Frank St.Clair Clan

Still Learning

2009-04-23T18:14:00.000-07:00

When was the last time you folks endeavored into your education and could compare with your life and your accomplishments from your education ? I just spoke with our cousin Shirley -- I was astounded to find out she is furthering her education into the facts of mathamatics and world acknowledgement in the sciences and our understanding of life ! What a CHALLENGE ! I found my self lost in her diligence to better her mind and her understanding ! Made me feel so lacking in bettering my self and now I am praising her for doing so -- I am thinking that so many others may be way ahead of myself .So -- what is the story ??? Who else is not giving up on educating them selves ?? By the way --- you ALL owe me for being the last to comment on our Grandparents blog ! We can all take a lesson from our cousin Shirley in trying to futher our education. Big Grin -- Love you ALL ~Rian&Gina~
By the way...if some of you haven't been introduced into Facebook that is more interactive...look it up and sign in. You will be amazed at how many friends and family you will see there. It's free!

Franks Letter to Pansy

2008-09-26T21:37:00.001-07:00

A Eulogy for Marian Sanders

2008-08-05T20:28:00.001-07:00

Marian St Clair Sanders, the woman that everyone has come to know and love, passed gently on August 1 2008. This blog is to her, and her life, the people she knew and loved, and the things that she accomplished. But, most importantly, the most integral part of all of her life, the accomplishment of raising her children, Sharon, Peggi, Rian and Kevin.

Most of us mirror ourselves in our offspring, those that carry on our legacy and continue on with the family. That meant a great deal to Marian Sanders. It also meant so much to her to dig diligently into the past for information on this wonderful family. She didn’t look online for genealogy, but rather wrote questioning letters, went to the libraries, and telephoned people to get any information she could, to piece together a family puzzle that many of us will treasure for generations to come.

She had a spunky, vivacious tenacity that many of you remember well, and will cherish as you recall memories of her. We thank all of you for your warm thoughts and prayers. We would like to know that all these thoughts and prayers speeded her through a difficult time, and she was able to fall asleep peacefully in her own home, in her own time.

She took time for her interest that we have spoken about often. Her beliefs, her wishes, wishes for her children and family members. She will be greatly missed by us all. She will be truly loved by all who knew her. A wonderful woman will be remembered and respected in our memories. A special beautiful woman, inside and out.

*God speed Marian St Clair Sanders*

Howard St.Clair Family Videos during the 50's

2008-07-19T07:52:00.000-07:00

Well, here's my first shot at posting a video to the blog. Hopefully, it will turn out okay. Brief history: The video started as a number of 8mm films that dad, Howard St.Clair, took during the 50's and 60's. Following his death, my sister Laurie obtained the films and had them transferred to two VHS tapes during the 90's, then sent copies to the brothers and sisters. Prior to the reunion in a discussion with Laurie, I decided to see if I could transfer the VHS analog tapes to digital files, which could be loaded onto a PC, allowing for DVD copies to be made. The plan was to try and have DVD's made prior to the reunion, and perhaps get posted to the Blog. That was the plan in theory, but the execution turned out to take a bit longer than anticipated (learning curve).

The total series of 8mm film clips is about 2 hours in length. All but this 20 minutes or so, is of our family and life in Fairfield, ID (a lot of Christmas shots). I have just posted video clips of the St.Clair family during visits to Oregon. As near as I can determine, these film clips started around 1953/54. Someone mentioned the lake where the picnic started might have been Cottage Grove. You also might notice that blue car at the end of the video is very similar to a certain auto at the reunion.

I hope you enjoy the video as much as I did. In my opinion, while pictures are certainly wonderful, moving pictures really help to bring the people to life and show what they were like. Until I saw the film of the family dancing and having great fun, I would have never imagined that occurring. You can sure tell they made the most of what they had 50 years ago, that we take for granted today with our satellite and cable TVs, IPODs, cell phones, etc.

If you have problems viewing, let me know and I'll try and research a fix. If anyone would like a DVD copy of these clips, or a DVD of the complete 2 hour video, let me know.

Shirley's Timeline

2008-07-10T16:05:00.000-07:00

Shirley has given us an email attachment for those of you who did not get one, or would like to have it, of the timeline of the three wives of Frank St Clair. It is a must read for those who may be confused on who belongs to who, and where we all fit in, in the scheme of things. She put a lot of time and effort into this document. It sure enlightened me. Thank you Shirley for your forethought on this project. Anyone who wishes to have a copy of this valuable information, please email me at rhickman@centurytel.net and I'll forward a copy to you immediately, if not sooner.
Kisses,
Gina and Rian

What a Wonderful Family

2008-07-09T16:21:00.000-07:00

As someone who doesn't stay in contact with cousins in my family, I have to say that looking at the faces in this crowd were very inspiring, touching, and most of all, a large connection. Rian and I took on this endeavor hoping like heck that it would turn out to be an event that everyone would enjoy and remember. And it did. Only thanks to the many cousins that took part in making it happen. Lance and Jeanie St Clair for the coffee in the early part of the day (I needed it badly!) and their helping hands in cooking. Wes and Velda St Clair for the chicken, and Rod and Karla for the burgers, and hot dogs. Lance and Rod did a spectacular job at the cooking. Absolutely astronomical job! Mike and Candy, thanks so much for your contribution of delicious baked beans. Kathy and Lucky, thanks for that awesome carrot cake. At one point I turned to attend to something, and those folks had cleaned up within fifteen minutes. If I messed up on who brought what...I apologize from the bottom of my heart! All food contributions were wonderful.

Bunny, Rian and I wanted say a special thank you for your beautiful workmanship on the quilt. We had no idea that you had planned this, and it brought tears to my eye. We still need to sign it ourselves, and when we do, this quilt will be cherished in our family for generations to come. We love you for that. And thank you, for bringing greatgrandma's quilts. You will always have a bed in our home!

Nikki V, thank you for the great job on the T-shirts. They are a welcome memento for this event.

And a big "thank you" to everyone for showing up. We were truly blessed with your attendance to this function that Carol and Shirley entrusted to us. We are still trying to figure out why they chose us, other than Rian's knack for staying in contact with as many people as he can, and being...shall we say...very persuasive about it.

We missed Marian St Clair Sanders' presence, but we will all share with her what we have gathered, and hope she feels better very soon.

An especially big thanks to those who came from far away. We hope it was well worth the trip to see all these fantastic people we call "our family".

We love you all dearly,

Gina and Rian

The St.Clair Clan is AWESOME

2008-07-08T10:33:00.000-07:00

Whatta whirlwind week-end for me. I am soooo anxious to see the pictures that were being taken. I know Mike was taking a bunch and others too. So let's get them circulating.

First, a big THANKS to ALL of the organizers of the event!

Are you all clear now on the three wives of Frank St.Clair that makes up this BIG crazy family??? :-) The time-line book Shirley put together was awesome and I think was helpful to a lot of people.

And, all the display tables were awesome. Thanks to everyone who did that. And, of course, a HUGE thanks to Bunny for putting together that quilt top for us all to inscribe on. It looked like stained glass hanging there with the light behind it. Really cool.

Keep coming back to the blog. I'm sure there will be a lot more pictures and comments to come!

Remember... you can click on any of these images to enlarge.

O.K... I just finished uploading my reunion pictures to Picasa. Here is the link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/TopTeamCarol/2008StClairReunion You can click on the individual pics to enlarge them and actually read the writing on some of the display material. I know there are more pictures out there. Bring 'em on.

Enjoy!
Love,
Carol

REUNION & HOME

2008-07-07T15:41:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
What a wonderful weekend and great fun seeing everyone and meeting all the second and third cousins (and first cousins I had not met before), spouses/partners, etc.
But don't give me a test on whose kids and grandkids/greatgrandkids were whose!!!???

We left "early" Sunday morning before anyone (except Clair) were up. Clair was up but we did not see him and then his car was gone !! ?? Arrived home safe and sound about 5 p.m.

Sure hope everyone arrived home safe and sound. Some, I know, are still traveling and visiting.

I have not looked at my photos or the video camera photos yet. But will put them on here or ? later. I am taking a couple days off from work to recouperate and repack... heading to a conf. for work on Wednesday. Only driving over to Yakima -- so not too bad.

Such a BIG THANK YOU to Rian and Gina and huge thanks to all who helped them. It was just wonderful. And a big thanks to Rian and Gina for giving us a real bed... we were going to sleep in a tent in their back yards. Guess being "old farts" has its privileges.

Also want to thank all the "spouses" / "parteners" / etc. who were not direct family for your attendance and support as well.... specifically my husband who's arthritic neck was really hurting him.

Thanks to all for making this weekend one I will never forget.
Love, Bunny

The Tree Trunk Brought Forward

2008-04-27T07:58:00.000-07:00

As the anticipation builds for the upcoming reunion on July 5th (which is sneaking up fast)... for all of you who didn't get in on the blog until recently, I am bringing forward the very first post from October 2005 which outlined the families of Francis (Frank) Avery St.Clair... my Grandfather.

Many of us were confused about the family and who was who because of Grandpa's three wives. The first two died and the third wife, Grandma Pansy, stuck around to see all of us Grandchildren grow up. So, here it is again so you can get a handle on who fits where:

Here is the chart from where we all come from. Tell me how you fit in... and let's expand this outline into the youngest generations. Fill in any blanks you can and tell us some stories:

Here's what I know, as family from Grandpa Frank...
He and first wife, Edith Eskridge Tarbell, had four children:
1) LeRoy Francis, born 1907
2) Jessie, born 1909
3) Lewis, born 1910
4) Oba Leonard (Obie to us), born 1912

Frank and his second wife, Amy Nora Henderson, had one child:
Amy
This is my Mother, born 1916, and died in 1959 as a result of being hit by a car as a pedestrian. Amy was married to Bruce Klock (my Dad), who died in 1964 of lung cancer. Bruce and Amy had two children:

Clair Klock, born March 29, 1951

Carol Klock, born April 7, 1952

After the death of both parents, Clair & Carol were raised by Bruce's only brother, Orval, and his wife, Dorothy Klock who lived in Corbett, Oregon.

The first picture is my Mom and Dad (Amy and Bruce) and the second of my brother, Clair, and me when we were just little munchkins... oh so many years ago!

Frank and his third wife, Pansy Fay Reeve, had seven children:
1) Frank Willard (Bud), born 1921
2) Fay Rose, born 1922
3) Harold Lee, born 1924 (Still living)
4) Laurence Victor, born 1925
5) Howard Ray, born 1927
6) Marian Ruth, born 1929 (Still living)
7) Glen Dell (just Dell to us), born 1932 (Still living)

If you are into "originals", here is a link to that very first post in October of 2005 . Also, here is a link to 2005 articles. You can scroll down to the July 28th post about the group pictures of the St. Clair men and women included in this post. I love these group pictures!!!

Happy Sunday!
Carol (Klock) Williams

Genealogy

2008-04-26T19:01:00.001-07:00

It is so great to hear form long lost and not so long lost cousins. I am really looking forward to our reunion.

I just spent our second spring day for the season in a Genealogy Conference -- rather than going on a motorcycle ride with Jim. This is all new to me and I learned a lot, but realize there is lots more to learn. I hope to find some extra hours in my busy schedule to work on genealogy... or play with it anyway. I am really hoping that those of you who have already done genealogy work will bring your information to our reunion. I already have some copies of stuff from Aunt Marian -- actually quite a bit of stuff as Aunt Marian has done a lot of research and putting stories together, and a few other pieces of info but know there is lots more info out there.

We have had one heck of a spring...NOT! Today was only the second nice day we have had. Supposed to be nice again tomorrow then back to possible snow! Geeeezzzzz!!!

See ya soon,Bunny

Fran Reeve Dufelmeier Has Found The Blog

2008-04-26T15:09:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading the St.Clair blogs. I am pretty dumb about how to respond but there are a couple of things that rang a bell that I'd like to mention.

I am the daughter of Vernon and Ruth Reeve, Aunt Pansy was dad's sister. The painting of the old man sitting in a wheelbarrow, by Howard St. Clair was given by Howard to my dad many years ago. It always hung in their living room. My Mom didn't think it was any particular person. When mom was clearing out her things, years after dad died, she mailed it back to some of the St Clairs. It was such a surprise to see it pictured. I am 86, but I think I have this straight.

The other thing was the mention of Harold's war pictures and info. My heart is very warm when I think of Harold. I was in the WAC during WW11, stationed in Naples Italy. Through some friends, I found out that Harold was stationed in a replacement depot near Naples. We made contact and had two wonderful visits, the only person I knew during the two and a half years in Europe. Harold and I never met again through all the years until the Reeve reunion in southern Oregon, sponsored by Alice Reeve Powner. It was so great to see him after all those years. The big hug from him let me know he was glad to see me, too.

I loved reading the blogs. Sounds like the reunion will be great.

Sincerely,
Fran Reeve Dufelmeier

* * * Note: This post for Fran was made by Carol Williams. Carol will post pictures and commentary for anyone who doesn't want to figure out how to do it themselves.

Shirley St.Clair visits Alan & Rick Reeve in Georgia

2008-04-25T17:58:00.000-07:00

Shirley St. Clair visits Alan & Rick Reeve

in Georgia - March 14 & 15

Left to right (clockwise): Rick Reeve, Alan Reeve, Wendy Reeve (Alan's wife), Shirley St. Clair, Richard Minkler. Click on any image to enlarge.

Family Ties
"I am Oba & Dorothy's daughter, Shirley. My 1st cousin was Lonnie Reeve. Lonnie was the son of Charlie Reeve and Jessie St. Clair. Alan & Rick are Lonnie's sons, Shirley's 2nd cousins.

Confused yet? Doesn't matter. What matters is what a great time I had getting to know Alan and his wife Wendy and Rick!

The Visit

Alan has built a beautiful home in the country east of Savannah. Rick lives in Texas and was visiting for a week. Perfect timing for our mini-reunion.

We did lots of fun things: Savannah's famous St. Patrick's Day Parade, held this year on March 14; lunch at Tony Roma's; and lots of reminiscing about the Reeves and the St. Clairs back in the day.

Alan and Wendy invited us (me and my friend Rich) out for Saturday night supper on the 15th. And what a supper it was. A Low Country Boil. The Reeve Boys boiled up two kinds of shrimp, with Rick's specialty being the Texas red hot poker variety. Corn on the cob and potatoes completed the Boil. In Southern tradition, the table was covered in layers of newspapers and the well-drained Boil dumped out for grab and eat yummy-ness.

Rick plans on coming for the reunion. Alan is not sure if he can make it, but he's going to try. If you see them in the crowd be sure and give them a hearty "Howdy, Y'All!" You're gonna love those Reeve Boys!!

Cousin Shirley

Shirley & Richard Visit Max & Carol in Palm Springs

2008-02-11T18:31:00.000-08:00

Max and Carol make a tradition of spending the month of February in sunny Palm Springs, California. It's a good break from the winter in Wenatchee.

Cousin Shirley St. Clair came down last year and had so much fun she came back again this year with her friend Richard. Here we all are near Babes Restaurant at the Riverwalk in Palm Desert. Left to right: Carol & Max Williams, Shirley St. Clair and Richard Minkler. Click on the image to enlarge and see what we look like close up. :-)

We did some fun stuff, including a performance of the fabulous Follies.

