David served on the ships USS Ohio and the USS Dale.  So now while I am waiting for the particulars, I am reading information on the Ohio and the Dale and looking forward to getting my copies of the files a few weeks from now. 

Family History hunts are so much like the "whodunnits" that I have always love to read.  And it is addicting like gambling in that you get just enough random reinforcement to keep looking a little longer and hoping to fall into another mother lode of information.  Above is a photo of a drawing of the Ohio during the Mexican war and below it is the Dale.  My hope is that the actual military record files will tell me when he was on each ship so I can match up when he was on each vessel and what events she might have been involved in which he participated.  These photos are from Wikipedia which stated that they were in the public domain. 

More information can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Ohio_(1820) or at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Dale_(1839) 

Big Bird Bath Day

Fall is coming on and it must be a good day for birds to get a good bath and to clean up before the long cold winter comes when it will be a little nippy for diving into cold water.  Today while I've been working I've had to stop a few times and try to take photos of my nervous little friends.  Above is a Junco.  Birds that have enjoyed the spa, but who were too nervous to be documented include a Chestnut Backed Chicadee and Gold Finches (immatures and adults).  I had three little Golden Crowned Kinglet's come by (photo below) and they certainly are nervous!  But in the middle of it I was surprised and delighted to discover that what was in the camera viewfinder was a Townsend's Warbler rather than the Kinglet I had started to photograph.  What a treat.  In the 3rd photo little Towney demonstrates how to get really clean. 

 

Then the Kinglet's returned.  Most photos ended up blurry as they flapped and danced and ducked their heads under water.  But the slowed momentarily for documentation.  

 Finally a little Black Capped Chicadee hopped into the mix and scattered Chestnut Backed Chicakees and Gold Finches. 

I love having the bird bath right next to my window.  Such a delightful group of small winged friends.  The Anna's hummingbirds (male and female) are having a heyday as well but aren't stopping by to bathe at the moment.  They go for the top of the fountain more than the birdbath altho ONCE I did see the male come to the birdbath. 

Missing You Sweet Sister

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VENCA

WISH YOU WERE HERE

GO WITH GOD ~

love you. . .

Utah's Strongest Earthquake

In this letter Geore Stevens Sherwood talks about the March 1934 earthquake that was centered in Hansel Valley, Utah and which shows up on the internet as Utah's strongest earthquake.  It was a 6.6 earthquake.Here is more information on the earthquake for those who are interested.  He gives his first-hand impressions as well as some of the news of the day about this.  He also talks about the financial impact of the depression on his family and those around  him. 

Preparing to go OVER THERE

Uncle George Stevens Sherwood, while in training at Camp Logan before heading off to WWI, sent many letters and photos home.  Not all have been matched up to the letters.  We were able to match up one photo with this letter as well as  a not listed but still fun photo of George and his "tentmates."   First names are missing, but tentmates are "Wahlstadt, Marshall and Sherwood."

"Camp Logan, Houston, Tex.

Sunday, P.M. Oct 28, ‘17

Well, here I am back in my tent. Just got back from town, where I went with Mohr, whose picture I herein enclose. We took a jitney and got to the M. E. church just in time for church, 10:30 A.M. Were treated fine by the people there. Heard some fine music by choir, also vocal and violin solos, then a fair sermon. Got out of church at 12:45. Just went straight from there down to Thompson’s Cafeteria where two poached eggs on toast and a piece of hot mince pie set me back 25 cents but they were worth it at that. Then we walked out to the union station and around town awhile, then went to a movie then chartered a fliver and came back to camp. And now I am writing to my dear folks back home, or at least trying to when the noise in here will allow me to.

You ask for a sketch of our days work. So I give an abbrieved (coined by me) schedule:

5:45 First Call

6:00 Assembly and Roll Call (as fully dressed)

6:10 Physical exercise

6:30 Mess

8:00 Drill or Detail work
12:00 Mess
1:30 Drill, work or loaf
5:30 Retreat
6:00 Mess
10:00 Taps –lights out

(Photo of Mohn - otherwise known as #5 below)

I am still waiting to hear how much I owe you.
This is a nice sunshiny day with cool breeze blowing.
If I don’t get down to real work soon I will be as fat as ever, I guess. Did I tell you before that we have received over 1,000 draft men from Rockford.

