Half Way Mark

July 14th (1967)
Fri. p.m.

Dear Susan,
Another note so you will get it Monday. I didn't get a letter today but figure it's because you're busy which is o.k. with me. I'm glad you're being kept busy. Today was a pleasure. Watched Hal play baseball. Came home & showed Dawn & Mrs. Melander all of the pictures I have and then took them over to Lisa & her mom. Then discovered our turtle had climbed out of the cardboard box & got lost again! Found it in the Malone's yard. Took Lizzie to the pool & stayed for 4 hrs. Charlie has fallen asleep - & it's so quiet. You should see Charlie at the pool. Last Wed. & Thurs. he is overjoyed with his life belt. Today he was in the water every minute. Yesterday he was jumping off of the side. He'll be swimming before long. Auntie is coming over one day next week & I look for Cathy to be home anyday - considering we haven't found time to ride her dress & sweater over yet!! Jackie & Patty start dance tomorrow. Daddy said so & Jackie is so happy. She's been practicing all day & you know how graceful she is. [smiling face] We named our turtle "Pete". So it has "Pete Graham" in yellow paint across his rear side. I may have to wash it off & let the Rosenberys borrow it. They bought a turtle for the picnic that Mr. Rosenberys boss has every year for the turtle race. And theres (theirs) just sits there - while ours has been moving & getting lost at least twice a day [smiley face]. It really moves! Maybe it's because its stubborn & determined to move! Mikey is going to watch Hal play baseball on Monday at Olive. Maybe he would like to start playing also. Hal & him has been playing so good together. Had best start dinner now. It's 6:30 & you know how late it is. Will add more on later.
Love - Mommy

Sat. - 10 am.
Dear Susie -
Has it poured everyday or has it scattered showers? Please try to keep busy and think of other things so you won't be homesick. I hope you are collecting pine cones, etc for me so we can mess with crafts at home. Read - write & think of the good side of things. Have you taken any pictures yet? Remember you do have the flash bulbs. Let them cool before you pull them out. You have the same counselors that Dawn had but she was in tent # 3. She can hardly wait to compare notes with you. Please answer all of my questions (in previous letters). Are you getting enough mail? I have to grin because I am thinking they probably hired a truck to carry your mail alone. [smiley face] Well it's the half way mark. 6 days down & 6 to go. Suggest you start packing your things on Wed. & checking them off of your list. Are you saving the letters you have received? Have you learned the new songs? So the river is swollen. How much? How's this for a exciting adventure (can't spell it!) You're bound to get lonely when you think of home. Try not to & try to have fun despite rain. Hows about making a mud sculpture & letting it dry. Bring it home & we'll paint it. Birds is easy to make. Take a fist of mud & work it like clay - if it's too running squeeze excess water out of it. Then it will work. Are you taking baths in the rain or in the showers? [smiley face] I talked to "Cappy" before I left & told her you were there & she said she'd call me if you got ill. Chin-up & we'll see you Fri. a.m. I'll send the comics up tomorrow.
Love to you -
Mommy

Married in Tijuana

My mom, Janet Wray Stansberry, was barely seventeen years old when she met my father, Thomas Dougald Campbell, at a roller skating rink in Huntington Park, California. The Skating Rink was located on Pacific Boulevard right next door to a diner called Chili Junction where she and her friends hung out. It was the middle of December 1955 and he was almost twenty years old. She left high school and married him four weeks later on January 17, 1956 in Tijuana, Mexico.

