Knowing someone you never met.

I had the good fortune of growing up in the same household with my maternal grandparents. Not only that, it was the same home in which my grandmother had been reared. There is mention of the house and its history elsewhere in this blog.

Over the years I heard many stories about my one great grandfather, Peter Randolph Lawyer generally referred to as P.R. Lawyer. His wife, Ida May, called him Dolph, but my grandmother always referred to him as Papa.

P.R. was born in the southern part of Morgan County in an area known as Oakland. This is always pronounced with equal emphasis on both syllables. His parents, James West and Margaret Jane Lawyer were farmers and lived in a typical home. (I will have to find my records with the exact dates, but P.R. was born about 1871.)

Life on a farm is never easy and in those days I'm sure there was a lot of work. But Papa Lawyer must have applied himself. He went to the local one-room school through about the eighth grade as far as I remember hearing. But that included lessons in the three 'Rs - Reading, Riting and Rithmatic, as well as history and penmanship.

Papa had a great love for music and instilled that love in his children. Over the years he sang in the church choir, played the organ, the coronet and even designed a few instruments.

My grandmother told me how at some point in his youth P.R. Lawyer headed west to seek his fortune. She never said where he landed, but I suspect he didn't get much past the Mississippi. Still he saw something of the country, but he missed his home. She said that especially in the evenings watching the sunset he grew homesick. So he headed back east.

P.R. did not want to be a farmer and instead moved into the growing town of Berkeley Springs and opened a jewelry store. In addition to jewelry he sold china, silver, watches and clocks, and music.

I never learned the story of how he met his wife, but I wonder if it was maybe at church or if he rented a room from his future mother-in-law. P.R. Lawyer and Ida May Casler were wed in the new Presbyterian Church in Berkeley Springs - the first couple to be married there.

P.R. had a house built on Independence Street and lived there with his new bride. My grandmother told me that her parents moved to Basic City, Virginia briefly. She was born in Berkeley Springs in 1891 and she gave me the impression that she moved with them to Basic City. But they didn't stay there for long.

My grandmother told me that there was a fire in Basic City. I don't know if P.R. lost the store, but business was bad. According to the Wikipedia article Basic City was hit hard in the depression of 1893. In fact Basic City is one of Virginia's Lost Cities. It was subsumed by the city of Waynesboro.

After moving back to Berkeley Springs, P.R. had a house built in the Wright's & Smith's addition to the Town of Bath. In October 1895 the Lawyer family, P.R. (Papa), Ida (Mama), and children Anna and Herbert moved into the home on South Green Street.

My grandmother told me that Papa had very particular ideas about how he wanted his home to be. Having grown up in a farm house he wanted a more formal home. They had a separate dining room and Papa took all of his meals in the dining room. He never ate in the kitchen. The upstairs had a center hallway. In the farm house one had to pass through one bedroom to get to another. He must have enjoyed his privacy.

The house faced west - looking at the ridge that ran alongside the town. On summer evenings P.R. would put a chair on the front porch roof outside his bedroom and sit and gaze at the stars. I don't know if he read up there or just sat, smoked a cigar and thought.

After a few years when double parlors became fashionable, P.R. had an addition built to the home. This was to accommodate a growing family - the birth of son Henry "Harry" Lawyer born in 1903 and to welcome Ida's mother, Anna Matilda (Ma) Casler.

In addition to running his business, P.R. was active in the community. He played in the Berkeley Springs Band, he was a charter member of the local Lodge of Freemasons and served as a Grand Master for a time. He was active in local politics and served as Mayor of the Town of Bath - Berkeley Springs is just the name of the post office. At one point he ran for a state senate seat but he did not win. P.R. had the misfortune of being a Democrat in a very Republican county.

P.R. had a phone line installed at the house on Green Street that was a direct line to a phone in his jewelry store. One day there was a fire in the summer kitchen. Ida was so shocked by it that she ran down the hill to get P.R. and never even thought about using the phone.

The family attended the Presbyterian church. Anna played the organ. She sang Alto and Herbert sang Tenor - Harry ended up being the Bass. The children attended school at Mount Wesley Academy which was just a few blocks away. Anna graduated in 1909.

