School's Over! They've Graduated

James gradutated from Cavanaugh High School in Crystal, MN in 1979, receiving a diploma (Special Education). Schools for mentally challenged persons in that state were so far advanced at that time. He loved going to school, and had many friends there. He rode a bus and never missed a day due to snow. The roads were cleared before time for the bus to come. They had a graduation dinner I'll never forget, prepared by the Food Service Class at the Technical school. I remember the big ice carving on the table. Graduation day was special too as they marched into the auditorium and crossed the stage to receive their diploma. James has very limited academic skills but has lots of social skills, thanks to good schools in GA, TX and MN. He was in the very first special class in Decatur, GA in the early 1960's.

        
Bill, our youngest son, graduated from Paris High School, and East Texas State University, Commerce, TX in 1980 with a BA in Fine Arts.

We moved to Minneapolis when Bill was a college freshman, leaving him in Texas. Jim traveled to Texas on business often and would visit him. It was hard leaving him behind when we moved.

Bill began his career working on a TV show called "PM Magazine" at a TV Station in Sherman, TX. He continued working for TV programs at Miami, FL; Columbus, OH; St. Paul, MN; and, Pittsburgh, PA. He left Pittsburg and moved to Florence, SC in 1992 where he still lives with his 3 daughters. He met his wife, Barbara, at ETSU when she was a Rotary Exchange student from London. Several years later, in 1987, they got married in Pittsburgh, PA and she came to the US to live. She died in 1996 and he has raised their 3 little girls, now 12, 16, 18. The oldest is in college at Clemson University, SC.

Ronnie graduated from Paris High School, Paris, TX and Stephen F. Austin University in l981 with a BS degree in Math and Computer Science. He began his college career in the band at Kilgore Jr College in Tyler, TX. He had a hard time deciding what he wanted to major in and spent some semesters working as a boat captain taking workers to oil rigs out in the Gulf. He met his wife Cindy and decided to go back to college and we credit her for helping him make that decision. He graduated with honors and for the past several years has worked for LIM, a computer software company in Austin, TX and is now CIO. He and Cindy have 2 daughters, both in college now. Ronnie is an outdoors guy and loves going to his hunting lease in West Texas.

Family Camping Trips

When our boys were growing up, we spent a lot of time camping in the N. GA and NC mountains. I think this photo was taken at a new state park in N. GA around 1963. You can tell we had just arrived because the boys are still clean! I don't remember the hat Jim is wearing in this photo!This was our first camping trip and we were a little nervous about sleeping in the woods. We put up a clothesline between 2 large trees, placed a tarpalium over the line and anchored each corned to stakes on the ground. We put our sleeping bags on the ground under the "tent". I was really nervous that there might be bears in the newly cleared area.

The boys woke up early the next morning and headed downhill to the outdoor toilets. Shortly I heard Bill calling, "Mom, come here" and I just knew something had happeded to James. When I got there he said he wanted me to see the "automatic" toilet; that you didn't have to flush it! You could hear snickers coming from all over the campground. They were definitely city boys from Atlanta, GA. We soon caught the camping bug and bought a large tent, a trailer to haul it and other supplies, including a food locker, lanterns, air mattresses for our sleeping bags, and much more over the years. Ultimately we bought a pop-up tent camper but this was after the boys were grown. We didn't use it too many times; too much work. Our idea now of camping is "Holiday Inn".

When we lived in Paris, TX, we would spend 2 weeks each summer camping in the west. We loved camping in the cool mountains in Colorado and the cold nights by the campfires. Once we saw bears eating blueberries at Glacier Park and I hid all the food in the car that night so bears wouldn't come looking for food. We did hear one sniffing around in the park that night. We camped all over Texas and loved Possum Kingdom. The water was so clear and blue.

One summer we decided to visit my sister and go to Assateague Island, MD on the Atlantic Ocean. That trip was marred by druggies camping next to us. They only stayed one night. When our boys were in high school and working at the Boy Scout Camp in OK, we didn't go camping as much anymore. Meal times were very creative but enjoyable.

Once at Nag's Head, NC, camping on the beach, we couldn't get the stove to work (too much wind) and the tent almost blew away the first night we were there and there were "droves" of mosquitos due to the wind blowing the wrong way. We woke up the next morning to hear a noise and Jim was outside packing to go home. We had already spent a week along the Blue Ridge Parkway and that part was enjoyable. We went back to Atlanta, spent the night and the next day went camping at Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola. That was a much better location for tent camping.

Too bad neither Ron or Bill have boys to take camping. The girls are not that excited about "roughin' it". No place to go to put on their make up, one of them complained.

Ron and Bill both became Eagle Scouts and we are so proud of them.

Flannel Nightdresses for my granddaughters

One Christmas I made flannel nightgowns (they call them nightdresses) for the granddaughters.

I wonder if the last granddaughter who was born (Caroline)  later got these as hand-me-downs? She must have gotten tired of seeing these before she outgrew them! Now they like to sleep in big cotton T-shirts or silk pajamas. And I don't make those!

Instead,  I make cushions, curtains, and other accessories instead of clothes. When Nerissa was visiting us in July, I helped her make this pillow for her apartment at Clemson Univ. She designed the pillow and my friend did the embroiderred monogram for her. It matches her hot pink comforter on her bed. (Her initials and mine are the same:  Mary Nerissa Gilmer for her and my name is Mary Nell Gilmer.)

