The 1940 Diary: Book 7

By N. K. Beckley

This book has been written for many of my friends and family especially Renee, Gwen, Bobbie, Susan, Toni, Jane Jean, Aunt Anna, Ruth Dixon, Aunt Manette, Paul, Fred, and especially my parents, Fred and Elizabeth. A large thank-you goes out to all my friends in Rose Valley, Pennsylvania, for without your help this book would have never been written.

A special thank-you goes out to all my students because you were a large part of this book. Some of the things in this book were actual experiences I had in my classroom, both as a student and as a teacher.

The names of the characters in this book have been changed to protect the real people either living or dead.

There are two haunted housesone in Rose Valley and one in Wallingfordbut as for William, he is purely fiction.

I hope you will enjoy this book as much as I did writing it.

I hope my readers have had the time to read my other books: Peggy, The Three-Some: Book 2, The Writers Corner: Book 3, The Golden Nugget: Book 4, Emily (book 5), This Is As Good As It Gets (book 6), The 1940 Old Diary (book 7), and Pockets (book 8). Books 5, 6, 7, and 8 should be out very soon. They are all interactive books, and you can learn something from each one.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 29, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524537098

N. K. Beckley

Mrs. Beckley grew up in suburban Philadelphia in the small borough of Rose Valley—until she and her family were transferred to Detroit in 1976. She is the mother of two grown daughters and the grandmother of five grandchildren. In her spare time, she likes to read, write, cook, bake, teach American Sign Language for the Deaf and music, after school. She also enjoys dance and American Musical Theater. Mrs. Beckley has taught music and elementary school in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Virginia for over thirty years. All of her students learned to Sign for the Deaf whether it was in her classroom or in her music classes.

Book preview

Copyright © 2016 by N.K.Beckley.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2016913919

ISBN:      Hardcover      978-1-5245-3711-1

                Softcover        978-1-5245-3710-4

                eBook              978-1-5245-3709-8

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 11/16/2016

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CONTENTS

Chapter 1 The Beginning

Chapter 2 The Important Phone Call

Chapter 3 The Family Genealogy

Chapter 4 Memories

Chapter 5 The Surprise History Book

Chapter 6 Trip Through Rose Valley

Chapter 7 The Visit to Rose Valley

Chapter 8 The Old Union Church

Chapter 9 Friends

Chapter 10 The Old Diary Revisited

Chapter 11 History of Rose Valley and My Family Tree

Chapter 12 What Wendy Learned About Friendship

Chapter 13 William Revisited

Chapter 14 The Gravesite

This book is dedicated To Ruth Dixon and to my brother, Dr. Paul F. Wilson,

who helped me with the genealogy of our family.

It is also dedicated to the people of

Rose Valley who wrote the first book in 1973.

CHAPTER 1

The Beginning

"S imone Chanel, will you please take you feet off the table? This table is for eating and not for feet," said her mom, Gwen.

Sorry, Mom, I found this 1940 Diary upstairs in the cedar chest. It’s really interesting, and it beats reading the comics in the paper any day. Who is Ruth (Mammy) Dixon anyway? And why is it in our cedar chest?

That would be your second cousin, if memory serves me correctly. She was married to the only lawyer at the time. They lived in Siler City, North Carolina. He was responsible for doing a very famous custody suit at the time, which involved my mother and your Great Aunt Anna. It took back in the early 1920’s.

Can you tell me very much about him and his wife, Ruth Small Dixon? asked Simone.

I can’t tell you much about him. All I know is that he was the youngest of twelve children, and his father’s name was Nathan William. Only seven of the twelve children lived until adulthood. His youngest son was named Polk. He was married to Ruth (Mammy) Dixon, and Polk is buried in Love’s Creek, which is somewhere in North Carolina. Why are you so interested in this family tree?

Mom, we have a family tree due in the spring, and it is only November 11, 2014. I would really like to know more about them. Is there anyone in the family I can ask?

You may call Uncle Bill after he gets home from work today. I do know that Ruth Dixon died sometime in the early 1980s, but that’s all I know. You may look at the family Bible before you call him.

Thanks, Mom, is his number still in your little address book in the den?

Yes, it is, replied her mother.

Simone Chanel had to find something to keep her busy until she could call her Uncle Bill after supper, and it was only three o’clock in the afternoon. She decided to continue reading the 1940 Diary. She found out that the next few pages were just about the weather at the time and people in the church who had died. She fell asleep reading. Her mother called her to come and to set the table for dinner.

CHAPTER 2

The Important Phone Call

S imone Chanel woke up and looked at the clock. It was 5:30 p.m., so she decided to call her Uncle Bill and ask him about the diary she had found in the cedar chest in the attic. She was so excited