2018 Christmas Letter Activies

 Well, another year has come and gone. Hope you and your family had a good year!

We had a lot going on this year. 

Enclosed are some of the activities our family did this year. 

(We had lots of cold weather in Jan & February)

January 9, Day Trip: Hubby and I rode to Decatur Wildlife Refuge

January 15, Day Trip, Hubby & I rode to Dodge City

January 25, Attended Wade Hall Post Cards @ Florence Library 

January 31, Trip to Saraland & Dolphin Island with my friend Wanda

FEBRUARY 

Feb 1- 4 Cruise to Cozumel, Mexico with my friend Wanda 

February 1, Boarded Ship 

February 2, Fun Day @ Sea

Feb 3, Spent day at Cozumel, Mexico 

February 4, Fun Day @ Sea
February 5, traveled home 

February 9, Worked @ Killen Book Store 9–1 P.M.

Feb 19-21 Trip Hubby & I stayed @ Christmas Inn Pigeon Forge, TN

February 14, Valentine Brunch @ CBS

February 21, Grandson Jake Hughes's BIRTHDAY DINNER

Feb 24/25 Trip Hubby & I stayed @ Joe Wheeler Lodge for Wildlife Photo Weekend.

MARCH

March 2, Children's Museum of Shoals with Great Granddaughter Ava Grace 

March 1, Attended Get Dirty @ Library Petals & Pollinators

March 6, Hubby & Rode to Waynesboro  

Mar 8, Attended Get Dirty @ Library Vegetable Garden & Seed Swap

March 9,  Worked @ Killen Book Store 9–1 P.M.

On March 10, I attended the "Coloring Alabama" Class by Laura Murray at the Florence Library.

March 11, Attended Wedding Shower for Granddaughter Hannah
March 12, Attended Bi-Centennial Party, Florence @ Wilson Park 

March 19, Bought Nissan Murano @ Landers McCary Nissan Huntsville

Mar 22, Attended Get Dirty @ Library Garden Landscapes & Pest Management

March 25, Attended @ Help with my dad's 91st Birthday party @ Cloverdale Senior Center

March 27, Attended Appreciation dinner @ Killen Senior Center 

March 28, Day Trip to Huntsville with Hubby to Landers McCary Nissan, ate lunch @ Mama's Taco Community of Providence & Red Stone Arsenal  

Mar 29, Attended Get Dirty @ Library Urban Forestry & Tree Maintenance 

Mar 30, Served @ Passover Sadar @ Killen Baptist Church 

March 31, Attended Ava Grace's 3rd Birthday Party 

APRIL

April 1, Easter Sunday Service

April 3, Day Trip, Hubby & I rode to Lawrenceburg, Davey Crocket Park 

April 4, Hubby & I played Bingo at Chick-fil-a

April 7, Walking Tour Florence Federal Courthouse, Library & Kennedy Douglas Museum

April 10: Had tint put on the new car and attended the Hansel & Gretel play at the Florence Library.                                                   

On April 11, Hubby and I attended the Social Security Retirement Dinner at Red Lobster.

On April 12, I worked at Killen Bookstore from 9:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M.

April 13, Stormed all day

April 17, Day Trip: My Hubby and I rode to Huntsville, UAH, Ditto Landing, and Red Lobster.

On April 20, Hubby and I attended the Hansel & Gretel Play at UNA 

April 21, Attended Blue Star Dedication, Train Depot Museum, Decatur 

April 28, Attended Walking tour, Athens State University Library, Delmore Museum & Founders Hall

MAY 

May 2, Music in Wilson Park with Justin Holder

May 7, Dolores Hydock @Muscle Shoals Library It's The Little Things

May 9, Music in Wilson Park with Mike Curtis & Garrett Miles 

May 11, Worked at Killen Book Store 9–1 P.M. 

May 13, Mother's Day: I enjoyed a steak meal at Ron's Wind Chimes, flowers, a gift card, and a potted plant. 

May 16, Music in Wilson Park with Shannon Knight

May 17: Enjoyed listening to Kate Campbell at the Music Hall of Fame from 3–4 P.M. and Josh Goforth at the Florence Library from 5–6 P.M.

