NO ALLOWANCE

I had a memory this morning while I was wiping the dust off my dress shoes for church.

WIWAK*, my mom would – about once a month – hand me the family ‘shoe-shine box’ and take me to the garage where she would have all of the family dress shoes piled up.  I was to shine all the shoes.  I didn’t question her on this assignment; I just settled in and did the job. I didn’t get paid for doing it, it was just part of my responsibility as the youngest member of the family.

I had other jobs too.

·         In the summer, I cut all the grass.

·         In the fall, I raked and burned all the leaves.

·         In the winter, I shoveled all the snow.

·         Occasionally, I’d be asked to wash the car.

·         In the spring I was asked to wash all of the screens for the windows and install them.  In the fall, I had to pack them away again for the winter.

There were probably other jobs that I’ve forgotten after sixty years or so.

My parents didn’t believe in allowances.  They didn’t hand me money, except a few rare occasions:

·         They would often go shopping with their best friends [Speed and Estella Fisher] on Friday nights.  Sometimes they’d go to ‘Northern Lights’ in Baden.  Other times they'd go to Boardman, Ohio and shop in a Gaylord’s store there.  They had other favorite spots, all of which were huge department stores/discount houses.  [Later, when I became older, they’d allow me to stay home alone.]  When we went to Gaylords, my dad would almost always give me a dime to spend.  He knew there were some arcade games in the back.  I would spend a good bit of time deciding which game I wanted to play.

·         When we went to Family Camp for ten days every July in East Liverpool, Ohio, he would give me a quarter every day – except Sundays, of course!  I usually bought ‘penny candy’ and pop cycles – which were $.05.  I learned early how to stretch money.  Of course, I also went through the straw in the tabernacle and frequently doubled my money by doing so!  Plus, I would pick up pop bottles and return them for $.02.  👌

I never complained about these small gifts – I thought they were great!

My dad was a firm believer in something that became a reality during the industrial revolution.  I later studied about it in college and seminary.  It was called the Protestant Work Ethic.  This emerged from the Puritan and Calvinistic beliefs of the early founders of our nation who believed that working was a way of fulfilling one’s duty to God.  Therefore, the work of ordinary believers had a dignity of its own.

“After flourishing for three centuries in America, the Protestant ethic began to disintegrate, with key elements slowly disappearing from modern American society, vanishing from schools, from business, from popular culture, and leaving us with an economic system unmoored from the restraints of civic virtue.”

[https://www.city-journal.org/article/whatever-happened-to-the-work-ethic]

The way this played out in my home was for my father to get me a job taking care of our doctor’s lawn all summer and fall.  I was eleven. The first two Saturdays, he took me to Dr. Chadwick’s home across from the Beaver County Country Club on Patterson Heights in Beaver Falls. 

He literally taught me how to work.

·         Don’t work real hard and then sit down for a rest.  Work steadily the whole time you’re there.

·         Never sit down to do your work!  If necessary [for instance, when mulching] work on your knees.  “You don’t want Mrs. Chadwick to look out and see you sitting down.”

·         Do a good job!  They’re paying you a dollar-an-hour – earn your money!

·         Be proud of your work when it’s all done – not until!

There were other points too – I don’t consciously remember them all.

So, every Saturday, I would ride my bike from Brighton Heights to the doctor’s – probably four miles that included some very steep hills. 

For an eleven-year-old-kid to be away from home all day Saturdays indicates that it was a far different period than we currently know.

As I got older, I would stop at Waite’s restaurant at the top of Ross Hill for a hot fudge Sunday before heading home.  😉 

I eventually picked up several other lawns to care for including Mr. Zachary Taylor’s home out Mercer road.  I’ve never admitted this before because he was the principal of the New Brighton High School.  I kept the fact that I worked for him a secret [until now] for fear of being ridiculed.  Once I turned sixteen, I picked up two or three more lawns in Beaver. 

