Aunt CB Writes about Ethel Baker Taylor : Happy 122nd Birthday, Mom!

Ethel was a ‘listener’ and full of good common sense. People always came to her to air their troubles. I remember many summer nights hearing the low murmur of their voices as they poured out their problems to her, sitting on our side porch in Geneva.

The church women’s association wanted her to be President, but we did not have a phone. They paid the monthly bill for one to be installed so that she could be President (first phone number—3017).

You can tell from her diaries how much she visited neighbors, friends, etc. Aunt Mary, wife of Orrin Taylor, Lloyd’s uncle, loved her dearly! As she grew older and had to spend the winter months in Schenectady where her only living child was (Laurens Taylor), she wrote Ethel that she just lived for her letters full of Geneva news.

And her friends, nieces, etc, all mention how wonderful her letters were. She always wrote on typing paper and of very everyday things. She’d write about the backyard crocus peeping through the snow and you could see them!

Picture One: Ethel and Adin, 1890
Picture Two: Ethel, 1959
Picture Three: Ethel, 1960
Picture Four: Ethel and Lloyd, 1915

Comments:

Pat says: Grandma,

I miss you and wish that I had more time with you! The stories that you could tell and NOW, I would actually listen, and perhaps, remember…
Love ya,

Kathryn says:

I was in Navy bootcamp from May to August in 1970. We all looked forward to mailcall there! One of the letters I received was from Aunt Ethel. She wrote about what was going on in her life and what was going on in the family. It was probably one of her last letters. Later, I was told in a letter that she died.

My big brother Chic (Les), shared a birthday with her, and it was special for him.

WildFlowers and Sunday Drives, by Aunt CB

[Pat writes: I am on the coast of Maine, and surrounded by wild flowers of all types and colors, so wanted to give you this story of Mom’s to enjoy!]

One of the memories of childhood that is strong is that of each spring, going to gather wildflowers in a woods. Lloyd had grown up doing so in the woods on their farm. He knew them all—trillium, bloodroot, hepatica, Jack in the Pulpit, dog lily, arbutus—he knew which to pick and which to leave and always where to go. We did this often through the years, a ritual, sometimes with a picnic.

We had many family picnics, too, often with Ethel’s good boiled beans with salt pork, on which you put a few drops of vinegar. I remember sharing many a plate of them with Doris, just flatten them out, score the plate FAIRLY down the middle with a knife and eat your side (and fart away, as Doris would say!). And, speaking of picnics, this was BEFORE paper plates! We took china and washed ‘em later.

Another thing that Lloyd was strong on was Sunday drives. He loved to fill the car and take off, driving through the countryside. He and Mom were both great readers, and Lloyd especially liked history. We NEVER passed a state historical marker without stopping, getting out, and reading it before we packed ourselves into the car again and drove on.

Picture One: Trillium
Picture Two: Bloodroot
Picture Three: Hepatica
Picture Four: Arbutus
Picture Five: Jack in the Pulpit

July Birthdays, 2009

Well, the Fourth is almost here, and we have yet to see much of any sun here in the NorthEast, but plenty of rain!

Elsewhere in history, other than the TaylorBaker Cousins, on July First—

--In 1863, The Battle of Gettysburg begins
-- In 1867, The British North America Act creates the Canadian Confederation. July First is now Canada Day
--In 1963, Zip Codes are introduced for the US Mail
--In 1997, Hong Kong is returned to China

Our Birthday Girl of the month is Nancy Ethel Baker Taylor.

In the Arnon Taylor family, we’ll begin with Alice Nellie Stitt (Arnon’s first wife).
Happy Birthday also to Jack Lloyd Taylor (Arnon’s son) and Carol Ann Taylor
(Arnon’s daughter).

Picture One: Ethel Baker Taylor
Picture Two: Alice Stitt Taylor
Picture Three: Jack Taylor
Picture Four: Carol Ann Taylor, with two week old Portuguese Podengo Grande puppies - the first litter born in the US

July Birthdays, Take Two:

Also in the Arnon Taylor family, we celebrate the birthdays of Jillian Lockwood Wright (Stephen's daughter, granddaughter of Nancy Taylor Wright), and three of Bob Taylor’s children, Robert "Robbie" Henry Taylor, Barbara Ann Taylor (daughter of Bob Taylor), and Jennifer Taylor (daughter of Bob Taylor).

Picture One: Jillian and sister Ashley
Picture Two: Rob Taylor

Picture Three: Barbara and baby Sal, Cynthia’s son

July Birthdays, Part Three:

In the Leona Maffei family we have her husband, Neil Carmen Maffei, and
Daniel Maffei (Neil Maffei Jr.’s son) as birthday boys.

In Gladys Wood’s family, we have three July birthdays--Gladys’ husband, Lester H. Wood and their son, Lester Wood Jr., and Neal Robert Osterhout, husband of Wendy Wood.

In Sylva’s family, Cookie Jenkins (daughter of Christine, daughter of Sylva) is a July baby, as well as in Phyllis’ family, Helen Nase McPeek (Phyllis’ daughter).

Picture One: Neil and Leona, 1977
Picture Two: Dan Maffei
Picture Three: Norris Arnold and Lester Wood, 1975
Picture Four: Les, 2005
Picture Five: Neal Osterhout

July Birthdays, Part Four:

In Aunt CB’s Family, we have a Bunch of Birthday Beauties!

--Jeanette Dalle Kinsella (Chris’ wife) and Patrick James Kinsella (Chris’ son)
-- Jill Miller Kinsella (Jim’s wife)
--Kristin Kinsella Walker (Tim’s daughter)
--Alison Kate Herdeg (Pat’s daughter)

Picture One: Patrick
Picture Two: Jen
Picture Three: Jill and Jim
Picture Four: Kristin
Picture Five: Ali

July Birthdays, Part Five:

In Aunt Ruth Maney’s family, we have her husband,
Thomas Francis Maney, and her son, Daniel Thomas Maney.

In Uncle Harold’s Family, our Birthday Kids are his daughter, MaryLou Taylor Spear, and Jeffrey Aaron Hauf (Kathy’s son).


Picture One: Ruth and Tom, 30 West St, Geneva
Picture Two: Marylou and Uncle Harold
Picture Three: Carol and Jeff