My Old Kentucky Home Part Last

Sorry about skipping out of last night’s post.  Bad night with MS problems.  This photo is of Aunt Lucille on the left, my mom and dad in front, and assorted kids around them.  I recognize my brothers Larry, behind mom’s right shoulder, and Steve, the tall one to her left, but I’m not sure about the rest.  And I don’t know why it’s all boys, when there were some really cute girls around, unless Mary Ann and I were in the house playing.  She was older than I but was always very good about allowing me to follow her around and playing with me like a little sister.  This was all long before Doris, her baby sister, was born.

 This is a picture of my dad at his eighth grade graduation.  In those days most boys, especially,  didn’t go on to high school, since they were needed to help work on the family farms.  My dad did go on to Daviess County High School, because he had already decided farming was not for him.  That profession he would leave for Uncle Ed.  Dad was a salesman, and I sometimes think he could have sold ice cubes to Eskimos.  I remember when I had my tonsils removed, dad worked for the Dr. Pepper Company.  They made a soft drink called Squirt back then, and I loved it.  So, when I came home from the hospital, there was a whole case of Squirt, just for me.  Back then we weren’t allowed to eat anything but soft food, so I ruled like a queen for a couple of weeks.  Ice cream, pudding, and of course, my case of Squirt, while my siblings had to look on in envy.  Unfortunately, I recovered too soon, and then had to pay the piper for the special treatment.

This is Bob, Eddie, Mike Green, Tom and Mary Ann.  I’m only guessing here, but I think the Greens might be related to them on Lucille’s side of the family, the Simons.  But I could be very wrong here.  It seems that Mike was around them a lot when they were growing up, but since Mary Ann married Tom Green, maybe they were just friends?  Anyway, if the name Mike Green sounds familiar to any of you NASCAR fans, you are correct.

 This is a grownup Mike at Kentucky Speedway.  I feel a kinship with him to a certain extent because of my own unbroken record as queen of the drag racers at the Windy Hollow strip mines, way back before they were developed.  I had a really great car that I discovered would do 0 to 150 in under 60 seconds, and we hung out at the strip mines way back then.  I think I was the only girl dumb enough to try dragging, but I loved it.  There’s something about that speed that gets into the blood.  Besides, if you’re not supposed to drive that fast, why did they make the car that would go that fast?  They don’t any more, but back then it was a different story.  I could tell some stories about….but I’d better not.

This is Bob, Mary Ann, Fred, Eddie, Dan Blandford, John Blandford, and Mike Green.  I think I got them all.  Dan and John are my double firsts, but just firsts to the rest.  Sounds complicated, doesn’t it?

Back to some really oldies now.  Aunt Trudy, who was a nurse, and served in WWII.

Charles and Trudy 

This may have been their wedding picture.  Uncle Charles was a Canadian diplomat, and I know they went to Havana on their honeymoon, then spent most of their married life living in countries around the world.  They had two children, Peter, who now lives in Canada, and Mary Ann, who lives in California.

Aunt Lucille and Uncle Ed at an anniversary dinner.   Doris is probably a pre-teen here, and I don’t know whose baby Mary Ann is holding.  I think the man standing behind Doris is Fred, but the other Goetz one is one of the generic brothers.  I hate to say it, but since growing up, they all look alike to me.  The one behind Mary Ann could be Joe Green, but again, I don’t really know.  This blog could be one I should have had Doris write.

 I know a few of these people.  We had a Goetz family reunion at St. Peter’s church in Stanley, KY when my brother, Ray was pastor there, and all the cousins posed for a group photo.  There are Payne’s, Goetz’s, Amb’s, Oberjohn’s, and Blandford’s there, but I won’t even try to point out even the ones I know well, including myself.  I’m hoping no one recognizes me there, but I will say that two of the tallest are my brothers Ray and Larry, and the third really tall one is my cousin, Bil Oberjohn.  Peggy Blandford Reynolds is there, and so is Doris Goetz Clark.  Not another word though about who’s who.

 I’ll leave you with this photo of the cutest of the Goetz girls, with her big brother.  That’s Tony and me, just a few years ago, when we had actual snow in Kentucky, instead of the ice we get now.  Am I not just the cutest little  girl in the world?  I would show the stupid uh, I mean, the studio picture of me when I was three, but I’m afraid it would just steal your hearts away, so I’ll spare you that one.

Now, to clear up one of my misconceptions, Mom and Pop moved to Kentucky before my dad was born, but the red brick house we all know and love was not built until 1922, so that could be why I was confused.  They lived in a white clapboard house until the red brick was built.

Mom was a quilter, which is probably where I got my love of quilts and quilting.  She made Log Cabin quilts from the scrap fabrics left over from the dresses and shirts she made for her family.  I remember a Log Cabin quilt she gave our family, and I also remember that my sister stuffed it in one of her suitcases when she moved from Kentucky to Colorado.  I was never able to sneak anything out of my parents house without getting caught, but Sylvie made it to Colorado with a quilt and it wasn’t missed until I visited her the first time and tattled when I returned home.  Some guys have all the luck.

A.

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