I also had a TV Guide route all through my teen years.  That was nice because I only had to deliver it one day per week!  I had over seventy customers. Want some humor?  At that time, they cost $.15.  I made $.04 for each one that I delivered.  My dresser always had stacks of coins on it.  My mom taught me to take 10% and set it aside for my tithe.  Dad spoke to the church treasurer who, in turn, handed me a box of envelopes to use for my offering.  When my dad dropped his envelope into the plate, so did I - even though it only contained a few coins. 

My mom gave me $.35 every day for my lunch during high school.  Although we had an open lunch period, we were still allowed to buy our lunch [for $.35] at the Junior High cafeteria. 

Sadly, I have to admit that somedays that money was taken from me by bullies.  😒

However, I had several friends that would join me in hustling down to the Brighton Hot Dog Shoppe for lunch.  I would order three hot dogs with ‘everything-mustard’, a chili-fry, and a chocolate milkshake.  With $.05 tax, the order came to $1.  Because I worked, I was always able to add my own money to what my mom gave me and pay the bill. 

Please understand that we weren’t a poor family!  In early 1957, my parents bought a brand new home on William Penn Way – moving from Mt. Washington in Beaver Falls.  My dad worked forty-eight years for Townsend Company – mostly at Fallston, but some years at Elwood City and one year in Butler. 

As much as I loved sports, I received no encouragement to participate in them.  I regret that.  My encouragement was to work! 

I hope you don’t misunderstand this.  My parents had an approach to Christmas that was almost embarrassing!  I got everything that I would need for the year under the Christmas tree.  The gifts would be piled high!  It would take all morning to open them.  They would include:

·         New tennis shoes

·         New underwear [jokingly called ‘seat covers’ in our home]

·         Packets of Bic pens

·         Shirts

·         Pants: dress and blue jeans

·         School supplies

·         And, of course, toys and other gifts.

I remember being teased at school after Christmas break because every day I would wear a new shirt.  “Is that shirt a Christmas present, Harold?” 

When I turned sixteen, my dad went out and bought a 1963 Chevy Impala that was in great shape.  I loved that car!  He said, “Now son, this is your mother’s car, but you can feel free to use it anytime that she doesn’t need it.”  The car was virtually my car, because my mom didn’t like to drive and rarely needed it!  I could see my dad’s plan!  😉  A lot of Fridays, my mom would ask me to drive her around to pay bills and buy groceries.  I loved doing that!  And she loved having me do it! 

I had a remarkable childhood!  My parents gave me so much that would later help me to be fruitful and effective as I matured into adulthood. 

I never rebelled against their authority.  Oh, I smoked a few cigarettes and let a few profanities fly, but those were mostly to gain approval from my friends and classmates.  I loved my parents and tried my best to honor them.  They were one of the greatest blessings that God gave me!

I think what I got was much better than any allowance might have been!  😊❤

 

*  WIWAK  =  When I Was A Kid

THE GREATEST VALUE I LEARNED FROM MY PARENTS

Leonard (born in 1912) and Hazel (born in 1913) Haire were good and loving parents.  I was blessed to be the youngest of their four children [Jeannette, Ira, Beverly and me]. 

The Great Depression was from 1929-1939.  My dad would have turned seventeen in ’29. 

He quit school after the eighth grade and applied for a job with Townsend Company – lying about his age, saying he was sixteen.  My brother and I calculated that he was probably hired in 1928.  He worked for this company for forty-eight years before retiring.   Therefore, he worked consistently throughout that desperate time!  

They were married on August 17, 1934 – smack-dab in the middle of the Great Depression!  My Grandma Walton [who I never knew] gave each of her three daughters a house on Mount Washington in Beaver Falls, PA.  My parents were given her house with the condition that she would live with them until her death.  My two oldest siblings remember her.

Therefore, when they were married – in the middle of the depression – they owned a home that had been gifted to them!  Jeannette was born February, 25, 1937.  Ira was born April 10, 1940.  Beverly was born July 25, 1944.  I am the only baby boomer of the family – born in 1952. 

God was clearly watching over them throughout these challenging years! 

