My husband told me that for years he couldn't figure out what his Dad was trying to tell him when he said "Son, Cut your head in" When he finally got the courage to ask him, Pa said, "Think, boy, think. My Dad always baffled me by saying something about Coxey's Army when there were too many people gathered in one place. I had to grow up and go on the internet for an explanation for that one!!! Donna in OR

In a message dated 12/19/2005 9:35:02 P.M. Central Standard Time, wmyers2005@yahoo.com writes: I can still hear my folks and my grandparents saying all the familiar words yo'all have put on the site. I use a lot and I get a lot of flack from some of my grandkids. But so be it. There is a lot to say fer the way we all talk. I have lived in Warshington fer a good many years and I helped my mom with the warshing every Monday mornin makin sure the cloths were hung out right fer fear of a lickin if we didn't. Wanda My goodness, Wanda .... I do believe that you are confusing Iowa speak with eubonics. Had I spoken as a child, such as you note, my parents would not have given me a lickin', but certainly would have reprimanded me! For the most part, native Iowans speak with a bit of a Scandinavian lilt. Lynnea

My 2-cents: I left Iowa as a 5-6 year old and don't believe I have any trace of "Ioway-nian" in my dialectal utterings, however, I STILL have people ask me where I'm from! (54 years later.) Having this discussed here reminded me of my Mom's name...Dorothy----always pronounced "Door-thy" EXCEPT by my great-grandmother, (and also Auntie Em in the Wizard of Oz), who pronounced it "Dar-ah-thy". My great-grand was born and raised in Van Wert so I'm wondering if "Dar-ah-thy" is how it's typically pronounced in Iowa, (and Kansas). Anyone know? Just got several inches of rain in Northern Calif---some snow in the mountains---so looks like we'll get to use our ski passes afterall! Missed the rain since we were in Southern Calif., but we're back now and READY for Christmas. Hope everyone is enjoying "the season". Sherry balowmsg@earthlink.net NOW BLOGGING http://www.settlethedust.blogspot.com/ "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." - James A. Baldwin

I can still hear my folks and my grandparents saying all the familiar words yo'all have put on the site. I use a lot and I get a lot of flack from some of my grandkids. But so be it. There is a lot to say fer the way we all talk. I have lived in Warshington fer a good many years and I helped my mom with the warshing every Monday mornin makin sure the cloths were hung out right fer fear of a lickin if we didn't. Wanda Wanda __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

Some of my Grandma Bruner's siblings married into the McKee family. Judy Chastain, do these names look familiar to you? Jan Lund >From: Alohawahine75@aol.com >Date: Mon Dec 19 15:25:33 CST 2005 >To: IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com >Subject: [IADECATU] Winfield Clark and Louise (Wiliams) McKee ~ anyone related to this family? >Hello and Merry Christmas to everyone, > >Is anyone on the list connected to this family? Please let me know. > >Thanks, Deborah > >Decatur County Journal-Iowa >Thursday, October 28, l920 > >WINFIELD CLARK MCKEE was born April 29th, l853, in Mercer County, Mo., and >died Sunday afternoon, October 24th, l920, aged 67 years, 5 months and 25 days. >On January 4, l880, he was married to LOUISE WILLIAMS and located in Clarke >County, Iowa, three miles north of Van Wert. One year later they moved to a farm >near DeKalb in Decatur County and later to Grand River, then to Van Wert and >finally to their present home near Crown, in l9ll, at which place MR. MCKEE >died after many years of patient suffering with the dreaded tuberculosis. > >About twenty-five years ago he was converted and united with the Christian >Church at Weldon where he retained his membership until death. He was a faithful >Christian and died rejoicing in the hope of meeting his father. MR. and MRS. >MCKEE are the parents of seven children, one of whom, LAURA FAIRALL, preceded >her father to glory, fourteen years ago. The other six children are NELLIE >SMITH, CLARENCE, MARY RAMSEY, GRACE JOHNSTON, ETHEL JOHNSTON and EDNA were >present at the bedside when the death angel summoned him. Besides these children, he >leaves his faithful wife, twelve grandchildren and many other relatives and >friends. > >Funeral services were conducted from the home Monday at l:00 p.m. by Bro. >Henry Esch, of Cainsville, Mo. Interment was in the family cemetery northwest of >Van Wert. >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >CARD OF THANKS > >We wish to express our sincere appreciation of the many kindnesses and for >the sympathy and help of our neighbors and other friends during the illness and >death of our beloved husband and father. > >MRS. W.C. MCKEE and CHILDREN. > >http://www.rootsweb.com/~iadecatu > > > > > >==== IADECATU Mailing List ==== >Stacey Dietiker, Momdit@aol.com: Decatur County List Administrator, >Website Coordinator, Decatur County IA Genweb - http://www.rootsweb.com/~iadecatu > >============================== >New! Family Tree Maker 2005. Build your tree and search for your ancestors at the same time. Share your tree with family and friends. Learn more: http://landing.ancestry.com/familytreemaker/2005/tour.aspx?sourceid=14599&targetid=5429

