AnthonyFosterPhD

When your deepest disappointment brings a new meaning to your life, And you’re closer to the ground than you thought you’d ever be, And the weeks seem long and meaningless and another day brings strife In the valley of the shadows the soul’s dark night is all you see The mourning becomes dancing The loss becomes new gain Step by step you are  advancing On the road of toil and pain In the cauldron of experience His presence is the power That perfects the weak-for their defense Mercy makes a mighty tower Boundless and Bold is the Father’s love As it was from old, it is more than enough We’ll never tame the glorious name The reckless raging Love  age to age the same The challenges we face each day exposit our great need To cast ourselves headlong on grace  for every thought and deed This transforms our perspective, a so our mind’s renewed Setting our  hearts on things above will baptize our attitude The mourning becomes dancing The loss becomes new gain Step by step you...

Words are failing But I am prevailing My groans are not of pain But of the glory I’ve obtained Overwhelming Christ indwelling My heart is overcome And now I am undone Too much too good too amazing Is the fullness of this glory I am praising Oh the promises that I fail to apprehend Shall be to His glory in the end. Grace exceeds Abundant  needs And I am satisfied Under your wings to hide Beyond all I ask In glory to bask I’ve tasted and I’ve seen Your goodness evergreen Too much too good too amazing Is the fullness of this glory I am praising Oh the promises that I fail to apprehend Shall be to His glory in the end. Bridge You take me far beyond the brink  Beyond all I can ask or think From your fountain I will drink Of life eternally. Grace surpasses My trespasses Mercy is abounding God’s Grace is so astounding Glory reigns down In Christ I’m found I would be set apart Give me a Holy heart Too much too good too amazing Is the fullness of this glory I am praising Oh the promise...

This I call to mind, therefore I have hope: When this truth I comprehend The steadfast love of the Lord shall not cease  His mercies never shall end. This I call to mind, therefore I have peace When in this truth I come to rest The mercies of the Lord ever increase By this thought I am blessed. For I cannot reason or reckon my way Out of this situation today I can’t pull enough strings  The harder I try the more failure it brings God of the impossible remind me You do impossible things If I forget, I will languish- If I forget, I shall fail So set my mind on things above so I can prevail Bridge Oh the greatness of Grace, wisdom and power That avails itself  each hour Holy Spirit please remind me I pray Call to mind the lovingkindness  That sees me through ev’ry day I will remember the deeds of the Lord;  Wonders of old my soul heeds I will remember and ponder your works,  And meditate on your deeds For I cannot reason or reckon my way Out of this situation ...

The Bullitt County News   December 24, 1909 Continued from last week. The Children’s Corner- The Watermelon Patch  In the summer another delicacy was in order- Our watermelon patch was kept safe from coyotes and deer by a fence that seemed to a young boy to be as tall as a barn. Let me say without hesitation that there are few things that taste better than a cold sweet watermelon on a hot day, especially after haying or threshing in the field. We would sometimes chill a nice ripe melon in the creek or the spring by placing it in a shallow location early in the morning before starting in on our labors. Once I was sent to fetch the cold melon after a day of haying. The melon of choice was more than my ten year old arms could manage, and as I approached the haystack I dropped it and it burst open. I was embarrassed as Uncle and Papa laughed but they told me not to fret as it saved them cutting it open with their hatchets or pocket knives. That was the most delicious watermelon I ...

  The Bullitt County News  December 17, 1909 The Children’s Corner The Apple Hole and the Watermelon Patch CWR  An apple is as sweet as candy to a boy in the summer months, and the taste for it does not diminish during the winter months. In fact the memory of the juicy fruit on a hot day of stacking haycocks may make them all the more to be missed for that sensation is forever linked in memory with warm and bright days. An apple is full of sunshine. The sound of the dropping of apples from the apple boughs made for a willing worker when it came to string up a winter stock of the fruit. We had an old root cellar in which we stored apples in the autumn months, and an apple-hole in the back yard later as the first hints of winter approached with jack frost in attendance. The apple harvest time demanded as much time as sugar making. In mid October days we would fill bushel baskets and gunny sacks and stack them on the wagon, our orchard never lacked for produce, and in the la...

