Betty's Journal - August 1 - 11, 2002
Conesus, Buffalo, E.Aurora, NY, Zanesville, Newark, Hanover, Ohio
Brighton and Henrietta, NY
Day 1: Thursday, August 1, 2002
My daughter, Trudy, Grandsons, Eric & Austin came to our house in Nashua, NH to pick me up shortly after 9:00 a.m. for our trip. I was all packed and ready to go with them. We
said our farewells to Dad & Gt. Grandma. We drove out Rt. 130 to Rt. 13 to Rt. 2 and 190 to get to the Massachusetts Turnpike (Rt. 90) headed west toward Rochester, NY. We had sandwiches, drinks, fruit & snacks with us that I had prepared the evening before.
We only stopped for gas and to use the restrooms. At one of the stops on the thruway (Junius Ponds) I was surprised to see our librarian at the school where I had formerly worked (Marion "Mimi" Crowley). She said she was on her way to Pittsford, NY to visit her niece. We took exit 46 to 390 S. at Rochester, NY and headed for Conesus, NY where we were to spend the night. We arrived there around 4:20 and Cathy was already home from work and my granddaughter, Alysha came out to meet us as well as their dog, Putsy & Smudge the Cat. Cathy had an appointment to drop her car off to be serviced so Trudy went with her. When they got back, we unpacked our suitcases, etc. from the trunk, then Cathy's friend, Don, arrived and helped to carry our belongings into the house. Cathy ordered Pizza, so Cathy, Don & Trudy went to pick it up. When they got
back we all had Pizza, garlic sticks, & drinks, then we went to bed fairly early as we all had to be up early the next morning.
Day 2: Friday, August 2, 2002
We all arose early and ate breakfast, dressed and packed up our belongings in Trudy's car then we got onto Rt. 20A to E. Aurora, NY where we had planned to attend the memorial service for Jeff Booth's (Debbie's husband) father at the Baker Memorial Methodist Church scheduled for 11 a.m. It was an hour and a half drive from Cathy's. Alysha and Cathy also went in Cathy's car. We all arrived at the Church early so we had our selection of seats. The memorial service for Richard Yule Booth was very beautiful and many people who had known him gave testimony as to what he had meant to them. His family were all there, wife Jean, daughter Heather & husband Tom, daughter Bonnie, sons, Brian & Jeff and their families. Jeff's wife is our daughter, Debbie. Debbie's daughter, Jenny, flew in from Queens, NY to attend and daughter, Michelle & husband, Joe and Jeff & Debbie's daughter, Alexandra (Allie) also attended the service. We were invited to attend the luncheon in the Church Hall that the ladies from the church had set up. We offered our condolences to the family and were introduced to some other people there by our daughter, Debbie and her husband, Jeff. We changed into our travel clothes and left for our drive to Ohio and finally found our way to the thruway after getting mixed up amid the road construction. The rest of our trip went fairly smooth. We made a couple of stops to use the restrooms and get gas and a burger.
We had not been to Clarence & Helen's new Condo so we were not sure where to turn in as there were several new condo developments in the same area so Trudy gave them a call from the Colony North Shopping Center. It turns out that if we had followed Helen's directions it would have taken us right to them. We arrived there just about 8:30 p.m. Their daughter and my niece Carol and her husband, Bill were there from Charleston, W. VA. After the greetings and introductions, Austin went with Bill into the field across the street from their condo and flew paper airplanes. After that we all had a feast of watermelon, which was very refreshing after the long drive. Helen & Clarence gave directions to Trudy on how to get to Mary Ann & Ron's house as she and the boys had been invited to stay with them. After visiting for a while, Carol & Helen made up the bed in the back bedroom and said I was to sleep there and we prepared the couch bed for Carol & Bill. Then we all went to bed for the night.
Day 3: Saturday, August 3, 2002
We all got up around 7 a.m. and had a breakfast of fruit salad, orange juice, scrambled eggs, prepared by Carol Jean and some whole grain toast that Carol & Bill had brought and cinnamon-raisin toast that Clarence had made and coffee. After clearing the table, Carol & Bill got packed up and left to spend the following week at the Chautauqua Institute at Chautauqua, NY.
After everyone was showered and dressed, Clarence & Helen decided to make some homemade vanilla ice cream in their gallon electric ice cream freezer. Helen put together the mixture into the bucket and Clarence added the salt & ice to the tub. After some adjustment with balancing the bucket, it went smoothly. Helen also made a peach pie for eating later. After that, we went over to their daughter's and my niece, Mary Ann's for lunch. She had a variety of sandwiches, etc. and her homemade ice cream and blackberry cobbler for dessert.
