Joy Neal Kidney's Blog, page 26

A Christmas Tree Quilt

My Christmas Tree quilt is just a tree square combined with a moderated traditional Nine Patch. All the fabrics have subtle designs in, which isn’t noticeable in the photos. It’s one of the few quilts I made by myself, and all by hand.

The miniature patch on the back says that I started designing, cutting, and piecing in 1992. Quilting and binding wasn’t finished until 1996. (You can see the subtle fabric designs better in the patch. The ecru fabric also has a leafy motif in it.)

The afghan at the foot of the bed is made of Granny Squares, made by Grandma Ruby (Blohm) Neal. She probably made a couple dozen of them for family members.

 

Review of “What Leora Never Knew” by GP Cox on his Pacific Paratrooper Website

“What Leora Never Knew” by: Joy Neal Kidney

Posted by GP

“What Leora Never Knew”

After having read Joy Neal Kidney’s, “Leora’s Letters”, I felt as though I had learned all there was to know about the 3 uncles she had lost during WWII.  I should have not come to that conclusion quite so quickly.  I really should have expected that Joy would adamantly press on to locate any possible shred of further data she get her hands on.

I realize now that in “Leora’s Letters”, I had gotten introduced to the boys from Iowa, Dale, Danny, Junior and, of course, their family.  In this new work, “What Leora Never Knew“, I got to see the three of them turn into the soldiers, the pilots – the men they had become.

Joy’s intense mission to locate any, if not all, the information concerning her uncles, will leave you with an understanding of the need to have such stories told.  People like her, and me included, with so many others, not only want these men remembered, but honored for their actions and sacrifices.  They had so many lessons to teach us.

Joy Neal Kidney

Those expressing their feelings about this book in the endorsement section, convey their approval of “What Leora Never Knew” far more eloquently than I, but I believe we all share the same mutual respect for this endeavor.

Documentation accompanies the stories that Joy relates about her uncles’ time in service and their achievements.   The friends and fellow airmen shared their thoughts, memories and photos with Joy; all of which I know were a comfort to her.

Other members of the Wilson family and extended family, had also served and performed their duty for God, County and Family – heroes in their own right, who thankfully returned to hand down their values to the children.

Joy shares her photos willingly and continues the story to the time family members made a memorable visit to Europe to visit Danny’s grave and those of many others buried so far from home.  Plus, where to view each family members’ grave.  Her family’s grief reminds me of a poem, from an unknown author, entitled, “If Tears Could Build A Stairway”…

Wilson Family Stars

No farewell words were spoken,

No time to say goodbye,

You were gone before I knew it,

And only God knows why…

Tucked in the back of the book , between the Resources and Acknowledgements, sits Questions to Ponder… all good, poignant questions, but to you, granddaughter of Leora, my answer to # 8 is an emphatic, “Never!”

Thank you, Joy, for your hard work and diligence.  This is a magnificent addition to my shelves!!

To locate Joy and her books:  Click HERE

Joy’s books

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Military Humor –

SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO KEEP YOUR EQUIPMENT ON A LEASH!

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Farewell Salutes –

Osprey Crash  –  Japan – 21st Special Op Squadron.353rd Special Op Wing

Terrell K. Brayman – Pittsford, NY; US Air Force, Captain, pilot

Jacob M. Galliher – Pittsfield, MA; US Air Force, SSgt., Airborne Linguist, Specialty: Mandarin

FAREWELL

Jeffery T. Hoernemann – Andover, MN; US Air Force, Major, CV-22 pilot/instructor

Brian K. Johnson – Reynoldsburg, OH; US Air Force, Senior Airman, Flight Engineer

Zachery E. Lavoy – Oviedo, FL; US Air Force, TSgt., Flight Chief, Medical Operations

Eric E. Spendlove – St. George, UT; US Air Force, Major, Flight Surgeon

Jake M. Turnage – Kennesaw, GA; US Air Force, SSgt., Flight Engineer

Luke A. Unrath – Riverside, CA; US Air Force, Major, pilot, Flight Commander

**********                    **********                    **********                     **********

Norman M. Lear (101) – New Haven, CT; US Army, WWII, ETO, B-17 gunner/radioman, 772 BS/463 BG/15th Air Force, Air Medal W/ 4 Oak Clusters  /  screenwriter, sitcom creator & producer

Gordon D. McCarthy – Palmer, MI; US Army, Korea, Cpl., KIA (Chosin Reservoir)

James R. Ward – Springfield, OH; US Navy, WWII, PTO, USS Oklahoma, Seaman 1st Class, KIA (Pearl Harbor, HI), Medal of Honor

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Check out GP Cox’s informative Pacific Paratrooper website.

