Beloved Songs, & Poems

Sally called me the other day and asked if I had a copy of the poem Vacation Time that Gramma Jones recited. I thought it might be nice to publish it and two other favorites here for any who don't know them.

This is one song that I loved to hear Mom sing. It made me cry (still does) and yet I would beg her to sing it again. I never got tired of hearing her sing it. {I still ask Beth to sing it for me!}

THE LITTLE FRISKIES
Way over in the meadow
In an old hollow tree
Lived old mother Frisky
and her little friskies three.
The mother stayed home
and kept the house neat
While Mr. Frisk hunted
them nice nuts to eat.

One very fine morning
Mr. Frisk did not come.
Mrs. Frisk said "dear children
I must bring him home.
Some very bad people
Are traveling about.
Lie still in your nest,
and don’t you stir out."

She put on her bonnet
and started to run.
A very bad man
Came along with a gun.
He lifted his gun -
it was loaded with lead -
and shot Mrs. Frisky
the squirrel quite dead.

He then took her home
and cut off her tail
and hung up her skin
on the wall on a nail.
And when the skin was
quite dry and quite tough -
He made little Bessie,
his daughter, a muff.

The poor little friskies
they cried and they cried.
But no one came near them
and so they all died.
In the cold stormy weather
when the north wind doth whirl -
Bess keeps her hands warm
in the skin of the squirrel.

Mom loved to read and tell stories and poems. This is one that I have fond memories of and I think that it's one she listened to when she was little.

LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE

Little Orphan Annie’s come to our house to stay -
To wash the cups & saucers up,
And brush the crumbs away,
And shoo the chickens off the porch,
And dust the hearth, and sweep,
And make the fire, and bake the bread,
And earn her board and keep.
And all us other chillun
When the supper things is done
We sit around the kitchen fire
An’ has the mostest fun
A listenin’ to the witches tales
‘At Annie tells about!
An’ the goblins ul get you
If ya don’t watch out!

Once there was a little boy
Who wouldn’t say his prayers.
When he went to bed at night
A waaay up stairs -
His mammy heered him holler
An’ his daddy heered him bawl.
But, when they turned the covers down,
He wasn’t there at all!
They seeked him in the rafter room
and cubby hole and press.
They seeked him in the chimney flue
and everywhere, I guess.
But all they ever found
Was just his pants and round-about.
An’ the goblins ul get you
If ya don’t watch out!

And once there was a little girl
Who would always laugh and grin,
And make fun of everyone,
and all her blood and kin.
And once when there was company,
And old folks was there
She mocked ‘em and shocked ‘em
And she said she "didn’t care!"
And just as she kicked up her heels
And turned to run and hide,
There were two big black things
A standin’ by her side.
They snatched her through the ceilin’
Fore she knowed what she’s about!
An’ the goblins ul get you
If ya don’t watch out!

An’ Little Orphan Annie says -
‘At when the blaze is blue
And the lamp wick sputters
And the wind goes ooo-ooo-ooo
And you hear the crickets quit
And the moon is gray
And the lightnin’ bugs and dew
Is all quenched away -
You better mind your parents
And your teachers kind and dear,
And cherish them that loves ya,
And dry the orphan’s tear.
And Help the poor and needy
‘At clusters all about —
Or the goblins ul get you
If ya don’t watch out!

...and one that I especially loved to hear and love to tell is...

VACATION TIME

Vacation time at last is here,
The jolliest time of all the year.
Away with books, pencils and pens
Now is the time to visit our friends.
We always to the country go,
Me and my youngest brother Joe.
We jump the fences, climb the trees,
And run through the meadows chasing bees.
Eat peaches, apples, plums and grapes,
And get in lots of awful scrapes.

But then it’s vacation time you know,
I don’t think folks ought to mind things so.

One day last summer Joe and me
Went down to the meadow the bull to see.
We couldn’t get a very good look at him,
So we let down the bars and walked right in.
You should have seen his shining eyes.
Joe said, "He’s taking in our size!"
And he frightened us so, Oh! Good stars!
We clean forgot to put up the bars.
And that mean old bull, just as sure as you’re born,
walked right through those bars into Grandpa’s corn.
Joe and me didn’t know what to do
As ear after ear we saw him chew.
Grandpa made an awful fuss
And he allowed it happened all through us!

But then it’s vacation time you know,
I don’t think folks ought to mind things so.

I’ll tell you my Gramma sure knows how to bake.
You never tasted such pies and cake
One day we were hungry and wanted a bite
And Gramma was nowhere in sight.
The things were on a high up shelf.
So we got a chair - and had to tip toe.
And that clumsy fellow my brother Joe -
I just gave him the least little bit of a tilt
And he sat right down in a pan of milk!
Gramma had an awful time getting his clothes clean.
And she allowed he spoiled every bit of her cream!

