MY FAMILY chapter 2

My father was born in Green, Kansas the oldest of seven children. His dad was a farmer. My great grandfather was a farmer. The only thing I know about him is that he moved into NE Kansas at the height of Indian wars. Some battles were fought right in his area. 

My mother was born in Kentucky the only daughter out of four children. I don’t know what grandpa did in Kentucky, but in Kansas he worked for a feed store right long the Marais des Cygnes River.

My mom and dad met in church. Dad began working at age 15. He worked for the Santa Fe railroad north of Ottawa. The first five of Mom and Dad’s children were born in Kansas: Harlow, Doris, David, Dorlis and Gladys. I am the first of two born in Omaha, Nebraska: Clyde and Dean. I was born nine years after Gladys. I am sure I was a mistake. How else can you explain it?

In 1939 dad moved to Omaha to begin working for Union Pacific railroad. He was able to move the family to Omaha to be with him in 1941. I was born nine months later. Three years later they decided I needed a playmate and Dean was born.

The family’s first residence was at about 15^th and Webster. It was part of the upstairs of what was once a stately old Victorian. Having no memory of that place David has told me that is was a small space with one bedroom, a large kitchen and a living room bedroom combination. The girls slept in the large room, I was in a crib (box, dresser drawer, whatever) with mom and dad and the boys were in a room down the hall. Other tenants shared the bathroom. I understand that was not always convenient, but that never bothered me.

The church we attended was only 3-4 blocks away. I have the sense that my parents had always attended a Pentecostal church.

We moved to the small rental house at 28^th and Webster before my memory kicked in. David didn’t like the school he and the girls attended and found Webster. The rental house was directly across the street.

I am told my older brother lived with us in the apartment. You can’t prove it by me. My memory begins with him married and living in a basement apartment on Burt, about two blocks away. I knew there was conflict between him and mother, but I didn’t find out what it was until much later.

The church was a painful influence for all my siblings. The two oldest had many nasty (their interpretation) conflicts with the Kings (pastor and wife). For me, it was mostly fun. I had some conflicts later but seemed to keep who Goad was and what the church was separate. The church may be Gods instrument on earth, but it is still a man mad organization made up of fallible people. I should know. I became on of them.

When free of dads influence, my siblings stopped going to church and never returned. Only Doris and I continued to go to church. She married the son of a Pentecostal minister. That was a strangest family I ever knew, especially Dean juniors mother. Only David, Dean and myself are alive today.

Hallow ran away shortly after arriving in Omaha with the family. He stole the family Model A and returned to Kansas and presumably his girlfriend. They were married shortly after I was born. Doris was married next. Dean junior was did a number of different jobs. I remember him most as a donut maker. David ran left at 17 to join the Navy. He spent some time in Bremerton so has some idea where I live now. He married when he returned State side.

Both the younger girls married Air Force guys. Dorlis had the most spectacular wedding. They left the church alter under drawn sabers. That was cool. I wish their married had been cool, but he was a very abusive man to both wife and children. He was an angry bigoted southern man.

Gladys eloped. She called mom while we were visiting Doris and family to report the news. I would not have wanted to tell mom face to face either. I was never around for the explosion.

I married a girl I met at Bible School. While I was at that college, my mother wrote to mention that they had attended my younger brother wedding. WHAT! That was all she said. It took two or three more letters to get all the details. It was a shotgun wedding. But to Dean’s credit, they are still married.

It was obvious that dad was a godly man. He was a man of prayer and he read his Bible through once each year. For only an eighth grade education he was Biblically literate. I was never sure about mom. She had many personal issues left unresolved. One was the death of her two older brothers killed while crossing railroad tracks in a blinding snowstorm. Both brothers were instantly killed, as was the horse pulling the buggy. She talked about that incident often.

I do not have a family photo of mom and dad and all seven of us together until all the older ones are married and have kids. This will have to do. Harlow is missing. L-R: David, Dorlis, dad, Gladys Clyde (me) Dean screaming in the arms of mom and Doris.