This is the First Baptist Church in Hillsboro, Texas, where my parents were married in 1950. Clyde Nowlin was my father's best man - a friend he's had since he was four years old - and Clyde was kind enough to meet us in Hillsboro to show us where the old McClung Family Farm was, but more about that later!
Traveling with a dog isn't easy - TRUST ME! You can only go through fast-food windows and eat in the car - and then you have to make frequent stops so that your four-legged friend can tend to his business, but we really enjoyed having Otto with us on our trip. After driving for hours on end, he finally relaxed and slept - and we were so glad when that happened. Here he is in his little bed with his favorite blankie - his Sponge Bob blankie! Now he's a seasoned traveler and he's been around the block a few times!
This is my grandmother's old house in Hillsboro, Texas. We called her Mother Browning - she's my mother's mother. When I saw this house, I got chills everywhere. I slept many a night as a kid in that front bedroom. The house has been painted a different color, so it was hard for me to find it at first, but this is definitely it. It's on Elm Street in Hillsboro and it's two houses down from the corner - just as I remembered it. This was an interesting house. It has two entrances off the porch. One leads into a bedroom and the other leads into a living room, which my Mother Browning used for storage and we were NEVER allowed to go in there. As kids, it was really scary to visit Mother Browning because rumor had it that a CRAZY lady lived next door, Mrs. Hamilton, who carried around a crowbar. If she caught you doing something she didn't like, she'd use her crowbar on you, so we were scared to death of her. Heaven forbid if you caught glimpse of Mrs. Hamilton! As far as my Mother Browning is concerned, you must know that she made the best plum jelly than anyone you'll ever meet - then or now! I can remember her kitchen and how she'd pour that white parafin wax on top of the jelly to seal it in the jar. Remember that? I would give anything for a jar of her plum jelly at this point in my life. We always played in the back bedroom of Mother Browning's house where she had a TV, a big old bed, and a loud window air-conditioning unit. That's just where we always hung out. I can also remember that in her bathroom, she had a heater in the wall that actually had an open flame. Now that I think about that, it seems awfully dangerous. Visiting Mother Browning was always fun - she had good things to eat and she let us play; we just couldn't go in that storage room! Mother Browning had a very hard life. Her husband, James D. Browning, died at the age of 35 from a heart attack, leaving her to raise four children all by herself during the Depression. She was a strong woman and I love her. I only hope that I possess some of her strength and character - that would make me very proud! We visited Mother Browning's grave while we were in Hillsboro, along with many other family members buried there.
This is the First Baptist Church in Hillsboro, Texas, where my parents were married in 1950. Clyde Nowlin was my father's best man - a friend he's had since he was four years old - and Clyde was kind enough to meet us in Hillsboro to show us where the old McClung Family Farm was, but more about that later!
Traveling with a dog isn't easy - TRUST ME! You can only go through fast-food windows and eat in the car - and then you have to make frequent stops so that your four-legged friend can tend to his business, but we really enjoyed having Otto with us on our trip. After driving for hours on end, he finally relaxed and slept - and we were so glad when that happened. Here he is in his little bed with his favorite blankie - his Sponge Bob blankie! Now he's a seasoned traveler and he's been around the block a few times!
This is my grandmother's old house in Hillsboro, Texas. We called her Mother Browning - she's my mother's mother. When I saw this house, I got chills everywhere. I slept many a night as a kid in that front bedroom. The house has been painted a different color, so it was hard for me to find it at first, but this is definitely it. It's on Elm Street in Hillsboro and it's two houses down from the corner - just as I remembered it. This was an interesting house. It has two entrances off the porch. One leads into a bedroom and the other leads into a living room, which my Mother Browning used for storage and we were NEVER allowed to go in there. As kids, it was really scary to visit Mother Browning because rumor had it that a CRAZY lady lived next door, Mrs. Hamilton, who carried around a crowbar. If she caught you doing something she didn't like, she'd use her crowbar on you, so we were scared to death of her. Heaven forbid if you caught glimpse of Mrs. Hamilton! As far as my Mother Browning is concerned, you must know that she made the best plum jelly than anyone you'll ever meet - then or now! I can remember her kitchen and how she'd pour that white parafin wax on top of the jelly to seal it in the jar. Remember that? I would give anything for a jar of her plum jelly at this point in my life. We always played in the back bedroom of Mother Browning's house where she had a TV, a big old bed, and a loud window air-conditioning unit. That's just where we always hung out. I can also remember that in her bathroom, she had a heater in the wall that actually had an open flame. Now that I think about that, it seems awfully dangerous. Visiting Mother Browning was always fun - she had good things to eat and she let us play; we just couldn't go in that storage room! Mother Browning had a very hard life. Her husband, James D. Browning, died at the age of 35 from a heart attack, leaving her to raise four children all by herself during the Depression. She was a strong woman and I love her. I only hope that I possess some of her strength and character - that would make me very proud! We visited Mother Browning's grave while we were in Hillsboro, along with many other family members buried there.
6 comments:
I love reading about your vacation! I think it is great that you are writing about this to remember it all. A lot on interesting facts about family history. This is great for Haley and Hunter. I think about stuff like this all the time when I think about my grandmother and New Orleans. Many memories there for me.
Glad you're enjoying it, Katherine! It's a great way for me to remember everything we saw and did. It's kind of like an online scrapbook!
What I would give for some of her wonderful plum jelly and biscuits right now. She always wore an apron. I remember how she would take the combs out of her hair and comb ours with it as we fell asleep in that big old bed that we needed a stool to get up on. Her face showed how hard her life was, but it was just so sweet and soft. Wonderful memories.
Oh, Pam, I had forgotten about the combs she always wore. That brings back good memories. I wish I had one of her combs as a memento. I do have one of her old sweaters, though, which I'll keep forever. Thanks for the added memories - I love to hear them.
I loved reading about you grand mother best wishes Lesley x
Penny & Pam - so good to read your memories of your grandmother - made me stop & think about my own (which I should write down!). It's amazing the little things we remember that end up being so important to us .... guess that's what it's all about.
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