Pies

After I started school in first grade, I stayed in school at Chapel Hill for half a year. My parents moved me to Lindale in the second half of first grade. My teacher in the fall was nice but my teacher in the spring was meaner than a junk yard dog. I think she was the one who my grandpa went to the superintendent about and the supe had told my daddy he'd never seen my grandpa so mad. Of course daddy just told me that in the last year. It's amazing the things you learn when your older, much older. I stayed another year in second and when third grade came around, we moved to Tyler. I had absolutely the most beautiful red headed teacher you've ever seen. She was so nice. She would take me out in the hall and have me walk with books on my head so I could walk like a lady. It was probably so I could be in her wedding as a flower girl. That was the year I decided to be a teacher. Her father was a county extension agent and she married into an upper crust real estate family in Tyler. I also read over 300 books that year. I loved to read. Then I went to a new elementary in fourth. That was the year from hell.. In fact, I never wanted to teach fourth because of my horrible year. Old lady Patrick was her name and she worked next door to my mother. Isn't it amazing that a teacher can mistreat you so badly that you are scarred for life and your mom can't do anything about it. You might say did she know? In the 60's, the teacher was right no matter what. She'd throw away my papers. make me cry, embarass me and a dozen other things that I've put out of mind so I wouldn't go entirely nuts. Personally, I think she was jealous of my mom and took it out on me. I think that's all I can say right now. It's too painful to keep talking about it.

Pastries

Life as I know it began in Williamsburg VA. Howeveer when I was 3 months old, I came to Texas. My parents settled in East Texas with me. I remember several things about my first five years on earth. One of them was being a mascot for the Chapel Hill Bulldogs. Of course I may have mentioned in previous logs about my early years but something I haven't written about is the request that I made of my parents ---to have a sister or brother. That's when Cindy came aboard the family. I remember my grandparents from Dallas driving down from Dallas to pick me up thinking that would be a big help.Instead they took my mom's right hand man. On the way to Big D as I would call Dallas back then. I remember holding a handkerhief out the window and it blowing right out of my 5 year old hand. Cindy was olive complexion with brown eyes ,looking nothing like me. She was shorter too. She was always smarter than me but nowadays, she acts like no way. She had the priviledge to attend private Kindergarten. When we were bugging our daddy at school before it started in August, she begged me to take her on a book cart. I said ok except keep you legs up on the cart. I was 11 pushing her around the sidewalks of our Junior High school. Well apparently she dropped one of her legs and I ran right in to one of the h-beams they have on campuses nowadays. Of course the cart hit the spot right where her leg was and she cut her leg to the bone and had stitiches. She went to first grade ina wheelchair. She always made straight A's and did really well in school. She grew up, graduated from high school and was a dental assistant for a year before she went to school to be a teacher like me. Eventually she went back to school to be a school librarian. That is her current job. Along the way she married and had 2 girls, Aimee and Abbee. They have given her a lot of joy in her life. They are a lot of fun to be around. They are special little girls.

Pasta

the last of the Pace family that is older than me is my mom. My mom grew up an only child because her older sister died in childbirth. The country Dr. had crushed her skull during childbirth. She was the apple of her daddy's eye. She could do no wrong. She grew up and graduated from high school in Greenville after being named Band Sweetheart and she was Rodeo Queen at ETSU.She was a beautiful young woman and even Amber's boyfriend has said she's the prettiest old woman he's ever seen and she probably is. She reminded me of Inger Stevens who was blonde where my mom was darker headed. I don't want to say brunette but she was a chestnut brown. She stayed home with me as a young child and I remember hanging out clothes with her and she would feed all the cats in the country. I also was told when she was asleep one afternoon taking a nap. I opened the front door and preceeded to walk across the road or major highway to the high school across where my daddy taught. Since I'm alive to write about it, the owners of the cafe next door to the school saw what I'd done and ran out to grab me before I was hit by a car. I remember wanting a baby sister or brother and Cindy appeared out of nowhere. Mom started teaching when I was in 3rd grade and all the boys were in love with her. She has a beautiful smile with dimples and She stayed in Fourth grade until she went to the Library. She retired about 12 years ago. She has a love for her grandaughters and is always teaching them things as she goes about her daily chores. They all love her too. When I was 18 a lot of people thought we were sisters because I'm a blonde version of her.I wasn't ever chosen a beauty queen like her nor do I profess to be as beautiful. Of course she always had all these sayings about everything in life. She now helps my daddy on the place and takes care of the calves. She would sew all my school clothes and definitely preferred sewing to cooking. Cindy and I would keep her in a tizzy because we would fight like siblings do and she wasn't use to that being an only child. Anyway that's my Mom. So now I've introduced you to everyone in my family except my sister

