Am searching for information on Andrew Jackson, B: May 19, 1875 D: 1935 and buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Lineville. In 1915 Decatur Co. History (under Jacob Crum bio) he is mentioned as farming in Woodland Twp, Decatur Co. I am looking for an obituary, or anything. His mother was Elizabeth Ann Jewett/Juett, Jackson, Crum. Any info appreciated, Thank you for reading. Carm.

We've had more snow today. Good for building snowmen. My snow storm experience happened in March of 1959. My husband and I went to the neighbors about a city block away here in rural Iowa. He planned to build a closet for them and we were invited for an early evening supper. While there it began to snow and at 10:30 p.m when we were going home our car was drifted all around about 3 foot deep. Well, being the hardy farmer he is he made it clear to me that we were going to walk home. This city girl had visions of us lost in the fields somewhere but off we started. Every step we sank into our hips. Oh yes, I haven't mentioned that I was 7 months pregnant with our first daughter. Well, we did make it home and were snowbound for a week. Before that week was up we were walking back and forth to the neighbors on top of those by now 5-6 foot drifts. A week later the county came through with a bulldozer, as well as, the maintainer. We immediately took the neighbors and went to town for groceries. Guess what, the next day we had another snow storm. My husbands sister, her husband and children --their son was 3 months old, came to visit and they were stranded with us for another week. Our brother-in-law walked the mile to the highway to get to town for formula for the baby. We made the best of these storms and look back thinking how much "fun" we had during that time. Those were the good old days. Oh, Jackie, you don't have to slow down in Iowa anymore. Since the first of July our speed limit has been raised to 70. Merry Christmas, all you listers. Emily

Lynnea, This postcard may be of our Robbins family home, it is still standing today and in really good condition. My Robbins had small reunion in 2004 and took pictures of this home then. Would you be able to scan this and send to me so I could compare it to pictures Mom gave me? I would really appreciate it, much thanks. terrieruth@kans.com Terrie Carr in central Kansas, my grandmother was Ruth Robbins.

Mac you were certainly an ornery little boy! My paternal grandparents, especially Grandma McDowell, used "pertneer" all of the time. I still catch myself using some of her "jargon". Like telling my kids to "get your britches in here" and my Dad still "warshes" things. The snow is melting and we could finally go out today without getting bright red cheeks. We went sledding yesterday and the girls just loved it. Any of you doing research in Missouri might be interested to know that the State Archives have a new database of Land Patents issued by the State between 1820 and 1951. You can find it at: _http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/land/_ (http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/land/) Be sure to read the description of the land grants. These were state-issued patents. Happy Hunting, Stacey Dietiker

Hi Lynnea - Yes the only query board on the Decatur County, Iowa IowaGenWeb Website is the one on the IAGENWEB server. Stacey Dietiker momdit@aol.com Decatur Co IA List Administrator Decatur Co IA Website Coordinator

Hi all ! I recently purchased a postcard picturing the Robbins Home, Decatur, Iowa, July 2, 1911. It was written by M. L. R. (Robbins) to "bro and sister" Mr. & Mrs. C. N. Robbins of Buffalo, Wyoming. Does anyone have info on this family? Also, on the Decatur GenWeb site, is the only query page the one through IAGENWEB? Any links to Ancestry.Com, Rootsweb or GenForum? Thanks - Lynnea Dickinson In snowy Davenport, Iowa along the banks of the Mississippi River

