Letter to Santa -

Dear Santa...... last night Jim helped James write his annual letter to Santa. I asked James to draw me a picture of Santa and Rudolph, and he included a small tree between the two. We find these drawings all over the place during December.

Remember that James is almost 51 years old (Dec 8). See the article I wrote on Aug. 13, 2007, about "I believe in Santa, do you" and you will understand what this season means to James.

He likes to mail his letter to Santa on Saturday after Thanksgiving. It is ready to go in the mail this afternoon, address to Santa at the North Pole.

In case you are wondering what an adult mentally handicapped person wants for Christmas, here is a sample list: (dictated to his dad who typed the list) - Note: he has the same thing on his list every year!

THANKSGIVING DAY 2007

Santa at the end of Macy's Parade
(photo from the internet)
Thanksgiving Day this year was rainy, cold and windy. Our son James was up at 6 a.m. so he wouldn't miss the Macy's Parade at 9 a.m.! Of course he wanted breakfast as soon as he got up so it has made for a long day. I don't think he has ever missed watching Macy's parade. This year I watched much of it with him. I don't know any of the current singing groups or understand the music, etc. I did recognize Dolly Parton on one of the floats, singing one of her new songs. I always enjoy stories about how the school bands get to New York, their honors, etc. It was good to see the Va Tech band there this year. They had nice weather for the parade this year.



I went to my cousin's out in the country for Thanksgiving and brought back some food to Jim and James. There was so much food on the long tables in the barn; ham, turkey, pork barbecue, rice, camp stew, hash, dumplings, dressing, assorted veggies, lots of salads, and a big variety of desserts. Somebody made a hot chocolate cake/pudding in the crock pot and it was absolutely delicious. I haven't wanted anything else to eat all day!

I came home and watched TV most of the afternoon, which I almost never do. It was a nice lazy day today. I have so much to be thankful for, especially for a wonderful family. Many relatives called us today, including our sons in SC and TX.

Thanksgiving trip cancelled....

Yesterday Jim was struck with a terrible chest congestion and we had to cancel our Thanksgiving plans to drive to SC and NC for the coming week. Monday night he had a slight sore throat and by noon on Tuesday, he knew he was heading for bad chest congestion; he gets this every year or two and it always starts out the same way. Better it happened yesterday than today when we would have been on a 9-hour trip in the car.

All the goodies I had baked for baskets for 5 families (cookies, candy, cakes, etc) went to the freezer to be used later. I didn't complain since were concentrating on getting Jim well. We'll schedule a trip to visit our son in Florence, SC later before they leave for 2 weeks in London during Christmas, to visit his deceased wife's relatives. Our 3 granddaughters, ages 12, 16, and 18 will be visiting their grandmother in an assisted living home at Brighton by the Sea. I hope she will remember them after having a stroke a few years ago. They were last in England for the millineum (2000) celebration in London.

So, our son James and I will get to go to the country Thanksgiving I wrote about earlier, at my cousin's barn. I'll bring Jim a plate of food to eat later. I learned a long time ago that when "life gives you lemons, make lemonade" or as my sister Susan says, "Roll with the punches". So I'm going to celebrate Thanksgiving, but not as planned.

There are exciting things going on in Elba. There on the front page of the Elba Clipper today was my photo, receiving a check for $40,000 to be used toward the loan borrowed by the city to complete the new playground.   Someday it will be all paid for.

'Over the River and thru the woods......

I love the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving. Whether it's people gathering at our house or trips to another's home. We leave tomorrow for Florence, SC to spend Thanksgiving Day with our son Bill and family. He said he would be cooking a turkey and for us to come and eat with them this year.


 I didn't know what to do, not having to cook Thanksgiving dinner. So I made 2 cakes, lots of cookies and candies, and other goodies. I prepared 6 Holiday Baskets to pass out to 6 families we will be visiting along the way. The baskets will be filled with jellies and preserves, pecans, persimmons, nut breads, tins of homemade cookies and candies, and something special for each family (our son, 3 sisters, Jim's mother, and Dorothy, a friend).

I received this email  today from a friend  I thought it was so fitting to share with others.  For everything give thanks!

"I grew up in the 40's/50's/60's with practical parents. A mother, God love her, who washed aluminum foil after she cooked in it, then reused it  She was the original recycle queen, before they had a name for it.

A father who was happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones. Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away. I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and a hat and Mom in a house dress, lawn mower in one hand, and dish-towel in the other. It was the time for fixing things. A curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress!

Things we keep!

It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy. All that re-fixing, eating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful.

Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more.

