Wild Cactus bloom

I saw this wild bloom near the road. The mower
had ran over it but it still made a flower.

The Mayor, my friend!

This is Tyrone Williamson, mayor of Russellville.
He comes by school to check on us once a month
or so. His father was a janitor and he said he
started working with his dad when he was about
9. He still can't walk anywhere without picking
up all the trash. He says it's a habit he can not
break, and does not try.

Remembering!

I have been thinking about things that mean a
lot to me as a teacher. Things students
have given me or said to me. Not long ago,
a fellow teacher was at Wal-Mart and she said
a young man ran up to her to say ‘hello’. He
asked about me. He told her to tell me he was
in high school and ‘he was makin’ it and had plans to graduate.
My friend said…he repeated 3 times for her to remember
to tell you that he was still in school.

It meant a lot to me. She described the boy and his
mother. Mother was fat, poorly dressed, old. Boy
had black sort of greasy hair and was tall and skinny.
But, for the life of me, I could not remember him.
He is one of my jewels. The ones from whom I received
little gifts with joy.

It has always been my motto to show respect to the poor,
down-trodden, shabby dressed parents. The folks wearing
suits, ties and fancy dresses demand my respect and
they do get it, but I show respect to the old grandpa
who comes to my school trying to raise a grandson
perhaps dumped on his door. He may be driving a beat up
van, have no teeth, and dirty clothes. I always try to give
their little children extra TLC.

I still wish I could remember that black haired boy. The best
gift to a teacher is to see those she gave encouragement
and support—succeed!

God's Garden

In Matthew we find God lets his flowers grow

with the tares, but he will gather all in and

burn the tares in the furnace and take the

flowers to his barn!

Matthew 13:30 Let both grow together until the

harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the

reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind

them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat

into my barn.

Liz's Apartment!

Liz has moved to the second floor
apartment at Galla Creek. She likes
the security there. But says someone
keeps opening the door and throwing
papers at her!

Ingrid Graduates!

Ingrid graduated from preschool yesterday.
She will start kindergarten in the fall. I know
she will love going to school with her sister
each day. She says she will be a hair artist when
she grows up.

Council Oak~Dardanelle

John Jolley had to move from south of the AR River
near Galla Rock to near Dwight Mission (North of the River
near the Illinois Bayou) by the early 1820s. The Cherokee
signed away the land south at Council Oaks at Dardanelle.
One of the two oaks is still standing. I must go over the River
this summer and take a photo myself. The oak is about
about a hundred yards south of the Arkansas River.

Some time between 1820 and 1823, the Council Oaks
witnessed the scene from which they acquired
their name. U.S. President James Monroe ordered Army
Colonel David Brearly to send out a call to every Cherokee
village to send delegates to meet with Brearly to negotiate
boundaries between the Indians and the white settlers.
The twin oaks served as shade amidst a number of recently
fallen trees. There, under the oaks, Brearly and Arkansas
territorial secretary Robert Crittenden negotiated with the
Indians.

According to legend the most prominent of the
Cherokee negotiators, Black Fox (Ta-Kah-To-Kuh), sat on
the same log with Crittenden as they discussed the
boundaries. The story says that Black Fox continually
moved toward Crittenden, who became annoyed at having
to move toward the end of the log. Crittenden demanded the
reason the Indian negotiator encroached upon his space.
In response Black Fox replied: “That is the way with us.
Our Great Father (the President) has moved us from place
to place until we can go no further.”

The City of Galla Rock today!

Main Street of Galla Rock, today! The
only speeders are the cows. The Mo.
Pacific Railway went through Russellville,
Pottsville,Atkins, Morrilton, and the River
towns of Lewisburg, Galla Rock and
Dardanelle declined.

Trapnall Hall

A. B. Taylor's house at Galla Rock shows only a
few rocks from the foundation, but Trapnall where
he moved is still standing and beautiful. A. B. and
Sallie moved to Little Rock after the Civil War. They
left Trapnall to their Grandchildren. The foundation
of Galla Rock that was sheared away was the labor base,
slavery, but the death knoll came when the railroad
by passed them and went through Atkins, AR. Merchandise
began coming up the rail instead of the River. Galla Rock
went from a town with stores and 500 people to a cow
pasture.