Hello and Merry Christmas to everyone, Is anyone on the list connected to this family? Please let me know. Thanks, Deborah Decatur County Journal-Iowa Thursday, October 28, l920 WINFIELD CLARK MCKEE was born April 29th, l853, in Mercer County, Mo., and died Sunday afternoon, October 24th, l920, aged 67 years, 5 months and 25 days. On January 4, l880, he was married to LOUISE WILLIAMS and located in Clarke County, Iowa, three miles north of Van Wert. One year later they moved to a farm near DeKalb in Decatur County and later to Grand River, then to Van Wert and finally to their present home near Crown, in l9ll, at which place MR. MCKEE died after many years of patient suffering with the dreaded tuberculosis. About twenty-five years ago he was converted and united with the Christian Church at Weldon where he retained his membership until death. He was a faithful Christian and died rejoicing in the hope of meeting his father. MR. and MRS. MCKEE are the parents of seven children, one of whom, LAURA FAIRALL, preceded her father to glory, fourteen years ago. The other six children are NELLIE SMITH, CLARENCE, MARY RAMSEY, GRACE JOHNSTON, ETHEL JOHNSTON and EDNA were present at the bedside when the death angel summoned him. Besides these children, he leaves his faithful wife, twelve grandchildren and many other relatives and friends. Funeral services were conducted from the home Monday at l:00 p.m. by Bro. Henry Esch, of Cainsville, Mo. Interment was in the family cemetery northwest of Van Wert. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CARD OF THANKS We wish to express our sincere appreciation of the many kindnesses and for the sympathy and help of our neighbors and other friends during the illness and death of our beloved husband and father. MRS. W.C. MCKEE and CHILDREN. http://www.rootsweb.com/~iadecatu

Barbara: Your Daddy's name isn't/wasn't Dean was it? btw, that business about keepin' the window open a crack is something that everyone who used to burn coal in their front room does....or leastways, a lot of us still do......mac ----- Original Message ----- From: "Danny & Barbara Trammell" <danbark@worldnet.att.net> To: <IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2005 10:44 PM Subject: Re: [IADECATU] SNOW DAY > Had snow here in Texas, where we lived at the time, 13 inches in the 80's, > flurries a couple of times but nothing big since then. My parents both grew > up in the Midwest and told me about the snow, mom said they used to keep the > windows open an inch or two even when it was snowing, she had a thing about > keeping windows open; which I guess I inherited. Daddy was from Decatur > City,Iowa and mom was from Wisconsin. It gets cold enough here to snow. > Merry Christmas to all of you! > Barbara (Kelley) Trammell > Santa Clara, Texas > > > ==== IADECATU Mailing List ==== > Stacey Dietiker, Momdit@aol.com: Decatur County List Administrator, > Website Coordinator, Decatur County IA Genweb - http://www.rootsweb.com/~iadecatu > > ============================== > View and search Historical Newspapers. Read about your ancestors, find > marriage announcements and more. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13969/rd.ashx

In a message dated 12/15/05 9:20:07 AM, Theldors@mchsi.com writes: > You are right about "haint". We were showing off our first born to Herb's > grandmother Cora Elizabeth Beavers Bethards south of High Point in 1948 and > her comment was, "Haint he got a nice head". I was raised in Waterloo, IA > and was really aware of southern Iowa speach. Herb's mother said "camrie" > for camera. > Your comment caused me to remember that my grandfather (from Clio, IA) used to say "fillum" and "elum" for film and elm tree, and I still feel more comfortable saying "stripe-ed" rather than striped, as in overalls <gg>. Rick