When the US entered World War I Herbert served, playing euphonium in the band and running telephone cables. After his basic training he served in France. After he returned from the war he went to work as a salesman, first for Gold Medal Flour and then for many years for the H.J. Heinz Company. He and his wife Hazel Parlette Lawyer settled in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

Anna, my grandmother, helped her father in the store, gave piano lessons and played for the silent movies. She told me that she got paid 25¢ to play for the movies. If a vaudeville troupe came to town and needed a pianist then she would rehearse with them and play for the show and then she'd make big money - 50¢

Anna met her future husband, Edward F. Carroll, when he came to Berkeley Springs with a traveling semi-pro baseball team. The team moved on, but Eddie stayed and worked in the local Washington Hotel. Eddie courted Anna for about 10 years before P.R. gave his consent to let his only daughter get married.

There were two factors at work I think - one, P.R. was a Freemason and my grandfather was a Roman Catholic and I don't think P.R. wanted to see his daughter marry a Catholic. So I think some of my grandfather's work was in winning over P.R.

More than that P.R. didn't think that Anna needed to get married. He could provide everything she needed. Well - everything except children. Anna loved children and wanted a family of her own. So P.R. relented and Anna and Eddie were married in a simple ceremony in the parlor in the house on Green Street.

By this time Eddie was no longer working in Berkeley Springs. He was managing the Rappe Hotel in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. So Anna moved up there to set up house keeping. Given how attached the two were I can only imagine how much P.R. must have missed his little girl.

Don't get the idea that he was a soft-hearted type. He was strong-minded and used to getting his way. But he loved his family. In 1921 Anna was pregnant with her first child and she was living in Greensburg. P.R. ran the store without Anna there to help him. He had some health problems. He suffered from gout on occasion and that year came down with Bright's Disease.

During the summer P.R.'s condition worsened and they sent for Anna. But she was nearing the end of her pregnancy and the baby was due. In those days a woman had bed rest for several weeks following delivery, but Anna needed to get home.

As things happened she had a difficult labor and the baby was very weak. Each morning the nurse brought the baby in to my grandmother to nurse, but one morning my grandmother felt how cold the baby's hands and feet were. She warmed them, but called for the doctor. She knew that her son was dying and said to the doctor, "This is a Catholic baby. He needs to be baptized." The doctor sent the nurse to get some water, "and it doesn't need to be holy water!"

The doctor baptized my uncle as he lay in his mother's arms. Shortly after the baby died.

With little time to grieve Anna made ready for the train ride from Greensburg to Hancock and then a car ride the last six miles to Berkeley Springs. She said the ride in the car was the worst part given the roads and the condition of shock absorbers in those days.

Anna arrived in Berkeley Springs where she was able to help her mother care for P.R. during his last month. P.R. Lawyer passed away on October 4, 1921 in the home he built on Green Street.

Harry Lawyer was sent to learn watchmaking and he ran the store to support Ida. Anna bought her brothers' shares of the family home and continued to live there. She would live part of the time with her husband Eddie where he was working. They had two other children, both born in Greensburg, Edward Lawyer "Ned" Carroll and Margaret Anne "Margie", my mother.

They, like my sister, brothers and I grew up in the house that P.R. Lawyer built. None of us ever met them man, but we all felt as though we knew him. Ida lived in the home with her daughter and grandchildren. Harry and his wife Pearl lived next door with their four boys.

Ida passed away in 1952. Before she died she asked her only granddaughter, Margie, to move back to Berkeley Springs so that Anna wouldn't be alone. My mother honored her promise. After moving back to West Virginia Margie met Dwan McBee whom she had known when they were both much younger.

They dated and married and raised their family in the house on Green Street.

So why am I writing about this now? I'm not sure - I dreamed about Papa Lawyer last night and felt the need to write about him. I will check my dates and add them to this story.

Back by popular demand

Greetings readers,

The Back by popular demand is a euphemism. After almost a year hiatus I doubt I have any readers. Prove me wrong?

So the past year has been a full one and I have learned much. In my current job - reviewing contracts for data and database services - I have learned about reading contracts and what goes into a good contract. The needs agencies have to publish and the relative willingness some vendors have to allow us to negotiate terms.

