by Elaine Thomas | May 20, 2022 | Old Times, World War II
If this 80-year-old chalkware figurine of a U.S. sailor could talk, what tales it could tell. One would be the World War II saga of John Wells from San Benito, Texas, who wrote letters home to his wife, Gwen. John was a gruff, no-nonsense guy who smoked Lucky Strikes....
by Elaine Thomas | Apr 1, 2022 | Old Times, Rural Texas
It’s no April Fools’ joke that certain banking entities were paying 5% to 6% dividends on deposits 50 years ago. Prices for groceries, clothing, cars, building materials, and TVs have changed, too, according to 1972 ads clipped from The Fayette County Record in La...
by Elaine Thomas | Mar 4, 2022 | Family, Old Times, Western Canada
In honor of what would have been my mother’s birthday on Sunday, I’d like to share 10 of her favorite sayings. I’ve heard Mother repeat her words-to-the-wise at least 100 times. However, when I stop and consider the advice offered by these self-help truisms in dealing...
by Elaine Thomas | Nov 19, 2021 | Family, Old Times, Saving Stories, Western Canada
It’s my thought that it’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to adhering to superstitions that were passed down to Granny and she passed down to me. I first heard the following 10 folklore beliefs in my early childhood when I spent time with my grandmother who...
by Elaine Thomas | Sep 17, 2021 | Old Times, Rural Life, Rural Texas, Saving Stories
Only 26 years after the Wright Brothers made their first flight, Schulenburg, Texas, welcomed Carnation Badger the Flying Bull. The dairy yearling reached the Central Texas town after a 1,232-mile journey from Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, on April 3, 1929. That audacious...
by Elaine Thomas | Sep 3, 2021 | Old Times, Rural Life, Western Canada
Peter Macklin, a recent arrival to Western Canada back in September 1960, and I share fond memories of our first day of school. Peter was beginning his job as a full-time bus driver and I was finally old enough to start grade one. Although I couldn’t wait to climb...
