grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

  • Home
  • About
  • Media
  • Crafts
  • Farm
  • Food
  • Garden
  • Reading & Books
  • Sunday Letter
  • SHOP!
  • Privacy Policy

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

May 24, 2020 By Talya Tate Boerner 12 Comments

Happy Memorial Day weekend! If I could, I would give you a bouquet of red poppies…

This Memorial Day likely won’t look the same as Memorial Days of the past. (Well, it shouldn’t, in my opinion.) While the corona-craziness has changed the scope of our gatherings, (well, it should, in my opinion), the meaning behind Memorial Day hasn’t changed. And that’s what’s important.

On Memorial Day, we commemorate those who died in service to our country.

Poppy Symbol

Did you know the red poppy is the symbol of both Memorial Day and Veterans Day? I only learned of this poppy connection a few years ago while doing book research for Gene, Everywhere.

After WWI, red poppies were the first flowers to bloom across war-torn European battlefields. The seeds had lay dormant for some time, but after such disturbance to the land, they germinated again.Continue Reading

Lake Girls. Lake Time.

May 24, 2019 By Talya Tate Boerner 8 Comments

Lake Girl, Lake Time

Lake Girls. Lake Trip.

This weekend marks our first lake trip of the year. Our first official trip of summer, not that summer is here yet (but you know what I mean). Now that Momma and Staci are both living in Fayetteville, we are much closer to Lake Norfork. And we can go for long weekends. That was practically impossible to do when we lived in Texas.

So we’ll kick off lake season the way we did when we were all living together on the farm, when Staci and I were kids, before college and marriage and family and careers. We’ll spend the weekend doing many of those same things we always do when we go to the lake. Lake girls are like that.Continue Reading

WWII Letters of Reverend L. T. Lawrence

May 30, 2016 By Talya Tate Boerner 16 Comments

Mississippi Co, Ar seeing boys off to war

Osceola Courthouse lawn. Seeing soldiers off to war.

Reverend L. T. Lawrence served as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Osceola during WWII. The Mississippi County Historical & Genealogical Society recently devoted an entire Delta Review publication to Reverend Lawrence. Lib Shippen, Treasurer of the historical society, spent hours and hours of her time on this project. It’s special and perfect for Memorial Day. I think you’ll agree.

As local boys went off to war, Reverend Lawrence began writing a monthly letter to every serviceman, a sort of hometown newsletter which he called Hands and Hearts Across the Seas. The project grew larger as the war continued. The cost to mimeograph and mail these letters grew too. By the end of the war, Reverend Lawrence was mailing out over 750 letters a month, half to servicemen and half to family members who wanted to keep up with news. The people of Mississippi County helped cover the cost with monthly donations.

These letters are now part of Osceola history.
A part of WWII history.

Each letter includes news of the town, a joke or two, a prayer & scripture reading—heartfelt greetings from Osceola.

The boys immediately began writing back to Reverend Lawrence. Lawrence included news he received from soldiers in subsequent letters. These letters changed lives and in many cases saved lives.

Through Reverend Lawrence’s letters and responses, we have first hand accounts of not only what was happening in Northeast Arkansas (and in the U.S.), but also what was happening from our hometown soldiers’ perspectives from foreign soil. Most of these boys had never been out of Mississippi County. Many have names I recognize today. Some didn’t return.

With permission from the historical society and Ms. Shippen, here are a few excerpts.

Letter No. 1, November 1943:
Dear Friend: …We thought that some of you fellows in the armed services would be interested in a mimeographed letter from us every once in a while. So we are trying it out…Nathan Weinberg has lost a couple of letters out of his sign on the store. It now reads ATHAN WINBERG…Osceola has had an experience with gas, but it is due to the fact that they are canning turnip greens at the canning factory and the odor is strong all over this section… Seriously Speaking—A Bible verse for all of us to ponder in our hearts-“For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38,39. Will you take your New Testament now and read the entire 8th chapter of Romans? As you read it, remember that a lot of others are reading it—I believe all who receive this letter will do it. If you do not have a New Testament, write to me and I’ll try to get one to you…Continue Reading

Next Page »

Talya Tate Boerner


Hi! I'm Talya. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (Now Available!)

Click to BUY NOW!

Talya Tate Boerner books
Gene, Everywhere

Never miss a blog post! Subscribe via email:

Receive my Monthly Newsletter?

Most Popular Posts…

  • Chicken Tortilla Soup
  • SHOP!
  • Yum Yum Cake - old southern recipe!
  • Sunday Letter: 01.29.23
  • Nana's Strawberry Cake (the real one)

Most Recent

  • Chicken Tortilla Soup
  • Sunday Letter: 01.29.23
  • Sunday Letter: 01.15.23
  • Sunday Letter: 01.08.23
  • Sunday Letter: 12.18.22

Prior Posts

Search Categories

Tags

A to Z April Blog Challenge Autumn BAT Book Reviews childhood Christmas creative writing prompt Dallas Desserts Eureka Springs Fall Fayetteville Food Gracie Lee Halloween Hemingway-Pfeiffer home humor Johnson Family Keiser Lake Norfork Lucy and Annabelle Mississippi County Mississippi Delta moving Munger Place Nana nature Northeast Arkansas Northwest Arkansas Osceola poem Reading Schnauzer simple living simple things spring spring gardening Summer sunday letter Talya Tate Boerner novel The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee Thomas Tate Winter Wordless Wednesday
Follow on Bloglovin

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!

All content and photos Copyright Grace, Grits and Gardening © 2023 · Web Hosting By StrataByte