Granddaddy Rusty's Creations

373 McDermitt

Continuing from the last post......Granddady kept a picture album of some of the things he built and so here they are. In no particular order. and there are missing things. These are some little toys he made- trucks and wooden horses, pictures frames, jewelry boxes- Nanee would line them.


These are the pulpits he made for the churches here in Shelby Co. Tennessee- Bethany Christian Church, Collierville Christian Church and Decatur Christian Church.

WOOOOOOD........

Over the course of the past 6 generations now WOOD, TIMBER, LOGS, Trees have been involved in the livelihood and hobbies of our family:
Nanee Rustemeyer's grandpa Old man Joe Tatum- sawyer is listed on the census as occupation. His sons Joe and Charlie Tatum worked for the pencil factory in South Pittsburgh,TN. Granville Vaughn's father was reportedly a logger. Granville's livelihood was timber and he had his own sawmill beginning in the 1930s, and later a father-son mill first with Jack, later with Cliff. They cut ballbat blanks which they shipped to the mill for ballbats.
Jack Sr was the first to attend Lumber grading school and was in the 4th class of the school headquartered here in Memphis TN. Cliff later also attend and graduated.
Mark, Jack and David all did the same. Jack Sr worked as a Lumber grader/inspector for a number of companies and then went into business for himself with son Mark.
Jack joined the company later. Now Jack Sr has retire, Mark is in business on his own , Jack has changed occupations.Mark has a son Kevin with him for now.
Another son, MAtt is just graduated from College and practicing "green" construction.

David had his own business selling specialty woods. Dave and Jack both were very good at woodworking and ,as granddaddy Rustemeyer spent hours making furniture and wooden things in the shop. Granddaddy Rustemeyer for years had a woodworking shop and made many furniture items for his home and family members. He could get wood from Jack and others. His occupation was a minister . **Jesus was a carpenter TOO, ya know.*** Well, some of the grandsons did pick up his skill and talents, which gave him joy. David was the one who bought most of his tools from the estate. JAck Jr makes specialty wooden bowls at present.
So we have know about sawdust, wood spaghetti, sandpaper, wood glue, countless amounts of nails and wood screws and projects, taking wood to Granddaddys,how to get sawdust out of eyes..........
how many things do granddady make us that we stilll have?
He made 4 little night stands- one for each of the granddaughters when I was 13 so 1967- told me he sanded it well so it wouldn't snag my hose.For the boys he made a walnut study desk. For Jack and Betty early in their marriage, he made a bedroom suite- triple dresser, double bed and night stand. There was the wormy chestnut stereo cabinet-( and then the stereo died)so it is now used as a TV stand. He made at least 3 church pulpits-one still in use at Bethany Christian Church, Eads, Tn, one for Decatur Christian Church Bartlet, Tn and one for ??mom remind me....
Later there came a small Jewelry box- 3 drawer- Nanee lined the drawers.
there were numerous little picture frames and little easles and little things he also made to sell at the womens exchange in Memphis for a little money.
There was the Huge guncabinet when we were in Normalville.
I know there is more- let me know what I have left out...............

THE Artist Examines The Art

I have wanted to go look at the Germantown decorated horses since they were on display in 2008, but none of my kids would go with me. Then the AHH HAHH opportunity opened up. Niece Kelly Vaughn came to visit this weekend and was excited to go with....It was great to see the horse up close, but more fun watching her examine the details of each one up close. Also this is my favorite, until the next one...... But I have to admit, I have a new favorite after seeing them up close...and my winner is........
and there were 21, we could only find 7 Saturday nite.

1968- where does time do?

