The Lang-Johnson-Eggleston Connection

This page of The Gardner Newsletter web site is devoted to the descendants of William Henry Gardner's half-sisters, Edith and Edna Lang. Edith married Ed Johnson. Their daughter, Sandra, and their son's wife, Janice, (Arthur Johnson recently passed way - see the article below) are honorary subscribers to the newsletter. Arthur and Sandra's children are also subscribers. Aunt Edna's daughter, Cindy Eggleston, (also a subscriber) sent in her opinion about America going to war after 9/11. You can read what she said by clicking on her "Price of Liberty" page.

We hope all members of "The Lang/Johnson/Eggleston Connection" will send in articles and pictures to the newsletter so that we can post them to this page. The Johnson's and Gardner's have enjoyed a very close relationship for generations and we hope that this page will help all the Gardner friends and family to keep abreast of what's happening in that branch of the family.

Jodi and Joe Desimone sent The Gardner Newsletter the very first issue of their family newsletter. Here it is! Jodi is Sandra and Richard Baraw's daughter

December 3, 2007

Merry Christmas!

This has been a good year, but sad as I lost my brother in 2006 on Veterans Day. He had emphysema. The family got together this last summer to spread his ashes over Lake Memphremagog. Arthur loved the lake and that was his wish. Just recently, Arthur's wife bought a condo in Holden, MA. She is near one of her sons.

We spent about three weeks in our son's home in Gloucester, MA during the month of May. We enjoyed our stay a great deal. It is a beautiful place. You can look out on the Annisquam River which leads into the ocean. Doug and family spend their summers there.

We spent Thanksgiving with our daughter and family this year. She lives in Pottstown, PA. Our son, Doug and family also came. It was a nice time of family fellowship. We enjoy having all the grandchildren together (all six of them).

Doug and Betty and the girls will be coming here for Christmas. They enjoy skiing and I am sure there will be plenty of snow. We are off to a good start!

Jesus came to bring salvation, hope and peace. May you be blessed this Christmas!

Love,

Sandy and Dick

December, 2006

(Click on image to see it full-sized.)

Happy Holidays!

Our newest little bundle of joy was born in October. Our daughter Jodi and husband Joe gave us this new grandchild.

Thanks for your kind remarks about Arthur. We are going to miss him.

Sandy and Dick

Reprinted from The Newport Daily Express

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

W. Townsend, MA - Arthur E. Johnson, 75, of Battery Road in Townsend, MA died Saturday, November 11, 2006 at the Health Alliance Leominster Hospital; he was the husband of Janice (Chance) Johnson.

Born in Newport VT on October 23, 1931, a son of Edward A. and Edith (Lang) Johnson, Arthur had resided in Townsend for the last 22 years; and prior to that, he lived in Groton for 18 years. He worked as a technical writer for Digital for approximately 25 years until his retirement in 1991.

Arthur is survived by his wife, Janice (Chance) Johnson; two sons; Edward Johnson and his wife, Lisa, of Worcester, and Daniel Johnson and his wife, Mary Beth, of Hanson, MA; one sister, Sandra Baraw of Newport, VT; three grandchildren; Jazmine, Colin and Aidan Johnson; two nephews: Douglas Baraw and Thomas Chance and two nieces; Jodi DeSimone and Rebecca Hunt.

Check out this e-mail from Arthur Johnson sent to Paul on February 24, 2006.

Checked out the new “Lang/ Johnson” web page. I suggest that it be renamed the Lang/Johnson/Eggleston” page to be complete.

I notice that the info in the latest newsletter introducing the page got a little garbled.

“Edith and her husband, Arthur Johnson,…….. should read “Edith and her husband, Edward Johnson,”……..

You painted a familiar picture of my pipe-smoking dad (Edward). He never did light up that thing unless he was content, and then nothing seemed to faze him. Dad was a railroad man who made good money in those days up in Northern Vermont. He went to work at age 15 on the section gang (which laid track and was extremely hard work), and he retired exactly 50 years later at 65. I’ve been told that when he retired he was one of the best locomotive engineers to have ever worked there. He never really looked back. I think he secretly hated the damn railroad.

I read your account of your overnight stay in Newport with interest because I too remember those clean crisp sheets my mother kept on the beds. There is nothing like clean, crisp sheets to give one a feeling of security.

My sister has put together a book of poems that our mother (Edith) wrote. The book has a great picture of Will standing together Edith and Edna that is just a classic. There is also a little poem that Mom wrote to Will for his 90^th birthday among other things. I’ll ask Sandra to send you a book if she has any left. If not, maybe I or she can e-mail you some stuff.

Aidan is Edith Johnson (Lang)'s great grandson. He is 22 months old and shows every indication that he is cut from the Johnson/Lang mold.

Thanks for the newsletter. I especially like the stories of how it was like on the farm all those years ago.

I find it very interesting how my family made it through those hard winters with the most powerful piece of equipment being a horse.