I like to make things for the girls and they always seem to appreciate them so much.

Raggedy Ann and Andy for the granddaughters

One Christmas I decided to make a set of Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls for each of our 4 grand-

daughters (#5 grand-daughter wasn't born yet). The two older girls received large dolls and the two younger girls got smaller versions. I had so much fun making these dolls and sewing their hair on their heads. They became "alive" when I added the facial features. I placed them on the sofa in the living room and several times a day I would go to the living room to check on my doll family.

They were like real people and it was difficult to put them in a box and wrap them to put them under the tree! I am happy to say that these dolls are still "alive" and most are packed away with things they want to save. They adorned their bedrooms throughout their childhood. Now 3 of the girls are in college and 1 is a Jr. in high school. I had to make a 5th set of dolls later on for the youngest who is in the 6th grade.

Prior to making the dolls, every Christmas I made the girls flannel nightgowns and they loved them. They started passing them down to the younger girls. Those gowns stayed around a long time.

I've made many costumes for them over the years. Once Elizabeth, the oldest granddaughter, called from Austin, TX and asked if I could make her a Queen Elizabeth costume, "Quick" she said. She needed it to wear when she gave a book report. She said to please use royal purple for the dress since that was her favorite color and to make a "ruff" to wear around her neck. I asked why she wanted a queen dress and she said she was planning to win first place and be crowned "queen" - and she did and she got her outfit just in time to wear it.

I've made many Halloween costumes for them. Just wish they lived closer by to try them on when I'm sewing for them. For that reason I don't try to make clothes for them.

I love making memories .........

Bound for East Germany

On Aug. 12th I wrote about my trip to Europe in 1981, and promised to write about my train trip from England to Piene, Germany - near Hamburg, in northern Germany (photo of train station in Hamburg)

With a change in plans due to an airlines strike, I had to revise my travel plans to return from a weekend in London, to Peine, where I was staying with a Germany family during a Friendship Force Exchange visit for 2 weeks. It was like the "slow train to China" with our old East German train cars often being bumped and left sitting on a side track until another train would come along and take us along for awhile and "dump" us again. I really don't know how long I was on that train travelling from Belgium to the East Germany border.

I shared a compartment with 2 punks from Berlin. One had lime green hair and the other hot pink hair. They had their radios/cassette players and loved heavy metal music. I knew enough German to have a brief dialogue with them. They were from Berlin and had been to London on a holiday. They started drinking beer soon after the train pulled out from Belgium and before long both were sleeping. I was afraid to go to sleep! All of the signs, etc. on the train were written in Russian language. I couldn't read a word. I was supposed to get off at the last stop (Hamburg) before the train crossed the East German border. With some side stops along the way, the train was several hours late. I was glad that I called my host family and told them I would take a taxi from Hamburg to Peine.

I arrived at the train station at 2 A.M. Just as the train was pulling into the station, the conductor came through calling the name of the stop and when he said Hamburg, I jumped up and gathered my bag (only had 1 carry-on) and when the trained stopped, I turned the handle on the door to get off and it wouldn't open!! I didn't know what to do, so I ran down to another compartment, and was prepared to start kicking if I couldn't get that door open. I turned the handle and it opened wide and I fell out on the sidewalk with my little bag! Nobody was in sight at 2 a.m. and as soon as I got up and looked around, the train was leaving. I got off just in time.I walked thru the long tunnel to get upstairs and the big waiting room was almost empty.


I walked outside to get a taxi. Several were parked there and I went up to one and was trying to tell him in German where I wanted to go. He answered me and said he spoke English. I was so happy. I hopped in the car and away we went out into the countryside, thru asparagus fields, to the little village of Peine. He got out of the cab and escorted me to the door and knocked and waited for my host family to open the door. They spoke in German briefly, I paid him, and off he went. She said he told her that I was a nice American and very brave!

I spent a few more days with my host family and then it was time to go to the marketplatz in Peine and board the bus, along with other Americans on the trip, to travel through East Germany to Berlin. This was a very depressing ride and I was a little uneasy when we had to cross the border. We stopped at the entrance to East Germany and the bus driver told us to sit still and not talk to the guards. They got on the bus and asked us to show them our passports. When they saw mine they took it and left the bus and went inside the guard house. We waited and waited and they came back and handed it to the driver and spoke a few words to him, and then motioned us to move along. The driver said they had not seen the new computer coded passports and thought mine was illegal. I was glad they didn't make me get off the bus. We were very happy to see the Brandenburg gate in Berlin once again after a long trip through Est Germany, and we boarded the plane to come back to Winston Salem, NC.

Other than these experiences, the trip was a great experience and the good out-weighed the bad many times. We were treated royally and dined and fested all week in and around the big city of Hamburg. Spaceship Columbia landed one week-end while I was there (in April) and all the Germans gathered around their TV sets to watch this big event and cheered loudly when Columbia landed safely.

Germany was much different from the post-war days we spent there in 1954-55. I'm glad I had an opportunity to go back almost 30 years later.

A Big Pile of Rocks!

Recognize this place? James was watching TV today and called me to come look at what he was viewing. He remembered his trip to Stonehenge when he and I traveled to England in August 1993 to spend a couple of weeks with my youngest sister Carolyn and family. They were there for 3 years courtesy of Eli Lilly, living near Windsor Castle and Ascot. It was a fun-filled time, going all over London and the countryside.


