So whose birthday is January 6th?

Ninety-one years ago on January 6, 1919, Ethel Geraldine Redmond was born in the small village of Volant, near New Castle, Pennsylvania, the oldest daughter of Albert and Myrtle Redmond. Gone from our lives way too early, we are left with many memories. Whether daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, sister-in-law, aunt, or friend, I would say that Ethel was a very special person. I remember many things about her from her great smile, her amazing laugh, her love for her family, her dedication to her friends, her church, and her community, or positive outlook wherever life or Bob would take her. Not that she didn't have disappointments, troubles, or hardships, because she surely did, but often times she was a model of how to come through the difficulties of life with grace and dignity. What I remember and loved so much about her was how she treated each one of us as uniquely special, worthy, and loveable--what I would say is the true picture of how Christ taught us to love each other. And I think that was the rare gift that she had.

It would be great to hear your memories of Ethel, what she meant to you, and what impact she might have had on your life. Take a look at the attached collage of photos of her life, roughly in chonological order going clockwise, starting in the upper left-hand corner. Also, I have tried my hand at my first "multi-media" video, a slideshow of those pictures which you can find at the following link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0XzW1TsKM (or go to youtube.com and search on Ethel Redmond Reese; it is also on my Facebook page and I think it looks better there). The music might not be the best choice, but everytime I hear the song I can still hear her voice singing it. I will probably be refining the slideshow so if anyone has any other suggestions please let me know. I hope you enjoy the photos and the slideshow!

Give someone special a yellow rose in memory of Ethel...

It's Rabbit Season...

November in Pennsylvania can mean only one thing--men and women alike don blaze orange and take to the fields and woods in search of furry or feathered creatures to bring home for dinner. It reminds me of my favorite Warner Bros. cartoon where Daffy schemes to have Bugs taken out by the fiercest of hunters Elmer Fudd by placing signs all over the forest that it is "Rabbit Season"; Bugs retaliates by convincing Fudd that Daffy is actually the target of his pursuits and Daffy get blasted by Elmer's rifle over and over and over again. Of course this cartoon is no longer deemed appropriate so it is no longer on TV and rarely found in the Warner Bros. Box Sets (of which I admit have several).

But I digress... Here are a couple photos of those mighty hunters Bob and Ethel in their Pennsylvania Tuxedos in search of what's for dinner. My guess it was the pheasant which was stuffed and hung on the wall in their dining room all the years I was growing up. Hey Gregg or Brian, do either of you have the pheasant? Did anyone ever give it a name?

Cheers

Seventy Years Ago--November 9, 1939

November 9 [2009] is the 70th Anniversary of Bob and Ethel Reese' wedding. The first picture is their wedding picture and the second is a picture taken for their 30th Wedding Anniversary. They were married in the home of Grandpa and Grandma Redmond by Rev. Hazlett of the Hasson Heights United Presbyterian Church at 12 noon. The second photo includes the attendants Aunt Hazel and Bob's cousin Don Reese. Grandma's wedding dress was "wine transparent velvet" and her flowers were yellow rosebuds and trailing arbutus. (Somewhere there is a colorized copy of the wedding picture--if anyone has it I would really like to get a copy of it!)

The photo below was taken for Bob and Ethel's 30th Wedding Anniversary.

At the time of their marriage in 1939, Ethel worked at W. T. Grant's in Oil City. For those who remember old northside Oil City, Grants was the "5 and 10" store that was located where Northwest Saving building is now, next to Woolworth, the other "5 and 10" in town. Bob started our post-high school life as a chemist at the United Refinery located just outside Oil City on Route 8 going to Rouseville. Yes a chemist. Going through Grandpa's papers when we cleaned out his house, I found several certificates for correspondence courses he had taken. It appears that he was interested in going to school (a college or some technical school) for chemistry or engineering. But as we know he established a very successful radiator repair business in Franklin.

So who is this handsome family?

This is a great picture of the Redmond family taken about 1930. 

From left to right: Al Redmond holding Lois, Ethel, Hazel, and Myrtle.

So Who Is the Baby?

The baby in the saddle bag is Terry--the bike was Bob's Harley. Here are two companion pics showing Terry on the bike with Bob and Ethel...