Remembrances on Veterans Day

Hoping the War Will Be Over Soon So We Can See Each Other Again...

The brother pictured above died whilst in the service.
He was only 19 and had a special sweetheart at home who he planned to marry.
In a letter to one of his brothers in the service he wrote that he was hoping the war would be over soon so that all the brothers could see each other again.

In his last letter home he wrote of his love for his family.
Also in the photograph above is one of the Western Union Telegrams sent when he died.
Sally Ann said that at the funeral there was not a dry eye in the church.
Her brother's favorite hymns were played at the service on the organ.
The older two brothers were unable to attend the funeral as one was in Panama and the other in Africa.

Uncle's Service Photo Album, Fort Andrews, Boston Harbor, Mass. The photograph is of him leaving home after his last leave.

Uncle with his Grandmum (his Father's Mum)
His Grandmum's ancestors in the Scott, Keyes, and Adams families served in the Revolutionary War.

Sally Ann, sad to see her brother leaving to go back to Fort Andrews.

Uncle and his Sweetheart

Sally Ann's baby brother, wearing his aviator hat, posed atop the mailbox in front of the family home. The family mailbox where news from home was sent and news from the three brothers in the service was eagerly watched and waited for.

Letters sent home by the three brothers.

Sally Ann's three older brothers and her father played for dances and special occasions.
The three brothers above all served during World War II.
The brother in the middle is the brother pictured at the top of this post, the one who died in the service.

Sally Ann and her brothers had numerous direct ancestors who served in the Revolutionary War, on both their Mother and Father's side of the family.

Some of the photographs and some of the writings on this post are from previous Corgyncombe Courant posts that can be found here on the Corgyncombe Courant and from our web site and our previous postings elsewhere on the internet.

Please do not "Pin" our photographs.
Please do not post our photographs on facebook.

Our email:
atthecottagegate@yahoo.com
If you receive an email you think is from me from this email, please make sure it is atthecottagegate@yahoo.com, and not just something that sounds similar.

Photographs, images, and text copyright © 2000-2017 Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson. All rights reserved. Photographs, images, and/or text may not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson.


http://corgyncombecourant.blogspot.com/2017/11/remembrances-on-veterans-day.html
copyright © 2017 Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson
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A Corgyncombe Christmas Eve!

Baby Jesus in a Peaceful Corner of the Garden of Herbs

Diane's Grandmum always had an old fashioned table top Christmas tree.
This year we decided to have a tree like Grandmum's to put in the old fashioned kitchen/herbary.
When guests arrived the old Kalliope music box was playing.
Simply magic!!!

The tree is topped with a tin foil star. When Sarah was a baby and we were looking for something to put atop our Christmas tree, we made the silver star out of cardboard and tin foil. We enjoy its simplicity and have used it ever since. There is an old fashioned fence on the table that surrounds the base of the table top tree. Alongside the tree is an old fashioned toy horse on wheels.

Tasha Tudor illustrated some splendid rocking horses and several toy animals on wheels, including a horse, sheep, cow, and dog, in the 1975 version of "The Night Before Christmas". There is two page colour illustration in the book with a Christmas tree surrounded by Christmas toys, such as a rocking horse, a doll house, a doll riding in a carriage, a doll with a trunk full of clothes, a toy sheep, a jump rope, a copper kettle, a doll sofa, a tea set, a miniature wash set and drying rack, a sled, a drum, a wagon with blocks, a Jack-in-the-box, toy soldiers, a cow on wheels, a bubble pipe, a ball, and a toy dog on wheels. What a delightful illustration of a Happy Christmas!

In the 1975 version of "The Night Before Christmas" illustrated by Tasha Tudor, Tasha wrote to Sarah:
"To Miss Sarah who wears fine boots! Love from Tasha Tudor"

One year when Sarah was little, in a peaceful corner of her herb garden Diane placed a manger scene of figures that she painted.
Sarah and her young friends were delighted!

