Thursday, November 19, 2009
Four Score and Seven Years
Most of us reconize these words as the opening line to the famous "Gettysburg Address" given by President Abraham Lincoln , but did you know that today (Novemeber 18th) is the 146th aniveresary of that speach?
Having been invited to attend the dedication of a cememtery he stayed at the home of David Wills
When David Wills invited President Abraham Lincoln to stay in his home before the dedication of the Gettysburg military cemetery, he hardly suspected that America's most famous speech would be completed in his guest bedroom
Wills, a prosperous 32-year-old attorney, owned the largest house on the town square. Under his direction, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania purchased 17 acres for a cemetery to honor the Union dead from the July battle. He arranged for the cemetery dedication on November 19, 1863, with Edward Everett as the main speaker. Lincoln was invited to offer "a few appropriate remarks."
Those few remarks now reamain an important part of American history.
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. "
If you ever get a chance to go to Gettysburg please please go the National Cemetery you will be glad you did.
Posted by Patty at Thursday, November 19, 2009 4 comments
Filed Under Civil War History, Gettysburg
Monday, November 16, 2009
kIds
I swear sometimes I really do understand why lower species eat there young when they were born. Today is one of those days. Someone tell me please why do kids blame their mom for everything. My daughter calls, WAKES ME UP, she is in a panic because she can't find her epiccard .She thinks she lost it so I stumble out of bed, half asleep, eyes still watering. I go to the computer and check her balance, I read her the list of the last 10 places she has been. She is upset thinking someone used it today because I tell her that the last post was today. She then panics cancels the card. then calls me back, I reread her the list and she says OH it probably wasn't stolen, now she is mad a ME because I told her the date and now she can't get to her money for 10 days. I don't get it. This is a 25 yr old woman who can't keep up with HER card and I am the bad guy here. Sigh
Posted by Patty at Monday, November 16, 2009 6 comments
Filed Under Family Life
Friday, November 13, 2009
Sunday Stroll
Over this past weekend Dean and I went to Colonial Williamsburg. I always enjoy taking a trip back in time by walking the streets there. One of my favorite stops along the way is the beautiful Bruton Parish Church,
Built in the 1700 it was the center of worship for many famous men like Presidents Washington, Jefferson and Tyler, Leaders during this time were required to attend services. The cemetery itself is one of the oldest in this country and among the graves are at lest several hundred unmarked graves. I have done a short slide show and hope you enjoy it. I will post more from Williamsburg on my next post
Posted by Patty at Friday, November 13, 2009 5 comments
Filed Under Around Town
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Rain rain go away
I'm just checking in to let everyone know that we are ok here. Our area is in the middle of a Nor'Easter and we are getting lots of wind rain and flooding. Thankfully not much high water in my neighborhood, but lots of areas around us are bad. I talked to my sister in Va. Beach a couple of hours ago and she send me some photos of my moms house and those of her neighbors.

Posted by Patty at Thursday, November 12, 2009 4 comments
Filed Under On The Home Front
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Touching My Heart
I recently found out about this annual event and I hope it touches your heart as much as it did mine.
Be sure and go to Wreaths Across America to learn more.
Posted by Patty at Saturday, November 07, 2009 5 comments
Filed Under Random Thoughts
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The Ham
Sarah was sitting on the porch; shelling the last of the peas she had picked that morning. The Georgia sun was still low in the sky, but she knew by noon it would be blazing and the dew that had been on the grass that morning would melt away to the heat of summer. She was already hot and she wiped her forehead with her apron as thought about the day ahead of her. With a sigh, She looked out onto the empty dry fields remembering a time when they had been white with cotton. Now with no one to work them they had fallen to ruin. She did manage to keep the little garden going giving herself enough to eat, but times were hard with Floyd away fighting in the war. He left her behind signing up with some of the other men in the area and promising “To be home in a few weeks”. Those weeks had turned into almost a year. Their son Early Barto (Bud) had been learning to sit up when his daddy left. Now he was walking and into everything.
Sarah took the letter she had received almost a month ago out of her pocket and read it again.
“My Darling Sarah,
I hope this letter finds you and little Bud doing well. I am fair. My bowels have been bothering me and I have not been well. I have been in the hospital in Virginia for a while now but I am getting better and will return to my unit soon. They are somewhere south of here. We can hear the cannon fire and if I look out my window I can see the campfires at night. I pray that this war will end soon and I can come home to you and little Bud. Give him a kiss for me and one for yourself.
Your loving husband
Floyd”
Sarah sighed and put the letter away. Walking into the house she took the cornbread that had been baking out of the oven and dropped the peas into the water boiling on the stove. She sewed on her quilt awhile resting and thinking of Floyd and how happy they were together before the war.
Baby Bud who was waking up from his nap interrupted her thoughts and she quickly went to him. After she had changed him and fed him some of the cornbread mashed with the juice from the peas, and a cup of milk she had got from the cow that morning she sat him on the floor to play while she ate her own meal. She sliced a tomato and ate it along with the peas and cornbread. She thought about going out to the smoke house for a ham, but then remembered she only had a few left and it was a long time until fall when the pigs could be slaughtered. She hoped she could find someone to do that for her this year but with so many of the men away that chore might fall upon her.
