Rumblings About the Chrons
When William Isom Cron died in 1880, his wife Narcissa's sister, Pathenia, died shortly thereafter. At her sister's funeral, Narcissa met her sister's husband, Captain William Henry Morton. But nothing would come of this meeting until sometime later. Captain Morton quickly married a woman named Elvira Brooks, a widow with three children. But Elvira died while giving birth to her fourth child, and Narcissy promised her that she would raise the baby. Later, Narcissy married Captain William Morton. They moved to the Paris, Texas area with several families of her kin, taking her four children, the Brooks four children and the Morton children. Mr. Morton was not a good stepfather to the Chron children. He is reported to have thrown Everett Staley Chron into a fire in the fireplace on one occasion, but his mother rescued him, although he suffered severe burns.
The boys Everett, George, and William plotted to get even with their stepfather as soon as they were old enough. When they got older, they one day beat up Mr. Morton with a hammer. It is reported that they had very little trouble from him after that!
Captain William Henry Morton died when he was over 100 years old and is buried at the McGlassen Cemetery, located at Roxton, Texas.
When George Chron was a grown man, he had trouble with a tenant farmer. The farmer kicked George off his land and threatened to kill George if he came back on the farm. Later in a confrontation and heated argument, both having guns, George drew his gun and killed the farmer. He pleaded self-defense and the farmer's wife backed up his story. He was acquitted of all charges.
More rumblings...
In the early 1900's G.W. Mathews, who was Goldie Chron's father accused his wife of infidelity and slit her throat. An article in the Paris Advocate, dated June 14, 1907 reads:
"G.W. Mathews, the old man who murdered his wife by cutting her throat at the corner of Bonham and Division streets six years ago, was pardoned yesterday and started back to Lamar county from Huntsville this morning. He had been convicted and went to the penitentiary for life from the district court. The effort to secure his release from prison, according to a local attorney, had been on foot for several weeks. Among the efforts put forth in his behalf was the sending of a picture of Matthews' eighteen children and fifty grandchildren to Gov. Tom Campbell at Austin. The news that the pardon had been extended was received in Paris by G.W. Mathews, Jr. yesterday and he immediately sent the money to his father on which to come home. The son lives in Howland and his father lived with him at the time of the tragedy."
Mr. Mathews later came to live with E.C., Goldie, and the children in Howland, Texas.
Pardon of G.W. Mathews...
Proclamation by the Governor of the State of Texas No. 9318 To all to whom these presents shall come:
Whereas, At the April term A.D. 1903 in the District Court of Lamar County, State of Texas G.W. Mathews, was convicted of murder and sentenced to life term in the Penitentiary, and whereas, he is now seventy years of age. For sixty seven years this defendant had lived an upright and honorable life. He is an exconfederate soldier, has raised a large family who with their descendants number more than fifty persons. In his declining years his wife with whom he had lived for a long time and who was the mother of his children died. From that time a great change came over him and his friends and neighbors noticed that a shock had to a more or less extent unbalanced his mind. He became infatuated with a woman many years his junior whom he married. Their married life was an unhappy one. He became addicted to the use of intoxicants. He and his second wife seperated and he threatened to sue for a divorce. The seperation and determination to secure a divorce seemed to bear heavily on his mind and culminated in him killing his wife and attempting to commit suicide. The general impression of those who are familiar with the history of this case is that it was the act of an old man with a tatttering mtertech *(illegible), caused by drink. His life in the penitentiary has been an exemplary one. This pardon is recommeded by the Trial Judge, County Judge, Prosecuting Attorney, County Officers and numerous representative citizens of Lamar County including the Representatives Hon. Clarence Sperry and J. C. Mason. The Board of pardon advises strongly recommend the pardon on account of his age and his long and honorable citizenship prior to this offence.
Now, Therefore, I, T. M. Campbell , Governor of Texas; do; by virtue of the authority vested in me by the constitution and Laws of this State; hereby; for the reasons specified, now on file in the office of Secretary of State, grant said Mathews a full pardon and restore him to full citizenship and the right of suffrage.
In Testimony Whereof, I have hereto signed my name and caused the Seal of State to be hereon impressed at the City of Austin; this 10th day of June A.D. 1907
T. M. Campbell, Governor of Texas by the Governor;
L.T. Dashell, Secretary of State
What happened to Lula?
