CHRISTMAS BREAK

Merry Christmas

from our family to yours

Thanksgiving Remembered

My Grandmother never baked a turkey. She served chicken and dressing made from the left over cornbread and biscuits of meals past and a speckled hen from her own yard. We had red potatoes smothered in butter churned in her lap in a fruit jar. The screened in porch sheltered a table heavy with desserts. Berry cobbler with crust somewhere between flakey and chewy cardboard made with berries she harvested along the fence row and soaked in sugar. Dark chocolate pie so rich you could only eat a small sliver at a time. Washed down with heavy goblets of iced tea.

As the six grown children arrived with their wives and children in tow the yard filled with trucks and cars resting under the giant oak tree that dwarfed her little white frame house. The cousins checked out the old moma cat and counted her kittens and shared cautions like don’t go near the rooster “cause he’ll flog ya”. Then everyone was called inside to pray. Most of us didn’t hear much more than Amen cause we were twenty strong in a three room house but we bowed our heads and listened just the same. Then the kids went back outside to play until called so the MEN could sit down to eat. In her house the men ate first, then the kids were served and finally the women who had slaved to prepare everything, sat down to eat their meal, before they began the massive clean up.

After the feast was over adults reclined along the walls in cane bottom chairs like beached whales. All to full to make much conversation. My grandmother would take off her apron and sit down for the first time in hours. I know she was tired but she never complained. She would try to coax one of her sons to eat one more piece of pie but they would just tell her how good it was and they were just too full for another bite. The white cloth would cover the desserts and one by one the folks would leave for home amid hugs and goodbye tears. And that was Thanksgiving in Kanawha.

The store front with CHRISTOPHERS sign.

Alfred Hitchcock sorta event

This was a long extended vacation stay...Saturday to Saturday. We are trying to get a handle on whether we can get everything in place to open in July 2009. Truthfully, we just do not know. a person with store opening experience, which we will only have AFTER the event, would know how to plan and prioritize.



So Saturday finds us post Brookshires unloading at the store. The next morning I notice a swarm of something winding up the electric pole like a black snake, but I fail to mention this to Bill as we are heading off for Home Depot with do not forget list in hand. We shop and return to work. Our working and eating lead to a down time when we notice a large number of small black paper wasps on the front porch. This leads to a discussion of the swarm I noticed early on the pole. Then we see them on the back porch and all over the trailer. For three hours they surround the building, all 60 feet of it and hold us hostage. Trying to make light of it I suggest this might put a small cramp in our ever actually selling anything. Bill looks as me and we say in unison, Alfred Hitchcock's... The Birds!!! After sundown the wasps went back to the pole and that night it got right cold. I guess they were just looking for a warm place.



We had three visitors, a new neighbor and a passerby. Vera pulled up. She was on her way to get medicine for asthma. Her brother is helping Michael Wright restore his historic home on the plantation. We hope she is feeling better.
Jody stopped to tell us about her trip to Colorado to see the Walker relations. She and Gerald no sooner got home than they had their little 2 and 6 year old grandchildren come visit. She told us about her rheumatoid arthritis acting up. Still, she remembered to bring copies of the Detroit News for us. I don't see how she does it all, but we are grateful she does.
Billie came by and we got to hear some of her Kiomatia adventures. She is having some challenges. She was on her way to shop, see the doctor and get a haircut.
The M C Lester moving truck placed a home down the lane by the store. We look forward to meeting our new neighbors.
Several days into our stay we saw Houston drive by in his red and white van. It was good to see him driving around enjoying the beautiful Autumn colors.

We have a CHRISTOPHERS sign up. The right side of the building has trim around the windows outside and most of the inside wall finished. The back wall is complete. We outlined the wall that should seperate the utility area from the store using a chalk line Bill brought. The shelves for the chips, cookies, crackers, paper products, fruit, vegetables, beans, rice and noodles in bags are finished. We purchased them from the Texas Basket Company established 1919 Jacksonville Texas. Jacksonville has deep darker red sand and hills a bit steeper than Kanawha almost Mountain like as the Look Out Mountain sign suggested. It was a nice place to visit with friendly folks.

Back home, I ask Bill about some holes in the big steel cross beam at the end of the store building and he said he saw sky when he looked up. Another purpose for that trusty foam. We discovered another wonderful invention...liquid nails. Bill has been screwing and nailing every board in our remodel with a touch of wood glue to be safe. But liquid nails has become his new best friend.

