Oh, Happy Day

Got my first Teacher Retirement check. I knew I would get it but sure felt better to see the green!

Rows Are Ready To Plant

How Many?

Helping Greg Fix The Sink

Greta Talking!

John Powell--Idaho

He is not farming, but I could not read where he was working. Geraldine is a City Librarian.

Name: John R Powell

Age: 47

Estimated Birth Year: abt 1893

Gender: Male

Race: White

Birthplace: Missouri

Marital Status: Married

Relation to Head of House: Head

Home in 1940: Meridian, Ada, Idaho

Inferred Residence in 1935: Rural, Carlton, Arkansas Carrollton!

Residence in 1935: Rural, Carlton, Arkansas

Name Age

John R Powell 47

Bula C Powell 46

Gealdie O Powell 21

Harold J Powell 11

Ardath L Powell 6

Preparing For Fall

We eat watermelon everyday and usually cantaloupe too. I peeled the last cantaloupe so now it will just be watermelon. Larry got my garden ready and will lay off the rows with the cub tractor. The big question is what to plant. I will plant peas, green beans, turnips and mustard, but I will have about 9 rows so I need more stuff. Oh, I will plant yellow and maybe green squash. I may plant cucumbers but I cant eat them.

Meadow Guest!

Arkansas!

Arkansas is finally indexed at Ancestry...now I forget who I wanted to search for! Senility for sure.

Ingrid is home from Chruch Camp! We sure missed her. Pop has gone to Alma, AR to Sigrid's swim meet!

While others were sleeping

I think Greg was working hard on the kitchen. It really looks good!

My Cow Bell Clangs In The Rains

Nothing better than a nice rain after a dry spell.

Kitchen Improvement

Greg is doing a great job of piecing someone else's cabinets into his kitchen. Ask Fleta if this would be easy. He is going to put a shelf above the window so she can sit something there. He will have to build one cabinet as there is not quite enough. The tile floor surely looks nice.

Blessed Are The Poor

Today driving to the grocery store I started thinking about how poor we were but what a blessing it was. Larry bought me some molasses at the feed store. It has lots of iron in it. I put my iron pill in a T of molasses and swallow it down. Iron pills make you sick. Especially if you inherited Dad's stomach. The molasses coats the pill and I am not sick at all taking it. I am supposed to take a chalk pill before each meal. It is yucky too.

This morning when I took my pill, I recalled how we made taffy. We only did it in the cold months. Colder the better. I think we put molasses, sugar, butter, and maybe some cream. You boiled that on the stove until it clumped in cool water. Then we dumped it out on a buttered plate. We never had anything like wax paper. Then, we would take off a piece and pull it and then pat it back and then pull. Over and over we pulled. The more you work the taffy the lighter color it had and it was more firm. We could never wait and ate some of it all gooey. I wonder if the sisters remember making taffy?

We also made fudge. I don't think we went by a recipe. We just put sugar, cocoa, butter and cream. We boiled that and then turned the heat down and cooked it until it made a ball in cool water. Then we whipped it with a spoon before we poured it on a buttered plate. Sometimes (well, most of the time) it did not set well, but we were not bothered by it. We would each get a spoon and eat it that way.

Mama liked for me to make cookies at night. Sometimes she would even ask me to make them. I remember usually it was sugar cookies.

The other candy in my memory is sugar candy. When we were so poor on groceries that all we had was sugar....we were not deterred. All we had to do was get the iron skillet really hot maybe a little red and dump a cup of sugar in the skillet. We stirred for a while and dumped all that on a plate. It would be sugar crystals and we had our sweet!

I can't remember making other types of candy, until Fleta went to work at the chicken plant...then we made all sorts of good stuff.

Being poor is really a blessing. I am not sorry that we grew up on the farm poor as mice. It was a good childhood really. We had to use our minds in play and work.

Ingrid's Dance Photo

Ingrid is at Baptist Church camp at Siloam Springs, AR. Hope she is having a good time. Laura brought me her new dance picture today. It is very good.

Sister Oma's Family

Grandma called her sister--Sister Oma.
Oma and below her son, John Maples Moore

These three are Guy Moore.

Singing School 1927

Daddy is holding song book. He got away from Grandma and is with Hugh Magness
This is Cecil Meek, Truman, Ivan Swor, Grandma, Betty Lou, Winnie, Jessie Maples, and Fleta Powell. Grandma has on a stylish dress!

Daddy would be 97 today. Grandma took him to singing school. I bet he did not love it.

The chalkboard sign reads: Clements Normal Music School, Coin, Ark, July 11, to Aug 6, 1927, C.C. Clements, Principal, R.H. Jones, Secretary: Clements' Normal Music School Back row left to right: Clara Lee McNiel Stone, Norris Blasingame, Ruthie Norris, Hattie Norris, Veda Horn, Fairy Magness Smothers, Georgia Norris Odell, Lee Norris, Jessie McNemar, Ione Meek Mathews, Wilma Brown, Thelma Powell Gwaltney, Clyde Boren, Dorthy Griffin, Johnnie Clements, Hugh Maples, Joel Boren, Jay Grim, Mrs. Viva Jones, Mrs. Ola Norris. Middle row, left to right: Dennis Clements, Augurn Norris, Arlis Norris, Monta Swor McGehee, Oral Mears, Wilma Brown, Nona Henderson Horn, Kate Grim Wilson, Ruby Myres, Loretta Crow Wilson, Norris, Bessie Orrell Steidley, Ruth Fry, Jessie Collier, Jewell Hughes Martin, Dorothy Molder Magness, Gladys Molder, Nila Norris Rudd, Dedda Orrell Buell, Raymond Norris, Norris. Bottom row, left to right: Cecil Meek, Truman Powell, Ivan Swor, Mrs. Gertie Powell, Betty Lou Powell Knight, Winnie Ree Powell Reed, Jessie Mae Maples, Fleta Powell Merk, Blossom Jones Swor, Violet Jones, Bill Eldridge, Griffin, Floyd Powell, Griffin, Ina York Trigg, Gladys Collier, George Ward, Lundy Orrell, Willis Powell, Hugh Magness, C. C. Clements, Ben Jones.