yeow, it seemed like, back then, that a garter snake was a boy's best friend and a girls worst enemy. I can so easily remember us boys chasing linda sue bridger, delores toney, sheryl o'donnel and a couple of others who I don't remember at the moment around the old decatur school grounds with garter snake it hand. at the time, it was more fun than playin' dodge ball in the basement or (heaven help us, but we called it ) black man outside. One boy, Gary McBee seemed to have a bunch of him at his home and would bring a hand full or so to the class and put 'em in a can out in the boys toilett till recess time......mac ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jackie Goeken" <jackie2@ruraltel.net> To: <IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, December 10, 2005 6:10 PM Subject: Re: [IADECATU] MAC's TERMINOLOGY??? > I say Pert neer.....In IA I remember Bull Snakes......It was awful to have > to go out and gather eggs from under a hen, slide yer hand in ever so > carefully and touch somethin' cold...Those Bull Snakes was something else, > you pert neered ......in yer pants..... I seen blue racers in IA, Puff > Adders, and garter snakes. > Here in KS we have both Blue racers and green racers...They go lickety > split...We have bull snakes and oh my goodness are them thar rattlers' > something. I've kilt many rattlers in the road with the car.... > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Jean Belzer" <arizonajean1@cox.net> > To: <IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Saturday, December 10, 2005 4:29 PM > Subject: RE: [IADECATU] MAC's TERMINOLOGY??? > > > > Love the stories of the snakes. I'm a "pertineer" gal myself and have come > > across many a snake in Iowa and blue racers at that. Here in AZ have even > > come across a few rattlers. I let them have the "right of way" and went > the > > other way. Ha! Jean > > > > Smile And The World Smiles Too. > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Nancee(McMurtrey)Seifert [mailto:iggy29@rnetinc.net] > > Sent: 10 December, 2005 9:39 AM > > To: IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com > > Subject: [IADECATU] MAC's TERMINOLOGY??? > > > > > > Hey Mac: What is ..."straight shot pert neert"????? I'm an Iowa girl, but > > apparently in Mt. Pleasant (where the real people lived -- smiling!!!! > > kidding!!!!) that terminology was not used. 'Pertineer' was part of our > > vocab. though....... Somehow, I think if I'd known you when you were a > kid, > > I'd probably have tried to reform you... ha..ha..ha.. > > > > Keep those stories comin' -- they're great.. While picking blackberries a > > couple of years ago, I came face to face with a blue racer - in strike > > position.. I simply said -- "Oh, I'm sorry", and got the "H" outta > there... > > What was I thinking??? > > > > I have more stories about being a 'town' girl and goin' to my Aunt Elsie & > > Uncle Bob Upfield's farm near Weldon for 2 weeks every summer.. Needless > to > > say, I was introduced to things I would rather not have been... I'm out > to > > get my 3 mile walk in... Best Regards, Nancee > > > > Only had 9" of snow here in Indiana, and it's beautiful. Envision a 61 > year > > old woman making snow angels in the front yard.. > > > > > > ==== IADECATU Mailing List ==== > > Stacey Dietiker, Momdit@aol.com: Decatur County List Administrator, > Website > > Coordinator, Decatur County IA Genweb - http://www.rootsweb.com/~iadecatu > > > > ============================== > > Jumpstart your genealogy with OneWorldTree. Search not only for ancestors, > > but entire generations. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13972/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 > > > > ============================== > > Census images 1901, 1891, 1881 and 1871, plus so much more. > > Ancestry.com's United Kingdom & Ireland Collection. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13968/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 > > ============================== > 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

