1936 :: Surprise Birthday Supper for Grandma Nettles

. . . A delightful affair was the surprise birthday supper given Mrs. M.N. Nettles [i.e., Mary Annie "Mollie" Nettles nee West] of the Cole Springs community Saturday night. Grandmother was born in Starkville, Miss., October 24, 1852, which makes her 84 years of age. She is a mere handful, this little grandmother of mine, weighing less than 100 pounds, but she enjoys fairly good health, and is able to be up and about her work most all day long. She keeps house with the help of the daily visit of a granddaughter, Miss Gladys Muston, for her bachelor son, Will. She is blessed with a large family, having six living children, twenty-seven grand-children, and forty great-grandchildren. 

Those visiting in her home Saturday night were:  

• Mrs. Emma Muston, 
• Mr. and Mrs. J.A. Nettles and Carrie Bell, 
• Mrs. Erma Rodgers and children, Charlie, Audrey and Earline, 
• Mr. and Mrs. Jake Pounder and children, Forest, Dovie and Arlin Dee, 
• Mr. and Mrs. Robert Vance, 
• Miss Gladys Muston and 
• Mr. John Taylor. . . . 

Written by Mrs. Robert Vance and published in The Rockdale Reporter and Messenger (Rockdale, Tex.), Vol. 64, No. 38, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 29, 1936 Page: 3 of 12 

1935 :: Natal Day

On this date in our family history . . . the 18th day of June . . . in the year 1935 . . . which would have been her 53rd birthday . . . Emma Patience Muston nee Nettles was probably remembering with fondness the gathering on the previous Sentimental Sunday which was held in honor of her upcoming "natal day" . . . the report of that birthday celebration is copied below . . . this Emma is the paternal great-grandma of the Keeper of this family history blog (who is being held by Emma in the following heritage collage) . . . 

The Rockdale Reporter and Messenger (Rockdale, Tex.), Vol. 63, No. 19, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 20, 1935

Cole Springs, June. 17. -- Mr. and Mrs. B. Hickman and children, of Austin, spent the week end with their parents, Mr. and Mrs. F.F. Moore, the occasion being the natal day of Mrs. Emma Muston. Her daughters entertained in her honor Sunday, June 16, at the Muston home.

The date falling upon Father's Day seemed fitting as Mrs. Muston has been both father and mother to her family. She was left a widow by the death of her husband with seven little girls, the youngest a tiny infant. By frugality and perseverance she has reared this family, giving them both school and social advantages. She is one of the fortunate mothers who enjoy the complete devotion of her children as they are constantly planning to make life fuller and sweeter for her. A beautiful cake decorated with fifty three candles, adorned the festal board, which contained an abundance of choice viands.
 
The children attending were:

• Mrs. Emma Rodgers and children, Audrey, Charlie and Eleane, and
• Mr. and Mrs. Jake Pounder and children,
• Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Jones and baby, of Pleasant Hill,
• Mr. and Mrs. Dean Quinney and children,
• Mr. and Mrs. Bernice Taylor and family, of Lexington, and
• Miss Gladys Muston.

Mr. and Mrs. Ben Beynolds of Houston were unable to attend.

Mrs. Muston's mother, Mrs. M.A. Nettles, a brother, J.A. Nettles, wife and daughter, Carrie Belle of Lexington, and Mr. John Taylor were the other guests who attended.

Sentimental Saturday :: The 10th day of October

Sixty-five years ago today . . . on an autumn's Tuesday . . . which was the 10th* day of October in the year 1950 . . . Miss Roberta Mae Henry became the bride of Mr. Forrest Lee Pounders in a small ceremony held in Freeport, Brazoria County, Texas . . . exactly one year and one month later, I came along as the first of their four children . . . the following photos were taken near the beginning of their journey together . . . 

The Rockdale Reporter

Thursday, October 19, 1950

Roberta Mae Henry

Becomes Bride of

Forrest L. Pounders

A marriage of interest to a wide circle of friends here is that of Miss Roberta Mae Henry and Forrest Lee Pounders, both of Rockdale. The ceremony took place Tuesday, October 10, at 6:45 o'clock in the evening at the First Methodist church in Freeport, with the Rev. Houser reading the double ring service.