Galla Rock Cemetery

Ben Embry and Aylett Buckner Taylor were
two men who owned much of Galla Rock. Ben
was A. B.'s son in law. Both are buried in a
private cemetery near the main Galla Rock
Cemetery. In the late 1850s Lewisburg, AR
was invaded by abolitionist from the north
and many big businesses moved to Galla Rock
to escape the harassment of the northerners.
You can see by the size of the headstones that
Taylor and Embry were wealthy men. A. B.
Taylor bought Trapnall Hall in Little Rock after
the Civil War and Embry moved his wholesale
business down the River toward our friend,
Annie. By this time, Embry was in partners
with his son in law, Dr. Scott. The Doc married
Kate Embry.

I wish Annie would go take a picture of Trapnall
Hall were the Taylor's lived for me. When the
foundation of Galla Rock was sheared away after
the Civil War, many of the land owners slide to
poverty, but the Taylors, Embrys and Scotts
found other ways to maintain their fortunes!

You can look at the folks by the stones and see
they are huge! What was the foundation of
Galla Rock that was sheared away? Why did
Galla Rock die?

Galla Rock Cistern

The town of Galla Rock had 500 people before
the Civil War. It was built on cotton and slave labor.
There were 4 community cisterns in the town.
I guess you took your bucket to the town cistern
and got water. All the cisterns but this one are
now under water in the Arkansas River. So I guess
the River has moved or widened. An old lady who
grew up here, wrote of the cisterns. She said you
could only use the water from the city cisterns in
months that had an r in them. So that is January,
February, March April, September, October,
November, and December. They tried putting
fish in the water to keep them pure. I guess they
ate the algae.

Galla Rock History Program

John Jolley's home across the Arkansas River.

Well, I went to the history program on Galla Rock.

It was interesting. I had my wires crossed on so much.

John Jolley lived south of the River. Yes, it was

near Galla Rock, but across the River. I took a

photo of where he and his brother lived. John

Jolley's brother was called Tolontuskee; Emmitt

Starr said he was 'Busheyhead", John Stuart's son.

The Cherokee that Grandpa Powell's sister took

care of was a Busheyhead. Nuttall said in 1819

Cherokee planters lived at least 7 miles along

River from Pt. Remove Creek to Galla Creek.

Dumb me, my thinking was 7 miles wide from

the River, no, they lived up and down the River

for 7 miles.

Bottom of the Barrel!

This refers to my favorite of all our Presidents. Of
course, he has family ties to my Aunt Helen. But
this one could teach our current President
about being strong, but being compassionate.

I agree with President Carter that we have the
bottom of the lot leading us today. He is a failure
on all issues domestic, foreign, environment. A
complete dud. I put him right in the class of
Herbert Hoover!

Galla Rock

This is Galla Rock. Once there was Dardanelle Rock,
Little Rock, Galla Rock...all points for navigators of the
Arkansas River. Sunday at 2:00 there is a history program
here. I want to go, but I bet I forget. John Jolley lived across
the River from this point. Galla comes from the word gravel
in French.

What are these girls doing"

Eating honey from the honeysuckle vine!
Have you tried it?

Jump In!

This is one big jump rope with 10 jumpers at
my school. I notice lots of different ethic
groups. Kids don't know much about 'ethic
groups' until the adults teach them prejudice.

7 Random facts about me!

Velvet tagged me for a memememe!

1. Old like this bowl.
2. Round like it, too.
3. Sometimes have my fill of things...just like this
bowl.
4. Not too pretty, like the old bowl!
5. Still tough, oven or frig, hot or cold!
6. Been around and not cracked yet!
7. Rough around edges!

My Prize!

Look what I got for Mother's Day...

Solve this riddle

I planted two blessings in my garden
Three little ones emerged
Now there are five!

Laura's Mother Day Gift!

Isn't Laura's Mother Day gift special? The
flowers are starting to pop through the
soil. I think she got a bird feeder,too. She
is a good mother and deserves a flower
garden.

