A Legacy of Fun

"Aunt Nola," I asked one day on a visit to a dear great aunt, "Why is your hair so black and your sister, Aunt Minnie, has such white hair?" Great Aunt Minnie was several years older than Nola, but by this time in their lives, I didn't see much difference between mid 80's, and early 90's, as far as hair was concerned. "Don't you know?" answered Aunt Nola, with a glimmer of fun in her eye. "Minnie is the much older sister!"

This is a line I have used ever since then when I am asked a question by my own nieces and nephews for something regarding my older sister and I. Recently, on a visit to the church of our childhood where my sister and I were both attending, we were re-introducing ourselves to some of the dear saints that we had not seen for a period of years.

"Are you Teresa or Betty?" I was frequently asked. Not that I thought we ever looked that much alike. "Oh, I am Betty," I would say with a smile, and Great Aunt Nola's glimmer in my eye. "Teresa is my much older sister!" But this time, the joke was on me! Teresa (now going by "Tess") had gotten to them all first. They already knew I was Betty, and she had coaxed them on what she was sure I was going to be saying to them! When they all started laughing, and saying,"Teresa, you were right!" I knew I had been had! I live eight hours away from my "much older sister" and however could she have known what I would say?! But the joke was on me, and my secret line from Great Aunt Nola was out!

Laughter among sisters and dear friends is precious. Oh, and Great Aunt Nola finally confessed that she did touch up her beautiful coal black hair with a little help from a bottle of hair dye from time to time. And Great Aunt Minnie, with her faded yellow hair, would just smile with the love of a "much older sister."

Happy 4th of July

"Let us tenderly and kindly cherish, therefore, the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write."

A Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law, John Adams - 1765

Happy 4th of July!



love



Betty

Ruby Susan (Fyffe) Salyer, Birth: 15 March 1935 - Moved to Heaven: May 10, 2008

"Come and hear my story," Aunt Ruby said. "God has given me a miracle!"

Ruby Fyffe Salyer passed away this morning. She suffered a massive stroke on Wednesday, May 7, and died this morning, May 10, 2008 at the hospital in Paintsville, Kentucky. She will be greatly missed by family, friends, and all that knew her. It doesn't seem real.

A breast cancer survivor, she overcame a knee replacement surgery, and worked very hard to overcome a paralyzing stroke. Ruby had a miracle healing that helped her walk with her cane. God spoke to her and told her to move her leg. "Not in an audible voice, or vision," she said, but yet that still small voice in her heart was directly from God, and Ruby knew it. And move her leg she did!

Ruby was so excited she called everyone she knew to share her story of God giving her such a special miracle. With the combined physical therapy and continued hard work, she pushed until she could walk again with the aid of a cane. God had released her paralyzed leg, and Aunt Ruby learned to walk again! "Come and see," she said. "Come and let me tell about what God has done for me!" Her speech was still a little slurred, but even that had greatly improved.

The breast cancer returned on the other side, and she resolved to fight that too. She had surgery for the new cancer on Monday, May 5th. They were going to take a small slice out of the breast for where the new cancer was, and if need be, remove that side as well. But the cancer that was confirmed by the pre-tests, was not found in the breast tissues or lymph nodes. Another miracle! "Come and hear my story" Aunt Ruby would say, "Come and hear what God has done!"

Jessica and I responded to her call to come. We made plans. We sent notes, and called. We set our date for May 22 - 2008. Jessica has a break in classes and could get off work for a few days for the trip.

Jessica bought a new camera to record her picture, and we marked it on our calendar. My winter temp jobs helped us to set aside gas money, and Jessica plans on sharing the cost as well.

I told my Mom back in the winter about Aunt Ruby's healing, and her call to come. "Go now!" she said. "She may not make it until May!" While I heeded her warning, the obligations of life did not allow that pleasure.

We will continue to look forward to our visit with Aunt Ruby, but the next time we visit, we will be not only with Aunt Ruby, but in the presence of the Lord.

We will remember her determination to always overcome through hard work, love for others, and believing in a God that still works miracles. "Come and See!" God is good.

love,

Betty

April 27, 2008

Spring time in Iowa. The 45 degree morning is very welcome after a long winter. The trees are budding and breaking out into to small leaves. Tulips and daffodils are in bloom. Yard work calls.

