Try Mama's Scones this year for Christmas Morning!

SCONES

3 cups flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1//2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter (cut in small pieces)

Mix all dry ingredients and cut butter into them using 2 knives or pastry blender
Make a well in the center and add 1 cup of buttermilk*
Mix all together and add one of the following:
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins, currents or any chopped dried fruit you desire (dried apricots)
Sprinkle pastry board with flour and pat out dough 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick
Cut out scones with a 2 inch biscuit cutter**
Dip a sugar cube into a small amount of orange juice
Immediately press in the center of the scones one at a time.
Brush top of each scone with milk
Bake in lower rack til golden brown

* substitute for buttermilk-- Add one Tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to 1 cup of milk

**You may use larger cutter but you wil have fewer scones-- if you use a smaller cutter just use half of a sugar cube on each one.



FAUX CLOTTED CREAM

Whip small carton heavy cream
add 1- 2 Tablespoons of powdered sugar
1/3 cup sour cream fold it in
refrigerate
(will freeze)

Serve with dollops of clotted cream, lemon curd and strawberry preserves. YUMMMMM!

The first bluestockings... It was in the 18th century that the term "bluestocking" was first used widely by educated women, and by men to rebuke those women for neglecting ladylike pursuits to pursue thinking and learning alongside men. Legend attributes the term of "bluestocking" to the attire of one gentleman scholar who frequented the company of intellectually curious women. Not being wealthy enough to afford the fashionable black silk stockings of the day, the man wore plain blue-worsted stockings. The members of the discussion group, hoping to encourage his return, took to dressing in this more "casual" style as well.

Despite the legend, literary-minded women were called "bas bleu" (blue stocking) in France at least 100 years earlier. Still, it was the 18th century English women who broadened the term to mean something more than a woman who read the works of men. Modeling their gatherings after the French literary salons, the conversations of English bluestockings went beyond literature to encompass art, architecture, travel, politics, and the writing and accomplishments of other women.

My New Favorite Book- The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller

I am overwhelmed by my new job, with a raise, in the same facility, on a computer, at a desk, during the day, with week-ends off. I feel like a new woman. And I am overwhelmed at The Prodigal God. Yes, prodigal! It means recklessly extravagant--having spent everything! It seems it was not enough for Him to have paid the debt I owed the Father, He continues to lavish me with all these goodies. Read the book. It's one of those eye-opener, life-changers.

Job 37:6 He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’

Job 38:29 From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens
Job 38:30 when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen?

Job 38:22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail,

Think Snow!
Check out this website to see snowflakes grow

http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/movies/movies.htm

Sights and sounds that make me thankful. 4:28pm

Babies crying.....and laughing
Toddlers running everywhere and knocking things over
Teens texting their friends and watching cartoons
Comforting cellphone calls
Kids who kiss grandma without being asked

Smells of turkey and dressing
Women planning to rise early and shop for bargains
Men talking about the six pointer they saw but didn't shoot
Friends who come with lots to share

Fathers unafraid to help with little ones
Mothers with bags of diapers and 'whatever I possibly could need"
Everyone pitching in to load and unload tables and chairs
Extra runs to the store for last minute forgotten items

Making sure someone gets his favorite dessert
Seeing the growth in all my children
Knowing that my Father has made all this possible
from the rubbish I gave Him

Psalm 95

1 Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.

3 For the LORD is the great God,
the great King above all gods.

4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.

5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.

6 Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;

7 for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.

God has spoken

This is what God's word says about the election:

1Pet. 2:13 ¶ Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority,
1Pet. 2:14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.
1Pet. 2:15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.
1Pet. 2:16 Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.

Rom. 13:1 ¶ Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
Rom. 13:2 Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
Rom. 13:3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you.
Rom. 13:4 For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.
Rom. 13:5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.
Rom. 13:6 ¶ This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing.
Rom. 13:7 Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

It's hard to believe this hill could be prettier every day but it never ceases to amaze us!

The name -- of it -- is "Autumn" --by Emily Dickinson

The hue -- of it -- is Blood --
An Artery -- upon the Hill --
A Vein -- along the Road --

Great Globules -- in the Alleys --
And Oh, the Shower of Stain --
When Winds -- upset the Basin --
And spill the Scarlet Rain --

It sprinkles Bonnets -- far below --
It gathers ruddy Pools --
Then -- eddies like a Rose -- away --
Upon Vermilion Wheels --

Breakfast with Mama

As Mama and I had a French breakfast this morning with bacon, poached eggs in unsalted butter and croissants with grape jelly made by Rachel, my daughter in law, with, grapes from her father’s vineyard and cafe au lait for me, of course English breakfast tea for her, we discussed the richness of our lives. She related all the wonderful experiences God brought into her life in spite of the fact that as a teenager she thought everyone had a boyfiend except her. I wish the whole family could have been here to hear her tell about it. But one thing she did say this morning that I feel everyone of you should hear.

