Grandma Junior, Mom and Dad greeting people at joint retirement party
the Chemistry and Physics Departments had for Mom and Dad.

  1989 February 1st, our first day of retirement. I worked 24 years plus 4 months and Morris worked 40 years plus four months all in the chemistry department in Leigh Hall. The first day of our retirement we went to the condo at St. Augustine for a vacation and to celebrate. It was beautiful weather, up in the 80's. Libby and Ernie and some of their out of town friends came over and spent one day with us. We spent one day with Gary and Dianne who were at their condo at Ocean Gallery.

In March we went camping at Flagler Beach for three days then we went to Zephyrhills to help Mom move back to Gainesville. She had been ill and we found out she has Parkinson's disease. Gary built her a beautiful three bedroom home right next door to him. She had to give up driving and we bought her red Pontiac from her the next year.

Our first retirement project was to panel our bedroom closet with cedar paneling and the next year we painted the outside of our house. Morris started going out to eat breakfast with his mother on Saturday mornings, which he still does. I became WMU Director and President of our circle at church. In March we went camping one weekend with Betty and Billy to Busch Gardens. March 30, we went over to see Aunt Marie and Uncle Jim who were camping at Cedar Key.

Anne, Mom, me, Julie and Julie's sister Louise
in front of the White House in Washingtion DC
(Dad took the picture)

April 4th we left for Washington D.C. to visit Larry, Julie and Anne (who had moved up to Reston, Virginia last year) and to see the cherry blossoms and the parade. It was rainy and cold all week but the cherry blossoms were beautiful. We visited Colonial Williamsburg on the way home. We had snow on the morning of April 10th in Virginia and North Carolina. We came home through the Outer Banks of N.C.

In April we had a SS party, a fish fry, at Monroe and Zella Mae's at their cabin on the Suwannee River. We also took Grandma Mixson up to Jacksonville to visit Aunt Amber Lee. Uncle Andrew, their son Vernie, and their daughter, Sandra all died within a year of each other.

In May we went camping with Chris and Henry at Cedar Key. May 9, Sue, Dixie, Carole, Mom and I spent four days over at Gary's condo at St. Augustine. May 14, Dan and Judy had the family over for Mother's day at their new home.

May 30 we left for a three months visit to Linz, Austria.    (See my diary of this trip) While we were there Brenda, Tom, the boys, Morris and I took a vacation through Germany, Denmark, (stopped at Odense, home of Hans Christian Anderson), went to Lego Land in Denmark, went to the Ringkobing Fjord at the North Sea, went to Frideriksbaum where we caught the ferry to Gotesborg, Sweden. When we were in Oslo, Norway we took a boat cruise of the harbor. We spent one week in a cabin at Torsby, Sweden. We got back to Linz on July 25. Wonderful trip.

One day, Berta Hitzigrath who was 91 years old had us over for lunch. She told us her life story,she only spoke German so Tom interpreted for us It was one of the highlights of the trip. She was one of the people to start the Baptist Church in Linz. While we were there Morris helped Tom build a patio and a carport on their home. Brenda, Tom, Morris and I spent two days and one night in a fancy hotel in Vienna and took in all the sight seeing there.

In August Tom and Brenda took the youth from their church to youth camp. Morris and I stayed home, so we decided to go on a little vacation by ourselves, (Brenda had left us her car). We went to a beautiful vacation spot called Bad Ischl and then to a lovely vacation village called St. Wolfgang for three days. We got back home August 29. It was the most wonderful trip we've ever had. Someday we hope to go back with Brenda and Tom and camp all over Europe.

In September Coral started preschool at Westside Baptist Church and Zackary started first grade at Littlewood. September, Labor Day weekend, we had our family reunion, again at Gary and Dianne's home. Bob, Ellie and Jill from Michigan came up and the next day we all went to Gary and Dianne's condo for five days.

Mom and Dad's new motor home in North Carolina

In September we traded the Phasar for a 23 foot Itasca Sunflyer motor home and I loved it. September 21st . Betty, Billy, Morris and I went to Memphis, TN for the football game. We got in some of the rain from Hurricane Hugo in Mississippi September 30, Betty, Billy, Evelyn, John, Morris and I went to Tampa for the ballgame. We played Mississippi State and we stayed at the Sail Port Resort Condos (Danah worked there, and she got us a real good price).

Grandma Mixson blowing out birthday candles

In October, Morris and I took Mom to visit Sue and Jim at their new home in Murphy, N.C. The fall leaves were beautiful. October 16, bad earthquake in California. October 20-21, Betty, Billy and I went to Cedar Key for the Seafood Festival and spent the night in our motor home. October 26th we gave Grandma Mixson a surprise 88th birthday party (covered dish luncheon) at her home. Rosie, Donnie and their new baby , Erika, came from Ashville, N.C and, about 25 friends and relatives attended.

David and Larry at start of canoe trip

Larry came to visit us in early December for a week. He and David went on a canoe trip for 2 days and nearly froze, it was so cold. December 23 we had real snow and ice in Gainesville and I have pictures to prove it.

We ate Christmas dinner at Gary and Dianne's. Their electricity was off for days (because of the ice) and it didn't come back on till 11:00 o'clock Christmas day so we had a late dinner that day. On December 17, I helped Mom give a luncheon for her Sunday School class. This was the last time she entertained. One day we took her to Zephyrhills for the day to see Jim and Marie, Betty, and Fred and Helen (who bought her trailer and retired ).

More of 1989. In October we took Grandma Mixson camping to St. George's State Park and then we went on to St. Joseph's State Park. She had a wonderful time and is a great camper. She really loves the outdoors.

Libby and Ernie retired in September. November 3-4 Betty, Billy, Morris and I went to the Auburn football game in Auburn. We met John and Evelyn there and we all went out to eat together after the game at Steak and Ale. History was made November 9th. The Berlin Wall came down. November 11 Betty, Billy, John, Evelyn, Morris and I went in our motor home to Jacksonville to see the Fla.-Ga. game. We lost 17-7.

At Thanksgiving time, Beth and Mark's missionary friends who travel around the world on the Mercy Ship, Kris and Don and their three children from Olympia, Washington were docked in Jacksonville, so Mark went over and picked them up so they could spend Thanksgiving with us. It was really nice having them and finding out about their work. We had our annual New Year eve's party at Libby and Ernie's home. What a year. Retirement is great.