Down Hiller

Delight!

Yesterday, I had Mockingbirds everywhere and lots more Hummingbirds. Laura's feeder must be out of syrup!

Mockingbirds Everywhere!

Erin's Getting A New Kitchen

Greg Jones bought a set of cabinets off Craig's list and he tore out all of Erin's old kitchen and is putting in the oak cabinets. The doors are oak but Greg said the inside part was mostly bad wood so he is reinforcing some of it. He is moving the ref as she got a new bigger one.

O' Happy Day

Someone was telling a story and I laughed as Patsy pondered.

Today is Sunday

Erin found this photo on one of the negatives in Ethel's box. It is me. A wedding shower that Ethel's family had for me. I can not remember much about it. It was almost 42 years ago, but I should remember. Someone gave me a radio, but I do not remember it at all.

Today is Sunday, Fleta. I will go soon to teach my adult Sunday school class. One thing I am going to do is talk about sayings folks think came from the Bible but they did not. One is cleanliness is next to Godliness. John Wesley used it in a sermon. Not from the Bible. But Fleta you are 'skin and bones'. Yelp, that one is from the Bible. The lesson is about Samuel, Saul and David. I am going to drive home the point that most leaders turn more and more evil over their time in office. Power brings corruption. I think Patsy liked Samuel in the Bible as she name Sam that. Samuel was an old man when Israel came to tell him they wanted a King as their God. He was 60. MAN, that thought rained on me at a young 62.

Lilies

I have a bunch of Surprise Lilies. Some call them Naked Ladies. That white bloomed Lily I posted lasted only one day! I don't know what it is but think it was sent when Larry's Mom died.

Berryville 1907

Berryville does not look much different than Green Forest did in 1911. They have dirt streets too. I think that Queen Anne Hotel is still there.

Fleta knows me too well. The Painted Bunting came twice, but the last picture was about a week old.

Painted Bunting

Marvel Cave

Eric took the girls to Silver Dollar City on Tuesday. They went through the Marvel Cave. Siggie said to her Dad, "I love the way they have this air conditioned". That girl pays attention to detail.

Helen at Toby Keith's Bar and Grill

Here is what Helen and Rhea are up to. Oh, that is just pineapple juice in her glass.

Green Forest 1911

This was what Green Forest looked like the year Grandma and Grandpa Powell married. The street looks very wide then. Now, when the hiway widens if Green Forest chooses a by-pass they say it will go like Omaha. If they give right a way through the town, the old buildings will be gone! What to do?

Questions about the Rock?

Siggie ran all the way over here to get her rock last evening. She liked it....of course....she had some questions--

Patsy, where did you find this rock? Was it round and you had to bust it in half? Do you care if she gouges that little bit of stuff out of the center to see what is behind it?

Also, sharing two of my Lilies. Both are so pretty. The other flower is 4 o'clocks. Momma had them. Fleta warned me that they were ugly and as usual she was right.

So Glad Sister Did Not Send A Goat!

I got my gift from Patsy and oh, I do love it. It will last the rest of my life, is just the right size and has such a nice curved long handle. I am trying to season it on top of the stove. I will let it set there and do it a while each day for a few weeks. I think it will work. Siggie will love the rock. I took a picture but it was too dark to post and I am too lazy to do it again right now!

I got another surprise today! My Surprise Lilies are starting to bloom. I have a bunch of them and they are all so beautiful.

Sigrid Swims With Sharks

Friday, July 13, Siggie went to Patsy's old stomping grounds--Ozark, AR--for a swim meet. You can't tell at the meet how well she has done for she is swimming in a group that is 7 to 10 years old. Each swimmer is timed and then from that the winners for age groups are picked. She did really well and loves swimming. I told her to watch out for those fat girls as all that fat floats.

With 3 girls, Eric and Laura have to divide and conquer at times. Astrid was at a volleyball camp where she stayed over night at Tech. Eric had to stay home in case they called. You never know what will happen with a child. Sigrid and her mother were about 5 miles down I 40 when Siggie asked 'when is Dad coming?' Laura informed Sig that Dad would not be able to attend. To which Sigrid boldly asserted "I have to have SUPPORT" so she called her Pop and around they turned coming back to get him. I guess Sig knew he would love to see her perform. I got to tag along and while in Ozark there was a light rain to start the races cooling off the air. We had a grand time and ate at Clarkville Arby's on the way home...Siggie's favorite place to eat.

I looked all around for a large dormitory like place on the hills by the Arkansas River but I think all evidence of the Ozark Bible Institute is history!

Good Melon = Good Times