Person:Stanley Hall (2)

(Research):Stanley Hall

Age: 33 Year: 1930
 Birthplace: Illinois Roll:  T626_522
 Race: White Page:  8A
 State: Illinois ED:  11
 County: Kendall Image:  0838
 Township: Lisbon
 Relationship: Head

1.   David L Johnson. JohnsonFamily.
2. ↑ Stanley Hall (Bertha Hoge) Ch Donald, Wendell, Stanley, William; Morris R6 Lisbon Sec 29 T90a William Hall (1898) Chicago Tel. Co. Lisbon). None of these children are buried in Lisbon Cem, but another son Robert Wesley Hall b. Lisbon, IL 20 Apr 1927; d. Lisbon Twp, 9 May 1927 is buried there.
3. ↑ My great grandfather William Hall was born in Berkshire, England in 1830. He and his wife Sarah (Keats) had 5 children. The one named William was my grandfather. He grew up in Harwell, England. In 1851 he left his native land, coming to America, landing in New York. He worked there a while, and then decided to go farther west, wanting to obtain land to farm. He arrived in Lisbon Township and rented land for several years. When he had accumulated enough money, he bought 80 acres east of Lisbon, Illinois at $28.00 an acre and lived in a small house on the farm. Ten years later he bought 120 acres, joining his land at $60.00 an acre. Later 120 acres were purchased at $80.00 an acre. He now owned 320 acres, known to us as the "Homeplace". During this time he married Sarah Green in 1858. She was born in Lancashire England and came to America with her parents. Later her parents returned to England and she remained here and settled in Kendall County. William and Sarah had seven children. Their names are George, William (my father), Hattie, Ida, Frank, Mary and Lida.
   
   My father farmed my grandfather's farm and his parents lived in the other house on the farm known as Uncle Frank's place. In 1896 my father married a girl working in the neighborhood. Her name was Nina Ethel O'Dell and she originally came from Gallipolis, Ohio. Her father was James O'Dell and he was Justice of the Peace in Gallia County, Ohio. After he passed away his family later moved to Grundy County in Illinois.
   
   I was born March 2, 1897. When I was about a year and a half, having straight white hair, my mother wanted to improve it. She used a hot curling iron to curl wherever hair was long enough. Sometimes she got too close to my ears which always seemed to be in the way, leaving little red spots on them from the hot iron. When I was a little older and played outdoors, I had a habit of roaming too far. My mother had a hard time keeping an eye on me and decided to make a little pink sun bonnet for me to wear. When I wore that, she could spot me at quite a distance. When she came to get me, she carried a little switch and tickled the back of my legs all the way home. When I was about 3 years old, she made a nice little suit for me. Some how I got hold of the scissors, wondering if it would cut. I tried them out on my pants and snipped several pieces out. When I was 7 years old, my brother Wendell was born. He was a handsome little boy having dark hair and eyes and seemed to have everything I didn't. At the age of 4, he had diphtheria. Shortly before that I'd had surgery on my nose and had my tonsils and adenoids removed. A specialist from Chicago performed the surgery in a bedroom at home. With that kind of surgery, I was given no anesthetic and my father held me tight while the doctor worked in my nose. It bled by spurts and got on the wall and ceiling. It was a gruesome ordeal. My folks thought I wouldn't make it. I then got diphtheria and our local doctor, knowing of my weak condition, gave me a shot. He gave my brother one too, but it was late to help him and he passed away unexpectedly. A great loss, my little brother Wendell, at the age of 4. The reason I had to have surgery on my nose was because when I was about 5 years old, I always liked to play in the shelled corn kept in the barn for feed. It was forbidden… but fun to play in. Somehow a kernel of corn got up my nose and I couldn't blow it out. I didn't tell my mother, but a few days later she noticed my nose was swollen and I had to tell her I'd played in the corn and what happened. She tried to get the kernel out using a crochet hook. It came out but my nose was injured and got infected and grew together making it hard to breathe on one side. The surgery helped a lot.
   
   After I'd recovered from my ailments and things were quite normal again, my mother and I went by train to Ohio to visit their relatives. This was good for both of us but it was good to get back home again. Then one day I accidentally stepped on an old board with a big nail in it. The nail went through my foot and my father had to step on the board to pull my foot off the nail. He took me to the doctor who put some gauze on a big needle, soaked it in iodine and pulled it up through the hole in my foot. Did that ever hurt!
   
