Albion and sister Ethel
 
Welcome to Golden Memories Vol.1
 


Albion Avery has a few tales to tell
about growing up in rural Kansas, learning to love cars, then women, and eventually getting hitched.
Who bloodied Albion's nose in football? Why was he arrested? How many girls did he date before meeting Grace?

Grace chimes in to explain how as a baby she was abandoned in Chicago's Lincoln Park before being adopted by her farmer parents. After courtship, and a hot wedding, Albion & Grace were off on a honeymoon. But, can you make it to Niagra Falls on a jar full of dimes, and just how does a guy order a lunch ham sandwich in Canada?

Learn these answers and more while enjoying a wild romp through young adulthood with Albion & Grace Avery.

  Albion with 1928 2-door coupe

The audio clips below are formatted as MP3. If your internet connection cannot keep up, right-click to save clips to your computer for smoother playback.

Note that some clips will stop abruptly at the end because they are meant to play sequentially with no gaps on audio CD. Simply resume the story by clicking the next clip in the series. To listen with no gaps, download the clips to your computer and load them into your player's "Playlist" window.

1

Intro
 :25

1988 - Kriss introduces the storytellers: her Dad, Albion Avery and her Mom, Grace Avery. Recorded sitting around the dining room table at Little Blue Haven farm near Barnes, KS.
Youthful Follies
2
The Bicycle
 2:12
1926 - Wes Sylvester rips his pants showing off!
3
1928 Coupe 
 2:08
1929 - Albion's first car...all style and no substance?
4
Baby Grace 
7:22
1919 - Grace recounts what happens when she was left on a park bench in Chicago's Lincoln Park
5
Lester Smuts
5:22
1928 - Albion wonders how a short, cherubic teacher with a 'peach complexion' will handle a room full of rowdy football players
6
Football
 5:49
1930 - Albion as 'charging tackle' faces off against Rod Thurlow and discovers a trick play
7
Arresting Circles
 4:05
1931 - Why was Albion arrested, and who financed his restitution?
8

Priming the Pump
 2:42

1931 - Albion delays dating until sister Ethel invites him on a double date
9
200 Girls
Wet spins in Albion's sparkling black 1933 2-door Chevy with cream wheels & jeweled trunk rack
The Courtship
10
Pop Bottle Picnic
 :49
First encounter, returning pop bottles
11
Midsummer Nights
 2:42
First date with Grace, a nightmare in a crowded movie theatre?
12
Dating Program
 2:56
Driving around, Scotty dogs, checkers, camelot, hearts - the romance of shoveling wheat
13
Cecile Emotes
 1:57
1938 - The proposal. Father Leslie readily agrees, but mother Cecile waxes on...
14
Sleeping Sickness
 :33
Did Grace delay the wedding for good reason?
The Wedding
15
Wedding Heat
 1:01
July 23, 1938 - So HOT. the candles laid over on the table
16
Gremlins Attack
 2:44
"COPS BEWARE" of this getaway car
The Honeymoon
17
Dimes And Stamps
 1:39
Heading out for the Michigan cool with Albion's piggy bank
18
Cherry Cider
 2:43
Ain't nothing juicier than an expanding jug o' cherry cider
19
Cops Beware
 :49
Ouch! Chicago sun pops the paint.
20
Niagra Falls & beyond
 1:57
Michigan corn goes 100 bushels to the acre?
On to Niagra Falls, Maid of the Mist and Canadian Cabbage.
21
Lunch Ham
 1:35
How does a guy get a proper sandwich around here?
22
Thirsty For Home
 1:34
Straddling the international line. Oh, for a glass of cool Kansas water.
Encore Performance
23
You're The One
 1:02
Albion croons to Grace
24
Memories
 1:15
Grace tickles the ivories for Albion

Albion in ball cap

 

These stories were recorded by daughter Kriss in 1988 with Albion and Grace sitting around the kitchen table at the Little Blue Haven farm near Barnes, Kansas. Audiocassettes were given out at the their 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration. The recording was remastered to audio CD in summer 2006 for the EBC Family Reunion.

"Volume 1" refers to a total of eight hours recorded that day to make this one hour set. Perhaps there are more to come some day?

Golden Memories CD jacket