She listens to lots of political television and reads voracioiusly about all the candidates in this election. Her thoughts were that all of the candidates were the kind of people you would love to have as neighbors. They are all caring, considerate and the kind of people who are willing to lay down their lives for the good of this country. All of them would do the right thing for us as they saw it.

She also stated how proud she was of her children and grandchildren who took a stand and made it a priority to take advantage of our privilege to vote even the ones who did not necessarily agree with her political viewpoint.

She said also that the reason she makes her choices is that she uses God’s Word as a plumbline for the issues and measures the candidates previous choices by that standard.

ON GETTING OLD

Just before the funeral services, the undertaker came up to the very elderly
widow and asked, "How old was your husband?" "98," she replied. "Two years older than me." "So you're 96," the undertaker commented. She responded,
"Hardly worth going home, is it?


Reporters interviewing a 104-year-old woman: "And what do you think is the
best thing about being 104?" the reporter asked. She simply replied, "No
peer pressure."


I've sure gotten old! I've had two bypass surgeries, a hip replacement, new
knees Fought prostate cancer and diabetes. I'm half blind, can't hear
anything quieter than a jet engine, take 40 different medications that make
me dizzy, winded, and subject to blackouts Have bouts with dementia. Have
poor circulation; hardly feel my hands and feet anymore. Can't remember if
I'm 85 or 92. Have lost all my friends But, thank God, I still have my
driver's license.


I feel like my body has gotten totally out of shape, so I got my doctor's
permission to join a fitness club and start exercising. I decided to take an
aerobics class for seniors. I bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and down,
and perspired for an hour. But, by the time I got my leotards on, the class
was over.


An elderly woman decided to prepare her will and told her preacher she had
two final requests. First, she wanted to be cremated, and second, she wanted
her ashes scattered over Wal-Mart. "Wal-Mart?" the preacher exclaimed. "Why
Wal-Mart?" "Then I'll be sure my daughters visit me twice a week "


My memory's not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my memory's not as sharp as
it used to be.


Know how to prevent sagging? Just eat till the wrinkles fill out.


*It's scary when you start making the same noises as your coffeemaker.


**These days about half the stuff in my shopping cart says, "For fast
relief."


**Remember: You don't stop laughing because you grow old, You grow old
because you stop laughing.



**--- THE SENILITY PRAYER : Grant me the senility to forget the people I
never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the
eyesight to tell the difference.

CHARLOTTE OUTSIDE MOTHER'S WINDOW

ARGIOPE AURANTIA

The spider species Argiope aurantia is commonly known as the Black and Yellow Garden Spider, Writing Spider or Corn Spider . It is common to the lower 48 of the United States, southern Canada, Mexico, and Central America. They have distinctive yellow and black markings on their abdomens and a mostly white cephalothorax. Males range from 5 to 9 mm; females from 19 to 28 mm. Like other members of Argiope and almost all other spider species, they are considered harmless to humans.

Physical appearance
This female of the species is striking in appearance with distinct yellow and black markings, including banding on the legs. Despite the vivid color, the garden spider is well camouflaged, blending in easily with partially sunlit areas. The female of the species grows much larger than the male. Females have large rounded bodies that may grow to 40 mm (1 1/2 inches), excluding the legs. If the length of the legs is added, the female can reach 75 mm (3") in diameter. Males are thin-bodied and only 20 mm (3⁄4") long.

A. aurantia has three claws on each foot, unlike spiders that have only two claws and do not spin orb-webs. The third claw helps them manage the strands of silk while they spin the complicated web.

The young of the species resemble the adults, except for size and the development of reproductive organs. These spiders are not dangerous to people, and their bites result in nothing more than a sore, itchy swelling that goes away in a few days. The medical literature contains at least one report of a bite by A. aurantia (Gorham and Rheney 1968). Extreme pain some distance from the site of the bite was suggestive of a neurotoxin.[citation needed]

Habitat
Garden Spiders often build webs in areas adjacent to open sunny fields where they stay concealed and protected from the wind. The spider can also be found along the eaves of houses and outbuildings or in any tall vegetation where they can securely stretch a web. The circular part of the female's web may reach two feet in diameter. Webs are built at elevations from two to eight feet off the ground.
Female Argiope Aurantia spiders tend to be somewhat local, often staying in one place throughout much of their lifetime.
Webs
The web of the yellow garden spider is distinctive: a circular shape up to 2 feet in diameter, with a dense zigzag of silk, known as a stabilimentum, in the center. The purpose of the stabilimentum is disputed. It is possible that it acts as camouflage for the spider lurking in the web's center, but it may also attract insect prey, or even warn birds of the presence of the otherwise difficult-to-see web. Only those spiders that are active during the day construct stabilimenta in their webs.