Clair & Beverly Visit Max & Carol For Christmas

2007-12-28T10:22:00.000-08:00

A Belated Christmas and an early Happy New Year to everyone in the St.Clair Clan!

Clair and Beverly came up for Christmas this year and we had a nice time. They both like to cook so it was really nice having lots of help in the kitchen!

I posted some more commentary and pictures on our personal blog. Stop over there and learn about Max's new indoor garden and Clair's fabulous clam chowder!

Happy Holidays!

We would love to hear from you! And... I've offered before and I'll offer again: For those of you who have info and pictures you'd like to submit to the blog but aren't quite sure how, send it to me and I'll do it for you!

TopTeamCarol@gmail.com

Happy Holidays

2007-12-15T13:17:00.000-08:00

Hello, Everyone,
We had a very snowy winter last year... it started snowing in Nov. 2006 and didn't stop until May of 2007.

Casey & Heather came for a visit in March. This summer, granddaughter Madison's, softball team won region champs in the Sequim, WA area. She is a straight A student as well.Nancy worked May - mid August. The Columbia went down early due to mechanicals, which didn't leave many positions open. Rob has kept working so far only missing a couple of weeks out. He keeps busy around the house when he is home... always has some project going.He hasn't had any luck fishing or hunting this year so far, but still have my fingers crossed that we will get some venison. We did get plenty of crab and clams.

Casey with a tanner crab

Cooper got a job on a fishing boat, the Puffin and worked on the Viking Maid also. Did herring, crabbing, salmon and halibut. Most recently he has been staying with Heather and Casey and working with Casey in the tree trimming business.

Casey & Heather had a daughter, Charlee-Ann on Aug. 7 th. She weighed 7 lb. 10 oz., and was 20.25" long. That makes 4 granddaughters for us!Casey, Heather and Charlee came down in Sept. and Casey cut many trees from the side and back of our property and the neighbor’s.

He is very good at what he does... we were impressed. There have been more requests for him to come down and do some more work in the area. Casey’s boss has been working at the mine out of Juneau this past summer and wants to have Casey manage the business when he is out of town. Here is a photo of Heather and Casey with Charlee when I visited them in Juneau in Nov.

The day they headed back to Juneau, Cooper and I flew to OR for a visit with Luck (Frank) & Kathy. Daughters Angela and Amy were there from VA with their families too. The group photo is of Angela with her two boys Evan and Keith, Luck (Frank) & Kathy, myself and Cooper. The photo on the porch is Kathy w/Angela's boys and Cecelia (young Lucky's daughter).

Mom had some back problems this year and was in a lot of pain, but is back to feeling good now and walks a little most days. She had originally planned to go to OR with us, but decided to wait til she felt better.

Since she didn’t go down, Luck & Kathy came for a visit here in Oct. for the 1st time in many years. What fun it was to visit, share meals and show them the sights here. They got to see a pod of whales move through the channel when we were at an overlook out the road and eagles of course.

I finally chose a new camera and love it. It is an Olympus Evolt 510. It is one of the only digital SLRs that you can use the view screen to take the photo as well as using the view finder. The weather hasn't been very cooperative since I got it though.So we have had a good year and hope this finds you all healthy and busy.

Happy Holidays!!

Love, Nanc

Merry Christmas

2007-12-14T07:15:00.000-08:00

Hi all,
Not much happening on this blog -- everyone must be going 90 mph in 40 directions this time of year. Great post from Rian with his memories. I just wish I could remember more of when I was young... for some reason I cannot. I do remember the one time when Peggi and I both were wearing grandpa's plaid coat and following him down to the barn. (I think I might have mentioned this before.) We each had an arm in a sleeve and both of us fit inside. Oh to be that thin again !!!

Wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a great 2008. I may not get any holiday cards sent out this year.

We just returned from a trip to New Jersey to see Jim's Sister and her family. Had a great time. Went into New York city and "did" 5th Avenue. Went to Rockafellar (sp?) Center, Time Square and had lunch on 5th Avenue at a TGIF restaurant. And, since it was on 5th Avenue, the Hamburgers were almost $20.00. We bought one sandwich and shared it!!! The decorated windows in the fancy stores were amazing. I had to purchase a pretzel from a street vendor as well as a hat and scarf. Pretzels are a big thing on the East Coast. It was all very amazing and exciting. Rode the Ferry over from the NJ side and got to take photos of the skyline. Road the bus from the ferry terminal. I wanted to go on the subway, but Jim's Nephew and wife were a bit leary of doing that so we did not.
We explored a few really neat old towns in New Jersey...one down on the coast. Beautiful old victorian (huge) homes in that part of the country. Everything on the East Coast is so much older than the West Coast.
The crazy part of the trip was the rental car. I think those young guys at the rental car company saw a couple old farts that hardly know how to use a cell phone and decided to have some fun. They gave us a hybrid car... half electric and half gas. It does not even have a regular key. Took us 5 minutes or so to get the thing started. (No they DID NOT come out and show us how to run the car or anything about it.) It was covered with about 4 inches of snow and we did not even have a brush to clean it off -- had to use our hands. You punch a button on the dash and wait and it starts itself after about 15/20 seconds or so. Had lots of bells and whistles and a new-to-us way to close the windows that it took us time to figure out. Had to stop at the gate to give the rental guard our paperwork and it was snowing like crazy and Jim had all 4 windows DOWN before we figured out how to close the windows -- by this time we were starting onto the freeway in Philladelphia and starting to panic...well at least I was. I could see us driving all the way to his nephew's with all four windows down. I finally read the manual on the windows and a few other things as we went along. And there was much more fun with this car... like I said -- two old farts with a very modern car. And the worst part was that it is about the ugliest car in the world. Hope none of you have one and I hurt your feelings. Jim, mostly drives classic cars and motorcycles and here he is in this thing. His first comment was that he hoped none of his friends back home every saw him in it. We did get about 39 miles per gallon. And we did get used to it after a few days. Very wierd when you come to a stop sign/light and everything dies... even the engine.
Luckily we missed all the bad weather. Flew over the frozen central part of the country on the way home and left before it hit the East Coast.
Now it is "back to work" next week before I take the week of Christmas and New Years off. Have to take all my vacation before the end of the year or loose it!!

Anyway... Hope you all have a great holiday season.
Love, Bunny and Jim

Memories of Scott From Rian

2007-10-29T18:44:00.000-07:00

I would like to encourage the rest of you folks to be brave and share your memories -- I had been asked by cousin "Nance StClair ", to say some things for cousin "Scott", a bunch of yrs back after his passing and I didn't do it till now --mostly she wanted to share with his boys and wife -- but I let her down -- so --let's not be like me . Seems like the most of us has gone our own way and we think no one cares ----but all is good and we can still share without feeling ashamed ------I am the guilty one for not trying to find my family and discover how we connect.

* * * * *

Here is a story of Rian's: Yes, I do have some stories about Scott and I. Scott was a very charismatic male figure and had many friends...more than I. Even though I was a little older than he was, I always admired him. My first memories of Scott, was when we were young boys. I can't remember if it was Scott who got the scientific kit for Christmas or Myron. As young boys, Scott and I tried our hand at scientific adventures, but regardless of who got it for Christmas, Scott and I ended up with it. Scott decided that we should try to mix water and gas, and see if gas would still burn when mixed with water. Of course, we had to do it in a little hay barn, the one down by the big fir tree down by the big triangle...on the old property up on the hill in Drain. Grandpa and Grandma's place that became theirs later. Why in the heck we didn't do it out by the road, I can't imagine, but we put a match to it, and instantly there was fire! As I recall, Scott had gotten his hair singed off his face and some off his head.

Our first experience at smelling burning hair. Then we ran for our lives! It was not a good experiment. Actually, it was if you consider that we did learn that gas burns even diluted with water, as the gas lays on top of the water, and burns quite well. Some of the elders will remember this too, but I know there were damages. During this time, we would fish and hunt as much as we could. We hunted squirrels and threw rocks at grouse. We had sling shots,and Scott had taught me how to make a better sling shot than I already had. He introduced me to surgical tubing, instead of inner tube rubber for the use of sling shot material. He was always better at everything than I was. he would challenge me many times on any ability to be a better shot, fisherman, etc, etc.

We would go up to the cherry orchard and he would challenge me how high we could climb up a cherry tree, and jump down to the ground. He always climber higher, and jump farther than I could stand. I couldn't believe how high that guy could climb and jump out of tree. Then you folks moved down to the big city of Drain, and that summer, Uncle Bud and Aunt Marian decided to adventure into building and starting a business in the fast food industry. The summer that Uncle Bud built the "Big Burger", fast food place, I remember Scott introducing me to salt pills, as we were feverishly packing building materials up the road a ways from where you lived. The salt pills were in a big container, and were to be taken to replace the salt in our sweat, as we sweated like wild animals packing the lumber up the road. It may be an exaggeration, but this is how I remember it. That Big Burger stand was an icon for the Drain area, then you folks moved way up Smith River, twenty two and a half miles to Gunter, and lived on an old farm and stage coach site. After that, we didn't get to see each other so often. But, when I got a chance, I would go spend a day or a weekend as often as possible, maybe once or twice a year. Many good memories there. One of which I got the opportunity the spend the weekend with you folks, and it was after dark, and the dogs were barking and Myron, Scott, and you. Lucky maybe off gallivanting with a girlfriend. Dogs barking, we all went down to the orchard after getting permission from Bud to see what the commotion was all about with the dogs. We went down with a flashlight and a .22, loe and behold, there was a bear in a plum (or apple) tree.

Anyhoos, Myron being the oldest of the bunch, shot...and shot...and shot into the bear with the flashlight shining in the bear's eyes, and not seeming to phase the bear one iota. I think Scott and I took turns after Myron got tired of shooting! I'm sure you remember this Nanc. Well, we decided that we weren't hurting the bear so we figured we had better go back to the house and get some advice from your Dad. Uncle Bud said, "You'd better just leave it alone. We'll go down and check in the morning." Seems to me like we talked about it for another hour trying to go to sleep. "Why didn't the bear fall? Why didn't we kill the bear? Was it possible that a great Grizzly had wondered into the territory from the north land?" Finally, we hushed by Aunt Marian, telling us "You kids need to go to sleep now and be quiet!" We got up early as usual, and Aunt Marian had a fine breakfast feed, waiting around the old wood stove asking Bud if we could go down to the orchard and look to see what happened to the bear.

We all went down, like the warriors that we were, and loe and behold, there was the bear still in the tree looking at us. Apparently shot dead within the first few shots. His head caught in a crouch of the tree, and body just sitting in a position...dead to the world. Of course, we then had to determine who had actually shotand killed the bear, after all of us taking turns trying to shoot it. I'm sure Myron took this in hand and said that he was the killer of the bear. The rest of the shots didn't even matter. I'm not sure what happened after that, but I do believe Uncle Bud instructed you kids how to tan the hide. But, pretty good story!

One of those summers when you folks still lived at the Gunter place, Scott had decided that he and I should float the river clean down to the ocean. So we elected to make separate rafts. At first Scott and I gathered logs and timbers, tied them together like we had seen on TV and heard about from the old days, then we set off to go to the ocean. We only made it about two hundred yards, got caught on some logs and debris...and that was the end of that adventure with our logs breaking up and us in the water. We quickly recuperated and decided to go back and get some big truck inner tubes. Picked up a couple of water tubs and forced them into the inner tubes and we were on our way once again. We knew we would make it this time so we took a lunch. Aunt Marian fixed us a couple of PB and Js and away we went. We made it about a quarter mile and then another log jam. So we ended the rafting trip and packed our rafts back home. So much for that I idea, never did try it again.

In the fall of that year, that I got to spend another weekend with you folks. I know you'll remember the animals as you had acquired a couple of burrows, and Scott had bragged to me that we could ride these burrows through brush piles that a horse would never venture to go. One day, Scott and I had set out to ride the burrows up to an old gold mine camp that he knew of. We really only went about a half mile, challenging these burrows to go through these brush piles that no sane animal would go through. The burrows were named Homer and Jethro, neither of which liked to be ridden. Their bony backs and our skinny asses would collide as they would bray and buck. We howled and laughed like crazy kids that we were, and once again, decided to give up this adventure and go for easier prey. Scott said, "I know what we'll do! We'll go down to the orchard by the creek and we'll take turns climbing in the apple trees...one of shooing the steers and cattle under the trees while the other will jump on the back of the animal, and we'll get some bucking!" What a hilarious laugh we had!

Many more stories, but after that seems like you folks moved up to the Mohawk area above Springfield. We didn't get to see each other much after that. The summer I got out of high school, Scott had a old GMC or Chevy pick up, maybe 47 or 48. I had acquired a 1956 Mercury. Beautiful car, but wasn't quite my idea of a young boy's hot rod. Sometime that year, just before I joined the Army...and this is my last memory of contact with Scott. He being the challenger, and me being the acceptor of the challenge, Scott was not legally able to drive on the highway with that pick up. He knew some people that had some property. I don't know their names, but it wasn't too far from where he lived. He challenged me to play Chicken with his pick up and my car. Seems like he already had the pick up on that property, which was maybe ten or fifteen acres of farm land. We got to the property with these two vehicles...one of us at one end...and one of us at the other...we flashed our lights and we smashed our gas. We would go spinning across the field directly at each other's bumpers, not knowing who was going to turn right or left. We never smashed but came close many many times, tires spinning and slinging mud...howling like wild animals. This was the last great event that I can remember with my cousin Scott. I hope this is what you are looking to share as these are great memories of "Scott" as I recall. This is just some of my memories but hope you all enjoy . Ol'Rian -- Over and out --- Take care and keep in touch . ~Rian&Gina~

Max & Carol - 24 Years Later

2007-09-20T09:22:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
Life and work have been busy and I've been extremely remiss in posting to THE blog. We haven't done a lot this summer but Max & I did just celebrate our 24th wedding anniversary September 10th (that's the pic at left). Cousin Shirley came up to help celebrate our anniversary. Also, we took a very quick trip to Montana to see Max's sister. You can read about both of those events on our other blog.

Last month (August 24th) Max turned 77. I turned 55 April 7th... so we're the the double digit, double trouble, duo.

See that splint on my left hand? That's another story from this summer. Took a flying leap onto a concrete pad (August 7th) when I tried to step over the lawnmower. Next time I need to walk around the mower before trying to make any adjustments. Thought I had broken both of my arms at the time, but only one continued to hurt. Went to the doctor a week later. He was convinced nothing was broken, so sent me home telling me to be patient. Still no relief after a month so went back to the doctor. He begrudgingly had x-rays taken to discover I had a broken arm (bone near my elbow). No wonder it still hurts.

There's more to the story but I found a wonderful injury recovery physical therapist with a chiropractic background who is finally helping me.

Life goes on...

Hugs from Max & Carol

St Clair - Tribou Bike Trip 8/07

2007-08-31T12:19:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

About time I get some photos of our trip on here. Came up to my sewing studio to "clean up" and get stuff organized...which is a lost cause. Anyway...got side tracked with labeling my photos so I could post some of them here.
We spent 8 days on this trip of approximately 1500 miles. Mostly had great weather -- except for one VERY WINDY day -- the first day out, and a rainy day. We happened to be at Mike and Candy's in Tillamook for the rainy day -- so chose to just stay an extra day. I got to go with Candy to a "stamping" party. Candy is really into scrap-booking and does some really awesome things...wish I had taken some photos. Actually we forgot to take photos quite often on this trip. Hope to do better next time. Speaking of Candy...she should just be returned from a scrap booking conference in Nashville. Maybe she has a story and photos to share ??? I know she was really excited and looking forward to this trip. Come on Candy -- let us know how it went. ;o)

Anyway, I have labeled the photos...as who knows what order they will be in when I put them on here.

