Sunday, March 17, 2019

Larry James Jackson 1951 - 2013

Larry James Jackson
December 20, 1951 - March 9, 2013
Larry James Jackson, African-American, born December 20, 1951 to Marie Jackson in Cook County, Chicago, Illinois, Cook County Hospital. She was 18 years old. According to his birth certificate, his father's name was "Legally Omitted". He was told, like the rest of us, that his father was a gentleman by the name of Clarence "Jack" Johnson. There is more research that will need to be done to get a definitive answer on that.

Larry appears to be a second child to Marie according to the birth certificate. I was always under the impression that Larry was the eldest, so this is a great surprise to me.

At the time of his birth Marie lived at 1236 S. Wood St. in Chicago. The residence no longer is in existence.
Marie Jackson
Marie Jackson Andrews and Larry James Jackson (year unknown)
Larry James Jackson died March 9, 2013, in Norfolk, Va. His immediate cause of death was Respiratory Arrest due to Hepatic Cirrhosis. Larry was an alcoholic. He was cremated and interned at Albert G. Horton Jr. Memorial Veterns Cemetery.
Larry James Armstrong plaque in the cemetery in VA.

Larry married 5-6 times. Before he could marry his last wife, he was still married to multiple women, he had to divorce all the previous wives. He had 4 children. Larry Ralph Brown, the eldest, preceded him. The other three children are still living.

Larry moved from Chicago to Alliance, OH with his third wife about 1980 and then on to Charlotte, NC about 1986. Due to Larry's alcoholism, the family was separated. Larry married other women and eventually moved to Norfolk, Va where he died in March of 2013.

Larry enjoyed laughter and gardening. He had an amazing green thumb. He worked various jobs through out his life. Towards the end of this life he was on disability. 
NJROTC Military Ball 1990  
Daughter & Larry J. Jackson (1990)

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Larry and both daughters (about 1975)
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Larry J. Jackson with son & daughter. (2009)
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son & Larry J. Jackson (2009)

Roots Tech 2019

Well, it's been about 7 years since I posted to this blog, but I went to Roots Tech this year as a volunteer and learned something that has lit a fire under me. It has given me a new purpose for this blog that I am excited about.

I have been doing family history for my family for 20+ years and have hit wall after wall. This year listening to one of the speakers, she made a suggestion that I did not even think of....

BLOG YOUR FAMILY HISTORY!!

What?!?!?! Why have I NEVER thought about this!?!?! There are so many people I can imagine would visit looking for connections and who could possibly help me get over or through this wall I have come up against. So as I begin anew I will tell as much of the story as I know and find of my ancestors in hopes that as others search for them they may have a golden nugget of info to help me and maybe get to know more decedents.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Hope, Courage & Enthusiasm

Excited about the summer with the boys and no better way to start it off than this:



Friday, April 13, 2012

"Mr. Soph. Class Officer"

Alex has decided to run for a Student Body position at Cyprus Hight next year.  he is so pumped!!  I am so proud to be this kid's mom!!  Better yet I thank my lucky stars that I get to be his mom.  Right now, he's trying to decide on what to give out to people next week and what he wants on his posters.  This is exciting!!

This kid is definately an odds beater!!!  So looking forward to see how he is going to turn this world upside down!!  You go Alex!!

Monday, April 9, 2012

So it's been a while...

I've been doing a little bit of this and that.  Getting some learnin' done.  And being a mom.  I think I can keep up with this little bit better now.  I am hoping I will be able to get some the family all up to date soon.

I have also started another blog!!  I know.... so much stuff going on. But this one will be all about crafts, quilting, cooking, and just plain fun.  It's called:


It is totally NEW!  I haven't even got any designs down.  Looking for some ideas and stuff you like to do to put on here.  I hope to have a intro blog in about month.  :-)  This is exciting to me because, I will be done with school and I can actually get some of this stuff done I have hanging around here.

So stay posted and I will see you in a couple....

Saturday, September 3, 2011

10 Lesson from the Wingback

Lesson #1:
  • Life will soil you.  But that doesn't mean that you can't be cleaned up.

Lesson #2:
  • As long as you have "strong bones" ~character~ there is still much for you to do and support.