From colleagues I have observed much and learned as well. From associates at other libraries I have learned that somethings never change. By the way, I hear karma can be a bitch.

So on the whole it has been a good year. I lost a long time friend suddenly last fall and another friend passed away in February from cancer. Maybe the good do die young and I'll be stuck here until I'm over 100. Actually - that has been a goal - not so much in and of itself. I have a goal to live beyond 2063 when my home state of West Virginia celebrates it's Bi-centennial.

But I digress... It is Spring - Washington, DC's best season what with all the lovely parks, warm temperatures and low humidity, and the lovely Cherry Blossoms. In the spirit of renewal, I am renewing my blog and talking about topics related to the work of librarians.

Important topics from work and the ether:

• Contracts for electronic resources and data


• Resource sharing tools like Sharepoint


• Customer outreach and liaison with customer groups


• Creating new libraries


• A year of change

More to come on all of this!! Spring is the air!!!

So much going on....

Life continues to be busy. The new job - I'm just shy of my 3 monthiversary - is going well. They are keeping me really busy. That is a good thing, but it also requires an adjustment.

For the last year or so of my last job I did reference work as it came to me and very little else - so I got really adept at facebook and caught up on several shows thanks to Hulu. We had a news feed from CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, CSPAN etc. so I could have the news running. I remember one exciting day there was a high-speed chase in Texas or Florida.

For a while we had the feed from BBC - to get the BBC news. Only that was just in the morning - so I became addicted to several shows - Cash in the Attic, and the Queens of Clean who would go in an clean up disgusting apartments and homes.

So now I'm actually having to work - that is a good thing!

Band has been a delight. We performed one of my favorite pieces - Rhapsody in Blue. And I dedicated one tune to the memory of my wonderful friend Diana Smith.

Oh, my dear little librarian. You pile up enough tomorrows, and you’ll find you are left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to make today worth remembering. - Prof. Harold Hill from The Music Man.

Dedicated to my dear friend and a librarian who strove to make every day worth remembering.

The piano soloist for Rhapsody in Blue, Annamaria Mottolo did an outstanding job! I learned that she is good friends with someone from my past. Peter Wilson was one of the two boys who played Oliver Twist in my college production of Oliver! that I stage managed during my senior year.

Now, out of the blue, I was asked to play in the pit band for a local production of Oliver!. So that will make for a really busy May - but it will be fun.

And tomorrow I join my friends in Marching Band to go to Rehoboth Beach for Band Camp!

My one-time mentor, Rev. Patrick J. Gillooly, used to say we have all eternity to rest. I'll need it I think!

Observations on the commute home

Greetings friends!

Lot's has been going on and I feel the urge to write some of this down. So, after a couple of months of nothing much to say I think I'll be posting for a bit.

Yesterday I got on the Metro at Farragut North for my daily commute home. At Metro Center a man got on who drew my attention. The man was probably about my age, bearded, wore glasses but had that loopy thing around his neck like your Aunt Martha used to wear.

The reason I noticed him was that he was coughing. My guess it was probably bronchitis and allergis. He just seemed really fussy - coughing, and pulling out paper napkins to wipe his mouth and hands and blow his nose. Then stuff the napkin in his pocket. Then he fidgeted and coughed again, etc. Finally after two stops he seemed to settle down and pulled out a book and a small cardboard fan.

So now he was reading. Only a dad and his young son sat down in the seat next to him and the son said he wanted to read. So the dad pulled out a booklet that the boy had made in school that day and started reading. Aloud.

The coughing man started to look toward the dad and soon and seemed a bit annoyed now. The boy's reading aloud was bothering him.

And somewhere on the train a baby started to cry. Now I was mildly amused that this man who was very fussy and had distracted me (did I mention that?) was himself now distracted.

In resignation he put his book into his over-sized tote bag. I noticed something on the side of the bag. It was a promo for a company that provides services to libraries. So I was thinking this man is a librarian and he was getting annoyed by a child who was reading.

Sigh! But I was pleased to note that as the fussy man settled down to listen to the father and son, he was amused by the innocence of the boy's questions and comments.

There is hope for world yet.

Udates on my professional life

Greetings friends!