The bride chose for her wedding a suit of royal blue gabardine with which she wore gray accessories. In keeping with tradition she also wore something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.

Attending the couple were Miss Georgia Faye Henry and Robert Henry, cousin and brother of the bride.

Immediately following the ceremony the couple left for Galveston where they spent a brief honeymoon and later went to Houston to visit with relatives of the groom.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. Robert E. Henry of Sinton. She has made her home here with her grandparents, Mrs. Edgar Henry, and the late Mr. Henry. She graduated from Rockdale High School in 1949 and during her high school career she was popular and took part in all activities of the school. Since finishiing she has been employed in the local office of Southwestern Bell Telephone Company.

The bridegroom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Jake Pounders. After finishing from Rockdale High School in 1945 he entered the U.S. Army where he remained for some time, seeing service in Japan. He is employed at the Fred Pounders Service Station.

Mr. and Mrs. Pounders will continue to make their home in Rockdale.

*P.S. . . that 10th day of October in 1950 was also the 23rd anniversary of the birth day of my Dad . . . he would have been 88 today . . . 

Sentimental Sunday :: Ancestor Appreciation Day

In grateful appreciation

of those who came before.

Our ancestral surnames

as seen in this wordle are . . .

Anthony

Barker

Bass

Brackett

Brown

Carter

Davis

Dunaway

Farnum

Fears

Ford

Fulton

Fretwell

Gill

Goodwin

Gregg

Griggs

Henry

Hobbs

Holcomb

Holland

Hooker

Jordan

King

Kirtley

Lakin

Lemaire

Lewis

Mason

Merrill

Muston

Nettles

Newsom

Olive

Porter

Pounders

Quinn

Roberts

Saunders

Sharp

Smith

Thurston

Waring

Weaver

West

I hear the voices of my grandmas

Calling out from a distant past

"Please do not let us be forgot.

Record our stories that we may last."

Tell the children of our wanderings

Let the kinfolk hear the tales

How we braved the new horizons

How we blazed the olden trails.

How we buried too many babies

How we struggled to keep them fed

How we caressed the hands of our loved ones

As they lay dying on their beds.

How we endured many a hardship

With an eye to the future goal

To create a more promising future

And to keep our family whole.

They were as different from each other

As the scraps in a crazy quilt

Yet once the pieces were sewn together

Another generation they had built

I can sense them calling out to me

From the gloaming of my past

"Please do not let us be forgot.

Record our stories that we may last."

 

Original poem by BeNotForgot

 

Sentimental Sunday :: Our Wedding

Forty years ago
on the evening of

the 8th day of February

in the year 1975

we were presented

to family and friends

as

Mr. and Mrs. Everhart

. . .

sunrise, sunset

sunrise, sunset

swiftly fly the years

one season following another

laden with happiness

and tears

. . .

1930 :: Death of Nancy Virilla

On this date in our family history . . . the 6th day of August . . . in the year 1930 . . . Nancy Virilla Pounders nee Quinn dies in Franklin County, Alabama . . . this Nancy is a 2nd great-grandma to the Keeper of this family history blog . . . and she will be laid to rest in the Spruce Pine Cemetery . . . just a few months before her death, Nancy Virilla penned the following words (with "original" spelling, grammar, punctuation) to one of her granddaughters in Texas . . .

Spruce Pine, Alabama -- 28 April 1930. Mrs. Minnie Fretwell. Dear granddaughter and family how are you all by now fine I hope we are all as well as common hope those few lines will find you all the same well you ask me if Ruff and wife lived with me yes they live with me, well I sure did hate to here of Odell's death but that is something that we all half to do some day I thank sometimes it will be me next well I have 12 little chickes one hen setting will hatch in a few days, Minnie wish you would come to see me I would like to see a lot of my kindred once more in life I am getting pretty old not got long here on earth now, Ruff has got corn up he hasent planted any cotton yet it is so dry my garden looks very well for the weather to be so dry well I will close as I can't think of anything worth writing so ans real soon and all the news as ever your grandma N V POUNDERS

Sentimental Sunday :: Grandparents Day

This was originally published in August of 2009 . . . for another one of those nights of genealogy fun with Randy . . . I thought it appropriate to recycle it for use on a Sentimental Sunday . . . in memory of my grandparents . . .

