Herb Russell Sr. was born in this house in Scotland
Yesterday I shared a post about letters etched in black. It was a letter from Helen Russell to her son, Herbert Russell Sr., telling him of the death of his father, Alexander.
I believe this photo may have been from a newspaper article. It is what it looked like to me anyway. It is the house where Helen and Alexander lived in Scotland, and where Herb Russell Senior was born.
Years later Herb would immigrate to America and homestead in a cabin on Limestone Mountain, in Montana, where Herb JR. would be born. They were miles from Doctors back then. Herb Sr. would deliver his son, Herb JR in his homestead cabin just three months before he received the letter etched in black.
Original Herb Russell Sr. Homestead Cabin
Russell Cabin after addition was added- Herb Russell Sr. holding Herb Russell JR. sitting high on his hand.
The Russell homestead is still part of the Russell Ranch although the cabin, unfortunately, no longer exits. Land has been added to the ranch over the years. The Russell family moved to lower land at the foot of Limestone Mountain, where Herb Jr. and his wife live today.
They were called “Mourning Letters”, or “Letters Etched In Black”. The envelopes they were sent in were also etched in black. They immediately warned the receiver of such a letter, that the person writing them was sending a notice of the death of a loved one. How heart-wrenching it must have been to see that envelope!
Mourning stationery was first used in the 17th century in Europe and was most popular during the Victorian Era.
We were visiting my husband’s parents, Susan and Herb, yesterday. They had just received a late Christmas letter from some relatives in Scotland. That led us into some stories and old pictures of the “Old Country”, from which Herb’s father immigrated from.
Susan showed me this letter and asked me if I had heard of “letters etched in black,” I had not.
This letter was sent from Mike’s great-great-grandmother, Helen Russell from Millbank, Scotland on July 27, 1923 to her son, Herb Russell Sr. who had immigrated to America and was homesteading at Limestone, MT. She was writing to let Herb Sr. know that his father Alexander Russell had passed away.
Because this is a little hard to read, I will do my best to translate it with punctuation.
My dear son and daughter. It is with a very sad heart I write you these few lines, for I can not realize that your dear Father has been taken from me.
But we can not grudge him his rest, for he just wasted away. Poor Dad. He suffered sore for six months.
Many a time he spoke about you all.
I must thank you very much for the money. We got it the day he was laid to rest.
He died a very happy death. Father McHardy was a great comfort to him. He came in to see him almost every day.
I will just have to try and bear up, for it is God’s will.
I missed you all living so far away at this time.
I do hope you are all well, and also the dear baby.
I don’t feel fit to write more,
Meantime, With love from your loving mother, Helen Russell xxxx
Kiss the baby for me. Write soon.
The baby she sent kisses to is her grandson, Herb Russell Jr. He still lives on the family ranch his father homesteaded. He will be 103 this April and still living independently with his bride Susan, who just turned 98.
Sister Pat just sent me several photos that I don’t remember ever seeing before. I love them all and you will be seeing them off and on in my blog.
This was taken in the family home in Bruneau, ID. It was built by and was home to my great-great grandparents, Ed and Missouri (Suzie) Holverson. Their grandson, Ed Craig is sitting with his back to the photo. Across from him, is me, Sherry Craig, my Uncle Bob Craig, my sister, Pat Craig, and then my Dad, Jim Craig.
At this time, Granddad Ed, and Grandma Odessa, would be calling this their home. From the time I was a little girl, to the end of my Dad’s life, playing cards around the kitchen table was a social family pleasure.
I love this picture of my Granddad playing cards with his sons and granddaughters.
The picture below is of my Dad, Jim, playing cards around his table with his great grandkids, Logan, Colton, and Dylan. Those three boys are now grown. The two oldest married and starting their own families.
Logan Young, Jim Craig, Colton and Dylan Young, Dad’s home, Star, ID
Yes, there was LOVE around that table! Sweet, kind, unconditional love handed down through several generations. I am so blessed with the best memories!
God’s creation never fails to take my breath away! This photo was taken last summer on a family camping trip through Yellowstone National Park with our daughter Holly and her family.
What a great trip this was with so many great memories had. This picture was just one of those.
I think this was a favorite for us all. Our grandkids, Traeger and Mikaylee, were fascinated by this big herd of buffalo, as were we all. My husband and I have been through the park many times, but have never seen this big of herd grazing peacefully in these mountain meadows. There were many more Buffalo than these. They were scattered for several miles.
