Social Networking

Here is network but it is not very social. In fact, it is quite deadly. Those caught in the network loose their lives.

I have for some time resisted using the social networks of “Facebook” and others. Maybe it is because I’m not a very socializing person or maybe because I’m too much of a private person. Anyway, Google joined the social networking world by putting up a site called “Google +”. I don’t remember who it was, but someone invited me to become a member of family circles and friends. After listening to many arguments for engaging in a social network, I decided to join up. I put up my profile and photo and made my first post to the site last week. While I can see great advantage in staying in close contact with family and friends, sharing activities through communicating and highlighting events that occur within the family, I also see it as a great distraction away from some of life’s priorities.

There is no doubt that we need to communicate among ourselves and build strong relationships among family members, but are we focusing upon life’s events that really build relationships? All of my grandchildren are anxious to share the lives of their children with us as grandparents and more importantly with their parents. I find joy in seeing our children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, prosper and in finding joy themselves in righteous living and activities. I also become saddened when they make unwise decisions that may lead to sorrow and unhappiness in their lives.

From my perspective, there are few grandchildren that know very much about their grandparents and fewer that know anything about their great grandparents and perhaps there are none that know anything about ancestors beyond that. Would it not be wonderful to communicate among ourselves stories and activities that we remember about those from whom we descend? Perhaps if we peeled off a few hours per month and got away from the blur of our everyday lives and begin delving into the lives of those from whom we descend, those living as well as those who has passed on, would that not bring about a lasting relationship for eternity? Would it not strengthen our grandchildren and encourage them to be honorable and faithful? All of us are grandchildren of grandparents of which some are living and some are not. For those who have passed on, it becomes more difficult to become acquainted with them and the stories that they would have shared with us if they were living now, but they have their stories. The question is: Who will tell them?

This family Blog has contained the stories of some grandparents as I’ve tried to share with the family some of their lives. Each of you are authors to this blog. As an author you can post stories and highlights of parents or ancestors, but few if any have the time to share. The exception is Charlet Mallett.

Would it not be wonderful if there existed blogs called: “Walker Family History Blog”: “Hull Family History Blog”; “Bennett Family History Blog”: “Reinhart Family History Blog”; “ Giandomenico Family History Blog” ; “Portis Family History Blog”. I’m sure you get the point:

There are more than one set of grandparents all of which have stories that could contribute to the lives of our children.

Well, perhaps the social network is the place to share such stories, if not, then it is a distraction to building meaningful family relationships. This blog seems like a natural outlet for sharing family history. There is more value in history than we can imagine and we should be using it to strengthen our youth.

RHB

A Chapter in the Life of Anita June Loe

THE TOMBSTONE TOLD WHEN SHE DIED

……MORE THE THICK STONE CANNOT TELL

"Finding a clever, original or even an interesting way to begin my personal history has been somewhat difficult for me. I have been so blessed in every facet of my life that as I reflect back, it seems too good to be true, even to me. I was truly born with a special heritage. I don’t believe in “pre-destination”, but the fateful circumstances surrounding the meeting of the Lee’s and the Loe’s could make a believer of even a skeptic such as I.

My father, Ray (a Loe), his brother Roy and their sister Elsie, met my mother Magnon (a Lee), her sister Sidna and their brother, Serres Paran (Ted) in the Deep South in the late 1920’s. They were in the throes of the “great depression”. History indicates that it was much worse economically there, than in many other areas of the nation. None of the Lee’s nor Loe’s were formally educated, very much people of the “land”. As they got acquainted with one another, they realized that each possessed some qualities that could help them in “getting by” during this period of American History, which would come to be known as the “great depression”. Being very musically talented, (my Mother’s brother, Bronson could play any instrument with strings on it!). The girls were young and beautiful, also musically talented and “full of life”, they put together a musical show, “Aaron Slick from Punkin’ Creek” and took it “on the road”.

