Back to School

With school starting this week, I thought I would put a couple of old school items here.

Here is a picture that Ruth Ann sent me of the Blue Point School circa 1933-35. Top Row: Robert Smith, Rollie smith, Kenneth McDaniel, Mildred Bunnell - teacher, Jean Bunnell, Marie Stark, Kathern Williams, Rosa Bell Spitzner, Elma Conard

Second Row: Howard Block, Bob Williams, Glen McDaniel, John Stark, Bill Bennett, Barbara Spitzner, Mary Conard, Vera Williams, Eileen Conard, Frances Mitchell

Front Row: Gene Stark, Marvin Mitchell, Ivan Conard, Ruby Spitzner.

This was taken in Aug 1981 - my first day at Highland High School. Highland has since been renamed Skyview High School.

This is Gracie Bunnel's report card dated Jan 27,1897. AS you can see she was practicing her penmanship on the reverse side. May or Harve probably wrote the first name and then Gracie copied it.

Aug 26 - Milton Rogers

Milton Rogers, my great-great grandfather was born 170 years ago today - Aug 26, 1836. He was a veteran of the Union army and settled in Wayne County, IL - a charter member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church near Mt. Erie. He married Margaret Parr (Dec 10 1835 - Aug 27, 1913) and the couple had nine children - although only four survived to adulthood and one of the four died at thrity years of age. He died at the age of 79 on June 6th, 1916 at his home on Delaware St. in Fairfield, IL. Years later the house was occupied by Dan and Velma Mathes. I don't have a picture of Milton, but here is a photo I took last Spring of his monument at the Brown Cemetery

Aug 20 - Raymond Shelton Jr.

Happy Birthday to Raymond "JR" Shelton. Hope you are doing well - it's been a few years.

Aug 19 - Samuel Best

Samuel Andes Best (Grandma Shelton's Uncle Sam) was the third child of Augustus and Eliza (Holmes) Best. He was born Aug 19, 1858. He died Mar 20, 1948 in Oklahoma.

Aug 18 - Wayne Shelton

Aug 18, 1882 was the birthday of Joseph Wayne Shelton. He was born to William R. and Margaret shelton in Wayne County, IL and died on the samw farm on May 21, 1968, He was married for 61 years to Bertha Farleigh. Bertha and Wayne had seven children. Wayne farmed all his life and is buried inthe Laird Cemetery in Enterprise, IL.

Aug 18 - Harve Bunnell

Harvey Thomas Bunnell was born Aug 18, 186o to Seneca and Amanda (Chaney) Bunnell in Clinton, Co., IN. He was the third of eleven children. He married Mary (May) Wilson on Jan 4, 1886 in Wayne County, IL. They had six children. Harve died in 1943 and is buried in Johnsonville, IL.

Bunnell Family Pic

This isn't a very good picture - kind of dark - taken in the 1920s of the HArvey Bunnell Family. Harve and May are seated in front of their four children (Gracie, Elver, Justin and Iva). Two children died young - Merritt and Edith. To get a better look at this picture, click on it to enlarge it. It was taken in the gront yard of the Bunnell home, which had a picket fence running the length of the yard at that time. Over Gracie's shoulder, top the East, you can see the property where the Favertys lived. I can remember when the tree over Iva's shoulder was a huge tree and a great source of shade. It is now gone, I think. If you look on the ground in the right side of the picture, you'll see that one of the men took their hat off and laid it on a concrete slab before the picture was taken.

Margaret Shelton

This picture of Margaret (Losh) Shelton was taken probably between 1895 - 1910. She was born to Adam and Elizabth Losh in Lima, Ohio in 1840. As a young girl she also spent time living in Muncie, IN. She was married to William R. Shelton in 1859 - her father Adam, a Baptist minister, performed the service. After William died in 1885, Margaret remarried in the early 1890s to a George Runyon. when she became old she lived with her son Wayne and his family until her death in 1930. Margaret and both of her husbands are buried at the Brown Cemetery west of Mt. Erie.

Baby Pic

I remember the chair, the pillows, the picture of Mt. Fuji and I now have the other picture (of me!). This picture was taken at Grandma Smith's in May, 1967.