This has been an interesting year. Our daughter, Jodi and her husband, Joe, are the parents of a baby boy, Michael Joseph. He was born January 29, 2003. I went down to help for a few weeks as Jodi had to go back to work earlier than she had planned. It was fun taking care of a baby. Dick made several trips to Pennsylvania to visit all of us.

The christening for Michael was in May. The godparents were Jodi's brother, Doug, and Joe's sister, Carol. It was a nice time for all.

Now, in March, Dick was voted in as mayor of Newport. This is a two year term and he enjoys it very much. He also works on a Work Force Development Committee. This is a group that is working on a proposal for a new structure for a career center. This will be designed for hands-on technical education.

I keep busy with many projects that never got done while I was working. I sing in the church choir and attend events with Dick as Mrs. Mayor. One of the last events was the 50th anniversary celebration of the Nazarene Church here in Newport. One thing that was interesting was that my Uncle Will helped saw the wood for the pine walls that they have in the church. My cousin's son, Leonard Griffes and family, attend this church. We were pleased to meet the present minister and his wife and the first minister, Rev. Cyril Palmer. He is now about 80 years old.

In July, we went up to Wells Beach in our pop-up camper. We met our son, Doug, and his wife, Betty, and their girls, Meghan and Katey. We spent a few days together and had fun at the ocean.

In September, we visited Jodi and Joe. Then we went on to the Jersey shore. We enjoyed the ocean and visited Cape May, which has many interesting shops. Our campground was not so great. They had very cold showers!

Our biggest project this year was to have a new roof. So, we shouldn't have to worry about leaks for a long time.

Doug and Betty hosted Thanksgiving this year. My brother, Arthur, and his wife, Janice, and their family all came. Their son, Danny, and his wife, Beth, are expecting their first child in March. Their son, Ed, and his wife, Lisa, had just adopted a baby boy. Their daughter, Jazmine, was very excited and proud.

Now we are getting ready for Christmas. Our children and grandchildren will all be here. I'm sure they will get a little skiing in.

Our granddaughters are into sports. Meghan, who is in the 6th grade, played soccer and is playing basketball this winter. Doug is her coach. Katey played T-ball and soccer. She enjoys swimming and dancing lessons. Last year Meghan did lap swimming.

God has been good to us this year. We both seem to be in good health for which we are very thankful.

Christmas is Jesus. The spirit of Christmas comes in two parts. The spirit of love and the spirit of joy. This spirit of Christ surrounds both of these. May He be born truly and forever in all human hearts today.

Christmas Greetings from the Baraw's

Christmas has a wonderful message. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me ... will have the light of life." We always go into Christmas with a mixture of joy and sorrow. We rejoice to be with our family, but have memories of our loved ones who have gone to be with the Lord. Dick lost his brother this year which was very hard for all of us. His wife, Darlene, and two of their children live near us.

We will be visiting our children for Christmas this year. Our son, Doug, and his wife, Betty, live in Melrose MA. Our daughter, Jodi, and her husband Joe, live in Pottstown, PA. We plan to visit Doug and then travel on to see Jodi. Jodi and Joe are expecting their first child in February. It will be our third grandchild, so we are very excited.

Doug and Betty have two children, Megan - age 10 - and Katey - age 4. Meghan plays soccer and basketball. She also plays the trumpet, like her daddy did. Katey goes to pre-school and takes dancing lessons. They both take swimming lessons and they do a lot of skiing together as a family.

We spent Thanksgiving weekend with Doug and Betty and had Thanksgiving dinner with Betty's sister and family. It was a very nice day for all of us. On our way home we hit a moose on the left front side our our car. The moose fell back on the whole left hand side and did a great deal of damage. He broke the windshield and his antlers scratched the top of the car. A few more seconds and it would have been in our windshield. God was watching over us and we praise Him for it.

My brother, Arthur, and his wife, Janice, live in West Townsend, MA. Arthur had cataract surgery which was very successful.

Dick had to take 33 radiation treatments for a basal cell carcinoma on his ear. Surgery was not recommended as it would cause deformity to his ear. The treatments were very successful. During his treatments he developed a slipped disk. He thought he would be headed for surgery, but it healed itself. He is now back to good health.

Dick and I are now both retired. Dick keeps busy serving on the council in Newport. He plans to run for Mayor in the spring.

Last year our children planned a 40th wedding anniversary at the home of our son, Doug. We enjoyed lobster and steak - a special treat! In the fall, we took a trip across the United States in our pop-up camper. It was a delightful trip. We enjoyed visiting my cousins, Clayton Gardner, and his wife, Gerry. One of the sights we saw was the Grand Canyon. It is one of God's great beauties - a breathtaking sight.

Our minister and his wife, Mike and Dina DeSena, had twins this year - a boy and a girl. They have a little boy who just turned two. We are blessed to have them in the church and to have their ministry among us.

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