Here are two of Santa's best helpers

Our girls are growing up. Anna is celebrating her ninth birthday today and she baked her own birthday cake Monday and decorated it with the Happy Birthday Anna lettering. Baba read the recipe for her. Meanwhile Erin was putting ribbon, bows and gift tags on all the presents for Grandad.

The girls wish everyone Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas from Santa

Gather the family around the computer and click on the headline to hear Santa and his Reindeer wish you a Merry Christmas. Be sure to click on each reindeer, one at a time

Buckeye leaves show Fall color

Leaves on Erin's buckeye tree show their Fall colors. The photo was taken Friday, October 18, 2007. Erin planted the tree on May 18, 2003.

Anna chalkboard of a dove

Anna Liggett
chalkboard
drawing
of dove
Sep 30, 2007

Anna's self portrait Sep 30, 2007

Here's Anna's self portrait
drawn on September 30, 2007

Click on drawing
to enlarge for
better view

Erin's drawing of a girl

Just a girl--no particular girl.

Click on photo
to enlarge

Pencil sketches by Erin

Here are pencil sketches drawn by Erin Liggett while watching an old Lilo and Stitch video. Lilo is in the center. Madison is a neighborhood friend and classmate of Erin's and Megan is a neighborhood friend and classmate of Anna's

Click on the artwork to enlarge for a better view.

Dad dismissed from hospital

Tom Liggett was dismissed from Akron City Hospital on Thursday after quadruple bypass surgery on July 14. He will be resting at home for a few weeks.

There was a 12th birthday party for Erin in Tom's room at the hospital on Wednesday evening. A Boston Creme decorated with "Happy Birthday Erin" was brought in by Helen and Harry and Tom and Sue supplied ice cream from the hospital refrigerator. After singing of Happy Birthday, Erin opened cards and gifts. It was a birthday to remember.

AnnaBelle's Wish by Erin

This is a freehand drawing by Erin of Annabelle. It was drawn on Friday, June 2, 2007.

Annabelle's Wish is a magical animated feature based on the legend that on Christmas Eve Santa Claus gives all animals a speaking voice just for one night. A loveable calf named Annabelle, born on Christmas Eve, has a very special wish: to fly like on of Santa's reindeers. A special friendship forms between Annabelle and Billy, a young boy who cannot talk. Along with a friendly bunch of barnyard animals they contend with Billy's mean Aunt and the bullies in the neighborhood. Annabelle shows the true meaning of Christmas by making one very special wish come true.

Anna in Slovak magazine

A photo of Anna Liggett with a story about her First Communion appears on page 10 of the June 2007 issue of Zenska Jednota, the magazine of the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association.

Here is the story:


ANNA TERESA LIGGETT, daughter of Thomas and Susan Liggett of Akron, OH, received her First Holy Communion May 5 at Saint Paul Catholic Church, Brown Street, Akron, OH. She rerceived Communion from the Rev. Mr. Frank Lonteen. Anna is a member of Home Branch. She is the granddaughter of Mary Ann Gabelman and Harry and Helen Liggett. Grandmother Helen is also a member of the Home Branch. She and Anna are former members of Branch 478 and Branch 372 in Dennison, OH.

Recommended listening for Memorial Day

Listen to Beacon Journal reporter Jim Carney.

Click on the headline.

Anna writes about Erin in her journal

This is what Anna wrote in her First Communion Faith Journal about her sister Erin:

My sister, Erin, is the most influential person in my life. She is my best friend and I want to act and be just like her. She shows me how to behave in church and school, how to treat others with kindness, and how to be a good student in spelling and math. Someday, I hope to join the drama club and be an altar server just like my sissy. I hope we’ll always be close as sisters and friends. ~ Anna Liggett, writing in her Spirit Journal

The 44 students in Anna's First Communion Class of 2007 received First Eucharist in both forms at a 10 a.m. Mass on Saturday, May 5, in St. Paul's Catholic Church. Father Ralph Thomas and Deacon Frank Lonteen distributed communion.

Grandmother Mary Ann Gabelman joined Anna and Erin, Tom and Sue and Baba and Grandad for a celebration lunch after Mass at the Olive Garden restaurant in Montrose.

On Sunday, after the 11 a.m. Mass, the Communion Class took part in a May Crowning and Procession to the Marian Shrine south of the church.

This photo of the sisters was taken on Sunday at the church.

Click on the headline to see an album of Anna's First Communion photos.

Anna shows Faith Journal to Fr. Thomas

Father Ralph Thomas, our pastor, visited Anna Liggett's classroom to see the Faith Journals kept by students who will receive their First Holy Communion on Saturday. This photo shows Fr. Thomas checking Anna's Faith Journal. The students in Miss Mary Means second grade classroom answered questions about their journals, sang a song and said prayers.

Click on the photo to enlarge for a better view.

Anna's First Communion is May 5th

Anna Liggett will be in a class of 45 second graders who will receive First Eucharist at Mass at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 5. Members of the parish have been asked to pick up prayer cards to pray for the students. Father Ralph Thomas, assisted by Deacon Frank Lonteen, will give Communion in both forms to the First Communicants. The St. Paul PTO will host a reception in Boeke Hall after the Mass. Families who are having individual photos taken should remain in the church.

On Sunday, May 6, there will be a May crowning at the 11 a.m. Mass with a procession by the students to celebrate devotion to Mary, the Mother of our risen Savior.

All First Communicants and their parents also are invited to a Corpus Christi celebration of Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangerlist with Bishop Richard Lennon on Saturday, June 9, at 4:30 p.m.

About our Science Project

Here’s some info about our science project.

