Rodney Dewey

Rodney B. (Zeke) Dewey, 58, of East Haven died suddenly September 28, 2009 in St. Johnsbury. He was born in Saranac Lake, NY on October 21, 1950, to Dorothy (Bush) Dewey and the late Robert Dewey. On December 16, 1995, he married Catherine Ann Guy who survives him. Mr. Dewey graduated from Benn High School, Bennington, VT and entered into the United States Air Force where he was a sergeant, paratrooper, and a member of the Combat Control Team during the Vietnam War. He was a lumber inspector for Mountain City Lumber Company in Mountain City, TN and Cersiumo Lumber in Brattleboro, VT. Among his hobbies, he enjoyed hunting, fishing, the outdoors, and working in the woods. He was an at-large member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He is survived by his wife, Catherine Ann Guy of East Haven, his mother Dorothy Dewey of Bennington, his children: Robin Dewey of Las Vegas, NV; Bambi Baca of Las Vegas, NV, and Nadezda Dewey of Chugiak, AK; two grandchildren: Orion and Meia Baca, Las Vegas, NV; a step-son Jason Guy of Nashville, TN; a step-daughter Debbie Phipps and her husband Jimmy of Trade, TN; and many very special friends. He is survived by the following brothers and sisters: Ned Dewey and his wife, Colleen of Bennington; Bobby Dewey and his wife, Patty of Bennington; Sandra Sullivan and companion, Lee Zimmer of Rensselaer, NY; Brad Dewey and his wife, Cathy of Wesley Chapel, FL; Debbie Kiernan and her husband, Rick of Slate Hill, NY; and Julia Kraus and her husband, Andrew of Westfield, MA; and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his father, Robert B. Dewey. Military honors will be held at 12 Noon at his home 2040 VT Rt. 114 in East Haven on Saturday, October 3, 2009, followed by a celebration of his life at 2:00 P.M. at the Dewey’s Camp on Simpson Road in East Haven. Should friends desire, contributions in his memory may be made to the Disabled American Veterans Association, c/o Winston Dowland, Whittier Road, Derby Line, VT 05830. Online condolences may be sent to the family through the funeral home website at www.curtis-britch-converse-rushford.com. Arrangements are entrusted to the care of Curtis-Britch-Converse-Rushford Funeral Home, locally family owned and operated.

News

Due to the sudden unexpected death of my brother in law, Rodney Dewey, in East Haven Vermont I will not be posting to this blog for a few days. I am making plans to go east to Vermont and South to Tennessee. I will save my writings in Live Writer and post when I have the time. Thanks for your patience.

Blackberry Memories

Well, this is my first post in LiveWriter - we will see how it goes --

It’s a little past blackberry picking time but I was thinking about how we used to go blackberry picking and how we would come home with buckets full of blackberries to be canned or made into jam or jelly. The canned blackberries would be used for making blackberry cobblers in the winter. There’s nothing better than a warm blackberry cobbler on a cold snowy day in the middle of January. It makes you remember the hard work that went into picking those berries but that cobbler tastes so good you can’t wait for berry picking time again.

Sometimes we would make jam or jelly from the blackberries. Here’s an old fashioned easy way to make blackberry jelly.

You wash your berries and put berries in a very large pot and just cover with cold water. Boil for approximately 1 to 1 and 1/2 hours. You should now have a wonderfully purple colored water. Strain berries through a seive or cheesecloth into a separate large pot. Discard strained berries.For every 6 cups of juice, add 6 cups of white sugar.(or if you get 12 cups juice, add 12 cups of water...keep ratio the same for the number of cups of juice you get.) Boil this mixture until you can no longer stir the foam down. Then boil for about 7 minutes longer. Test on a spoon for jell. It's ready when it adheres to the spoon. Pour hot jell into clean canning jars, wipe the rim with a damp cloth, seal with lid and turn upside down immediately on clean folded towels until cool. Turn upright. When you do this and touch the center of the lid, the center should depress and stay there. If it doesn't, better eat this jelly right away. Otherwise, take the jelly jars to the can house until you’re ready for that next jelly biscuit.

