Extra Storage in the Refrigerator

Today was refrigerator repair day.  We were to bring our trailer to Cullum and Maxey when they opened the gate at 7:45.  We were ready.  Gene drug himself out of bed practically in the middle of the night, disconnected all our life support lines and was ready to hitch up before the end of his first cup of coffee.  We pulled out of our site lamenting that we would have to back into it again and parked up at the head of the campground driveway with an eye on the gate at Cullum and Maxey.  Gene went in to announce our arrival, expecting to be told to pull into a service bay.  Instead, he was asked to unhitch right where we were.  That was fine, but it did cause us to wonder, if they didn’t need access to the stuff in the service area, why they couldn’t have come next door to us.  After all, we were just on the other side of the fence.  Oh well, I’m thinking good thoughts tonight so I’m not going to dwell on that little tidbit.

We had debated what to do after dropping off the trailer.  They had told us it would take all day.  That’s a problem with Peanut.  We finally decided we would just spend the day at our campsite.  We had water and electricity and the bathroom was close.  The weather was suppose to be great.  So we gathered enough books, computers, knitting, and sudoku to keep us busy all day.  I dug around in the closet and found Peanut’s harness and leach.  After dropping the trailer off, we came back to wait out the day at our site.  At first it was too cold to sit outside, but we were perfectly content in the truck.  Gene had a little work to do and I was starting a new book.  After about an hour we decided to go downtown to pick up our mail and get a couple more boxes from the storage room.

Enroute, we got the news about the refrigerator.  It wasn’t a simple fix.  The cooling system had gone out—about the worst thing it could be.  They were trying to get in touch with someone at Dometic (the manufacturer) regarding our warranty.  In any case, they couldn’t do anything else today, so we could pick up our home.  By the time we got back to the dealership, they had gotten word that our warranty would cover the nearly $1000 part, but we would have to pay the $500 labor charge.  We are so happy!  If Dometic had not given us the part, we would have bought a new refrigerator for $1400 rather than pay to have this one fixed for $1500.  Once again, God was watching over us.  The refrigerator was on a 3 year warranty which expires in about 2 weeks.

I spent the afternoon getting things back in order again and I brought back inside all that stuff I had gathered up to keep us occupied during the day.  Then I went through the cooler to try to get a little better organized with that.  Dometic was supposed to ship the part today to arrive tomorrow, but I really don’t have much hope for that happening.  I fully expect it to be Tuesday or Wednesday before we can get the repair done.  That’s a long time without a refrigerator. An organized cooler will help keep me from going crazy with this.  I also made cupcakes this afternoon.  That unused space in the refrigerator turned out to be a perfect spot to store those sweet treats. By the time our part comes in, no telling what I’ll be using that space for.

It looks like tomorrow I am going to be cooking pork chops and chicken.

A Day of Internet Research

We woke up to a very brisk day this morning.  Although our thermometer registered about 38, it must have been at least freezing because the left over ice that wouldn’t fit in the cooler was still frozen this morning on the picnic table.

After our walk, I settled into a day of research in an effort to find any information about my great grandparents (my mother’s mother’s parents).  My grandmother was a Harper—a very common name.  When I was a child, she often told me that she was part Native American.  She didn’t know how exactly, but she had always been told that.  In reading many, many entries on the Harper Genealogy Forum, I have discovered that apparently every Harper has been told the same story.  There was even one writer who suggested that Harper was a tribal family name.

I did find, however, one Annah Downing was a full-blooded Cherokee.  Annah married a Harper (no first name was given) and they had about 10 children.  One of those children was a daughter named Anna who married Archibald Connelly.  Anna and Archibald lived for a number of years between about 1820 and 1840 in Hickman County.  It is possible we could be related to Anna Harper (one-half Cherokee) and Archibald Connelly.  As yet, I have not found a connection.

Carroll and Susan Daily

My grandmother’s mother was Mary Etta Daily Harper.  The Daily’s have always been a mystery to me.  I know that my great grandfather was Carroll Dock Daily and his was married to Susan McCaig, both born in Perry Co.  I had never been able to find any other information about that family.  Today, I got a real break at the Perry Co GenWeb site.  In the past couple years, the volunteers there have really made some improvements in the site and added a tremendous amount of data.  One of the things they’ve added is the 1860 census. Carroll’s name popped up on that census and I was able to learn the name of my great-great-great grandfather—John Daily.  Plus there was a list of 8 other siblings.  That made an all day session with the internet worthwhile.  Another thing that the Perry Co GenWeb site has added is cemetery records.  It appears they have every cemetery in the county listed with it’s location, and tombstone information.  The Daily cemetery was listed along with the 4 tombstones there including Carroll Dock, Susan, and Mary Etta Harper.  I haven’t completed my search through all the cemeteries listed, but so far I have not found a tombstone for John Daily or his wife Sarah.

John Dee and Mary Etta Daily Harper

If we can get the refrigerator fixed tomorrow, then Friday we will make a trip to Hickman County.  The first order of business is the refrigerator, so that is what we will be dealing with tomorrow.

Good News and Bad News

Peanut got up closer to 6 than to 5, which is good news since we are switching to Standard Time this weekend.  Finally, we will be back to our normal schedule in which Peanut and I get up at 5 for our quiet time together.  It is my reading and meditation and coffee sipping time while he sleeps on my lap.    I stumbled into the kitchen, stopping on the way to turn on a light, turn up the heat and grab the cat food out the coat closet.  I pushed the button on the coffee maker and opened the refrigerator to get some water.  The bad news is that the water was not cold.  I was not totally surprised.  On Sunday evening when I started to empty the ice tray I was totally surprised to find that it was not completely frozen.  At that time I assumed it was my old mind at work again and I had emptied the ice tray later in the day than I had remembered.  Since I was Ms Gad About yesterday, the refrigerator stayed closed most of the day and things were fine.  Last night when I got a drink of water it was cold.

