Maryse Waggoner

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I was reared (animals are “raised”) in a small town in a rural area of the nation. Believe it or not — our Midwest lifestyle was very like the New England lifestyle nearly a century earlier that was recorded by Norman Rockwell in his marvelous paintings.
My father’s side of the family got the pleasure of our company on Thanksgiving and mother’s side got the honor of our presence on Christmas — alternating each year. The two families were in adjacent towns only a dozen miles apart, so we did a lot of family visits throughout the year, of course.
But holidays were special. The Ward family met (usually) at the home of my grandparents and (at minimum) included a core group of their son and daughter — my father Don and my Aunt Bee

Rockwell Thanksgiving Painting
Remembering our loved-ones who are no longer with us at holiday dinners

— and their children.
That generation was represented by me and my two brothers (Craig and Bart Ward) and Bee and her husband Bill’s kids Todd and Tara (who were about ten years younger than me).
The Bartley family (my mom’s side of the family) had a few more options and we gathered in Almena, KS. Grandma Bartley had three kids — my mom was the baby, and she had an older brother Tom Bartley and much older sister, Maryse.
Tom and his wife Inge Graf Bartley hosted sometimes and Maryse and her husband Burnal hosted other times — but my dad didn’t like to spend holidays in Almena because TV reception was poor (this was before cable TV) and he couldn’t enjoy the ball games.
As always, though — food was plentiful and we pigged out major league.
I have so many wonderful memories of our extended family gatherings and as a child, I thought they would continue forever.
But of course, nothing is forever. Time marches on, and we lose loved-ones along the way.
I wanted to commemorate happy childhood memories by referencing the famous Rockwell painting “Freedom From Want” — one of his series of Four Freedom paintings.
In this one I have remembered those on my paternal side of the family who are no longer with us — empty chairs at the dinner table.
My maternal side of the family will have to forgive me — there are a lot more people involved and I don’t know how to represent all of them and all the memories they contributed — at least not this year. But I will never forget any of the people who have made me what I am today — and mainly that is “rich in memories.”
And certainly THANKFUL.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.

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Carolyn Rae Bartley was born at the height of the Great Depression, April 17, 1932. Today would have been her 85th birthday.

She grew up in Almena, KS, a small town, even by Kansas standards. The town was founded 1872 and had little to offer except being a shipping point located at the junction of two

Carolyn Bartley — approx. 4 years old. Thanks to Fran Post and Inge Bartley for the photo.

railroads. The population in the 1890 census was 366 and that’s about where it stands today. At its peak in the 1930 census, it was credited with about 700 citizens.

Mom was the youngest of three children born to Thomas R. Bartley, editor and publisher of a one-man newspaper, the Almena Plaindealer and Leona Bartley, known by her middle name, Ferryl.

My grandfather (born in Nebraska in 1894) was reportedly a brilliant man, but tragically alcoholic. I never knew him and the family never talked about him. Grandma divorced him when my mother was young, and this was quite scandalous in the 1930s — especially in small town rural areas of the Bible Belt. He died when my mom was 13, probably due to his alcoholism. My parents told me and my brothers that he died in a car wreck. When pressed for details, they said that a bee got into the car and he was trying to kill it or shoo it away while driving, lost control and had a wreck.

This story was supposedly better than acknowledging the shame of his “sinful” condition.

That’s really all I know about him, except that I have seen some of the newspaper columns he

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