July 7, 1965 Jocie Brooke here reporting from Hollyhill or maybe I should say reporting from Imagination Land. You have to have imagination to write a book, don’t you? Page after page of made up stuff. At least that’s what I’m guessing you have to have. I can’t say for sure since I’ve never written a book. Oh, I’ve written …
What Stories Have You Read that Make You Want to Write?
June 30, 1965 Jocie Brooke reporting from Hollyhill, Kentucky on the last day of June. I hate June to end so soon. That means just one more full month before school starts again. Ugh! But Dad says I shouldn’t be looking ahead, but enjoying each day that the Lord gives me. The present is like a gift. You know, present …
Daisy Weather
June 23, 1965 Jocie Brooke here reporting from Hollyhill, Kentucky. It’s summer and it’s hot! This morning Aunt Love called it daisy weather. Now if you know Aunt Love, that probably surprises you. She isn’t the type you would ever bring a bunch of daisies to from the field. If I did, she’d just tell me to make sure I …
The Widow’s Oil – A Miracle of Faith
June 17, 1965 Jocie Brooke here reporting from Hollyhill, Kentucky. I love summer, don’t you? No school. Time to read. No school. Wading in the creek. No school. Picking raspberries. No school! We did just have Bible school, but that’s a fun school time. I love Bible school. Dad followed up the idea of learning about the Bible Sunday in …
The B-I-B-L-E, Yes, That’s the Book for Me
June 7, 1965 Jocie Brooke here reporting from Hollyhill, Kentucky. Whew! What a week! This was my first year being a Bible School helper instead of a kid. I helped Mrs. Haskins with the Beginner class. We had twelve kids, ages three to five. Let me tell you. There is a lot of difference between a three year old and …
Macaroni Collages and Soup Can Pencil Holders at VBS
June 3, 1965 Jocie Brooke here reporting from Holly County. School was out last Friday and then the folks at church say we have to have Vacation Bible School right away. No time off. They must think all us kids will forget how to sit still or maybe be able to use our brains for learning if we have a …
The Peonies are Blooming
May 19, 1965 Jocie Brooke here reporting from Hollyhill, Kentucky. The peonies are blooming here in Holly County. Most every yard has at least one bush. Nobody knows who planted the first bush in Holly County. Some early settler must have carried a bulb in from Virginia, because, to hear people tell it, every bush since has been started …
Miss Sally and Mother’s Day
May 12, 1965 Jocie Brooke reporting from Holly County, Kentucky. Last week I was not too happy about Mother’s Day. I don’t really mind that my mother has never been a mother to me. If it had been up to her, she probably would have taken me in a basket and left me on some stranger’s doorstep and never looked …
When Mother’s Day is Hard
May 5, 1965 Jocie Brooke reporting from Hollyhill, Kentucky. I found this poem in a church magazine at Miss Sally’s house. She says it’s a really sweet poem. She never had any babies of her own to rock, but she says she was blessed with many babies to hold at church. She said most mothers are glad to have somebody …
From Under the Lilac Bush
April 28, 1965 Jocie Brooke here reporting from Hollyhill. Actually, I’m reporting from under the lilac bush in our front yard. Can you smell them? Ahhh. They’re wonderful. The butterflies like them too, but I couldn’t get the butterflies to pose for my camera. They kept flitting away and film isn’t cheap as Dad is continually telling me. But Dad …