I spent about 10 days in the Fairborn, Ohio area visiting family earlier in the month. My mother had a knee replacement, and needed extra physical therapy before she could return home, and received both physical and occupational therapy for a month at a rehab facility. The women and men in that unit were hard workers, and I knew I could take some lessons from them! A 93 year old woman recovering from a heart attack and fall led the way by example. When it was her turn to work out, she put her whole heart into it, determined to grow strong enough to return to her own home and be on her own again. Mother worked every day until she was exhausted, determined to get home as quickly as possible. I am very proud of her strong spirit.

I had some good times with my Dad as well. My younger sister, Ruth, was caring for him. Although his heart was lonely for Mother, Ruth cared so gently for him. Dad doesn't like to eat the same thing two days in a row. One day my dad asked me if I would go get him a burger and fries at McDonalds. "Sure," I responded. There were some other things in the refrigerator that were very good, left over from the day before. When I mentioned to Ruth that Dad wanted MeDonald's for lunch she knew right away what he was trying to do. He didn't want the left overs (no matter how good they were) two days in a row. (The third day is fine though.) And he didn't want to ask her to make him something else. His perfect solution: McDonalds! Ruth very gently told Dad that if that was what he really wanted, of course, he could have a MeDonald's treat that day. But, she said, if he would prefer, she was getting ready to make a tuna salad that he could have with toast and water melon on the side. Ruth packed Dad's tuna salad full of extra chopped vegtables, and another healthy lunch won the day.

I'm not with them often enough to be counted as a caretaker. My trip was to allow my own heart some home time with my extended family, and to give them a respite where possible. Then, to return to my own husband and family in Muscatine, Iowa. I count myself blessed for the love I received while there from both family and friends.

From Ohio

Dear Family & Friends,

It has been a while since I posted to this little site, but it is time to reconnect!

The Fannin/Lewis/Eldridge Fannin Family & Friends Reunion is scheduled for May 24th. Please join us first on top of the hill at the Fannin/Eldridge Cemetary for a morning service, and immediatly following for a potluck carry in lunch at the Isonville School.

We will be taking a love offering for Rodney Fannin this year. Rodney is our mentally challenged uncle that lives at the Elliot Nursing and Rehab Center in Sandy Hook, Kentucky. All of Rodney's spare clothing for the changing of the seasons were lost in the mobile home fire at Aunt Bertha's former home. The money allotted for his care only allows enough left over for the burial insurance policy, and then Aunt Bertha has been footing the rest of the costs primarily on her own. Robert and Delbert have been made aware of the need, and have been able to send a contribution. Bertha was able to purchase a few spring clothing items for Rodney with this money. But if we all chip in a few dollars at the reunion, it would go a long way toward not only needs for him, but new movies, books, hair cuts, snacks, etc.

Needy Neighbors - That's Us!

Hi,

It has been in the high 50's today, a real taste of spring! I have rested all week and am planning on heading back to work tomorrow. I still have a wheeze, but I understand that it just takes time to get over.

We are the neediest neighbors! What would we do without neighbors that will come on a moments notice and bail us out of trouble? And bailing is what was needed this spring day. Snow kept falling last month, and had no place to go. It was pushed into large piles. Now, as it melts, it has drained into our basement, and our front walk was a river! Our neighbors came and helped chip away ice in the yard to make a path for the melting water that was accumulating out front, carried ruined rugs out of the basement, and assisted with general water control! All working together disaster has been averted. Fans and the dehumidifer are running in the basement, and Keith is still running a drainage hose from the front of the house to try to divert some of the melting snow.
It will freeze again tonight, and we will start over tomorrow. But in the meantime, we are grateful for the help our neighbors once again gave. We can't do a lot of physical things to assist them, but we can watch their dog when they are on vacation, bake some cookies, and tell them how grateful we are for their help.

