Wish we could celebrate one more birthday with you.
Easter and Mom’s favorite rice-krispie “things”
Over the years at Easter I have made bunny cakes which were so pretty with jelly bean eyes and nose and licorice for whiskers, but at one point I changed to rice krispie bunnies and eggs. This change was definately because Mom loved the marshmallow treats.
I created the treats as usual, but when it came time to put them in a pan to cut I formed the head, body, and ears, and many Easter egg shapes. I would roll the eggs in multicolored pareils. I colored coconut green for grass to place the bunny into its bed. I still used jelly beans for the nose and eyes and string licorice for whiskers.
I have pictures of the cakes and rice krispie bunny bed (I’ll find later to post).
I always tried to make Mom’s favorite treats, but when I didn’t, Mom would act like it was OK, but I always knew it wasn’t OK. It was fun and easy to make Mom happy.
Now here I am at 57, no kids, no partner, but what did I do last night, “colored a dozen eggs”. And yes, I put the names of my sisters, Mom, and Michael and placed each egg in the color that matched the person and decorated appropriately…what a Friday night! (I just couldn’t do another dozen tin honor of my brothers…that would really be overding it). It was fun and I will make egg salad today or tomorrow.
I would love to receive an Easter basket, but the only way that’s going to happen is if I give one to myself.
What wonderful Easter memories…really just as good as Christmas!
Easters With The Coxes
- Vickie
I can’t remember an Easter that we did not have Easter Baskets and Easter egg hunts for the kids. I can remember helping Mom make up the baskets. We didn’t have all the extra stuff kids get for Easter today. We always colored eggs with the kids. Each kid usually wrote their names on their eggs with crayons. There always were eggs with scribbles and flowers and somebody always made an egg with MOM or DAD on it. No matter how poor we were, Mom always found enough money to buy those yellow marshmallow chicks and jelly beans for the baskets.
Then Mom and I hid the baskets all over the house for the kids to find on Easter morning. Now mind you, the kids were ranging from babies at one or so up through eleven or twelve – Martha, Vickie, Bobby, Gary, Larry and then Shirley and myself. Carl and Tommy were a couple of years older and I can’t remember if they got Easter baskets or candy or what.
Then after the kids found their baskets, we always had an Easter Egg Hunt. Daddy got a huge kick out of hiding dozens of colored eggs all over the yard in the front and back of the house wherever we lived. Then he would guide the little kids toward an egg or badger an older one for walking right by a hidden egg.
I usually made Easter outfits for Vickie and Martha which were always worn to Sunday School on Easter Sunday. On this page are some of the outfits I made over some of the years. 
Here is me, Myrtle, Susie Bolin, and Shirley in our Easter dresses showing off some bracelet. I have no idea where we got our dresses.
- Larry, Bobby, Carl Williams, and Gary on Easter
I know I have tons of pictures on Easters where Jeff, Anita, Carla Jo, CaraLeta and all the gang are together on Easter, but I guess I have not scanned them in. I will add them as I find time.
Also, I can’t pass up mentioning the Sunday School Easter Egg Hunts. Sunday School kids ( many Coxes) often rode in the back of a truck out to a field where eggs had already been hidden. I particularly remember Mrs. Bates, who taught Sunday School, walking around with the kids to help guide them. Of course we got to keep those eggs too.
We kept those eggs in our baskets for days and days as we gradually ate them, as opposed to putting them in the refrigerator right away as we do today. Would you believe we never even thought of getting sick.
Now I am 67 years old and still miss the fun of coloring and hiding eggs. I would give almost anything to go home to Ohio and join in coloring and hiding eggs with the new batch of little kids such as Daphne, Eli, Madelyn and now little Paul.
But I will say that I have been married almost 40 years and my Mother-in-law has always made an Easter Basket for me. It always contains a chocolate covered egg, a chocolate bunny, jelly beans and some porcelain Easter related figurine. So this year my Mother-in-law, who is turning 100 years old on July 2, was in the grocery store with me and decided she would try to get the makings of an Easter basket. Then we colored six eggs and, even though I can’t say it was fun as it would have been with kids, I got a kick out of making some sparkleyeggs. Of course I had to find a basket and help a little, but I ended up getting an Easter basket now in 2011. Here is a picture of my 2011 Easter Basket.
Dad and Vickie
Lord knows my 22 years w/ Dad we’re unique (kind of like me). There were bad things and good things, and I’ll try to concentrate on the good.
When I think about Dad I think of croquet and horseshoes. I now have my own croquet set which I play by myself to get some sun. I’m too damn old to even think about “laying out” in the sun. I can work in the sun and play in the sun, but that’s as much I can do now.
For about 20 years I’ve had a respectable garden . (I had a patch in Xenia, but it wasn’t very big.) I think about all the years we “had” to work in the massive gardens Dad always tended. I swear there was an acre of potatoes that the kids had to pick up and store for the winter after Dad shoveled up the hills. It didn’t hurt any of us, but it was grusome at the time! I am thankful for the work ethic I have now. Too many young people have no clue what it’s like to truly WORK!
I still didn’t like Dad much when I married Jerry Bush. We actually had a moment during the reception and I was so afraid he would fall into the Bushs’ pool…he thankfully didn’t. I was 18 1/2 when I got married. I’ve done that a few times since, BUT the funniest thing was about 35 years later (at Mom’s funeral) I didn’t even recognize Jerry when he was standing right in front of me. It really made me wonder what the heck I mourned about for 10 years after we split…the first and the second time, but I did get a carat diamond ring to remember him by. Ah, memories!
I may add to this later, but now I have to get out to the garden and try to make Dad proud of what I learned so many years ago.
Love,
Vickie
PS: I remember not ever saying I love you or hugging and kissing the ones I truly care about until Dad died…now it’s just an automatic feeling and greeting or good-byeing and that is a very good thing!
Happy Thanksgiving To the family!!!
Happy Thanksgiving to the Cox family, From Joe, Justin & Jared Cox. Things are beginning to slow down a bit for me, so I thought I better say HI since most of you probably thought I fell off the planet. I am still dating Darla…gonna have to do something about that soon I do believe. Justin is 7 he will be 8 in January and Jared is 4. Anyway, you all are on my mind, just busy working a lot. I have my full time Police job, part-time probation officer and I am also part-time with the US Marshals Office as contracted officer, ohh and the boys 3 days a week….I think I have no energy left. Hope everyone is doping well!
Love Joe, Justin, & Jared
Happy Birthday Shirley Ann Cox Taylor
Happy Birthday!!
Shirley Ann Cox Taylor was born on July 14, 1945 in Doctor’s Hospital in Orient, Ohio. Shirley is the second daughter and the fourth child of Robert and Goldie Cox.
Shirley is known as the fun one, always laughing and having fun. But we all know she is a bit shy and hates being in front of a crowd. On the boardwalk, Shirley was called up on stage to participate in some fun thing. She nearly died, but walked away with a nice gift of a broach.
At Marnee and Lee’s wedding Shirley did a great job with her reading. It was nice, clear, and slow enough to understand. So scared or not, she did a great job.
She says she was testing the grapevine so the little kids would be safe – oh dear – that grapevine broke and knocked the stuffings out of Shirley. She was truly knocked out. She was acting goofy most of the day. Daddy was really worried about her as she laid flat out on the bed most of the afternoon.
Shirley was the one that hated doing dishes and usually found other things to do – like carrying in coal. Thank goodness she liked that and I hated that. So I did dishes. It is true, we had too many people visiting on Sundays so the dishes were many. Shirley found all kinds of ways to get out of that chore when that gang showed up.