It was a musical play about people in very much their situations “in real life”. I believe the price of admission was ten cents. They traveled in Arkansas and Texas eking out a living. As time passed and destiny would dictate, these energetic, vital “troopers” fell in love, married and continued to knit together as family. Where one went, they all eventually went and continued to stay extremely close. Very often they “would pool their resources and maintain a home together. My Mother, Magnon,“nonnie”), and her sister, Sidna (“tissie”) and their brother, Serres Paran (Ted), married my Father, Calvert “Ray”, his brother Roy, and their sister, Elsie. As a result, I had cousins that were “sisters”, as close to me as my only birth one, Belva. There was Wanda, Evelyn, Merva (Pat), Mirial and Barbara. My brother Calvert and cousin Fred were buddies and it seemed like they always needed “watching”. We had many great times playing in a tire! We would get into it, the others would roll us down an incline until we bounced off the garage wall! Another favorite pastime was playing with the flowers. Nasturtiums were a favorite because they had a round, flat leaf. Those served, as our dishes and the actual flowers and rose petals were the food. We had baby dolls that we loved! Giving them water until they wet their diapers, then changing them when they wet. We used our mothers as role models in “mothering”. What fun it was!

Most of my childhood recollections center on our home and extended family activities. What Wanda, Evelyn and Mirial did, Belva and I were also involved in. We all took tap dancing at very young ages and got quite good! Our mothers were very adept at making sure we practiced every day, even though it sometimes involved a little flip of a switch when we sloughed off! We danced at the Worlds Fair in San Francisco in 1939, and that was very proudly told by our parents for quite some time. Wanda and Evelyn were so tiny and cute, I was larger and more serious in nature, and not so light on my feet, so Mother started me in “Elocution Lessons”. I started memorizing and giving “readings” at every family occasion. It has served me well and I have enjoyed the opportunities this has brought to me throughout my life. I participated in many speech contests and school related activities in drama, debate and extemporaneous contests.

When my brother Cal was born, Mother developed a condition called ‘milk-leg’. I think it was blood clots. Daddy contrived a box with lights in it, Mother had to keep her legs elevated, so she laid, with her legs in that box for about a year. Grandpa Lee and his wife, “grandma pansy” lived in our driveway in a small tailor for that year. They would take Cal into Mother so she could nurse him. One of my most vivid, yet frightening, memories is of my Mother, crying . As I look back on it now, as an adult, I can’t imagine the thoughts and fears she must have had. I know they had bought some property and were making plans to build a larger, new home. I’m sure she imagined that dream coming to an end. Another vivid memory I have is when she got out of bed and began to do a few things, she immediately wanted to start sewing. She had a treadle sewing machine and I would sit on the floor and push the treadle back and forth. It was quite a while before she got an electric sewing machine and boy….was I happy!

Another of my fondest memories is going to the movies! We would hurry to get our work done…household ….yard work …or any other chores!! . . . and then off we would go with our 15 cents; 10c for the movie and five cents for a frozen banana. We would nibble and lick and do every thing we could do to make it last the longest! Mirial had some sort of secret because she could always make hers last longer than anyone else. We loved the actors and it became encouragement for our imaginations to go into gear and act out all the movies we had seen. Nelson Eddy, Jeanette McDonald, Tyrone Power, Joan Crawford, John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Errol Flynn and many others. We didn’t have the beautiful, thick tresses like the feminine heroines in the movie, so we would use pinch clothes pins to lengthen our hair. Oh! We felt so beautiful!! We knew the name’s of all the characters in the movie, their loves and co-stars. We had hours and hours of great fun. We didn’t have television but we did have fanciful imaginations. We listened to the radio plays also. “Lux Theater”, “I Love A Mystery” “Jack Armstrong, the All American Boy”, “Inner Sanctum”. The daytime soaps were “Stella Dallas”, “Life begins at 40”,”Fibber McGee and Molly”.

