Happy Mother's Day!!

A Photo of my brother and I, with our mother. Taken 31 Oct 1986.
Courtesy of author's own collection.

I have been thinking about how I wanted to celebrate Mother's Day here on my blog and I think the best thing I can do is talk about some of the mothers in my family tree. Here is a picture of my brother and I with our mother.

The first mother I am going to showcase is Sarah Jane (Dickerson) Hoppes. She was the mother of 12 children. She was born on July 31, 1869, in Indiana and died on October 25, 1967, in Marion County, Indiana, at the age of 98. She is one of my brick walls. I have been unable to find out much about her parents and family. Sarah Jane Dickerson was my paternal 2nd great-grandmother.

The next mother I am going to showcase is my maternal great-grandmother, Carrie Evaline (Elam) Back. Carrie was born on Apr 27, 1897, in Morgan County, Kentucky. She married Junius Back on May 19, 1915 in Morgan County, Kentucky. She was the mother of 11 children all of which lived long lives and 5 of which are still living today. The first child to pass away was in 2005 at the age of 76. Grandma Back lived to be 96 years old when she died on December 24, 1993. I was only 8 years old at the time of her death, but I still have many wonderful memories of her. She was a sweet and beautiful lady.

In contrast to the above mentioned mothers of large families I am going to mention another great grandmother, Ina Leah (Corder) Koger. She was born on October 5, 1909 and died on September 7, 2006 at the age of 96. Some of her story was detailed on a previous blog, Throwback Thursday. Grandma Koger had 3 children. Her first son Earl Winifred Koger was born and died on October 14, 1929, living only a few hours. He had something wrong with his heart. Her second son, Ralph Wendell Koger was born on May 10, 1931, in Fowler, Benton County, Indiana. Ralph served in the military and traveled the globe while serving this country. He went to Arizona, England, and Northern Africa, just to name a few. He loved photography and took pictures during his travels. He loved old cars. He purchased one when he got back home in 1956. He and my grandfather remodeled Ralph's 1932 Chevy.  On September 5, 1956, Ralph purchased an insurance policy on this vehicle. 10 days later he gets into this vehicle and never comes home. He sadly crashed not too far from his home.  He was only 25 years old. Grandma Koger's only daughter, my grandmother, is still living.  Sometimes I sit and wonder what she thought and how she felt every time Mother's Days came around. Was it a celebration or a time of mourning?

As I sit here writing this post, I contemplate my own feelings about Mother's Day.  On one hand I celebrate the fact that I am a mother of a handsome 7 year old boy. But on the other hand, I mourn for the children I have not had. My dream was always to be the mother of a large family, much like the first two mothers I showcased. However, I can relate a little more to Grandma Koger as I struggle with infertility issues. That being said, I appreciate everything all of the mothers that have come before me have done to shape who I have become. I will leave you now, to go celebrate with your mothers. Tell you mother, grandmother, aunt, wife, sister, or daughter, how much you love and appreciate them. Without mothers we would have no society, no freedom, no love, and no humanity.

Happy Mother's Day to All Who Mother!

Friday's Faces From the Past

Photo of Russell Lowell Hoppes.
Courtesy of Author's own collection.

Russell Lowell Hoppes was born on December 21, 1911 in Van Buren, Madison County, Indiana. He was the 10th child of 12 born to George Washington Hoppes (1865-1930) and Sarah Jane Dickerson (1869-1967). Russell Lowell Hoppes married Fern Josephine Thorn in 1929 in Madison County, Indiana. They went on to have two children, one of which is still living today. Their other child and only son, was my paternal grandfather, Chancy Clifford Hoppes (1932-2006). Grandpa Hoppes died on February 16, 1997. in Muskegon, Michigan.

