Description The loud wail of the Train whistle pierced the night at my grandmother\'s house.
The 1950s with poodle skirt.
My childhood memories of growing up near my grandparents are part of the narrative.
Will constantly checked the weather for perfect fishing conditions, and brought home a string of freshly caught fish every week for their maid to fry up. "I caught fever today...car fever, not typhoid," Will writes and the next day he bought his first car: $875 of his "hard-earned cash." Pearl, a nurturing, loving mother, was always talking about her large family, the Cottles, many who congregated on their front porch to chat.
Their personalities emerge from the excerpts printed in these pages.
Will, luckily, survived to provide for his young family.
Will became ill with Spanish influenza in the winter of 1918, at the same time millions of people across the globe died in this pandemic.
Says Pearl in her diary, "In the afternoon we took a long walk, took the buggy to Mama and Papa\'s and let them have a nice ride." But their lives were not without challenge.
Life was simpler then.
Their diaries provide first hand account of Family life and daily life including outings, theater visits, illnesses, and many fishing trips.
Will was a banker and Pearl was a homemaker.
Will and Pearl Joiner lived in Orange in 1917 when it was a lively community with a large lumber and shipbuilding industry.
These journals held such a rich treasure trove of History that I knew I had to share them with others.
I discovered four valuable diaries from 1917-18 written by my grandparents after the death of my mother.
Train depots were bustling centers of activity, but even more so early in the 20th century when my grandparents were raising their family.
This is more than a memoir, it is a portrait of Americana.
Exciting thoughts of adventure far beyond my hometown of Orange, Texas, bubbled in my mind.
The enormous steam locomotive rattled the windows as it thundered past only a hundred feet away.
Description The loud wail of the Train whistle pierced the night at my grandmother\'s house
