Happy Valentine's Day

I created this Valentine for my good friend, Sharon. She loves it when I give her something I have made. It was simply done by just adding a pink heart shaped doily and premade organdy and tiny pearl trim to the front of a card, then writing my sentiment for her inside. Happy Valentine's Day !!

Burt and Lottie

Burt Johnson, your paternal great grandfather, married Lottie McCullom on August 21, 1912. Look at Burt's hair and eyes -- is that not your Dad ?? Especially the hair !! According to your Dad, G'pa Burt's hair was totally gray by the time he was 30 years of age. I never had the privilege of meeting him as he died before I knew your Dad. Burt and Lottie moved off the farm and into a house in town after their only son, your G'pa Paul, married. As a young boy and teenager, your Dad loved to spend the weekends in town at his G'ma and G'pa's house. And, it was always a place to go after school when there was an evening activity to attend.

C.J. and Minnie

C. J. Rose married Minnie Trealor, your maternal great grandmother, on March 22, 1905. I don't have a lot of information about the Rose side of the family. I believe one of your second cousins, Steve Rose, has been doing some genealogy search, though. They were a handsome couple in this photo. Your G'ma Ruth was only 4 months old when the marriage broke apart and never knew her father until she was in her 50's. Her oldest brother, Paul, had kept in touch with his father all of his life. He finally talked your G'ma into going to meet him. Clarence, or CJ, as everyone knew him, had left and settled in New Orleans with a new wife. Your Dad wanted to meet CJ, too, plus, we had never been to New Orleans. Sometime in the early 60's, ( faded memories as to exactly when ), we made the trip and found CJ and Edith to be living in and managing apartments in a beautiful rehabbed Southern Mansion. They were a most congenial couple, showing us around to some of the highlights of the city. As I search memories, I know now, why your G'ma Ruth thought I should be keeping a journal. I could look back and have more exact details and dates -- but, then, would it really matter that much ?? Just remembering that we actually did the things we did is enough for me.

Sister, Sister

I love this snapshot of my sis, Shirley and me, in our matching dresses and hair bows. It is dated 1943 - I think we had the "original" mini-skirts !! I do remember that our hemlines were usually just barely below our panties ! When Mom would stand us on a chair to mark the hems for finishing was always exciting because I knew I was going to have a new dress to wear within the next couple of days. Our cotton dresses were always starched and ironed to be crisp and sharp looking. I didn't like the feel of them when first donned. Maybe that is why we both look so grumpy in this photo !!!

Coffee Time

This was one of your Dad's favorite cups to use for his morning coffee. There was a set of eight, four were broken through the years, leaving four which I have setting in the china cabinet. We purchased these when we were in Okinawa and used them every day they weren't packed and in route to a new assignment. Your Dad liked the Asian design and because he could get his fingers through the oversize handle. They also held a bit more coffee than our china cups. If they all happened to have been used and not washed yet, he would clean one up before he would use any other mug available. Two of the mugs have "Imari Porcelain" stamped on the bottom, two are blank. I'm not sure why that is -- it may be that they were originally sets of four. Maybe a cup of coffee would jog the memory !!!

Johnson Homestead

I had not seen this photo of the old house on the Johnson Century Farm until you sent it to me and asked what and where it was taken. I immediately recognized the house to be the one that your Dad grew up in, although, by the time I became part of the family, it had been "remodeled" !! Porches were enclosed and siding had been installed. The vintage beauty had been lost. When I questioned your Aunt Joan about the house, she thought it had already been built when the farm was purchased in 1893. The photo from the letter on 10/21/o8 pictures a piece of one of the porch posts from this house, repurposed into a decorative flower stand. Whatever inspired your Great-G'ma Lottie to keep the posts when the remodeling was done is a mystery. I do know that she was a creative and talented woman, always looking to do something new and unusual. She and my Mom became great friends with their gardening and sewing being a common ground.

Century Farm

This framed certificate hangs in a collage of items on a wall in my entry hall. The farm your Dad grew up on had been owned by the Johnson family for a full century in the year 1993. Aunt Joan, his sister, still lives on the homestead and a portion of that farm land was part of our inheritance. The house and a few other buildings have been replaced through the years, but, the big old barn remains the same. So many of the small farms throughout the country have sold out to large farm corporations, so it is unique to find land still owned and operated by 3rd and 4th generations of a family. The farm land lays next to a major highway and around that year, the state wanted to take a large part of the land for an interchange and widening. Joan and Verne fought the state, tooth and nail, and won their case. Consequently, the Century Farm is intact.