Gene got out the owner’s manual and checked all the things the manual recommended in its troubleshooting list.  The good news is we are parked next door to Camping World on one side that sells refrigerators and Cullum and Maxey RV Center on the other side that repairs refrigerators.  Gene took the fuse out of the refrigerator and walked it over to Cullum and Maxey.  They checked it on their little fuse checking machine and determined that it was fine.  The bad news is the refrigerator is not fine even with the fine fuse.  There was nothing else to check in the troubleshooting list so I guess service is required.  The good news is Cullum and Maxey is right next door.  The bad news is they can’t do it until Thursday.

I mentioned several days ago that we had gathered up some stuff from our storage room to get rid of.  One of those things was a cooler which has been hanging around and never used in 3 years.  What luck.  Buying ice is bringing back memories of camping days.

We had invited Jack and Ansley over for dinner so I put the refrigerator to the back of my mind and went about preparing food.  I was actually glad we had somebody to help eat some of this stuff.  We had a good visit and even chuckled a little bit (a very little bit) about the refrigerator.

We have heard 2 bits of wisdom from fellow travelers this week.  One gentleman from Maine related the story his brother had told him when he was considering purchasing a class A motor home.  “You have to be prepared to write a check for $1000 at any time.”  Today when we were out peering into the back of the refrigerator our neighbor from Montana inquired about what we were finding so interesting.  He allowed as how the best tool in his toolbox was his checkbook.  Isn’t it ironic that just last night we were lamenting that in September we had already spent the maintenance budget for the year and hadn’t even gotten the truck tires yet.

The Best Birthdays Do Not End in Zero

This has been a day filled with birthday adventure from the time I got out of bed this morning until this present moment.  Yes, this is my birthday and Gene says I am now as old has he is.  We may have been born in the same year, but I keep telling him that I will never be as old as him.

My day started out with my sweet cat, Peanut, sleeping in.  Bless his heart.  He slept until 5:45 AM—45 minutes later than usual.  I did push the button on the coffee maker, but that is about all I have done today.  Gene prepared my breakfast of toasted bagel, yogurt and a banana.  I surfed on the internet for a little while then went over to my mother’s.  She and I went out for lunch.  The men folk were on their own.  Gene had left over chicken and steamed broccoli.  I think my dad had vanilla wafers.

It was nice to have lunch with mother.  We usually try to do that a few times when I am in town.  Because this was my birthday, she wanted to go somewhere a little special.  Someone had told her of a new restaurant which has opened not so far from her home.  She didn’t know the name of it, nor really where it was located, but we managed to find it anyway.  We were a little early, however.  They only serve dinner.  We went instead to City Limits and had a very nice lunch of soup and sandwich.  It wasn’t quite as nice, perhaps, but the food at City Limits is very good and we were more about being together and visiting than the food and atmosphere of the restaurant.

While I was away, my sweet husband not only did the laundry, he also did the ironing.  What a great birthday present.  This evening we went out for Mexican which we have both been craving for a long time.  There seemed to be very few Mexican restaurants in New York and none as good as our favorite just down the street from the house where Gene grew up. Well, actually our favorite is in Maryville, TN but that was just too far to drive.  On the way home we stopped in McDonald’s for a hot fudge sundae and now my stomach feels like it is about to pop.

Throughout the day, I got calls and emails from friends and relatives wishing me a good day.  It was especially nice to talk with my brother.

I may be up all night with a belly ache, but it certainly was a great birthday.  Thanks, everybody.

Oh, What a Beautiful Day

This was pretty near the perfect fall day, if there ever was one.  We enjoyed it by going for a hike at one of the local city parks.  Yesterday was a good leg stretcher on the greenway.  Today we basked in the glory of God’s creation as we walked along a dirt foot path deep in the woods away from the sound of cars and the smell of exhaust.  For the most part, the foliage is still green in middle Tennessee.  Late in the hike we found a spot of red. Afterwards, we were tired, but it was that good tired as a result of fresh air, sunshine and a nice long walk. No heavy pack today—just the camera, a bottle of water, and a package of snack crackers.  This was also the first hike for Gene’s new boots which he got for his birthday.  They were a hit.

A man with new boots

I also got in a little holiday shopping this afternoon at Camping World.  You can guess who that was for.  Mr. You Know Who started out with a 2-page wish list and when I got home from Camping World, he gave me another page.  I guess he thinks he’s been pretty good this year.  We’ll see what Santa thinks.

I had several things on my list of chores for today—vacuum, clean the kitchen sink, do a little laundry.  I decided to save it all for tomorrow so I could sit outside on the patio (they are concrete here, very nice) and enjoy the lasts bit of sunshine for today.  The next few days should be sunny, but much cooler with freezing temperatures tomorrow night.

We arrived at this campground last Wednesday—5 days ago.  After we unhitch and push the slides out so Peanut can get out of the truck, one of the first things I do is get the TV set up for viewing.  We don’t watch much TV, but you might say we are addicted to the Today Show in the morning and the evening news.  It only takes about 5 minutes to get the TV working.  I crank up the antenna, push the little green button to turn it on and then let the TV scan for channels.  The new digital box makes this process a little more complicated but it doesn’t take much time.  On Wednesday I was surprised that I was unable to get many channels and only on the bedroom TV.  I twisted and turned on the antenna but all I could get was a very fuzzy NBC.  The only good thing about this is that Today Show is on NBC.  So for a week we watched faithfully morning and evening a fuzzy NBC on the bedroom TV.  I have no words to describe the elation my husband experienced when this evening I discovered I had failed to turn on the antenna.  We now have a great picture from 10 channels in the comfort of our living room.

A Morning Walk and Preparing for Winter

The morning dawned bright and sunny after yesterday’s rain and even thought there was a bit of a chill in the air that didn’t stop us from a morning walk on the nearby greenway.  Nashville Parks and Recreation have been working on an extensive greenway system for several years.  Many sections are finished; many others are not.  However, they are making progress connecting the sections.  We had noticed that the bridge over the Cumberland River was open so we wanted to check out the section from the Wave Pool to Shelby Park.  It really felt good to stretch these old legs again.  We have been walking around in a circle in the various campgrounds, but haven’t been for a distance walk or a hike since we left the Adirondacks in August.  There is a new Nature Center at Shelby Park.  We went to check that out also and found free coffee and muffins.  That gave us a boost for the 3-mile return trip.

