alwaysbackroads

Nothing Doing

Donna Catterick — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 08:17:30 +0000

One of my favorite phrases from Grandpa Claycomb’s 1909 diary.

Minimalist Fence

Donna Catterick — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:54:24 +0000

Minimalist and quite ineffective fence.

OK, maybe it was a gate to begin with, but it really works as a fence, just not a very good one. I’ll try to sneak it into Friday Fences.

Border Fence between Old and New Mexico

Donna Catterick — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 22:40:54 +0000

This fence saddens me, but I’m still entering it in Friday Fences.

Signs of Deer

Donna Catterick — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:28:12 +0000

The dog and I had a nice treat last night – deer visiting the yard. Sola started by barking, but soon obeyed to watch silently. It was too dark for photos – I really saw only silhouettes. Five does, not all that big.

This morning I can see they mostly munched on cactus. They really mow down the cactus with the fewest spines. A better armed cactus next to their feeding spot was not touched.

Untouched!

They came within about 30 feet of the house and nibbled on the juniper. Spiny cactus and juniper – not a tasty meal in my opinion, but high in fiber.

We watched for almost half an hour. And today I’ll water the cactus to help it recover.

Nibbled Juniper

Mud Mountain Formations

Donna Catterick — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 15:02:35 +0000

I’ve seen these formations in the Mud Springs Mountains over the years and I still don’t know if they are crystal formations or fossils. I’d like to think they’re fossils, but it’s not really a voting situation.

The overall length of the crystalline part is about 8 inches.

Do you know what this is?

On Dad’s 97th Birthday

Donna Catterick — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:30:33 +0000

My Dad was a salesman, which is sort of an entertainer. Always the nice guy, always “on”. Maybe that’s why I like this photo of him, rather pensive, not concerned with what others thought at the moment. Not selling anything.

It’s his birthday today – and Groundhog Day too! He would have been 97.

On Grandpa Claycomb’s Birthday

Donna Catterick — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 12:29:14 +0000

He was born 126 years ago in Illinois.

Grandpa Claycomb’s Diaries

Donna Catterick — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:07:57 +0000

I am rich. I don’t have much money, but I have family diaries and photographs.

My grandfather kept diaries and ledgers. It might my favorite thing about him. He died when I was 12, so I didn’t really know him. But as I read his diaries they fill in his life for me.

The first one that we have is from 1900 when he was 13. For me even just these few early entries give a idea of his rural life.

Monday, Jan 1, 1900

The weather is not so cold today as it has been.

I went skating today for the first time this winter.

Mrs. Hill made some candy this afternoon.

Today is Charles Townsend’s birthday. Mary and Will came out tonight and stayed quite a long time.

Wednesday, Jan 3, 1900

It has been very nice today. It was 20º above zero.

I sold 65 sparrows for Rob Dennis and got 10¢ for it.

There was a breakdown up town the wheel being broken off a buggy.

Grandma has been sick but is very much better today.

Thursday, Jan 4, 1900

The weather was nice and warm today, the thermometer being 40º.

I drove the horse up town in the morning instead of up to Grandma’s and forgot him at noon and had to go back after him.

Friday, Jan 5, 1900

It has been a very nice day today. The thermometer was 50º above zero.

After school Louise, George and I went skating on the west creek. I tumbled down somewhere near a hundred times.

Papa has almost got the grip and is very sick.

Saturday, Jan 6, 1900

It has been almost raining all day. It was not really rain but something like a fog.

I peddled bills today and made a quarter. After I got through peddling I went down to Frank Lossman’s and played goals down. I finished reading the last of the Waverly novels today.

These are a couple of pages from his 1904 ledger when he was 18. The first is for February 1904 – a few entries for candy and bowling. The second is a list of books he read for the year.

Then there are some from his days at the University of Illinois at Champaign. He was quite social and enjoyed vaudeville and sports. Here’s a typical Saturday:

Saturday, January 9, 1909

Amos Claycomb 1909

Studied at the library for a little over an hour this a.m. Saw “The Royal Chef” at the Illinois this p.m. with Burch, Pope and Fat Hazelwood. Took Helen J. to see a basketball game between the varsity and Indiana after supper which former won by a score of 30-2. Attended inter-fraternity smoker at the Armory after that.

And then there’s one of my favorite entries:

Wednesday, February 24, 1909

Nothing doing.

And some from when he farmed in Wildorado, Texas near Amarillo.

Wednesday, June 22, 1910

Started to head my wheat today. Am hiring six mules to run the header and am hiring one team besides my own two to run three header barges. There are two men at the stack, three on the barges, one to load them, and the driver of the header.

And one of the first times he rode in an automobile:

Wednesday, September 15, 1909

In Amarillo all day. Came out to Wildorado tonight in a machine with Albert Richards and a couple of other fellows. We did the 22 miles in just 41 minutes.

As you can see, the entries were not long. Usually two or three lines – one about the weather, one summarizing his activity, and when I’m lucky, a comment on another subject. But still taken all together they give a picture of his life.

Here’s my standard lecture on the subject of diaries: Wouldn’t you love to have descriptions of your grandfather’s daily life – just the ordinary things: what he ate, what he wore, where he went and how he got there? And yet, do we keep a diary like this? I tend to write about the ‘important’ things. My life is so different from what my grandchildren’s lives will be. Even young folks today don’t know rotary phones, let alone party lines! My grandfather writes about the first time he rode in a machine (automobile) and when he got a radio. It put his life in context. And I’m grateful for his efforts.

I’ll post excerpts every once in a while.

Mom’s Crocheted Pot Holders

Donna Catterick — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:39:37 +0000

Done with the help of Kim Klassen’s Awaken texture and Brittney Murphy’s font Of Wildflowers and Wings from dafont.com.

My Childhood Home

Donna Catterick — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:21:14 +0000

Here’s another textured photo project. This is a photo from the 1940s of my childhood home with my brother and sister in the front yard. It’s a small picture to begin with so I didn’t want to crop it much. And I like the wide driveway, but there was a bit too much open space. I decided to add our address back then, back before street numbers and zip codes. What do you think?