“We need to get together more often and not at a
funeral.” How many times have you and a cousin said that? Funerals are much
like a family reunion. You can learn a lot about a family just by looking at
who showed up. Using my grandparents’ guest books and sympathy cards, I’ll be
exploring “Who came to the funeral?”
is for my eX Girl Scout Troop 543. When my maternal grandfather
Orvin Davis died in 1963, my family received this lovely card sent on behalf of
my troop and leaders.
 |
| From Leaders and Girls of Troop 543 |
The
envelope bears the return address of our neighbor Mrs. Loulies. What really saddens me is that I don’t even remember
Mrs. Loulies being my scout leader. I enjoyed my troop and being a Girl Scout.
I can remember Mrs. Kratz and Mrs. Davis (no relation that I’m aware of), but
Mrs. Loulies as scout leader escapes my mind’s eye completely.
Mrs. Loulies also sent a card from her own family.
 |
| from Helen, Walter, Gloria and Walter Jr. |
What
is even sadder about that card is that my grandmother was never very nice when
it came to the Loulies. It was because of their son, Walter Jr. I don’t know of
anything that he did wrong, but for some reason, Grandma always saw him as a
delinquent. He was a teenager, which was probably crime enough as far as my
grandmother was concerned.
That the Loulies even bothered to send the card at
all shows what a fine and forgiving family they were.
If you’re caught between a xenolith and xylols, or even
if you suffer from xenophobia, you should make your way to the A to Z April Challenge where you will be met with xenodochial xenagogues whose xenophilia
will convince you there are no xanthippes among us.
© 2015, Wendy Mathias.
All rights reserved.
What a nice gesture.
ReplyDeleteYes, it was.
Deletewe are al having to be very creative when it comes to X in the A-Z challenge
ReplyDeleteIf you do the A to Z Challenge every year, "X" doesn't get any easier.
DeleteThanks for visiting!
Maybe Mrs. Loulies was in charge of things like this? She handled paperwork maybe behind the scenes which included bereavement/sympathy cards? It is interesting when a person gets a preconceived notion in their mind like your mother against the Loulies. Hubby's parents would get certain thoughts about people that didn't seem founded and nothing you did or say could stop them from thinking differently. Wonder if it is a southern thing since both were from Kentucky.
ReplyDeletebetty
That's a good point although I know she couldn't have been a mother in the troop because her daughter was way older than me. But maybe Mrs. Loulies was a leader within the whole group of leaders and troops.
DeleteI think the Loulies messy side yard bugged grandma even more. I always thought Mrs. Loulies was a nice lady. She taught Susan Golden how to make a doll house out of shoe boxes and house hold things. I remember the bed was made from a thick sponge. She must have been creative.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Loulies great grandson was born a few hours before I had Joel. The granddaughter in law was in the hospital with me. We exchange war stories of labor and delivery!
I feel rather sad that they had sent a card, knowing how Grandma felt. Mrs. Loulies took the high road, what an excellent Girl Scout example.
Yes, Mrs. Loulies must have been a fine lady. I wish I could remember her face.
DeleteNice work on the X! How sweet that Mrs. Loulies sent a card - I wonder if she had any idea how your Grandmother felt about her.
ReplyDeleteYou're almost there!
I'm sure she must have - as many times as my grandmother marched over there to report on young Walter. But honestly, I hope not.
DeleteMust be another story there that you couldn't possibly know. People hold grudges and assumptions for the longest time. I wonder if Grandma saw the card.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember my Campfire leader at all!
Both cards were sent to my address, so Grandma might not have seen the cards although I would think my mother would have told her.
DeleteI was a Scout leader -- I have probably been forgotten already too!
Ah...guilt by association with a teenager...hmmm...but I'm sure they never knew your grandmother's true feelings. Or maybe they were just truly gracious people.
ReplyDeleteAnd so...you made it over the "X" hump! Congratulations! And now, I await the ever-challenging "Z."
Check! Two to go ~
DeleteX-cellent!
ReplyDeleteI love the cards.
I kind of miss A-Z April but there is no way I could have kept up this year....perhaps next :)
Get your thoughts together! A to Z of weddings?
DeleteYour Grandma kept her card though, which is interesting too. It would have been easy enough for her to just toss it.
ReplyDeleteIt just hit me how amazing it is that people in previous generations seemed to keep so much more of this kind of stuff and yet their houses were smaller. Did they go back through cards etc. and reflect on them, or were they keeping them for the next generation? It makes me wonder how much the next generation will know about us because I am not good to keep a lot of that type of stuff.
I can't close the lid on the box -- it's filled with cards and guest book. I need a good rubberband.
DeleteGood point -- I once saved Christmas cards just to look like I had a lot of friends. HA ! but I don't do that anymore. I haven't even been good about saving those little memorial cards and programs from funerals. I could end up being a mystery woman in someone's tree.
Every year I admire how you post something for every letter of the alphabet for this challenge, Wendy. And not just "something" but something interesting. I missed most of your posts this year (without time to read blogs) but I remember when you first said what you were going to do and I wondered how you would manage it. Success!
ReplyDeleteI think your grandmother's neighbor must have been a very kind-hearted and forgiving lady. (Or maybe she was just thick-skinned enough to not take to heart your grandmother's unkindness.)