Happy Birthday, Lester H. Woods Jr! By Joshua Hart-Wood and Brandy Kapp

Late Breaking News: Lester H. Wood Jr. 's Granddaughter Emma Rose Hart-Wood sending Balloons to HEAVEN !! Happy Birthday Dad (Chic) /Papa !! July 30th.2010

Sending another "Happy Birthday to HEAVEN" to Lester H. Wood Jr., also known by the nickname of Chic.

Chic was born in Johnson City, New York on July 30th, 1946. The oldest son of Gladys and Lester H. Wood Sr., he grew up and was raised in Center Lisle, NY. Chic had three marriages and eleven children of his own ....

Chic was:
--Very well known for Horses, Cows, and anything to do with Farming
--Once a resident of Colorado, and then became a resident of OHIO
-- A very well mannered man who was very well rounded
--Strong personality that always put a smile on people’s faces
-- Always knew how to lighten the mood

Chic was skillful in many ways and taught all his children the best meaning of life and how to fulfill the best out of every day.

Dear Dad,

We know you’re in heaven watching down on all of us. Thank you for all the memories that we are able to share and pass down to the next generations. You were the Best Dad and Grandfather a child could have asked for.

Your wise words and lessons we continue to share with our siblings. Thank you for the love and laughter you brought to each and every one of us.

We miss your long stories and how you always called us "Kid"! As each day approaches, we know you are our guardian angel protecting us.

Enjoy your Birthday in Heaven with all your loved ones!! We know you’re standing behind a birthday cake with many candles on it.

Have a blessed birthday with your mom (Gladys), Uncle Adin, your older sons (Richie) and (Jacob), and your daughter (Denise)....

You are going to be thought of on your special day-- Happy Birthday!

P.S Dad (Chic),
Joshua and Myself (Brandy) will be letting Emma Decorate a Birthday Balloon and will be letting Emma Send it to Heaven to you—Watch for it!

Picture #1--Lester H. Wood Jr. 2003 @ the farm house in Southington, OH

Picture #2--Lester H. Wood Jr. 2007 with granddaughter Emma Rose Hart-Wood

Hawkes SummerTime Pictures!

Charlie Hawkes sends along summertime greetings to all, and these pictures.

Taken at the Fourth of July Fireworks in town, and in their pool, it looks like the HOT weather is not affecting them!

Picture One: Paul and Jack at the Fourth

Picture Two: Eowyn (Krissy and Jack's daughter) and Morgan (Heather's daughter) at the Fourth

Picture Three: Paul and Will

Picture Four: Krissy and Jack

Picture Five: Eowyn

Judy Taylor Alberts Moving Back East!

Jimmy and I have news we are happy to share: We are leaving the
Pacific Northwest...moving on back to the eastcoast!!

We have sold the house in Seattle and are buying a house in Sarasota, Florida. The SUNSHINE
state.

We are ready for change...the kids (young adults) are staying here, they love Seattle. Hopefully by August I will be back on-line and able to tell... all went smoothly. Jimmy's oldest sister lives in Sarasota and has two brothers looking to buy, also. Back to family and not so far to travel.

Just wanted to share this and will keep in touch.

Love you all,
Judy and Jimmy

Welcome to the World, Jennifer Ann Wood!

Wednesday, June 30th of this past month saw a new Wood family member entering the world--Aunt Gladys would be so excited!

Jennifer Ann is the daughter of William and Jessica Wood, and the first grandchild of Nance Wood ( William's mom) , who is the daughter of Chic Wood.

So, if my calculations are correct, Jennifer is the great great grand daughter of Gladys and Lester Wood, Sr. WOW!!

Jennifer arrived weighing in at 7lbs. 5 oz. and was 21 inches long.

Thanks go out to Joshua Hart-Wood and Brandy Kapp for letting us know about this momentous occasion!
Congratulations!!

Shucking Corn By Beth Kinsella Sakanishi

I never have the chance to shuck corn here. The Japanese don't often eat it the way we do (they grill it and, horror of horrors, when you buy it, in the supermarket, it has often already been shucked and swaddled in plastic) and it is not the sweet-tasting corn we would get in North America anyway. Too, I am never cooking for a dozen people, the way corn for dinner seems meant to be eaten.

In Japan, corn is seldom sold fresh on roadside stands with homemade signs. Here, it is food for a beach barbecue or is sold from stalls at festivals. And it is the soy sauce brushed on it as it is grilled that gives it the taste and scent Japanese get all nostalgic for.

It is good, too, it is just not what my nostalgia is all about: Otty summers, a handful of us sitting around shucking a huge mountain of fresh corn.

Here is what I picture:
It's one of those rare, cool Otty Lake days and we are wearing more layers than we have all summer long. Tom and Chris, just back from Algonquin, are still wearing the hats that are mandatory for the entire week of camping.

I'm doing what I usually do back with my family: listening. Chris and Tom are yakking away and Chris, corn ear as yet completely untouched, is the one talking up a storm, with Tom periodically chipping in. It's some guy story thing they are mulling over, so I am in truth partly far away in Tokyo.

Then there is Pat off to the side, with Nick, warmly wrapped in a towel, in her arms. When I look at the pair of them, the immense sweetness of her holding him hits me right in the heart and takes me back to when I was 4 or 5.

When you are a child you can play in the water for what seems all day and will argue mightily with the adult who tells you it is time to come out. Yet once your feet reach shore you are suddenly exhausted and cold. It's okay, though, because your mom or an aunt is there and they have been paying attention and saw you get out and know just when the change happens and they come to you, wrap you in a towel, and hold you. That's what a mom, or an aunt, does: notice.