But then my mother died, and on that clear summer's night, in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any more.

Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away...never to return.

So... While we have it... it's best we love it... And care for it.... And fix it when it's broken.. And heal it when it's sick.

This is true... For marriage.... And old cars.... And children with bad report cards..... 

There are many things that make life important, like people we know who are special.... And so, we keep them close!

Good friends are like stars.... You don't always see them, but you know they are always there.

Keep them close. Dogs and cats with bad hips.... And aging parents.... And grandparents.

We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it. Some other things we keep can be a best friend that moved away or a classmate we grew up with."           

Thanksgiving Memories

We never had turkey for Thanksgiving when I was growing up. Thanksgiving was just another day except we didn't have to go to school. Usually there were chores for us to do on the farm that day, i.e. triming leaves from sugar cane, or going to the edge of the "back 40" to cut broom straw to make brooms to sweep the floor. That seemed to be a favorite thing to do Thanksgiving afternoon. It was fun for us to have a day together with our parents and grandparents. Some of the foods I remember having for Thanksgiving were fresh turnips, sweet potatoes (cooked many ways), cooked apples and fried apple pies, and usually fresh pork and rice cooked together. Sometimes we had stewed chicken and dumplings and those were my favorite. And chicken and dressing in later years.

Then when I got married and was living Germany I decided to cook a turkey for Thanksgiving. I got out my Betty Crocker cookbook to see how to cook a turkey. I didn't removed the giblets from inside the turkey and was surprised to find them when I sliced the turkey! No wonder I couldn't get much stuffing inside. Since then I have cooked many turkeys for Thanksgiving.

For the past 20 years we have spent many Thanksgivings at my cousin's barn out in the country where they have a community Thanksgiving meal, inviting family and neighbors who are old and alone during the holidays. We always enjoy going there and visiting with cousins that we sometimes only see once a year. They clean the farm equipment barn and place tables inside for the food that everybody brings. There are always turkeys, hams,
barbecue that cooks all night, rice, and so many vegetables and desserts. You never go away hungry. We've only missed a few over the years when we would be away. This year we will be going to SC to visit our son and family and will have to miss "Thanksgiving in the Barn."


Pictured here are some of the cousins eating in the barn.

It's Candy Making Time

I usually don't start making Christmas goodies until the 2nd or 3rd week of December. But this year I'm ahead of schedule since we will be going to SC and NC during Thanksgiving, visiting with family along the way. I like to make baskets of goodies for families to enjoy during the holidays.


Today I started early by picking out pecans to use in recipes I would be cooking. I made small loaves of persimmon bread and zucchini and apple bread. I wrapped these to put in my baskets.

Then I made brownies for one of the granddaughters. Another wants chocolate chip cookies and the oldest wants chocolate wagon wheel cookies. Our son Bill's favorite is peanut brittle that I make in the microwave. I used to make it in a black iron skillet just as my daddy did. But I've learned that it's a lot faster to cook it in the microwave, and it's just as good. I made a recipe of chocolate covered wheat crackers with peanut butter between them. They taste just like Butterfingers. I have a batch of coconut/nugant filling in the refrigerator and tomorrow I will roll out little balls and dip them in chocolate. They taste just like Mounds candy bars. And of course the little sand tarts will be made tomorrow to complete the Christmas goodies I will make for my baskets. The baskets will contain jars of grape jelly, muscadine jelly, pear preserves, fig preserves, and apricot/pear marmalade. Also a bag of unshelled pecans that I picked up in a friend's yard under the big pecan trees. The 6 baskets will contain something special for each individual family.

Candy making has been a part of my Christmas traditions all of my life. When I was growing up on the farm, we always had peanut brittle, divinity (I could never make this delicacy), fudge, and pulled taffy made from syrup. I guess that's why I always enjoy making candy at Christmas time - just a tradition.


I think I'll take a tylenol and get some rest. I must have spent about 12 hours in the kitchen today.

Farm-City Week Banquet

Tonight I attended the annual Farm City Week banquet in New Brockton at the Coffee County Cooperative Extension System building. The week before Thanksgiving is National Farm City Week. National Farm-City Week, always the week ending on Thanksgiving Day, is a time to reflect on our blessings. Since 1955, the National Farm-City Council, together with state and local councils and committees, has encouraged building understanding of our interdependence between rural and urban residents.
They didn't have farm city week when I was growing up on the farm. But 4-H was very big in our schools and we always had a rally in the spring that was a lot of fun and then summer camp.
I learned a lot in 4-H.