One windy, cloudy morning, Carolyn took us to see Stonehenge. James really wanted to stay home and watch the summer olympics being held in Barcelona, Spain. We talked him into going with us but he wasn't too happy. When we arrived at Stonehenge, we parked the car, and walked thru a tunnel underneath the road and came up to Stonehenge on the other side of the road.
James put his hands on his hips and surveyed the area. Then he said, "My word! There's nothing here but a pile of big rocks!" and he was ready to go. Some of the many tourists on the scene laughed and said, "He's right!" The rocks are just sitting out in an open field. They are so very big.


We left there and drove to Bath and checked out the old Roman ruins. He said the baths were too dirty to get in them. He loved going to Windsor village which surrounds the old castle and made friends with the store clerks there. They called him their American friend.


Someday I'll record some more of his excursions in London. He had a good time. Especially on the return trip home when they had overbooked and upgraded us to lst class seats. He had his own private stewardess to take care of all his needs. I had to take him with me or else I would not have been able to go. We both had a good time.

Remembering Mama and Papa Wilson

My Aunt Mattie Lena took this photo and sent to us when we were living in Wurzburg, Germany in 1954. This is how I remember my paternal grandparents. I didn't see them very often after I got married in 1953. We always lived so far away.
We lived with Mama and Papa Wilson (Fannie and Jim) when I was little and I have such good memories of these times. It was during WWII and so many things were rationed. Living the country we were able to grow our vegetables, raise our own pigs and cows for meat and milk, and were pretty much self-sufficient.

My dad had a sugar cane mill and made syrup and when we couldn't get sugar (it was rationed), my grandmother would make syrup cake and it was delicious. We also had a lot of bee hives and harvested the honey to eat and cook with.

I remember the noise of the corn being ground into grits and the sweet aroma of freshly grown corn. We were not allowed inside the grist mill with the giant wheels turning.

Mama Wilson was a great cook. She would make the best biscuits to go with homemade sausage, red eye gravy, and served with whipped cream!! People laugh when I tell them we ate whipped cream with our sausage. Her tea cakes were so good. And I remember her lane cakes, fruit cakes, fig newtons, and custards. Everything she cooked was good!

She was also a talented seamstress, sewing on a pedal sewing machine. Most of the time she made her own patterns. She sewed for ladies in Opp and Elba, including Mrs. Claude Dorsey of the Dorsey Trailer family. They always bought too much fabric and would give her the left over fabric. Mama would fashion dresses for herself or us if the fabric was appropriate for our age.

Mama and Papa dipped snuff and Rooster Snuff was their favorite. They would wash the empty snuff boxes and we would put a mixture of sugar and cocoa in them and pretend to dip snuff. Once we got our "play" box mixed up with the real thing and I let my friend Evelyn be the first to take a "dip" and she was angry with me for a long time. She thought I did that on purpose.

Papa Wilson had asthma real bad and had trouble sleeping at night. He also had cataracts and back then the operation to remove them was quite serious. He was almost blind and spent a lot of time with us children, telling us stories and teaching us things. He taught me to count by dropping kernels of shelled corn into a jar. I can remember how excited I was when I could count to 100 (I must have been 4 then). He taught me how to spell a lot of hard words. He was our guardian angel. I remember we could go anywhere if Papa Wilson went along with us.

Papa Wilson always made the grape juice for church communion and Mama Wilson made the communion bread. My friends would come home from church with me on communion Sundays and we would play " church" and eat the left over bread and drink the grape juice.

My Mama and Papa Wilson were always very special to me. I'm sorry I didn't get to spend more time with them in their later years. They both lived to an old age; Mama was 83 and Papa was 87 when they died.

Washing Clothes

"The Spring" - this cold water spring was on my grandparents farm when they moved to the farm in Curtis, near Elba, AL in the early 1900's. The water came from underneath some giant oak trees. This is where we got water to wash clothes when I was growing up and take baths in the hot summer. We dug a larger area when we moved to the farm in 1996 and the ferns appeared when we cleared the area. I placed the water lily there.

Washing clothes was hard work back in the 30s and 40s. Today when I was washing bed linens, I remembered wash day when I was growing up. We didn't have a washing machine because we didn't have electricity or running water in the early days. Once a week we would load the dirty laundry in a big red wagon and pull it downhill to the spring where we would wash the clothes. It was an all morning chore. First you had to fill the big iron wash pot with water from the spring. Then you would build a fire under the pot and put some homemade lye soap in the water. While the water was heating, we had to bring buckets of water from the spring to fill three big tubs. One was for washing and others were for rinsing. Near the bench where the tubs sat was a large "battlin' block" which was a large tree stump about 3' tall. This is where we battled or beat the clothes to get the dirt out of them, using a battling stick which looked like a minature canoe paddle.

Clothes were sorted and soaked in the hot soapy water after applying lye soap to dirty spots. The whites were washed first, then the colored clothes and finally the dirty work clothes. The clothes were put in the hot boiling water in the wash pot and stirred with the big stick and then they were lifted out of the water with the stick and taken to battling block to be beaten, and then to the lst tub of water to be scrubbed by hand. Water was squeezed out of each garment and they were put into the tub of rinse water. They were rinsed twice. The water was squeezed out and the clothes were hung on a line to dry. The clothes lines were tied between trees and a long stick was used to prop them up when the heavy load of wet clothes made the line fall to the ground in the center. Some things were hung on the fence to dry.