After leaving Mary Ann's, I rode with Clarence & Helen to Coshocton where we went to their daughter and my niece, Terry's apartment to bring her with us as she was to stay overnight and attend the Boyd reunion the next day. She was all packed and ready to go. Terry showed us around her apartment and introduced us to some of her friends who lived there. We also passed their son, Tom & wife Peggy's building where they keep their water treatment supply business. On the way home, we stopped at a supermarket where Helen had a few items to pick up and I shopped for some items to take to the reunion the next day. I purchased some red & green seedless grapes as they were only 88 cents per pound, a canteloupe, red onion, green pepper, wax beans, green beans, kidney beans & garbanzo beans. This took a little longer than usual as I had to hunt for the kidney beans & garbanzo beans as they were not located with the other types of beans. These items were for a bean salad that I put together after we got back to their house.
Terry got settled in, then Mary Ann, Ron, Trudy, Eric & Austin came over for supper. Helen had ham, a potato dish, waldorf salad and peach pie & ice cream for those who wanted it. Then Ron took Eric & Austin to a festival at his Church where they played some games, etc. After visiting for a while, Mary Ann & Trudy left to go home and then we made up Terry's bed and all retired for the night.
Day 4: August 4, 2002
We were all up and had juice, cereal & bananas, toast & coffee for breakfast at 8 a.m. Then we showered, dressed and I prepared the grapes and canteloupe for the picnic. Helen made sloppy-joe mix and put in the crockpot. We were to meet Lester, Esther & Mark at the park by 11:30 with the keys to the building. So we packed up the car and drove over to the hall. Lester, Esther & Mark were already there, then Mary Ann, Trudy & boys and Jim & Ann arrived. With so much help, it sure didn't take long to get the tables and chairs set up. Tablecloths were put on the food tables. There was a table for the white elephant auction articles and a dessert table. Mary Ann had brought a birthday cake all decorated for Helen's birthday. Then many relatives started arriving. We did a lot of visiting and taking pictures as several people had their cameras and Trudy had brought a camcorder.
At 1 p.m. after the grace was given by Lester, everyone lined up and went by the food tables, filling their plates with all of the delicious food that everyone had brought. Also a variety of drinks were available, lemonade, ice tea, soda & bottled water. There was plenty of food for all plus leftovers. We did a lot more visiting and taking pictures, then it was time for the white elephant auction to raise money to rent the facility for the next year or two. It was a mystery as to what was in all of those wrapped or bagged packages so everyone was very curious. Carey, Frances' granddaughter and my niece, Donna Jean's daughter took charge of auctioning off the items and did a terrific job, while Lester kept an account of everything. Everyone had fun finding out who got what and finding out what was in the various packages.
The children kept busy with games, chases, water balloons, etc. In fact a couple of Austins were guilty of getting the kitchen floor all wet and one of the Austins got his hand cut on some glass. Some of the adults got engrossed in a game of euchre.
It was good to see and talk with everyone that we had not seen for a few years. Some were surprised to see us there, as they did not know we were coming. More visiting and picture taking took place and a good time was had by all. Terry and I went home with Clarence & Helen and then Mary Ann came by and drove Terry back to Coshocton. Lester & Esther came by a little later and brought Clarence & Helen up to date on the auction.
My nephew Jim & his wife Patty invited Trudy, Eric, Austin and me over to their house in the evening for Pizza. Austin went swimming in their pool and later Ann went in the pool and played water ball with Austin while the rest of us visited. We saw several deer and raccoons come to the feeders in the neighbors yard and butterflies on Patty's flowers.
We saw Jim & Ann's motorcycles and Ann showed us the basement that she has been remodeling and has done a tremendous job of it. We also saw her cat that she has had for many years. I found that I didn't have the correct date for Jim's birthday, so I had been sending his birthday card with the wrong date on it for years. Silly me!
After our visit, Trudy and boys dropped me off at Clarence & Helen's for the night.
Day 5: Monday, August 5, 2002
I awoke early on Monday and took my shower and dressed before Clarence & Helen were up. We had breakfast at 8 a.m. Helen prepared oatmeal, bananas, juice, toast & coffee.