To construct the web, several radial lines are stretched among four or five anchor points that can be more than three feet apart. The radial lines meet at a central point. The spider makes a frame with several more radial lines and then fills the center with a spiral of silk, leaving a 5/16" to 3/8" gap between the spiral rings, starting with the innermost ring and moving outward in a clockwise motion. To ensure that the web is taut, the spider bends the radial lines slightly together while applying the silk spiral. The female's web is substantially larger than the male's, who builds a small zig-zag web nearby. The spider occupies the center of the web, usually hanging head-down, waiting for prey to become ensnared in the web. If disturbed by a possible predator, she may drop from the web and hide on the ground nearby. The web normally remains in one location for the entire summer, but spiders can change locations usually early in the season, perhaps to find better protection or better hunting.

The Garden Spider can oscillate her web vigorously while she remains firmly attached in the center. This action might prevent predators like wasps and birds from drawing a good bead, and also to fully entangle an insect before it cuts itself loose.

In a daily ritual, the spider consumes the circular interior part of the web and then rebuilds it each morning with fresh new silk. The radial framework and anchoring lines are not usually replaced when the spider rebuilds the web. The spider may be recycling the chemicals used in web building. Additionally, the fine threads that she consumes appear to have tiny particles of what may be minuscule insects and organic matter that may contain nutrition.[citation needed]

Female webs can exist as close as ten feet from each other, but there is usually more distance between webs. The Garden Spider does not live in dense clusters like other orb spiders such as the Golden Orb Web Spider. The Garden Spider keeps a clean orderly web in comparison to the cluttered series of webs built and abandoned by groups of Golden Orb Spiders.

Yellow garden spiders breed once a year. The males roam in search of a female, building a small web near or actually in the female's web, then court the females by plucking strands on her web. Often, when the male approaches the female, he has a safety drop line ready, in case she attacks him. After mating, the male dies, and is sometimes then eaten by the female.

She lays her eggs at night on a sheet of silky material, then covers them with another layer of silk, then a protective brownish silk. She then uses her legs to form the sheet into a ball with an upturned neck. Egg sacs range from 5/8" to 1" in diameter. She often suspends the egg sac right on her web, near the center where she spends most of her time. Each spider produces from one to four sacs with perhaps over a thousand eggs inside each. She guards the eggs against predation as long as she is able. However, as the weather cools, she becomes more frail, and dies around the time of the first hard frost.

In the spring, the young spiders exit the sac and are so tiny that their collection of bodies look like dust gathered inside the silk mesh. Some of the spiderlings remain nearby, but others exude a strand of silk that gets caught by the breeze, carrying the spiderling to a more distant area.

Check out my new favorite book. Click on the book.

MICHAEL

ZEKE

I would like to introduce my friends to Sarah Palin

PRAISE GOD ALMIGHTY WHO MADE HEAVEN AND EARTH

Today I am full of thanksgiving for His bringing me through the diagnosis and surgery for uterine cancer. We never know what words. like "divorce", "lay-off", "cancer", "surgery" really mean until we experience them. But the wonderful result of this ordeal is that I am closer to God, I am more empathetic and I have slowed down my pace. What a priority maker this was. It is not that which does not kill us which makes us stronger. It is He Who does not kill us Who makes us stronger!

BLICKLING HALL AND HENRY HOBART

Blicking Hall was once in the possession of the Boleyn family, and home to Sir Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire and his wife, Elizabeth, between 1499 and 1505. It is presumed that their first two children Mary and George were born at Blickling Hall, along with several other Boleyn infants who did not live long. If the couple's most famous child, Anne, was born before 1505 (as one school of historical thought contends) then she too was born at Blickling. Other historians maintain that Anne was born after 1505, probably in 1507, and by that time Sir Thomas had moved to Hever Castle in Kent. Nonetheless, a statue and portrait of Anne Boleyn reside in Blickling Hall claiming "Anna Bolena hic nata 1507" (Anne Boleyn born here 1507).

The current Blickling Hall was built on the ruins of the old Boleyn property in the reign of James I, by the Hobarts. In 1616, Sir Henry Hobart Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and 1st Baronet bought Blickling from Robert Clere. The architect of Hatfield House, Robert Lyminge, is credited with the design of the current structure. The Lord Chief Justice married Dorothy, the daughter of Sir Robert Bell of Beaupre Hall, Outwell/Upwell, Norfolk, Speaker of the House of Commons 1572–1576. A grand display of heraldic material is present throughout the estate.

Sir Henry Hobart, 1st Baronet SL (c. 1560 – 29 December 1625) of Blickling Hall, was an English judge and politician.