Now to explain the views or snapshots, I should say.
No. 1 is explained on the back. Our tent is next to last to be seen at far end of street.
No. 2. Mohr took of me when I was grinning and faking a salute, not thinking he was ready to shoot.
No. 3 Also explained on back.
No. 4 Lowery and I are studying surveying out of my book together.
No. 5. I snapped of Mohn so you could see what my pal looked like. Also so I’d have one to keep.
No. 6 was also taken the day of the Liberty Loan Celebration.

I will send you some more soon. Don’t for heavens sake let anyone see No. 2. It is awful.

Love to al,

George Sherwood"



THEN AND NOW -- The home of Grace Gulvin Sherwood Doud

A few years ago I went to visit the address of my Great-Great-Great Aunt Grace Gulvin Sherwood Doud.  I had known she had lived at 3504 North Mason Avenue in Tacoma and wondered if the house was still there.   Grace Gulvin was the youngest daughter of Richard William Sherwood and Mary Ann Gulvin.  Grace was named for her aunt, Grace Gulvin and when young Grace was young Mary Ann died.   Richard William Sherwood then married his former sister-in-law Grace Gulvin and she was then both mother and aunt to the children.  She and Richard had three more children after that.  The younger Grace married Chester Doud and they were married from 1887 until 1921 when Chester passed away.  They had two sons, Roy (Royden) and Richard Doud.  After I had seen several of her letters I took a tour around Tacoma visiting the homes in which she had lived but I wasn't sure if it was the same house or if it was the same lot.  I thought it likely, but wasn't completely sure.  I took the color photos posted here in 2008 and discovered today the vintage photos mailed to her brother and sister-in-law, William and Ella Jane Sherwood in 1927.  Obviously it is the very home in which she lived.

 On the back of this photo it says that it was received in letter Dec 13, 1927.  Grace Doud had written "View of back of my home   - Grace Doud." 

 Two nearly identical views of the same house approximately 80 years apart.  The garage was nicely added so it's not obvious it was not an original part of the structure.

On the back of the photo it reads -- "The front of house facing the east with 3 lovely fir trees on the south side.  Grace (Pautsch - neice of Grace Doud and daughter of Clara Sherwood Pautsch) took the pictures this summer just before she went back home.  It was early and I hadn't raised the shades as the sun shines in pretty strong so the windows don't look just right as athough it had a blind side."

On the back -  "The front porch showing the wicker table and chair Grace and I painted.  They are green and oranged and looked so gay last summer.  The house was new when I bought a year ago last October (that would have been October of 1926).  Grace Doud's Home." 

Congrats Graduate Grandma -- A Century Ago -- from KENDALL HIGH SCHOOL

One hundred years ago (and a couple of weeks added because I did not think of this early enough), my grandmother Susan Rosina Sherwood graduated from Kendall High School in Kendall, Wisconsin.   I believe this is her graduation photo and I know this is her diploma, as I photographed the original. It is much to large to scan at home.  The diploma lists all the things in which the student had shown proficiency.  I'm impressed!  And not only does her diploma state that she was proficient, but Grandma spent her life attempting to influence her family, friends and political leaders of what was necessary for them to do the very best for themselves, their families and their country.   She loved the old farm known by various names over the decades - Spring Brook Farm; Pine Terraces; The Old Home Farm; The Old Weber Farm - and I do wonder how her life might have been different had she spread her little wings and flown away.  Since I inherited her penchant for nostalgia, I can hardly complain and I can't thank her enough for being the hoarder of family letters and history that she was.  Susan was the daughter of William and Ella Jane (Stevens (Atwater)) Sherwood.  She was born February 1, 1894 and went to meet her Maker on August 14, 1987.  She was mother to four children, William, Mary, Robert, all of whom have followed her there as well.  A century ago she had just reached this educational rite of passage and like all other graduates was looking toward what her future might hold.    She never went to college but she was very articulate and well able to communicate in writing.