It has been several months since I last posted. Needless to say much has happened. To start out with here is an update on my professional life - it is culled from two postings on Facebook so if you are a friend there this will look familiar.

I really want to thank everyone for their support. The past two years at my job have been unpleasant to say the least.

What started as a boss being passive/aggressive and not speaking to me for weeks on end turned into her false accusations and a security investigation. The investigation completely cleared me - but did nothing to compel her to work thing out with me. Her passive/aggressive behavior continued through my departure when she again refused to speak to me.

On February 1 I started a new chapter in my working life. I still feel a little numb. There's a lot to take in at a new job - a lot of decisions about benefits (the benefits are great - btw). It will take a little bit of time for me to feel actually settled in the new job - but the folks there are great. Certainly I will miss the wonderful friends I made on my last job - but now is the time to move on.

My friends who have heard the details of the last couple of years have been wonderfully supportive and I cannot thank you enough. A few of you know first hand of some of this. It is great to have third party confirmation.

The people at my new job are friendly and welcoming. Orientation took two mornings, but a continental breakfast was provided and on day one there was a free lunch!! yippee

The Library staff did much to help me feel welcome. They already set up my network and email accounts and my telephone. I continued to meet people and learn about library procedures etc.

The biggest challenge for me was realizing that this agency isn't like the rest of the federal government. I say goodbye to my govt. retirement plan (I'll still get the money when I retire), and start paying into the agency's own retirement plan and 401K. As I looked over the fine print, I learned that it takes 5 years to be fully vested and then I'll have just one more year until I'm eligible to retire. So this is my last federal job. I wasn't exactly ready to make that move - but here I am.

Then we got some snow and I had a forced holiday for almost a week. But I'm back in the office. I am continuing to get things set up and learning what I'll actually be doing. I'm learning more of the work environment and the corporate culture here (which is actually more like an academic culture.)

Yesterday I learned that my work day isn't quite as long as I had thought and an hour for lunch. And did I mention that my new boss isn't a sociopath, bi-polar, crazed, lying whack-job?

A Fabulous Friday

Hi Folks - it is a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

A lovely day - a frabjous day even! Okay - not sure why I'm so profoundly happy today. Like Scrooge at the end of the book - I'm as giddy as a school boy.

In part - there's the anticipation of seeing family tomorrow for the big party at the Lawyer/Carroll/McBee homestead in Berkeley Springs, WV.

Last year after my mother passed away one of my cousins suggested having a big get-together before we sold the homestead to celebrate again the many years (114 or so?) that our family has lived there.

So tomorrow I'll gather with my sister and brothers and nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins and friends to toast the happy memories. Maybe we'll shed a tear - but mostly we'll enjoy the stories that we've grown up with.

Lots more going on too. It is official that in October my friend Diana's former pastor and his wife will travel to Iona Island in Scotland to scatter some of Diana's ashes. Diana passed away in March.

I used up all my frequent flyer miles to book my flights. I arrive in Glasgow on October 5 and will attempt to drive a car to Iona and stay there two nights. Then on my birthday I will take the train to London. It seemed like a good idea at the time - but I'll get to visit with a friend from band who lives there now. Then back to DC on Friday and a concert on Saturday. Good thing I'm taking the following week off.

That will be a somewhat solemn trip - but one that will help in many ways.

Hope you have a good weekend too!

Nostalgia - Back to school

On Sunday I was looking through the newspaper and the advertisements and saw the first push for the Back to School sales.

Years ago I realized how much I like Autumn - in part because my birthday is in October. I find that things begin in Autumn - my life began, school starts, concert band practices start up. All very good things. I love the colors and the cooler weather.

But I also miss the preparation for Fall and school. Shopping for new clothes. Buying new pencils, pens, notebook paper and a notebook. Everything was crisp and new and clean.

Sometimes in mid-August when I have been driving to visit family in West Virginia, I'd see cars packed to the roof as kids were heading off/back to college. I was envious - I miss it so much. You got to see your friends whom you didn't see over the summer and hear what folks did. There were new friends to meet and get to know. There was a new schedule and maybe new teachers.

These days the closest thing to that is getting back to Concert band after the summer break. I'll take that - First rehearsal is August 3.