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 & Feb)

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

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

Jan 25, Attended Wade Hall Post Cards @ Florence Library 

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

FEBRUARY 

Feb1-4 Cruise to Cozumel, Mexico with my friend Wanda 

Feb 1, Boarded Ship 

Feb 2, Fun Day @ Sea

Feb 3, Spent day at Cozumel, Mexico 

Feb 4, Fun Day @ Sea
Feb 5, Traveled home 

Feb 9, Worked @ Killen Book Store 9-1 PM

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

Feb 14, Valentine Brunch @ CBS

Feb 21, Grandson Jake Hughes's BIRTHDAY DINNER

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

MARCH

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

Mar 1, Attended Get Dirty @ Library Petals & Pollinators

Mar 6, Hubby & Rode to Waynesboro  

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

Mar 9,  Worked @ Killen Book Store 9-1 PM

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

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

Mar 19, Bought Nissan Murano @ Landers McCary Nissan Huntsville

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

Mar 25, Attended @ Help with my dad’s 91 Birthday party @ Cloverdale Senior Center

Mar 27, Attended Appreciation dinner @ Killen Senior Center 

Mar 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 

Mar 31, Attended Ava Grace’s 3rd Birthday Party 

APRIL

April 1, Easter Sunday Service

April 3, Day Trip Hubby & I rode 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 & Attended Hansel & Gretel Play @ 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 9-1 PM

April 13, Stormed all day

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

On April 20, Hubby and I attended 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 Killen Book Store 9-1 PM 

May 13, Mother's Day: I enjoyed a steak meal@ Ron’s Wind chimes, flowers, a gift card, and a potting plant. 

May 16, Music in Wilson Park with Shannon Knight

May 17: Enjoyed listening to Kate Campbell Music Hall of Fame from 3-4 PM and Josh Goforth Florence Library from 5-6 PM

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 Killen Book Store 9-1 PM

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 AM 

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 PM

JULY

July 6, Echoes and Howls Wildlife Program Sheffield Library 10 AM

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

July 13, Killen Book Store 9-1 PM

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 PM

July 25, BEHIND THE MUSIC – SONGS & STORIES OF THE KGB SERIES 2 2-3 PM

July 26, BEHIND THE MUSIC – SONGS & STORIES OF THE KGB SERIES 3 2-3 PM

July 27 Songwriters Showcase Series #4 2-3 PM MARK NARMORE & 

Aug

Aug 6-8 Trip Little Rock, Arkansas 

Aug12, A Brief History of Education in Florence 2-3 PM

Aug16, Day Trip South Haven, MS 

Aug 22, Day Trip to Tupelo, MS 

Aug 23, Get Dirty at Library Fall Vegetable

Aug 30 Get Dirty at Library Cut Flowers

Sept

Sept 2, Kept great-grandson River Anthony Hughes

Sept 6, Get Dirty at Library Backyard fruits

Sept 14, Worked Book Store 9-1 PM

Sept 15, New Bethel Reunion 9-3 PM

Sept 16, Lecture Native Americas at Indian Mound 

Sept 20, Kept great-granddaughter Ava Grace

Sept 22, Day Trip Toured Weeden House & Huntsville Depot  

Oct

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

Oct 6, Oktoberfest St Florian

Oct 7, Lecture Life in the Highlands with George Makowski 

Oct 9, Day Trip to Dickson, TN 

Oct 12, Worked at Book Store 9-1

Oct 14, Tuscumbia Art Museum lecture Truths and Legends TVA

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

Oct 19, Took Ron and Ava Grace (great-granddaughter) to Home Depot, Lowes & Halloween Store to see Halloween Displays 

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

Oct 24, Lecture at Florence Library Doctors of Death 6-7 PM

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

Oct 28, Watched River and went to Renaissance Faire

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

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

Nov 

Nov 1, Healthy Cooking Florence Library 11:30-12:30 PM

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

Nov 4, Athens Cemetery Stroll 

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

Nov 8 Cooking for High Blood Pressure Florence Library 11:30-12:30 PM

Nov 9, Worked Killen Book Store 9-1 PM

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

Nov 16, Tidwell’s Thanksgiving dinner

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

Nov 22, Thanksgiving Dinner @ Mike’s (my son)

Nov 24, Worked at Killen Book Store 

Nov 25, Trees of Christmas TVA Museum And Addressed Christmas Cards & Wrapped presents

Nov 27, Tinsel Trail Big Spring Park with Hubby

Nov 28, Legend of Toyland Roxy Theater Russellville with Hubby

Nov 29, Kennedy Douglas Art Museum Quilt Display

Dec 2, Trees of Christmas TVAA

Dec 2, Took Ava Grace to Santa Land Elgin with Hubby

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

Dec 7, Took Ava Grace to Killen Town Hall for Christmas Program and see Santa

Dec 13, Christmas Dinner and Listen to storyteller Dolores Hydock at Club Florence

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

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

Dec 21, Christmas Dinner at Tidwell’s

Dec 22, Christmas Dinner at Mike’s 

Dec 25, Breakfast at Mike’s 

I try to journal all my activities and take several pictures it helps keep my memories alive. 

