Wednesday, January 10, 2024

Calendar for Another Year

Another Year

Another year gone and the old man with the scythe
Is mowing closer. He hasn’t been subtle, has he.
Too many good people gone, and I could sit and cry
For them except that you look exceptionally snazzy
Despite the miles on your odometer,
As if you have a few more aces up your sleeve,
Maybe you were born under a lucky comet or
Maybe it’s the wine, but I do believe
When I look at you and take your hand you’re
Positively glowing. Maybe we’ve been sorry a
Long enough time and now we get some grandeur
And do our dance and sing our aria.
May this year bring us before it has flown
All we would have wished for had we only known.


by Gary Johnson
**********************

Calendar for 2024
An Assemblage of Ancestors,
Living Their Best Lives
Sketch in Pencil
by Rosanne Bristow McCartney (1933 - 2021)

January
98 Years Ago!
Little Buddy Heideman (b 1922)
Son of Rovilla's brother Melville Miller Heideman

February
Ostler by Trade
Gerry's Great - Grandfather
Benjamin Bristow (1845 - 1915)

March
The Bristows of Little Crosby
Benjamin & Sarah Bristow
& Daughters: Birdie & Betty
Gerry's Grandpa Harry in 1910
Henry Emanuel Bristow
25 December 1889 - 14 August 1966

April
Wild Wild West
L to R: My Grandfather Paul Jones Lindsey (1895 - 1983)
my Great Uncle Samuel Gordon Lindsey ( 1893 - 1918)
and their friend Ira Heidleburg (1891 - 1953)

May
When Grandma Was a Girl
My grandmother
Mary Rovilla Heideman Lindsey
1908 ~ age 17
8 October 1891 - 14 June 1966

June
Business & Home

Rovilla's grandfather
Henry Wise Miller
27 May 1834 - 29 October 1915
Emporia, Kansas ~ Homestead
of Henry W. & Elizabeth Birkinbine Miller
Grandparents of Rovilla Heideman Lindsey
Osborn, Ohio ~ Homestead of
John & Sarah Cox Haddix
Great - Grandparents of Paul Jones Lindsey

July
Barrel of Fun

Rovilla, age 18
in 1910 with her cousins
Willie Golder & Ruth Reider

August
Musicians All
"Jack" Willard Samson Carriker
6 December 1898 - 6 March 1974
"Shug" [as in "Sugar"]
Melvina Adeline Beavers Carriker
17 May 1901 - 18 November 1981

With her daughter Frances (at the piano)
and daughters-in-law Theresa & Elaine
McNabb Sisters in 1892
Nancy (b 1849) & Delia (b 1860)
Shug's great - aunts

September
Ready for a Show

Clinton, Arkansas ~ Cornet Band
Late 19th Century
James William Beavers (1872 - 1932)
in second row, with hat on knee
 My Uncles: Leon & Glen Moots
With their new guitars in 1959
My great - uncles
Wayne & Sam Lindsey, before World War I
L: Wayne Wallace Lindsey (1889 - 1951)
R: Samuel Gordon Lindsey (1893 - 1918)

October
The Sporting Life
Ron McCartney (back row, far right)
Portrane Mills Cup, 1949
Ron McCartney (second from left)
T. Byrne Mills Cup, 1950

November
Harvest Festivals
Shug & Jack, 1959
Grandma & Grandpa Carriker
riding in a wagon just for fun!
Rovilla's brother Harry (far left)
Harry Louis Heideman (1887 - 1940)
with friends and his wife Ethel (top left).
Pretending the wagon needs gas!
Top of Haystack:
Harry & Ethel's daughter Mildred (b 1913)

December
Happy Holidays
Stylish trees of the time
at Aunt Ethel & Uncle Harry's house
in Indendence, Kansas.
Mildred's First Christmas Tree
Ethel with Mildred Della (b 1913)
or Ila Maxine (b 1917)

I began the New Year with an epiphany of sorts, looking through my collection of hundred - year - old family pictures, searching for some that I wanted to use for this calendar. Often, looking at the dear faces in the old photos makes me feel so sad, because I know the sorrow and loss that was to follow for so many of them.

This time, however, a new insight began to crystallize as I saw their mirthful whimsy living on in my world, decades after their departure from this planet. I kept my focus on how much fun they were having, going out of their way to create clever photo ops, living their best lives! And their efforts paid off -- because here I am in the next century witnessing their talent, admiring the nuance of their wit, and feeling proud to be their descendent.

So, in the words of Janis Ian:

"Let's drink a toast to
those who most believe
in what they've won . . .

Let's drink a toast to
those who best survived
the life they led . . ."

2 comments:

  1. Nice comments from friends:

    From Nikki E-G: "What an absolutely wonderful accomplishment putting the old pix together!!!! I could sense their whimsy and love the window into the times! I am so impressed!!!"

    From Karen J: "Great pictures! You’re lucky to have those! Enjoyed their fun poses like in the barrel and then their backsides!"

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nikki: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10228692210757629&set=a.1220677324535

    Karen: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10228690020142865&set=a.1527879644401

    ReplyDelete