This process took all morning and late in the afternoon we went back to the spring to take the clothes off the line, fold them and bring them home to iron. Most everything had to be ironed since all clothing was made of cotton in those days. Many of the clothes were starched before hanging out to dry. Starch was made by boiling flour and water until it was thick.

The wash water was used until it got too dirty and some more had to be heated. Mother would usually let us get into the rinse water tubs and get a bath when she was finished with the wash. The lye soap was slippery and a very good cleaning agent. We used it to wash our hair and it made it shiny and silky.

We thought we had moved up in the world when daddy dug a hole under the house and installed a hand pump which was located along one wall of the big dining room. This was ok for water used inside but we had to pump the water into buckets and take it outside to do the laundry. I wanted to go back to the "the spring" but mother enjoyed being closer to the house on wash day. I had to help pump the water. Maybe that's why I have big muscles in my arms! We moved to our own house when I was 12 (and there were 4 kids by then) . Our new house had a well on the porch and you would let the bucket down into the well and turn the crank and draw up a bucket of the coldest water. We never had a washing machine until after I left home and went away to college in 1952. In 1996, Jim and I bought the family farm and put a house in the woods near "the spring" and built a water garden there plus a large spring-fed lake behind the house. We lived there until 2003 when we sold the farm and moved to town. Too much work even with all the modern conveniences!! We loved the wildlife, especially the birds but not the armidillos or fire ants that pestered us.

I'll save ironing to write about another day. It was a hard job, especially on hot days in Ala.

Heirloom Teddy Bears

Do you know how Teddy Bears got their name? They were named for Teddy Roosevelt after he went on a bear hunting trip in Lousiana and it was a blunder. The press made a big deal of it and a toy manufacturer started making little bears and called them "Teddy Bears". I made this patriotic bear for a DAR/SAR Constitution Day luncheon in Sept 2005, held at the historic Rawls Hotel restaurant in Enterprise. The guest speaker was Teddy Roosevelt, talking about when he was President.  This colorful bear was given away at the end of the meeting as a door prize.

Do you notice something wrong with this bear made from old quilts? I didn't notice my mistake until I had finished stuffing and sewing up the opening. I had put his ears in the wrong place and he looked like a monkey! I had to remove the stitching at the neck and take the head off, remove the stuffing, turn the head inside out and put the ears in the proper position. Then I stuffed the head again and sewed it to the body. There are many pattern parts for this type bear and you can imagine how thick the cloth is since the bear is made from a very old quilt. The cotton used for the old quilt came straight from the field. It was "carded" and then spread on top of the quilt lining, then put into a quilting frame and quilted with tiny hand stitching. It was not uncommon to discover cotton seeds in the stuffing. When a granddaughter turns 18, I make her a quilted teddy bear. I think maybe she's old enough to take care of them and appreciate them. This bear went to #3 granddaughter, Nerissa. I have 2 more to make in the future.

My Hero, My Dad

This is my dad, Lawrence Wilson, dressed in a tux for my youngest sister Carolyn's wedding in Gainesville, June 15, 1974. He never did like to dress up and this is the only time I ever remember seeing him in formal attire. He was reluctant to "give away" his baby girl, the youngest of 7.

I remember daddy as a farmer, riding his tractor and plowing or picking peanuts. There were no mechanical cotton pickers on our farm in the '40's and '50's. I used to dream that someday they would invent one - and they did much later! We never had a lot of material wealth growing up but he always made sure we had the basic things. And he was so resourceful and could make of repair almost anything - especially cars and engines. He was a good mechanic. I could write a book about my dad. He always praised us when we got good grades in school and this encouraged us to do so. I never wanted to disappoint him. He rewarded us for good work, especially when we had to work in the field. He would leave and go to the store and bring back treats and drinks. Our friends like to work for my dad because he was so nice. When we finished working in the field, he would let us load up on the back of his old truck and go to the creek and go swimming.


This photo was made the week he died from cancer. He took radium treatments and we asked if we could come home and drive him to Dothan for treatments. He said "no"; that he would call us when he needed us. On Sunday, July 25, 1982, I got a call and he asked if I would call the other sisters (5) and tell them that he needed us if we could come. We were all there by Monday, coming from FL, NC, IN, & Washington DC. He wanted us to get the Dr. to let him come home from Opp hospital because he knew he was not going to live very long. We spent 7 days with him at home before he died early Monday, Aug. 2nd. Our son flew to AL from Texas to help care for him three days that week. He couldn't taste so he wanted some beer for breakfast one morningjust to see if he could taste it, and the grandchildren thought that was so funny. The little ones would come in from outside and climb in the bed with him and talk to him the last couple of days when he could no longer get up. My sister Sue is a nurse and she gave him injections for pain. This was a very special week when we could all be there with him. After the funeral, we had dinner at home with extended family, and in a way it was a celebration of his life and we rejoiced that he was no longer in pain.

Rags to Rugs

In January 2003, my sister Christine was visiting with us and she taught me how to crochet rag rugs - from 1-2" strips of cloth. This is my first rag rug. I had so much fun making it that it has become a hobby. I have use so many kinds of cloth, and different sizes of crochet hooks to make different thicknesses of rugs. I can now make one in 8 hours. When we go on long road trips, guess what I do to pass the time - I take along my strips of cloth and crochet a rug.