Stay warm and dry!
love
Aunt Betty

A Day of Rest

It's a day of rest for me. The feeling that jagged rocks were poking out at my back and piercing all the way through was not a dream, or from sleeping the wrong way. A trip to the Urgent Care Sunday morning confirmed a scattered pneumonia to go along with a bad case of bronchitis. I hesitated even going to get it checked, as I know that most things in the cold and virus family just have to run their course, but I was pretty miserable. I've only been on the medication for two days, but I am already starting to feel better.

My Cousin Tony called and walking me through the "indelicate" procedure of "hacking." Hot soup to break up the phlem, and then - force the hacking. He had me laughing on the phone so hard that I didn't need the soup or to force it! And that, says Tony, is the best thing for me to do.

Keith has contributed by passing on the hospital incentive spirometer that he used to help keep his lungs open after his last surgery. Now, it is his turn to tell me to breath a little deeper!

Jessica dug out the old vaporizer and supplied a cool mist, and ran the extra errands.

My supervisor said, "Please don't come in today." - "Or tomorrow!" The doctor told me that after two days on the antibiotics I could return to work. That would be Sunday and today, Monday. I'll take Tuesday too, and give myself the extra rest - and they will be really assured the medication is working!

My pastor called and assured me of the prayers of the church. And to remind me that that I have an article due for the monthly newsletter by the end of the week or before if possible. But no pressure....


I'm doing a few chores and then resting, reading, praying and enjoying my quiet time. The rocks still feel like that they are sticking in my back - but not all the way through to my stomach. Maybe it is time to try Cousin Tony's "Soup and Hacking" remedy!

Back to Work

Keith packed his briefcase and headed back to work this morning. Six weeks into his healing he still tires easily, but is eager to get back to work and his normal routine.

I am thankful for a day off from work. President's Day is a holiday for the city where I am currently working as a temp. I need to spend some time updating the church website, preparing for a meeting at church tonight, and cleaning/cooking for the week ahead.

Jessica is home today too, and while she will take some time to study before class tonight, she is going to run some errands with me this afternoon. We are all out of the big 50 lb bags of cracked corn that feed our deer. I don't want to see them stand at the place we feed them outside the familyroom window tonight, staring in, wondering why we haven't fed them.

Hop-a-long, the young doe we have so named because she has a leg that is broken and just dangles, has picked up speed, and is holding her own, running as fast as the others through the snow covered field. The young bucks are getting the new nubby antlers. Despite the 0 degree days and heavy snows we have had, they run through the woods, jumping and playing.

The wind is blowing and it is about 12 degrees. The sun is sparkling on the snow. I will keep my eyes open for the little red fox Keith saw last week. It's time to get busy. I give thanks for the gift of a new day, good health, Keith being well enough to return to work, and I always give thanks for you too.

love,

Aunt Betty

Happy Valentines Day!

Greetings,

I'm celebrating a beautiful sunny day! Temperatures rose to about a high of 14 today, but the wind is not bad. We had a bald eagle perching from a tall tree in our yard for a couple of days last week, on the lookout for some fast food. (Fast running mice, rabbits, birds, squirrels that come to our house to eat the corn and seed we put out.) The season finds us all healthy as we bundle up in our thick winter coats to go out. The Mississippi River is ice covered this time of the year, and there are no barge whistles drifting into the air. The bald eagles, often 200 or more, gather around the lock and dam just a little way down the river from Muscatine to take advantage of the open water fishing opportunities.

We are still corn feeding the herd of backyard deer that come trampling through the deep snow, hungry, and grateful (I think) for dinner. Come spring I will cover my budding flowers with nets to discourage them from dinning on flowers al la king! Watching them eat outside the family room window, sharing the buffet with the birds, rabbits, squirrels, and sometimes racoons, is our main entertainment!

Keith plans on returning to work on Monday, February 18th. He is still low on stamina, but gradually getting his strength back. I've been taking various temp jobs and saving money for traveling to Ohio and Eastern Kentucky come spring. Jessica is still deep in her studies - with Law and Marketing (no math!!!) this semester. She juggles work/school/church/choir and tries to have a little down time on Saturday or Sunday afternoons.

A highlight for us this month was getting to sing at our local Art Museum on the evening of February 7th. We did a mother/daughter duet concert with our neighbor, Tammy Ales. Tammy plays a 12 string guitar and makes beautiful music for us to sing to. They were featuring some local musicians, and it was a real delight for us to be included in that.