July 14, 1967

Fri. Eve.
7/14/67

Dear Susie,
I'm writing this evening & will mail this note in the morning. Mommy called me, she received your letters. She was real glad to hear from you, the kids were too. We are all rooting for you on shooting your arrows. I never tried that, but Mommy's always landed at her feet. [smiley face] I suppose by now you've received your box of goop! [smiley face] Aunt Wilma & Gramma sent their cards today. I hope you have a steady stream of mail. You are so lucky to have so many to write to you. So put out your hand of friendship & put an arm around those who don't get so many letters or a box. Think of all the piano practice & dusting you're getting out of. [smiley face] I'm saving mine for you! That's a joke, huh? I hope you're getting all my letters. If you find you can't answer all letters, I understand. Write to Mommy first. She'll let me know how you're doing. How's the food? Getting used to the sleeping bag? The bugs biting? You're so sweet, they might try to eat you up! [smiley face] or they might all get poisoned & die. [smiley face] I hope you're getting pictures. Are your councellors holding up or are you kids driving them nuts? Maybe I should send skipper a boat so she could sail off, or birdseed a cage to hide in. They are probably pooped! [smiley face] Well, I should close as I'm running out of room.
Lots & lots of love,
Gramma, Poppy & Tiki

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July 14, 1967

Dear Susan,
When I got a Three Stooges comic book for Betsy, I asked for one for you. We have been having some hot weather. I guess it is hot where you are too, but maybe not as hot. Everything around our house is the same as usual without Betsy, and I expect your family is doing the same things they would do if you were home.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Jensvold

Disneyland Dance Party

February 2006: Gavin was five-years old when he & I went to Disneyland with my friend, Julia, and her granddaughter, McKenzie. We had so much fun on Dumbo, It's a Small World and driving the Autopia cars! We stopped at Tomorrowland Terrace for some ice cream where music was playing and a couple of teenage Disneyland "hosts" were dancing to entertain the crowd. Everyone was waiting for Buzz Lightyear to make an appearance. Gavin says to me, "Gramma, I want to dance with her" and points to the young girl. I catch her eye and tell her that he wants to dance. By then he has "struck a pose" and is looking at her over his sunglasses. She smiles at him and says into her microphone, "Are you calling me out?" He nods and her smile broadens. She tells him, "Well, let's see what you've got." They dance until it's time for Buzz to appear, she tells the crowd, "Let's give it up for Gavin!" and everyone applauds. Buzz comes in and while some kids are gathered around him, others are running over to dance with Gavin & McKenzie.

July 13, 1967

July 13, 1967

Dear Susan -
For your clash day wear your green shorts & a blue top - or your new capris and a plaid blouse. That should clash for anyone! It costs too much to mail honey - so mix what you have. Your new blue shorts & green striped blouse should clash good! Stripes & flowers & plaids clash also. Saavy? Just got your letters & tore up the envelopes. Don't mail individual letters again. Stuff them all in one - o.k? Stamps cost too. Kids enjoyed them all. So it was worth it once but not again. Jackie is now writing to you. Are you getting my letters everyday? Did I tell you we lost the turtle - or the turtle lost us. It got out 3 times yesterday & we found it only 2 times. Will write later. With these stamps how are you set now?
Love, Mommy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Susan,
Thought I'd take a few minutes and write another letter to you today. After 1 1/2 hrs looking for the turtle Mr. Malone just found him. Luck of the Irish [smiley face]!!!! Talked to Gramma in Bell - she's waiting to hear from you. Also Gramma Campbell. How come Cathy rates a letter?!? [smiley face] I expect a longer one! Cleaned house today. Would you believe the whole house is spotless?? - would you believe one room? [smiley face] Can't wait for you to come home & entertain Charlie so I can clean!! Altho your room has never stayed so clean, with you two gone. [smiley face] Charlie still won't admit you are gone. When I ask if Susie has gone bye - he says no you're asleep in bed. (I have the door to your room closed). He won't go look to see if you are or not. The other kids have fought over who sits in your place at the table. How's the food up there? Food here is same old stuff. Hamburgers tonight. Are you doing your laundry or is that a joke? Is it raining up there? Tie baggies around your shoes with rubber bands for boots if so. Stay well & take care of yourself. I know they have flush toilets so be sure & keep going every so often. Otherwise me and the kids & Ex-Lax will greet you at the bus. [smiley face] Is "Cheese" still the nurse? I have to stop & write to gramma Paris - she is still in the hospital & want to cheer her up some. We are all o.k. (sinse the car won't start.) Drove 15 mi to get your 25¢ camp book. Figure 35¢ for gas, & it cost 15¢ to mail it - so treasure that book!! Its expensive [smiley face]
Love
Mommy