This week (August 2009), for Randy's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, he is asking, "How many ancestors did you 'meet'?" His short and sweet instructions are to . . .

• Write down which of your ancestors that you have met in person (yes, even if you were too young to remember them).
• Tell us their names, where they lived, and their relationship to you in a blog post, or in comments to this post, or in comments on Facebook.

I was born and raised in Texas . . . and plan to live here 'til I die . . . and I am blessed to have been touched by hands . . . that touched the hands . . . of those who came before . . .

My Mom was born in Massachusetts, but was living in Texas with her paternal grandparents before 1940 . . . and she now lives just one block away from the land owned by those grandparents . . . Mom was only 3 days old when her mother, Elizabeth, died . . . Elizabeth's father had died in 1920 . . . and her mother, Eva, would survive her daughter by only 4 years.

• Mom's father, Robert E. Henry, was born in Milam County, Texas in 1905 . . . and died in San Patricio County, Texas in 1976 . . . he joined the Navy in 1927 . . . and then took up residence in Massachusetts until after WWII . . . when he finally returned to Texas, bringing his 2nd wife and their three daughters with him . . . his father died shortly thereafter, and before I was born.
  • Robert's mother, Berta Mary Henry nee Sharp, was born in Houston County, Texas in 1873 . . . and I was born on her birthday just four years before she died in 1955 in Rockdale, Milam County, Texas.

My Dad, Forrest Lee Pounders, was born in San Benito, Cameron County, Texas in 1927 . . . and died in Rockdale, Milam County, Texas in 1996 . . . he spent time in Japan and Korea while in the Army, but lived his entire life in Texas.

• His father, Jacob Edmund Forrest Pounders, was born 1902 in Caldwell County, Texas . . . and died in Rockdale, Texas in 1957 . . . both of Pa Jake's parents were dead before I was born.
• His mother, Ima Lois Pounders nee Muston, was born in Lee County, Texas in 1906 . . . she lived next door to my parents my entire childhood, and until her death in 1999 . . . her father died when she was a child.
  • Her mother, Emma Patience Muston nee Nettles, was born in Lee County, Texas in 1882 . . . and died in Rockdale, Texas in 1964.

So, that makes seven (7) for me -- 2 parents plus 2 grandpas plus 1 grandma plus 2 great-grandmas.

1906 :: Birth of Ima

1965 :: Star of the East

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shown round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Luke 2:9-12

Once upon a time . . . back in the 20th century . . . the words printed above were read by a school-age narrator during the annual Christmas pageant in my hometown of Rockdale, Texas . . . this was a pageant traditionally held in the auditorium at Rockdale High School . . . I was an 8th grader (final year of Junior High) when the following excerpt from a full write-up regarding the 1965 Christmas pageant ran in the local newspaper . . . the Beverly and Joe mentioned below were my classmates . . .

The Rockdale Reporter, Rockdale, Texas, December 16, 1965. The Christmas Story will be told at 7:30 p.m. Friday by more than 200 junior-high school students when they stage their Christmas pageant in the high school auditorium. A highlight of the Christmas season in Rockdale in past years, the pageant will this year involve 211 students, according to Ernie Laurence, junior-high principal. The pageant will tell the story of the birth of Christ. Beverly and Joe will portray Mary and Joseph . . . The Rev. Frank Cady, pastor of St. John's Methodist Church and president of the Rockdale Ministerial Alliance, will give the benediction.

In previous years of participating in this pageant, I had portrayed an angel in the stable, kneeling at the manger . . . in 1965, I was a candlebearer . . . we wore white choir robes and were carrying lighted candles as we entered from the back of the auditorium . . . and we were singing Star of the East as we walked down the double aisles to the front of the stage . . .


 

Star of the East, Oh Bethlehem's star,
Guiding us on to Heaven afar!
Sorrow and grief are lull'd by the light.
Thou hope of each mortal, in death's lonely night!
Fearless and tranquil, we look up to thee!
Knowing thou beam'st thro' eternity!
Help us to follow where Thou still dost guide,
Pilgrims of earth so wide.