Perparing to be a Mother

We learn to be a mother by the way our own
raises us. I can imagine a mother who slaps
her child would see the child playing with a
baby doll and slapping the doll. I know part
of what type of mother we become is within
our genes. All the sisters, put motherhood
high in importance. We love our kids. We all
struggle not to do too much for them after they
become adults. I hear parents talk about how
spoiled their kids are and wonder why...when
they always have tried to give them every
little thing they desire. Kids learn by having a
parent say 'no, you can not have or do that'.
They know when it is said with love not meaness.
Much of the time when it involves going somewhere
with friends or doing something, they even want
to hear the 'no'.

I am not a great parent. But my girls can tell you, I
did tell them 'no'. They did not have everything they
wanted. Laura still tells of the Brownie outfit I made
from stuff at the goodwill instead of buying one. Erin
never asked for much. It was hard to tell her 'no'. I
tried to make sure my kids could read, reason, and
do math. I recall teaching math percentage looking at
stuff on sale. Laura loved to shop and she got per
centage quickly. Erin did not really like shopping
and she did not 'get into' sales. Just get what you want
and go was her attitude. Why worry about a sale!

Our most important job is raising our kids to be
adults. Our kids are all we leave on the earth that
lasts long after we are gone.

Happy Mother's Day...it is an important job!

New book~Atchisons

This is Wm. Clarke Quantrill. I bought a new book
that give bios on men who rode with him. He was
what I call a bad dude. But the men were just
following along for the most part. You could not
remain neutral. Maybe it is like that in Iraq today.
Stay neutral and die.

Three men of interest in the book are: Sylvester,
Wiley, and John Atchison. They were with Quantrill
from the start. Wiley's son, Wm. Jefferson, married
into my husband's Cherokee Indian family that I am
researching. I call them the Cherokee Joneses. Her last
name was not Jones. John Atchison had a son named
James Anderson. I figure he was named for Bloody Bill
Anderson and Jesse James, John Atchison's comrades.
He was called Andy. Andy married Lenora Jackson and
they had Alice Atchison, who married Lewis Poor. It has
been interesting reading.

I love reading books about history. I am glad I bought
this one. You know, you can buy a book for what it cost
two people to go see a movie. The books don't have
cuss words, nudity, and are a lot more interesting.

Momma

This is my mother in 1956. The year I started
to school. She did not take me. My Aunt Lovetta
enrolled me in school. Momma's greatest ambition
in life was to be a mother to her children. She was
always there. She woke me up in my teenage years
if I had to get up at 3:00 A. M. no alarm clock, just
Momma saying ..."it is time to get up". She sent me
$5.00 a week when I came to AR Tech to college out
of her grocery money. I guess Helen did without food
because of it. No better mother could I have had if I
had chosen her!

My Little Ingrid Angel!

Teacher Week!

May 1968.

Speech and Hearing Week!

My own Speech & Hearing Specialist!

Nurse's Week!

That gold rope around her neck
means she graduated with honors.
If I get sick, I have a private nurse!

Mastery Reached!

Learning to ride a bike is something every
child wants to achieve. Once they figure
it out, they have that skill for life. Learning
to read well is an important skill for all
children. It is one I pray my grand
girls achieve. My older 'Rid' already reads
very well......hope the others will follow!

Best Friends!

Ingrid is going to be an angel in the "Nutcracker".
She has a difficult existence and will have to find
her own way. Her hero is her sister, who can
run faster, read better, kick harder, jump higher
than she can. But Astrid is shy, so Ingrid can
out perform her in a crowd. You can see in the
photo that Astrid is mad and Ingrid is trying to
get back in her good graces. This fall Ingrid will
start to kindergarten and be able to start blazing
her own path...a little away from her sister...but
I hope they are Best Friends Forever!

U. S. Marshall Dan Maples

May 5, 1887, Daniel Perry Maples died. He served
the Court of Judge Parker out of Ft. Smith, Arkansas.
He was my Grandfather, William Burl "Bee" Maples,
first cousin. He died this day, serving the United States
trying to arrest illegal whiskey dealers in Indian Territory.
I can see the Maples look of my father in his eyes.

