Page 5 - July 2014 Catalyst

Joe Grimaud
HOW I FOUND MY HERITAGE
Note: With the intro- duction of the Internet, millions have become interested in looking up their ancestors. I was fortunate to have been raised in a home where three generations en- riched my life. is story
is Part I about my grandmother, Mrs. Sara Maude Martin. ere will be more about Mama Martin in Part II of “Joe’s Heritage” next month.
Alittle over twenty-seven years ago now... Feb. 26, 1987...an era passed for a lot of us in the Grimaud Family. at was the day that my grandmother, Sara Maude Martin, maiden name Har- din, passed from among us at the age of 103 and six months. She left behind three daughters, 15 grandchildren, 47 great grandchildren, and 22 great great grand- children. She was the next to the youngest of 17 children and the last of them to pass from this earth.
Mama Martin enjoyed life. She seemed to enjoy it more the older she got until nal- ly her old body just would not work as it ought. My memory goes back to a visit in Norfolk, VA, in 1972, when she was 89. I
Continued on pg 30
Gladys Grimaud
WHAT MY FIRSTBORN TAUGHT ME
Every mother remembers the rst time she ever laid eyes on her rst- born, and I certainly am no exception. I was 17 years old on May 26, 1960... my graduation day
from Highland Park High School in Kan- sas. Even though I was the Salutatorian, I could not attend the ceremony because I was busy giving birth to my rstborn, David Wayne Grimaud, at Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka. While my Joe was ful lling his duties as clerk typist at Forbes Air Force Base, I had been a married stu- dent at Highland Park High School for two years. Joe’s Air Force assignment brought us to Topeka and we settled in Highland Park because the high school there accepted married students. During my senior year, I was enrolled in OJT as an assistant aide to Principal Barney Hayes in the main o ce. Being a straight “A” stu- dent put me in a good position with the teachers and o ce administrators so that I was allowed to continue attending classes up until the last six weeks before giving birth. As a matter of fact, Mr. Hayes called me into his o ce one day after he heard
Continued on pg 9
july 2014
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