Free is only good if it is functional. I found a chair for the store in our neighbors discards. Finding assorted chairs that have similar size and shape under $50 has been a challenge. This one had promise. Unfortunately the back was trimmed in real leather. I painted it with primer only to find it was still sticky after three weeks. Bill suggested I go ahead a put the finish coat on it and seal it with a clear poly something. The result was a dry non-sticky chair back. He was right! We are still short a large square farmhouse type table and four chairs, but well on our way to filling up the store.

We have no new store pictures due to not charging the camera battery.

The new windows are in.

No longer a question of when...just how

The Glass people did themselves proud. We have a wonderful set of heavy duty frames in place and are just waiting for the glass to arrive. Meanwhile the windows are boarded up. Buying anything especially a craftsman type service in the country is always pot luck. When the plumber came we had no idea of the details and knew instinctively not to ask. Now the window people came and we are pleased with the heavy duty product, but it was a total surprise as we had no idea what we were paying for. The electrician promises to be the same. When you are so far from the mainstream you are just happy they will come find your building.

Ike watered Kanawha down pretty good. We found four more places that leak in sideways rain. Probably have to let Bill loose with his can-o-foam again. No tornadoes, no lightening and tolerable wind made it a dousing we could live with.

Bill added shelves and I painted. We scrubbed windows and admired the new lock on the door. Bill cut away the mimosa sprouts on the side of the building beneath the 3x2 kitchen window. The only non broken glass in the store. The next day about the same time he was outside working the day before we heard a loud bang. We jumped up and ran to see what happened but could see nothing. The following day Jody tells us Randy Fennel our neighbor down the lane was mowing when his riding mower got congested and blew up. She mentioned the loud bang. We showed her the pellet size hole in the kitchen glass and the how did that happen mystery is solved. If Bill had been tree trimming a day later it might have been him not the window with a hole in it. We are adapting to unforseen holes, Bill took a dime size piece of clear tape and patched it right up.

Mr Hart came calling. He works for the Circle C and said they are farming on the north loop. This is a blessing for us. He remembered Aunt Jane cooking his grilled cheese on a brown piece of paper atop the wood stove at the back of the W E Boulware store. I remarked there were Harts buried in Kanawha Cemetery and he promised to have his Aunt in Desoto call me to get the Hart genealogy records I have. I look forward to hearing from her. I am related to the Hart family by my Great Great Grandmother Julia P Oliver's marriage to Thomas J Hart. Julia's first husband, James Sharp, who was my Great Grandmothers father, died in the Civil War.

Vera Hill stopped to say hello. She lives in the home Ambrose Boulware built, where the road takes a decidedly right turn. (The handbook of Texas says Kanawha is located in a bend of the Red River but this "bend" is a right angle!) She said they enjoy gardening and have landscaped to protect themselves from the 27 cars and trucks that have missed the sharp turn.

Ambrose and Opal Boulware's Grandson, Ricky Easterwood, of Novice is running for Constable pct 4 in Lamar county. He is just about the most genuine guy you ever want to meet so if you are in Lamar County give him a vote.

Billie Bell stopped and told us about the coming storm and her recovery from a triple bypass. She is looking pretty perky and thin too! We look forward to seeing her again.

Our new neighbor that purchased the two cabins on 20 acres stopped to say hello. His wife is driving to Plano at 4:30 am until she gets a job closer. He hopes to raise a few cows after he gets settled in. It was nice to meet him but only after he left we realized we had failed to ask his name. I am sure he will be back.

The postman stopped to say hello. Dave Griffis is the Grandfather to baby Kayla who is doing well and expected to have the last of her three surgeries this week. He lives in Detroit. A mail box that can not be whacked with a bat is on our list of to-dos.

We drove to Paris and checked to see what kind of plug we needed for air conditioning. Leah at the Sears store was very helpful even after we told her we were not buying anything. So we gave her our list for next year, and she will get a commission. It is so refreshing to find someone who understands customer service. We are looking at a refrigerated upright unit with a glass door, two small freezer chest units with glass tops and the two ac units she helped us decide on.

We are trying to determine what kind of emergency exit we need to meet fire regulations. I think we need a fire extinguisher and probably an inspection. No doubt a call to the fire department is in order. Another to-do

One of our inquiries to Kathy Korte told us Red River County it is under the State's jurisdiction. You will need a retail food operation permit. This permit is a bit over 200 dollars a year. She also sent us two sites that list rules about running a store in this state. A little bedtime reading I guess. It's a good thing Sandra is bringing my new glasses Monday:0)

We saw hunters setting up their camp trailers to prep for the deer season. A reminder Autumn is around the corner. Bill and I look forward to opening the grocery section of the store on July 11, 2009 but dread the time we must live apart as he gets our youngest through college in Cedar Hill and supports the store with what he calls "his real job" when it cannot support itself. It is both a privilege and a chore. We have not lived apart for 30 years so it will take some prayer to get us through.