That's it for today!

A Poem

Well, a while ago I wrote about clotheslines and I recieved this poem in an email. I have no idea who the author is or I would certainly give him or her credit. I liked it so much I am posting it for you!

A POEM

A clothesline was a news forecast

To neighbors passing by.

There were no secrets you could keep

When clothes were hung to dry.

It also was a friendly link

For neighbors always knew

If company had stopped on by

To spend a night or two.

For then you'd see the "fancy sheets"

And towels upon the line;

You'd see the "company table cloths"

With intricate designs.

The line announced a baby's birth

From folks who lived inside -

As brand new infant clothes were hung,

So carefully with pride!

The ages of the children could

So readily be known

By watching how the sizes changed,

You'd know how much they'd grown!

It also told when illness struck,

As extra sheets were hung;

Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,

Haphazardly were strung.

It also said, "Gone on vacation now"

When lines hung limp and bare.

It told, "We're back!" when full lines sagged

With not an inch to spare!

New folks in town were scorned upon

If wash was dingy and gray,

As neighbors carefully raised their brows,

And looked the other way . . ...

But clotheslines now are of the past,

For dryers make work much less.

Now what goes on inside a home

Is anybody's guess!

I really miss that way of life.

It was a friendly sign

When neighbors knew each other best

By what hung on the line!

On another note my face is totally red!! When I spoke of Sweet P's Quilting and Creations yesterday I totally overlooked giving the link to her blog. So here it is http://sweetp-paulette.blogspot.com/. Be sure to check it out. Even if you're not a quilting fan - you will absolutely love the photography!!

That's it for today!

Sweet P

Well, yesterday I blogged about some of the many blogs I read and what my RVer friends are doing and where they're going. Today's blog has a little bit different twist.

I am not a quilter but I wanabe. One of the blogs I read is Paulette's Quilting blog. She calls it Sweet P Quilting and Creations. She is a very experienced quilter and has lots of photos on her blog. She also has a whole list of other blogs that other blogging friends write. Now I have been around quilts all my life and have seen many hand stitched from beginning to end but I have never seen as many in the same place!

She writes a very interesting story as well as great photos. I love to hear about her trips to garage sales. She always does something interesting with her finds. She is very creative. Here is a quilt she made from used shirts from thrift stores.

Recently she had a photo of a yo yo quilt. I remember my grandmother making one of those by hand. It took a long time. My favorite quilt my grandmother made was grandmother's flower garden. That was some 55 years ago. I wonder whatever happened to it.

She is having a Giveaway with a book, pattern and fabric to make a wall hanging. I left her a comment, added my name to her list of followers (she doesn't know I have been following her from day one) and now I have mentioned her in my current blog. That gets me three chances to win the prize. It would be a great start to a "Quilting Habit" -- I hope I win!!

If you get a chance check out her blog --- Tell her Jenny sent ya!

That's it for today!

On The MOOOVe!!

Well, the birthday hoopla is over and now it is back to finding something to write about. As everyone knows I read a lot of blogs. It is a sure sign of fall because a lot of my friends are on the MOOOve!!

Ellie, Jim, Dortha, and Mark, have picked up Deb and Rod and they are traveling in tandem through Oregon. Now that's the way to do it -- take your friends with you --- Hey!! Wait guys!! You left me back here in Spokane........

Gordon and his lovely bride Juanita are so in love with the Oregon Coast they extended their stay there in order to soak up a little more sunshine and "catch another wave or two".

Jesse and Ginger just finished their workcamping gig in New York and are moving toward the Southwestern portion of the USA.

Ed and Marilyn are soon headed for Indiana and meeting Jesse and Ginger there before heading toward South Texas.

Joy and Jay are headed for my hometown of Mountain City Tennessee after spending the summer in Alaska. They came right through Spokane - but guess where I was?? Mountain City Tennessee!!

Kevin and Arlene just picked up their new 5th wheel and are embarking to Florida on their way to their new adventure.

Doug and JoAnn and "My #1 poodle" Fillmore are also in Florida.

The Wishnies just finished a great wildlife tour in Yellowstone.