Tonight I observed that most people at the dinner were all dressed pretty much the same. It was hard to tell the farmers from the business men and politicians attending. I sat by a lady in her late 80's that I've know all my life, from the Curtis community. She gets invited to a "Real McCoy's" luncheon every year when they honor farmers over a certain age. She said I would qualify since I'm over 70 and grew up on a farm. I declined; too busy already.


The new president of Auburn University was the guest speaker and he gave a highlight of land grant colleges and their importance in the world today. He said they have around 18,000 applications and only accept 800. I wonder if any of these return to the farm when they graduate. My dad was a farmer but didn't go to college. Yet he could do almost anything with all his talents. I learned a lot from him and am a pretty good "fixer uper". I scored the highest in mechanics in my senior class and was so embarrassed!


FFA chapters (Future Farmers of America) are pretty popular in Coffee County Schools and they win lots of contests each year. They have about as many girls as boys in FFA. Tonight they were helping at the banquet, serving as hosts and hostesses, and performing musical selections for entertainment.


When I was growing up, farmers did not receive the respect they get today. People have to eat and I think we are all concerned about farmers and crops. I know I love our farmers!

An Important Old House

For the past 3 years I have been working in a Southern heirloom garden I planted in the front yard of the old house where former Ala. Governor Jim (Big Jim) Folsom was born in 1909, the youngest of 8 children. The house was moved to Elba in 2001 from out in the country and donated to the city so it could be preserved.

Today I attended a meeting of representatives from the Ala. Historical Commission and Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom, Jr's staff (this was his granddaddy's home) - to discuss how to best restore the old house and what it could be used for, etc. It is a "place in peril" and work must be done soon if it is saved. Eight people attended the meeting and then we went to lunch at a deli. We got a lot of good advice and everybody agreed that this project could be done.

Autumn leaves in South Alabama

Today I drove through the countryside to Opp and all along the way I kept seeing such beautiful colored leaves on the trees and vines. Yellow poplars look like leaves of pure gold. Grape vines look like garlands of gold Christmas swags. But there are no prettier trees than this Autumn Blaze maple we planted in our yard 3 years ago. The first photo was taken just as the leaves started turning and the 2nd photo was taken 2 days ago on Nov. 11th. The Bradford trees along our street are beautiful.


In a few years - or 2 or 3, we will have to start raking leaves. It's been nice moving to a house with no landscaping and taking a break from raking leaves and pine straw. But I miss the trees in the fall when the leaves start changing.

Decorating cemeteries - customs

It's almost time to take Christmas flowers to the cemetery to put on my parents graves. This year I chose white instead of red. My mother loved pretty flowers and I do this in her memory. My sister Susan sent me money to buy these. I place flowers there seasonally, always silk flowers since it's too hot here to put fresh flowers on the graves. 


In the south it is a custom to clean the graves in the spring, cut the grass, and put flowers on the graves and it used to be called "Decoration Day" which later became 

Memorial Day. The difference was that everybody's grave was decorated on Decoration Day, not just the veterans. Families would come to the cemetery on a certain day, clean the cemeteries, bring flowers for the graves, and stay for lunch. They don't do this anymore. They buy silk or plastic flowers and leave them all year and hire someone to keep the cemetery clean.


My  parents, Lawrence and Ruth Wilson, are buried in a cemetery beside New Ebenezer Baptist Church, between Elba and Opp, AL (grave with white flowers in photo). My paternal great grandfather, James Shorter Grimes, was the first person buried in this cemetery in 1903. Many of my Grimes relatives are buried here, including my paternal grandparents. They are buried along the front rows of the cemetery.

This is an older cemetery (Grimes-Holland)  a few miles away where my great-great grandparents are buried (John William and Julia Garrett Grimes). This photo was taken about 1950. It is located about 5 miles west of Elba. A few years ago my cousin Linda helped me clean the cemetery of vines and brush and we cleaned the tombstones, and had a sign printed . A caretaker has been hired to keep the cemetery clean. I like to take our grandchildren there to show they where their ancestors are buried and to tell them something about them. My maternal grandparents and great grandparents are buried at Liberty cemetery, about 5 miles northeast of New Ebenezer, with another set of great grandparents buried in the Elba City Cemetery. All of my grandparents and great-grandparents  are near me!

On the row behind my parents graves is the grave of the last confederate widow, Alberta Martin, who died in 2004. She was buried the same day in June as President Reagan. I remember it was so very hot that day and the mourners attending in Civil War attire almost collapsed from the heat.

How's your Handwriting? Maybe it's the pen you use.

