Dear Vee: Thank you for the tips on posting pages of Phoebe's diaries. I will be working on that tomorrow. The word processor programs I have are Word 11, and Microsoft Works 6.0 (I think). When I typed out Phoebe's diary, I did not correct her spelling or puncutation. There were also some spots that I was not able to read, due to water stains, etc. Also, in some points in the diary, there were no entries. Some entries were somewhat redundant, but I'll still include them. The 1857 diary is the longest of the three, it is fifty plus typed pages. I have to agree with you, Vee, that the most wonderful words are, "You're free of cancer." ! I also have to let you in a little secret, I've found that having a positive outlook on things is half the battle, and I learned that a few years ago when I was diagnosed with Diabetes. When I first learned I had Diabetes, I was in total denial, and I didn't take care of myself or keep my blood sugars under control. Now after 4 years of living with diabetes, I have finally accepted it, and am learning to live with it, shots and all. I already have neuropathy in my feet and fingers. But the point I'm trying to make is I learned my lesson! I thought, why be so negative all the time, it's such a waste, why live with negativity, when you can be positive and have an improved outlook on life. I have really learned that lesson these past two months! I've also found that moping around the house is no good, keeping busy is the key. That's why I still work part time, and have several hobbies besides genealogy. This is also one of the reasons why I decided to undertake this project! Kim

Hi, Vee and list, I will do my best to arrange for Niag Co Genealogical Library to be open, and will contatct the Co Historian, too. At this time that office is open Wed thru Fri only. Elaine

Oh Dear Kim, I'm so pleased that you're up to posting the "chapters" of Phoebe's diary of 1857. What I'd suggest is first to just copy the first four pages of the transcription off your word processing program and paste them into an email to our list. If it shows up a bit goofy on the list, I'll be able to help you fix whatever problem there is. And from there you're off and running! You added at the end of your message, "I had my weekly checkup and the doc is 100% sure that he got everything, and that I'm healing well, is that a great prognosis or what?!" Well let me tell you you're talking my language. The most AWFUL four words I've ever heard in my entire life were, "You've got breast cancer." But the most WONDERFUL four words I've ever heard in my life were, "You're free of cancer!" vee

