Four Sisters and their Grandpa - Wordless Wednesday

My Grandmother, Frances Rutkowski (left),
with 3 of her sisters (Eva, Mary and Blanche) 
and their grandpa, Henry Lewis Warnken.

Wordless Wedding Wednesday

Here is my grandparents', Ida and Arthur Johnson, picture on their wedding day.
November 30, 1918 in Topeka, Kansas

Shoveling Snow - Wordless Wednesday



The first home I remember. The house is still on Sheridan Street in Wichita, Kansas.
It looks like my parents had already started me on chores! I think I could have used a bigger shovel!



Snow at the Dibbens Homestead - Wordless Wednesday

Snow day on the Dibbens farm near Cheney, Kansas

Snow on our farm in Wyoming - Wordless Wednesday

This is me a few years ago. When I was four (1959) we lived near Wheatland, Wyoming while Dad was working on a job with Eby Construction Company.

Let it Snow! Wordless Wednesday



Snow at the Rutkowski homestead farm near Kingman, Kansas



Wordless Wednesday, Christmas Day about 1950

This picture is another treasure that I found while scanning some of my dad's old color slides. It is of my grandparents, Ida and Arthur Johnson, and their 5 children during a Christmas celebration. At the time this picture was taken, their ages ranged from about 14 to 29. They now range from age 74 to 89. The only way I know that the picture was taken at Christmas is that I can see tree lights in the upper left-hand corner of the picture. On the couch, next to their parents, are LaDonna and Helen. Don, LeRay and Earl (my dad) are sitting behind them. I am trying to get all of the slides scanned as quickly as possible because they are beginning to deteriorate and take some work in Photoshop to get them ready to publish.

Wordless Wednesday, Thanksgiving with the Rutkowski Family

November, 1971

My Great Grandpa Frank Rutkowski is either the father, grandfather or great grandfather of everyone else in this picture except for his wife, Flossie, sitting next to him. Just a small part of the Rutkowski family. My grandmother was Frances Rutkowski Dibbens standing on the right next to my cousin, Mike. I was a junior in high school.



Wordless Wednesday, (Almost)

This black and white photo of my Great Aunt Pearl doesn't keep the color that graced her personality from shining through. This picture was taken soon after she married my Great Uncle Jarman (Jerry) Dibbens on March 21,1922. I didn't know her at this age, of course, but I'm not surprised at the animation she shows in this picture. They were both full of life and fun and they matched each other perfectly. He teased her just like he teased everyone else and Aunt Pearl would just laugh. They had a farm on the edge of Garden City, Kansas. Their farm had sheep and plenty of chickens that slowly dwindled in number when we came to visit. 

 Uncle Jerry was an individual and very creative. Here is an early picture of him selling corn. I loved going to visit them when I was a little girl. Although it embarassed me, Uncle Jerry and I had a ritual at the dinner table. He would announce his observation that my mouth flew open every time I bent my elbow. He couldn't just say this one time, either. It would be announced several times during dinner causing me to put down my fork until I thought he was distracted by another conversation. I remember him laughing loudly each time. Sometimes I could get a few bites in between announcements but most of the time, not. I think I would have been disappointed if he had forgotten.

At Thanksgiving, we would travel to Garden City and walk into their large shed/garage next to their house. Walking Inside the door, we would find many tables lined with food and relatives to welcome us. Even on a cold day, the atmosphere inside that building was so warm and welcoming that I can still travel there in my memories and visualize in detail.