I say Pert neer.....In IA I remember Bull Snakes......It was awful to have to go out and gather eggs from under a hen, slide yer hand in ever so carefully and touch somethin' cold...Those Bull Snakes was something else, you pert neered ......in yer pants..... I seen blue racers in IA, Puff Adders, and garter snakes. Here in KS we have both Blue racers and green racers...They go lickety split...We have bull snakes and oh my goodness are them thar rattlers' something. I've kilt many rattlers in the road with the car.... ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jean Belzer" <arizonajean1@cox.net> To: <IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, December 10, 2005 4:29 PM Subject: RE: [IADECATU] MAC's TERMINOLOGY??? > Love the stories of the snakes. I'm a "pertineer" gal myself and have come > across many a snake in Iowa and blue racers at that. Here in AZ have even > come across a few rattlers. I let them have the "right of way" and went the > other way. Ha! Jean > > Smile And The World Smiles Too. > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Nancee(McMurtrey)Seifert [mailto:iggy29@rnetinc.net] > Sent: 10 December, 2005 9:39 AM > To: IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: [IADECATU] MAC's TERMINOLOGY??? > > > Hey Mac: What is ..."straight shot pert neert"????? I'm an Iowa girl, but > apparently in Mt. Pleasant (where the real people lived -- smiling!!!! > kidding!!!!) that terminology was not used. 'Pertineer' was part of our > vocab. though....... Somehow, I think if I'd known you when you were a kid, > I'd probably have tried to reform you... ha..ha..ha.. > > Keep those stories comin' -- they're great.. While picking blackberries a > couple of years ago, I came face to face with a blue racer - in strike > position.. I simply said -- "Oh, I'm sorry", and got the "H" outta there... > What was I thinking??? > > I have more stories about being a 'town' girl and goin' to my Aunt Elsie & > Uncle Bob Upfield's farm near Weldon for 2 weeks every summer.. Needless to > say, I was introduced to things I would rather not have been... I'm out to > get my 3 mile walk in... Best Regards, Nancee > > Only had 9" of snow here in Indiana, and it's beautiful. Envision a 61 year > old woman making snow angels in the front yard.. > > > ==== IADECATU Mailing List ==== > Stacey Dietiker, Momdit@aol.com: Decatur County List Administrator, Website > Coordinator, Decatur County IA Genweb - http://www.rootsweb.com/~iadecatu > > ============================== > Jumpstart your genealogy with OneWorldTree. Search not only for ancestors, > but entire generations. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13972/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 > > ============================== > Census images 1901, 1891, 1881 and 1871, plus so much more. > Ancestry.com's United Kingdom & Ireland Collection. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13968/rd.ashx > >

Love the stories of the snakes. I'm a "pertineer" gal myself and have come across many a snake in Iowa and blue racers at that. Here in AZ have even come across a few rattlers. I let them have the "right of way" and went the other way. Ha! Jean Smile And The World Smiles Too. -----Original Message----- From: Nancee(McMurtrey)Seifert [mailto:iggy29@rnetinc.net] Sent: 10 December, 2005 9:39 AM To: IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [IADECATU] MAC's TERMINOLOGY??? Hey Mac: What is ..."straight shot pert neert"????? I'm an Iowa girl, but apparently in Mt. Pleasant (where the real people lived -- smiling!!!! kidding!!!!) that terminology was not used. 'Pertineer' was part of our vocab. though....... Somehow, I think if I'd known you when you were a kid, I'd probably have tried to reform you... ha..ha..ha.. Keep those stories comin' -- they're great.. While picking blackberries a couple of years ago, I came face to face with a blue racer - in strike position.. I simply said -- "Oh, I'm sorry", and got the "H" outta there... What was I thinking??? I have more stories about being a 'town' girl and goin' to my Aunt Elsie & Uncle Bob Upfield's farm near Weldon for 2 weeks every summer.. Needless to say, I was introduced to things I would rather not have been... I'm out to get my 3 mile walk in... Best Regards, Nancee Only had 9" of snow here in Indiana, and it's beautiful. Envision a 61 year old woman making snow angels in the front yard.. ==== IADECATU Mailing List ==== Stacey Dietiker, Momdit@aol.com: Decatur County List Administrator, Website Coordinator, Decatur County IA Genweb - http://www.rootsweb.com/~iadecatu ============================== Jumpstart your genealogy with OneWorldTree. Search not only for ancestors, but entire generations. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13972/rd.ashx

It was Dec 1941. Pearl Harbor had occurred and we were living in El Paso, TX where my dad had been called to active duty at Ft. Bliss. He had arranged for leave to go home to IA over Christmas and we wondered whether he would get it now -- but the army told him to go ahead so we went to Leon for about ten days or so. Then a big storm came in when we were ready to start back to Texas. The roads were blocked past KC -- however, we heard over the phone that snow plows were coming thru Leon toward KC on rte 69. We waited and jumped in behind them -- I dunno, there were maybe 30 cars following the plows and by the time we tagged the end, the roads were drifting shut again. Then -- at the MO border we were met by their snow plow gang and they escorted us to well south of KC. We decided to head as straight south as we could to get out of weather trouble but we hit ice on the way into north Texas. We crept along, slipping and sliding, sometimes beyond the shoulder but we kept moving -- and then started west. As we came over the last mountains in west TX the temperature rose to about 60 degrees. I had never loved the desert SW until then but I was converted. I will never, never, never forget the beauty of that descent into El Paso and the Rio Grande valley. ... jack

