Wednesday, April 26, 2023
We enjoyed so many wonderful memories with Aunt Vanetta, Uncle Ernie and their wonderful family, that it is difficult to know where to begin
Perhaps one of our most enduring memories of Aunt Vanetta was the witness she provided when she assisted with the Sunday School at the Evangelical United Brethren church in Stratton. The young people had a Junior Church worship service before being dismissed to their Sunday School classes. When it was Aunt Vanetta’s turn to lead the singing, she was always happy to introduce us to some of her favorite songs. Some of the songs which we still remember are:
IN MY HEART, THERE RINGS A MELODY
I have a song that Jesus gave me,
It was sent from Heav’n above;
There never was a sweeter melody,
’Tis the melody of love.
Refrain
In my heart there rings a melody,
There rings a melody with Heaven’s harmony;
In my heart there rings a melody,
There rings a melody of love.
I love the Christ who died on Calv’ry,
For He washed my sins away;
He put within my heart a melody,
And I know it’s there to stay.
Refrain
’Twill be my endless theme in glory,
With the angels I will sing;
’Twill be a song with glorious harmony,
When the courts of Heaven ring.
Refrain
In my heart there rings a melody,
There rings a melody with Heaven’s harmony;
In my heart there rings a melody,
There rings a melody of love.
THANK YOU, LORD!
Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul
Thank you, Lord, for making me whole
Thank you, Lord, for giving to me
Thy great salvation so rich and free
THANK YOU, JESUS!
REVIVE US AGAIN!
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Hallelujah! Amen.
Hallelujah! Thine the glory.
Revive us again.
THE GREAT CARPET SWEEPER PARTY
Like nearly everyone else, BACK IN THE DAYS when we all moved to Stratton, we knew very few people who had ever had an up close and personal opportunity to observe electricity in action. In those days, there was no such thing as wall to wall carpeting. Most people who were fortunate enough to have a carpet were in the habit of rolling their carpets up and carrying them along with them whenever they moved. When the carpets became filled with dirt, you had to roll up the carpet, take it out to the clothes line and whack it with a carpet beater! That is, if you were fortunate enough to own an official rug beater. Otherwise, you just used a sturdy broom or a stout tree branch to beat the rug. In the winter, beating the rug wasn’t so difficult. Most people waited until it snowed and then laid the rug out on a snowbank. This enabled you to knock most of the dust out onto the snowbank. But cleaning the rug in the summer was not quite so pleasant. When you put the rug on the clothesline and whacked it with your rug beater, the dirt and dust would usually blow back into your face!
When Aunt Vanetta and Uncle Ernie were newlyweds, Uncle Ernie gave Aunt Vanetta a gift of an official Carpet Sweeper. (Non-electric, of course!) Aunt Vanetta was so thrilled with her gift that, one fine summer day, she invited all the aunts (and cousins) over to her place to see the carpet sweeper in action. So we all arrived one afternoon to visit Aunt Vanetta. She demonstrated her carpet sweeper and all of the aunts took turns, running the carpet sweeper back and forth over the rug and marveling at the way the sweeper was picking up all of the dirt without all of the effort of rolling up the rug, hauling it out to the clothes line, and ending up with a face full of dirt as you gave the rug its official whacking. It just so happened that this was also the day when the ice man came to deliver a new cake of ice for the ice box. Once the new ice was safely installed inside the ice box, we took all of the old ice, wrapped it in a burlap bag and whacked it with a hammer. Then we shoveled the slivers of crushed ice into an ice cream freezer and began work on grinding out home made ice cream. Everyone took a turn at turning the crank. Since it was a wonderful summer day, we spread a picnic cloth out on the grass and we all enjoyed the home made ice cream. On the way home, all of the aunts agreed that Uncle Ernie had turned out to be a very romantic fellow!
Phyllis Pottorff-Albrecht and Family - Charles William, Cynthia, Aynslee and Saige Albrecht; David Andrew, Claudia, Andrea, Julianna and David M. Albrecht; Albrecht International Ministries
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