Ned Christie lived in the Rabbit Trap community of Indian
Territory with his third wife, Nancy, and a son from a
previous marriage, 13-year-old James. At the end of a busy
day, he liked to go downtown after supper to find a drink
of whiskey. Like many of his friends, he sometimes drank
too much. On December 24, 1884, he had been accused
of killing a young Cherokee man, William Palone, in a
liquor-related incident. Christie had been brought to
trial but was declared not guilty.

On the night of May 5, 1887, in downtown Tahlequah,
Christie met John Parris. A half blood, Parris had been
in trouble with the court in Fort Smith for years for
introducing and selling whiskey. Parris always knew
where to find a drink of whiskey.

He and Christie moseyed toward Dog Town on the
northern edge of Tahlequah. They crossed the
bridge over Spring Branch and passed Big Spring,
where a team and wagon were camped. The past
three days had been cold and rainy, but this evening
was clear and pleasant.

At the home of Nancy "Old Lady" Shell, they found
Thomas "Bub" Trainor, Jr., eating supper, all decked
out in a white shirt, ready to attend a local dance.
Trainor was one of Tahlequah's "Saturday Night Outlaws."
His family was well-respected, but Bub was wild and
reckless. Christie and Parris bought a bottle of whiskey
from Nancy. Not having a cork for the bottle,
she tore a strip from her apron to use as a stopper.
Christie and Parris left Nancy and Bub behind and
made their way back to Spring Branch. They came
across three other acquaintances, and soon all five men
were drinking.

Meanwhile, U.S. Deputy Marshal Dan Maples and
posseman George Jefferson were at work in Big Spring.
John C. Carroll, the Western District of Arkansas marshal
at Fort Smith, had sent them to investigate the growing
illegal whiskey operations in the Tahlequah area.
Maples inquired unobtrusively about the matter. His chief
suspects were Bub Trainor and John Parris, and
he had warrants for each of them. Maples soon learned
that Trainor was the most persistent supplier of whiskey
in Dog Town and a frequent visitor to Old Lady Shell,
among others. Satisfied with what he had learned,
Maples used storekeeper James S. Stapler's phone to
notify Carroll. One of Trainor's associates, standing
unnoticed by an open window, heard everything. After
making the call, Maples walked with Jefferson back
toward their wagon camp. The moon shone brightly.
As they approached a footlog across Spring Branch,
Jefferson saw the muzzle of a revolver resting against
the side of a tree on the opposite side of the branch.
"Don't shoot!" he shouted. But the assassin fired. The
ball struck Maples in the chest. He fell but was able to
draw his revolver and fire at the man. Jefferson fired,
too. None of their shots found their mark. A few hours
later, shortly after midnight, Maples died of internal
hemorrhage.
(from: Ned Christie: Cherokee Outlaw By Bonnie Speer)

Cherokee Ned Christie was hunted like a rabbit until he was killed.
But truth be known ....he likely was not the killer of Dan Maples.

My Choice!

Patsy, put up her pick for President.
Here is mine! And I am votin' for them.

Happy Birthday!

May 3, 1938, she was born and nothing will
ever to the same. Happy Birthday, Patsy.

Cee Pee

Brother's handle on his blog is Cee Pee,

his initials. He is the brother in the middle.

This is a play with the word PC. I hope

he will say something on the blog once in

a while. It would probably be about sports

or cows or something that we would not be

excited about. But it would be nice to know

what he was thinking and doing. We may never

hear from Cee Pee on his PC.

A lot of my brother's ways remind me of myself.

We are both the child in the middle. I think we

are a lot alike.

Nurse's Uniform!

RNs used to have to really wear a
spiffy uniform. Erin took this at the Boone
County Museum. She wears scrubs...sort of
PJ looking pants and smock. The RNs of long
ago wore a white dress and a hat on their head
as they helped deliver babies.

Teachers could not wear pants when I started
teaching. We could then wear a 'pants suit' if
it had a jacket to match. Oh, times have changed,
now on Fridays we wear jeans.