Greenway bridge over the Cumberland River

Shelby Bottoms Greenway kiosk.

Tennessee is in the South, but by no means the Deep South.  It gets cold here in the winter.  Freezing temperatures at night are normal and below zero temperatures are not uncommon.  To RV here in the winter requires a little preparation, especially for the water system.  This afternoon Gene insulated our outside water hose and spigot.  Our first winter in the Montana, he prepared a water hose which we now use just in the winter.  It has a length of heat strip which is held in place by duct tape which is covered with foam.  The foam is held in place by about 6 rolls of duct tape.  More foam on the spigot.  We have a garbage can which we put over the top of the water spigot to keep the insulation dry, but the slide is too close for the garbage can to fit.  For the time being he is using a plastic garbage bag until we can get something more suitable.  That should keep our water flowing on the few cold winter nights we may have during the next couple of months.  Our underbelly is heated so our plumbing and storage tanks will be fine.

Does anyone remember the rotary style phone?  That is the one with numbers in a circle and you stick you finger through the hole to dial.  There aren’t many of those left in this world, but my parents have one that they still use. Not only that, it’s a “princess” phone and it is blue.  It’s special, alright.  They had all rotary phones in their house until about 10 years ago when they broke down and bought a touch tone with an answering machine.

But it wasn’t until 2 years ago that they got a cell phone.  I thought this was great progress, but I soon realized that I seldom could reach them by calling the cell phone.  There were a number of reasons—they forgot to recharge it, they forgot to take it with them.  Whatever.  I got out of the habit of trying to reach them by cell phone and just called the home phone.  After about a year, they finally got in the habit of recharging and having it with them, but I can never reach them on that phone.  This afternoon I got a call from my mother.  “Did you call me?” she asked.

“No”, I replied.

“Well, I had a message that you called on my cell phone.”

I thought for a minute and could vaguely remember calling her about 3 weeks ago.  “I may have”, I said, “but it has been several weeks ago.”

“Well, I’m returning your call.”

I am still laughing.

A Lazy, Rainy Day in Nashville

The rain started sometime in the night and continued most of the day.  It is a slow, steady, soaking rain and greatly needed in these parts.  We each continue to complete chores on our lists.  We certainly won’t have time to be bored while in town.

My Aunt Betty and her daughter Joan

I used this drab day to get myself organized to work on family history.  I already have a lot of information and much of the genealogy back to the early 1700 so my focus is on seeing the area where the family lived when they migrated to Tennessee and hear the stories of their lives.  As in Ohio, I want to visit the cemeteries (most of the ones in my family were searched out years ago).  There is one that I think exists, but I’m not sure where.  I want to try to find that.  My mother’s oldest sister was born in a house in a place called Taylor’s Creek.  I’d like to find that, if possible.  Then there are the hours of plodding around the internet to find new information.  With Nashville being the state capitol, the State Archives is located here.  We may find ourselves spending some time there, as well.  I’m going to start with my mother’s father’s side of the family—the Lancasters.  I have quite a bit of information on them already, but am always looking for anything new.

First time ever to use disposable plates at my mother's.

As with Gene’s family, I also have a stack of photos which I can’t identify.  I have a little bag with paper, pen, my family notes, and the sack of photos.  It will be my constant companion.  This time I am going to add a piece of dark chalk or charcoal and parchment paper to do tombstone rubbings.  I regret not having that in Ohio for some of the stones which were too deteriorated to read.

Uncle Carl on his 80th birthday

Get ready for the stories to be told about my family.  They are many, they are varied, and they are all hysterical.  Perhaps the best thing we Lancasters do is eat.  If there is food, we are there.  And where the Lancasters are gathered, I am usually there with the camera.  Come along for this journey—it’ll be a hoot.

Real Men Back Down

Contributed by Gene

We were assigned a campsite just before the curve in the road and next to the fence. It was high drama as Judi tried to back into the site and not take out the fence with the right fender. After she became exasperated, I tried. It was just as hard as it looked. So I tried a new angle. I wiggled and I woggled. After becoming exasperated, it was in the site. Phew. Between the two of us, it only took a half hour.

After having the trailer serviced we were assigned to a new site for our two month stay over the holidays. This time, no fence to clobber with the fender. And the road was wide. And I had a secret weapon. Jack the miner from British Columbia.

We had met Jack on our morning exercise walk. Well, we intended to walk. We ended up talkin' when we shoulda been walkin' (a la Earl V. Shaffer). During our chat with Jack I mentioned I was still no good backing up the trailer. Being a retired mining equipment operator, Jack knew how to back. He gave me this tip: Start backing into the space, then pull forward and straighten up. Go another iteration, pull forward to straighten. The idea is to slowly make adjustments and inch your way around.

This worked for me. Jack goes into our gallery of Helpful Highway Heroes. The shop manager in Mandan ND who personally fixed my pop up when it wouldn't pop up so I'd have a place to sleep that night. Camper Dan (that was the name of his store) in Williston, ND who came to our site and taught judi and I how to avoid the problem with the hitch we'd been having for 1000 miles. And now Jack the miner.

I now have hope that backing will become a little easier, but I never expect it to be easy for me.

God sent me Tom immediately after my backing triumph. Tom backed his 33 foot travel trailer into the site next to mine in one pass. I hear ya, God. Humility is good, and especially appropriate in my case.

Finally Settled

We were up and hustling around early this morning to be at our Montana dealership when they opened the gate at 7:45. First come, first served so we wanted to be at the head of the line. We were actually closer to the service bays from our campsite than it was to drive out of the campground and down the street to the dealership. Oh well, we were first and they took us right in. In fact, Gene got out of the truck to announce his arrival in the office and one of the techs came out and drove away with his truck, his wife, and his home. Gene had a strange look on his face when he opened the door and saw his rig being pulled away toward the back of the building.