Do these pens look familiar? Most young people probably have never used a “fountain pen” and certainly wouldn’t know how to put ink in them. (NOTE: These are not my pens. This photo came from a website on the internet.)

When I was in the 6th grade, our teacher Miss Fuller, decided to have penmanship classes to help us improve our handwriting. She had beautiful cursive handwriting and used a fountain pen. I admired her pen so much and one day she let me try it. I was hooked. I went home and told my parents about the fountain pen and that I wanted one. I didn’t know that my mother had one that she kept put away from us kids. She showed it to me and let we write with it. I started writing letters to family members who lived away from home just so I could use the fountain pen.

My parents knew how I longed to have my own fountain pen but they were expensive. WWII was still going on and it was hard to obtain pens with the steel or gold tip (nib). The ink reservoir was rubber, and rubber was almost non existant during the war years.

One warm spring day I came home from school and there was a package on the dining table with my name on it. It wasn’t my birthday so I was very surprised and wanted to open it right away. Mother wanted me to wait until supper so daddy would be present when I opened it. It was a long wait that afternoon, especially since I had no idea what was in the package with my name written on it. Later I learned that he got it at Button Grimes' General Merchandise Store at Danley's Cross Roads. You could find almost anything at this big store near where we lived.

Finally I got to open the package and I can still feel the excitement and remember how thrilled I was when I saw what was inside; the most beautiful ivory-colored fountain pen with a flag printed on the cap of the pen, and the work Schaeffer written on the clip of the cap. Inside the package was also a bottle of royal blue, fast drying, Sheaffer’s ink. I wouldn't have to use an ink blotter.

My dad said he got the pen for me for graduation from the 6th grade. What was even more special is that my dad actually bought the gift instead of my mother. I learned to master the art of filling the rubber vacuum tube inside the pen, adding just the right amount of ink by lifting a lever up and down on the barrel of the pen, being careful not to overfill. You could write for a long time with just one “fill up”.

I was the oldest of 7 children and I’m sure the pen was misused by some of my younger siblings and after awhile the point became “scratchy”. You could buy replacement points and I probably bought a few. Then the rubber ink tube inside the pen deteroriated and began to leak. I finally retired the pen when I started to high school, and got a new Parker 51. It had ink cartridges that you put inside the pen and didn’t have to fill it. But cartridges were expensive so I got a used syringe from my aunt who was a nurse and filled the syringe with ink and refilled my ink cartridges. I used this fountain pen throughout high school and took it to college with me. I think I kept it around for many years after I got married and finally one day disposed of it, or did I put it in a drawer with some other keepsakes? I must check that out one day soon. It would be a miracle if I still have it!

I have always wanted to try writing with the "cadillac" of fountain pens: the Monteblanc. I looked at prices on eBay and here is one example: Montblanc - Meisterstuck - Gold Trim - Black with Gold Trim(#13661) LeGrand Fountain Pen #146-Bottle Fill Only List Price: $570.00 - Our Price: $456.00. Think I'll wait awhile to buy one of these!

Honoring our Veterans

HONORING OUR VETERANS
Remembering the Big Red One
Wurzburg, Germany and Fort Riley, Kansas





This is my husband, James (Jim) Emory Gilmer, Sr.


He served in the US Army for over 5 years, 1952-1957.
He had basic training at Ft. Jackson, SC and was sent to Ft. Rucker in 1953. I met him while he was stationed at Ft. Rucker which was near Troy State College where I was
a sophomore and attending summer school in July 1953 when I met Jim on a blind date. The rest is history.....


A few years ago I wrote to the army headquarters and applied for replacement bars and medals and framed these to give to Jim for Christmas, along with his photo when he was promoted to Sgt. while in Germany.


Jim re-enlisted for more overseas duty and we had planned to travel throughout Europe. A month later he learned that all military personnel in the 1st Infantry Division would be sent back to the US in Operation Gyroscope" and nobody could transfer out of the Big Red One! There went our plans; we went to Ft Riley, Kansas instead, to the great plains. We were not too happy about these orders.



In July 1955 we were on the first ship coming back to the US (USS Upshur) and were welcomed to the NY docks on a hot, humid morning. We couldn't get off the ship until a ceremony took place and I remember standing there for what seemed like hours waiting to get off the ship, along with our 6 month old son Ronnie who was born in Germany. We are in this photo standing over the "The" in "The Fighting First Returns". Link to see story of arrival of the Upshur in NY in July 1955: ttp://www.army.mil/CMH/documents/gyroscope/gyro-1.htm


Because Jim could type, he was taken off orders to go to Korea in 1953. They needed him at Ft Rucker to type the morning report (this was before computers of course). We decided to get married that October because he knew he would be going overseas soon, but didn't know where.  In December he got orders to go to Germany, instead of Korea. I followed him in March, going as a tourist since wives could not accompany soldiers below the rank of Sgt.


