Mountain Laurel & Coal

As I celebrate my 60th birthday today my thoughts are very much focused on how much I miss my mom and dad. When my mom passed away 10 years ago, I found letters she had written to her mother while she and my dad were living in St. Louis, Mo. in 1964 and 65. I’m so thankful that my grandmother Blanche saved everything, because the following letter details the day I was born: November 29, 1964. My mother was 19 at the time and my dad was 22. The letter was addressed to Mr. and Mrs. George Phillians, Box 883, Clarksville, PA 15322 with a St. Louis, MO Postmark of Dec. 7, 1964. Although my mom’s name was Roberta, her parents and everyone in her family called by her middle name, Lee, which is how she signed this letter. Saturday afternoon (December 5, 1964) Dear Mom & Dad, How are you? Fine I hope! We are all three fine here. Randi is the greatest. (We changed our minds about how to spell her name. We dropped the e & spell it Randi.) She’s so pretty. I guess I’m prejudiced though. H...

Vote: No matter what your political views are, it is of the utmost importance for you to vote on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 and on every Election Day. If you are a woman, this right is something that was granted to you a mere 124 years ago. After I was done stitching this pattern, I decided to dedicate it to my great grandmothers (at least one is a 7x great grandmother) who were never given the opportunity to vote.  The first on the list, Mary Jane McConnell Milliken was a Revolutionary War Patriot who risked her life for the cause, giving water, blankets, and food to soldiers, yet like all women she wasn’t allowed to vote. I may have missed a few, but here are some of the women in my family that weren’t able to vote. All lived in the United States of America after the Revolutionary War: Mary Jane McConnell Milliken 1747-1815 Martha H. Pembroke Ross 1720-1781 Jane Anne James Ross 1736-1799 Hannah Johnson Taylor 1735-1776 Ruth Taylor Bailey 1758-1806 Lydia Miller Johnson 1751-1825 Elizab...

 Yesterday, Abby and I visited the graves of two 5th Great Grandfathers (6th GG for her) who served in the Revolutionary War and are buried in the Upper Ten Mile Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Prosperity, Washington County. Samuel Rutan 1754-1840 and Stephen Sanders 1750-1832. Both of these men can be traced through my Great Grandmother Lelia Sanders Ross 1885-1979.

  Three little pins that were found tucked inside a little cardboard box represent my Grandfather Vance Ross’ lifetime of service. The first is his Deacon Emeritus pin presented to him for years of dedication to the Clarksville Christian Church in Clarksville, PA. He did everything at the church from making sure the pipes didn’t freeze, filling the baptismal pool, to serving communion. The middle pin honors 40 years of commitment to the United Mine Workers of America, specifically Local 668 of Fredericktown, PA. He was a big union man who went over each contract with a fine-tooth comb. Just the thought of crossing a picket line was, in his opinion, a cardinal sin. And the third, a tie tack, recognizing over 40 years of service to Republic Steel, where he worked as a coal miner and later as an electrician. He was on-call at all times, often leaving the dinner table to drive to the shaft so he could fix the fan or get the elevator running. He never complained, he just put on his hat ...

  I said I’d never do this again. Then I changed my mind! While finishing my second embroidery journal I thought of the free time I would have once I was done. I dreamed of all of the other things to do: some slow stitch Christmas ornaments, family tree research, reading some books, relaxing. My 2023 embroidery journal.  Then I saw all of the blank canvasses posted on my Facebook embroidery groups - including Stitching A Round. That’s when I felt like I was missing out and I started planning a 2024 journal. It also dawned on me that I will turn 60 in November and it feels like that’s worth commemorating.  My sister Morgan shared the Stitching A Round group with me in October of 2021 and I knew immediately, without hesitation, that I wanted to give it a try. I rushed out to buy supplies and started the next day. I had embroidered a bit in the past and done some cross-stitching, but I literally had no idea what I was doing. (I used a permanent pen at the beginning and made ...

Bentleyville Mayor Tim Jansante, Bentleyville Area Historical Society Vice President Randi Marodi & President Connie Gettings Bentleyville has roots that go all the way back to 1777 when founder Sheshbazzar Bentley purchased 1,077 acres on Pigeon Creek to build a mill. To start a village, Bentley rented, in 1790, 26 lots near the mill, located where Fox’s Pizza stands today. But it wasn’t until 1816 that his son, also named Sheshbazzar, established a village known initially as Bentleysville (sic). Since then, numerous generations of residents have come and gone, often leaving gaps in the historical record and questions that continue to baffle the local historical society. One such question concerns a small plot of land along Main Street in the middle of town that many current residents know little about. It’s a small plot of land currently confounding the Bentleyville Area Historical Society members, including that of the town’s mayor, Tim Jansante. The issue came to light when, in...