We left here and headed a bit east and south to Hwy 395 and down to the Columbia Gorge. I could really have done without the wind...windy most of that day...not just on the Gorge...but even more windy there. With my windshield and the big pack on the back of the bike catching the gusts...I was having "lots of fun"!!! Jim has no windshield and was having fun keeping his head on his shoulders... had to stop once to rest--his neck was killing him. We stayed in the Mary Hill camp ground that night on the Gorge -- boy was I ever glad to get there!

Then the next day headed down Hwy 97 through Central Oregon. Spent the next night at Diamond Lake...great camp there with wonderful showers -- also found a great little place to have pizza and beer. Then the next day on down the North Umqua and to Roseburg and out to Dad's at Tenmile. We had a great overnight visit with Dad and Laveta and then on to the Coast on Hwy 42.

Stopped in Reedsport for a couple hour visit with Aunt Marian... one of those times we forgot to take photos was at Aunt Marian's. It was a good visit though and Aunt Marian looked great. From there we headed up the coast to Mike and Candy's. Spent three nights all together at their place...which was a good break. The coast traffic was awful and more wind of course.

From there we went on up the Coast and across the big bridge at Astoria back into Washington. From there we went inland a bit...tired of the wind and busy traffic of the coast hwy. We went up past Hood Canal and on to Port Townsend and across the ferry to Whidbey Island. Stayed one night with our friend Cyn in Anacortes and the next day over the North Cascade Hwy and home. Actually that Hwy has about 5 mountain passes between the coast and where we live....great hwy to travel on the bikes... not a lot of traffic and great scenery. The way it worked out we spent only two nights in our tent and the other nights with family and our friend in Anacortes. Most days were around 300 + miles. Some more, some less.

We got to see a little bit of a police chase over the Astoria bridge. A sheriff chasing a hot motorcycle...crotch rocket. The guy on the bike got away...they could not catch up to him once he hit that long straight bridge.

I was glad to get home and not ready to go again for awhile... but Jim was ready to leave again the next day if he could have. ;o) But I think it is sorta like child birth...you forget the bad parts and in awhile are ready to do it again.....maybe next year !!

Anyway... just wanted to share our big adventure with you guys.

Love, Bunny and Jim

Ireland-Scotland Visit

2007-07-15T11:11:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures of our recent trip to Ireland and Scotland the first two weeks of June. These are all of the Rosslyn Chapel, which was built by William St. Clair in 1446. The one photo of the landscape with ruins in the distance is the remains of the St. Clair castle. The stonework carvings in the chapel were truly amazing.

Also, while we were in Edinburgh, Scotland, we was going to visit the General Register Office to research family history, but didn't have enough time. So we picked up a pamphlet explaining tracing your family tree at the register office, and it had a web site one could go to: www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/. Thought we would share this site for anyone interested in tracing St. Clair history back before Alexander St. Clair (Sinkler) arrived in America in 1698. We will probably so some research during the winter months. If you would like a copy (PDF format) of the family history that Aunt Marian did, let me know and I'll email it to you.

Take care,
Jay & Glada

Luck and Kathy St Clair

2007-05-20T15:31:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-20T15:10:00.001-07:00

This is a test for Rian
-Carol

Cousin Clair & Beverly Klock's Tennessee Visit

2007-05-06T16:35:00.000-07:00

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

Visit with Uncle Harold and Aunt Laveta

2007-04-22T11:06:00.000-07:00

We had a very pleasant visit with Uncle Harold and Aunt Laveta yesterday. To our surprise, Mike was there, making it even more special. We weren't able to be blessed with Candy's presence, as she was doing the same thing with her mother in Roseburg that we were. Going over old photos.

Mike had been fishing in Harold's pond when we arrived, and had caught a bass that was...what was it Mike? A fifteen pounder? Anyway, I'll never tell. Laveta had brought out old photos of the family, Harold's time in the service back in the 1940s, which some were loaned to us to put on the blog. I want to spend a little time on this before I post it, as I want to do it the justice it deserves.

Just for the record, as you can see in the photo of Rian and Harold looking at pictures, we did not try to get Harold drunk! The bottles on the table are actually Ginger Ale! We enjoyed a lunch of Alaskan King crab legs to go along with that Ginger Ale.

They talked over old times, and got to renew relationships. Harold is a wonderful man with great information that Rian was anxious to hear. Mike also was able to hear some family information that he did not know as well. Laveta shared with us information about her family as well. She's had many tragedies in her life and our hearts go out to her for her losses. But, she met a great man and has spent the last seventeen years married to one of the last remaining patriarchs of the St Clair family.

Hopefully within the the next week, I'll be able to post Harold's service period, and photos to go along with it.

To sum it up, we had a great time, and plan to go back for another visit when the weather warms up a bit. Rian has a hankerin' to go after that bass Mike threw back.

Love to all,

Gina and Rian

2007-04-13T14:32:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, just checking out the posting process. Received my book from www.clearwatermuseum.org today, about Great Grandma and Grandpa Reeve, Bonds of Love and Laughter. I wanted everyone to know that mine came signed by Alice Reeve Scriber if you are interested in checking them out. It looks like very interesting reading to me, so can't wait to settle down and get comfy with it.

I'm sure everyone is busy this time of year when the weather is just getting nice enough to be outside. Not much going on in my family, just the usual busy schedule and squeezing time in to hang around my back yard during the brief sunny days we've had. Lots of small projects to keep me busy this year......do any of you have a yard project of interest? It's really fun to check out new ideas, and see what others think up to do. My first project this year was moving my strawberry bed over a foot or two from where it was located....believe it or not this is the third move it has had in the past 3 years. I think I'm done with it, enough is enough! Last year I planted tomatoes in 5 gal buckets (my yard is tiny) but I need to fertilize better this year...any tips? Also, my raised beds are made from concrete and I've just read that it will affect my soil......always something! Anyone know about that?

Happy Spring to all!
Love,
Peggi

Family - Spring time and gardening

2007-04-08T16:03:00.001-07:00

We hope the rest of you folks are enjoing your time digging in the dirt and pulling weeds and such -- we planted some vegetables and some flowering plants as well as started germinating some seeds this weekend, feels so cool to make plans of making the yard a place to enjoy and look forward to seeing things grow . We even are trying to germinate a date palm seed from which we enjoyed the fruit from last fall. By the way -- we haven't seen much activity here for awhile --so what's up? like the kids say !--- We feel so lucky to have a place that we can come home to and make plans. I still feel so grateful for my life and family connections --- soooo much to hear and relate to ---As we go along we are hearing more and more of our family history and people, like for instance, "Lauri" who worked with Mom "Marian" to do the genealogy work that we all are enjoying these days! THANK YOU LAURIE! AND THANK YOU MOM!

We had a call from "Alice Powner" yesterday and WAS SO COOL to hear her enthusiasm!! A wonderful woman with MUCH knowledge!! I was so inspired with our talking! ----- I can only ask you folks to be brave enough to call or write her about information on our Grandmother's side! I know that this information is VERY important to me to pass onto our family, such as the the kids and to keep our personal family member's memories a part of thier lives as it seems there is only a few of us left to jab the rib cage of you folks and be brave enough to pester a calling for such things!

Please help me! I know that my kids don't know much and that's MY FAULT, I promise you ALL -- my children WILL be @ our gathering and probably be very curious who most of you are as I have failed to inform them and involve them --- so here we go and don't feel alone as most of us are the same in my opinion -- that is my admittance and guilt, and so be it!

Momma Gina and I are enjoying a nice weekend here @ the old place and looking forward to another week of hard work also -- how many of you folks remember the doings of macrame? Gina and I were upstairs just enjoying the other part of our home and I was admiring my sister "Sharon's" work as we have a piece of her macrame works hanging on a pair of snow shoes an old indian pal of mine had made --- anyhoos -- my sis did a nice job and I am QUITE proud of her work -- Hey Sharon -- would be nice to here from you ----I'm sure the rest of the family would love to here how you and your kids are doing ! PLEASE write when you can .

Love to all ~Rian&Gina~

Reunion Quilt

2007-04-01T15:59:00.000-07:00

OK... I have heard from a few of the quilters in the family and received some good ideas.
Am mulling ideas and thoughts over and will make decisions soon.
In the mean time, I need to know how many will be making a quilt block?
How many will need a pattern of some sort -- maybe a simple signature block?
How many will want to do a photo block?

I need commitments so we can plan the sizes, etc.

There are lots of ways to make blocks... applique, pieced, color crayon a picture, photo transfer, embellished with fancy threads/beads/buttons; etc. The block does not have to be fancy, but can be if you choose. Please plan to participate.

Please send me your commitment at my e-mail cruize@theofficenet.com

Thanks,
Bunny

PANSY ST CLAIR

2007-03-29T14:48:00.000-07:00

We received Alice Powner's book, "Bonds of Love and Laughter" by Alice Reeve Scriber. We're going to take it to work with us and I will read it to Rian as he drives. We're so excited. There are many pictures and very interesting copied documents as we quickly thumb through this book, just recieved it today.

A short note just to describe some interest and theme in which she has captured the Reeves Family, and I quote, "It's 1900, long past the (great migration), when Charlie and Rosella Reeve decided to homestead in Washington state with their five children. Sadly bidding farewell to their Minnesota family, all of the Reeve's travel in a single wagon, following the route of the Northern Pacific railroad across No. Dakota, Montana, and Idaho.

"Alone on the trail, this loving adventurous family must create a day-to-day life for themselves in unfamiliar territory: cooking meals, washing clothes, battling hardships, all the while trying to figure out what was around the next bend. Charlie and Rosella weren't famous or special, just ordinary Americans persuing something better for their children." Unquote. This book can be purchased through Amazon.com, just type in "Alice Reeve Scriber."

This is just a taste for those of you who may be interested in purchasing Alice's book. For us this is just another beautiful event in this gathering of The St Clair Family Reunion.

Also, we're thinking of a theme for the gathering, and in doing so, we have discovered the original St Clair family crest, being a rooster sitting upon a tether of rope, encircled by a belt (which we will research what these items represented to the family) with the logo of "Commit Thy Work To God", this dating back to 1180 AD. A lot more history here folks! We are also in search of the original Reeve's family crest. We have decided to make up a flag much like the Knights of Templar would have had that represented their family. These will be our efforts and we are not asking for any help in this area. We also will do the same for Pansy's side for the family crest.

We hope this sets on everyone in the "family correct" way. Rian says, we need more personal history and stories from everyone on Grandma's side, so come on guys and gals, bring it on!!!
Love to all,
Rian and Gina

reunion quilt

2007-03-25T21:44:00.000-07:00

Ok... I need to hear from the quilters in our family. We do need to get together to start planning the quilt as summer 2008 and the reunion will be here before we know it.

I have some thoughts and know a few of you do as well. We need to consolodate our thoughts and make some decisions as to size, specific background fabric or not, if we want a theme or not and lots of other things, including deadlines for getting the blocks to one of us to sew together, getting it quilted, etc.

Velda and Glada -- you are the two other quilters in the family that I know of. Please e-mail me at cruize@theofficenet.com with your thoughts, etc. And if there are other quilters, please contact me as well. The more help planning this quilt the better... then ...........

the rest of you... be thinking about what you want to put on your quilt block. I believe we will want each family to make a block... probably something to do with you/your family/your life/hobbies/pets/kids/or whatever.

Rian and Gina are hard at work making lots of plans for this reunion.
Us quilters can take care of the quilt thing... contact me soon.

Bunny

More of the Reeves Family

2007-03-23T17:22:00.000-07:00

Rian just got off the phone with Alice Powner. His Mom, Marian, brought up her name, Alice having written and published a book on the Reeves family. She is on Grandma Pansy's side of the family. We will recieve this book shortly, and will pass along some pictures and information on Grandma's side. We will also make sure at the time of the reunion, you will all have at least some of the likenesses of what she presents in her book. This is good stuff!!!! Rian says, it's not just the men in this family that make a big difference, so help us out with the gals.
Love you all,
Rian and Gina

2008 reunion "Up&Rolling"

2007-03-22T16:51:00.000-07:00

Ok just a short note, first of all I should say to all that I have called -- If I would have read all the notes you all have posted I wouldn't have had to ask as many questions -- so here I am saying I'm sorry for being a pest to those of you that had to say in my old ears the same things you had already posted here ! When you mix a bunch of nuts and bolts with a lot of years of trucking you end up with a box of rocks and that's where they came up with the old saying --- "Dummer than a box of rocks".An old trucker pal of mine said - hey there ole man -- I just figured out how to become a millionaire in the trucking world --- You start out with "9" million .

Back to reality, I have to thank each and every one of you for your help and ideas , please keep up the spirit and thanks again to you "Carol" for getting us all started with this blog , we all owe you a great thanks ! I know that I still need to phone a few more of you just for my own stubborness if nothing else, I'll try not to be a pest , just want to hear your voices and make sure you all know how much this means to us . In the past few weeks I've spoke with my cousins , mostly of which I haven't made the effort to even say hello to for most of my life, SOOO great to hear your positive response !! Now it's up to the bunch of us all to share and pass along our ideas on how and what we should do .Ok --- thats it for now , lots of time to make plans --- I need your ideas and thoughts on these matters , please help if you have the mind to . "Ole Box of rocks Rian " Love to all ~Rian&Gina~

Patriot Guard

2007-03-17T18:30:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Jim and I just spent the day with 70+ other bikers... the Patriot Guard, at a funeral for a young man from our town killed in Iraq.

The Patriot Guard tries to go to all funerals for our fallen soldiers to keep the protesters away from the family and friends and to show support. We stood for 3 hours with our flags in pretty much total silence. We do have war protesters in our town, but thankfully they did not try to mess with this funeral.

We had Patriot Guard members attend from as far away as Portland Oregon, and Yakima, Idaho, etc. About 40 rode up from Spokane. Our good friends rode over in the 30 degree weather from a town about 40 miles from Colville. It was a sad occasion which we hope we won't have to do again but will do in a heart beat if needed.

If you have not heard of the Patriot Guard... you can look them up on the web... www.patriotguard.com

We are now drinking hot chocolate (with a little Kalua) trying to warm up. This is the earliest we have had our bikes out. Jim hauled our bikes into a friend's home on Thursday to store them for a few weeks (and so we could use them today). We cannot ride out our 1/2 mile road yet... snow, mud, ice still on the road. But the highways are pretty much OK. So if we get a nice day on the weekend we can go into town and take a ride. Last year we did the same thing. Jim got to ride during the week a few times.. but the weekends were always too cold or ? for me to get to ride....before we brought them back home and could ride from here.

Anyway.... it was a good thing to be a part of but very sad for the family.

