Sat. Feb. 22, 1941 ~~I quit at Merryfield’s after working there 5 1/2 weeks. Glenn brought me to his home to stay all night.

Sun. Feb. 23, 1941 ~~ I went with Glenn and his folks to visit his sister, Iris, near Sweet Springs. Came home tonight.

Sat. Mar. 1, 1941 ~~ I stayed home last week, but went to work for Marge Hughes, 2 mi. east of Windsor, this morning. They have a baby boy, Howard Frank, born this am. Glenn came to see me tonight.

Fri. Apr 11, 1941 ~~ I got through working at Hughes’ after staying there 6 weeks. Verna Mae Taylor came after me tonight as I am going ….

Pg. 64— Grandma’s Day Journal– My Hunter Family Collection

A local name that is familiar to nearly everyone around the Windsor, Missouri area is Merryfield. Their pharmacy has been in operation for over 40 years according to the Windsor Chamber of Commerce page. At the time Inez was employed by this household, Mr. Merryfield was Assistant Mail Carrier according to the 1940 US Census. And the spouse of Marge Hughes, was Frank Hughes, also a well known name in the area. His occupation was that of a Bed Laster at the local shoe factory. Definition of a shoe laster? “noun One who fits the parts of shoes to lasts preparatory to the subsequent operations, especially in a shoe-factory. noun A tool like a pair of pincers used in stretching the upper-leather of a boot or shoe on the last.” from Wordnik.com

It seems to me that Inez was one who had skills of mothering that were honed during her teaching years. It served her well to be organized, well read, educated and patient. Not to mention she had a strong work ethic. She kept her industriousness throughout her entire life. A wonderful example to follow and I’m happy to say that her grandchildren still hold that torch!

A project I am currently working on has been from an upcycled pair of curtains. These once belonged to my cousin–who is also Inez’s granddaughter. Instead of throwing them out, my cousin saw fit to hand them over to my mother to reuse in one of her projects. (I come by my scrimping and saving honestly.) Mother in turn gifted them to me as she is busy turning out pot holders these days. So a big Thanks goes out this week to you, Leslie! Appreciate the opportunity to remake, reuse, repurpose from some very cute fabric. Are you ready to see them? Only 5 seconds.