Hey Mac: What is ..."straight shot pert neert"????? I'm an Iowa girl, but apparently in Mt. Pleasant (where the real people lived -- smiling!!!! kidding!!!!) that terminology was not used. 'Pertineer' was part of our vocab. though....... Somehow, I think if I'd known you when you were a kid, I'd probably have tried to reform you... ha..ha..ha.. Keep those stories comin' -- they're great.. While picking blackberries a couple of years ago, I came face to face with a blue racer - in strike position.. I simply said -- "Oh, I'm sorry", and got the "H" outta there... What was I thinking??? I have more stories about being a 'town' girl and goin' to my Aunt Elsie & Uncle Bob Upfield's farm near Weldon for 2 weeks every summer.. Needless to say, I was introduced to things I would rather not have been... I'm out to get my 3 mile walk in... Best Regards, Nancee Only had 9" of snow here in Indiana, and it's beautiful. Envision a 61 year old woman making snow angels in the front yard..

I think, Jackie, that the old water moccasin tale may have been a boy thing and even then, only for boys who lived on or close to the river. I know when I started goin' to hi-school in leon, none of those kids had ever heard about it either....but for those of us on the river, it was as real as sun rise. I mean, in our imaginations we could just see the water boil with snakes and the poor little ole boy being dragged out later with thousands of bites on him. Back then, we used to do quite a bit of hand fishin' for cats......prob'ly all the way from Grand River down to Terrie Haute, New Buda and maybe even down to Bethany. I get on IH 35 right here in Killeen Texas and take her straight up to KC, it's a straight shot pert neert and could stay on it all the way to Decatur but I enjoy the drive on SH 69 when i have the time. I get the leon journal reporter down here and i saw last week where 2 houses burned down in Decatur......wasn't one of them your mother's, was it?....mac Your right about the snakes, Hazel. There were absolutely tons of snakes along the Grand River....it was snake heaven. Another story a lot of us were told was that one of those snakes was called a blue racer 'cause it'd chase you down and bite you to death. You'd laugh your self silly today if you could see us boy's, in little bitty overalls, runnin' from a "blue racer", lookin' behind us to make sure it wasn't gainin' on us. You have to remember that back then we were only 9 or 10 years old and on/in the river. Today our parents would prob'ly be brought up on child abuse or child neglect charges but it was plain growin' up back then. I had forgotten all about that old water tower till you just mentioned it......mac ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stacy Smith" <slsmith@grm.net> To: <IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, December 10, 2004 6:28 AM Subject: Re: [IADECATU] Re: Snowy Day > Actually Jackie you no longer have to slow down on I 35 when you get to > Iowa... > They recently raised the speedlimit to 70. (It was 70 in May, I can't > remember how long before May it was raised....) Which makes it SO much > easier going from Missouri to Iowa. (of course, before if you were going 5 > miles over the limit, they would give you a warning, but now, if they catch > you going 75 you will get a ticket...{or that is what I was told}) > Have a GREAT day! > Stacy > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Jackie Goeken" <jackie2@ruraltel.net> > To: <IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Friday, December 09, 2005 11:28 PM > Subject: Re: [IADECATU] Re: Snowy Day > > > > I'd never heard of the nest of water moccasins either. I usually don't go > > through KC on my way home to Decatur(that's where my moma lives now). I > > take Highway 36 through St. Joe, MO. and then hit I 35 at Cameron, MO. > > Still a nice drive either way. Of course you have to remember to slow > down > > on I 35 when ya git to Ioway! > > Jackie > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: <Hzltarr@aol.com> > > To: <IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com> > > Sent: Friday, December 09, 2005 7:52 PM > > Subject: Re: [IADECATU] Re: Snowy Day > > > > > > > > > > In a message dated 12/9/2005 5:57:11 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, > > > rmcclure@hot.rr.com writes: > > > > > > Of course that always gives me the > > > opportunity to tell everyone in the car about the old bugaboo legend of > > the > > > kid that got bit to death by a nest of water moccasins in the Grand > > > River.....I think we were all, at least the boys, were told that to > keep > > us > > > out of there.....mac @ Killeen, Texas > > > > > > > > > > > > That's one I never heard. I can tell you first hand that there were > > plenty > > > of snakes on the banks of the Grand River. That was our favorite place > > to > > > gather wild flowers. It was our playground all summer and we saw many > a > > snake. > > > In those years you had to have a fishing licence if you were over 16 > and > > > some of the boys would catch fish in the daytime, leave them on a > > stringer and > > > retrieve them after nightfall when the local game warden (our town > > marshal , > > > I think)was eating his supper. Betty and I carried home and fried many > a > > > fish those boys left there. > > > In the winter more than once we climbed down inside the old water > tower > > > that used to be by the railroad tracks down by the river. We played on > > the ice > > > inside it. I shiver when I think how dangerous that was. > > > Hazel > > > > > > > > > ==== IADECATU Mailing List ==== > > > Stacey Dietiker, Momdit@aol.com: Decatur County List Administrator, > > > Website Coordinator, Decatur County IA Genweb - > > http://www.rootsweb.com/~iadecatu > > > > > > ============================== > > > Jumpstart your genealogy with OneWorldTree. Search not only for > > > ancestors, but entire generations. Learn more: > > > http://www.ancestry.com/s13972/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 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 > > ============================== > Census images 1901, 1891, 1881 and 1871, plus so much more. > Ancestry.com's United Kingdom & Ireland Collection. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13968/rd.ashx

