Memorial Day

 I will resume my Travel Log tomorrow because I didn't want today, Memorial Day, to go by without an acknowledgement and thank you to the men and women who sacrificed their lives for our country. You've heard the story before, but I'm rerunning a post from the past that tells the story of Wards' grandfather who lost his life in WWII.

Memorial Day

Source

The first Memorial Day we lived here, my boys were almost 7 and 10 years old and I thought it was time for them to understand what Memorial Day was about and to connect with a piece of their family history. As I've written about before (see below), Ward's grandfather, Leo, went down on a ship that was sunk by a German submarine during WWII.

Our first destination was Arlington Cemetery where we thought his marker was. Arlington is a big place so we stopped in the records office and asked for help to locate it. They directed us to a spot with his last name (a very rare one). When we got there, we found the grave site of Ward's uncle who died as a young boy just a few months after his father. But there was nothing mentioning Leo. That was hard for me to believe, but later I understood a little better. I don't know all of the details, but this was a decision made by his widow. Part of the reason was that his body was never recovered so he was actually buried at the bottom of the ocean not at Arlington. Also for security reasons, it took the army five years to officially declare him dead. Consequently, she got no survivor benefits until then and she was doing whatever she could to survive and provide for her remaining son, Ward's dad. When the news became official, that was the past and she had to look to the future. 

But I still had to believe that there was a marker for him somewhere acknowledging his service and life. We finally found one. In the county seat of the county he lived in was a monument commemorating all of the soldiers who lost their lives during WWII. The kids got to see their great-grandfather's name on a list with others who lost their life serving for this country.

I recently asked Theo what he remembers of that day. I wasn't sure if he remembered anything since he wasn't quite 7. He remembers going to Arlington Cemetery and that it was a very solemn place. He doesn't remember much more, but that's okay. I think I planted a seed. When he was older he spent time talking with his grandfather (Leo's son) about his (Leo's) service. Theo wrote stories about it for school. And I know today, he fully understands what Memorial Day is about and is thankful for all who have lost their life while serving our country. As do I.

 Memorial Day--Leo's Story

Today is Memorial Day in the US--the day we remember the men and women who died while serving their country in the armed services. There are many different stories about these people and I'm going to tell one of them here about Ward's grandfather, Leo.

Leo, 1941

Leo was the son of Polish immigrants and as a young man joined the army in 1929. He became part of the Army Engineer division. Later at a dance, he met a smart and pretty young girl, LeeAnn, and married her in 1932. They soon added a baby boy to the family and two years later they had another. After renting a small home, Leo built a house for his growing family. Being an enterprising young man, he used discarded lumber from a railroad yard for much of the house. (By the way, the house that he built still stands firm today.)

Leo's and LeeAnn's happy life was not affected much when World War II broke out in Europe in 1939. However, the Army started to send units to Iceland to build defensive fortifications to be ready just in case. At the end of 1941, his unit was assigned to go to Iceland to help in these preparations. While they were in New York waiting for their boat, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The US immediately declared war against Japan and her allies, including Germany. The US was officially in World War II.

Leo and his unit continued with their orders to go to Iceland, but they didn't make it. Their boat was attacked in the Atlantic by a German submarine and had to be repaired before it could go any further. During the month that the repairs took, the soldiers got to go back and spend time with their families. No one knew that this would be the last time they would see each other.

Their boat was repaired, and they were finally on their way. They made it to Iceland and completed their work. However, on the way back to the states, the boat was attacked by another German submarine and this time it sank. The seas were rough which made it difficult for many to survive. Most went down with the ship. First Leo was declared missing at sea and later he was declared killed in action. It wasn't until several years later that his family knew the details of what happened because much of the information was classified.

LeeAnn was suddenly left with two young boys to raise on her own. A few months later, the unthinkable happened and her younger son was killed in an accident. Despite the terrible losses, she kept going. With various jobs, hard work, and the help of family she carved out a good life for her and her son (Ward's father).

When I met LeeAnn, these events had happened over 40 years ago, but it was like they had happened yesterday for her. She talked about the surprise that Leo was going to bring her when he got home from Iceland and still wondered what it was going to be. She showed me some of the subflooring that Leo built where you could read writing from the railroad cars. She talked about how long it took for them to declare Leo dead and how that affected her benefits. But mostly she talked about the surprise her husband was going to bring her. She thought that it was going to be something to do with their tenth wedding anniversary that they were going to celebrate when he came home.

On this day and everyday, we remember Leo and the sacrifice he made for his country. We also want to remember all of the other men and women who have died in service and hope that their stories have been told. But most importantly, we want to thank each and everyone of them and their families. Because of their sacrifices, we can live a good life today.

