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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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Decoration Day
My mother tells me that when she was a little girl on “Decoration Day” it was the tradition for families in their community to go to the local cemetery to freshen up the graves of their loved ones. I have always been fascinated by cemeteries, especially old ones. It is interesting to me to read the memorial stones and think…
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Mother’s Day is Not About Me
As a preacher’s kid, it seems like the focus of Mother’s Day when I was growing up had to do with the Sunday morning service. I don’t remember specifically doing anything for my own mother, though I’m sure we did. Rather, my memories are of Dad having all the mothers assemble at the front of the sanctuary to be presented…
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An Ohio Story
Day 10 of our virtual road trip takes us north from Kentucky to Ohio. We lived in Lima, Ohio during my high school years. One of my memories from those years is the time my 95-year-old great-grandmother visited us. Granny lived in Eldorado, Oklahoma. (She was the 1918 “Mama” in the story I told about Oklahoma.) Mother had invited her to come…
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An Alabama Story
The fifth day of our virtual road trip takes us east from Arkansas to Alabama. I know I’ve been through Alabama traveling from Arkansas to Louisiana, but I really have no specific memories related to Alabama. However, my dad’s dad was born in Alabama. For today’s stop on our virtual road trip, I decided to share a post I wrote last…