Jim took this photo as we were all getting ready to head to the funeral home and the church. I am with our Italian friend Tony and his wife Catherine... we call her "the wee one".
Remember you can double click on any photos to make them larger and hopefully more clear.
Bunny & Jim

Dennis and Nikki Holmes family

2007-03-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

New baby Emalyn and new home for Greg , Jerusha, Maria, and Emalyn Shaffer

Mike, Bernadette, Mikiah, and Jadon

Lindsay and Sam

Dennis,Nikki, and Shaffers

George', Beka, Mihaela, Daniel, Alin, Andrea Magher-Holmes

ST CLAIR FAMILY REUNION 2008

2007-03-15T17:24:00.000-07:00

Shirley has contacted Rian and I (Gina) to head up the family reunion that so many of you have been anticipating. Thank you Shirley for your trust. (Gulp!) Shirley and Carol's suggestion was to try for 2008 as there is not enough time to get everyone gathered and plans made for this year. They're absolutely right. So, our plan is for summer of 2008. We can't give exact dates yet, but we are planning for Brownsville OR at Pioneer Park. It has a very nice Pavilion, and is very scenic and also within walking distance to the small community which hasn't changed too much since way back when.

According to the Linn County Recreation Dept, we will have to apply in November of this year. A lottery will be drawn, as there are so many people wanting to use the facilties during the summer months. They will draw the lottery at the beginning of 2008...if we get it...great! If we don't, we have alternate parks we can use in the Brownsville area.

I will attach the website so all of you can take a look at it. We will also advise of places to stay in the surrounding area, and I do believe there is a list of motels, hotels, and B&Ds in the area on the website too. During the summer a limited amount of overnight camping is available. If camping is what you're looking for, cost is $15 per night for RVs and $10 per night for tents. Restrooms are available, but no showers or hookups.

From the local cousins, we will be asking for your help in the food department. We are planning a Potluck, so feel free to jump in with your suggestions. We would like to keep it relatively simple, kind of "old time" as far as the food goes, games for the kids...etc.

If anyone has any ideas, or suggestion, please feel free to contribute. We would like to make this a family effort, and make those that are far away, and coming to this shin dig, to feel welcome and comfortable. Our theme is simply "Family History", which we think will make everyone feel a part. It's also important to make the little ones aware of where they came from.

Rian says, in the old days, they would put saw horses together and sheets of plywood for tables. The women would spread bedsheets for tableclothes. Just remembering Thanksgivings and such. Those were wonderful times. As kids we would look forward to seeing the cousins and sharing different stories, listening to the older folks tell their tales of times gone past.

In this respect, we hope each and everyone one of you can make this event, and make this a Family Reunion to remember.

We will be sending out RSVPs (Aunt Marian from Alaska's suggestion) to get a head count as soon as we get a firm date.

Let's communicate as often as possible with any and all thoughts. Rian and I are simply a connection point...this is YOUR reunion...so let's get it going! Rian says, it seems we've all went our separate ways and haven't had the opportunity to present our personal lives, and share with each other. When we were young, our parents made sure to stay connected with each other. As we have grown older, we have made our paths, and many of us have lost touch. Keeping connected with family is the most important aspect. Please help us make this a memorable reunion for all of you.

Rian and Gina Hickman

http://www.ci.brownsville.or.us/park

Pictures from Jay St. Clair

2007-01-27T15:25:00.000-08:00

Dates and identity on most of the pictures are my best guess, since very few of the original photos had any information on them.

Pictures left to right, top row: John & Frances Bright (Frank St. Clair's Mother's Parents) - taken 1890's. Pansy St. Clair's parents (Charles & Rosella Reeve) - early 1900's. Pansy St. Clair's Dad and Sisters - early 1900's, I picked the girl in the middle as her.

2nd row: Howard (I think) - 1932. Dell, Marian, Howard- 1934. Howard, Marian, Unknown - 1938.

3rd row: Unknown - 1940's. Bud - 1941. Harold & Bud? - 1930's.

4th row - Howard & friends - 1941. Howard & Class - 1944. 3 in middle, Marian, Bud, Pansy, don't know 2 on each end - 1944.

5th row - Bud, Dell, Pansy, Frank - 1948. Pansy and Howard - 1944. Howard & unknown - 1944.

6th row - Marian & Pansy - 1947.

7th row - Howard - 1944. Howard & Marian - 1945. Wes & Marian - 1948.

8th row - Frank & unknown kids (Sharon & Peggi?) - 1948. Frank & Howard - 1956.

P.S. from Carol: Remember to click on any image to enlarge. Makes it a lot easier to recognize faces!

Long lost cousin!

2007-01-24T17:45:00.000-08:00

Hello from northern Idaho!

I'm your cousin Nikki (St.Clair) Holmes. What a blessing to discover my cousins again! At Christmas I always send Aunt Marion a card and letter but had not been able to get an update on the St.Clair clan. It was great to hear news and look at pictures of all of you!

My husband and I are living in Moscow, ID where he is pastoring and I counsel and work at a Crisis Pregnant Center as the Clinic Services Director. I love what I'm doing but we both miss our children and grandchildren. Three of our kids live close to some of you! Our daughter Bernadette, lives in Wilsonville, OR with her husband, who pastors, and their two children. Sam, our son, lives with them while he attends Portland State. Our youngest daughter, Lindsay, works for a Mortgage Lending firm as an accountants executive. She is still single. We did have our other two daughters in Romania but one, Jerusha, just came back to the states with her husband and adopted daughter for the birth of their new daughter who was born here in Moscow. Now they are living in Olympia, WA at a Bible Camp where Greg, her husband, is the program director. Our oldest daughter, Rebekah, is still living in Romania (has been there for 8 yrs.) working with orphans. She has adopted two children and has twins in the process of adoption. She married in '05' her daughter's brother-if that doesn't blow your mind?? Remember her adopted daughter who is quite a bit younger than her brother. They have recently opened a family center for orphans and have taken 8 children to love and care for. So we have 8 grandchildren whom we miss greatly! We wonder sometimes what in the world we are doing in northern ID where there are at times strange cults and some very independent, self reliant folks. It's a very interesting place where U. of ID resides as well as Wash. State 8 miles away. So we have a bit of culture plus a popular jazz influence. Hopefully, we are reaching out with love to help others and make a positive difference in their lives.

I look forward to reconnecting with a valued part of my family! Blessings, Nikki

Here Is The Family Outline Again

2007-01-21T16:48:00.000-08:00

Prompted by Bunny's mention of all Grandpa Frank's wives and how that has many of us confused about the family tree, I'm posting the very first post from October 2005 again... outlining who was from which wife. His first two wives died young, leaving him with several children to raise. But, he found a keeper with Grandma Pansy.

Here is the chart from where we all come from. Tell me how you fit in... and go from there. Fill in any blanks you can.

Here's what I know, as family from Grandpa Frank...

He and first wife, Edith Eskridge Tarbell, had four children:
1) LeRoy Francis, born 1907
2) Jessie, born 1909
3) Lewis, born 1910
4) Oba Leonard (Obie to us), born 1912

* * * * *

Frank and his second wife, Amy Nora Henderson, had one child:
Amy

This is my Mother, born 1916, and died in 1959 as a result of being hit by a car as a pedestrian. Amy was married to Bruce Klock (my Dad), who died in 1964 of lung cancer. .

Bruce and Amy had two children:
Clair Klock, born March 29, 1951
Carol Klock, born April 7, 1952

After the death of both parents, Clair & Carol were raised by Bruce's only brother, Orval, and his wife, Dorothy Klock.

* * * * *

Frank and his third wife, Pansy Fay Reeve, had seven children:
1) Frank Willard (Bud), born 1921
2) Fay Rose, born 1922

3) Harold Lee, born 1924 (Still living)
Married Jan 1946 to Sarah (Sally) Huson died 1989
5 children
1. Linda Lou Born Nov 14, 46 Died Aug 1, 47

2. Bunny Lee Born Aug. 9, 48 Married Feb 1967 to Al (John) Doolittle
2 children, Daughter-- Michell Marie Doolittle born July 23, 1969
Married (Doug) James Douglas Mowbray Dec. 24, 1988
one child... Kay Monique born Jan 19, 1990
Son -- John Patrick Doolittle born Nov. 17, 1970
Married Brenda 2004 and has grown step children and
2 step grandkids at the young age of 37.
Bunny divorced in 1977 -- Married Jim Tribou Dec. 24, 1987

3. Carol Lynn Born 1950, died 1950

4. Michael Ray Born June 15 1953
Married Candice 2 children Brett and Kery both married

5. Patrick Allen Born Jan 27 1957 Married Yvonne 1998/99 ? Died 1999
Harold remarried Dec. 1989 -- Laveta

4) Laurence Victor, born 1925
5) Howard Ray, born 1927
6) Marian Ruth, born 1929 (Still living)
7) Glen Dell (just Dell to us), born 1932 (Still living)

Hope this helps clear up some of the muddy water. :-)
Carol

Saving Photos

2007-01-21T14:45:00.000-08:00

Just so you know... you can save any of the photos that we post by clicking on them and click on "save as" under the edit mode or right click the mouse on the photo and click on "save as" -- then save in your family photo folder or ??
You all probably already know this, but just in case....
Bunny

Photos from Bunny

2007-01-21T13:37:00.000-08:00

OK OK !!! Rian and Ginna called me too.
I do not have many photos as most of ours were burned up in the fire that burned our family home. Maybe Mike and Candy have some... as she is really into scrapbooking and I think may have some of our family photos from Dad.
Rian...call Mike !!

But I have a few and will post them as I get them scanned in.

I thought Nanc would get a kick out of the photo of Uncle Bud and her on the couch... I think that is who it is anyway. (no date)
Baby photo of Laurie and Jay. (no date)
A photo of some of us cousins... Lucky & me (Bunny), Sharon, Lucky, me, Peggi. (no date)
Uncle Bud with friend -- in uniform at Fort Bliss; without shirts in front of his shanty in New Guinea while in Australia.
And Carol... we can't leave you out -- a school photo 1967. After all... you started this whole process ;o)
Then there is a photo of Wes, Marian, Howard, & Dell. The back of photo in (I think) Grandma Pansy's writing says "Sat. night all going to the show. Howard was standing to ease his sore toe." (no date &no names, but I think I got them right)
I thought Aunt Marian (and family) would get a kick out of the photo with the jug of ??? (no date)
I have some of the information that Aunt Marian did on family history from back in the late 80s. But would love anything else anyone has as well.

Would love to get together with everone and look at photos and family history information -- I don't know who everyone is in many of my photos. And with all Grandpa's different wives, I have always been very confused about who everyone is and where we all fit in.

Later, Bunny

Photos From Nanc In Alaska

2007-01-21T13:09:00.000-08:00

Here are the photos Nanc tried to publish with her post;

Our fake tree
Our hotel tree
Casey and Cooper
Casey and girlfriend,
Heather
Our new Baja

Also below is one of my mom and dad, Bud and Marian at our Smith River place in the mid to late 60's.

Remember: you can click on any image to enlarge.

Love,
N anc

Howard St. Clair Children

2007-01-21T12:19:00.000-08:00

Peggi mentioned in a comment that she would like to hear more about my brothers and sisters in the picture. So here goes: I was born in 1949, Laurie 51, Nikki 53, Robby 60, Eric 62, Lisa 63, and Caryn 1970. Mom (Barbara Durall) and Dad were married in 1948 at Fairfield, Idaho. They lived in the Eugene area (I was born in Eugene) until 1950, when they moved to Fairfield. Dad took over the Durall family farm and continued with farming, in addition to owning a gas station and agricultural fertilizer business, until they divorced in 1969. Dad briefly moved to Rupert, Idaho, where he had a custom haying operation, then to Long Beach, California (managed a hardware store) and finally San Diego, where he died in 1972. Mom remarried in 1969 and moved, along with Nikki, Robby, Eric, and Lisa, to Plainview, Arkansas, where her husband, Tom Cox, settled on a family farm. Caryn was born there in 1970. Mom died in 1975, and the children lived with their Step-dad until graduating from high school.

Laurie currently lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she oversees EPA guidelines for the University of Tulsa. She has six children (all grown).

Nikki lives with her husband Dennis, in Moscow, Idaho. She is associated with a Christian women's group, doing counseling. They have 5 children (all grown).

Robby lives with his wife Glenda in Ola, Arkansas. He works at factory that makes bolts. They have 3 children (all grown).

Eric also lives in Ola and works at the same factory as Robby. He has 2 children (both teenagers).

Lisa lives with her husband Mike, in Greenwood, Arkansas. She teaches high school business courses. They have 1 grown child.

Caryn lives in Plainview, Arkansas and has two teenage children.

My wife Glada and I live in Atoka, Tennessee. Atoka is about 30 miles north of Memphis. I work for the Navy (civil service - I retired from the Navy in 1989) on the Navy base in Millington, TN. Glada teaches Kindergarten at a school in Memphis. I have three boys by a previous marriage, and 2 boys and 1 girl with Glada. Our youngest, Danielle, is 20. My oldest, Brian, is 36. I'll have more of my history in a future post.

Take care, Jay

Greetings from Jay St. Clair

2007-01-20T08:04:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone, greetings from Elvis country (he has left the building),

Isn't the internet wonderful. This is almost as wonderful as a family reunion. What a great place to keep in touch and share memories. I've never been much of a letter writer, but use email all the time in my job, so if I tend to post incomplete sentences, etc., apologize up front.

Right after Rian (and Gina) called last night, I spent about 2 hours looking at the Blog. Great job Carol. Bless you for getting this started.

I'm going to make this initial post short. Will send more later. The first picture above is the Howard St. Clair children taken at a reunion in 2003 (left to right, me, Robby, Caryn (Cox), Eric, Laurie, Lisa, Nikki). The second picture I estimated was taken in 1934 (someone please correct if I'm wrong), and the 3rd was taken in 1985 (estimate again) at Aunt Marian's house. I won't list names here or in the future where it is obvious to you all who they are. I've got a lots more pictures and will post in the future. Hopefully, these will be new to you all.

By the way, I have my own email address, stclair.jay@gmail.com. gmbstclair@gmail.com is Glada's. Send to either of us (we share). I'll also post Laurie's, Nikki's, and Lisa's email addresses later (they're the only ones who have email). I want to let them know about this blog first. I also have some genealogy information in PDF format that I will be glad to forward to anyone interested. This information was compiled by Laurie (working with Aunt Marian) back in the 80's. Would guess some, if not most of you, may already have this. Laurie mentioned to me a while back that she was getting back into genealogy, so I'm sure she will be excited about this blog and what you all are doing.

Later, Jay

e-mail addresses

2007-01-19T19:47:00.000-08:00

Peggi had a great idea, to re-enter the email contacts that Carol had posted in April 2006. Those that are not listed, and wish to have it included, please send a post. Thanks Peg!