Larry and LeeAnn were in Montana on their way north to Canada.

When you're reading blogs you learn a lot about your friends. ----Speedy and Rollie found not only can they camp together they can also "dump together" without incident.

Linda and Howard had dinner in a brothel.

Dee and Jim have ordered a new fifth wheel.

Fred isn't afraid of bears or Buffalo!!

Al of the Bayfield bunch has a morning shake called "Sounds Yukky - Tastes Yummy".

Odell hides the brownies in the dryer.

Suzy hides her drinking glasses in the oven.

Jim and Linda are in West Virginia on their way to "parts unknown".

Sandra and Gordon are nearing the end of their six months in Canada and travels back to the USA.

"Pa" (Darrell) and Ms Judy are at home in Michigan visiting relatives. Well I should say their "old homeplace" 'cause now their home is wherever they are parked.

Gypsy is having repairs done in Kansas. Another mini gathering with her and Mac, Lynette , Paul and Mary is in the near future.

Bob, Molly, Donna and Keith are meeting at the Gypsy Gathering in Ohio.

These are but a few of the people I keep up with on a daily basis. Thanks guys for letting me travel with you as you move about. I will be out there with you real soon!!

That's it for today.

Day After!!

My Official Birthday Photo 2009

Well, my birthday has come and gone, thanks to all of my friends who sent me Happy Birthday wishes, phone calls, cards and presents. I appreciate you all!!!

One of my favorite commments came from my friend Sandra!!

Happy birthday tomorrow, Jenny! May your 24th birthday tomorrow be as happy as your 24th birthday last year!

Here's the official birthday photo from last year!! Thanks again Phyllis!!

I have been celebrating my birthday for weeks now. I celebrated with a fish fry at my favorite fish restaurant "The Mayflower" in Tennessee with family, then I celebrated with my friends at Hardee's and when the "Big Day" finally came I got to spend it with the GrandGirls at the Spokane Interstate Fair. We had a wonderful day with all the exhibits and the animals, hot dogs, funnel cakes and cotton candy.

The theme of the fair was "Something to Crow About" The Grand Girls thought Grandma's birthday was really "Something to Crow About".



Here's my favorite latest photo of the "Grand Girls". Thanks, girls for making my birthday special and for my throw which will keep me warm when I take a nap!!


I recieved this photo from my brother and his family. Another one of my favorites!!!

My chatroom friends threw me a party in the chatoom and a good time was had by all!!

Some of my RV friends in Texas surprised me with a telephone call and "their" rendition of Happy Birthday!! Thanks to all of you! Mike, Speedy, Don, Rollie, Gina, Sherri, Cheryl and Leslie!!

My 24th birthday this year was made special by all of you. Thanks so much.

That's it for today.

Happy Birthday To Me!!!!

It's My Birthday!!!!

Well, it was sixty three years ago today, my father took his shotgun and went out into the woods and bagged himself a squirrel. He placed it in a flour sack and carried it home to make squirrel stew. Upon his arrival, his mother told him the news --he had a brand new baby girl and asked him what her name would be. He looked at the squirrel and the name on the sack and said

"Virginia Rose".

That's the story of how I got my name and maybe - just maybe -- that accounts for why I am a

"Little Squirrely"

Thanks Dad! That's it for today.

My Birthplace

Well, when I was in Mountain City one of the things I had on my "to do" list was a visit to the house of my birth. I have told and retold the story of my birth and how I got my name and I just wanted to see if the house was as I remembered it.

It was in the mid forties when my mother and dad bought the house. It is my understanding that it was co-owned with my Granny Holloway. She owned a "place" in Hatley Hollar at Butler and when the TVA was buying up the property to make way for Watauga Lake her place was one that was in the way and had to be moved. The TVA bought her land and she invested it in the twenty acres on Shupetown Road known as the "Shupe Place".

The house in Hatley Hollar was torn down and moved to Shupetown Road and the lumber used to build the barn. Getting the lumber there was quite the process. Because the house was down in the holler the lumber had to be dragged by horse and sled up to the main road and then it was transported by horse and wagon some 10 to 15 miles to the new house. The barn was built from this. Quite a few family members as well as some neighbors helped in the hauling and the building.