   When I was 9 years old, my sister Florence was born. When she was 16 months old, my sister Ruth was born. None of us were given middle names. Florence and I had lighter hair and skin. Ruth and my little brother Wendell had dark hair and darker skin. Florence was a more demanding child and Ruth was inclined to give in and took things as they came. I sometimes had to do some baby-sitting.
   
   When I was about 11 years old I'd go to the creek west of our place to fish using a bent pin for a hook with a worm for bait. I would sometimes catch a bass but usually smaller fish. When I was about 12 and going to Porter School near our home, there was often something exciting going on. The older boys often aggravated the teacher. One day she could take no more and told me to go get a twig from a tree for a switch to use on them. I went out and got a big cottonwood branch that had fallen down. I dragged it in but it was too big to go through the door and it got wedged there. Branches had to be broken off to move it either way. About that time I was in as much trouble as the older boys. She then hit me with one of the branches across my back. It really hurt. She was sorry afterwards and apologized to my folks but I guess I had it coming.
   
   My grandfather (William Hall), who lived with us, had been ailing and the doctor decided surgery was necessary. The operation took place in our living room. A door was laid on two sawhorses, was padded and served as the operating table. Another doctor assisted and gave him chloroform. One of his kidneys was removed and he made a good recovery. He lived with us the rest of his life, passing away at the age of 79.
   
   During the winter, I enjoyed hunting rabbits and did lots of trapping. My first "gun" was a broomstick with a nail in it. Later my father let me use his shotgun. My first rabbit was shot at close range and all that was left of him was the hide. When I brought it home, my father got mad and said if that's the way I was going to shoot them, he wouldn't let me use the gun anymore. I learned the hard way but got so I was pretty good at hunting. It provided me with spending money. I got 25 to 35 cents each for them. Some that were shot with a rifle were dressed and sold to a meat market in Morris. They brought 50 cents a piece.
   
   About this time I got my first bicycle from Sears. I sure made use of it. Once I went to Morris on it to a circus. This was about a 9 mile trip one way. I had two dollars in my pocket. I saw every sideshow and when it was time for the main show I didn't have enough money left to but it. Fortunately one of my uncles was there and I told him of my problem, so he gave me the money to get in. I rode my bike to all the county fairs. It wasn't unusual to ride more than 50 miles round trip. Roads were often in poor shape and if the dust was deep, you got off your bike and walked it 'til you could ride again. One night when I was a long way from home my light went out and I rode miles and miles in the dark… alone. I loved my bike. My wheels were hot most of the time.
   
   Reading has always been one of my favorite pastimes. As a boy I read everything I could get my hands on. Some of the books are on the shelves in our living room today. Adventure stories were my favorites. When I read a book on "How to Fly" I tried it. I rigged up a frame, covered it with an old sheet and fastened it on my back as wings. I opened the door upstairs in the barn and took off, expecting to fly down. Needless to say I came down with a plop. It's a wonder I didn't break some bones. This experience got flying 'out of my head' for a while. But it didn't slow my reading. In later years when my own kids brought library books home from school I could have written better book reports than they did --- because I read them cover to cover.
   
   My mother decided she'd like to have me learn to play the piano so she sent for a correspondence course that cost $20.00. I'll tell you «i»that«/i» was a big waste of money. To me, practicing was for the birds! She got more out of the course that I did. As for me, a musician I was not.
   
   One time, one of our cows and her calf were put in the barnyard to eat grass. When it was time to do chores and put her back in the cow pen, my father held the gate open while I was to help get the calf in. After the cow went thru the open gate she turned to look for her calf. She saw me with it and she came right for me like a wild animal. I was knocked down and trampled and my father thought she'd killed me. He carried me to the house. I soon came to and my mother cleaned me up and found my worst injury was one of my legs. She did the necessary doctoring and I still have a scar on my leg. Bu one again … I survived! A friend and I once decided we wanted to be cowboys, the kind I'd read about. We put a saddle on a 2 year old calf. I got on and the calf took off like a shot. I couldn't jump off … I finally fell off. We had a hard time catching him to get the saddle of before my father saw what we'd been up to. Still another time we thought we wanted to walk a tightrope … like we'd seen at the circus. We took a heavy rope and fastened it in the both ends … one end being about 2 feet from the ground and the other 6 feet from the ground. While we fell off more times than we stayed on, we got so we could do it real good. Being barefoot made it easier. We always had to get things put away before my father saw what had been going on. All of our adventures were by no means a success but were lots of fun and I never broke my neck! Just lucky, I guess.
   