Made in Texas

We have contacted the Texas Basket Company and their sister site the Wood Factory for store shelving. They have responded with generosity and kindness considering our needs. We are excited to order several items from them and a trip in October to see Jacksonville that reportedly has those familiar rolling hills and red sand. Trucking rates have gone out of this world due to gas prices so we will save a good bit by hauling the shelf units ourselves.

We have another source for store products. Jennifer owner of Tangled Threads made grosgrain and gingham lanyards for us and has agreed to supply us with products she makes by hand. You can see her work on Etsy.

Not Frog Herders

We made a quick trip to install the first of some security measures for the store. As usual what seems like s simple task became involved. The corner boards were not replaced when we did the face lift. We were faced with this being a wiring problem as well, so one day was spent installing three boards that were special cuts and required grooves and more to match the old ones which had justifiably rotted after 38 years. I can not say enough times how much more difficult it is to use typical nail/board applications where steel beams are involved. However, we now have this corner mended and one piece of a seven part security system in place.

The wire rack we found on our anniversary trip to Fredericksburg got a good scrubbing and a primer and coat of flat black paint. It does not look new but it does look clean. Something should be said for the scrubbing. I accidentally mixed industrial strength degreaser and ammonia...this resulted in a melt down of the paint and one layer of my skin thumb only. Be sure you label spray bottles or better yet discard anything left over.

The front of the posts got a few of the assorted objects we had hoped were an eclectic mix with an old/interesting look but not everything we bought took to the hanging so some wooden pegs are needed to support heavy objects with holes in the center.

Our son Will built some shelf parts and I assembled them with Bills help. Will's shelves will hold cleaners and paper products on one side and smaller food items on the other. We found Gorilla shelves for the right side of the store at Sams. They are both deep and sturdy enough at an unbeatable price. These will hold large bags of feed or other heavy products cheaper than we could make them from wood.

We found a source for small sturdy grocery baskets. They are as tall as the large baskets you find at Brookshires or Walmart but much easier to "drive". Versa Cart not only has the best product but they are allowing us to purchase just one so we can try it out and see what our needs are. Ginny Keaton is their sales person on line who can walk you through the steps.

We will be getting new windows in September on the 11th. Yes, 9-11...hopefully that date will not hex the whole process. We are excited about being wasp free.

We had a four inch frog come hopping through while we labored over the shelving. He was headed for the back door so we didn't try to herd him back out. We also think we have a mouse or something bigger so we left out poison.

The weather was unseasonably cooler. Unlike last years 100 plus days.

Thanks to his co-worker Mike, Bill installed an amplifier type devise to his cell phone in the hopes it would give us service in Kanawha. Unfortunately the results were somewhat undetermined.

Kanawha School

Thank you to my mother who has a bare spot on her wall where I borrowed this picture of the Old Kanawha School that stood near the left side of the cemetery. This picture would have been taken in the early 1900's if my information is correct. If you can identify anyone in the picture please let me know. My Grandmother is the one in the center back possibly her graduation. I think everyone is frowning due to the sun in their eyes. I will share this picture by email with any cousin who would like a copy.

We purchased a cash register and I am in practice mode. Hopefully you can teach an old dog new tricks. We had hoped to find an old register that lacked the computer interface, but more than made up for it in nostalgia. Old cash registers are very expensive in relation to new cash registers which explains why ours is the latter.

Will and Mike are building pieces of the first of five shelving units for the store to be assembled on our next trip. Will has also taken on the job of building wall sections to be attached so they form the wall between the store proper and the working section of the store. We had to replace a section of fence in our back yard so we are recycling the old cedar boards for parts of the wall we need. It saves a little money and should give a nice worn look to the wall we could not other wise create.

We joined Sam's Club so we might buy items for the store grocery section, especially difficult items we need in bulk. Our Federal ID is needed to apply for our State Tax ID which is needed to apply for our Sam's Club membership. Kind of like the hip bone is connected to the leg bone connected to the ankle bone and so on. SAMS wants a detailed list of all items we will be purchasing and re-selling. That is no small task. It was kind of strange that we came out with exactly 99 items.