Baby Letha Lenore Sherwood in 1923

Letha Lenore Sherwood was born in October of 1922 in Utah (maybe Woodside, maybe Price), the eldest daugther of George and Atha Farnham Sherwood.   These are some of the earlierst photos I've seen. It says on the back that these photos were taken in Price Utah April 13, 1923. 

Letha was my father's first cousin and my father,Robert Sherwood Weber, was born ten or so days before the letter below was written and two months after these photos were taken. 

He is the subject of the comments about the "new boy" and "Dear Little Babe."  This letter gives a little insight into their daily lives. Top photos are George Sherwood and his daughter, Letha on the porch swing and then two  photos of Letha and Atha. 

"June 17, 1923

Dear Mother:
I suppose this letter will be at least two days late for your birthday, but am going to write it now anyhow and mail it tomorrow anyhow. Letha is teething and sure peevish, especially evenings, so with gardening operations and all have had no time this last week to get birthday letters off to you. Bless her heart, she has finally given up and gone to Slumber Lane by the sound. Or maybe it’s a false alarm.

Well, Mother O’Mine [Ella Jane Stevens Sherwood], wish we could be there to celebrate with you and that you had some of the lovely strawberries Atha canned last night to celebrate on too. But expect berries must be about ripe there by now too. How is Sister and the new boy. No news is good news we hope and trust but we anxiously wait a more detailed account as we have rec’d only your first hurried note. Well, I watered part of the company garden this A.M. and went out to Dora’s and cultivated a little this P.M. which is a heathenish way to spend Sunday and now I’m paying for it in being tired tired tired for we manage to keep on the jump from 8 AM to 6:30 PM at the Lumber Yard six days a week and I am well nigh held responsible for the loading and unloading as well as town deliveries now most of the time so it keeps me moving and planning.
Now with an earnest prayer that you may enjoy a birthday full of joy, health, and happiness tomorrow and on each succeeding June 18th for many years, I’ll close this letter of greeting and love to our dear dear Mother Mine.

[Changes to Atha’s handwriting]

Now I will add my little lines of Love and best wishes for a happy Birthday tomorrow and many more to follow. Wish we could all be together to make it more completely happy but as we can’t we can send our Love and Greetings by mail.

Well as it is late and the Baby finally gone to sleep I expect we better close this and sleep while we can as my Lover-Boy is very tired tonight.

Love to Susan and that Dear little Babe for us, also Daddy.

So much much Love to our Dear Mother from her loving Children.

Letha, Atha and George

1916 Explosion at Miller, South Dakota Roundhouse

I found this postcard with papers previously belonging to my step-great-grandmother, Ida Marie Sherman who married Charles Lorenzo Vandervort (and became step-mother to his three children)and a decade after he passed away she married John William Radloff.  Charles Lorenzo Vandervort worked for the railroad as an Assistant Master Mechanic.  He worked for the Milwaukee/St. Paul Railroad in Milwaukee from 1890 to 1901.  He worked for the Soo Line in Enderline N Dakota, Gladstone and Minneapolois from 1901 to Nov 1922.  He died in  1 941.  He worked for the Rail road for a total of 31 years according to his wife's notes. He and Ida likely had this postcard since they lived in North Dakota at that time. 

Farewell to Mother Susan Sherwood Weber by William Philip Weber

The photo above shows the Herman and Susan Sherwood Weber family probably around 1938 or so.  The Sherwood family runs to prematurely gray hair and Susan was no exception.  Susan's first born son was William Philip Weber and he was born on May 31, 1919 while is uncle George Sherwood was on his way home from World War I.  William,  Uncle Bill and I knew him, was a most compassionate and caring son to his mother Susan in her declining years.  These are his thoughts about her last moments in his own words.  

Small Treasure from Mary Elizabeth Tillotson

Mary Elizabeth Tillotson copied a poem in 1916 which was entitled either "Lament of a Little Girl" or a "Little Girl's Plaint" depending on where you find it.  I could not discover a specific author although I'm certain that there must have been one! 

