Childhood years activities
Polly's childhood vacations were extensive. Their family went on
a trip around the US one summer because her parents were teachers who had
the summer months free. During the World War II her father bought a four
acre piece of land in Bennington, VT and built a small cottage for family
vacations. Polly had many fond memories of these events.
Dating years activities
In 1954 Polly worked in Ocean City for the summer. Tom would come
down with his buddies on weekends. He would see if Polly was available for
a date and sometimes they did silly things and
had lots of fun.
Married years activities
Polly planned the fun events for the Tom and Polly family. She applied her
artistic talents at Halloween time when she made some really neat costumes. She set up fun activities for her children at home.
We went to Ocean City, MD and Myrtle Beach, SC for some great beach vacations.
We went to the finger lakes region of NY for a fantastic trip one year.
We would meet up with her art school friends and their spouses. We took a relaxing trip to the New England area. Polly hosted a number of parties in all four of our homes (Altoona-Rockville-Richmond-Cherry
Hill) over the years. Polly was very helpful with the children's theater when we were in Richmond. Polly had lots of friends in our Cherry Hill - Wexford Leas neighborhood. The local grade school in Cherry Hill got lots of help from Polly. Fundraising for the Cub Scouts was one of her projects. Brad got orders from neighbors for flats of flower plants. We had a wonderful trip to California that included our daughter's wedding. She was very competitive at miniature golf. Polly was very active with the St. Andrews Methodist Church. She helped count money and work with the children at Sunday School on Sundays. She also helped with the summer programs. Our Super Bowl parties were huge undertakings for
over 10 years in Cherry Hill. Our bridge club alternated at four homes. She was an avid gardener. All birthdays were times to have a party.
Various family members came to visit and she worked hard to entertain them. Most family visits were for Christmas holidays. Other events were musicals and plays in Washington, Philadelphia, and New
York City. Of course she scheduled visits to a good number of museums and
historic spots on the west and east coast. She expanded her husband Tom's life well beyond
the sports world. We had many enjoyable visits with her parents at 519 Plymouth Road in Glenside, PA.
Reunions for Yarnalls
The Tom and Mary Yarnall offspring had a reunion in Ocean City in 2002.
It was windy weather on the beach where
Tom met Polly 48 years earlier. |
Here she is at Tom's 40th class reunion in 1990. |
Children's college degrees activities
Polly set educational goals with her children. She was the primary support
for reaching those goals. I was to earn enough money, the children were
to get good enough grades, and she established an environment that was conducive
to these achievements. Her parents and her Aunt Louise were significant
financial contributors to our children's college degrees. Louise went to
the same college for artists as Polly did for one year. She got her degree
from UCLA in literature to work in the field of journalism. Steve went to
the University of Tennessee and got a degree in architecture. Brad went
to three colleges and graduated with a degree in statistics from Rutgers.
Those graduation days were proud and happy ones.
Political activities
Polly raised funds for the Blair County Young Republicans in 1960. As wife of the
Young Republican Club's President she greeted Richard Nixon when he made a campaign stop
in Altoona in 1960 and presented him with a nametag for his dog Checkers.
We helped with the Barry Goldwater campaign in 1964 and met him at the fundraiser in Altoona for him. We helped with various campaigns through the years and met Mitt Romney at one affair in 2008. We were very disappointed when he lost as a candidate for President in 2012. We thought he was a good person because he was honest and decent when compared to Obama. By 2020 we learned how shifty Romney was when he voted to impeach President Trump.
We were very involved with the Cherry Hill Reform and the Republican Party of Cherry Hill organizations. Here we are at a local candidates fundraising event in 2011.
Polly was our reader. She did lots of research. We
were on top of all the current issues for every Presidential campaign
from 1960 into 2015.
When an educational expo came to Philadelphia, she got her
friends to go see it. They had a replica of the oval office
as one of the exhibits. On the right she is pictured in it. |
Polly's signature. |
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