Mountain Laurel & Coal

  I love photos like this - a little slice of life, a random moment frozen in time. I’m not sure why it was taken, but the people sitting around my grandmother’s Formica table are very familiar to me: my aunt Janet Ross, Jerry Kowalczyk, my grandmother Ruth Ross, my grandfather Vance Ross, me, my uncle Ken Ross, and my grandmother’s friend Ada Shumaker. It  looks like we are celebrating something because there is a cake on the table, along with some Nescafe’ Instant Coffee, and an empty punch bowl. The photo says February 1972, but it looks like there is a Christmas wreath in the window. Maybe it was Janet’s birthday, which is at the end of December, or New Years Eve. I’m thinking the photo was taken in 1971 and the film was developed in February of 1972. This photo leaves me with so many questions. Like, why did Nana have summery paper plates on the table if it was winter? Why didn’t she make a real pot of coffee or was instant coffee all the rage? Did we drink the punch or w...

Today would have been my Nana's 100th birthday! Ruth Elaine Brown was born June 17, 1921, in Fayette City, PA, the second daughter of Isaac and Mary Balsis Brown. I remember her as a devoted and caring grandmother, who would do anything for her family.  She also had a strong and lovely singing voice. She sang when she washed the dishes and she sang when she folded laundry. She also sang beautiful old-time hymns in the church choir. When she was a young woman she attended the Clarksville Christian Church, where she met and fell head over heels in love with a handsome young man named Forest Vance Ross. They eloped and made their home in Clarksville, PA, where they raised three children: Kenneth Isaac, Forrest Wayne, and Janet Lea Ross. She was the matriarch of our family and her home was the gathering place for picnics, Christmas Eve dinners, Thanksgiving feasts, and plain old Sundays. Things just haven't been the same since she passed away on December 8, 2014, at the age of 93. ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfwtC7Flj18&feature=em-upload_owner This video features my paternal Grandmother Ruth Elaine Brown Ross of Clarksville, Pa. It was created with the help of my aunt Janet Ross and cousin Shannon Ross Davis. It’s a treasure that I’m so happy to have and I’m posting it here where it will be safe, waiting for me to add more information. I’m also including the link to the story that appeared in the Washington Observer-Reporter. https://observer-reporter.com/news/localnews/former-clarksville-grandmother-fulfills-dream/article_3a0126f0-431c-5a29-948a-08636bc92460.html Here’s the link to the WTAE story about her graduation! https://www.wtae.com/article/dropout-no-more-92-year-old-graduate-fulfills-her-longtime-dream/7466467 My paternal ancestral line to Ruth Brown Ross: 1) Randi Lee Ross 2) Forrest Wayne Ross 3) Ruth Elaine Brown by Randi Ross Marodi - randileeross@gmail.com