November/December Birthdays

I always felt sorry for my kids because their birthdays are both between Thanksgiving and Christmas so the celebration always seemed to blend in with the holidays, but they didn't seem to mind.

Now I have 2 grand-daughters with birthdays on November 25 and December 9. On Sunday, we will have a "Hello Kitty" birthday party for my 4 year old grand-daughter. She wanted "mermaid" stuff, so, of course she shall have it!! I'll send "Money" to the 13 year old so she can buy something her sweet little teen-age heart desires. Being the first, she will always hold a special place in my heart, even while she thinks Grandma is so old fashioned. These two are the youngest and oldest of my seven grandchildren.

Here are Blog Reader's Birthday for November and December.

November
20 - Alice Gregory
21 - John Phifer
27 - Rodney Hoover
29 - Calvin Freehling

December
1 - Lavoine Collicott
4 - Joie Brown
7 - Dallas Adams
12 - Stanley Carlock

Call for Papers

I work in a college setting and one of the things we get in the mail fairly often is a "Call for Papers" by Universities and Educational Journals. This call for papers is an opportunity for the professors to submit their "writings" to be published.

Well, I thought it would be a good thing to "Call for Papers" from the readers of the Haigler Blog. I would like to see pictures of your grandparents or great grandparents and hear stories about their lives. I am curious about where the families of Haigler came from. What brought them here? Why did they stay when so many others left during the hard times. How did they manage to take care of their big families with very little resources?

During this year's Holiday Season, I hope you can take a little time to write down some of your own memories and talk to your living grandparents, aunts and uncles and write down their stories. You will find it an interesting and rewarding experience.

So this is an official "Call for Papers (and pictures)" to be published in the Haigler Blog and possibly the newspaper and a future "Haigler History Book."
--Sherri G.

The Winter of 2007-2008

I don't know about you, but winter seems to feel colder every year. Or maybe I am just getting tired of shoveling snow from my driveway and sidewalk. I have been too cheap to hire anyone else to do it, but I just might do that this year. I plan to retire in a couple of years and part of that plan is to find a way to go south about this time of year (right after my daughter's birthday on November 30) and spend time in Tucson with my sisters and mom.

When it snowed enough to cover the ground here on Wednesday, and again when I woke up this morning to see that there was a dusting of snow and the temperature was 21, I began looking forward to becoming a "Snowbird". I also began wishing that the "Global Warming" would hurry up and get to Nebraska.

Cal Freehling wrote a note this morning saying they have 2 inches of snow there at 23 degrees and I see that the temperature is 12 degrees in Haigler.

Hope everyone has their wood piled close to the house and are ready to "hunker down" and stay warm.

Happy WINTER everyone!!
-- Sherri G.

MARY SMITH ROLLS

We hope everyone is having a great Thanksgiving Day! We sure are. Different but good. Usually Dwight and I have the whole family over - 22 to 25 people. Today, both girls are taking over and having their own dinners. Brenda and Dan are having his family over to their home. Lisa is having her boyfriend, his kids, his brother and family and his parents. We are invited to both! Brenda's dinner is at 1 and Lisa's is at 4, so it will work out except we will eat too much.

I have to share this with you - the reason for the title of my letter to the bloglady. In 1962 the year that my sister Leone and Norman Beeson got married, Mary Smith invited her up to their house north of Haigler to teach her how to make her dinner rolls. I begged to go along - and now ever since 1963 when Dwight and I got married, we have "Mary Smith Rolls" every holiday, so both girls gave me the assignment of "Mary Smith Rolls" for their dinners today. They are so good - don't know why I don't bake them more often. So we will leave in a little while to go to Brenda's and take the "rolls" with us. Then we will come back and take another batch to Lisa's.

We are so blessed - our two girls live within 15 minutes from where we are.

Just wanted you all to know how special I think Mary Smith was. I will never forget her kindnesses to all of us Gregory girls. Patty, Melvin and Don, want you to know how special she was to us, and she will always be in our hearts.

-- Leah Gregory Brewer

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I'd like to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!!

One of the things many people do on Thanksgiving Day is verbally acknowledge the things that they are thankful for. I would like to tell all the Haigler Blog Readers that I am very thankful for those of you who stop by and read the ramblings of an "old lady" and her memories and those of others who share their comments and articles. It is nice to know there are other people who have happy memories of growing up in the Haigler area.Even though we may not know each other well, you all seem like "family" to me since we have some common roots in that little town where anyone who "isn't from there" might wonder why we are so attached. Just what is it that endears us to that town? If you think about it... we are pretty prejudiced about "strangers" even if they are only from Yuma or McCook!! Maybe it is the water! (of course the current young people won't know what I mean by that)... Or maybe it is just the remoteness - being in the furtherest corner of Nebraska ... I like to think of it as the "neighborliness" of the residents of the area and caring about each other.

