Wednesday, September 8, 1971
Dear Ones All:
     Rec'd your letter and school group picture - it came through fine.  It's sure nice and the patched place didn't look bad at all; in fact I didn't notice it at first!  This is the Science Ridge School in 1898.  Your mother and myself are in this picture.  Science Ridge School was in Jackson Township, Taylor County, Iowa.  It was about a mile through the woods and pasture from father's place in Clayton Township (note from Mark Cappello: Goldie's father was George W. Barnes Jr., brother to Joseph Barnes who married Mary Tinder).
     All right, we'll start with the big one, no. 1, she is GRACE (HARSH)
WHEELER, Malloy, Iowa.  Do write to her - just say your mother was Nora
(Barnes) Hoops.  Boy with the rolled sweater "turtle neck" is LYNN KENNERY (no.2).  He married and moved to Missouri and died long ago.  The teacher, CLARA BESCO, never married.  She lived near Platteville, Iowa on a big farm with a big house and raised big horses.  She played the organ at Platteville Methodist Church for many years.  Her brother Fred was an Auditor at Bedford Court House.  My sister Erlice was his childhood sweetheart - she liked him anyway so my sister Lulu said.  Erlice died at the age of 27 with T.B.,
buried at the Platteville Cemetery.
     Next is LURA EFFIE BARNES, who died after moving to Backus, Minn. with small pox.  She married a Hays up there - I think his name was Frank.  They had one girl, and she, when last heard of, was a nurse at west on the
California Coast.  Hays ran a store in Backus.  Next boy is OLEY DAVIDSON,
who married had has been dead a long time now.  They moved to York, Nebraska soon after this picture was taken.  Next boy is RALLPH RUFFNER.  He kept girl no. 1 (Grace Harsh-Wheeler) bawling, teasing her about being fat, and others too - anyone he could tease!  Once, the teacher gave us her picture at the end of a term of school, and he put it in his mouth, chewed it, then
swallowed it - I saw him!
     The boy behind girl with hand on my shoulder is CLEVE BARNES, brother to
Effie.  You know they had a half-brother older than they named Henry Norman
Barnes, who's widow Nora lives at the rest home in Bedford.  He had two girls
from a second wife after divorcing Nora.  We saw Nora on our way home from
the Barnes Reunion I told you about then.
     Next is MATTIE KENNERY, then your mother NORA (BARNES) HOOPS.  The other boy is ELMER SMITH - he wore a metal plate over his forehead as he got kicked by a horse.  The girl on the end is ROSE (KENNERY) BOTHEL, sister to Mattie and cousin to the one boy with the turtle neck.  The girl with her hand on my shoulder is ETTIE (HAYS) TRYON, who's been dead a long time now.  The girl with the big head next to her is GRACE RUFFNER - she called herself "Dagwood."  The little girl with her head thrown back is MAUDE (ROE) BARNES. She was a sister to my sister Pearl's husband George Roe.  She married cousin Guy Barnes, both dead now, and they never had children.
     The boy in front of your mother is GEORGE WIDNER.  They used to live
where Rose and Ann Kennery lived when you lived there on Hazen Place.  We
used to live on Hazen Place.  Nora carried me in when we first moved there.
I was only 3, but I remember the pretty wall paper.  I was ogin on 4, (my
birthday was Nov. 6) when the Widners lived there.  This was in 1895.
     I was 5 years old going on 6 at the time Erlice died the next spring.
Then we moved back home and lived on both places for a time.  Erlice was sick
and grandfather Barnes lived there with us a year and Uncle Gus and Juncle
Jeff came and took him to Uncle Gus' place in Smith Center, Kansas.  As I
said, Erlice was dying wtih T.B. and my oldest sister Lulu got married to
Jake Streebin when I was four.
     The big girl by George's side is AMELIA BROWN.  They were school day
sweethearts.  The Browns lived just down on creek south of the corner of our
acre orchard a few years.  Then a cousin got them to out to Wyoming with him.
 But she, Amelia, ended up marrying a cattle rustler!
     The boy by himself is WALTER "WALT" ROE, cousin of Maude (Roe) Barnes. He was a great ball player at school!  The next boy is GUY DAVIDSON and he died very soon after they moved to York, Nebraska.  The next boy with both hands on Guy's shoulder is Coln. DEE G. SMALLEY, a fine stock salesman.  He got married and moved out west somwhere.  He wrote me a letter once asking me for a date, but didn't get it answered.  Ha!
Aunt Goldie