DOGWOOD ACRES WEEKLY 05/18/08

DOGWOOD ACRES, 05/18/08, ELANE CRUM

Hello friends. This is graduation week, one down and two to go. Sunday afternoon found us at Forsyth High School where our special grad was Colby Biggs. There were so many others that we knew, children of relatives, grandchildren of our classmates and other friends.

It was good to see Tony and Louise Winter who had come down from Iowa to see their granddaughter graduate. We first met a couple of years ago when they were making plans to move and I sold their home.

After graduation was over our family met back at Bill and Christie’s house for a graduation party. It was such a beautiful day; the kids played on the basketball court at the “old house” and the men all gathered in Bill’s Coffee Barn.

We celebrated Neal Crum’s birthday after church Wednesday night. Knowing how he loves chocolate, LeaAnn baked all day making chocolate pies, chocolate chip cookies and brownies. I took a chocolate cake so the kids could help him blow out candles so everybody was happy and hyper. I wonder how quickly all the kids went to sleep that night?

Four-year old Andrew Dalton likes birthday cake more than just about anybody, but now we know that he is also a turkey hunter. He went hunting with Aaron and called in a big gobbler just ten minutes after getting to their stand. Aaron said he thought it was all over way too fast and wanted to stay and get another one.

Jim and Dawn’s pup joined Rick in his hunting blind near the end of turkey season. It was a rainy morning and after treeing squirrels, it came whining at the door of his blind, curled up and slept until he finished his hunt.

Dawn Bilyeu had the misfortune of running a nail all the way through her foot while she and Jim were tearing out plywood from the floor of the old house. It is a long story, but the short version is that the nail went from the top down. It went through her thick leather boot and all the way through her foot leaving puncture holes in top and bottom. Jim helped pull the board and nail loose then took her to the Dr. for tetanus shot and x-ray. She cannot put any weight on it and is using crutches when she does get up. They were so close to being finished with tearing down of the house, it is too bad this happened.

Norma Griffith from Ava came over to be in church Sunday morning with Bill, Christie and their family. Aunt Norma was a sister-in-law to Joyce Biggs, Bill’s mom, and a dear friend.

Proud Grandpa Ronnie Bilyeu sent me pictures of their grandson Ethan. Ethan, born in January weighing l lb., 9 oz., now weighs over 8 lbs. and got to go home Sunday. Mark and Kim are happy parents and all are thankful for the many miracles God has performed in this tiny little boy.

Justin and Kasie Fisher went hiking in the Hercules Glades Wilderness Sunday, going to the top of Coy Bald. They also had their first swim of the year as the bridge going to the trailhead was under water and they swam across to reach the trail. They said it was a little cold when they first went in but felt pretty good on the way out.

A few weeks ago I came home to find a note from Joan Gideon outside my kitchen door. She had left me a yellowed newspaper column from 1966; it was Pine Ridge News by Nettie Bilyeu (my grandmother). I read it over and over, and then it got buried under a stack of papers on my desk. As I pull it out tonight, I realize that it was a Mother’s Day column. She told about me cooking Mother’s day dinner (I believe Rick helped).

She also mentioned that Ricky Crum was leaving for the Service the very morning that she wrote the column. So long ago and so much has happened since then.

Granny’s Pine Ridge news also mentioned that Claude Bilyeu had stopped to visit on his way home from a fishing trip. He reported catching a large fish that had eleven pairs of grab hooks in it. The same week Claude and Wilma Bilyeu stayed all day with my grandparents and Uncle Claude helped plant corn. That may have been the big crop that grew so tall, higher than my grandpa’s head. Joan, thank you so much for sharing this column with me. Bye for now.

p.s. I found these two old pictures that were taken in 1966. The picture of Rick & I in our aprons was taken after we had prepared the Mother's Day meal. I was 16, he was 19. This picture of my Grandpa Clarence and the corn patch is not the tall crop that I was thinking of, but still a good crop.
I'm sure he was proud of it!