Nancy,
Thank you for all that you have done for the Champion List. It takes a
special person to donate so much of their precious time to help others.
In my 68 years I have only missed one Christmas at home and that was 1954
when I was in Basic Training at Fort Jackson S.C. I was on Guard Duty
Christmas night. It was clear and cold but a beautiful night. I was
pretty lonely since it was my first Christmas away from home and everyone I
loved. But it is just a memory now.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family.
Ken of the Pennsylvania Champions
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From: nparr <nparr(a)datasys.net>
To: CHAMPION-L(a)rootsweb.com
Subject: [CHAMPION] Reflections, Christmas Stories, Etc
Date: Thursday, December 23, 1999 11:43 AM
Hello To Everyone,
Christmas is probably my favorite time of the year. To me, it's a time
to renew my faith, renew old friendships, reflect on my many blessings.
Without being 'preachy', I want to wish all of you a very special 'Merry
Christmas'.
Too many times we become so caught up in all the shopping, all the
presents, and yes all the money we spend on these presents and the
festivities of the season :-) We somehow forget the reason for the
season.
I'd like to invite you to share any of your favorite Christmases past,
any family traditions, etc. that you'd like to share with the list
members. I know it's a little off the beaten path, but it all relates
to our own personal family history. If you'd like to share, we'd love
to hear :-)
I would like to also take this opportunity to say that it has been my
utmost pleasure to be Hostess on our lists. I don't believe in
coincidences; I believe everything happens for a reason. My dad passed
away in Dec of 1995. A little over two years ago I was working on a
'tribute' for him. I was on a mailing list and wrote to see if anyone
knew the words to Taps and High Flight. A man named Cliff Fivesh
responded and a wonderful friendship emerged :-) As I looked at Cliff's
last name I was intrigued and wrote to thank him for the verses but also
to inquire about his surname. You see, Fiveash is my mother's maiden
name. After a few correspondences, we discovered that we are cousins.
Coincidence? I think not :-)
A few months later Ciff told me that he wanted to create a mailing list
for the Fiveash surname and asked me if I'd be interested in hosting the
list. I was delighted and flattered. He created the Fiveash-L and the
Fiveash Family Association lists and they took off immediately. In
January of this year, he decided to create additional surname mailing
lists and asked me to play hostess once again. I accepted 7 of the new
lists. Some of my fellow Fiveash list members accepted the role of
host/hostess on a few of these new lists. They have done a tremendous
job on these lists and I thank them each one :-)
I feel very priviledged to be a part of all these lists because I've
seen so much 'sharing and comparing' on each one of them. I just want
to tell all of you that I enjoy hosting the lists, enjoy meeting each of
you and feel that we've become friends and allies in our search for our
ancestors. I'd like to think I've helped some of you along the way
because I know that without many of you, my research would be at a
stand-still.
So at this time so full of miracles, I want to say 'Thank You' to each
of you for being such caring, sharing and terrific people! And a special
'Thank You' to Cliff for giving us so many opportunities through our
mailing lists. The internet has opened so many doors for us
genealogists and I am so very thankful for it's creation. I'm still in
awe of how everything works but I don't look a gift horse in the mouth!
Whatever your religious beliefs, I hope you are able to spend time with
your families and reflect on your years together.
One of my favorite Christmas memories is of my grandparents (Ivey and
Alma Evans) and their little Missionary Baptist Church deep in the
woods. I always think of that little church when I hear the song about
'the little church in the dale'. I'd go over and spend the Christmas
holdiays with them each year. On Christmas Eve (no matter what day of
the week), their church had a Christmas program and at the end, Santa
would bring gifts to all the children present. My grandfather was a
short chubby man who was as jolly as St. Nick himself :-) He played
Santa for many years and I knew his 'secret' but it always tickled me
get a special gift from the Santa that I knew was really my beloved
grandfather! Memories of the heart; that's what my grandmother called
those times.
All my life I'd wanted a baby brother and a pony. That's the truth!
>From as early as I can remember, that's what I prayed for each night of
my life. When I was 9, I got my baby brother and what a blessing he has
been. On Christmas morning when I was 16, I walked into our den and
there was a beautiful leather saddle sitting on my parent's coffee
table. I was so smug and said "But we don't have a horse" and Daddy
started laughing and said "go look out the kitchen window". There, in
the small pasture behind our house, was this beautiful golden palomino!
Her name was Pet and she didn't like me too much :-) She'd let me ride
her but she always was searching for Daddy who she adored. He could
walk all over that pasture and she'd follow him like a puppy! He kept
Pet even after I had married and left home.
Those were special gifts and special times, but we never forgot the
meaning of Christmas. My mother would always read from the Bible the
story of Jesus' birth as we sat around the tree. We had to sit still
and be very quite as she read but as soon as she was finished, Grandaddy
would begin to pass out our gifts and he'd get such a kick out of
playing Santa for us kids.
Thank you to all those who have gone on before me; thank you to those
who I had the pleasure of knowing and loving. Memories of the
heart......my grandmother was right on the mark that time :-)
In Memory of:
Charlton Augustus Fiveash, Sr. 1-17-1886/2-3-1936
Willie Alice Tomlinson Fiveash 11-7-1892/1-26-1979
Ivey Lanier Evans 2-21-1904/12-13-1982
Alma Inex Williams Evans 11-24-1908/12-20-1982
Richard Lanier Evans, Sr. 11-24-1928/12-31-1995
Merry Christmas to you all :-)
Nancy E Parr