As best I can tell, my mother’s background was Welsh/English.  She was very frugal!  My dad was an excellent money manager.  Jeannette remembers that dad would give my mom money to use on ‘dollar days’ in Beaver Falls.  He would stash it away for these special times.  She ALWAYS used coupons and shopped on 'triple-coupon' days!  She collected books of saving's stamps and redeemed them for the things the family needed!  

Growing up, I never received gifts nor did they buy me things throughout the year.  However, at Christmas, I received everything I would need for that next year.  Mom would wrap pens, underwear, notebooks, school clothes along with toys for that special day.  It took all morning to open all my gifts! 

In 1956, they purchased a brand new home in New Brighton for $11,000.  My dad enjoyed nice cars and managed to save his savings’ bonds from work to purchase them.  They never had a problem with debt.  My first memory of eating out was at a new McDonald’s in Beaver Falls somewhere around my thirteenth birthday [you ordered at a window and ate in your car]! 

Later in life – while I was still at home - they bought a small camping trailer.  I was a little embarrassed about this ‘no-name-brand’ camper, but they absolutely loved it.  Later, they purchased a used Shasta camper and travelled widely in it.  Those in their ‘camper’s club’ had much bigger, nicer campers; but mom and dad were 100% content with their little Shasta. 

I never heard a word of envy from either of them – only gratitude to God for what they had!  THE EVENTS OF THEIR LIVES HAD TAUGHT THEM THE SECRET OF CONTENTMENT. 

I wish I could say that I learned immediately from their example, but it took me a while to discover the secret that they had learned.  Debbie and I weren’t so wise in our youth.  We made mistakes and struggled with low pay and high school debts.  But eventually, God got our attention and we began to operate according to His standards.  Life has been much better since. 

___________________________________

The Apostle Paul speaks of this discipline in Philippians 4:10-14 [TM].

Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. 

____________________________________

My parents had a legacy of contentment.  I now have grown into that legacy.  I owe them a great debt of gratitude for their excellent example.  I’m especially grateful for a wife who has travailed with me through rough and lean years to get to where we are today. 

Please don’t read-in what’s not here.  We’re not wealthy.  Not affluent.  Just content!  Have you learned this ‘secret’ that Paul spoke of? 

_____________________________________

Gracious God,

You stuck with us through our years of learning.  You gave us partners to advise us and guide us.  You sent help every time we needed it!  You delivered us time and time again!  How can we ever thank You enough?

And You don’t love us any more than the people reading this blog!  You will do for them what You’ve done for us!  Guide them through Your Word and Your Spirit.  May many of Your followers find peace even in the midst of trial and want. 

You are faithful!  And we praise You for that!  Amen!

We ate out twice on Friday!

My Dad worked for forty-eight years at Townsend Company;  mostly in Fallston, but a few years in Elwood City and about two years in Butler (I didn't see him much those two years).  It was not a major steel mill like J&L or Crucible;  it was a subsidiary that focused on making nails, rivets and fasteners.

He also worked part-time in the evenings at a Children's Home on Oak Hill. He was a general maintenance man.  I occasionally went with him to the home where I would play with the kids in the play-lot.

Dad never made big wages.  I discovered that rather painfully when I came home from Kentucky after being married for a year.  I excitedly told him that UPS had gone on strike to focus on higher wages for the part-time workers.  I was back to work making $4.70/hour!  I immediately noticed that he didn't seem excited.  When I questioned him about it, he told me that he had never made that hourly wage!  I was shocked!

I do recall an evening at the dinner table when my mother quietly announced that my Dad had made over $10,000 that year (it must have been tax time). She quickly added that it was due to lots of overtime and his part-time job!  I was mesmerized.  Then, to my surprise, she announced that we would be eating out every Friday night!

You need to understand:  we NEVER ate out - unless it was in our backyard! When we traveled, Mom packed these wonderful lunches:  roast beef sandwiches (specialized for each of us), chips, pickles, radishes and maybe even some potato salad!  A thermos of coffee pleased Mom and Dad;  she brought lemonade for me!  Chocolate chip cookies or brownies were for dessert!  Mmmmmm...

