Tecumseh news: Jan. 31, 2018

Editor’s note: some of these items were intended for last week.

How time gets away is amazing. As we age, we have a hard time keeping up. Gray hair doesn’t regain its color without help. Having good memories makes life more pleasant. 

Have you ever had a flying squirrel in your house, as I did a few years ago? The less excited we get, the better off we are in those situations! My experience resulted in setting a minnow trap and, fortunately, catching the squirrel overnight. I put the trap outside, where the cats kept busy watching the squirrel’s activities in the trap. Then I opened the cage door to let the squirrel go, and it was captured by the cats. I would not advise letting a squirrel in your house! 

Prayers for those losing loved ones. The Joseph Lee Gott family has our sympathy, and I know they appreciate the thoughtfulness of all their friends and church family. What would we do without those caring folks? Special thanks to the Mammoth church for serving lunch to the family.

Lyle Mishler in Spring-field called recently for another phone visit. 

It’s too bad if those able to cut wood ahead of time didn’t get a good supply  in, as there has certainly been a good demand for it now from those with wood-burning stoves. The saying, “Make haste while the sun shines” applies in that case.

My memories include those of wood being cut with cross-cut saws after the best trees supplied stave bolts for the Crisp family after they moved into Gainesville with their stave mill in the 1930s, bringing in industry to help the economy. In our woodworking shop, my husband sharpened saws for a small price, and I must say those were the good old days! Results were great, but the price was not that good. Our trees are a precious resource, helping provide clean air, habitat for wildlife and wood for our homes, but many are destroyed carelessly. 

The recent propane truck delivery was appreciated. The delivery driver has a cold job filling our tanks in cold weather. Gas prices have stayed at a reasonable level so far as the cold weather moved in. 

When I call some people for news, they will say, “I haven’t been anywhere or done anything,” so it seems to be a matter of survival for them until spring comes. And fortunately that’s not too far off.  But while we are ready for spring, we still have plenty of winter to survive. 

When it’s gardening time, I’m hoping to plant some parsnip seeds in a small area of my garden. They are a special vegetable that I enjoy – and I haven’t been able to plan any for a while. 

Easter lilies are peeking out, but they had better slow down because there’s more winter ahead. 

I miss talking with Regina when she worked at the Times office but must congratulate her in her job as Quill news editor in West Plains. Norene and Jenny and the rest of the staff do a great job at the Times. 

Many birds are hungry for food these days, and it takes a lot of bird feed to keep the feeders full. My daughter Kris buys large sacks of it to keep our feeders going. The big red birds are greedy and sometimes scare the little birds away. 

My granddaughter Lisa Davis Keller of Udall celebrated a Jan. 28 birthday; she was born at Whiteman Air Force Base, and I remember being there to help out and hanging diapers on the clothes line, and they froze in the process. Yes, memories are made of this!

Sandi Christzberg of Ben Wheeler, Texas, also celebrates her birthday Jan. 28. She was here visiting her friend, my daughter Kris, a few weeks ago.   

Sylvia Carson, formerly of Tecumseh, and I correspond as she now lives in Pekin, Illinois, the birthplace of my mother in 1884. 

I will always remember going to a Tupperware party many years ago at a woman’s house north of Gaines-ville. On my return trip, about 10 o’clock, I saw a big white something in the highway. With no traffic, I got out and saw that it was a big white turkey that had fallen out of a truckload headed toward the broiler house. My son Marlyn, then a high school student, got a job working until midnight helping to load those turkeys. The big tom turkey that I found in the road put up quite a fight, but I had enough energy and tied his legs together and put him in a sack. What a wrestling match I had! We weighed him, and he weighed 25 pounds. We had a big turkey dinner at Thanksgiving! However, I vowed not to try that again, and I’ll settle for a hen turkey anytime. That was one harrowing experience that I had that not many women have in the middle of the night. 

My daughter Kris is busy as a home health nurse these days, and luckily the roads have stayed clear. My grandson Allen and his girlfriend check on me as Kris works in Mountain Home. Her granddaughter Alexus is 10 years old; on May 30, she will be 11. 

Paralee Rea says she hasn’t been anywhere or done anything; I haven’t either, but I’m on the phone quite a lot. Loretta Davidson and I have phone conversations along with Beulah Satterfield, who now is living at Sparta. Beulah, her son and daughter frequently visit with Mearl Satterfield, a resident in Mount Vernon. 

It’s always good to have a phone visit with Jerry Miller, and she keeps busy, no doubt planting seeds for her spring plants. She furnished me with a special tomato plant the past season. 

Best wishes to John Evans, whose hands were burned badly as he was doing repairs on his rent houses in Hardenville a few weeks ago. He had skin grafts done, and how painful that must have been. 

Amy and Dennis Galyardt in Alaska keep in touch with me. They said Edith McKinnon’s memorial service will be held in May; they weren’t able to have a service when she passed away a few months ago. After her husband Luther died, Edith  wasn’t in good health; she was in the Good Samaritan home in Mountain Home for a time. 

Groundhog Day is Friday, and if the old critter sees his shadow he will go back in his hole, as the story goes, and we’ll have another six weeks of winter. 

Ozark County Times

504 Third Steet
PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

Phone: (417) 679-4641
Fax: (417) 679-3423