1938 TRIP TO FRANCE AND SWITZERLAND February 6, 2004 Apparently the next day, November 28, 1938, Daddy and the rest of the metallurgists traveled to Annecy, France, where I can only assume they continued to say for a period of time. Either they continued to take notes about the process of the blast furnace in Annecy or they commuted by train back and forth to Geneva a few miles to the northeast. So far I haven't found any evidence in the scrapbook yet that indicates even what hotel they stayed at or how long they stayed in Annecy before they traveled back to Paris. However, there is postcard after postcard, mostly in color under Daddy's title above of "Annecy et Son Lac" [Annecy and his Lake-by the same name, Lake Annecy]. There are beautiful scenes of the lake, centuries-old palaces, chateaux, mountains of the eastern Swiss Alps, steamboats of the era on the lake, canals in Annecy, magnificent hotels that must have spread over acres, and some cards with a view of snow-capped Mont Blanc in the distance. I have a feeling that the men did have an opportunity to do a bit of sightseeing, as there are several postcards of the Camonix Valley in the Monte Blanc range of the Alps. There are scenes of glaciers, scenes of VERY rugged mountains and many scenes of Mont Blanc. In addition there are a few views of what appears to be the small village of Moriond in the French Alps. The scenes show small plain one-story chalets with snow piled high on their roofs and with just a very narrow snow-covered path between the houses. Moriond is just south of Moutiers which is south of Annecy which is south of Geneva. There are several views of Moutiers which indicates they visited there also. As I recall, Daddy personally told us he actually saw Mont Blanc and was near the mountain. Over the past few days I've done a lot of studying of maps that I have at hand as to precisely where Daddy was in France and Switzerland and when I saw that Annecy was in the Haute Savoie Department of southeastern France, I quickly mentally translated it to High Savoy in spite of my having only an inkling of the French language. But it was the word "Savoy" that caught my eye. I had remembered that many long years ago my mother told me that the French dolls that my father brought back for my sister and me (and my mother) were in the typical costume of area of Savoy. And as I continued to turn each page of Daddy's scrapbook, I stopped quickly when I came across a whole page of postcards in color showing men and women dressed in the old costumes of Savoy. When I saw the picture of one of the Savoyan women in costume I recognized her immediately. She looked just like the doll my father brought back for me from France. The same sort of odd gold head dress, the fringed colorful pure silk shawl around her shoulders, the gold cross on a chain around her neck against her white blouse, and with her long velvet skirt covered with a different patterned velvet apron across the front of it. On [Thursday] December 1, 1938, Daddy sent Mother another letter on Hotel Scribe, Paris, stationery. From what he spoke of in the letter it appears that they were spending a few days in the French Alps area. From the postmark, he apparently was staying in Ugine which is just south of Mont Blanc which is just south of Annecy. He wrote: Dear Verna, We have arrived in a beautiful little valley set between high mountain peaks. In fact, it is almost surrounded by mountains. Will be here until Monday or Tuesday [December 5th or 6th] and then back to Paris. We may sail for home much sooner than expected as our work is progressing very satisfactorily. We were tied up yesterday, Wednesday, by the General Strike. The strike was a fizzle but we could not visit any plants while it threatened. Spent the day sightseeing and shopping in Annecy. Bought the kids each a Savoyan doll and you a [beautiful silk paisley] shawl. Also bought myself a matched pair of 17th Century Italian pistols (guns). They are very nice. I bought a third doll for emergencies. Still have to get George Lindberg his picture and Aunt Helen her perfume. Also must get the gang at the plant something. [I'm inserting a note here. Both Mother and Daddy studied French for several years in high school but I believe that when Daddy went to France sixteen years after they both graduated from high school, I doubt that he had the opportunity to even practice the language with the exception of when he and Mother wanted to say something very personal in front of my sister and me. He continues.] Am learning a lot of French. That is, I can understand almost everything that is said but can't think of the words I want to use. But we get along. Earl went into one shop and talked to an old lady there. She spouted off a whole string of French which neither of us understood. Earl told her in Spanish and German that he did not understand and then he turned and asked me to try to tell her that he did not understand. She then said, "Oh you speak English?" And then spoke very good English. The only language Earl didn't try on her. Earl says time to eat again so au revoir. Charly Vee's note here: Whoa, wait a minute! I just took one last glance at the many, many postcards in the scrapbook and when I read the small print at the bottom of one and saw that it read, "Ugine-Les Acieries Electriques et Habitations Ouvrieres" and then took a second look at the scene, it seemed like all of the missing pieces of the puzzle had just fallen into place. What with the word "Electriques" (as in electrical metallurgical blast furnace] and the view of what was obviously an industrial plant with a number of nice looking houses on the outskirts for the employees, for the very first time I realized that it was in Ugine where Daddy and the other metallurgists had been studying the operation and process of the new French furnace all along. In other words, when they left Paris they stopped in Geneva, Switzerland, probably to sit in on a one-day high-level conference of what they could expect and then traveled to Annecy where they stayed in a hotel. Then on a daily basis took the short trips to Ugine where they could actually PERSONALLY view and take notes of the ground breaking new technology of the ferroalloys industry from the first shovel full into the furnace to the final tap of the furnace. So with that last piece of the puzzle in place, I now can visualize almost precisely Daddy's trip to France and where that new French furnace was actually located. It was located (quoting Daddy) "in a beautiful little valley set between high mountain peaks. In fact, it is almost surrounded by mountains." After considerable research on the Internet, it appears that the plant is still vital to the industry and it appears (in French) to have been a vital target for the Nazis during WWII a few years later. It's taken 65 years to finally put those pieces together and you have no idea how overwhelming and fulfilling the feeling is. Now I know where Daddy was and where his French furnace was.

Dear Vee & Group: I know how it is sometimes, life just gets in the way! Vee, I do forgive you for not responding earlier, this time, anyway! <grin> I remember when I was transcribing Phoebe's diary of 1857, and you and the other listers helped me on some words I didn't understand, as well as where Coomer's Corners was. I was so grateful and still am because it gave me a sense of where Phoebe and her family lived. I do have all three diaries scanned and burned on a CD as well as hard copy. I don't have Phoebe's third and final diary typed out yet, but I can get that done this weekend. I would love to be able to post Phoebe's diaries on our list, but don't know what would be the best way to go about it. I probably would do it in chapters as Vee suggested. The diaries are fascinating reading, and sometimes they leave more questions than answers, but the diaries give us an idea of how our ancestors lived. Through Phoebe's 1857 diary, we found that Phoebe had a sister, Fanny, that was adopted, and I also have some family letters that Fanny wrote herself. These were given to me on a CD by a cousin who is descended from Phoebe's brother, William Fitzer Williams (the Captain.) Anyway, I would be honored to post Phoebe's diaries on our list! Kim P.S. Vee, I had my weekly checkup and the doc is 100% sure that he got everything, and that I'm healing well, is that a great prognosis or what?!