Russell Lowell Hoppes was a Wesleyan minister and church builder. He was an Architect and drew the blueprints for several churches built in Indiana and Michigan. He was a Member of the Board at Indiana Wesleyan University. Grandpa was instrumental in building dozens of churches. He was known as the "Weeping Pastor". A Weeping Willow was planted on the campus of Indiana Wesleyan University in his honor. He had a very loving and quiet disposition. His personality can best be describes as introspective and sincere. He was very studious and loved not only reading his Bible but studying it. He had a massive library of theology books that he also studied. He enjoyed photography and had a fairly extensive collection of cameras. He also enjoyed fishing and enjoyed many trips to lakes in both Michigan and Canada. He was a great man of God and one of my ancestors I wish I would have been able to get to know more while he was with us.

Grandma Fern Josephine Thorn was born on December 15, 1914, in Jonesboro, Grant County, Indiana. She was the middle of three girls born to Arlie Monroe Thorn (1881-1962) and Julia Frances DeLong (1893-1968). She went home to her heavenly Father after a long life of devoted service on August 7, 1998, in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky, where she lived with her daughter.

Grandma Hoppes was a very caring and loving person. She enjoyed traveling with her husband and together they made several trips to The Holy Land. She had a heart for international mission work. She was a very animated person but also very proper. She did much of what is expected of a pastor's wife and did it well. She would take pies to the shut-ins of the church. She was a loving wife, mother, friend, sister, daughter, grandmother, and friend to all who knew her.

My great-grandparents have a very interesting Salvation story. Grandpa and Grandma were going to a friends house one evening to play cards and on the way they went by a church that was holding tent revival services. They decided to go to the church to see what was going on. That night both of my great-grandparents received Jesus as their personal Savior. They neither one lost their passion for working for the Lord. They traveled extensively and had a heart for missions. I am sure Heaven was greatly blessed when these two individuals went Home to meet their Savior. I'm sure Grandpa had a hanky in both hands and a spare in every pocket when he meet his Redeemer. I know the Bible says there won't be tears in Heaven, but I am pretty sure Grandpa cried tears of Joy when he met Jesus face-to-face.


Source: The recollections of the Author's aunt, father, and grandmother.

Throwback Thursday

Welcome to my new blog!!

I decided to start off with a picture of my paternal great-grandparents and myself taken in 1989. This photo was taken just after my 4th Birthday. That year Grandpa Edgar Koger and Grandma Ina Leah Corder Koger held my birthday party at their home.

Grandma Ina made a beautiful cake for me that year. Grandma was a babysitter, quilter, cake decorator, gardener, and avid watcher of Wheel-of-Fortune and Jeopardy.  I had sleep-overs at her house frequently growing up. My fondest memory was sitting in one of her closets for hours with a shoebox full of her old diaries, reading to my hearts content. Sadly, I wan't able to rescue these diaries before they were disposed of after her death. I remember she would detail the days weather, who she talked to on the phone or wrote to, if she received any letters, special family events that happened, if one of her grandkids came to visit, and so much more. Grandma passed away exactly 4 weeks after my husband and I got married in 2006. I received one of her beautiful quilts as a wedding present and it will be cherished for the rest of my life. Ina Leah Corder was born on 5 Oct 1909, in Monticello, Wayne, Kentucky. She was the 5th of 11 children born to James Granville Corder and Arbanna Bell.  She lived in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio during her lifetime. Her and her husband moved to Hamilton, Butler, Ohio, in the 1950's and lived there until her death on 7 Sep 2006. She suffered from Dementia for more than 10 years before her death at the age of 96.

Grandpa Edgar died just a couple years after this photo was taken so I didn't get to know him much sadly. I do remember him being very quiet.  A funny oddity about him is that he did not like stringy melted cheese. Edgar Koger was born on 14 Oct 1904, in Bell Hill, Wayne, Kentucky. He was the 4th of 6 children born to Calvin Corder Koger and Predence Coffey. He died on 18 Oct 1991 at his home in Hamilton, Butler County, Ohio.

Both of these grandparents were instrumental in their community and well loved. Grandma made many baby blankets for most of the children born into her church, Bible Way Missionary Baptist Church, in Hamilton, Ohio.

Hope you enjoyed meeting my GREAT-Grandparents, Edgar and Ina.