This is a rug made of green and red for our church Special Persons
bazaar. A friend bought it for her daughter for Christmas to put in her den doorway in her California home. This rug was made from homespun fabric cut into 1" strips.





Every year the Rotary Club that Jim is in has an auction. I made this rug from old garments, mostly my old blouses. Someone bought it for their beach home - and Rotary got a lot of money for this item.




My sister Judy lives in Sarasota, FL. I took this rug to her one spring to put in her newly decorated bath room. It is made of fleece like robes are made of. It was difficult to work with. It is thick and feels good to your bare feet.

This rug was made for the state DAR annual meeting. We were

asked to bring things for the silent auction white elephant room.
I remember it had lots of bids and helped raise a lot of money.

Lately I've been using old sheets to make rugs. I have made all of our 5 granddaughters rugs for their rooms. We have rag rugs all over our house and at entry ways. They can be washed in the washing machine when they get dirty. I usually dry them outside in the sun but can be put in the dryer. Very nice hobby.

You'll Never Know Who You will meet in a Foreign Country

Soon after Jim and I were married, we went to Wurzburg, Germany to live for 2 years. He was in the lst Infantry Division and since he was a Corporal, we could not live in govt. housing. We lived in a little village not far from Emery Barracks where he was stationed. He arrived there in January 1955 and I went in March 1955, as a tourist. We didn't have a car and couldn't afford gasoline even if we had a car. We used      public transportation to get to wherever we wanted to go. Jim relied on the Deutches bundesbahn (train) to get to the army barracks early every morning. We lived upstairs in a private German residence, and ate our meals with them. They didn't speak much English so I got a German-English dictionary and learned conservational German very fast. (I wanted to know what I was eating!)



One morning Jim arrived at the bahnhoff (train station) and wanted to know when the next train was due to arrive. As he was struggling to get an answer, the station master told him he could speak English and Jim was so glad. They began to talk while he was waiting for the train and Jim asked where he learned to speak English. He told him that he was a prisoner of war during WWII and was sent to Camp Rucker, AL. And that he worked on a peanut farm while there and became friends with a farmer and his school teacher wife who tried to teach him English. They kept talking and he asked Jim if he knew where Elba, AL was. Of course he did. That was my hometown. Then he said the farmer's name was John B. Johnson - who lived near my family and we were actually living temporarily in a house in the middle of Mr. Johnson's peanut field when the German man was working there!! He had corresponded with the Johnson family after he returned to Germany and the war had ended. I thought there were so many coinidences in this encounter. I couldn't wait to get back to the US and tell the Johnsons who we met.


Jim got a promotion soon after this encounter at the train station and we were able to move into government housing in Wurzburg and we never went to the train station in the little village again. We have both been back to Wurzburg at different times and it looks much the same except for modern highways (autobahns). Our oldest son Ron was born in Wurzburg and has a German birth certificate. Six years ago on a business trip to Europe, he located the house we lived in, and called us on his cell phone as he stood looking at our house. He sent a photo via his cell phone to our computer and after 50 years, it looks almost as it did when we lived there. (That's our son Ron standing in front of our house at 66 Zepplinstrasse in Wurzburg in 2001. This is his birthplace!)

Churches in my lifetime

2003 to the present time -
Pictured here is Elba United Methodist Church where we are members. There is a large bell in the tower and it is still rung on Sunday mornings. When I was elem. school age, I would visit my grandfather who attended this church, and he would lift me up to ring the big bell by pulling on the big rope. I remember the big "sand" table in the children's classroom. We joined this church when we moved to Elba in 2003.

1996-2003 -When we moved to our farm between Elba and Opp in 1996, we went to church at First Baptist in Opp, when many of my friends from Curtis community were members, and my niece and family. Our first Sunday there was also the first Sunday for the new minister David Franklin. It was summertime and Jim was the only person there in a suit. They probably thought he was the new minister. David was entering the church the same time as we were and we didn't see any bulletins and asked if they had one. He said "I'll find you one." He came back with one and we were seated. We were surprised when we learned he was the new minister. He had asked our names and introduced us to the congregation. We were trying to enter unnoticed on our first visit. We became good friends with David and his family and he often came to our place in the country to fish early in the morning. We had been members of Covenant Presbyterian Church before moving to Opp, but there was not a Presbyterian church anywhere near us.

1990-1996 - We have such fond memories of Covenant Presbyterian Church on Lake Lorene in Albany, GA. The church was an unusual contemporary design and had a beautiful pipe organ. There was a big covered area outside the church,facing the lake, where people lingered after church to visit and have lemonade or coffee. I was on the board to help establish a 3-4 year old kindergarten there, and it has grown over the years. We went back to their 50th anniversary in 2004 and enjoyed seeing our old friends. Our minister Paul Luthman had been promoted to the head of the Presbytery and was wearing a beard. As we were getting out of the car at the parking lot, Paul saw us and yelled, "Here come the Gilmers", and everybody knew we were there.

1988-1990 - First Presbyterian Church in Florence, SC was our church and it was here that James wanted to "join the church". Th minister visited with him and discovered that James knew all about the Bible and was so sincere in his decision. Many of our family came with us the day he was baptized (sprinkled). James loved his Sunday School class because sometimes his teacher took them to the donut shop. We visited there last year when in Florence visiting our son and family. Didn't recognize a soul but Roger Gullich, the minister, and he remembered us.

