Category Archives: family

Hays Rodgers Sr

Posted on by Lori Crane

Hays Rodgers Sr was my 4th great grandfather. He was married to Marey Ann Scott and had 14 children: Lewis, James, Allen, Jackson, Susannah, Stephen, William, Mary Ann (my 3rd great grandmother), Timothy, Hays Jr, Wilson, John W, Elizabeth and Martha Jane. His sons, Stephen and William, died in 1834 at the ages of 8 and 10. His son, James, died of typhoid in Nov of 1862. Between 1863 and 1864, his sons, Timothy, Wilson and John W,  all  died during the Civil War. Timothy and Wilson died of illness. John died of a gunshot wound to the stomach in Jonesboro, GA. Fortunately, Hays Sr was not alive to witness the soldier’s deaths as he died of typhoid in Dec of 1862.

Hays Rodgers Sr was born 1 Feb 1783 in Greene, TN to James Rodgers and Elizabeth “Elly” Hays. He was one of 12 children. At the age of 18, he moved with his parents to Clarke Co, AL to raise hogs. Clarke Co was part of the Mississippi Territory at that time. He and his brother, Absolom, signed up for the Mississippi Militia in 1814, and were assigned to Capt Evan Austill’s company of volunteers in Maj Sam Dale’s Battalion to fight against the hostile Creek Indians. Hays remained in the Militia until Oct 1818, but was only called out once for a two-month tour.

On 11 Dec 1816, he married Marey Ann Scott, who was from Georgia. In 1818, following the end of his military service, he, Marey, and 1st born Lewis, moved to Copiah Co, MS (what later became Simpson, MS). He started buying land and farming. He built the “Ole Stennis House” (see photo) in 1857 at the age of 61. In 1860, the U.S. Census states Hays owned 13 slaves, a 640 acre (square mile) plantation, 2 horses, 3 mules, 10 cows, 4 oxen, 16 sheep, 60 swine, and $600 in farming instruments, for a total worth of $8400.

Upon his death in Dec 1862 in Lauderdale Co, MS, he owned 690 acres of land and stock in the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, which was sold and divided between his heirs. His wife died shortly after him in March of 1863, also of typhoid.

Their property was sold in 1869 at public auction on the steps of the Meridian Courthouse to Major Adam T Stennis, hence the name “Ole Stennis House.” It remained in the Stennis family for 100 years until 1970. A while before the property was sold, Hays Jr, who was the only son to returned home from the war albeit with a useless arm and a wilted spirit, sold his farm and moved to Alabama to be near his wife’s family. He sold his farm to a Tom Stennis. Tom Stennis was a former slave to Major Adam T Stennis.

If you are a descendant of Hays Rodgers Sr or would like more information about the family, please join us at our Facebook page – http://www.facebook.com/DescendantsOfHaysGRodgersSr   All descendants and history buffs are welcome.

Hays Rodgers Sr.

The Ole Stennis House taken April 2012

Hays Rodgers Sr War of 1812 Military Record

1869 Probate Record Transcribed

(witnessed by Mary Ann Rodgers 2nd husband, William Eades Jolly)

Probate court of Lauderdale County, MS Oct term 26th day 1863

In the matter of the petition of J.D. Tolson and D. Maggard for letters of Administration on the Estate of Hays Rodgers, deceased.

In reading and filing the petition of J.D. Tolson and David Maggard for letters of Administration on the Estate of Hays Rodgers, deceased, it is ordered that letters of Administration be granted to the said J.D. Tolson & David Maggard upon their taking of the oath prescribed by law and entering into bond in the form of the statue in the sum of twenty thousand dollars with G.N. Chandler and N.R. Batt as their securities and the said J.D. Tolson and David Maggard appearing in open court and taking oath and together with their said securities signed, sealed and delivered said letters are now granted and ordered to be filed and recorded according to law and that T.H. Warren, Alsa Pace and A.W. Gillespie be appointed appraisers for which ? and that the action be recorded.

