DOGWOOD ACRES, 09/20/ 2010, ELANE CRUM
Hello friends. Granddaughters were here to go with me to the 79th Annual Bilyeu Reunion on Saturday. Rick and Neal were at the church helping hang sheetrock in the basement, so we went alone. Bill, Christie, Colby and Madison, Jim and Dawn were there so our family was well represented.
Aunt Bonnie Bilyeu, age 92, was the oldest one there. There were two new babies, Cheyanne Mae Tennis born July 20 and Mia Brielle Williamson, born only two days later on July 22.
As usual, there were new faces and family members to get acquainted with and others were missing. Seems that everyone has such busy lives with too many places to go and some were just too tired. I understand that because it happens to me all the time, but I want my granddaughters to have these memories of the big family from west of Bull Creek Country.
On our way home, I took the memory drive remembering where so many of my relatives lived. I know Ashton and Erin will not remember all those names, so I showed them where I lived in the first grade. It was .4 mile down Day Road; I walked the gravel road all by myself to Noble and Lily Huff’s house out on the highway. Sometimes they would have grandchildren visiting and I stayed to play a little longer than I should and Mother worried because I was late. I don’t remember being scared of anything, but do remember seeing a covey of baby quails and catching baby frogs at the pond. It was a fun place to live; I liked visiting Ed and Pearl Gilmore who lived up the hill; she made clothes for my little rubber dolly and taught me to make hollyhock dolls.
The summer we lived there was also when Vernon Armitage picked me up with a carload of kids for Vacation Bible School at Chestnut Ridge. That was over half a century ago, but sure doesn’t seem that long to me. We moved from there to Swan, MO, and lived in the old Hammond log house for my second year of school. I walked across the bridge to Burger’s store to catch Raymond Cook’s little yellow school bus and Daisy Davidson was my teacher. We only lived there one year and then went back to Chestnut Ridge for a few more years.
Well, I did not really set out to give such a detailed history of my youth, but there it is! Oh, by the way, at the Bilyeu Reunion, we had a little game called “Name that Bilyeu”. Christie had asked for volunteers who would share a little known fact and see if anyone could guess who they were. One was “what Bilyeu had never seen the ocean?” Name after name was guessed, when suddenly I put my thinking cap on and Bingo, I was right. My brother Jim has never seen the ocean. Another was, “ what Bilyeu has jumped out of a plane?” After several guesses, it was learned that brave person was Larry Bilyeu who had that experience when he served in the U.S. Military. I was the third mystery Bilyeu with a first name that nobody knew, except my cousin Anita Kay who finally remembered.
I got over to Jim and Dawn’s one evening and saw the new chicken and dog pen which is becoming a fortress tight enough to keep the wild critters out. Jim built a nice set of nest boxes for the chickens, but seems they have forgotten how to lay eggs. Maybe when things settle down they will start laying again.
Buddy and Malcolm managed to sneak away one evening but, fortunately were found at Bill and Christie’s house. I don’t know if we could stand to go through the lost dog routine again so soon.
If you want to experience a bit more of Taney Co. history, don’t forget the reunion at Meadows School on Saturday, Sept. 25. An informal get together is planned, come when you want to and don’t forget your sack lunch and a lawn chair. Bye for now.
Hello friends. Granddaughters were here to go with me to the 79th Annual Bilyeu Reunion on Saturday. Rick and Neal were at the church helping hang sheetrock in the basement, so we went alone. Bill, Christie, Colby and Madison, Jim and Dawn were there so our family was well represented.
Aunt Bonnie Bilyeu, age 92, was the oldest one there. There were two new babies, Cheyanne Mae Tennis born July 20 and Mia Brielle Williamson, born only two days later on July 22.
As usual, there were new faces and family members to get acquainted with and others were missing. Seems that everyone has such busy lives with too many places to go and some were just too tired. I understand that because it happens to me all the time, but I want my granddaughters to have these memories of the big family from west of Bull Creek Country.
On our way home, I took the memory drive remembering where so many of my relatives lived. I know Ashton and Erin will not remember all those names, so I showed them where I lived in the first grade. It was .4 mile down Day Road; I walked the gravel road all by myself to Noble and Lily Huff’s house out on the highway. Sometimes they would have grandchildren visiting and I stayed to play a little longer than I should and Mother worried because I was late. I don’t remember being scared of anything, but do remember seeing a covey of baby quails and catching baby frogs at the pond. It was a fun place to live; I liked visiting Ed and Pearl Gilmore who lived up the hill; she made clothes for my little rubber dolly and taught me to make hollyhock dolls.
The summer we lived there was also when Vernon Armitage picked me up with a carload of kids for Vacation Bible School at Chestnut Ridge. That was over half a century ago, but sure doesn’t seem that long to me. We moved from there to Swan, MO, and lived in the old Hammond log house for my second year of school. I walked across the bridge to Burger’s store to catch Raymond Cook’s little yellow school bus and Daisy Davidson was my teacher. We only lived there one year and then went back to Chestnut Ridge for a few more years.
Well, I did not really set out to give such a detailed history of my youth, but there it is! Oh, by the way, at the Bilyeu Reunion, we had a little game called “Name that Bilyeu”. Christie had asked for volunteers who would share a little known fact and see if anyone could guess who they were. One was “what Bilyeu had never seen the ocean?” Name after name was guessed, when suddenly I put my thinking cap on and Bingo, I was right. My brother Jim has never seen the ocean. Another was, “ what Bilyeu has jumped out of a plane?” After several guesses, it was learned that brave person was Larry Bilyeu who had that experience when he served in the U.S. Military. I was the third mystery Bilyeu with a first name that nobody knew, except my cousin Anita Kay who finally remembered.
I got over to Jim and Dawn’s one evening and saw the new chicken and dog pen which is becoming a fortress tight enough to keep the wild critters out. Jim built a nice set of nest boxes for the chickens, but seems they have forgotten how to lay eggs. Maybe when things settle down they will start laying again.
Buddy and Malcolm managed to sneak away one evening but, fortunately were found at Bill and Christie’s house. I don’t know if we could stand to go through the lost dog routine again so soon.
If you want to experience a bit more of Taney Co. history, don’t forget the reunion at Meadows School on Saturday, Sept. 25. An informal get together is planned, come when you want to and don’t forget your sack lunch and a lawn chair. Bye for now.
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