Travel Log, Day Three

 Our trip through WV and MD

Ward measuring a board to see
 if it will fit in the van.

Today was the day that we fulfilled the main reason for this trip - to get wood that came from my uncle's farm. My aunt and uncle had a large farm with rolling pastures and wooded hillsides. Every time a tree went down, my uncle saved the wood for his many building projects. Unfortunately, both he and his wife have passed and his kids are trying to get things ready for an auction. Before all of the wood was sold, Ward wanted some for sentimental reasons to use in a future project. 

We spent a lovely morning touring around the farm and looking in all of the different buildings where wood was stored.  With so much to chose from, I don't know how Ward made the decision on what he wanted, but we ended up with 10 long boards of different species. Afterwards, we had a good lunch with more lively conversation with my cousins before we were on our way.

While we were looking around the farm, my genealogist sister texted me and wanted to know if we were going to follow the back roads or go on the Interstate when we left because she had something that she wanted us to find. She had read about a roadside stone that marked the spot where our 4th great grandfather was killed during a Shawnee ambush. It was located outside of Philppi, WV. Ward loves to explore back roads and I do too (if I don't get carsick), so off we went on our hunt. 

After arriving in Philippi, we had no idea where to turn. None of our maps were detailed enough to find the county roads we were looking for. As luck would have it, we stumbled onto the county history museum. Actually, the town was small enough, it would have been hard to not find it. We got in just before closing and tried to explain what we were looking for. Nothing we said rang a bell to the couple who was there, but after some digging, they were able to give us a map and more precise directions to what we were looking for. And while we were there, to support the town, I bought some hot dog sauce made by the local Methodist women's group. With a map and a jar of sauce in hand, we headed out to find the marker.

The helpful Barbour County Historical Museum
is located in the old train depot.

 After a bit of a hit and a miss, we found the gravel road we were looking for. We went up and down the road slowly looking for signs of the marker. We weren't sure what we were looking for, but we kept looking. On the second time down the road, Eagle Eyes Ward, saw two stone markers about 25' off the road. Bingo! We found them. As it turns out, the marker only mentions James Minear, who was also in the party. The Minear Family paid to have the stones put there, so they didn't include others. But my ancestor had passed right in this spot in 1781. It kind of blew my mind when I thought about it.

We took a few pictures, trying to avoid poison ivy, before we headed back into Philippi to look around. The long day of daylight was very nice for exploring. After a full day, we headed to our hotel for the night. Below are a few more pictures of the day.

THE STONE. Daniel Cameron (my grandfather), James Minear, and 3 others had been to Clarksburg, WV, to get land patents, which BTW were signed by Patrick Henry. Unfortunately, they didn't make it all the way home.

Philippi is a town of about 3000 people.
It is the location of the first land battle of the Civil War.

The major highway into Philippi passes through this covered bridge. The original bridge was built in 1852 and used by both North and South armies during the Civil War. It was rebuilt in 1989 after a fire. 

Ann R. Jarvis lived outside of Philippi and was a champion for the public health and the sick. Inspired by her mother, Anna M. Jarvis founded Mother's Day. The first service was in Grafton, WV in 1908. By 1914, Anna had gotten Woodrow Wilson to recognize it as an official holiday. Early Mother's Days were observed by displaying the US Flag.

Travel Log, Day Two

I stayed with the cousin on the far right.
I'm second from the left.

Our Trip to WV and MD*

 Ward and I struck out on our own today to visit North Bend State Park. I hadn't been there since I was a child and wanted to see it again. This is one of many places where I've wanted to stop over the years when we were on the way to visit my parents. But the visit with them was always more important than sightseeing, so I just tucked the ideas away. Now our time is freer, so we're exploring some of these places.

North Bend is one of the many good state parks in West Virginia. It has cabins, a lodge, camping spots, a lake, a swimming pool, and many hiking trails. We drove around and got a feel for the park and then hiked on two different trails. It was all going well until Ward got a call from work that needed attention. We had to cut our visit short and go into town to find WiFi for him. But when you're on vacation, even work doesn't bother you, so all was good. North Bend is definitely a place that we plan to visit again in the future.

We ended the day with a cookout with more of my cousins. The family we were visiting had four sisters just like in my family and when they were all together it got lively. I turned to Ward and said, "See, it's just not me and my sisters, it's them too. It's all normal."  :)

Here are a few pictures from our visit to the park.

We enjoyed wildflowers in bloom along the trails we hiked.

The trail went up a steep hill next to a creek.

Ward investigated a cave we found along the way.

Bluets

A family of geese were enjoying the lake.

The park hooks up with the 72 mile Rail Trail that goes through north central WV.

