 The group, administered by Rebecca Johnson, activity assistant,
meets every other Monday, and Betty can't wait for those meetings.
"I enjoy writing, period. And my teacher (meaning Johnson) is just
wonderful," she said. "There are some very good writers, and I look
forward to the meetings very much."It is through this writing
that Betty has created a file of short stories -- memoirs, in many
cases, that tell of her past experiences. And interesting
experiences have filled this woman's life.
One of four girls, she was born and raised on a farm in Nebraska
during the great Dust Bowl years of the 1930s. Betty wrote about the
year a tornado swept through the area, literally destroying the town
near the family farm:
"The tornado came
from the southwest and traveled many miles, taking some farmhouses
along the way. We had some damage to our farm, but our town of
Hebron was almost destroyed. It went right down Main Street,
damaging all the businesses in its path."
Perhaps her most vivid account so far of a historic event is her
story about living in those days when the land dried up and nothing
would grow, as rains were seldom if ever seen.
"We could see the
dust clouds roll in from the south along with herds of grasshoppers.
They ate everything in sight and the pastures all dried up. The
trees, yards and fields were full of grasshoppers. It was horrible.
The wind blew and blew, and the dust blew into the house under the
doors like a snowbank. Lots of times while we were eating, the dirt
would crunch in your mouth. It was unbelievable."
When Betty was 12, the family had enough of Nebraska and moved to
California. She writes that it was probably her favorite place where
she lived, but there were still earthquakes and blackouts during
World War II that Betty remembers vividly in other stories.
She has had a varied and interesting life in Logan County as
well. Her husband, George Armstrong, had four boys and a girl when
Betty married him. "So I went from no children to an instant mom,"
Betty said.
Armstrong's jobs included working in a restaurant, banks and as a
telephone operator. She was a supervisor at LDC for 24 years before
retiring.
The octogenarian is still very sharp, with just a little
complaining about her hands shaking too much to write. She has a
typewriter in her room, and when the mood hits her, she works on
another piece of prose, which happens more often than not these
days.
A seven-year resident of the nursing home, Betty has found a
distinct passion for getting her recollections and thoughts down on
paper. When asked if she was the best writer in the club, she begged
to refrain from boasting, saying, "They are all very good."
[to top of second column] |
Johnson noted that all six members of the club have had something
they wrote published in Capper's, a national magazine.
Betty said that she isn't terribly involved in politics except
when it is interesting, and interesting is what she thought of the
last presidential race and the fact that Barack Obama won the
election..
"I have often wondered why (we have never had an African-American
president). They deserve a chance as much as anyone else," she said.
"We almost had a woman president, you know."
Armstrong is bullish on America and holds out great belief that
the new president will get things turned around in our country. It
is this firm belief that caused her to write a poem to the
president, a poem that Johnson sent on to the White House.
Still showing that positive attitude about our new president,
Betty said, "I wish I could be there when he reads it."
We wish we could be there as well.
The following is the poem from Betty Armstrong to President
Barack Obama:
|
I am so proud of our
country
and our flag so beautiful.
They make tears come to my eyes
And fill them completely full.
We have a different
president
He is of another color.
Sent to us by our Lord God
We should give him all the honor.
The time has come for
change
We need to all look forward
To a better time of living
For he certainly isn't a coward.
We are all ready to jump
in
And give him a hand
Let him know we're on his side
To keep safety in our land.
It will be different, this
we know
We have to look ahead
And help him all we can
for he is willing to do as he said.
Betty Armstrong
The Christian Village Nursing Home |
[By
MIKE FAK]
 |
