Grief Healing Service at Grace United Methodist Church

Here is something I borrowed from the website of a local church. This may help if grief is in your heart this holiday season.

"When grieving the death of loved one, Christmas can be a sad and stressful time. Grace Church offers a Grief Healing Service as a time of comfort, remembrance, music, prayer and candle lighting to ease your sorrow during this season. Those in attendance will be given the opportunity to light a candle in memory of their loved one."


The service will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, December 16, 2009 in the sanctuary of the Grace United Methodist Church, 420 California Drive, Coal Center, PA 15423."

Forty-five years ago!

Look at this adorable young family! Back on Nov. 29, 1964 my mom and dad started their family in St. Louis, Mo. This photo was taken when I was one-month old during my first trip to Clarksville, Pa. We were visiting my grandmother and grandfather Ross when their neighbor Stanley Fowler took the photo.

My mom stopped by to visit me early this morning with some cupcakes and a gift. She said there was an ice storm in St. Louis on the day I was born and my dad had a difficult time getting back to the hospital to visit us. My dad told me about the ice storm once, so I'm guessing it must have been a memorable event. He also told me that they took a Greyhound bus to get back to Pennsylvania for Christmas. What a brave couple they must have been to take a newborn on a bus.

Thanks, Mom and Dad! We've been on a long journey together!

Bentleyville’s 2010 Calendar Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Caramel Park

This year the Bentleyville Area Historical Society’s calendar is dedicated to the year the community won a nationwide caramel-selling contest and used the winnings to build a baseball park. After winning the Kraft contest several baseball players were invited to Forbes Field in Pittsburgh to see a replica of the park. Pictured, from the left, are Todd Wiggins, James Bane, Ed Hudock, Neal Kubula, Karl Skrypak, James Marsteller, Chris Preisendorfer, Ray Adams and Ron Frankoff, all members of the Clover Farm team, Joseph Getto, president of the Bentleyville Boosters Club and Lee Esch, Kraft district sales manager. The calendars are being sold for $10 each and can be purchased at Andrachick’s Barber Shop at 204 Oliver Avenue, Bentleyville. Click here to request more information.

Annabelle Ferguson Shipley 1882 - 1949

Last week my mother gave me the register book that was used at the funeral of her grandmother Annabelle Ferguson Shipley, who died January 8, 1949 in New Castle, Pa. Her obituary was tucked inside of the book, but I already had this photo of her in my collection of family tree artifacts. Mrs. Shipley was laid out at the DeCarbo Funeral Home in New Castle and at the Ross Funeral Home in Brownsville, Pa. where funeral services were held on January 11, 1949, with Rev. D.C. Robbins officiating. She was buried in the Redstone Cemetery in Brownsville, Fayette County.
 (Section E, Lot 52.)

According to the registry book her pall bearers were Charles Rush, John Rush, Joseph Rodgers, B.A. Dillon, Jerry E. Edsall and William Giles.

Those who signed the book were:

Mrs. Ida M. Hansel of Farmington

Mrs. Delbert Rush of Farmington

Mr. and Mrs. A.L. Francis

Mrs. John L. Rush

Mrs. Charles Rush

John Rush

Charles Rush

Bert Rush

David Garbart

Gale and Frank DeLeo

Jane Rodgers

Agnes Ann Rodgers

John Howard Rodgers

John & Trissa Rodgers

George & Blanche Phillians

Roy & Mildred Virgin

Rev. & Mrs. D.C. Robbins

Mr. and Mrs. Ross Dorsey

Martha Basko

Dolores Rahland

M. B. Shipley

Anna M. Shipley

Bowman Shipley

Frank Vig

Lois Sheehan

Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Leigh G. Dille

Mr. and Mrs. L. E. Hughes

Betty Edsall

Donald Kallburg

Mrs. Joseph Skoda

Mrs. Ray Davis

Mr. & Mrs. Miam Kinney

Wayne McKinney

S. J. Rodgers

Mr. and Mrs. William Murray

Mrs. J.M. Hierman

Mrs. M.E. Tierney

M:r. & Mrs. K.C. Muredock

Bobby Moore

Ruthanne Moore

Mr. & Mrs. Paul Burd

Mrs. Faye McCarty

J.T. Sheehan

Better Marie Bohn

Louis Bohn

Mrs. E.D. Hagerty

Mr. & Mrs. George Giles

Mrs. Watt Barnes

Mrs. Willard A. Griffin, Jr.