I have a respiratory infection that has sent me to the doctor for meds that say "may cause drowsiness". I have been in bed two days straight and finally today am feeling better, which brings us to what do you do when you are sick and the store needs opening? Something that may require a bit of planning.

We have a list of vendors who should supply the bulk of our merchandise. Some of the best prices have come from sources unexpected for example we will be getting quite a number of items from a candy store on line that just happens to sell many other drug related items at great prices wholesale. We also found a sample site that will supply smaller quantities of items that help us fill out the needs list for customers without breaking the bank. A school supply store has been a real find to help us with not just school supplies but other items as well all at prices we think are fair. Our unorthadox methods will hopefully fill our shelves when we are set to open. One advantage of being inexperienced is we have no idea what conventional methods are so our search for merchandise has taken us off the beaten path.

Not Goat Proof

We were in Kanawha Sunday and Monday finishing up some odds and ends, adding another table and four chairs to the store and keeping an appointment with Mr Farris. We also solved some problems with space planning as well as prioritized some of the projects. Kanawha is still green in mid July.

Monday morning a four inch tree frog greeted us. He flattened his spring green body out on the glass door so from the inside we could see his tan undersides. He rode on the swinging door for several ins and outs seeming to not mind the motion.

Bill brought his new titanium bits and some experience from last trip that helped add more screws to the walls.

Mike and Will helped their Dad load the round table and four chairs in the truck so they would not end up on the highway doing 70mph in splinters. Then Mike spent a perfectly good day following us to Kanawha and unloading everything.

Mr Farris owns the Farris and Family Glass business in Paris. He traveled to Kanawha about 10am on Monday to measure the window on the side of the building and the two in the front of the store. The side window is a double pane but broken so it just needs glass. The two front windows are single panes and fit so badly large insects walk through freely. The suggestion by Mr Farris to replace them with 4 smaller windows is a good one which will make it much cheaper to replace glass in the future. They will cut costs when we run air conditioning and should be very well sealed. Bill ask him if he would be able to replace the lock on the front door for us? Mr Farris leaned back and smiled. He said yes he could replace it and added, "I have replaced this glass before".

When Cathy ran the store, a customer had a goat in a trailer. The goat got loose and ran through the door glass. "This door glass is not goat proof!"

On our anniversary in June Bill gave me the best gift. It was a large wire shelving unit red yellow and rust colored from some store past. For $25 it was a wonderful bargain so now the trick is to find a spot for it in the store. We hope to paint it with rustoleum and use it to hold bakery items, mostly bread.

We found the refrigerator and freezer units for the store so now we had to decide where they might sit when we order them probably in 2009. This sounds like a nobrainer, but you can not line the walls with every shelf and appliance and expect your store to function correctly. Plugs have been the determining factor in most decisions of the electric type.

We are going to use open shelving as much as possible so we have good line of sight. we set up several fake shelves so we could see how much light we might loose at what height. We hope to keep the store as bright and sunny as possible. The open shelves also save on building costs. Fortunately Bill has developed many carpenter skills he never knew he possessed. I trust him to build almost anything. We expect the layout to change as we actually get shelves in position, but for now the plan looks good.

Jody came by to visit, share some handy tips and get paid for mowing. It was a hard decision to farm out the mowing but what a blessing to come without mower and gas every trip. Because Jody does this work for us we have an additional project finished each month. Jody has also been a big encourager always with a kind word to get our lip off the ground and several of her handy tips have saved us money.

On the way home we stopped at a welding shop outside Greenville to gather some rustic pieces for the posts in front of the store. We love to shop at this homegrown business that sells stars, horse shoes, cow heads and more off dusty tables with the smell of burning torch to melted metal is just beyond the back door.

We were told Billie Bell has been ill. We will keep her in our prayers and wish her the best recovery. Her blog has been a real blessing to others.

FREE Kittens and a TORNADO?

We were welcomed to Kanawha Friday afternoon by this sweet FREE KITTENS sign. Very tempting, but we are not quite able to have one just yet. Puffy tall white clouds dot the big blue sky, tall yellow wild flowers have sprung up in the pretty field across the street. Kanawha is quiet and calm.

Our youngest son, Will has a friend who was flying out of DFW for a trip to Vietnam, but Will our last college student is here in Kanawha. Mike our next oldest has survived another year teaching High School Geometry, Algebra and Testing Skills. He too has volunteered to help us out at the store.