While our home was in for maintenance, we had a list of errands to run. We voted and picked up a new dish drainer at Target before going downtown to Gene’s office to gather up two months worth of mail, visit with the ladies, and get a couple boxes from storage. We have had several things in a storage room in the building where Gene’s office is located. Most of that stuff are things that we liked real well when we used them and just couldn’t bring ourselves to dispose of when we moved into the Montana. Well, it has been 3 years now and we haven’t needed or wanted any of it in all that time. Off to the Goodwill it goes. Over the next two months we hope to whittle that down to just a couple or three boxes.

We picked up our home about noon and are now settled into the site where we will be for the next couple months. We liked being with all the travelers here at Two Rivers so have decided to stay here even though it is a little more expensive. They put us on a site at the back of the campground away from the traffic noise at the front. I put out what few Halloween decorations I have and now we are ready to enjoy our stay in Nashville.

This evening we went for dinner at my parent’s home. Even though we talk on the phone a couple times a week it is just not the same as being together and it was a great treat to have mom’s cooking. We are looking forward to a few more home cooked meals between now and the end of the year.

Finally Settled

We were up and hustling around early this morning to be at our Montana dealership when they opened the gate at 7:45. First come, first served so we wanted to be at the head of the line. We were actually closer to the service bays from our campsite than it was to drive out of the campground and down the street to the dealership. Oh well, we were first and they took us right in. In fact, Gene got out of the truck to announce his arrival in the office and one of the techs came out and drove away with his truck, his wife, and his home. Gene had a strange look on his face when he opened the door and saw his rig being pulled away toward the back of the building.


While our home was in for maintenance, we had a list of errands to run. We voted and picked up a new dish drainer at Target before going downtown to Gene’s office to gather up two months worth of mail, visit with the ladies, and get a couple boxes from storage. We have had several things in a storage room in the building where Gene’s office is located. Most of that stuff are things that we liked real well when we used them and just couldn’t bring ourselves to dispose of when we moved into the Montana. Well, it has been 3 years now and we haven’t needed or wanted any of it in all that time. Off to the Goodwill it goes. Over the next two months we hope to whittle that down to just a couple or three boxes.

The aftermath of home cooking--dirty dishes.

We picked up our home about noon and are now settled into the site where we will be for the next couple months. We liked being with all the travelers here at Two Rivers so have decided to stay here even though it is a little more expensive. They put us on a site at the back of the campground away from the traffic noise at the front. I put out what few Halloween decorations I have and now we are ready to enjoy our stay in Nashville.

The best aid in digestion--a recliner.

This evening we went for dinner at my parent’s home. Even though we talk on the phone a couple times a week it is just not the same as being together and it was a great treat to have mom’s cooking. We are looking forward to a few more home cooked meals between now and the end of the year.

Getting Back In The Groove

We love being on the road, but being back home has its advantages. We know where everything is—the ATM, the grocery, and where to buy tennis shoes. We each have great long lists of things to do while we are here and we started today “gettin’ er done”. It was nice not to have to Google who sells my brand of tennis shoes; I could just run over to the mall and march right in the store. While I was doing that, Gene got started on his Christmas shopping. He always gets done before I do. Maybe I should just give him my list. We also had to go to Kroger for a couple items. It can’t compare to Wegman’s in New York, but it is familiar and I didn’t have to spend time looking for the bread isle.

McDonalds is right across the street from Kroger so I offered to buy my husband a cup. As we were getting out of the truck, he reminded me that McDonalds now has cappuccino and other “fancy” coffee drinks. He told me I could get whatever I wanted. Well, yea, since I’m buying, I guess I can get whatever I want. I get whatever I want anyway, but it did not escape my attention that he never makes this speech when he’s buying. McDonalds seems to be changing its face. We have noticed it more in Nashville than anywhere else. This particular store is really pretty nice for a fast food hamburger joint. The dining area has several partitions creating smaller, more cozy areas. There are 6, that’s right 6, TVs, Tiffany style lighting, knick knack cabinets, a fireplace with a mantle, covered outdoor seating, and faux marble counters.

We are also enjoying being at Two Rivers Campground. This is an old established campground probably 35 or 40 years old, but it is well maintained. The thing we like about it are the travelers. They are actually people who spend a good bit of their time in their RVs. This summer we were in several campgrounds. Without exception, the majority of our “neighbors” were local folks who were out for the week or the weekend. We did not meet many people who were traveling either a great distance from home or for a long period of time. Since arriving here Sunday afternoon, we have met several folks who expect to be on the road for some time, mostly heading to Texas or Arizona for the winter. There are several rigs with Ontario or Quebec license plates. We met a man yesterday from British Columbia on a 2-year journey around Canada and the United States. This is special and we like it.

Our favorite part of today was having dinner with our daughter and son-in-law. We were celebrating his 30th birthday just a few days late. We are very proud of Jack, not only as one of Metro Nashville’s finest police officers, but also as a fine gentleman and outstanding husband. The best part of being home—hugs from family.

Home for the Holidays

We are in our hometown of Nashville for the holiday season. We arrived yesterday about mid afternoon after a very nice ride from Frankfort, KY. Needless to say, we are glad to be home and are anxious to see everybody—family as well as friends.

We got a late start from the ghost and goblin infested campground in Frankfort. On travel days we normally shoot for a departure time of about 8 AM. That gets us in camp and set up by early afternoon. The campground was so full of campers, cars, and kids that we were unable to achieve that goal. The truck in the campsite across from us was too close to the road for us to be able to pull forward sufficiently to avoid hitting the tree next to us. We were not in such a hurry that we wanted to disturb their sleeping in, so we patiently waited to see movement about the camp. When they did crawl out of bed and out of the camper, the guy was very happy to move his truck. However, to his dismay as well as ours, he had a dead battery. Luckily, his father was camped next door and they took off to purchase a new battery. In the end, it was almost 11 AM before we were able to pull away. The roads were good, the traffic was light, with 4 lanes all the way, and gaining an hour, we made excellent time. In fact, I don’t think I have ever seen traffic so light in the Nashville area in a very long time. Now we are parked on Music Valley Drive with Camping World on one side and the Montana dealership on the other. Life is good!!

