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Alma introduces three of her great-nieces to the joys of newspaper reporting.
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FERNBANK NEWS
August 20, 1957
Series 2, Vol. 1, No. 1 Edition 1.
Fernbank News has resumed publication, after a vacation of several years, with a new Staff, recruited from Pittsburgh and Wayland. The Staff is already showing great activity in the publication offices which vibrate between the dining-room and the living-room of Fernbank.
STAFF:
Barbara Ann Stokey
Elizabeth Everett Stokey
Nancy Laura Stokey
Alma Gracey Stokey - Head of printing department.
Weather. Aug. 20, 1947. The weather is clear. It is a very light blue sky. Today, at about 2:30 it was 72 degrees. Sunrise at 6:11 A.M., E.D.C.; Sunset 7:47 P.M. B.A.S.
[page 1, column 1]
Swimming. Nan, Elizabeth and Barbara are learning to swim on our backs and to breathe while we swim. They are showing great progress.
Uncle Bill swam over 50 ft., Eliz swam over 30 ft., Nancy swam over 15 ft.
Nancy nearly lost her ball, but Barbara drove it to shore and I got it. I got to shore.
Elderberry Picking. Today, Aug. 20 Elizabeth, Nan and Barbara Stokey picked elderberries in front of Fernbank. Jean helped a little. We picked about 4 quarts. We picked them for Aunt Erna. She said she was going to make a German soup. (It ought to be good because she is a good cook.) BAS
It was good; she sent some over to Fernbank, the next day. Ed. and print.
Edaville. Yesterday we went to the Edaville railroad. It is quite cute. We take a ride that is over so soon. At a village we stopped, took pictures and walked around. I like to ride Edaville R.R. so much. Liz.
Yesterday, the 19th of August, Aunt Alma, Aunt Eva, Miss Jones, Mother, Daddy, Elizabeth, Nancy, Jean and Barbara went for a ride at the Edaville Railroad. We went through a cranberry bog. There are a lot of bogs. The 2ft. wide track is the last of the 2-ft. tracks on the American continent. Half way there we stopped at a small village. There were old engines, a store, a museum, and a restaurant. We all had a nice time. It took an hour. BAS
[page 1, column 2]
We all went to a railroad yesterday. We all had fun. Nancy, Daddy, Barbara and Aunt Alma took pictures. NLS
Storyland.
We went to Storyland. We saw a lot of fairytales come to life. We saw Sleeping Beauty's castle, two goats and some deer, The Old-Lady-who-lived-in-the-shoe's house, and the schoolhouse that Mary and her lamb went to, Jack and the Beanstalk and the giant, the Three Bears' house, and the Three Pigs' house. EES
We went to Storyland. It was fun. we saw a little castle that Snow White slept in. We saw the three Pigs' house, and the schoolhouse that Mary and her lamb went to, and the three Bears' house. NLS
Saturday, Aug. 17th, in the afternoon, Uncle Roger took Elizabeth, Ming, Barbara, Nancy, Roger and Daddy to Storyland. There was a little village at the entrance. Along the path there was Snow White's castle, sheep, goats, chickens, and lots of other exciting things. We took a ride on a cart drawn by a Shetland pony. We were there about 2 1/2 hours. We got home just in time for the picnic. BAS
Picnic.
We had a Saturday picnic. Attending were all Fernbank (8), all Vagabond House (8), Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, and the Special Guest, June Osborn who was Alma Grace's roommate in Oberlin. We had nice weather for the picnic. As usual we had swordfish sandwiches, cranberry punch, also salad, and Boston Tools (chocolate). BAS
[page 2, column 1]
We saw a comet Saturday. We were there for the picnic. It was bright. Nan
There was a comet in the northwestern sky. It was quite bright for a comet. Afterwards we had pictures about AG's Commencement, and Glady's trip around the world. I liked it all very much. They were good clear pictures. EES
There is a comet in the northwestern sky. It is very bright for a comet. It is the second we saw this year. It will last about a week or after. We saw it Saturday.
(Aug. 23rd. The comet is fine this evening, as good or better than on Saturday. AGS and CVJ)
INDIAN dinner . Aug. 11, 1957, Aunt Alma made an Indian dinner. There was curry, pachadi, split peas with butter, rice and chicken. Attending were Fernbank (8), Vagabond House (8), Mr. and Mrs. Robinson. Everyone had a nice time and said it was a good dinner and they enjoyed it. BAS
We had an Indian dinner. Aunt Alma made it. We had curry, chicken, rice, pachadi, split peas. It was very good. For dessert we had fruit and cake which Glady and Aunt Erna prepared.
