Art, Old friend- Thank you for bringing this thread out. It was written before I found Mudcat, I think, so that's why I didn't contribute to it.

The Armstrong home in Wilmette, with George and Gerry and the girls, is so very much a part of our lives. This was the time we (us singers) were all traveling the country. Well, their home was kind of mid-country, so you can imagine what a great stopping place it was! There was always music, a comfortable bed and simple, good food. Our place on L.I. is that kind of place too, but it's not as central. We've had so many wonderful gatherings there, made many friends, passed on songs and learnt songs from others- what a Meetin Place that was....

and I'll always be joyful that Gerry came to our Kentucky cabin to visit us, less than a year before she died. Her George had gone before her, and she was lonely. The first thing she did was to pin a lovely Indian Prayer Web onto our doorbell, to protect our house. She spent a lot of time that weekend with my three older sisters who were in their eighties, making cornshuck dolls with them. They told each other tales, hummed and sang, and we all learned from each other. She never talked about her illness, even though I knew about it, and when she left to go home, we smiled and hugged and slapped each other on the back just like two old mountain women who knew a secret. She was one of my best friends.