Framing My World - 2

 Being A Teacher

I was passionate about teaching but being a perfectionist had its drawback in a classroom situation…but it had a plus side, as well. I sometimes told my students, “There’s one chief and many Indians in here.” I also know that you can please some of the people sometimes, but you can never please everyone all the time. I was a conservative teacher and class management was high on the list. I’m sure it was because of my own learning style.  I can’t function in chaos with lots of distractions, and providing that for my students was imperative for me.  Therefore, I was a friend for the parents who liked discipline and a foe to students who enjoyed chaos. There were days when I could handle situations with humor, but more often than not, I chose to not let my guard down, probably being perceived as biased and cold to my students, though in my heart I felt lots of compassion to do the right thing as their teacher.  I enjoyed teaching the whole child in the form of large projects that were multi-faceted in achieving skills. It was fun when we were not teaching to a test. The students in Eanes were very capable of learning skills this way. I started out in a low socio-economic neighborhood with difficult and challenging students, Pearce Middle School in North East Austin. A student stabbed a substitute in the hand in the cafeteria that year. That was enough for me.  Our move to Red Oak enlightened me as a teacher and was a good move for me. We had regular students from a small rural area near Dallas.  I gained experience and confidence, earning the award of “Teacher of the Year.” We moved back to Austin and settled into the Eanes district. I often told Derek that I would have never been able to stay in the teaching profession if I had not had students and parents who were much like myself and motivated to learn.

Framing My World - 1

My Viewpoint

A viewpoint is all in perspective to the experiences that you have had, the people who have influenced you, the paths that God has led you down. We frame our world by those experiences, and they mold us into who we become and how we develop our belief systems. I find it intriguing and often wish that I could go into someone's mind and see life through their lens. I try to live life in my lane, and with God's help, I try to do what is right and wholesome and helpful to myself and others.

Being a wife

As a wife, I have loved deeply the one that I chose to spend my life with. There have been no regrets. He taught me much about life with his genuine love for others and his sense of right and wrong. Two lessons I learned from him early in our marriage come to mind. 1) “Don’t remind me of my mistakes, I have not forgotten them”….and 2) After we make a decision, we don’t look back and say ‘what if’ we had done something differently.  We move forward and do the most we can to be happy and grateful.  Mother often said that we have a marriage made in heaven. Wherever you find one of us, the other is not far away. I can be happy anywhere as long as he is there, too. We are soul mates; we lift one another up with respect. We are faithful, honest and considerate of each other. We communicate our thoughts and feelings well and we share everything. Derek understands my sensitivity.  I am so very thankful for his gracious spirit. He reminds me of my mother, never placing himself first. He has a great sense of what is right or wrong. There is no gray area.

I spent much time alone as a coach’s wife. It was tough at first for every weekend to be taken up with his work. I fought hard not to be jealous of his time spent with his job or hurt at the extra time he had to spend as a coach. Once I adjusted (probably more because I grew up)…I threw myself into my job as a teacher and embraced all that time alone, using it as prep time….countless hours planning lessons and grading writing assignments. I grew accustomed to being alone and operating around my own timeline without interruption. So in retirement, that had to play itself out in reverse, growing accustomed to having someone around. But, what a blessing to spend each waking moment with my best friend, loving and sharing all of what is good and all of what is bad.

Life in a Nutshell - 4

 Adult

Met the man of my dreams at Baylor, married in 1978 and began our life together in Austin.
Camp counselor/Camp Fire - first year in Austin during the summer, looking for a place to fit in.
Pearce M.S./Yearbook sponsor - only stayed one year, it was a rough school
Embraced at Red Oak/Teacher of the Year/UIL coordinator
moved by to Austin
taught in Eanes ISD 1983-2007
Sponsored UIL spelling/NJHS

National Award for Teams That Make a Difference/Spoke at Nation Middle School Conference in St. Louis- this was a great privilege and a huge honor.

During the summers, Derek and I travelled the world/ 23 Countries

Genealogy/DAR

Yellow Lab/Beau/field training achieving Junior Hunter

Head Coach's wife/Friday Night Lights

Life in a Nutshell - 3

College:

 Honor Roll/Dean's List

Started in Speech Therapy

was torn between business and education

switched to Journalism/English major

eventually switched to Education

Pledged sorority Pi Beta Phi, we were originally AO's then went National my Senior Year. This was one of the best sororities on campus.

still loved music/loved to dance

Dance chairman of SING at Baylor

Life in a Nutshell - 2

 Teenager

Choir - girls choir under a driven choir director. We had the privilege of being selected to travel to Austin to sing in the Rotunda on Texas Independence Day. 

Honor Thespian - participated in the One Act Play and made it to State. Placed 3rd

Drill Team - Sophmore and Junior Years

School Mascot - School wide election

Homecoming Court - Senior Year

Teacher program - Senior year, participated as a teacher's assistance to Mrs. Boger, my 7th grade English teacher. I would travel daily to the Junior High School and she let me help with the students. I loved Mrs. Boger. I also helped her by grading, compiling things in her office, etc.

Newspaper/Yearbook Staff - Junior year we produced the Newspaper, The Roar. Senior Year we produced the yearbook, The Yamparika. I was part of the advertising department, and we left school often to sell ads....and most likely ended up at the donut shop 😂

Loved to dance/hard rock music

Life in a Nutshell - 1

 Childhood

Dad was newspaper owner/publisher. He was a community leader.
I grew up around cousins/extended family.
Campfire Girls - started bluebirds in elementary school -it became Horizon Club in high school.
Piano lessons 7 years- I greatly admired my piano teacher, Mrs. Connor.

Dance lessons - briefly learned tap, jazz, a little ballet

childhood best friend/my dog Pal

Community Concerts - Mother and Daddy purchased season tickets to expose us to culture. there was a presentation once a month. 

