Happy Birthday, Nana

March 26, 1890. Mildred Gordon born to Charles Thomas and Ella Jane Gordon in Camden, Arkansas in the original 1854 colonial home on Harrison Street.

March 26, 1975. Nana's 85th birthday celebration at the home of her daughter Margaret Dansby on Truman Rd in Camden.

"They weren't secrets, except from me."

"Even though people have passed away, some subjects can be painful to revisit decades later. Think hard before you share old secrets."

The quote surfaced from Family Tree Magazine on Facebook.

Stories I struggled to tell weren't secrets, except from me.
I learned so much, especially about George R. Gordon, my great uncle. So many pieces of the puzzle lay scattered across the floor, some showing his honorable service to others, his business dealings, his intelligence, his public service as Mayor. The tragedy of his home life didn't surface. In fact, his trouble was ignored except for a comment here and there about Emma Sue, his wife. I didn't know his house was the old Methodist Parsonage. So much I didn't know. 

C. Thomas Gordon

Mother told me his son, Thomas, died of an ear infection. I could not grasp that. I learned that to be true, but that he was away at Military School in Memphis when he died. He was seventeen. His parents never recovered. Thomas' sister Jean never recovered either. Oh, how I wish I'd known the truth long ago. Would I have been kinder? Would I have visited more often? I would have understood so much more.

Janie - The more I learned, the more I wish I had been taught how to appreciate knowing her.

I also struggled with Aunt Alice's story. I was fearful of her and her big, black car. Why? Her house was dark and gloomy. Was I right? I was a very young child. 

Charlotte, Thomas with Jean, Elinor, Frances with John Ritchie - Where was Janie? Where was Alice?

Big Tattee (Frances) was a polar opposite to Aunt Alice, in my estimation. She'd welcome me into her house, call me to her chaise lounge, draw funny pictures for me and laugh. I enjoyed her, even as a child. Every time we visited, she was reclined upon the chaise lounge; she was so different from my grandmother and Sookie. I wondered what could keep her lying down all the time. I found out what caused her depression.

My grandmother suffered from depression also, but was not treated as kindly as Frances. Nana was sent to Shreveport for weeks, taking "shock treatments." Sometimes, mother would be gone with her for weeks at a time. The phrase, "For Heaven's Sake, Don't Sigh," came to be a warning. 

There were so many pieces of our story that faded or were missing. After conducting the research, I was finally able to understand and see the puzzle completed. I believe it important to preserve these stories. The creative hand I used made the stories memorable, I hope. 

Baby Shoes, Well-worn

Our parents have passed away also. They had their stories, too, and many of their behaviors caused the younger set of cousins to separate. Addictive behaviors became culprits throughout our family: alcohol, tobacco, all complicating heart disease. Regardless of hardships, the Gordons and the Ritchies were honorable movers and shakers in Camden and Ouachita County and in Ruston, LA.

L to R: James Cooper, Martha Ellen, Margaret Jane, and Thomas Gordon

Any time a writer puts pen to paper and publishes, the work is open to criticism and I'm my toughest critic. 

Easter, 1926. Claude Horne with Margaret Horne. Court House provides backdrop.

When the blog post from Family Tree Magazine popped up, I read it. Then Mother's words returned, "Well, Margaret Jane, you don't have to tell everything you know."

Mr. Postman to deliver The House on Harrison Street

Tasks for this afternoon -  sign and put The House on Harrison Street into envelopes - CHECK.
                                           - follow up with those who said they wanted a copy - CHECK
                                           -address the envelopes, add return address sticker - CHECK

Task for tomorrow - go to the post office and send the book with great appreciation.

Women's History Month: "the women wrote the book"

Alice

Susie

March is Women's History Month. Celebrate the achievements, accomplishments, perseverance of the women in your family tree.

It was the women in my family whose stories ignited the quest and thus my journey to publish a family history. So, here's to Jane Elizabeth Tooke Gordon, Jane McBride Campbell Ritchie, Ella Jane Ritchie Gordon.

The daughters of Ella Jane Gordon are Alice Gordon Lide, Susie Gordon Ritchie, Janie Louise Gordon, Frances Gordon Usrey, and Mildred Gordon Horne.
The daughter of Jane Elizabeth Tooke Gordon was Mary Sue Gordon, unmarried. To her came the homeplace in Union County- "Auntie's Place" or The Sue Gordon Estate.
The daughters of Jane McBride Campbell Ritchie were Frances Alabama, Julia Sonora, Martha Virginia, and Ella Jane.