But then it’s vacation time you know,
I don’t think folks ought to mind things so.

Old dog rover’s a nice old chap,
But he likes to take his afternoon nap.
Joe and me spied him asleep one day
And we vowed we’d make him get up and play.
So we slipped in the milkhouse and got a tin pail
And tied it fast to old Rover’s tail.
And then we skeered him and he run like sin
And bittered and battered and spoiled the tin!
Grandpa came out and all the rest,
And said, "You boys must be possessed!
And if you don’t leave the animals and things alone,
We’ll pack your clothes and send you home!"

But then it’s vacation time you know,
I don’t think folks ought to mind things so!

I have these three pieces in Mom's handwriting - If you don't and want a copy let me know!

JUST LOOK WHAT THEY STARTED! ~ REUNION '09

Long ago and...

WiSh YOU were here!

What a FAMILY! Sure did miss all of you who were unable to be here this year. Just being together, catching up on each other, and sharing memories of times past... who could ask for anything more!?

Next one is in the year 2011. We all have plenty of time to plan on being there!

LOVE & HUGS to ALL!

"Button, button..."

We were together last weekend and were standing around talking when Hannah (Collins's four year old daughter) found a penny. My dad (Ray) showed her how to play "Button, button, who's got the button". We talked about how Grandma Jones used to play that game with us. Because of her arthritis her fingers didn't close together very well, but she would cross her pinky fingers together and play anyway. It was fun to see a little tradition like that being passed down--my Grandma Jones taught that game to us and now Hannah's Grandpa Jones taught that game to her.

Fun Times Back In The Day...

Dad taught me to Double Dutch jump rope! Can you believe it!? He really did. We used to go on picnics out in the desert east of Mesa. I remember one Easter picnic when we found a nice gully out in the desert with a large mesquite tree for shade. We did the awesome picnic packed by Mom, hid and found some colored eggs, and then Dad went to the trunk of the car and pulled out two neatly bundled ropes. He proceeded to inform us that we would be jump roping - but not the way we were used to. This was going to be Double Dutch. I thought he was crazy. He was just going to tell us how and then laugh at us or something. Well, lo and behold, the next thing I knew we were turning the ropes and Dad was doing the jUmPinG!! He was really good. He taught us by example! I was so impressed, and all of us had a great time!

One of the other really good times with Dad was when he would take us to the river as a family and help us catch baby frogs, splash a lot, and hold onto me in the deeper water. It must have been the Salt River. It was such a fun way to cool off in the extreme Arizona summer heat. I remember how special it was to see Mom in a swim suit. Dad, on the other hand, would roll up his levis, take off his shirt and drop the top of his underwear down around his waist showing his farmer tan! We usually had watermelon (raised in a huge patch to the west of Grandad Cluff's) to further refresh us. We could get the juice all over us, and merely dip back in the water & the sticky was gone for a clean trip home!

Dad loved playing jokes on others when he had a big audience. We used to travel from Mesa to St. George, and then with Uncle Ordell's family head out to Black Rock on the Arizona Strip to camp. This particular time Grandpa Jones and Aunt Harriet came with us. Tarps were pitched against a stockade type fence and many quilts and bed rolls were spread in a row underneath for bedding down the whole clan later. There was always great dutch oven potatoes, fascinating stories, and singing. Dad was ready with the harmonica. I don't know how good he really was, but I loved listening to him. It had been dark for quite a while and Mom and Aunt Lorraine had gotten the little ones to sleep. Some of us lay there ready to doze off, and some were softly whispering to each other. All of a sudden there was this LOUD pounding thump-thump, thump-thump, and at the end of the long tunnel of tarp - dimly lit - you could barely see what looked like HUGE antlers! Aunt Harriet screamed, "It's a deer, it's a deer! O, lordy, lordy, it's a MAN!" Heads came up one at a time like backward dominoes along that wall of bedding! Dad had sneaked away, got a huge dead limb with antler-like branches on it's end and had stomped it across the ground with a heavy thump-thump, thump-thump, knowing all along that he would cause a comotion. And he surely did! No one there will ever forget - " ...lordy, lordy, it's a MAN!"

I sometimes forget with all Dad's stern discipline, that he loved a good time!

Games and songs!

Dad in his younger years liked to play checkers. He and Ray use to have quite the games until Ray got where he could always win. Mom on the other hand would take on any game and always held her own. I remember at a reunion her sister Glenda was trying to get mom to say, "Boots without spurs". Mom would say Boots without spurs and Glenda would say no! Say boots without spurs. I was surprised it took mom as long as it did. She would try to put the effaces on the same words as Glenda. Glenda was yelling no! Say boots without spurs. Mom finally said Boots. And the laughing started. That was what they did best. Laugh!