This was the period of the Cold War and there were many restrictions. He had to always wear his uniform off duty. There were frequent maneuvers called on the spur of the moment when they would have to go out into the field and live in a tent, etc. Our passports were checked often to make sure we always had them with us. Despite all of these inconveniences, we enjoyed living in Germany. I guess because we were 20 years old and young and fearless!


I have a great respect for all veterans and their families. My uncle was in the Seabees and had to go to Pearl Harbor and "clean up" the damage in the harbor after the Japanese bombed us there on December7, 1941. When I was 13, I went to my first military funeral for a cousin who didn't make it back from the Pacific alive.


Tomorrow when we honor our veterans at Elba United Methodist Church, I will stand tall and say the Pledge to the Flag and applaud when the veterans stand to the sounds of their respective service songs. We have several WWII veterans in our church membership. Just last week, people in Elba welcomed family members back home from Iraq. Tomorrow will be a special day for many folks in Elba. First Baptist Church will be welcoming my cousin's husband back from a year of duty in Kuwait. His wife teaches school at Elba High School and took care of their 3 kids for a year while he was gone. I really admire her.




This is Jim, 55 years later! He is retired and is shown here working on the new playground for children in Elba. He is active in so many organizations including Rotary Club, webmaster for Elba UMC http://www.elbaumc.org/ , Sons of the American Revolution, Pea River Historical and Genealogical Society, and an active volunteer for many worthwhile causes in our little town.  

Pecan Picker Upper - a neat gadget to have

This is the most remarkable invention! It's a "pecan picker upper" - no kidding, that's the name of this weird looking gadget that my friend was using to pick up pecans when I visited her earlier this week. I was absolutely amazed at the ease of picking up pecans with this "thing". You just roll it over the ground and the pecans hop inside the circle of metal coils until you have about 2 quarts of nuts. Then you hold the metal expanded circle over a bucket and pull the bottom rings apart and the nuts come tumbling out. I was in a hurry that day so my friend suggested I come back later and use the pecan picker up to pick up some pecans for my use.

Today I called to see if she was at home and asked if Jim and I could come pick up some pecans. I could hardly wait to show him this remarkable "machine". I told him I'd love to have one for my birthday coming up on Nov. 25, but he reminded me that we don't have any pecan trees. Oh, well .... I could gather mushrooms from the lawn or pick up practice golf balls. I'm sure I could find a use for it.

We should eat some nuts every day for good health. Just don't add too much butter when you toast them, or cover them in chocolate--yummm. I like to put pecans in salads, casseroles, on top of desserts, etc. You have to keep pecans in the freezer. They become rancid in a short time due to the fat content. If left in the shells for a long time, they dry out.

And of course you need lots of pecans for the Christmas cakes. It is fruit cake weather right now - freezing temperatures but warm in the afternoons. I enjoyed an article a fellow AARP member put in our Christmas Memory book a couple of years ago. Her mother's friends baked fruit cakes every Christmas and competed with each other to see who had the "heaviest" cake. They all used large dishpans with a glass in the center to bake their cakes in. Then they would take them to the country store to have them weighed. That was a "first" for me. My mother and grandmothers made fruit cakes and wrapped them in clean white cotton flour sacks, put an apple in the center of the cake and then soaked the cloth with homemade wine (my aunt used brandy or whiskey and her cakes were the best!). The cakes were stored in the old ice box to age for Christmas day feast. We peeled oranges and grapefruit and boil the peelings in sugar water to "candy" them. Dried figs were used for dates. There were other cakes, including fresh coconut and lane cakes, but the fruit cake was "Top Dog". I think I will make one this year just for old times sake. It probably won't taste anything like I remember, but I bet the aroma of one soaking in wine will refresh my memories.

This is a photo of the famous Corcicana's fruitcake. They are almost as good as my mother's, but a big chewy and too sweet. A Texas friend usually sends us one of these every Christmas. I share it with friends who come by to visit during the holidays.

