Category: Trella Diaries

Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Edward Kenney died
To Caledonia to mail letter to Warren Harding III & buy 44¢ stamps. Mowed upper side lawn.
Email from Karen Kelley about Mon – told her I would be glad for her to join us at Perkins Mon.
To Marion at 4:00 to Marion Bank to deposit rent check from Glenn McNabb thru Veterans Service. $500 for Aug – 633 Bordeaux – also signed paper received saying I hadn’t cashed a $48 dividend check – Deposit in my reg. Account.
To Women’s Club Home for taping of 3 segments of Scott Spears ‘Club’. Martha Manaci not contributing much – Mary Ann Michaels, Phil Reid, Charlie Evers & I had fund with questions like ‘Survey shows people lie 91% of the time – my reply – ‘No wonder we’re in trouble – Panel didn’t agree.
Bought corn & raspberries at Crum’s wagon $2 for half dozen but got 8 ears. $2 for pint of raspberries. Shopped at Aldi’s – $50 – Home by 7 & a real chore to unload and store all that.
Chili & crackers for supper. Recap of all the Kennedy’s lives on TV.
Tried to call Royce to remind her to pick up Jim and got a ‘not a working #’

Tuesday, August 25, 2009
12 emails. One from Mary Gruber thru Kathi inviting me to have dinner with her & Kaye Moore before the Robenalt Lecture at OSUM – Aug 28. Accepted by inviting them to join Gale, David & me who had already planned to eat together.
Wrote a letter to Warren Harding III asking for update on report that Phillips letters were in care of their family. Send copy of front page announcement of lecture.
Made a cheese cake (box type) to take to dessert buffet at Herings this evening – Garden Club of Marion meeting.
To Le Salon of Beauty at 3:00 – Marian advised contacting Peacock Water Softener to check my system. I will.
To HH at 3:45 – Bede Agner already there for Nominating Committee meeting – captive audience for Gale’s Honeymoon at Greenbriar.
Gale had trouble printing out a current membership list in Past Perfect. Not indexed. Giver me good old dBaseII that I used for years. Mike Makay agreed to be on committee – messages left for Dick Schwaderer.
Too tire to stop for groceries or got to Herings – Loaded cheese cake & crib in Utility Room freezer for Kathi’s visit. Left the Stihl chainsaw at Miller’s on SR 309 for repair.

Monday, August 24, 2009
Dow Jones 2017!
Bath-hair wash – fed birds, bfst & was checking email when David walked in about 11:00. Brought his red truck so he loaded bricks from by shed & greenhouse wall – Dug out the bricks by the crabapple across road – mowed everything across road, including Gale’s prairie – The Jerusalem Artichoke is blooming but also over whelming. He reworked the compost pile – pitch forking top of left pick into the empty right area. Soaked new area to assist decaying.
Scanned the photo of Ted Myers, Ralph Ramey, Trella & Larry Yoder by Campus Prairie sign & sent to Gary Iams for his file at OSUM.*

He helped me sieve the tomatoes I cooked with the skin on & did his computer work while I went to Reeces Mkt for hamburger & bananas – Also got a 2# ham loaf from their freezer.
Gale arrived at 5:00 – (David had a nap). Chili & ice cream for supper. He said it was good – I’ll freeze some for when Kathi is here. Told Gale Sept 20 is when Kathi will be here and the Sunday Huber Assoc always has their annual meeting. Discussed John Kalb’s obsession with getting Houghton Sulky Building on National Register. Told her Jim Carpenter said a company is operating in the building. David left at 5:45 & Gale left at 6:30. Detailed report on stay at Greenbriar Resort in W. Va. Left me a video.

[*From the email: The 1986 photo of Ted Myers, Ralph Ramey, Trella Romine and Larry Yoders includes all of us who had a part in saving the Marion Campus Prairie.

Ted Myers alerted me to the fact that Dean Francis Hazard planned to have it rented out to a farmer for planting in order to generate income for Ohio State Marion. He monitored all the stages of saving it.
Trella and Ted contacted Ralph Ramey, Ohio Prairie Association officer, and through him the 1986 Prairie Conference was held on the OSUM campus.
Larry Yoder conceived the OSUM Campus Prairie, involved his botany classes in collection seed, and nurtured it during its firs few years.

Trella H. Romine,
August 25, 2009]

Sunday, August 23, 2009
53 AM
78
Woke at 10:00 – Cool. Put obit for Opal Rice Schneider in the filing cabinet drawer in bedroom and this led to assessing what could be recycled & what kept. Spent about 4 horus on it.
Cood the tomatoes from the pergola area – added salt, a little sugar & parsley – rosacea. Will freeze some and make chili from other. TV – ‘So You Want to be a Millionaire’ – guy didn’t know LB Johnson had button for ‘Fresco’ on his desk so lost $500,000.

Saturday, August 22, 2009
Jim met me at auditorium door with “new” name badge. Not to my liking – but cou ld print out a replacement. Have had problems with Resource Center printer so he reloaded the program to make it work.
Keith Kohler chatted with Beck Oldham the whole 3 hours. About 3:00 I told him about inquiry for ‘Gatewood Cemetery’. He will contact owner & probe for markers.

