Smith-Hedrick Newsletter
May 2000
- Inside this issue -
- Uncle Wayne's Column
- Reunion Puzzle
- Poem by Glenda Jones
- Announcements
- Pat Goes to Europe (part 2)
- Hatcher 'n Helen's Farm
- What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?
- Checklist
- Uncle Wayne's Column
Almost that time again, and things are picking up around here with pre-reunion activity. I hope all of you already have reservations for sleeping accommodations or such as you may require. Feel free if you need to contact me for info on anything, but you should hurry. From now forward places fill up fast and you may not be able to find a place in town.
The reunion, of course, is on the 8th of July, and will be at the pavilion where we were last year. We will try to start getting things in order so you should be able to visit by 10 a.m. We will have to be out by 5 p.m. and will plan to keep whatever food is left over from noon for snacks during the afternoon. That will allow those who want to go swim or play and then come back for another round of visits and such food as is left.
ON FRIDAY night, the 7th, we will have a place for folks to get together and visit and eat. Last year we had that here at the house and enjoyed about 40 of you taking advantage of that. Too much work for old folks! This is complicated somewhat by Helen's family having a reunion the week before, so we get two in a row. To alleviate that some, we will have the Friday evening event this year in a conference room at the Greers Ferry Lake State Bank on Highway 25B in Heber Springs. That is across from Price Chopper grocery, and near Wal-Mart (everyone can find that!). We will start at 6 pm and go until about 10, or until everyone leaves. We will have finger foods and drinks, and perhaps some sandwiches. If you want to bring something to contribute to the food line, pick up some Chip and Dip, cookies, favorite drinks or such. If you don't want to bring something, please come visit with us anyway.
ON FRIDAY afternoon at 1 p.m. the famous Golf Tournament will tee off at the Lost Creek Golf Club course. We played there last year, but there are some changes being made and we are hoping all of those are completed by tournament time. This year we will have a two-person best ball scramble, only with some changes from our first year. We will match players by handicap in an attempt at evening things up a bit so everyone has a chance. Those of you who are good will have to put up with some creep like me, while I can look forward to having a really good partner! Come with your handicap in hand, or a good estimate of what you might expect to shoot. Honor system, so be fair!
REUNION TIME will see a buffet lunch (no fee, but donations appreciated!) followed by giving out the golf trophies, a White Elephant sale, perhaps some genealogy reports, etc. For the White Elephant sale, bring your goodies if you have such to auction off, and lots of money to buy what others bring. This is to raise money for the Newsletter, so be as generous as you can!
DRAWING for a door prize will be held, and you must be present and have registered to win! No sneak previews on what it will be, but it will be there to be seen by all before drawing time.
SO - on your mark, get set, and come to the Smith-Hedrick reunion!!
Wayne
Contact Wayne Smith
Here is a little puzzle for you. The words listed below remind you what you'll experience at the Reunion. Find the words inside the puzzle and mark through the letters you find. The remaining letters will reveal a special message.
F A M I L Y H R E U N G I O N J S U L Y E H E B E R E S P R I N E G D S J A B S A N X R Y F M Q R E T R W T J B E R F L N F I S U K E L E P H A N T I G C G E A T L S D S G L N W M K N Y N T M C Q F M X O M U A C H S T W I D I R I P G X N F G A O W J Z H V P T L Y X P F S R G M V F Z W O H F H X A P B E T W E X R E C D U O X V E Z J O C L W T Q U H K B O G S V B A O I T Q T R E D H L D X T Z U Z Q M G Y B O C I N Q S G S M I I V F Z V E T R A B D Look for these words in the puzzle: ARKANSAS
ELEPHANT
FAMILY
FOOD
FUN
GENEALOGY
HEDRICK
HOME
PICTURES
SMITH
WHITE
Write in secret message below: __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ 8 __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
Acceptable Reunion Transportation
Dark Crossings
A poem by Glenda Duckworth Jones
Two ships on opposing journeys
Can cross on a darkling sea,
Not knowing or ever thinking
Of things that will never be.
Across the watery darkness, a signal?
No, it's too far.
Perhaps it's imagination,
Or a gleam from the evening star.
The moon lays a silvery pathway
On the dancing waves between.
It almost seems a connection,
But it's only "might have been".
On both there are lights and music,
But distance grows the more.
They pass in shadowed silence
To Harbor on opposite shores.
Is it Fate, or is it happenstance
That draws the mystic cart?
For two who pass in darkness
And anchor a lifetime apart.
Return to Inside This Issue.
Announcements -
Laura Nell married James Trenton Wright, first born of James and Alicia (Quackenbush) Wright, on Feb. 12, 2000, in Idaville, (White County), Indiana.
Laura Nell is the daughter of Winton and Valorie Dale Walls. Valorie is the daughter of Charles and Laura Belle (Hinshaw) Winiarz.
Thanks to:
Roberta Reynolds and Glenda Jones for newsletter donations!
On this Memorial Day, as we remember our loved ones, consider a donation to these two cemeteries where so many family members are buried:
Bobby & Linda Bridges
Holobaugh Cemetery Fund
267 Lawrence, #203
Imboden, AR 72434
And
Bobbie Jean
Kelly Cemetery Fund
P.O. Box 718
Imboden,AR 72434
Pat Goes to Europe (Or How Did a Girl from Arkansas Travel So Far From Home?)
(This is a continuation of a story from the Feb. issue. Pat had arrived at her sister Karen's apartment in Den Hague, The Netherlands)
On Wednesday morning, Karen needed to check in at the office for a few hours so I slept in and watched the working people running about the street. The police still travel in horse drawn wagons. There were six in a wooden wagon which couldn't have been very comfortable. Most of the people ride bicycles. Gas is a premium so they keep fit (and warm) by pedaling to work, etc. This also reduces the amount of groceries they can carry home!