When I look at this picture, my heart can’t help but sing “ Oh give me a home where the buffalo room and the deer and the antelope play, where seldom is heard a discouraging word, and the sky is not cloudy all day.”
What a treasure is this land God has allowed me to live in!
Great is our God! Greater than all he has created for us! Have a great weekend!
This is a picture of my cousin, Leon Dipp, and his Dad, my Uncle Kenny Dipp. I am not 100% sure, but I think this was taken at my Aunt Leah and Uncle Tuff’s ranch in Filer, ID. For several years, Aunt Leah hosted a Wells family reunion at their place. We had family all over the states that would come. I don’t believe I made it to this one. Grandma Lillie’s first husband was William Dipp, and they had 3 boys together. Granddad, Otis Wells, married Grandma about a year after she was widowed. Grandma and Granddad had another 5 children together, so we pretty much needed a ranch setting for everyone! There were always cousins and aunts and uncles of my Mom’s family there also.
These reunions were great. Several family members brought campers to stay in and the rest of us that lived a good distance away would get motel rooms. These reunions have given me so many good memories. There was always an abundant amount of food. It was always in the summer, so we had outdoor barbecues. I remember a Turkey fryer in the yard, but I believe it cooked a lot of chicken. I might be wrong, but I think it was chicken. I do remember it was delicious! There was always fresh corn on the cob out of their garden, and every kind of salad and dessert you could think of. It was always so heart warming to visit with family. There were always some that we hadn’t seen for years.
When my husband and I lived in Nevada on the U3 Ranch, my Dad, who was managing it at the time hired Leon. He didn’t stay there too long, I was thinking it was mostly just for one summer. But it was good to get to know him again for awhile. We hadn’t seen each other very much since we were kids.
Family had kind of lost contact with Leon for a few years. We didn’t know where he was living or if something happened to him.
My sister Pat did some online searching and was able to find his obituary. I am so sorry to have found him in this way, but at least now we no why no one could get ahold of him. I meant to share this a couple of years ago, but somehow spaced it out.
His obituary was found on the Trenary Funeral Home web site in Kooskia, ID.
It is very short.
“Leon Dipp – October 18, 2022
“Leon Dipp, 75, of Kamiah, Idaho, passed away at his home with family by his side”
He may be gone, but he’s not forgotten. Rest in Peace cousin.”
I love this picture I got from my Aunt Leah a few years ago. It is of my Uncle Bill & Uncle Chet Dipp. It doesn’t say on the picture, but I am going to guess this was near Stanley, Idaho, as this was where they were raised and went to school.
I never thought Bill and Chet looked that much alike, but I sure think they do in this picture as kids. I love their matching outfits, from the hats on down. I love their exact same pose and their serious little faces. I also love the old skis.
My Uncle Kenny was about 2 or 3 years younger than Chet. All three boys would end up serving our country in WWII. Uncle Bill and Uncle Kenny I believe both served in the South Pacific campaign and Uncle Chet was stationed in the States at a mine in Nevada.
My Grandma Lillie Wells, had all three of her oldest boys in the war at the same time. I can’t imagine how heart wrenching stressful that had to be.
I have been overwhelmed at all the evil and tragedies in our world lately. One day the economy is picking up, peace seems to be coming in parts of the world, and the next day the world is in chaos in every corner. It seems there are stories of mass school or church shootings almost everyday somewhere in our country or across the globe.
Our President is trying to deport illegal criminals and our ICE agents get attacked and threatened daily for doing their jobs.
I can’t believe that we have our Supreme Court right now trying to decide whether biological males who have decided they want to be women can play in our Women’s Sports from high schools to professional. Some of the judges can’t describe what a man or woman is. This is Transgender INSANITY! God made us male and female. If a male or female decides they want to be a different sex and mutilate their own bodies and fill themselves with drugs and hormones of the other sex, it doesn’t make them “another sex”. They are males or females who have mutilated their bodies. If a male doesn’t want to participate in male sports, so be it. If a female doesn’t want to play in women’s sports, so be it. However, I don’t believe biological transgender women want to play in men’s sports because they have no physical advantage for them to do so. Men’s sports should be for men. Women’s should be for women. Why don’t the transgender athletes just start their own league? Why on earth are we supposed to pretend with them that they are not what God made them?