Meats

Well, I guess I'll have to write about my daddy. I don't remember my first image of him because he was always working and going to school. His father that I wrote about worked for the REA before he was my babysitter and because of that, daddy went to over 20 schools growing up from East Texas to Cloudcroft to Laredo staying for 6 months or so give or take . By the time I was born, he had his master's degree and had served his 2 years in the army. See, my grandpa had served in World War I in France as an ambulance driver and had scared his boys to death of the service. So when his time was up, he came home to TX when I was 3 months old. He had a job coaching at Chapel Hill, Texas or Snyder, Texas and he chose Chapel Hill because it was closer to his mom and dad. He taught school, coached and drove a bus so mom could stay home with me. Then he would take night classes at TJC and Saturday classes at East Texas State so he could get the GI Bill. Whenever I was 6 he was chosen to teach science classes to students all over Oklahoma, Texas and who knows where else. I just know he was gone all year teaching and one semester I had to live with grandparents because my mom was doing her student teaching. The next year he was hired in Tyler and so was mom. We built our first home. We had to pull a hundred trees out of our yard so we could build that house. He taught physical science for the next 10 years before he was named an assistant principal at a middle school. However all this time he had a second job on a piece of land-88 acres with a black top road around all 4 sides. He would come in from school after driving the bus and change his clothes and proceed with caution up highway 69N to his second love. He put in numerous hours on that place and it is one of the prettiest properties in the area. He cleaned out brush and planted coastal bermuda sprigs so he could have grass for grazing. Then after my sister graduated from high school, they built a dream house on the place and so now he doesn't have to spend time on the road everyday. He retired 17 years ago and is still spending every waking moment working on this land. There may be a man in Smith County that works harder but I don't know him. When I was growing up, I didn't think there was a man smarter than him,either. To this day, I haven't met a man to take his place in those areas for sure.

Fish and Shellfish

My Baptist grandma was something else. I would stay with her and grandpa when my parents were going to every classs TJC and ETSU offered on Saturday and nights. Where my grandpa could see no wrong in me, my grandma knew everything I did, everything I didn't do, everything I said, everything I didn't say, you get the picture. I could do no right, for you see, somebody had to balance grandpa. When I was a toddler, I would stand up beside her as she drove down the road so whenever I fell downon the seat fast asleep one day she thought I was dead.. She would tell that story over and over. I had scared her to death. Then there was the time I said a bad word in front of all her ladies in the car pool to work and I had to apologize to them all for saying something like dern or darn. mild by today's words. Grandma was the best cook and anytime I ate anything tasty, I ate it at her house first. Like King Ranch Chicken,Italian Creme Cake, all those kinds of meals. so you can understand my feelings whenever one of the last times I saw her( before she went into the nursing home,) she asked me of all people to show her how to make Earthquake cake. I remember the time we all went down to the pond and Amber laid her fishing pole down on the ground. She was about 4 or 5. Well we were catching catfish right and left. Before we knew it we had 14 large catfish out of daddy's pond. But in the meantime we lost Amber's fishing pole. A fish had pulled it into the pond come to find out because Grandma caught another fish and started reeling in the pole bringing in the lost pole with a fish on the line. So she caught 2 for the price of one. That evening we skinned catfish forever it seemed but it was so fun telling the story over and over again.My grandma could laugh out loud. Then there was the time she went into the wrong house at Hide Away Lake to help prepare a meal for a family who had lost someone. She just let herself in to the wrong house and preceeded to take over the unoccupied kitchen before she realized she was in the wrong place. She could get herself in more comical situations so innocently, just like I Love Lucy but it wasn't on purpose. As I was growing up, she was the grandparent I had the hardest time with but she lived 10 years longer than my other grandparents and I grew closer to her during that time. She was a mess.