Dear Carol in Bridgeville, First of all, at this moment I have no access whatsoever to my email nor the Internet. But when I saw your signature indicating to you live in Bridgeville, my heart skipped a beat. To me Bridgeville has always meant the little town I used to live in south of Pittsburgh, PA, in the 1930s. However, I have the feeling that between Carol and I we managed to get that straightened out. And Carol, forgive me if I'll have to ask you to refresh my mind about your long-lost-half-sister who lived in nearby Lockport for over 40 years. But most of all, I'm thrilled that you're considering attending our third list reunion this year. There's no doubt in my mind that no matter how many or how few of us gather around the table in the Niagara County Historical Society room that afternoon, we'll have many stories to tell, many mysteries of family research to discuss, and lots of sharing of experiences regarding our personal research and sharing of our knowledge of researching Niagara County records. Golly, Jo and Jane, we're gonna miss ya, but hopefully you'll be able to catch up on all of the thrills and fun we'll have at our reunion. The notion that a mailing list could actually have a list "reunion" is really ludicrous. But our list has had one over the past two years. This is our third year and there's no doubt but somehow we'll come up with stories about this year's reunion complete with a few giggles. vee ----- Original Message ----- From: "-clh" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, February 05, 2004 3:35 PM Subject: [FOLKS] Reunion 2004 > > Count me in! I love the stories of the Niagara region, even tho' I grew up about 90 miles to the east, in Wayne County. The Lakeshore will always be home in my heart. > > And, as I've mentioned to Vee, my long-lost half-sister has lived in Lockport for over 40 years. The reunion will give me a chance to get to know the area even better. > > Carol in Bridgeville > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com > The most personalized portal on the Web! > >

Dear Kim, et al, Kim I apologize for not responding to your message earlier. I'm certain that you know how that is! By the same token I've had serious major cancer health issues of my own over the years and I guess that between the two of us we're determined to keep on hangin' in. I read through your whole message and all of a sudden it made me realize that it was you who had sent me your magnificent transcription of Phoebe's diary over a year ago. At the time you said that Phoebe Ann Williams had written it in 1857 in Coomer, Niagara Co., NY. Oh Kim, if you have the strength to post it on our list in "chapters," I'll guarantee that it will enchant us all chapter after chapter. And although I may be biting off more than I can chew, I can either scan what you sent me or if you can sent me a diskette with the entire diary transcription and I might be inclined to post it myself in chapters. But what really blew my mind regarding your message is that apparently you have transcribed two subsequent diaries of Phoebe that even include her memories of the Civil War. Oh please, please share the transcriptions with our list. That's Niagara County personal history to the nth degree!! luvya and take care. vee ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kim & Mike Paul" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, February 02, 2004 3:20 PM Subject: Re: [FOLKS] I'm in a slump > Dear Vee & group: > > Forgive me for not posting anything for some time. I've had some major health issues affecting me, > unfortunately. I've been recovering from cancer surgery and a bruised shoulder blade. I've been off > work for over a month and a half, and I have just been starting to go back to work. > Needless to say, it has been an ordeal, but they got everything, and now I'm in the healing stage. > > During my down time, I've been able to get all three of my gg grandmother's, Phoebe Ann Williams, > diaries transcribed, and I'm typing out the third one, written in 1863, during the height of the Civil > War! Phoebe's brother, William Fitzer Williams, was a captain in the 2nd regiment of the New > York Mounted Rifles, co. 1. I have an ornate framed picture of Fitzer (as he was called) in his Civil > War Uniform. He died at Petersburg, PA. > > I may have mentioned in past posts, about how Phoebe was stood up by a beau, Henry L. Johnson. > He married someone else, and in Phoebe's second diary, she states that she was glad she did not > marry him!! > > Anyway, Vee I sure hope you'll let this list continue, I've enjoyed your stories so much! > > Kim, > In not so snowy Nebraska > >

Dear Vee and the rest of the Gang I also can't make the reunion this year much to my disapointment. Number one grandson Robert (who by the way was born on my birthday) is getting married on Aug. 28 up in Michigan at the very park that his parents were married. Since Grandma here is making all of the flowers me thinks we better make the trip. Also, hubby has not had the opportunity to visit awsome Mackinac Island, Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village yet. Of course we plan on swinging by Lake Huron and the Thumb of Michigan to search out old Myers/Parker ancestory ties there. Prior to that I will be going to Costa Rica in July to help build a mission church so I guess I will be all "tripped" out, so to speak. Carry on, and I know the reunion will be wonderful. I will try for next year if I am still alive and kicking! Jane in FL