Probate court of Lauderdale County, MS March term 1869

To the Honorable E.S. Bramlette, Judge of the Probate Court of Lauderdale County. The petition of the undersigned Hays Rogers, and Mary A. Jolly, two of the heirs at law of Hays Rogers, Sr. late of said county deceased, respectfully represents unto your Honor that the said Hays Rogers, Sr. died intestate seized and possessed of a large personal estate which has heretofore been administered and distributed under the order and direction of your Honorable Court by J.D. Tolson and David Maggard the former administrators thereof as will fully appear by reference to the records of your honorable court. Further, your petitions show that the said Hays Rogers, Sr. also died intestate as aforesaid seized fee of the following lands lying and being in the County of Lauderdale and known and described as follows, to wit: W 1/2 of Sec 2; NE 1/4, E 1/2 of SE 1/4 & NW 1/4 of SE 1/4 of Sec 3; E 1/2 of NE 1/4 Sec 10; all of Township 7 R15 east containing in all 680 acres more or less. Also the said H Rogers owned five shares Mobile and Ohio Railroad stock ($500) No. 3215. Your petitioners show that together with your petitioners are the following heirs at law of the said Hays Rogers, Sr., to wit: Lewis Rogers of the State of Texas, Allen Rogers, Mary A. Jolly (one of the petitioners), Martha Meeks and Hays Rogers (another of petitioners), and Sarah A. Rogers guardian of Cornelia A. Rogers of Lauderdale County, Susan Chatham of Louisiana, Elizabeth Graham of Pickens County, Alabama and the following named minor heirs of Hays Rogers, Allen Rogers, Mary E. Rogers (who is the wife of D. Morrow and dau. of James, Hays Sr.’s son), Martha E. Rogers, Wm H. Rogers (Son of James, Hays Sr.’s son), Pernecia Ann Rogers of whom your petitioner is the guardian and Cornelia A. Rogers the ward of Sarah J. Rogers (wife of Wilson, Hays Sr.’s son) of Lauderdale County.

Your petitioners further show unto your honor that the said lands are not susceptible of division in kind amongst the several heirs named nor can the said M&O RR certificate be disposed of and divided without Administration de bonis non on said estate. Your petitioners therefore pray your Honor to grant letters of Administration on said estate to Warren H. Alford, Esq., he being the choice of our petitioners for that purpose, as well as the choice of several adult heirs of the said intestate. Upon his entering into bond in such sum as to your Honor may consider right and proper in the premises, and as in duty bound they will pray, tc.

Sworn to Subscribed before me by

Wm. E. Jolly May 24, 1869

Signed

Hays Rogers, Jr.      Mary A. Jolly

To the Hon. E.S. Bramlette, Judge of the Probate Court of said County. The undersigned Administrator de bonis non of the Estate of Hays Rogers, Sr., deceased, late of said county respectfully represents unto your Honor that his said intestate has no personal estate except a certificate of stock in the Mobile & Ohio RR No. 3215 for five hundred dollars being five shares in said road. Also the following lands lying and being in the County of Lauderdale and known and described as follows, to wit: W 1/2 of Sec 2; NE 1/4, E 1/2 of SE 1/4 & NW 1/4 of SE 1/4 of Sec 3; E 1/2 of NE 1/4 Sec 10; all of Township 7 R15 E. containing in all 620 acres more or less. Further the said Administrator shows that the said Hays Rogers, Sr. left and has now surviving him the following heirs at law, to wit: Lewis Rogers of the State of Texas, Allen Rogers, Mary A. Jolly, Martha Meeks, and Hays Rogers, guardian to Allen, Mary E., Martha E., William H., and Perneca Ann Rogers and Sarah J. Rodgers guardian of Cornelia Rogers and Susan Chatham of Louisiana and Elizabeth Graham of Pickens County, Alabama.

Your petitioners further shows that it is desirable and to the best interest of all the heirs and distributees of said estate that the said Railway stock and the said lands be divided amongst the several heirs aforesaid and that a division of said lands cannot be effected without a sale of the same. He therefore prays your honor to grant him an order of sale of said lands & RR Stock for cash upon such terms as to your Honor may seem lawful and expedient and he asks that citations issue to the heirs of said Hays Rogers, resident of this county, to appear at the next term of your court to be holded on the 4th Monday in July next and that public citation be made in some newspaper, notifying the nonresident heirs of said intestate to appear at the said July term to object to the prayer of your petitioner if they think proper. And as in duty bound he will ever pray, etc.

