The Book of Me: Prompt 9 - My Halloween Stories

I faintly remember dressing up for Halloween to go Trick or Treating when I was a young child.  The costumes we had were handed down between the 5 siblings and the costumes from back then entailed a face mask and a pull over the head and stick arms through design for the costume (think pillowcase or trash bad with holes for head and arms).  One in particular that stands out in my memory is a Batman costume my older brother had. Guess it’s because Mom still has the mask nearly 50 years later.

www.unicef.org

Before I was 10, my siblings and I would go trick or treating for UNICEF right after school let out.  Fortunately those folks would also give us kids candy so we didn’t need to go back out later that night.  I also remember having to sort my candy (along with my siblings) and giving up 1/2 of it to be donated to those less fortunate.  We’d sort our candy to make sure we kept our favorite pieces, even trading between siblings before handing over what we didn’t want.

The year I turned 10, my family moved to another town and we had had some issues with boys in the neighborhood just prior to Halloween.  We kids were allowed to visit the 5 other houses on our street for candy and then set us watch areas on our property from various locations - brothers in the trees across the street, Dad in costume on the front porch, sisters and I watching from behind the curtains.  Nothing happened that year nor any other year on All Hallows Eve, although there were different times over several years our house got egged.

One of the years Dad dress as a dummy on the porch we put a speaker next to him so we could add eerie sounds.  A few of the neighborhood boys got in to a discussion as to whether it was a person or a dummy. One boy who was convinced it was a stuffed creation went so far as to kick my Dad in the leg.  You should have seen those guys scream and fall over each other as they tried to get away from us.  My Dad grabbed 2 of the boys (1 being the kicker) and had them sit in front of our garage door while their parents were called to come over.

Other Halloween memories I have as a child were of costume parades at school.  One year (4th grade) I went as a princess and thought I was the most beautiful of all the girls.  Unfortunately when it came time for judging, the best princess award went to one of the truly stunning beauties in my class.  Around that time I decided to try to the beauty prize and started doing my own thing, something I continue to do today.

During college, one Halloween party I attended I went as a frog.  Had a huge frog head and wore green clothes and gloves.  Even spray painted swim fins green for my footwear.  I went to a party store and bought some red paper party horns that uncurl when blown.  I glued a bunch of flies on the end and would go and blow my “frog tongue” into peoples’ drinks, sometimes leaving behind a fly.  (Oh, I was bad that year)

In my 30’s I was in to Ballroom Dancing and the studio would have costume parties.  Sometimes I’d make a costume for an upcoming dance performance and would wear it to those parties. Other times I’d do something goofy, even dressing as Fred Flintstone.

I use to work as a mascot at a store and one year was asked to distribute candy to the kids on Halloween.  Since my mascot costume was already rather large, I tried to think of what I could dress the character up as, while still keeping it a friendly being (no oversized ghost).  I had been working as a crossing guard in my town and opted to adjust my guard vest to fit my larger alter-ego and grabbed my stop sign.  Happily my employer went along with my dressing up the big guy.

While working as a crossing guard, I had a lot of fun and would wear a different hat on the last day of the week for the kids.  I had an interesting collection of hats and costume pieces and didn't care that it wasn't Halloween, I wore them to make others smile.

When my husband and I had our home, I would take joy in decorating the yard for the enjoyment of myself and the trick or treaters - I’d make stuffed dummies to sit on park benches, turn over tomato cages and bend the legs and then cover them with white pillowcases and place them over the walkway lights for illuminated ghosts.  I bought silly  print shirts and hats for hubby and I to wear when the kids came.  Without spending lots of major decorations, my front yard was easily transformed into a kid friendly Halloween scene.

Now we’re living full-time in our RV, traveling all around the U.S.  If we’re going to be at a campground for several days leading up to Halloween, I’ll put out the few decorations I held on to. But if we’re just stopping for the night, we don’t do much for decorations.  Two years ago we were at a campground for Halloween week and Mother Nature decided our decorations weren't enough and added several inches of snow.

The Book of Me: Prompt 7 - Paternal Grandparents

The Book of Me prompt for week 7 is Grandparents.

What were their names?
Where were they from?
Were they related? – Cousins perhaps
Where were they born? Another County or state/area?
Photos
What did they do?
Did you know them?

I considered myself blessed in that I knew 3 of my grandparents and even 1 great grandparent well into my late teen years.  I'm splitting this in to a 2 part prompt, Paternal and Maternal. 