I'd never heard of the nest of water moccasins either. I usually don't go through KC on my way home to Decatur(that's where my moma lives now). I take Highway 36 through St. Joe, MO. and then hit I 35 at Cameron, MO. Still a nice drive either way. Of course you have to remember to slow down on I 35 when ya git to Ioway! Jackie ----- Original Message ----- From: <Hzltarr@aol.com> To: <IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, December 09, 2005 7:52 PM Subject: Re: [IADECATU] Re: Snowy Day > > In a message dated 12/9/2005 5:57:11 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, > rmcclure@hot.rr.com writes: > > Of course that always gives me the > opportunity to tell everyone in the car about the old bugaboo legend of the > kid that got bit to death by a nest of water moccasins in the Grand > River.....I think we were all, at least the boys, were told that to keep us > out of there.....mac @ Killeen, Texas > > > > That's one I never heard. I can tell you first hand that there were plenty > of snakes on the banks of the Grand River. That was our favorite place to > gather wild flowers. It was our playground all summer and we saw many a snake. > In those years you had to have a fishing licence if you were over 16 and > some of the boys would catch fish in the daytime, leave them on a stringer and > retrieve them after nightfall when the local game warden (our town marshal , > I think)was eating his supper. Betty and I carried home and fried many a > fish those boys left there. > In the winter more than once we climbed down inside the old water tower > that used to be by the railroad tracks down by the river. We played on the ice > inside it. I shiver when I think how dangerous that was. > Hazel > > > ==== IADECATU Mailing List ==== > Stacey Dietiker, Momdit@aol.com: Decatur County List Administrator, > Website Coordinator, Decatur County IA Genweb - http://www.rootsweb.com/~iadecatu > > ============================== > Jumpstart your genealogy with OneWorldTree. Search not only for > ancestors, but entire generations. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13972/rd.ashx > >

In a message dated 12/9/2005 5:57:11 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, rmcclure@hot.rr.com writes: Of course that always gives me the opportunity to tell everyone in the car about the old bugaboo legend of the kid that got bit to death by a nest of water moccasins in the Grand River.....I think we were all, at least the boys, were told that to keep us out of there.....mac @ Killeen, Texas That's one I never heard. I can tell you first hand that there were plenty of snakes on the banks of the Grand River. That was our favorite place to gather wild flowers. It was our playground all summer and we saw many a snake. In those years you had to have a fishing licence if you were over 16 and some of the boys would catch fish in the daytime, leave them on a stringer and retrieve them after nightfall when the local game warden (our town marshal , I think)was eating his supper. Betty and I carried home and fried many a fish those boys left there. In the winter more than once we climbed down inside the old water tower that used to be by the railroad tracks down by the river. We played on the ice inside it. I shiver when I think how dangerous that was. Hazel

