Mary Louise Eklund

Tag: Alabama

  • Excuse Me, Can You Repeat That?

    Internet Archive of book images page 162 from Flickr 12May16
    Image from page 162 of “Boll weevil suppression, management, and elimination technology : proceedings of a conference, February 13-15, 1974, Memphis, Tennessee” (1976) provided by Internet Archive Book Images on Flickr via The Commons. The image has no known copyright restrictions.

    Okay I’m a true GRITS (Girls Raised In The South) but apparently I’ve lost my ear for Southern accents.  (Oh and yes plural they are varied from the mountain twang to the Lowlands drawl to the Louisiana who has at least 10 of their own).   (more…)

  • Views From A Car

    Views From A Car

    View of downtown Chicago
    Here’s the trip south. Chicago doesn’t have traffic early on Sunday mornings. This was about 7:30 am. There’s the WIllis tower (formerly the Sears tower) in the center. It’s rare to see the interstate so empty.

    Mike drove most of the 13 hours to my parents.  I drove the 9 hours to Montgomery Alabama from my parents.  Needless to say last week doing the trip there and back plus the driving about to cemeteries and peoples homes – I spent a lot of time in the car.  No matter how great the audio books are or how many channels we got on Sirius, it gets boring being the passenger or driver.  I must acknowledge as a passenger I did more than my share of sleeping.  Still when I got bored I picked up my camera when a passenger and at stops to share the experience with you.  Here’s the photo gallery of 44 hours on the road.

    (more…)

  • Treated Like Alabama Royality

    Treated Like Alabama Royality

    Arched bridge over Cossa River looking toward downtown Wetumpka

    Last week I made a trip to Alabama with my mother.  The point was genealogy research.  Her father, John Hollis Rolen’s next younger brother, Milas, settled in Alabama after World War II.  We went to connect with his descendants.  Boy were we beneficiaries of true Southern Hospitality!  We stayed with Milas’s son Milas aka Doodle and his lovely wife Miriam.  Peggy, Doodle’s sister, showed us around and made arrangements to meet her kids and their kids and their kids… Then Doodle took us about Wetumpka to see the town and do research in the library.

    It was a very productive trip.  I’m busy with information.  Apparently Doodle’s great grandfather a Confederate fought our great uncle Union Calvary at Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  I’m working on their service records to be sure they were there with their units then.  Also got a huge box of pictures from Mike’s mother to scan.  I’m set this winter for genealogy.

    Don’t worry Comic book fans – I’m reading and have arcs as well as single issue stories to comment upon.  Those will be coming.

    Jewelry/crafting – hold on I’ve got sets I need to photograph.  Bought lots of beads in Bama so new works in process.  Also doing some pins for winter. On top of all of that I’ve got a class on how to make wire wrap rings.  So more coming on the crafting front.

    Finally I’m collecting photos to write a farewell to my good friend Sandra Jean Brown.  She died Saturday after a long heroic battle with cancer.  I’m sad for selfish reasons because I’m going to miss her light in the world.  Honestly she’s free now and I couldn’t wish anything better for her.  Still I wish she could be free AND we could still meet  every 6 months with Kathy to have a great girls weekend.  Until later Sandy – I miss you.