While compiling our family tree, we wondered what had become of Lula Chron, my great-great grandfather's sister. We had information on her brothers, but no information on her. Apparently, there was a reason. Lula, while pregnant, was riding in a buggy when the horse spooked and ran away, throwing her out of the buggy and under the wheels. She died of blood poisoning and is buried next to her mother at the McGlassen Cemetery in Roxton, Texas. Poor Lula!
Ralls Pioneer Still Has Urge for Spring Gardening at 93 - Published in The Ralls Banner, March 28, 1969.
"I wish I were out chopping down big tender careless weeds. Spring has always been my favorite time of year," Mrs. Goldie Minnie Chron said with growing excitement at the thought of getting out once more. She and Everett Chron had always turned the soil and when she wasn't helping him, she had her garden--one of the best ever produced in Crosby County. But today, most of these are memories which Grandmother Chron recalls from her wheel chair at Ralls Convalescent Home, or where friends gather as they did Sunday at her daughter's to help celebrate one day her 93rd birthday.
Mr. Chron died in 1944. Things changed. Mrs. Chron moved to the Ralls Inn for a number of years, then to the home. Still full of wit, a desire to work and a love for crowds, the former Selma, Alabama native joined the more than 35 friends and relatives at Mr. and Mrs. Dewey Wells. Sr. for the celebration.
She recalled after the 13 pound cabbages produced in her garden, moving to Crosby County with a pair of mules, two horses, and one milk cow aboard a leased railroad car in 1925 and having huge crowds over for games of dominoes or croquet. "Those mules drug a new two row planter soon after we arrived. We were so proud of that. No one around had a tractor then. But of course, this wouldn't compare with the equipment Dewey Jr. or Elmer, my grandsons use today." There was plenty to eat at this celebration. It was an opportunity for recalling good times. Dewey Jr. later told of all the canning his grandmother once did. He remembered those great pans of gingerbread she could bake and the fresh strawberries covered with thick cream cooled by running water.
Then someone else remembered how Minnie Chron had always taken care of the grandchildren. There was the time when Dewey Jr. brought by his new 22 they had given him for Christmas. It was cold. He had been out hunting rabbits. "Is it loaded?" Grandmother Chron asked. Before he could answer, the gun discharged blowing a hole in the floor. Grandma Chron filled the hole with bread dough and quickly painted over it with shoe polish. "She promised not to tell mother. I was 11 and things would be bad if she did," Dewey Jr. remembered. She didn't tell. But the other grandchildren did...years later.
Article in Crosby County History book produced in 1976 in celebration of the bi-Centennial.
Mr. and Mrs. Everett C. Chron came to West Texas area in 1925, along with their son, Virgil, his wife, Nellie, and small son, Virgil Allen. They had sold their farm land in Paris, Texas and came west to settle in Ralls. Here they all stayed and farmed.
Everett C. Chron was born in Kentucky in 1881 and from there moved to Paris. He met and married Minnie Goldie Mathews, daughter of G.W. and Elizabeth Stanford Mathews, Oct. 22, 1899. Goldie was born in Alabama March 24, 1876 and moved to Paris with her family in 1888. E.C. and Goldie had five children. One son, Virgil, and four daughters, Betty Mae, Laverne, Jewel, and Alma.
Virgil Chron was born October 5, 1900 in Paris. He met and married Nellie Jackson, who was born in Howland in 1905. They had
one son, Virgil Allen, when they moved to West Texas, but had five more children in the years to come: four boys, EC, Joe Nathan, Robert Thomas, Ivan Lee, and one daughter, Minnie Nell.
Everett C. Chron passed away at the age of 62, March 18, 1944 and Goldie lived to the ripe old age of 95. She passed away May 5, 1971 in the Ralls Nursing Home.
Virgil loved the farm land and wanted all of his boys to be farmers. This was not to be the case. All of the boys left the farm to go on to other things, except for Joe, and he farmed until his death at the age of 40. Joe drowned in November, 1968 while on a Boy Scout outing in the Big Bend National Park.
Joe was married to the former Berta Faye Evatt and they have three children, Debbie, Tony and Kelly.
Virgil and Nellie lived in Crosby County until their deaths. Nellie passed away December 20, 1975 and Virgil followed her shortly. He died October 20, 1976. They have five remaining children.