69 from kc to decatur is still an awful nice trip when you have the time. I always pull off of 35 at KC, if I'm not behind the curve, and chill out while i'm enjoyin' the drive to Decatur. Of course that always gives me the opportunity to tell everyone in the car about the old bugaboo legend of the kid that got bit to death by a nest of water moccasins in the Grand River.....I think we were all, at least the boys, were told that to keep us out of there.....mac @ Killeen, Texas ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jackie Goeken" <jackie2@ruraltel.net> To: <IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, December 08, 2005 9:59 PM Subject: [IADECATU] Re: Snowy Day > I do have another snow story to tell. I was in Nurses' Training in Kansas City, MO and was supposed to go home for Christmas Vacation. I don't remember how much it snowed, but Highway 69 was completely blocked going North out of KC. They finally got one lane traffic opened on Dec.24th. I got on the Greyhound Bus in KC, MO and the drifts on both sides of 69 were as high or higher than the Greyhound Bus. We didn't have Interstate 35 in those days. How many of you remember going to KC, Mo on 69? To make a long story short, I was never so glad to see the Greyhound Depot in Leon, IA as I was that Christmas Eve. Better yet, my daddy was there to meet me and take me home to Garden Grove, IA. That was one of the best Christmas vacations I've ever had.... > Oh, by the way, it was Zero degrees here at 9:30 PM according to the weather channel. Says we're supposed to be 5 degrees at 6:00 AM Friday. Don't think the temperature watches the Weather Channel here or it would know it's not supposed to be Zero now. We don't have any winds though. Ha! > > Jackie in the still frozen Tundra of NWKS > > > ==== 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

Well, gee, You all make me homesick. This is from Hazel , living on the desert in Arizona. My worst snow memory was when I got caught by the flagpole on the school grounds at Grand River. I must have been a bit late that day because there were no other children around and the wind and chill was so bad I just stood there, it took my breath away. A teacher who saw me from the school window came out and wrapped her coat around me and got me inside. That same winter, in the late 30's, my mother was stranded for three days, because of snow, on a train on her way to Minnesota where my dad was in the hospital. It must have been a bad weather winter. I do miss the snow. We stayed in Iowa until 1956 and had some great hunting trips in the snow. I played dog and hubby shot the rabbits and pheasants. Now a good story about that. One hunting trip we took along my brother and his 5 year old son Dennis. I stayed in the car reading to Dennis while the men hunted. They returned to the car, opened the back door and threw in three pheasants. Dennis spotted some blood on one and screamed at me "get some band aids aunt Hazel, please find some band aids". Well that was a fun trip home. Thankfully, I do have some good memories. Now husband has emphysema so we must tolerate the heat of the desert. Have Happy Holidays all. Hazel Johannesen Tarr