Clarence opened his computer to the mail program and I e-mailed Dad. Then Clarence & Helen dropped me off at Mary Ann's house. Mary Ann, Trudy, the boys and I went to Buckeye Stoneware where she gave us a tour of the factory where we met some of the artists and workers in other positions of creating the pottery. Trudy, Eric & Austin each picked out a selection to paint and leave for glazing and firing compliments of Ron. Afterwards, Mary Ann took us over the famous "Y" Bridge, and gave us a tour of Putnam and some history of the area and past Holly's house. We headed up Rt. 60 to Dresden which is Longaberger territory. We saw the big basket in the park and ate at Longaberger's Popeye restaurant. When we came out it had started to rain. Mary Ann pointed out where a distant relative (Breithaupts) had resided in Dresden. Then we headed out Rt. 16 past the Longaberger factory where we saw many cars on the highway coming from their shift at the Longaberger Basket factory. We turned into the parking lot of the Longaberger Homestead. Mary Ann explained how they had moved a historic barn (The Crawford Barn) to the Homestead Site. We saw the 3 p.m. parade with bands and floats. We tried to locate my niece, Marilyn, who usually works at the Homestead demonstrating basket making to people who sign up, but she wasn't working on Monday.
We got on the tour bus and got off at Building "B" but it was pretty much empty of people.
We left the Homestead and went up Rt. 16 and turned onto Rt. 586 past the Jesse Fairall house where Grandpa Boyd (Ray) was born and lived there until he was about 11 years of age when the family moved into the old house on the hill. We turned off onto the bottom road past the Burkholder place and Hoovers, then up the hill to Grandma & Grandpa Boyd's (Ray & Nancy) old homestead. We saw a lot of changes....there were two new houses built across the road from their house. The people living there have torn down the old summer kitchen and built a smaller shed. They have built a deck off the dining room. The corn cribs and chicken houses are gone. The tractor shed is still there as well as the barn. The walnut trees that were growing in a line by the fence have been cut down. We saw two horses and an oil tank in the field.
We left the farm and drove past Hoover's house, up the hill and past Don & Martha Nethers and Esther Hites (Irene' sister) and onto the road to Bertha Grossenbacher's home. Bertha is a first cousin. We found Bertha at home and she was in the midst of frying cucumbers. Bertha was very glad to see us (however surprised) as we were glad to see her. She showed us some pictures of her mother (Bessie Tine Priest Ford) when she was young and her wedding picture when she wed (Rollie "Ed" Ford). Her brother, Carl, came in while we were there and I had not seen him for several years. His health is not too good. He lost his wife about a year ago and Bertha had only recently lost her husband. I had forgot to take my camera with me that day but Trudy had her camcorder with her. We learned that she had sold the farm & equipment at auction and plans to move into a condo in Newark, OH. Her daughter, Tresa Jane, still lives in Canton, Ohio.
After visiting with Bertha & Carl we headed back to Zanesville. Mary Ann dropped me off at Clarence & Helens. Diane was already there so we visited and Helen invited her to stay for supper. She had some old photo negatives for me that she had found in her Dad's (my brother, Willis) house Trudy and boys also came over for supper and visited for a while. I was sorry to have missed my granddaughter Ashlyn's 5th birthday. We soon retired for the night.
Day 6: Tuesday, August 6, 2002
We were up by 7 a.m. and had breakfast by 8 a.m. Trudy, Eric & Austin came by at 9:30 and we got started on our way to Newark and passed the big basket building which holds the corporate offices for Longaberger Baskets, then we drove to my brother Gene's apartment building and buzzed his room but got no answer, so we asked a lady there if she knew him and she said yes but informed us the inter-com was not working because the electricity had been knocked out by a storm, so we went up to the 2nd floor and Gene was just coming out of the door to his apartment. He invited us to come in so we visited for a while and he showed us around his apartment. He had many pictures of his daughter, Joyce Ann and her family on the wall. We then went downstairs to Rachel's apartment on the first floor. She wasn't home so we left a note on her door telling her we were sorry to have missed seeing her.
We left there and drove over the renovated Main Street Bridge and out to my friend, Peggy's house on Granville Rd. We knocked and rang the doorbell several times and was about to leave a note when she came to the door and was surprised to see us. We went to visit for a while. Peggy has been having a lot of arthritis problems and has put on a lot of weight, especially in her legs & thighs. She had been grocery shopping earlier and was resting when we stopped by. We left Peggy's house and felt we should stop for a bite to eat so we found the Eatery at Locust & Mt.Vernon Rd. We had a lunch there and then the boys wanted to buy a magazine of something of interest to them so we tried to find a nearby store to no avail.
After driving around Newark, we headed out to my sister-in-law Irene's and my nephew, Johnny, Jr.'s stopping by the graveyard at Smith Chapel to take some pictures of some of the headstones (relatives). Johnny, Jr. and Irene were sitting on their porch when we arrived and were very glad to see us. They were holding an election across the street at the Perry Township Hall for a levy to add on to the County Vocational School and Irene's sister, Esther, was working there and came over to say "Hi" Austin was interested in the well pumps and race cars. We were in awe at how many hummingbird feeders Irene had hanging outside and the flocks and flocks of hummingbirds that came to the feeders.
