Author: FHadmin

B-25 Mechanic

Posted on by FHadmin

WWII called people into many different roles.  Some were on the front lines and others made sure that the people on the front lines were well trained and ready to fight.  Part of the support team were those that cared for airplanes overseas and at the training camps.

WWII

Even before the United States joined what became known as World War II (WWII), the government started registering young men for the draft.  On October 16, 1940, Dewey Stanton McCracken (a.k.a. Uncle Dewey) did his duty and registered. He was deferred in the interest of the nation.  He was plenty able bodied, but running the family farm operation kept him at home.

However, several months after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Dewey received the call to serve. On October 21, 1942, Dewey was inducted into the Army Air Force.  A short time later, he left for Sheppard Field (later known as Sheppard Air Force Base) near Wichita Falls, Texas, where he attended basic training and Technical Training School.

Shepard Field was comprised of 300 acres and had only officially become an Army Air Corp training facility a little over a year earlier.  However, training was in high gear with three eight-hour training shifts each day.  While there, Dewey said, “The young guys might have done better at the book work, but they didn’t have any practical skills in the field.”  He wasn’t quite 25.  Still, Dewey thought he was one of the “old guys.”  He believed he had general knowledge, life experiences, and skills that the 18-year-olds did not.

Bouncing Around

After his training at Sheppard, Dewey was assigned to March Field near Riverside, California, a short distance from downtown Los Angeles.  Dewey was only a little over a hundred miles from San Diego, where his brother William (Howard) lived.  Howard had also gotten a deferral because he was working for Solar Aircraft and was considered essential to the war effort.

The airfield at March Field had been built during WWI when General Squier committed to taking warfare to the skies in response to Germany’s similar commitment.  By the time Dewey arrived, the facility was training aircrews destined for the Pacific Theater. It was best known, however,  for being the location Bob Hope first performed for members of the military.  Bob Hope’s service to service men and women pre-dated the war with his first performance being given May 6, 1941 – almost exactly seven months before Pearl Harbor. 

The Army Air Force assigned Dewey to be a flight engineer, which included managing mechanical operations during the flight. He was responsible for a variety of actions including lowering the landing gear.  He was the one who had to figure out what to do if the hydraulics weren’t working and he couldn’t get the landing gear down. His job also included starting the propellers on the aircraft, a task that he thought was a bit more dangerous than he cared to experience on a daily basis.

Rumor was that Dewey decided that he didn’t like the idea of being a flight engineer because it required him to start the propeller.  However, more than likely the Army Air Force just decided they needed him as a mechanic more than they needed him as a flight engineer.

 

Dewey Posing With His Sisters

Greenville Army Air Base

On the move again, Dewey went to Florida for a short time before landing at Greenville Army Air Base in South Carolina.  He joined the 334th Bombardment Group of the Third Air Force becoming a mechanic on the B-25 Mitchell.  In his new role, he cared for the planes used to train replacement aircrews.  Like Howard, Dewey had studied at the American Aeronautical Institute in Kansas City prior to his induction in the Army.  He had training focused on sheet metal and riveting, which weren’t bad skills for an airplane mechanic to possess.

 

Soldiering

As Dewey settled into life in Greenville, it seemed he had finally found a long-term Army home.  At the time, he didn’t think they were planning to send him overseas anytime soon.  In a letter to his dad, Dewey wrote, “We don’t do much soldiering here.”  Dewey’s regularly scheduled soldiering activities were limited to ten minutes of exercise each morning, weekly guard duty, and a weekly parade. In addition, early in his time at Greenville, he attended a required fifteen-hour class in chemical warfare and he reported that he expected to eventually spend some time on the rifle range.

With his dry sense of humor, he wrote, “I don’t suppose I could hit a squirrel anymore.  I haven’t shot a gun since being in the Army.”  Although he implied that he might have lost his edge with weapons, Dewey was actually confident in his shooting ability and he was looking forward to the opportunity to demonstrate how well he could shoot.  Having hunted squirrels, rabbits, wolves, and other animals on occasion, Dewey knew he had an advantage on the rifle range over the men who had never held a gun before they entered the service.

 

Blackout Practice

The only other thing besides work, which he said came in waves, that had been going on was blackout practice.  However, that wasn’t anything unique to the military as civilians were required to practice as well – even in Kansas far from the coast.  Dewey thought, however, that the reason for the practice might be to give the WACs a break from all the servicemen pursuing them.  However, he didn’t sound too interested and he didn’t think their uniforms made them very attractive.

 

West Point Man

Soon his Commanding Officer was a “West Point Man.”  This officer thought that the men should actually be soldiers.  However, he did not report a significant change in activities.

 

Source: South Carolina Digital Library Greenville County Library System https://scmemory.org/collection/greenville-army-air-base/

A Year Later

Despite constant changes, nothing really changed much at all at Greenville.  Each new officer had to put their stamp on things to show their worth.  But, effectively things stayed the same.  Dewey bounced back and forth between day shift and night shift and things were tweaked here and there.  Otherwise, the men played softball, attended shows, and had an occasional party.  He said that he hadn’t had KP in months, but he figured that one day they would remember that he was still there.