Gramma & Gabe's Road Trip

May 19, 2007: Four-year old Gabriel and I drove to Arizona to visit Tommy and even though it was just an overnight trip, Gabe was very excited. I bought him a disposable camera so that he could record memories of his trip, then developed the film and made him his own little memory book of photos. He took pictures of the wind energy windmills as we went through the Palm Springs area, snapped a shot of the McDonald's that we stopped at for lunch, and was fascinated by the long freight trains. He even noticed the desert hills and commented that Grampa could fly his planes there.

July 12, 1967

Wed July 12, 1967
8:30 am

Dear Susan,
Today I am running again. In 15 min. we leave for dance class then to Fullerton for your camp book & then to aunties. (Gramma left Charlies life belt there on Monday). I should be home about noon for lunch & speech starts at 1:30. Got the camp pictures of Peters Canyon & fly up ceremony & cookout at Whirleybird. Pretty good ones too! Do you want me to send them to you?It's going to be another scorcher. Thought with you & Cathy gone I'd have things REAL easy. Well - there is not any fighting but NOTHING is getting done. Guess I'll spend all day Sat. scrubbing it down. [smiley face] Don't want you to come home to a dirty house [smiley face] ha ha

12:30 pm
Well - got your camp book. It's like a diary. You must write short stories, etc. Your imagination will come in handy now. Got your card this morning. How did your arrows go? Mine never went forward. They always fell straight down. Please keep on writing. Thought those cards was a good idea, huh. Who are your councelors? Junior got loose this morning. Broke the rope. Lucky - no dog pound. [smiley face] Save your gum & chew it on the way home. Do you want anything else?
Love - Mommy

Old Gramma

I love how Gianna calls me Gramma and my mom, Old Gramma.

The Goodie Box

7/11/67
Tues.

Dear Susie,
Thinking of you today. I know you have been very busy, getting your things in place, so you can find everything. Just remember, every time you can't find something, some one else is having a worse time finding their stuff! ha ha. I didn't get your box off today. I'll seal it tonight & mail it on the way home from work tomorrow. All the kids will want some, but there's not enough for everyone, probably, so be sure & save some for yourself! It's nice to share, but you know what I mean. I love you and will be waiting for you to come home. My vacation starts then & I'll come & get 1, 2, 3, or 4 of you to stay at least a couple of days. Well, I'll close with a kiss & a big hug.
Lots of Love,
Gramma, Poppy & Tiki

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wednesday [crossed out]
Thursday
7/13

Hi Susie,
Just a line today to say hello. I know it was really Thursday because I'm off today. If it was Wednesday, I worked yesterday. I must not be awake yet. I'm washing. I have to get my drivers license, or take the test for it. Also, I have to bathe Tiki. It's been hot here. How is it in the mountains? I hope it is very nice for you. I called mommy & she received your letter. Said she sent you some stuff you needed. I sent the box yesterday (The stuff you don't really need.) Gramma's are something else! I guess by now, you've made lots of new friends. Isn't it nice? I'll close now & write again tomorrow.
Lots of Love,
Gramma, Poppy & Tiki (I put Tiki so you'll know which Gramma [smiley face])

July 11, 1967

Tuesday a.m.

7-11-67

Dear Susan,

Mrs. Ray [fourth grade teacher] called me last night. She just got back from So. Carolina where she saw The Campbells. Mr. Ray was guest speaker of the same church the Campbells belong to. So guess they had a nice chat and everyone is o.k. Wish I had Mrs. Ray's telephone or address as I cut her conversation short. She called me at 7 p.m. and you know what time that is! So we will have to make it up to her to take the time and trouble to do this. How many counselors do you have - 2 or 3? Expect a letter little girl or else! Will think of a good punishment if not. Like 3 hrs of practice on the piano each day. Do you need any music for your "instrument" I stuck in? HA-HA-HA-HA. Should be a pro at the Gazoo - huh? Bet no one else has one. Am sending up some reading material - insect repellant - wash & dri's (to carry home on the bus in case your face feels dry) & a large baggie to put your craft things in. Heaven only knows what gramma is sending up! Suggest you carry your reading material and craft supplies home with you to save room in the duffle bag. Do you need anything else? Make a wish on the brightest star - so will I and it will have to come true. My only wish for now is you have a swinging time at camp and remember everything so you can tell me all about it. With you at camp - Boy do I feel old! Hardly seems you're old enough. And I'm almost 30! Wow!! Guess I close and go to bed. I'm tired thinking of it all [smiley face]. What is poop-out-hill? Also some kind of meadows. Let me know.