The Best Books on Researching World War II Casualties

Shepherd.com is a terrific place to browse for books. They invite authors to feature one of their own books, and to recommend five related ones. 

The stories in these five are so compelling, listed with What Leora Never Knew: A Granddaughter’s Quest for Answers, as “The Best Books on Researching World War II Casualties”:

Courtesies of the Heart by Kenneth Breaux

A Missing Plane by Susan Sheehan

Bones of My Grandfather: Reclaiming a Lost Hero of World War II by Clay Bonnyman Evans

Letters from Uncle Dave: The 73-Year Journey to Find a Missing-in-Action World War II Paratrooper by Dr. Phil Rosenkrantz

Shot Down: The true story of pilot Howard Snyder and the crew of the B-17 Susan Ruth by Steve Snyder

Since Shepherd.com wants readers to check out their website, I didn’t list the reasons for my choices here. Please find the list here.

Here is why Ben Fox created Shepherd.com.

Ole Red and 8 tiny Deere

I sure wish I knew who to credit with this one!

The P-38 Pilots’ Stone Hut in Italy

Dan Wilson and the other P-38 pilots were issued tents in Italy, not nearly warm enough to get through the winter. They collected rocks from rickety stone fences and hired a local man to put together a stone hut. The pilots worked on it when not on a combat mission.

Belly tank crates and old tent canvas were turned into roofs. Various crates became doors, widows frames, and furniture. The hut even had a brick floor, a stove, running water, and an electric light. 

 “An enterprising squadron welder made heating stoves from parts of 55 gallon drums,” Dick Tomlinson wrote to me in December 1990. “Since we had no kerosene or heating oil, we burned 100 octane aviation gas in them. This was very volatile and accidents happened; on 30 Nov. 1944 when we were moving into our house, I became badly burned when the gas exploded as I was lighting the stove. I was the first, but not the last, casualty of the heating stoves. I was out of circulation for about three weeks as a result.”

The 14th Fighter Group also dealt with flooding the wet winter of 1944-45.

See more about Danny Wilson’s months in combat in What Leora Never Knew: A Granddaughter’s Quest for Answers.

That Fateful Sunday Dinner, December 7, 1941

That Fateful Sunday Dinner

The clink of silverware,
Sammy Kaye's Sunday Serenade,
amiable background music
for Iowa after-church diners.
The scent of Evening in Paris
mingles with that of pot roast.
A news bulletin interrupts
a smooth danceable melody:
Pearl Harbor had been attacked.
Diners gasp, ask a flock of questions.
Does this mean we're at war?
Where is Pearl Harbor?
Doris, in her gold waitress uniform,
shudders. One brother in the navy,
and her other brothers
are "all the wrong ages."
Five brothers serve.
Only two come home.

Published in Lyrical Iowa 2023.

National/World Events Category: “Any form, 20-line limit; at bottom of page, include 1-2 line summary of event & date, but do not count these lines.” Mine read: “Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, Sunday December 7, 1941.”

 

The Lyrical Iowa Competition this year included a new Grant Wood Poetry Prize. The photos on the front and back covers show areas he used in his paintings.

Iowa Poetry Association

“What are you going to say about Leora?” Question to her Pastor

Leora Goff Wilson died on her 97th birthday, December 4, 1987. This is from her funeral which was on a very foggy December 7.

Rev. Jerry D. Palmer, First Christian Church, Guthrie Center, Iowa

December 7, 1987

(This included a Call to Worship and an Invocation. The Scripture Selections were Psalm 23, Psalm 121, and from the book of John. A Pastoral Prayer was next, then her obituary, then special music. I’m including only Pastor Palmer’s Meditation:)

While with some people yesterday, the question was asked of me, “What are you going to say about Leora?” My answer, “There are so many things going around in my mind just now, that I am going to have to sort them out, to make my words meaningful and special to all who have gathered here this day.”

Before we begin to look at faith and hope and love, let me share with you just two or three things about being pastor with Leora for these past 18 years. First of all, there was a special kind of bond between Leora and myself. You see, my mother’s name is also LeOra. Though spelled a bit differently, it is pronounced the same, and since there are not too many with that name, these two persons had a special thing going for them, and since I was the son of one, it made it special for me, as well.