Sworn to Subscribed before me this

The 24th of May, 1869

Signed

W. R. Alford Adm.

The Blood in My Veins

Posted on by Lori Crane

Throughout the work on my last book, I became more and more interested in the organization called the UDC – The United Daughters of the Confederacy.  On their website, the president, Mary Nowlin Moon, writes the following: “I am a Daughter of the Confederacy because I was born a Daughter of the Confederacy.”

That is my heritage also – a few times…

My book called “Okatibbee Creek” (available at Amazon.com) is about my 3rd great grandfather, Rice Benjamin Carpenter, who fought for the CSA (Confederate States of America) as a member of the 41st MS Infantry during the Civil War. Rice was born 15 Aug 1828 in Greene, TN. He signed up for battle in Marion Station, MS on 21 Apr 1862, and sadly, was killed at the Battle of Stones River in Murfreesboro, TN on 31 Dec 1862 at the age of 34. He was married and a father of five children. (His brother, Hilliard, also fought and died for the cause. He died at home on 16 Jul 1864 following wounds he received in battle on 28 May 1864 at Dallas, GA.)

I also have a 3rd great grandfather, William Lafayette Brown Jr, who fought for 37th MS Infantry. William was born 30 Oct 1836 in Lauderdale Co, MS. He signed up for battle on 8 May 1862 in Enterprise, MS at the age of 24, with four small children at home and one on the way (my 2nd great grandmother). William was a sharpshooter, guarding the railroad bridges in Chunky, MS from the Union troops. He was captured and escaped. He allowed himself to be captured a second time to help others escape. He/they did. There was a bounty on his head for the remainder of the war. He returned home when the war ended and lived until the age of 52. He died in Lauderdale County, MS on 23 Sep 1889. He was married and fathered ten children.

There’s another 3rd great grandpa: James C Howington. James was born in Wake County, NC on 15 Jan 1823 to Nimrod Howington and Milbury Bradley.  He was the second born of thirteen children. He was 5′ 11″ and had auburn hair and gray/blue eyes.

At some point, he ended up in Sumter Co, AL and married Amelia “Ann” Smith on 24 Sept 1843. By 1850, they had taken up residence in Newton Co, MS and had ten children before the start of the Civil War. James signed up with the 5th Mississippi Infantry, Co. A, on 7 July 1862. He was captured 15 Jun 1864 and held prisoner at Rock Island, Illinois. When the war ended, he returned home and they had two more children.

james c howington pow

howington James C Howington Headstone

I have yet another 3rd great grandfather, Joseph M Culpepper, who fought also for the 37th MS Infantry. Joseph was born in 1822 in Jackson, GA. He signed up in Marion, MS on 11 Apr 1862 at the age of 40. His records show that he was continually absent due to illness. He did not fight much, but died in battle on 15 Aug 1862 at Columbus, MS. He was married and a father of six children, two of whom were young boys also serving in the war.

The Rebel I filled out my UDC application under was my 2nd great grandfather, Joel Bluett Culpepper, 17-yr-old son of Joseph M Culpepper. JB and his brother, Benjamin, fought with the 63rd Alabama Infantry. JB was captured by Federal Forces at Blakely, AL on 9 Apr 1863 and held at Fort Massachusetts on Ship Island until the end of the war. He came home and married and had six children. At the end of his life, he lived at Beauvoir, the Jefferson Davis House in Biloxi, MS, under his rights as a Confederate Soldier. He died at Beauvoir on 11 Nov 1911. (The following photos are: CSA Military Record, Fort Massachusetts, Beauvoir pre-Hurricane Katrina, JB Culpepper, headstone.)

Even though I live in Michigan now, I have proudly been accepted as a member of the United Daughter of the Confederacy, Robert E Lee Chapter, in Meridian, Mississippi, where I was born. I am honored and humbled by the acceptance as well as by my heritage. The Rebel blood in my veins is strong. I can no more deny my place in the Daughters of the Confederacy than I can deny being an American.

