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A mix of Mountain Laurel, Coal & Tapestry

  I started this blog several years ago and I named it Mountain Laurel & Coal to honor my farming ancestors from the hills of Southwestern Pennsylvania and the coal miners from the valleys. Since then I have used it to share family photos and stories.  Recently, I decided that I would like to share my cross stitch and embroidery, but I didn't want to create another blog for that.  So, I decided to mix the two and switch the name of the blog to Tapestry. After all, our families and our lives are like tapestries... filed with lots of little details, memories, and love. With that said, if you are here for the stitching you will have to weed through some family stories, and vise versa.  As far as stitching goes, I have been using a needled and thread for many years and I'm looking forward to writing about this journey, sharing tips, patterns, and inspiration. The cross stitch sampler pictured here is My Little Sampler by Running with Needles and Scissors. I stitched ...
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More About My Great Grandfather Howard Francis Shipley of Brownsville PA

The Daily Notes, Canonsburg June 16, 1922  
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The Elopement of 1963

Wayne Ross and Roberta Phillians were married 62 years ago in this church in LaVale, MD on August 16, 1963.   After my parents eloped they went back to Clarksville but didn’t tell anyone about their marriage until Christmas Eve of that same year. She was 18 and had just graduated from high school and he was a 21-year-old senior at Waynesburg College. It was their second attempt at eloping, the first time the minister wanted to call their parents! This is the closest thing to a wedding photo I have of my parents  Roberta Phillians and Wayne Ross of Clarksville, PA.  This was taken at her prom at Beth-Center High School in 1962. She made her own dress. On Christmas Eve they decided to break the news to their families. My mom thought her father was going to disown her, so she put on her favorite dress so she would at least have that. George might have been strict, but he didn’t disown his only child on that Christmas Eve. Nevertheless, my mom packed up her things that night,...
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The Generosity of Howard F. Shipley Continues

"I am not a religious fanatic but God put every man on this earth with equal right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. I am simply performing my duty to my fellow beings as I understand it." ~   Howard Francis Shipley who helped evicted coal miners during the Coal Strike of 1922 Howard Shipley on a trip in the 1920s with his family: from the left are his wife’s best friend Dora Kinder, his daughter Trissa, wife Annabelle, and daughter Blanche. Howard Francis Shipley 1883-1923 My  Great Grandfather Howard Francis Shipley died suddenly of pneumonia in 1923 when he was just 40 years old, leaving behind his grieving wife Annabelle and three daughters: Mildred, who was already married, and Trissa and Blanche, who were still at home. Howard was a businessman from Brownsville who owned an automobile dealership in the bustling town on the Monongahela River in Fayette County, PA. His hard work made it possible for his family to live comfortably and allowed them to enjoy suc...
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