| Forsythia is out! |
| Texas Independence Day On March 2, 1836, Texas declared its independence from Mexico. Yee-ha! |
| Crocuses are up! |
| Feb. 28 from Morris |
| Feb. 28 from Linda M |
| Feb. 28 from Walt |
| What's Happening Now March 2010 |
| 1 Ron Howard 3 Jimmie DJ 11 Carolyn 31 Johnny W |
| March Birthdays |
Things are going well. Carol's back problem sounded lots worse than it was, apparently. It healed by itself, with the help of a physical therapist. We get out by going camping. I have been planning one every month, to a different one each time. We are getting better at packing, and un-packing, and enjoying each trip more and more. In June the planned trip is to Texas to Belton, and then to visit my sister. Walt |
| Computer Repair Caller: Hi, our printer is not working. Customer Service: What's the problem? Caller: Mouse is jammed. Customer Service: Mouse? Printers don't have a mouse! Caller: Mmmmm?? Oh really?... I’ll send a picture. |
| My cousins Trisha and Dick are safe (Praise God)! They were shaken awake in their Santiago apartment, and went safely to the Baptist church they work out of. Dick sent out a "gang" email to all the relatives and friends. None of the other SBC missionaries were hurt, either. The death toll continues to climb, but not in the #s as at Haiti. If you look at the map of the World, Haiti and Chile are bot very near the 70th meridian. If I lived along or near the 70th, I would move! Geezer |
| Feb. 28 Jan's response to Morris |
| Excuse my geographical ignorance---I don't know from meridians. Does the 70th cross the USA? |
| Mar. 1 Morris's response to Jan's question |
| Hi, JanBee: congratulations! You live West of the 70th, about the same distance from it as Port-au-Prince, Haiti is from it! Boston and Portland, ME sit right on it, so New York, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and Arlington are too close for me!!! Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, the other country on the island with Haiti, is bisected by the 70th. Gives new meaning to the term "rock and roll"!! Geezer |
| Sixty-one men gathered at Washington-on-the-Brazos to sign the document, which was probably mostly written by Richard Ellis. Many of our cities and counties bear the names of these signers. |
| Gibby Bailey's Reminiscences (Thanks, Gibby) |
| (Jan's note: Gibby Bailey recently sent an article from the March 8 Temple Telegram about muddy roads and getting stuck in them. Reading about muddy roads brought up these memories for Gibby.) I lived on a farm in the Nolanville Community for the first 12.5 years of my life. The farm was located between the current Pleasant Hill Cemetery and Nolanville and the current highways U.S. Hwy. 190 and FM Road 439. The farm that I lived on belonged to my great-grandmother Middleton. The land was originally homesteaded by her father and my great-great-grandfather, Fleming Trigg Cox. My great grandmother, Mary Cox Middleton, died on January 3, 1941, the day after I was six years old. My father then purchased the Middleton home place. We lived on the farm until June or July of 1947. At that time, we moved into Nolanville, and I no longer had hogs and chickens to feed or cows to drive up and milk in the afternoon. My great-great-grandparents, Fleming & Mary Gibson Cox, gave the original land for the current Pleasant Hill Cemetery. I am currently serving on the board of directors of the Pleasant Hill Cemetery Association. It was between and 1/4 and 3/8 of a mile from our house on the farm to a gravel road. Our family car during this time was a 1934 Ford V-8. My father ran mud grip tires on the car. When it was really muddy, we left the car over on the current cemetery road and walked across the pasture. |
| We did not get electricity on the farm until after World War II. We read by coal oil lamps and used wood for heat. We had a coal oil cook stove. This was really up-to-date. Most people in that area during this time used a wood cook stove. I’m sure most of you know that I’m "country" before you read this. As Jerry Clower says, "Put me up beside Loretta Lynn, and she looks like a 'city slicker' ." However, I appreciate the work ethic I was exposed to on the farm. It never occurred to me that I shouldn’t do the chores in the afternoon, and I knew that my parents, grandparents, and great-grandmother loved me. What more could you be blessed with? My grandparents on my mother’s side were Hiram and Pearl Trout Justice. They ran the telephone switchboard in Nolanville. I attended Nolanville Elementary School and was a 1953 graduate of Belton High School. I greatly appreciate the education that Belton High School afforded me. Belton High School and Nolanville Elementary School afforded me the opportunity the attend college. I was fortunate enough to receive BS and MS degrees in Civil Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin. I shall always be indebted to my roots in Bell County and the Nolanville Community. I shall also cherish the friendships I made at Belton High School. Thank you for being my friends. |
Mar. 13 from Gibby
| Mar. 23 from Morris: So sorry to hear this! Prayers and best wishes to Lynn, Judy, and the family. Geezer |