Taken in 1987

Secondly, Leora was one whom I would liken to John Wayne in the movie, “True Grit.” By true grit, I mean that she never gave up in or on life. There were times when the weather was so bad, I did not expect to see Leora here, and yet, as I would pass by the north window in the entryway, there she would be coming down the street. Perhaps it was raining hard, or it was slick, or it was snowing. It got so that, when we would cancel church because of the weather, she would be one of the first I would call, because I know that she would try to make it. This true grit has been expressed to me in the past couple of days by a good number of persons on the street. She would not miss Auxiliary, or Women’s Fellowship, or would never be late in paying her bills, but would walk to town to take care of the matters at hand.

Thirdly, there was an enjoyment of life. Her association with others in many differing kinds of ways was special to her. It meant that she could go, rather than sit at home. It meant that the mind was kept active and alive, by what was taking place not only within the organization, but as well the world. There was the keeping of one’s body fit – fit to work in the year tending to the flower and yard, of itself, of walking to town, for whatever reason. It was not sitting in a rocking chair, to wither away, if you will, but to remain active and alive and vital, even though the years were beginning to take their toll.

Also, there was a deep and abiding faith, not only in people or groups, but in the God and Father of us all, and in our Lord Jesus Christ. I have only heard bits and pieces of the troublesome life that Leora had, but I remark at her faith. The losing of children, a husband, parents, brothers and a sister, one would think that this would make a person bitter and sour on the world, but for Leora, it was opportunity. An opportunity that looked at the situation square in the eye, and said, “I believe, I have faith and hope and love, and I am going to express it all the days of my life.” It was an opportunity, if you will, to come close to God, walking down the path of death and disease, only to know that he would, indeed, provide a place for us. It was recognition that he gave his only begotten son, on the cross for each and every one of us, so that those who believe in him will never die, but will have eternal life.

Perhaps the great apostle Paul expressed it best when he said, like Leora’s life, “I have fought the good fight, I have run the race, I have kept the faith, henceforth there is for me the crown of righteousness.” What better words can we say of this lady who has touched all of us in many ways, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” and with God we would say, “Enter into the Kingdom.”

Benediction – As you turn to God, may his peace be yours even in this sad time. Be in the world, as Jesus was. Forgive and love one another in his name. Let the risen Christ care for you. Welcome the Holy Spirit to be your Comforter. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Leora Goff Wilson and her mother, Laura Jordan Goff, worshiped and served God in this church for decades, beginning in 1948. Laura Goff had also attended this church during the 1920s when her family lived in a Victorian house. She learned how to vote there at a WCTU meeting.

How Some Readers are Learn About Leora’s Courageous Life

Kindle Edition Normalized Pages Read November 1-30, 2023

This shows Kindle Edition Normalized Pages (KENP) read by customers who borrow Leora books from Kindle Unlimited (KU) and the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library (KOLL).

I don’t understand all of it, but each KENP page read by someone earns a fraction of a cent. Yes, less than one cent per page.

But my goal in writing Grandma Leora’s stories is to share the life of this courageous little woman.

How amazing that in the month of November, 2023, Leora fans read more than 22,700 pages about her. Thankful and humbled. I think Grandma would be as well.

A John Deere Riding High

From a Stuart newspaper: “This 1939 B John Deere tractor was placed atop a specially designed steel pole by members of the 5X80 Two Cylinder Club as a means of promoting two cylinder tractors. Members of the club spent a lot of time preparing the tractor for its eventually resting place. Members removed the inner workings of the tractor and then sandblasted and painted the tractor. It is located south of Stuart, across from the Stuart 66 truck stop.”

This is just off I-80, so you can’t miss it!

Facebook has a John Deere Two-Cylinder Club. These are the tractors with the familiar “putt putt” sound.

My Endodontist Played for the Minnesota Lynx

Dr. Lindsey Meder, who is with Endodontics, P.C., performed my root canal last week. I’d discovered that, while earning her undergrad degree, she played basketball for the Hawkeyes at the University of Iowa. She was also drafted into the Women’s National Basketball Association where she played for the Minnesota Lynx.

I took her a copy of Leora’s Dexter Stories: The Scarcity Years of the Great Depression that has the Des Moines Tribune basketball photo of my mother (Doris) as a freshman. The Dexter girls still played three-court basketball but at the end of season, they had several extra practices in order to transition to six-on-six. Now women play full court with five players on a team. Dr. Meder said she hadn’t known about girls’ basketball before six-on-six.

Mom made the team as a freshman because she’d played against her older brothers, and because she was left-handed.

I’m glad the root canal is done. Now to get that tooth crowned soon.