Love,

Mommy

July 6, 1967

Thurs. p.m.
July 6th

Dear Susan,
You haven't left yet as I sit here and write this. You have just gone to bed. Thought I'd write and sneak in a Magoo's Gazoo for your song fests. This can be your musical instrument. [smiley face] Takes a little courage to play or bring out but bet you a quarter it will be the hit of your unit. [smiley face] - Add it to your list of supplies to bring back. It's expensive! [smiley face]
Love,
Mommy

POW/MIA

1LT Robert J. DiTomasso

USAF 07-29-66 LAOS

That's what the inscription reads on his POW/MIA bracelet. Bobby was born August 7, 1941 in Buffalo, New York to Alvin & Mafalda DiTomasso and was officially declared dead on March 21, 1979 by the U.S. military, even though his remains have never been returned home. The date on the bracelet was the day his plane went down over Laos during the Vietnam conflict. I wore Bobby's MIA bracelet in the mid-70's and corresponded with his mother. I was just a teenager then and still in high school, but still have her notes and cards that always ended with the same phrase, "Pray for Peace". My bracelet eventually broke in half from wear and I have bought a replacement bracelet that catches my eye every once in a while when I open my jewelry box. When it does, I find myself thinking of Bobby. His mother, Mafalda, spent the last 25 years of her life searching for her son. In a 1988 interview for the Buffalo News she stated, "You gotta keep on the go all the time and it costs a lot of money." She had recently made the trip to Hawaii from her home in New York to finally welcome Bobby home only to find that he wasn't there, nor were his remains or any new information. Malfada DiTommaso died in 1991, never knowing what happened to her beloved son. As a mother with three sons of my own, I cannot begin to understand the pain and heartache that haunted her, although my heart aches for her loss. I imagine there was no escaping it, day or night. Perhaps her focused efforts and determination to find Bobby was the only way she could deal with the reality of the nightmare. Bobby is still MIA - Don't ever forget.

Teach Your Children

You need to learn how to take calculated risks in life. When an opportunity presents itself that has any degree of risk attached to it you need to ask yourself, "What's the best thing that can happen if I do this?" and then you need to ask, "What's the worst thing that can happen?" Weigh these thoughts carefully and thoroughly. If you answer honestly and can live with the worst, then the risk is probably worth taking. Most decisions in life can be changed. You can enter into a relationship and later decide that it is not a good place for you and leave it. You can quit school and then change your mind and go back later. It may not be easy - but you can do it. You can start down a specific career path and decide that it isn't what you want to do and change direction. There are only two things that you can NEVER change, and you must be very mindful of this: Having a child and a criminal record. Know this and be cautious, both are forever.

Driving

Ah, the 70's. An anxious teen could get a driver's permit at fifteen and their license at sixteen years old. Driver's Education was taught in high school, using driving simulators and actual behind-the-wheel training with an instructor, who in my case was Coach Russ Murphy or "Murph". The simulators weren't nearly as realistic as even the video games of today but they provided a basic introduction to the overall driving experience. I learned to drive in my mom's big all-forest-green Volkswagen Bus but my first car was a used gold 1971 Ford Pinto. It was a three-door hatchback "Runabout" with an automatic transmission. Gas was cheap and at about 39 cents a gallon was definitely a lot less than the $3.00+ a gallon we find ourselves paying right now. I loved that car and can remember pulling into a service station to buy gas and turning around to collect quarters from my friends to get us to the beach and back. We could put a dollar's worth of gas in the Pinto and drive for days.