Have a delightful Valentines Day! Stay warm and healthy. I send you my love,

Aunt Betty

Mary (Watson) Wooldridge

b. Feb 1860
d. 1910

Married: Robert Wooldridge: September 7, 1877, Elliott County, KY

Maude Lewis would have been close to 10 when her Grandma Mary passed. Maude carried her grandma's name, in the Maude MARY Lewis. Maude Mary was Martha (Wooldridge) Lewis's first daughter, and it must have seemed just right to give her daughter her mother's name. Robert and Mary were both born in Kentucky. Robert's dad, Samuel Wooldridge, b. abt 1805, came from Virgina. His mother, Lucy Penn Hannah was born in Kentucky in 1816.

Maude Mary Lewis Fannin

Granny Fannin at Betty (Fannin) Fyffe's wedding, August 9, 1974. Both of my grandmothers were living and able to be there!

The "Old Place"

There was still snow on the ground when we climbed up the hill through the yellow Easters to walk around the Old Place. This was the home of Martha and Enoch Lewis after the flood of 1927 washed their farm away. They camped out on this hill for a summer and fall while building this cabin from old barn timbers. I've been told about this place, but can't remember all the details. I'll try to ask my Dad when I go home this spring. The land is now owned by Minnie (Wooldridge) Adkins - and Herman Peters.

George and Mary Magdeline "Polly" Mumbower Fannin

This photo is from the Elliott County, Kentucky Gen Web.

Flat Gap, Kentucky

Aunt Ruby (Fyffe) and Uncle Hobert Salyers, grandson, daughter-in-law Tina

Aunt Ruby called just before Christmas. She talks a bit slower since her stroke, but each word was clear. But she is WALKING! Her praises to God are great! "I want you to come and hear my story," she said. This wasn't just a casual invitation, but a real call to set aside time, make the trip, and sit down by her side and let her tell her story. "What story?" I asked. I was busy with the holiday planning and had a dozen things on my mind. She cleared my mind up when she said, "How God talked to me." "He spoke to me, and if that wasn't enough, he told me to move my foot." Aunt Ruby heard an audible voice, moved her foot, and it responded! Keith was getting ready to go in for a repair surgery, which we were all dreading. "He talked to me, and he can talk to you too!" she said. Aunt Ruby knew that God was so close by, and gave us great encouragement.

Jessica and I have added a day to our Memorial Day trip in May. We are going to answer Aunt Ruby's call to COME AND HEAR. We will gladly sit by her side, and drink in every word. For if God talked to her, and she shares it, we will hear from God too.

Check back after Memorial Day and I'll tell you about our visit to Flat Gap, Kentucky. Hopefully, Uncle Hobert will play his beautiful music for us while we are there, and maybe Aunt Ruby will feel like singing for us as well.

love you,

Aunt Betty

"Decoration Day" Reservations Made!!!!!

You need to get reservations early for the Memorial Day Family Reunions! In Morehead to Grason, Sandy Hook, West Liberty and Paintsville, and other eastern Kentucky towns, the hotels fill up quickly with family returning home to honor the memories of their ancesters. Jessica and I have reservations at the Laurel Gorge Inn, Sandy Hook, Kentucky: Phone: (606) 738-5515, for the Memorial Day reunion.

Many of our extended family will gather on the Fannin-Eldridge Hill and partake in the memorial services and later large dinner and visiting time down at the Isonville School. We will put our flowers on the beds of our loved ones, sing some songs, and have a short service. It is very important to climb the hill if at all possible rather than catch a ride in one of the four-wheelers taking the ill, elderly and our-of-shape to the top. As a child we were given the impression that those that could no longer climb the hill were apt to be planted on it the next year!

Some have been planted in our recent history, and the grief is still fresh. Others we know only through the stories of our parents, passed down from their parents. Following the service a group of cousins will walk down the hill and up a small hollow and put flowers on Dick's grave too.

