My Mother's Birthday

On August 3, 1908, a beautiful baby girl was born into this world. Her name was Hester Hazel, but she was called "Hazel" by everyone.

Her Daddy loved her long hair, so this picture was taken just for him. She was 8 years old in this picture. When Hazel was still a young girl, she had typhoid fever and her beautiful long hair fell out and when it grew back, it was a much lighter brown color.

The next photo was taken in 1936 when Mama was taken in 1936. She was 28 years old. Isn't she pretty?

The picture below was taken on her 94th Birthday. She passed away in January 2000 afterthis 94th birthday. Hazel was a beautiful lady, wonderful mother, and a devout Christian woman. I thank God for this Christian heritage she passed down to me and my siblings. We were so blessed to have such a wonderful mother.

THE YEAR 1906

Two Years Before My Mother Was Born

This will boggle your mind, I know it did mine! The year is 1906.
One hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes! Here are some of the U.S. statistics for the Year 1906 :
************************************
The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years.
Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
A three-minute call from Denver to New York City
cost eleven dollars.
There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles
of paved roads.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more
heavily populated than California.
With a mere 1.4 million people, California was only the 21st
most populous state in the Union.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!
The average wage in the U.S. was 22 cents per hour.
The average U.S. worker made between $200 and $400 per year .
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. took place at HOME .
Ninety percent of all U.S. doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!
Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which
were condemned in the press AND the government as "substandard."
Sugar cost four cents a pound.
Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used
borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from
entering into their country for any reason.
Five leading causes of death in the U.S. were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza 2. Tuberculosis 3. Diarrhea 4. Heart disease 5. Stroke
The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and
Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet.
The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!!!!
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea
hadn't been invented yet.
There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
Two out of every 10 U.S. adults couldn't read or write.
Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
Eighteen percent of households in the U.S. had at least
one full-time servant or domestic help.
There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A. !

Now I received this from someone by email without typing
it myself and can send it to others all over the United States,
and possibly the world, in a matter of seconds!
Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.

Old Photos (continued)

Well, finally, I got the other two photos on a blog page. I had to go into another blog and upload the photos, then copy the Html and paste it here. It worked! I have tried it before and it didn't work!

This is a really cute picture of June, my 1st cousin, and my sister, Betty. This was taken in 1947 when Betty was 11 years old and June was 14. I think the old car was my Daddy's. I recognize the houses across the street from our house. I don't think any of them are in existence anymore. Maybe the white one. I don't recognize the little girl in the background on the right. She is standing by a bicycle.

This is a darling picture of June's sister, Gladys. Gladys was about 12 years old in this picture. I found this in Mama's old photos and it had a note on the back from Gladys to our Grandmother Ollie. Gladys was thrilled to see the picture again as she doesn't have many pictures of herself as a child. She told me seeing it again was like having a thousand dollars. She was so excited. I cut it out and put this frame around it and added her name and a rose. I was so glad to do this for her since it meant so much to her. I also mailed her the original photo that she had sent to our Grandmother when she was a young girl. That is why I love researching family history. Little things like this mean so very much. It is such a good feeling to bless someone with wonderful memories. That is what is so wonderful about pictures. They capture memories that you could not possibly remember in the detail that a picture gives. Stories behind those pictures are priceless also.

Old Photos

As a family genealogist, one of the greatest joys to see if old photos of family members, especially photos I have never seen before. My dear sweet cousin, June, sent me these wonderful old pictures that were in her childhood photo album. I will definitely cherish them forever.

This is the cutest picture of my brother, Boyd, and June.

They were both born in 1933 about 3 months apart in age.

Here is Boyd and June in 1947 at age 14 and still "Pals".
Isn't Boyd cute!
Isn't June a little doll! Look at those shoes!!

She is pictured here with our Uncle Albert who is only about 10 years older than June.

This is June and my Dad, Cecil. Daddy is June's Uncle.

This is a wonderful picture of my Mother and Daddy taken with June's camera. The house in the background is the house we moved into when I was a one-year-old baby. I lived there all of my life until I got married at age 18. My Mom, Hazel, and June's Mother, Pearl, were sisters.

Now, this is a picture of my Aunt Doris' two kids! Yes, it is Larry & Janet!! The funny thing about this picture is that at first Janet and I did not know who the kids were in the picture. She emailed me and said that the boy sure looked like her brother, Larry, and thought the girl might have been my little sister, Retha. I didn't think it was Retha, but wasn't sure. Anyway, I thought it was funny that Janet did not recognize her own picture!!

I have two more pictures to put on this blog, but all of a sudden blogger will not let me upload another picture. I even tried making a new blog page and it still will not let me upload any photos, so I will try later.

I Am Still Here!

Everybody has been writing me about putting up a new blog and wondering where I have been. Well, I'm still around, but have been leading a very busy life lately. I have lots of excuses, but the biggest one is we have been involved in planning and carrying out a 40th Wedding Anniversary Celebration for our pastors. It was a BIG event and a complete surprise to them. We rented a the local community center and decorated it so very beautifully. My main job was making a DVD for the event. It really turned out good even if I do say so myself. During this time I also made a DVD for my brother, Jim, and his wife, Joy. They just celebrated their 56th Wedding Anniversary.

Also, everyone has been asking me about my weight loss. Well, I'm proud to report that I have lost a total of 18.5 pounds since June 2nd. I feel so very much better. The Body Balance product I have been taking has helped me tremendously. I cannot believe how much better I feel. If you would like to check out the product, just look at their website at www.lifeforce.net . I really believe God put this product into my hands. If you are interested in trying it, let me know. I can tell you a way to get it for less money than in the stores.

I promise, I will try to put up some pictures on my blog real soon. Right now, I've got to get rested up for tomorrow as I have to be at work at 8:00 a.m. Yes, I am actually working on a paid job. For years I have volunteered, but now I am working 16 hours a week at my church for an hourly wage. Of course, I am there much more than that, but this is my paid job. I work in Monday, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. I am trying to build up my Social Security as I have never paid much into it to be able to get a check. I am retired from Civil Service and get a check from them, but I want to be able to get my Social Security check too. I can't believe I will be 65 years old next month!! WOW, does time ever fly. It seems I was 50 not very long ago!!

God bless you all!!