Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all who visit this blog. I will be back with new blog posts in the new year. I enjoy writing about my family who came before me, but my own family comes first at this time of the year.

By the way, the ornament in the photo is one I made in second grade. It was chosen to go on the huge Christmas Wish tree that was a tradition at my elementary school in Tallahassee, Florida. Ornaments and wishes were chosen from each grade level to be read by the principal to the whole school and then placed on the tree. The only time mine was picked was that second grade year. My wish (on the card behind the ornament in my very best handwriting) . . . "I wish my Grandmother in England could come see us." My wish came true in 1960. However, I did see my grandmother, Maud Kirkpatrick Langdale, for the very first time when my mother, brother and I went to England when I was 10 years old.

Remembering Frances Amelia Langdale Jowers

Frances Amelia Langdale Jowers, about 1944

December 7 is a national day of remembrance for our country - Pearl Harbor Day.  My sisters and brothers and I realize that if this day back in 1942 had never happened, there would be no us. My daddy, a country boy about 18 years old, joined the Navy and eventually ended up in England. My mother, a Londoner and teenager of about 17 or 18, joined the Women's Land Army in England and was sent to Cornwall to work on a farm. Cornwall is where they met and married.

Three years ago on December 7, 2008, my mother, Frances Amelia Langdale Jowers, passed away. It left a huge hole in my life and the lives of all those who loved her. My brother, Keith, emailed my sisters, brother, and me a sweet reminder about this day and our mother. He gave me permission to publish it. I'll let Keith tell more of the story.


 Hello Everyone,

It's 8:55 A.M. I'm sitting here thinking about what to say about mama. She was an amazing woman. Having lived through the perils and dangers of WWII, she undertook one more journey. She left her family, friends, and country to make a new home in a foreign country with her husband and new baby. Leaving everything behind had to be a tough decision. But, she made it. I believe this is one of the reasons she was amazing and it helped make her what she was. Once her mind was made up, she rarely changed it. Once here, she had to adopt and adapt to a new way of life. Food, money, clothes, jobs, and people were things she had to learn. She became a citizen of her new country, but never forgot her English heritage, nor her native England. You could tell this by the way she talked after one of her meetings with "The British Ladies of Tallahassee". Things I remember are of the "Christmas Season". The fabulous cookie machine. Oh what great cookies it made. The Ice Box Fruit Cake- Janice makes it now. Hanging Christmas cards on a string from wall to wall. The meal at Christmas. Seems like we had turkey until the end of January. These things stay with you no matter how long we may live. I also miss her cooking- collards, cornbread, southern cooked meals,and helping can corn peas, beans, squash, and other vegetables. However, of all the things I miss, I miss mama the most. I love her and daddy.

                                                                              Keith


I would like to add that the new baby was Keith, who was about 2 months old at the time.

Manifest of Alien Passengers, "Queen Mary," May 10, 1946