Collecting My Thoughts

When my mother was a little girl, her family still kept a carriage horse in the barn that did useful tasks like pulling their cars out of t...

 Reception December 11, 2022, 2-4 p.m. Bob and Norma, married for 62 years and UALC members since 1976, have both been painting since 1972 a...

 In May we sold our summer home in Lakeside, Ohio, after owning it for 34 years. Part of the sale contract was we would stay until Labor Day...

Today I received a nice photo of our son Phil who died in April. My cousin Sharon who lives in Canada sent it in a letter. It was taken in ...

   Our children loved our vacations at my mother's farm located between Franklin Grove and Ashton, IL. My niece Cindy sent this trea...

What does an 18 year old do for a social life while living on a farm with her grandparents?  Not much except spend time with adults.  See Pa...

What does an 18 year old do all day while living on a farm with her grandparents who aren’t thrilled to have her “help?” See Part 1 and Par...

In the summer of 1958 I lived on my grandparents’ farm near Franklin Grove, IL when they were in their 80s and I was 18.  (See Part 1 )  The...

If you had said to me, “Remember the time you lived at the farm and the well was dry?” I would have responded, “I remember the farm, but do...

In sorting through the basket of Christmas cards and letters this week, I found one from my cousin Sharon who lived in a Chicago suburb when...

The next time I’m in Franklin Grove, I think I stop by the preserve and try to see the bison. At least 30 million bison grazed the Nort...

Cousin Gayle and me summer of 1984

September 18, 1995 [This letter from my mother begins with a story of my birth, which was induced with some castor oil so the doctor could g...

Monday Memories--my brother This is the most recent photo I have, taken at his class reunion on July 5. He was president of the class and s...

Home from our Easter Trip Isn't this a fabulous painting of Abraham Lincoln? It's the cover of this year's Illinois Travel Guide...

Monday Memories--The Stereopticon There are so many memories in this photo I almost don't know where to begin. The room is the north li...

Friday Family Photo This is such a great photo, I wish I could tell you more. The information on the back is that it was a "barnstorm...

2958 Friday Family Photo Isn't this the most magnificent woodwork? It is called " pumpkin pine " and was used throughout m...

Friday Family photo This isn't the best quality because it is a scan of a photocopy, but I was so thrilled to get it last week. The ha...

Monday Memories Grandma's farm Did I ever tell you about Sunday night suppers ? Thirty years ago, my children thought eating sandwiches...