Lesson #3:
  • What counts is, what's happening on the inside.  When I was tearing down the outside of the chair my whole goal was to see what was going on underneath.  It was messy getting there.  Some staples were strong and didn't want to let loose, but patience and not giving up won out.  So when I saw what was underneath was not "bad," it really made me think the same about myself both physically and spiritually.  Yes, there is work to do, but it is very doable

Lesson #4:
  •  Slight changes can make a huge differences, so although I thought that I knew what I was doing, I found that I was unpicking seams and redoing things.  All because I was not following the "pattern" ~the guide~.  We have guides all around us to help with our health, our emotions, our finances, our relationships, our spiritual well being, etc.  Are we listening to them?  This does not mean we have to follow them, just hear them out and take what we can use and apply.  We don't always have the right answers...at least I know I don't.

Lesson #5:
  • Getting to the "root" of things requires WORK!  I saw and felt that, as sweat formed on my brow with the hours I put into getting beyond the surface.

Lesson #6:
  • Everyone needs a break, a timeout, a respite.  This is does not mean you can just forget what needs to be done next, but take a breather and sit with/appreciate your accomplishments thus far.

Lesson #7:
  • Get back to it.  NEVER LEAVE ANYTHING UNDONE!  In the words of my father, "Don't do a half-assed job!" 

Lesson #8:
  • Putting it all back together takes as much patience and work as ripping it up.  Family discord, broken friendships, marital strain, all take time to rebuild and make better, but it can be done and be made even more beautiful than it was originally (I've done it and because I am not perfect still doing it).  NOT THE SAME, BUT SO MUCH BETTER.

Lesson #9:
  • "It" doesn't have to be fancy or expensive.  "It" can be old.  "It" can be dirty. "It" can have it's problems.  yet, "It" STILL HAS VALUE!!

Lesson #10:
  • Share your talents.

I know many of you only know me a little, but I sincerely thought of you and others as I went through this process of "rebuilding" this chair.  I know we all have had things in our life that has soiled us, or we've done some things we are less than proud of.  We've hurt others, ourselves, etc. etc., but we can be better and many of us are.  Congratulations!!!  I know all of you are a good people, I've seen it in the past or I am getting to see it now in many of you.  I know you have worked hard to be where you are by making decisions that have affected you, spiritually, physically, emotionally, financially etc. 

I know I still have much to learn and hopefully share.

In the end, you all have value to me. Thanks so much for being my friend.

Monday, August 22, 2011

How to Reupholster a Wingback Chair Part II

Look at that chair!!!!




So how did I get there?
Well, it all started when....just kidding. 

You know all those fabric pieces I told you about in Part I and how you should Label them all...well this is where all that advice comes in handy.  We will be working in a reverse order for getting the chair all back together.
  • I ordered 5 1/2 yards of fabric for this chair and used nearly all of it.

  • No pictures, but for the tools needed for the rebuild are:

    • Staple Gun

    • Upholstery staples (I used 5/16" but I would actually use a little longer, may 1/2")~ you can get these at Lowes or Homedepot.

    • Hot Glue Gun

    • Small Hammer

    • Cardboard Strip (2) 1/2" wide and as long as the armrest

    • Hanger Tape

    • Tacks 

    • PATIENCE & TIME (although not as much as the ripped down)
Putting it all back together
Step 1: Use the upholstery you ripped off as your templates and mark up your new fabric.  Instead of writing on it use a piece of paper to transfer your Label info (i.e #2, Back, Top, etc.)  Do not skimp!!!  If the fabric you removed has a little more than you think it should, don't try and negotiate with yourself for using less.  Nope there aren't any pictures of this...it's pretty self explanatory. 
Step 2:  Piping.  This was a little tricky for me since I have NEVER made piping or used it in anything, so I went to the net and this is the coolest biased tape~piping making blog entry I found HERE. I will most likely make biased tape this way FOREVER...it's so cool.  It took me a few times to get it right, but by George, I've think I've got it!!  ***Nope still no pictures*** (there are some on the link that are great).