A trip to Home Depot for eleven sheets of plywood and we are settled in to enjoy a good nights sleep. In the AM hours we wake to a long continuous roar, the 16 1/2 ft trailer is rocking side to side and rain hammers down. Bill yells TORNADO??? and we all grab shoes and run for the store. Just as we open the door of the store the glass in one of the front windows blows out toward the porch from the change in pressure. For several hours we huddle in the back section of the store. Soggy, scared and thankful to be alive.

The next morning we see a large tree limb down behind the store, the yellow flowers are bent and mushed in diverse directions and a section of our neighbors fence is down. God also spared our neighbors farther up 410, who lost power and had many trees uprooted and huge limbs twisted off. We duct taped a plastic bag over the broken window as a temp fix. We have much to be thankful for Woodland to Jonesboro.

FATHERS DAY Bill got Great Stuff pressurized foam. Akin to silly string, I knew it was a hit when he was seen passing the window with the long nozzle pointed toward the road side of the store. He was just looking to see if he could find one more thing to use it on. Will on the inside removing the last of the old AC vent and Mike helping Bill fit a board sealed with foam and screws so it is air tight. Giving a man this foam is very entertaining until the stuff expands into large bulbous blobs that harden and look ick. Fortunately once it cures the excess can be trimmed off neatly.

Mike and Bill also found a combination of duct tape and foam stopped water from pouring through the breaker box every time it rained. Imagine our surprise the first time we observed that event!

Inside Will became our go to guy with the skill saw. He probably did 90% of the sawing for the whole trip. Will and Bill covered the entire back wall and eight feet of the side wall as well with plywood. Bill broke 8 drill bits on the steel trying to get holes for screws. With nine screws a sheet there is a lot of screwing to be done.

Mike tackled the mirror in the restroom and the shelves we cut but had not braced in the grocery section. He then used the cedar boards Will sawed to build a bench for the front porch. If all that were not enough he also burned a good bit of the wood we had stacked near the road. Fortunately the wind died down and the ground was wet.

With all the help we were able to get more done in this one trip than about three of our others where Bill is pretty much on his own.

We could not remove the shed out back as the tree limbs and poison ivy were in the way. Jody is going to spray it good for us and we will bring some limb removing tools to try and get to it next time.

We enjoyed seeing our cousins Mary, Bobby and their friend. They were taking a drive to see where they used to live and how things have changed. I hope the three of them will come back when things are cleaner and more inviting.


It used to be DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS but on a bridge going home it said DRIVE CLEAN ACROSS TEXAS.

Deconstruction and Patches

We have been blessed to find Oklahoma cousins. Don is a Walker cousin who also connects to our family through Mary Ann Thompson who is the mother of our branch of Boulwares. His branch of the Walkers is through his grandmother Laura Decima Walker called "Deci" and her husband Cleatus Atticus Devenport. Deci was my Grandmother's sister and Cleatus grandfather was my greatgrandfather's half brother. Don has filled in many blanks for me and our sharing notes has opened up a whole new set of paths to follow north to Victory Cemetery in Oklahoma and south to Kaufman and Hamilton counties in Texas. Don has been researching this family for many years and his generosity is much appreciated.

We also have cousins in North Carolina! North Carolina is suffering a heatwave. Loretta has been a wealth of information with her extensive genealogy she so kindly shared with me. Her branch of the family links back to ours in ways we are just beginning to fully understand. Her Eva Ringwald married Oscar Jefferson Walker, who is the son of Augustus D Walker who is my greatgrandfathers brother. The Ringwald family is German and Carl Frederick Ringwald (Eva's Grandfather), who first settled in Kanawha was born in Baden Germany, his profession being a tinsmith. Ringwalds abound in the Kanawha Cemetery. Loretta has several other surnames associated with this area in her family research. Thank you again Loretta!

It was eye opening to see the difficulties NASA has in regard to the restroom on board the space station. It made our challenge seem small, at least we have gravity and proximity.

The pre-trip list includes another junk store damaged find. It will hopefully be part of the wall we want to build to seperate the storage/office area of the store from the eating area and a surround for the Ben Franklin stove we want to install later. This large piece is very heavy and the gas gage on the truck will probably be reflecting that weight. To lift it on the truck will take the four of us. It will empty out a wall in my dining room and for that I am grateful.