Well, anyway, whatever it is, Thank You for your continued reading and contributing to the "memories of Haiglerites."

My plans for today is to take the pies (pumkin and pecan) that I baked yesterday and go to my daughter's house and help her cook dinner for 10 adults and 11 children. We will eat too much, sit around too long, play with the kids and enjoy each other's company. I am also taking the "makings" to help the kids make little turkey deserts....

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
Vanilla cookies (with frosting inside) Or Oreos
Chocolate frosting
Cherry Chocolates
Boston Baked Beans (the candy)
Candy Corn

Break the cookies in two
Put a dob of frosting on one side of the cookie to glue the other side into an L position.
Place a cherry chocolate on the cookie
Stick candy corn around the "tail" side of the cookie
Put a dob of chocolate on top of the cherry chocolate where the "head of the turkey" goes and stick on a boston baked bean.

There you have some cookie/candy turkey's to put on a plate and serve as a snack.

Have a great day!
-- Sherri G.

Haigler Happenings

This is to recognize the great work Floy Ruggles does to gather up the news about Haigler "Happenings" each week and make the Monday night deadline. She has filled the shoes of long time correspondent Opal Collicott very well. Her quiet, kind spirit is loved and cherished by all who know her.

The Haigler Happenings is an important column to all the current residents of Haigler and especially appreciated by those who live all over the country and probably the world. Many "Haiglerites" subscribe to the three papers who print the column and pass it on to others who might be interested in the news.

Each week, when I read the paper, I like to "hear" about the people who have visited and whatever is a "current event" for that week. Fond memory pictures go through my head when a name appears that I recognize.

Thank you Floy for all your hard work on the paper each week.
-- Sherri

PS: If you have a story or "happening" - current or past - that would be a good addition to the Haigler Happenings, be sure to send it to Floy so she can add it to the "Haigler" news.

Happy Birthday to Alice Gregory

Alice Gregory turned 93 on November 20th. Her daughters, Leah & Dwight, Leone & Kenny and Eunice & friend David took Alice to eat at their favorite Mexican Restaurant near their homes in Tucson Estates, which is located about 7 miles west of the Tucson city limits.

Alice still lives in her own home and takes care of her yard and house (except she doesn't climb on the roof or anything like that). She is healthy and active, enjoys going to prayer meeting and church every week. One of her favorite things to do is spend an afternoon "shopping" with one of her daughters.

She is having Thanksgiving dinner at her house this year with Leone and her family while the other sisters spend the day with their children.

The other two of her children lived in Tucson Estates near Alice until a few years ago when Dick's job moved him & Sharon to Houston, Texas. Sherri moved to Lincoln, Nebraska to be near her daughter and grandchildren.

Dick and Sharon will be celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary this year and their children Sheila, Melissa and Jared are planning a big party for them in Houston.

Alice attributes her long and happy life to "a good attitude" and "healthy eating & living." She adds that "it could be in the genes." Her father, Frank Crabtree, lived to be almost 101 years old and many of her uncles and aunts lived into their late 90's. Alice's goal is to live as long as she can.

Alice keeps an active correspondence with her sister, Floy Ruggles of Haigler, her 5 children, several of her first cousins who are still living and many other friends and relatives. She just finished converting the library card catalog for their local church school from physical cards to the computer. She writes email letters back and forth between all her children, nieces & nephews, and many other friends and relatives. She checks in to MSN Instant Messenger every evening and chats with whomever comes online.

Happy Birthday Momma!
-- Sherri G

I got a note from Gene Pennell about District 42 school.

I would like to know if anyone has ever mentioned district 42?

It was about 5 miles east of Haigler and I think Mrs.Coons was a teacher. Some of the kids that went to school there were the Chrisian boys, the Bush boys, the Crouse kids, Calvin Coons and the Wills family which had about 5 kids and my sister Helen, my brother Herb and myself all went there, too. This is just some of the kids that I remember.

Do you have a record of this country school?

I have never seen anyone talk about district 42 at all so was just wondering. It was torn down years ago.

If you have any history of this school would you please let me and others know.

-- Gene Pennell

If anyone has information about this school or any other schools that were located near Haigler, we would like to hear about them. Pictures and stories would be welcome.