Family Friends Friday: Clara Shrader’s Autograph Book

Roberts Family (Click for Family Tree)

It is fitting that we end this series of the autograph book of Clara Lillian (Shrader) Roberts on ‘Family Friends Friday.’ Those who wrote a little ditty or expressed their love and good wishes, signed their name, the date, and the place, were family friends, students, classmates, cousins, and close family.

This little autograph book gives us a glimpse into friendships of the mid eighteen-eighties, and how wide a circle of acquaintances one might have even before telephones (with wires) and FaceBook. If you collect friends on FB, you might have a bit of understanding as to why Clara would have wanted these memories written down. It is sad that today’s technology makes these sorts of things much more ephemeral. Although our FB words may float forever in some deep internet matrix, they will not be gathered such as the sweet words in this autograph book, for perusal down through the ages. It used to be that paper was considered ephemeral- here today, gone tomorrow. But Clara’s sweet little book is 133 years old, and I can’t even find a FB message from a friend written last week. In many ways, digital is the new ephemeral. (We can change that, if we want…)

Here are the remaining pages of Clara’s little autograph album. We hope that you have enjoyed seeing them all.

Clara.

“May God’s mercy ever guide thee,

Safe o’er all the thorny road;

And his grace whate’er betide thee,

Send thee home to his abode.

Sincerely your friend,

Annetta McCrea

Concordia, Kan.

Oct. 9. 1887

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Clara:

We have not wings – we cannot soar

Bute we have feet to scale and climb

By slow degrees, by more and more

The cloudy summit of our time {Longfellow}

Myra

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Vertical:

Pleasant memories of the Institute of ’84

Horizontal:

Belle Varvel

Concordia, Kansas

July 22, 1884

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Left:

Decem 4 1890

Miss Clara

When years and months have glided by

And on this page you cast your eye

Remember it was a friend sincere

That left this kind remembrance here

L. Root

Cutler Ohio

Right:

Concordia Kans

Sunny days and happy hours

May is brightest and decked with flowers!

With friendship sure to light your way

May clouds of darkness never dim your day.

Clara Hepler

March 9, 1883

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Vertical:

Excuse bad writing for this is examination day

Horizontal:

C. H. S. Concordia, Kans.

Clara.

“If I owned the thousand flowers,

In the grove and plain,

All that bloom through summer hours, and bud and bloom again.

All, dear me, I’d gladly strew,

All in thy path for thee,

If but with their sweetness thou,

Wouldst breathe one thought in me.”

Ettie W___.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Thank you again to John Roberts for his labors in scanning and transcribing this sweet autograph book to make it accessible to future generations. If you would like to contact Jon, please use our form through the blog and we will pass it on!

 

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