We are gearing up for the next phase of store work. This project involves removal of a steel shed in disrepair. We are not excited about what critter may be lurking inside or removal of a good deal of trash, but cleaning up one more eye sore will be good for the soul. However, pulling something apart with a truck, now that's something the sons can get into. Bill is hoping the steel will match up with the main building so we can use some of it to patch holes. The second phase of this trip is that patch work needed on the exterior walls that may require use of Gorilla Glue, Duct Tape and screws. The last part is the covering of the inside walls with plywood most especially the back wall and hopefully some of the side walls as well. We are bringing muscle in the form of sons, Mike and Will, to help get sheets of plywood in place. These are big projects and it is not clear how much we will actually finish but we have goals just for the sake of the materials list.

On a sad note the Montgomery family has lost their father. Norman's wife is the daughter of Ambrose and Opal Boulware. I know he will be missed.

Peanut Shell Covered Floors

We loaded the first of three tables for the store. This one has a checker board top. It is good to see some of this in place and even better to have a spot to sit down for a meal.

The posts are covered with by 12 inch boards six feet tall. The remaining cedar was patched and we now have a nice place to hang lanterns or whatever light we can find on each post. The signs we made that say "come on in" and "sit a spell: were finished by our son-in-law Chuck and our Grandson Clint. On second thought we only hung the "sit a spell" sign as "come on in" seemed the wrong message since we are not ready to open.

NOTE: If you are thinking about purchasing precut letters for your store signs, remember to choose carefully as the fonts need to be close in the other signs you make to give a uniform look. The font we found closest is Cupid, and it will work nicely tho not our first choice for store lettering.

The red metalic sign above the porch from the metal building installer was painted out white and three cedar boards are in place over the entry to hold our CHRISTOPHERS letters. Bill is going to give that a whack with his dremel. I will match the font on my print program so he has a pattern. Now we need the cedar to age so it matches the old cedar we left in place.

It took 16 hours to construct the new posts, cap them, and seal, prime, and paint. The sign we had planned would have been 24 feet long and three feet high. Bills eyes rolled around in his head at the thought of trying to build and put it in place so the new plan is much more cost effective and serves the same purpose with out hiring a crane and Bill is breathing a lot easier now.

I want to make a comment here about primer. If you have never used primer it may come as a shock to find the stuff just will not wash off. It gets a death grip on your hair, lens of your glasses, all manner of exposed skin but most especially your hands arms and of course your shoes. I have taken a decided dislike to primer. I came home as usual with a good bit of it still attached. About the time it wears off I will be back for another coat of it as the store is only about 1/3 painted. I know it is small and petty of me to complain but it is one of the least favorite jobs I have and one of the few I am qualified to tackle.

Our daughters family coming to help us out was a special treat. Charlie is feeling much better as he continues to improve. He said he will come help us out in the store once it is up and running:0)

Michael Bryant came by on his bike. Everyday was rain free and it was a good thing as every pool, pond, creek and lake is full to the brim! He shared memories of the cucumber picking that used to start and end at Vann's store. He explained how the pickles were sorted by size and pickers were paid more for small ones. It was good to see him again. Michael told us he had a line of credit at both stores in Kanawha at the ripe ole age of 12!

We stopped to visit with my parents on the way home. Moma shared some about Mrs. Fennel who passed on not so long ago.....Daddy mentioned a man named Garland Johnson who used to do work for him. He said Mr. Johnson broke horses and farmed. Those were good ole days.

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We have encountered a sewage issue that threatens to stop our store plans. It has consumed most of my time for the better part of two weeks. We are faced with the only three legal options we are aware of.

Traditional septic systems require 10 acres to install. If you need a refresher just look at the postage stamp size piece of property the store sits on and you realize this is no option at all.

Aerobic a system like this has three chambers and converts your poop to water that sprays out over your lawn. It uses electricity and requires an additional electrician all only if approved. The cost for this new fandangle system with all the bells and whistles is about 10 thousand dollars by the time everyone gets their share. The biggest drawback besides the bank heist we would need to pull off to pay for it, is just like anything that does extra stuff all those bells and whistles can break and need constant attention and as the one site said you might as well buy the upkeep policy because something likely will go wrong.

This seems an unlikely choice even if we could get it approved, as we plan a covered picnic table, horseshoe pit and outdoor checker board for the very limited green area we were blessed with. I do not think folks would take kindly to being sprayed with waste water no matter how treated it was.


First two choices are not available to us and the third is not nearly as desirable as the first two. However, it is an option that allows for opening the store. Out of desperation we sent an email request to the nearest college (A and M) engineering program asking if they might challenge their engineers to come up with a solution for us. That would be choice number four.