May 18, Attended Storytelling Festival at Shoals Theater at Legends

May 19, Attended Storytelling Festival at Shoals Theater at City Hardware

May 23, Music in Wilson Park with Joseph Baldwin 

JUNE

May 29-June 2 Trip to Gulf Shores

June 2 Birth: Anthony River Hughes, Great Grandson

June 8, Worked at Killen Book Store 9–1 P.M.

June 8, Wedding Rehearsal, Hannah Hughes & Chad Menard

June 9, the Wedding of Hannah and Chad Menard

June 9, Lecture of Winstons @ Helen Keller Library 1:30–11:30 A.M. 

June 10, Day Trip Nashville Airport 

June 16, Day Trip NASA @ Big Spring Park & RSA 

June 29, Crows, Chirp, & Bray Wildlife @Helen Keller Library 11–12 P.M.

JULY

July 6, Echoes and Howls Wildlife Program, Sheffield Library, 10 A.M.

July 10, Day Trip Veterans Museum & Rollo's Cafe, Huntsville 

July 13, Killen Book Store 9–1 P.M.

July 18, Day Trip Franklin Toured Carter, Lotz House & Carton Plantation Museums

July 23, Summer Solos with Tosha Hill 11- 30-12:30

July 24, BEHIND THE MUSIC – SONGS & STORIES OF THE KGB SERIES 1 2–3 P.M.

July 25, BEHIND THE MUSIC – SONGS & STORIES OF THE KGB SERIES 2 2–3 P.M.

July 26, BEHIND THE MUSIC – SONGS & STORIES OF THE KGB SERIES 3 2–3 P.M.

July 27 Songwriters Showcase Series #4 2–3 P.M. MARK NARMORE & 

Aug

Aug 6-8 Trip Little Rock, Arkansas 

Aug 12, A Brief History of Education in Florence 2–3 P.M.

Aug 16, Day Trip South Haven, MS 

Aug 22, Day Trip to Tupelo, MS 

August 23, Get Dirty at the Library: Fall Vegetable

August 30: Get Dirty at the Library Cut Flowers

Sept

September 2, Kept great-grandson River Anthony Hughes

September 6, Get Dirty at the Library: Backyard fruits

September 14, Worked at Book Store 9–1 P.M.

September 15, New Bethel Reunion 9–3 P.M.

September 16, Lecture on Native Americans at Indian Mound 

September 20, Kept great-granddaughter Ava Grace

September 22, Day Trip Toured Weeden House & Huntsville Depot  

Oct

October 5, Day Trip to Oktoberfest and Museum Cullman with sister-in-law

October 6, Oktoberfest St Florian

October 7, Lecture: Life in the Highlands with George Makowski 

October 9, Day Trip to Dickson, TN 

October 12, Worked at Book Store 9-1

October 14, Tuscumbia Art Museum lecture: Truths and Legends TVA

October 15, Day Trip: GPS System checked & Oil change at Nissan of Huntsville, ate at Red Robin at Bridge St 

October 19, took Ron and Ava Grace (great-granddaughter) to Home Depot, Lowe's & Halloween Store to see Halloween Displays 

October 21, Lecture at Florence Library about James VI & I 

October 24, Lecture at Florence Library, Doctors of Death, 6–7 P.M.

October 25, Class Diabetes & Healthy Cooking 11:30-12:30, Florence Library 

On October 28, I watched the River and went to the Renaissance Faire

On the 29th, Hubby and I took Ava Grace to treat Elgin

On the 30th, Hubby and I took Ava Grace to the Town of Killen

Nov 

November 1, Healthy Cooking, Florence Library, 11:30 A.M.–12:30 P.M.

November 3: Forks of Cypress Tour, Shoals Business Expo, and Cruising Wheeler Lake 

November 4, Athens Cemetery Stroll 

November 6, Day Trip Natchez Trace, Leipers Fork, and Cool Springs Mall, Franklin, TN

November 8: Cooking for High Blood Pressure, Florence Library, 11:30 A.M.–12:30 P.M.

November 9, Worked at Killen Book Store 9–1 P.M.