Be Happy

One of my favorite books is Loving Each Other, The Challenge of Human Relationships by Leo F. Buscaglia, Ph.D.

pg 14:
There is a wonderful fable that tells of a young girl who is walking through a meadow when she sees a butterfly impaled upon a thorn. Very carefully she releases it and the butterfly starts to fly away. Then it comes back and changes into a beautiful good fairy. "For your kindness," she tells the girl, "I will grant you your fondest wish." The little girl thinks for a moment and replies, "I want to be happy." The fairy leans toward her and whispers in her ear and then suddenly vanishes. As the girl grew, no one in the land was more happy than she. Whenever anyone asked her for the secret of her happiness, she would only smile and say, "I listened to a good fairy." As she grew quite old, the neighbors were afraid the fabulous secret might die with her. "Tell us, please," they begged, "tell us what the fairy said." The now lovely old lady simply smiled and said, "She told me that everyone, no matter how secure they seemed, had need of me!"
We all need each other.

1875 Shattuck Place

Our family moved from Downey to the city of Orange in 1964 when I was seven years old and in first grade. My mother was having another baby and we needed a larger house. A two-story home with five-bedrooms and three-baths, this house provided enough room for a family with six children and it was my home until I married in 1975. Tugboat is one of my most vivid memories of the Shattuck house. He was the cookie jar that sat on top of the refrigerator in the kitchen and held matchbooks safely out of reach. I think my brother, Hal, has our original Tugboat but Warren and I found one quite by accident at an antique store on Glassell down by the Orange Circle in 2001 and he surprised me by going back to purchase it without my knowledge. He paid $63 for it but the childhood memories it evokes each time I look at it are priceless. By the way, it holds our matchbooks.

To My Middle Child

For my David. I came across this poem years ago in a Dear Abby column and gave it to him - my own sweet brown-haired child.

My darling, I had presupposed in dreams
your hair would be a brightly polished crown.
Like sunlight spun to gold on mountain streams,
yet soft, beneath my hands, as ciderdown.

Sometimes I fancied you with raven hair,
but when you came, above the nursing gown
there were no tresses black or flaxen-fair
your pixie face was fringed with tufts of brown.

You are my middle love, my brown-haired child.
Not first or last, encircled in my arms.
But child of many moods, like a bracelet styled
enchantingly of most delightful charms.

And so my darling, never, never think
you are less loved; you are our magic link.

-author unknown

Effie Jane Carr

My great-grandmother was born December 20, 1896 in the Estillville District of Gate City, Scott County, Virginia. She was the fourth child of George B. Carr and Alice Lee Moore. She died November 6, 1970 in Maywood, Los Angeles County, California and is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills. Her birth record actually shows her name as "Effa" which I imagine was due to the, most likely, thick Kentucky accent of her father and it was spelled exactly as he probably pronounced it but we just called her Big Fat Gramma. She was married three times, her first being to Sidney Jackson Hammond, with whom she had two daughters; Bernice and Jewel. Her second marriage was to Jesse Sylvester Daugherty and she had four more children; Leslie Harold, Mary Alice (my grandmother), Wilma Lucille and Anna Ruth. Her third husband was Arthur Eppard. My Gramma, Mary Alice (Daugherty) Paris told me in 1973 when I was working on my high school family history report, that the family left Virginia in the middle of the night because George Carr, who was in the lumber business, got into a fight with his business partner, Col. Ayers, and knocked him unconscious. Fearing him dead, the family fled to Indiana. My mom, Janet, remembers how her grandmother Effie always wore loosely wrapped gauze bandages on her legs and her feet to cover ulcerated sores that would not heal. She says that even the smallest child knew to stay away from her feet and legs. Effie's sisters, Mary Elizabeth (Carr) Sweatt and Sudie Carr remember Jesse Daugherty and Effie, as well as Effie & Art Eppard, bootlegging. They tell how Effie, to entertain the family, would put on a sun bonnet to look like a mountain woman, throw a gallon jug of whiskey over her shoulder and pour a shot without spilling a drop. True stories? Maybe.

