History hidden in the attic - until now

 Arkansas sky from Highway 64 headed west from Beebe, DH, photographer, PL's camera

 

            Late-January and the Christmas things are back upstairs. Oh, wait. There’s still a plastic bin of stuff in the back bedroom. Out of sight, out of mind.

            I decided that for every trip I made up, I’d bring something old down and go through it. Oh my goodness, what a find.

            Myriad out-sized calendars from the Missouri Department of Forestry that had photos taken by Mom’s nephew/my cousin, Mark. A Grand Canyon calendar from the 70s, a Norman Rockwell calendar from the 80s. I kept the latter two and cut out all Mark’s pictures with dates and captions from the others.

I found historical (to me) documents of events both known and unknown. A plat of Couchwood Subdivision, developed from our land that Dad sold; a legal folder of neighbor Snodgrass' suit over Dad's allotting of acreage--Ted Boswell, attorney—this I didn’t know.

I re-taped Dad's birth certificate, which looked to have been cut down the center, in the process, learning his mother’s middle name—Allen. Here was Mom's lifetime teaching certificate and a WSCS or UMW award, a school picture of Mom’s first grade in 1971-72. If you were in this picture, I’ll give it to you.

There were letters from Tom Couch to another Couch I never heard of, a letter from Tennessee cousin Melissa with ancestry information about Mom’s mother Flossie's folks.

Promotion and Vacation Bible School certificates of our late sister Martha's. She died in a vehicle accident in 1967. In 1949, Salem Methodist Church’s pastor was J. R. Martin, Frank Kane was superintendent of Sunday School, and our aunt, Mrs. Holmes Aston was VBS “principal.”

By 1950, the pastor was Wesley Reutz. In 1951, it was Kenneth M. Goode. By 1953, the certificates were full-size with no ‘pastor’ line. Aunt Evelyn (Aston) had moved to superintendent, and Pauline Weger was the teacher. She was also long-time church pianist.

 The old (70s) Benton Couriers need to be recycled since the historical society/library has them stored on microfilm. And the quilting pattern book from 1975? Does anyone want it?

Interesting headlines in two Arkansas Methodist newspapers in late 1974. On the week before Christian Education Sunday, 4 church leaders answered the question, “Has the Sunday School ‘had its day’?”

In early October that same year, the headline was: ‘Belief crisis’ faces nation,….” What is the old saying, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”? BFF Dot will take those.

The last item I found is actually personal. It’s a program from a concert in 1985 by the five-year-old Arkansas Chamber Singers, of which I am a charter member. By 1985, the founding director, Barbara Levy, had gone, and Dr. Rosella Duerksen was director. Don’t remember those names? How about this name? Pat Paulus? Oh, that was me.

My, how things change. LOL