Yarnall Genealogy

Mary Louise Palm Yarnall - Fun Times

Pinochle Club - Cats - Vacations - Trips - Weddings
All the "girls" listed in the newspaper clipping on the right enjoyed playing cards. They were her "fun time" friends. She took us to the NJ shore for vacations where friends and relatives had homes. Her gregarious and helpful nature made her welcome. Real enjoyment was derived from activities with her sister and having a cat. She really liked to attend family events. Look at her at two weddings. She hosted her son Tom's (aka Mike) 25th wedding anniversary and had all of her siblings and their families attend.

Later in life she took good advantage of having her children located in many different areas. She went to Altoona PA, Rockville MD, Richmond VA, Atlanta GA, Houston TX, Newbury Park CA and points between or nearby. She drove or took a plane with ease. She was able to do so many things with a very modest budget.

Fishing
She tried to teach me to fish. She was more successful with my brothers. She taught our son Steve to fish. It was one of her favorite activities. She was so happy when she won a prize one year. She always had her rods, reels, sinkers, and pail ready.
Cross country trip
She was so pleased to be able to make such a trip in 1985 with three friends. The northern route was taken going west and the middle route was taken coming back east. Visiting national parks and monuments made her happy. She was very enthusiastic about seeing so many different towns and cities.
"Retirement"
She worked until 1981 when she was 67. She continued her visits to her children's homes. I know she was glad to be able to extend the trips to her son Bill's house in CA when she did not have to rush back to work. She was able to put more time into making many items with her knitting skills. Polly and I have two of her 20 afghans to keep warm. She made them with excellent color combinations to match the decor in all of our homes. In 1983 she arranged a surprise 25th wedding anniversary celebration at our house in Cherry Hill for Polly and me. She took care of invitations, decorations, and food.
Christmas season
It was her favorite time of the year. Her house or apartment was always decorated so well. We had red lights and balls on our tree inside our house and blue lights on our trees outside. One year I sold Christmas trees when I was home for break from college. I promised her I would set aside a really nice tree for her. The customers kept seeing the one I set aside and offered a premium price for it so I kept selling the good ones. On Christmas Eve I was without a nice tree for my mom. I used a saw to cut the branches off the bad sides of two trees and wrapped the half trees together with some small wire into "one" very beautiful tree. When I got home she was very pleased and we decorated it together. She had a great idea that year to whip up soap suds from Ivory Flakes to put on the branches to make it look like snow. Every time I see snow build up on the branches of our evergreen trees, it reminds me of her and that Christmas.
Christmas spirit
We have three treasured items that she made. They really represent the Christmas spirit and keep it alive for us. After she died I found a little 7" by 5" notepad with a list of gifts for her entire family and her close friends. There were over fifty people on that two and a half page list. She was living on a very small amount of social security money yet she always thought of others - especially at Christmas. From that list I received a golf calendar that year plus a check for $5. She got Brad a chess game. She got Louise a tree ornament. She got Steve a backgammon game. Her neighbor Pauline had "perfume" next to her name on the list. My wife, Polly, had "check" written next to her name. Our grandsons, Matt and Sam, had "train" next to their names.

Site Map | Back | Top | Next