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.