1938 TRIP TO FRANCE AND SWITZERLAND February 5, 2004 I hadn't realized it when I had mentioned Daddy's letter to Mother on November 26, 1938, that he had written two postcards on the same date-one to Norma and one to me. The one to Norma showed a view of the Tuileries Gardens. He wrote: Norma, This card is from Paris. The next one will be Switzerland. The building is one of the showplaces. With Love, Daddy The card to me showed a view of the Notre-Dame Church by night. He wrote: Vee, This is one of the largest and oldest churches in the world. Daddy It was obvious to me from what my father had written to my mother that ever since he and the other metallurgists arrived in Paris they spent most of each day at the "office" together. And that the Vanadium Corporation's plans for them were very structured. If the company said that they would leave the next afternoon, November 27th, for Geneva, they had no vote in the matter. Daddy didn't describe their trip from Paris to Geneva in any letter and he didn't have postcard scenes en route. Therefore I can only imagine they went by train. As close as I can figure out, it's about a 700-mile trip at least. And considering that it was in the 1930s I would estimate that it took them a day and a half to reach Geneva, Switzerland, to the southeast and right over the French border. However, they must have been traveling on a high-speed train as it appears that they left Paris and arrived in Geneva on the same day. Upon arrival in Geneva, no time was wasted before they really got down to business at hand. In Daddy's scrapbook is a small notebook and after a few preliminary unimportant notations in it, the next entries are very precise they were formulas/ratios concerning what needed to be included in the new French furnace method of turning the metals into ferroalloys. Such as, [date] 11/28, C [carbon] 1.20; Si [silicon] 31.75; Al [aluminum] 47.50; Fe [iron] 14.55, Ti [titanium] 3.00. On November 29th were similar notations such as a notation of 35 Al, 65 Si, No Fe = large crystals, and AlC [aluminum carbide??] = yellow crystals. While in Geneva Daddy stayed at the Hotel and Buffet Cornavin. His short letter to Mother on the hotel's stationery dated November 27 said: Verna: Enclosing a wine label. Just emptied the bottle for dinner. This letter is more for the [stamp] cancellation and hotel paper than anything else. Have been having a pleasant trip so far but can better tell you about it when I get back. Charly [Note: on the hotel's stationery there's a sketch of the hotel as it was in 1938 at the time. In addition, there's a postcard in his scrapbook showing a photograph of it. On the Internet I found that the same hotel and building still exists and the outside looks almost identical. Additional note: the Hotel Scribe still exists in Paris in spite of it having been used as a headquarters for the allies during WWII.] Wow, just now I removed the postcard showing Hotel Cornavin so that I could study the picture. When I turned it over I found that it had been sent to Norma dated November 27, 1938. He said: Norma, We stayed in this hotel one night. It is on Lake Geneva. Daddy I put the postcard back into his scrapbook and below it on the same page was another card, this one with a view of Lake Geneva with Mont-Blanc in the distance. I removed it, turned it over and I was pleased that it was one that he sent to me on the same date. He wrote: Vee, This is Lake Geneva in Switzerland. Daddy On the next page of the scrapbook was a mounted postcard with a view of The Palace of Nations in Geneva. It was one that he had send Mother the same day. He wrote: Verna, We arrived her at 9 P.M. and leave for France again at 9 A.M. tomorrow. Have been traveling since 1 P.M. and am pretty tired. We are absolutely on our own and our French or German is of little value. So far we have gotten along famously. The food has been excellent at all stops and the wines very fine. Have not had a glass of water since we landed and am keeping sober. When in France do as the French do. Drink wine. Love, Charly

Count me in! I love the stories of the Niagara region, even tho' I grew up about 90 miles to the east, in Wayne County. The Lakeshore will always be home in my heart. And, as I've mentioned to Vee, my long-lost half-sister has lived in Lockport for over 40 years. The reunion will give me a chance to get to know the area even better. Carol in Bridgeville _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web!

Dad Ratit, Jo, I've been waiting for years to meet you!! However, I can appreciate your genealogy plans for research in Ireland this year. The BIG priorities come first! But if Elaine and I can put together a similar list reunion such as we had last year, we can still have a ball. Keep those cards and letters coming! vee ----- Original Message ----- From: "Josephine Grieve" <[email protected]> To: "Vee L. Housman" <[email protected]>; <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2004 11:47 PM Subject: Re: [FOLKS] Regarding our third list reunion > Dear Vee, > > Phooey!! I'm not going to be able to make to our reunion this summer. I > will be in Ireland doing genealogy work on my mother's side of the family. > Going to go with a group from the NEHG Society (New England Historical and > Genealogical Society) in August. We will stay at Trinity College and spend > a week in Dublin doing research and having lectures. Then I am going to > take an extra week and roam the country for relatives - some in the north > and some down around Cork. > > But if there is a fourth one next year - I'll be there! > > Jo in Michigan

