Pet Story for new book

I WILL NEVER HAVE A HOUSE CAT! That was my feelings for years. Well, you know God has his own ideas for our lives. It all happened when we were expecting our first grandchild. Our daughter and her family was moving and I was having poor me feelings. They were not moving very far, but the idea of the new little one being further away and not as handy to see was really bothering me. Well you might say God gave me my own baby. Our barn cat got killed on the road and left behind 4 cute kittens. One tiger, one long hair black and two Siamese kittens were left alone after just 3 days of having their eyes open.

Luckily we had another barn cat we called Granny. She was the grandma of these four kittens. Granny adopted all the kittens, except one Siamese that would not stay where Granny put him and would not obey. You might say kind of a "Problem Child" kitten. Granny left him out in front of the garage, in the cold, crying all day. It was apparent that Granny was not coming back for this rebellious kitten. We could not stand to see this little one shivering in the cold and left to die, just because he was a brat cat.

The next few weeks were spent bottle-feeding and teaching the little one to eat food. He would not let me out of his site and followed me everywhere, so his name had to be Shadow. I bought books to find out all I could about housecats. I learned that they can become as smart as a two-year-old child. Well my future was clear; I will have a cat stuck in his "Terrible Two" forever!

He is now 6 years old. The book was right he is differently a two-year-old child. But we dearly love him and his funny antics. He will take one of his balls to the top of the stairs and drop it, so he can chase it to the bottom. He is really entertaining and lots of fun.

It didn’t take long for Shadow to steal my heart. God is wonderful, loving and caring. He knew just what I needed. As for the grandchild, I did get to see him more often than I thought I would. And as time keeps spinning by we now have four grandchildren, but I am happy to report only one cat.

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Pencil Sketch Artist, Becky Terpening is doing a series of pet portrait sketches for an upcoming pet book. Get a 5”X7” portrait pencil sketch of your pet for $60 (Value $150) or upgrade to an 8”X10” for only $40 more (Value $250). Finished sketch will be in a mat and ready to frame. Also include a pet story  (400 words or less). Pet sketches and stories will be featured on this blog and will be displayed in several businesses. Story and sketches may appear in newspapers, magazines and other advertising.


Send a photo of your pet, pet’s name, check and pet story to:

Becky Terpening
1570 50th Street,
Kirkwood, IL 61447

CC Case Tractor Story

I am in the process of gathering tractor stories for a book. If you have a photo of your tractor and a story send it to Becky@TerpCreek.com . Here is one of the stories I have received.

Clifford A. Bump purchased this "CC" Case new in 1930. Before the "CC" my maternal grandfather farmed with a team of horses. This tractor was his one and only tractor. It is thought to be the first "CC" sold in Fulton County, Illinois. Grandpa did a lot of custom farming in and around his farm in Joshua Township.

The "CC" was purchased at Heller Case in Norris, Illinois. It originally was on steel wheels, Grandpa Bump converted this to rubber tires after WWII. The tractor is completely original except for the tires and the magneto. The magneto was changed to a Fairbanks Morse purchased at Harvey Brothers Electric, Galesburg, Illinois.

This tractor was given to my brother James E. Taylor and myself Richard A. Tayor in the fall of 1975. We started restoration in the summer of 1991. My father Richard J. Taylor painted it and as you can see did an awesome job, "Thanks Dad". At the Knox County Scenic Drive, The Spoon River Antique Tractor Association had a tractor display. They had a dynamometer there. When we hooked the old Case to it, it showed 39 horsepower, pretty good considering we did not touch the motor. "Thanks to Grandpa Bump", it looks pretty good for an 81 year old tractor.

This tractor was used on his farm until 1975 when it was given to James and myself.

When the Case Collectors Club had its annual meeting in Galesburg at the old Holiday Inn, they asked me to bring the old "CC". This was the National Meeting in 1994. I was asked if I wanted to sell it. The answer was "NO" of course.

Story submitted by Richard Taylor.