The excitement continues on Day Three-coming soon. :)

*The town where we stayed is on the Ohio River, so we were back and forth between WV and OH several times. So actually, this was our trip to WV, MD, and OH.

Travel Log, Day one

Quilt shop at Penn Alps

 I've been back for a couple of days now after Ward and I spent a five days travelling around West Virginia and Maryland. The laundry was done and the suitcases were put away just in time to return to work. As I was trying to catch up on the outside work, a thunderstorm drove me inside.  So there's time to give you an update of our travels.

The overall goal of the trip was to visit with family--mostly cousins. While not everyone felt up to a visit, we had a great time with the cousins we were able to see. I don't remember the last time, if ever, I got to spend extended time with them. Ward enjoyed himself and was finally able to remember who was who. I have 23 first cousins on this side and when you add in spouses and kids, it is a pretty big group. Of course, he has met them over the years, but usually in a big chaotic group. He especially enjoyed getting to know them better.

The first day, we drove 5 hours to our destination in West Virginia. We stopped midway in Maryland to have lunch at the Penn Alps Restaurant and associated Spruce Forest. The area has artisans and craftsmen demonstrating their crafts in log cabins, many which were moved there from other sites. After a delicious lunch (actually in an uncrowded restaurant!), we wondered about the Spruce Forest. However, we didn't see many spruce trees. A linear tornado came through April 5 of this year and took down many of the trees and damaged buildings. They are trying to regroup, but still have a lot of uncertainties of how they are going to proceed. However, we didn't see how things were before, so we enjoyed wandering around the buildings and talking with crafts people. 

Here are a few pictures from our stop.

One of the damaged buildings. Some buildings were totally destroyed, and the old church across the street was condemned because it had been knocked off its foundation.

Also, in the village was the Yoder History House.
This was a replica of the Yoder family house from the mid 1700s.

The house is set up for a self-guided tour, but we were the only ones visiting,
so we got a personal tour from the guide there that day.

The village is along the Castleman River where George Washington with British General Braddock crossed on their way to Fort Duquesne in Pittsburgh. That is where Braddock's Defeat happened when fighting the French and Indian War.

Later, in 1813 this bridge was built at Washington's crossing. They built a high arch so boats could go under in anticipation of expanding the C and O Canal to this area. The Canal never made it this far, but the tall-arched bridge is still standing and ready. 

After we arrived, we saw family, but I am saving those pictures for just family. However, let's just say that it was good to see people after not being able to travel for over a year. 

Day Two coming soon.

This and That

Iris

Long time, no see. Or something like that. My life has been going along in a very ordinary way with nothing inspiring me to post, but I'm going to do it anyway today. 

Goldfinch

The moderate weather and rainfall continue to make everything outside happy. The grass is growing rapidly and needs to be cut twice a week now. New flowers are blooming and the vegetables in the garden are thriving. We have harvested radishes, and beets should follow soon. I can see the first head of broccoli forming and the cabbage is growing like crazy. Unfortunately, the cabbage worms have found them, also. And unfortunately, the deer found our little apple tree and enjoyed the new growth on it. I guess all of God's creatures have to eat, she says trying to be positive while really being aggravated.

The birds are showing their bright spring mating colors and we've seen a nest of robins and a nest of house finches fledge. In the meantime, our birdfeeder is emptying at a new rate of speed. All God's creatures...

If you look closely, you can see the
orangish pollen sac (corbicula) on the bumble bee.

Tomorrow, Ward and I are leaving to spend a few days in West Virginia. We are now fully vaccinated and feel a bit more comfortable being out and about. Much of the visit will be spent visiting cousins and other family and friends with the hopes of working in some hiking and such. The weather is predicted to be in the low 90's, so we'll see how fast I fade when we are actually doing outdoor activities. 

One of our two vegetable beds.

And speaking of cousins, I found out at this week another cousin has been moved to hospice. I hope to be able to visit her on this trip. She is the kindest person who was always doing good deeds for others in a very quiet way. This makes me very sad. But life goes on and I plan to celebrate how lucky I am to have the extended family I have.

Now onto the practical of getting ready. I've started with the easy and am doing a load of laundry so we have plenty of clean clothes to choose from when we pack. And when I finish here, I'll try to not work another online jigsaw puzzle and procrastinate from the next chore on the list.

Until next time...

Spring Just Keeps Coming

Either I don't have a good memory of last year or this spring has outdone itself with color.  Or perhaps this time last year, I was so preoccupied with the serious beginnings of COVID outbreaks, I didn't notice what was going on around me. And perhaps, as I am starting to feel lighter about COVID, I am noticing things more. Whatever the case, here are some of things blooming this week in my yard.

