neighbors since 1981 - pic c. 1995 - Mr. and Mrs. "D" and Anna Pennell. This is the only picture I have of Mrs. Pennell. (see de

neighbors - circa 1995 - Mr. and Mrs. "D" and Anna Pennell. This is the only picture I have of Mrs. Pennell. (see description) Anna Pennell: She was born an Urban on June 6, 1900 in the USA. Her parents were Luisa and Gottlieb Urban. When we moved to Mickleton she was already 77, she died when she was 96. She had a lot to share and a lot of wisdom even though she complained about being uneducated because of having only gone to school through the eighth grade. I often told her she was a lot smarter than most people I knew and some of them had gone to college. :-D One day during one of my frequent visits with my children (to her picnic table in the Summer and next to her wood stove in the Winter) we got to reminiscing about the "olden" days like we often did and when it came to the subject of washing she told me when she was little they used to say, "First you wash down as far as possible, then you wash up as far as possible, and last you wash the possible." :-D

We enjoyed each other's company very much. She knew that I understood about the kind of life she grew up with because I was raised on a farm like her. And, as for me, no one my age understood my early years or upbringing, so having someone to talk to that had the same experiences was a real joy.

Her parents came from a small town in Germany, Siebensknie (Seven Knees, I guess is what that translates to), back in the late 1800's so we had a similar experience when it came to having been raised by hard and strict parents and we understood each other on many levels.

I have a big old wardrobe standing in the room where I am now. That was in the house in Mickleton when we moved in. It turns out that the house was once owned by John Urban, brother to Anna Pennell and the wardrobe was her parents'. It was brought over from Siebensknie back in the late 1800's by Louisa and Gottlieb. In all the years that the house changed hands nobody ever took the wardrobe out, I guess because it was just so big and bulky. And, so it just stood there and gathered dust and paint spills -- until a young woman named Karolina came along and fell in love with it. Now it just gathers dust, but the paint spills have almost completely been taken off. Only a few more to go. It's slow and tedious work and I don't often feel like doing it, but whenever I get another drip off without disturbing the finish too much, I'm really pleased with myself.

What can I say about Martha and Harry... Martha and I were friends and neighbors, but Harry and I got to be close friends. We could talk just about anything and were the kind of friends that could get really angry with each other one minute, talk it out, get over it, and go on like before. I really miss our conversations! (sigh) :o(