In a message dated 12/15/05 8:39:25 AM, didrwood1@netcommander.com writes: > > Rick, “hain’t” sort of rings a bell with me, too.  I am sure my grandmother > must have said it.  I don’t remember if she said “we-uns” or not.  Her > father was born in Mercer, but his father was born in Virginia, so you may be > right about those expressions being from the south.  Very interesting.  Thanks. >   > Donna > Donna, We "modern" Americans have all been bombarded with Broadcast English for so many years that a lot of regional language is fading away, Mark Twain was claiming that even back in his day and he often wrote in dialect to preserve old speech patterns. Having gone to school in California, I really noticed the different expressions I heard when visiting my Iowa/Missouri kin on summer vacation in the 1940s and early '50s. I now wish I'd paid even more attention than I did and very few "civilians" had tape or wire recorders in those days. My Iowa-born family also used to refer to any human illness as "The Epizootie," a corruption of the medical term for illness in livestock. My wife and I still use that expression as a humorous homage to the past. Rick

Donna, You are right about "haint". We were showing off our first born to Herb's grandmother Cora Elizabeth Beavers Bethards south of High Point in 1948 and her comment was, "Haint he got a nice head". I was raised in Waterloo, IA and was really aware of southern Iowa speach. Herb's mother said "camrie" for camera. Thought I'd take this segue in to say MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HEALTHY, PROSPEROUS, HAPPY NEW YEAR to every one on this, the best list in cyber space.It is snowing as I write. Iowa is going to have a white Christmas. Jane Dorsey

Marilyn, Well, I messed up in my writing. I meant my mom's dad was Cassie Thomas and I said that my grandmother's dad was Cassie Thomas. Yes, Alice Alley was Cassie's wife, and yes, Lena was Alice's niece. Lena's mother, Lula, who married William Clinton McIntosh, was grandmother's sister as well as Nellie Alley who married Tom McIntosh. It was nice to hear from you and learn that you knew my grandparents and had been to one of my very most favorite places on earth. -----Original Message----- From: Marilyn [mailto:mansiononmain@earthlink.net] Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2005 7:24 PM To: IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [IADECATU] SNOWY DAY, MISSOURI DATABASE Donna, I knew your grandparents or greatgrandparents - They lived in Colorado above Rifle, I think - some distance from town, with a creek running down the mountain in front of the house - I thought Alice was Cassie's wife? Or maybe they had a daughter named Alice also? We visited them maybe in 1957 or 58?? - we traveled with the Edwin and Lena Hagan family - I think Lena was Alice's niece. Lena had been a McIntosh but her mother was maybe an Alley from the Mercer area. We kids - three preteen girls - slept in their bunkhouse, had venison steak and eggs for breakfast and rode their horses up to a mine... Great memories you brought back to me! Marilyn Collins Costa in Texarkana

Rick, "hain't" sort of rings a bell with me, too. I am sure my grandmother must have said it. I don't remember if she said "we-uns" or not. Her father was born in Mercer, but his father was born in Virginia, so you may be right about those expressions being from the south. Very interesting. Thanks. Donna -----Original Message----- From: KD6DKC@aol.com [mailto:KD6DKC@aol.com] Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2005 12:40 PM To: didrwood1@netcommander.com; IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [IADECATU] SNOWY DAY, MISSOURI DATABASE In a message dated 12/14/05 9:37:54 AM, didrwood1@netcommander.com writes: My mother, who was born in Mercer Co., MO, "warshes" also. She also has a daughter, my sis, who lived in "Warshington." My Grandma, Mom's mom, also used to say "pertneer". "Warsh" sure rings a bell with me as whenever my cousins and I get together we kid each other about that way of saying wash. My grandmother (from Lineville, Wayne Co., IA) used to say "we-uns" and "you-uns," which I had not heard growing up in California, and some folks across the line in Mercer Co., MO used to say "hain't" rather than ain't. A linguist/geographer could probably trace these Midwest expressions to an earlier locality in the Old South. I know my grandmother's ancestors came to Iowa from Virginia, with a brief layover in Ohio, but she never said "you-all," just "you-uns." I've mentioned the above on the List before but it seemed to fit the current "thread" combining snow tales and regional language. Rick

I hate snakes, but have had to kill a few on several occasions...nearly stepped on a sleeping copperhead many years ago, stepped over a baby rattler and didn't know it until after I turned around ( it was in the garage). Living out in the country can be tricky. Barbara Texas