The son of Thomas Hobart and Audrey Hare, and Great grandson of Sir James Hobart, who had served as Attorney General during the reign of King Henry VII.

Sir Henry would further this lineal occupation and was admitted to Lincoln's Inn on 10 August 1575, and was later called to the Bar in 1584, and subsequently became governor of Lincoln's Inn in 1591.

Between 1588 and 1589, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for St Ives, for Yarmouth in 1597 and 1601, and for Norwich from 1604 to 1611.

Hobart was Steward of Norwich in 1595, made Serjeant from 1603 to 1606, and later served as Attorney for the Court of Wards in 1605 and Attorney General for England and Wales between 1606 and 1613. From 1613 to 1625, his abilities were further recognized and he was elevated to Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas.

Having been Lord Chancellor to Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, he was also Chancellor and Lord Keeper of the Great Seal to Charles, Prince of Wales.

He was conferred the honor of Knighthood in 1603, and was made Baronet, of Intwood in the County of Norfolk on 11 May 1611.

Sir Henry Hobart, was respected for his knowledge and sophistication in matters of estate management. He successfully acquired a fair amount of Norfolk property, including the estates of Intwood in 1596 and Blickling in 1616, where he was buried on 4 January 1625.

On 21 April 1590, he married Dorothy Bell, the daughter of Sir Robert Bell, in Blickling, Norfolk. They had twelve sons including John Hobart and four daughters.

Sir Henry is also one of our great grandfathers from our Hubbard ancestry.

GOD'S WORK DISPLAYED

On Saturday, June 28, 2008 I was at the First Annual Green Family Reunion. Almost everyone was there. The amazing thing to see was not what we had made of ourselves, but what God had made of us. He has taken our mistakes and
"provided" for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor. Isaiah 61:3

When asked why a man was born blind, Jesus said
“...this happened that the work of God might be displayed in his life...” Jn 9:1-3

“ The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what He does for us, not by what we are and by what we do for Him.” Rm 12:3.

I created the slide in this format to represent the way God takes our "scrambled" lives and makes an "omelet!"

Jesus said “Make yourselves at home in My love.” John 15:9

Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; Psa. 30:11

FIRST ANNUAL GREEN FAMILY REUNION

UNEXPECTED PLEASURES

SWAN ROSE COTTAGE

ISRAEL- DAY 1

FLOWERS FROM OUR YARD! John 1:3 ¶ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

OUR GENEALOGY Psa. 33:11 But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.

MICHELLE & ANDIE

AJ

MICHAEL

SARAH,TOVA, & ALYSSA

JULIE'S FAMILY

FIRST BUTTERFLY IN PHLOX

A light exists in spring
Not present on the year
At any other period.
When March is scarcely here

A color stands abroad
On solitary hills
That science cannot overtake,
But human nature feels.

It waits upon the lawn;
It shows the furthest tree
Upon the furthest slope we know;
It almost speaks to me.

Then, as horizons step,
Or noons report away,
Without the formula of sound,
It passes, and we stay:

A quality of loss
Affecting our content,
As trade had suddenly encroached
Upon a sacrament.

Emily Dickinson

PEACH BLOSSOM

Mama loves to work in the yard. It's finally warm enough.

BUMBLEBEE

APPLE BLOSSOMS?

Our Flowers and Birds

He is a red bellied woodpecker because the females have a red wash on their bellies. Today Julie told me that knowing the names of birds and flowers was sure indication of my age. Well, I'm just having a blast learning all about them with Mama. We have cardinals, finches, juncos,sparrows,and doves. Our flowers are hyacinth, forsithia, japonica, and jonquils.

The beginning of Mama's story

Born at Daddy Claude’s-- Mom Madie and Grandma Pat were there.
I was early (August 5,1924--really due early October) Was approximatelly 5 lbs.
Double crown-- not closed yet.
Grandma Pat said Mother would probably never raise me.
I was called “Little Edith”.

Mother and Daddy were living in Danville, Virginia--Daddy was working in the dye room at
Dan River Cotton Mills at Schoolfield, Virginia.
I think they were living at Cameron Ave and then Daddy was working at a gas station with
Buford Arnn (his first cousin) and we were living on Stokes Avenue.
I think I have a remembrance of me and Boots there--going to the store for candy and
cookies (or tidbits).

The early summer, perhaps June, of 1927 we moved to Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania.
Daddy’s oldest sister Lucille and her husband Fred and daughter Sylvia were living
there and seemed to think Daddy could get a job up there.
I have no idea how we got there, but I’m thinking by train.
Aunt Lucille had a housekeeping room at the home of Clarence “Happy” and Pauline Rings.
Uncle Fred was working for the American Bridge Company building bridges across the
Ohio or the Allegheny River.

