An August Potpourri

Last Saturday, Aug. 22, Jo Ann and I were in Tyler, TX and visited the Texas Rose Festival grounds and museum. We were surprised at how extensive both the grounds and the museum are! There is quite a bit of information available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Rose_Festival.

I took a number of pictures there, which you can view at:
http://johnestroman.smugmug.com/Travel/Tyler-Rose-Gardens/9438431_hz2mR#632835566_EEMnY.

We found other interesting things to see and do in Tyler, which you can scope out at:
http://www.visittyler.com/. There's enough to do that we would actually consider trying to get a timeshare nearby and spending a week in that area!

As I was going through some more of the old memoribilia I came across a high school graduation announcement for David, stating his graduation year as 1942. This confused me because I have always thought he graduated in 1941! If anyone knows for sure, please let me know!!

I found an old Valentine's Day card from Henry to Ruby, but it's undated. But it does reaffirm that love expressed at any age is quite acceptable! Maybe even desirable!!!

Also found a little book titled "Born to Reproduce" by Dawson Trotman. I didn't even know Henry and Ruby had such a book - they never showed it to me! :-)

There were a couple of old letters from Womack, one from 1953 and one from 1957. The 1953 letter was interesting from the standpoint that he was talking about Rose Ellen maybe having a tumor, but I think that "tumor" turned out to be named Elizabeth. Or did I get her birth year wrong? The 1957 letter was dated in November and described some of the adjustments and purchases required to move into Newport, RI at that time of year.

Ledger entries from January 1967 reveal Henry receiving a grand Social Security monthly income of $65.50 and Ruby receiving SS of $119.00 and Teacher Retirement of $172.14! The list of regular and medical expenses is extensive, but somehow they made it - perhaps even beyond "somehow" and all the way to "triumphantly"!

Special Edition - My Arkansas and Valley trips July 2009

This is a special edition of the blog to post some pictures of my recent trip to the David Stroman family reunion in Rogers, AR, and to visit with the Hancock siblings in Bella Vista, and my own brief trip to the Valley after that, including pictures of the old family home in Olmito, some family members, and what's left of the old home now.

The Arkansas pictures can be viewed at:
http://johnestroman.smugmug.com/gallery/9110284_jdbQP#P-1-24.

The Valley pictures with a trip down memory lane can be viewed at:
http://johnestroman.smugmug.com/gallery/9110218_j24Xt#607155246_QwXrJ.

Please let me know if you have any problem viewing the pictures.