Norman Bartlett in his teens

The one grandparent I did not get to know was my paternal grandfather, so I’ll start with him.  Norman Henry Bartlett was born in April 1895 in Manchester, NH, the first of two children to Herman Luther and Mae (Harris) Bartlett.  Norman was 8th generation born in the U.S. on the Bartlett tree.

From stories my father shared with my siblings and myself, Grandpa Bartlett worked at a shoe factory in Manchester, NH; a fact clarified on my grandfather’s WWI Draft Registration Card which stated he was a foreman at a Shoe Factory in 1917.  After marrying in 1919, Norman moved to Massachusetts, first living in Lowell and then settling in Walpole. While in MA, Norman worked as a welder or machinist in various machine shops.

Both my Dad and his mom had a photo of Norman on display, so I had an idea what my grandfather looked like. Information from the WWI and WWII Registration Cards show that my  paternal grandfather was short and slender, standing 5’6” and weighing 138 lbs.  He had blue eyes and light brown hair. Norman wore glasses and did so from a young age.  He died of a massive heart attack in Oct 1953 at the age of 58.

Norman Bartlett abt 1950

Norman’s wife, my paternal grandmother was Jennie Viola Jenness, born in Sept 1896, in Hill NH. She was the first of four children born to George Milton and Jennie (Emmons) Jenness.  Jennie was 7th generation born in the U.S. on the Jenness tree. In my family, my paternal grandmother was called “Nana”.

Jennie Jennes with parents and brothers

Nana had a tough childhood as her mother died in childbirth when Nana was 4 1/2 yrs old.  For some reason Nana’s father kept her with him but sent his sons off to live with other families.  Nana’s father remarried a year after being widowed and Nana gained an older step-brother, but her younger brothers did not rejoin their father at that time.  The newly blended family moved to Manchester NH where Nana’s father had grown up.

Because her birth mother was Jennie also, my Nana chose to use her middle name of Viola as her primary name and many records refer to her as Viola J Jenness.

Nana’s family lived one street away from Norman’s family in Manchester NH and they both attended the same school, graduating from 9th grade together.

After her husband died, Nana stayed in the house they had lived in for almost another 30 years before she moved to a retirement community closer to their son, my father. She stayed there for just a short time, and was admitted to a nursing home a month before she died in 1983 at the age of 87.

Jennie Jenness in her teens

Jennie (Jenness) Bartlett abt 1950

My siblings and I would save our sewing repair projects for when Nana would come to visit, either spending holidays or a short "vacation" with us. She said it made her feel useful during her visits. Nana's home was about 50 miles frommy home and several times a year we would do a day trip to her home as well.

Because I knew Nana for 22 years I have lots of memories of her.  To describe her physically, I’d say Nana was short, maybe 5’1”, and she was a little bit stocky. Nana had a double chin and a warm friendly smile. She wore wire rim glasses, always was in dresses and stockings (not pantyhose but actual stockings), 1” laced or strapped black shoes and a single string of pearls.

The final piece I’d like to share about Nana pertains to her appearance; her hair. For as long as I knew her (and proven from photographs of her throughout her lifetime) Nana had long hair that she wore in a braid crown, secured with tortoise shell colored hair combs. 

Norman and Jennie - wedding photo

The Book of Me - Prompt 3 - Physical Me

My nana often referred to my size as being “big boned”. I do believe that I take after my father’s side of the family in physical statue. At my birth I weighed 9lb 1oz.  Over the past 52 years, my heaviest weight was 195 pounds. Currently my weight hovers around 180 lbs.  While in high school I stood about 5ft 10inches, but have shrunk a tad and now measure just under 5’9”.  

With these measurements, it’s easy to know I’m not a teeny tiny person. My clothes size is just a number to me - with each manufacturer using their own standards I might wear a size 14 for one dress but an 18 for another dress. I choose clothes based on how they look on me, not by the number. 

My hair was brown in my youth and I started to color it in my 20’s. At first I did hennas to make it appear reddish.  Grey roots started showing in my late 20’s and I changed back to brown hair dye to stay close to my natural color.  In my late 40’s my hair stylist surprised me when she said she was actually coloring my hair with blond colorants. She said she did this to help soften the harsh appearance of the greys with my natural hair colors and because I had spent the summer in the sun and my hair was lighter. I've been coloring my hair "blond" ever since but it still appears brown.

The color of my eyes is hazel, sometimes they appear browner than other days and sometimes they look green.

My smile centerline is off center as I had a lateral incisor on my top row of teeth removed due to another tooth growing in above the others. The lateral incisor was a 2nd tooth and all the teeth in my upper jaw shifted to fill the gap left behind.  I had all my wisdom teeth removed when I was 25.

