My Nana, Joanna Pruitt Leonard, and her Interesting Life

March 30, 2024 by Beth Wilson in Genealogy

My Nana, Joanna Pruitt Leonard, my mother’s mother, died when I was nine. I have no memories of her that I can remember. She became senile during the last years of her life and she lived in a rest home. We lived 300 miles away when she died. Joanna was born in the morning on 19 February 1881 in Princeton, Indiana at her grandfather Elisha Jones house. (Her grandmother Susan was a midwife.)

Entry in Elisha Jones’s Journal about his granddaughter Joanna Pruitt’s birth.

Joanna’s father, Joseph Pruitt, had died the previous July 1880 in Owensville, Indiana and her mother Emma had then moved back to Princeton, Indiana with Joanna and her older sister Helen. According to Helen, Emma was a very independent woman, as was her mother Susan, and Emma didn’t live with her parents very long. In January 1882 she took her two young daughters, Helen and Joanna, and moved to Kansas to live with her brother Alfred Jones and learn the millinery trade so she could support herself and her two daughters. While in Kansas Emma met James Howey and he finally convinced her to marry him in 1886.

Joanna Pruitt, April 1883, 2 years old, probably in Kansas

In 1887 James and Emma and the two girls moved to San Bernardino, California where James worked as a bricklayer for the rest of his life until he died in 1918.

Helen (Nellie) and Joanna Pruitt, September 1888

Joanna attended school in San Bernardino and had an active social life while she was in high school. The local newspaper mentions her several times attending various events and singing at a few of them.

Joanna Pruitt, August 1896, 15 years old

December 24, 1898, San Bernardino County Sun Newspaper Joanna was 17.

January 1, 1899, San Bernardino County Sun newspaper, Joanna was 17.

After graduating from San Bernardino High School Joanna took the examination for teachers and became a teacher.

January 5, 1900, Daily Times Index newspaper

Joanna was appointed to be a teacher at Oro Grande School and she moved to Oro Grande to teach.

August 11, 1900, Daily Times Index newspaper

Joanna continued to participate in social events in San Bernardino from time to time.

May 12, 1901, San Bernardino County Sun newspaper

July 7, 1901, Queen’s Court, Joanna Pruitt, bottom row, second from right

By 1902 Joanna was teaching 2nd and 3rd grade at Mt. Vernon School.

September 4, 1902, San Bernardino County Sun newspaper

In 1903 Joanna was granted a year’s leave from teaching to attend college at Berkeley University.

May 12, 1904, Daily Times Index newspaper

in 1904 Joanna was granted an additional leave of absence from teaching to go back to Berkeley for another year.

June 2, 1904, Daily Times Index newspaper

As she did in San Bernardino Joanna took part in social activities while at Berkeley as well.

April 12, 1905, Oakland Tribune newspaper

Joanna didn’t return to Berkeley for a third year and in 1906 she returned to teaching in San Bernardino at Fourth Street School and participating in local social events.

September 6, 1906, San Bernardino County Sun newspaper

March 29. 1906, San Bernardino County Sun newspaper

A family keepsake from Joanna, her Saturday Reading Club, a precursor to today’s Book Clubs.

Joanna apparently loved to travel and the newspaper is full of descriptions of her travel throughout California and also to New Mexico to visit relatives in the early 1900’s.

During this time Joanna lived with her mother and step-father at 802 Fifth Street in San Bernardino. She continued to teach at Fourth Street School during the 1908-1909 school year.

Joanna on the porch at the Fifth Street house about 1909.

In early 1909 Joanna was planning to move to the Philippines to live with her sister Helen and Helen’s husband and teach. But something happened and she decided to stay in San Bernardino and marry Willis E. Leonard. Willis was 46 and he had 5 children, his oldest child, daughter Florence, was only 5 years younger than Joanna who was 28. His wife Henrietta had died in November 1908. Willis and Joanna were married December 27, 1909 in Joanna’s home on Fifth Street in San Bernardino.

December 28, 1909 San Bernardino Sun newspaper

After the wedding Joanna and Willis left on a 6 week wedding trip by train across the country and back. While on their wedding trip Joanna collected sterling souvenir spoons from several cities that they visited.

Five sterling souvenir spoons that Joanna collected on their wedding trip in 1909 from some of the cities that they visited.

