Christmas in Clarksville 1964

This photo makes me happy and sad. It was taken at Christmas in 1964 around the kitchen table of my grandparents in Clarksville. Pictured from the left is my grandmother Blanche Phillians, my father Forrest Wayne Ross, my mother Roberta Ross, my grandmother Ruth Ross, my grandfather Forest Vance Ross, my aunt Janet Ross and my grandfather George Phillians. The only one who is still alive is Aunt Janet.

I was probably napping in another room, because I was one month old and had just traveled with my parents on a Greyhound bus from St. Louis, Mo. My dad said the mode of transportation had been given the seal of approval by my pediatrician. My parents were young and apparently up for the challenge.

The photo was taken at the home of Vance and Ruth Ross by their neighbor and good friend Stanley Fowler. There are more photos from this day and I will post them when I find them.

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Vance Ross: A Lifetime of Service

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 and

Happy New Year: I’m all in for 2024

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 a mistake, so

Vote on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024

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 Elizabeth

Mountain Laurel & Coal

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