My memories of the house itself are not very clear. I remember the porch. It seemed we were always on the porch. It was raining one day and my sister and I were playing on the porch and I pushed her off the end right into a mudpuddle. I also remembered the house had a fireplace. When my sister and I were small I had my favorite pair of shoes. One day my mother put my shoes on my sister. Evidently I was upset about it because I bit her toe right through the shoe. .

I also remember walking home from my other grandparents house just across the hill. I spent a lot of time with them and my great grandma who also lived there. My mother and dad would come and take me home and a couple hours later my great grandma would send my brother over on the horse to get me. I can remember riding across the hill on the horse. We always had to stop by the spring to give the horse a drink of water and to pick up apples.

I didn't know if anyone still lived there so I coerced my sister June to making the trip to see the house. The photo on my header is the house as seen from Shupetown Road. The house itself is located about a quarter to a half mile off the secondary road. The lane is narrow and continues to get even smaller. The wooden bridge across the creek had been replaced with a concrete one.

This field used to be a field for growing beans, corn, tobacco etc.
Lane gets smaller as you get closer
Underbrush covers the road
The house
The lady that currently owns the house was very gracious and told me to take all the photos I wanted. She added it probably didn't look the same because her late husband had done extensive remodeling to it. To me it didn't matter I was standing in the place of my birth.

She also explained there were a set of twins born in her bedroom with no doctor in sight. She was amazed when I told her there were five of us kids born in the house and my grandmother, a midwife, had delivered us all. She exclaimed, "Granny still lives here".

She says the neighbors had told her what a great person my Granny was . She says the house was so clean you could practically eat off the floor and nothing was ever out of place. She says that she hears my Granny walking from room to room upstairs and if the kitchen is the least bit messy she can hear her slamming the cupboard doors in the kitchen. Sometimes she will be looking for something she can't find and then she will turn around and it is right there. She also told me the barn had been standing until a giant windstorm last winter blew it down.

The Barn

This was a huge chestnut tree in the yard. It could have been the tree my sister and I were sitting under when we had our photo taken some 60 some years ago.

I had a look around. It still looked the same but it was different. The garden place was gone and the huge front yard we had was shrunk to almost nothing. The porch was cement and crowded with many unused items. The field behind the house was overgrown. There was one thing that wasn't different.

"Granny Still Lives Here"

In the words of my father, "That's it for today".

Happy Birthday Gordon's

Well, two of friends are having birthdays today and both are named Gordon.

Cyber friend Gordon (and his lovely wife Sandra) are full time RVers from Canada. They have the best of both worlds. They spend 6 months in USA and 6 months in Canada. I hope you have a wonderful birthday Gordon.

My other friend Gordon (and his lovely wife Juanita) are also full time RVers. They travel the USA and Canada and even last summer traveled all the way to Alaska. I had the absolutely wonderful privilege of meeting them last spring when they come through Spokane.

In honor of your birthday, Gordon I am posting a photo of two Virgos who were born only four days apart. Notice how much younger looking one is than the other.



Have an absolutely fantastic birthday Gordon!!!

That's it for today!

In Spokane

Mountain City, Tennessee

Well, I am Home again. Seems like I just left home and now here I am right back where I started. There were no photos because I inadvertenly packed my camera in my suitcase. The bus trip as well as the plane trip went off as planned. Even the shuttle was at the station to pick me up as planned. My three hour layover in Kansas City seemed so short. I was able to surf the net and that makes the time pass so quickly. My only beef with the flight was I had to again fly 300 miles west to Seattle and 300 miles east again to arrive in Spokane. I don't know why Southwest Airlines does that. This time I didn't have to get off the plane though. Arrival in Spokane was 10 minutes early. I was glad to get my feet on the terra firma.

I had a couple of comments about my "Clotheslines" post. One was asking if I remembered about the pole that held the clothesline in the middle. Well, yes I do. The pole in the middle was to keep the clean clothes from dragging on the ground. Sometimes it was a board with a notch cut in the middle and you put it under the clothesline t keep the bedsheets etc. from dragging the ground. My dad had gone out into the woods and cut down a "sapling" with a fork and that is what we used to hold up the clothes line. He cut it so the fork portion was what held up the clothesline.