Let's see if I can make this simple. My great-grandmother was Ella Jane Stevens, but she was born Julia Eldora Welch.  She was the birth daughter of Mary Elizabeth Richardson and Evi Welch and was born in Topsham, VT where her father died when she was an infant.  Her mother later married Martin Dexter and they had several more children.  David and Rosina Jane (Richardson) Stevens, her aunt and uncle had no children and when Julia was 5 (about a week shy of her 6th birthday) she was adopted by them.  Martin and Mary Elizabeth (Richardson) Dexter had a daughter they named Bertha Dexter and Bertha was about three months old when Julia was adopted by the Stevens family.  Mary Elizabeth, Bertha and Julia Eldora (Ella Jane)'s mother, died when Bertha was about 12 years old.  When Bertha grew up she married Sylvester Tillotson and they had five children.  The youngest child was Mary Elizabeth Tillotson who I assume was named for Bertha's mother, Mary Elizabeth Richardson Welch Dexter.  As adults, Bertha and Ella Jane (formerly Julia) began corresponding and continued exchanging letters until their deaths, eight days apart in July of 1925. 

I imagine that this cute little poem was copied by Mary Elizabeth either purposely to be sent to Ella Jane, or as a school lesson -- nice cursive at 8 years old -- and shared with her distant aunt.  Bertha was always very proud of her children's accomplishments, as was Ella Jane.  Mary Elizabeth Tillotson - who apparently married someone by the name of Bean that I haven't tracked down yet -- lived to be 83 years old.  Should any of her children or grandchildren wander across this blog, I hope they will enjoy this small look into her childhood. 

Ben Hur Flour

I had never really thought about flour in terms of the drama of chariot races! 

My Mother's Doll

When my sister, brother and I were going through the folk's house, dividing up things, we took turns over and over as we went through each room. One thing that I decided to take, purely for sentimental reasons, was my mother's doll. I figured I'd just put in in a box and keep it because it had one major flaw. Only one of the two eyes that opened and closed would "open." The second eye had the white part and blue iris was either stuck facing backwards or the paint had come off. They look was rather creepy and I really had no idea what to do with it since I would NOT want to look at it all the time. But it was mom's and so I didn't want to have it thrown away.

About six months ago I was driving to visit a client in Bellevue when I drove by a sign that said "Doll Museum." In an instant I realized I should give them a call and see if they thought it could be repaired. A few days later I remembered and called. They referred me to a woman in Shoreline who repairs all kinds of dolls and she had time to see me right away. She thought it would be simple to repair and so I left the doll with her and waited to see how it would all turn out. Awhile later I was informed that she was all better! It turns out this this is a composition doll, probably made sometime after 1916. Mom was born in '23 so that seems to fit fairly well. The doll has the original factory clothing -- pink and orange. In this last photo, I have her sitting in my highchair. It's hard to believe how many years it has been since I sat in this chair! The woman who repaired the doll thinks that my photo of mom and her doll may not be the same one, but since I know mom did not have much -- they were pretty poor -- I shall just assume she was holding someone else's doll or it is the same one and it is just the glare of the lighting that makes it difficult to tell.

I am so pleased with how the doll turned out and enjoy looking at her now. I wish I had had this "brilliant" idea a decade ago and could have had it repaired for mom years ago. A million regrets, but millions more more moments of gratitude for my wonderful parents.

The Big Thaw - the end of Snowzilla

Things are definitely beginning to thaw here in the Pacific Northwest. It must have started last evening before the temperature dropped again because we had one great icicle on our house and the neighbors had a whole row of them. You'll notice on our single icicle above that the water is running off the end of it. I remember as a kid we loved icicles and would break them off and suck on them. Hm. I suppose we could have been ingesting all kinds of not so good things, but it was fun and tasted good! We would also have sword fights. The neighbor's icicles below are quite decorative!

The snow is gone from the tree in the backyard, but the biggest indication that the weather has turned for the moment (besides the rain which just started after I began typing) is the fact that the birds thought it was time for a major bath event. We heat the birdbath when it is freezing (you can maybe sort of make out the heating element in the photos below) but while the water never froze and they often stopped by to drink, none of the birds took a bath during the snowy week past. Today,however, things have changed.

Today they have all jumped in and they keep shoving each other out of the way over and over again. Take a look at what they are doing to my office window. The robin simply shoved his way in and all the pine siskins & finches bolted!

A trio of starlings came by as well and completely took over the bird bath, but they were not intetered in being photographed!