1987-1988 - We lived in Dothan for a short time when Jim decided to try a new career in business real estate. (He decided right away that he wanted to get back into the clothing manufacturing business and we moved to SC). We joined First Baptist Church and really liked the minister there - Bob Baggott. We lived near the airport and he was always dropping by to visit us and talked with James about sports. I went back to that church in July to attend a funeral, and it brought back lots of memories.

1985-1987 - We were members of First Baptist Church in 

Haleyville the two years we lived there. We were not there long enough to get to know the people very well but we did enjoy visits in our country home from Dr. Stringfellow, the pastor. What I remember about that church was that they had a great pianist and her offetory music was always beautiful. I loved to hear her play "My Sheep Shall Safely Dwell".

1979-1985 - these years were spent in Winston Salem, NC - one of my favorite places we've lived. We were members of Knollwood Baptist Church where many people associated with Wake Forest Univ. and Bowman Gray Hospital attended. It was unlike any Baptist church we had ever attended and we really enjoyed going there. We loved Dr. Jack Noffsinger and his associate, John Totten. While there, we helped start a class for mentally handicapped adults, which is still in existence. One Sunday, our son James wanted to sit with the people in his class during church and we sat a couple of rows behind them. Dr. Jack was talking about the qualities of a good mother, and he said something about a good mother doesn't nag. James turned around and looked at me and said aloud, "He's talking to you". Dr. Jack heard him and got so tickled. James sat with us from then on!

1977-1979 When we moved to Minneapolis, I didn't see anything but Lutheran churches. We discovered Minnetonka Baptist church and loved going there. Dr Lawson was a great minister and wanted the church to be a big family. On Memorial Day weekend, the church was closed and most of the congregation went to a lake near Canada. The ice was still frozen on the lakes. James and I went to camp once while Jim was on a business trip. We nearly froze at night. We loved the Swedish people who made up most of the congregation.


1967-1977 Moving to Paris, TX was another world apart from Atlanta, GA. We joined the First Baptist Church of Paris and not long after we joined, the old 

church was replaced with a new one. Our boys grew up in this church. Dr. Jim Semple was pastor there for many years. What I remember most about this church was my close-knit Sunday school class. When I left they had a big party for me and gave me a Bible that I still use today, with this verse on the inside cover: Proverbs 31:29 . We went back to visit in 2002 and didn't recognize very many people. The older members had died and the younger members had grown older!

First Baptist Church, Bremen, GA

1957-1967 - We lived in the Atlanta, GA area. When as in school in Chamblee we were members of Chamblee Baptist Church and Cecil Sherman was pastor. We bought a house in Atlanta later and went to Peachtree Baptist Church. I don't remember much about this church although our oldest son went to Kindergarten there. It was a big church. We were transferred to nearby Bremen, GA for a couple of years and became members of Bremen Baptist Church. While there, the minister, Grover Tyner, took a post as a missionary in the Phillipines and they moved. We went back to Atlanta after a couple of years in Bremen so James could get into special education classes and we joined Woodlawn Baptist church near Towers High School.

1955-1957 Jim was in the army and we lived in Manhattan and Junction City, KS. We attended First Presbyterian Church in Manhattan and what I remember about this church was the kindness offered to us when our infant son died at one month of age.

1954-1955 - Wurzburg, Germany - we attended services on the post. 
Married Oct. 3, 1953
1952-53 - I was a student at Troy State Univ. and went to church at First Baptist Church in Troy. They sent a bus to the school to pick us up. Students didn't have cars back then.

1934-1952 I grew up at New Ebenezer Baptist Church in Curtis community, near Elba. The building was wood with big windows. In 1953 they built a new brick church. I still have ties to that church - I attend the monthly meetings of the WMU, along with some of my deceased mother's friends.

We get a lot of Christmas cards each year from friends we have made in these churches.

