Photos of Mom

Here are a few photos I found of Mom...I hope you all enjoy them.

Memories of Dad

Mom wrote this poem at the passing of Grandpa Harley Taft...it seems appropriate for her as well:

Memories of Dad

He lay alone,

Tho we were there,

And dealt with shadows

And despair.

Who knows what thoughts

Filled his mind,

As death sought

To break the ties that bind.

In agaony,

We watched him there.

We held his hand

And stroked his hair.

There was so little

We could say

As we sat beside him,

Night and day.

He grew weaker

As each day passed.

Till his gentle smile

Was stilled, at last.

We weep,

Because he's here no more.

Yet, know he's safe

On that far shore.

Where all is bright

And, oh so fair!

I know one day

We'll meet him there.

A Poem Mom wrote fro

Poems From Long Ago

The Gospel

by

Anne Virgil

The Gospel has been taken to all the Earth

Yet there are many people who

Still don't know the worth

of the dear Prophet, Joseph, who for

The Gospel gave his life.

And the courageous Latter-day Saints,

Who endured so much strife.

Would that we could, make all people understand

The glorious thing that happened,

Here in this choice land.

But, the day will come when they

Will know the things we've tried to say

That they will then accept the Gospel,

I must humbly pray.

And for those of us who know it's true

It is my humble prayer,

That we testify to them by the things

We say and do.

Diet Blues

by

Anne Virgil

Dieting is such a bore,

Counting calories quite a chore.

Passin' all those goodies by

Leaves me askin' myself "Why"?

Why does my food turn to fat

While others eat and end up lookin' like Jack Sprat.

"Fat is Beautiful" isn't true,

This diet thing just leaves me blue.

Thoughts of You

by

Anne Virgil

I'm sitting here,

pen in hand,

thinking thoughts of you

wondering...

If you were here with me

what would we find to do?

Would we listen to records on the phonograph

and talk of days gone by?

Or maybe we'd walk by the river's edge

and look at the sun-streaked sky.

Maybe we'd stroll through the snow-hushed park

and build a snowman just for a lark.

Or get in the car and go on jaunts

to some of our ancestors former haunts.

But what does it matter

what we would do?

For all of the pleasure

is in just being with you.

Snow

by

Anne Virgil

Every winter I wish for snow

And why I do it, I don't know.

True - it's very pretty stuff

But driving in it is kinda rough.

Still and all it's kinda nice

Heaven knows tho, I don't wish for ice.

It's fun to watch the snowflakes drifting down

Until pretty soon they cover the ground.

Christmas isn't Christasmasey if it isn't white

And Santa's sleigh won't run quite right.

So really, it's nice to have some snow

Tho we don't need blizzards that rage and blow

But lazy snowflakes drifting down

Until they softly cover the ground.

Seasonal Tapestry

by

Anne Virgil

The seasons weave a tapestry

as the years go quickly by

The designs are by a Master hand

that paints the Earth and sky.

Winter blusters in all its might

snow falls heavily thru the dark of night.

The day dawns cold and gray and drear

in this most miserable time of year.

The pure white landscape's beauty redeems

all the inconveniences of the long, cold winter, it seems.

Springtime comes as a great relief

with misty beauty beyond belief.

The pungent smell of rain-washed Earth

in this wondrous time of its re-birth.

The leaves unfold, the flowers grow

then dims our memories of the snow.

Summer bursts upon the scene

and the Earth is dressed in shades of green.

Long days spent in the golden sun

soft, purple twilights when day is done.

All too soon it passes by

and migrating birds fill the sky.

Autumn steals across the land

with glorious color by the Master hand.

And so to winter, once again

to dream by the fire of what has been.

God, our Father, in his majesty

weaves for us this tapestry.

I Would Walk With Thee

by

Anne Virgil

I would walk with thee,

barefoot in the sand,

at the ocean's edge

strolling hand in hand.

Listening to the roar,

the mighty ocean's sound,

watching birds o'er head,

wondering where they're bound.

Marveling as the setting sun,

streaks the sky with gold

walking hand in hand thru life,

til we've both grown old.

I would share with thee,

all the joys and sorrows of this life,

laugh at all the funny things,

comfort thee in strife.

I would share with thee

the beauty of nature all around

share a book, a painting,

the tender feeling in a love song's sound.

Walking hand in hand thru life,

sharing is pure gold.

Loving, caring, together

til we've both grown old.

Touching

by

Anne Virgil

For a time our lives touched,

there was a closeness,

mind meeting mind...thoughts shared.

There was a laughter, and it was like sunshine.

The beginnings of a love, which was not to be

a parting

and now thoughts on paper

and memories.

My Prayer

by

Anne Virgil

Father, I have lost my way

Wilt thou hear my prayer today?

Thru thy spirit wilt thou guide

wilt thou stay close by my side?

Show me Father, which way to go

help me, so that I may grow.

Let me always strive to be

the kind of child that pleases thee.

Let me pray both day and night

to keep thy pathway in my sight.

Father wilt thou grant me strength

that I may overcome at length

all my earthly cares and woe

til home to thee I may go.

A Time and a Place

by

Anne Virgil

There's a time and a place for everything,

when one's at the table, one mustn't sing.