Eggs and Cheese

When I think of my grandpa Leslie,I think of him sitting quietly and not saying much. I spent more time with him growing up than anyone in my life. See he was my babysitter when my mom and dad would do whatever they needed to do. I even lived with them(my grandma and him) when my mom was doing her student teaching. I would ride with him all over the country in his pickup and he would always take me by the store for ice cream and a coke. He would always have butter brickle ice cream at home and that guy had me eating everything from sardines to brains (in eggs that is.) See I never ate much of anything my first 2 years and I usually just drank milk. He enjoyed the simple things in life because when he was a young boy he had rheumatic fever and it damaged his heart valve. When I was 11 DeBakey and Cooley operated on him in Houston. He lived about 10 years after that operation whereas if he hadn't had it , his life would have been cut short. When I was living with them in 2nd grade, my teacher had sent home something for my parents to sign in the middle of the week. Since my dad was a traveling science teacher with OSU at the time and not home on the weekend either they couldn't sign my paper. Well the teacher told me not to come back without the signature and my grandpa ended up in the superintendents office very upset over this situation since my parents were both out of town during the week and only home on weekends. The stories go that if I was upset, he was very upset. I was the girl he never had. I was special to him. Whenever he was getting older and harder for my grandma to handle,She called my daddy once and told him to come home and get grandpa in the house. He didn't want to come in so daddy called me to go get him in the house. See they lived 15 miles away from us at this time. He also smoked cigarettes and when I was a toddler, I ate his cigs out of the ash tray. Yuck!!!But he was the MAN and whatever he said or did was the BOMB.

Desserts

Today when I think of my paternal maternal mother, my experiences with her are so vague but I can hear her voice. She suppposedly was a great cocok. When I think about her children , she would have to be pretty good. However as far back as I can remember she was in a wheelchair. She lived until I was 13, I believe. She also was of German heritage. There were times my grandparents would leave their homes and go take care of her. Apparently my great -grandparents had made a deal with one of their children that they would leave them the land if you will take care of us. Sometimes they did and sometimes they didn't. So my grandma would take up the slack when they didn't. So now I've written about all my great-grandparents now and I'll finish up with my paternal grandparents the next 2 days.

Cookies

When I think of my father's grandparents, I think of my paternal maternal father. he was an interesting man who lived an interesting life. I believe his mom was a Cherokee Indian whose husband was named Bishop. Bishop happens to be the maiden name of Leslie's mother-in- law. His dad left at an early age and so did her dad. However, Brother Teddlie told my family that Redbone(my great grandfather) used to ride his horse around the Baptist churches shooting his gun up in the air during worship service on Sunday. Can you see that happening nowadays ? I can't. So when you think about it, I've been blessed to know all my grandparents and 4 of my great grandparents in my life.

Candy

My maternal grandfather was born in Virginia like me and he got to Texas as soon as he could. He was always a farmer and even share cropped across the road from Audie Murphy's family before the War. My mom remembers going with her daddy to his place as a little girl. Then after the war my grandad went to Dallas and made Cheetos for Frito Lay. he was an interesting man. He was the youngest in his family. I can't say alot more about him. I just remember when I was little I would ask him questions and he would tell me to listen and I would hear my answer. That was whenever we watched his favorite TV shows. He also took care of his cars smoked a pipe and chewed tobacco. He also had the same initials as his father-in-law, MB.