At this point we have not heard from the college, even to decline helping us, and are following the number three route. We love Kanawha and its residents. Becoming polluters is not an option for us. I will share our solution on this blog as soon as we find one.
http://weblife.org:80/humanure/chapter6_3.html
http://www.sunnyjohn.com:80/indexpages/emailcontacts.htm
http://www.letsgogreen.com/residential-composting-toilets.html
http://www.oasisdesign.net/compostingtoilets/book/index.htm


On a cheery note we learned urine is not a polutant as it quickly disapates. Poop however is a whole nother matter.

We owe a special thank you to Jane of the TCEQ and Rodney who is the Authorized Agent of Red River County for helping us come up with a user friendly answer.

Did you know it is illegal to poop in your yard? This would have astounded my grandmother who used an out house her whole life.
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This is from rootsweb genealogy site about the old country store:
"More than just retail outlets, community stores once served as social centers, post offices, election places, saloons, and much more. You have probably either heard about or experienced neighbors sitting around the pot-bellied stove, with sawdust or peanut hulls on the floor, and discussing the issues of the day. The store owner often would provide all that a person (usually a farmer) needed that could not be produced from the land, and frequently on credit terms."

SILO, what silo, I don't see a silo

NO RAIN! It was dry the whole time we were in Kanawha but did cloud up a bit Monday as we packed up to leave.

We went for a walk down 410 south of the store and saw a possum who seemed to have died of natural causes. The fence on this land was most likely built by my Great Grandfather George W Boulware. It is like stepping back in time, with every post different and planted by his hand. The Easterwood family, my cousins, have kept this original homestead in the family. While we were working on the store, Ricky Easterwood stopped to visit. He is always a welcome sight. He showed us a Caddo arrow head!

We also got a visit from Pat Smith who said he and his wife built a home north of
Kanawha. Pat offered to remember us if he comes across any shelving. We appreciate the offer. Pat is originaly from this general area and plans to retire here.

We spent all day Saturday building something with no name. Bill says Silos are round. I said are you sure? We have yet to identify it and I take the full blame. Not everything that looks good on paper looks good built. Those were my husbands words as he gave up trying to make me feel better about it. We can not get rid of it as it cost a good deal of our time to build. I think it will be pushed to the back side of the store and used as a cubby for our jackets.

Sometimes I think God just wants to get us to a place we should listen and maybe this strange object we built is just the push we needed. Because this "?silo?" did not turn out, we pulled one cabinet forward and one sideways to close the gap it should have filled leaving us with a better footprint for the counters.

Bill got the counter tops on, the backsplach covered, fixed the paper and twine caddies I built. I built most of the caddies and grouted the tile in the coffee cabinet. Bill filled the small ditch that ran along the north wall of the outside and threw away quite a bit of the vines there as well. So we thought it was a productive trip even if the silo idea was a time consuming expensive dud.

Jody came for a visit and confronted with the unusual task of "naming that cabinet" had quite a chuckle. She told us about the Wildlife Preserve down the Shoal Road. We decided we needed a drive so we took her directions and found REDBUD to be all she had suggested. If you come to Kanawha don't forget to take it in, either coming or going. It is kinda like a drive through zoo without a cover charge.

Monday traveling home was time to visit my parents. We learned where the Kanawha school was located. It disappeared long ago, but may help explain the number of teachers living in Kanawha in the late 1800's to early 1900's.

We will return this next week for a few more to-do's but NO MORE SILOS, not round or any other shape.

Texas IS a state of mind

We are undergoing change and it is all because our son Stephen introduced us to Tim McGraw. Tim is a web designer who has offered to help us launch our christophers on-line store. He has been very polite about it, but I know I am a headache beyond his wildest imagination. With a truck load of opinions and ideas but no experience or understanding I keep filling his email box. He has lasted a week. He must be one tough Texan. If he survives this experience I will highly recommend him and you will be directed to our new store on-line.

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I have been blessed to hear from another cousin, Michelle Ann. She lives in New York! This is our most distant cousin yet! She is from the Brown/Chambless families that settled Kanawha. Not only did she provide a connection between our Walker families and the Browns but she shared many beautiful details that help bring these families to life.

This is some of what she had to say: "...my Great Great Great Grandfather was Dr John Albert Chambless born in Forsyth Monroe Georgia... He traveled to Texas in the 1850's where he met Mary Virginia Brown. Perhaps they met because he and her father (Dr. Charles Porus Brown) were both local country doctors... My Great Grandma,John Albert and Mary Virginia's daughter, Mary Winifred Chambless ...was also a nurse and one of the first graduates of Paris's nursing school."
[Thank you Michelle! for these connections, and much much more you have provided.] Michelle is also sending us a picture of Dr. John Albert Chambless to add to our collection of growing materials for the store. She is a genealogist!

salt of the earth
One thing is becoming evident, the pioneers of this area spawned more than their share of doctors, nurses, teachers, ministers and social workers. They also had more than the average number of fraternal twins and practiced the Methodist faith. There were a considerable number who lost loved ones (husbands, fathers and brothers) in the Civil War.