Honorable mention for work on the dinner, such as scraping coconut, should be given to Bill and Grace Stokey, and Clara Jones. AGS
Candle Factory Mother, Daddy, Aunt Alma, Elizabeth, Barbara, Nan and Jean went to the Candle Factory. Mother & Barbara got Christmas cards. Daddy took Elizabeth, Nan and Barbara to watch the making of candles. It was a lot of fun.
Barbara, Elizabeth, Nancy, Grace, Bill and Jean and Aunt Alma went to the Candle Factory. We saw them make candles. Grace got some candles. It was fun watching them make candles. NLS
We went to the Colonial Candle Factory. I got some candles. Then I watched them make candles. We saw a man in a cage, a woman molding candles, a man actually making candles. It was very interesting. EES
Yellow jackets. Daddy, Uncle Roger, Elizabeth, Roger, Nancy and Barbara went fishing one day. Some one hit a yellow jacket's nest. Everyone ran.
[page 2, column 2]
Uncle Roger went home because he is allergic to Yellowjackets. He could not go fishing. BAS
We went crab-digging. Then we went fishing. We didn't catch anything. We threw the crabs into the Millpond, and they did not smell good. EES
Daddy and Little Roger got stung by some yellow jackets. EES
Barbara and Nancy went fishing this year and caught some fresh fish. We caught our first fish this year. Elizabeth caught hers last year. Barbara's first was a cunner, Nancy's was a puffer, and Elizabeth's was a cunner. BAS
The High Field Theater. Elizabeth and Barbara went with Elizabeth's friend from Wayland to see the ballet of the Wizard of Oz. They did very well. It was a nice play. I enjoyed it very much. I was sorry that Nancy could not go. She was sick with a cold. BAS
Barbara and Elizabeth went to the Highfield Children's Theater. We saw "The Wizard of Oz." It was mostly ballet. There was Dorothy, the Wizard of Oz, the Witch of the West, the Witch of the East, and the Witch of the West's slaves. It was all very good. EES
We went to the laboratory where Aunt Alma works. We saw lots of Ferns. I saw my hair under the microscope, and the others saw some ferns under the microscope. It was fun. EES
Barbara, Elizabeth, Nancy and Bill went to see the laboratory where Aunt Alma works. We looked in the microscope and saw things. It was all very exciting and fun. We all enjoyed the trip very much. Nan.
Today, Daddy took Betsy, Nan and Barbara to Aunt Alma's laboratory. She showed us her two microscopes. In the microscopes we each saw a strand of hair, some leaves from her collection. She has a large collection. Some of them are old and some are new. BAS
---------------------
The Staff departed Wednesday, Aug. 21, for Wayland for a night's visit and to leave EES. They were going first to Boston to show Barbara where she had lived before going to Pittsburgh. Then the two members of the Staff were going on with their parents to Pittsburgh, stopping at Easton on the way.
Probably there will not be a Fernbank News until 1958, unless the Staff send communications to Woods Hole.
August 20, 1957
Series 2, Vol. 1, No. 1 Edition 1.
Fernbank News has resumed publication, after a vacation of several years, with a new Staff, recruited from Pittsburgh and Wayland. The Staff is already showing great activity in the publication offices which vibrate between the dining-room and the living-room of Fernbank.
STAFF:
Barbara Ann Stokey
Elizabeth Everett Stokey
Nancy Laura Stokey
Alma Gracey Stokey - Head of printing department.
Weather. Aug. 20, 1947. The weather is clear. It is a very light blue sky. Today, at about 2:30 it was 72 degrees. Sunrise at 6:11 A.M., E.D.C.; Sunset 7:47 P.M. B.A.S.
[page 1, column 1]
Swimming. Nan, Elizabeth and Barbara are learning to swim on our backs and to breathe while we swim. They are showing great progress.
Uncle Bill swam over 50 ft., Eliz swam over 30 ft., Nancy swam over 15 ft.
Nancy nearly lost her ball, but Barbara drove it to shore and I got it. I got to shore.
Elderberry Picking. Today, Aug. 20 Elizabeth, Nan and Barbara Stokey picked elderberries in front of Fernbank. Jean helped a little. We picked about 4 quarts. We picked them for Aunt Erna. She said she was going to make a German soup. (It ought to be good because she is a good cook.) BAS
It was good; she sent some over to Fernbank, the next day. Ed. and print.
Edaville. Yesterday we went to the Edaville railroad. It is quite cute. We take a ride that is over so soon. At a village we stopped, took pictures and walked around. I like to ride Edaville R.R. so much. Liz.
