Influence Of The Dead...

       Oh, tell me not that they are dead - that generous host, that airy army of invisible heroes! They hover as a cloud of witnesses above this nation. Are they dead that yet speak louder than we can speak, and a more universal language? Are they dead that yet act? Are they dead that yet move upon society, and inspire the people with nobler motives and more heroic patriotism? Every mountain and hill shall have its treasured name, every river shall keep some solemn title, every valley and every lake shall cherish its honored register; and, till the mountains are worn out, and the rivers forget to flow, till the clouds are weary of replenishing springs, and the springs forget to gush, and the rills to sing, shall their names be kept fresh with reverent honors which are inscribed upon the book of national remembrance. Henry Ward Beecher

"The Most Famous Man in America" Henry Ward Beecher

The Buds Opening in Heaven

Child with flower.

       Heaven is greatly made up of little children, sweet buds that have never blown, or which death has plucked from a mother's bosom to lay on his own cold breast, just when they were expanding, flower-like, from the sheath, and opening their engaging beauties in the budding time and spring of life. 'Of such is the kingdom of heaven.' How sweet these words by the cradle of a dying infant! They fall like balm drops on our bleeding heart, when we watch the ebbing of that young life, as wave after wave breaks feebler, and the sinking breath gets lower and lower, till with a gentle sigh, and a passing quiver of the lip, our child now leaves its body, lying like an angel asleep, and ascends to the beatitudes of heaven and the bosom of God. Indeed it may be, that God does with his heavenly garden, as we do with our gardens. He may chiefly stock it from nurseries, and select for transplanting what is yet in its young and tender age--flowers before they have bloomed, and trees ere they begin to bear. Rev Dr. Guthrie

"'Tis sweet to die! The flowers of earthly love,

(Fair, frail spring blossoms) early droop and die;

Upon our spirits evermore to lie

Fanny Forrester.

"Good Morrow'' coloring page and poem

Description of Coloring Page: crocus frame and poem, text by Harriet Joor

"Awake!" the yellow Crocus Cries!
"Open wide your sleepy eyes!
For little Children, as for Flowers,
The Day unfolds it's shining Hours.
Awake to laugh - to work - to play -
Be good and glad the whole bright Day:
Then close your eyes up very tight
And sleep through all the cool dark night."

• Now paint your little eggs in many shades from blue to brown . . .
  

Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

Graceful Servants

 Graceful Servants by Betty Chapman Benhum

Knives and forks should always be
Well behaved for you and me.
Up on end they should not stand,
Nor go sailing in one's hand.
Knives are made to cut the meat,
Forks are meant to help one eat.
They are servants, bright and ready,
They'll obey if one is steady,
Always with  their peasant graces.
Always in their proper places.

When Easters Were Spent at Grandmother's House

        My grandmother's house on Easter Sunday was a wonderful place to be. It always seemed to us, her grandchildren, that the world began over again on that day. There was a newness and freshness about everything, from the first moment we opened our eyes to see our crisp, starched petticoats laid out, until the day was over and we put our Easter bonnets away in tissue paper.

The ''nest'' is symbolic for the home or a 
place of safe keeping.

       The details of her house and the way she lived in it are as clear today as they were 25 years ago. In all the years I have never found another home which seemed to emanate so many of the good things of life.

       By Easter Sunday the spring house cleaning was finished. And in New England that means that it was so well done that the place looked newborn. Window panes glistened, brass and copper shone, floors and woodwork were spic and span. On top of all this summer "dust covers" crackling with starch had been placed on every upholstered piece of furniture. Cross-bar dimity and ruffled marquisette bristled at every window with a cleanliness which was invigorating whether the sun shone or not.

       We arrived at the breakfast table in our Easter best. All of this had been laid out the night before, in perfect condition, for the start of church next day. Any one of us who had neglected to sew a button or mend a pocket on Saturday went to church unsewed and unmended, for grandmother's sewing basket went into the closet on Saturday evening and did not reappear until Monday for any emergency. The beautiful, well-planned order of it all is a happy memory after many years.

       We left the house, properly shod, coated and hatted, begloved and behankied, with a wonderful sense of well being. The older ones carried the Bibles they had acquired on previous Easters, the middle-sized ones would get theirs today, and the tiny ones would come home with a brightly blooming geranium, which meant they hadn't missed Sunday school all season. We came back to the house to find it full of wonderful odors. Returning to this house was always a joy. It was a refuge and peaceful haven always.

       On Easter afternoon, when grandmother had had her nap we all went for a walk. We called on the old ladies and gentlemen who were unable to get out in the sun for one reason or another. We brought sugar cookies which grandmother had made the day before, and tiny pots with three or four crocuses which she had started in the cellar months earlier. Year after year she went through the same rite. With 16 grandchildren it was never necessary that she make her Easter parade alone, for as the older ones became too self-conscious with this old-fashioned nonsense, the little ones were enchanted to be permitted to go.

       This type of home, all the activities which went on in it and the good things which came from it, we now understand better than ever. Simple, unassuming and well ordered, based on the fundamental needs of ordinary people, it has come into its own once again.  by Emily Post

• Tiffany O'Brien, The MOST Enthusiastic Homemaker
• How Do I? Talking about Etiquette, 19th Edition

Build a March Hare Toy for A Tot

 THE MARCH HARE by Harold Evans Kellogg

       The figure of the hare, the baseboard, and the wheels are made of half-inch box lumber. It will be necessary for woodworkers to enlarge the elements to scale using either a software program or graph paper before cutting templates.
       With a pencil mark around the figure of the hare, then cut it out with a scroll saw. Be sure to leave the piece of board between the under side of the hare and the straight line.
       The baseboard is 6 1/2 inches long and 3 inches wide. Mark it out with a ruler and a try-square and cut it out with an ordinary saw.
       Make the two wheels by marking with a pencil around a tea cup and then sawing them out with a scroll saw.
       The handle is made of soft wood. It is 3/8 inch square and 16 inches long. A portion 3 inch deep and 2 inches long is cut from one end, as shown in the diagram. The four edges of the handle may be planed, or filed partly round if desired. All pieces should be filed and sandpapered before they are joined.
       Attach the handle and the figure of the hare to the baseboard from the under side, using either small nails or screws. Make a hole about 1/8th inch in diameter in the exact center of each wheel, using either a drill. Then attach the wheels to the baseboard with large-headed nails or screws, leaving them just loose enough to turn easily.
       To decorate the toy you will need a tube of white and a tube of black oil paint, some turpentine to thin the paint, and two small brushes. Paint the handle, the wheels, and the figure of the hare white. Allow the paint to dry for one day. Then apply another coat of white paint to the same portions, and allow it to dry for a day.
       Using a piece of carbon paper, transfer to the figure of the hare the lines representing the ears, eyes, feet, and other markings. With a fine-pointed brush go over these lines very carefully, using the black oil
paint. Now apply the black paint to the baseboard and to the portion between the baseboard and the under part of the hare. Wee Wisdom, 1926

More March Hares:

• All About Cottontail Rabbits
• The White Rabbits by Edith Campbell
• Craft a Rabbit Ring Toss Game