Donna Saunders

Anna Murray Orcino (sp)

L. O. (??)

Willard A. Griffin Jr.

Mrs. John T. Keiffer

Mrs. O.D. Crawford

Isabella Layton

Phyllis Stark

Mr. & Mrs. Michael Burich

Florence Gallagher

Grace R. Shepherd

Dorothy M. Laird

John E. Gary

Mrs. Thelma Guder (sp?)

Donetta D. Uphold

Mrs. H.M. Gilbert

Mrs. Harry Crouch Sr.

Estelle Biddle

Howard Brandtonies

W.A. Griffin

Libby Giles

Bert Francis

Anna Flalnnigan

J.F. McWay

Sue Elliott

Joanne Elliott

Mrs. Ellen Elliott

John M. Jennings

Mrs. John M. Jennings

Mrs. Ellen M. Shuham

Mrs. Harry Hamme

Mrs. Harry Crouch Jr.

Katherine Herron

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas W. Gibs

Edgar Burd

Dorothy McClain

Mrs. Ethel McClain

Mr. & Mrs. Charles Wishart

Elizabeth Basko

Margaret Percy Combs

Fred W. Combs

B.D. Williams

Virginia Wardman

Mr. & Mrs. Wm. G. Gibs

Marguerite South

Mr. & Mrs. James H. Gilder (sp?)

Mrs. Ruth Smith Ramage

Mrs. O.B. Richardson

Mrs. W.L. Wade

Mrs. & Mrs. Charles Hayman

Mr. & Mrs. J.E. Edsall

Mrs. Della Nyswaner

Mrs. Ivan Bauch

Mary Salvisod (sp?)

Mrs. Helen Lamcheck

Mrs. Della Metz

Mrs. Lewis Meese Sr.

Mrs. James Lynn

Mrs. M. Gaitens

B.A. Dillon & Family

W.B. Chalfant

Mr. and Mrs. W.H. Kinder

Mr. & Mrs. Russell Phillians

Mrs. E.I. Posthethwaite

Mrs. Olive Phillians

Mr. & Mrs. Miles King

Mrs. Nellie M. Wetzell

Lois Ferry

Mrs. Sara DeLaney

Betty Kinder

Mrs. Harry Shivers

Mr. Chalfant

Note - some of the signatures were difficult to read. Hopefully the spellings are accurate.

Family Tree Branch

 1. Randi Lee Ross

 2. Roberta Lee Phillians

3.  Blanche Louise Shipley

4. Annabelle Ferguson

Memories of Danny Marodi ~ Dec. 23, 1953 - Nov. 8, 2009

Timmy was about 10 years old when his big brother Danny packed his belongings into a car and left the patch where they were raised.

In those days, Marianna was a thriving community, where many of the young men earned high school diplomas and quickly got jobs at Mine No. 58. All of the men in the Marodi family had worked in the coal mine: their father, grandfathers and uncles. There were a few who moved away to get jobs and Danny decided to follow in their footsteps. So, he studied drafting and sometime in the early 1970s, Charlie and Honey stood in the yard with their other children Vickie, Alex and Timmy and waved goodbye to Danny.

Danny was the cool, older brother with a fashion sense. Honey, who loved to iron and had an appreciation for those who ironed, once bragged that Danny would get up early and press his own clothes before he headed off to classes at Beth-Center High School. This wonderful woman, who claimed to have ironed underwear and handkerchiefs for fun, seemed proud to have passed on the skill.

Her oldest son also had a gift for music and I heard stories of Honey making him take accordion lessons when he was a kid. Eventually, he learned how to play the guitar and formed a band with his friends. Danny, to put it simply, knew how to have fun and he was fun to be around.

