2008 - Death of Heinz Booher

2008 – Death of Heinz Booher

Heinz had moved to Stanton, Kentucky to be near his kids that all lived there. He was living next door to Teri and Barry in a duplex that they owned. In November 2007, on Thanksgiving Day he had a stroke that he didn’t ever seem to get over. He had called Ann’s house and left a message for me that he was thinking about me and that he loved me and was praying for me.

March 2008 Barry found him non responsive and called an ambulance. The doctor said he had passed out from loss of blood; but they couldn’t find out where he was loosing the blood from.

By his death August 28, 2008 he had been given sixty eight units of blood and the doctors still didn’t know where it was going to. After he was dead they got back a test for cancer that was positive. The doctors said that was what had killed him. He was cremated and I guess his youngest still has his ashes on a shelf in her house.

Pigeon Forge Trip

– Trip to Pigeon Forge

Another trip I took with Dan, Darline, Tim, Dana, and Billy to Pigeon Forge. We got a motel room with three queen size beds. Dana and me slept in one, Dan and Darline in one, and Tim and Billy in the other one. We had a blast there. We used the hot tub, pool, and we went to Dollywood everyday. They all knew where to find me when we were in Dollywood. I would be in one of those tubs at the water splash either in line or in tubs, or up and listening to the live music. I have always loved music and dancing. I had my picture taken with one of Dolly’s cousin and his son. I got someone standing there to take the picture for me. I had lot of fun there, and I think everyone else did.

Barkley Lake Trip

– Trip to Barkley Lake

I hope I finally have this David Court situation taken care of. I want to talk about a trip I took with two of my grand daughters to Barkley Lake. I wanted to find a place to live down by Barkley Lake since I didn’t like to travel by myself, I took two of Ann’s daughters, Angie and Teri. We stayed at a lodge that had a swimming pool. We were on the ground floor and I could see them swim from outside of the room we were staying in. The girls stayed in the pool or in the dining room the whole time we stayed there. We had a blast.

As we were coming back I had made a wrong turn. The first thing that had happened was the girls said, “Nanny, you are going too fast. You are over the speed limit.” About that time we were passing a highway marker for highway 82.

I said, “Girls do you see that sign? It says I can go 82 through here.” Of course I knew it was route 82, but they went along with me and didn’t say anymore about my speed

Next thing I know we are on Pennyrile Parkway going in the wrong direction. I traveled another thirty seven miles beyond where we were and the girls pointed out a turn around. They asked “Can’t you turn around there?” “No,” I told them, I am a law abiding citizen and that says I can’t use it, so I won’t.”

After awhile I noticed that the gas hand said the car was almost empty. I kept looking but there just wasn’t a place to get gas and that gas hand was sitting on almost empty. I realized there was no way to put gas back in the car so the very next cross over that I saw I turned around, even though it had a no crossing sign on it, I used it.

Those girls have never let me live that down. They will say, “Yeah Nanny is a law abiding citizen but she sure can speed!”

RECIPE: Zucchini Bread

RECIPE:       Zucchini Bread

Beat:                3 eggs, until light and fluffy

Add:                2 cups sugar

                        1 cup oil

                        1 tablespoon vanilla

Sift:                 2 ½ cups flour

                        ¼ tsp. baking powder

                        2 tsp. baking soda

                        ½ tsp. salt

                        3 tsp. cinnamon

                        Blend and add 1 cup chopped nuts. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees. Makes 2 – 5X7 loaves.                                

1999 Boy Scout Museum and the Foreign Visitors

1999 – January 6 - Started Working at the Boy Scout Museum in Murray, KY

I started working at the National Scouting Museum as a tour guide for the Norman Rockwell Exhibit. There are twenty seven Rockwell Paintings in this Gallery. Two of these are from 1918 the first one titled Scouting Makes Real Men Out of Real Boys is of just flags. I didn’t know until I started doing this exhibit that Boy Scouts reported ship movements off the east coast to the US Navy during WWI. These flags, called semaphore flags, are what they used to do the reporting.

The second portrait done in 1918 is titled A Good Scout; this one was the first Norman Rockwell Boy Scout painting ever used in a calendar.