Sarah finished her meal and almost had the table cleared when she heard the sound of hoof beats and shouting from the road. She quickly grabbed baby Bud and ran into the yard. The rider stopped in the cloud of red dust out of breath shouting. The Yankees are coming, Not more than a mile from here. Hurry Ma’am hide, they will be here soon. With that he road off leaving her standing there. At first Sarah couldn't move, she was so frighten, then she realized she had to hurry. She ran inside with Bud telling him to sit and play, that she would be right back. She prayed he wouldn’t fall onto the stove while she was gone. The wood was still hot from the meal she had just cooked. She didn’t have time to think about that now she had to hurry.
She ran for the smoke house and took her hams down. There were two big ones and she had to carry them one at a time. She ran past the well and down the lane and into the woods. Sarah remembered where a big tree had fallen last fall when the heavy rains had come. It had rotted over the winter and now had a hollowed out place in the stump. She took the first ham hid it there and ran back for the other as fast as her legs would go. She put them both in the tree and looked around for some brush to cover it. She then took the cow and hid it by the river, praying they wouldn't find it. Then she ran back to yard and into the house. Baby Bud was still happily playing on the floor. Just as Sarah scooped him into her arms she heard the sound of horses coming. She looked out her window. There were men all around her house now pulling into a circle under the big oak tree at the end of the yard. Sarah straightened her hair and opened the door.
Ma’am I am General Smith, and these are my men. We have been commandeered by Union Army to take food for our troops. Sarah stood silent afraid to speak and watched as the men killed her pigs and chickens. They brought them into the house and told Sarah that they need to be cooked. The men were hungry. One man pushed her aside dipping his fingers into the pot of peas she had left on the stove and helping himself to the rest of the cornbread. They opened all her jars of food, throwing them to the ground and breaking the glass as they poured the food into a pan. They took every thing she had left from last winter. They took everything from her garden. Knocking down the fence post. Tearing the door off the barn. Sarah was angry, but she was more scared. She had baby Bud to think about. Who would take care of him if anything happened to her? Sarah did what the men told her and she cooked for the men for three days and nights, sleeping little. When the men were finally gone she breathed a sigh of relief and she smiled to herself. At lest the hams were safe and Floyd would be coming home soon. After all the war couldn’t last much longer.
The End.
This short story is a work of fiction. However
Floyd, Sarah and baby Bud were real people.
Floyd and Sarah were my great great grandparents. Floyd did fight in the Civil war and was in the hospital in Richmond VA for most of the war with diarrhea, The Yankees did come to Floyd and Sarah’s house and Sarah was made to stay up and cook for them for the three days that they camped around an old oak tree in her front yard. She did save her cow by hiding it and her hams by hiding them in an old tree and the men did kill all her pigs and chickens. Early Barto Barker was my great grandfather, he was born in 1861 so he was a baby during this time.
What is not known is the exact time of year that the Yankee troops were camped at Sarah house, nor how long she had to hide her things. . I do not know how many men arrived, but we do know from oral history that they stayed three days. We do not have any letters from Floyd to Sarah so that part I made up. Along with what she thought and what she ate and so on. I have only been given oral history of the event itself so the rest of the story is fiction.
This is my first attempt at writing a short story and I hope you enjoyed it.
Posted by Patty at Thursday, November 05, 2009 5 comments
Filed Under Civil War History, Family Life
Monday, November 2, 2009
Gibberish
*Update on previous post.*
Thanks for those who responded on the word GTYZBRG
I tired several forms of the word at my DMV website and the S has been taken in all forms. Also a dash between GTYZ-BRG is taken. We can only use 7 letters and I tried many variations of spelling and this is what was left. I just wanted to make sure others knew it was the word GETTYSBURG before I invested in the plate..Let me know
Thanks
Posted by Patty at Monday, November 02, 2009 5 comments
Sunday, November 1, 2009
what do you think
If I put GTYZBRG on a license plate would you know what it said or would you think it was gibberish? Send me a reply
Posted by Patty at Sunday, November 01, 2009 2 comments
Filed Under Chit Chat
Halloween Fun
I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween. I certainly did. I had intended to write a post in time for the big day, but it snuck up on me and now it has come and gone. I had to work today, but did manage to find time for a little "clowning around"
Posted by Patty at Sunday, November 01, 2009 8 comments
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
So What Do You Think?
Out of all the blogs I read, I haven't seen anyone mention the H1N1 flu. Are you worried about it? Do you plan on taking the vaccine?
It seems to be the hot topic in our area, and we are currently out of the vaccine. My sister who is a nurse did find a dose for my daughter who is 6 months pregnant, so she took the shot. We were really torn about it, but from all the news reports the flu is very very dangerous for pregnant woman and the majority of them who contact it have a high chance of both the baby and them-self dying. That is a lot more frightening than the shot.
The schools here were lining up kids for the shot last week, but my grandson had a fever from a cold and sinus infection and no one seemed to know if it was safe for him to take the vaccine. At his age he has to have the mist and will need it in two doses. By the time he was feeling better and my daughter had made plans to go get it for him they had ran out. It looks like it may be several weeks yet before our area has it back in.
I don't mind admitting, I'm a bit nervous. I don't want my grandbaby getting sick.
So what is the talk around your town?
Posted by Patty at Tuesday, October 27, 2009 9 comments
Filed Under Chit Chat, Family Life