Rhododendron

Lily of the Valley

Dianthus

Dianthus

Iris

Phlox

Dianthus

Until next time...

This and That

 Stream of Consciousness Morning

Three types of radishes I harvested yesterday. Miss Landers shared her seeds for them.

Here's more or less what's tossing around in head this morning. It's not actually not stream of consciousness, because I don't think you could keep up with that. I know I have a hard time sorting out the rapid fire thoughts that keep me company every day.

I am trying to figure out where I can plant more things without making a new bed. I have very generous friends who have shared many plants and seeds with me. They all seem interesting, but I've run out of space. So far this year, I've added two pussy willow bushes, two beauty berries, one butterfly bush, a mum, coneflowers, astilbe, four o'clocks, and columbine that I can remember. Some of these are in new spots and some are additions to old beds. I like to tuck things in here and there for little surprises as the year goes on. It brings me great joy. Some of the plantings are for curb appeal and others are for my enjoyment. Now the problem with all of this is that instead of making the yard easier to care for, I'm making harder. Oh, well. Spring will do that to you.

I also went overboard with planting my spring weather vegetables. I didn't expect all of them to survive the transplanting or even sprout, but they all have hung on and begun to thrive. It's long way between here and harvest, so we'll see what happens. Sometimes, nature has other plans. I did manage to plant 4 tomato plants over the weekend from my father-in-law. But that's all the room I have. The squash and beans will just have to wait.

My cousin is in her last days on earth. She is quite a bit younger than I am and I haven't seen her much since we were adults. But still it makes me sad. Mostly because she and her sisters have had a very, very hard life. I feel so fortunate to be on the branch of the family I am on and to have had parents who were able to break the cycle of problems and give me a stable and good beginning. Life is so complex and how it turns out is the luck of the draw sometimes. However, I do believe that we each have some control over our destiny. As I said, it's all so complex.

I had leftovers from yesterday for lunch today. I love leftovers. I made the menu for Mother's Day and the men prepared it. We had grilled hot dogs, potato salad, and a green salad. I'm not sure you would call me a foodie. But I know what I like. :)

Time to go to work. I'm hoping for a quiet day, so I can catch on some things, but we shall see.

Hope everyone has had a good day and seen or heard something that made them smile.

Until next time...

Thankful Sunday, May 9, 2021

 Happy Mother's Day! 

I come from a long line of mothers.

My mother, Betty, and me. I was about three and she was pregnant with my sister, her fourth child. I didn't have a care in the world, but she looks very tired. I think she was. 

My mother with my grandmother, Donnie. My grandmother was very proud
since my mother was the first in her family to graduate high school. 

My paternal grandmother, Yula, with 17 grandkids. There were 6 more to come.

My great grandmother, Anna Estella, on my maternal grandmother's side.
In other words, this is the mother of the person above.

This is my paternal great grandmother, Lavenia Jane
In other words, this is my paternal grandfather's mother.

This is my great, great grandmother, Anna Elizabeth,
mother of Anna Estella.

There. Do you have all of that straight? Don't worry. I'm not sure if I got it all correct myself. What I do know is that each generation along the way has made me who I am and for that I am thankful.

So as you remember those who came before you, Happy Mother's Day!

Highs and Lows

Lilac

It was a weekend filled with highs and lows:

The Highs:

1.  This was the first weekend in a month when I didn't have to write a blog post, meaning the A-Z challenge was over. I did it! Having a theme this year was easier, but limiting at times. We'll see what next year brings.

2. The weather was good, so that we were able to work in the yard and enjoy the continuing blooms.

3. It wasn't my Saturday to work, so I was off all weekend.

4. Ward, Theo, and I are all fully vaccinated as of yesterday. Wally only has one more to go.

4. Because of our vaccination status, yesterday, we had a cookout to celebrate Ward's birthday. It was a small affair with just family, but it was so nice. The food was simple and we had a relaxed time enjoying each other's company. This was a first cookout since over a year ago.

5. There are good leftovers from yesterday to have today, including Key Lime Pie. Yum!

The Lows:

1. Something (deer probably) has broken or eaten all of the branches on our small apple tree. We need to prune up what's left and figure out if we can construct protection for it from critters.

2. I found out a friend has been put in Hospice Care. This was a shocker because last time I talked to her, she was doing well. These kind of events spur introspection and this time was no exception. 

More Highs:

Nature continues to put on a good show: More scenes from around the yard.

Tulip

Azaleas

This came from a pack of wildflower seeds. Can anyone tell me what it is?

Azalea and bumble bee

Nandina berries and azalea

Lanium

Periwinkle and Lanium

Apple tree

Wallflower

Until next time...