We protect our future by remembering our past.

Photo take 26 Aug 2012 at the Jackson, Michigan Muster, the re-enactment of the Battle of Stones River 1862.

Author Extraordinaire….part two

Posted on by Lori Crane

The last time I wrote a blog about writing, I was in the middle of writing a ghost story that came from a dream I had. I’m still in the middle of it. Sometimes you just get side-tracked, ya know? During that process, I took a little vacation down to Mississippi to take pictures of ancestor’s headstones at cemeteries (Yes, another time-consuming hobby). While at a little cemetery in the middle of nowhere taking a picture of my 3rd great grandmother’s headstone, my husband, who gets dragged around incessantly on my jaunts, asked, “Now, who is this again?”

“What do you mean ‘Who is this?’  This, sir, is my great great great grandmother, Mary Ann Rodgers, daughter of Hays Rodgers, wife of Rice Carpenter and William Jolly.”

“Well, what’s her story?”

“Mary Ann lived through the Civil War and a typhoid epidemic and lost about SEVENTEEN family members to one or the other in an 18-month period. She was a strong and amazing woman. Just a taste in chronological order: she lost her brother and sister-in-law to typhoid in October 1862 leaving 5 orphaned children. In December 1862, her father died of typhoid. On December 31, 1862, her husband was killed in the Battle of Stones River in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. On January 30, 1863, she lost two of her sister-in-laws, her husband’s sisters. Three days later, her 1-year-old son died. A month after that, her mother died. She survived hunger and pain and loss the way none of us could even imagine today. We would be devastated today if we lost one family member. We would need anti-depressants if we lost two at the same time. How did she survive that kind of loss without going insane?”

“What happened to her?”

“Well, her husband Rice had a sister, yes, one of the sister-in-laws who died in January, who left behind a widower and four children. His name was William Jolly. In 1864, they married.”

“In those days, a woman needed a man to farm, and a man needed a woman to raise the children.”

“Yes, but it became more than a marriage of convenience. They were together for 26 years until his death, and they ended up having three children together, so they must have like each other. And, she lived a long life and died at the age of 70.”

“So, you come from very strong stock, eh?”

“Apparently. The women in my family had some serious backbone.”

“That’s a great story. You should write it down.”

Hence, my new historical fiction novel “Okatibbee Creek.” It is currently at the editor, and I hope to have it published on Amazon.com in December.

Back to the ghost story, right?

No, it turns out that one of the 5 orphans of her brother and sister-in-law had an amazing story as well. I’m currently working on my new historical fiction novel called “An Orphan’s Heart.”

Maybe I’ll get back to the ghost story after that.

Maybe not.

If you feel so inclined, please join me on the “Okatibbee Creek” fan-page on FaceBook. The story’s time-line and other surprises and information are available on that page. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Okatibbee-Creek-the-novel/369862926416517

Ancestry – or Why I’m So Jacked Up – Great Great Grandparents (dad’s side)

Posted on by Lori Crane

Paternal Great Great Grandparents.

Andrew Jackson “Jack” Crane and Martha Jane “Mattie” Mercer

William Thomas White and Laura Catherine Morrow

Joseph Lawson Pickett and Caledonia D “Callie” Fisher

Thomas Gilbert Lafayette Keene and Sarah Elizabeth “Bettie” Brown

Jack and Mattie married in 1873 in Mississippi. They were both born in Mississippi in 1852. Jack died in 1905 with Mattie dying 40 years later in 1945. She did not remarry after his death. They were the parents of 3 children: a girl in 1874, another girl in 1878 and a boy in 1841 (my great grandfather Amos Bolivar Crane). They are buried at McGowan Chapel Cemetery in Harmony, Clarke Co, MS with all three of their children and spouses.

I do not have any information on William Thomas White and Laura Catherine Morrow, except that they were both born in the 1840s, he in MS and her in AL. They were married in 1867 and had 13 children, with my great grandmother Minnie White Crane being the 10th.

