Happy Easter!

Happy Easter ! And God's Peace to One and All!

April in Talladega

In two weeks, sister Rebecca and I are going to the Spring homes tour, 

April in Talladega.  

Idlewild

We have gone a few times in the past, and it is a great weekend of touring homes, gardens,  and churches, and enjoying delicious lunches and beautiful receptions. Rebecca and I are especially looking forward to an event that will be held at Heritage Hall Museum.

The April in Talladega 2015 website says that there will be a tribute to Robert Weaver. I am looking into this so I can report more about this next week. Our Weaver family lost Uncle Robert this past November, and the city of Talladega lost a very active citizen who loved his town. It should be an interesting display of items from his shoe store.

A very unique opportunity is the "Ghosts of Talladega Cemetery Tour," where big characters of Talladega's past come to life and tell their stories in Oak Hill Cemetery.

Two years ago The Ghost Tour started about 5:30…perfect timing too. After a full day of walking, you are just tired enough to let your imagination get away with you as you hear these tales.

Doesn't this look like fun? 

These reenactors were great! 

 Also on that year's schedule, the tour included a drive down Highway 21 to Plank Road Station in Winterboro for barbecue,  music, and an outdoor art festival. 

  We even stopped by the Kymulga Grist Mill and Covered Bridge on the way.

This was interesting…some ladies were decorating the bridge for a wedding that afternoon.
We were just a few hours too early. Wouldn't it have been great to see a wedding on a covered bridge?

If you are looking for a great way to enjoy the coming of Spring, check out the link, 

April in Talladega, to learn more about the homes on the tour this year, and come join us. It is great fun. Wear your walking shoes and bring your camera. Talladega is a hidden gem in this beautiful state of Alabama. 

"Courtesy is a War Casualty"

Have you been honked at lately? Seen someone run a stop sign? I remember after September 11,  2001 people became kinder and more considerate as they drove past their neighbors. People were patient and more respectful to others that they passed in the grocery store. Now, it seems like drivers are falling back into the bad habits of honking and and being rude. Today I saw a truck with a trailer pull out in front of an oncoming car, and my heart stopped. 

 I think we thought it was a 21st century problem, but in reading through Grandfather Weaver's scrapbook, I found this article written during World War II that addresses the same issue. There is no reference or note telling what publication he cut this article from or any mention of the writer. The typeset resembles some of the Baptist publications he clipped from and glued into his scrapbook from the 1940's.  I think I will retype this so we will not miss a word!

But first, to paraphrase John Claypool, "Smile at others. It may be the only smile that  the person you pass by receives."

COURTESY IS A WAR CASUALTY

It is clear that courtesy has become a very conspicuous war casualty. Which is surely a great calamity. For nothing else so oils the machinery of living and lessens the sense of strain and stress as does courtesy. Especially does one miss the general presence of courtesy in the market places. 

Before the war men were treated with friendly regard and expressions of appreciation and gratitude were frequent. In the past generation business houses everywhere invariably vied with each other in extending consideration to their customers. Now people are not only ignored but are often treated as if they had given offense.

Of course, the customer is not needed now as he was needed, say, during the recent depression. Today there are too many customers and too few of those who would serve him. Rationing is an excellent thing but the time it takes and its repeated explanations are annoying procedures. Nerves are under pressure, help is inexperienced and hard to get and keep. 

These are all excuses of a sort, but they are not valid reasons for discourteous treatment. The cold but kindly truth is that it takes no more time to be pleasant than it does to be unpleasant. As a matter of fact, it takes less energy to be amiable than it does to be disagreeable. Courtesy is a creature that carries its own reward along with it. It is constructive in its nature and as helpful to the giver as it in to the recipient. 

It is worth money to be courteous and kind. Agreeableness will sell more real estate, cigars, groceries, dry goods, furniture, insurance, than any amount of argumentative salesmanship. Just be pleasant and one can walk away with a contract right under the nose of the argumentative man who knows it all. 

The courteous man is like the shade of a big tree on a hot day. He is like love when one is lonesome, a bed when one is tired, food when one is hungry, and money when one is broke. Our advice to everybody these nerve-wracking war days is to try to be pleasant and see what happens. It may teach certain lessons that will be wonderfully helpful when the next depression comes-as come it will.

Strike a Pose!

