Prayer Request

I just found out my Dad was taken to the hospital today (from the nursing home) with pneumonia.  The doctor told my brother on a scale of 1-5, 5 being the worst, Dad's was a 5. 



James Hensley Logan, taken ca 1928.

Please pray for my Dad, that if it be God's will to take him now, that he has an easy passage!  This has hit me harder than when Mom died about 6 weeks ago.  Dad was my friend, he taught me how to drive, we went to the library together, researched our family together, went to cemeteries together searching for our ancestors' final resting places.  We have the same, some say "warped," sense of humor. :)  My niece has it, also.



Dad on his 50th birthday 1977

 I know Dad's given up since Mom died.  They lived for each other, and without her, he has no purpose.



Mom and Dad at Grandma's in Pennsylvania 1968

Thank you all!

Take care and God Bless!



XoXoXo

Earth Wonders Challenge-BRIGHT and Bunny Hop Wednesday

Hi Everyone!  Hope you're having a great day/evening.

I've been gone for a few weeks, if you hadn't noticed.  The first week was due to health reasons. 

These last two weeks were because my Mom passed away on Halloween morning. 


Mom's 20th High School Class Reunion and how
I believe she appears in Heaven!

It's hit me harder than I thought it would.  I guess you're never really ready for it to happen.  She was 83 and was in poor health for the past decade or so.  She and Dad were in the same nursing home when she passed, and he keeps blaming himself for "not taking good enough care of her," which isn't true!  If you would, please keep him in your prayers.


Scrapbook page my sister made for Mom and Dad

The only thing that has made this bearable is knowing Mom is in Heaven with Jesus!  I don't know how anyone can make it through losing a parent (or anyone, for that matter) and not know whether or not they were saved.  I'm sure there has been a "grand" reunion with all Mom's family welcoming her home! ("Grand" was one of her favorite expressions.)

Ana's Earth Wonders Challenge this week is - BRIGHT.  This photo is one I took on our way home from Seattle last year.  I know, you're probably getting tired of all the Seattle trip pictures! LOL!  I don't get out much! 

Click Here

Anyway, the sun was coming up as we got closer to the Iowa - Illinois state lines.  I cropped the original, but the brilliance of the sun is all its own! No further enhancement was required.

Ana has set up a Flickr group to post our photos to, also! Take a gander!

Also sharing with Bunny Jean's Bunny Hop Wednesday.


Click Here

 Take care and God Bless!

xoxo

August Break 2011 and PW Black & White Assignment

Happy Saturday!  By the time I get this post completed, it WILL be Saturday! LOL!

I think I'll kill two birds with one stone tonight.  I'm adding this old photo of my Dad to both the August Break 2011 over with Susannah Conway

and the Pioneer Woman's Black and White Assignment for the weekend.

The photo of my Dad, little Jimmie Logan, is about 80 years old, maybe a little bit more.  Pop looks like he's about 3ish, so that would put this around 1930.  He doesn't look too sure about those chickens, but has his responsibility and does it!

I added the type and cropped it a bit, but that's about all!  It looks like the photos I TRY to create with Kim Klassen's wonderful textures (sigh)!  Just goes to show ya - gettin' old isn't that bad! HAH!

See ya next time!

Take care and God Bless!

XoXoXo

Madness Monday - G-Grandma Jennie

There is one ancestor for whom I have such empathy and sympathy!  That's my Great-Grandma Jennie Meeks Johnston.

Jennie Olie Meeks Johnston Covey
ca 1925-1930

  Jennie Olie Meeks was the third of six children, born April 24, 1881 in Clinton Co., Indiana to George Washington Meeks and Missouri Alice Knapp.  I don't believe she had a very good or happy childhood. When she was about 10 or 11 years old, her brother Daniel overheard their parents talking about putting the children into an orphanage. 

I talked with Daniel's youngest daughter a few years ago.  She was born in 1925, but was still sharp as a tack!  Her name is Alice Dorothy, named after both her grandmothers.  Alice told me the following on Apr 3, 2007: 

Her "dad, Daniel Webster Voras Meeks, was an easy-going sort of person.  He lied about his age to enlist in Spanish-American War." 


