Life at Stella Maris is VERY quiet. Yes, it is silent week. Silent for the 15 who are here on a group retreat and me. No one speaks unless absolutely necessary. I have noticed that the nuns and staff eat separately and while not rowdy, certainly speak to each other. I'm thinking about breaking out! Meals are at regular house - 8am, noon and 5pm. Seems a bit skewed but I don't have to do the preparation. Everything is cafeteria style. I want to go out and bring the sisters a bushel of peaches or fresh cherries or something exciting. On the other hand, maybe foot isn't suppose to be exciting, just overcooked. I can feel myself swelling despite and salad. I am going for a walk shortly.
The other visitors are quiet and calm. Although there are a few with less gray in their hair than me they all act old. There is one Korean lady from Florida who knows how to smile. Too bad we can't have a conversation. She is thin as a rail but eats 2 or 3 helpings of everything. Ah, to have such a metabolism. It is a good thing I usually sit at a table along because, good heathen that I am, I usually forget to say grace until I have eaten 2 bites. Mea culpa. Tonight, they played a CD of hymns during dinner. They were immediately cheering because they were all the Protestant tunes from my childhood!
Most of my day was spent working for clients. I finished and uploaded one grant. Emailed draft three of another. I will finish and upload another in the morning, then I am off to Springwater (apologies Lois, I told you Slaterville - that is for Thursday or Friday while I am near Ithaca). Springwater is the furthest western point in this med-New York exploration. GW Coats was born in this small burg and lived there until age 19 with his grandparents. He then moved to Jamestown, Michigan with his cousin and his dog. We have few records of their time in NY so I will see what I can discover at the county sea in Mt. Morris or the county clerk's office in Geneseo.
Included next is just some interesting information by James Bradford Tukey about his parents. It was written in tiny handwriting on the back of this photo. (I don't know why the photos flip when I upload them)
"Four generations Milburn, IL, 1898. George C. Dodge farm house. Sitting is George Crie Dodge holding Marion G. Tukey of Berwyn, IL. on his knee. Aunt Judith Dodge sitting to right, Harold Bradford Tukey standing in front and his father James Bradford Tukey standing back of his Uncle George C. Dodge and Aunt Judith dodge. This notation made 7/17/1946 at Pearl River, NY by J.B. Tukey born 1864 May 7th in NY City, NY after moving from Nov 3, 1937 resided in St. Petersburg, Florida there to return Sept. via P.C.A. Airlines. This road running west past the farm of James M Dodge where at 4 years of age my mother Julia Crie Dodge was taken from Salem, Mass. by her father James M. Dode in Pioneer Days settling. She living until 19 years of age when my father Stephen H. Tukey did court and marry mother, going to NYC residing in Dominick Street where I was born May 7 1864. Later moving to 234 changed to 264 York Street, Jersey City, NJ then attending grammar school and at about 15 years age later by my parent paying $200 to my Uncle Edward and Aunt Ruby Dodge on old Dodge homestead for 8 years then to Desmet, S. Dakota, W. B. D. Gray and 60 acre farm, 18 or 19 Oberlin (College), Ohio, next Ridgefield Park, NJ 1888.
The text is a bit wordy and disjointed but you get the drift of what they were doing in the 1800s.
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