I also learned the value of work. As I became old enough to do chores, I did them! My work was mostly in the house. Cooking, cleaning and learning from Mother, skills I have used all of my life. Mother usually washed the dishes and I dried them and put them away. She was an excellent homemaker and we lived in a spotless house, with meals served on time, sitting down at the table together and cleaning up afterward. My memory is that Belva my sister usually got the “bellyache” and got to go to the bathroom a lot, but that could be a little distorted in my mind! Cal of course, being a boy, was never expected to do household chores. Men and women’s jobs were very clearly defined in our life style. That too, changed with the times, I remember in later years of his helping out in the kitchen on rare occasions. Mother’s illness after Cal’s birth kind of changed Daddy’s concept of His and Her responsibilities, I think.

When a young person in the Mormon Church turns twelve, they advance into a more social atmosphere. We attended a weekly meeting called the Mutual Improvement Association…. commonly called “mutual”. We continued to learn the doctrines of the Church along with dances, acting, and socially progressing. Naturally this included boys and “crushes”. I had gotten my growth early and was taller than everyone, so I didn’t often feel comfortable in my body. The other girls were tiny and “cute”, which really made me aware of my “un-cuteness”!! I feel such gratitude in my heart for the programs and development that the Church offered to all of us. Our parents were wonderful, and took every opportunity to help us develop talents and gave us opportunities to “perform” at every family event. Our family got together often , the love and “connection” is a feeling I draw on often, even today as an adult. Back to MIA! Along with learning the doctrines we were given so much acceptance socially. The leaders made certain that there were no favorites. We were taught all the steps to the waltz, fox trot, rumba, samba and of course and always the jitterbug. We were all great dancers so that was a wonderfully happy time. During the war, we would all get together and ride the bus to downtown Oakland to the stake dances. There we met lots and lots of service men from the Oak Knoll army camp. We danced our hearts out. What fun we had…hay rides, skating, hiking even a little horseback riding which I was not good at. Scared to death!!! The park above Oakland was just beautiful. Eucalyptus trees, pines and the big sequoias. I remember Mother serving in the Primary Presidency and how seriously she took that responsibility. We had home teachers regularly and Daddy got quite friendly with one man in particular. I guess at one time He asked Daddy why he was’nt a member of the Church. Daddy said something like “well, no one’s ever asked me!” Of course that sparked the “golden question” and Daddy was baptized into the Church on May 3, 1941. Mother of course, had been baptized as a child in St. George, Utah on May 1, 1921. She also had been sealed to her parents in 1922, Grandpa Lee had joined the Church in Texas and was taking his family to be sealed . Tragedy struck and he lost His wife and two children on the way….another story and very sad!

```My parents didn’t really become “active” until they moved to Oregon in 1946 after my Father’s near fatal heart attack. They made the` move thinking they were going to have to be living “off the land” because of his illness. They bought a small acreage, a cow and a pig…and proceeded to take up their old way of life. Uncle Roy had moved to Oregon earlier, bought a log truck and began “logging”. Soon Daddy felt that was something He could do and soon “Loe Brothers” Logging and Trucking was formed. They worked together until Aunt Sidna had a catastrophic stroke. Uncle Roy dedicated His life…until she died, to her care."

Part of her biography upon the occasion of her birthday, April 20, 1931. To later become the light and life of my life.

RHB

Remembering

Kevin Brooks and new granddaughter, Natasha Ruh






















Vivian Warner, Jerry Miller and Linda Gibson


















Miller, Gibson, Brooks, Warner cousins (12)



Heleman 5:6
Behold my sons, I desire that ye should remember to keep the commandments of God; and I would that ye should declare unto the people these words. Behold, I have given unto you the names of our first parents who came out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I have done that when you remember your names ye may remember them; and when ye remember them ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their works ye may know how that it is said, and also written, that they were good.