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Remembrances on Veterans Day

Hoping the War Will Be Over Soon So We Can See Each Other Again...

Diane's Mum Sally Ann had three brothers in the service during World War II.
The brother pictured above died whilst in the service.
He was only 19 and had a special sweetheart at home who he planned to marry.
In a letter to one of his brothers in the service he wrote that he was hoping the war would be over soon so that all the brothers could see each other again.


In his last letter home he wrote of his love for his family.
Also in the photograph above is one of the Western Union Telegrams sent when he died.
Sally Ann said that at the funeral there was not a dry eye in the church.
Her brother's favorite hymns were played at the service on the organ.
The older two brothers were unable to attend the funeral as one was in Panama and the other in Africa.

Diane never knew or met her uncle but his presence was well known in their home and it always felt like she knew him.

Uncle's Service Photo Album, Fort Andrews, Boston Harbor, Mass. The photograph is of him leaving home after his last leave.


Uncle with his Grandmum (his Father's Mum)
His Grandmum's ancestors in the Scott, Keyes, and Adams families served in the Revolutionary War.


Sally Ann, sad to see her brother leaving to go back to Fort Andrews.


Uncle and his Sweetheart


Sally Ann's baby brother, wearing his aviator hat, posed atop the mailbox in front of the family home. The family mailbox where news from home was sent and news from the three brothers in the service was eagerly watched and waited for.


Letters sent home by the three brothers.


Sally Ann's three older brothers and her father played for dances and special occasions.
The three brothers above all served during World War II.
The brother in the middle is the brother pictured at the top of this post, the one who died in the service.

Sally Ann and her brothers had numerous direct ancestors who served in the Revolutionary War, on both their Mother and Father's side of the family.

Below are links to more stories told by Diane's Mum Sally Ann, to Diane and her daughter Sarah.

Here is a link to the Corgyncombe Courant's post:
Independence Day! Freedom to Pursue What One Loves Doing Best!

Here is a link to the Corgyncombe Courant's post:
Childhood Christmas Memories During the Depression!


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Independence Day!

Freedom to Pursue What One Loves Doing Best!

In the photograph above, a card announcing the "Grand Independence Ball".
The card states "Yourself with Ladies are Cordially Invited".
The roses Diane gathered from her old rose bush this Independence Day, as well as the forget-me-nots that grow down by Corgi Creek. Their fragrance is absolutely wonderful!

Independence Day, a day to celebrate freedom celebrating your favorite things!

Diane's Grandfather and her Uncles had a family band that would play for special occasions and events. Grandfather enjoyed playing the fiddle and calling the dances. Grandfather thought he played well. Diane's Mum, Sally Ann, recalls how she and her Mum, even though they loved banjo, fiddle, and guitar music, wouldn't go to the dances when Father was playing and calling because, as Grandmum would say, he couldn't carry a tune.


Sally Ann's three older brothers and her father played for dances.
The three brothers above all served during World War II. The brother in the middle died whilst in service.

Sally Ann and her brothers had numerous direct ancestors who served in the Revolutionary War, on both their Mother and Father's side of the family.

Diane's Grandfather would play in the evenings for the family at home. Sally Ann reports this as being painful! Sally Ann said that her father's musical attempts made her never want to play an instrument or sing!

In "Seasons of Delight, A Year on an Old-Fashioned Farm, A Three-Dimensional Pop-Up Picture Book", written and illustrated by Tasha Tudor, on the summer pages, Tasha has illustrated a moving couple dancing at a square dance. In her books that go through the year, Tasha Tudor frequently illustrated picnics for the 4th of July.

Here is a link to the Corgyncombe Courant's post with Grandmum and Grandfather's children:
Childhood Christmas Memories During the Depression!

Here is a link to the Corgyncombe Courant's post:
Charming, Quaint, and Romantic! Grandfather Goes Courtin'!

