Pulled into the Good Sam Memphis East RV Park through a trailer park to find no beauty but the location served us well for the visiting we wanted to do.
Once set up, I called Jane Dutcher who graciously asked us to accept her invitation to dinner out. We thought we should be taking her out! Jane was assured we could find our way to her home in Cordova because of our having a GPS (Global Positioning System). Ha! Ours is named Nell the Nag. Nell decided to go crazy at the time. We found, however, that the Cordova Cellars Winery at Jane's address was listed in the RV park's welcome brochure. And there was a map! We later learned from Jane that the winery, formerly run by her now deceased daughter, Mary Martha, has been closed for more than five years!
Jane and her parents lived next door to my maternal grandparents, Russell and Isabel George, in Elkton, MD. Jane was nineteen when I was born. She is now a beautiful and sprightly widow of 90. I remember her dad's sailboat which was moored at my parent's cottage on the Elk River. Standing in the boat I could not see over the gunwale. I also remember her dad's shop in what I thought was a huge barn across from my grandparents' garage. One Christmas I received a large dollhouse which had been fashioned in that workshop. The house had two sides that completely opened. It was in Ashley's playroom in the Windham, OH, Victorian farmhouse which was hit by lightning and burned. That was in 1977.
In her twenties, Jane took me sledding. One time Jane made a white cotton apron and gave me crayons to draw a picture on the apron. She then ironed through waxed paper to set the colors. I still have this little apron, a precious possession and memory elicitor. Every time I taught this technique to school children or used it on a quilt I have thought of Jane. Jane was married to Tom and they had a baby, Mary Martha, when they moved away when I was eleven. Bill had met Jane, briefly, in the parking lot of the Cherry Hill, MD, church after the memorial service for my grandmother, Isabel George, in 1983. Now, after many more years, we were going to get to spend some time with her!
By the way, when I first called Jane several weeks ago to say we would like to visit, Jane said that would be wonderful but she'd best check her calendar to see if she'd be home. Now that is a great mentor!
Jane and her granddaughter
The entry to Jane's gracious home
We enjoyed her eclectic collection of art. Tom's pool table is a work of art!
This is an artist's portrait of one of Jane's three daughters, a professional musician.
Daffodils and flowering trees on the property
Jane's garden and the former winery building
Jane's daughter and son-in-law, Susan and George, joined us for a marvelous dinner at a Bone Fish restaurant. It was a wonderful treat!
Janeen and Jane
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