Virgil Allen and his wife, the former June Reed of Crosbyton, live in Alaska where he is minister of Muldoon Baptist Church. Virgil and June Chron have four daughters: June, Jana, Jami, Jill and nine grandchildren.
EC, now an evangelist in Carrollton, and his wife, Melba Jo, have one son, Clint, and three daughters, Josa, Deanna, and Tami and three grandchildren.
Bob and his wife Chris live in Albuquerque. Bob has three daughters: Darla, Theresa and Amber and four grandchildren.
Minnie Nell Chron Orm and her husband, George live in Weatherford and have two children, George Everett and Nika.
Ivan and his wife, Della Sue live in Ralls and have three children, Curtis, Kevin and Sheila.
There are five grandsons left to carry on the Chron name: Clint, Tony, Kelly, Curtis, and Kevin.
Life on the Little Sixty
EC Chron
Dad and Grandpa Chron decided their land near Paris, Texas was worn out! In 1925, they sold their farm and headed West. First, they looked at land near Synder, Texas. The soil was so poor they decided they couldn't make a living on it. Years later, the great Synder oil field was discovered near this property!
Next, they looked at farm land north of Ralls. They decided to buy a 160 acre farm four miles north and two east of Ralls. Grandpa took the west 100 acres and Dad took the east 60 acres. Both tracts had a house, but Dad's house was a two room shack with a tin roof.
V. Allen was born in 1923 when our folks were living in Houston, Texas. He made the move west with Dad and Mom. I was born in 1927 on the little farm. Joe came along eighteen months later. Bob was born in 1930 in Houston. Minnie Nell was also born in the little shack in 1933. Ivan Lee was born on the "Moore Farm" in 1938. Old Dr. Haney came out to our shack and delivered three of us. Dad couldn't pay him until he made a crop.
Dad desperately wanted more land and a larger house for his growing family. In 1935 he rented 320 acres four and one half miles north of Ralls. The four room house, located on Highway 62, was large (for us). In late fall, we made the move. From that time on we referred to our old home place as the "Little Sixty!"
Home Sweet Home
EC Chron
Our little two-room house was called a "boxed" house, no framing, no sheetrock and no siding. The wallpaper on the inside would get wet when it rained and large "wrinkles" would run from the floor to the ceiling. Late at night, V. Allen and I would take a long needle and try to stab the mice running up and down the wrinkles!
The old-timers would refer to West Texas as the land where the "wind pumped the water" and the "cows cut the wood!" Near the windmill was a "well-house." In the well-house was a fifty gallon water-barrel. When the barrel was full, the overflow ran through a pipe to a "pool." The pool was stocked with goldfish and "waterdogs!"
Trees were few and firewood non-existent. Cow-chips were scarce, so we burned cotton seed, maize heads and black coal in our little "potbellied" stove. Mom had a cookstove fired by kerosene. Our light came from kerosene lamps.
There was no insulation in the walls or ceiling of our little house. The snow sifted through the cracks and formed little "drifts" on the floor and table. In March, the sand did the same.
One cold windy day, Dad made a special trip to town. He returned with a dozen rolls of heavy tar-paper. Starting at ground level, he literally wrapped the house in the black, sticky material! He nailed tacks through large, shiny disks to hold the paper to the wall. With his pocket knife, he cut the paper from the doors and windows. Now, we had a warm black shack with a tin roof!
The sweetest, most soothing sound in all the world was rain falling on that tin roof at night!
Our First Car on the Little Sixty
V. Allen Chron
Our first car was a used 1920's Model "T" Ford. Dad had bought it from a neighbor for $15, as-is. The car had no top and had been sitting outside for some time. It had wooden spoke wheels which had become dry and loose. Dad got it running and made it all the way home before trouble overtook him. As he turned into our yard, the right front wheel fell apart. The wooden spokes flew everywhere, the hub dropped to the ground and the tire and rim rolled slowly toward the house. But, not to worry! Nothing mechanical was beyond Dad's fixing. He gathered the spokes and rim, jacked up the axle and began replacing the spokes. He made them tight by using thin strips of bacon rind as bushings. It worked great!