Shirley St. Clair smstclair@msn.com
Bunny St. Clair (& Jim) cruize@theofficenet.com
Rod (& Karla) St. Clair StClairs1983@msn.com
Nancy (St. Clair) & Rob Seimears robnnanc@aptalaska.net
Peggi (Hickman) & Rick Lippincott moonlitedaze@comcast.net
Rian (& Gina) Hickman rhickman@centurytel.net
Mike (& Candy) St. Clair csaintly@yahoo.com
Wes (&Velda) St. Clair velda@rubensteins.com
Clair (& Beverly) Klock cbklock@cascadeaccess.com
Carol (Klock) and Max Williams Carol@TopPropertiesWenatchee.com
Lyle Reeve Papa4NnC@aol.com
Sharon (Hickman): blackwitch@charter.com
Nikki (St.Clair) Holmes holmes3000@verizon.net
Jay St. Clair stclair.jay@gmail.com
Glada St. Clair gmbstclair@gmail.com
Laurie St. Clair laurie-stclair@utulsa.edu
Lisa (St. Clair) Dean deanld@msn.com

Jay and Glada St Clair Contact

2007-01-19T18:20:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Rian just got off the phone with Jay St. Clair back in Tennessee, and HAS HE GOT SOME INFO TO SHARE. He's compiled info and photos, so we hope to hear from them soon. He's planning on sending us a CD. As soon as we get this, we'll put them on the blog. EXCITED!!!
Love,
Gina and Rian

Christmas Trip

2007-01-18T20:44:00.000-08:00

Hello folks,
Been enjoying the new photos and news from Carol, Joanne, Rian and Gina, and Bunny. What fun to share huh! We sure do have an awesome extended family. Our family decided to take the ferry up and spend Christmas in a hotel in Juneau to see Casey and meet his girlfriend, Heather. We got a room with a kitchen and shopped for a prime rib dinner on Christmas Eve, the day we arrived. It was different, but fun. We brought a little ceramic Christmas tree with us and had a delicious meal and great conversation. We spent the day after Christmas shopping for a new car and got a nice little used Baja with under 20,000 mi. on it. Hoping for much better gas mileage and it is fun to drive too. Our weather has warmed up now and it is raining more than snowing. We usually get some real cold, in the teens, weather this time of year, so this is as unusual as the huge amount of snow we got in November. Wish you all a very happy and prosperous New Year. Love, Nanc

Wes and Jacquelyne Hickman

2007-01-11T16:46:00.000-08:00

Last October, Jacquelyne came down to visit her brother Wes in Coos Bay. These two beautiful kids belong to Rian Hickman. She stayed with Wes for a bit, then went and visited their Grandma Marian Sanders in Reedsport Oregon. She and her friend Liza, stopped by here on their way back to BC. Jacquelyne will be 24 years old this month on the 22nd, and Wes is 26. They're both very responsible, and loving people. Wes is a commercial fisherman, and Jaquelyne works with the elderly, as an art therapist,having educated herself over a two period with her own personal finances. Proud of these two yungins'! Jaquelyne is showing up on our door step tomorrow afternoon to pick up a pick up, that Rian has fixed up for her. He took it all apart and put it back together, so she would have a safe, sound vehicle. We can't wait to see her drive away in her first car. We'll take some pictures while she's here and send them on.
Love to all,
Gina and Rian Hickman

Wes Hickman and Dell St. Clair

2007-01-10T10:20:00.000-08:00

As requested by Peggi, here is the photo of Wes and Dell circa early to mid 50s. Rian is not really sure of the year. Maybe someone can enlighten us as to an exact date. Wes is standing and Dell is the one on the motorcycle.

We will go through our pictures of the family, and put them in a bit at a time.

Love to all,
Gina and Rian

A Visit with the St. Clair Clan

2007-01-09T16:14:00.000-08:00

Okay, I don't want to be a blog hog, but we've got some catching up to do. This last Saturday, being money hungry fools that we are, we went and picked up a load in Vancouver WA to deliver to Weyerhaeuser in Springfield. The load we picked up was...Tapioca Starch! What does Weyco do with Tapioca Starch, I asked? It's a bonding agent for paper. Ya learn somethin' new everyday. Anyway, we were only three miles from Uncle Dell and Aunt Janice's place at delivery point, so we dropped in for a visit. Aunt Janice wasn't able to be there...working and all, but Uncle Dell, Rod and Karla, their daughter Erika, Wes and Velda, and their daughter Christina were all present. In the photo of the St. Clair men are from left to right, Rod, Uncle Dell, Wes, and Rian. Velda, Wes' wife (very sweet gal) mentioned that she hadn't been able to notice the similarities in the St. Clair men until she saw them all together. I hadn't either! I always thought Rian held the Hickman biological features, but seeing them next to each other...they do look alike! And sound alike!
The St. Clair women from left to right are Karla (Rod's wife), Velda (Wes' wife) and Gina Hickman (me, Rian's wife), and in the back is Erika (Rod and Karla's daughter) and Christina (Wes and Velda's daughter). Pretty good lookin' bunch of females! These are the women that put up with this roudy bunch of St. Clair men.
Erika's husband Nick, is stationed in Iraq, and we wish the best for him and his safe return.
Rian wants to add, that he loves his Uncle Dell more than he can say. Uncle Dell and Rian's dad, Wes Hickman were best friends. Rian's dad passed in 1958 from a logging accident when Rian was a mere 6 years old. He has always looked up to Uncle Dell as THE man figure in his life. Dell's kids were always admired, and seemed more like brothers than cousins.
Rod and Wes work together cutting timber, and are quite the characters, and extremely hard working men. Lance and Randy are very enterprising as well, and much to be admired. Everyone I've had the good fortune to meet in this family thus far have been wonderful, warm, and the most down to earth people I've met in my life, and am proud to be a part of the St. Clair/Hickman clan. Every single one, from Dottie, to Rian's mother Marian, and his simblings (especially Peggi) to cousins, Aunts and Uncles. There have been quite a few. And believe me, I was a bit overwhelmed with all the family members that I've had the opportunity to meet so far.
We only wish that Aunt Janice could have been there to complete the photo. She is a very hard working, and dedicated woman. We missed her being there. Next time!
Rian keeps a large photo of his father, Wes, and his Uncle Dell in our home/office to remind him of the kinship between those two. Family is priceless! We invite all the family members to stop by our abode to share our unconventional hospitality.
I feel very special being included in this authentic, and giving family. I thank each and every one of you that I've met for allowing a newcomer into your clan.
Love and Kisses to all,
Gina and Rian Hickman

JoAnne Reeve Checks In

2007-01-08T02:37:00.000-08:00

Below is a "comment" received from JoAnn Reeve. I am putting it up as it's own separate post so it will be easier to find. JoAnne do you have an e-mail address I can add to our group list? Any other info you can share will be appreciated... about your life, children, family history you remember, how your genealogy fits in, etc. If you want to make posts, you can send them here in the form of comments or forward them to my direct e-mail and I will create a post for you. Be sure to include pictures if possible. I will be leaving on a trip soon, so use the following e-mail address. CarolWilliams007@aol.com Thanks, Carol (Klock) Williams

"I am your cousin-JoAnne Reeve we met years ago. I am a widow and live in small ca town near my daughter and grandchildren. I have just recently retired (Again!)Was called back in 2006 for 7 months. My grandson (13)& I just returned after 3 weeks in Texas visiting with my brother Lyle and his family there. Chat with you soon, JoAanne "

Last Summer with Bunny and Jim

2007-01-07T11:58:00.000-08:00

Rian and I have some catching up to do for this blog...so here goes! First off...Carol, we wish you a safe and speedy recover!
Last July, Jim and Bunny came through and visited for a night on their way to Bunny's High School reunion. We really enjoyed their time here, and hope that either we can make it up to see them, or they are able to stop by again. We had a wonderful chat, and I got to know them quite a bit better. Bunny reminds me of Peggi. Straight forward and to the point. Jim is a funny and warm guy. Bunny was right that Rian and Jim have so much in common with the car and motorcycle issue.
They drove up in their Mustang, and arrived hot and tired, so we hope we treated them well with our unconventional hospitality. Absolutely loved having them here!

Much love to all,
Rian and Gina

Carol's Back Surgery

2007-01-06T10:05:00.000-08:00

Click here to visit our personal website for pictures and commentary after my Balloon Kyphoplasty back surgery performed Thursday.
-Carol

Ho Ho Ho ! and Merry Christams

2006-12-25T11:36:00.000-08:00

Ho Ho Ho! It is Christmas day -- Merry Christmas to everyone.
We received about another 4 inches of snow during the night. Jim is out "snow-blowing" and I shoveled a little bit...walkways here and there. Blazed a trail down to our river/creek -- it is a very small river, so we call it a creek most of the time. Everything is so beautiful, but it is warming up so the snow is getting really wet and heavy... gets stuck in the snowblower and Jim has a heck of a time.
Hope everyone is having a great Christmas.

The tree photo is looking out towards our river from my sewing studio deck. And of course our cabin.

Hope you are having a great Christmas.

Luv, Bunny

Fruit Salad

2006-12-18T19:08:00.000-08:00

Here is Sally St. Clair's Fruit Salad from Bunny

I don't have amounts...this is just in my head.
Chopped unpeeled apples
Sliced Bananas
Chopped Walnuts
Raisins

Miricle Whip (yup... not cool whip)

Mix altogether

I added a can of mandarin oranges for our Thanksgiving salad; and you can add grapes or ??

Thanks for the Blueberry recipe from Aunt Marian. I have frozen huckleberrys... should be really good with them as well.

I would love to have the time to play with geneology. I have also talked to Aunt Marian and she has given me lots of information. But I just have not had time to work with it. I have a friend that does a lot with her family geneology and really enjoys her research. Would be great if you could keep us posted on what you find Shirley. I even have or had a geneology program for my computer, but have never even loaded it onto the computer.

Not enough hours in the day, days in the week, weeks in the month, etc. !!

Have a Merry Christmas and wonderful 2007 everyone.

Greetings From Shirley St.Clair

2006-12-16T12:58:00.000-08:00

Hi from Shirley (daughter of Oba & Dorothy): Want to get this to all you St. Clair cousins galore before the end of the year so I can at least feel a wee bit timely!

In July, I visited Aunt Marian in Reedsport to talk St. Clair Genealogy. She made and served a fantastically delicious Blueberry Torte and shared her recipe which I have written down for any of you who might want to try it. You can see her holding the finished product next to the recipe below.

In August, hot on the trail of St. Clair Genealogy, I went to the Scottish Festival in Winston. Being so near Tenmile, I stopped by to see Uncle Harold and Laveta. As you can see from these pictures, our rough & tough eldest St. Clair guy was looking fit and feeling good. He most definitely looks 20 years younger than his 81 years!

Since September I have been taking weekly genealogy classes to learn methods. One of the many things I have learned is how challenging and time-consuming it is to track down information even with the many sources available on the internet. I am so in awe of how Aunt Marian traced the St. Clairs back to Alexander in 1698. She did all this by regular mail, following leads and dead-ends, and once completed she gave us each our personalized heritage histories. She did all this (a really monumental task) without the benefit of a computer or the internet. Thank you, Aunt Marian, for your foresight and diligence and for caring.

My goal is to track our heritage back to Scotland; to see if I can figure out what part of Scotland bonny Alexander hailed from and actually go there eventually.

Shirley

PS: Dear Bunny - Will you please share your Mom's (my Aunt Sally's) recipe for fruit salad that you fixed for Thanksgiving.

PS: Dear Nancy - I was so pleased to see the pictures you posted of your Mom (my other Aunt Marian - Bud's Marian). Please tell her "Hi" for me.

Aunt Marian's Blueberry Torte

Crust: 1 stick oleo
1 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Mix well with pastry blender & press into 9 x 13 pan. (Aunt Marian used a pie pan. Worked great!)
Bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
Cool completely.

Filling:
1 pkg cream cheese (8 oz, room temperature)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Whip until creamy, fold into:
2 cups Cool Whip

Spread onto crust. Top with:
2 cans blueberry pie filling

Chill and serve with Cool Whip on top.
* * * * *

When Aunt Marian made this for me, she cooked up frozen blueberries instead of using canned filling and used real whipped cream instead of Cool Whip. It was absolutely, positively wonderful!
...... Shirley

Greetings From Marian Sanders

2006-12-12T10:14:00.000-08:00

Marian sent me the following note to post for you all. Carol

I loved hearing about all the Thanksgiving doings (on the blog). We had quite a crowd here. I made the turkey, dressing, and a large shrimp salad. The rest brought all sorts of side dishes. Enough for several days eating. Jason made 10 - 12 pies from scratch plus many other things. Great eating and gathering. Seventeen in all came.
Love,
Marian

Season's Greetings From Clair

2006-12-10T18:43:00.000-08:00

Hey St Clair clan,
Since this is my first blog entry ever – I will give a short history of C & B (Clair and Beverly). Clair born 1951, Beverly 1940, Married in 1976, daughter and son, 6 grandchildren, 2 sisters-in-laws and brother-in-laws, lots of eclectic friends.

Beverly worked in education of all types from juvenile corrections to Jr. Hi to adult nutrition – retired OSU extension. I worked conservation education – outdoor school for kids and presently Soil and Water Conservation District for adults. Put in 12 years of full-time farming (Blueberries, Raspberries, Marions and Boysens) during that time and another 14 yrs of part-time farming .

Beverly likes to garden and visit a number of older folks that need visitors. She writes a bit and paints a lot since retirement. She travels to Tennessee to see our daughter and grandkids twice a year. I like work because the jobs are so diverse. Chocolate is an essential food group for me and tea for Beverly. I have a 3rd part-time job as naturalist on a small cruise ship (60 guests) in Alaska, Baja and on the Columbia River(Lindblad Expeditions). The company offers staff space available on trips all over the world and we take as much advantage of it as possible. I am headed for Ecuador and Galapagos Islands next Wednesday and return Christmas eve. We have been to Antarctica, Europe, Central America. Beverly isn’t going on this trip and is holding out for Europe and Scandinavia. Would travel more but the only thing holding us back in having to work for a living and available cash. Sound familiar?

Come visit - we would love to hear what makes life exciting for you. We can fill in the details on our short history !

Life is fine – Everyday is a Great Day - just that some are Greater than others!

Love to all, Clair and Beverly

You can click on either image to enlarge.

Christmas Jigsaw Puzzle

2006-12-07T07:59:00.000-08:00

Click below: Santa's Jigsaw - animated flash ecard by Jaquie Lawson www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=ER13610552

Enjoy!
Karla St.Clair
(Rod's wife)

Thanksgiving

2006-11-24T16:16:00.000-08:00

We had anther couple for a great TG dinner, in our cozy little cabin... had the camera ready on the cupboard next to the table. Forgot to take any photos. Geeezzzzz ##@@!##$!!###

I actually cooked two turkeys.... I only have a microwave/convection oven in the cabin so cooked a small one in it and another one in the BBQ. At 28 cents a pound... I could not pass up buying two turkeys. Like to freeze the leftovers for enchiladas, etc. Have a great enchilada recipe from sister-in- law, Candy. I sent half of everything home with our friends and still have lots of food left. Of course I spent 2+ days cooking so don't plan on cooking for awhile....like maybe a month! Jim says I went overboard... I don't usually entertain in our small cabin so I decided to go for it. Even had shrimp and crab coctails along with a fancy tossed salad -- then the main course with all the traditional foods and a fruit salad like my Mom used to make. Had made a Huckleberry pie and the friends brought a pumpkin pie. Took us several hours before we were ready to tackle the pies.... but we managed to put a big dent in them.

The Microwave/Convection oven is great for large roasts, turkeys, etc. You can cook them on half and half... half convection and half microwave and it takes about half the time to cook them. The oven does it all automatically if you punch the right buttons. Turns out really great.

We played UNO Attack the rest of the evening after dinner. Great fun!

Sounds like you each had a great day and great foodCarol & Nanc.