January 26, 1910, The San Bernardino County Sun newspaper

April 19, 1910 United States Census, Willis, Joanna and son Frank are at the bottom of the page, the rest of the family is on the next page

The rest of Willis’s family is at the top of the page, daughters Edith, Margaret, and Dorothy. Daughter Florence was already married and daughter Helen had died young. There was also a servant living in the house in 1910.

Willis Leonard had owned a small department store in San Bernardino, and then one in El Paso, Texas. He then returned to San Bernardino with his family in 1900 and opened another store. Later he sold the store and became manager of the Insurance, Loan, and Land Company. He was involved in a very successful real estate business in San Bernardino for a few decades until the Depression hit and he lost much of his real estate wealth.

May 24, 1910, San Bernardino County Sun newspaper

January 1, 1913, San Bernardino County Sun newspaper

Over the years Joanna was very active in San Bernardino’s social life and a member of various clubs.

April 25, 1913, San Bernardino County Sun newspaper

Leonard Home, 427 Magnolia Avenue in San Bernardino, built in 1915 by Willis E. Leonard. Elisabeth Leonard Gardner was born in this house in 1916. (This house still stands and was completely renovated and then sold in 2022.)

Probably 1918, Joanna with daughters Elisabeth and Lois

16 January 1920, United States Census, Willis and family near the bottom of the page, by now 2 other children have joined the family, Lois and Elisabeth.

Leonard Family about 1924, Joanna back row 2nd from right, daughter Elisabeth in front of her

April 3, 1930, United States Census, Willis and Joanna Leonard with their daughters Lois and Elisabeth and Joanna’s mother Emma Howey.

When the Depression hit Willis Leonard lost much of his real estate wealth. They sold the Magnolia house and bought a smaller house on Pershing Avenue in San Bernardino.

June 1937, Pershing House, 3233 Pershing Avenue, San Bernardino

April 5, 1940. By the 1940 United States Census Willis and Joanna were living alone in their house on Pershing Avenue in San Bernardino.

Willis and Joanna in front of the Pershing Avenue house

Leonard Family, Christmas Day 1937, Joanna back row left

Willis Leonard died October 14, 1944 at home of a heart attack. Daughter Elisabeth was there and remembered that because of war time it took the doctor quite a while to get there but Willis had died instantly.

October 15, 1944, San Bernardino County Sun newspaper

October 18, 1944, San Bernardino County Sun newspaper

Joanna continued to live in San Bernardino after Willis died until she became senile and was moved to a rest home in Pasadena where she died in 1960.

November 8, 1946, San Bernardino County Sun newspaper

July 25, 1954 San Bernardino County Sun newspaper

August 13, 1960, San Bernardino County Sun newspaper

A Bee Bedecked Spring Tablescape

March 28, 2024 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

I did a bee tablescape four years ago, and then a different one three years ago, and then another different one two years ago as well. But when I saw this bee tablecloth at HomeGoods a few months ago I flashed on all the gray tablescape items that I already have and I decided to do another bee table setting. This tablecloth has a label that says The Farmhouse, Rachel Ashwell. Gray is an unusual color for a Spring tablescape but after completing 220+ tablescapes I need to branch out a bit and go beyond the norm sometimes.

These bee themed salad plates came from Wayfair online. They came in a set of four with four different designs. The plate designs were created by artist Susan Winget and the plates were made by Certified International. When I saw them I knew that they would be a perfect match for the tablecloth.

This is a Fiesta dinner plate in their newer shape Bistro and the color is called Daffodil. The Bistro shape offers a wider food surface and deeper well and it looks a bit more modern than the Fiesta Classic plates. I bought these Fiesta dinner plates online at Everything Kitchens LLC three years ago. You can read about what you need to think about when you are buying dinner plates here.

This Gray stoneware charger or dinner plate came from Pottery Barn. I love this plate, I also have it in other colors. The pattern is called Cambria. It is the perfect size to be either a dinner plate or a charger plate, I love plates that have that kind of versatility.

I have had this frosted Light Gray flatware set for several years. The flatware was made by D & D Inox in Italy. I bought it at Neiman Marcus or Bloomingdales during a major sale several years ago. This pattern is called Vietri Aladdin Brilliant (not Antique). There are similar frosted patterns available online now. I have this set in other colors too because I really like the frosted design. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I bought these yellow gold cotton napkins at World Market several years ago. I found the bee napkin rings on Amazon last month. They are such a good match for the tablecloth. To read about the What, Where and How of napkin rings please click here.