The more research I conducted, the more honor and respect I have for them, for their courage, and for their stamina. In the face of great loss and trying circumstances that came to each, they triumphed.
Read their stories in The House on Harrison Street: The Gordon-Ritchie Saga.

Janie

Frances

Mildred

Gordon-Ritchie Cousins - March 13, 2016

Alice Gordon, Mildred Gordon, Frances Gordon, and Susie Gordon's grandchildren

Alicia Horton Mosley (Alice Gordon Lide, Alice Lide Horton); Pam Horne (Mildred Gordon Horne, Claude Gordon Horne); James Cooper Usrey (Frances Gordon Usrey, John Ritchie Usrey); Martha Ellen Usrey (Frances Gordon Usrey, John Ritchie Usrey); Frances Usrey Raley (Frances Gordon Usrey, John Ritchie Usrey); Margaret Jane Dansby Gatewood (Mildred Gordon Horne, Margaret Horne Dansby); Susan Ritchie Shirley (Susie Gordon Ritchie, John Campbell Ritchie II -"Jack"); Edwin Horton (Alice Gordon Lide, Alice Lide Horton).

Not pictured because they were unable to attend the lunch in Camden:  Orlando Lide Lockett (Alice Gordon Lide, Charlotte Lide Lockett) and Thomas Gordon Dansby (Mildred Gordon Horne, Margaret Horne Dansby).

Cousins Gather Today for Lunch

Frances, Susie, Mildred in Shreveport shopping

     When Cousin Alicia said, "Your mother would be so proud," it stopped me mid-sentence. I know she would be pleased and oh, how I wish she were here. Swallowing tears, I took a moment, and said, "I do ok until she sits right beside me."
     At the Great Hall, I saw some of Mother's friends and some of Daddy's golfing buddies and Kiwanis Club friends. High School classmates, college friends from Henderson surfaced, too: Sarah O'Kelly Silliman and Jeanie Ballentine, and of all people, Tom Dillard. How connected our lives remain. You just never know who will surface and surprise you with a warm memory.
    The House on Harrison Street sold out this weekend. People who bought the book bought it for many different reasons, all of which were eye-opening for me. Many bought the accompanying CD of 115 photos and 12 recipes.
    Today our little shrunken family will meet for lunch together. Several of this group I have not seen since the 1983 get-together: Martha Ellen, Frances White, Susan and her husband Henry.
    We'll take lots of pictures and enjoy our time together with fond memories and a salute to our grandmothers who were sisters: The Gordon Girls - Alice, Susie, Janie, Frances, and Mildred.  Their brother George will be included in stories when our cousin Jean is remembered.

"Just as I have told these."

After combining the research from Mother and Nana, after sorting photographs and digging deep into memory banks, I spent several days in Camden conducting research on different trips.

I've been the grateful recipient of treasured memories from cousins - archives carefully packed and mailed to me for insight. I returned the goodies after scanning and photographing the contents. What a journey! At least 18 months in the making, The House on Harrison Street is launching at the Camden Daffodil Festival.

I am retired after over forty years in public education as an English and journalism teacher and school administrator. My passion for education traces to my great-great grandfather, Thomas Bullock Gordon, and to his son, my great grandfather Charles Thomas Gordon.

The strength to navigate life reaches back to all the women named Jane: Jane Elizabeth Tooke Gordon, Jane E McBride Campbell Ritchie, Ella Jane Ritchie Gordon, and even to a little-known aunt Janie Gordon. Infant Jane Horne, too.

In Sunrise in a Lemon Sky which I self-published in 2014, I hoped for partial anonymity by choosing the pen name E. J. (Ella Jane) Gordon.That degree of privacy never materialized, so I embraced the events, summoned strength, and told my story with candor.

So also did I research the shaded details of the Ritchies and the Gordons. I finally learned the truth and it cemented my admiration for the families included in the family history The House on Harrison Street.

As I told my own story, I have also told this one.

The House on Harrison Street will be available at the Camden Daffodil Festival on Friday and Saturday, March 11-12, 2016. The cost of the 8 x 10 size paperback is $20. The 208 page saga contains a full bibliography, end notes by chapter, and an index. A CD to accompany the book will be available. It contains more pictures and documents. Cost of the CD is $10.