Santa Rosa Round Up

First Baptist Church - choir/handbells/VBS - I was saved when I was 11. I went with Fancelle and Leonard to pick up Patricia at church camp. It was a service under a tent. I dedicated my life to Christ and professed my faith a few weeks later at the First Baptist Church in Vernon, Texas. I was baptized a month later.

Piano Recitals
1965

Piano Recital

1966

Piano Recital 

1967

Contacting Wallace Kelley Ewing

My 2012 Contact with wally1932
Finding his research on Ancestry was tricky.
PLEASE READ MY NOTE AT BOTTOM OF PAGE
 
Wallace K. Ewing
The man who has done so much research for the Ewing Family.
 
Dec 13 2012 sent 1:52  read 1:52 pm
Good morning! You have clearly done much research on the Ewing family. We connect at James Ewing 1721-1891 and Sarah Edwards. If I can be of help on my branch, let me know. I think your research is some that I found online several years ago...and it helped substantiate my line. This is my dad's mother's line. I was not as close to that side of the family, but I think I've done some accurate research. It's always hard to know for sure.
 
His response 2:29 pm
Thanks for your note. Yes, the research goes on, sometimes fruitfully, sometimes not. James's marriage to Sarah Edwards and the existence of a second family was once convincing but is now suspect. There simply isn't enough supporting evidence, and I recently removed the entry from my family tree. Sadly, once an item is posted to the Internet, it seems to live forever. Perhaps you have found some evidence that adds credence to the possibility of James's second family. If so, I hope you will share it. Wally
 
My response 3:04   read at 3:04
Oh no! That is not good news. So...you are saying that the evidence for Sarah Mayes is not there? Hopefully, I'm still good on the Sarah Edwards connection. I try hard to avoid what other people have on Ancestry....some of it is jumbled. But I have followed you on other forums and the research always made sense to me. Yes, it is too bad that once info is on the internet that you can't wipe the slate clean. After you wrote, I was trying to find your Ewing tree to see what alterations you made...no success finding you. Nancy
 
His response 3:55 pm
The argument for James's second family came from correspondence from the 1820s. Anne Toohey wrote a convincing summary of the evidence for a second family in an article dated April 11, 1996(The copy I have is labeled "Draft.") It is titled "James Ewing, Pioneer," which, curiously, is the same title my sister gave to her extensive genealogy written in the mid-1980s. Do you have that article? I imagine there was a James Ewing who married Sarah Edwards, but apparently he was not my family's James Ewing. The fun continues. Wally
 
My response  6:14 pm  read at 6:14 pm
First, I stand in admiration of all those who have done such extensive research. Secondly, you have me scrambling to find my sources this morning. One of my first sources may have been you with a Wally Ewing on Ancestry in April 2002. I put it away for several years. Then I discovered an ahnentafel by a jimmy ewing. To substantiate, I found ewingfamilyassoc with articles by David Benbow. Started seeing the name of Elizabeth Ewing Jamison "Aunt Sallie" and finally landed in a book, I think by S.S. Jamison, chapter XI John Ewing of Carnashanaugh. I could see the confusion with James Ewing of Pocahontas. I felt fairly confident in my research. Right before I ended, I found "Early Ewings of Augusta" where they credited a Dr. Wallace Ewing (which I think may be you) with Ewings: One American Family. I do see up above that a…Nancy Hank Ewing's name with James Ewing-Pioneer. Where should I go to see your "Draft"?
 
December 14, 2012
His response  1:47 pm
You are right on all counts. Nancy Hank Ewing is my sister. She died about 15 years ago with her work unfinished, but her extensive genealogy was close to done, and others wrapped it up for her. As for the Anne Toohey article, I don't know how you would find it. My copy has Library of Congress on the title page. You might try to google it and see if anything comes up. I will be out of town for the next two weeks, but if needed, I could copy the article and mail it to you in January. Are you a member of the Ewing Family Association? If so, you will see that the EFA Journal has been running a series of articles by me about my ancestors, back to James. Part IV will appear in the Feb. issue. I wish you continued good luck as you do more research.
 
My response 3:59 pm   read 3:59 pm
I KNEW it!!! I'm so pleased and honored to make a connection with you. And thank you generously for taking time to respond to me. I DID find the awesome website that appears to be updated from when I last found it. It was so easy to find; I felt silly for asking you..but you headed me in the right direction. I saw your name as chancellor and board chair. I just knew that was you. What admirable work your sister did and that you are carrying on into the future! I appreciate that this research is open for others to see. I began researching in the 80's, at a time when we had to beat the streets, write letters and pay visits to relatives. (I kind of miss that.) But computers are such a wonderful convenience. However, I feel it can be very confusing, especially for those of us who are trying to be accurate. It becomes jumbled by those who leap frog...so to speak. I can't wait to re-read into this wonderful source. I, too, am going to suspend my research until after the holidays, but I will be back in touch with you. No, I am not a member of the Ewing fam assoc. Would love to know what this entails. I'll close now with best regards to you. Merry Christmas! I will be in touch after the first of the year. Thank you, Thank you for reaching out to me.
 
NOTE:
I was so awestruck that I never contacted him again, as I could add no more information to his research. HOWEVER, today 16 Jan 2024, as I prepare more information for my cousin, Patricia Emmons Whitworth, I went WAY back to my correspondence with wally1932 on Ancestry and I found his skeleton tree. It was in the margin of his correspondence. He downloaded a backup tree on Family Tree Maker. He had 3 downloads. I found the one with the most people, and lo and behold, Wallace Ewing has added my whole branch to this tree… all the way down to Daddy, Truman Bryan Quillin, Sr. I’m amazed and HONORED!