My hands are fairly large, I find women’s gloves do not fit and must buy men’s large.  My ring size 9.

With regards to scars I have some. There’s a gauge on my left shin from when I fell on a concrete slab, and lots of small scratches and bug bite scars. From surgeries I have 3 small scars on my right wrist - I unfortunately broke the same wrist within 5 years and after the 2nd break, was advised it would need to be pinned and had 3 wires inserted during the healing process.  I also have 2 scars on my left breast from the removal of fibroidal cysts, the first when I was just 16 and the other when I was 32.  I use to joke with my doctor that I’d be having a 3rd cyst removed when I turned 48, keeping with a 16 year schedule, but that did not happen (but my broken wrist surgery happened when I was 49, so maybe my surgery schedule is still on - check back in 2025.)

A non-visible scar stems from an auto accident I was involved in.  I was hit from the other direction and the driver’s door was torn off my vehicle. I suffered broken ribs in that incident.  Since then I’ve been nervous as a passenger in a car, becoming more and more anxious when I’m not behind the wheel.

The Book of Me - Prompt 4 - Favorite Season

Having been so fortunate to have grown up and lived in New England, a region of the country (United States) and world based on my limited travels, makes the selection of one season over the others so difficult.

Winter: The crisp freshness of the air, with a briskness to the temperature, mixed with the beauty of the cleanliness of white snow covering the earth.  Learning how to move gracefully on skies, ice skates, snow shoes or even just regular footwear when everything is covered in snow or ice was a greatly anticipated event each year. And don’t forget remembering how to drive a vehicle on snow covered roads.

I remember with much eagerness and some trepidation each and every snowstorm. The timing of the storm in terms of when it would start, how long it would be, the type of storm, be it snow, sleet, ice or a mixture of any and all.  The potential depth of snowfall from the storm. 

To see one’s breath each time you exhaled, to hear the crunch of snow as you broke through it’s crust, the chill of the air on your exposed extremities, the comfort of the soft, thick clothes you wore to maintain a normal body temperature; all these add to why Winter is my favorite season.

And winter is the season with the Christmas holiday, a season of lights, roasted turkey and pumpkin pie aromas, balsam fir smells, sounds of music in carols.

Spring: Seeing the renewed beauty of the earth every year break forth in flower, leaf or even animal birth. The color palette of soft pastels, the fragrant aroma of these newly emerging items, watching first robin of the season, even the soft texture of the new growth and the increasing warmth of each day. These are among the reasons that Spring is my favorite season.

Summer: How I love the length of daylight in the summer months, as well as the warmth of the sun. The past few years my husband and I have been spending summer months traveling the United States and seeing several of our National Parks.  We are doing this at a busy tourist time of the year since schools are out of session and families are taking advantage of time off.  Some of our summer travels have taken us to destinations that are much hotter than the climate I was originally raised, which have given us renewed appreciation of water cooling activities such as swimming, boating, kayaking, fishing. The heady aroma of some flowers such as roses and lilacs are fantastic. Summer is extra special for me as my birthday happens during this season. This is why Summer is my favorite season.

Autumn/Fall: To feel the change in temperature with cool nights, but still brisk warm days, to see the development of colors in leaves, especially all the maples that provide an exquisite display of colors from shades of red through oranges and yellows and fall flowers displaying golden yellows and oranges to hues of dark purple. The harvesting of crops that have grown and developed over the summer, to hear the crunch of dried leaves breaking under my feet as I walk through the woods, listening to the sounds of birds; especially Canada Geese, as they migrate south to warmer climes for winter, the smell of campfires, the sights and sounds of children and families as they prepare for Halloween. These are some of the reasons Autumn/Fall is my favorite season.

The Book of Me - Project 2 - Birth

Prompt 2: Your Birth

How would you like to be a boy awaiting your second birthday and what do you get for a present but a baby sister?  Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it.  You see, I am the baby sister so I did ok in the deal. Fortunately my brother, only being 2 doesn't really remember getting short changed a birthday and never held it against me.  Had he been a few years old he might have noticed that his parents weren't present for his birthday party.

On Monday, June 26, 1961 I was born to Milton and Janice, their third child, second girl. My familywas living in Oakville, a suburb of the city of Waterbury CT.  My birth certificate states I was born at 10 am, but the story my mother has told me is that it was closer to 8am.

Her tale was I was delivering much faster than they thought and the doctor had not yet arrived at the hospital (he had been out celebrating his anniversary the night before and was sleeping in) My mother says she remembers being told to cross her legs and not push to slow my delivery until the doctor arrived.  