You can just imagine how much I enjoyed Truman Capote's "Christmas memories" on TV several years ago (the TV movie Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory, with Patty Duke and Piper Laurie, was a 1997 remake, directed by Glenn Jordan) when he (Buddy) helped his

Aunt Sook gather things for her many fruitcakes she made to give away every Christmas. Then there was the play (Capote narrated his The Thanksgiving Visitor (1967), a sequel to A Christmas Memory, filmed by Frank Perry in Pike Road, Alabama. Geraldine Page again won an Emmy for her performance in this hour-long teleplay. I catch these re-runs whenever I can. I connected to these stories so much. I really would like to own these two TV plays someday. Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Memory 

On becoming a Master Gardener

The Master Gardener program, conducted throughout the United States and Canada, is a two-part educational effort, in which avid gardeners are provided many hours of intense home horticulture training, and in return they "pay back" local university extension agents through volunteerism. Master Gardeners assist with garden lectures, exhibits, demonstrations, school and community gardening, phone diagnostic service, research, and many other projects.

Purpose of the Alabama Master Gardener Volunteer program- To increase the availability of horticultural information to Alabama- To improve quality of life with community projects related to our mission.


We learned that weeds are just plants out of place! These weeds were beautiful at our lake where we used to live in the country.

Today was my final Master Gardener Class, #12. The classes were taught at the Coffee County Extension Systems office building. I have learned so much in the past 12 weeks. And I have a stack of handouts about 7" tall. I need to buy a file crate to hold all the folders and books. We had 22 people in our class, with only 2 attending from Elba. Most were from Enterprise. Today they honored us with a nice luncheon the last hour. The classes were 4 hours every Wednesday. We had outstanding lecturers and specialists in their fields of horticulture.

Each week was a different topic, ending with an interesting session on Fire Ant Control today. Only a few southern states have these pests. They make big mounds in the yard and if you are bitten by them, they inject poison into your system and leave little "boils" that itch and make sores. We are always trying to kill them and I think I might have learned what we need to do to better control them in our yard - using fire ant bait. You have to isolate and kill the "queen" to get rid of the ants. She lives 5-7 years and lays about 1,000 eggs a day!!


I have to volunteer for 40 hours before I receive my badge and certification. I hope to complete that by next summer.

Today was "graduation" of a different sort. Wonder what I can find to sign up for next, that will be of benefit to me of course. Here is a photo of my "classmates".

Going to the Fair - Peanut Festival in Dothan

James Gilmer and his favorite ride at the fair

Do you remember going to the fair when you were a kid? I guess the first really big fair I every attended was the Peanut Festival in Dothan. When I was in high school (early 1950's) our band was invited to march in the Peanut Festival parade each year. The first time I went was in 1950 and I remember it was a very hot day. Mrs. Gladys Dorsey (wife of Claude Dorsey, one of the founders of Dorsey Trailers) rented a suite of rooms in the hotel downtown for the band to assemble and get ready for the parade, after traveling the 50 miles by bus from Elba that morning. We were probably the only band afforded this luxury, and maybe she did this since her grandson Pete was in the band.


The grand marshal of the parade was none other than the cowboy movie star, Johnny Mack Brown, who was from Dothan. He led the parade, riding on his horse (and I don't remember the name of his horse). I don't remember much else about the parade but do remember the good time we had. We didn't go to the midway since it was located away from downtown.


My first time to go to the midway was in the 1980's when we moved to N. Alabama and would spend week-ends at our cabin on our farm near Elba. Our son James loves to go to fairs and we have attended the Texas State Fair at Dallas for many years when we lived in Paris, TX, the Minnesota State Fair in St Paul, MN when we lived in MN, and the NC State Fair in Raleigh and Dixie Classic Fair in Winston-Salem, NC. Then in Albany, GA I participated in the Dougherty Co. Fair since I worked part-time with the GA Cooperative Extension Service. It was always late November and most of the time the weather was very cold. James wanted to go every day since I usually had to be there most every day.


All these years, James would ride only one thing - the merry-go-round. He likes to climb up on one of the fancy decorated horses and pretend he is riding a horse. For two weeks he has been talking about going to the fair and check out the rides. Today we went to the fair and he got his wish - riding a horse on the Carosel. 


One of us always has to ride with him to help him get on the horse and then to get off. We went to the fair at 2 pm today. It was senior day and the gates opened at 12 for senior citizens to go - free. Not much going on before 4 pm; exhibit buildings were open and a few of the food vendors were cooking hot dogs, elephant 
ears, roasted corn, etc.


We walked around until James got tired and we hopped on a wagon being pulled by a tractor that was escorting elderly people around. We told them James was tired and they let us ride to the arena where there was a program going on for seniors. We walked inside and looked around and listened as they called out numbers for door prizes. We soon left there and headed for the midway at 3:30 pm. The rides didn't start up until 4 pm. We checked them all out and bought tickets for James to ride the Carosel. He was at the head of the line (only person in line at 4) and got his wish - to ride a horse on the carosel. Then he was ready to go home after that. Jim commented that it was an expensive ride! Driving 50 miles to Dothan and spending $3 for about a 3 minute ride. But James was so happy and will talk about this for a long time. It takes so little to make him happy.


