Miss Elizabeth Is 91 Today...

Miss Elizabeth, our friend and the grande dame of our city block, is 91 today. Originally from Oklahoma, she took a circuitous route to St. Louis, and her stories about her life are always interesting. She's still active in her church, involved in her charities and clubs, and thriving in her oversized Victorian home. Her large flower garden often contributes new starts for mine at Le Rustique.

Yesterday Big Daddy and I took her to lunch on The Hill - noted for the best Italian markets and restaurants west of the Mississippi, as well as being the childhood home of baseball stars Joe Garagiola and Yogi Berra.

Since Big Daddy and I are listening to Timothy Egan's audio book The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl and since Miss Elizabeth lived through it in Oklahoma, we asked her to tell us a little about growing up then. 


As you can see from the picture, we laughed some in spite of the rough life she had then and the harshness of the times she was talking about. I think she had just remembered the time she failed to kill the chicken for Sunday dinner, because she just couldn't get the hang of it.

Still laughing after all these years.

Miss Elizabeth, Here's to many more years of listening to your stories about rural living at a different time. We love having you in our lives. Happy Birthday!!

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