New Sisters....and what's next for Sisters on Wheels?

Wow!

What a great trip!  We added some great new sisters to our group...Frances in Tennessee, Donna in Ohio, Suzann and Alice in Missouri, Jan and Tasha in Indiana, and Pam, Susie, Sharon and Sherry in Iowa!  We met a few more new sisters in Columbus, Indiana who are great at genealogy research and we won't lose touch with them.  And, of course, we got to spend time with special sisters Julie and Alanna (our brothers' dear wives), in Topeka.  And, we visited with our niece, Katie, who is a sister in training!

We traveled almost 5,000 miles and have already started planning our next trip.  We HOPE that next July you will follow us when we move back even further in our family history tour of Harrisons to the 1700s in Virginia and North Carolina!  We're also having our mother's DNA done through Ancestry.com (we've already done our father's DNA) and hope to go to The Netherlands in the not too distant future!  AND, we've had so much fun writing together as a team that we're thinking of writing a book or two or three together!  Stay tuned!

Now for a few fun pics!

We made a few too many trips to Cracker Barrel but we loved this lunch with Mom and Dad and we are so appreciative of people who come up to our Dad and thank him for his service in WWII.

Ok -- we admit it.. we brought our Princess Diana rings with us and wore them the day after William and Kate's baby was born.  But, don't they look real?

This little project brought tears to our eyes....and bowling words!  They were supposed to be matching frames.....the hooks were NOT mounted in the same place on each frame.  What's the saying -- "measure twice?"  how about measure 147 times and then say a bad word and put a quarter in the jar!!!!  Brothers,  your pictures are missing!

I will remember looking out the window of the Masters Hotel in Burr Oak, Iowa at these beautiful flowers when I need to lower my blood pressure.

And, recall this beautiful promise from God after a particularly hard day of moving.
This fabulous rainbow was at the end of Lynn and Julie's street.

SEE YOU ON OUR NEXT TRIP!!!!!

Time to Make the Donuts

Anybody remember the old Dunkin Donuts commercial where the baker is trudging to work at 3 AM saying "Time to Make the Donuts"?

Well, in our family we begin each day with this saying included with " I get to go to work!" Our father always said it wasn't I HAVE to go to work but I GET to go to work. As a child of the depression he realized the privilege in being able to work to provide for your family.

On our text thread the first one up will state " Time to Make the Donuts" and we all chime in with our "virtual" order for the day. On this trip we figured out how much we like Maple frosted donuts and this brought forth memories of our mother making donuts on Saturday using the old Sunbeam electric fry machine.

Our stories of hot donuts with warm glaze sent us down memory lane once more until something had to be done to bring our virtual donut orders to life. A few visits to Google and we had recipes for Spudnuts and Maple Frosted Long Johns.

Shirley mixed up the batter and we once more smelled the lovely aroma of hot donuts with warm maple glaze. Now when we say, " Time to Make the Donuts" we will remember a new set of tasty experiences and remember, " I get to go to work!"

The "H"

Mom and dad moved from their home at 1301 Buchanan in 2002 after living there for over 43 years. This home had memories of four children growing up and leaving home, a tornado in 1966, grandchildren coming to visit, home projects designed by dad, and family gatherings arranged by mom all echoed within the walls of this large stately home.

One of our regrets was not retrieving the metal "H" on the front door of the home. With each passing year we would drive by the old home place and wonder about the family that moved in and see the "H" on the door reminding us of our years growing up in this home. Could we retrieve the " H" from the door? The Sisters on Wheels have been known to take on some difficult tasks but when this one came to us during the last year we were uncertain about ever achieving our goal. We talked about it and even dreamed of the possibility but until this last week I don't think we ever thought it could be achieved.

So on Wednesday morning we drove to our former home and walked up to the door with our memories and a picture of the house when we lived there. Kay bravely knocked and knocked on the door when a dog started barking. A young girl called through the door to ask who was there and Kay shared our wish to retrieve the "H" from the door. The girl opened the door and said she was sure her mother would allow it but she was at work until 5 and could we come back then. We bounded back to the car with the secret mission of gathering this memory and carrying it forward. After working on decorating at mom and dad's new place we told them we had an errand to run and drove once more down the beautiful tree lined brick paved streets of our childhood.