Honey and Charlie missed their son, but they probably knew there wasn’t much for him in Marianna. So, they resigned themselves to the fact that this was the way it was going to be. Danny decided to stay in Indiana, but he returned to marry his high school sweetheart Paula. Honey and Charlie waved goodbye again when Danny took his young bride out West.

I met Danny shortly after I started dating Tim in 1988. Paula’s sister was hosting a party to celebrate the baptism of the couple’s newborn daughter Danielle. They came home a year and a half later when Tim and I got married. The young family, which grew to include their son Aaron, returned to Pennsylvania when their jobs and busy schedules permitted.

A distance of nearly 500 miles can make it difficult to stay close to family members, but we would see Danny’s family at Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, weddings or funerals. We didn’t get to spend much time with them, but when Danny came home it was always a special time filled with fun and plenty of love.

Over the years, Danny learned to cook and he took that skill to a level that even a seasoned cook like Honey could appreciate. He was so dedicated to cooking that he would bring his own pots and pans, knives, utensils and spices to Pennsylvania. Soon, the Marodi house in Marianna would be filled with the aromas of wonderful soups simmering on the stove and casseroles baking in the oven. Once dinner was served, Danny would sit at the end of the table telling stories and smoking cigarettes. During his last visit in July, he proudly showed us pictures of his latest passion – his lush and beautiful vegetable garden. You could tell he loved his family and he wished he could come home more often. When he hugged you goodbye you knew he meant it.

On Sunday, we got a phone call from Vickie who told us that Danny’s health was failing fast in an Indiana hospital. A few hours later we learned that he had died. Even though we knew he had health issues, his death was sudden and the news was shocking.

So, at about midnight on Monday, Tim and Alex left Pennsylvania to make the long journey to Indiana. This time the little brothers were called upon to be strong and brave – to be the ones who would bring their big brother home.

Click here to read Danny's obituary.

Our message in the bottle made a short journey

The sun over North Carolina's Holden Beach was hot as we walked through the waves. It was August 18, 2005 and it was halfway through our big family vacation when Abby, Kate and I decided to take a walk with my sister, Taylor, step-sister Katrina and step-brother Matt. We talked and looked at the different beach houses and we discussed the fact that the fishing pier we were walking to seemed so far away. Suddenly, Kate, who was 7 years old, noticed something rolling along the surf.

"Look, a message in a bottle," she yelled, while Matt ran over and plucked a tiny bottle out of the waves. This was exciting stuff. We tried to open the bottle to see what was written on the piece of paper inside. I can’t remember why, but we weren’t able to get it open. We carried the little bottle with the mysterious message and we wondered about its origin. Was the message old? Was it from a far off land? Was it a cry for help?

Once we made it to the pier we found a little tackle shop, where the owner had the tools to open the bottle and remove the note. We were disappointed to find that the bottle had been thrown into the water earlier that day by a little girl who was also vacationing at Holden Beach. We didn't want to ruin her attempt, so we added our own note to the bottle and sealed it again. We walked out to the end of the pier and we had Matt throw it as far into the Atlantic Ocean as he could. As we made our way back to our beach house we wondered where the bottle would end up. We told the rest of our family about our find and eventually forgot about it.

Then, last week and four years later, a note arrived from a man named Norman Alloway in Shallotte, N.C.

“9- 5-09 – Abby & Kate – Found this note and bottle about a week after it’s dated. I forgot about it. We moved to another house and I found it. Did not try the email. (We moved about a year ago. Almost got lost again. The note is enclosed. Sorry it didn’t get too far. Return address on envelope. We live in Shallotte. Sorry it took so long. Norm Alloway.”

The note doesn’t say where Mr. Alloway found the bottle, but we know that Shallotte is a little town located several miles away from Holden Beach. We just hope he had as much fun finding the bottle as we did.

Another Blog by a Another Greene County Pa. native

It is sometimes difficult to find good blogs and websites to read, but here is one I hope you will enjoy. It is thoughtfully written by Doug Morris, a fellow Jefferson-Morgan High School graduate with strong ties to Greene County. His sister Shawn was one of my good friends in high school. Be sure to explore and don't forget to check out the link that lets you listen to the music of his father the late H. Donovan Morris. Just click here and enjoy! http://apachedug.spaces.live.com/