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Please keep Michael Bryant in your prayers. He has serious heart problems.

We will be in Kanawha for the usual four days, building that silo which involves a good deal of duct tape. The weatherman has promised no rain...we'll see.

Handle Side Down

The store got a good ceiling vacuuming and scrubbing with degreaser. The three new fans are clean and operational. Turned on a lazy speed they should give the desired effect of times gone by and provide a much needed breeze. Bill and Mike were covered in pounds of dirt dobber nests that were concealed behind the wire covering a vent we will not use. Just when we thought the last of the nests had rained down a new vent full would descend. Mike hoisted a shop vac on a ladder and balanced it while Bill suctioned the vent. The fix was cardboard covered in plastic wrap and sealed with rows of black duct tape that disappeared behind the scrubbed and disinfected grate. With three fans, two vents, many square feet of dirty ceiling and two ladders Bills tendency to be accident prone had to surface. He "forgot" these things which all hit him in the head as he slid the ladder around: a paring knife, large shears and a tape measure. I have threatened to just bury him as I have no intention of taking a man with a paring knife sticking out of his head to a hospital emergency room. You know God watches out for him, because it hit handle side down.

The restroom got another coat of plaster mix so it is looking mostly finished on the walls. It will be clear whether this is complete after it dries and we watch for cracks.

Another of those odd cheap broken pieces of furniture from our favorite junk store was converted into a coffee condiment cart by tiling the top in black irregular tiles we sealed. Actually this is the side of a bunk bed set that housed a desk unit but by turning it sideways we will have a nice place to put our all you can drink/serve yourself coffee pot with enough room for cream and sugar. Underneath is a spot perfect for a trash can and a storage shelf for spare trash bags. It will need grout and casters for rolling installed on our next trip.

We got a visit from our cousin, Paul, who lives across FM410. Paul has a new baby girl named Kayla. She is doing well but needs our prayers as she is in Children's Hospital and not quite ready to come home. Because Kayla is a citizen of Kanawha she is very special!

The grounds around the store looked wonderful. Jody mowed and cleaned so our work at the store was all focused on the interior. Bless her for all the good she does as we enjoy the papers she saves for us and keeps the grass cut.

Cathy has leased the land across the street from the store to a family. They are carefully fencing and gating the area for future use.

At the end of the day Mike drove to Paris to visit with Steve, kind of hoping for a poker game but had to settle for a little brotherly visiting.

It was a positive trip with a good bit of progress thanks to Mikes help. Of course it rained- both going and coming.
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On a sad note we got a letter from our cousin, Bobbie. She told us her husband Vic had passed on in late November. We continue to pray for her and her family.
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I have emails from Judy sharing family history about the Bowman and Perot families that settled Kanawha early on inclusing portions of an obit published Feb 5 1928:
"...My mother was Sarah Josephine Perot. Her father was James Remy Perot who was born in Kanawha, Texas, on the Red River; he was the son of John C. Perot (and had a brother John C. Perot, also) who was a resident of Kanawha (after migrating from Campti Louisiana) and the husband of another Kanawha native, Sarah Mahala/Mahaly Hill Graham Bowman, who was the daughter of Tennessee Texas Bowman, a true pioneer

One of the early residents of Red River County, who rode horseback from
Tennessee to Texas when a girl 10 years old, Mrs. Tennessee Texas Bowman, 96,
died Saturday afternoon at her home on her farm near Kanawha.
Mrs. Bowman, who before her marriage was Miss Tennessee Texas Graham, was born
March 31, 1831, near Perryville, Tenn. She came to Texas with her family in
1841,...

Named for the State of her birth and the land of her parents' dreams, Mrs.
Bowman died in the house that she and husband, James Newton Bowman, built in
1869. Logs brought from Indian Territory were used to build the Bowman's first
house at Kanawha when they moved to Red River County in 1866. Three years
later the log house was moved away and used for a granary...

Mrs. Bowman in survived by a son, Robert Campbell Bowman, who lives near
Kanawha; six grandchildren, thirteen great-grandchildren and one great-great-
grandchild..."

Thank you Judy.

No Break for Helping Hands

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