We bid Irene & Johnny, Jr. good-bye and headed back to Zanesville. Trudy dropped me at Clarence & Helen's. Their son, Jim, rode over on his motorcycle to drop off a present for his mom for her birthday. Helen told him we were on our way to Adornetto's restaurant as Ron and Mary Ann had invited everyone for dinner and would he like to join us and he declined as Patty had to work late. Adornettos had a pleasant family type atmosphere and we all enjoyed the company and dinner, it is a favorite of Ron's, After dinner, Ron went golfing for a while. Trudy took the boys to buy magazines and I went home with Clarence & Helen. Tom (their son) and his wife, Peggy, stopped by with a birthday gift for Helen. We sat on their screened in porch, visited and watched the sunset until the air got a little chilly, then we went inside, visited some more and had peach pie and homemade ice cream. Tom and Peggy left to go home and we soon went to bed.
Day 7: Wednesday, August 7, 2002
We arose as usual and I was up early so bathed and dressed before Clarence & Helen were up, then we had breakfast of fruit, juice, pancakes & coffee. Clarence made Hungry Jack pancakes, his favorite, served with maple syrup that I had brought from New Hampshire.
Trudy came by around 10:30 then we headed for Lester & Esther's house in Hanover, Ohio. Their son and my nephew Mark was there also. He showed us pictures of Nascar race cars, then Eric, Austin & Trudy went down to the basement where Lester challenged the boys to games of pool while Esther showed me all of her sewing projects she and others had been working on for their church bazaar. Then, we followed Lester & Esther in to Miller's Restaurant where their daughter and my niece, Patricia, her husband, Scott & their children Samantha-13 yrs. and Tyler-5 yrs. and Mark met us for lunch. I ordered the "Special" which was chicken, vegetables & rice and it was too much food so I sent the rest home with Esther. We took a tour through their gift shop and bakery before leaving there. As it was too early to meet with Annis, Frank's sister, we drove in to Newark and rode around the Court House Square and saw Uncle Gene playing cards with his cronies at a picnic table on the Court House lawn but we didn't stop. We also saw the workers in the process of demolishing the old Auditorium Theatre.
I thought the boys might enjoy the Technology Center which is now called "The Works."
We paid our admission fee and went in. The lady at the desk pointed out the renovated interurban trolley car and directed us to the art exhibit which was rather small with a lot of " modern" art. Then we came back to the main building and viewed lots of industrial exhibits. The glassblower demonstration was scheduled for 3 p.m. so we watched that and the boys seemed to be very interested. After that we went upstairs where we found lots of interesting exhibits, one of which was a Pure Oil exhibit which interested me - some very old pictures of workers at the refinery in Heath, an old Pure Oil gas pump and many Pure Oil Signs. Austin was very interested in the model oil well derrick . There were several "hands on" exhibits which Eric & Austin really enjoyed.
We left the Technology Center and drove to Annis & Ray's house. Ray was getting ready to attend the Hartford Fair where he and others of the Gideons gave out Testaments. We saw Annis' new puppy a Bichon-Frise named Bitsy and her cockatiel-Percy. Percy would whistle a tune. We saw their pond with goldfish. She drove us to the restaurant - China Buffet where we enjoyed a delicious meal. After leaving the restaurant she drove us to the 6th Street Veterans Memorial Park where they have the names and service rank of veterans on bricks lining both sides of the sidewalk. She was looking for her husband, Ray's brick but was unable to find it. After leaving the park, she drove us past 485 Garfield Ave. which was the house where she and her brother, Frank, grew up. There has been many changes to the house, from there she took us to the Cedar Hill Cemetary and showed us where Grandpa Rauck (Frank O. Rauck, Sr.) is buried. After driving us around the area she stopped at her daughter, Susan's house but Susan was not home. She then drove us back to her house and as it was getting late, we said our farewells and drove back to Zanesville. Trudy dropped me off at Clarence & Helen's and she and the boys went to Mary Ann & Ron's to spend the night.
