Sunday, May 20, 2007

Luck and Kathy St Clair




We had a wonderful visit with Lucky (Frank) and Kathy St Clair yesterday, and we have to give them a big special "thank you" for doing so because we know they're on the road for long periods of time and probably wish that they could just stay home for a spell. Lucky is Bud St Clair's oldest son. They stayed for dinner, and we got to hear stories back and forth between the cousins. Lucky has got such a good sense of humor (St Clair trait) and he and Kathy are hard, hard workers...and well established in thier lives. Fantastic people! We hope to pay them a visit next fall when they have some time to afford it.

The visit was going along so well, them showing up around 4:00 pm, that it was after 10:00 pm when they left and still more to be remembered and talked about. Lucky remembers so many things about growing up that Rian couldn't. Like, Rian's father, Wes, selling Lucky his first bicycle for three pennies. And Lucky recalling the old mill cabins, and who lived where. Rian remembered some of the toys made of blocks of wood that Luck and Myron made, starting with Uncle Bud making them for Christmas gifts for the kids. Yes, they were homemade, but Rian thought they were much better than store bought toys.

They talked about fishing in the tiny stream down the hill from where they lived, and Lucky remembers catching a fourteen or fifteen inch fish in that stream, not having regular fish hooks, and using safety pins. The pins didn't have barbs on it, so they would have to yank them up on shore as soon as they saw them bite, otherwise...away they'd go!

Rian had found an old carosene lamp in the dump site up on Grandpa's place up by Drain when he was forteen years old, and has had it since. Luck thought it was interesting as it was from one of the first Ford cars ever built back in the early 1900s. It was attached to a platform which had a mechanical stick coming out from the middle of it. Rian says, some of the men folk will know what he's talking about. To Rian's recollection, it had to have belonged to someone before Grandpa and Grandma had bought the place.

I would have like to have spent more one on one with Kathy, but it's kind of difficult when the St Clair men folk are going at it, but she is a very down to earth person, very warm.

Rian has always looked up to Lucky and Myron like older brothers, and is good for him to be able to spend time with them. Rian hadn't seen Lucky for seventeen or eighteen years, so there was much catching up to do. There never seems to be enough time to get everything you want to say in, in the time allowed. We hope that they will be able to make the reunion.
Love to all,
Rian and Gina

Testing

This is a test for Rian
-Carol

Sunday, May 06, 2007

Cousin Clair & Beverly Klock's Tennessee Visit















Wow, talk about out of the blue. Last weekend I received a phone call from Clair, saying they were out here in Tennessee visiting Beverly's daughter and her kids. It turns out that they live about 3-4 miles from our house in Atoka. The daughter had retired from the Navy several years ago and had settled in this area. She was a Nurse in the Navy and now works at a hospital in Memphis (about 30 miles away). Clair wanted to get together and look over some old photos I have from Dad (Howard St. Clair), so on Wednesday evening Clair and his wife came over. We really had a nice visit and he was able to identify some of the people in the photos. He could remember when my Dad and Mom and us kids visited them in the Portland area back in the 50's. I of course did not remember any of it. I will be posting some of the photos on this blog in the future and let you all see if you can identify the unknowns.

As far as the pictures go above, in the first picture on the left is Clair, Beverly standing behind him, me, and my daughter Danielle behind.

I'm posting the picture on the right in hopes that someone can identify the individual in the painting. My Dad painted the picture and I can't remember who it is. I believe someone had told me in the past that it was a relative, just can't remember who. Hopefully, one of you will recognize who it is. I guess it could be a stranger in the painting, but doubt my dad would take the time to paint someone he didn't no or was mildly acquainted with. Glada seems to remember Aunt Marian saying this was a cousin of Pansy St. Clair, possibly named Vernon?

Hope this finds you all well! Love,

Jay and Glada