Sunday, January 22, 2012

Sunday's Obituary: James M. (Jay or J.M.) Tapley, Sr.

James (Jay) M. Tapley, Sr., 80, Emporia, Kansas passed away at the VA Hospital, Topeka, Kansas on January 14, 2012. Mr. Tapley was born to Bascom B. and Katie (Ellis) Tapley on November 9, 1931 in Kite, Georgia. He married June Ann Kaul on Sept. 20, 1958. She preceded him in death on January 18, 2002. They were married 43 years. Mr. Tapley served his country as a Sgt. in the United States Army from 1949 to 1963. He then worked for General Foods and Quaker Oats, where he retired in 1993. He was a member of the AF & AM of Kansas Grand Lodge #20 in Circleville, Kansas. He was a member of the Arab Shrine Temple AAONMS in Topeka, Kansas. He was a member of Rawhiders, Lifelong member of the American Legion Post #5 and a Lifelong member of the VFW where he was a Past Commander of Post #1367 in Holton, Kansas. He is survived by his companion and caregiver, Betty Birchmeier of Emporia, Kansas; Son(s): James M. Tapley, Jr. and wife Janis of Holton, Kansas; Sister(s): Jackie Snell of Wrightsville, Georgia; Grandson, Steven Tapley of Holton, Kansas and two great-grandchildren, Seth and Spencer Tapley. He was preceded in death by his parents; daughter Kathryn Ann Tapley; sisters, Maudie Powell, Juanita Claxton, Eloise Tapley; wife June Ann (Kaol) Tapley. The family will receive friends on Thursday January 19, 2012 from 9:00 - 10:00 am with a Memorial Service following at 10:00 am at Charter Funerals, 501 W. 6th Avenue, Emporia, KS 66801. Pastor Tom Miller will officiate. Inurnment will be at 2:00 pm, Thursday January 19, 2012 at Holton Cemetery. Memorial contributions designated to Disabled Veterans and the Shriners may be sent in care of Charter Funerals, 501 W. 6th Avenue, Emporia, Kansas 66801. Cremation has taken place. Condolences may be sent online at www.charterfunerals.com


Saturday, January 21, 2012

Grandma's 1934 Diary, Week 3

(To read entries from my maternal grandmother's 1933 and 1934 diary, please click on the tab "Posts by Topic" and then go to the topic "California." All posts are listed there.)

Key:

The writer is Ethel Ranney Tapley.
Alice is her sister.
Kenneth is her brother.
Her parents.
H = her boyfriend, Hazel Avery Plumlee
Delma = Hazel's little sister
Earl = Hazel's brother
Verda = Earl's wife
Dorothy Lee = Hazel's niece (Earl's child)
Otho is Otho Hesser, her father's cousin.
Viella is Mary Viella Crites Hesser, Otho's wife.
Ruth & Kathryn are Otho and Viella's daughters.
Uncle Jont is Jonathan Hesser, Otho's father and her father's uncle.
Aunt Kate is Sarah Katherine Hall Hesser, Jonathan's wife and Otho's mother
Herman (Williams) is Alice's husband.

Kenneth's (soon-to-be-ex) wife is also named Alice; her maiden name is unknown.

Sunday, January 14:  "Hazel & I went to town.  We made some ice cream for dinner.  We went to Plumlee's & ball game in afternoon.  Coopers here to dinner.  H. went home with Coopers."

Monday, January 15:  "I went to school.  Dad worked on C.W.A.  Dad is pretty sick.  I don't feel very good."

Tuesday, January 16:  "I went to school.  Dad was home sick was a bad cold.  Kenneth is learning how to build a fire."


Wednesday, January 17:  "I went to school.  Mrs. Kirby was here for dinner, so they didn't come to town as they planned."

Thursday, January 18:  "I went to school.  Kenneth & Mama came after me at noon.  Went to Berdo.  Bought two tires."

