In a message dated 8/24/2006 6:40:06 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, sharuck@charter.net writes: I think Winnie and Sweetie were the same gal. Art speaks of Sweetie being ill---and going to see her. She then says that she got Winnie back in the eve. Was Fin married before and possibly had a child that was staying with him---or one of his relative's child. Could Sweetie be a granddaughter of Fin? Sorry, I forget how old Fin and Art were at times. My mother and her sisters talked about "farm depression". One of my aunts was sent to live with her aunt at a very young age. My Great Aunt Stacy could not have children. My Aunt Effie stayed with her off and on for years. Great Aunt Stacy and her husband also took in other children from time to time. Aunt Effie would relate stories that one minute Great Aunt Stacy would be very chipper and happy. When Effie had to go back home, Stacy became very depressed. Aunt Stacy also took in one of her nephews when Aunt Stacy had to leave. She hated to be alone. Uncle George owned a large farm in IL and was always in the field or doing some sort of farm work. According to my mother, this was a common malady among women back then. Art apparently did not like to be alone. Just reading about her company and how much she enjoyed having them, says a lot. Shari Shari, I was thinking about my own family when I read the diaries and things were so different when I was growing up. My mother had a big family and we would travel to Kentucky and Michigan and Indiana and Illinois to see them from Lima, Ohio. When we all lived close, then we would visit each other almost every day. It was so different back then and families were so close. I think that families today are close too, but we have so much going on with both parents working and the children having school activities and homework. Also, we seem to be more selfish today than people were years ago. Today most people would not just drop in and visit a relative and years ago they would and we were happy to have the company. I miss those days. Today we have to call to make sure they are going to be home and it is so hard to plan anything because of the hectic schedules that we have. Charlotte Miller