This beehive place card holder went through quite a metamorphosis. I found them online at Oriental Trading a few years ago. They were in the Easter section and they were lemon yellow. Inside was a plastic bumblebee. I bought them because I knew Hubby could paint them for me and then he attached a wooden base so that they could stand. I already had the tiny bumblebees so I added a few just for fun. I set them on a small square bronze place card holder. I can’t remember where they came from. To read about the what, where and how of place card holders, please click here.

I can’t remember where the smokey gray glass goblet on the left came from. I have had them for several years. They were made by Greenbrier Glass. The gold Poly/Carb goblet on the right was made by Le Cadeaux and the pattern is called Fleur. We found them at a gift shop on one of our trips up the coast several years ago but they were really expensive so we only bought a few of them. I had been looking for that color for a long time and after we got home, I found them much cheaper online so I bought a few more. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets for your tablescaping collection including the colors that I use most often here.

I found this white porcelain honeycomb cookie jar at Williams Sonoma online last month. I love using cookie jars as centerpieces, they are always the right size. I set it on a small white cake stand that I found at HomeGoods several years ago. The two wood bees that I placed on each side of the cookie jar came from a local gift shop. Looks like they were just made for this tablescape.

If you look very closely you can just see this tiny glass bee to the left of the centerpiece on this tablescape. I have had it for years, I don’t remember where I got it but I knew it belonged on this table. It is a favorite of mine.

I am not a real fan of bees although I know we need them and I try to plant flowers for them but I had fun pulling this table together.

To see 220+ tablescapes that I have created, please click here. If you are on Facebook, join my Tablescape Ideas group! Just click on the Facebook Search box at the top of the page and type in Tablescape Ideas. Don’t miss my Tablescaping How-To section at the top of this blog post for more tablescaping tips and tricks.

I put a new tablescape on my blog every week so please check back!

This blog post was featured at Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, https://www.mizhelenscountrycottage.com/ Please visit this blog for lots of great recipes!

An Easter Tablescape

March 21, 2024 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

This is a different version of one of the first Easter tablescapes that I ever created from five years ago although I have made some changes to it since then. I found the polyester Easter tablecloth at HomeGoods five years ago. The brand was called Hip + Hop.

I love these egg shaped salad plates, especially the raised design on them. This yellow ceramic egg plate came from HomeGoods several years ago and it was made by Magenta. I have the same plate in blue, pink, and green.

This fuchsia dinner plate is plastic and it was made by Max Studios Home. I think I found them at HomeGoods several years ago. The color is a perfect match for the fuchsia flowers on the tablecloth.

I have had these turquoise blue glass charger plates for several years, I think I bought them on Amazon. They were made by Bormioli Rocco, an Italian company, and the pattern was called Inca. I have them in a few other colors as well. They are heavy glass and I really love how solid they are.

I bought this frosted blue flatware on sale online at Wayfair several ago. It was made by Cambridge and the pattern was called Barcelona Pearlized. It is 18/0 so the fork tines are a bit sharper than I would like but I really liked the bright blue frosted color and the simple design. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I think these bright blue cotton napkins probably came from Pier 1 or HomeGoods several years ago. They are a good match for the blue flowers on the tablecloth.

These ceramic Easter Bunny standing napkin rings were designed by Johanna Parker. They came in a set of four and the bunny stand was four different colors. I love that cute bunny face! I found them on Ebay last year.

I found these bunny and egg place card holders at HomeGoods several years ago.

The yellow place cards came from Amazon.

I found these fuchsia and turquoise goblets at HomeGoods several years ago. They were labeled Le Stelle Cristal Italy. I like the etched design with the butterflies and flowers.

This centerpiece white bunny came from Pottery Barn several years ago. I found the wood eggs on Amazon last week and Hubby painted them for me. The bunny is sitting on a green drink dispenser stand from Pottery Barn that I bought many years ago.

Getting ready for an Easter celebration!

To see 220+ tablescapes that I have created, including 10 other Easter tablescapes, please click here. If you are on Facebook, join my Tablescape Ideas group! Just click on the Facebook Search box at the top of the page and type in Tablescape Ideas. Don’t miss my Tablescaping How-To section at the top of this blog post for more tablescaping tips and tricks.

I put a new tablescape on my blog every week so please check back!