From about 1944 Rockwell used the same young man as his model of a Boy Scout. This young man, Buddy Edgerton, was never in the Scouts but lived next door to Rockwell and it was said that he had a very likeable personality and was very reliable; for that reason Rockwell like to use him as his model.

I could go on and on here about those paintings, because I do love Norman Rockwell; but I don’t want to bore my audience.

I will tell you about my visitors from overseas. There were five of these gentlemen and they didn’t speak English and I didn’t speak their language. My director at the Museum asked if I thought I would have any problems and I told him no, I didn’t think so.

The night before they were due for the tour I baked Zucchini Bread. I went in the next morning, fixed the coffee pot and waited for the gentlemen from overseas. I showed them all of the Norman Rockwell portraits and of course, even though I gave my normal speeches for each portrait, I’m sure they didn’t understand a word that I was saying.

When the tour was over I thought I would see if they wanted Zucchini Bread and coffee; so I made a motion like I was smoking a cigarette. Sure enough they all got out their packs of cigarettes and lighters. Then I made motions like I was eating and drinking. At that they started buzzing like bees and nodding their heads yes.

So I escorted the five gentlemen down to the break room, poured them coffee and cut them pieces of my Zucchini Bread. As we were sitting there enjoying our bread, coffee and cigarettes the director came through and nodded at me. Later on he told me he knew if anyone knew how to talk without speaking the language it would be me.

I like to think that those gentlemen still talk about that American who gave them Zucchini Bread and coffee when they visited the Boy Scout Museum in Murray, Kentucky.

Memories: Teri Booher Centers, Granddaughter

We were asked to tell a story about Edith Alberta Shoupe Thomas Brandon. As I reflected on my years of her as my very strong, loving grandmother it was hard to pick just one story. My grandmother helped and did so much for other people, she truly touched the lives of so many.

I will start my story by telling you that my name is Teri Denise Booher Centers, youngest daughter of Alberta Anne Thomas and Heinrich Walter Paul Josef Booher; number six of Alberta’s ten grandchildren.

My grandmother would save her dimes in a brass bell piggy bank, she called this her Fun Fund. (Although looking back now she definitely spent more on those vacations than those dimes.) When I was twelve she took myself and my sister Angie on a weekend trip to Lake Barkley State Park.

As we traveled down the highway I remember looking at the speedometer, needless to say Nana had quite a touch of lead foot. You see the speed limit then was 55 MPH. If I remember correctly I pointed this out to my grandmother and she stated that I was mistaken. As we passed a highway sign that said US82; she said 

“You see there you fuddy-duddy that one is for me!” I can remember the smile on her face just like yesterday.

We traveled on down the road and as we blew pass our exit, my sister and I begged her to turn around in a U turn in the middle of the road. We went thirty seven miles in the wrong direction because she stated that you weren’t supposed to use a U turn; that she was a law abiding citizen and she wasn’t doing it. Finally we got turned around and going back the right way, as her speed increased to 82 again we passed a 55 MPH sign and I said, “I thought you were a law abiding citizen?” she shot me a look with those blue-grey eyes and I knew I was in trouble. For years after this trip my sister and I teased her about how she never broke the law using a U Turn.

You see my grandmother never illegally turned around cause that was against the law, but speeding was alright!

1992 Death of Second Husband

1992 – Diagnosed June - December 12 – Death of Edward Sommers Brandon From Cancer

It was the summer of 1992. Ed and his friend Cornett had put in a big garden in the spring just like they always had for the last twenty years. But Ed didn’t seem to bounce back from pulling weeds and taking care of the garden like he had in prior years. I finally convinced him to go to the doctor. The news wasn’t good. Ed had prostrate cancer and it was pretty far along. He had surgery; seemed to recover and went on about gardening like nothing had happened.

By October he had his garden all in and had done his usual work in preparation for the coming year. Then he simply took to his bed. His strength seemed to go day by day. November arrived and we celebrated his birthday on the twentieth. I decided that I was going to put up Christmas decorations early this year and had started those on his birthday.

Thanksgiving came; all my kids and grandkids came for Thanksgiving Dinner. Each one visited with Ed for a little while; he told them all good bye, and that was the last that he spoke to anyone. After that he would simply nod yes or no. He died December 12, 1992. Ed is buried next to his first wife, Dorothy, in Vine Grove, Kentucky.