Friday, January 19:  "I went to school.  Dad worked on the C.W.A.  Kenneth started for Calexico walking.  I typed in the evening on Hesser's typewriter."

http://www.city-data.com/city/Calexico-California.html
 Saturday, January 20:  "Took Viella's typewriter home.  She was here a min.  Mama sewed.  We went to Yucaipa in evening for groceries."

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Wordless Wednesday - James M. (Jay or J.M.) Tapley, Sr.



James M. Tapley, Sr.
a/k/a "J.M." or "Jay"
November 9, 1931/32 - January 14, 2012

Son of Bascom Bishop Tapley and Katie Ellis Tapley.

J.M. was my 1st cousin, 1x removed.

Photo taken September 2010. 

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun -- Make Your Own Genealogy Creation

 From Randy Seaver over at Genea-Musings:

Your mission, should you decide to accept it (and I hope that you do... because this one is really cool!), is to:

1) Go to the www.ImageChef.com website and explore their FREE offerings. Click on the "Create" button, or choose to make a slideshow or posters from their main page (there are more than one screen of poster backgrounds).

2) Make one or more posters or other creation - perhaps they relate to genealogy or your own family history. Save them to your computer (right click, Save as Picture for Windows users).

3) Show your creations to us... in your own blog post, on a Facebook post, or on Google+ etc.


 Here's mine:


Everyone knows the #1 genealogy information I want:




I might should just post this on the side bar of this blog!

Here's a nod to my Tapley family's home state:


I bet this vanity tag is taken!

And I need to post this to the side of my computer monitor as a reminder:




Grandma's 1934 Diary, Week 2

(To read entries from my maternal grandmother's 1933 and 1934 diary, please click on the tab "Posts by Topic" and then go to the topic "California." All posts are listed there.)

Key:



The writer is Ethel Ranney Tapley.
Alice is her sister.
Kenneth is her brother.
Her parents.
H = her boyfriend, Hazel Avery Plumlee
Delma = Hazel's little sister
Earl = Hazel's brother
Verda = Earl's wife
Dorothy Lee = Hazel's niece (Earl's child)
Otho is Otho Hesser, her father's cousin.
Viella is Mary Viella Crites Hesser, Otho's wife.
Ruth & Kathryn are Otho and Viella's daughters.
Uncle Jont is Jonathan Hesser, Otho's father and her father's uncle.
Aunt Kate is Sarah Katherine Hall Hesser, Jonathan's wife and Otho's mother
Herman (Williams) is Alice's husband.

Kenneth's (soon-to-be-ex) wife is also named Alice; her maiden name is unknown.

Sunday, January 7:  "We ate dinner at Barnetts.  Carols brought Kenneth home.  We didn't get to see them very long."

Monday, January 8:  "I went to school.  Dorothy Pate & I walked downtown & registered at the social service.  Mama & I took Kenneth to L.A. to stay with Hazel."

Tuesday, January 9:  "I went to school.  Made an appointment for a permanent.  Mama & I went over to Trowbridges & to Yucaipa & got a calender from Holsingers."

Wednesday, January 10:  "I went to school.  I got a permanent.  We went to a supper at the church in the evening."

Thursday, January 11:  "I went to school.  Dad has a bad cold.  Laura & Charles Br. came for dinner."

Friday, January 12:  "I went to school.  Dad worked on C.W.A.  Kenneth cabled up for me to come after him.  Met Hazel at Mentone.  Got Kenneth in Redlands."

Saturday, January 13:  "Dad worked on the C.W.A.  Kenneth took a long hike.  Mama & I made my blue tweed dress.  Hazel & I went to town in the evening."


Friday, January 6, 2012

Grandma's 1934 Diary, Week 1

(To read entries from my maternal grandmother's 1933 and 1934 diary, please click on the tab "Posts by Topic" and then go to the topic "California." All posts are listed there.)