I remember stopping for gasoline along the highways and looking longingly at the people dining in the Howard Johnson's restaurant.  I promised myself that someday, when I had a family, I would buy them a meal at a Howard Johnson's.

But then, in the mid-60's, fast-food restaurants started to flourish! McDonald's restaurants were only 'walk-up' restaurants then;  you couldn't go inside.  A few had picnic tables sitting around, but most people ate in their cars.  Then came others:  Burger King, Arby's, Red Barn, Sandy's...

They kept their word!  Almost every Friday after that, we went over to Beaver Falls and ate at the McDonald's (hamburgers were fifteen cents - there were no specialty sandwiches yet).  Sometimes we would drive to Northern Lights to shop;  this meant eating at Sandy's - or occasionally, Arby's.  I felt like a rich kid!

I would guesstimate that I was fourteen before I ate my first meal at a restaurant.

Last week, Debbie and I had breakfast at Dizzy's in New Middletown.  Later in the day, we were in Chippewa and decided to grab a quick dinner at the Hot Dog Shop!  Can you imagine?  We ate out twice in one day!  Actually, we've probably done it a few times before also!

But most of my meal memories were cultivated around a beautiful oak dining room table (that resides in Tracie's home now).  Dad sat at one end and Mom at the other.  Beverly sat on one side with me on the other (she went out on her own when I was about eleven).  We ate wonderful home-cooked meals and LOTS of left-overs!

My Dad always led in the meal prayer.  Conversations happened, opinions were exchanged, plans were discussed, birthdays were celebrated and laughter erupted!  It was comfortable.  It formed me.  It was a safe place.  The dinner-table was the family meeting-place;  eating in front of the TV hadn't been invented yet!

Anyway, times have changed.  Young people who might read this would be stunned that I turned fourteen without having eaten out!  Not to worry!  I'm making up for lost opportunities!  But I still love a good, home-cooked meal!  :-)

Watch Night Service

New Year's Eve, when I was a kid, was marked not only by the preparation of sauerkraut and pork, but also by the traditional 'Watch Night Service'.

What is a 'Watch Night Service'?

It was a worship service that was intended to end one year and begin a new one.  It was typical of a traditional worship service, with music, singing, worship, preaching and prayer.  Most were characterized by testimonies.  In these testimonies, people would confess shortcomings and commit themselves to more faithful lives in the new year.

Every 'Watch Night Service' I ever attended ended with everybody gathering at midnight around the altar to bring the new year in with prayer.

When I was a teenager, my home church (New Brighton, PA Free Methodist Church) coordinated a 'Watch Night Service' with several other area Free Methodist Churches.  One of these was the Rochester, PA, FMC.  My future wife and her family attended this church - although, at the time, we were merely acquaintances.  I particularly remember that night because her father, Ken Whippo, was delegated to bring the message.  Ken was a layman and a relatively new believer who was growing fast under the biblical tutelage of his pastor, Fred Schreffler.  I don't remember the message - after all, I was a teenager - but I remember being impressed with him and his delivery.

During my younger years, I sort of liked these 'Watch Night Services'.  Most people attended as families, so there were plenty of other kids to be with. These services often began at 9:00 PM, and went on till a little past midnight.  Occasionally, we would have refreshments, although that kind of thing was not as common in the 1960's as it is now.

But, gradually, the popularity of these services began to wane.  As a teenager, I recall being the only young person in a crowd of much older people.  Then, even the crowd began to dwindle.  If I'm honest, I have to admit that I came to dread these services.  The last place I wanted to be at midnight on New Year's Eve was around an altar, holding hands with a bunch of old women!

I think I was 16.  The 'Watch Night Service' had come to travel from church to church since no one church could rally up a significant enough crowd. That particular year, the service was scheduled at the Aliquippa FMC.  As I recall, there were about thirty people present;  I was the only young person.

I had asked permission to leave a few minutes before midnight to go outside to hear the bells ringing, the fireworks and the horns blowing.  My mom quickly refused.  However, my dad took me out to the car and handed me a road flare.  He over-ruled my mom and told me I could leave the service at 11:55 PM.

WOO HOO!