We will not be staying here long, however. Wednesday we have a service appointment scheduled for the Montana and after that we will move up the road a few miles to Joelton at a campground off I-24. That location, though farther out of Nashville, is actually more convenient for the places we go and the people we see than here on Music Valley Drive. Plus, they have a monthly rate far cheaper than this.

Our goal for the next 2 months is to visit with family and friends. Along with that, I hope to be able to work on my family history some. We may see trips to the state Archives and ventures down dirt roads in Hickman County. My family has some stories to tell which I would like to share. It should be fun. I’m looking forward to it.

Yes, Gene has been to Camping World twice already and we went over to look at the new Montana’s. They are nice, but I still like mine as well as any they have on the lot. Gene’s sigh of relief was audible.

We got started on chores today and that will continue tomorrow. Then we are having dinner with our daughter and son-in-law. We are really excited to see them.

The New York Drug Law Nightmare

The saga continues. You may remember the Prescription Refills on the Road story of June 30 (New York Journey) when I described the difficulty we had getting our prescriptions filled in New York. Those issues continue to haunt us even in southern Ohio. Since that initial episode in Geneva, NY, we have had problems with every refill. One time we were told Gene could not get one of his prescription transferred because the new prescription had never been filled. Something about a law in NY which requires a prescription to be filled at least once at the pharmacy of origin. It was 200 miles back to Geneva. That would be a 2-day journey and roughly $150 worth of diesel fuel. We called the doctors office for a new prescription.

Now in Ohio, we once again needed our medications. Off to Wal-mart we went. Gene has found that he is more successful at getting the pharmacy tech to understand about transferring prescriptions if he is talking to him/her in person. On Thursday we stopped by the pharmacy and explained in detail what we understand about New York drug laws and asked that our prescriptions be transferred. This is not as easy as it sounds when the bottle clearly states there are no refills left. Calling and transferring usually takes some time so we elected to come back on Friday to pick them up.

On Friday, a full 24 hours after our discussion with the pharmacy tech, Gene goes to the pick-up window only to be told they were not there. Next, Gene asked her to check the computer to see if the prescriptions had been requested. That wasn’t possible from the pick-up side of the room. That computer does not have the same information as the one on the drop-off side. The only reasonable thing to do at this point was to pray. And patience is truly a virtue. It might be a God-given gift bestowed only upon the apostles and perhaps saints. One thing for sure, it is not something we have in abundance. Over at the drop-off side of the room, Linda was there to help. She, too, confirmed there were no drugs to pick-up. Linda didn’t happened to be the same person who got the detailed information about transferring from NY, so Gene set into the story again. Once again explaining why the bottle says “NO MORE REFILLS” and, including this time, all she had to do was look in the computer to see where the last prescription was filled and call that store. The extent of Linda’s help was, “well, I guess they didn’t get ordered”. Gene was at the window so long Terrie came in to work. She is the one Gene had spoken to on Thursday and she was also eager to help. Oh yea, she could make that call and have the prescription transferred in 20 minutes. After more prayers for patience, we did not make some sharp remark about how she could have done that yesterday or climb over the counter to wring her neck, but instead smiled and politely asked to be called when the medication was ready to be picked up.

When we came back, we were happy to be handed another month of medication. We thought about asking for some blood pressure medicine to go with the cholesterol meds, but I guess that would have been inappropriate. After called the pharmacy in New York, Terrie learned that state law prohibits the transfer of more than 1 prescription per person per day so she had to call the doctors office for a new prescription. Last month, when we went through this ordeal, that Walmart pharmacy failed to fill our insurance and charged us full price. So this time, Gene asked about the price before paying. He noticed that one of the drugs, which was usually $4 was $7. So he inquired about the difference. We discovered that for this particular drug, tablet is $4 and capsule is $7. They had decided on their own to give him capsules.

In two weeks we go to our doctors. We are going to get all new prescriptions and take them to our local Walmart in Nashville. Hopefully, that will be the end of the New York drug law nightmare.

On The Road To Nashville

We got up and out early this morning to start our 2-day journey to Nashville. We don’t like to drive too far in one day. We usually stick pretty close to 200 miles a day. That is about as much truck time as Peanut and I can take. We skirted Cincinnati on the bypass and got off I-75 onto I-64 just before we got to Lexington. This was a little out of our way—we usually take I-71 out of Cincinnati to Louisville, KY, but we wanted to see something a little different in Kentucky than the same old stuff. The area all around Lexington is beautiful horse country and we were not disappointed today. The drive across southern Ohio on state route 32 we great also. It was a nice 4-lane all the way to I-275 with very little traffic.

We got to Elkhorn campground early afternoon, just in time for the Halloween festivities to start. We had no idea when we called for a reservation what we were getting into. They mush have the reputation for the best Halloween party in Frankfort because this campground is full. There are even campers parked where there are no spaces. And there must be 200 little kids all dressed up for the party. The campers are dressed up, too, with spiders, witches, ghosts, and goblins. I’ve never seen anything like it. We may have to come here every year, now that we know.

Gene rushed out to make a few pictures at the costume contest.

This time tomorrow, we’ll be back in Nashville. Won’t my mama be excited?

On The Road To Nashville

We got up and out early this morning to start our 2-day journey to Nashville. We don’t like to drive too far in one day. We usually stick pretty close to 200 miles a day. That is about as much truck time as Peanut and I can take. We skirted Cincinnati on the bypass and got off I-75 onto I-64 just before we got to Lexington. This was a little out of our way—we usually take I-71 out of Cincinnati to Louisville, KY, but we wanted to see something a little different in Kentucky than the same old stuff. The area all around Lexington is beautiful horse country and we were not disappointed today. The drive across southern Ohio on state route 32 we great also. It was a nice 4-lane all the way to I-275 with very little traffic.

We got to Elkhorn campground early afternoon, just in time for the Halloween festivities to start. We had no idea when we called for a reservation what we were getting into. They mush have the reputation for the best Halloween party in Frankfort because this campground is full. There are even campers parked where there are no spaces. And there must be 200 little kids all dressed up for the party. The campers are dressed up, too, with spiders, witches, ghosts, and goblins. I’ve never seen anything like it. We may have to come here every year, now that we know.

Gene rushed out to make a few pictures at the costume contest.