I can't believe that 2006 is almost over. Where did the year go??

We are expecting some really cold weather in the next week or so. Down around the zero degrees mark at night and highs in the teens. Don't have much snow yet to keep things (plants) covered and partially protected from the cold. So I hope they make it. But, it really does not matter as the deer eat everything anyway.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving...

Love, Bunny

AK Thanksgiving

2006-11-24T10:59:00.000-08:00

We had a very small gathering; My brother-Myron, son-Cooper, Mom-Marion, hubby-Rob. We ate early, at 2 PM rather than at the dinner hour. Then we just had leftovers for dinner too. We had the bird of course, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, 6-cup Fruit Salad, cranberry sauce and rolls. Mom made the rolls and brought them and of course I'd made a couple of pumpkin pies the previous day. Mom was going to make a strawberry-cream cheese pie, but the strawberries she'd purchased were freezer burnt.

I'd planned on making a chocolate cream pie from a new recipe, but decided not to because of Mom's planned pie. The pumpkin were plenty... only Myron and I could eat a piece right after dinner. It was a pretty quiet Thanksgiving, no kids to perk it up, but it was good food and conversation with family together. We visited Rob's folks in the evening with his brother and wife. The snow has stopped and it is clear and cold... only 15 degrees here this AM so will have to force myself to go for our daily walk. Enjoy your weekend all of you. I am so thankful to have such a great extended family.
Nanc

Max & Carol's Thanksgiving 2006

2006-11-23T19:24:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of our 16-pound bird... and the motley crew who consumed it.

Dinner consisted of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potato casserole, 2-berry salad, and rolls. I forgot to put the cranberries on the table. Drats. That happens sometimes when you're rushing around to get everything on the table at once. Oh well, they'll still be good tomorrow.

In the picture from left to right:
Amy & Troy Greenhalgh (our friends), Max Jr., Max Sr., Jeremy, Jeff, Calvin I, of course, was being the photographer.

I sold Amy & Troy a house last year, when they moved from Reno, and we've been friends ever since.

Max Jr., Jeremy & Jeff are all Max's sons. Calvin is Max Jr's grandson. Calvin's mother, Sarah, was working today and couldn't come. They all live in Selah, Washington (a suburb of Yakima).

Max Sr. also has two daughters. Lisa and her family live in Spokane and Lana and her family live in southern California.

Click on images to enlarge

News from the North

2006-11-21T23:09:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,
Here's a great picture of Mom.

I worked on the ferries this summer for my new job for the AK Marine Hwy. System. Found it isn’t exactly my cup of tea. I prefer to have my feet on land the majority of the time as does my tummy when it gets rough on the water.

Actually, it is the big swells that do me in, which happen with regularity every time we are in open waters. Usually if I am busy it doesn’t bother me, but I had a couple of bad experiences that made me wonder what in the world I was doing out there. I do have to admit that I loved the ever changing view , when I had time to look at it. Got to see whales bubble feeding for the first time. I enjoyed talking with the passengers and getting to know the crew too, so it wasn’t all bad. My favorite job was Officer’s Messman. For that you take the officer’s orders and serve them. Many interesting and varied subjects popped up during conversations at mealtime. They were a nice bunch of people to work with.

The money was great, starting at nearly $20 pr hr. and ending at over that. I miss being home with my plants and my dog though and being able to get out and walk on solid ground. Those steel decks don’t agree with my feet . They could probably handle 8 hr. days, but not the 12 I do out there. I am looking for a land job again while I am laid off due to several boats being down for maintenance.

Rob and his friend Jack Sisson got in a 10 day hunting trip over on Zarembo Is., a 15 minute boat ride from Wrangell. They enjoyed each other’s company and finally got two deer the last two days.
*
Mom and I have been doing a daily walk on the days I don’t run. She has only bailed out on me one day so far. This day was a rough walk as there wasn’t much of a track broken through the snow and Mom only had her walking shoes with Yak Tracks on them. I have had them on my shoes ever since the snow started, Nov. 7th.
*
We haven’t had clear sidewalks since, except in front of the hospital, schools and a few businesses. It has been a very unusual Nov. for us, as the majority of snow usually hits in Jan. and Feb.
Now it has switched to clear skies and cooler temps in the 20s and dipping down into the teens for the next several days. There was a brisk north wind today, and Mom was a real trouper, even though she hates the wind. We’ve agreed that we always feel better getting out in the fresh air even when it is nasty out.

The rest of my days have been spent being lazy, working crosswords and my new interest, the Sodoku puzzles. I thought they were silly at first, but am hooked now. I found a difficult one that took me several tries, but I finally conquered it today.

Now I’ve got to get started with my scrapbooking. I’ve been away from it for so long that I feel I’ve lost my touch. Maybe the photos of Mom will be the inspiration I need to spark my creativity again. I am also getting the urge to bake gooey, delicious treats. I’ve been wanting to tone it down to healthier fare as most of us these days don’t need the extra calories. But then many say that Christmas is the one time of the year that they splurge on those comfort foods. So what do all of you think... should I stick with traditional sweets or try to remake the recipes to be healthier?

Nanc of the North

Grandma Pansy's Deep Dish Apple Pie

2006-11-19T13:31:00.000-08:00

Shirley St.Clair sent me an e-mail earlier in the week that she plans to post Aunt Marians blueberry pie recipe (when she finds it). But, that got me to looking for one of my favorite recipes:

Grandma Pansy's Deep Dish Apple Pie

TOPPING: Mix to crumble
1 cube butter
1 cub flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar
pinch of salt
add 1 egg

* * * * *

Peel, core and slice apples as for pie.
Put in oblong pan (8 x 11)
Shake 1/2 cup sugar (with some cinamon) over the apples.
Spread topping over the apple mixture
Bake at 350 degrees until apples are done and topping is brown... about 25 minutes.

YUM-O

Have a great Thanksgiving all!
Carol

Winter Arrives in Wrangell, Alaska

2006-11-13T09:14:00.000-08:00

Nancy sends the following message and pictures from Alaska: "Mom and I took a walk on the new extension to the nature trail today"

Carol says: Looks like Fall is over and winter setting in.

Max & Carol's Blog

2006-11-13T09:10:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to Max & Carol's blog, with pictures of a Fall excusion we took not long ago. But, now winter is setting in and we put away the tank tops and pulled out the winter coats.
www.TreeDoctor.blogspot.com

-Carol Williams

9/11 Memorial Ride

2006-09-13T18:47:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,
We are so pleased.... Jim and I planned and arranged a 9/11 Memorial Ride on Monday --9/11.
We had it in the paper and on the local radio. ...invited motorcyclists and classic car owners and anyone else who wanted to participate to attach their flags and memorial signs. But had no idea how many, if any would show up.
The radio called me earlier in the day to see how many and I told them could be 5, could be 40 -- I really had no idea. Had only had about 3 phone calls about it.
Well we arrived at the place we were starting about 15 minutes early and there were already about 10 bikes and 6 or 7 classic cars. And.... they just kept rolling in. We were totally blown away. We had about 50 bikes and 25 to 30 classic cars. We rode thru Colville and over to Kettle Falls...next town over, about 8 miles away; and then back to and through Colville again. It was so awesome. We were not supposed to have a police escort, because we did not plan it in time to get permission from the Mayor for that, but one of the guys called them and they sent a police car to escort us since there were so many. We got to ride through the lights and stop signs, etc.
He escorted us clear to Kettle Falls and had called ahead to have a KF officer escort us thru KF. It was just way cool.
We were in the lead... that is Jim with the big flag and me with the red leather jacket and two smaller flags on the back of my bike. It was so cool to look in our mirrors and see nothing but motorcycles behind us. And the sound was of course great!

If the photo is blurry, right click on it and click on "show original image". You can also go to the local newspaper site and see it and what they wrote... http://www.statesmanexaminer.com/ Or try this if that site moves the articles... http://www.statesmanexaminer.com/images/stories/September11Ride.jpg They had our advertisment for the run on the front page last week and this week... we are on the front page again. Can you tell ... we are very pleased about how well it all turned out. Everyone involved wants us to do it again... they kept saying this is the "first annual run". At this point we are planning on doing just that. We feel that people are forgetting that awful day and want to remind them of all who were lost.

Anyway..... just wanted to share with you guys.

Bunny & Jim

Max's Mexican Birthday Week

2006-08-26T11:04:00.000-07:00

Thursday was Max's 76th birthday. In our family we celebrate "birthday weeks" and we had an interesting week, including a full blown homemade Mexican fiesta on Tuesday AND dinner at one of our favorite local Mexican restaurants on Thursday. For pictures and commentary of both events, visit our Max & Carol's Life blog. There is "smut" talk, so don't miss it!

-Carol

Back from Seattle

2006-08-17T18:19:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
I got back from Seattle on Monday night... quilting girlfriend went with me. We had a great time and the weather was absolutely wonderful in Seattle. Went to the awards night, the Gala Auction night and 3 to 4 seminars each day. Also shopped at all the vendors, but were fairly "good" -- only bought a couple books and some thread but no fabric. Well..... since neither of us bought any fabric at the show, we did stop to check out a new quilt shop on the way home and managed to find some fabric we could not live without there.

The quilt show was awsome... very overwhelming. It is a juried show... you have to be juried into the show by three jurors. Then it is judged by 3 judges. The Best of Show was an outstanding quilt with a huge cat on it. The whole show was awsome.
My quilt (wall hanging) that was auctioned off brought $500.00 which was one of the top ones that sold. Made me feel really good.

Anyway... it was a great weekend. This week at work has been very busy - trying to catch up, and I was only gone from work on Thursday, Friday and Monday..... and I don't work Fridays anyway. I have an assistant now and she works Fridays, and when I am gone on vacation and conference, etc. That helps a lot.

I am hoping to STAY HOME this weekend... seems like we have been gone someplace every weekend since summer got here. Our summers (good weather) are so short that we cram everything into a very short time period.

Hope everyone is having a great summer.
Bunny

More photos & misc. comments from Bunny

2006-08-06T17:10:00.000-07:00

Great photo f Aunt Marian and good looking pie as well. Waiting for the recipe...

Thanks for the comments Shirley... would have loved to gone to the quilt show.

We had a great reunion... lots of old people there!!! ;o) It was lots of fun seeing many of my classmates and two of my best friends from high school were there -- so that was great. Had a nice visit with my Dad and Laveta as well, but the best part was visiting with Rian and Gina on the way down and on the way back. Will try to put a couple photos in here.

What kind of help does Aunt Marian need for the genealogy thing? I am very interested... maybe could do some stuff in my spare time -- HA! HA! Really I am very interested in all our family history.

Had company all this weekend... some of Jim's family and then other friends spent the night after family left.... busy weekend.

This next weekend I am off to Seattle for the Pacific Northwest Quilt Fest. My quilt (wall hanging) that is in the invitational quilt show and has been traveling around the country for two years will be auctioned off. Here is the link if you want to see the quilts. http://www.apnq.org/
Go to the "Wish You Were Here" link for the traveling invitational quilts. Mine is a fairy on dark blue background.
Will let everyone know how it goes when I return.
Love, Bunny

Aunt Marian's Blueberry Pie

2006-07-29T07:11:00.000-07:00

Shirley checking in - This is a picture of Aunt Marian I took when I was visiting her in mid-July. The special pie she made is an absolutely scrumptious blueberry sour cream with a buttery crust. I hope she posts the recipe for everyone to try. The picture on the wall is of Grandma & Grandpa Reeve. It is a treasure, as were they.

Marian needs someone to help her with genealogy research of the Reeve side of the family. Any helpers out there?

Message for Bunny: You are one incredible Biker-Babe! One minute you're practicing in parking lots and the next thing you know you are out there on the highways and biways, hair blowing in the wind, stripped down to your skivvies! Way to go!!

Too bad your reunion isn't this weekend. There is a big quilt show in Coburg, right on your way to Roseburg.
-Shirley

St.Clair Men - 1955

2006-07-28T06:04:00.000-07:00

Here is the, long anticipated, picture of the St.Clair men taken at the same time as the (previouly posted) St.Clair women. September 1955. You can enlarge it some more by clicking on the image. The picture is thanks to Shirley.

I need some help here with identification. I know Grandpa and my Dad (with Clair), Charley, and Wes... but that's about all I'm absolutely sure of. I think Mike is in front of Grandpa, and probably Rian in front of Wes. Is that Dell between Grandpa & my Dad? Is that Oba to the right of my Dad? Any helpers out there?
-Carol

From Shirley:
This is how I see the line-up: Big Guys (l to r) Ralph (Shirley's husband), Grandpa, Harold, Bruce, Oba, Charlie, Bud, Dell, Wes.

Little Guys (l to r) Mike w/Grandpa, Clair w/Bruce, Myron or Scott w/Charlie, Lucky standing w/Bud, Myron or Scott on Bud's shoulders, Lance w/Dell, Rian w/Wes.

From Peggi in the comments section:
From the left, unkown guy (now identfied as Ralph - Shirley's ex), Grandpa Frank w/Mike in front, Uncle Harold, Bruce w/Clair in front, Uncle Obe, Uncle Charley w/Myron in front, Uncle Bud w/Scott on shoulders and Lucky (Frank) in front, Uncle Dell w/Lance, Dad(Wes) w/Rian.

The St. Clair Women - 1955

2006-07-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

I've moved this picture up in the blog, to be with the (recently acquired) man clan photo.

Does anyone know when this photo was taken? It's a very cool picture of the St. Clair women. I think I have a St. Clair men photo somewhere.
You can click on the image to enlarge.

I think I can identify most of these women, but not sure about who is on the far left. Is that Shirley on the far right?

From left to right: Janice (Nita), Jessie, Sally (Bunny), Marian (Sharon & Peggi), Grandma Pansy, Amy (Carol), Bud's Marion (Nancy), Dottie, Shirley. Marian (with an "a") is Frank & Pansy's daughter. Marion (with an "o") is Bud's wife. The blended family was always very confusing to me... but I'm getting it sorted out as time goes by. My adult brain seems to be able to grasp it better than the kid brain did.

How did I do? Can anyone help me with this? (Thanks Nancy... I've made the corrections!)

Carol

Bike Run to Montana

2006-07-24T20:34:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone.
Just a note to tell you about our second camping trip on our bikes. Went to a Hawgs & Paws fundraiser bike run in Troy Montana this past weekend.... yes in all that heat. Think we fried a few brain cells -- it was a hot one. Well over 100 degrees in Libby -- near where we were.
The photo is of a run we went on on Saturday up into the boondocks above Troy. Up the Yaak River and around and back into Libby and into Troy. Fun old fashioned saloon in Yaak.
The bike on the far right is mine and the next one is Jim's.
The scenery was beautiful. But we almost cooked ourselves before we got back into Troy and what is called the Home Bar where they had BBQ dinner for us. The camp was at a ranch above Troy... with free dinners, breakfast and drinks, including beer. Had live music both Friday night and Saturday night. We had a great time, but could have used cooler weather.
Rode over 500 miles in the 3 days-- which is a huge amount for me. I even stripped off all my leathers and even the helmet cause it was so hot. Did wear a long sleeve shirt that I soaked with water every chance I got.
The second photo is of Jim and our friend Tony who we rode to and from the run with... Tony and Catherine Salamone -- crazy peeps.

