Tapestry

The Lucky Lady II crew posed for a USAAF photographer at the Royal Air Force Base Snetterton Heath in Norfolk, England, on July 4, 1943 (United Kingdom American Archive) Staff Sgt. Donald W. Ross U.S. Army Air Corps Donald W. Ross was a World War II hero whose story got lost in a mix of family drama, estrangement, distance, and time. About 40 years ago, my grandfather Vance Ross mentioned that he hadn’t seen his younger brother since 1944. As he sat at his kitchen table in Clarksville, he talked about his little brother who had been a Prisoner of War who was eventually released from a German prison camp as part of a prisoner exchange. Don soon returned to Southwestern Pennsylvania, where he visited with some of his family members, including my grandfather. After the reunion, Don left and never contacted his family again. It has been said that Don was upset over family issues that occurred after his parents separated when he was a young boy. My grandfather asked me to help him find ...

  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 needle 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 t...

The Daily Notes, Canonsburg June 16, 1922  

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,...

"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...

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...