DOGWOOD ACRES, 09/14/09

DOGWOOD ACRES, 09/14/09, ELANE CRUM
Hello friends. I keep trying to put more activities into my weekends and the time just does not stretch like I need it to! While Rick went for biscuits and gravy at Ken Puchta’s log cabin on Saturday morning, Little Fox and Bud helped me water flowers. Next, was a lick and promise at house cleaning and when Rick got home to stay with the dogs, I was ready to head out for Springfield.

Christie had gone to work early, but we met at Ryan’s Cafeteria in Springfield where we crashed the reunion of the descendants of Riley Alexander Maples from around Highlandville. Our Aunt Nadine Davis is a granddaughter of Riley and daughter of Ruby (Maples) Wade and Ivan Wade. She and her sister, Agnes, were chauffeured from Kansas by our cousin, Becky, also known as Rebecca Fern.

I did not expect to know anyone, but met a whole family of kids that I went to school with at Highlandville, the children of Jack Maples.
The two living children of Riley were there, Junior and Opal. I had a nice visit with Opal and enjoyed hearing about the years that she and her husband, Oliver Thomas, pastured Southern Baptist Churches around the area.
Another cousin, Betty (Maples) Wiseman told us she remembered our mother but she and Aunt Wanetta Keithley were the ones who got in trouble for talking too much on Melvin Patrick’s school bus. Imagine that!
Such nice people, but we love our Aunt Nadine and Agnes, so knew they would have a sweet family.

After leaving the reunion, I followed Christie to the new Sam’s Club on S. Campbell. I do not shop at Sam’s very much so it was a treat for me. While I was wandering around looking lost, I almost ran into Austin and Shirley Sutton from Taneyville. They said it was also their first time to shop there. I also saw Chad Curtiss, one of Neal’s buddies from school days at Marshfield. We have a lot of good memories from over eleven years that Neal had with classmates there.

Christie went back to work and I finally got home about 6:00 p.m. Sunday was a welcome respite at the end of a busy week. It was fellowship dinner day at Sandy Church and I made chocolate brownies with white butter cream icing and a big pan of Settler’s Beans with deerburger. They ate all the beans but there must have been six pans of brownies so most of those came home with me. Rick will not eat them and I will, so they went to work with me on Monday.

Aunt Roma Smith spent a few days in the hospital last week, but is now at home, being tended lovingly by Uncle Bill. He is such a good cook and knows just what she likes and how to make it pretty and appetizing.

Last Friday Rick and I attended a program for grandparents at Plainview School. Sheila Thomas is the music teacher there this year and she did a great job. The kids had fun and we old folks enjoyed hearing songs from the decades that we have lived through.

After leaving the school, we came home via DD Hwy and stopped at Rick and Judi Horner’s yard sale. They had lots of help with Joe, Nadine and Jack keeping them company. After school was out Kelly and Gus came so, we got to see almost the whole family. They tried to give us the Mama dog and puppy that someone had dumped on them, but we already have more than enough dogs.

I got a newsy email from Carla (Cummings) Jennings. She said Kaitlyn and Raymond keep them very busy with ballgames. Little Wesley is still getting used to the long days at kindergarten. Brian had taken the boys squirrel hunting, but I have not heard whether or not they had fried squirrel with gravy for dinner that evening.

One day last week I went into McDonald’s next to my office and got to visit with the Harding Family. Wayne and Gloria were there with Jimmy, Glowayna and her husband. I had never met him, but he thought he had seen my picture in a cooking magazine, the one that TV cook, Paula Deen, publishes. I had never had anyone tell me I looked like Paula Deen, but will take it as a compliment.

Rick and I went to Marshfield one evening for visitation of Patricia Barnum Szczechowski. We were next-door neighbors when Neal was very young and enjoyed watching their children grow up. There was a big crowd at the funeral home, but after being gone for almost twenty years, only saw one person that we knew, our friend and another neighbor, Barbara Berg.
I showed property today in Highlandville, Nixa and Ozark, ending up in a deep hollow near the head of Bull Creek. There was a beautiful home there at the end of a gravel road. It was dark and raining by the time we got there, but I want to take Rick and go back sometime just to see it in the daylight.

There is a white car with stripes of red paint likely traveling H Hwy on a regular basis. It would not have had red paint until Monday morning about 9:30 a.m. That was when it ran my nephew off the road on H, just south of Lone Star Road. Thank God he was not hurt and by the grace of God, his car landed on its all fours. Of course, the white car never stopped, but since his red car has white paint all along the side, it stands to reason the white car may have red stripes. Bye for now.