   A boy from Morris, who was a few years older than I, came to live with us, working for my father. He was a good mechanic and I learned a lot from him. We were real good pals and it was good experience as I was always able to repair my own tractors and cars as well as doing work for others. In those days you got the parts and fixed it yourself … or you just might have to do without.
   
   At school we put on a program every year. The kids would sing in a group and some had to recite something. One time I had learned my piece well. I could rattle it off at home without hesitation. When it was my turn to perform I got up in front of the audience and couldn't remember «u»one word«/u». I was embarrassed to say the least and my folks weren't very proud of me either. At other school events box socials were held. Any girl could bring a fancy box filled with good eats and the boys and men would bid on them as they were auctioned off. The boys tried to guess what box belonged to certain girls. One girl who's brothers were my friends showed her box to me when I was at their home - so I'd know which one to bid on. She didn't want a stranger to but it. That evening when the boxes were being sold I watched for hers and obligingly started bidding. Others bid against me. I kept on until it went up to $25 … and the others all quit bidding. I had to pay the price, or rather my father did. He wasn't too pleased about having to pay that much. But he was on the school board and the money was used for the school so he didn't mind too much. I might add … the girl whose box I bought was several years older than I so there was no romance involved.
   
   Some amusing things happened during my school days. There usually was about the same number of boys and girls. Boys usually wore overalls and girls wore dresses. At that time zippers were unheard of so buttons were an important part of everything we wore. One day a girl (who was good natured but a little short on looks) was writing on the blackboard at the front of the room. While trying her best to do the work assigned to her, she must have exerted herself too much, as a button let loose and her underwear fell down around her feet, much to the amusement of some of the kids. Yet you felt sorry for her. She was so embarrassed but could go no place with that draped around her feet. I don't remember how this unfortunate incident turned out. The teacher must have come to the rescue with the faithful safety pin. They were the answer to many problems for both kids and grown-ups. I'm sure teachers in those days could write a book about their unusual experiences. One teacher we had boarded at my folks for several years. Her salary was $40 a month. While I was far from perfect in school, she never let my folks know their son was no angel. I always knew if I got in trouble at school, I'd be in worse trouble when I got home … and I wasn't looking for double trouble. Several years later a new schoolhouse was built having 6 rooms.
   
   In 1911 and 1912 plans were made to build an interurban line between Yorkville and Morris. It was called the Fox and Illinois Union (it being between those two rivers.) During the summer I, along with several others, hauled railroad ties with a team and wagon. They were used in the building of this railroad. We earned $8 a day which was considered good wages at that time. The interurban was ready for service in 1913. There were five grain elevators along the way and they did good business. It also had express and freight service besides passenger cars. There was taxi service from Lisbon to Central. Passengers were picked up at certain places. One regular stop was at Hall's Corner about one-forth mile from our home. One time some older boys were looking for some excitement and naturally I was too. There was an empty boxcar on the side track in Central. Blocks held it in place. We removed them, jumped into the car and away we went down the track - as it was down hill. We rode several miles until the track leveled enough to make it stop. We then jumped off and walked the rest of the way to Morris and went to the show. It sure beat walking all the way … which we had done many times. It didn't make any extra work for the motorman as the next time he came along on the track he just pushed it on ahead of him. But after that incident they kept the empty cars chained to a utility pole so they'd know where to find them when they wanted to fill them with grain from the elevator. We boys had been good paying customers and we felt we were entitled to one free ride. Fortunately, no harm was done and we had the fun of trying something new.
   