Yesterday, the 19th of August, Aunt Alma, Aunt Eva, Miss Jones, Mother, Daddy, Elizabeth, Nancy, Jean and Barbara went for a ride at the Edaville Railroad. We went through a cranberry bog. There are a lot of bogs. The 2ft. wide track is the last of the 2-ft. tracks on the American continent. Half way there we stopped at a small village. There were old engines, a store, a museum, and a restaurant. We all had a nice time. It took an hour. BAS
[page 1, column 2]
We all went to a railroad yesterday. We all had fun. Nancy, Daddy, Barbara and Aunt Alma took pictures. NLS
Storyland.
We went to Storyland. We saw a lot of fairytales come to life. We saw Sleeping Beauty's castle, two goats and some deer, The Old-Lady-who-lived-in-the-shoe's house, and the schoolhouse that Mary and her lamb went to, Jack and the Beanstalk and the giant, the Three Bears' house, and the Three Pigs' house. EES
We went to Storyland. It was fun. we saw a little castle that Snow White slept in. We saw the three Pigs' house, and the schoolhouse that Mary and her lamb went to, and the three Bears' house. NLS
Saturday, Aug. 17th, in the afternoon, Uncle Roger took Elizabeth, Ming, Barbara, Nancy, Roger and Daddy to Storyland. There was a little village at the entrance. Along the path there was Snow White's castle, sheep, goats, chickens, and lots of other exciting things. We took a ride on a cart drawn by a Shetland pony. We were there about 2 1/2 hours. We got home just in time for the picnic. BAS
Picnic.
We had a Saturday picnic. Attending were all Fernbank (8), all Vagabond House (8), Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, and the Special Guest, June Osborn who was Alma Grace's roommate in Oberlin. We had nice weather for the picnic. As usual we had swordfish sandwiches, cranberry punch, also salad, and Boston Tools (chocolate). BAS
[page 2, column 1]
We saw a comet Saturday. We were there for the picnic. It was bright. Nan
There was a comet in the northwestern sky. It was quite bright for a comet. Afterwards we had pictures about AG's Commencement, and Glady's trip around the world. I liked it all very much. They were good clear pictures. EES
There is a comet in the northwestern sky. It is very bright for a comet. It is the second we saw this year. It will last about a week or after. We saw it Saturday.
(Aug. 23rd. The comet is fine this evening, as good or better than on Saturday. AGS and CVJ)
INDIAN dinner . Aug. 11, 1957, Aunt Alma made an Indian dinner. There was curry, pachadi, split peas with butter, rice and chicken. Attending were Fernbank (8), Vagabond House (8), Mr. and Mrs. Robinson. Everyone had a nice time and said it was a good dinner and they enjoyed it. BAS
We had an Indian dinner. Aunt Alma made it. We had curry, chicken, rice, pachadi, split peas. It was very good. For dessert we had fruit and cake which Glady and Aunt Erna prepared.
Honorable mention for work on the dinner, such as scraping coconut, should be given to Bill and Grace Stokey, and Clara Jones. AGS
Candle Factory Mother, Daddy, Aunt Alma, Elizabeth, Barbara, Nan and Jean went to the Candle Factory. Mother & Barbara got Christmas cards. Daddy took Elizabeth, Nan and Barbara to watch the making of candles. It was a lot of fun.
Barbara, Elizabeth, Nancy, Grace, Bill and Jean and Aunt Alma went to the Candle Factory. We saw them make candles. Grace got some candles. It was fun watching them make candles. NLS
We went to the Colonial Candle Factory. I got some candles. Then I watched them make candles. We saw a man in a cage, a woman molding candles, a man actually making candles. It was very interesting. EES
Yellow jackets. Daddy, Uncle Roger, Elizabeth, Roger, Nancy and Barbara went fishing one day. Some one hit a yellow jacket's nest. Everyone ran.
[page 2, column 2]
Uncle Roger went home because he is allergic to Yellowjackets. He could not go fishing. BAS
We went crab-digging. Then we went fishing. We didn't catch anything. We threw the crabs into the Millpond, and they did not smell good. EES
Daddy and Little Roger got stung by some yellow jackets. EES
Barbara and Nancy went fishing this year and caught some fresh fish. We caught our first fish this year. Elizabeth caught hers last year. Barbara's first was a cunner, Nancy's was a puffer, and Elizabeth's was a cunner. BAS
The High Field Theater. Elizabeth and Barbara went with Elizabeth's friend from Wayland to see the ballet of the Wizard of Oz. They did very well. It was a nice play. I enjoyed it very much. I was sorry that Nancy could not go. She was sick with a cold. BAS
Barbara and Elizabeth went to the Highfield Children's Theater. We saw "The Wizard of Oz." It was mostly ballet. There was Dorothy, the Wizard of Oz, the Witch of the West, the Witch of the East, and the Witch of the West's slaves. It was all very good. EES
We went to the laboratory where Aunt Alma works. We saw lots of Ferns. I saw my hair under the microscope, and the others saw some ferns under the microscope. It was fun. EES
Barbara, Elizabeth, Nancy and Bill went to see the laboratory where Aunt Alma works. We looked in the microscope and saw things. It was all very exciting and fun. We all enjoyed the trip very much. Nan.