Nov 11-16, Trip to the Smoky Mountains with cousin Sherry & Aunt Bobby

November 16, Tidwell's Thanksgiving dinner

November 19, Took Mike for a Colonoscopy at ECM Hospital 812, Lunch at Five Guys 

November 22, Thanksgiving Dinner @ Mike's (my son)

November 24, Worked at Killen Book Store 

November 25, Trees of Christmas, TVA Museum, and Addressed Christmas Cards & Wrapped presents

November 27, Tinsel Trail, Big Spring Park with Hubby

November 28, Legend of Toyland, Roxy Theater, Russellville, with Hubby

November 29, Kennedy Douglas Art Museum Quilt Display

December 2, Trees of Christmas TVAA

December 2, Took Ava Grace to Santa Land in Elgin with Hubby

December 4, went to Nashville to see Grinch Ice, Opryland Hotel, 3 Gardens decorated for Christmas, and Opry Mills Mall

On December 7, I took Ava Grace to Killen Town Hall for the Christmas Program and to see Santa

December 13, Christmas Dinner, and listen to storyteller Dolores Hydock at Club Florence

December 15, Hubby and I attended the Leipers Fork Christmas Parade

December 17, Hubby and I visited the North Pole Christmas Tree Stroll, Madison's Magical Christmas Tree Stroll, Madison's Christmas Card Lane, Wheeler Wildlife Refuge, and the Enchanted Forest Christmas Tree Stroll in Decatur, and enjoyed a Grinch Pancake at IHOP. 

December 21, Christmas Dinner at Tidwell's

December 22, Christmas Dinner at Mike's 

December 25, Breakfast at Mike's 

I journal all my activities and take several pictures, which helps keep my memories alive. 

I hope each and every one enjoys the holidays.

May the new year bring good fortune, good health, and love.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from our house to yours 

PS: MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR 2019

Me & Santa @Incredible Christmas Store in Pigeon Forge, TN 

2016 October 22, Saturday, Memosa Cemetery Stroll Lawrenceburg, Tn

The Lawrence County Public Library sponsored a Cemetery Stroll at the Mimosa Cemetery.

Many people gathered to hear the stories of people buried here and people that should have been buried here.
Our speaker was wearing wireless headphones with a wireless transmitter and receiver (so everyone could hear him) and he was carrying a Sealtest Crate to stand on(so everyone could see him).

Before we began our stroll the speaker told the founding story of Mimosa.
The speaker said Mimosa was formed because no one knew who was buried in the city cemetery.
The city needed a cemetery with the order.

Everyone followed the speaker into the cemetery.
Our first stop was at Mayor James D. Vaughn 1864-1941 founder of Southern Gospel Music

James D. Vaughn 1864-1941

Annie Green Kirk 1832-1910- her husband fought in the Civil War and was killed by Union soldiers after the war.

The gravesite of Annie Kirk. Her husband was killed by Union Soldiers

Senator Fred Thompson 1942-2015- Senator, Actor, born in Colbert County, Alabama at Keller Hospital and lived and is buried in Lawrenceburg. TN.

The group gathered near Fred Thompson's grave He has no marker yet!

Nettie Stewart 1874-1922

 Nettie's family was all dead when she was found in a Nashville Hotel.
Nettie was a dreamer, and she foretold her own death.
She was found lying on the floor of her apartment clothesless. In her room was a trunk full of her dream journals. She was brought back to Lawrenceburg and buried with her family in Mimosa Cemetery.

Nettie Stewart the dreamer

Captain William J. Gilbreth -Served in the Spanish America War
1864-1934. He lost a daughter while he was in the war and never got over the loss. He became a nonbeliever.

William Gilbreth a nonbeliever after the loss of a child

Mayor James W. Garrett won the election by one vote.
1859-1929. There were tornado warnings during the election.

Private Elliott Crews  1894-1918 About a young man's life cut short in World War I.

Half logs mean life is cut short. Crews KIA

John B. Kennedy 1841-1913- A Civil War Soldier and College man.

John B. Kenned is a college graduate. 

James H. Stribling 1863-1951- Mr. Stribling lost a daughter, she was age 5.
Mr. Stribling was comforted by a Christian man David Lipscomb and because of him, Mr. Stribling became a Christian.
Mr. Stribling built a school for the children of Lawrenceburg with his own money, with one stipulation, that it have a bible class.

