My Life Journal...Diana Lewis

I'm staying with the six page idea vs. the four page only because there's so much information. You can not only find it in the words but also the photos and these are some of the sweetest photos of Diana at Nob Hill. I'm sure all of us can find a photo where we ourselves or one of our family members are sitting in a "swimming pool", it might not have been a wash tub outside maybe it was the sink. I just love sweet innocent photos like these. Her mother was so well organized in noting all of her developmental dates and  foods, Virginia loved her daughter you can tell just by looking at the first few pages of the book. Enjoy the next six pages, 10-15 and be sure to share and let me know what you think. 

Photograph of pages 10 & 11

   Diana at 6 mo. On the floor of

The living room at Nob Hill.

Diana at 7 yr. in

Her “swimming pool”

Diana on the porch at Nob Hill. She was

Eleven months old & this was the picture I sent her Daddy

who was in Greenland. 

July, 1945

In the

front yard

of Nob Hill

at 13 ½ mo.

Here I was

14 mo. Old.

The picture

was taken by

Mother

and Daddy

in the

back yard at

Nob Hill.

Photographs of page 12 & 13

SLEPT

First Week  Diana slept days, cried nights

Second week the same as first week.

Next month She has her nights & days straightened out

REACTIONS

Notices sound of voices  Sept. 1, 1944

First tears  Sept. 20, 1944

Recognized Father and Mother  October 25, 1944

ACTIVITY

Lifts head  November 1, 194

Grasps objects has always been able to hold rattle

Plays with hands Sept. 12, 1944

Sits up (supported) Nov. 25, 1944

Sits up alone Feb. 27, 1945

Creeps June, 1945

Stands with help July, 1945

Walks October 1, 1945

First Words Daddy – Pretty

Walks alone October 1, 1945

Attempts to climb March, 1946

Words together April, 1946

Uses spoon and cup cup- Feb, 1946 – spoon –

You've a little way about you

That is very, very dear,

A pleasant way that always makes

Folks glad to have you near,

That brings a smile to welcome you,

A sigh when you depart,

And that little way about you

Has endeared you to my heart.

Janet

To Diana

From Deborah

(This is hand written in pencil on the back, penmanship looks to be that of a child.)

Easter’s the day for bunnies,

For brand-new BONNETS too…

But better still, it’s just the time

To say HELLO to you!

    To Diana from Grandmother Lewis

April 1 – 1945 

This is just

for your own little,

cute self alone,

On the very first

Valentine’s Day

you have known!

With Love From Great Grandmother Beers

(This was handwritten in black ink on the back.)

Photographs of pages 14 & 15

FOODS

First feeding was at the hospital. Her first orange juice and

cod-liver oil was at one month. Prune juice added 5^th week.

Note changes At the hospital she had a formula of

evaporated milk & water. Dr. changed this to whole

milk and water when she came home.

First solid food Vegetables from the garden at __________

on July 26, 1945.

Drank from glass at eight months

FAVORITE FOODS

At one saltines, orange juice       At two bacon, banana’s, milk

PARENTS’ COMMENTS

During 2^nd year Diana has a great interest in books. At 2 ½

she knew her nursery rhymes quite well and all the alphabet.

During 6^th to 10^th year reads books like mad

During 10^th to 15^th year reads books by the dozens

Tomorrow’s blog post will include a Western Union birthday wish from her daddy along with a sweet birthday card while he was in Ireland. The card is sweet and I have to admit being in a military family myself, my heart breaks when reading about parent and child separation. I know that I’ve been asked about composing a list of all surnames mentioned in the book and their location; I will be posting that on the last posting of Diana Lewis. I’m waiting because this book also has her wedding announcement clippings; those hold additional names, that I will be sharing those later also. 

Matrilineal Monday–Martha Colleen CLINTON

     Martha Colleen CLINTON is the next lady I would like to introduce you to. Colleen as she was often referred to was my maternal grandmother and she had a wonderful, fun filled, interesting and active life. She was born on 26 February 1922, in Matthews, New Madrid, Missouri; her parents were Edd CLINTON and Essie Mae STEWART. She had two sisters, Nellie Elizabeth CLINTON and Edra Mae CLINTON. There were four brothers in that house Kenneth Clair CLINTON, Ora Hilton CLINTON, Frank Stewart Clinton and Clarence Eldon CLINTON. She grew up on the farm and lived a simple life like most families did then.

     She married Fred Henry ELFRANK on 3 August 1940 while living in Missouri. They had two great kids, the oldest being Fred Leroy ELFRANK and the youngest Deborah Sue ELFRANK. The lived in Cape Girardeau, Missouri throughout the greater part of their marriage and raised both children while there. As you’ve noticed I'm speaking in past tense, we lost my grandmother on the 3 August 1995.