This time tomorrow, we’ll be back in Nashville. Won’t my mama be excited?

Hopewell Culture National Historical Park

Keeping with the theme of chasing down ancestors on this journey, we visited the Hopewell Culture Historical Park this afternoon. These folks are very long dead, having occupied the area between 200 B.C. and 500 A.D. These native peoples constructed the numerous mounds which are scattered across south central Ohio. The park ranger explained to us, and we saw in the film, that this was a very organized, sophisticated, and advanced culture for their time. Perhaps they should include in that description “...advanced culture for their time AND PLACE”. The Greeks were building the Parthenon shortly before this time so I hardly think piling up dirt with an oyster shell would be called advanced by Greek standards. However, in our country, they were quite advanced, building a community along the Scioto River. This area was rich with an abundance of food so in their spare time they built mounds for ceremonial use as well as burials.

Over the past 2000 years, many changes have occurred in the landscape. This is rich, Ohio farmland and man, oh man, has it been farmed. During WWI, the Army took over the area and scraped away what little mounds that were left to make a nice level place for the barracks of Camp Sherman. In the 1920s, the area was designated a national monument and in the early 90s became a unit of the national park service as Hopewell Culture Historical Park. In true park service fashion many of the mounds have been reconstructed in their original size and shape. It is not as impressive as the Cahokia Mounds near St. Louis, but is a glimpse into America’s past and the peoples who have help shape our country, culture, and civilization.

Tomorrow we are hitching up and heading to Nashville. We expect to stop somewhere near Frankfort, KY for the night. We’re heading home.

Settled in Chillicothe

We are all settled once again in a small campground just outside Chillicothe. It was a short trip today, just over a hundred easy miles. We really just back into our site, but it looks like we have been here forever. This is a seasonal site and the regular occupant is gone for the season, leaving flowers, lawn furniture, and a storage building for their return in the spring. There is a nice little pond at the edge of the campground and a lake across the street. I could just stay here. Oh wait, the snow will fly here soon. Maybe 3 or 4 days will be plenty long enough after all.

The pond.

A nice site with concrete patio

Chillicothe was the first capitol of Ohio. Folks liked it so well they made it the capitol twice. We haven’t been downtown yet, but from the highway it looks pretty nice. We’ll check it out in a day or two. We also want to visit the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park while we are in the area.

A Lake across the road.

Isn’t the internet a wonderful thing. We were able to find a map for the Curp Cemetery. Now we have driving directions and will go there tomorrow if the rain holds off. The cemetery is in the county, but not in the community we thought it was, so finding it on the internet was a real blessing.

The leaves are past their prime

Here are a couple photos I made of our campsite and around the campground this afternoon.

A Day to Regroup

Boy, did I need a day to stay home, do laundry and a little cleaning, and to generally relax. It has been a whirlwind of activity for the past 10 days. It makes me feel my age. I really feel good about all the information I have been able to collect while we’ve been here. Between the internet research, conversations with family, visiting cemeteries, and just driving around the country side I have managed to put together a family tree for the Ashcrafts dating back thirteen generations to Richard Ashcraft born in England around 1600. It may never be completely finished and I will continue to work on the family connections, but not to the extent I have this week. I have been disappointed to not find any information about the Reids. So far I have not had a response to my inquiry on the Reid genealogy forum. Maybe I’ll get a lucky break there.

Always time for ice cream.

In between chores, I have been refreshing my memory on the Curps. They will be our focus for the next few days. This family came to America more recently than did the Ashcrafts, so I only have a few generations for the family tree. However, we have more detail of the members and, thank goodness, no unidentified photos.

Tomorrow we are moving south to Chillicothe. The Curps settled in the area sometime in the early 1800s. The family patriarch in America, Frederick Curp, was ordained in the Methodist Episcopal Church by Bishop Asbury, himself. He came to Highland or Ross County, Ohio from Pennsylvania to work for the church in that area. It is my understanding that there is a Curp Cemetery located on the church property where Frederick preached. We are hoping to find the cemetery where Frederick and his wife are buried. It would be a real bonus if the church building were still standing. So stay tuned.

Corders and Curps, Part II

My head is still reeling from yesterday, but after having the day to digest and sort out the facts I think I can safely say there are just too many twists and turns and it all makes my head hurt. It makes Gene’s stomach hurt. I think we’ve had enough of family history to last a while, maybe forever.

We were struck by the abject poverty suffered by these families during the 1920s and 30s. Doris and Pat were born in the 30s. Doris told of being given sugar water because they couldn’t afford milk. She also told of sharing a graham cracker with her mother which had been given to them by a friend. The story is so sad, not only that they had to share a single graham cracker, but also because the friend, generous as she was, could only afford to give them the one cracker. Why do I complain about anything? There were also many stories about night clubs, drinking, and wild parties as the 30s gave way to the 40s, prohibition came to an end, the war started and the economy improved.

One of the main things we want out of this journey into the past is to hear about the lives of our parents and grandparents. Thus far, so many of the stories told have been hard to hear. But in the hearing we gain a better understanding and fuller appreciation for the people whose lives have shaped our own. Often as children we want to lay blame at our parents’ feet thinking we would have made better choices and done things differently. We can’t know why people do certain things unless we have walked in their shoes-experienced their life’s hardships. The lesson we are remembering is to hold tight to God’s teachings of compassion toward others, even in what we might perceive as their failings and try to live so we can be proud of ourselves.

This evening we met Doug and Cheryl for dinner and farewells for this visit. Tomorrow will be a chore day for me (a work day for Gene) in preparation for moving on Wednesday. We are headed a littler farther south to see what more we can find on the Curps.

Corders and Curps

Oh, my, what a day. There is no way I can relate this story in just one telling; it requires at least 2 parts. We left Zanesville early this morning and headed into Columbus to pick up Gene’s half sister, Doris. Doris had arranged for us to visit with Pat Corder. I think I better include a little background here. Gene’s mother had been married prior to her marriage to his father to a man named Harold Martin. Gene’s brother, Doug, is really his half brother—Doug’s father being Harold. Harold Martin’s parents were Thomas and Bertha Corder. Pat Corder’s grandmother was Bertha Corder’s sister. My pile of unidentified photos contained, I was sure, many of the Martins and Corders. We were anxious to spread our photos before Pat having all faith she could tell us who they were and what relationship they had to Edna.