As we approached the house, I remember seeing (I think we were walking) 2 boys about
the same age as me.
On this short street there were 4 or 5 houses and on the steps of the first house was Dick
Richards in The Ashburner Home.
His grand parents- and a single aunt lived on the first floor.
He lived on the second floor with his mother and dad, George and Ethel Richards and a
baby sister Nelda.
On the 3rd floor lived his aunt and uncle, Ruth and “Red” Clifford O’Connor.
On the steps of the next house was Ned Daugherty.
They were standing alone on their steps.
One was dressed in blue short pants and the other had green short pants--both
with white shirts.
I can still see them in my memory.

Mother and Daddy found a place to live uup on the hill on Clugston Avenue.
I do not remember any of that.
Carolyn was born on August 8, 3 days after I turned 3.
We didn’t stay there long, because by Christmas time we had moved to Church Street, I
think at Mrs Hacketts house.

When Carolyn was about 6 months old, Mother was homesick so Daddy
sent us back to Virginia for Christmas.
We went by railroad and I do remember some of that trip.
I had a new baby doll with me.
She had a china head and a long white dress.
I’m not sure whether she could shut her eyes or not.
I also remember that I had a burn on my left arm.
Mother had shredded a raw potato and but that on the burn and a bandage on it.
I have no recollection of being in Virginia, however I do remember the trip back home.
I was standing in the middle of the aisle and wetting my pants and watching the water run
down the aisle.
When I arrived home, Daddy had a red rocking chair for me.

Later, I remember walking with Mother and Mother carrying a baby and we were going
through an empty apartment to visit someone on the other side and as we walked through
the vacant kitchen I flipped the oven door open and hit my mother on the shin.
I didn’t mean to hurt anyone but she was sure mad at me!

We moved a couple of houses away and it was from there I started school.
Just before September my vaccination had scabbed and was sore.
My knee was scraped where I had fallen and I was a mess.
My Uncle George Dunn was visiting us and took me to the store with him and let me pick
out some penny candy. I chose a wax bottle of coke and -a little tin pan of candy with a
spoon that was 2 cents worth and I was happy.
He was a novelty to me.
He was rough talking and sometimes used language I never heard or would have been
allowed to use.
But I loved him!

I walked to a school with other kids from the street..
We had to walk by the Catholic school, which was scary to me.
The teachers moving along in long black robes and white caps.
My teacher was Mrs. Garvin
I loved her very much.
She was old (possibly 40!)
Every 3 months we got 2 new student teachers from the state teachers college at Slippery
Rock, Pennsylvania.
The class was divided into 3 section-- mainly for reading skills---about 3 rows for each
section.
The Yellow Birds were the slowest to grab onto reading.
The Red Birds, better and
The Blue Birds-- the fastest learned when it came to reading--that was my place to shine!

I have always loved words.
By the time I was 2 I could recite The Night Before Christmas.
Each child was given 1/2 pint of milk at recess-- I’m not sure if parents paid for it or not.
I only know when I was absent sometime in February I sent word that Virgil Brown was to
have my milk.

It was in first grade that I was on a reading spree to read the most books.
The prize-- a pencil box with everything in it --pencils--sharpener--etc.
I didn’t win it, but I sure read alot of books.
Before the year was over, I needed glasses and have worn them ever since.

2nd grade I had Mrs Dias.
Carolyn had started to school.
By this time we had moved from Church Street.
Actually we moved to an upstairs apartment on Shaw Avenue.
It had wall to wall carpets and they felt so good.
I had chicken pox on my toes and they itched.
However we were only there one month because Daddy worked til 11 and his buddy’s
wife would bring her 2 over and spend the evening with Mama and when the men would
come in about 11:30 and walk upstairs and gather up the kids and wife and come back
downstairs and go home.
It was too much noise and too late to suit the land lady so she said we had to move.

That’s when we moved to Highland Avenue.
Highland Ave was the street joining the street of our first acquaintanceso we already had
friends at our new location.
It was on a hill overlooking the school.
Right after we moved to Highland Avenue Jean was born.
I wasn’t too happy with her birth-- I wanted a brother!
So I crawled under the bed and didn’t want to look at her!
That didn’t last long!

Mama has begun to write!

There has been much already written about our “meeting” and “marrying” September 9, 1943 – October 9, 1943, but not a whole lot about the following two years with the 78^th Division so I’ll try to fill in the gaps as I remember them.

I will begin with our wedding day which was exciting for me but much more exciting for Jess as I found out after the ceremony.

I had to work that day in order to get three days off – he had a three-day pass and we wanted to get to my home in West Virginia. So after work, I hurried home to get ready for my 8 o’clock wedding 30 miles away. I had been able to find a Navy blue suit with satin-binding trim and a plain white blouse and a jabot that softened the neckline. A taffeta Navy blue hat with a small veil completed my outfit. Oh yes, and Navy blue kid gloves!