   North of one of the elevators was an old quarry … right beside the car tracks. All of the guys in the neighborhood went swimming there most every evening during the summer. It really cooled you off after a hot day. We always swam in the nude and left our clothes on the bank. We'd enjoy a good swim on Sundays, too in this refreshing cold water. One Sunday we had been in for quite a while and were ready to get out. The car came down the track and stopped right by the quarry and stayed there for quite a while. It had a "hotbox" and they had to wait for it to cool off before they could continue on their way. By this time we were getting real cold and were ready to get out when we noticed a lady passenger taking in the sights. We all tried to get behind some bushes to get to our clothes. After some fast stepping around we finally reached them and heaved a sigh of relief. It was then we noticed that she had a camera and was taking pictures. Were we ever glad when they left and were on their way. But incident didn't keep us away from the Ol' Swimming Hole.
   
   All farm homes had plenty of mice in their attics. We decided to try and get rid of them and since cats were plentiful, we put one in our attic, hoping she would thin out the population. In her search she somehow fell down between the inside and outside wall and couldn't get out. We eventually heard some faint cries for help and tried to locate just where it came from. We took a siding board off the east side of the house and there she was … happy and free again.
   
   Our farm had several hedge fences. It was my job to cut and trim it when other farm work was done. This was usually done during winter. One day I gave a hedge branch a hard whack with the hedge knife and it got caught in some wire and went into my foot. My feet were cold and I didn't feel anything at first. But soon my foot felt warm. I looked down and saw blood coming out of the hole in my shoe. I made it to the house. My folks weren't home so I called the doctor. While making the call I put my foot in a pan which soon was half full of blood. When the doctor and nurse got there, they cleaned it and put seven stitches in … without any pain killer. I really felt like swearing … but I didn't. The nurse asked if it hurt. When I told her no, she said that I must be tough. (I didn't feel very tough, I'll tell you.) The doctor told me I would have a stiff ankle the rest of my life. In a few months, though, it was back to normal. Guess the nurse was right as I've gotten a lot of mileage out of it since.
   
   My folks belonged to the Methodist Church in Lisbon. I attended Sunday school there, too, but sometimes went to church with one of my friends. His church was west of Lisbon Center and was later torn down. One Sunday my friend's father looked different than usual as his thick dark mustache was shaved off. His upper lip looked so pale. I could hardly wait until the service was over to ask my friend what happened. It seems he'd set a trap under the barn and his father had helped him pull it out … and in it was a skunk. His father got the full spray right on his mustache. They couldn't wash it out and so it had to be shaved off to get rid of the fumes. It took a while before he looked natural again.
   
   I mentioned in my earlier years that I went to Porter School then later to Lisbon. Well that's where I got interested in my best girl friend. I usually tried to sit at the desk right in back of her, my mind on her more than on my books. I'd ride horseback to school when weather was nice and drove a horse-and-buggy in bad weather, which gave me a chance to take my girl friend home. She lived west of Lisbon. We continued dating and later married. That girl friend is your Mom and my lifelong partner. We had friends and many good times before settling to real housekeeping on our own. Most of our married life was covered in Mom's autobiography … now not all of it, you understand. I was right there during all of the 66 years so far but I won't go into details about a lot that Mom has already covered.
   
   Earlier means of travel was by horse-and-buggy. In 1916 my folks got their first car. It was a Reo touring car and it cost $900. All dealers gave a premium when they sold you a car. With this car they gave a tire pump which could be attached to the motor for pumping up tires. I did the driving until my father learned how. In hot weather, tires would blow out and roads were often in bad condition. When they were muddy, you had to put chains on or you'd get stuck. Gas was 9 cents a gallon. If it was bought by the barrel the price was 8 cents a gallon. Not many care drove by your house but one time a preacher was driving past our place and his car stopped. Something was wrong with it and he didn't know what to do. He asked me to look at it. He said it was full of gas. Well, since it wouldn't start, I got under the car and opened the petcock but no gas came out. The tank was under the front seat. I had to take the cushion out, unscrew the cap and I put my hand into the gas tank. I found an oak leaf had covered the opening and shut off the gas. When I removed it, it started right away. Now, I've heard of a "fig leaf for cover" but never an oak leaf.
   
   My father's health was failing and he wasn't able to do much. He had a farm sale and I bought the farm tools, horses and cattle that I wanted. We then exchanged places. We moved to the Homeplace and they moved to the smaller house. During my father's illness, my sister Florence got scarlet fever and they were quarantined for 6 weeks. My mother cared for her and a nurse form Morris came to take care of my father until he had to go to the hospital. He passed away in the Morris Hospital in April of 1920 from heart trouble.
   