The other question I had was: How do you hang socks on the line - by the toe or the top?

Well, the answer to that is by the toe of course. you could hang a pair by each clothespin. If you hung them by the tops you could only hang one at a time. Bobby socks were the "in" thing and if you hung them by the top you ended up with indentations in the top of your sock and you certainly couldn't go to school looking like that. If you ran out of clothespins before you got to the socks you just slung them across the line or laid them on a bush along with the rags and such.

I had another comment about another post where I had poked a little fun at my hometown of Mountain City. I love my hometown and am so happy I was able to grow up there. I love writing about my experiences there and believe me it was was not personal. I don't edit my writings nor do I use spell check (sometimes I think I should) but I write off the top of my head and the way it comes out is the way it comes out.

As bloggers we always leave ourselves in a very vulnerable state by publishing our thoughts, ideas, opinions, dreams, hopes & feelings on the web for anyone anywhere to read. I can tell you with all honesty there is no place I would rather be than Mountain City.

Keep those cards and letters comin' folks. I appreciate all your comments!!

That's it for today!!

Last Look Around Town

Well, wrapping up my time in Mountain City here is a few photos from around town.

Minature hollyhocks bloom against the house.

Marigolds in the flower garden
A portion of my brothers farm
The church I attended as a child

A visit to The Soda Shoppe for a burger and a coke.

<Limited seating: Three booths and seven stools

And A Jukebox">A Bean Tree
A Walk down Main Street

Plenty of seating here

This was then --- And this is now
Just one of the reasons I love Johnson County!!

The sign at the edge of town says "Hurry Back". No photo - I could not see for my tears.

That's it for today.

Clotheslines!!

Well, today is a busy day as I prepare to leave... so I thought I would share
THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINE with you. No doubt some of you can remember.

You have to be a certain age to appreciate this. I can hear my mother now....

THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES: (if you don't know what clotheslines are,
better skip this)

1. You had to wash the clothes line before hanging any clothes-walk the
entire lengths of each line with a damp cloth around the lines.

2. You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang "whites"
with "whites," and hang them first.

3. You never hung a shirt by the shoulders - always by the tail! What
would the neighbors think?

4. Wash day on a Monday! . . . Never hang clothes on the weekend, or
Sunday, for Heaven's sake!

5. Hang the sheets and towels on the outside lines so you could hide your
"unmentionables" in the middle (perverts & busybodies, y'know!)

6. It didn't matter if it was sub zero weather . . . Clothes would
"freeze-dry."

7. Always gather the clothes pins when taking down dry clothes! Pins left
on the lines were "tacky!"

8. If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so that each item did
not need two clothes pins, but shared one of the clothes pins with the next
washed item.

9. Clothes off of the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the clothes
basket, and ready to be ironed.

10. IRONED?! Well, that's a whole other subject!

and that's it for today.

Connected!!

Well, I have had a very enjoyable visit here in my hometown of Mountain City. One of the things that bothers me when I visit here that the internet connection is not the best. Packing everything up and going to Hardee's to use my high speed was kind of a pain. However, I seemed to have figured it out now.

When I changed my cell phone service I opted to buy a Blackbery Storm phone. Now I knew it would do eveything but the dishes and I wasn't sure if I could ever get all those little bells and whistles figured out. It was quite a learning curve and it was a lot different than my old "hand crank" cell phone. After some major hurdles I found you can teach "an old dog new tricks".

Before, I left Washington I had found out I could tether my laptop computer and my Blackberry cell phone together and I could have high speed intenet without leaving the house. I wasn't sure how good it would work here in the mountains of East Tennessee but I gotta tell you it is excellent!! I have high speed connection and in the two weeks I have been here I have only used 1 Gigabyte and I am allowed 5 Gigabytes per month. I couldn't be happier---

The weather here has been great for the most part. A little rain and lots of sunshine keep these mountains beautiful. As I reflect on the past two weeks here are some things I've done.

