Hi everyone,
Just wanted to let you know that my family has a lot to be thankful for this
fall. My Dad, Garnett Turner who some of you met at the reunion in 1996,
had a heart attack on Friday the 13th and then quadruple by-pass last Fri
and is doing well. He was walking the hall less than 24 hours after his
surgery, and is planning on going home tomorrow (Tues.)
My brother and sisters and I have been taking turns staying at the
Charlottesville, VA UVa hospital with our mom since Thursday. I just got
home from my shift about an hour ago.
On a family history note, a college student from Fulks Run (in Brocks Gap,
Rockingham Co., VA) is doing her senior paper on Brocks Gap. She will focus
on 3 families who have lived there for over 200 years, and naturally the
Custers are on the list. Her professor is very excited about her topic, and
told her that the rest of the class is making up things, but she has access
to original documents for the area. Her paper only has to be 40 pages, but
she easily could have a book on the subject. She's lived in Brocks Gap all
her life, but her parents have only been there for about 25 years. We'll
have to adopt her into the Custer clan, I suppose. She lives near the
Conrad Custer farm.
The student says after reading so many documents and learning about these
old settlers, she is beginning to feel that she knew them personally.
That's the way I feel about most of them. Especially when you get into the
photo collecting end of research, it really becomes a "personal"
relationship with these settlers.
That's the news for tonight.
Your Cousin,
Pat Ritchie