Summer Concert

In 1975 I saw Chicago and the Beach Boys perform at Angel Stadium where we waited in line for what seemed like forever because the tickets offered open seating and everyone wanted the best seats. It was amazing and the stadium was absolutely packed! We were in the front row of the upper stands and everyone up there started jumping up and down as they moved to the music. My soda, which was sitting on the ledge in front of me, actually fell over because the stands were bouncing so much and I wondered if there was a chance they would collapse! Almost 50,000 people attended that concert event.

9512 Horley Avenue

The first house I remember living in as a child was in Downey, California and we had a dog named Rags. I don't remember the house as being large, maybe 2 or 3 bedrooms, and all five of us kids slept in one room that held two bunkbed sets and a crib. That front window, to the left in the picture, was our bedroom and it seems like there were purple and blue hydrangeas planted around the corner on the side of the house. The garage was set in the backyard at the end of a long driveway and there was a tree in the back corner that we would climb and play in. The boy next door, Greg, was always Tarzan, I was Jane and Cathi was Cheetah. I wonder if she remembers that.

Patty's Homemade Irish Cream

I was tempted to call this "Sue's Homemade Irish Cream" since I make it every year at Christmas for friends and family but, in all fairness, Patty did get me hooked on it.

1 3/4 cups Irish Whiskey
1 (14oz) can Eagle Brand condensed milk
1 cup whipping cream
4 eggs
2 tablespoons Hershey's Chocolate Syrup
2 teaspoons instant coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Place all ingredients in a blender and mix well. Keep refrigerated. Serve over ice or add to hot coffee and top with whipped cream.

Growing Up Graham

I don't remember my father but have studied enough photographs to see the resemblance in my sons. Thomas Dougald Campbell was a 23-year old salesman for the Encyclopedia Americana Company when he drowned on October 15, 1959 after he and two companions; Roy Yates, 40, of Carlsbad and Harold Graham, 32, of San Marino were caught in an undertow while swimming near Oxnard in California. The other two men managed to swim to shore. A newspaper headline on Friday, October 16, 1959 in the Oxnard Press-Courier, "Friends Can't Save Man, Nearly Drown Themselves" and articles in the Huntington Park Daily Signal, "H.P. Man Drowned Off Oxnard" (October 16, 1959) and "H.P. Man's Body Found in Ocean" (October 26, 1959) tell the story of how he, a non-swimmer, was wading in waist deep water at the beach when he was caught by a riptide and dragged out.

Three frogmen, two Navy crashboats from Port Hueneme and a Navy helicopter from Point Mugu searched the area, aided by a light plane flown by Ed Deidrich of the Sheriff's Air Rescue Squad. The search ended at sundown without locating the man's body. Members of the fire department rescue squad used the resuscitator on the exhausted Mr. Graham until his strength returned. 'I saw Campbell just under the surface and pulled him up. He was almost unconscious and was having trouble breathing. I could just see him dying right there and there was nothing I could do about it. He kept sliding under the water and I'd pull him up again. Finally all the strength went out of me and I had to let him go.' The search was resumed this morning.

His body washed ashore nine days later at Seaside Park in Ventura. He left my, then, very young mother with three daughters all under the age of three. She eventually married Harold Graham and had three more children.

Celebrating the F-word

As I look back on turning Fifty, I am able to appreciate and see what a Fascinating time of life it is. It used to mean old and over the hill, yet I feel more alive than ever and as a Female in today's world, can be Fabulous, Fearless, Funny and enjoy the Freedom of Feeling comfortable in my own skin. I Fight (ugh) to stay Fit, can be Fierce, Feisty, Fantastic, Focused, Feminine, Forceful, Formidable and sometimes Foolish, embracing Family, Friends, and my Faith as I come Face-to-Face with hot Flashes and aging. I am enjoying the journey and looking Forward to the Future, having Finally Found myself and realizing I am truly Fine.

