Merry Christmas!

 

 Our card for this Christmas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steph and Jeff Wingerter at Moms 2009

In the little house in Martinton. 

Mom and Rich 2, Clifton Nursing Home 2009

 She really enjoys visitors.

Mom's House in Martinton at Christmas 1990s

 Mom just loved her little house. She decorated it some years back and I took this picture.

House burns down

 The huge pink mansion across the street from the Sheldon Nursing Home burned down last week. Mom just smiled when I asked her if they had some excitement last week because of the fire.

Mom with her Memory Book

Marilyn Rose had collected the cards, letters, and notes Mom had received this year and Barbara placed them in a book so Mom or a visitor can go to a page, open the card to reread the info. It was her Christmas gift to Mom. Mom said how nice it was to have them all together.

Birthday call to Dawnetta

Mom was so happy to share some time with Dawnetta, her granddaughter in Texas, on her birthday! 

BULLDOG GRAVY

I have Sarah Ogan's song loaded in my computer and didn't know what "Bulldog Gravy" was so this week I asked Mom's cousin Etta Arnold Owens if she did as her father Ernst was a Kentucky miner most of his life. She did not and I'm glad she didn't after I googled it and read this.

Bulldog gravy refers to a Great Depression era foodstuff associated with American coal miners. It was a mixture of water, flour and grease, and eaten with beans or over a "water sandwich" (bread soaked in lard and water). It is mentioned in the lyrics of the Appalachian lament Man of Constant Sorrow (or Girl of Constant Sorrow, depending on the performer.) It is also mentioned in the lyrics of Sarah Ogan's "Come All You Coal Miners," covered with the title shortened to "Coalminers" by the alt-country group Uncle Tupelo, on their album, "March 16-20, 1992."

Bill Miller in Uniform/Obit

 

Sonny Watson

 Sonnys Mother was Dads first cousin, Louella Watson. Louella was the daughter of Charlotte "Lotte" Miller, Dad's aunt. They lived 1/2 mile south of Grandpa and Gramma Arnold when they lived on the Taylor place near Bonfield in the 1940's.  Sonny and I went to High School together. He married a girl from Clifton that went to school with Barb. He has a prosperous industrial disposal business.

Ernest and Surilda Arnold 50th

 Ernst was a brother to my Grandpa George Arnold. Surilda was an American Indian. He is from the Somerset area of Kentucky, she was from Cow Creek, KY. Thanks to Mom's cousin Etta, daughter to Ernest, for the clipping. More info to come.

Christmas Card 2012 Family Version

 I had two versions: one for the family , from Gramma, and one from Lucille.

Merry Christmas Card 2012

 I mailed Mom's cards last week and she was happy to hear it. Don't forget to mail one to her.

Cards

 Reagan Lucille sent her Great Grandma Lucille a beautiful card. Mom just loved to look at her nightstand and see the love expressed in the smile on this card!

Dec 7, 1941

 Welty, Grandpa, Dad, Sherwood Thorson

On this date 71 years ago my parents did what they usually did on a Sunday, they went to spend time with my grandparents. Sometimes it was to the Millers where everyone but Mom spoke German. Sometimes it was to the Arnolds which was an open-door gathering house near Bonfield for their nine kids and many grandkids. Uncle Welty, Uncle Sherwood and Dad discussed the attack and wondered if the three of them would be drafted soon. Grandpa told them since they were all farming they would be deferred as in some other wars. He was right as they were never drafted. Dad developed a hernia and that later on kept him out of the army. After a trip to the ER about 1954 he had surgery for it. Thanks to Aunt Dorothy for telling me this piece of family lore.

Merry Christmas from the Millers

 Barb and I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas 2012!

Barb and our Great-grandson

 

 Barb with our great-grandson A.J. Miller. we were at our first son's home (Rich II) to celebrate Thanksgiving and we were joined by his daughter Vanessa, husband Ben and her sons, A.J. and Aiden. I'm having some prints from the day made for Mom. She travelled to Rich's many times over the years and she still remembers those good times.

 

 

 

Barb and Rosalee

This picture was taken last week at our sons home near Carbondale, IL. His oldest child, Rosalee, and Barb enjoyed their time together.

Election Day Kiss

Barb and I went down to see Mom before going on to Chicago to share in Richards big election night show on NBC 5 Chicago.

Workbench

Mom and I used to go to auctions, garage sales, and antique stores to look and sometime buy. I went to a local garagsale and bought the frame of this bench. It was made of 4x4's from an old barn. The farmer retired and had two of these for sale, I bought both and gave one to a friend in exchage for him adding barn siding to the bench and wheels to allow me to move it alone. My $40 dollar bench!  

Mike and Adele Foltz

Adele Foltz Howard was kind enough to send this recent picture of her brother Mike and her. They are Dad's cousins and attended the Taylor one-room school with Mom's siblings. I will show it to Mom as she just loves to see new pictures!