Dear Folks, No doubt some of you think that the premise of the title of the subect is a an interesting one. And frankly as the subject stands, so do I. But here's the story of how that subect was brought up recently regarding to our annual local fourth-grader's tour of our Town of Porter museum and school bus tour of the the Village of Youngstown. Over the past number of years, all four classes of fourth grade have been given the grand tour over a two day period. Two classes the first day, two the next day. Over time we had the whole thing down pat. The first school bus would pull up at our museum in the morning and half of the one class would be led up to our museum while the other half of the class would be driven off on their guided bus trip around the village. Those children up at our museum got to see and experience just about everything we have up there. They delighted and giggled crazily listening to an old high pitched WWI phonograph played on a wind-up Victrola phonograph player; they were amazed at the 1883 newspaper articles they could read on a microfiche reader and they were especially excited when I led them into our "old school room" where we have the old desks with the ink well holes in them. They thought it was so cool when I invited all of them to sit down at the desks, two to a desk. They wer! e shown many more things by other museum volunteers and over the brief twenty minutes we were alotted to half of that one class, we all knew that in that short period of time, they had been filled with wonder and excitement. After the first twenty minutes were up the second half of that class got off the school bus, headed up to the museum while the first half piled onto the bus. Again we went through the same routine. We had only a short break before the second schoolbus load showed up with another class. Again we went through the same routine and frankly, after the last of the second half of that class clamored down the stairs, all of us volunteers were pretty much exhausted. The next morning we started up all over again with the other two fourth grade classes. Over the years we knew that the whole program wasn't picture perfect but, hey, it sure worked and the kids let us know they loved it by the letters their teachers made them write in appreciation for their tour. Well, now we come to the year 2004. Same-o, Same-o! Oh yeh? This year someone who will remain nameless decided that she would talk personally with the fourth grade teachers to ask them their feelings about how we could improve our presentation. One teacher told her that she thought it would be nice if the fourth graders could have a more hands-on experience up at the museum. Right then and there Mrs. Nameless Person agreed that it was such a marvelous idea that she marched up to the museum and demanded of our most valuable and experienced volunteer at the museum, Janet, to immediately come up with a new hands-on program. Janet just stared at her blankly in disbelief, said no, turned her back on her and just walked off. Why was Janet upset? Well, when she told me about the incident and idea later that evening on the phone, the minute the words were out of her mouth I started shouting at Janet with understanding and disbelief and she shouted back at me! What in the ever-lovin'-blue-eyed-world was that woman thinking of? Putting our fragile artifacts in the hands of ten-year-olds????? Even with our most durable artifacts such as cannon balls, by the time we handed them around to the students, our allotted twenty minutes would be up and they wouldn't have learned or appreciated anything. And you can bet your bippy that within seconds, that cannon ball would have been tossed between two boys and it would have eventually crashed into one of our glass display cases that holds our most fragile historic artifacts. Hey our little museum in the Red Brick School House in our little village (population 2,075) and town doesn't even come within a million MILES to what is presented and recreated at Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. Get real, Mrs. Nameless Person!! vee

Dear Vee, Phooey!! I'm not going to be able to make to our reunion this summer. I will be in Ireland doing genealogy work on my mother's side of the family. Going to go with a group from the NEHG Society (New England Historical and Genealogical Society) in August. We will stay at Trinity College and spend a week in Dublin doing research and having lectures. Then I am going to take an extra week and roam the country for relatives - some in the north and some down around Cork. But if there is a fourth one next year - I'll be there! Jo in Michigan ----- Original Message ----- From: "Vee L. Housman" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2004 11:42 PM Subject: [FOLKS] Regarding our third list reunion > Dear Folks, > > I know that it's really late to start planning a reunion for this upcoming summer or early fall, but I still think it's worth a try. I know that some of you people have already made firm vacation plans for this year but for some of you who haven't, this is what I suggest. > > In late August(?) or early September(?) we do the same thing we did last year. We make it a three day reunion, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in Lockport the county seat. The reason for those odd-ball days is that's when the Niagara County Genealogical Society, the County Court House and other government offices are open and where important records can be researched. > > Although I'm not as mobile as I was even last year, I can still do some of the preplanning. I can make arrangements with the Historical Society to have a room available to us early Wednesday afternoon to get acquainted, hopefully Elaine Timm will be able to arrange to have the genealogical society open for us that day and other than that you're on your own for three days of glorious research. The most it will cost you regarding our Wednesday afternoon meeting is a donation of $1.00 to the Historical Society who will no doubt have coffee available to us and maybe even cookies like last year. > > I can recommend the most fantastic reasonably priced motel in Lockport and I know that several of our listmembers stayed there themselves last year and will agree with me. It will be up to the bunch of you to figure out where you might meet up for dinner on those three days and hopefully you'll be treated to finer dining than what you experienced last year. Yes I know that hot dogs hit the spot on occasion but I certainly can't knock the fun you had getting together at a lovely outdoor hot dog stand! What a hoot you had! > > Expect hugs all around, plenty of laughs and plenty of serious genealogy discussions at our round table. And do you know what? If I'm lucky, I can troll for two more single guys to rope into our reunion. Hey, those guys may have kept shaking their heads as to how they ended up there, but they fit in beautifully, contributed their own family history and laughed along with all of us. > > Elaine are you with me and can you help? The only thing I believe that we need to agree upon is three days in August or September that sounds good to the majority who would like to attend. And for you people who really have very little research to do around these parts, just remember that you can see the greatest sights in the world here--Niagara Falls being at the top of the list. > > So what do ya say? > vee >

