I married Dick Buskens in 1958. After high school, my parents drove me to Denver, Colorado to visit my husband, training in the Air Force. After training, we lived in Wichita Falls, Texas and Smyrna, Tennessee. It made us grow up without help from our parents and we learned to live on what old Uncle Sam paid us.
After the service, we moved back to Gulf Shores. By then, I was expecting my second child. Dick tried to make a living doing carpenter work and fishing, eventually building boats in our back yard.
One fo the biggest changes in our life was changing religion. I always loved to try to read the bible nut never understood much more than the basic stories.
I have been a minister of Jehovah's Witnesses, now 39 years. I studied for two years. My husband was also a minister up to the day he died, and my five children, their spouses and my grandchildren all serve our Great God and Creator Jehovah.
My husband of 37 years and my sweetheart from when I was 15, died with pancreatic cancer in 1994 - the quick kind. He lived just a short time after being diagnosed in March and dying in August, at home in the same home we built when we married in 1958. We had to add on to it a couple times as our children came along. It is 1.5 miles west on Hwy 180, the Ft. Morgan Highway.
My first two children were Mark and Brenda, 10 years later, along came a second son Jody, and five years later, another daughter, Darla. I was a full time mother, wife and homemaker and loved it. I helped with our business also.
My two sons have followed in their father's footsteps. He was a Master Boat Builder and built many fishing boats and charter boats over the years. Our business was Island Marine Service, Home of Buskens Boats. My oldest son just finished a 53 foot catamaran shrimp boat.
My youngest daughter, Darla Buskens just graduated last May (2001) from Foley and went to live in Anchorage, Alaska with her sister for seven months. It was the first time since I was 19 that I did not have any children at home and this was my first year in 35 years not to get up at 6am to get one ready for school. It was a strange feeling, but one I can get used to.
When Darla was two, I wrote a 300 page book on the coastal people of Alabama as my daddy was a fisherman, and my grandfather and his father. I published the book, gave history talks and sold quite a few. I interviewed all the oldest native residents I could find, and wrote their stories as they told them, along with my life and what was happening at the time.
For 11 years, I gave history talks in the winter for the University of South Alabama Eler Hostle Goup (college for a week with senior citizens).
Florman Robinson, my husband of two years and four months has had 42 radiation treatments for cancer plus an operation since August. Before that, he fell and had two broken ribs and was anemic, but hopefully, this new year will be better. He is feeling much stronger and able to do a few much needed chores. We put up a new bookcase as I love to read and did not have a bookcase.
I live between two homes since I married and my computer is in Gulf Shores. I am never there long enought to do much writing.
I love reading, writing photography, people and learning. In Bay Minette, we live on a hill and we have the most gorgeous sunsets. Our home is called Sunset Hill. We also love birds and put out lots of food for them.. Just got my first birdbook and will have binoculars by the time you get this letter.
I take lots of pictures and love to share them with others. It may be a cotton field, an autumn leave, a sunset, etc. I also write articles for the Baldwin Times about how life used to be. On page 272 of the new book on the History of Baldwin County, is a short story and picture of my husband as a baby, and another article on the Little Lagoon.
My mom and I also were on the planning committee for the Gulf Shores Maritime Museum. It is across from the library. I donated copies of all my old photos and video tapes of 15 old-timer interview, telling how life used to be. These can be seen at the museum.