We at the Corgyncombe Courant wish our Dear Readers a Happy Independence Day!


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Queen Victoria's Birthday Tea!

Tea, Cake, and Violet Jelly at Castle Corgyncombe!

Queen Victoria's birthday is May 24th, and on May 23rd Canada celebrated Victoria Day! Here at Castle Corgyncombe we started celebrating on the 23rd!
The receipt for the cake is "Becky's Birthday Cake" from the "The Tasha Tudor Cookbook". It is iced with frosting running down like a waterfall in Scotland and topped with violets gathered from the lawns at Castle Corgyncombe. Alongside the cake is "Queen Victoria's Journal: Leaves From The Journal of Our Life in the Highlands, From 1848 to 1861", Edited by Arthur Helps, 1868. Selections from the book were read at tea time throughout the week. Lemon verbena tea, harvested and dried from Corgyncombe Garden of Herbs, was served at tea. Diane won the lovely pink lustre tea cup in the Tasha Tudor and Family Giveaway.

A Currier and Ives print of Queen Victoria.

The Turret at Castle Corgyncombe.
Heirloom sweet peas are on the arbor.

"First Impressions of Balmoral."
Balmoral, Friday, September 8, 1848.
"We arrived at Balmoral at a quarter to three. It is a pretty little castle in the old Scottish style. There is a picturesque tower and garden in front, with a high wooded hill; at the back there is a wood down to the Dee, and the hills rise all around."
"The view from here, looking down upon the house, is charming. To the left you look toward the beautiful hills surrounding Loch-na-Gar, and to the right, toward Ballater, to the glen (or valley) along which the Dee winds, with beautiful wooded hills, which reminded us very much of the Thuringerwald. It was so calm and so solitary, it did one good as one gazed around; and the pure mountain air was most refreshing. All seemed to breathe freedom and peace, and to make one forget the world and its sad turmoils."
from"Queen Victoria's Journal: Our Life in the Highlands"

A pretty little frock to wear on a day in May!

Violet jelly made from violets gathered from the lawns at Corgyncombe.
The making of the jelly will be in a later post.

A thistle label from the Corgyncombe Ephemera Collection.

A thistle found behind the big old barn at Corgyncombe, that we call "The Ark".


1844

Wednesday, September 18.
"Blair itself and the houses in the village looked like little toys from the great height we were on. It was quite romantic. Here we were, with only this Highlander behind us holding the ponies (for we got off twice and walked about) - not a house, not a creature near us, but the pretty Highland sheep, with their horns and black faces - up at the top of Tulloch surrounded by beautiful mountains."
from"Queen Victoria's Journal: Our Life in the Highlands"

The old shepherd who had the flock of sheep in the above photograph lived to be 98 and for years kept sheep on the hillside a ways down the road from Diane's family cemetery. The old shepherd was related to Diane through an old family line. The trees in the hillside beyond the pasture show lovely shades of violet, pink, and green.

1844
Monday, September 16.
"It is a walk of three miles round, and a very steep ascent; at every turn the view of the rushing falls is extremely fine, and looking back on the hills, which were so clear and so beautifully lit up, with the rapid stream below, was most exquisite." "The evening was beautiful, and we feasted out eyes on the ever-changing, splendid views of the hills and vales as we drove back. Albert said that the chief beauty of the mountain scenery consisted in its frequent changes."
from"Queen Victoria's Journal: Our Life in the Highlands"


1847
Ardverikie, Loch Laggan,
Saturday, August 21.
"On the 28th, about five o'clock, Albert drove me out across the ferry, along the Kingussie road, and from here the scenery was splendid: high bold hills, with a good deal of wood; glens, with the Pattock, and a small waterfall; the meadows here and there, with people making hay, and cottages sprinkled sparingly about, reminded us much of Thuringen."

from"Queen Victoria's Journal: Our Life in the Highlands"

Displayed at the Corgyncombe Library, on the art stand made by Seth Tudor,
is "Queen Victoria's Sketchbook" written by Marina Warner.
The book is open to a lovely watercolour done by Queen Victoria of the family out for a walk in their lovely old fashioned clothing.