One of my favorite flowers -

         I like flowers and spend many hours working in my flower garden. Today while I was weeding and sweeping the bare soil at my favorite hangout, the old Folsom house yard downtown, I remembered a funny incident involving day lilies and how I got introduced to them.
         We had a piano teacher at our country school and each spring we had a piano recital and parents and friends all came to hear us play our selections we had memorized. The girls wore long "evening dresses" and this was a very special occasion.
        I think I was in the 6th or 7th grade the year some of us girls decided we needed to decorate the front of the stage where there were lights in a shallow well that provided a dim light for the stage. So we started looking around the school grounds during recess. We spotted some glossy green smilax (a vine) growing on a fence in the back of the school yard and kept that that in mind to place over the dim lights at the edge of the stage. Then we decided we needed some color.
Cousin' Maggie lived near the Curtis School and always had beautiful flowers. When we needed flowers for special occasions at school, she would let us come gather some. 
          We got permission from our teacher to walk to Cousin' Maggie's house to see if she had any flowers we could use for our recital. She was such a sweet lady. It was hot that afternoon so she didn't come outside with us; just told us to take whatever we needed. There were lots of flowers blooming but I spotted these beautiful orange "lilies" and suggested we gather some of those for our decorating. We had brought a pail of water with us to put the cut flowers in so they wouldn't wilt. After collecting what we thought was ample, we hurried back to school and placed the flowers in containers of water all along the "well" so that only the blooms were showing above the smilax vine.
          Our teacher came to the door of the auditorium and praised us for the beautiful decorations. Then the bell rang and we all got on the school buses and went home. I can still close my eyes and see those beautiful decorations. Around dusk, we came back to the school house, all decked out in our formal dresses and the boys wearing suits, and we filed up to the front of the auditorium to be seated. The auditorium lights were dimmed a bit for the program so we didn't have a full view of the flowers until we were near the front.
Then it happened!! I could not believe what I saw! Those beautiful orange blossoms had closed up and were not visible anymore. No one told us that they would do that at night. I'm surprised that I even remembered my piano selections because I was so distraught. I thought people would laugh at us. But you know what - after the recital people were talking about how nice the stage looked with the lights shining on the glossy green leaves of the smilax vine. Nobody said anything about the naked day lily stems sticking up with something on the end resembling a deflated balloon! I never see day lilies blooming that I don't remember this occurrence.
          By the way, we had a great piano teacher, Mrs. Mary Ringsdorf, whose husband was a dentist in Elba. She taught us all about the old masters and this is where I got my love for classical music (even though the tunes were called another name, like The Happy Farmer for Schubert's Serenade. And I think that we only had to pay 25 cents for a lesson. Since most of us didn't have a piano at home to practice, we took turns practicing on the piano at school during recess or during class when we finished our desk work early. I'm so thankful for having this musical experience in my early years. I never had any more music lessons, but I have always had a piano and play for my own enjoyment and I love going to concerts.

My Mother

       This is one of just a few photos I have of my mother, Ruth Smith Wilson (made in 1960 at age 45). She  died suddenly from a blood clot at age 48 on Sunday afternoon, April 28, 1963 - the same month that two of her grandchildren (Bradley and Cyndi) were born. She wrote me a letter the week before telling us all about grandchildren #5 and #6. I got the letter after returning home to Bremen, GA the next week. I had great difficulty opening the letter and reading it. (I still have that letter.)
      We were living Bremen, GA when she died and Jim worked for Cluett Peabody who made Arrow shirts. He was on a trip to Washington, DC and New York with the Jaycee's from GA. We had to locate him and my brother in law Al whom Jim had visited in Washington, DC, called Grand Central Station downtown DC where they had dropped Jim off to catch the train and they got a message to him just before they boarded the train to NY. Can you imagine your name being called over the loud speaker in the big train station? He said he knew something was wrong.

     Our minister and his wife drove to the Atlanta airport to pick him up late at night and the next day we drove to Elba. I remember the shock and the sad trip. Our children were young: 5,7, and 8. Other sisters and their families were arriving from different states. My sister Christine couldn't come since her baby Cyndi was just born.

      My dad wanted mother's body brought to the house for the wake (like they used to do long ago) instead of leaving her at the funeral home. I guess the shock of her sudden death made him want to have her close by. I just remember people sitting up all night in the living room where her casket was placed, and how difficult it was to sleep in the bedroom next to the living room wall.

     My 3 younger sisters were still living at home. Judy was a senior in high school, Alice was a Jr. and Carolyn was in the 6th grade and only 12. I don't remember too much about the funeral except there were so many people there. They even closed the school in Elba the day of her funeral and I didn't ever remember them doing that. We met so many people who knew her from working with her at Covington Industries where she went to work on her first job, as an inspector in 1952, when I started to college. So many recounted the kind things she had done for them and how nice she was to everybody. That was my mother!

      When we were young she made all of our clothes, gathered food all summer to can and preserve, worked in the garden and field, cooked meals in the early days on a wood stove, and helped all the neighbors with their chores. Wash day was a big event every week with all of us chipping in to help. I loved building fires under the big black wash pot. Even today I love to build fires and am very good at it. She taught us to iron the stiffly starched garments and not to scorch them or create wrinkles or creases. To this day I like to iron and removed all the wrinkles.

     My mother would remind us to complete our homework (but never had time to help us) and encouraged us to make good grades so we could get a scholarship to go to college and leave the farm. She was valedictorian of her class at Elba High School in 1932 but the depression was going on and she couldn't go to college. She wanted to make sure we did. All 6 daughters have college degrees, plus one has her doctorate and two have Master's degrees. Our brother Perry attended the Univ. of Ala. and had so many college classes later at work that he probably had enough hours for a PhD.

     I recently read in an old Elba Clipper, on the front page, that Ruth Smith, a popular young lady, had married Lawrence Wilson, a farmer from the Curtis community. They moved in with his parents and we lived with them until I was in the 6th grade. Ah, such happy memories living there with them. Another story, another time. This was during and right after WWII.

      I remember the first visit back "home" after my mother died, how hard it was to get out of the car and go inside. She wouldn't be there to greet us and hug and kiss the grandchildren. In time, my father learned to locate his clothes, to buy groceries and do a little cooking, and after a few years remarried when his youngest daughter was in high school.

      I have a hard time remembering what my mother looked like since I got married at age 19 and lived too far away to visit but once or twice a year. But her kindness and all the things she taught us has remained a big part of my life. When I accomplish something in my life for which I am proud, I always look up and thank my mother, and I can just see her smiling down on me!

My High School Graduation

Elba High School where I graduated in 1952

It was an exciting day in Elba, AL on May 17, 1952 when we assembled for graduation, all 61 of us; 30 girls and 31 boys.