Day 8: Thursday, August 8, 2002
I was up early, dressed and had breakfast of juice, cereal, toast & coffee with Helen & Clarence, then packed for our trip to Conesus. We had called Debbie the evening before to let her know we planned to stop to see them on our way back and to get directions to their house. The trip went smoothly and Debbie's directions took us right to their house and we arrived about 2:30 p.m. Her daughter, Michelle and children, Gabby & Joey were there also and our granddaughter, Allie, had lots of neighborhood girls playing with her, riding bikes, etc. They were having lunch on the porch so we joined them with a cup of coffee as we had stopped for burgers on the Thruway. It was the first we had seen of their dining room and table and chairs that Debbie had so tastefully re-decorated. We saw their six parakeets (cannot remember their names), met Benji, the cockatiel, Allie's bunny, Timmy and Simon, the hamster. Also saw the two goldfish and the two fish they took home from our aquarium and were surprised at how much they have grown. We had a nice visit although we were sorry we didn't get to see Jeff.
We left at 4:45 to drive to Conesus, NY arriving there at 6 p.m. and were greeted by Cathy & Alysha. Cathy's friend, Don, came over and cooked pork chops on the grill and Cathy had fresh corn and salt potatoes & homemade chocolate chip cookies which made a hit with the young folks. Needless to say, we were all stuffed. Alysha had her friend, Peggy, over to spend the night. We got to see Nicole, met her boyfriend, Bobby, and got to see her car, a Ford Contour. We visited for a while, Don went home and I retired early. The young people stayed up later.
Day 9: Friday, August 9, 2002
I was up early and made coffee and had juice, cereal & coffee. Trudy had made plans to meet with her friend, Trisha, in Brighton at 9 a.m. so she was up and gone early. Cathy had taken the morning off as she had a work related appointment later and then had to go into the office so she didn't get home from work until 4:30 p.m. We had made plans to be at Frank & Sara's at 5:30 so Trudy, Eric & Austin, and I left to drive to Henrietta where Frank, Sara & Britta live. Frank had just got home from work when we arrived and Britta was home so we were greeted by Frank, Britta and Minnie, their dog. Sara had an appointment at the hairdressers so she arrived a little later. Frank cooked chicken wings and hot dogs on the grill and drove Trudy's car to pick up some potato salad as we had parked behind his van. Cathy & Alysha arrived before dinner and it was decided that Britta would come home with Alysha to spend the night. We visited with Sara, Frank & Britta and Minnie & Figuero, their cat and left around 10 p.m. Frank had to work on Saturday morning, then they had a wedding and reception to attend in the afternoon and evening. Upon leaving their house, we followed Cathy the long way to her house and when we got out of the car we saw the night sky was just filled with bright shining stars. I retired early and the young people stayed up a little later.
Day 10: Saturday, August 10,2002
I was up fairly early and had breakfast, the young people slept in later. We had made plans to be at David & Suzyn's by 11 a.m. We took Britta home to her house and arrived at David & Suzyns shortly after 12 Noon. After our greeting and meeting Thomas, their fresh-air visitor from Brooklyn, NY, we were given a tour of their new addition to their house. It is very nice & roomy and decorated in a southwestern motif. We met their lovebird named Romeo and their cockatiel named Chloe and also their Chinchilla that they keep in the basement. They served us a lunch of Tuna sandwiches, cold cuts on buns or croisants, potato salad, watermelon & cherry pie. Thomas really loved that watermelon! After lunch we went over to the town pool where Austin, Thomas & Jason went in swimming and they played on the playground and climbed trees. After that we went inside and visited for a while. After leaving their house, we stopped at Topps Supermarket off of South Clinton and purchased white hots, salt potatoes, and food for our trip back home. We arrived back at Cathy's about 6 p.m. Nicole and Bobby brought sweet corn. Cathy cooked hamburgers & baked beans on the grill and we had potatoes. Trudy helped to clean up afterwards and do the dishes. I went upstairs to write on my journal and go to bed.
Day 11: Sunday, August 11,2002
I was up early, ate breakfast, cleaned up and dressed and packed for our trip home to New Hampshire. We got started by 9:30 a.m. On the road again! Destination - New Hampshire! The highway was pretty busy - We took 90 East to 290 at Worcester, MA,
Then 190 North to Rt. 2 to Rt. 13 to Rt. 130. We made two stops to use the restrooms. We had sandwiches and snacks with us so didn't stop for food or drink. The trip went smoothly. We arrived at 11 Richmond Street just a few minutes past 4 p.m. We unpacked my belongings from Trudy's car and after saying "Hi" to Dad and Gt. Grandma, Trudy, Eric and Austin were on their way home to Mt. Vernon, NH. We were very much surprised to see that Dad had started to build a shed in the backyard!!!
We want to thank everyone for all their hospitality, meals and friendship shown to us on our trip. Our thanks to Clarence & Helen, Mary Ann & Ron and Cathy for allowing us to stay at their homes. Everyone contributed to our very enjoyable time away from home.