Most of my readers and authors for this family history blog recognize my passion for family history. By that I mean a love for, not just how family members are connected, but for the lives of family members and what they did or didn’t do. You may be aware that I have delayed writing about the lives of my immediate grandfather, Francis Harvard Brooks, and my grandmother’s Armstrong family. I have delayed those writings because I wanted to give a couple of my grandsons a view of their Warren fathers. I have become so involved in the project that I have neglected writing about ancestors closer to me. I’m not sorry about that decision, because I have learned to love them and felt of their love for me.

Recently, I discovered a living Warren relative that had in her possession some hand written pages about the history of their parents and grandparents based upon their personal knowledge. They were only two pages, but it contained a brief sketch of a life. These were priceless to me because they conveyed firsthand information concerning their ancestor that earlier forced me to make conjectures and make assumptions based upon public documents. As I read these short stories concerning the lives of their mothers and fathers and grandparents, I pondered in my mind the question: What will my children write of me and their mother? For those unborn great grandchildren or for those recently born, will their parents and grandparents have anything to say about this generation, what we did and how we felt?

I asked my authors to consider writing about a remembrance of significance concerning their parents in a previous blog. No one responded. May I extend to you another challenge to write a two page brief history of one of your parents or grandparents. Publish it here in this Blog so we may all benefit from it.

I’ll paraphrase Heleman’s word to his sons, “when you think of your name, remember to think of the works of those who have preceded you, that their works were good.” Re member is an interesting word. Does it have implications regarding family members? There is so much to remember, especially, remembering Him whom we have chosen to follow; remembering those who await in the spirit world for saving ordinances. So much to remember! If and when it is taken away from us while we sojourn upon this earth, we will have lost a pearl of priceless value. We should not take our remembrance for granted. Let others enjoy your memory.

RHB

Proxy – Our responsibility

In my last blog, I described an episode in my young life in California. I prefaced my story with come comments about my father. I grew up without a father at least beginning from the time of normal remembrance. Because of my father’s separation from his children by his choice, neither by me nor by my mother, I and my siblings lost the blessing of a righteous father’s love and example. My mother had a good religious background and made great efforts to bring up her children in love and righteousness, but the influence of the father was not there. My father was in love with having a good time filled with worldly adventures and experiences. In many different ways he offended his children. I have never held a hateful thought in my heart for him, although, I have seldom had a thought of him. Yet, recently he has been upon my mind. I’ve wondered about his present feelings in the spirit world where he now resides. Gospel ordinances have been vicariously preformed for him that would take him back to the presence of our Father-in-Heaven, providing he accepts them. However, on the other hand, ordinances are gifts and blessings which when acted upon bring about promises related to those gifts and blessings. We know that the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ brings about forgiveness through repentance and baptism. Furthermore we know that this life is the time for repentance and that the spirit that we take with us as we go into the grave is the same spirit that will possess us when we enter the spirit world.

A scripture has recently come to my attention (D&C 98) “If the children shall repent, or the children’s children, and turn to the Lord their God, with all their heart and with all their might, mind and strength, and restore for all (the) trespasses wherewith … their fathers have trespassed or their father’ fathers, then …vengeance shall no more come upon them … and (those) trespasses shall never be brought any more as a testimony before the Lord against them”.

It seems to me that after vicarious ordinances for the dead are performed in the temples of our God, and as a proxy are living with full purpose of heart, repenting, sacrificing, might, mind and strength, our repentance can have vicarious ramifications. As we restore for sins or trespasses of our fathers, or as we ourselves repent of sins that have been passed down to us from our fathers, or where our fathers have no chance to make things right, it seems that we can help to save our fathers from responsibility they otherwise would have had for suffering caused by their sins. Through both proxy work and the work of our own repentance, which itself is a vicarious work, we are “response-able” i.e. positioned and able to perform a saving labor on behalf of our families.