Doris and Pat

 After a few missed turns and a couple phone calls to Doris, we finally ended up on her doorstep. We took a few minutes for hugs and greetings then piled in the truck to drive back to Newark, where Pat lives. From the time she opened the front door until we left some 3 hours later, she never stopped talking. She was a wealth of information. We learned more in those 3 hours than we had all week. I couldn’t write fast enough. Pat was also kind enough to make copies of several obituaries for me.

Gene and Doris

We knew that Doris was somehow related to the Corder’s through her mother’s side, but we didn’t know how. We were surprised to learn that Pat’s mother and Doris’s grandmother (her mother’s mother) were sisters. We didn’t realize they were so closely related. Doris, as a child, spent a great deal of time at her grandmother’s following her parent’s divorce. She, Pat, and Pat’s older sister became very close. More surprising than that was the story that Edna and Doug lived for a short period of time following her divorce with one of the sibling of Bertha Corder, her ex-in-laws. All of this certainly explained why there were so many Corder pictures in Edna’s photo album. She even had a photo of Pat’s father as a boy of about 4 years old. Incredible!

John Corder's house in Virginia

Along with the identity of the folks in the pictures and the relationships between all the Ashcrafts, Corders, Martins, and Curps there were the stories. One right after another of trips to the candy store, roller skating, breakfast of toast and coffee, and the painting of John Corder’s house.

Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow.

A Day Chasing the Dead

We left the house early and after a quick stop for coffee at Tim Horton’s we set out in search of Broomstick Cemetery. Gene had been able to find directions from the internet so it wasn’t a total stab in the dark. We made a wrong turn and ended up in Dresden, the home of Longaberger Baskets. It was early Saturday morning and the streets of this tiny rural Ohio town were already buzzing with basket shoppers. We saw not one but two tour buses pull into town as we were trying to get turned around and back on the right path to the cemetery.

Broomstick Cemetery

Maybe Daniel B. Ashcraft

Literally, over hill and dale we finally found what we were looking for on gravel county route 68. This was the cemetery where Gene’s GGG grandfather is buried, the first Ashcraft to come to Ohio in 1808. We were very disappointed in not finding his gravesite. Many of the tombstones were illegible. We found one that might possibly be him, but we’re not sure. We found his son, Jacob and wife, as well as a grandson, Jesse. I have three photographs of Shelda standing by tombstones, one is an Ashcraft and the other two are McKees. We have not yet been able to locate the cemeteries where these photos were taken. The search never ends.

One of the tombstones that can't be found.

After leaving the cemetery, Gene wanted to continue on route 68. What a stroke of luck that decision was. We eventually came to the junction of route 80 and, would you believe, Ashcraft Rd. In the area we found a young man out in his yard and we ask about cemeteries in the area. He told us that all the land in the area had belonged to the McKee family. (Two McKee boys had married Ashcraft girls and one Ashcraft boy married a McKee girl, so the families are related.) Following Ashcraft Road, we did not find a cemetery, but it was exciting to be on the land of the first Ashcrafts in Ohio.

We stopped again at Frazeysburg Cemetery to double check we hadn’t missed anything there, then home for the day. Our time in Licking County is coming to an end. I may have to save the search for Ashcrafts for another visit.

Tomorrow, we are meeting with Gene’s half-sister, Doris, in Columbus. I will turn my attention to the Curps. Doris is several years older than Gene so she may know something about the Ashcrafts, but I really doubt it. They were mostly dead before she came into the family. We have a fist full of nonAshcraft photos for her attention.

Visiting With Cousins

I spent most of the day surfing the internet for some clues to the family mysteries. I found a great site to fill in gaps in the Ashcraft history, especially some of those tombstones I got pictures of on Monday. One thing just jumped out at me late last night. I had assumed all the Ashcrafts in this area were buried at Frazeysburg Cemetery. In my notes, I had Broomstick Cemetery listed as the place of burial for Daniel B, Gene’s GGG grandfather and I thought that was in West Virginia. Last night I was looking at the Coshocton County Genealogy site and low and behold there was a picture of Broomstick Cemetery. Now I am certain there is another cemetery to be found. The library did not have the book I wanted to see, so will put that on the back burner for now. I was able to find out that the book is still in print and available for purchase from the author. I want to see a copy first before I spend $35 for something that may have little if anything to do with our line of Ashcrafts. Still no luck with the Reids, however, I did post a query on the Reid forum. Hopefully, I’ll get a response.

Edna and Gladys, 1926

This afternoon we went for a great visit with Wanda and her husband, Carl. Doug and Cheryl were there also. We had great fun and laughed at many old memories and stories. Wanda’s mother, Gladys, was Gene’s mother, Edna’s, older sister. Wanda was not much help as far as identifying the old photos, only able to identify one person. Every little bit helps, but still I had placed a lot of faith in Wanda. They did tell a lot of stories about Edna, Gladys, and Shelda, grandma Ashcraft. Everybody liked to visit with grandma because she was so much fun—always having a good time. Shelda apparently liked to get dressed up and go shopping with Pearl. They were unable to verify that Pearl was Shelda’s sister, but at least I have a name to go with the face in the photo. Gladys, being older, liked to boss everybody around and would get mad if those being bossed didn’t do what they were told.

Shelda (R) and Pearl at Woolworths

Several stories were told about baby Gene, also. Wanda said she liked to visit at Aunt Edna’s because she liked to watch Gene. He was a happy child. There was a great deal of talk about his bathroom habits. Maybe more information than we really needed or wanted.

Gene and Doug

Wanda and Gene

Carl

Cheryl and myself.

Tomorrow we’ll go in search of Broomstick Cemetery in Coshocton Co. It’s not far from here, about 10 miles. Who knows, maybe we’ll get lucky.

