We woke up Saturday morning to cloudy, rainy skies, but we went ahead with the Elm Grove Picnic anyway. It was nice and cool and we had to eat in the building but there was plenty of room. The crowd was somewhat smaller, I guess the rain scared them off. We have been having the picnic for 75-80 years and it has never been rained out. Once there was a dust storm and one time there were tornado warnings but the picnic goes on.

A live band made up of Benny Deeds, Kyle Moseley, Elmer Ray, Marilyn Powell and Bill Randall entertained with good country music all day.

Weldon Faught came with his team of beautiful black horses and gave us wagon rides. Vada Duncan and I loaded up and went for a ride.

We missed G. Beckham from Oklahoma. He is usually there. The Beckhams were residents of Elm Grove for many years. We also missed Mode Mask. Mode has been a regular at the picnic over the years but was not able to be there this year. It didn’t seem the same without Bobby Deeds. Bobby passed away recently. Someone said they missed him being there to get his share of the barbados ribs.

Some of the former residents who came back for the picnic were Mr. and Mrs. Jack Gilbreath and their daughter from Comanche. The Gilbreath family who grew up here consisted of 8 boys and 3 girls . All of the boys played musical instruments. Bob and Leon Cowan were there with some family members. Neal and Adrienne Watt from Austin and Locker visited with us for the first time. We hope they become regulars. It was great to see that Wilma Lee was able to come for the day. She was accompanied by Curtis and their daughter, Ellen.

The barbecue was excellent, as always, and the tables were full of all the good side dishes provided by everyone else.

We want to thank all of the committee members who worked so hard and we invite everyone to join us again next year and bring someone with you on the third Saturday in May.

It is interesting how time changes things. Jerald and Gloria Weatherman are doing some renovations to their home. Several years ago, they moved back and built a beautiful 2-story home on the site of the old Kirby and Lucille Smith place.

Charlie and Kitty Cummings had moved the old Smith house to Locker on Kitty’s home place and made it into a nice 2-story house. They are in the process of building an addition on it. That old house could tell some stories, couldn’t it? Jimmy and Alice Jennings bought Charlie and Kitty’s place at Elm Grove and have made the old barn into a nice home. It is a red house with a porch all the way around it with cedar rails. It is a very pretty, rustic home.

My great grandson, Jaxon Tucker, had a big weekend in Houston. Jax and his partner, Leanna, as well as several other teams from Brady, competed at the state level in Robotics. Jax and Leanna built a robotic arm which loaded small bales of hay onto a little trailer pulled by a tractor. Then the robot moved the bales from the trailer onto a conveyor belt, also made by the two kids, and placed the hay in a barn. Jax and Leanna placed fifth. All of the teams from Brady placed in the top six in the state. I think that is really something! Jax and Leanna are in fourth grade at Brady Elementary. Rex and Amy Tucker, Georgia and Jesse went along to Houston and made a weekend of it.

There were six members present for the Busy Bee quilting day last week. They were Marilyn Miller, Gloria and Fay lusty, Catalina Luna, Grace Hardman and Irene Hammett. The ladies worked on Grace Hardman’s quilt and she will bring it back again next month. Visitors, besides myself, were Marilyn Suber and Catalina’s sister. I’m sorry I didn’t get her name.

The fish fry and fundraiser for the Richland Springs VFD will be the last Saturday in June instead of later in the Fall. The quilters have completed their quilt for the VFD and raffle tickets are being sold on it. It is a very pretty quilt, you should buy a chance and hope to win it.