Uncle Fletcher and Aunt Molly Smith drove my roommate and me to Camp Butner. My roommate, Irma Womble was my maid-of-honor.

When we arrived the chapel was pretty filled and someone, I think it was Johnny Somingo, was waiting at the entrance to guide me. Charles Pepe was Jess’ best man. I didn’t see him or Jess until after the Chaplain’s assistant had sung our two requested songs: “Because” and “I Love you, Truly” and they approached the altar with Chaplain Read.

Just as the Wedding March began several friends from my work arrived. I hesitated and was going to let them precede me to their seats when Somingo nudged me and said, “You go!”

Jess was dressed in his “dress greens” the winter uniform even though the date to change them was October 15^th.

After the wedding Uncle Fletcher took the Bridal Party out for dinner and then Jess and I went to his house to wait the time to take the bus to West Virginia.

Back to Jess’ exciting day? When he woke up he was told by the First Sergeant to pack a full field pack, throwing away all the extras he couldn’t carry, mainly, all electronic items (e.g., shavers, radios, etc.) and framed pictures and report to a specific place as soon as that was accomplished. He said to his buddies, “I can’t do that! I’m getting married tonight.” They told him to go see the Chaplain. He did and Chaplain Reid had the same orders.

So…everyone did what was ordered, ended up getting on trucks and began moving out in a convoy. Slowly they drove 15 miles or so and turned around and returned to Butner. It was the whole 78^th Division so that took quite a bit of time! The first Division alert they had. Returning to the company area they were all restricted to it for the rest of the day. That was one of the reasons we had a chapel full for our wedding.

The bus left about 2 or 3 a.m. and so we walked to the station from Uncle Fletcher’s. Shortly after we began the ride Jess went to sleep! Once he woke up and said to me, “If they ask you if you have a canteen cup tell them, ‘Yes’,” and promptly went back to sleep. I never found out what he meant and he didn’t remember saying it!

We arrived at my home in Princeton, West Virginia around noon. This was the first meeting of my family with Jess, except for my Daddy who had come to North Carolina the previous weekend (Sunday October 3^rd) to convince me we should not get married so soon! But, October 1^st and 2^nd had spent the time making arrangements with the chaplain getting the licenses, rings, music and a place to live, not saying much but grinning all weekend. That whole weekend is a story in itself. I’ll write that sometime.

The time at home was good. They all liked him and Mother had a wonderful dinner for us.

That evening (Sunday) we went to church and Jess heard the gospel presented in a clear, understandable way. When the altar call was given, he came under conviction and my youngest sister Jean (12 years old) looked at him with tears in her eyes and he told me later, it was as if she said, “Why don’t you go?” And so he did. He accepted Christ as His Savior. I followed him to the altar and after prayer we had our marriage dedicated to the Lord before we had ever spent the night together! That was a wonderful gift to me from the Lord.

Jess was a corporal making $66 a month. I was working at the Martin-Fairchild Defense Corporation making about $30 a week. The place we rented was a room with kitchen privileges and a bathroom shared with another couple - $35 a month! What is meant by kitchen privileges? Well, there was a shelf in the cupboard with a set of dishes (service for 4) for my exclusive use. There was a designated shelf in the refrigerator, too! The kitchen was shared by the landlords (husband and wife and two teenagers) and another couple with a baby who were renting a room like we were. There was a wood stove in the kitchen kept hot all day and that was to cook on. There was also an electric hot plate, but that was for evening for heating for the babies’ bottles or other emergencies! As soon as I fixed a meal and we ate, I was obligated to wash my dishes and put them away! We could also use the living room any time we wanted to.

This was a family home and was being shared out of a kind heart and a way to make expenses. The landlords had moved their bedroom to an enclosed back porch. We had a lovely bedroom with a fireplace. Besides us there was another couple on the same first floor. Upstairs were two apartments, one for the landlords’ son and wife, another for a school teacher, his wife and two-year old child (_______ , Ardis Miller and Myron, who gave me my nickname of Nee). They were from Menomonie, Wisconsin.

This is the setting for my first disastrous company meal. (If only I had know I had married a man with the gift of hospitality!)

The chaplain had not accepted any money for performing our ceremony. He said a dinner by the bride would be great! One Thursday Jess asked “Could I invite some guys for dinner?”

I said, “Sure, when?” He said, “Saturday.”

Naively I said, “OK, invite the chaplain, too.” Then I said, “How many?”

He thought awhile and said, “Fourteen.”

I said, “OK,” thinking, “I’ll just fry some chicken,” although I never had. But at nineteen, it didn’t seem hard!