I brought 1969 in waving a road flare at 1301 Davidson Street, all alone - but happy!  And with a renewed appreciation for my Dad (who I think was smiling while he prayed at the altar).  Somehow, I think God was OK with my not being at the altar that year...

Once Upon A Time...

With all the wild spending that takes place during these weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I thought I'd share part of our journey.

My parents were excellent money managers!  My Dad never made big wages working at Townsend Company.  I remember coming home from Kentucky about a year after we were married.  Excitedly, I told my Dad that UPS had settled their strike and I would be making $4.70 and hour as a result (part-time - unloading trucks).  He didn't express much joy regarding my good news, so I later questioned him about it. It was then that he told me that he had never made $4.70 an hour.  I was humbled.

Unfortunately, my parents never sat down and talked about their finances with me.  They modeled a frugal lifestyle and were content with what they had!  However, the instruction of how to manage money was never really discussed.

In our first year of marriage, we received a credit card in the mail!  It was exciting!  We had a $500 limit! So we used it!  That began our sad story. More credit cards arrived in those early years of our marriage. Seminary bills stacked up.  Then children started coming.  When I began my full-time ministry at the Jeannette Free Methodist Church, I received $100 per week. We easily qualified for WIC.

You know the story from there:

• cars
• repairs
• taxes
• clothes
• Christmas
• vacations
• finishing my MDiv at Pittsburgh Theological
• going on for a MA Counseling
• etc., etc. ad infinitum

At one point, I added up the facts.  We were over $60,000 in debt - without a house!  Financial stress was a daily reality!  I was juggling payments to try to keep everyone happy.  It drove a chronic depression in my life!  I faced the inevitable reality:  we would never get out of debt!  Several indicated that we were prime candidates for filing bankruptcy, however, we never considered that a viable option. 

I began to pray about the problem for the first time.  As a result of my prayers, God brought three men to my side.  

Pete Muschweck was the Oakland FMC treasurer.  He had a lot of wisdom regarding finances from his business experience.  He began to counsel me.

Ron Kelly was a parishoner at Oakland who freely shared his biblical wisdom with me.  For the first time in my life, I realized that God had a LOT to say about finances.  Ron helped me to grow in understanding these principles and applying them in my life!

Larry Burkett was a radio teacher (in Heaven now).  I began listening to his show every day!  I bought some of his materials and began to use them to plan our finances.

Later, we attended Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University to reinforce the principles we already knew!  

We used the common 'debt snowball' approach.  Our snowball at first was $20.  As we payed off a debt, the amount of that payment was added to our 'snowball' and applied to the next debt on our "knock-off list". It gradually grew - very slow at first.  By the end of the process it had grown to $700.  Our last debt fell in several months due to this extra-large payment boost!  

Our goal had been to eliminate our debt in seven years.  It actually took us eleven (the extra four years is a story for another time).  

I cannot express the joy that we experienced!  This was something that I had considered impossible!  I had surrendered to the fact that we would never be out of debt!  But, with the help of friends and the wisdom of God's Word - WE MADE IT!  

Debt is our enemy!  As counseled by our teachers, we declared WAR on debt! We planned and sacrificed to achieve our goal!  HALLELUJAH!  

And guess what?

If we did it - anyone can do it!  Ha ha ha ha - isn't that good news?  

Today, we enjoy a freedom that we did not know when we were younger.  We can do things that we couldn't do then.  We practice generosity regularly and have discovered the true joy of giving!  I am no longer driven to depression by our finances,  

If you're reading this and you're where we used to be - TAKE HOPE!  

Pay the small fee and sign-up for Financial Peace University.  It's actually fun!  It's a short term commitment that's always available somewhere - usually at churches.  Contact Crown Financial Ministries (the organization that Larry Burkett founded).  Get their resources and apply them.  Both of these organizations believe that the majority of families can be debt-free in seven years!  GET STARTED!

PS  -  I always lamented the poor example that we were for our children. However, thanks be to God, He seems to have used the situation to wake them up to the hardships that come with debt.  To the best of my knowledge, our kids are practicing good financial management!  Woo Hoo!  And thanks be to God!  