That's evident on the census records where he list his birth year as 1875, but on the 1880 census, he was born the year before in 1879.

"He ran away from home at about age 12-13 (1891-1892).  He'd overheard his parents talking about putting the children in an orphanage, because his mom was dying. Daniel hopped a train headed west and never looked back.  He lived in a one-room schoolhouse, doing janitorial work, in return for going to the school during the day as a student." 

He came back east after an eventful period of time in the west, but that's another story!  He met and married his love, Christina Jacobson, in Yankton, South Dakota in 1899.  They lived in Minnesota until the end of their days.

Christina and Daniel Meeks 1939

"He loved his sister Jennie best, and did not like his older sister Ida.  Ida would always cause trouble and blame it on someone else, especially Jennie.  His youngest sisters were adopted and taken to Texas." 


The two youngest girls, Ola and Dora, had been lots of trouble for their parents and were sent to the reform school in Indianapolis.  After that stint was when they were adopted and moved from Indiana. My dad remembered that either the girls' adoptive parents were named Stewart, or one of them married a Stewart.


Jennie had another brother, Earl, but I haven't been able to find anything on him.  Maybe he was adopted as well.


George W. and Alice Knapp Meeks got a divorce, she wasn't dying as had been thought.  She lived until 1904 when she died of nephritis.  Both remarried, but it seemed the kids had to fend for themselves. 

Jennie was married to a man much older than herself.  This would keep her from going to the orphanage!  She and Holman Aurelius Johnston were married 11 May 1897 in Jefferson Co., Indiana.  She was only 16; he was almost 29. 

Their first child, Eva, was born that October.  My Grandma Hilda was born March 1900, Aunt Susie in March 1903, Aunt Edna in Feb 1905, and Uncle Jim in Aug 1907.  According to the 1910 Census Records, Jennie also had two more children that didn't live.  In 13 years, Jennie had been "in the family way" 7 times! 

Jennie, Eva, and Holman Johnston
ca. 1899

She must have had enough by 1910.  In that census record, she wasn't living with Holman and the children.  Eva, Hilda, Jim, and he were living with Jennie's oldest sister, Ida, the one brother Daniel didn't like.  Jennie had her own place, not too far from the family, but far enough away, and had a boarder staying with her.  Susie wasn't listed at either home.

Susie Johnston, aged 16
1919

Jennie remarried 2 April 1917, but she and her new husband, John Covey, weren't living together in the 1920 Census.  This picture, taken in 1917, is of Jennie, her daughters Eva Ramp and Edna, and Eva's daughter Eloise.  Poor Jennie looked so tired! 


Jennie, Eva, Edna, Eloise September 1917



Jennie, aged 36 years in 1917.

Jennie's occupation in the 1920 Census was as a battery inspector at one of the car plants in Indianapolis.  This was probably Chevrolet, or "Chivy" as it was called in Dad's neck of the woods of southwestern Johnson Co., Indiana.  At the time, she was living at 305 Roena Ave, Center Twp., Indianapolis, Marion Co., Indiana, and Chevy wasn't very far from her home.  Two of her children, Edna and Jim, were living with her, as well as a boarder.


Here's a picture of Jennie with two of her grandchildren by daughter Eva.  This was taken early to mid 1920s.

Jennie Covey, grandchildren Eloise and Jack Ramp ca 1922-23.

This is a picture of Jennie's dad, George W. Meeks, with his great-grandchildren Eloise and Jack Ramp.  This was probably taken about the same time as the picture of Jennie and the kids.


George W. Meeks, g-grandkids Eloise and Jack Ramp
taken about 1922.

1934 was an infamous year.  Not only was John Dillinger shot and killed in July of that year, but Jennie lost her daughter Edna and 3 of her 4 granddaughters, Edna's girls. 

