A stitch in time
It's been a while since I posted anything....kinda of a writer's block, I guess. The passing of both my Mother-in-law and my Father-in-law has given me pause. I have mourned their passing, but am totally convinced that they are in a better place than we here on earth. I feel happy for them. They had a good and long life.
John Gilmore Helen Harry Gilmore
1912 -2008 1913-2008
My kids thought they were basically in their eighties their whole lives....It's not unusual in the kids perspective. I thought my grandparents were very old when I was little. It gave me pause when my great grandmother Austria Centenial Francis
died in 1956. I thought to my self that now I am one further up on the generation ladder. It hit home harder when her son, my grandfather
"Shorty" Clarence "Papa" Stark died when I was a senior in high school. That death was a surprise to everyone...he and a friend were killed by a train over in Joplin, MO. I used to talk to Papa about his dad and uncle Harve and some of the mischief they got into...some of it reasonably documented in the family history I have been working on since 1973. Some of you have copies of some of the stories on one side of the family or the other.
In April of 1991 my dad, Bill Pierson died. There were aunts and uncles and cousins and
also dying during the years, but that didn't seem to have the same impact on me and when I lost one of my ancestors. I feel blessed that I actually got to meet people that were born before the Civil
War, before cars, before radios, before telephones, before refrigerators, before electric lights, before much of what we now consider old technology.
This piece of thought is not supposed to be morbid, it is only a reflection of some of what I noticed and thought when I was growing up. I still don't consider myself totally grown up......being a cowboy still has a pleasant ring to it.
I suppose I should try to draw some kind of conclusion to this.....if I should, I think it would be for everyone to get to know the older ones in the family.......it may even be you now. If it is, welcome the intrusion into your past. Its good to dig in the garden of memories on occasion. You may even reap a great harvest with the young ones.
John Gilmore Helen Harry Gilmore
1912 -2008 1913-2008
My kids thought they were basically in their eighties their whole lives....It's not unusual in the kids perspective. I thought my grandparents were very old when I was little. It gave me pause when my great grandmother Austria Centenial Francis
died in 1956. I thought to my self that now I am one further up on the generation ladder. It hit home harder when her son, my grandfather "Shorty" Clarence "Papa" Stark died when I was a senior in high school. That death was a surprise to everyone...he and a friend were killed by a train over in Joplin, MO. I used to talk to Papa about his dad and uncle Harve and some of the mischief they got into...some of it reasonably documented in the family history I have been working on since 1973. Some of you have copies of some of the stories on one side of the family or the other.In April of 1991 my dad, Bill Pierson died. There were aunts and uncles and cousins and
also dying during the years, but that didn't seem to have the same impact on me and when I lost one of my ancestors. I feel blessed that I actually got to meet people that were born before the Civil War, before cars, before radios, before telephones, before refrigerators, before electric lights, before much of what we now consider old technology.
This piece of thought is not supposed to be morbid, it is only a reflection of some of what I noticed and thought when I was growing up. I still don't consider myself totally grown up......being a cowboy still has a pleasant ring to it.
I suppose I should try to draw some kind of conclusion to this.....if I should, I think it would be for everyone to get to know the older ones in the family.......it may even be you now. If it is, welcome the intrusion into your past. Its good to dig in the garden of memories on occasion. You may even reap a great harvest with the young ones.
I enjoyed hearing Uncle Joe's stories during our last visit to Kansas. You should share more of the stories you know. The stories we can't hear anymore. Your Papa's stories. Your dad's stories. Your stories.
I got a brief look into Uncle Joe's "blog" - one volume of what is probably hundreds of small notebooks in their house. Seemingly random, in no particular chronological order, and still fascinating.
Share, please. Write them down, here!
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I often think of my grand parents and great grand parents who had such a great impact on my life, my personality, my perspective on the world and my capacity to keep on trying each day. They taught me courage, humility, devotion, compassion and taught me (even though the might not admit it) all the ways to get in trouble and not get caught! They were naughty little cajuns when they were younger. It is important to get to know those that are older than you, and equally important to remember that they were young once too.
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