Kay once more knocked and knocked on the front door without an answer and we sadly walked back to our car. A neighbor sitting on his front porch called to us and asked if we had lived in the house. They moved into the neighborhood the last year mom and dad lived there and throughout our 20 minute conversation we shared how the streets had recovered their beautiful tree lined canopy after the 1966 tornado ripped out all of the trees. We were leaving a phone number for the family of 1301 Buchanan when they arrived home and came to greet us on the front lawn.

The new family moved in to the house in 2003 and had 4 children, two boys and two girls just like us. The 13 year old daughter eagerly shared with Kay that she lived in her former bedroom and had painted it purple just like Kay. The 11 year old boy shared he was in Tom and Lynn's former room with the door leading up to the attic. The mother shared that she had turned the back porch into her sewing room where our mother had her sewing business. They looked at our picture and were amazed to see the "new" trees in our picture were the ones they climbed in now. The mother wanted us to be sure to tell our parents that this was her dream home.

Did we get the "H"? Yes, we had brought screw drivers in our purse just in case!   With a few twists of the wrist we had the "H" in our hands and drove away with new memories of a family growing up in the house we loved.

Now the "H" will grace the home of Lynn and Julie as they have created "Casa Harrison" for all of us to stay when we come home to visit mom and dad. Are we amazed at the sequence of events allowing this to happen? Thrilled beyond Belief!

For Everything There is a Season

Garden Apartment

On July 19th we prepared to help our parents move into the next season of their lives by moving them into Independent Living at Presbyterian Manor in Topeka, Kansas.

Mom passing the keys to the car to Lynn.

Our parents are great planners and shared this gift with their four children so this next step while physically hard and mentally challenging was attempted by all in the family.

Lynn moving the "Clocks" to the new home!

Each of us has very useful skills and these were brought forth as the plan developed in a short six week period. Sister Kay stepped forward to arrange with Presbyterian Manor the needed contacts for the move, while Brother Lynn arranged a place for us all to come home and stay at the lovely "Casa Harrison".

Tom and Alanna taking mom and dad to their new home!

Brother Tom preached on Sunday and then headed to Topeka to retrieve mom and dad's car to use at St. John's Church of the Brethren as his mode of transportation for visiting his church family. Sister Shirley cooked a family traditional breakfast of sausage gravy and biscuits for us to sit together and talk over the details of the move.

Grandson Ben works for Right Way Moving!

A month earlier Kay had organized a spread sheet with items from Mom and Dad's home of 67 years and all of the family from Siblings to Great Grand children were invited to request items they had special memories from to take to a new home. Each item that was chosen no matter how small came from growing up in the Mary and Don Harrison family. 

Sisters on Wheels 2013

Our wonderful sisters-in-law Julie and Alanna came to help us pack and pack and pack. Brother-in-law Paul supported with financial info as mom looked over her household accounts from the sale of their home on Buchanan to figure out the new budgeting plan with Kay as her guide.

Empty Fleming Court apartment

Music is a big part of the Harrison tradition.

Family surrounds mom and dad

Dad's Navy reminders

When one of us got weary the others picked up the pace and filled in the gaps.

New Bedroom

When we needed a lift a Bible Verse or devotion was shared via our joint text thread. Laughter and tears were shared throughout the week as we gathered a life time of memories and prepared for the next home for mom and dad.

The bird houses flew on to their new home!

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Thanks mom and dad for showing us how to gracefully move into this next season of life. Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

And then there were 5!

When we started planning this trip we talked about going to 2 Little House on the Prairie sites. Then while I was gone to London with my husband Kay decided to add 2 more sites at the end of our trip.

WELL.. 2 +2 equals 5 That's right we added another one so that we ended up stopping at 5 Little House on the Prairie site museums and several other places they went on their journeys. On July 18th we woke early and headed out from Decorah, Iowa to the small town of Burr Oak which has 100 inhabitants.

We sat outside of the museum enjoying the early morning breezes in this quiet Iowa town. The gift shop was housed in an old bank and as has happened often on our trip we struck up a conversation with other "Little House" fans.

The tour was of the Masters Hotel where Pa served as manager from 1876 and Ma served meals to 25 people a day. Silver Creek flows behind the Hotel a place Laura loved to play. Although the Ingalls family did not live very long in Burr Oak the youngest Ingalls, Grace, was born here.

We then got in the car for a long drive back to Kansas and could only imagine how hard life on the prairie must have been in 1880! 