Key:


The writer is Ethel Ranney Tapley.
Alice is her sister.
Kenneth is her brother.
Her parents.
H = her boyfriend, Hazel Avery Plumlee
Delma = Hazel's little sister
Earl = Hazel's brother
Verda = Earl's wife
Dorothy Lee = Hazel's niece (Earl's child)
Otho is Otho Hesser, her father's cousin.
Viella is Mary Viella Crites Hesser, Otho's wife.
Ruth & Kathryn are Otho and Viella's daughters.
Uncle Jont is Jonathan Hesser, Otho's father and her father's uncle.
Aunt Kate is Sarah Katherine Hall Hesser, Jonathan's wife and Otho's mother
Herman (Williams) is Alice's husband.

Kenneth's wife is also named Alice; her maiden name is unknown.

 RECAP from the first diary post dated January 14, 2011:

"My maternal grandmother, Ethel Ranney Tapley, kept a diary for all of 1933 and part of 1934.  It is small and red, with "Five Year Diary" in gold across the cover.  We've all seen the type... each page has a date at the top with five sections per page to write a four line entry for that day for five years."

"The first page is just lined with no date at the top.  Here it appears that she did a synopsis of important dates for the years.  For 1934, it reads":
 
Jan 1. - Kenneth & Alice split up.
Jan. 10. - I got a permanent.
Feb. 11 - I got married.
Aug. 13 - I got a permanent.

I find it hilarious that my grandmother ranked getting a permanent right up there with divorces and weddings!

As I mentioned in last week's post, Grandma did not write in the diary regularly for 1934 after about the first three months.  So these posts will get more sporadic as the year goes on.  

Here we go...

Monday, January 1, 1934:  "It is still raining.  Mama & I went to the show in the afternoon.  My it sure did rain.  Several people homeless & killed in L.A." **

Tuesday, January 2:  "I went to school.  Dad worked on the C.W.A."

Wednesday, January 3:  "I went to school.  Dad worked on the C.W.A.  Otho was here a little while.  We went over to Hessers in the eve."

Thursday, January 4:  "I went to school.  Met mama & Viella at noon.  We went to San Berdo.  Came back to Redlands & went to the show.  Saw Mr. Skitch, with Will Rogers & Zozu Pitts."
 
http://movie-posters.lucywho.com/mr-skitch-movie-posters-t728255.html
 Friday, January 5:  "I went to school.  Mama went with me to Trowbridges.  Mama went over to Whites to tie a comforter.  I went over to Hessers after her."

Saturday, January 6:  "I got Dorothy Pate & we went to town to try & register.  But the man wasn't there.  Dorothy was here for dinner.  I saw Clara down town."


"Infamous New Year's Day Flood, Los Angeles Basin, 1934
 
The 1934 flood disaster in Los Angeles basin was so horrific that Woody Guthrie composed a song called "Los Angeles New Year's Flood" to memorialize the hundred people who were buried alive, drowned, or never found.  Light rain began falling on December 30, 1933, and rapidly intensified to a downpour totaling 7.31 inches in 24 hours.  This amount of rain qualified as the heaviest 24-hour rainfall yet documented (in 1934) by the local US Weather Bureau (rainfall measurement began in 1877).  By midnight on December 31, 1934, the San Gabriel Mountains, towering above the Los Angeles basin, began to discharge massive debris flows of mud, rocks and trees down dozens of steep narrow canyons.  The debris flows reached the basin floor as 20-foot walls of water, as they had done for eons.  

Upon reaching the basin floor the colossal debris flows buried 200 houses and rendered another 400 uninhabitable.  Also buried were around 800 mostly Model "A" cars in Montrose, La Crescenta, and other foothill communities in the narrow La Canada Valley between the San Gabriel and Verdugo Mountains.  Five people were killed at a New Year's Eve party in a Montrose home buried by debris flow; ten bodies were pulled from a debris flow in La Crescenta; and 25 men, women, and children were drowned at the Red Cross headquarters at the American Legion Hall at Montrose Boulevard and La Crescenta when a wall of water tore open the building.  The Los Angeles County coroner collected around 40 bodies and noted 75 people missing by January 4, 1934.  The destruction was so complete that three years after the disaster, 45 persons remained unaccounted for."