 Somehow the thrill of going to the fair just isn't the same as when you are young. And it's much more exciting to go at night when all the lights and music are on. I got my wish - some good peanuts to snack on. I guess this is the next best thing for James. His greatest wish is to go to Macy's Christmas Parade but we just can't work out the logistics for him to go due to his kidney failure and problems he has walking, having to go to the bathroom, fear of loud noises and he doesn't like crowds. So he is somewhat content to watch it on TV, but every year he says "I'm going to see the parade in person next year." Oh yes, the Peanut Festival Parade is coming up this Saturday and you can probably find us sitting along the sidewalk near First Baptist Church, downtown Dothan. He has his favorite place to watch the parade. We can talk him out of going only if it's bad weather.

Homecoming at New Ebenezer

Today was homecoming at New Ebenezer Baptist Church in the Curtis Community, between Elba and Opp, AL, where we grew up. The current brick church was built after I grew up and left home but I still feel at home there since many of the families who were members in the 40's and 50's still have ties to the church. The congregation is very small now since there aren't too many families living in the area anymore. Pictured here are some of the families I grew up with.

Enoch and Jimmie Lou Cowen had 10 children who were pretty much the ages of the 7 children in our family and we lived near each other. She is pictured here (in red) with two of her children, Jeff (wife Sharon) and Mary. Other children in her family attending were Ed, Ramona and Helen, along with several of their spouses, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Mrs. Cowen will be 89 in December. Her husband died many years ago.

Dot Daniels has been a member at Curtis for many, many years after she married her husband Dick and moved to the Curtis community. Her son Jim came with her, and daughter-in-law, Martha who is married to Frank (Bub). Miss Dot as we all call her, is a very busy lady. Until about a year ago when she fell and broke some ribs, she was still cutting her grass with a tractor and bush hog. She has a daughter Judy, and another son, Fred.

Another long-time family in the Curtis Community is the 
Frank Donaldson family.

Pictured here are children of Jessie Lee and Frank Donaldson (all seated).

Mack and his wife Mary Dean, Syble Henderson and Linda Newman. Their mother died this year at the age of 99. Not present today were daughters Frankie and Mary Ella. A brother, Buck, is deceased. The lady in red is a cousin, Helen Cowen Murphy.



Also pictured here is Sara Calhoun Donaldson, wife of Buck Donaldson. She and Buck lived near his mother. She recently sold her home and moved to Enterprise after Buck died. Sara grew up in Elba. Her brother Fred  married  Edith Jones,  sister of Earl, Ned and Evelyn.





And who can forget the Jones family and the two Jacobs families. Pictured here is Earl Jones, son of J.C. and Lena Jones. On the right is his wife Dorothy (Dot) Jacobs Jones, daughter of Bud and Jewel Jacobs. Between them is their daughter Susan. Dot and Earl spent their married life in Opp but still count New Ebenezer as their "home" church. I remember going to their wedding on a hot summer evening in the old church.


Pictured here are two other members of the Cowen and Jacobs families - Helen Cowen Murphy and Dollie Jacobs Moore.

No doubt they are "catching up" with things going on with their families. Helen lives in Smiths, AL and Dollie lives in Dothan.
Dollie has 4 deceased siblings: Dora, Richard, Charlie and Cassidy.
One sister Annie "Boots" lives in Dallas, TX. and another sister, Dot Jones was at the reunion today.


These are just a few of the many families represented at the homecoming today. I was the only one of 7 members of my family attending. My 5 sisters live in FL, NC, and MD. My only brother Perry Wilson lives in Elba but doesn't come to the homecomings at Curtis very often.

I love going to homecomings, whether it is church, school or family reunions. I remember reading a poem one time that was something like this:

Homecoming notes the reality that the more each of us is rooted in a community where we feel at home, the more joyful energy we have available for this journey of transformation of self, church and world. As Anne Peterson’s Homecoming poem reads, “If home is where the heart is—Some safe, comfortable place Where one is loved as-is, without condition—Then you are home.”

I guess that in today's world it will be difficult for children to claim a "hometown" as families are so mobile. I have to think that our boys call Paris, TX their hometown since this is where they spent their early years and graduated from high school there. They went to college in Texas also. Son Ron lives in Austin, TX and Bill has been in Florence, SC for the past 15 years.