My mother's birthday is next week, March 26. She would have been 83 years old. In looking through my grandmother's photo albums, these pictures stood out to me! All of these poses were taken during  Mama's early years! I guess the main thought that I take away from this--other than how cute these pictures are!- is that parents everywhere have always loved taking pictures of their children! We love to capture every minute, every expression, and of course every event in a photo.  So whenever I feel overwhelmed by all of my albums and all of the "double prints" (do you remember that craze?), I will remember this post. Whether there are 20 pictures of someone or 2000 pictures, they are each priceless! Each picture tells a story. I am thankful to have in my care some of the photo albums and scrapbooks of our Weaver family, and I love sharing the story.

Nancy Lee Harper DeWine

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

For all of us with a little "Luck O' the Irish" running through our veins, here is a well-loved blessing to bring cheer to all this week.

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face;

the rains fall soft upon your fields,

and until we meet again,

may God hold you in the palm of His hand. 

The USS Sawfish and a Scrapbook Find

USS Sawfish

  Good Morning, Family Trails readers. I thought it would be nice to once again delve into some of the articles that our Grandfather Weaver glued into his scrapbook. 

Note: If you think you have seen this picture before in our family blog, you are right! I used it by mistake in the post, USS Talladega. I have now posted the correct photograph of the Talladega on that post. 

This article is about Lieutenant Commander E. T. Sands, of the USS Sawfish during WWII.  Sands mentions the Weaver family in his letter to the Talladega paper. 

Grandfather Weaver's scrapbook is a capsule full of historic events like this article. His newspaper clippings bring the history books and the movies to life. Even the parts of the articles that were cut off look interesting! I would love to have read the next article in this clipping, "Will Send Cows to Europe." That is definitely an aspect of war I have never considered! 

March

As we do each month on our Family Trails, we recognize and remember the children of Nettie and Sisson Weaver. This month we remember two of the Weaver children. 

The first is  Ella Ivera Weaver Harper, nicknamed "Bo." Bo is my maternal grandmother. She was born in 1896 and died in 1994, one month before her 98th birthday. Good health and a long life were traits of the Weaver children. 

I love this little picture of my grandmother. Each of these children had a photograph made when they were about 4 or 5 years old. The pictures have a painted look to each of them. I have had this little  picture of my grandmother most of my life, probably because I am named for her, and I have always been intrigued by it. There is something odd about it though…. I have stared at it many times without determining what it could be. Finally, I think I have solved the mystery. Are her shoes on the wrong feet? Or did the photographer paint the shoes incorrectly? I guess I will never know, and it really doesn't matter…I just love the picture. 

And who wouldn't love to claim this lady as their grandmother! 

What great photos and such sassy poses! 

I know I have used this picture before, but I just love it! 

Standing: Ivera "Bo" and Tennison "Rat"
Sitting: Lora "Tee", Lassie "Lallie", and Kiser

The other March birthday we have to celebrate is Issac Tenison Weaver, famously known as "Uncle Rat." If you have followed our family blog from the first post, The Scrapbook you may remember that we mentioned having an "Uncle Rat," and here is the best part… his wife was called "Aunt Kat!" 

Uncle Rat was the last of the 10 children of Nettie and Sisson. I wrote in a previous blog post about the melodic names that each child was given. There is a family legend about Uncle Rat's name. By the time the tenth child arrived, Grandfather Weaver had run out of names, so he named his tenth child-a son-"Tenison!" It has since become a favorite name in our large, extended family. 

Here is a great picture of Issac Tenison, as a cheerleader at Talladega High School. I found it in some things of Uncle Rat's that were in the box with Grandfather Weaver's scrapbooks. What a great picture! 

Uncle Rat

1909-2001

Here is a picture of Kiser, Dewey, and Tenison Weaver from the Talladega Daily Home. I do not have a date with this picture. I imagine this picture was used in an article about the Weaver brothers and their long-standing businesses on the square in town. 

The Weaver family is a very fortunate family. We have a treasure-trove of family memories. These family stories and pictures are more valuable than any amount of riches or fame. These are the stories that remind us of who we are and where we came from. They offer comfort, laughter, and courage. Looking back and remembering gives us these gifts so that we can then look forward with optimism and and a strong sense of who we are. 

Love, 

Mariellan

Please come back next "Weaver Wednesday" for more Family Trails.