The title of the project was "The Effect of Temperature on a Bouncing Ball"

Lisa Rardin and I used balls of varying sizes. First we bounced them at room temperature. Then we put some in the freezer and bounced them. Finally we heated some in the oven and bounced them,

We dropped them all from 69 inches. We found that the balls just out of the freezer did not bounce as high as those at room temperature and those in the oven bounced a little higher than those at room temperature.

This scence fair project was fun.

This is me and Lisa Rardin at St. Paul School Science Fair! We did an expieriment on the way temperature affects a bouncing ball. I am on the left and Lisa is on the right.The expierament was alot of hard work but it was fun. We got an A+

Click on the photo to enlarge it for a better view.

~Erin Liggett

Erin receives bouquets and congratulations.

Dr
Erin Liggett received many bouquets of flowers and congratulations for her starring role as Annie in the Saint Paul Drama Club presentation of the musical Saturday night in Boeke Hall. One well-known Akron critic (Grandad) called it a “stellar bombshell performance by a very talented performer.” Erin is shown here just after the performance with her Mom and Dad and sister Anna.

Click on the photo to enlarge for better view.

Erin's Dresses for Annie

The musical Annie will be presented by the St. Paul School Drama Club on Friday, March 30, and Saturday, March 31, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 1, at 2 p.m in Boeke Hall. Erin Liggett will star as Annie in the Saturday performance and also in a special performance for students on Thursday. Hannah Horrigan will play Annie for performances Friday night and Sunday afternoon. Here are three of four dresses Erin will wear in the play. Poses include a blue gown, a dance gown and an orpan gown. A sweater is added to the orphan dress for the fourth pose. Except for the dance dress all the dresses that Erin will wear in the play were made by her mother, Susan, who is working on the final red dress. Tickets are $5 for adults and $2 for students.

Click on the photo to enlarge for a better view.

Happy Birthday to Eliza Cotter

It’s time again to wish a "Happy Birthday" to my great-great grandmother Eliza Cotter who would be 181 years old this St. Patrick's Day. She was born on a March 17 near Newry in County Armagh. She had a daughter, Mary Elizabeth "Mollie" (my great-grandmother), who like my granddaughter Anna was born on Christmas Day. And, of course, my other granddaughter is named Erin. Myself, more like an ordinary three-leaf clover, was born on the third day of the third month of 1930.

Rosa Spanish drawing by Erin

Rosa Spanish, a drawing by Erin Liggett

The latest attire for Anna's snowman

Erin and Anna Liggett had the day off from school on Friday because of a teachers' meeting, so Anna decided to make a snowman. He isn't very big, but he is fashionably outfitted.

Liggett sisters get new look for February

These Liggett sisters had a new look for February.

Anna got a new hair syle – bangs,

Erin got a wig for her role in Annie, the St. Paul School play, that will be staged at the end of March.

Same location 33 years later

Compare these photos.

The top photo is the one shown on the photo album page below It was from December 2, 1974 when there was a record December snowfall of 24 inches. It shows brothers Bob, age, 8, and Tom, age 10 on a snow bank near the Liggett house at 544 N. Firestone Blvd., Akron.

The other photo, 33 years later, shows sisters Anna, age, 8, and Erin, age 11, on the same snow bank. The snowfall on February 18, 2007 measured 13 inches. Click on photos to enlarge for better view.

Grandad's photo album on big snow

Do you think more than a foot of snow in Akron this February was rough?

On December 1-2, 1974, the records show 24.3 inches of snow fell over two days. 17.18 inches fell in 24 hours which remains a December record. Here's a page from Grandad's photo album about the big snow in 1974.. Uncle Bob and Dad are sitting on the sled on top of a mound of snow near the driveway at Grandad's.

The winter of 1977 was the coldest winter of the 20th century with an average temperature of 20.7 degrees. The average temperature for January was 11.4 degrees. The record for the month was minus 13 degrees on January 29.

Here are the first four graphs of the news story by Beacon Journal reporter Don Bandy:

The Akron area. was still bogged down today under the heaviest. snowfall ever recorded here.

More than 2,000 persons this morning remained in emergency shelters, stranded by , the 24.3, inches of' snow :that paralyzed cities, towns and villages in the five-county area.

The U.S. Weather Bureau reported 16.4 inches of snow fell Sunday and another 7.9
Inches Monday. The snowfall recorded at Akron-Canton Airport, broke a 20-inch record accumulation in November, 1913.

Click on the photo to englarge it for a better view.

Erin and Karen & Anna and Hanna

Erin (left) and Anna Liggett pose with their American girl dolls and new doll chairs from Baba and Grandad. Anna was born on Christmas Day so she has an additional birthday celebration on Epiphany Sunday. This year Mom and Dad gave Anna the doll that she named Hanna. Erin got her doll she named Kerin on her birthday July 18. Erin has a puppy named Coconut and Anna a kitty named Licorice. Photos of the dolls are in small picture frames. Anna and Hanna got matching hoodie jackets. Erin also has a top to match the one Kerin is wearing in the photo.

Hanna, the new doll in the family, takes a ride on a Dinosaur that Anna received on her “Epiphany” birthday.

Santa visits Uncle Don, Aunt Mary Alice

Here's a photo of Santa Claus visiting at the home of Uncle Don and Aunt Mary Alice. Hope they will have a Happy New Year.

Erin and Anna went with Baba and Grandad to see The Nativity on Sunday afternoon and then stayed up past midnight to watch the beginning of the new year 2007. Grandad and Baba went to sleep, but they both woke at midnight to watch the ball drop at Times Square and then in a few minutes were sound asleep to welcome in the new year.

Click on the photo to enlarge it for a better view.