So, I asked Mrs. Long to teach me how.

She told me to get 2-3 hens – cut them in pieces – and cook them in water to make them tender. Drain and dredge in seasoned flour and fry ’til brown! I must have cooked them too long or something! They were tough as “whit-leather,” as my dad used to say, (whatever whit-leather is!). I don’t remember what else I cooked but Mrs. Long lent me more dishes for the table.

The Lord tried to save me from this disaster by sending several inches of snow restricting all the soldiers to the base.

But my darling was already at home for the weekend and felt sorry for me so he walked into town and invited strangers (soldiers) at the USO to come for dinner. I’m glad none of them knew us – they were kind but never got in touch with us again. I never did get a chance to cook for the chaplain because they were all off on a bivouac during Thanksgiving.

I did have some of the Company A guys for dinner from time to time as I learned how to cook.

By Thanksgiving I had quit my job. It was too hard commuting. From about November 15th to December 8^th the 311^th had been on a Marine Base at Parris Island in South Carolina for maneuvers so I had plenty of time to get to know the people in the house. I had our room decorated for Christmas when he arrived home in early December. Transportation was the City Bus! He was able to get a 3-day pass to go to West Virginia for Christmas.

Early in January the whole Division went to Tennessee for 2 ½ months of continuous training with the 106^th Infantry Division, the 26^th Infantry Division and the 17^th Airborne and they fought each other across the Tennessee hills and rivers in typical tactical situations. This was east of Nashville between Murfreesboro on the South and Gallatin near the Kentucky border. Each maneuver was cold and wet and muddy. From weekend to weekend they fought, ate and slept in the same clothes! This was training them for their time in Belgium.

Jess had been able to find an apartment there so I soon followed and lived on the Gallatin Road. More about that later…

In judging the effectiveness of our contesting divisions the umpires gave the 78^th Division Distinctive Praise and highest honors for performance in the maneuvers. They were over about the 1^st of April and most of the 78^th Division convoyed to Camp Pickett, Virginia. Jess got a 30-day leave and we went by train to Oakland, California where I met his mother and grandmother. That was our honeymoon.

He returned to Pickett alone. Camp Pickett was on 46,000 acres near Blackstone, forty miles Southeast of Richmond. After feeling fully qualified as topnotch from maneuver training they expected to go as a unit. But since the army was stockpiling replacements for the impending invasion of France there was just enough time for our qualified replacements to take leave home and ship overseas into the replacement depot. Most of the senior NCOs and officers stayed to train, so Jess said, “Come back.”

And, I did.

When I arrived he had a room for me in Crewe, Virginia. We stayed there a couple of weeks – we had to go out for meals. I remember once he went out and brought back breakfast on a tray. He had to leave a $20 bill to make sure he would return the dishes and tray.

I met two of the lieutenants’ wives there and went to breakfast with them a couple of times. (They were college graduates and kept talking about “Ellis Shoe.” I thought that is a shoe factory or someplace they had worked but it really was LSU in Louisiana, where they had gone to school. It was their southern accent that threw me!) I had never gone to restaurants much before and so I was surprised that I didn’t have to order just what was on the menu – I could order just toast, or toast and bacon, etc. I caught on fast!

Soon Jess found us the playhouse (literally a child’s playhouse) in Wilson. It was in a rural community nearer to camp and we could rent it for $5 a week, and either cook in the kitchen of the big house or eat with the family. He ate most of his meals at the base and we cooked out at our house a lot.

After living there awhile, the teenage daughter of the owners was not very nice to me. By that time I was pregnant and probably overly sensitive and Jess found another room for a week or two. Then we moved in with Paul and Dorothea Hunter. They had two rooms above the garage and bunk beds in the kitchen. We managed fine on the bottom bunk. The soldiers spent time on bivouacs and long days training. When they were away from camp, Dorothea and I would put the clock in the drawer and eat and sleep when we felt like it. Every day when the guys went to camp we didn’t know if they’d come home or not. Dorothea had their car at the house. One morning about 10 o’clock she received a phone call from us to come to camp before 1 o’clock if we wanted to see them before they left camp. We went early and the area around the company was sectioned off and so we couldn’t get close to the barracks. As soon as the noon meal was over they were supposed to come where we were but a meeting was called for the noncommissioned officers (sergeants, etc.) so we had to wait a little longer…in the rain. Finally, they came and we had a little time to embrace and kiss goodbye and cry, and then they were called into formation. They hadn’t been able to tell us when of where they were going. Later Paul contacted Dorothea and she drove to Camp Kilner, New Jersey and was able to see Paul again. I took a bus to my parents’ home in West Virginia, got a reservation on a train and went to California to live with Jess’ mother while he was gone. Reservations had to be made thirty days in advance so I was able to spend a month with my family before going to California.