Castle Corgyncombe & Corg'ery is a little farm in the valley where the corgyn dwell. Corgyn is plural for corgi. A combe is a valley, dale, vale, or hollow. Diane and Sarah made up their own exclusive word: "Corg'ery" ....... a corg'ery being a farm where an abundance of delightful corgyn dwell. Some spelling variations of their own word Corg'ery include: Corgiery, Corgi'ery, Corgery, Corg'ry, Corgi'ry.

Past the Turret, through the garden, and then through the arbor leads one down to Corgi Creek.

1844
Saturday, September 21.
"As the sun went down the scenery became more and more beautiful, the sky crimson, golden-red, and blue, and the hills looking purple and lilac, most exquisite, till at length it set, and the hues grew softer in the sky and the outlines of the hills sharper. I never saw any thing so fine."
from"Queen Victoria's Journal: Our Life in the Highlands"

The Dame's Rocket has just started to bloom this year.
Last night, coming out of the barn at twilight, its lovely scent lingered in the air.
The above photograph was taken in 2006. In several places Corgi Creek splits off and creates little islands. Diane and her husband took such a pleasant walk along Corgi Creek where the dame's rocket can be seen as far as the eye can see. The only thing one can hear is the babbling of the creek and birds singing. The rocket smells so sweet. It is a joy to the senses.... 'tis our own delightful paradise.

"Queen Victoria's Sketchbook" written by Marina Warner, is open to a watercolour by Queen Victoria of her little two year old daughter Alice in her birthday party frock with head wreath. The head wreath that Diane made creates a flower border around the watercolour. Below the art stand, the antique music box is wound up to play several delightful tunes!

Diane made the little head wreath out of ivy, lady's mantle, forget-me-nots, lily of the valley, and sweet woodruff. The little head wreath was inspired by the sweet embroidery on the frock!

"The Flower Vase; Containing the Language of Flowers and Their Poetic Sentiments" by Miss S. C. Edgarton, published in 1844.

Violet Faithfulness The book is open to the Violet page with lovely violets resting atop. The lawn at Corgyncombe was full of blue violets.

The Iris Florentina is now in full bloom at Castle Corgyncombe Gardens.

Out Amongst the Garden and Lawn
A Little Bouquet of May
After milking, Diane gathered a small bouquet of bleeding heart, lily of the valley, violets, and forget-me-nots. Bouquets about the cottage add such a cheer to the day and they are something special to look upon and a delight to smell every time you pass their way!

1844
Tuesday, October 1.
"At a quarter past eight o'clock we started, and were very, very sorry to leave Blair and the dear Highlands! Every little trifle and every spot I had become attached to; our life of quiet and liberty, everything was so pleasant, and all the Highlanders and the people who went with us I had got to like so much. Oh! the dear hills, it made me very sad to leave them behind!"
from"Queen Victoria's Journal: Our Life in the Highlands"

A little bouquet of violets, forget-me-nots, and lily of the valley from the lawn at Corgyncombe, rests atop "Queen Victoria's Journal:
Leaves From The Journal of Our Life in the Highlands,
From 1848 to 1861".

"Becky's Birthday Cake" from "The Tasha Tudor Cookbook" served with a spoonful of Corgyncombe violet jelly with a fresh picked violet atop, was enjoyed at tea for several days at Castle Corgyncombe. Absolutely delicious and so pretty to feast your eyes upon!!!

The photographs above and below:
Through The Castle Corgyncombe Kaleidoscope!

A lovely blue violet on the lawn at Corgyncombe.

Queen Victoria, Diane, and Sarah, it could be said,
all have a fondness for the hills and lovely landscapes!

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