The_Marion_Star_Fri__Aug_21__2009_

Friday, August 21, 2009
Lead story on front page of Marion Star – with photo of cover of James Robenalt’s book ‘The Harding Affair’ – That should sell copies! If anyone remembers Harding! Robenalt will speak on OSUM on Monday Aug 30.
This prompted me to reread Francis FFussell’s book ‘The Shadow of Blooming Grove’ since it was he who the lawyer Don Williamson shared the letters he had found 5 years earlier when cleaning out Carrie Phillips’ home. On Mt. Vernon Ave. where she died.
I felt the article raised questions & so I wrote an article asking them and using Russell’s book as a source. Sent it by email to David, Kathi, Mary Gruber & Stuart Koblentz who had seen an advance copy. He says the letters are political – not romantic ??!
Made pickled beets fro supper – also had a salad & pizza (leftovers)
David’s email back – wanted to be sure I wan’t trying to vindicate Harding -.
Call from Mrs. Downes of Fla (referred by John Boger) telling me of the family cemetery on the ____ farm on SR 95 west of SR 746 that is abandoned since Corinne moved away. Trying to place responsibility for restoring.

Thursday, August 20, 2009
1.4 in rain during night
84 AM
75 PM
1.2 in rain at 3:30 to 4:00
Email from Dave Matyac – he had 4 in. rain last night in mt. Gilead – 2 in. in his basement. Few Japanese Beetles. No Praying Mantis. Don Keil left beets & tomatoes on side porch. Cooked beets for supper & made a salad of baby lettuce & my lone sweet pepper.
Email from Kathi – Evidently she didn’t get my account of Neva Harri’s service – so I sent it again.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Dow Jones 9976
Leota Gates died Tues at Marion Manor
Picked up Jim Carpenter at 9:15. Drove past Claridon Prairie – He wan’t impressed. Loaded up the red cart with tree trimmings David cut. Deadheaded yellow marigolds along stone wall. He used hi weed whacker around trees, along edge of pond and near bridge. Hard work from 10:00 until 12:00. I mowed lower grass. He changed light bulb in vanity.
To Marion about 12:45 – He stopped at Meijer for 45 minutes & I stayed in car & roasted – 85 – to HH to unload 16 mm movie projector from Dan Erickson. To CVS pharmacy for Jim’s high blood pressure prescip – To Marion Cemetery & he watered geranium on Hemmerly graves.
Mike helped unload their groceries that filled the back seat & rear of my car. Home by 3:00 – took a nap. Called Jim O’Dell’s answering service for appointment to wash outside of windows.
Baked a pizza for supper – Tomato – Jim picked the strainer full.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Sunny
Rewrote article published in short lived ‘Good News’ in the 1990’s. Names and locations of Harding High School.
Mark Webb & 2 helpers back to work about 11:00 until 4:00 – connected a black flexible hose to the downspout by greenhouse & diverted thru ditch to discharge into grass instead of along gravel by steps. Removed kitchen picture window in order to remove & replace rotten wood. Painted wood sill of living room picture window. Use gallons of Oxy – to remove algae from vinyl siding & sealed against further algae – removed rotten wood around folding garage doors & replaced with new wood.
As I expected the $700 or so ‘estimate’ ended up being $1,800! And left the windows so streaked I’ll need Jim O’Dell to clean them.*
To MCHS Board meeting at 7:00. I deflected John Kalb’s request to come to Sept meeting to shame MCHS for not saving the Houghton Sulky bldg. Scott Spears will write the reasons the Ohio Preservation Office can’t save it.
No action on MCHS partnering with OHS to manage Harding Properties

[* this type of scam is popular among traveling itinerants who prey on older women living alone. All these repairs were temporary (except the drain by the greenhouse) and needed re-done 10 years later.The kitchen picture window rotted wood remains (as of 2024).]]

Monday, August 17, 2009
85 sunny
Attended Neva Burtch Harris funeral at Emmanuel Lutheran Church. Jackie & Jerry Ballenger family (6 kids & families) took up 4 rows. Cremation casket & about 5 floral tributes.
After service I was greeted by Bob Johnson, Brenda Dye (Marilee’s daughter), Jackie & Jerry. As he was leaving the parking lot a nice chat with Catherine & Jane Loudenslager. Didn’t go to Pleasant Hill Cemetery for burial.
At 2:00 Dave Claborn & Gary Iams arrived with brochures for fund raising for new science building on Ohio State University [Marion] Science Complex. $17 million project. 4 million still to raise. I’ll consider giving 2 of Howard’s HH bonds – need advice on cashing & tax liability for $7,500 deferred interest.
A Mark Webb? And crew stopped in a pickup with Tenn. licensed & offer to wash green fungus from siding & paint wood on picture windows. Also provide drainage from downspout by greenhouse. $200 – and caulk & use fungi remover & seal on all vinyl siding.
Called Gale about 2:00 thinking she was leaving on 3 day honeymoon tomorrow. Instead of asking – as I usually do -’Are you coming to Terradise for supper?’ I asked ‘What are your plans for this evening?’ Her reply – ‘Trella, I’m on my honeymoon!’