I am running out of pictures of GGGrandpa Charlie, but here is a photo of some of his offspring...taken around 1931-32, the year my Dad was born. On the left is my Grandma Alma - Grandpa Charlie's son Grandpa J. O. Ridgway is holding her oldest, my Aunt Bertha. the short lady is GGrandma Mattie.   August 2, 1908- BN Continued from last week  One time when James Simmons and Ernest were little boys, Kirby Simmons came home one evening and Ernest was standing around the yard looking sneaking, Kirby said “what is the matter?” and at the same time said “where is James?” Ernest said, “He is upstairs lying down, he don’t feel good.” Kirby said, “What is the matter with him?” Ernest said, “We were playing on the hillside rolling one another in a barrel and the barrel got away from me and rolled down the hill with him in it and he has not been feeling good since.” Kirby laughed a little out of the corner of his mouth and said, “Well you make haste and do up the evening work.” It seems ...

always click on image for larger view- This is Mary Jane Ridgway ca 1860 July 19, 1908 BN The Bullitt County News   Children’s Corner Children and Their Ways.  It would seem impossible to do justice to this subject in a little article like this for there have been children in the world ever since the first children were born unto Adam and Eve, and it would require several large volumes to tell all about children and their ways. In all times children have played a big part in the home life, and in every nation children have their peculiarities that belong to that nation; hence the difference in children in different nations and countries. Children receive their first impressions at home, and are, to some extent, what their parents make them. This little article is not a wise dissertation on child life, but a rehearsal of a few of the circumstances that have come under my observation or that I have heard from others, and is more for the amusement of children than for the instruc...

The Bullitt County News  February 28, 1908 BN Children’s Corner  My Childhood Home  I appreciate the frequent calls for C. W. R. and should have written sooner, but the paper has been so full of good interesting matter that I thought our space might be more profitably occupied. But if my little article may be a pleasure to any one I shall be pleased to write. I hope the people will remember that I write for the children. The very nature of home awakens many sweet and tender recollections. The one I shall try to describe to you may not be as dear to you as it is to me, but doubtless there is a spot somewhere that is equally as dear to you. Most people have had a home and the mention of that home awakens many sweet recollections; the mention of it causes the breast to heave and the eye to moisten. All that is dear to memory clings around our early home. When I was a small boy my father sold the place where we lived and bought what was known as the Bridwell place, situated o...

The Bullitt County News May 10, 1907 Children’s Corner  Danger Line  I was a little troubled at first whether to call it dangerous or safety line; for on one side of the line is safety and on the other side is danger. So it is a matter of some importance as to which side of the line we are on. When we used to play marbles we had what we called a “dead” line; if we fell beyond that line we were all right, but if we fell behind the line we were dead for that game. Now society has a moral line that people are expected to live up to if they wish to be respected; and all the good deeds and good qualities of life are on one side of the line and all the bad deeds and bad qualities are on the other side. So that we can easily see which is the respectable side of the line and also which is the safe side. And yet it is not always easy to keep on the safe side as some may think; surrounded as we are with the evils and temptations of life. It requires a great deal of moral courage to keep...

The Bullitt County News April 19, 1907 Children’s Corner  A Little Trip.  A few days ago I had occasion to go to Mt. Washington, so early one morning I hitched up old Prince to the buggy and started. I will first tell you where I live so you may have some idea of my route. I live on the South side of Salt river, six miles east of Shepherdsville. The river was deep and the ford difficult, so that I had to go by the bridge at Shepherdsville. If you will go with me I will write in the plural and say we, as I do not like too many I’s, especially big I’s. After passing over a little rough road near our house we came out onto the county road leading from Shepherdsville to Greenwell’s ford. One of the first places we passed was Pate Swearingen’s. He owns and occupies his father’s old place. Following the decline in the road we came to James Ash’s; he is a blacksmith and runs a shop. Going on down the creek we crossed at a place commonly called Hecker’s ford. Up the hill a short dista...

The Bullitt County News  April 10, 1907 Children’s Corner  Good Children  We love the pretty springtime With all its buds and flowers It’s sunny slopes and grassy meads And sweet and sunny bowers Its orchards white with flowers bright With fruitful nest in store For it matters not how much we have We always want some more. Most children are good, and many would like to be better than they really are. Children generally possess a desire to be good, useful and pleasant, and we should encourage them in such habits. We should let them know that we appreciate their good qualities and actions. It will encourage them. I am not one to put a bad meaning upon every thing that children do. Inexperience may some time lead them into error, Then should be kindly advised and pass over the error as lightly as possible. In fact a little prompting in advance might save the child from many errors which would be better than fault finding afterwards. Many little children would like to know wh...