Sometimes we have to wade through brambles and weeds to get to Dick's grave, and other times, someone who lives in the area goes ahead, and clears it ahead of time. That is always appreciated as this is copperhead country. Our children ask "Why is Dick's grave so far away from the others?" "Why is Dick buried here alone?" We answer from our oral history, include some actual history, and lay our flowers on his grave. We may sing Amazing Grace as we remember this former slave that is such a part of our family legacy.

Have you heard Ralph Stanley's CD, Mountain Preacher's Child ? A friend gave me a copy, and the songs bring back so many memories, especially the one about "Walking Up this Hill on Decoration Day." When we were very small we went often "back to Kentucky" on Friday nights after Dad got off work at the Delco Products in Dayton, Ohio. "Decoration Day" weekend meant we would get to climb the big hill where all the moss covered tombstones grew out of the ground.

The hill our family climbed most often was the one in the Newcombe Valley of Isonville, Kentucky, called the "Ben Barker." A very steep hill, I would try to run a little, then stop and rest and look back at where my parents and grandparents were behind me. Before long, I would leave them all way behind, and I would be at the top, waiting for them to arrive. Daddy (Robert E. Fannin) often was chosen to preach on the hill up on the freshly built platform. It was a great honor. I would get restless sitting on the hard hand hewn benches, and Mom would let me go play. I would carefully walk among the beds of my ancesters and greet these great and great-great grandparents and extended family that our oral history made seem like a current presence in my life.

The Ben Barker is very full now. Our Uncle Marvin Fannin (son of Oscar and Maude (Lewis) Fannin made land available up on the Fannin-Eldridge Hill where Great-Grandpa Rolly Fannin (son of Bryant and Sarah "Sally" (Watson) Fannin, and his son and our Great-Uncle, Clyde Fannin were buried, and resting alone. The area of graves has expanded to include Uncle Ralph Fannin ((son of Oscar and Maude (Lewis) Fannin), our Aunt Grovie (daughter of Oscar and Maude (Lewis) Fannin, her first husband, Jay Eldridge, an infant grandchild of cousin Charlie Eldridge (son of Grovie (Fannin) and Jay Eldridge, and even our beloved Uncle Marvin himself. Most recently added was a precious little boy not quite six, little Travis Luke Eldridge, another grandchild of Cousin Charlie and his wife, Janey. Six year olds should not have to fight cancer.

We will partake in the oral traditions, share them with the younger generations, meet at the Isonville School for a wonderful potluck meal. "Walking up this Hill, on Decoration Day."

The "COLD" Season in Muscatine, Iowa

It's the January "cold" season. We are toasty warm inside our home, even while the temperatures dipped last week to about -10. The "cold" however did not pass us by, and we are in the midst of the coughing and sneezing sensations. For me, it is miserable enough, but just a common cold. For Keith however, each sneeze and cough reminds him that his abs are not made of steel, and the long incision from sturnam to belly button is still healing. AhhhhCHOOO!

"...he will pass away like a wild flower..." ex. from John 1:9-11

"They've all moved away," said the voice of a stranger
"To a beautiful land by the bright crystal sea"
Some beautiful day I'll meet 'em in heaven
Where no one will be a stranger to me.

Enoch and Martha Lewis

Enoch and Martha (Wooldridge) Lewis

Brothers, Lewis family

Robert Cecil, Perry Estill, Addie Emerson, and Herbert Bazil Lewis - Sons of Enoch and Martha (Wooldridge) Lewis (younger brother, Proctor Logan Lewis, is not in photo).

Family Visit, 1972

Uncle Delbert lived up the street from us on Vine Street in Fairborn, Ohio for a number of years, and we enjoyed having our cousins close by! Here are some of the family gathered. July, 1972: Top Photo

Front Row, L - R: Martha (Fannin) Sloas, Nola (Lewis) Charles, Maude (Lewis) Fannin, Minnie (Wooldridge) Adkins, Back Row, Viola (Bentley) Fannin, Maxine (Smith) Fannin, and Bertha (Carter) Fannin

Bottom Photo: Dayton Dave Sloas, Rolla Fannin, Ed Charles, Robert Fannin, Delbert Fannin, Back Row: Maude (Lewis) Fannin, Nola (Lewis) Charles, Viola Bentley Fannin,