Joseph Lawson Pickett and Caledonia D “Callie” Fisher were born in 1866 in AL and 1870 in MS, respectively. They were married in Aug 1891 in Lauderdale Co, MS and had 5 boys and 1 girl, the eldest being my great grandfather, Benjamin Berry Pickett. They are both buried at Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church Cemetery in Zero, Lauderdale Co, MS. He died in 1910 at the age of 44 and she in 1931 at the age of 61.

Thomas Gilbert Lafayette Keene and Sarah Elizabeth “Bettie” Brown were both born and died in MS. Strangely enough, with a name like TGL Keene, I can find very little information on him. This is about the only thing I have on him. It is a marble plaque hanging in the Lauderdale County courthouse in Meridian Mississippi, showing him the county treasurer 1904-1097.

plaque in Lauderdale Co Court House in Meridian

I do, however, have plenty of information on Bettie Brown. She first married John Thompson and had a daughter, Fleta S. Thompson, in 1885. I do not know what happened to John Thompson, but she then married TGL in 1890 and had 7 children, the 2nd dying at 6 months of age, the 6th being my great grandmother, Eula Ouida Keene Pickett.

Bettie’s father was William Lafayette Brown Jr, who served in the Civil War as a sharp-shooter, guarding the railroad bridges in Newton County, MS from destruction by the Union troops. He was captured and escaped. He allowed himself to be captured again to help others escape, which he/they did. This was in 1862 when Bettie was born. Her birthday is 19 Nov 1862. 100 years to the day before my birthday, 19 Nov 1962.

Below is a transcript of the Brown family Bible.

TGL and Bettie are buried at Oak Grove Cemetery, Meridian, Lauderdale Co, MS.

Bettie was one of 10 children. Below are her brothers, Franklin Carlton and William Harrison (with wife Mary).

Stay tuned for 3rd Great Grandparents (mom’s side) and the story of the Carpenters and Rodgers who fought through the Civil War and suffered through typhoid running rampant through their community. Or, you could just read my upcoming novel “Okatibbee Creek“ which tells the story of Mary Ann Rodgers’ ordeal in vivid detail. It will be available at Amazon in Dec 2012 in paperback and kindle. (…shameless plug)

Side note: Mary Ann Rodgers’ brother, Wilson Rodgers, died in the Civil War in 1864 and his widow, Sarah Jane Graham Rodgers, eventually remarried. She married Lofton Evans Fairchild. (That is on my mom’s side.)  Lofton’s brother, George W. Fairchild, married the above Fleta Thompson, daughter of Sarah Elizabeth “Bettie” Brown and her first husband John Thompson. (That is on my dad’s side.) I think that makes me my own cousin 14 times removed. 🙂

Ancestry – or – Why I Am So Jacked Up – Parents and Grandparents

Posted on by Lori Crane

That title is a total fabrication. In reality, I come from strong, sturdy stock. My ancestors hail from England, Ireland, Scotland, and places of incredibly hardy men and women in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi. I’ve studied my ancestors for about 25 years and have built up quite a collection of information, pictures, certificates and documents. I need a place to put all this stuff. How about here?

Let’s start with mom and dad…

Father: Andrew Frank “Andy” Crane II 1940-1994. Andy was born in Mississippi and died of complication of a pituitary tumor removal in Tennessee at the age of 54. He married my mom in 1960 at age 19. They divorced when I was small, and he married another woman and had 2 sons. I have no full-blooded brothers or sisters, but I do have 2 half-brothers from his second marriage, along with 2 sister-in-laws, 3 nieces and 2 nephews.

Daddy

Mother: Linda Faye Culpepper 1944-2001. My mother was also born in Mississippi and was 15 when she and my dad were married. She gave birth to  me at age 18. After their divorce, she moved to Michigan with her second husband, dragging me to the snow and ice. She made her living as a nurse. She died in Michigan following a fall from her balcony at the age of 56.