NORMALVILLE, PA, about 1968. It was a rainy day, cause we all look like we got caught in a downpour. I don't remember who took the picture.
Where are we all now? Jack and Betty are in Collierville TN retired, 82 and 77 respectively. Patsy Vaughn New (top right) is in Collierville TN married to JT- 2 children, 0 grands working in a pediatric doctors office and doing genealogy most of the rest of the hours of the day.
Deborah Vaughn Sandridge is married to Art and is in Rome Georgia, 5 children, 6 grand daughters, Relief Society President and Busy.
Mark R. Vaughn (dad's right shoulder)is married to Kathryn Lowe and has 5 children and 1 grandson, lives in Salisbury PA, has his own business in the lumber business (3rd generation).
Jack L. Vaughn Jr (dad'd right knee) is living in Salisbury PA as well, paramedic and EMT working many hours at the hospital ER and ambulance (2 or more companies), 3 children, 5 grands.
David Vaughn the little guy (dad's left knee)in the picture is married to Kathy Birch, home based in Denver, Colorado with 2 children. But he is currently working on location building a silo in New Orleans LA and going home every other weekend.
We don't get together often- smaller grouping is more common, but we have a great love of family.

1956 retro

This is an article that hit the press in 1956. THe baby is Deborah Anne VAughn Sandridge in the purse of Betty JoAnne Rustemeyer Vaughn visiting Aunt Lula Webb In West Virginia.

Momma Bears protect their CUBS!!!

Once upon a time in the now far away state of Pennsylvania, town of Normalville, I was once a teenager. Hard to believe, but true. And I needed cash. So I babysat. One of the families that hired me frequently had 4 kids and she'd come get me and work me hard..........feed the kids, clean up, laundry and stay ALL day while she went to ?town? for groceries or whatever she had to do. So that summer day it ended up being a 10 hour day babysitting the little devils. *****This was the 1960's so the going rate for babysitting was meager compared to today but....on with the story*** SO I get taken home, dropped off and paid my long awaited for, hard worked for, fill up my closet shopping spree cash........and get a jaw dropping $2 which works out to twenty cents per hours!!!!! Teenage meltdown in progress.....mom to the rescue.......MOMMA BEAR Lesson observation #1. Mom calls up Mrs. Nicholson and tells her in no uncertain terms that her daughter is "WORTH MORE TO ME AT HOME THAN THAT" and 'SHE WOULDN'T BE BACK" TO YOUR HOUSE. You won't exploit my momma's kids!!! So there!! So I did babysit again, but not for them- cheapskates!!
Flash ahead to present day, now I am a mom and great lessons learned from my own momma bear, I find myself in a momma bear dilemma. BUT , I have Government Wage and Hour Laws to help me...called them this morning......Oh, I feel the claws on my paws sharpening up........stay tuned for more.......

NEW MUSEUM IN TOWN

The new Collierville Museum had an open house last night. All the town dignitaries were there of course but the most important to me was my mother, Betty JoAnne Rustemeyer Vaughn, daughter of one of the actual ministers at the church when it was a church. Mom told me about all the little details of the building where what was where, this was there, etc. choir loft was here (when there was a choir), the pews were here and they were crescent shaped with an aisle down the center. The program says th

e bells loft has/had an 800# bell-- the largest bell in Shelby county.

Granddaddy Rustemeyer was the Preacher in Collierville from 1937-1944. During that time he lived in the parsonage next to this building but he had services at 4churches-rotating meetings - Pleasants, Kirks, Bethany and Collierville. None of the four congregations were able to support a full time minister so they shared him- like a circuit rider preacher of sort. During this time he was also finishing his Masters Degree @ Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Mom remembers they would take him to and from the bus (he was only home on the weekend for church work and see the family). Granddaddy kept a little (2x3) notebook that survived all these years where he recorded congregation,date,sermon as well as other little books of his weddings and funerals. He was preaching Sunday morning when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor but they wouldn't know about it for some time later. Next Sunday his message was on the attack. Soon after that his plans were laid out to join some of his soldier boys of Bethany, Kirk and Collierville and Join the Army forces as a Chaplain in WWII and serve in Germany.









In 1937 ish when Mom moved to Collierville with the family she was 4-5 ish and remembers the parsonage as HUGE. The Old parsonage is no longer standing but the lot where it was is the SMALL parking lot area......So the old pictures we have added here are of the church in Granddady's day- 1935-40ish , mom playing in the side yard of the church lot and Graddaddy Rusty "Rusty" as Nanee called him and what she has written on the back near his time to go into the Army as Chaplain.