Stribling Family.  Stribling five-year-old daughter is the middle tombstone

Everyone has a story whether dead or alive. Whether great or small.
I encourage everyone to visit a cemetery and learn more about the people that are buried there.
You might find someone you know or a relative.
I have many journals and hope someday, someone will read my stories.

2016 Sunday, April 17 Athens Character Cemetery Stroll

Sunday from 2–5 P.M.

Athens Cemetery

Caroline Page

Mrs. Caroline Preston Peck 
This strong woman settled in Rowland, now Tanner, with her family after the American Civil War. She relied on her Methodist faith to keep the family together. 
The Peck families came from the north to settle in Athens. 

Rebekah Thompson Davis 

Mary Mason 
Mary was one of the strongest supporters of the Confederacy among the United Daughters. Miss Mary explains the Confederate Circle and the Confederate monument.

Confederate Circle and Tombstones
The Confederate Circle in Athens City Cemetery contains graves of over 50 soldiers killed in or around Athens during the WBTS, 8 unknown. Around 1898, ladies of the local UDC were working in the cemetery when bones, believed to be soldiers, were found. The ladies felt these soldiers deserved a proper burial. In 1901, the local UDC chapter placed markers with the soldiers' initials on each of their graves. In 1994, the Chapter researched and ordered new markers with full names and Military Service. The markers were replaced with the joint effort of the SCV Camp 768 and UDC Chapter 198

Kristi Valls

Mary Norman Moore McCoy
She was twice President of what is now Athens State University, once as a single young woman and later as a mature widow with four stepchildren. 

Frank Travis

Ortho Frazier
He was born a slave but was able to buy his freedom. He was a cobbler who made and repaired shoes and boots for both Confederate and Union troops, as well as civilians.

Kathy Horton Garrett

Rebecca Maclin Hobbs
Mother of Captain Thomas Hubbard Hobbs and a very stalwart supporter of the Athens Female Academy and the Athens First Methodist Church 

Dr. David Griggs

Thomas Turpentine
He joined the Confederate Army at the age of 13 and served until his regiment surrendered in Selma. After the war, he worked in the newspaper business in Nashville, but upon his return to Athens, he entered the grocery business alongside his father. 

Glenn Hall

Jonathan Adams
He initially brought his family to Limestone County on a flatboat down the Elk River before it was legal for a white man to purchase land. The Federal soldiers arrested him and burned his house and crops. He later returned and was able to legally purchase land and settle here.

Athens Dulcimers

First formed in 2003, they meet on the first and third Monday of each month to play and practice. 

Dana Hickman

Emily Horton Sr
Her husband was a Confederate Soldier and later Probate Judge of Limestone County, but her son, Judge JE Horton Jr., became world-famous for his brave ruling in the "Scottsboro Boys" trial. 

Carol Cordero 

Kathy Lane Townes 
A local girl who married one of the officers of the Union Occupation forces. 

Al Elmore

Chief Justice Thomas McClelland 
He served as a register in the chancery of Limestone County from 1874 to 1876. Served in the Alabama Senate for two terms. In 1884, he was elected State Attorney General. He became Chief Justice in 1898 and served until he died in 1906.

Peggy Allen Towns

Emily Frazier
She became a land-owning free black lady. The soldiers were instructed to leave her and her belongings alone. 

Joe Curtis

General Hiram Higgins
He was a brick mason, a freemason, and an archaic term referring to a person who organized and led a company of soldiers and fought in the Mexican-American War. 

Beth Ham

Margaret Beckham Nixon
She stood her ground and refused to give up all her meat stored in the smokehouse. 

Billy Ward

Robert Beaty Mason
Grandson of Robert Beaty, who served in General Roddy's "Bull Pups" when he was 16. He started the development of the town of Bismarck. 

Jerry Barksdale 

Daniel Barksdale
He was a Secessionist until after the occupation and "Sack of Athens" by Union Soldiers under Colonel Turchin. 

Robert Reeves

Robert Donnell 
He was a Cumberland Presbyterian Circuit Rider and one of the founders of the Athens First Presbyterian Church.