Now, this next weekend we are off to Roseburg Oregon for my 40th class reunion. Stopping to see Rian and Gina on the way. Hope to take our 65 Mustang, but if it is still this hot, we may take my Explorer with air conditioning.

Two week ends later, I am off to Seattle for the BIG Pacific Northwest Quilt Fest where I will have a small quilt auctioned off, that has been traveling around the country for two years. One of my quilting buddies is going with me -- we should have fun.

Busy summer!!!

Hope everyone is having a great summer.

Bunny

reunion / fuzzy photos

2006-07-09T20:26:00.000-07:00

I vote for some time in 2007 for a reunion... this year is way too booked for us already.

Jim told me how to get the photos to turn out nice... without the fuzzy... after you double click on it to make it larger you then right click on it and tell it to "show original image"... takes the fuzzy away.

By the way Rian, you have not written on this blog -- you told Jim you don't have much to say. Well how come the two of you can spend over an hour on the phone talking if you don't have much to say... ;o) Looking forward to seeing you guys on our way to the reunion.
Love, Bunny
Send us a photo of your new toy... the shovelhead.

Marian Sanders & Clan

2006-07-08T16:20:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to enlarge!

Here is a photo of the family in the middle of June of this year. I have another one almost like it, I think the only difference is that Robyn's dad Bob Kelly is in it. Rian and Gina were at their camp during this photo unfortunately but I will send one of them at Nikki and Rays camp when they stopped by for a visit. Kevin is fairly camera shy but I have one of him also and will send it.........

The three guys in back from left to right are:

Jason, Sharon's son-in-law
Keldon Seeber, Sharons oldest child
Ernie, Lace's father

Below them starting on left :

Lori, my oldest daughter
Shawn, Lori's oldest son
Nikki, my daughter
Ray, Nikki's husband
Robyn, Sharons oldest daughter
Lace, Sharons youngest daughter
Sharon
Stasy, Sharons middle daughter

In front of Lori
Peggi, and Lindsay in front of me, Lori's youngest
Zachary, Lori's middle son
Sierra, Stasy's daughter

Kneeling below Robyn is her daughter Aun Marie
Mom, the queen of our tribe!
Larissa, Kelly's wife
Mychy, Stasy's son
Job is sitting in the chair, he is Kelly and Larissa's youngest and only one of their kids at the gathering

Down in front is :

Adrian (we call him Chui) he is Nikki and Ray's youngest
Avery, Lori's youngest son
Emily, Lori's oldest girl
Darian, Nikki's oldest

Will get more posted as time permits.

Post from: Peggi

Hanging Out In Camp

2006-07-08T16:14:00.000-07:00

Click on image to enlarge

Rian and Gina at the table, Ray standing and Lori, Zach and myself on the right.
-Peggi

Kevin in the 18-Wheeler

2006-07-08T16:13:00.000-07:00

Kevin works for Bob Kelly and was in the area already when he stopped in for our visit.
-Peggi

My new ride

2006-06-03T13:21:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Here are a couple photos of my new ride.

It is a 1995 Heritage Softail Nostalgia model. Rides like Lincoln Continental compared to my Sportster. But getting used to the heavier weight when I stop, start out, back into a parking spot, etc... is the fun part!!! I love it though. We hope to go for a ride this afternoon. Someone here right now looking at one of our classic cars that needs total restoration.

We have decided that we will never get these cars all done so are going to sell a few. We have a really cool fastback Mustang that Jim completely restored and another Mustang coupe about 1/2 done. That will probably be about it. I do have a 69 Cougar that I would love to have done, but we shall see. The bikes are taking up so much of our free time now.

Still hoping to see photos and/or posts from the rest of you. Peggi asked for a photo of our cabin. I will try to get that posted soon.

Love, Bunny

P.S. Anyone want to buy a really cool Sportster?

Marian Sanders Wants Us To Know...

2006-05-25T23:36:00.000-07:00

Here is a note I received from Aunt Marian, asking me to post for you. She has done a lot of genealogy work and I appreciate her willingness to share. She has been very gracious with me in sharing her pictures and memories of my parents:

"Wanted to tell you and the others that I am trying to get the Reeve information out to those interested. Peggi is planning a trip down here to the coast and will make some copies ,then help me get them available for you. I assure you I'm not trying to sit on the stuff I've accumulated. Just a BIT frustrating at my age.

Lyle Lynn, I remember when you and your folks came to Oregon in 1943 You were about a year old. How did the reunion you organized a few years ago turn out and how much geneology have you gathered? So sorry that I never got back to you. Would be glad to hear from you."
-Marian Sanders

* Marian's direct e-mail address is: marians@harborside.com

Bunny's Family

2006-05-17T20:16:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. Here is a photo of all of our family at our Son's wedding -- hmmm was it last summer or the summer before. Geezzz my mind is going -- getting old is not for sissys.

Back row... Mike and Candy in the middle with their boys and wives.... Brett and Jennifer on left, Kery and Beth on right.

Middle row... me in front of my husband Jim, our granddaughter Monique, our daughter Michelle (Shelly) her husband Doug and my ex -- the kids dad John Doolittle or "Doc" as we call him now.

Front row... the bride and groom -- our Son John and his wife Brenda.

The wedding was held at our daughter and son-in-laws home and was really nice. Brenda is a bit older than John and has a grown daughter with a husband and babies. So John became a grandpa upon marriage. He loves it. He has always loved little kids. We don't talk about what his marriage to a grandma made me!! After all she is a "young" grandma!!!!! @##@@

Would love to see photos of the rest of you and your families!! Come on everyone -- please share.

Love, Bunny

This is a good thing

2006-05-12T09:25:00.000-07:00

This blog is a great thing-- and I applaud Carol for setting it up and putting so much work into it. I hope all of us start using it more.
Welcome Aunt Marian and also Lyle Reeve. Don't know if I ever met that side of our family -- the Reeves, but would love to. Of course I don't remember a lot of things from my growing up years, so who knows. And would love to hear more about all of you -- the Reeves, the St.Clairs, and whoever. WRITE MORE!!
Cousin Rian and my hubby have struck up a friendship after the mini reunion at Aunt Dotties a couple years ago -- classic car stuff you know! Jim and Ryan talk on the phone now and then as well as e-mail.
Am off to my "mini" quilt group meeting today. We meet once a month and are sorta doing more artsy things with our quilting. We call ourselves "The Catastrophies" or "CATS" for short, as we started the mini group working on an intricate cat applique wall hanging.... each of us doing the same quilt but with our own background fabrics and cat fabrics. I only know of one of us that has completed a wall hanging -- but she only did two of the cat blocks and there are about 9. Most of us have gotten side tracked with other things and the cats went on the back burner. Quilters are nortorious for having many UFOs (unfinished objects). My current obsession is beading on fabric. Oh dear -- must now purchase beads as well as fabric -- what a shame!! ;o)
Nope... I don't work on Fridays -- only work 4 days a week and love it.
Thinking about riding my motorcycle to the meeting but it is not warming up very fast and the wind seems to be picking up, so probably not this time. It is also a pot-luck so a bit difficult to haul a salad or ? on the bike -- as well as my quilting project. But managable, if I put my mind to it.
I remember the clock that Aunt Marian has and I also remember a beautiful glass paper weight that was on Grandpa's desk. I think it had a red flower in it. I loved that paperweight. I also remember one time Peggi and I were helping Grandpa in the barn... or at least following him to the barn and we were both wearing his plaid coat... Peggi's left arm in one arm hole and my right arm in the other. Yup... we were small enough and skinny enough back then to do that!!
Later, Bunny

The Clock

2006-05-11T03:54:00.000-07:00

Hi all,
I just had to get in on all this fun. Have been enjoying all the comments and Bios, so glad you started this Carol.

You mentioned the clock at the Lorane house I believe it is the one that I still have, though it doesn't work anymore. It is an Ingraham Eight day mantle clock. The folks acquired it about the time we came to Oregon in 1930. I loved hearing it in the night when I was sick or just couldn't sleep. It was very comforting. I still move the hands occasionly just to hear the sound of it striking the hours and half hours. Takes me back. I liked to watch on Sunday mornings when Dad would go thru the little ritual of taking down the key and wind the clock for another week.

I hope you all keep this going
Marian Sanders

Updated Contact Info

2006-05-09T18:55:00.000-07:00

Here is the updated contact list, as I have it so far. If anyone knows of others, please pass them along to me and I will post them. Does anyone on this list have kids, grandkids (or other relatives) who have e-mail addresses?

Shirley St. Clair smstclair@msn.com
Bunny St. Clair (& Jim) cruize@theofficenet.com
Rod (& Karla) St. Clair StClairs1983@msn.com
Nancy (St. Clair) & Rob Seimears robnnanc@aptalaska.net
Peggi (Hickman) moonlitedaze@comcast.net
Rian (& Gina) Hickman rhickman@centurytel.net
Mike (& Candy) St. Clair csaintly@yahoo.com
Wes (&Velda) St. Clair velda@rubensteins.com
Clair (& Beverly) Klock cbklock@cascadeaccess.com
Carol (Klock) and Max Williams Carol@TopPropertiesWenatchee.com
Lyle Reeve Papa4NnC@aol.com
Sharon (Hickman): Blackwitch@charter.net
Robyn Taylor (Sharon's daughter) Robyn@infinitebubble.com

Lyle Reeve checked in

2006-05-09T14:49:00.000-07:00

Here's a message from Lyle Reeve, taken from the comment section of the invitation to the family. Didn't want you all to miss it:

Hi,
I'm Lyle Reeve the oldest son of Lyle & Hilda Reeve my father
was the youngest brother of Aunt Pansy. My family and I live at
4718 Pitts Road
Katy, TX. 77493
281-392-2530
Papa4NnC@aol.com

A Fitting Tribute To Dottie

2006-05-08T10:24:00.000-07:00

My little tribute to Dottie hardly did her justice, so I am pasting in the entire text of the obituary printed in the Springdale News. --Carol

Dottie Saint-Clair: 1914-2006

Dorothy Margaret Saint-Clair came into this world on September 26, 1914, bringing a zest for life that infected everyone she knew. She left us with grace and dignity on April 26, 2006. She was 91 years young.

Dottie was born to Lewis and Edith Miller in Gresham, Oregon, and was raised a farm girl six miles east of town. At Lusted Grade School, she received a trophy in the eighth grade for most popular student in school. In high school, she competed in track events, winning numerous medals, and danced and sang in school musicals. She graduated from Gresham High but learned the most from "The School of Hard Knocks," as she was fond of saying.

She married the neighbor boy, Oba St. Clair, on November 13, 1935, in Portland. (Oba’s the one who got her hooked on motorcycles!) The next summer, they had their only child, Shirley Margaret St. Clair. No daughter was ever more loved. They first lived in logging camps around the state and even in a tent in the tall timber country of Idaho (on a remote hillside with a deck and marauding bears). They moved to Brownsville in 1940 and then to Eugene in 1946. Dottie moved to Springfield in the 1980s.

She loved to tell of the logging camp years with no electricity or running water. One favorite story was of how she would make many trips daily to haul water in buckets up the long, very steep path from Panther Creek to camp. Water to drink, to bathe (once a week in a tin wash tub), to cook, to wash and so forth. That’s a lot of water. It took a lot of stamina and strength. And Dottie had it, from her days on the farm helping her Dad in the fields and playing baseball with him. Hardball, not softball, she was always quick to point out! A great sorrow in her life was losing her Dad when she was only 19.

Outdoor work was Dottie’s specialty. Digging ditches, building rocks walls, pushing a heavy wheelbarrow. She reveled in it. Housework was a duty, cooking a pain. But, boy, you’d never know it from the yummy food she fixed. Her pies were legendary. Lemon meringue, chocolate cream, banana cream, Bing cherry and on and on. Her pie crust was perfection. A neighbor once said, "I know how you do it. You only use your hands to mix the dough, don’t you?" That was her secret. Plus, knowing just when to stop mixing and start rolling.

Dottie was very shy at heart, very modest, and very, very talented. The move to Brownsville brought a dream-come-true. She got a piano. With only three months of lessons as a girl, her natural gifts came through as she and that piano became one. The results? Dottie, the red-hot piano player. She favored upbeat swinging styles, such as Frankie Carle's complicated jazz arrangements, but also loved and displayed an incredibly sensitive touch with classics like Prelude in C# Minor.

And oh, how Dottie loved to dance to that swing music. She could outlast anyone on the dance floor and be ready for more. Dottie was born to move to the beat!

Another item in the talent department, Dottie also had a great eye for design and color. Whether it was putting together the perfect color-coordinated outfit; decorating and furnishing the tent, the mill shack or the house; or being drawn to the sleek, curvy shape of a certain 1957 car - she knew style. She also upholstered her own furniture and was a top-notch seamstress, bar none.

In contrast, as a proud member of the National Rifle Association, Dottie liked to target practice, using rifles and handguns. She modestly said she couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn, but she still loved the sport.

"Dot-Dot," as her great-grandkids called her, had a varied work history. In Brownsville she was a plane spotter for the Civilian Air Patrol during World War II; she was a waitress in Burbank for 3 months while Oba was going to Watchmaking School (she fibbed & told them she had experience); and in Eugene, she was the Custom Drapery Consultant/Coordinator for Sears and then went into real estate until she retired in 1994.

But work was only a sideline. In addition to music, Dottie’s real passion was for Harley-Davidson motorcycles and Corvette sports cars; the faster, the better. Her red and white 1957 Corvette, nicknamed "Hot Dot," won many honors at car shows and was a crowd pleaser. She didn’t trailer "Hot Dot" to the shows. She drove, loving every minute of being on the road with her "Baby." Portland; Park City, Utah; Port Ludlow, Washington; and Victoria, B.C. (twice). Dottie and "Hot Dot" were even featured in the national magazine, "Classic Chevy World."

As for Harleys, Dottie never lost her love of that special Harley sound, look and feel and was always on the lookout for the model that was just her size. She still dreamed of climbing on, kick-starting a blue and chrome beauty, revving the motor and hitting the road again soon.

It is impossible to do Dottie justice with words. But here are a few to start: fun-loving; incredible sense of humor; music in her soul; talent galore; looking out for others; loving and gentle; sweet and rough ‘n’ ready; shy, yet feisty; sensitive and a dreamer; AND ahead of her time - riding motorcycles before gals did that; feeling badly for the Native American Indians and thinking the pollution of the Willamette River was a terrible thing - all before they became popular causes; and making sure she was referred to as a homemaker. She never, ever considered herself a housewife, and thought "smart citizen" was a much more fitting name than "senior citizen," thank you very much!

Dottie was forever young and girlish at heart, referring to herself as "Big Kid" and her daughter, Shirley, as "Little Kid."

Always a good sport, looking for the silver lining, Dottie made us laugh and find joy in simple things. Like hanging a wash on the clothesline, or noticing the shape and color of a rock, or climbing a tree, or wading in the ocean. But we found the most and best joy in her.

Dottie leaves behind her treasured family - her daughter, Shirley, of Eugene; two grandsons, Randy Myers of Portland and Steve Myers of Denver; and two great-grandkids, Ben and Jessica Myers of Denver.

We all love and miss her.