This article (along with a very good picture), about Abraham Lincoln's depression, is very interesting. It was written by Jim Higgins of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. It comes from our local Reporter-Times Newspaper. I have no personal interest in this book, (other than that I am eager to read it), however I find what Mr. Shenk writes about to be 'history related. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 'EXALTED SADNESS' 'Lincoln's Melancoly': How Depression Challenged A President and Fueled His Greatness. Author: Joshua Wolf Shenk Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Pages: 368. Lincoln's depression helped make him great, independent scholar says. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Abraham Lincoln, possibly America's greatest president, would be unelectable today for so many reasons; his homely looks, his piping voice, his lack of access to big money. And yes, his sober, even gloomy, mien would be jarringly untelegenic in an age when presidents are expected to radiate confidence and manly optimism. In "Lincoln's Melancholy," writer and independent scholar Joshua Wolf Shenk labors mightily (and there's a Lincolnesque phrase for you) to recover the context and value of Lincoln's mental and emotional suffering for contemporary readers. Just as Lincoln is widely seen today as a self-made man in education and politics, Shenk also sees him as self-made psychologically and spiritually through his lifelong grapple with depression and melancholia. Shenk might have called the book "Lincoln's Search for Meaning," after Viktor Frankl's work; Frankl is among the dozens of writers and thinkers on depression, mental illness, suffering and dread that Shenk enlists here. Shenk probes the causes and Lincoln's response to specific major depressions including breakdowns and suicidal thoughts; the future president's tendency to chronic depression; and, most fascinating for contemporary readers, Lincoln's melancholy temperament. While we may think of our times as a psychological age, there was more tolerance and understanding in Lincoln's day for such an Eeyore. A melancholy temperament was considered to have advantages as well as drawbacks. To cope with his demons, Lincoln relied on homely but effective tools. He wrote and recited poetry. His verse was sometimes gloomy enough to please a Goth. He read humor and told jokes, even through the lowest ebbs of the Civil War. He worked hard. He was not conventionally religious - Shenk calls him a freethinker -- but he was a seeker, and he came to be both moved and consoled by his growing belief that he had a mission on Earth and must attend to it. Shenk's study is a detailed examination of one facet of the Lincoln diamond. This shouldn't be the first or even second book that anyone reads about Lincoln. A good biography and a grounding in Lincoln's own words (he's the best writer of America's presidents) should come first. It's also an exercise in historiography. Shenk believes Lincoln's contemporaries had an accurate picture of his temperament and insight into his most intensive depressive episodes. He says that later historians discounted or pushed that material aside, an issue he pursues in both the text and a longish afterword. If Lincoln's depression fueled his greatness, as the author claims in his subtitle, then Shenk's personal passion clearly fueled this book. The author knows depression himself; this book is part of his own search for meaning. Intensively written and argued, peppered with mini-lectures and explanations, at times it feels wearily reductive: Did everything Lincoln said or wrote or accomplished somehow grow out of his melancholia or his response to it? ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copied by Nancee(McMurtrey)Seifert December 9, 2005 iggy29@rnetinc.net Note: If you would like the article with the picture of Lincoln, I would be happy to send it via jpeg attachment. Just let me know..

I love the snowy days, too! My husband reminded me that I don't have to go out and do as much as sweep the steps so it was no wonder I loved snow. Frankly, I think snow can cover up a lot of "ugly". Stacey we had vegetable soup and hot tea for our lunch. Some things seem to just take us back to our childhood don't they. I did suggest that if I'd had any real cream I could make snow ice cream, but Glen didn't seem to want to make the trip to town to buy any. (grin) We are in a small town where the kids have plenty of places to sled, are sad that the snow won't make snowmen, and they are thrilled to be out of school! These kids may be sitting inside with video games part of the time, but there are all sorts of sled tracks up and down the yards, streets, and large yards. Several places in Kansas were at 12 - 15 below the last couple of nights, we were - 8 with 8 inches of snow. It looks like we should expect it to warm up (and have mud) by the end of next week. Gayle in Kansas

Yes, it's beautiful if you don't have to be outside, or if you are an Eskimo....we've had more snow already in December than we had all last winter.....wouldn't mind the snow so much, but it's trying to keep warm with below zero wind chill. 30 degrees or so on Sat. will seem like heaven. Hang in there, things will get better. Hmmm from Irma in Oskaloosa, Ia.

I do have another snow story to tell. I was in Nurses' Training in Kansas City, MO and was supposed to go home for Christmas Vacation. I don't remember how much it snowed, but Highway 69 was completely blocked going North out of KC. They finally got one lane traffic opened on Dec.24th. I got on the Greyhound Bus in KC, MO and the drifts on both sides of 69 were as high or higher than the Greyhound Bus. We didn't have Interstate 35 in those days. How many of you remember going to KC, Mo on 69? To make a long story short, I was never so glad to see the Greyhound Depot in Leon, IA as I was that Christmas Eve. Better yet, my daddy was there to meet me and take me home to Garden Grove, IA. That was one of the best Christmas vacations I've ever had.... Oh, by the way, it was Zero degrees here at 9:30 PM according to the weather channel. Says we're supposed to be 5 degrees at 6:00 AM Friday. Don't think the temperature watches the Weather Channel here or it would know it's not supposed to be Zero now. We don't have any winds though. Ha! Jackie in the still frozen Tundra of NWKS