Star of the East, thou hope of the soul,
While round us here the dark billows roll,
Lead us from sin to glory afar,
Thou star of the East, thou sweet Bethlehem's star.
Oh star that leads to God above!
Whose rays are Peace and Joy and Love!
Watch o'er us still till life hath ceased,
Beam on, bright star, sweet Bethlehem star!

Star of the East, undim'd by each cloud
What tho' the storms of grief gather loud?
Faithful and pure thy rays beam to save,
Still bright o'er the cradle, and bright o'er the grave!
Smiles of a Saviour are mirror'd in thee!
Glimpses of Heav'n in thy light we see!
Guide us still onward to that blessed shore,
After earth's toil is o'er!

Star of the East, thou hope of the soul,
While round us here the dark billows roll,
Lead us from sin to glory afar,
Thou star of the East, thou sweet Bethlehem's star.
Oh star that leads to God above!
Whose rays are Peace and Joy and Love!
Watch o'er us still till life hath ceased,
Beam on, bright star, sweet Bethlehem star!

The Star Of The East 1918
Music by: Amanda Kennedy
Lyrics by: George Cooper
Website: parlorsongs.com  

This song was originally published in 1883 as a piano solo reverie titled the Star Of The Sea. Almost 40 years later, Kennedy dusted the work off and reissued it with this new title with lyrics by George Cooper. Musically this song is identical to the 1883 work. All that is different is the addition of these lyrics and some repeats.

Updates . . . I had no luck in 2010 (when this was first posted on one of my other blogs) finding a decent version of someone singing this song . . . in 2011 I was able to locate a nice fiddle version, which has since been removed by the original contributor . . . so in 2012 I went searching again . . . and was delighted to find the following recording of Judy Garland (1922-1969) singing this classic . . .

I also found one by Slim Whitman but it was no longer available as of 2014 . . . so I found one done by a granddaughter for her grandma . . .

As of September 2017, Slim is back . . . 

   Merry Christmas, Y'all!

Sentimental Sunday :: Memories of New England

One year ago, in October of 2011, my youngest sister and I loaded up our about-to-be-80-year-old Mom and made a road trip from central Texas to the coast of Maine for an extended stay in a beach house at Old Orchard Beach . . . and afternoons spent gathering seaglass on Peaks Island . . . and mornings spent walking the paths of the Victorian garden cemetery overlooking the Saco River where Mom's young mother was laid to rest in 1932 . . . some of the photographic memories of those days have been preserved on the pages of a book created via MyCanvas at ancestry.com . . . a digital photo album entitled Memories of New England highlights the pages of that leather-bound book, which was presented to Mom for her 80th birthday earlier in 2012 . . . 

 

Our adorable Mom was born near Boston, Massachusetts . . . but spent most of her growing-up years with her paternal grandparents in central Texas . . . her Father had left the dry dusty farmfields of West Texas in 1927 to join the Navy . . . and wound up spending time along the coast of Maine with one of his shipmates . . . where both of them met their future wives . . .

Mom's parents, Robert and Elizabeth (aka Bob and Betty), were married in July of 1929 . . . their first child (a boy) was born in May of 1930 in Lynn, Massachusetts . . . followed by Mom in January of 1932 . . . and then 19-year old Elizabeth died three days later . . .

Mom never visited her Mother's grave until October of 1977 . . . which was the first time we made the trek to New England from Texas . . . we went back again in 1981 . . . and then in 1998 . . . 2011 was our fourth trip . . . and we are already making plans for trip #5! . . . in the meantime . . .

Mom was talking just this morning about wanting to print copies of her photos of that trip, and share them with family members . . . she doesn't know it yet, but with this post, I am doing the sharing for her (sorry, Mom!) . . . remember that ALL of the photos in the following albums were taken by Mom with her digital camera . . .

TO MAINE AND BACK THRU MOM'S EYES . . . this album contains images captured by Mom along the road . . .

