Reclaimed Memories

e went again to  Lake Junaluska for Troy to attend a meeting of the Board of Evangelism. We left Sharpes on the last day of March. (We were spending our winters in one of Marion's apartments.) That night was spent in Orangeburg, S. Carolina. It was a beautiful drive over route 276 from Harrises. We passed Mirror Lake, Sliding Rock and  Looking Glass Falls.

Almost as soon as we arrived home we had a call from Elma, telling us that her foster grandson had been murdered. He had just started driving a cab and a passenger shot him. I believe the man was on drugs. We went to Akron for his funeral on April the 8th. He was buried on Elma's lot at Crown Hill, where my parents were buried forty-six years earlier.

In addition to his lawn and garden work Troy covered the carport during the summer.

Ted and Blossom were hosting the Thrash reunion again. We always helped financially with these reunions. I believe she always received enough to cover her expenses. One year I remember she objected to Ruby and me giving her an extra $20.00 each. Several of Lois's children came and she fed them after our meal was over. She were later that she bought a good pair of walking shoes with the extra money. She seemed to love doing it and was well equipped for social functions. The reunion was on June 25th. We stayed with Elma and on this trip Troy installed a doorbell for her. One reason the reunion was held at Ted's was because Gotthart could attend there and he would not have been able to come the 370 miles each way to Singers Glen.

On the way home we stopped for a visit with the Clintons at Old Washington.

In July we saw Mrs. Miller again in New Haven. went to the Brady reunion at Bland and Helen's in Clarksburg and on to attend the Golden Agers Camp.

In August the Harrises came and we made the round trip to the Cass Railroad attraction. The crowds were so bad that we did not get to ride the train. Robert was so disappointed, so we took them there again the next year. That time we were able to take the ride to the top of the mountain and back While they were with us we took another trip into West Virginia and went to the top of Spruce Knob, the highest point in the state. We also visited Nelson Rocks.

Rob and Libby Harris stayed for three days, leaving the morning of the 22nd. That afternoon Beulah, Buddy and their daughter to and her husband arrived. The next day all of us went to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home. It is not far from Charlottesville, Virginia. Jefferson had so many talents! Many of his unique ideas were built into this home. He was also the architect of the first buildings of the University of Virginia at Charlottesville.

Joe and Gerald visited Luray Caverns on the 24th. The rest of us had been there so we did not go. We learned that a class was going to be given on genealogical research at Eastern Mennonite College and we enrolled on Sept. 12th. We attended a class each Monday night until we left for Florida on November 7th. We enjoyed the experience and the fellowship of other "root diggers." We voted on the 8th and left immediately for our winter in Florida.

NEXT - 1978 

The Brady Trilogy  I  Reclaimed Memories - (1991)  I  Pop Troy's Anthology - ( 1992)  I  Kinfolk - (1994)