   One time after my father died, I took Mom and my two sisters for a little trip. By this time we had lived on the Homeplace several years and had two children … Donald and William. My mother stayed with our kids and we were on our way to Indiana to visit Aunt Mary and Uncle Sam. Roads were so bad in places and the tires on our Ford were pretty worn. We punctured tires many times before we got as far as Minooka only about ten miles away. I patched them and pumped them up by hand.
   Somehow we got there and had a nice visit … but it took us a while.
   
   Another time I took my mother and sisters to Ohio to visit relatives. Mom stayed home with the kids and had to do the chores. One chore was to milk our one big cow morning and evening. I wasn't concerned about her doing the job as she'd always lived on a farm and had seen her father and later me, milk cows many times. But I guess what she had seen hadn't "soaked in"… because she didn't know her cows as well as she thought she did. It was a good thing our visit wasn't longer or our cows could have gone dry (from lack of proper milking). She found out a one-leg-milk stool wasn't made for comfort and it was hard to keep her balance. After accomplishing that she had trouble getting her hands around the cows faucets, and then to try to milk. She only managed to get enough milk to feed the cats and a little extra. Sitting on one side of this big cow, she couldn't reach under her to finish the job, so she picked up the milk stool, went around to the other side to finish the job. Not many cows would have stood for such unusual treatment. Now when I did the milking, I'd get nearly a pail full and I didn't call them faucets! There always were several cats sitting nearby when I milked, waiting for a handout. I'd just turn the so-called faucet a little and shoot a stream of milk right into the cat's M-E-O-W. They licked their chops and waited for the next shot.
   
   By this time my mother and sisters had moved from the south place to Morris. Then after my sisters were married, my mother went to Chicago to keep house for her brother Jim. We enjoyed many trips to Chicago to visit them and our kids took turns visiting them during the summer. They would stay a couple of weeks and enjoy all the attention their grandma and Uncle Jim gave them. Skipper, their little bulldog, was there, too. We always enjoyed the trip to Chicago during the Christmas holidays … a visit my mother really looked forward to. After living there several years she got sick and was taken to the Franklin Boulevard Hospital. I drove to Chicago several days a week to see her. She wasn't sick very long and passed away in January of 1942. My mother was a great person … one you could count on to always stand by you.
   
   In earlier years everyone used lamps to light the house. A lantern with a handle for carrying was used in the barn. But then electricity came. Poles were put up along the road for electric wires and electricity was available to everyone along the way. I wired our house and later the other buildings. This new invention really interested me and I wired many other houses in the area. It's probably hard for you to imagine going in and wiring a house … there were some interesting problems to solve. Of course the wiring was basic … not the complex kind we have today. I bought a big telephone pole for our yard and put it up right in the middle of the barnyard with a big light and switched on it. It lit up the whole yard and it served another purpose, too. It seems that when any one of the kids was learning to ride a bike they balanced and pushed off from this pole … and they came right back to it like it was a big magnet. Sometimes they caught hold of it to keep from crashing … and other times, unfortunately they crashed right into it.
   
   We had several dogs while living on the farm. One Christmas Robert wanted a puppy. I don't remember what Ralph wanted that particular year. We tried to buy what the kids requested … if it was within our means. I went to Chicago to visit Uncle Jim. His hobby was raising bulldogs and he sold many at good prices. He and I went to a place where they sold pets and we picked out a puppy. They wanted $75 for him. Uncle Jim said we'll give $12 … and that's what I paid. I brought him home in a shoe box as he was only 6 weeks old. On Christmas Eve we gave it to Robert and he names him Rex. He had plenty of attention and grew up to be a faithful dog. Later we got a dog named Mickey from Don and the two dogs made quite a pair. There were always rats in the barn and crib and they both really went after them. Mickey was a cocker spaniel with long floppy ears and sometimes the rats would bite and hang on to his ears. He'd howl until Rex came to the rescue. He'd shake the daylights out of every rat he got hold of. One time when I shelled corn out of the crib, both dogs had one busy day. They killed a big pile of rats and Florence was right there to encourage them. Rats seemed to go in cycles … as some years there were swarms of them at every farm in the area and other years there were hardly any. Dogs grow old too and ours had long, busy lives. But then they showed signs of being cross at times and we thought they wouldn't adjust to new owners. So - before leaving the farm I disposed of both of them and buried them side by side on the farm where they had spent so many happy years. It was hard to do but we knew that was the best way as they were already enough dogs in Lisbon to keep the bushes watered!
   