A Family Tradition

When I was young, the church was like a second home to me.  My family was there every Sunday morning for Sunday School and worship;  and again for the Sunday evening service.  Tuesday nights were for CYC (Christian Youth Crusaders).  Wednesday nights were prayer meeting. Twice a year we would have a week-long revival - and we were there every night!  Then there were Board meetings and Trustee meetings and WMS meetings and Missions rallies and District Youth Rallies and District Quarterly Conferences and Youth Camp and Family Camp and Annual conference - you get the idea!

On our way to church on Sundays we stopped to pick up Vint and Mae Baker and transport them to and from church.  My Dad was a class leader for the 'Mercer Road' class.  After class meeting (which was after prayer meeting on Wednesday) he would stop briefly at the homes of the people who had not attended the class.  I remember sitting in the car and waiting for him to return.  Mom was the local leader of the WMS (Women's Missionary Society).  She was also the Cradle Roll Director for a while.  She opened our home to bishops, evangelists, missionaries and other guests constantly.  Our family's 'Guest Album' was a "Who's Who in Free Methodism".  When the church had a work day, we all participated!  I still remember Joe Douglas coaching me on painting the church basement with precision.

It was a family legacy of serving that was concentrated through the life of our local church!  My parents chose to teach by example.  I don't recall ever being taught or encouraged to serve;  we just caught it through their persistent and committed example!

I smiled a few weeks ago when Troy told me he couldn't get together with me because he was working at his church!  Just last week, he told me that he's working on repairing the outside cross on the church!  When we visit Tracie and Jon, we notice that he leaves extra early on Sunday morning to lead the parking team!  Often when we call them, they tell us of time spent working on the church property!

We visited them a couple of weeks ago.  I'm an early riser and was up working on a message for Sunday at Kittanning Free Methodist Church. Our granddaughter, Rylie, (8 years old) is also an early riser.  She snuggled up close to me and started reading what I was typing.  That's when this conversation took place:

RYLIE:  [Almost whispered]  "Poppy, I serve at my church!"

POPPY:  "You do?"

RYLIE:  "Yes.  I asked my Mom if I could serve and she talked to my teacher. Now I serve with the 2 and 3 year olds!"

POPPY:  "Wow, Rylie, that's great!  I'm so proud of you!"  [Big hugs were exchanged.]

I later asked Tracie about Rylie's serving.  She confirmed that Rylie indicated a desire to serve like her Mommy and Daddy.  After speaking with her teacher, the leaders approved Rylie to work once-a-month with the 2&3 year olds.  So, once-a-month, after attending her own Sunday School class, Rylie serves (alongside her Mom) during the next period with the younger children.  Tracie reports that the younger children absolutely love her!

As a church leader for over forty years, I've faced repeated attempts to find people to serve in various roles in the church.  It has, at times, been a discouraging task.  Actually, we're facing this very need at the church I'm currently serving.  I'm hoping for an influx of new people who are eager to contribute to the joy of ministry!

By the way, you're never too old or too young to serve!  Rylie helps prove that!  And don't you dare say, "I've done my time!"  Serving is not a punishment!  Serving is the key to joy!  Serving puts a smile on Jesus' face! Serving puts others first!

And parents:  Don't teach your children to serve - SHOW THEM HOW TO SERVE!  Set an example that will stir their hearts and make them want to do the same!

A Guilty Conscience

Having just written about the annual sessions of the Pittsburgh Conference, I thought I'd follow it up with something a little lighter.

My mom died  a few months after Tracibeth was born (1981).  She was without a doubt the dominant force in the shaping of my life!  Although I rarely write or speak about her, in one way or another I miss her every day.

Above all, she was a deep godly influence on me through her love for God, commitment to missions and practice of prayer.  However, she also transmitted something else to each of her four children:  an amazing sense of humor!

This humor was resident not only in my mom, but also in each of her two sisters.  I loved my Aunt Goldie and Aunt Sylvie.  They were so fun to be around.  Contagious laughter always marked their visits - along with an abundance of practical jokes!