Swans

Okay - so is this large waterfowl a goose or a swan. I'm guessing it is a swan, but you tell me. whatever it is it was beautiful. Either Grandpa or Grandma Shelton took this picture during the summer of 1966 at Leo French Park. I don't see many ducks or geese at the park anymore - too bad. We had lots of fun feeding them bread back in the day didn't we?

Smith Ladies

These ladies are of the Smith clan - well all married to Smith Boys anyhow. Taken around Oct 1, 1962 - we see from L- R - Elsie, Graice, unidentified, Hazel, Ruth and Edith Smith. The photo was taken at Isaac and Edith Smith's home near Rinard , IL. the dinner was to commemorate Fred and Gracie Smith's 57th Wedding anniversary.

Mom and Dad

Here is a picture of my parents in front of our house in Thornton, CO. this picture was taken June 1982. I can remember Mom and Dad getting dressed up to go to Gala Gardens - a local resturant - maybe they wre headed there when this picture was taken - I don't know. I ate at Gala Gardens with Mom and our good friends the Millers on my last visit to Colorado in February. Good memories - great parents...

Aug 9 - Pirl Fairleigh

The oldest son of George and Luella Fairleigh was James Pirl Fairleigh, born Aug 9, 1891. He died in 1978 and is buried at the Laird Cemetery in Enterprise, IL. I have a vague memory of the second picture - mainly of my "other" Grandma Shelton. It was taken about 1969 - at Uncle Bryon's house. I spent a lot of lunch hours at that table as an adult. Last year the Shelton Family bought a monument for Pirl Fairleigh.

A Bunch of Conards / Blocks

I missed the Conard Reunion this past sunday, but tought I would put an picture of a Conard Reunion from either 1924 or 1925. You'l have to click on the picture to blow it up to see the people - perhaps you will know a few. Ollie is sitting in the back row wearing a dark colored dress. John Block is peaking out from behind the porch post. I believe charles Conard is between John block and Ollie Conard. Ethel and Willie Block are sitting on the far end of the porch and seated next to them is , I think, faye and George Block. The little girl in front of Faye is probably Grandma Smith, but her face looks awfully chubby. Randall is to Edith's right and I think that eith Ray or Gerald is on George's lap. the man in front of the window looks like Chalre's brother Jesse.

Emma Jane Wiebold - Aug 3

Emma Jane (Rogers) Wiebold - born Aug 3 1912. Aunt Emma Jane died in March, 2001. This picture was taken around 1986 at her home in Iowa.

Harry Shelton

A few pictures in memory of my Granpa Shelton, who died 34 years ago today. A few years ago I placed an entry for him on find-a-grave.com. You can link it here:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Shelton&GScid=106735&GRid=5027248&

Aug 3 - Augustus Best

Augustus Henneberger Best was born Aug 3, 1829 in Ohio to Conrad and Mary "Polly" Best. He was a Union soldier during the Civil War and was married to Eliza Holmes. He fathered fourteen children - the tenth being my great-grandmaother, Mattie Rogers. He died Jan 5, 1905 and is buried in the Brown Cemetery.

Aug 3 - Merritt Bunnell

Merritt Bunnell, oldest of Harve and May Bunnell's children, was born Aug 3, 1887. He died Dec 1, 1900 and was buried at the Johnsonville Cemetery. This portrait of Merritt hung in the Bunnell's front room for many years after his death. Merritt, like my grandfather, had very light blond hair, almost white. Granddad's hair darkened when he was a teenager.

Aug 1 - William Holmes

William Holmes, my great-grandma Rogers' grandfather, was borhn in Montgomery Co., PA on Aug 1, 1801. He was the married three times and the father of 26 children. Aftert the deathof his first wife, William married my great-great-great frandmother, Eliza Ann Davis. She died while fiving birth to her 18th child. William remarried and outlived that wife as well. He died in 1884 and is buried next to his third wife, Martha Wiseman Holmes, at the Yohe Cemetery in Mt. Erie, IL. Both William Holmes and his son-in-law, Augustus Best, were charter members of the Brown Cumberland Presbyterian Church west of Mt. Erie.