Sugar Grove
By Paula Mitchell
Nursery rhymes and lullabies have traditionally been used as a way to teach children about history. Many a time, they were an accepted way to calm restless children. Do the children of today learn any of the traditional rhymes that were once well known in the earlier generations? Perhaps they are hearing them more in school than at home.
The following are some rhymes that have been around forever:
Little Jack Horner
Sat in a corner,
Eating his Christmas pie;
He put in his thumb,
And pulled out a plumb,
And said, “What a good boy am I!”
The name Jack has traditionally been used for a rascal. Other nursery rhymes using the name Jack are Jack Sprat, Jack and Jill and Jack Be Nimble.
Simple Simon met a pie man,
Going to a fair;
Said Simple Simon to the pie man
Let me taste your ware.
Says the pie man to Simple Simon,
Show me first your penny;
Says Simple Simon to the pie man,
Indeed I have not any.
This rhyme was first published in 1764. The name Simple Simon refers to a simpleton.
Hey diddle diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon;
The little dog laughed
To see such sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.
This is thought to be the best known nonsense verse in the English language. It first appeared in print in the 1760s. Children laugh at its silliness.
Tom, Tom, the piper’s son,
Stole a pig, and away did run;
The pig was eat
And Tom was beat,
And Tom went crying
Down the street.
Here we go round the mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush
Here we go round the mulberry bush,
On a cold and frosty morning.
This is the way we wash our hands,
Wash our hands, wash our hands,
This is the way we wash our hands,
On a cold and frosty morning.
And it goes on with wash our clothes, go to school, come out of school, etc. This is definitely a singing game, much like “Old MacDonald had a farm…”
One wonders how many of the readers taught their children and grandchildren these, and other, rhymes. Of course, there are many other nursery rhymes to be shared.
Life’s little rules are from Roy Rogers include the following:
- Always respect the flag and this country.
- Love God, and go to Sunday School.
- Eat one’s food and never waste any.
- Be kind to animals and take care of them.
- Protect the weak and help them.
This past week brought out the farming equipment to make hay. Weather was very cordial for the occasion. Many homeowners have been sprucing up their yards and bringing about curb appeal by planting beautiful flowers, hanging bird and hummingbird feeders and clearing away unsightly debris and clutter. Gardens are even beginning to take on a bountiful look. Sugar Grove is definitely beginning to take on the look of “Almost Heaven.”
Quotes for the week are as follows:
“The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for 30 years, she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found.” — Calvin Trillan
“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” — Willie Nelson
“My greatest fear in life is being dull. You can be great, you can be awful, but just don’t bother being dull.” — David Letterman
“Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.” — Will Rogers
“A career is like a house: it’s made of many bricks, and each brick has the same value, because without any one of them, the house would collapse.” — Andrea Bocelli
Life is so much better on the front porch swing to hear about the “Talk of The Grove.”
Justin, April, Colby and Chloe Simmons enjoyed a week at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. They enjoyed eating crab legs, seeing dolphins and searching for shark teeth.
Marleta and Junior Wimer, along with Steven Grogg, visited with Rosalee Grogg this past weekend.
Pidge and Charles Anderson enjoyed a visit from their nephew, David Pratt, this past weekend.
Bill and Donna Arrington did their annual Middle Mountain memorial weekend in Blue Grass, Virginia. Their entire family got to attend. Everyone had a good time.
This week’s clickety clacks for the chin waggers are as follows:
- The framework of the Statue of Liberty was designed by Gustave Eiffel, the builder of Paris’ Eiffel Tower.
- A baby has 60 more bones than an adult.
- Originally, no one ran for vice president. The man receiving the second largest number of electoral votes for president became vice president.
- The 195-foot wingspan of the 747 jumbo jet is longer than the first flight of the Wright Brothers.
- In 1457, golf was banned in Scotland. It interfered with archery, a national defense program.
Concerns for this week are many, and they are as follows: Charles Anderson, Bill Brackman, Scherry Chambers, Charlotte Copley, Jeff Craig, Jeff Evick, Lee Roy and Ina Evick, Mary Eye, Ron Gilkeson, Barry Gordon, Lola Graham, the Effie Harr family, Steve and Armanda Heavner, Starr Hedrick, Virgil Homan, Jr., Charlie Marie Hoover, Lorena Hoover, Myrtle Hoover, Debbie Horst, Alice Johnson, Richard Judy, Rex Landis, Angela Lung, Linda Malcolm, Roger and Skip Mallow, Yvonne Marsh, Neil McLaughlin, Naomi Michael, the Joe Moats family, Lincoln Moore, Ernie Morgan, Kathy Nelson, Ken and Ruth Nelson, Bennie Nesselrodt, the Betty Hoover O’Donnell family, Cheryl Paine, Sutton Parrack, Betty Lou Propst, Kara Propst, Linda Propst, Nathan Propst, Sheldon Propst, Pam Rexrode, Donna Ruddle, Barbara Simmons, Erin Simmons, Eva Simmons, Charlie Sites, Ona Smith, Stanna Smith, Steve Smith, Berlie Sponaugle, Patricia Swecker, Rosa Tichenor, Sandra Vandevander, Jack Vogel, Amby Waybright, Jr., Ron White, Judy Williams, Junior Wimer, Larry Wimer, Carol Windett, the people of Ukraine and the victims of the Uvelda, Texas, massacre.