I watched a little Dutch tv which is in English for the most part. They have several programs where ordinary people are interviewed about their lives. It reminded me of Ed TV. Pretty boring but kind of like watching a train wreck. You are drawn to it and can't turn away.
When Karen got home, we decided female bonding was in order. After fortifying ourselves with Belgian chocolates, we went shopping.
Prices were marked in guilders and Eurodollars which were easy for me to figure. I think we checked out every store in the downtown area. There are no malls like we know them and certainly no Wal-Mart! That was what we really needed.
We had drinks in a bar Karen had found. A tree grew from the center up through the roof and the proprietor spoke English. They had American beer and lots of English reading material. Then we met two of her co-workers at a place which served barbequed ribs. The owners ran two restaurants out of the same kitchen so delivery of orders was always iffy.
The next morning we set out for the Peace Palace. It is a lovely building just down the street from her apartment where countries settle border disputes and other problems as ordered by the United Nations. The building was started by a donation from Czar Nicholas II and there is a lot of beautiful artwork donated by countries aound the world. The hallways are decorated with tiles donated by schoolchildren from all over Holland. The United States donated a beautiful female sculpture where we took pictures. It was breathtaking.
On Friday morning , we set out for Delft. I was looking forward to seeing a windmill and coveting all the lovely blue plates. We hopped a tram and traveled a few miles without leaving the city that I could tell. I got to see one windmill along the way but it was practically on the tracks! The trams or cable cars run throughout the country so traveling is cheap and easy. We jumped off at our stop and walked a few blocks to the main shopping district. It was a town square built around a beautiful church called the Nieuwe Kerk or New Church. It was completed in 1496. I won't even tell you how old the Oude Kerk (Old Church) is. Anyway, there are 40 members of the Royal Dutch family buried in its vaults beginning with Prince William of Orange.
A village market was arranged in the square. Food, clothing, material, farm implements were offered for sale. We headed for the tram carrying our tourist treasures.
After unloading at the apartment, we hopped on the train for Amsterdam. What an exciting and metropolitan city. Just about anything you might want is available. Ask me about it at the reunion - I don't want to shock anyone here.
The Rijks Museum houses many Rembrandt paintings which we stared at for several hours. The famous "Nightwatch" is on one wall. Well worth the trip. We ate at an Indonesian restaurant. I told you they had everything!
The next day was Saturday and we headed for the beach. Again, the tram carried us up the coast to a place called Scheveningen. Apparently only the natives can pronounce it correctly which is how they smoked out the Nazi infiltrators in the Dutch underground during World War II. There is an "r" in it someplace. Don't ask me where. The place is famous as a resort to cure what ails you. The attendants used to transport the bathers into the water surrounded by sheets to keep the wind from blowing on them. I am not making this up. The beach faces the North Sea which is brisk to say the least.
That evening Karen took me across the street to see the Panorama Mesdag which was a circular painting of the area we had just visited. Apparently these types of paintings were quite the rage around the turn of the century. We entered through a circular stairway and walked around the room to observe the entire painting. I felt we were back in Scheveningen.
The next morning, were were up bright and early, met our taxicab and headed for the train station. We took the Thalys to Paris and Charles de Gaulle airport. A group of French school children on spring break sat behind me on the way back. They managed to kick the back of my seat all the way to Chicago. At least I got to watch 2 movies! Au revoir!
Return to Inside This Issue.
Continuing series introduced in the Feb. 2000, issue of the newsletter.
January 22, 1989
Dear Grandmother:
When I read the letters that the other grandchildren had written, I saw why you thought this project was so important. It brought back memories that I hardly seem to have time for anymore. Pictures from years ago come back so clearly. Baseball in the front yard, ponies teasing children and children teasing ponies. Playing and hiding in the hay stack. Swinging in the front yard and racing with Lobo. And the excitement of large family get-togethers, when you could see friends and kin you hadn't seen in maybe a year.
All these things come to mind, and they bring with them a smile and a warm feeling. But you asked for our own personal memories from the farm, and mine are different than these. These were special events, but because I was so close to the farm I remember the lifestyle more clearly than I do the holiday events. I remember a woman who loved and cherished a man. A woman who raised a family by showing love and responsibility. I remember a man who loved and cherished a woman. A man that raised a wonderful family by doing whatever needed to be done for their benefit. A family of children and grandchildren who look at that couple with love and respect through the years.
I also remember a man who found a place he could call his own, a place where he was happy to just be. When I think of contentment, of peace of mind, I think of Granddad in the field with his cattle. I also think of a woman in the kitchen preparing a meal, or working on a quilt. A woman happy with her husband, her family, her home.
Today I realize that the "farm" was not a place. It was family, people, and a way of life. Now when I look around, I find myself measuring the rest of the world with that yardstick and I realize how special it all was.
My special memory? It is of a warm spring day. Granddad is rocking, half asleep, on the front porch. Lobo has sneaked onto the porch and is asleep at his feet. Sounds of pots and dishes rattling are coming from inside the house. The smell of roast beef, cornbread, beans, and peach cobbler drifts on the soft spring breeze. Then a call comes from the kitchen. "Smith-en!"
Love, Terry
(This is from Terry Smith, Hershel and Betty Smith's son. Why aren't you writing for the newsletter, Terry?)
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What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? This was supposed to start a new series and all we have is a blank space. Please send your story about life during wartime. We want to understand what you life was like during WWII, Korean Conflict, and Vietnam. Each story is different and we want to read yours.
CHECKLIST:
__ Pick out a White Elephant auction item.
__ Write a story for the newsletter.
__ Find any pictures taken at last year's reunion.
__ Clean up your golf clubs.
__ Come to the Smith-Hedrick Family Reunion.
That's All Folks!
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