Cakes

Why am I writing about my heritage? It's very important to me to write it down for my family to know. My grandmother could sell ice to as eskimo. She crawled out of her window at 16 to marry my grandfather. My father's parents believe it or not married on the same day and same year,too. Can you believe that? How many couples you know married and their parents shared the same day same year anniversary? Anyway, My grandmother had the most unconditional love towards me. Perhaps she went through so much in her youngers years that she showed me that side of her. She always had a big hug for me and she would say I've been so hungry to see you. I have so many good memories of spending time with her and she would always answer my questions. She would always take me places to hear preachers, whenever they came to town. See she lived in Dallas and sold ladies clothes to women in downtown Dallas. She was always in retail and sold Luziers cosmetics. Then her shop moved out to North Park. I can remember when there was nothing around there. I would spend a week every summer in Dallas with them. It would be wonderful because I was all by myself and I didn't have anyone around except my grandparents. We would always go see relatives so that would be neat. I loved those times with my extended family. I learned so much from her. Forgiveness, love for others, the list goes on. her faith in God. Tillet S. Tedlie married a cousin of hers and I sat with him at the piano one day. He survived several wives and I went by to see him before I left for Abilene. His wife at the time was also a nurse and she was the first one to mention to me about my thryroid. There are so many ways she influenced my life. I can't list them all but I can be an example to others so her legacy goes on. She was a painter and love to paint flowers. She even came to Tyler and took art lessons fom Nell Pounders who was a painter(roses I think). what else can I say about her? perhaps as I write I'll remember all the ways she influenced my life and faith.

Breads

My maternal grandmother was the daughter of the great-grandmother I wrote about yesterday and her daddy was the Church of Christ man she married. He died when I was very young, around 3 maybe and I remember him vaguely in my life. Apparently his daddy was a dentist in Tennesee who supposedly created the first false teeth gum that was soft but his partner stole his idea and received credit for it. or that's what I've been told. He also told my grandmother the story about the men on the porch talking about their neighbor(who was a good whistler) and the moral of the story is If you can't say something nice about someone , don't say anything at all. For the longest I thought the story was only in my family but I heard someone else tell the story several years ago and I realized it was handed down in other families too.

Beverages

Over a 100 years ago my maternal grandmother married her one and only being disowned by her family because he was Church of Christ and she was Methodist. If they had not married I would not be here as I know it,but this is the only strain of Church of Christ in my family. All of my other strains are Baptist. They moved to Texas from Tennessee. She never learned to drive a car and one of her highlights was riding in an elevator in downtown Dallas with my cousin Ward. My family spent a lot of time with her especially Easter Sunday.She had a small apartment in the back of her house that she rented to single women. She had 3 boys go off to World War II and come back alive. They joined the Army, Navy and Air Force. They were my mom's favorite Uncles and they started their families after the war. My mom was the oldest second generation child I knew. There were 2 other siblings of my grandmother but they were older and died before I knew them. Ada attended a Church of Christ in Greenville, Texas where we saw the congregation dwindle over the years. She would walk to church and walk to town. Her Christmas gift was chocolate covered cherries. She could cook a spread for dinner and I was probably the pickiest eater that ever has been born.My family even lived with her one summer so my parents could go to East Texas State and work on their degree. She died shortly after I came to Abilene in 1973. So actually I came 33 years ago, Time is flying by.

Appetizers

Today 32 years ago I was riding a float through downtown Dallas during the Cotton Bowl parade while my Dallas grandparents were on the sidelines looking on. It has been a highlight of my life as far as television goes because I was on nationwide TV and my other grandpa who I named my oldest daughter after could see me on TV. This was also the first time I was around champagne in my life as my family weren't drinkers. I remember being in a warehouse in downtown Dallas surrounded by floats and a bunch of people including William Conrad who played Cannon. The Cotton Bowl Parade is now history but the game isn't. I remember sitting in the end zone watching the game whoever it was. I don't even remember the teams playing that year. Several days later though I headed from the great part of Texas to the open skies of West Texas. I haven't left yet, but there have been times I've really wanted to leave this place. Yet every time I turn around I am reminded of how great this place really is.The people are fantastic and wonderful here in this great place.