I learned to drive in this "T" model by pulling strands of barbed wire down through the field to be used in the new hog fence Dad was building. After work one day, I asked for the privilege of driving home so that mom could see my newly acquired skill. She was standing on the porch smiling as I pulled into the yard to park in front of the wash house. Inside this wash house was Mom's prized Maytag washing machine which Dad had bought for her the year before. Nothing meant more to her than this machine. I pulled up to park, more intent on Mom's smile of approval than on my driving. A Model T has three pedals on the floor--the low gear, reverse and the brake. I stomped my foot down for the brake, but instead, hit low gear! I plowed into the front of the wash house with a crash! The wall was pushed in and the fenders were bent, but no one was hurt. Mom came rushing off the porch with a picture of utter consternation on her face. She rushed to the wash house, not to see if we or the car was hurt, but to see if I had bashed her precious washing machine! Fortunately, it was OK! Then she checked on us!
A Pet Long Remembered
V. Allen Chron
We had various pets when young, including my chicken, and dogs named Bulgur, Shag, and Pat. We also had a goat. I don't remember where we got him, but I remember him growing up with us in the late 20's. He was fun to pet and easy to feed. In fact, he would eat anything that he could get into his mouth---cloth, cans, flowers, trees, shrubs and Mom's garden at times. But we loved him, and wouldn't let Dad sell him.
When we moved to Houston in 1930, we asked our neighbor and friend, Frank Sellers to keep him until we returned in one or two years. He agreed.
We got letters telling about our goat and how he was doing. Nothing unusual until one day we received startling news. Our goat was dead--not only dead but eaten by the Sellers family. We could hardly believe it! Seems that our goat had jumped on top of Frank's new cloth top touring car. His sharp hooves had punched down into the car. But he was content to eat his way out, consuming the major part of the cloth top. When found out, his sentence was swift and sure! We grieved, but managed to get over it!
Dad and the Calf
V. Allen Chron
It has been raining and the cow lot was ankle deep in green slush. Our only milk cow had a half grown calf not yet weaned. Every time he could, he would jump into the pen with his mother and nurse all the milk. This particular evening, Dad saw the calf jump into the pen, and went right in after him. Holding the calf around the neck and being dragged around in the green slush, he yelled for me to bring him a rope from the garage. I ran into the open garage and looked around. I spotted my pet chicken on a box and picked her up. She seemed lonesome in need of some TLC, so I spoke sweetly in her ear and stroked her feathers. I kind of lost track of time and forgot about Dad.
But Dad had not forgotten about me. The calf had finally gotten the best of him and had literally rolled him in the slush. When I looked and noted Dad standing in the doorway, I knew the jig was up! He was covered in cow manure, exhausted from struggling with the calf and I could tell by the whites of his eyes that he was not happy with his eldest son. I gave the chicken a final pet and pitched her toward the roost just as Dad reached up and pulled down a short rubber hose from the rafters. Take my word that I was properly chastised!
The Houston Years
EC Chron
Farmers were devastated by the "Crash of '29." Most people suffered, but farmers suffered to an uncommon degree. The price of cotton dropped from over 40 cents per pound to less than 6 cents! Farm wages were under a dollar a day---if you could find a job!
Another problem was banks--they were all going broke! Ralls had two banks. The one that closed was the one Dad and Grandpa Chron had their money in. Dad had been paying on a note, but the bank failed to give him credit for his payments so he had to pay the note twice--with interest!
In 1930, Dad turned his little farm over to Grandpa. He loaded his little family into his old Ford and headed for Houston. In the early 1920's, Dad had worked for Houston Electric as a street car operator--he hoped to do it again!
Dad applied to Mr. Ledbetter, his former boss. Mr. Ledbetter informed him of the many applicants ahead of him, but Dad was not easily discouraged. Every day he reported to Mr. Ledbetter for a job. After about 30 days, his opportunity arrived! The night before, the operator on Doweling Street was knifed and robbed. Crime was an epidemic all over Houston, but Doweling Street was the worst of the worst! But Dad was happy to get the job!
The Operators had to defend themselves anyway they could. Dad armed himself with a pair of steel "knucks," a switchblade knife and a .38 pistol. He openly displayed the pistol--hoping to discourage the robbers!
One night while Dad was at work, a prowler tried to break into our house. Mom stood behind the door with a five-prong ice pick. That prowler was lucky he didn't break in! The next night Dad left his .38 with Mom. About midnight a robber came up behind dad-stuck a pistol in Dad's back and demanded all of his #!#!!# rags! (money) Dad grappled with him for the pistol, but the robber broke free and fired at Dad point-blank! The concussion knocked Dad over a hand-rail--flat on his back! The bullet passed through his heavy raincoat and under his armpit--without a scratch! Before Dad could get up--the thug grabbed the money and ran.