I feel overwhelmed in my soul. I find myself looking up at the sky and especially the clouds and wondering when Jesus is going to appear . I keep hearing and singing to myself the song “Come Jesus Come.“
“Sometimes I fall, to my knees and pray
Come Jesus Come,
Let today be the day.
Sometimes I feel, like I’m gonna break
But I’m holding on
to a hope that won’t fade.
Come, Jesus, come
We’ve been waiting so long
for the day you return
to heal every hurt and right every wrong.
We need you right now
come and turn this around
deep down I know this world isn’t home
Come Jesus, come!
I can’t figure out how to download the video of this song here, but it is soul wrenching. Google Come Jesus Come by CeCe Winans and watch the You Tube video.
And then get ready. I believe in my heart Jesus is coming soon. How soon no one knows, but I am sure He is standing at the door. ” COME JESUS COME!
My grandparents, Lillie and Otis Wells, with grown family- Thanksgiving 1972
Odessa & Ed Craig with sons, Jim (my Dad), my Uncle Bob
My parents, Jim & Harriett Craig
Christmas 2025 is less than a week in our rear view mirror. I love Christmas. I love everything about it. I love the streets and homes and businesses all decorated in bright lights. I love the school programs and the face of all those excited little faces.
I love the time spent with family. I have been very blessed. Almost, but not all of my Christmases were spent with extended family at some point in the Christmas celebrations.
The first picture above was of my Mom, her parents, and her siblings. We spent a lot of holidays with almost all of those people when I was a kid, and a lot of them in my adult life as well. In fact, that picture was taken in Wells, Nevada the year my husband and I were married. It was Thanksgiving, and it was a family reunion of the Wells family, my Mom’s family. By Christmas of this year, Mike and I would be living here as well. We would start and raise our family here for the next 18 years. Such wonderful memories this picture evokes. I only have one Aunt, and one Uncle still living in that photo. All the rest have left us. But their love and memories remain.
The second picture is of the Craig family, my father’s family. Dad is the oldest child. We lost him in 2022 and my Uncle Bob this last year. Oh how I loved each and every one of them! My Grandma died in her early 60’s. Granddad remarried a few years later to Nita. I learned to love her as a second grandmother. Granddad lived to 101, and Nita to 104. We were blessed to have them for so long. Gone, but not forgotten.
The last picture is of my Mom and Dad in their late 40’s. Like my Grandma Craig, Mom left us in her early 60’s. Dad would also remarry a few years down the road to Jean. He would live to 96. God gave us many good years and memories to share. This photo is the hardest for me. Mom and Dad are both gone now. But not really. They live in my heart and my memories every single day!
This time of year always fills my heart with conflict. I am filled with excitement, joy, and a heart and life filled with blessings! I am able to still spend holidays with most of my kids. I get to see my kids as loving adults and parents. I get to see some of my grandkids as loving adults and parents too. Mike and I have been blessed with 2 great-grandkids, and two more are expected this coming year. Not everybody is blessed to be able to watch their great grandkids grow and feel that special love. God has been so good to us.
But I am also filled with an ache in my heart at Christmas time. I miss those who made my life so full and have left me. I have their memories, I still carry their love inside of me, but I miss their smiles, their hugs, their physical touch.
It is then when I am feeling that ache the deepest, that I hear the Lord Jesus whisper to me…
‘BE STILL AND KNOW I AM GOD.”
And his words comfort me. They remind me what Christmas is really all about, It’s about the birth of our Savior. It is also about the cross that he died on for us. It’s about his promise that when we die on this earth, if we give our hearts to Jesus, we are immediately with him in eternity. I will see my loved ones again.
This came up on my Facebook memories today. It’s been two years since I wrote this and I am seeing amazing things happening in our country in those two years. I have seen our country still divided. I still see so much evil . I personally have been through some very hard and trying times this last couple of years, but again have been so blessed as well. That is life; good times and hard times. We all will experience them. What we focus on and who we put our hopes in is what will determine if we can still feel blessed.
Since the assignation of Charlie Kirk I have seen the answer to some of my prayers. I have seen our country starting to turn their hearts back to God!
We are witnessing a revival of Faith in God that caught on fire through an act of evil that was intended to silence what Charlie Kirk started.
I pray God will bless you and our nation this coming year. Whether you are going through really hard times or really good times, or like most of us a combination of both; keep your eyes and hearts focused on our Lord and Savior.
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