1983 Family Letter - May 8

Transcription follows.

Sunday evening -

May 8, 1983

Dearest Family -

It has been a long time since we have written a carboned letter to you all but it doesn;t mean than we haven't been thinking about each one of you.  We think perhaps you xyx may get tired of having to receive one of those and even a postal card is more personal.  Anyway we gave you a little rest from them for a while.

It has been good tohear from you all directly or indirectly this past week.  We know you alre all busy with your own activities but always glad to hear from you.

We had two surprise visitorxs at our back door last Wednesday night - a couple we hadn't seen for about 28 years.  They had visited us in New Vienna at our old house 30 years ago this coming Fourth of July.  Dad was in lawschool with Ed Jones and we as a family had stopped briefly to see them in Galion one time on our way to or from someplace.  But just having them stop and ask "I hear you have a good recipe for rhubarb ice-cream?"  I didn't recognize either of them until they said "June and Ed Jones" and I saw them smile.  We were just about leaving for a dinner in Wilmington so they went with us and then spent the night here so we did catch up on a little visiting.  We knew they had lost a little girl just a couple of months after visiting us before but didn't know they had three more children.  Two of their boys live in Phoenix and love it out there.  They have 6 altogether.  (June passed away in 1996.  Ed born 1916.]

This afternoon the Smiths (L. Eugene and Connie) were being honored at an open house by their children, it being their 40th anniversary.  I hadn't seen Wayne who now lives in Urbana and has two cute little boys.  Nor had we seen Virginia Sue who lives in Logan, Ohio with two cute little girls.  Jim has a big boy of about 12.  All the fellows including Sue's husband are all in the undertaking business.  Sue is rather heavy - works two days a week at the local hospital as a trained nurse.  We didn't feel like eating much as we had just gone to the Friendly Village Inn in Leesburg & had had to wait quite a while for a table there due to the business rush.

Yesterday we had quite a morning with a trip to Fallsville with friends to search for mushrooms.  It was so beautiful there - we had the place to ourselves - mushrooms haven't been too prolific so far this year but did fine enough to make our trip worthwhile.  Didn't Granddad used to take you girls looking for them at Snow Hill. [Yes, he did. I was worried about picking poisonous ones, Roberta had other concerns.]  Roberta mentioned that she had been so embarassed going out there on the golfcourse to search for them.

Last night we went to the State Square Dance Convention being held in Cincinnati - it lasts three days but we just went down for a little part of it.  We enjoy seeing all the various levels and types of dancing in different areas of the convention center.  Quite a few form our club were there.

It has been really chilly today with more and more rain - think the high was in the 40's.  Dad did plant some tomato plants yesterday that a friend have given to us - about 8 nice sized ones - hope they survive.  We used some one gallon plastic milk jugs to put around them.

Hope our garden "matures some" before we leave July 4 for a month's trip to Scandanavia and our first Elderhostel trip.  Our first weak is in Bergen, then near Gothenberg and the thrid week in Copenhagen and we plan to take some time to look around on our own.

Wendy sounds so grown up on the phone, she and her Mother have been bike riding.  Roberta will have her 3X birthday this week and Serena told us today that she plans to come home for her 10th H.S. graduation. X and John will be going to Florida later this month .. we're glad they are enjoying their work with the Church groups.  M.V. started yesterday as part time help at the Wilmington Extended Care .. that will be more variety than folding jump ropes.  She also is active in Church affairs and led the choir this A.M.

[Love, etc.]