• MAINE
  
  
  • Dunstan Cemetery . . . at Scarborough in Cumberland County, Maine . . . Mom's maternal 2nd great-grandparents, William Thurston Merrill (1816-1898) and Olive Jane (Goodwin) Merrill (1821-1895), are buried here . . . along with numerous other kinfolk . . .
  • Eastern Cemetery . . . at Gorham in Cumberland County, Maine . . . Mom's maternal great-grandma, Phoebe Ann (Merrill) Morse Tripp (1848-1927), is buried here . . .
  • Greenwood Cemetery . . . at Biddeford in York County, Maine . . . Mom's maternal great-grandparents, Atwood Frank Smith (1837-1907) and Jerusha Marilla (Barker) Smith (1841-1899), are buried here . . .
  • Hills Beach . . . at Biddeford Pool in York County, Maine . . . Mom's maternal grandparents, Thomas Warren Alonzo Smith (1866-1920) and Eva May (Brackett) Smith (1874-1936), owned and operated a florist business in Biddeford in the early part of the 20th century . . . as part of that business, T.W.A. Smith did landscaping at Biddeford Pool . . .
  • Laurel Hill Cemetery . . . at Saco in York County, Maine . . . Mom's maternal grandparents, Thomas Warren Alonzo Smith and Eva May (Brackett) Smith are buried here, along with their children, including Mom's Mother . . .
  • Nubble Lighthouse . . . near the entrance to the York River in York County, Maine . . . aka Cape Neddick Light Station . . .
  • Old Orchard Beach . . . in York County, Maine . . .
  • Peaks Island . . . in Casco Bay near Portland, Maine . . . we have photos of Mom's maternal family members at events on this Island from the early part of the 20th century . . . and Mom's 9th great-grandpa, Michael Mitton, once owned Peaks Island . . .
• MASSACHUSETTS . . . this album contains images of the house where Mom was born . . . and the beach where she played as a child . . .
• NEW HAMPSHIRE . . . Mom's parents honeymooned at Alton Bay on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire . . . where her Mother also spent time as a child . . .

Happy Birthday, Sercey

These little ones being held by their fathers are first cousins . . . on the left is my Dad, Forrest Lee Pounders (1927-1996), son of Ima (1906-1999) & Jake (1902-1957) Pounders . . . on the right is Sercey Quinney, son of Shorty (1907-2002) & Dean Quinney (1901-1987) . . . Ima and Shorty were two of seven daughters born to Charlie & Emma (Nettles) Muston . . . Sercey is celebrating his 84th birthday today . . .


Happy Birthday, Sercey!

Wordless Wednesday :: Could I have this dance . . .

  On this date . . . the 8th day of February . . .
in the year nineteen hundred and seventy-five . . .
I married my favorite dancing partner . . .

Sentimental Sunday :: Christmas 1956

Sentimental Sunday :: Mommy and Me

Sixty years ago today . . . on Mother's Day in the year 1951 . . . the beautiful young woman in this bricolage was about three months pregnant with the little one shown in the photos . . . the rose in the background is a 1932 antique rose called the Fairy Rose . . . the year of origin of that rose is the same year this young Mother was born in Essex County, Massachusetts . . . she was living in Texas (the home state of her Father, and his Mother and maternal Grandpa before him) by the time she started school, and has been here since . . . the Keeper of this family history blog is the little one in the photos . . . she is the first of four lucky children who are privileged to call this lovely woman Mom . . . Happy Mother's Day, Mom . . . luv you bunches . . . and thank you . . . for everything! . . .

Cemetery Rural Delivery

On this date in our family history . . . the 17th day of January . . . in the year 1996 . . . following a brief battle with kidney cancer . . . my Dad, Forrest Lee Pounders, died in Rockdale, Texas . . . he was laid to rest in a little country cemetery in central Texas . . . and this mailbox actually stood in that cemetery at that time . . . as if awaiting a letter addressed to one of the residents . . . Dad had delivered mail in Rockdale for many years (go take a look at his grave marker) . . . I snapped this photo shortly after his death . . . the flowers were for his grave. . . .

1911 New Year's Day 2011

100-year-old 1911 Calendar Postcard from private collection of benotforgot . . . and you are welcome to save a copy of this for your own personal use . . . 
 
One hundred years ago today . . . on the 1st day of January . . . in the year 1911 . . . I wonder . . . were our ancestors recalling the events of the year 1910 . . . and at the same time wondering what the coming year would bring in their lives . . . three of my grandparents were born during the first decade of the 20th century (one grandma would not be born until 1912) . . . all eight of my great-grandparents were alive at that time . . . but only six of my sixteen 2nd great-grandparents are known to have still been living as of the 1st of January in 1911 . . . 