12 March 1934 was a cold morning to get up to a house with no heat.  The girls, Carol Jean, Frances Ellen and Ernestine Finch, decided to get the old wood stove going before the adults got up.  Tragically, the kids caught the house on fire.  The neighbors were able to save Jennie and Edna's baby daughter, Alice Jo Finch, but Edna and her 3 girls perished.  This was the beginning of the end for poor Jennie.  

Alice Jo Finch September 1933
6 month old.


UPDATE: 17 JUL 2014

I recently made contact with a Meeks cousin, Tammy Sampson.  In her possession was a copy of an article from 1 August 1934 in the Indianapolis Star newspaper she'd received from my Dad!  Tammy graciously made copies and mailed those to me for my records.  I have no clue what happened to the original Dad copied for her.  Dad's gone now, so I'll never know.  The article is so, so sad!!!

Her health deteriorated over the next couple of years.  She entered Richmond State Hospital, (originally East Haven Hospital) Richmond, Wayne Co., Indiana in 1936.  Her death came 31 October 1938, and her daughter Hilda Johnston Logan had her buried in the Logan Family plot at Friendship Methodist Church, Hensley Twp., Johnson Co., Indiana.  Her grave marker is simple, engraved only with "Jennie Meeks Johnston 1881-1938".  She was just 57, one year younger than I am now.




Hilda Pearl Johnston and Hiram Logan
I believe this was my grandparents' engagement photo.
1918

Jennie's mind must have snapped, wouldn't yours?!?  I don't know how she managed to last 4 years after losing her child and her child's children!  I lost my first husband when I was 39.  For one year, until I met my present dear husband Doug, I went through torment, guilt, anguish, and depression.  I cannot image losing my child and her children!  Jennie must have gone through many of the same feelings I did...torment and anguish at losing her loved ones, guilt and depression at not have been able to save them.

I wonder if there is a gene in our family that makes us susceptable to mental illness.  Jennie's situation is understandable.  Would she have developed Alzheimer's in later life had she lived to old age?  Her daughter Hilda lived to be 6 weeks short of 90, but had Alzheimer's.  My dad just turned 84 and now has Alzheimer's.  Will I get this terrible disease if I live to 80-90 years old? 


XoXoXo

Happy Father's Day ! ! !

"A sulky is a lightweight cart having two wheels and a seat for the driver only but usually without a body, generally pulled by horses or dogs, and is used for harness races." source: Wikipedia

Courtesy The Graphics Fairy

Dad grew up in the countryside of southwestern Johnson Co., Indiana, Hensley Township.  The township was named after his great-great grandfather Richardson Hensley, the first settler of the area.


Dad with his buddy, Ladd, in the early 1930s.



Pop in his Trafalgar HS letter sweater, taken late 1940s or early 1950s.
SIDENOTE:  PLEASE WRITE ON THE BACKS OF YOUR PHOTOS!
RECORD ALL POSSIBLE INFORMATION!

He would tell us kids he raced his sulky against other guys in the neighborhood, and won!  The sulky was also used as transportation - guess it was easier (on the backside) than ridin' a horse to and fro!

In honor of Pop's history with the sulky, I created this Father's Day card for him.  You can make use of this, if you care to.  Print as landscape on cardstock - end result is 5 x 7 card, folded.  You may have to do a little bit o' trimmin'.

The graphic is from the Graphics Fairy, of course! Love Karen's wonderful site, with all the free vintage graphics she so graciously shares!

Buddy, Dad, and me - 1958

Happy Father's Day, Pop!!! I love you and pray you get better soon!

XoXoXo



Additional note:  I entered this in the Pioneer Woman's Photography assignment: Fathers.  You can find it on her Flickr page.  It our "Pop Through the Years."

Love ya, Pop!

SUNDAY'S OBITUARY - EDWIN WILBUR GOOD 1937-2007

My Mom's brother, Eddie, was so special to me!  I'd known him since I was born.  From what I remember growing up, "Unk" as we called him, was always around.  He lived with Mom and Dad, helping Dad on the farm.  Eddie was like a little brother to Dad.  He also worked with Pop when Dad farmed at Bunker Hill AFB, south of Peru, Indiana.  It's now known as Grissom AFB, in honor of Astronaut Gus Grissom, who died in that awful launchpad fire in 1967. 


