post memorial day weekend post

We had a nice Memorial Day weekend, even with the extreme wind and high humidity. I’m ready for summer, just not the Kansas summer temperatures!

On Saturday, I went with my mom and grandma to the cemeteries and decided to document this part of our family history with photographs. I decided that if I didn’t post them now, I’d forget everything I learned. This just covers my mom’s family. I’ll have to take another road trip someday to learn about my dad’s family.

You can’t hardly read this, but it is the Blankenship Cemetery and it was our first stop of the morning.

This is my grandma’s grandparents. Her father’s parents.

And this is my grandma’s great-grandparents.

This is the back of their headstone.

This is my grandma’s Aunt Shirley, her favorite aunt.

This is my grandma’s grandpa, her mom’s dad.

And her maternal grandmother. You could barely read the headstone. Her grandma’s name was Lydia Nicholas (pronounced Nichols).

Two of their children.

Another son who fought in the Civil War and later was a mercenary.

Next we headed to Little Walnut Cemetery. This is where my grandpa is buried. He fought in Germany in WWII.

This is their first baby who was stillborn. My grandma told us about the little nightgowns she had hand-sewn before he was born. He was buried in the blue one with an embroidered elephant on it.

My grandma’s parents.

Her sister who died of Tuberculosis.

Another sister.

And her third sister. They had 4 girls in their family. My grandma was the baby and is the only one who survives.

George Naugle was first married to my grandma’s sister Ruby. He later married Ruth.

Our last stop was Severy, KS. This is my grandpa’s dad.

My grandpa’s mom.

Their child who died of whooping cough and meningitis.

And another of my grandpa’s brothers.

This is my grandpa’s grandparents.

With all the driving we did, I heard some great stories about my grandparents when they were young. I wish my grandpa were here to retell them. He was a great story-teller! I really ought to write them down before they are forgotten forever.

After our cemetery stops, we ate at a cafe in Piedmont. You can read about our previous adventures in Piedmont here.

I found this interesting:

This is the owner and cook, enjoying a smoke break. What you can’t see is the no smoking sign posted behind her. Classy!

They do have some good, greasy food though!