First issue, July 2005                                                                                                                                Volume 1 Issue 1

Our Historical Past and Present

From Sand To Digital Tablet

Mallie Hamrick Kimbrell, she still has the knack. Mom continues to draw at age 87 with fine point pens and markers on colorful card stock. She turns out beautiful pages in Print Shop 20. There are over 6000 now. This past year she's created drawings in Corel Painter and used the Wacom digital tablet. Of late, she relaxes in her recliner and draws what she calls squiggles. She makes borders, frames and little flowers using them to enhance her old drawings when designing her pages. Mom began drawing in sand, 1927, that was 78 years ago. Mom told the story of when her art began. She was nine.

   I see the little girl with the long black hair, a stick in her hand. Her younger siblings, Joe and Martha, are kneeling there on the ground. They're mesmerized, listening to the story she weaves, watching stick figures take shape in the sand.

   Mom became a multitalented  mother and grandmother and her artistic ability rubbed off on her children and grandchildren. Mom's a mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and great, great-grandmother who loves her family. She's kept us all connected through her. We need to continue her legacy of love. May the Lord help us stay connected throughout the remainder of our lives.

Marietta

   One of the quaintest towns in Lancaster County is Marietta. Situated on the Susquehanna River, just north of its sister city, Columbia, Marietta is one of those towns time has forgotten. Its history revolved around the river and the railroad. During logging days when logs were floated down the river, the canal, lumber yards, planning mills, iron smelting furnaces, rolling mills, shops and taverns were the backbone of the community.

   The town is made up of a patchwork of architecture from the majestic historic Victorians to plain and simple log houses. In 1984 the Marietta Historic District Extension was dedicated, making 48% of the town part of the National Register of Historic Places. Each June the town hosts a Garden Tour and in December, a Candlelight Tour of Homes. Marietta now has antique shops, a candle shop, an ice cream shop, a pizza shop, a fitness center, a clock shop and the fabulous Petite Museum of Musical Boxes.

   Editor's note: The photo above {top left} is of an oil painting Mom painted of herself in the early 1970s. She used several poses of black and white photos of herself that helped complete the painting of herself. Also, the pen drawing of the hand above was Mom's own hand. That is the logo I asked her to draw for the book, A Hodgepodge of Old Memories. 

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