Today, Daddy took Betsy, Nan and Barbara to Aunt Alma's laboratory. She showed us her two microscopes. In the microscopes we each saw a strand of hair, some leaves from her collection. She has a large collection. Some of them are old and some are new. BAS
---------------------
The Staff departed Wednesday, Aug. 21, for Wayland for a night's visit and to leave EES. They were going first to Boston to show Barbara where she had lived before going to Pittsburgh. Then the two members of the Staff were going on with their parents to Pittsburgh, stopping at Easton on the way.
Probably there will not be a Fernbank News until 1958, unless the Staff send communications to Woods Hole.
audio---images---comment---transcript---~NOTES~---links---site navigation
1.
I'm still working on uploading the Fernbank News to this website.
You can find all the available Fernbank News editions in:
2.
STAFF:
Barbara Ann Stokey
Elizabeth Everett Stokey
Nancy Laura Stokey
Alma Gracey Stokey - Head of printing department.
Ages of the staff are:
Barbara: 10 (I think)
Elizabeth: very nearly 8
Nancy: 7
Alma: 80
Barbara and Nancy were Bill's daughters, and his youngest daughter Jean appears in this edition as well. Bill and his family lived in Pittsburgh. Elizabeth was Roger's daughter, and her younger siblings Ming and Roger appear too. Roger and his family lived in Wayland. Elizabeth is also called Liz in this News. At birth she was given the nickname of Betsy, but it must have been shortly before this summer that she decided she didn't want to be Betsy due to the popularity of the Betsy-Wetsy doll, so she became Elizabeth or Liz. She eventually reverted to being Betsy, but until the end of his life, our father sometimes called her Liz, which I find endearing: He fully accepted her choice of name over the name that he and my mother had chosen for her.
3.
Picnic.
We had a Saturday picnic.
Glady's picnic tablecloth had been in existence for several years by this time.
4.
Attending were all Fernbank (8), all Vagabond House (8), Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, and the Special Guest, June Osborn who was Alma Grace's roommate in Oberlin.
Fernbank would be Alma, Eva, Bill, his wife Grace, their three daughters, and Clara Jones. It surprises me that Elizabeth wasn't there, but that would make it 9 people.
Vagabond would be Glady and Aunt Erna, but after that I don't know. I think it might well be Roger and his wife Edie, and their four children, including Elizabeth. That makes eight, but if that's the case, where were AG and her friend June Osborn staying?
Mr. and Mrs. Robinson were Edie's parents, my maternal grandparents. They moved to Falmouth in 1955. Conceivably Ming and I - numbers 2 and 4 of Roger's and Edie's children - were staying with them as we often did, and AG and June were staying at Vagabond, but if that's the case, why wasn't June included in the 8 at Vagabond? Oh, well, wherever people were staying, it sounds like a nice, jolly Saturday night picnic with nearly 20 people.
Later: I talked to AG, and she thought maybe she and June were staying with the Saunderses.
5.
Afterwards we had pictures about AG's Commencement, and Glady's trip around the world.
Apparently AG graduated from Oberlin in 1957, which surprises me. Must remember to check with her.
Later: It looks as though AG did skip a grade, probably second grade. She was more interested in talking to me about her odd schooling setup. Alma retired in 1942, when AG was six, and Alma did not want to go from Fernbank back to South Hadley at the beginning of the school year. So AG would start the school year in the Woods Hole school, and switch to the South Hadley school when Alma finally went back to South Hadley. I expressed sympathy, but AG said that she liked it. When she got to high school - that would be 1949 - it was decided that she should be at one school for the whole year.
I find it interesting that Betsy says "Glady's trip around the world" without mentioning that Alma was on that trip as well.
6.