This blog post was featured at Life and Linda, https://www.lifeandlinda.com/ and Two Chicks and a Mom, https://twochicksandamom.blogspot.com/ Please visit these blogs, you will enjoy them!

Lambs on an Easter Tablescape

March 14, 2024 by Beth Wilson in Tablescapes

Since I started tablescaping I have created ten different Easter tablescapes. You can see them all here, (scroll down to Easter). I have done the usual Easter themes, bunnies and Easter eggs, so now I am looking for different ideas. Three years ago I did a yellow chick theme for Easter (you can see that one here). I had been pondering other ideas since then and I decided that lambs would work. I found these cute plates and then I found this cute lamb tablecloth on sale at Spoonflower online last month. If you look closely at the tablecloth you can see four leaf clovers on it so it would work for St. Patrick’s Day too as well as Spring.

I love these vintage style ceramic salad plates with their scalloped edge. I have them for a few different holidays now. These lamb salad plates are made by Mr. Christmas and this design is called Mr. Cottontail, Follow the Magic. When I am looking for a certain plate design, once I find what I want, I google the name and buy them online wherever they are the cheapest. These lamb salad plates came from Ebay and Poshmark last month.

After I bought the salad plates I was trying to decide what color the dinner plates should be. I kept noticing the large pink bow and the other pink accents on the salad plate. I have a few different pink dinner plates but they tend toward a peach color rather than a true pink. I decided to check Amazon and these LIYH pink plastic dinner plates popped out with matching salad plates. I took a gamble that the pink color was a true pink and I bought them because I knew that I could easily return them with free shipping if they didn’t work. The actual pink color is a bit brighter pink than this photo shows. I like the color and the ruffled edge and I am happy that I finally have plates that are a true pink color.

I have a pink charger that matches the dinner plate but when I put them all together with the salad plate it was too much pink and it looked too much like a baby shower so I pulled these turquoise glass chargers and they worked. I have had these turquoise blue glass charger plates for several years, I think I bought them on Amazon. They were made by Bormioli Rocco, an Italian company, and the pattern was called Inca. I have them in a few other colors as well. They are heavy glass and I really love how solid they are.

I pulled blue, turquoise and pink flatware sets to try on this tablescape but the pink set looked the best. This pink frosted flatware set was made by Bugatti for Vietri and the pattern was called Aladdin Brilliant. I bought the set at Macys several years ago. I have several sets of frosted flatware, these are 18/10 stainless, and I really like the frosted design. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I think the napkins came from Pier 1 several years ago, I love the intense turquoise color. Two years ago I did a Summer Farm Animals tablescape and I bought these lamb napkin rings to use on that tablescape. I found them on Ebay and they were made by Lipco. You can read my blog post for ideas about how to store napkin rings and place card holders here.

Here is the Farm Animals table setting from two years ago with the same lamb napkin ring. Originally the lamb had a red ribbon around its neck but Hubby repainted it for me for this tablescape.

These Kate Aspen lamb place card holders came from Ebay last month. I bought the pink place cards on Amazon a few years ago.

The turquoise acrylic goblet on the left came from Pier 1 several years ago. I have this goblet design style in several colors in acrylic and in glass and I use them often. I found the pink glass goblet at World Market a couple of years ago. Tall true pink glass goblets are difficult to find so I am happy to have these. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets for your tablescaping collection here.

I had been on the lookout for a lamb centerpiece for several months. I was meeting some librarian friends at a restaurant down the freeway a bit and there was a small group of gift shops and an outdoor shopping area there as well. I got there early and as I was wandering around I suddenly saw this larger lamb. It was labeled as vintage but I am not sure that it is. They are made of some kind of clay I think. I saw the smaller lambs too but I didn’t buy them, (a mistake!) because I thought I could find a couple of smaller lambs to add to the tablescape somewhere else. I was still looking with no luck when Hubby was planning a trip south to pick up something and I decided to have him stop by and buy the smaller two matching lambs as well. I was lucky that they were still there! I added pink ribbons to them that I bought on Amazon to match the salad plates.

I like the soft colors on this tablescape, they always seem to signify Spring to me.

I put a new tablescape on my blog every week so please check back!

This blog post was featured at Modern on Monticello, https://modernonmonticello.com/ and My Thrift Store Addiction, https://mythriftstoreaddiction.blogspot.com/ Please visit these blogs, you will enjoy them!