Tuesday, November 24, 1936

HELEN AND PRINCE AND JACI

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Cold — Very high wind.

Washed — Did some iron-

ing to-night.

Henry went to G.R.

Helen + Red came to-night.

Helen came for most of her

clothes. Are living with his

folks.

Our old sorrel horse

"Prince" died in stall

to-day.

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Not only did Helen go and get married in quick fashion but she and Red came to collect her things so they can live with "his folks." And to top it all off, "Prince" up and died, Henry wasn't home, and Edna had to do the washing and ironing.

Edna doesn't say so but in my estimation this was not the best of days.

Prince pulling Edna and Jen in a sleigh

You can sense her love of Helen and for her old horse Prince.

My cousin Jaci (Jaci is Hank's daughter and Edna's granddaughter) took my brother and I for a ride on horse around the Johnson farm in 1971.

I have the picture to prove it!

I have wanted pants like Jaci was wearing ever since that day.

Jaci lives in California now but she still loves horses.

I am sure my great grandmother would love knowing that in 1971 Jaci took Marc and I for ride around the farm where Edna's old horse "Prince" had wandered thirty years prior.

Monday, November 23, 1936

A HOUSE IN BOWNE CENTER

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Cold wind from N.E.

Didn't wash had the

whole house to straighten

up after the party last

night.

Mr. + Mrs. Will Blough of Freeport

here to have Morse fix their radio.

Morse took kids to G.R. for

music lessons.

Sold to V.L. Watts 2 10/12 doz eggs

Rec'd for last week's eggs

2 4/12 doz. @35¢ - 82¢

Also rec'd statement of the

reactor hens 126# — $15.67

Deducting for testing 4.14

Check $11.53

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In 1915, Henry and Edna built a new home on the Johnson family farm. Before then, the farm had a smaller house in which Henry grew up and where he and Edna resided when they were first married in 1902.

The image below shows the farm as it looked when Henry was a child. It also gives you a sense of what Bowne Center looked like in 1936. Much of Bowne Center is the same today.

The Methodist church on the corner is the church Henry and Edna attended and it is the church in which my husband and I were married.

The cemetery is larger now. It is where Edna and Henry and all of their children (except Morse), and many of their friends and relatives are buried.

My father and his father and his grandfather (Henry) all attended the one room school across from the church. Today, the school is a museum. Both of my parents (ages 81 and 90) are members of the Bowne Center Historical Society which oversees the care of the museum.

And this is what feels like a punch in the stomach...most of the members of the historical society are aging like my parents. Who will care for the history of Bowne Center when they are gone?

The home that Henry and Edna built in 1915 is not a typical farmhouse for rural Michigan but it is reflective of homes being built at that time. It has an Arts & Crafts feel on the exterior. The interior had Arts & Crafts elements as well. According to my father, the wood for the home came from trees on the farm.

This is the house that Edna was cleaning in Bowne Center the day after a party occurred celebrating the marriage of her youngest daughter Helen. This is the home that Edna and Henry built. This is the home that Hank (Henry and Edna's son) and his wife Maxine maintained until just a few years ago. This is a home that still stands in Bowne Center today.

And, this is where today's post might end except for the fact that after chatting back and forth with my mom and dad this evening (trying to get some facts straight) they sent me a picture of Henry and Edna that made my heart sing.

No home is complete without the people who occupy it. I love getting to know my great grandmother and her family from her journal but this picture tells a story, too.

This is Henry. This is Edna. Aren't they lovely?

Sunday, November 22, 1936

GAMES, MUSIC, AND GOOD TIMES

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Nice day up early getting every

thing ready for supper to-night.

All of our immediate family

including Frances

McCarty, Mrs. Bryant, Rusty + Clare.

Red + Helen arrived at 8 o'clock.

Games + music + good times.

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On December 31, 1937, Frances McCarty will become immediate family, too. She and Morse will wed, leaving only one of Edna's children (Hank) yet to be married.

My grandfather James Lawerence (Bob) married Rosetta Boughner. She will run off during the midst of WWII. It will be more than 40 years before my dad discovers her whereabouts. But that's another story for another time.

Lucille is married to John Watts.

Alice is married to Stanley Coles.

Helen is newly wed to Red Bryant.

Morse will marry Frances in a little over a year.

Hank will marry Maxine (the only one of Edna's children and their spouses who is still living).

But on this day in 1936, Edna is surrounded by her family and there are games and music and good times.