1938 TRIP TO FRANCE AND SWITZERLAND February 4, 2004 Daddy and probably some of the other men he was traveling with went to the Alcazar de Paris one evening. It was located at 8 Faubour Montmartre, Paris. From the Internet I found a brief description of Montmartre: The area where Renoir, French Cancan and Van Gogh (among others) all came of age... Still a little village in the big city, Montmartre borders the Red Light district (Pigalle) to the south. My father had saved his ticket stub and I can picture the usher escorting him and his friends toward the stage where Daddy sat in seat 71 in the Orchestra Section. Apparently the Programme for the evening was entitled "Caresses de Femmes" (Women's Caresses). The first part was called "Le Palais des Caresses" (The Palace of Caresses). >From the photographs it's obvious that it was artfully and tastefully done. There wasn't a bump or grind or "One for the boys in the balcony!" during the whole evening's entertainment. There was a full orchestra, not just a piano player and drummer, and in looking at the artistic poses, I would imagine that it was very sedate with the ladies pirouetting and dancing slowly with an occasional pause in a pose fit for a painting or sculpture. However, there's no doubt that it was only a very high class "girlie show" in 1938. Some the acts were entitled "The Haunting Caress," "Egyptian Caresses," "Women's Duel," "Promenade Burlesque," "Aerial-fairy Scene," etc. I wonder if Daddy considered it the highlight of his entire trip! But by the same token, I was pleased to see the admission ticket in his scrapbook for the Louvre Museum! My sister Norma recalls that Daddy had told us he had viewed the original Mona Lisa and that he was surprised that it was so small (30" x 20-7/8"). I won't list all of the post card scenes he collected while in Paris but I will mention those that impressed me the most. Of course there's one of the Louve Museum and Palace, the Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees Avenue, the Rue de la Paix, and several of the magnificent Notre-Dame cathedral. All of the cards are so interesting to look at if only to see all of the vintage 1930s cars and trucks and of course how people were dressed then. While in Paris he stayed at Hotel Scribe on the corner of Rue Scribe and Boulevard Haussman(!) On hotel stationary this is what he wrote to my mother on November 26, 1938. Dear Verna, We are at the Scribe Hotel and leave tomorrow at 1 P.M. for Geneva. Our tickets were all reserved and we had no say in the matter so will have no time for shopping in Paris until we return as the stores are all closed on Saturday and Sunday. We will be rushed this afternoon and tomorrow morning trying to see a little of Paris but will try and write you a decent letter from Geneva [Switzerland] or Annecy [France]. Please do not mention anything of the trip which I may write you to anyone, especially the Chadwicks. Just say that you heard from me and let it go at that. The tentative sailing date is December 17th on the Normandie but that may be advanced as much as a week. If you desire, I would like you and the kids to meet me at the Hotel Roosevelt in New York on the return or better still, bring the kids down to the landing to see the boat come in. Mrs. [Earl] Dunn and their youngster will be there and the office should take care of you. If you need money call up Bill Morgan and ask for what you need. It is raining here now and we have just returned from the office so all we have seen of Paris so far has been from a cab. Charly