“Dearest father: Because of your absence in my early life, I fell into grievous sin and missed out on becoming a faithful member of the lord’s kingdom and did not serve my Lord faithfully. Even though now I still fall short, I trust that my repentance will serve you that your trespasses may not be brought up before the Lord. May you know that I am dedicated to His service for I know that He suffered for our sins and through our repentance we are made whole by Him. Perhaps, I can assist in bringing to pass a glorified house, even the house of Israel, that eternal great family, where you will be included. For we are all his sons and daughters ; brothers and sisters, through the atonement. The atonement is the great central proxy ordinance of time and eternity.”

Anyone who believes in the atonement of Christ, whether he knows it or not, believes in vicarious work for the dead.

As with “The Brothers Karamazov’ by Dostoyevsky, the dying brother Markel with no bitterness at all in his voice told his little brother, “Run and play now, enjoy life for me too” Indeed, the spirit of proxy work was illustrated by the author.

“Go my son, repent for me and do what I should have done there and all will be well with me.”

Family, Family, Gratitude, Gratitude may they be our lot.

RHB

A Story of the Past

Dear Readers

From time to time, I plan to recall stories from the past and let you have a look at them. Some of these you may have heard previously and some may be new to you. I've been writing a family history of the Warren family and I have found that there are few stories that reveal the past. Maybe you will contribute something to this blog since you are all authors.

Life on North Main Street

In the year 1939, my mother and father divorced. I was about 12 years old. My father didn’t seem to care about the children that were left for my mother to care for, as he made no effort to contribute to our financial support, let alone emotional support. From that time forward, my father was not part of my life nor of my siblings. I did not see him nor did we have any contact with him the balance of his life with one exception. That divorce was literally a divorce from the Brooks side of the family. I never made contact with my grandmother Brooks nor any of my Brooks aunts or uncles until late in life when I became interested in my family history. It is interesting to reflect back upon a period of time after I was married and moved back to the town that I was born in and where the Brooks family lived. I lived there with my family for a period of five years and not at any time did I visit my grandmother Brooks. I guess it illustrates how deep the divorce was between the Brooks’ and my mother’s side of the family, the Gibson’s.

At the time of the divorce of my parents, there were four of us children and the country was in the midst of a depression. My mother finally got a job working for Riverside County. With the help of her siblings, Aunt Martha and Uncle Jim and Aunt Bertha and Uncle Bill, my mother rented a small house with some acreage on North Main Street in Riverside. This was a happy time for us we were able to acquire rabbits and chickens and to have a garden area. In fact, about one acre was planted in tomatoes. All of this was through the help of my Mother’s siblings. As mentioned we were happy here. I rode the bus to school. I was called “Indian” by my school friends and I could run like the wind and there was not one that could catch up to me in running. Oh, how I loved to run.

When I would come home from school, mother would frequently ask me to slaughter a rabbit or a chicken for dinner. I learned how to do this early after living there from my uncles. I learned to dress rabbits and chickens and use an axe to decapitate the head of the chicken and then scald them in hot water to remove the feathers. I never quite got used to killing rabbits. They would have to be skinned and the dressed by hanging the by their hind legs for the cleaning. In fact even now, it is difficult to eat rabbit because of that memory.

My brother, Loren, was a very entertaining boy at that time and still has that attribute to this day. During the times mentioned above, he was about 6 years old. We had a large round dining table in the kitchen. The house was very small; several bedrooms with a large kitchen and back porch. Radio was our favorite pass time of listening to mystery programs, like the “Green Hornet”, comedy like the ” Amos and Andy” show and many others. My brother, Loren, would at times locate himself under the dining table around the center pedestal and act out the radio announcer or other persons that he heard on the radio. I remember setting with my mother and getting the biggest laughs of the day listening to him chatter playing “Radio”.

How long we lived on North Main Street, I’m not sure, but our next move was to live closer to my Grandma and Grandpa Gibson and my Aunt Bertha and Uncle Bill. Since we were living near to them when war was declared against Japan on December 8, 1841, we probably only lived on North Main less than a year.

Kimberly's new baby girl, Kaylee Brianne McAdams shown above. (see phpGedview).

RHB