I guess the 'Walton humor' continues on to some extent through Jeannette, Ira, Beverly and Harold. So be it...

I thought you all might enjoy a story today:

One year, back in the 1960's, the area bishop was unable to attend and lead the annual sessions of the Pittsburgh Conference.  As a result, an administrative leader from Free Methodist Headquarters in Winona Lake, Indiana, was sent to take his place.  I honestly don't remember who it was - which is probably good.

Whoever it was had just gotten married and had agreed to fill in for the bishop on the heels of his honeymoon!  How's that for a sacrifice?

Of course, this was known to the people of the Pittsburgh Conference and they were duly recognized for their entry into matrimony!  As a matter of tradition, they were appointed to the 'Evangelist's Cottage' on the upper row. Appropriate signs of congratulations decorated the humble abode that year!

But my mother hatched her own plan.  She sneaked into the cottage during the opening sessions and opened their luggage.  Quickly, she loosely stitched his pajamas and her nightgowns closed.  Then, of course, she bolted away with her secret.

The next day, she waited nervously through the sessions for some acknowledgement of her misdeed. Nothing was said.

She continued to wait.  Again on day three, nothing was said.

Day four.  No acknowledgement of her practical joke.

Conference would end the next day and she feared that her attempt at humor had not been received well.  Her conscience bothered her so much that she decided to confess to her prank.

Seizing a private moment with the couple, she confessed to having sown their sleeping garments closed.  They had absolutely no awareness of what she had done!

Ah, the joys of being newlyweds!

A Leonard Haire Loom!

My Dad died in July, 1992.  It didn't take but a week for our family to clear his house of just about everything.  At the end of that week, I discovered that I was the executor of the estate.  Along with that office came the responsibility for clearing the final clutter from the house.

As I walked through my Dad's "shop" part of the basement, a cabinet that he had built remained.  It was not an attractive cabinet, it was a functional cabinet.  I assume that he built it.  It was very heavy!  It's 'drawers' were actually old wooden cheese cartons.  The cabinet had been built with pigeon-holes designed perfectly to house these cartons.

The cartons were loaded with screws, bolts, washers, pipe fittings, connectors, chisels, files, and a wide array of other useful-but-rarely-used-paraphernalia.  I felt drawn to it because of my belief that my Dad had made it.  It had been passed over by all the others who had gone through the house.

I labored over my decision;  it would be a giant pain to move it! 

But, sentiment won out!  I hauled it to my home in East Liverpool.  And then to Maryland.  And then to Akron.  And then to New Middletown.  And then to a storage unit for three years.

Today, I brought it to Enon Valley!  Am I sorry?

Oh no!  You cannot imagine how many times I have needed something and found it in one of those cheese cartons! 

"Dad!  Your cabinet is safe and sound in my shed!  I used several things from it today!  Thanks so much for your organizational acumen!  And thanks for giving me just what I needed so many times through the years!  Someday, when I come to see you, this thing will probably find a home in Troy's shed!  Ha ha ha ha ha..."

"I love you, Dad!  Say "Hi" to Mom for me and give her a big hug!"

      



Happy Anniversary!

As I understand it, he noticed her when he went into the 'five and dime store'.  She was working at the candy counter.  Over the next several weeks, he bought a lot of candy.  That started the relationship.

She was from a well-to-do family in Beaver Falls.  He was from a very common family in New Brighton.  He was a nail-maker. 

She was Scottish Presbyterian.  He was Free Methodist. 

She had two sisters;  he had five.

His name:  Leonard;  hers:  Hazel.  Love happened and they were married on this date in 1934.  From their love came Jeannette, Ira, Beverly, and Harold. 

They married "till death do us part."  Death parted them when she died on October 10, 1981.  He reunited with her in July, 1992.  They're together today worshipping and serving the Lord they loved! 

Jeannette, Ira, Beverly, and Harold?  All serving Christ!  All still in their first marriage (although Jeannette's husband has transferred to Heaven)!  The legacy of faith lives on!  Thanks be to God!