Friday Family Story...Embroidery

Beginner stitches

Some intermediate stitches

Grandma Caroline McMurray Davies -

My grandma taught me embroidery stitches.  She gave me some fabric, and embroidery hoop, some needles and some embroidery floss. With the exception of the hoop, it all fit into a Whitman chocolate box. She taught me some basic stitches, and then got me started on my first project, a pink toaster cover with a picture to embroider on the side. I did pretty good - I thought, but when I needed to take out a stitch I ended cutting into the fabric, so the little bear on the side had to have a patch job in the middle of his nose.  The rest of the embroidery was quite good for a beginner. Later I learned more stitches, and did embroidery work on some pillow cases, several table clothes, and even some pictures for the wall.
It was really special to learn from my grandma as my mother didn't do much handi-work. She did her creating with her sewing machine.(I am glad my mom taught me to sew with a machine)

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Douglas Bradshaw Fowler - A Photography Hobby

Grandpa Fowler took and developed his own photographs. I always thought of it as just a hobby he had.  However, when I read his life sketch that he wrote it tells of how he first started to develop film.

" In 1912, at age 14 he commenced as an apprentice in Pharmacy. An apprentice was only paid $10 a month. He had to find some way to pay his way through University.  He took on the extra job of Night Operator on the telephone exchange that was in the drug store.  He opened the store at 8 a.m. and got an hour for lunch and dinner and closed the drug store at 8 p.m., and went on the switchboard at 9 p.m. until 7 a.m.  .  He had a cot by the switchboard and could get some sleep between 1 a.m. and about 5 a.m.using a buzzer on the board to wake him up for calls. After he gave up the switchboard, he fixed up a dark room at home and developed and printed the films that were left in the drug store - often working in the dark room until 2 or 3 AM.  In this way and with some help from his  parents he was able to complete his University and graduated with the second class that the University of Alberta graduated.  He was then a Registered Pharmacist at the age of 18."

One of his philosophies of life - "one can accomplish anything one makes up their mind they can accomplish".

"When the folks went to town..."

This was a story about  my mom, Glenna Elaine Davies.   This story takes place when she was a young girl, but old enough to stay home alone when her folks had to go to town.

Occasionally, George and Carrie Davies would go to town and leave the girls home. One time Glenna was trying to keep herself entertained and was doing a little snooping around.  Her house didn't really have any closets or built in cupboards either upstairs or on the main floor. 

However, in the living room, there was a window with a window seat. Many parts of the year the family didn't even use the living room as it was too cool or cold.

A "store set" similar to this.

She went in the living room and decided to lift up the window seat lid to see what was there. Inside the window seat she found an amazing site. An entire little store set, very authentic and, just like you would find at the store. There was even a little cash register to ring up sales.

This was an absolute treasure!

For the next few months, every time her folks went to town, Glenna would go into the living room and play with the little store set. There was never any thought in her mind about why they were there or whose they were, it was just a huge bonus to have them there to enjoy.


A few months passed, and then it was Christmas morning.  

Her folks were so excited as they had saved and scrimped to be able to purchase a store bought gift of a little store set. Glenna  was not very excited at all, by now these were well-played with and there was no novelty about this gift. 

Roses for Glenna

According to a book about flowers-

ROSES: The person who loves roses is sentimental and good-hearted. They will hold onto cherished memories and share stories of the past with children who always seem to look up to them.  Because of this, elders respect that person and the characteristics of what you have become, and what you stand for.  That person will  have an active imagination and will love the natural beauty of the things around them .

My mother, Glenna, loved roses, and she is my inspiration for holding onto the cherished memories, and for wanting to share the stories of the past.

When I was born, my dad, Allan King Fowler brought a water globe with some fresh roses in it to the hospital for my  mom - I guess that was instrumental in the subconscious passing of  the love of cherished memories and family stories to me.

William George Davies - Monday Memories

Earliest Recollections

I have been trying to remember my earliest memory.

How old was I when I have a conscience memory and  what was the situation surrounding it.  I have to be careful not to make the "memory" something that I saw in a photograph.  I was borne in Lethbridge, but lived the first years of my life in Edmonton.  My dad was in school and latter had graduated from University of Alberta in Edmonton, but in the summers my folks would move home to Lethbridge and live in a little house on the farm.  My older sister and I were June babies.