     Grandma was known as a very strong minded lady that had a point to prove and wouldn't stop till you either truly agreed or just agreed so you could move on. She had a knack with crafts and decorating that was passed on to my mom and me. I forget to mention the strong minded characteristics were also passed on to me. Thank you grandma!
     I know in the past post that I’ve done on Mater Women I’ve always gone to my mom or my dad for their input. I’m changing this up some only because I’m not sure if they are aware of how much of an impact she made with me. When I started this post I couldn't help but cry, I miss so much of my grandma. I wish so much she was here with us to see what a wonderful family I have and to get that stinging love pat we, the grand kids  always got when she was happy. It doesn't matter if we were sitting around playing card games or out back hitting the wiffle ball. Whenever she would give us a hug we would always get a strong loving pat on our legs or on our backs.
     Playing cards was always something we did with grandma. We would sit around this little breakfast bar style table and start dealing the deck, for games like spite and malice or even slap jack. My brothers and I had small hands and couldn't hold the cards so grandma let us lay them out on chairs next to us. The came couldn't start of course until we, the kids, had our soda and pretzels, while grandma would have her cigarettes, and a “Pabst Blue Ribbon,” her beer of choice. We would stay up for hour’s playing cards and no matter what we would never admit we were tired.
     I mentioned that my grandmother was very crafty and she taught me a few things. Needle point is one of the many crafts, I have two pillow cases one with kitty cats playing with a ball of yarn and another one with a princess. Funny thing is I don’t really remember making these with my grandma but I still have them and keep them close. I do however remember us making a trashcan together, strange I know but that was the coolest trashcan. She and grandpa grabbed a couple of those large, cylinder ice cream tubs from “Basket Robbins”, along with some Sears and JcPenny catalogs. We sat in her black and gold craft room and we would rip each page out of those catalogs. Then place a toothpick in one corner and roll to the other, attach a small piece of tape then lay in a pile. I don’t remember how many of those we rolled but we rolled a ton, we carried our rolls and ice cream containers to the kitchen table then began gluing each one on the outside all the way around the container. Then voila we had our new crafty trash cans ready to take home.
     It was always a treat watching grandma play wiffle ball with my brothers and I. Let’s just say, you had better use the restroom before you begin to play or you’re likely to have an accident from laughing so hard. She would grab that bat, step up to the plate, stick her butt out, do a full 360 spin with that bat, chant her batter- batter-swing; while all of this was going on she would shake her butt. You just had to see her; she was so serious about making us laugh.
     No matter how old you were or what you’ve done you could always count on grandma to love you. She might not agree with some of the choices you have made but you were always right there in her thoughts and heart.

I love you and miss you grandma……

Matrilineal Monday–Lena Katherine Elizabeth HOPPER

   
     I decided since the last two blogs on Matrilineal Monday were my great grandmothers on my dad’s side I would continue with the Langston ladies. I hope that’s okay with everyone. Now where do I begin there are so many wonderful things that I’ve learned about my dad mother, both from him and some additional research. I guess the best place to start is at the beginning, as with any introduction. So with that being said I’m happy to introduce to you Lena Katherine Elizabeth HOPPER Langston.

     Lena Katherine Elizabeth HOPPER was born 6 December 1913 in Cape Girardeau, Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Her parents were Robert Nathaniel Elmer HOPPER and Emma Josephine HARENBERG both born in Missouri. She had one brother, Robert E. HOPPER. She married James Raymond LANGSTON on 18 December 1938 at the Evangelical United Church of Christ in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Together they had five children, four girls, Carolyn LANGSTON, Phyliss LANGSTON, Patricia LANGSTON, Sally LANGSTON and one boy, Raymond LANGSTON. She died 26 October 1963 of cancer, leaving behind all of her children, husband and her mother. Thankfully there are many memories that all of her children have. I focused on my dad and the memories he had of his mother, who left him at a young age of 17.

(This is a photo of Lena Katherine Elizabeth Langston and James Raymond Langston)

     He remembers her of course being a loving and wonderful mother who did many things for her family. She could cook anything and it would taste great, he remembers knowing that whenever his uncle, from St. Louis, would come to visit coffee cakes were to be made. Mind you not just the regular coffee cakes but she would also make cinnamon cakes and coconut cakes, drizzled with icing. Not many of us get to experience homemade donuts drizzled with icing that taste better then Krispy Kreme's but my dad, even his sisters would help. When it came to the kitchen she was also pro with canning, everything from beans, tomatoes and even the fall pepper relish, she had help from my dad and his sisters with it came to the canning, I'm sure the eating also. I can't forget that she would can 40 to 50 quarts of peaches.

(This is a photo of Lena Katherine Elizabeth Langston and my dad, Raymond H. Langston.)

      There were times of course that he tested her patience as I'm sure many of us have done with our own parents a time or two. He recalled a time he did that and ended up with sore fingers and hands. One day she asked him to go outside and pull the weeds in that were in her Iris flower bed, well he had a different idea on how to pull the weeds. Can you see where I’m going with this? Dad decided the quickest way to get rid of the weeds was to use the mower. That’s right he pulled out the lawn mower and mowed over the weeds and his moms Iris’s. If I remember correctly his punishment was to then weed with yard, so yeah his hands and fingers were sore.
     There are many wonderful things he learned from her and remembers about his mother. Just one of those memories that he shared with me seemed strange at first but then again I can picture him sitting and watching her. I know he watched her because he can recite each step till the day. You start with the collar then move to the yoke, sleeves and then the body. He could sit and watch his mom iron the clothes and enjoyed every second of it he would even help her hang the laundry outside. During the time I was talking with my dad about his mom, we were on the phone so I couldn't actually see his face. But you know when someone is smiling and I know he was as he remembered so many things about his childhood and his mom. He even chuckled as he remembered both his mom and dad watching him and his sisters' roller skating in the basement.
     I'm sure there is more that I can say about Lena Katherine Elizabeth HOPPER, basically I know there is more I can say but this is a blog not a book. So I will leave you with this,

 

(This is a photo of Lena Katherine Elizabeth Hoppers Confirmation)