   I was on the Porter school board for about 20 years. We had a variety of teachers. One term we had several of them during one term … a couple of them got married, one just couldn't take it … then we hired one who really could take it and everything was back to normal. The quarry was in operation right next to the school house. One time when they blasted, a big rock went through the west side of the school house breaking windows and doing other damage. It was a freak accident and fortunately there was no school that day. After that, whenever blasting was done, they blew a warning whistle. And sometimes I went to the school if they expected any problem. Once when we got a new teacher, the kids thought she wouldn't know what the whistle meant and expected her to about jump out of her chair when she heard the blast. They sure were disappointed when she didn't even make a move.
   
   Our kids always had chores to do when they got home from school. Not that they were always so willing, but it was part of their job. When the boys were in 4-H it was more interesting for them as they were managing their own projects. I was proud of their efforts and it wasn't easy to stand by and let them just work things out for themselves. They had to learn by trial and error … just like me. Farm life was good and better yet when you had a good tractor instead of just horses. My first new tractor was a Minneapolis Moline and we had purebred Poland China pigs. When Don was little, he sort of got them mixed up. He called them Moline pigs and Poland China tractor. But kids grow up and the boys liked to drive the tractor and did a good job. Having good equipment made farming much faster and easier. I had done road work in my earlier years and continued it along with farming … building roads and bridges, grading and plowing snow. Plus keeping the equipment in good working order was an everlasting job. Plowing snow when drifts were several feet high is quite a job, sometimes there was just no place to put it. That's what you call 'good old Illinois Winters'. In 1950 I was elected road commissioner of Lisbon Township. I decided to quit farming and had a farm sale in January of 1955. We had bought a lot in Lisbon, built our house and moved into it in October of 1955. I continued doing road work until 1970. William had bought the Homeplace and was living there so it was in the Hall family several more years.
   
   I did manage to salvage a little bit of the farm for all my kids. One Christmas I planned a special project for them. I was driving by the farm one day and noticed that they were cutting down the big row of walnut trees west of the house. These trees had been a real landmark in the area and our farm was named the "Walnut Row Farm". I stopped and asked if I could have some of the good pieces and they gave me a good supply. I wanted to make some things for keepsakes out of our old trees. They had provided so much shade during the summer for cows, horses and sheep and for our kids as well. We had family reunions out under those trees … lots of good times. There was usually a swing and it was quite a project to get a swing tied up in those tall branches. But my kids spent many hours swinging there. Those beautiful trees provided some walnut bowls for all the family, Christmas of 1974. The Homeplace doesn't look the same any more. The house was burned and a new brick one is in its place. The barn and crib are the same but in need of paint. The place still brings back a lot of memories.
   
   Fishing is one of my favorite subjects … and yes, I could tell a story or two. The first book I had was a small wooden boat which I kept at the Fox River. It used a 5 horse motor. One big rain we had made the river rise so much I had to get it out. The oars had already gotten away when I got there. I brought it home. I've had several other boats. We took some of them on fishing trips and the biggest boat was for pleasure. We used it for riding on the Illinois River. I sold it as we didn't use it much and it was big to store.
   
   We had many good fishing trips and some interesting and amusing experiences. Many of our trips were to Genoa, Wisconsin fishing on the Mississippi below the dam and in the back waters. One time when fishing wasn't very good, we were just relaxing and enjoying ourselves. All of a sudden Mom's pole jerked and we knew she had caught something … it locked to be good size. I got out the dip net. Mom was hanging on to her pole determined not to lose her fish. She was standing up in the boat so excited … she lost her balance and fell backwards, off the seat and her elbow went right in the minnow bucket! I sure wished I'd had a camera. Just as I got the net under the fish, he let go of the hook and fell into the net. It was a 10 pound northern.
   
