Laura Farewell may be the only one of our neighbors still enjoying fresh tomatoes right from the vine. She had the foresight to plant her tomatoes in tubs this year, and a few weeks ago, when the first signs of fall appeared, she moved them into her greenhouse. Right away, the tomatoes really began to flourish, and Laura says she’ll be making more salsa by next week. Being from California, the Farewells love salsa with almost everything. And Laura says, “There’s nothing better for breakfast than scrambled eggs and tomatoes!”
Best wishes to Bob Farewell’s father, Ken, as he is recuperating in the nursing home at Gainesville after a fall in which he broke a hip. Now Ken has a brand new hip and is learning to use it.
Joanna Farewell, Laura and Bob’s youngest, was officially discharged from the Air Force two weeks ago and has moved to Las Vegas where her fiancé is stationed. She is planning to go back to school to finish her bachelor’s degree; Joanna received her associate’s degree while in the Air Force and hopes to eventually teach physical education and become a coach. And she is also now planning a wedding!
Sympathy is extended to the family of Harlan Davis of near Ava who passed away last week. Harlan was one of the regulars in the circle of musicians at Athel Jackson’s Jamboree for many years. He had learned to play guitar while recuperating from his first heart attack 15 years ago and eventually joined with several others, forming a group known as Hometown Express. They played together for many years. For Harlan’s funeral on Monday, fellow musicians Deanna Fox, Eula Lakey, Charlie Lambert Wayne Anderson and Harold Goodnight celebrated his memory by playing and singing some of the songs he enjoyed most.
Thom and Karen Holt attended Heritage Days at Warsaw two weeks ago where Thom was invited to demonstrate his stone pigment painting in the Visitors’ Center. An estimated 20,000 visitors come to this famous fall festival every year, and Thom thought most of them passed through the Center–it was a very busy place!
Little granddaughter Blair spent last weekend with Theron and Vickie Oxley. With those red curls, this little farm-girl-in-the-making is a charmer!
Ralph and Kay (Thomas) Johnson and her aunt and uncle, Alvis and Dolly Thomas, took a nice little trip down into Arkansas a couple of weeks ago. They each took their campers and followed what Alvis called the “pig trail” — Highways 23 and 7 — down through the hills. They saw the first of the pretty foliage and enjoyed a hike at Mt. Nebo. While the Thomases came on home, the Johnsons took an extra day and camped near the Buffalo River. Kay said it was a real treat to hear the bugling of the elk, a sound that once was common in the Ozarks. Now it only happens where the elk have been reintroduced successfully.
Julia Taber was happy to have out-of-town guests, Josie Gombar of Pleasant Prairie, Wis., and Karen Jolley of St. Louis on Monday. Josie is a longtime family friend, and Karen is Julia’s “first cousin, twice removed.” Eva Mahan, the sister of Julia’s father, Frank Mahan, and daughter of William and Georgia Ann Mahan, was Karen’s grandmother. Eva grew up at Rockbridge and married Claud Wiatt whose family lived between Romance and Barren Fork; his folks were William and Joanna Wiatt. Karen was interested to learn that her great-grandfather, William, was a Civil War veteran who died in Ozark County in 1907 and is buried in the Springfield National Cemetery.
We’ve discovered one — and only one! — benefit from having wild hogs take up residence on our farm. The meat is really good! Last week, Stan was lucky enough to take down one of the pesky critters, and our neighbor Theron Oxley decided to smoke it. He knew just how to do it because the meat was tender and tasty, something I would not have expected.
Happy Anniversary wishes are extended this week to Howard and Virginia Plaster! They were so proud to hear that granddaughter Sarah Prock would receive her American Degree at last week’s National FFA Convention in Indianapolis. Sarah was a member of the GHS chapter and traveled with mom, Susan Plaster, and brother, Ethan, for the ceremony. On Friday they went to the zoo and saw other sights in the city, and on Saturday morning they joined more than 51,000 other proud spectators in the Indianapolis Colts stadium to see Sarah receive this fine honor. What a great accomplishment!