Imagine packing that many students on a small stage, all wearing cotton caps and gowns and many of the girls wearing white, cotton dresses and high heels under the gowns. We marched into the auditorium to the strains of Pomp and Circumstance. There was no air conditioning then and the big windows were raised. The fog from the river bottom crept into the auditorium, along with flying insects.

The honor students were selected and the top three students all came from the Curtis Consolidated School 8 miles out in the country; and I was one of them. The other two were Annette Taylor and Floyd Griffin. We attended school together for all 12 years. When we graduated from Curtis in the 9th grade, we started to school in Elba for the next 3 years. We got a good basic education at the country school.

The day before graduation, I had a sore throat and my eyes were burning. I went to see Dr. Kimmey and he gave me a shot of penicillin (a cure-all back then) and said I would be better the next day. Graduation morning I got up and went to school but didn't feel too good. I had a terrible headache and my eyes were burning.

I had to make a speech and although I had memorized it, I had notes in case I faltered. When I got up to make my speech, I was very light-headed and vision was so blurred I couldn't read my notes. I remember it was dark out in the auditorium and that helped the situation. I got through the speech and sat down. Immediately I began itching all over with a rash. It was so hot on the stage and I thought I was going to pass out. Graduation was finally over and we marched back through the auditorium to the hallway.

I was invited to a graduation party and had brought clothes to change into but all I wanted to do was to go home and cool off. I located my parents and my mother said that I had little red bumps all over my face and arms. Guess what! I came down with the big red measles the night I graduated.

Recently I was reading old Elba Clippers on microfilm at the Elba Library and I found an article about our graduation and it mentioned that a large number of students in all the grades had had the measles the last few days of school - and I was one of them!

We had our 55th class reunion this year and sadly, many of the 61 are no longer with us. We are all in our 70's now and many have health problems. But when we get together it's as if we were back in school and we re-live those days and have fun recalling them. We agreed to start getting together once a year now.

By the way, the year I graduated our football team won almost every game (tied one).

I Believe In Santa, Don't You?

James Gilmer visiting Santa



Santa will always be coming to our house and we must remember to leave cookies and milk for him. Our adult son James looks forward to Christmas with great anticipation. We insist he wait until the day after Thanksgiving to start playing Christmas music and practicing his near perfect Ho-Ho-Ho’s. This is also when he starts wearing his collection of Santa sweatshirts, and Christmas ties every Sunday.

James was born on Dec. 8, 1956 and we realized very early that he was not normal. He didn’t walk until he was 4 years old and speech came slowly for him. His older and younger brothers were kind to him and helped him during his early years. Things he said and did when he was young were funny, but as he grew older, they took on a different meaning and sometimes not so amusing.

Apart from his size, there aren’t many ways that he functions as an adult. He reasons with the capabilities of a six-year-old, but communicates and has social skills of an adult. When we realized that he had absorbed all of the education skills that he could attain, we started emphasizing social skills and teaching him “survival” skills. His memory is terrific – a living appointment book for us. He never forgets dental appointments, special events, etc. Also he never forgets names of people which is a great bonus for his dad and me!

Back to Santa Claus… We have given up trying to convince him that he’s too old for Santa. Even made him a Santa suit one year and when he put it on and looked at himself in the mirror, he took the suit off and never put it on again. It frightened him. So, we just gave up and let him believe in Santa. He goes about singing carols (his favorite is Jingle Bells) and playing his Christmas records.

Life is simple and uncomplicated for James. He is so trusting and loves everybody – almost. There are a few people he rejects - those who treat him different and talk down to him. He wants to be just like everybody else. As Christmas draws near, his anticipation is so great he can hardly sleep and is up before daylight every day, often checking to make sure there is space under the Christmas tree for Santa to leave his gifts.

James believes that you should always apologize when you are wrong, never wants anybody to argue, and if you promise him something, he never forgets that promise. He is always sincere. James has always gone to church and a few years ago, wanted to join the church. Our Presbyterian minister questioned him about his sincerity and belief in God The minister came away with tears in his eyes and said he had no doubt about James’ simple faith and he was accepted as a member of the church.

When you ask James if he knows the true meaning of Christmas, he can relate the entire story about the birth of Jesus. He doesn’t like the Easter story, especially when Jesus was crucified. His limited reasoning cannot handle that wrongdoing. James truly believes in Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men!

Life isn’t easy living with a mentally handicapped son but we have been so blessed by his presence in our family (and often embarrassed). He has endured a lot of physical pain in his 50 years, but his limited knowledge of his problems helps him move on to better things. He treats everybody equal and is comforted by having his friends around.

James rides a van to Enterprise every day, 20 miles from home, to attend the Coffee Training Center. This is his life and where his friends are. He enjoys bowling with his friends 2 times a month. They have parties and dances and field trips at work.

If he had enough money, he would buy a present for everybody in the world! He enjoys putting money in the Salvation Army kettles and donating to charities. He doesn’t ask for much for himself but loves to help shop for presents to wrap for his 5 nieces and 2 brothers.

His hobbies are watching the Atlanta Braves ball games, collecting baseball cards, and trains.
At the present time he is battling kidney failure and the prospect of having to go on kidney dialysis is looming in the future. Right now his kidney's are operating at 20%. It's becoming more difficult to travel for long distances. But that doesn' bother James. He's seen a large part of the US and has been to England. He's content to stay at home and watch the travel channel.