Mom always said I saw UP on a box car.Or Who is buried in Grants tomb.
And Dad would say Railroad crossing look out for the cars can you spell THAT without any R's.

I think Mom taught all of her kids all the nursery rhymes. Today most people don't even know what they are. Mom and Dad both knew a bit of verse and would tell stories like "Little Orphan Annie".

Dad and Mom both liked to sing and had some great songs."The Friskies" a proven favorite. "She's always chewing gum", "The whitie manie", and "I went to school" to name just a few. We always sang when we went anywhere in the car. Dad liked the Hymn "Love at Home" (I think it was because we were always fighting). Dad use to tell about a little bantam roster he raised and used in a play. I think it was Jack in the bean stalk. He would sing songs from that play. Now I wish I knew them. Mom took it a step farther. She was in a group called the Singing Mothers and went to Salt Lake to sing in general conference. I remember she sent a post card home of the Tabernacle choir with her seat circled so we could watch for her on TV. We didn't get to see her. Mom sang alto and I always liked to sit by her in church just to listen to her sing.

Mom always had Double mint gum in her pruse and after the sacrament you could have a half of a stick or something. I thought Double mint was the only kind of gum you could buy for years. I remember coming home from church to the farm when Starburst candies first came out. It must have been fast Sunday and mom had a bag of Starbursts. They tasted so good and Mom decided to write a letter to the company that made them and see if we could get a free bag of candy out of it. We waited for a long time to get a reply but we were all disappointed all they sent was a thank you letter.

I think it was after my mission mom made up her mind she was joining in a walk for a cure. I think it was for birth defects. Mom walked from Littlefield to Bunkerville park. She was the oldest walker and got a ribbon. What a heritage we have.

Games Games Games

Grandma Jones enjoyed playing card games and board games. She liked skip bo and uno and yahtzee. She had monopoly, life, scrabble, memory and many many more. We would play games all the time.

Here is a picture of Grandpa Jones after Scarlet had done his hair, complete with a bow. This picture was taken around April 1993. I remember Grandpa enjoying having his hair combed. He would sit and let us comb his hair. He was patient with us girls and let us put bows and ribbons in his hair while we were combing it. Of course, once we were done we had to take them out and comb his hair like it was supposed to be.

I really like this picture of Grandpa. When I think of Grandpa, this is how I remember him (without the bow, of course!), in his overalls and a work shirt.

MOM'S EXAMPLE OF CHARITY

In the mid to late fifties, there were many out-of-work men that we referred to as hobos. I think they must have been drawn to our grey home on 8th street in Mesa, AZ. Not only was it inviting with a neatly kept yard, lots of flowers and HUGE cottonwood trees that lined the ditch across the street, but I think they could feel the spirit of charity that MOM radiated. I recall a number of times that there would be a knock on our back door (they never came to the front) and a scruffy, disheveled, but kind-eyed, soft-spoken man would ask for something to eat and sometimes offer to do chores in exchange. MOM was always sincerely respectful and said if they would wash up at the garden hose or the utility sink she would fix them something. I loved watching her fearlessness and tenderness as she prepared a sandwich (probably leftover roast), some fruit, a mason jar of cold milk and a piece of cake or cookies, and placed them in a brown grocery bag. She only ever asked that they give back the mason jar. I would watch from the big picture window as they went across the street and sat on the wooden bridge over the ditch, dangling their feet just above the water, in the shade of those GIANT cottonwood trees. I wouldn't take my eyes off them. I was waiting for that transformation to happen that I had heard about in primary or Sunday school. I just knew that it was Jesus that came to our door as a beggar, and because of MOM's kindness and love he would reveal himself. Even though I never saw that transformation, I know that MOM passed that test with flying colors. She not only gave them food, but dignity. And, I did see the gratitude and joy that came over the washed and fed hobo!

Gathering Eggs

I remember going with Grandpa to feed the animals and do the other chores at their house when we would visit them in Littlefield. One particular experience stands out in my mind. I remember helping Grandpa gather eggs from the chicken coop. I was quite young at the time, probably 5 or so. I remember realizing that Grandpa was heading out the door. So I took my handful of eggs and started for the door. Of course, Grandpa closed the door behind him, probably to keep the chickens from escaping. When I got to the door, I couldn't open it. As I kept trying to open it, while exerting pressure on the door I also exerted pressure on the eggs, and they broke and got all over me. I remember I started crying, and Grandpa must have heard me, because he came to the rescue. He helped me out of the coop and helped me clean up with a hose.

Puzzles

Grandma Jones liked to do Jigsaw Puzzles.
It seems she had one going most of the time. She also
liked search a word puzzles.