Google, NBC5 and Capitol Fax's Rich Miller invite you to an Election Night Results Watch Party

Our son Richard will be doing analysis of the election 6 Nov. We will be there watching.  Rich

 

	Please join us on election night for an event featuring real-time local, state and national results; Google trends and analysis from Capitol Fax's Rich Miller. Light bites and drinks will be served.
	WHEN	Tuesday, November 6 6 - 11 p.m.
	WHERE	Public House Chicago, The West Bar 400 North State Street, Chicago
	Space is limited.
	Google is pleased to provide attendance at this event at no cost to government officials/ employees and representatives/employees of other organizations when authorized by law or policy. By attending this event and accepting any gifts that may be offered, the attendee certifies that he/she is able to do so in compliance with the laws and policies of his/her organization. Google will accept payment for any portion of this event to ensure compliance with applicable requirements. Please contact event-compliance@google.com with any questions.
	© 2012 Google Inc. 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043
	If you no longer wish to receive information regarding the "Google Election Night Results Watch Party", please enter your email address here.

Pictures/Cards

 I took down Moms cards/pictures to place them in an album. She will review the album from time to time. So send her some new ones!

Ellen Arthur

Mom's Aunt Ellen at 89. Such a sweet lady. One of the pictures her daughter Christine had sent to Mom for her 92nd birthday celebration.

Ano, KY

Still making molasses with donkey power in Ano, KY on Delmar Turner's farm. Fourty years ago I took a shower in their nearby waterfall/stream. This was Mom's Aunt Annie/Uncle Everett Turner's place, close to the Daniel Boone National Forest.

ELLEN ARTHUR

Ellen Arthur and her granddaughter Janice Adkins. Aunt Ellen to Mom, married to Lincoln, son of John Athur, head of the clan. Ellen kept the sun off her face by wearing a home-made bonnet or scarf. Although they raised tobacco as a money crop neither one smoked. Smart folks.

Mom and Christine

Mom with her cousin Christine Arthur Woods in KY.

In Kentucky

Marilyn Rose, Mom, Christine Arthur Woods, Me, some years ago in KY. Christine was kind enough to send Mom a precious gift of pictures for her birthday! I brought Mom's cards, letters, and pictures from her birthday party and from her room home with me to put them all in an album. I will bring it back to her and she will go through them again and again.

Lincoln Arthur

Lincoln and Ellen Arthur celebrating 50 years of marriage. They married in March of 1930 and had 12 children: Denver, Orpha, Odell, Delford, Frieda, Ruth , Shirley, John, and George (twins) Christine, Rebecca and Lawrence They had been married 59 years when he passed in February of eighty nine. He was a brother to Mom's mother Maryetta. He lived at his father's homestead (John/Paw) where his daughter Christine now lives. The log cabin part of the house was used as the kitchen until the new house was built around 1970.

Mom's Cake

 

Another One of Aunt Dora and Mom

Hall is also decorated for the upcoming Halloween.

Smiling Dora

Always smiling. Mom was tiring out.

Another pic of Mom and Barb

Darian and his Mom.

Another son, Richard, was also there but I didn't get a picture of him this time.

Gabbing.

Marilyn Rose, Mom and Aunt Dora.

Having Fun!

Wingerters

Steph, George, Jeff; three generations.

George and Marietta Relaxing

That's the "stairsteps" photo of the Miller Kids from about 1947 on the table. It was taken at the Tanner Avenue house (Mom's home from 1943 til 1982) at the doorway to the basement steps. And our heights were just like stairsteps.

More Walwers

Val and some of her bunch.

Marilyn Rose

Marilyn Rose and some of her family attended. She did most of the work, as usual. She loves her Mother!

Talking

Cousins, friends, girls. The easel has a frame of pictures that hung in Mom's spare bedroom(mostly grandkids). There were other pictures throughout the room.

Douglas Arnold

Mom meets Welty's grandson.

Room of memories.

This is the same basket used to collect her birthday cards for decades.The book is a collection of pictures and cards from her 91st party.

Family

A resident, Uncle George Wingerter and Marietta (Kerbs) Tolmer, daughter of Sarah Arthur Keerbs, shared the day. Mom was so happy to see them! He looks great, he just recently celebrated his 80th birthday!

Stephanie and Vickie

Vickie always adds joy to any get-together and so does her cousin Steph.

Walwers

Scott and Kathy Walwer brought some kids with them

Giant Sized Birthday Card

We had a huge vinyl sign made to help celebrate this day. It came from Holland. Mom laughed when she saw it and said "Well I never...." The picture is from her 75th birthday party.

Welty

Mom's brother Welty has passed away and so has his son Larry but Larry's son Douglas came down from Evanston with his wife Cynthia and their talented daughter Willa. She is carrying on the stringed instrument family tradition.