We arrived in Kansas City around 5:30 at Clinical Research Laboratory where son Drew works. We headed to a wonderful Thai restaurant where we dined on Vegetable Panang, Massaman Curry with Beef, and King and Ann Chicken.

We had delightful conversation about books, music, and trips we have taken and then it was time for us to say good bye and head to Topeka.

We were a mere hour away from our home town of Topeka and had just called our parents to say we would be there around 8:45. Our trip has included travel in 13 states and over 4,500 miles without a hitch and we know how many of you have kept us in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you for all of your support.

As we drove onto the Kansas Turnpike a car passed us on the left and honked their horn at us. I checked to see if I was speeding but was doing 62 in a 65 speed zone.

The car pulled in front of us and proceeded to pull ahead when all of a sudden they tried to move over a lane and hit another car that was trying to pull into the same lane. Both cars proceeded to go into a roll, one to the left and the other to the right, in the lane directly ahead of us. I immediately slammed on the brakes and checked to see if I could pull into the left lane as pieces of both cars flew into the air and one car spun to the left while the other car spun to the right. As I dodged debris Kay began to pray aloud and touched my arm in support. I was able to stop close to the cement median and we assessed the situation. Kay called 911 and I drove around one car to the shoulder on the right. Kay kept on the phone and we both got out of the car to see what we could do. The police arrived in 2 minutes and we were allowed to go on. We took time to calm down and then rode on to Topeka.

Thank you again for supporting the Sisters on Wheels. 
God is Good All the Time, All the Time God is Good.

July 17 On the trail with Laura Ingalls Wilder

Today was a dream filled with travel, laughter, pioneer spirit, and good books.

We left Sioux City at 6:00 AM and headed across the bridge to Nebraska and then just as quickly we were across the way to South Dakota.

We arrived in De Smet. South Dakota at 9:15 AM just in time for the first tour of the day. We began in the Surveyor's House which is the oldest building in De Smet.

Laura's family lived here for 5 months in the spring of 1880. The Surveyor's House  seemed so large to Laura because of its many rooms and second floor. Pa's original  hand made chest of drawers is located in the upstairs loft.

Next was The First School where

Laura and Carrie went to school. The building became a home when the growing town outgrew it, so when they decided to restore it back to a school they found some amazing things. The chalkboards were still behind the wallpaper and some of the walls.

While we were taking pictures inside we met another teacher from Canada and a family from Kansas! We drove to the last home for Ma and Pa and were amazed at the items still intact inside the home.

The Ingalls built this home in 1887 and a member of the family lived here until 1928. The first section was a two room house but soon Pa added on a four room addition. Pa built a cupboard into the kitchen wing at the back and Ma's dishes have a wonderful home in the comfy shelves. Pa died here in 1902 and Ma in 1924. Mary, the last person to live here until her death in 1928.

After our tour we headed downtown to the Loftus Store where Almanzo and Cap Garland sold the wheat in The Long Winter. Our final stop in De Smet was the cemetery where Ma, Pa, Mary, Carrie, and Baby Boy Wilder are all buried.

After a lunch in the car we drove to Walnut Grove, Minnesota. Walnut Grove was a different style of museum with not as many original pieces but great history and hands on activities for children. They also have a great connection with the television series.

In July, both De Smet and Walnut Grove have theater productions during the weekends.

The towns are so proud of their connections to the Ingalls family and willing to share facts from the books and television series. Kay had really researched the family travels and we found driving back to Iowa we were on Laura Ingalls Wilder Highway.

Spring Valley, Minnesota

To our surprise we drove through Spring Valley, Minnesota and discovered another piece of Wilder history. This sleepy little town had been the home of Almanzo's parents in 1870 and for a while Almanzo, Laura and Rose lived here with his parents in 1890 before they moved briefly to Florida.

Just a few other observations: Minnesota has

Not sure if this fish was in the correct lane to pass.

a lot of distinct smells! We smelled yeast while passing an Ethanol plant and Kay found out yeast is an additive to the processing. We also smelled skunk, pigs, and cattle. The wide open spaces provided a conduit for all of the smells of agriculture.

Today was a LONG day but so much fun and of course it didn't take nearly as long for us to travel as it did the Ingalls family in a covered wagon. 

Tomorrow..... the fifth and final Little House site on our summer tour in Burr Oak, Iowa!