Great article! I don't think I could handle that kind of weather. My great grandparents, my grandparents and my parents did, however, but I can't imagine that kind of cold, it gets into mid twenties here and I'm frozen. Barbara Texas

Had snow here in Texas, where we lived at the time, 13 inches in the 80's, flurries a couple of times but nothing big since then. My parents both grew up in the Midwest and told me about the snow, mom said they used to keep the windows open an inch or two even when it was snowing, she had a thing about keeping windows open; which I guess I inherited. Daddy was from Decatur City,Iowa and mom was from Wisconsin. It gets cold enough here to snow. Merry Christmas to all of you! Barbara (Kelley) Trammell Santa Clara, Texas

Marilyn, You are correct in stating Lena Hagan was a McIntosh and her mother was Lulu Alley, Lena's father was William Clinton McIntosh. He was a brother of my grandmother Moore's (Jessie Mabel McIntosh). All were born in Mercer Co., MO. Wm. and Jessie's older bro., Thomas married Nellie May Alley. Lena's sister Linda was married to Durward Hagan. Jackie in NW KS ----- Original Message ----- From: "Marilyn" <mansiononmain@earthlink.net> To: <IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2005 8:24 PM Subject: Re: [IADECATU] SNOWY DAY, MISSOURI DATABASE > Donna, I knew your grandparents or greatgrandparents - They lived in > Colorado above Rifle, I think - some distance from town, with a creek > running down the mountain in front of the house - I thought Alice was > Cassie's wife? Or maybe they had a daughter named Alice also? > We visited them maybe in 1957 or 58?? - we traveled with the Edwin and > Lena Hagan family - I think Lena was Alice's niece. Lena had been a > McIntosh but her mother was maybe an Alley from the Mercer area. > We kids - three preteen girls - slept in their bunkhouse, had venison > steak and eggs for breakfast and rode their horses up to a mine... > Great memories you brought back to me! > > Marilyn Collins Costa in Texarkana > > | > | > | > | > | > | ==== IADECATU Mailing List ==== > | Stacey Dietiker, Momdit@aol.com: Decatur County List Administrator, > | Website Coordinator, Decatur County IA Genweb - > http://www.rootsweb.com/~iadecatu > | > | ============================== > | Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the > | areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. > | Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx > | > > > ==== IADECATU Mailing List ==== > Stacey Dietiker, Momdit@aol.com: Decatur County List Administrator, > Website Coordinator, Decatur County IA Genweb - http://www.rootsweb.com/~iadecatu > > ============================== > Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the > last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx > >

Donna, I knew your grandparents or greatgrandparents - They lived in Colorado above Rifle, I think - some distance from town, with a creek running down the mountain in front of the house - I thought Alice was Cassie's wife? Or maybe they had a daughter named Alice also? We visited them maybe in 1957 or 58?? - we traveled with the Edwin and Lena Hagan family - I think Lena was Alice's niece. Lena had been a McIntosh but her mother was maybe an Alley from the Mercer area. We kids - three preteen girls - slept in their bunkhouse, had venison steak and eggs for breakfast and rode their horses up to a mine... Great memories you brought back to me! Marilyn Collins Costa in Texarkana ----- Original Message ----- From: "Donna Wood" <didrwood1@netcommander.com> To: <IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2005 11:33 AM Subject: RE: [IADECATU] SNOWY DAY, MISSOURI DATABASE | My mother, who was born in Mercer Co., MO, "warshes" also. She also has a | daughter, my sis, who lived in "Warshington." My Grandma, Mom's mom, also | used to say "pertneer". She, Alice Alley Thomas, was from Mercer Co., and | her father, Cass Thomas, was born in Decatur Co., IA. They told me a lot of | snow stories, and not all of them were about walking to school uphill both | ways in a blizzard. My mom, did have frostbitten legs from walking a mile | in very cold weather. | | One of my snow memories is from Gypsum, Colorado. When I was 6 or 7, and my | sister was about 2 or 3, we had a major snow in Gypsum. School was out and | playing outside, after the snow quit, was what my sister and I wanted to do. | My mom bundled us up very well. My sister could barely move. We would go | outside and she would immediately want to go back inside. Mom would | unbundle her and then she would want to go out where I was. This happened | about three times and mom decided that it was time for us both to come in. | | A later storm, also in Colorado, happened on Christmas Eve in 1983. It had | snowed all day, and Christmas Eve services had to be cancelled. The snow | stopped late afternoon. A couple of sets of friends cross country skied | over to our house, a distance of a mile or two, for a service of our own (my | husband is a pastor). After the service, while we were setting around, we | heard stomping on the porch and jingle bells ringing. Remember, that | nothing was moving except a few people on skis. We opened the door and, | what d ya know, there stood Santa and Mrs. Claus with a bag full of goodies. | My one year old grandson called him, "HO HO". One of our sons was home for | Christmas from the military and he had brought a friend with him. They were | quite impressed as well. Later on, after things returned to normal, we | found out that Santa and Mrs. were our neighbors who owned a news stand | downtown, and they did this every year. This was our first year in this | house, so we didn't know. What a fun memory. | | Well, enough rambling. | | Merry Christmas, all. | | Donna in Wyoming | | | | | | | ==== IADECATU Mailing List ==== | Stacey Dietiker, Momdit@aol.com: Decatur County List Administrator, | Website Coordinator, Decatur County IA Genweb - http://www.rootsweb.com/~iadecatu | | ============================== | Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the | areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. | Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx |

In a message dated 12/14/05 9:37:54 AM, didrwood1@netcommander.com writes: > My mother, who was born in Mercer Co., MO, "warshes" also.  She also has a > daughter, my sis, who lived in "Warshington."  My Grandma, Mom's mom, also > used to say "pertneer".  > "Warsh" sure rings a bell with me as whenever my cousins and I get together we kid each other about that way of saying wash. My grandmother (from Lineville, Wayne Co., IA) used to say "we-uns" and "you-uns," which I had not heard growing up in California, and some folks across the line in Mercer Co., MO used to say "hain't" rather than ain't. A linguist/geographer could probably trace these Midwest expressions to an earlier locality in the Old South. I know my grandmother's ancestors came to Iowa from Virginia, with a brief layover in Ohio, but she never said "you-all," just "you-uns." I've mentioned the above on the List before but it seemed to fit the current "thread" combining snow tales and regional language. Rick

My mother, who was born in Mercer Co., MO, "warshes" also. She also has a daughter, my sis, who lived in "Warshington." My Grandma, Mom's mom, also used to say "pertneer". She, Alice Alley Thomas, was from Mercer Co., and her father, Cass Thomas, was born in Decatur Co., IA. They told me a lot of snow stories, and not all of them were about walking to school uphill both ways in a blizzard. My mom, did have frostbitten legs from walking a mile in very cold weather. One of my snow memories is from Gypsum, Colorado. When I was 6 or 7, and my sister was about 2 or 3, we had a major snow in Gypsum. School was out and playing outside, after the snow quit, was what my sister and I wanted to do. My mom bundled us up very well. My sister could barely move. We would go outside and she would immediately want to go back inside. Mom would unbundle her and then she would want to go out where I was. This happened about three times and mom decided that it was time for us both to come in. A later storm, also in Colorado, happened on Christmas Eve in 1983. It had snowed all day, and Christmas Eve services had to be cancelled. The snow stopped late afternoon. A couple of sets of friends cross country skied over to our house, a distance of a mile or two, for a service of our own (my husband is a pastor). After the service, while we were setting around, we heard stomping on the porch and jingle bells ringing. Remember, that nothing was moving except a few people on skis. We opened the door and, what d ya know, there stood Santa and Mrs. Claus with a bag full of goodies. My one year old grandson called him, "HO HO". One of our sons was home for Christmas from the military and he had brought a friend with him. They were quite impressed as well. Later on, after things returned to normal, we found out that Santa and Mrs. were our neighbors who owned a news stand downtown, and they did this every year. This was our first year in this house, so we didn't know. What a fun memory. Well, enough rambling. Merry Christmas, all. Donna in Wyoming

Hi All On the day of Nov, 27 we had 11-1/2 inches of snow, that broke a 111 year record, for the month of November in a 24 hour period. Since Nov. 27, we have been below freezing, The low temp. -3 degrees below 0 to 28 degrees above 0. We get an average of 67 inches of snow a year in this part of the State, looks like a normal winter. The worst winter I can remember is 48-49 cattle froze standing up, The Government dropped hay for the cattle, deer and elk, that winter was much worse in our border State Montana George Idaho