Momma

Grandparents:

Andrew Frank “Frank” Crane I 1903-1979  and Margaret Azalea Pickett 1919-2006

Frank and Azalea were both born in Mississippi. He died in Mississippi at age 76, and she died at age 87 in Florida while living with her daughter. Grandpa Frank was the strong, silent type. He was quite a bit older than his wife, and as I remember, was already retired when I was small. “Miss Crane” (she would not allow us to call her “grandmother”) was a nurse. I don’t remember much of them due to my move to Michigan. I only saw them on summer vacations, but spent most of my time there with my cousins (who lived next door) and Miss Crane’s mother (who lived next door to my cousins).  Grandpa Frank was married previously and had two boys and two girls in the 1920s and 1930s. He and Miss Crane had one boy and one girl in the 1940s. The girl, my aunt, had three daughters (yes, the cousins who lived next door). Sometime in the early 2000s, my aunt and Miss Crane moved to Florida. Frank is buried in the family cemetery in Mississippi, and Miss Crane has a headstone there also; however, her ashes remain with her daughter in Florida.

Apparently, Ms Crane was not the most “domestic” woman in the world. I heard a story that my mother went to the house and found Ms Crane “mopping” the kitchen floor by using the hose from outside to “wash” it and mopping it out the back door.  😀

Grandpa and Miss Crane

Frank with brothers Horace T. and Thomas Jackson “Tommy”

Earl Wilmer Culpepper 1914-1994 and Ina Inez Burk 1915-1975

“Papaw” and “Mamaw” were both born and died in Mississippi. They married in 1937 and had 2 daughters who were 7 years apart in age. I seem to remember my mother saying there was either a boy stillborn between them or that she was the twin of a stillborn boy. I can’t find any documentation of this, and there is no one left to ask.

My aunt married and had three boys. While my aunt was delivering her third boy, my mother babysat the older two boys. They were 2 and 3 yrs at the time. After spending a week with two toddlers, my mother said, and I quote, “I will never, ever have children.” Nine months to the day after the third boy was born, I was born. Never say never.

Mamaw was a seamstress at the local shirt factory, and Papaw work in the shipping department. She was a fabulous cook, which is what killed her. She died of complications following open heart surgery at age 59. Papaw married a lady from the factory after Mamaw’s death, and we kind of lost track of him after that. He was pretty involved with his new family (the lady had 2 teenage daughters still at home).  He loved to fish and hunt and play his guitar and drink. He died following a stroke at age 80. Mamaw and Papaw are buried next to each other in Newton County, Mississippi.

Story: Not only did Papaw like to fish and hunt, there is also a story that he liked to walk down to the swamp in the dark and catch big frogs. I guess one day when he returned, Mamaw was not happy with him for some reason, perhaps just wondering where he had been. So, to show her what he had been doing, he dumped the bucket of live frogs on the kitchen floor. I can just imagine big frogs jumping around the kitchen.

Papaw and Mamaw

Me and my 3 boy cousins with Mamaw and Papaw

Coming Soon: Ancestry – or- Why I Am So Jacked Up – Great Grandparents

Featuring – The Great Grandparents!! Don’t miss the stories of  the Irishman, the Choctaw Indian, the moonshiner who went to prison for murder, a picture of baby grandpa, and the sad, sad story of the young woman who died three months after her 10 month old son died. Was it suicide, medical negligence, or as the death certificate says, acute melancholia?

Stay tuned…

Long Time, No See

Posted on by Lori Crane

Wow! It’s been a long, long time since I’ve been here. I miss this place. I wish I could come here and write every day, but I seem to have had a writer’s block…or a crappy Winter…or a little bit of both.

Life has been busy. I quit my day job (YIPPEE) and went back to playing full time. What a blast! Making lots of money and having a great time doing it. I’m also helping my hubby build a new web site. The admin aspect is right up my alley, and I’m really excited about it.

The boy is away at school. The girl got her own apartment and moved out. Guess it’s just hubby and the dogs. We only have two now. We had to put our Golden down in October. That sucked. I still miss him deeply.

I’ll come up with some interesting stories to write about soon, because I know this entry is a big-time snoozer.

So, RIP Sunny – We love you.

09/22/97 – 10/23/09

Bats In My Belfry!

Posted on by Lori Crane

Last night I learned what to do when a BAT gets in your house.

First, the whole family (husband included) crouches down to the floor and shrieks like little girls every time it flies by. And, let me tell you, that little thing flies very, very fast, and my family shrieks very, very loudly.