Cracking jokes is against the rule

when one's attending Sunday School.

Eating crackers when one's in bed,

well, really, shouldn't you eat them at the table instead?

Using one's knife when one's eating peas

is almost certain not to please.

When one is alone, out in a crowd,

one only draws stares by laughing aloud.

Slurping one's soup isn't quite right

and drinking from one's bowl is impolite.

One mustn't giggle our use a loud voice

when one's at the library for books of one's choice.

There's lots and lots of things one shouldn't do

But, I sometimes do them...do you?

Hot Air Balloon by Shirley Ann Taft

This photo was taken in May of 1953.

I gazed in wonder and delight

To see a sight so fair

Great gaudy stripes

Against the sky

Held aloft by air.

Skimming o'er the treetops

You must feel fine and free

With a bird's-eye view of the world below

It's a lovely place to be.

Another Poem by Shirley Ann Taft

Aunts and uncles

And cousins galore

A wonderful assortment

of food in store.

Lots of talk and laughter

As we whiled the hours away.

The men pitching horseshoes

As the children

Engaged in play.

Mom's Poetry

End of Autumn

Autumn is flinging her colors around

Leaves thickly cover the ground

It's cold and gray and the trees look bereft

Wearing only the few leaves the wind has left

Undecided

When the heat of the summer was upon me,

I thought I would wither away,

And I vowed to myself, not to grumble

When the days turned cold and gray.

But summer's heat is gone and forgotten

The days are windy and cold

As i shiver away, I rue the day

I complained of the summer's gold.

Remembrances of Vivian Copus Price

I received a letter from Aunt "V" dated Oct. 5th, 1983 here is what she wrote:

(Aunt V was born 1 Feb 1905)

I've been thinking about Grandma Miller, trying to remember all I could about her. Her name as you know was Hulda Orlane Welsh.(born 11 Oct 1852) I remember her well from about the time I was five and she would have been close to sixty years of age. At that time she was tiny-about five feet tall but she may have lost a couple of inches with age as we all do.

She was never fat but had a huge tumor on her abdomen. Thirty five pounds of fluid were drawn off once but it soon came back and she never did any more about it and in the end it burst and killed her. At the time she was living with her son Tom in Michigan.

Mother had twelve children but I am the only one who got Grandma's characteristics and looks. When I was little I was so strong willed and so was she, that we often had our differences and Mom would say, "No wonder -you are just alike".

Grandma loved to do things for anyone in need - I believe she bought all of the material for our clothes which Mom made. She couldn't get money from Grandpa because he was a tight Dutchman(he really is of German descent) and besides he didn't have much-all the income he had was $55.00 per month pension plus he did work off and on in later years. Grandpa (Miller) was a carpenter in his younger days. He was a Civil War Vet. That $55.00 went as far in those days as $550.00 would now however - so in order to have money she would go out and work. Usually for families where the mother had a new baby. In those days a woman was kept in bed for ten days.

She would leave Grandpa at home alone to fend for himself. Sometimes she would go far enough that she would have to go on the train. But she had a compulsion to get out and work and also to have money. I understand her so well because I am the same way.Luckily I married a man who lets me do whatever I want to do. Grandma was just born about 75 years too soon.

I did spend more time with her than the others did as I was the oldest girl. She taught me so many things as she lived by little rules like (Ben Franklin sayings mostly) waste not - want not, a stitch in time saves nine, make hay while the sun shines, God helps those who help themselves, if you want a thing done well do it yourself. But the most important thing she taught me was, "Where there is a will, there is a way." She repeated that so many times and I never doubted her.

It has worked for me all my long life. I never failed in anything I wanted to do in all these years. It never even occurred to me that I couldn't do whatever I wanted to if I worked hard enough at it. I always figured if someone else could do it, I could too.

I don't think Grandma was too happy with Grandpa. We children never cared much for him as he was so gruff with us. She may have gone to work and stayed longer for that reason. Finally he got tired of her being and staying away for months and divorced her.

She did help a lot of poor people with her little earning though.

this letter is several pages long. I will divide it up by the people she wrote about.

Dewey Daniel Houck and Ida Leah Adam

This is Dewey Daniel Houck and Ida Leah Adam. They were married 26 Oct 1918 in Kutztown, Berks, PA. He was born on 5 Apr 1898 at Oley, Berks, PA and died 19 Jun 1978. His parents were Frank Benjamin Houck and Hannah Hunter. She was born on 12 Dec 1897 and died 22 Nov 1932. Her parents were Howard C. Adam and Rosa Hinterleiter.

Their children are:

Harvey Houck - born 13 Feb 1917 - Berks County, PA

Paul Houck - born 17 Aug 1919 - Berks County, PA

Anna Ruth Houck - born 31 Jan 1921 - Kutztown, Berks, PA

Barton Houck - 19 Aug 1922 - Berks County, PA

Dewey Houck Jr. - born 9 Jan 1924 - Berks County, PA

Maryln(?) Houck - born 20 Apr 1925 - Kutztown, Berks, PA

Leah Rachel Houck - born 11 Apr 1930 - Wernersville, Berks, PA**