| Mar. 22 from Lynn's daughter: Hi Ms. Stoehr, My name is Sherri...I am Lynn H's daughter. Dad asked me to send you this email. We had quite a shock this weekend. Dad was admitted to the hospital and today had to have 5 arterial bypasses done. He is doing well. Mom and I left the hospital ICU this evening and he was awake, alert and off of the ventilator. He even called Mom later this evening. Personally I am hoping that they will still be able to attend his reunion, because that means he will be well and visiting me in Austin, but that may not be possible. (Sherri sent her e-mail address and her phone number. I forwarded her message to all who have e-mail, and several classmates have responded.) Thank you, Sherri |
| Mar. 23 from Janean: Oh, my goodness!!! How scary!!! Wonder what happened that they went to the hospital!!! Thanks for sending the letter out to all of us! |
| Mar. 23 from Rob (courtesy copy) :Good morning Sherri. Thank you for sending Lynn's high school classmates the news. Please let Lynn and Judy know he is in our thoughts. Modern American medicine is a wonderful thing. Lynn and I have heart surgery in common. I did a single bypass in 2000. These procedures are commonplace today. We are confident Lynn will return to good health. With kindest personal regards. Robert and Paul, Sonoma County, California |
| Mar. 23 from Jan: Saw my first cherry blossoms of the season! This photo was taken by Bill Oleary and appeared in the Washington Post one year. |
| Mar. 27, Walt's answer to my question, "How do you camp?" Walt and Carol are enhancing their retirement by taking a camping trip every month: We are currently using a travel trailer that I pull with my truck. It is a 28' trailer that is self-contained, and fits our needs quite well. I pull it with my truck, a Ford F250 diesel 4x4 that I bought while I was still working for this purpose. I have done all sorts of camping, from backpacking in the eastern Sierras with my family and kids when they were teenagers, tent camping at places like San Onofre State Beach with the kids and other families when they were into surfing, motor home camping for awhile when Carol and I were first married, and then pulling a travel trailer all over California (this is our second one). Carol and I both like camping, probably more me than her. It is a way to get out of our "comfort zone" for awhile, and also go back to some places that we remember fondly. We are planning to do one trip each month for awhile, each trip being about a week, some longer, some shorter. We figure that if we are not using the trailer, then it is not worth keeping. We also have done lots of trips staying in motels, one driving trip recently to Montana and the Glacier Nat'l Park. The trip to Texas will be on Southwest. San Clemente is one of the better beach towns, with lots of great restaurants, good beaches, and a great campground. The State beach there is close enough to us, about 60 miles, and cheap enough ($30 a nite with disabled discount), is well laid out, and has full hookups. There is not a lot "to do", except just get there and relax. The only problem with camping at the state beaches is getting a reservation. For summertime spots, as soon as they go on sale on the internet for 7 months in advance, all the sites are sold out in a few minutes at every state beach. It is much easier in the off season, so being retired is somewhat an advantage. Can't wait until the next trip. Hope that helps. Walt |
| Mar. 28 courtesy copy from Jeanne to Lynn: ...thanks for your thanks lynn, but we are the ones giving thanks that you are doing well...hope that you are..... well on the way to a complete recovery...our prayers continue to be with you and your family... my best, jeanne and coach |
| Mar. 28 from Morris: This is GREAT news! Thank You, Jesus!! Prayers are answered all the time!!! Geezer |
| Mar. 28 from Shirlene: Lynn, So glad you are doing so well. My prayers have been with you. See you in June. Shirlene |
Mar. 27 from Lynn: I would to like to thank everyone who took the time to respond to my daughter through e-mail or phone relative to my by-pass surgery. I had 5 by-passes completed in the open heart surgery. I was released from the hospital yesterday afternoon. The surgeon and staff said that I was doing great - I thank God for the results, as it was totally in HIS hands. I hope to see all at the reunion this summer. May God be with you all, Lynn |
| Mar. 31 from Morris: Hi, JanBee: I was # 25700 last night when I checked out the site. We continue to be very popular! If I live to 12:06 A, M, Saturday, 04.03.10, I will have lived 25,000 days (if my math is correct)!! I have always been very analytical (always pay attention to details) and as a project to fill my time while Mother continues her decline, I have gone back to June, 1960, and looked at my goals then and accomplishments over almost 50 years. I will not bore you or others with all the details of my recollections, but I have had a very interesting life!! You argued with my statement almost 2 years ago when I said "I've had a great life and would not change a thing" and that's still true today!!!! Had a recent email exchange with Rob about the reunion (I'm encouraging him to come, and he's not) and other classmates. I mentioned to you my phone call from Harrell. No takers yet on the condo at Salado, but we still are 2+ months out. Hope all is well with you! No red and white Fords or Chevies I can find to buy (boo!). I should have bought the '56 Ford in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, last year. Later, Geezer |