A Gardener's Paradise - Callaway Gardens, GA

Botanical Garden at Callaway Gardens

In January 2004, I went to Callaway Gardens, GA to attend a Southern Gardening Symposium.

I read about the symposium in Southern Living Magazine and thought it would be helpful in planning for a southern heirloom garden for the old country home and birthplace of an Ala. Governor, Big Jim Folsom, which was moved to Elba in 2003. Also we had just moved into a home that had no landscaping and I needed all the help I could get.

I arrived at the Lodge late Friday afternoon and attended the Opening Reception where I met others attending the symposium, many who come every year. I could hardly wait for the classes to begin on Saturday. A bus arrived at the Lodge to take us to the classroom building inside Callaway Gardens. There were many interesting speakers and workshops throughout the day. I opted for a box lunch so I could spend some time in the gardening marketplace where there were so many plants for sale and a a silent auction. I signed up for a lot of unusual plants and was I ever surprised at the end of the day when I was top bidder for lots of healthy plants; almost more than I could load in my car! I think I spent less than $25 for all these, including an amaryllis that had 4 or 5 large blooms which I brought back to a sick friend.

I bought some books and had them signed by the authors who presented programs. One I really enjoyed was a program on Southern Heirloom Gardens (bought that book) that was presented by one of the authors, Greg Allen, from Center, TX. Greg was the speaker at the banquet on Sat. night. Another book I bought was "Front Yard Idea Book" by Jeni Webber, who was great.

Sunday afternoon I drove through the gardens and sat inside the chapel while someone was playing the organ. What a treat! Then I drove through the gardens enjoying every minute. In January you can see much more of the landscape than in the summer.

I have been to the gardens in the summer when all of the azaleas and other flowers are blooming and it's beautiful. This was my first winter trip except to go to "Fantasy of Lights" at Christmastime. We have been twice to see the lights and both times it was extremely cold, even sleeting once. It's truly a winter wonderland.

This is a place that changes every season. I can't wait to go back again someday.  Check it out at:
http://www.callawaygardens.com/Callaway/

Memories of times spent at Ocean Isle, NC

News of a tragic fire last Sunday which killed 7 college students in a beach house at Ocean Isle, NC was devastating. We have been to this family beach so many times over the years. In October 2003 we celebrated our 50th anniversary there with family and friends and stayed in a rental house that looked much like the one that was burned. I do remember checking the smoke detectors before going to bed on the 3rd floor. We probably had about 20 people staying there, including lots of kids.


We went to Ocean Isle in November 2000 to celebrate my younger sister Carolyn's 50th birthday. She was the 7th person in our family to turn 50. We sent Carolyn and her husband Dave away from the house while we decorated and got ready for the party. They were to return at 2 p.m. for the party. In the meantime we got busy decorating, etc. and getting the food ready, making a birthday cake which was a mud cake with worms (not really) which the kids got a kick out of. I made Jim

an Elvis outfit to wear and he was going to come to the front door and serenade Carolyn. Things were going along as planned and it was getting close to time for the party. We sent Jim to the back of the house, on ground level, to wait for Carolyn to arrive, etc. Everyone was gathered in the big living room area waiting for her to arrive.


The doorbell rang and one of the little girls answered the door and ran back into the room and said there was a "crazy" lady outside.

One of the adults went to the door and this really wierd old lady was acting strange and insisted on coming in to see what was going on. She was very aggressive and pushed her way into the room. We were all so startled and didn't know what to say to her. In the meantime, Jim came to the front door and rang the bell, and was ready to serenade Carolyn. Well, the old lady rushed to answer the door and you should have seen Jim's face when she answered the door. He just stood there looking at her and she told him to come on inside. The kids were all hiding behind furniture, etc. and peeping around corners, etc.

Carolyn realized she was scaring them so she pulled off her long gray hair and wrinkled mask. Everybody had a good laughed. The joke was on us - not her. I don't remember if Elvis (Jim) ever got around to singing or not, we were all laughing so hard. We always have a good time when we have family gatherings like this.


Once Carolyn removed her crazy ole' lady mask, everybody relaxed.
Then Elvis began to serenade her and everybody joined in the fun.

Our last big family gathering was James' 50th birthday at Thanksgiving last year, 2006, when many of the family gathered in Elba for his party. We gather for special birthdays, weddings, graduations, and other special times. Next summer we will be celebrating Bill Gilmer's and Cindy Gilmer's 50th birthdays (date to be determined) and Ron and Cindy's 30th anniversary which is in August.