A celebration of life was at 1 p.m., Sunday, April 30, at Major Family Funeral Home. The graveside ceremony was May 1 at the Miller Family Gravesite in Pleasant Home, Ore. Remembrances for Dottie Saint-Clair can be made to the American Lung Association of Oregon, 7420 SW Bridgeport Rd. No. 200, Tigard, Ore. 97224. Specify for pulmonary fibrosis research. Major Family Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

In Memory of Dottie St.Clair

2006-05-02T11:16:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of me and my dear Aunt Dottie St.Clair in 2004, taken during a small family reunion held at her house. Many of you were there for this event.

Sadly, Dottie passed away last week at the age of 91. Appropriately, the day of Dottie's memorial service and the following day for the church yard gravesite service were beautiful sunny days. These days were declared "Dottie days" by her grandson, Steve. This is particularly meaningful because western Oregon is not known for it's reliable supply of sunshine. But, for these two "Dottie days", it was on cue.

Doing justice to the life of my Aunt Dottie involves mentioning at least four things... her zest for life, her devotion to her beloved 1957 Chevy Corvette (license plate "Hot Dot"), her lifelong fascination with Harley Davidson motorcycles and her love for her family... especially her daughter, Shirley. Dottie, although quite a responsible woman in life, never quite grew up and liked to refer to herself as the "big kid" and her daughter Shirley as the "little kid". Shirley devoted the last several years to taking care of her Mother, allowing Dottie to stay in her own home where she wanted to be. Although she couldn't actually drive her Corvette or ride a Harley any more, she loved being surrounded by her substantial collection of Corvette & Harley memorabalia (including several trophies from car shows where she showed off her beautiful red and white Corvette). If you click on the image to enlarge it, you will be able to see a picture of her Corvette on the mantle behind me.

* * * In the program from Dotties memorial was the following appropriate poem:

AFTERGLOW
I'd like the memory of me
To be a happy one
I'd like to leave an afterglow
Of smiles when life is done

I'd like to leave an echo
Whispering softly down the ways
Of happy times and laughing times
And bright and sunny days

I'd like the tears of those who grieve
To dry before the sun
Of happy memories that I leave
When this life is done
* * *

Aunt Dottie was born Dorothy Margaret Miller on September 26, 1914. On November 13, 1935 she married Oba St. Clair who was (literally) the boy next door. They had one child, Shirley Margaret St. Clair, born in 1936. Dottie has two grandchildren: Steve Myers (living in Denver) and Randy Myers (living in Portland). Steve and his wife have two children, Ben and Jessica.

She is loved and missed!

ID's Needed

2006-04-23T19:52:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo that needs some identification. It was taken in front of Bruce & Amy's house on Ash St. in Portland. Click on the photo to enlarge.

Peggi has given me some clarification, so I've made the corrections below, but still not sure about the lady next to Amy.

From left to right:
Amy, Great Grandma St.Clair (Frank's Mom Mary Rose), Wes Hickman, Marian Hickman, Grandma Pansy (holding Carol?), Grandpa Frank (holding Clair?). Peggi & Sharon Hickman are standing in front of Grandma Pansy.

Bruce & Amy (St.Clair) Klock

2006-04-23T16:54:00.000-07:00

I posted this picture on our personal blog, but Peggi asked me to post it here too. This is my favorite photo of my Mom & Dad (Amy & Bruce).

Bruce & Amy had two children:
Clair Normond Klock, born March 29, 1951
Carol Renee Klock, born April 7, 1952

Amy died in 1959 and Bruce died in 1964. After Bruce's death, Clair & Carol were raised by Bruce's brother and his wife (Orval & Dorothy Klock) in Corbett, Oregon.
Submitted by: Carol

Bunny's history

2006-04-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

I tend to get wordy, but will try to keep it brief.
I got married within a year after graduating. Had two children and then divorced after10 years. Lived in Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island at the time. Husband was in the Navy stationed at the air base there. I kept our home and stayed there to raise the kids and let them finish school there. After working at several jobs...including waitressing, bartending, etc. I put myself through a community college and got an ATA degree. Was fun raising two kids, going to school and working part time!!
After graduating from college, I went to work in social services for several years. Mostly worked with the Big Brother/Big Sister program, but was also the program director for the Armed Services YMCA for a few years as well.
Liked being single, so when I met my current husband it scared me to think about giving up my freedom. But it was meant to be... we are definitely soul mates or knew each other in another life or ? I did keep my maiden name (which I had gone back to upon the divorce) when Jim and I got married.

After awhile we moved to Anacortes on Fidalgo Island and lived there for 5 years before moving across the state to Colville. I worked at the Arts Foundation Director and then as a real estate agent in Anacortes... also became a "quilter" about that time as well.
After we moved to Colville, I taught quilting in local area quilt shop/fabric stores for a few years, but then had to get a "real job". I am the Executive Officer for the local Association of REALTORS®. Having been in the real estate business was a plus. I am still very much involved in quilting and fabric art... my studio is larger than the cabin we live in. But I don't teach as often anymore
.
We bought almost 6 acres in the woods and built a "temporary" cabin and a huge shop with my studio above the shop on one end. My windows look out over the Little Pend Oreille River...which is more like a creek than a river. After building the shop, we ran out of money and we are still living in the temporary cabin (which by the way is really nice, but small) 12 years later.

My kids, Michelle (Shelly) and John (JP) are now 36 & 35. They both live in the Puyallup area near Tacoma in a suberb named Sumner. Shelly and her husband have a daughter -- Monique. She is 16 already. I just spent a night with them after a conference in Tacoma. We all went out to dinner and Monique drove me to dinner in her little red car. I lived through it and managed to stay calm and act like I was pleased with here driving.!!@##@@ Actually she is a great kid and it was not all that bad. She spends a week with us every summer and we really enjoy her. Going to do the grandkid thing FIRST next time... to heck with having the kids... just go straight to having grandkids. Speaking of straight to grandkids. That is exactly what our son did. He married a lady a little older than himself and she has a grown daughter with two little ones. So JP is a granddad at age 35. JP has Addisons Disease and cannot have children so this was perfect for him. He loves being a grandpa. And... NO that does not make me a "great grandma"... well sorta I guess. I did make them each a quilt.
My husband, Jim, is a classic car nut and is currently doing body work and such for a living. He has done many things in his life though and seems to be great at whatever he does.... he is an artist (Sculptures) and it shows in whatever he does. But... neither of us has a retirement so will have to work until the day we drop dead.

Anyway.... we have a really cool fastback Mustang that he completely redid. And...several other automobiles in different stages of being redone... or not -- some are just sitting. The biggest problem with getting them done is we have a new addiction that takes up most of our good weather free time.
That is we both have Harley motorcycles. Jim used to ride years ago and we decided a couple years ago that if we were going to ride, we had better do it while we are still fairly healthy. Jim is 10 years older than me (calls himself "The Old Fart"). So he got his bike. I really did not like riding on the back and one day when we went to the HOG shop to get him a new rear wheel for his bike we walked out having bought me a bike. He never did get that wheel. So then I had to practice a lot and get my license. This will be my second summer of riding. We hope to venture a little further away from home this year.

Anyway... thats the basics of my life.
Hope to hear from other cousins.
Bunny

Peggi Checks In

2006-04-16T10:17:00.000-07:00

Here is a post from Peggi, submitted last fall. I extracted it from the comments section of the "St.Clair Men & Women" picture post. Didn't want anyone to miss it. Plus, now I've saved all of the posts in a PDF file and we can print it in a book. The book only prints original posts (not comments), so wanted it to have it's own page. I'm thinking if we collect all the posts, I can get them printed out for a reunion... whenever that happens! --Carol

Hi Cousins and relatives.
I'm Peggi Hickman, daughter of Marian St Clair born to Frank and Pansy. I was born in 1948, grew up and lived in Drain Oregon for my first 18 years. Married at age 18, had three children then divorced after 17 years. Left the Eugene area in 1985. Two of my children Lori(37) and Nikki(32) live here in the Portland area near me. My son Martin who also lived nearby passed away two years ago (at age 32). Lori has 5 children and Nikki has 2. I've lived and worked in this area about 20 years now and like it except for the traffic. Hopefully more cousins and relatives will be writing in soon, I'd love to hear about everyone. Loved seeing the pictures Carol, you've done a great job starting up this blog.

Family reunion

2006-04-14T16:18:00.000-07:00

I would be very interested in a family reunion. But.... our spring/summer/fall is so busy not sure we could make it but would do our best.
Maybe we need to plan this like a year ahead or something.
I would be very willing to help as well.
Let me know what you guys decide and what dates you are looking at.

I can't believe it... but my 40th year class reunion is this summer. Whew..!!! where did my life go?
Bunny

I think I did it...

2006-04-14T15:56:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone.
This is much better than adding comments to Carol's posts... less windows to open up and we don't miss each others comments.
I am going to try to post a photo that I found... one that I carried around with me in my billfold for years when I was younger and we carried photos of our friends, boy friends, cousins, etc.
Guess who they are.
Bunny

The Legend of Uncle Oba St. Clair

2006-04-14T12:23:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of Uncle Oba (we just called him Obie). Remember his fascination with in-line flying? Did you know our very own Uncle Oba is a member of the Model Aviation Hall of Fame? He was truly a pioneer and is quite famous in that industry, recognized as the inventor of the first control line model airplane. I found this link to the Model Aircraft Museum in Muncie, Indiana. The January 2003 issue of "Feedback" published online by Northern Virginia Radio Control, Inc., referenced the "legend of Oba St. Clair". I'm sure Oba's daughter, Shirley, would be happy to fill us in on the details of his life as an avid inventor!

Do you remember that great flying field behind Obie & Dottie's house? Shirley lives in the house now and it's a wonderful refuge among the tall timbers.

Oh... and you can click on the pictures to enlarge them. My brother, Clair, took these great pictures. The first is a picture of a picture and the second is a picture of Oba's plaque into the Hall of Fame.

Isn't that so cool?

Submitted by: Carol

Grandpa Frank & Grandma Pansy

2006-04-12T19:27:00.000-07:00

Look what I found! This is Grandpa Frank, Grandma Pansy, Clair and me (Carol). You can click on the image to enlarge it some.

Clair & I must have been about 5 & 6 years old, meaning this photo was taken about 1957.

I'm going to dig some more photos out and post them too!

Carol

Instructions For Making Posts

2006-04-09T18:06:00.000-07:00

Here I will give step-by-step instructions for making posts. I will e-mail the username and password to those requesting it.... for obvious reasons don't want to post it here.

1) Go to: www.blogger.com (click on "Old Blogger")
2) Type in username and password (I will send this to you via e-mail)
3) Click on "Sign In"

This brings you into what we call the "Dashboard"
4) Click on "New Post" (next to the + sign)

This brings up the posting page
5) Type in a Title and hit the tab button to get into the body of the text
6) Type the text of your entry
7) Be sure to sign your name so we know who made the post
8) Click on the orange "Publish Post" button below the text screen
9) Click on "Republish Entire Blog"
Let the system work until it says 100%. The post should now show when you refresh the page in your browzer.

10) Click on the "Sign Out" button in the upper right of the page

For putting in pictures, this system is easy but is a little tricky for placement. The system automatically places them ahead of text so just post the pictures and write the text afterwards. With some manipulation they can be placed, but don't worry about that right now.

To post a picture:
* Click on the square picture button on the tool bar (above text box). This is next to the "abc" box. From there you will need to follow the instructions for downloading the picture from wherever it is located (on your computer, disk, camera, etc).

Let me know if you have any trouble with these instructions. I'm glad to help. As I said before, if you e-mail me content I can post... or I can post from the "comments" section but it would be really nice for you to make your own posts.

Carol

Some Family Contact Information

2006-04-09T17:52:00.000-07:00

Here are some e-mail addresses that I do have and know work. I have others, but have not been able to confirm they are operational. Will post more when I know more.

Shirley St. Clair smstclair@msn.com
Bunny St. Clair (& Jim) cruize@theofficenet.com
Rod (& Karla) St. Clair StClairs1983@msn.com
Nancy (St. Clair) & Rob Seimears robnnanc@aptalaska.net
Peggi (Hickman) & Rick Lippincott moonlitedaze@comcast.net
Rian (& Gina) Hickman rhickman@centurytel.net
Mike (& Candy) St. Clair csaintly@yahoo.com
Wes (&Velda) St. Clair velda@rubensteins.com
Clair (& Beverly) Klock cbklock@cascadeaccess.com
Carol (Klock) and Max Williams Carol@TopPropertiesWenatchee.com
Lyle Reeve Papa4NnC@aol.com
Sharon (Hickman): blackwitch@charter.com

Do I have everyone's name and address correct? Hope I got the spouses right too.

Cheers!
Carol

Hi From Nancy In Alaska

2006-04-08T18:45:00.000-07:00

This came in through comments, but wanted to be sure everyone found it, so I'm making a separate post. Carol

Hi, This is Nanc, Bud and Marian's daughter. I'd love to add this. I live in Wrangell, AK. I don't have a camera now for recent photos, but would love to post. I think I must have gotten an email about this, but only saw Carol's website, maybe I clicked on the wrong link? We are back to drizzly days after a good week or so of sunny/mostly sunny weather, so it seems really dreary now, but we need the water or we could run short at our reservoir. My daffodils are just beginning to bloom. Last year they were in full bloom when we had our April Fool's snow. I'm hoping we are done with that for this year. I just got all of my paperwork done and am going to Ketchikan to start classes for working on the ferry this summer, at the end of this month. I will begin then as soon as I get my Z-card which should take 4-6 wks. from now. Son, Cooper is hired too, but hasn't started his paperwork, so don't know if he'll make it in time. He is working at the cannery for now. I am working at the high school/middle school as an aide in the Special Ed dept. for now. I can't say that it is exactly my cup of tea. I originally was thinking of grade school when I applied. My age group preference for working with kids is preschool. The ferry offers good benefits and pay without a college education, is it's appeal. Can't figure how to do pictures here without having my own blog. Maybe Carol can fill me in? Hello to all the family out there. Love, Nanc

Peggi Makes a Comment

2005-10-10T07:59:00.000-07:00

Hi again everyone,
Be sure to come back often and watch for comments at the bottom of each post. Peggi has made a comment at the bottom of the "St. Clair Men & Women" post. Just scroll to the bottom of the post and click on the "comments" button.

You can leave comments too after any of the posts. For those who want to participate, I can give you the login codes and you can post pictures and articles about yourself and family. I should be able to write up a step-by-step set of instructions to send to everyone. It's really easy. It must be easy... I figured out how to do it. ;-)

For now, I have set it up so you have to "word verify" before you can actually submit the comment. This is a bit of a nuisance, but it helps reduce some of the spam comments. Spammers just post advertisements and links to their own websites.

Let's all go forth and have fun with it. We might find out we're a bunch of people worth getting to know a little better!

Have a great week!
Carol

Shirley & Beverly

2005-10-08T13:40:00.000-07:00

Shirley St. Clair (Oba & Dottie's daughter) & Beverly Klock (Clair's wife).

Shirley is awesome and is the one responsible for welcoming me back into the family after so many years... so blame her!

Submitted by: Carol

Clair & Bunny

2005-10-08T13:39:00.000-07:00

Clair & Bunny taken 2004 at Dottie's

Submitted by: Carol

Rian, Dell, Mike

2005-10-08T13:36:00.000-07:00

Taken 2004 at Dottie St. Clair's

Submitted by: Carol