Eddie Good ca 1941-42
Listie, PA



Eddie ca 1951



Uncle Eddie working with Dad
Peru, Indiana 1950s



Dad in Peru, Indiana in the 1950s



Edwin W. Good US Army 1950s

Eddie served in the Army, and I remember a picture of him and me together when I was 3 or 4, he dressed in his uniform.  It was during that time, I recall trying to tell him something and it came out bass-ackwards.  He laughed that beautiful, deep laugh, and from then on, he called me his "little Dutchman."  We always met his girlfriends, one of them, Pauline, would babysit us every now and then. 


Unk with his own Easter basket 1963
Peru, Indiana

When Unk married Garnet Craig in 1964, we were introduced to her.  His nickname for her was "Garney," but we kids mistook it for "Connie," and no one ever corrected us.  To this day, we still call her that when speaking of her.  I think she enjoyed it that she had a special name that only we used for her.  She passed away about 5 weeks after Unk died, from Diabetes complications.

I wrote the following the day after Uncle Eddie's death: 

"Uncle Eddie was a spiritual person, with a wonderful sense of humor.  He always tried to be positive and see the bright side of things.  He had a wonderful singing voice and could play the acoustic guitar beautifully.  I remember him sitting on Grandma's porch swing, sing hymns, reminding me of Andy Griffith.  He took care of Aunt Connie (Garnet), who is in a wheelchair, with dedication.  Even tho' he was in extreme pain from the bladder cancer which had spread to his liver, he said he had to take care of "Momma" (before he thought of himself).  He said we weren't to cry because of his passing, but to celebrate!  He was going Home. I know there's a great reunion in Heaven, as he joins his mom and dad, two sisters and a baby brother he never knew.  I will miss him so very much!   His loving niece, Joy- May 28, 2007."


The last picture I ever got of Uncle Eddie
Christmastime 2006
Daytona Beach, Florida

The following obituary was placed in the Daytona Beach News-Journal: 

"Edwin Good     
DAYTONA BEACH -- Edwin Wilbur Good, 69, of South Nova Road, retired from the Volusia County school district maintenance department, died Sunday at Florida Hospital Oceanside, Ormond Beach. Mr. Good, an Army veteran, was born in Listie, Pa., and moved to this area in 1980 from Largo. He had also worked in construction. He was a member of the Prince of Peace Catholic Church and the Fraternal Order of the Eagles. Mr. Good enjoyed flying and anything to do with aviation. Survivors include his wife of 42 years, Garnet; a son, Mark, Holly Hill; a sister Evelyn Logan, Indiana; and two grandchildren. Memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, NCICFUL, P.O. Box 102454, Atlanta, GA 30368. Woodward, Holly Hill, is in charge.
Published in the Daytona Beach News-Journal on 5/30/2007." 

My sister and I didn't think it was worthy enough of Unk. So, she wrote another one (with my input) to put in the paper in Somerset, Pennsylvania (close to Listie, where Eddie was born).  That one follows:

