Archive for the ‘Today’s Memories’ Category

by Sherry Stocking Kline
05 April 2010

Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger and fellow educator astronauts, Richard Arnold and Joseph Acaba - NASA photo

Usually when our ancestors, or even ourselves become a bigger part of history we’re just not aware of it at the time.   It’s when the history books write the story and we read it later that we know, even if they did not, that they helped shape the events of that time.

But today, my cousin’s daughter, Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, went up in space and for all time she became one of those whose names go down in history books, one of those brave and courageous ones who went into outer space and helped shape history.

Dorothy is one of three educator astronauts, and she will see our world, our earth, in a perspective we can only try to imagine!  Just think of what she can share with her students, and those she will speak to in the future.

Dorothy told me that her job will be on the flight deck as the flight engineer for ascent and entry, and she will be flying the Shuttle’s robotic arm, helping move 18,000 pounds of science and engineering equipment.

Dottie said that during the spacewalks, she will be inside as the crew member leading them through the spacewalk.

The launch this morning (Praise the Lord!) was picture perfect, and for the next 13 days, Dottie will be doing what she’s trained for the past several years to do, and those of us here, friends and family will pray for her safety and watch their mission on www.NASA.gov and our local television channels!

Other Related Links:

Denver Channel News – Dottie’s parent’s interview from Ft. Collins, CO
Video:  http://www.thedenverchannel.com/video/22747395/index.html

Article:  http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/22746823/detail.html

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Metcalf-Lindenburger

Runner’s World Article: http://www.runnersworld.com/article/1,7124,s6-243-410–13448-0,00.html#

Wellington Daily News: http://www.wellingtondailynews.com/features/x1336921704/Astronaut-has-Sumner-County-ties

Other Related Posts:

Follow the STS-131 Astronauts on Facebook

What’s Going Up in Space with Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger

April 5th ABC News Launch Video

by Sherry Stocking Kline
February 16th, 2010

William Arthur Smith - Smith Cemetery, Temple Hill area, Barren Co, KY

I photographed this child’s stone in a small Smith Family Cemetery in the Temple Hill area in Barren County, KY. (the same cemetery as this Tombstone Tuesday post).

William Arthur Smith photograph - Barren County, KY

On the Stone:

William Arthur
son of
M. H. & B. C.
SMITH
July 27, 1910
Nov 2, 1915

Taking the photograph, and looking at the stone, I had to wonder, who was this handsome little five-year-old boy so obviously loved by his parents?

How did he die?  Was it one of the many illnesses that were fatal in that era, and are so treatable now?   Did he fall from a horse?  Was he a “blue baby” a  heart defect that is so treatable now, but eventually killed it’s victims even in the 1940’s?

I did do a little quick research to try to learn who his parent’s were, and if they were related to ‘my’ Smith’s, but that question wasn’t easily answered.

So, on another day when I have more time I will set out and hope to solve at least some of these mysteries.

RELATED POSTS:

Tombstone Tuesday: Lute and Sabina Smith Ruby’s parents.

J. Thomas and Nancy A. (Smith) Harrison down the road a few miles in the Caney Fork Baptist Church cemetery. They may (or may not) be related.

Warner LaRue Jones Tombstone. Warner was born in Kentucky to Willis and Martha Ellen Smith Jones.

George W. Smith & wife Lucy’s Tombstone

The Day the Serendipity Genealogy Angels Smiled

Sherry Stocking Kline
February 15, 2010

Best Picture – Deciding which photograph I liked best in 2009 was extremely difficult!

Was it the  photograph of new-found cousin Nancy and my husband looking over the Glasgow, KY cemetery?  Or was it the  photo of my brother Gary with his street rod?   In the end, I chose the photograph of my Great-grandma Margaret “Maggie” Corson McGinnis holding little baby me on her 100th birthday.

Not everyone has a great-grandmother who lives to be 100, so this is a special photograph, and I’m glad my parents captured the moment on film.

Best Screen Play – I’m not sure that any of my stories would make a great screen play –  unless it would be the part of the Christmas Gifts story that involves myself and my two oldest nephews playing Cowboys and Indians in the pasture on our stick horses!   Even my patient collie dog Lassie wasn’t safe if we had a lasso!

I’d have to cast John Wayne as my dad.   First, I always thought there was a resemblance, and second, my dad had that same kind of confidence that the Duke projected on film.