Well, I am a bit older than you Vee, but I remember dressing for school in the winter time. Evershed School was at the end of 57th Street, just one house away from where I lived. Even so, I had to wear my long underwear over which were fitted long tan stockings. It was most difficult to fold the ankle cuff of the underwear making it smooth so that the stocking pulled over it wouldn't be wrinkled. (It was always wrinkled.) Over that were snow pants and a cotton dress, sweater, heavy wool coat, hat, mittens. and on the feet, over the my shoes, galoshes with metal buckles. After walking past the neighbors house, through their unshoveled snow filled walk and past the boys entrance on one side of the school, I arrived at the girls entrance, usually as the last bell was ringing. Then off came the galoshes, snow pants, smooth out the stockings, hat, mittens.........well you get the picture. School was heated with a huge coal burning furnace in the basement. It was not as warm as schools are now so we were glad for the underwear although, don't let is show! Fun to remember. Barbara Moll

Vee, Sounds about like my homemade soup. We raise turkeys so I always have turkey carcasses around the holidays. I boil them up and freeze the stock. When I make soup I start with the stock and bits of turkey or chicken add chopped onion, chopped potato and let that simmer for a while with usually some Bells poultry seasoning, then I add a can each of peas, carrots, diced tomatoes, corn, and string beans. This makes a good sized pot of soup but it only lasts 2 meals here. I usually plan to have it so I have the leftover meal on a night that I have a meeting to attend. I frequently have a can of biscuits with it. Ruth At 1:26 AM -0500 2/4/04, Vee L. Housman wrote: >Dear Folks, > >I guess I'm on a roll here but don't stop me. For the past few days I >knew I would shortly be out of my homemade soup and that I would need to >cook up another pot of soup because that's my lunch preference. Well as I >get older I get lazier. I no longer simmer the ingredients for a pungent >soup stock and then turn to Julia Childs for inspiration for what a >prize-winning soup I can make of it which may include adding truffles and >escargots or whatever Martha Stewart might have also suggested, but since >I tend to go for just the basics of it now, I assessed the canned goods in >my pantry, knew that I had onions in my refrigerator and by hook or by >crook I could combine all of them as long as I had a pound of hamburger. -- Ruth Barton [email protected] Dummerston, VT

Vee, I just love your posts!!!! I'm sure you'll rot in HELL, the capital letter one, not the small letter one, for being such a prideful Lutheran. At least that's what Garrison Keillor leads me to believe, and he's all I really know of Lutherans. I was in school just a bit later than you, being born in 1942, but I well remember the only snowsuits I ever owned. They were made by my Gram from men's overcoats she bought second hand at rummage sales. I also had skirts made from flowered grain sacks. Wish I had them back. We didn't have many new things but what we had were of good, sturdy quality so Gram always bought me Kate Greenaway dresses. I still have at least one of them. I was never fashion conscious and had no idea of colours that went together and whatever. I'm so glad it doesn't matter much anymore and I can wear my plaids and stripes together and be right in style. I just don't want any of those Janet Jackson, easy tear shirts. LOL Ruth At 12:44 AM -0500 2/4/04, Vee L. Housman wrote: >Dear Folks, > >Even as a little kid, I was always fashion conscious. I remember when I >was either 5 or 6 years old Mother bought me a gen-u-wine Shirley Temple >dress for my Easter outfit! I can still see it. It was a pretty >peachy-orange with lots of white piping on it. To complete my Easter >ensemble, Mother bought me high-topped white shoes. No doubt but what she >also bought me an Easter hat but with that dress and those shoes, I was in >fashion heaven! And to think that I went to Lutheran Sunday School that >Easter morning being so prideful! -- Ruth Barton [email protected] Dummerston, VT

I know of a couple whose last name was Ladd. They thought Alan Ladd was divine, so much so that they named their son: Al N. Ladd. Ugh! Anna ----- Original Message ----- From: "Vee L. Housman" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2004 8:40 PM Subject: Re: [FOLKS] Slump > Dear Barb, > > To answer your question about the name of the LaSalle Theater, that's what > it's name was. And oh yes indeedy I remember the Saturday matinees very > well indeed, especially in the late 1930s. Not only were they double > features, mostly cowboy films, but also included in one low, low price (10 > cents?) was a cartoon and Pathe News. > > But in thinking back on those Saturday matinees which were really just for > kids, I also recall from the dim recesses of my mind the gangster films! > For some dumb reason I remember knowing who/what a "mouthpiece" was at the > early age of 7 or 8! > > But MOST of all I remember going to the LaSalle Theater in 1939 and watching > the most glorious film ever made, The Wizzard of Oz!" It was actually in > COLOR!! > > But I have to add a giggle here. When I was 15 or 16 years old and my two > girlfriends and I were all madly in love with the actor Alan Ladd, we took > the long IRC bus ride to LaSalle to drool over his manliness in the film > "Two Years Before the Mast!" Oh sigh, flutter, flutter! The three of us > were truly in love! :-) > > Yes those were the innocent years and although I'm not saving this message > to add to the number of memories I have shared with you, even if I did, who > among my niece's children or grandchildren would have a clue as to who Alan > Ladd was. (Another sigh!) > vee > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2004 12:37 AM > Subject: [FOLKS] Slump > > > > Do you remember movies on a Saturday at the LaSalle theater? I had a > > boyfriend who had a job as usher. He would let me in free. We stayed all > day and > > watched the double features and them maybe watched them again. It seems > they were > > mostly cowboy films. What was the name of the theater? > > > > Barbara Moll > > > > > > >