Dad was in a great hurry to move back to the farm. He worked double shifts many days--taking any extra run he could get. Some months he cleared over $300! In two years, he was out of debt and ready to farm again!
Starting Out!
EC Chron
In July of 1958, on a Wednesday night, I answered God's call to preach. The next Sunday, in First Baptist Church, in Anchorage, I made my decision public. The next day, I sold my interest in Chron Motor Company. The following Friday, Dr. L.A. Watson, head of our Baptist Work in Alaska, asked me to preach the next Sunday at FBC, Seward, Alaska. Mrs. Watson offered to keep our children for Sunday.
Jo and I got up early and made the long drive. We arrived at the church as the morning service was starting. The rain had also
started! As I stood to preach my first sermon, I felt a dark, damp gloom filling the room! The ten people seated in front of me reminded me more of a mortuary than a church! I couldn't understand it! I was excited! I wanted to preach God's Word and feel Him move in that place!
I can't recall a word I said to those dear saints. My message was short. After a closing prayer, the people filed out without saying a word!
Jo, Roy Moore and I drove around town until we found a small cafe open. After lunch we visited a dear pastor in the local hospital. After the visit, Jo and I drove back to the church and spent the afternoon sitting in our auto watching the rain come down like Niagara Falls!
The six members that came back that night seemed to appreciate my brief message.
The long dark drive home was both cold and wet. Jo didn't say much, but she was thinking! Years later, she confessed that my first two sermons caused some doubt about my calling to preach! She was also wondering if this was what she had to look forward to as a preacher's wife!
Memories on a Texas Farm
Dewey Wells
E.C. Chron was born in a small West Texas farming community 4 miles north of Ralls. With 4 brothers and 1 sister he always had plenty of playmates and a cousin, Dewey who grew up on an adjoining farm. All the kids grew up going barefoot in the summer and always looking for adventure.
During the depression years of the 1930's times were hard and money was short. On the farm we grew a lot of our food and in the fall of the year our two families would get together and butcher hogs for a winter supply of meat. An important item was a large container of boiling water which the hogs were immersed in (after being killed of course). The hogs were easy to clean after being placed in the hot water for a few minutes.
After the work was done the large container served a dual purpose of being a boat for the boys.
Behind our house was a large lake of water (when it rained). E.C., brother Virgil and cousin Dewey would carry our boat to the lake and launch it and the three of us would get in it and proceed to have a great adventure. Most times the water was home to wild ducks and geese so we became great hunters. We always had slingshots, and I can still see us floating among the ducks shooting rocks at them but seldom hitting one. Most parents these days would be scared to death for their kids to do the things we did. On the farm we made our own games and adventures and did not often go into Ralls, so we did not have a chance to get in trouble.I still own the farm where these things happened and have fond memories of those days about 70 years ago.
Moving to Alaska
June Chron
During the 1950's, two of Virgil's brothers, E.C. and Bob, had moved up to Alaska and put in a car dealership. E.C., in particular, had gotten so involved at First Baptist, that it's pastor, Felton Griffin, felt safe to ask Virgil to come up for a revival. I think it was in 58 when he came. They had a tremendous revival -- many were saved, and lots of men surrendered to preach. Griff made a statement that Virgil never forgot, which was that Alaska needed men who would move to Alaska and sow their lives here. That was more important than any other factor, like money, buildings, etc. When Virgil came back to Texas, he told me that when he finished school we were going to move to Alaska. Course, I felt that by the time that happened, he would have looked in some other direction, and so I had little to say...... probably, no more than, "I would never go!"
Shortly after the revival, E.C. surrendered to preach and was called to pastor the church in Eagle River -- then a little settlement 10 miles out of Anchorage. (It's now quite a city.) Virgil came up in the spring of 60 to hold a revival for him. Toward the end of it, he called me back in Texas and said that I was to begin packing, that as soon as he got home, and we could make all the arrangements, we'd be moving to Alaska. 45 plus years ago, our ideas of Alaska weren't a lot different to making a trip to the moon. Virgil had brought home pictures of his first time up here -- snow, dark, etc. There was nothing that looked enticing to me.