By the way this same tutorial gives you info on how to make your cushion.
Step 3:  We've come to the chair now!!!  Yea!!  #8 was the "seat" area that I did not remove.  I used a piece of fabric to cover it.  Staple the center bottom first.  It helped me make sure my lines were where I needed them to be. If you are working with fabric that pattern is not a factor, this is a non issue for you.  I then ran a bead of hot glue on the underside of the new fabric and pressed it onto the chair.
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I don't what I was thinking when I thought stripes!!
Step 4:  Backrest.  The padding on this was in really great condition.  Thank Goodness!!  But I wanted to have my new fabric against new padding so I added a thin layer of batting.  You can find this at any fabric store, even Walmart. You cut the size you need and just stuff it in on the sides and bottom.  You will then staple the top of the batting down onto the top ridge of the chair.  You will then place your new fabric on the backrest and stuff it also on the sides and bottom until you can gently pull the fabric through to the back.  At top of the backrest there is a little curve in the chair.  You make it easier to follow that curve you will need to cut slits in the edge.  Clip really close being careful not to cut to far into the curve and staple it down on the back on the chair. (It isn't as tricky as it sounds).






Step 5:  Those wings!!  You need to cover them with batting as well and staple.  With this piece, #6, it did require a little sewing.  Each chair is different, some are individual pieces, some are just slipcover like, so I can only tell you about the kind I have...a little of both.  These wings were attached at what I call the "inner elbow."  So I used the old fabric template and made my new fabric mimic the same.  Once I completed the sew project for this I placed it on the chair, making sure the lines were straight up and down and that the "inner elbow" fit perfectly.  IT DID!!!  I was shocked!  Stuff the sides in pulling the extra fabric to the back and bottom and wrap the armrests and staple.



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Make sure that when you staple the armrest fabric down that you gently pull it down towards the edge of the wood then staple.  DO NOT staple under the armrest.  It won't look nice and straight when put the bottom half on.  Trust me on this, I did it wrong the first time and had to redo my arms :-(.




Step 6: #5, The outer wing.  More sewing here.  I added the piping to the edge of this piece.  Originally on the chair it just stapled there and for the life of me I just could figure out that out, so I just added the piping to the piece and hot glued the really curvy piece in place and stapled the rest.  SO much easier! As you can see I also added a bit of batting to the outside of the chair as well.


Step 7:  That brings us to piece #4, the sides. Lay your chair on it's side. Holding the cardboard strip to the edge of the fabric place it next to the edge of the armrest fabric (right sides towards each other).  Evenly, push up, making sure all is still aligned...staple all along the cardboard strip.  


I didn't get a picture of this {sorry}, but pull down the fabric and staple it to the bottom of the chair.   Fold the front piece on the front part of the chair, staple.  Tug a little and staple the back piece.  Here you will have the legs to go around, just make it look nice and staple towards the back.
Step 8: Not really sure what to call them other than #3  Those little decor pieces that I had to pop off.  NO PICTURES.  I just covered them with fabric and nailed them back into place (go back to Part I, to see what I'm talking about here...I really don't what to call that piece.)
Step 9:  We're almost done!!!  #2  This was the hardest piece.  Not because it is difficult to put on, but find the materials you need.  I needed a nail strip, but everywhere I went they no longer carried it, so I had to improvise.  But first, I needed to staple the arched cardboard in the middle of the back.  Then I gently stuffed the fabric down and flipped it over. Then I went on to make my own nail strip.  To make it a bit easier than I thought it would be. I used a bit of double sided tape.  Place it on the Hanger Tape (which is in the plumbing section at Lowes) and place the strip on the edge of the fabric (wrong side) and turn toward the chair.  Use your finger to find the hole and tack it.  Once you have all those in gently tug on the bottom and stretch the fabric over the bottom wood piece and staple.  Done.






 Step 10:  Last step (if you want it to be).  Staple the mesh , #1, back to the bottom of your chair.


Step 11:  Now...Do the Hustle!!!!  You are done.

I actually sprayed my chair with a fabric protector at the end.  You don't have to do that, but I recommend it.  Can't be too careful right?


If you missed Part I click the link below:

{figure}ing out How to Reupholster a Wingback Chair Part I

Leave a comment here telling me what you think.  I really want to "hear" what you have to say.
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