Second, daughter stands on the front porch with the door open, calling, “Here bat, here bat.”
(Yeah, maybe that’ll work…and she’s the smart one of the bunch.)

Third, everyone grab a weapon!!!
Towel, Broom, Bed Sheet, Couch Pillow – check, check and check.
Now, don’t actually use the weapon. If the bat comes near you, crouch down, cover your head with the weapon, and shriek loudly. This will screw up the bat radar and cause it become disoriented and fly away. (Well, that’s the plan anyway.)

Finally, after it flies out the door, look for it for a half hour, because no one actually saw it fly out the door due to hiding behind sheets and towels and brooms and all that crouching and shrieking.

😛

That was quite an interesting event. I wish I had pictures.

The Golden Child

Posted on by Lori Crane

Since Boo was born, he’s been The Golden Child. Everything the kid touches turns to gold. No effort, no worries, just pure luck.

When he was in second grade, he came home with one of those Morley Candy order forms to raise money for school. He had it in his desk for three weeks, and the night before it was due, he finally brought it home. For every $50 he got in candy orders, he would get in the drawing for the 9 lb chocolate easter bunny. I felt sorry for him, so I bought $50 worth of crap. The next day, the kid comes out of school carrying the damn 9 lb chocolate easter bunny.

See?

The Golden Child

PICT0005

Last week he started college. He’s getting his degree in digital animation.

cory ferris

He took classes during his senior year and over the summer at the local community college, so he only has to take 4 classes per semester for 3 years to graduate, except for 1 extra class we need to squeeze in there somewhere.

Last night he called to tell me he showed his 2D animation instructor one of his drawings, to which the instructor said, “Who put you in my class? Why are you in my class? This is what the advanced 3D animation class is working on.”

After a lot of drama with 2 instructors and his adviser, they put him in the advanced class and gave him the credits for the 2D class. They didn’t know how to go about giving him the credits, because in the words of the adviser, “we’ve never done this before.” But I guess they got it figured out.

The Golden Child doesn’t have that extra class to squeeze in now. And, now his instructors know he’s good. One of the graduates from last year got a job as an animator at Pixar, so I can see where this is heading….

Here’s his pictures:

cory mustang 3

cory mustang 2cory mustang 4

No Pomp, Just Circumstance

Posted on by Lori Crane

My Boo finally graduated. He didn’t TRY to graduate. Never did homework or participate in things like the National Honor Society. He just finished the classes and got the diploma. He’s a good kid, but not the Go-Getter of the family. He even lost his cap to his goofy sister.

grad1

grad2

grad3

At this point, she pushed him out of the picture and said, “Ok, take one of just me now.”

Poor Boo.

I’m a happy momma.

🙂

Another Day, Another Dollar Two Ninety Eight

Posted on by Lori Crane

As with everyone else in the Good Ole U S of A, I’m sooo broke….

(insert crowd) How broke are you?

I’m so broke, I can’t even pay attention.

Da, Bum, Dum!

Yeah, money is tight. Tighter than usual. Waaayyy tighter than usual.

Hubby took a 10% pay cut. I took a $15k lesser paying job, then a 10% pay cut on top of that. I usually make a very good living playing music professionally whether I currently maintain a day job or not, but with everyone else being tight also, there aren’t many music jobs to be had. A few here and there, but it’s more like pizza money, than anything substantial.

So, we all sat down at the dining room table and had a meeting. We decided as a family “business”, we needed to cut our expenses. We got rid of the land line, since we all have cell phones. We got rid of the gym membership, since we seldom use it anyway. We got rid of the DVR and HD TV. I think hubby is going to cry over that one.

That’s about all we could cut. We stopped going out to dinner a long, long time ago. And, I’m not much of a mall shopper, so we don’t have store bills.

So, to top it all off, the boy graduated from high school this week, and I needed to get him a present. Six years ago, I bought his sister a 2003 Jeep Liberty for graduation. I had money then. I paid cash.

Now, what in the world can I do for the boy when I have nothing??

Hmmmm…..

How about this????….

sv650s

OH HELL YEAH!!

He can’t get the smile off his face.

I charged it.

😛