Dear Folks, I guess I'm on a roll here but don't stop me. For the past few days I knew I would shortly be out of my homemade soup and that I would need to cook up another pot of soup because that's my lunch preference. Well as I get older I get lazier. I no longer simmer the ingredients for a pungent soup stock and then turn to Julia Childs for inspiration for what a prize-winning soup I can make of it which may include adding truffles and escargots or whatever Martha Stewart might have also suggested, but since I tend to go for just the basics of it now, I assessed the canned goods in my pantry, knew that I had onions in my refrigerator and by hook or by crook I could combine all of them as long as I had a pound of hamburger. And by George, this afternoon I got started. I first fried up the hamburger to where it was no longer pink and while it was cooking I chopped up two LARGE onions (I love onions), dropped them into the pot and let them simmer along with the hamburger and then started to open the cans from my pantry. There was the one can of diced tomotoes, the one small can of tomato sauce, one can of kidney beans and one can of Chili style kidney beans which frankly didn't taste any different to me than the regular kidney beans. I rinsed out all of the cans, added the liquid to the pot and started to add some spices. First a bit of salt, then some garlic powder, then some basil and oregano and then for a bit of panache, some chili powder Frankly, I barely had a clue what I was doing but the more the soup pot simmered, the more delicious it smelled. If you ever want my recipe for such a delightfully smelling soup just copy the above. It's all stored in my refrigerator this evening and I have no doubt that I will delight in it over the next week or ten days as my very own lucheon special. Campbell Soup Company, eat your heart out! vee

Dear Folks, Even as a little kid, I was always fashion conscious. I remember when I was either 5 or 6 years old Mother bought me a gen-u-wine Shirley Temple dress for my Easter outfit! I can still see it. It was a pretty peachy-orange with lots of white piping on it. To complete my Easter ensemble, Mother bought me high-topped white shoes. No doubt but what she also bought me an Easter hat but with that dress and those shoes, I was in fashion heaven! And to think that I went to Lutheran Sunday School that Easter morning being so prideful! Well, for the next few years, I certainly wasn't in any kind of my blue fashion heaven. First off was my dream for Daddy to bring me back a Shirley Temple Heidi dress from Switzerland. It took me many years later to figure out why he couldn't grant me my dream. No doubt that nowhere in Switzerland at that time did they have a Shirley Temple Heidi dress shop; therefore, it was just a dream of mine that didn't come true. (sigh!) But it goes downhill from there. By now we're into the winter of 1939 and I was in the third grade at Pacific Avenue School. Mother always made certain that I was dressed warm enough for the ten block walk to school and therefore I had to wear winter underwear under my dress in addition to my woolen snow suit complete with leggings. There's one particular time that I still recall with utmost embarrassment. I have the feeling that our school was practicing our first air raid drill. WWII had actually started even though our country hadn't gotten involved in it yet but what I remember is that upon our teacher's instructions, our class was taken down into the school basement and I believe we were given some sort of an introductory course as to why we there. Frankly, I don't believe any of us kids really had a clue. But that's not the fashion point I want to make. All of us third graders stood patiently in line for an interminable length of time (at least to me) and when I hqppened to glance down at the rather short sleeves of my dress, I realized that the longer sleeves of my winter underwear were peaking out below them! I was mortified!!! Oh how gauche!!!! Well I won't beleaguer you with more sad tales of my failure to be voted the best dressed third-grader but I'll leave you with this. Mother had bought me new shoes for me to wear ONLY to Sunday School. They were drop-dead gorgeous and I wanted to show them off at school. Of course that was out of the question, so one morning shortly after receiving my fashionable shoes I figured out a way to out-fox Mother. While I was getting ready for school that morning I swore to my mother that I could find only one of my everyday school shoes and therefore I'd have to wear my new shoes to school. She bought it (Yeh, like right!! :-) and I marched off proudly in my newest fashion statement! I just KNEW that I would be the envy of the other third-grade girls that day!! Such simple things are what memories are made of. vee