Besides my mother and the doctor, Dr. Joseph C. Czarsty, I do not know the names of others present at my birth.  I had dark brown hair and brownish eyes as a baby.  My weight has always been high in life, my birth weight was 9lb 1oz.  All my mother's 5 babies were "large", ranging from 9lb 4oz down to 8lb 2oz.  Mom doesn't remember any of our lengths nor do we have any written records.

The story of my first and middle name, as my parents told me was they had seen the movie The Yearling and thought the name of the young character "Jody" was nice. It's my understanding that had I been a boy I would be Jody (with the y), but because I was a girl, I was Jodie with an ie.  My middle name, Irene, is my mother's middle name.  Had I had my own daughter, I was planning on carrying on what my mother had started and given the child the same middle name.

The Book of Me - Project 1 - Who Am I

At least 20 answers to "Who Am I?"

I, Jodie Irene Bartlett Ramsey am a female, currently age 52 having been born in 1961.  My family position is that of middle child, the third of five children (and 2nd daughter) of Milton and Janice.  About 30 years ago I started to get interested in genealogy and about 5 years ago became quite active in tracing my family tree and searching out the missing pieces to our puzzles.

My current height is around 5'9" although I use to stand closer to 5'10". My weight varies hovering most of the time around 185 lbs. I realize my weight is just a number and according to standard BMI rules, I am overweight, my attitude is I'm happy with myself and size so long as I don't put on more weight (my heaviest was 195 about 10 years ago).

My spouse is Churck and we've been married for over 13 years.  I consider myself a childless mother in that I did not give birth to any children, but am a step-mother (non-custodial) to my spouse's 2 children from a previous marriage. One of the children has made my spouse a Grandfather, but I'm not a Grandmother / Grammy / Nana. Nope, I'm a JoJo.

I am a road traveler in the U.S. and Canada. Over two years ago we sold our home and moved in to a fifth-wheel camper to live full time.  Our motto is "Home is Where We Park It".

Because of limited space in the camper, I'm not able to do lots of my old hobbies but have made room and time to do crafts from knitting to crocheting and even sewing.  I love to take photographs, a hobby first shared with my maternal grandfather, and enjoy making gifts from my photos (books or calendars).  I really enjoy taking photographs of nature, from flowers to animals to landscape. Along for the travels with my husband and me is our standard poodle (we had 2 when we started, but one passed away this past winter).

Staying with my love of nature, both my husband and I enjoy smooth water kayaking and are always on the look out for bodies of water to explore while camping.

When I was in school (high school as well as college / AS in Secretarial Science) I enjoyed music and played the Baritone Horn with school bands and for mom's church as additional sounds during holidays.  I also sang in several choirs, mostly in school, but also a community choir that you had to audition to enter. With that choir I had the opportunity to perform choral works by the Masters, ie, Bach, Purcell, Handel, etc.

When we sold our home, I "retired" from numerous part-time jobs; tour guide, crossing guard, relief secretary and a store sales representative / mascot.  I use quotations around retired as I am not drawing any pay from those postions, rather I stopped working when my husband retired. For some extra income over his pension, we have taken a 6 week job as work campers at a small campground, helping them perpare to close for the season. For some reason they think I have a green thumb, but I will admit I really do enjoy flower gardening, so it is a nice fit for me.

Another mystery to try to solve

The other day, while “playing” on Ancestry.com (I say playing as I was just surfing, not expecting to find anything new) one of my Great Uncles, when a leaf link appeared. I clicked on the possible link and found a birth record for another sibling.

I’m very confused by this new information and very hesitant to add it to the family tree.  For one thing, the birth is listed as April 1898.  I find it very hard to accept as the mother had just given birth in October 1897 and has another known birth in Oct 1898.  

Another confusing piece to this is the birth is listed as taking place in one community, but the certificate was issued in another town.  I am writing to the town clerks in both communities to see if they will be able to help me in finding legible information - the copy shown on the webpage is very jumbled and distorted.  My hope is that the initial information in one of the town clerk books will be clear and I can find out if there was indeed another child born to my great grandparents.

There is a 1st cousin 1x removed that may be able to assist me with some information, but he hadn’t shared information of this new person before, so I doubt it’s something he knows.  Stay tuned...

Here's the info I have to work with...

New Hampshire, Birth Records, 1659-1900 about Clara H Jenness

Name:

Clara H Jenness

Birth Date:

2 Apr 1898

Birth Place:

Brookfield, New Hampshire, USA

Father:

George Jenness

Mother:

Jennie Emmens