My mom, well, she might be a cross of Maureen O’Hara and the Beav’s mom, June Cleaver, though she never wore dresses, pearls, and heels everyday,  those were church clothes.

Because she worked in the field she was more likely to be in jeans, flannel shirts, and maybe even overalls.

And the casting for  my nephews and I, well, lets just say “The Little Rascals” would be the best cast for us…

Best Documentary – My blog post about the Burchfiel Cemetery, the church and the church history connected with it holds a special place in my heart.

Best Biography – This post about my brother, Gary “Sox” Stocking is probably my favorite biography.  It doesn’t tell when he was born, nor whom he was born to, but it does capture just a bit of the essence of who he was, what kind of man he was, and you get an idea of why other street rodder friends came from three states in their street rods to honor him one last time.

Best Comedy – The funniest thing that I blogged about in 2009 was when we crazy high school kids used to drag main singing the top hit at the time “Hey There Little Red Riding Hood” at the top of our lungs!

It was fun then, and it gives me a chuckle now to remember it…

by Sherry Stocking Kline
February 12, 2010

They say time flies when you’re having fun, and I didn’t realize just how much fun I’d had or how much time had flown past until I received the following Congratulatory e-mail from National Federation of Press Women on Friday.

It was my Ten Year Anniversary!  What a nice reminder:

SUBJECT: NFPW MILESTONE CONGRATS!

Fri, February 12, 2010 1:57:27 PM

February 12, 2010

Dear Sherry,

CONGRATULATIONS!

As a member of the National Federation of Press Women, you have reached the 10-year Milestone in your membership.

Your name will be in the 2010 NFPW Chicago Conference Program recognizing your 10 years of membership

Our thanks from the entire membership for your support of this wonderful organization through your dedicated membership.

Information about the conference in Chicago is forthcoming, and I hope you will be attending the entire event. As anyone knows who has attended a conference, they quickly become addictive. Not only for the information gained, but the priceless friendship and memories as well.

Again, my congratulations to you. I hope you will join us for the informative workshops, the inspiration gained, and the never-ending fellowship and fun that fills every conference.

Cordially,

Barb Micek, NFPW Historian

And it’s by such little choices that lives are changed…

Just a little over ten years ago, shortly after I graduated from Kansas State University’s distance learning program with a bachelor’s degree in Arts & Sciences, (emphasis on home economics taken in the late 1960’s) and history (taken in the 1990’s), I took a writing class at Wichita State University.

Seeing a flyer on the bulletin board for a writing group, I went to the meeting.  Would we like a mentor?

Well, yes, of course!

And it’s by such little choices that lives are changed.  I was assigned Beth Bower, editor of a newspaper that I’m ashamed to say I can’t recall the name of right now.  I went to meet Beth, we hit it off, and she asked me to write an article about my genealogy hobby.

So I did.

One thing led to another…

Shortly after that, Beth called and told me that she was leaving that newspaper to go to the Wichita Eagle, Special Publications Division,  and before I could get sad about not doing any more writing for her, she said “Give me a little time, (to get settled into her new job) and I think I can get you some work.”

Beth encouraged me to join the local and state chapters of Press Women, now  Wichita Professional Communicators and Kansas Professional Communicators. It was excellent advice.

One thing led to another and genealogy continued to grow in popularity, and that’s how my column “The Family Tree” that ran in “Active Life” and now in “Healthy Living” came to be.  And now I’ve been writing about genealogy in the Wichita Eagle for ten years also.

Thanks to Beth’s encouragement, advice, (and excellent editing) I’ve won state awards and national honorable mentions.   Woo Hoo!

Thank you, Beth!

Time does fly when you are having fun!

Sherry Stocking Kline
January 23, 2010

Even though I’m late finishing this up, I’d like to add my ‘two bits’ and thank Randy Seaver once again for a fun Saturday Night Genealogy Fun Challenge!

It’s Saturday Night – time for more Genealogy Fun!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

* Tell us about your “other” hobbies or interests outside of genealogy and family history research, writing, speaking, etc.

* Write a blog post of your own, respond with a comment to this post, or add a comment on the Facebook version of this post.

Most of the time, I don’t have anything more exciting to do on a Saturday night (unless family is coming!) than look forward to doing the SNGF challenge that Randy Seaver posts for us at Genea-Musings.