Lots of visiting with relatives

Connected with some old friends

Found some new ones

Gained a few pounds

Listened to lots of stories

Spent quality time with family

Explored old places

Watched the sunrise

Spent a day at the fair

Traveled some new roads

Had my fill of biscuits and gravy (well almost)

Found some bluegrass musicians

Ate fish in three different states

Got locked in the library

Visited with my North Carolina friends

Had some home cooked food straight from the garden

Visited some cemeteries

Celebrated my birthday (a little early)

Watched The Longhorns win at football

Visited the place of my birth and found my Granny still lives there.

As soon as I finish packing, I am planning on one last dinner out and memories to last until I come back again.

That's it for today.

Mountain City News and Fun

Well, here's all the news thats news and then some.

A farmer driving his combine down Main Street caused a traffic jam in downtown Mountain City.

You don't need a turn signal in Mountain City -- everyone knows where you're going anyway.

You can't get lost in Mountain City - Main Street dead ends in both directions.

Everyone reads the local paper here to make sure the publisher got the facts right.

Sign on Main Street Restaurant: Our restaurant is presently not open because it is closed.

_____________
Jim-Bob was over on Highway 91 and he had a flat tire. He pulled off to the side of the road. He got out and proceeded to put a bouquet of flowers in front of the car and one behind it. Then he got back into his car to wait for some help.

A guy from Florida passed by and saw him and was curious as to what he was doing. He turned around and went back and asked what the problem was.

Jim Bob said "I have a flat tire."

"But what's with the flowers?" asked the Floridian.

Jim Bob says, " When you break down they tell you to put flares in the front and flares in the back. I never did understand it neither."
______________
A Tennessee State Trooper pulled over a pick up truck.
The trooper says "Got any ID?"
The driver says, "'Bout what?"
___________________________________________________________________________ I started my day off right - At Hardee's. Here's Willis in the Drive Thru waiting for his breakfast.

and Juanita and Peggy who have already had theirs.

My twin sisters Mae and Faye

and my brother in law Ralph with his favorite sister in law.

We watched a rainstorm coming up the valley

All that rain keeps everything green.

I got a lesson on how to dig ginseng from Jay.






Found a tobacco field that was being cut.

The green in the background is tobaco waiting to be cut.

That's it for today.

"More Busy"

Well, I am still trying to catch up. Here are more photos of my visit to Mountain City.

In my last post I forgot my North Carolina friends, Lenaivell, Fran, sister June and myself went to Walmart. I am putting a visit to a Walmart in all 50 states on my "bucket list".
And my friend Jacky and I spent an afternoon together which included a tour of Tri State Growers which is the "local hot spot" for anything you need to use on the farm!!

A visit with my cousin Laura is always enjoyable. I treasure any time I get to spend with her. We love to talk about the good old days.

And I did get to "Go Home Again". This is the house I was born in. My Granny Holloway was the midwife and my dad named me after a sack of flour. I found out my "Granny" still lives there. If the house gets messy - she will let you know about it.

I love spending time with my brother, Doran. Loved the tractor ride, Thanks, Bro!!!

And then I went to the grocery store. My only problem was what kind of greens to fix for dinner. Do I get turnip greens, creasy greens, leaf spinach, kale greens, beet greens, mustard greens or mixed greens? Too many choices - So little time!!



A trip to the outhouse was definitely a must on my list of things to see and do

Spent some quality time with my best friend Jean and her mom, Sue. Her mother tells great stories and grows the prettiest flowers. She is really special.

Met some more childhood friends. Mary and I have been friends since grade school and still keep in touch.

and I met some new friends. A faithful reader, Keisha, knows me only as "Elevenfootrv" and Carter stole my heart with that great big wink. He is named after his great grandfather Carter Issacs, another friend of mine. You might say I have known the family for generations!!

and I attended a great football game --my first in 46 years. I watched my alma mater JCHS trounce Unicoi with a score of 26 to 13. Go Horns!!!

and that wraps up this edition of Travels in Johnson County - Stay tuned for more!!

That's it for today.