  The Bullitt County News March 22, 1907  A Happy Rendezvous  Allow your boys and girls to subscribe to good magazines and to buy a new book occasionally. Have music of some kind and consider it a duty you owe your children to give them an education. If they have a talent for music give them music lessons if for drawing give them lessons in drawing; or if any of the arts, cultivate that talent to the best of your ability. If you would have the farm become a happy rendezvous have it well lighted; oil is much cheaper than to have your children wonder off, you know not where, for they will go where it is bright and attractive. Allow them to invite their friends to their home and assist in the entertaining. Do not call your children up at 4 o’clock to feed the horses or milk the cows; it does not make the morning very attractive for them, and in time they will dislike the farm. Give them time to live, and take time yourself to see a pretty sunset, a bright flower by the waysi...

Mary Ellen Vallonia Robards Ridgway, C. W., Mary Jane and Maggie Nora ca. 1870   The Bullitt County News   March 8, 1907 BN  The Children’s Corner  My First School  I was the oldest in a family of seven children, and after I began to arrive at the age of six years, it was a question of some importance as to how I was to be sent to school; we lived 1 ½ miles from the school house and no children came our way, so some plan had to be devised for me to have company. Now I had a cousin Joe who was a large boy and a fine manly fellow. So my Papa proposed to board him if he would go to school from our house and he let me go with him. He gladly accepted the offer. So the time came to go. I had looked forward to the time with a great deal of pleasure until the time actually came, and I began to feel curious about leaving home. I remember my Mama had fixed us a good dinner in a little new split basket. Fried pies, eggs, lean meat, preserves, etc., which was a great induce...

  CLICK on the images for full sized viewing... The Bullitt County News  February 17, 1907   The Children’s Corner  The weather has been so cold and the little ones have been housed up so much that I thought it would be nice to write a little especially for the little ones. I used to teach school myself and I always like children and still feel a great interest in them, and it is natural that my thoughts should turn to them during these shut-in times. Most children go to school when they can, and I think it would be nice to talk about school. In the first place we will give you a few little problems that might be interesting to you, (now all this is for the little children and we hope older ones will not criticize),  Now for the problem: Suppose you are eight years old and Mama is 32 years old, when you are 32 how old will Mama be? Miss Susie has 26 scholars and she wishes to treat them on oranges at 24 cents per dozen, what will it cost her to give one ora...

  The Bullitt County News  September 8, 1905 BN  A Happy Reunion One of the most pleasant visits of my life, Saturday, August 26. I met all my brothers and sisters in a happy reunion in Louisville, Ky. We had not met for years, and we came together from distant quarters to meet as one family again. And the happiness of such a meeting one would have to experience to fully realize the pleasure. The children who once played around the same fireside came together from Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Missouri to mingle together as in the days long passed. Of course, it took some time to get used to the changes that had come over each of us. We now range in age from 40 to 62 years (myself being the oldest). After enjoying the pleasure of our first meeting, we took our baskets and retired to Cherokee Park where tables and seats were awaiting us, where we returned thanks for our Heavenly Father for his wonderful preservation of life; the privileges of that meeting and the bounties w...

  The Bullitt County News  November 25, 1904 BN  Old School Days  Next to our own dear homes, is the sweet remembrance of our old school house, the school grounds and the dear boys and girls with whom we used to meet and mingle with there. And we love to go back in memory to those happy days, and live them over again. If there is anything in the past that is sweet for memory to dwell on, it is certainly school days. We meet our schoolmates there in the springtime of life, when the present was pleasant and the future hopeful.  We remember our recitations and our classmates, and how it thrilled our hearts with emotion when we were promoted in class or passed to a higher grade. The memory of the boys and girls who contested the honors with us, and sometimes put us to the blush, is fresh and sweet now, their forms and features linger with us yet, and we would not forget our dear teacher who was stern and homely to us then but beautiful now and we love him the more f...