I hope each and everyone enjoys the holidays.

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

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from our house to your 

PS: MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR 2019

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

2022 April 23, Madison Walking Tour lead by Gerald Clark

 We started the tour at the Roundhouse near the railroad tracks. Before Mr. Clark began his speech, a train roared past. 

A War Memorial displayed in Madison's Park 

We walked across the railroad tracks and began our tour of Historic downtown Madison.

A little history about Madison:

The town began about 1856 when tracks were laid by Memphis and Charleston Railroad. In 1858, Judge Clemons planned the town's lots fronting the railroad.

One of the first businesses was a Grist Mill Mill operated by J.J. Akers, S.D. Doolittle opened a Blacksmith Shop, and other merchants included Walter and Thomas Hopkins and James Bib. 

Humphrey and Hughes Drug Co.
The Rexall Store 

Historic Madison homes and stores that we saw:

The History of Madison

Madison Station Hertzler Vaughn 1905 

Madison Station Apperson Brown ca 1900

Madison Station Cain Steadman ca 1880

Madison Station Farley Thorton Goodson 1911 

Madison Station Clay Sensenberger 1853

Madison Station Shelton Balch 1928

Madison Station Pride Drake 1910 

Madison Station Thomas Vaughn ca 1910 

Madison Station Burton Balch Willis 1885

Madison Station Farley Sturdivant 1910 

Madison Station Gillespie McDermott 1897

Madison Station Riddle W. Hughes Sampieri 1920

Madison Station Riddle C.P. Hughes 1910

Madison Station Sullivan Wellborn 1889

The Methodist Church 

War Memorials 

Colonel Cecil Hamilton Bolton LT US ARMY

Leo K Thorsness COL US AIR FORCE

Paul L. Bolden SSG US ARMY 

CITY OF MADISON WALL OF HEROES

Madison Roundhouse

Storefront 16 Main (Yellow House)

Humphrey Bros. was Built by D.S. Brandon 

Robert P. Cain Mercantile 

Humphrey-Hughes Drug Co Store 

The Rexall Store 

Established 1869 City of Madison

J.H. Cain General Merchandise 

We learned about Buttermilk Alley Buttermilk Alley is a narrow lane running between Front and Arnett streets. Circa 1900, the alley gave a safe haven for sweethearts to take a walk at dusk and hold hands. Mrs. Katie, an African-American woman who worked for Dr. Kyser on Front Street, sat on her porch and kept a watchful eye on the youth’s safety. 

Longtime residents also credit Buttermilk Alley’s name to food handouts from Front Street residents to hungry hobos riding on the train. 

Buttermilk Aly

Madison is a historic small town rich in history and now growing in leaps and bounds. 

2022 April 9, Walking Tour Moulton, AL

Moulton's Head Start, former Rosenwald School

 Everyone meets at Moulton's Head Start, the former Rosenwald School, with speaker Nita Marlborough. 

After the speech, we all walked through the building.

History of Moulton (not quite finished), painted by Monica Hooper 

I parked near the Mural of Moulton and walked to the School. 

Next, I walked to the nearby Freeman Tabernacle, where we listened to Leela Reeves talk about the church. (We all went inside)

Freeman Tabernacle Church (located on Byler Road and Rosenwald Street 

On January 3, 1874, former slaves and Deacons King Crayton, George Pruitt, Tandy Crayton, and Ben Warren paid fifty dollars for land to construct the Colored Baptist Church, which was one of the earliest in the Muscle Shoals Colored Baptist Association. This organization helped black communities build churches and schools. After he died in 1933, the congregation renamed the church to honor longtime pastor John Harrison Freeman.

Our next stop was Bayler Road Church of Christ to listen to Lewis Jackson.

Smith Chapel C.M.E Church 
On this site, in 1871, former slaves constructed one of the first churches and schools for African Americans in Moulton. The Colored Methodist purchased most of the materials used for the building. Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Nabors Owen gave land for the Colored Baptist and Colored Methodist Church and School Moulton. The congregations worshipped together until 1874. The church is named in honor of Rev. Andrew Smith, a former pastor.

Our next stop was a guided tour of Smith Chapel led by Caroline Fletcher.

At the Moulton Cemetery,  Cindy Praetor, Alicia Carpenter, and Beth Garner (who were dressed in the period) gave a talk about the tombstone they were standing next to)

Mollie, James & Lucy Downing

Elaine Jackson led us on a tour of the Hot Spot. 

the Hot Spot 
c.1945
Alabama Register of 
Landmarks and Heritage
by Alabama 
Historical Commission 
June 27, 2019 

Guides

(Marvin Jackson,  Nita Marlboro led the discussion at Rosenwald School, Lela Reeves at Freeman Tabernacle, Louise Jackson at Byler Road Church of Christ, and Carolyn Fletcher guided the tour to Smith Chapel)