A Day of Research

The day dawned without rain but with plenty of fog. So much fog in fact, that schools were delayed by 2 hours. That is the first time I have ever known schools to open late due to fog. It was true, you couldn’t see your hand before your face. But by midmorning, it was a glorious fall with a big blue sky.

View out my window as I work

It was a great day to be outdoors, but I stayed focused on the family history with my nose in the computer until late in the day. I was able to plug in a few more names in the Ashcraft history then I got a big break about noon and found on the Genealogy.com Ashcraft forum a reference to a book on the family in the Genealogy Room at the Licking County Public Library. That got moved to the top of my list for tomorrow. That was a real morale booster and it got my blood flowing and my brain working again. I also went back to photos that I have already on CD. I found one of Shelda taken at a cemetery. I had always assumed that any photos of Ashcrafts at a cemetery would be at Frazeysburg. However, it was obviously a tombstone we had not seen on Monday and one that couldn’t have been missed. Saturday we will go out searching for the missing cemetery.

I was not so lucky with the Reid research. That always comes up a dead end. I just don’t have enough names in that family to go on. Gene has a cousin who is several years older than both he and Doug. We, with old photos in hand, are descending on her tomorrow afternoon. Maybe she will be able to put a few names with the faces in the pictures as well as give me a few more clues about the Reid’s. She is my last hope among the living relatives.

View of the Y-shaped bridge

Traffic light in the middle of the bridge

Late this afternoon we took a break and drove downtown Zanesville. One of the area attractions is the Y-shaped bridge. This unusual bridge crosses the confluence of the Muskingum and Licking Rivers. Zanesville is the county seat for Muskingum County and the courthouse is rather impressive for a small rural town in central Ohio. St. Nicholas Catholic Church may not be the largest congregation in town, but they have the most impressive building.

St Nicholas Catholic Church

Zanesville Courthouse

Tomorrow it is off to the library and then back to Newark to visit with cousin Wanda. It’ll be another busy day.

An Unscheduled Work Day

Well, this day sure didn’t turn out like we had planned. We were to drive to Lancaster this morning, then go to the Fairfield County Fair with Gene’s brother and his wife. We were really looking forward to it. Neither of us had been to a fair in many, many years. I wanted to see the calves and eat fair food. The day got off to a bad start and got worse before it got better, especially for Gene. We woke up to pouring down rain. Not the best weather for going to the fair. Then Gene got a call from the office which kept him on the phone for a couple hours. We finally got started to Lancaster about 11. The rain had slacked off quite a bit, so at least that was something good about the delay.

We hadn’t been on the road long before the phone rang again and Gene was on the phone until after 5 pm. Instead of fair food, we had sloppy Joes at Doug’s (Gene got to work through lunch), then Doug, Cheryl and I visited while Gene continued to talk on the phone. Doug did have a chance to look at a few old photos I just happened to have with me, but he wasn’t much help. Even though he is several years older than Gene, he is just not old enough to have known most of the people in these pictures. We did have fun visiting and catching up on what’s going on with each of our families.

Finally, about 6:00, we were ready to head for the fair. I wish I had taken my camera. It was such a classic, old time, county fair that I would love to have a few pictures. But it was still raining a little when we left and was nearly dark, so I decided to leave the camera behind. I did get to see the calves as well as a few chickens, ducks, and rabbits. We had a hamburger for dinner and Doug got us all a sugar waffle, which we had never had before. Pretty tasty. My stomach will probably be really mad at me by morning.

It wasn’t the day we had planned, but it was a good day for me to visit with family. We can never get enough of that. Now it is very late; way past my bedtime. Maybe tomorrow we will make a little more progress with the family history.

The Search Continues

Well, so much for my plan of staying home today and working on the information I collected yesterday and trying to get myself organized with a list of questions to ask the relatives when we see them. Gene’s conference call turned out to be mid-afternoon and with the sun shining this morning and a forecast for rain tomorrow, we decided we would take advantage of the good weather and drive into Newark again to find the second house he lived in as a child. Close by is the cemetery where his parents are buried.

Gene (baby) and Doug at the house we saw yesterday.

It was a good trip. We went to the cemetery first and visited a while at his parent’s grave site. With a little help from the grounds people, one of whom has been working at that cemetery for 33 years, we were able to quickly find the grave sites of Gene’s paternal grandfather, two uncles and an aunt. I don’t want to get into the Curps just yet because the majority of the Curps are buried near Cincinnati and will tell those stories when we get there. It is confusing enough with so many Ashcrafts to deal with.

We had to make 3 passes before we were able to locate his boyhood home. The neighborhood has changed a great deal in 50 years and the only thing that helped us to find the house was the driveway. There was a circular driveway then and it is still there today. Unfortunately, we were unable to get a picture because the street was very busy with no place to pull off for a few minutes. We felt a little uncomfortable pulling into the driveway, especially since the circle went practically upon to the porch. So we passed by a couple more times at 50 miles an hour and stared as best we could.

Down the street from the house was a market which was there when Gene was living in the neighborhood. Gene went in to get a coke and felt compelled to relate this story which happened when he was about 7. His dad took him in this very store one day to buy a cold drink. With drink in hand, little Gene stuck the straw in the bottle and began to suck, and suck, and suck to no avail. With one last suck the fly which was either lodged in the straw or in the bottom of the bottle made its way up and into Gene’s mouth. I didn’t ask and I don’t want to know what happened to the fly after Gene bit it in two with his little baby teeth.

Gene about the age of the fly incident

Farther down the road is Ye Old Mill, the Velvet ice cream plant. Yes, they were making ice cream today and yes, we had some. We went there, not for the ice cream (well not entirely), but because we had a photo of a Reid family reunion which was at Ye Old Mill in 1934. Shelda Ashcraft was a Reid. That is a very large family that I know very little about.

Reid Reunion at Ye Old Mill in 1934

Because we did this instead of staying home this morning, I got behind in my chores for today. While I am writing this story and trying to get it posted, Gene is being a super husband and doing the laundry. Divide and conquer—we do it often.

Ye Old Mill today

Tomorrow, I’m taking my pile of pictures to Doug’s house in Lancaster. I’m hoping he can remember who some of these folks are.