Condolence: I will always remember Mrs. Johnston as a kind and generous lady who had a soft spot for kids. Growing up, I always felt welcome in your house. After speaking to Loretta on Saturday, I thought about all the fun and experiences I had at your house. Here are a few of my memories and a few chuckles I had as I thought about your mom….my boys especially like the Auntie Ruth story….

Mrs. Johnston had a great laugh. I can picture her unique laugh as her she sat very still with her arms crossed and just her shoulders moving up and down.

Mrs. Johnston was a driver (unlike my mom) so I got the opportunity to go all over the place just for errands etc. which was always cool to do. I especially appreciate her willingness to have an extra kid (sometimes two or three) to Loon Lake. Anytime I smell a mix of pine trees and a burning fire it reminds me of your country house. I just had that experience when I was skiing at Snowmass this winter. I love to hear the sound of a crackling fire in the early morning and at bedtime. Your cabin was the first place I ever experienced this.

Not sure if it was the first time up there but I was reminded of Loretta and my plan to sleep in the loft. We were all excited, we climbed up the ladder, pulled down the sheets and there it was a dead mouse in the bed (now that reminds me I think another time there was a dead squirrel in the room over the garage too.) But anyway, once we saw the mouse our plans for sleeping in the loft were gone. We were way too scared. I guess we were not meant to be have adventure that night or the next few nights for that matter. I got to sleep with Aunt Ruthie…Loretta got to sleep with her mom and dad. Little kids wake up early but Aunt Ruthie would not have it. She would not let me out of bed early- she kept saying go back to sleep. Loretta on the other hand had your soft mom to contend with so out of bed she went and had her am fun while I laid there in the bed listening. Don’t mess with Aunt Ruthie! Once we got over the fear of the mouse (not sure if it was the same trip), we were quite happy to go up to the loft and throw socks into Roberts room while he tried to go to sleep.

When Theresa, Eddie and I spend a few weeks with Loretta and your family, Mrs Johnston was going through lots of money feeding us. I remember her saying your going to eat me out of house and home. We went through many, many, many boxes of Friehoffer (sp?) chocolate chip cookies. We were obsessed with them and kept asking her to buy more. Even though she wasn’t sure if she would have enough money until your father came back up, she still bought us more cookies when we went to the store. That’s the kind of lady she was -generous and could never turn a child down. What patience she had with us. She drove us to wherever we wanted to go Storytown, Gas Light Village, Lake George’s 4th of July celebration etc. Mrs. Johnston also took Loretta and I to boating school to get our “Licenses”. Loretta didn’t want to read the book and study. So Mrs. Johnston sat and read the whole book to Loretta the morning of the test. I can see her calmly sitting there reading. As a mother now, I don’t think I would have the patience to do that.

I remember how Mrs. Johnston “treasured” everything she had. She would never let Loretta throw anything away. Sometimes a good thing, sometimes a bad thing but if you were ever in need of 5 old fashion phones, the Johnston’s household is where you would go. I still imagine that if I went up to the closet upstairs I would still see Robert’s drums and every toy we ever played with.

I’m just thinking about the little things-

-“The Pump”- rocking that swing set before it almost tipped over. I think Coleen and Lucille were the instigators of that. If my kids were doing that I would have freaked out. Your mother had patience, I don’t remember her saying anything to us.
- I remember when Whitey the woofle got skunked. He returned from the mountains orange.
- Friday nights at the Johnston household was Carlos Pizza night (that was probably more a Mr. Johnston thing)


I always thought as a kid, my mom’s cooking and your mom’s was the best! To this day when I make noodles, I think of sitting on the couch in front of the TV eating chicken, noodles with butter and corn. Usually the Three Stooges, Mighty Joe Young or cartoons were on. I also loved your mother’s spaghetti. I laughed when Loretta told me as an adult to my disbelief that Mrs. Johnston opened a can of tomatoe sauce added nothing to it and poured it over pasta. I still believe it was the fantastic!!!

I could go on and on…. Although I haven’t seen your mom in a long time, she will be missed as she was an integral part of my childhood. Thanks for sharing her with me!

Carol Baird