Female Anatomy

Kenya made sure that Gianna knew at a very early age that there were parts of her body that no one was to ever touch. She was at our house, about two years old and watching T.V. when something came on that mentioned heart disease and angina. Gianna immediately flipped around and proudly announced, "I have angina..."

Sounds of Spring

I keep a bird bath and feeder outside the kitchen window. One morning Gabriel, who had just turned six years old and was missing most of his front teeth at the time, said, "Gramma, your house sounds just like a golf tournament."

Girls Weekend

September 2007: Cathi hosted a Girls Weekend at her condo in Oceanside where Mom, Cathi, Patty, Jackie and I laughed, ate, talked and walked along the beach. One evening we whipped up a luscious concoction that fell somewhere between Sangria and a Wine Spritzer, grabbed some munchies and dropped ourselves onto the floor around the coffee table to play L-C-R. After going over the rules, Mom throws up her arms and exclaims, "And the one who wins is the winner!" We roared. I made five of these pillows showing four generations of Daugherty women in honor of the occasion. One for each of us.

Getting Started

I took an American Literature class in high school and had to write a family history report as a class project. It was 1973 and I was fortunate enough to have both my maternal and paternal grandmothers alive back then to help document information as they told stories of their childhood and shared what they knew of their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. I started actively researching data and documenting our family history in 1993 and have since traced ancestors back to the Revolutionary and Civil War. American history really didn't interest me until I was able to place a paternal ancestor at Gettysburg. James Calvin Flora served in the 4th Michigan Volunteer Infantry and fought at the Battle for the Wheatfield. I was hooked after that and American history, and my history, became a passion. While learning about my relatives I realized the importance of knowing and understanding where you come from in order to appreciate who and where you are. It's a humbling journey and I recommend taking the trip. You just may learn something about yourself.

George Carr and Jesse Sylvester Daugherty were Bootleggers. During the depression Jesse Sylvester Daugherty boot-legged. He did this because he had no job but wanted to keep his kids. He had to feed his family. When he got caught the kids were put in a children's home. They stayed there off and on until 1935. The Carr family was originally from England while the Daugherty family is from Scotland. My Great-Gramma Effie used to say, 'We have enough Scotch in us to be tighter than hell; enough Indian in us to be wilder than hell; and enough Irish not to give a damn." taken from my high school report "From the Heart", dated May 23, 1973, Chapter One, Maternal Ancestors

Girls

When Gianna was about 18 months old she was jumping on my bed and laughing as she fought to keep her balance. I was on one side of the bed and Gavin was on the other making sure she didn't launch herself off. Her laughter was contagious and Gavin smiled and said, "You know how girls like to party..." and then quickly followed with, "All except you Gramma, and you just want peace."

Quick & Easy Peach Cobbler

I remember making this rich dessert in Girl Scouts.

1 or 2 large cans of sliced peaches in syrup
1 yellow cake mix
1 stick of margarine
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Step one: Pour can(s) of sliced peaches into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Do not drain the peaches.
Step two: Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly on top. Do not mix.
Step three: Cut margarine into thin slices and arrange on top so that it all gets covered when it melts. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Maybe a bit longer depending on how many peaches you use, just watch it.

Remove from oven and let cobbler set for 20 minutes before serving. Serve topped with vanilla ice cream or in a bowl with heavy cream.

The Middle Drawer

Aging has made me realize that I need to start writing things down. I starting recording my family history in 1993 but, with the grandchildren coming along, feel the need to record more personal thoughts and memories. That being said, I have made the jump into the world of blogging and am happy about that. When I was a little girl, our kitchen in Downey had three drawers than ran horizontally under the counter. The middle drawer held everything that didn't "go" somewhere else. If we were looking for something and couldn't find it, you would eventually hear my mom say, "look in the middle drawer." When the family moved to Orange our kitchen still had a "middle drawer", only now it was actually the top drawer since the drawers ran vertically in that kitchen. Oddly enough, we still called it the middle drawer. A sentimental, yet most appropriate name for my blog.