The division arrived at Camp Kilner on October 2^nd and left October 13^th on the Carvenon Castle, a former British merchant marine ship. Dorothea to see Paul a couple of times before they left and then she drove home to Texas. It took them fourteen days to cross the ocean and Jess wrote that the voyage was terribly crowded and uncomfortable. They landed at South Hampton on October 25^th and were taken to Bourne???, England, a resort town. They lived in hotels that had been nice but had deteriorated somewhat since the troops took over! In mid-November they started moving to France and probably had Thanksgiving there. It rained all the time…it was like a big mud puddle. They left there on November 26^th for Belgium by boxcar (the kind called 40/8’s, meaning it could carry 40 men and 8 horses). They could hear but not see the German buzz bombs on their way to England. December 7^th they moved to Ratgen, Germany and by the 9^th they went to the front lines in the Huertgen Forest, along the Siegfreid line which was designed to keep tanks from getting through - concrete blocks of cement shaped like pyramids 2-3 feet high, stretched across a whole field. (Jess took me to see them in 1963 while we were stationed in Germany.)

There was snow on the ground and it was cold and wet. They were there from December 16^th (the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge) until the end of January. It ended on January 25^th – the day my first baby was born – Marie – Jess didn’t know about her until February 14^th – the mail several at one time and then days with none. He talked about how miserable it was in the Huertgen Forest – snow – mud – rain. They dug foxholes trying to get out of the cold but they soon filled up with water and mud. He said it was terrible when the shells come in – sometimes they would hit someone, especially someone on watch. He said they were all scared, wet and crying. He was always asking me to send him new underwear. I think they just added it on to what they had! When they did try to move out of the foxholes, they would put white sheets around them if they had them so they couldn’t be seen in the snow.

The Huertgen Forest battle area was heavily forested…jungle-like. Old trees and dense brush and swamp, and the rocky and steep slopes made foot movement very difficult. There were deep valleys. The roads were few, underdeveloped, narrow and twisting. All this made it difficult for armor and other vehicles, and presented a problem for accurate air support. This also created problems for the Germans because of not being able to know where and how many Americans there were. But to add to the American problems, the weather was unusually bad the whole autumn of ‘44’. It had been raining for over six weeks by November. It made bottomless ribbons of mud out of bad roads.

On January 28^th the 9^th Infantry Division attacked the positions near Monshau, opening the way for the 78^th to seize Schmidt on February 7^th. Consequently, some of the Company “A” men were in several of the houses. Sometimes the owners would still be there, too. The lady of the house would offer to cook and clean for them if they would let her stay. And usually, they would let her – they would use the house as a “base” while they checked all around for German soldiers or stocks of ammunition. I’m sure she wanted to protect her furniture, etc. The GIs probably wouldn’t be quite as destructive as they could be if she was trying to serve them.

It was probably in a setting like this that CO “A” heard there was a barrel of beer and tried to send Phil to bring it to them when he refused – saying he wouldn’t touch the filthy stuff! Jess had made a commitment to trust the Lord for salvation but he hadn’t had time to know how to live the life and he was impressed by Phil’s courage with the guys.

On March 8^th, the 78^th Infantry Division participated in the securing of the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen, the last standing span over the Rhine River.

The weather channel recently had movies on “When the Weather Changed the World” and one of them was the Battle of the Bulge. It really showed the snow – cold – and the mud! That was what the guys at the reunion all talked about. Paul told of the day something happened and he got the order to move out – so he yelled at his section, “Follow me!” He went a ways and looked back and no one was coming. He said they were hunkered down behind a pile of manure and he yelled at them with his arms opened, “Come to mama my little chickens! I’ll take care of you!”

Usually when the guys were together they recalled the funny things instead of the gruesome. When the war was over in May, everyone was delighted but they couldn’t all come home at one time so they developed a “point” system and during the long time, I’m not sure exactly what they did. It was October before Jess got home. He was in New York by our second anniversary (October 9^th) and called me on the phone and talked about forty minutes! (That was very special then.) Because his home was in California, they decided to send him home by plane instead of by train, so he’d get home sooner. But the weather interfered and he didn’t get home for a week!

His mother and I took our little 9-month old darling to the air base in Marysville, California to meet her daddy and she took her first alone steps to him and he was delighted.

My grandaughter, Alyssa, wtching TV in the kid's room. She's one of my bright and beautiful!

This beautiful ivy on the trellis was blown down by one of Arkansas' thunderstorms.

Our front porch before and after the snows of March.

There's a very large walk in closet, I am using for genealogy research. The black'n'white photo is 4 photos that Missy took grouped to look like one.

My bedroom cum office, soon to be repainted and redecorated. The afghan was made by my grandmother.