Lanham, MD 1924-1930
Country, dirt roads with clay banks, daisy fields, short tree woods, scrub pines, sand, nothing really pretty except the daisies.  The house was down from the church which sat on the dirt road.  There was a graveyard on the other side of our driveway.  A path went by the chicken coop to the outhouse.  There was a small barn where my older sisters & brother would jump out of the hay loft--luckily they landed OK.  The house was drab.  We used the kitchen door; the front door opened out into a porch that half circled the house & onto a long lawn with a line of large silver maple trees on either side?  The arkcoms lived down there on the other side of some woods.  Jean & Helen Larkcom were my sister Jean's friends.  The name Madeline has always "haunted" me and I read in Dad's diary that I'd said to him, "I'm Madeline" at one time, or "my name is Madeline," (I read the diarys in the 70's) and on one of Jean's visits in the 90's I questioned her about it and she told me that Helen & Jean's older sister had had a baby named Madeline Botts--that's it!  That's the name! and I was jealous of the baby, I guess.

Then Ann's friends were Marie Veercorn who lived across the road from the church. (She had a cerebral palsy (sp) sister who sat in a chair & slobbered all the time). and Edward Harvey who lived down the road.  His Mom had a baby while we were there and I called her Libby because I couldn't say Elizabeth.  Edward jumped out of our barn too.  Poor Ann, she was always getting into trouble it seemed.  She was 5 years older than me.  Jean was 9 years older & Charles was 10 years older & my big brother.  His friend was Herbert Harvey (not Edwards