   Another good fishing trip to Wisconsin was in September of 1954. I got up early and since it was raining, Mom decided to stay in the cabin. A guide went with me. We hadn't been out but a short time when I got a strike! I knew I had something big on my hook. As I got it up to the boat we could really see the size of it. It was too big to have in the boat alive so the guide shot it. What a thrill to pull this 25 pound muskie out of the water! Mom knew the sound of our motor and wondered why we came back so soon. She came out in the rain to see my big catch. Since it was the biggest one I ever caught I decided to have it mounted as proof and not just a fish story. We left the fish at the taxidermist called Noah's Ark and it was shipped to me a couple of months later. George made a good display case for it and it has been on display ever since.
   
   We had other good vacations by ourselves and others with some members of our family. One I remember was in October of 1960 with George and Verneda. We stayed in a cabin at Kentucky Lake and fished in the Tennessee River. One very foggy morning we three went fishing. Mom stayed in the cabin as she didn't like feeling her way around in the fog. That's just what we did … getting to the boat dock. After getting into the boat we couldn't see anything except the high line wire up overheard. Kind of a crazy thing to do, I guess, but it sure paid off. We caught a good size bass which won first prize for being the biggest one caught in their fishing derby that week. We won the $100 prize … which we split. How about that … getting paid for going fishing!
   
   Mom always liked a big boat with a flat bottom so she could walk around without tipping the boat over. One morning we'd caught 28 crappies in just a short time and decided to go back to the cabin. Two men who had been fishing a long time and hadn't caught anything approached us and thought that sure was a nice catch. I gave them all our fish and they really appreciated it. Well, by giving them away, I didn't have to clean them. That gets to be a long, fishy-smelling job when you have that many to clean. I like catching them … and we sure enjoy eating them. We still like to have a good meal of fish.
   
   Fishing in the Pacific Ocean was very interesting and I'm glad I had that experience. Ralph and I left the dock in Long Beach very early in the morning in a big fishing boat 80 feet long. It took 4 hours to get to the place we were to fish … among some huge rocks. The water was between 600 and 700 feet deep. Fishing was good … each line having several hook on it. We caught 105 pounds of rock bass, which was very good eating. This was in 1964 when we visited Ralph and family at Long Beach, California. This trip was a gift from our children for our 50«sup»th«/sup» wedding anniversary. Mom and I really appreciated it and have lots of good memories of that trip.
   
   We've lived in our home in Lisbon now for 25 years. During these years I've had many good visits with our friend and neighbor across the street. We agreed one day that there were just too many cats roaming around. They had one at their back door every time they stepped out - waiting for a handout. He knew I had a gun and since his wife wasn't home that day (wanting to spare her the ordeal) he came over and asked if I'd get rid of this cat. Naturally I agreed it was a good idea. So I got my gun and went over. He put some milk in the cat's pan on their cement walk. When the cat started lapping it up, I took aim and fired. I shot a hole in the pan, the milk ran out and the cat just flew away. We didn't know where.. My neighbor said that sure was a waste of milk, also a bullet. I decided then and there my shooting wasn't so hot anymore. While I didn't hit her - I must have scared her to death - as she didn't ever come back. This neighbor, who is 92 years old, is now in very poor health and I miss visiting with him.
   
   I've enjoyed going back over the years … but this is 1980. Being retired has its dull days and its good days. But such is life when you are a senior citizen. I'm thankful to be well and that we can enjoy life in our home. During the summer I have plenty of mowing to do and I work in my garden which produces all we can use. Looking over the years which have there ups and downs I am thankful for my family, for the good things that have happened and for all these years we've had together. And I'm glad that we can still work at making different things when we feel like it. Mom and I have worked on lots of projects together and I always enjoy helping the kids when they need some carpenter work. I like to draw and read and I play around with paints, too. Not all my projects turned out so successful but I've enjoyed working on them. Usually I would make something for all the kids at Christmas time. The project this year is this book … I'm telling it and Mom's putting it on paper. I've been very faithful about writing in a diary for years and years and it sure has come in handy. I've settled more than one argument by going and "looking it up". Not that I write anything so spectacular. Some days I just write "it rained today" or maybe even "it didn't rain today."
   
   We have had lots of family Christmas parties here at the house but we have kind of outgrown the place now. I'm glad we can still get together at Christmas even if it's at another location. If all the Halls got together today there would be 70 of us … Mom and I, 9 children, 29 grandchildren and 39 great grandchildren. It looks like I really started something. One thing is sure … I really had good luck with kids.
   
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