Mom is right there with us, in our circle, but she is also turned slightly out a bit, as though her radar is picking up Pat, too, behind us who is cuddling Nick.

Just before Mom called us all out front to shuck the corn, we had been on an expedition, following one of our new fascinations -- identifying trees. We'd gone deep into the pasture to parts we don't often, explorers looking at a familiar world in new ways: bark and leaves and shapes and colors and scents were compared and discussed and argued over. In fact, we could settle on most, but the leaves in Mom's hand had two possibilities and Mom was, as so often, the one to see just how the final puzzle piece fit into the right place.

I think of that scene years later, in Japan, and so many patterns and ghost sensations rise within me. I see Mom busy doing at least two things at once, as always. I see her perched between two spheres: young motherhood behind her, and lifelong learning in her lap. I can hear Chris's voice speeding up and rising a bit the way it does when a stream of seriousness is running through him and I feel Tom wait for a pause and bridge the stream with a "Well, you know...," in his storyteller's drawl. I am enjoying the touch of the crisp outer leaves of the ear of corn in my hand and the satisfying rip and final reluctant tug as I remove them. The corn silk, in long, purling skeins and snug, too, around the smooth teeth of the kernels are textures my fingers remember as Summer in Otty and my senses are fully caught up as I forget, for a moment, the stories going on around me.

Picture One: Otty Lake Canada, July 1965
Left to Right: Dan, Tom, Sue, Beth, Tim Pat Kinsella

Picture Two: Cameron Walker ( Kristin Kinsella’s son)

Happy Fourth of July to All! By Pat Kinsella Herdeg

We here in Acton, MA celebrated our Fourth early, last night on the Third of July.

This way, we could have an awesome display of fireworks--spectacular!--by a company which would be busy the next day at a much larger venue AND celebrate the 275th anniversary of Acton; we became a town in 1735, splitting off from Concord MA, home of the Old North Bridge Battle for all of you who follow Revolutionary War sites...

Before the fireworks, we sat on a hillside with most of Acton and sang along to a terrific Eagles cover band....my kids said to us, "How do you know all of the words?" We laughed and explained to them that Eagles songs were in their DNA, as they and Billy Joel were played constantly in our house for as long as they were growing up...

But, looking forward to the Fourth of July fireworks tonight in Boston on the Esplanade with the Boston Pops playing and closing with the 1812 Overture with complete with cannons, church bells and fireworks.

How are YOU spending your Fourth?

July Birthdays: Part One--

Uncle Arnon’s family has a lot of celebrating this month! We’ll start with Carol Ann Taylor Hart, whose birthday is today—Happy Birthday, Carol Ann! It’s been a while, but I always enjoyed seeing you at the Reunions.

Also, in Arnon’s family, his son, Jack Lloyd Taylor, and Bob Taylor’s children-- Robert "Robbie" Henry Taylor, Barbara Ann Taylor, and Jennifer Taylor, all share July Birthdays, as well as
Alice Nellie Stitt (Arnon’s first wife), and Jillian Lockwood Wright (Stephen's daughter, granddaughter of Nancy Taylor Wright).

Picture One: Carol Ann and her niece, Kristen
Picture Two: Jack Taylor, June 1967
Picture Three: Jen, Robbie, Barb, Tessa
Picture Four: Jillian and Ashley
Picture Five: Alice Stitt Taylor

July Birthdays, Part Two:

In Lucille Kate Taylor Kinsella’s family, Chris’ wife, Jeanette Dalle Kinsella and Chris’s son, Patrick James Kinsella , Kristin Lynn Kinsella Walker ( Tim’s daughter), Alison Kate Herdeg ( Pat’s daughter), and Jill Miller Kinsella ( Jim’s wife) all celebrate this month—Congratulations to you July Babies!






Picture One: Jen
Picture Two: Patrick
Picture Three: Kristin with eight week old Leah
Picture Four: Alison
Picture Five: Jill and Jim

July Birthdays, Part Three:

July brings us terrific birthdays to celebrate, and none more special than Nancy Ethel Baker Taylor. In her son, Harold’s family, MaryLou Taylor Spear ( Uncle Harold’s daughter) , and Jeffrey Aaron Hauf ( Kathy Taylor’s son) both blow out candles.

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

In Floyd Taylor’s family, Barry Taylor (son of Rex Taylor) has a birthday this month.

Picture One: Grandma Taylor, August 1963
Picture Two: Barry and Cathy Taylor
Picture Three: Tom and Ruth
Picture Four: ‘The Two Dan’s—Since I did not have a recent picture of Dan Maney, I pulled this one out from August of 1954—Dan Maney and Dan Kinsella
Picture Five: Mary Lou Taylor Spear and Uncle Harold
Picture Six: Carol and Jeff

July Birthdays, Part Four:

In Leona’s family, her husband, Neil Carmen Maffei and her grandson, Dan Maffei ( a Fourth of July Baby) both have July birthdays.

In Gladys’ family, her husband, Lester Wood, and her son Chic Wood, and Neal Robert Osterhout, husband of Wendy Wood, enjoy Birthdays this month.

In Sylva’s family, Cookie Jenkins ( daughter of Christine, daughter of Sylva), and in Phyllis’ family, Helen Nase McPeek ( Phyllis’ daughter) both celebrate this July.

Congratulations to all the July TaylorBakerCousins Birthday Kids!

Picture One: Tim Kinsella and Dan Maffei
Picture Two: Neil and Leona (Ruth in background), September 1977
Picture Three: Gladys and Lester, June 28, 1945
Picture Four: Chic, 1995
Picture Five: Neal