(Aug. 23rd. The comet is fine this evening, as good or better than on Saturday. AGS and CVJ)
CVJ is Clara Virginia Jones, who has a Non-family page on this website. And note that the date of this note is August 23, two days after the Staff had left for their homes in Wayland and Pittsburgh. So I figure Barbara, Nancy, and Elizabeth sat at the dining table at Fernbank writing up their accounts of their activities, and Aunt Alma typed it all up after they left and mailed it to them. That's a very nice, very involved great-aunt.
7.
Uncle Roger went home because he is allergic to Yellowjackets.
I never knew that my father was allergic to yellowjackets. It doesn't sound like a serious allergy, however.
8.
A family connection from later years looked at this page and enjoyed it, and added:
And picking elderberries….and why AG was able to find them to make jam. She knew where they grew wild, nearby.
I'm still working on uploading the Fernbank News to this website.
- The previous News in the series is: 1945-08-23 FERNBANK NEWS
- The next News in the series is: 1958-07 FERNBANK NEWS
You can find all the available Fernbank News editions in:
2.
STAFF:
Barbara Ann Stokey
Elizabeth Everett Stokey
Nancy Laura Stokey
Alma Gracey Stokey - Head of printing department.
Ages of the staff are:
Barbara: 10 (I think)
Elizabeth: very nearly 8
Nancy: 7
Alma: 80
Barbara and Nancy were Bill's daughters, and his youngest daughter Jean appears in this edition as well. Bill and his family lived in Pittsburgh. Elizabeth was Roger's daughter, and her younger siblings Ming and Roger appear too. Roger and his family lived in Wayland. Elizabeth is also called Liz in this News. At birth she was given the nickname of Betsy, but it must have been shortly before this summer that she decided she didn't want to be Betsy due to the popularity of the Betsy-Wetsy doll, so she became Elizabeth or Liz. She eventually reverted to being Betsy, but until the end of his life, our father sometimes called her Liz, which I find endearing: He fully accepted her choice of name over the name that he and my mother had chosen for her.
3.
Picnic.
We had a Saturday picnic.
Glady's picnic tablecloth had been in existence for several years by this time.
4.
Attending were all Fernbank (8), all Vagabond House (8), Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, and the Special Guest, June Osborn who was Alma Grace's roommate in Oberlin.
Fernbank would be Alma, Eva, Bill, his wife Grace, their three daughters, and Clara Jones. It surprises me that Elizabeth wasn't there, but that would make it 9 people.
Vagabond would be Glady and Aunt Erna, but after that I don't know. I think it might well be Roger and his wife Edie, and their four children, including Elizabeth. That makes eight, but if that's the case, where were AG and her friend June Osborn staying?
Mr. and Mrs. Robinson were Edie's parents, my maternal grandparents. They moved to Falmouth in 1955. Conceivably Ming and I - numbers 2 and 4 of Roger's and Edie's children - were staying with them as we often did, and AG and June were staying at Vagabond, but if that's the case, why wasn't June included in the 8 at Vagabond? Oh, well, wherever people were staying, it sounds like a nice, jolly Saturday night picnic with nearly 20 people.
Later: I talked to AG, and she thought maybe she and June were staying with the Saunderses.
5.
Afterwards we had pictures about AG's Commencement, and Glady's trip around the world.
Apparently AG graduated from Oberlin in 1957, which surprises me. Must remember to check with her.
Later: It looks as though AG did skip a grade, probably second grade. She was more interested in talking to me about her odd schooling setup. Alma retired in 1942, when AG was six, and Alma did not want to go from Fernbank back to South Hadley at the beginning of the school year. So AG would start the school year in the Woods Hole school, and switch to the South Hadley school when Alma finally went back to South Hadley. I expressed sympathy, but AG said that she liked it. When she got to high school - that would be 1949 - it was decided that she should be at one school for the whole year.
I find it interesting that Betsy says "Glady's trip around the world" without mentioning that Alma was on that trip as well.
6.
(Aug. 23rd. The comet is fine this evening, as good or better than on Saturday. AGS and CVJ)
CVJ is Clara Virginia Jones, who has a Non-family page on this website. And note that the date of this note is August 23, two days after the Staff had left for their homes in Wayland and Pittsburgh. So I figure Barbara, Nancy, and Elizabeth sat at the dining table at Fernbank writing up their accounts of their activities, and Aunt Alma typed it all up after they left and mailed it to them. That's a very nice, very involved great-aunt.
7.
Uncle Roger went home because he is allergic to Yellowjackets.
I never knew that my father was allergic to yellowjackets. It doesn't sound like a serious allergy, however.
8.
A family connection from later years looked at this page and enjoyed it, and added:
And picking elderberries….and why AG was able to find them to make jam. She knew where they grew wild, nearby.
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