Some random memories were about the day my parents had been gone for an hour or so, when they came home they called us all in from the back yard, and  I remember my dad had a stern voice.  When we came in the house I remember thinking it was strange that my mom still had her coat on.  We were all told to sit on the couch.  Then my dad said, "I know you girls have been wanting us to have a new baby- so here is an addition to our family" and my mom opened her coat and pulled out a little white puppy. We named her "Lady Pup", she was a terrier/Pomeranian mix.

I can remember going to the farm where my other grandparents lived, Grandma and Grandpa Davies.  I remember they had a horse and I went outside with Grandma and had to step over a big puddle of water to get inside the barn or chicken coop.  I remember sitting on Grandpa's lap and he had a Chinese bamboo back-scratcher hanging on the wall by the table. He would take that and scratch my back, I remember liking that a lot. Also, while sitting on his lap I got to see him roll his own cigarettes, and other thing I remember was that he would tear two small pieces of something like a brown paper bag and lick his two pointer fingers so the paper would stick on them and then he put his hands below the table edges so that I could only see the pointer fingers with the paper pieces on them, and he did the little rhyme about "two little Dickie birds" sitting on the tree, and when he had the "fly away" the paper would come off the finger and then they birds fly away and return. This grandpa (William George Davies) died when I was about 4 years old, so that may be my first memories.

Other memories of things that happened while we lived in Edmonton: (we moved to Richmond, British Columbia and I started 1st grade there)- so all these memories happened before I was five years old

• white cat with blue and green eyes
• birthday cake made to look like a doll with a dress
• having my tonsils out

• 

  Howdy Doody

• the day my mom discovered my neck/head was crooked
• surgery to correct my crooked head
• cousins coming for Christmas
• getting a nurse doll for Christmas
• going to "Play School"- the Canadian equivalent of kindergarten
• field trip to the television station
• having to sit at the table, long after the others - to finish my dinner
• I didn't like onions- they squeaked on my teeth
• our "Lady Pup" having 6 puppies
• watching my favorites on television - "The Friendly Giant" and "Howdy Doody Time"

I am amazed at the memories as they come rushing in....when I sat down this morning to start the post I really wasn't sure how many I would even have.

What are your earliest memories?  Take time to think and to write them down.

Louise King Fowler - Friday Family Story

Friday Family Story... Hummels 

My Grandpa and Grandma Fowler lived on a farm south of Lethbridge, in southern Alberta, Canada.  I can remember going to visit them.  There were lots of black cows, and quonset huts for the chickens. Best of all I remember visiting with grandma in the den of their home.  That was where the t.v. was, but also there were shelves of National Geographic magazines (a most unique find). However, in the formal living room, where we children only occasionally dared to venture were two tempting treats.  The first, an arrangement of fifteen Hummel ornaments, on several low tables placed between the various couches and chairs. I loved to stare at the various children in their lovable poses. the other excitement in that room was a cut glass crystal candy dish that held "Licorice All-sorts"---a yummy, yummy treat.

Grandma Davies Makes Hot Cereal

"Sunny Boy" for Carol

There are three girls in my family.  I am the middle sister. When we were little kids we lived in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Our parents had to go somewhere for a number of days so Grandma Davies came to take care of us.

"Oatmeal" for Judy

My only remembrance of that time is that she made a different hot cereal for each of us. I only liked  "Cream of Wheat", my older sister liked "Oatmeal" and didn't  like "Cream of Wheat", and our younger sister only liked "Sunny Boy" a wholegrain cereal.     ( I need to ask my mom for a few more details of the when and why and where the parents were)

"Cream of Wheat" for me

I remember thinking it was so special, we all felt so loved... but now I am a grandma myself I realize it was probably the easiest thing to do to keep the kids happy.   I hope I can be as good to my grand-kids.

Launa Fowler Stout - My Own Story

One spiral notebook

Thinking about my ancestors has made me think about writing my own story. I should be journaling my  experiences but also need to go back and write my past.

In 1979 we moved to Ft. Riley, Kansas. I was taking a class where the teacher challenged us to write everyday in a journal.  I didn't feel that my life was special enough to go out a buy a nice journal. I was also worried that my handwriting was not going to be neat enough, so I just bought an orange spiral notebook. I filled up several orange spiral notebooks over the next year or so.

What did I learn from that experience?
My life as I was in the day-to-day of it didn't seem too spectacular, but when looking back on the experiences from the writings in my journal, it was pretty amazing.  I found that by reading those pages floods of memories came to my mind, and now, because it is in print and I can read it,  I remember the year we spend in Kansas as one of the best years.

I wish I had bought a nice journal when I started, because my life was worth it, and it didn't matter that my handwriting was not perfect.