6 January 26

My tie today shows children dressed for games. It was given to me by my Mom and Dad thirty years ago. Today (6 January, Epiphany) my mother Ethel Howland (York) Kleppinger would be 110 years old! As shown in the photo from ~1959 (when she was 43 and I was about 5) we got along quite well.

            

16 July 25

Today's tie is simply children playing games. I'm wearing it (briefly) because we are hosting our Richmond grandchildren (as usual) to play at our home in Berea! My lanyard announces that I am Papa Seeds, Full Service Grandfather. Historical trivium: On this date in 1439, kissing was banned in England (to stop the spread of the Black Death).

12 May 24

It's Mother's Day 2024! We are celebrating with lunch at Mom Wilma Wollenweber's house, with good food cooked by Cracker Barrel (or Crackle Barrer, if you prefer). My tie showing children dressed for games is one that my Mom (Ethel Kleppinger) gave me some 30 years ago. The photo shows my Mom and Dad with our boys Ben and Jonathan in July 1991; Ben is 5 and Jonathan is almost 3.

27 June 22

Today's tie featuring children dressed for playing all sorts of games honors the memory of Bob Keeshan, famous as television's "Captain Kangaroo." Those who remember Mr. Moose, Bunny Rabbit, Tom Terrific, Grandfather Clock, Dancing Bear and Mr. Green Jeans can all help me celebrate Keeshan's birthday! He was born in 1927 and died in 2004. The television show ran from October 1955 through December 1984 (plus reruns). Of course the early years were purely black-and-white! Bob Keeshan described his Captain Kangaroo character as based on "the warm relationship between grandparents and children."

9 May 21

Today is the standard day for Mother's Day. So I'm wearing a tie given to me at least twenty-five years ago by my far-above-standards Mom, Ethel Howland York Kleppinger (1916-2000). It shows children outfitted for all sorts of games, and the Save-The-Children label says that it was designed by "Kristin - Age 15," who named it "Play Fair." In our own family we will observe this holiday later this month when all the mothers (and their children) can be together.

19 May 19

It's Mother's/Mothers' Day, for us! We delayed our family celebration so that all four of our Kentucky mothers could be together. My "Save the Children" tie, showing children dressed for various games, was a gift from my own mother Ethel Kleppinger about 25 years ago. She's pictured here with Ben and Jonathan, in 1991.

8 October 17

Today marks the birthday of Brian Fallis, a coworker in Information Technology at EKU, who also happened to move into the house across the street from us in August 2016. In common parlance, Brian "lost a brave battle with cancer" sixteen days ago. But I think Brian was very successful in life -- pursuing several different careers, fathering wonderful children, and coaching many young people in several sports. His premier life goal was to help others discover the love of Jesus. His wife Cristy approved this tie (featuring children dressed for various sports) to honor this day.

27 June 17

Those who remember Mr. Moose, Bunny Rabbit, Tom Terrific, Grandfather Clock, Dancing Bear and Mr. Green Jeans can all help me celebrate the birthday of Bob Keeshan, our heroic Captain Kangaroo! He was born in 1927 and died in 2004. The television show ran from October 1955 through December 1984 (plus reruns). Of course the early years were purely black-and-white! Bob Keeshan described his Captain Kangaroo character as based on "the warm relationship between grandparents and children." My tie for today features children dressed for all kinds of games.

6 January 16

Happy Centenary Birthday, Ethel Howland (York) Kleppinger! My mom (1916-2000) was an English teacher, retail sales clerk, church historian, poet, daily meditation writer, journal-keeper, wonderful wife/mother/aunt/grandmother, and happy volunteer with all sorts of school and church projects. She gave me this tie maybe twenty years ago.



1959
1991
1992

15 June 14

For Father's Day, I'm wearing a tie featuring children (dressed for sports/games) that was given to me by my parents many years ago. Also, today would have been their 74th wedding anniversary. Our family Sunday lunch will be at Olive Garden, featuring many father-child and grandfather-grandchild relationships!

20 November 12

It's International Children's Day, and I hope you have some wonderful children to remember today. This tie celebrates children ready to play (all sorts of games).

2 June 11

My parents gave me this "Save The Children" tie sometime in the 1990s. This would be my father's 95th birthday! Today is also the third birthday of Rylynn, niece of Ben and Amanda! June is a great month to celebrate childrenhood.

15 June 10

Today would have been my parents' 70th wedding anniversary. They were together for almost 60 years! They gave me this "Save the Children" tie, featuring children ready to play games, sometime in the 1990s.

02 June 09

Arthur J. Kleppinger (1916-2004) was born on June 2. He was an accountant and group insurance supervisor for Bethlehem Fabricators, Inc., a steel engineering company in Bethlehem, PA. I selected my tie for today based on its resemblance to the one he's wearing in this picture from 1990. (The tie I'm wearing originally belonged to the grandfather of our family friend Rachel Haskins.)

















Note for 01 June: Yesterday was International Children's Day, and to celebrate I wore my tie featuring children ready to play various outdoor games.

11 May 08

My mother chose the tie (15-20 years ago?) as a gift to me. She was a teacher (high school English), writer, retail clerk, church historian, church group do-everything person, after-school reading tutor, pray-er, and most of all My Mom. The picture of us is from fall or winter 1959, when I was six.