But this past Saturday Night was special, it was my mom’s 98th birthday, and we gathered together as a family at her home to let her know how special we we think she is.

Hmmm, so what do I enjoy doing besides family history?  A lot of what I enjoy doing is related to family history, so I’ll just make a random list of stuff I think is fun.  And some of it falls within the family history spectrum, no doubt!

1. My Family – Spending time with my family, especially the tiny little apples of my eye, my granddaughters. This includes going to the parks, swinging on the swings, playing Uno, dominoes, Wa-hoo, and now Wii.

2.  Reading. I love to read, and my children still complain that I can ignore them easily if I’m reading.  But I get involved in a book, can visualize the setting, and I’m off to a new adventure, living vicariously.   I’ve also been a fairly fast reader since I was a kid and the librarian used to let me check out 14 books at a time (since we lived in the country, and because I was a voracious reader).  Librarians just love kids like that…

Jan Karon’s “Mitford Series” books are my all-time favorites.  I like to read Max Lucado’s inspirational books, Nora Roberts romance/mystery novels, Louis L’Amour western novels, and various and sundry other “who-dun-it’s”. (I like them best if I can’t figure out ‘who-dun-it’ before I get to the end, too.)

3.  Music. I love music.  A variety of music, though rap not much at all, especially if it needs to be ‘bleeped’ on tv, and blues and classical not quite as much.

Gaither’s Gospel music is an all-time favorite, and brings peace to my heart and soul. Fifties and sixties rock brings back wonderful memories of sock hops and teen-age crushes. John Denver is one of my favorite artists and my husband took me to his concerts twice. “Take Me Home Country Roads” speaks to my country heart.

4. Fishing. I like to fish, though I seldom do.  We practice the ‘catch and release’ so generally the fish is free to go back to his pursuits within minutes of being caught.  And sometimes the little ones choose to be caught again…

5. Gardening. I like to dig in the dirt, plant, and watch flowers and vegetables grow.

I have a cherry tree, blackberry bushes, and am considering planting strawberries. I’d never have to pick them, because I never have to pick the cherries, the birds usually beat us to those, and my granddaughters pick the blackberries, coming in with purple lips!

6. Crafts & Sewing.   I used to be a very ‘crafty’ lady.  I was constantly doing cross-stitch, sewing something, or making something.  I’ve kind of gotten away from that, spending that time working on the computer or writing.  But I made one man’s suit and several shirts for my husband (polyester suit back in the day, but nice looking) quilt pillows, beaded Indian looking earrings, and before my children came along, a lot of my work clothes!

7.  Photography. I love to take photos.  Mostly of family, and a lot of the granddaughters, but I just like taking photos.  Because I take so many, and do try to make each one good, out of hundreds I’ve had several real gems that captured the love between father and daughter, the magic of a child’s smile, and the memories contained within those photographs are priceless.

Those are some of the things I like to do.  Someone else might add a few more things to my list, but these are what comes to mind ‘off the top of my head…’

Sherry Stocking Kline
January 4, 2010

I had so much fun doing Christmas music video’s that when I found this duet Baby, It’s Cold Outside (Dean Martin with Martina McBride)on former Kansas girl, Martina McBride’s “White Christmas” album I just couldn’t resist posting it here.

Besides, here in Kansas, with barely double digit temps, and single digit wind chills, it’s pretty appropriate today, ‘cuz Baby it’s sure cold outside here!

When we were having cold weather (like this week) my dad, Harold ‘Jiggs’ Stocking, Sr., would always come in from feeding the cattle or working outside (we had a wheat and dairy farm then) and laughingly tell my mom”Baby it’s Cold Outside!” After listening to the song a few times, I know why he was laughing when he said it!

The song also reminds me to share a saying that my Mom’s mom, Carrie Breneman Jones always told her:

“When the days begin to lengthen, the cold begins to strengthen”.

I’ve been paying attention ever since she shared that with me, and it’s often very true!  We were working outside in medium weight jackets here right before Christmas.

In just a couple of days, we’re going into minus wind chill temps here.  Brrrrr!

With a couple of inches of snow and minus wind chills, I won’t be doing any ‘cemetery stomping’ this week, for sure!

Fifty-four days till the first of March!  (but who’s counting!) Can’t wait!