One hundred years later . . . on the 1st day of January . . . in the year 2011 . . . I am so very blessed and thankful for my family (L-U-V y'all) . . . for my health (and that's a big one) . . . for a warm roof over my head . . . for dear friends who actually know what it means to walk the talk . . . for a God who loves me and has collected all my tears in a bottle (and there have been a lot of them since the 7th day of April) . . . 



On a lighter note . . . I am also thankful for my constant companion and foot-warmer, Riley (Bennie's poodle) . . . and for the new toys I received for Christmas . . . one being a new Canon EOS Rebel D-SLR camera (Bennie always enjoyed giving me tech gadgets for gifts . . . so this was a gift to myself, a long-needed upgrade from our original vintage Canon AE-1) . . . but the best gift (mostly because of the thoughtfulness and love behind it) I received (besides time spent with family) was the Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner my family surprised me with . . . we do what I will refer to as (because our Mom was born in Massachusetts) a Yankee Swap . . . so there are not supposed to be any exchanges of gifts between individuals . . . my baby sister (who was the instigator on this little project) told me the surpise gift was to show appreciation for all the work I've done on gathering and sharing our family history . . . [note to self . . . be careful about entering those contests on facebook . . . some family members actually read that stuff!!!] . . . sooo . . . 



Most of the following items have been on my mental to-do list for a while . . . but only because Jasia has challenged us to commit to some genealogy goals in 2011 for her 101st Carnival of Genealogy . . . (and with the qualifier used by my 2nd great-grand-uncle almost 150 years ago . . . whether God will permit me to live, to keep the records of another year, is more than poor mortal man can know, but trusting in His mercy I shall enter upon the trials of another year, with hopes of future success & prosperity through His goodness & favor.) . . . I am stating to whoever is listening that . . . the good Lord willing and the creeks don't rise . . . 


I plan to keep on keeping on . . . with the daily postings at The Journal and On This Date . . . and an occasional family-related quote at And I Quote . . . and getting together some new posts here at benotforgot.com . . . and continuing to transfer info from an expired rockdale.myfamily.com to Rockdale - My Hometown . . . and figuring out how to stay organized once I actually get organized (i.e., putting photos, books, files back where they belong instead of in convenient stacks and piles around my computer area) . . . and consistently paying attention to the reminders to do backups . . . and to learn to use the new toys (camera and portable scanner)!!! . . . and to use that camera when visiting cemeteries and photographing grave markers and then posting them on findagrave (with appropriate genealogical info) . . . and to use that portable scanner when I do onsite research at various libraries and research centers in Texas, as well as on visits to family members throughout Texas . . . AND . . . to research and shop for a new desktop computer (had a power surge that may have killed the old desktop . . . awaiting a final diagnosis from the nephew-in-law / IT guy) . . . and then purchase and install Family Tree Maker 2011 and learn to use it (having some issues with FTM 2010) . . . whew . . . I'm exhausted already . . . 

• I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. ~ Gilda Radner
• Never part without loving words to think of during your absence. It may be that you will not meet again in this life. ~ Jean Paul Richter
• Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. ~ Theodor Seuss Geisel, attributed

Advent Calendar :: Treasured Memories

There is a place within our hearts
where we keep our favorite memories
the ones that never fail to make us smile
those are the dearest memories of all.
Wishing you a Christmas filled with
the warmth of caring
the joy of togetherness
the love of friends and family
and happy memories that linger
long after the season is gone.

That verse by Amanda Bradley is featured on the ca. 1996 Christmas page on the left of this collage . . . and that page also appears in my Advent Calendar blogpost about Tearbottle Ornaments (which highlights memories of our first Christmas without my Dad) . . . we have quite an assortment of photos of Dad in front of the family Christmas trees over the years . . . but this one from the mid-1970s is definitely one of my favorites . . . the name card is from his 1945 high school graduation announcement . . . prepared for Grab Bag Day on the 2010 Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories . . .


FYI . . . this scrapbook page was created in Picasa using the collage feature with a scan of an open book as the background . . . the image used for the photo corner mounts is actually a ribbon from a dingbat font called WWDesigns . . .