Mama and Daddy were crushed at the thoughts of us bringing up our 4 daughters whom they adored..... There was no job awaiting us, nothing that a husband/father had nailed down that would assure we'd be fed and housed. They begged the kids and me to stay in their guest housing, assuring me that Virgil would be back in a year, tail between his legs and ready to again settle down in God's country. At that time West Texas was known as the Bread Basket of the World. Irrigation had meant that unless a hail came, a crop would be bountiful. We owned land, and all our needs were easily met there. I was so torn, because I felt I'd die to leave the security of family, friends and money. I felt sure that Virgil would definitely come whether or not I did. In those years, a divorced man could pastor in only a few places. My feeling was that God would someway let me get killed or die, and then He could find the wife that Virgil was due. It wasn't long before I became sick. It was so that I could hardly put one foot in front of the other because of fatigue, and so I sought out a clinic in Lubbock. I did tell them that I needed tests, etc. done quickly, because we were to leave for Alaska. After everything was said and done, the doctor (who, I found out later, was also a Psychologist) told me my health problems were due to stress, and I should come to Alaska. After 2 years, if it were unbearable, I could come back home -- free of guilt -- knowing that I had given things a try.
We bought a little 16 ft. trailer, & a van truck. Virgil drove the truck containing our household goods & pulled the trailer in which we'd sleep at night, & we could cook. When it rained & the kids couldn't get out to play while I cooked, they'd have to get into the bunks while I did supper. I drove a Chevy car and pulled a little Volkswagen. I had never before pulled anything, and especially, not over 1600 miles of gravel road. Our trip was of 2 wks duration. I'll not mention mosquitoes, pot holes, permafrost heaves, dust that was unbelievable, mud when it rained that was miserable, etc. Just take it from me that I swore if I ever made it to Alaska, I'd never again go back over that road in such rigs. We arrived in Eagle River at E.C. and Jo's home on the evening of June 21st. Everything, the rigs and us all but collapsed.
After 2 years of services in barracks that we bought, painted up and made somewhat presentable, the girls and I went back to Texas. Daddy paid our way home, and we took 17 suit-cases. This was because my intention was to possibly stay. I was so tired of substitute teaching, (both Virgil and me), living in temps that I had never imagined, spending $30.00 a week for food (Thankfully, Virgil was able to kill moose and caribou for meat), and a myriad of other hardships that had made me long for my Texas home. Now (according to the doctor), I could go back, carrying no guilt, and stay HOME. After 3 or 4 weeks, I realized that I no longer fit there. Alaska had a pull that I had never imagined, and I began to get restless to come back. After a bit, Virgil came out to hold a revival, and when he was ready to come back, I almost beat him to the plane. Every since, this is where I have been satisfied and KNOW it's where the Lord wants me. June Bug and Jana used to say that as soon as they were old enough, they were going to get out of this horrible place. Now, all four girls are here, as are their hubbies. The grandkids, except for Jimmy & his little family are here. Several of them went Outside to colleges, and have come back here to live.
I've said all this in order to say that when a man feels strongly that God wants him in a particular place, I don't feel that a woman should have much of a say in that. The Lord may speak to both man and woman at the same time, but some of us may not have the Spiritual acumen to understand. Had I stayed in Texas, Virgil said that he might not have made it long up here. AND, had he come back to Texas to be with his family, he very possibly would have given up the ministry. (Imagine what kind of marriage we would have had with his resentment, etc.)
I think of all the people whose lives have been changed by our having allowed God to have His way in us. What an adventure it's been, and we wouldn't take the world for it. Our kids were such a big part of a ministry that has legs all over the world as our military people have been scattered throughout. Possibly we could have been as well used in Texas, but it wouldn't have been where we were Called, and therefore, we couldn't have such peace and joy in our waning years. If nothing else, we learned that God is our source -- it's not in material security, nor money in the bank. There were many times when He all but fed us manna, because there would be very little food in the larder. Not only did we feed our family of 6, but there was almost always at least one or two people staying with us.
When I was teaching full time and making $500 a month year round, the church was paying Virgil $500.....(if it were a good month). Of course, the first $100 was our tithe, and the other $900 didn't always stretch as far as we would have liked, but we never really went hungry. Our girls learned to work hard for every penny they had -- and they are tremendous business women today. We learned that when we're really choosing the will of God in our lives, He shows us the way...... A family can't have it any better than that, can they?