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7th Grade Reading List from 1935
As I’ve been gathering and archiving family documents I came across this list of books my great-aunt Bonnie read when she was in 7th grade in 1935-1936. Aunt Bonnie was Grandmother’s younger sister. This would have been the school year following Grandmother’s high school graduation. I recognize a number of the titles as books I’ve read–some of them when I…
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An Ozark Farm
In the very early years of my life, before I can remember, my Granddaddy traded 10 head of cattle and $1000 for 12 acres of land. (That left him with 3 head of cattle, 2 horses, and probably $0.) This wonderful real estate bargain was on a dirt road 6 miles from the nearest highway. It was on a mountainside…
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Oregon Trail Pioneers
When I was a little girl I was obsessed with pioneer stories. I suspect this interest was first piqued with the Little House on the Prairie books. For awhile I read everything I could get my hands on about covered wagons and westward expansion.
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Early Automobile Travel
My "Granddaddy" Gordon Easley was born in 1915. He had a sharp memory and was a great storyteller. About 30 years ago I sat down with him and turned on a little tape recorder. With just the slightest prompts from me he would launch into his experiences of long ago. Over several sessions we managed to fill several cassettes. This…
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When People Fly circa 1964
In the fall of 1964 my parents were not yet married. Dad had been attending Bible college in Rock Island, Illinois. Mother was secretary at that Bible college. This is where they met. They were planning their wedding for March 1965. Mother's parents and her baby sister Rachel, who was 4 months old at the time, flew from Ft. Smith,…
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Road Trip circa 1952 – Part 2
This is the second installment of my transcription of some cassette tapes I recorded in the early 1990s. This one is of my mother telling of a 26-day road trip her family took in 1952 when she was 10 years old.
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Road Trip circa 1952 – Part 1
Recently I came across a batch of cassette tapes that I had recorded in the early 1990s. There are several of my Granddaddy telling stories about his life. As I'm getting these priceless treasures digitized I thought it would be fun to share some of the stories here. One story Granddaddy told was of a 26-day road trip they took…
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Of Bookshops and Long-Lost Cousins
When I grow up I want to be a writer. More specifically, a novelist. I really do. I know I’ve been saying that for awhile but I’m still working on it. I haven’t always wanted to be a writer, though. When I was younger my big dream was to own a bookstore. I never had the capital for that, and…
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A Story of Faithfulness
This past weekend Ozark View Chapel in Mountainburg, Arkansas celebrated their 50-year anniversary as a church. During those 50 years they have only had 2 pastors: my Dad and my Granddaddy. My grandparents moved to the Ozarks in 1966 when I was about a year old. Six of their 10 children were still at home. Their dream was to establish…
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Back-to-School Nostalgia
Even though I’m no longer a student, nor are my children, I can’t stay out of the school supplies aisles at Wal-Mart this time of year. There’s just something about fresh notebooks and pencils and crayons that evoke a lot of fond memories for me. This month’s “this or that” questions have to do with back-to-school memories. Here are the…
