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Our Robbins Beginning

Young Charles and Farinda (Smith) Robbins

and then later ---

Grandmother Robbins

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Grandma Farinda Robbins & Mother (Lillie)

Grandma Farinda by "Shoe Shop" Car

Grandma Farinda with daughter-in-law, Dulcinia (Tob's wife)

Grandfather Charles was a "shoe cobbler" so I suppose it was his car in the picture?

Grandma's lovely hair was dark auburn.  It was carefully combed with a bone comb.  Grandma started at the bottom and worked her way up with the comb, and I don't think she ever broke a hair!

She lived to be 97 years old.

She played the dulcimer, by ear.  Lorinda's husband, Jerry, repaired it (but no strings) and they still have it hanging on their guestroom wall. 

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Lorinda was named for "Loretta" (Daddy's mother) and "Farinda" (Mother's mother), thus "Lorinda."  Mother created the name.

I didn't get to know my grandfather Robbins.  He died while Mother was pregnant with me.  Grandmother took turns staying with different ones of her children.  I looked forward to the times she would come and stay with us.  She would always bring her "mantel clock" that chimed with her and her trunk containing her clothes and other personal items, and of course the dulcimer accompanied her always.

Great-Grandparents

Robbins & Smith

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From Mother's Pictures

"Uncle Sherman"

(Mother's uncle)

Mother, young and beautiful, & her parents

Lillie, Farinda & Charles Robbins

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The Nashville, Wisconsin House

Aunt Margaret's Journal

Margaret (Robbins) Compton (Mother's sister)

I found the following writings tucked in Aunt Margaret's obituary, apparently put there by Mother.

Did you ever find just a small rip in a garment and think you'd sew it and find a needle with a small piece of thread and say, "I'll have plenty of thread," and you'd probably make more stitches or cut your thread wastefully and find more small places to be stitched?

Then you'll try to make it go as far as possible to get out of threading the needle again.

So sometimes I feel like that's the way we do about salvation.  We try our best to just barely get by with what we think or want to believe will barely get us to heaven.

Well, it won't work.  I tried to tie a knot after I had made too many stitches for my thread, so I took about three stitches out to make a knot to keep it from slipping out after I had run out of thread.

So we better get salvation while we can, for tomorrow may be too late; for we are here today and gone tomorrow.  Our thread may run out, and it may be too short and brittle to tie without breaking.

.......Delilah Margaret (Robbins) Compton

(Date unknown)

My Mother and Me

I used to ask my mother to let's walk through the narrow path and watch the waves over the meadows and the beautiful birds flying through the air.  Just Mother and me.

We both loved  about the same things in the beauty of things to see.  Just my mother and me.

As the others were doing things they liked too, as playing marbles or passing ball or maybe pitching horse shoes.  You see, just my sweet mother and me were walking to see god's beautiful work of the birds and bees.  Just my mother and me.

We walked the narrow path with long soft grass on each side of the path.  My mother wore real long dresses that swept the ground.  It was a wonderful sight to see.  Just my sweet humble mother and me.

I loved to walk behind her and her dress going over the grass and I being step by step behind her.  I would get my Mother's long aprons and the string in front so the long part would be long and follow behind me like my Mother's dress she wore.  She was so sweet to me.  Just Mother and me.

Mother Darling's gone on to be with father now.  By the grace of God I'll meet them soon to be with Jesus.  Mother, Daddy and me.

It's not Mother and me any more down here.  I'm the mother of ten precious children.  Now they are all on their own, but my heart's desire is for them to be born again, We'll all meet together some sweet day around the Great White Throne.

I want my children to go to heaven when this life is over.  It's left up to them to choose heaven or hell.

"God save my darling children and help me to be prepared."

.......Delilah Margaret (Robbins) Compton

(Date unknown)