"Edwin Wilbur Good, 69, of Daytona Beach, Florida passed away Sunday, May 27, 2007 at Florida Hospital Oceanside, Ormond Beach. He had been suffering with cancer for several years. "Eddie", as he was known by everyone, was born October 9, 1937 in Listie, PA to Edwin Ellsworth Good and Sarah Elizabeth (Aultz) Good.
He graduated in 1955 from Somerset High School. He served in the United States Army and was stationed at Indian Town Gap, PA, where he acted as a general's chauffeur. In the early 1960's he worked in Chicago as a detective for the railroad and met his future wife, Garnet Lorraine Craig, while there. They were married on October 7, 1964 in Muncie, Indiana. She survives. On March 8, 1970 their son, Mark Edwin, was born in Muncie, Indiana. He survives along with his wife, Lynette, and their 2 children, Hunter and Hayden.
Eddie also, at different times, worked in farming, construction and at the Square D manufacturing plant in Peru, Indiana. In the 1970's he served with the Indiana National Guard out of Camp Atterbury in Edinburgh, IN. Later he and his family moved to Florida where he eventually retired from the Volusia County School System.
Eddie was a licensed pilot and loved anything to do with aviation. He was a member of the Prince of Peace Catholic Church and the Fraternal Order of the Eagles. He was preceded in death by his parents, 2 sisters - Mrs Alice Rebecca (Harold) King of New Port Richey, FL and Mrs Sarah Elizabeth (George) Graham of Listie, PA - and a nephew - Mr Bruce King of Pittsburgh, PA. Survivors besides the aforementioned include a sister - Mrs Evelyn Lois (James) Logan of Pierceton, IN - 5 nephews, 7 nieces, 5 great nephews, 6 great nieces and one great, great nephew.
Services will be Tuesday, June 5, 2007 at 3 p.m. at Dale Woodward Funeral & Cremation, Holly Hill, Florida." (written by Kathy Logan Creamer with input by Joy Logan Burkhart for submission to and publication in The Daily American in Somerset, PA, May 31, 2007)


Uncle Eddie, Aunt Alice, Grandma Good,
Aunt Sally, & Mom (Eveyln) ca 1966

I really miss you, Unk!  Miss you, too, Aunt Connie!!! 
Love ya both!


Uncle Eddie 1971



Aunt Connie 1971

XoXoXo
 

Black Sheep Sunday

Growing up, our Dad told us stories of events that happened on the farm where he was born in Johnson County, Indiana.  This one story was about the time he, at age 6 or so, met John Dillinger. 


Photo source: FBI

This had to have taken place between May 10, 1933, when Dillinger was released from prison after eight and a half years, and July 22, 1934, the night Dillinger left the Biograph Theater in Chicago with Anna Sage and Polly Hamilton.

Photo source: FBI

It seems Dad was outside playing when a car pulled up the driveway to their house on Spearsville Road, just a few miles from Trafalgar, Indiana.  The man inside asked for directions, which Dad couldn't give him, being so young.  Dad ran into the house and got his Grandma 'Omi (short for Naomi).  Grandma followed her grandson back out to the car and gave the man directions.  She also told the man to wait while she returned to the kitchen and made sandwiches for him and his friends.  After the strangers left, Dad wanted to know who the guy was. He was told "John Dillinger."

Dad was so affected by this meeting with John Dillinger, he opened a video store in late 1993 in Port Richey, Florida named Biograph Video.

Dad's other grandma, Jennie, lived in Indianapolis on the west side of town near Washington Street.  At the time, I believe she was working at an auto manufacturer as a battery inspector.  She had one of her daughters and four granddaughters living with her.  Sometime between the time Dillinger got out of prison (May 10, 1933) and March 12, 1934, John Dillinger stopped at Grandma Jennie's home, looking for a place to stay for the night.  Grandma didn't have much, but wouldn't turn a stranger away.  She either had a spare bedroom, or gave up her own in order to allow this young man a place to lay his head that evening.  The next morning, before Grandma Jennie arose, Dillinger was gone, but he had left her a $100 bill on the kitchen table.

The reason this had to have happened before March 12, 1934 is the granddaughters tried to light the wood stove that cold morning and the house caught fire.  Grandma Jennie and the Baby Alice were the only inhabitants to be rescued by neighbors.  Her daughter and the three other granddaughters died in the fire.  Grandma was never the same after that and died about four year later.


Photo source: FBI

John Dillinger was a hero to the common man, similar to Robin Hood.  He personally had never killed anyone, until one policeman stepped in front of his fire.  It was unintentional on Dillinger's part.  However, if you live by the sword, you die by the sword.

John Dillinger died about 10:50 P.M. July 22, 1934 on the sidewalks of Chicago.  His father didn't believe the body to be that of his son, but the body was buried in the Dillinger plot at Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana. 


Photo source:  http://www.findagrave.com/

  XoXoXo