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Bouncing Betty

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When Mary was writing down her memories of 431 Hilltop Road last week, she got me thinking about our mother, Elizabeth or Betty as she was widely known,   Mary remembered when Mother climbed out the bathroom window when she was accidently locked in.   Here is a picture of the back of the house so you can see what climbing out the window entailed.  She was about 50 years old then.  (This is a picture of the house before we bought it so it looks filthy.) Anyways, it was a good ten foot drop from that window.  Probably six feet if  you are hanging down the side of the sill.  But I wanted you to appreciate your great-grandmother.  She was quite a gal.  My friends called her "Bouncing Betty, the working mans friend!"  Not sure where that phrase came from, nor can I believe anyone told her that we called her that, but she knew! Anyways I want to fast forward to about 1969.  Mother was now about 72.  She had throat cancer, f...

Home of Isaac Kauffman

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    In my earlier blog I spoke of the land of Isaac Kauffman, granted under a warrant shown on the map. This farm exists today and is owned by Jere Dickerson. I met Jerry as part of my quest as I visited Lancaster in 2012. The story was quite fascinating. I had gone to Ephrata, some 30 miles north of Lancaster to visit the historical society and subsequently the home of Ludwig Mohler. If you recall the story of Elizabeth Mohlerin eloping with John Coover back in early 1800s, something unheard of for Mennonites, this is her home. Having successfully located this farm, I set off shortly after noon for a brief trip down to a park which is described in that story. Well, I saw the remnants of an old barn and beyond I saw an old farm house. Being bold, I went to the door and knocked. This old gentleman came to the door and opened it, looking skeptically at me. I said my name and that i was traveling thru the area and was looking for the Kauffman Farm. He said, "well, you found it,...

Elizabeth Keller Wright Photo Album

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 Elizabeth Keller Wright