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.