 

Speculation

The guys in Greenville had been busy speculating when the war in Europe would draw to a close.  The Army rumor mill said that the Allies were gaining ground and that it wouldn’t be long before it was over.  Based on what he heard, Dewey guessed – or hoped – it might be over by mid-December.

 

Busy, Busy, Busy

A portion of the Greenville crew had been transferred to Battle Creek, Michigan.  Dewey didn’t know if that was a sign of things to come, but the idea of escaping the sultry afternoons by moving to a base farther north was appealing.  Still, he didn’t think he had a chance of being transferred out of Greenville, especially given they were so busy with the latest B-25 class.

With reduced staff, the maintenance guys at Greenville were fully occupied keeping the planes in working order.  The past three weeks, they had even worked on Sunday, but only at half-strength.  Dewey liked his Sundays off and so far, he had escaped Sunday duty since some of the guys volunteered to work Sunday so that they could get a day off during the week.  It probably meant more work for him, but Dewey felt that he would end up being one of the men who performed a majority of the work anyway.  Somehow some of the men always did a majority of the work while others managed to do only the jobs of their choice.

Dewey was glad when the class completed their training.  Now, he could finally get some time to relax. 

 

Time Marches On

Early September was warm with a low volume of work for the maintenance guys in Greenville.  Dewey attended the regular weekly lectures and watched as soldier after soldier was called in to discuss their driving experience.  The speculation was that they were looking for men to reassign as drivers.  And, Dewey figured those men were headed for an assignment overseas.

One evening, Dewey listened to a required talk about the Articles of War, which defined the regulations of the military and associated discipline procedures.  The Army must have been making the rounds ensuring that every soldier knew the regulations because, although separated by the Atlantic Ocean, within a week’s time both Dewey and Howard attended a class on the Articles of War.

 

A Change

A few days later, Dewey switched from working production line maintenance during the daytime to being in charge of five planes on the night shift.  The maintenance routine had been altered requiring all the engine changes and other maintenance line work to take place during the day.  Since no flying had occurred for a couple of days, Dewey had little work to do.  However, he had to stay on duty until at least midnight.  On September 11, he passed the time until the witching hour by sitting in a plane writing letters.  At midnight, Dewey planned to draw straws with his men to see which lucky fellow would get the privilege of staying on duty to baby-sit the planes for the remainder of the shift while the others got to sleep.

With the slow work schedule came the ability for the men to get three-day passes.  Dewey hadn’t yet figured out what to do with a three-day pass.  He thought it might be fun to go see one of Notre Dame’s upcoming football games.  However, he figured that too many of the other guys had the same idea. 

There wasn’t much excitement in camp either.  The men had made some fun by swimming in the recently filled ditching-pool.  However, the fun had been quickly squelched by a new rule stating that no swimming would be allowed until the base could post lifeguards at the site.  Before the men could again enjoy swimming, rain and cooler temperatures arrived

 

A Hurricane Takes Aim

A very large and dangerous hurricane was brewing in the Atlantic.  Like most hurricanes, its path wasn’t easy to predict.  Originally, it was thought that the hurricane might hit South Carolina.  However, the storm had taken a turn northward, which resulted in about 400 planes being flown to Greenville Army Air Base to get them out of the path of the storm. 

Just in case the storm took another turn and started tracking near Greenville, the Army Air Force  put plans in place to fly all the planes to yet another location if necessary.  According to Dewey, “If they had to leave in a hurry, I reckon the runway would’ve been hot.”

Greenville Army Air Base escaped the storm.  Instead, eye passed near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.  The change in course resulted in a direct hit on military ships on the Atlantic.  The USS Warrington, a minesweeper, two Coast Guard cutters, and another boat sunk and 344 military personnel lost their lives.

 

More Changes

After the storm, it was back to business as usual.  Dewey’s time on the night shift hadn’t lasted long and he was back on the day shift again, where he spent a busy day in late September doing a double engine change.

Dewey expected more changes at the beginning of October.  The official plan had yet to be revealed. However, Dewey thought the brass was serious about creating a new organizational structure.  He speculated that the men would be reorganized into four or five flight squadrons with one maintenance squadron.

Dewey wasn’t sure if some of the men might get shipped out with the change or not.  Just in case everybody got split up, the guy thought a big party was in order.  They invited the wives and girlfriends that lived in the area, as well as the WACs on base.  Since Dewey knew everybody in his current unit and he thought they were a pretty good group, he was not looking forward to the change.

 

Monotonous Spring

When the spring of 1945 arrived, so did a lot of brass.  Rumors floated around Greenville that the commanders might cut the number of planes regularly flying by 10 percent, reducing the planes in the air from 63 to 57.  As usual it was difficult to determine the validity of the camp rumors.  However, when lots of brass were around, changes were likely.  It was true that some of the planes in Greenville were grounded because of a shortage of tires as not even the Army Air Corps could dodge the rubber shortage. However, the fleet size exceeded the number of planes currently in regular use so the training continued without pause.

Life in camp was monotonous, varying little except for the changes in the seasons.  Spring had already brought a few days in the mid-eighties.  However, that hadn’t lasted long and cool rain followed, making for great sleeping weather, but making night guard duty less pleasant. 

Dewey’s days off were equally as exciting.  He sent a money order to his parents to pay for his required insurance, sent home papers that needed to be handled, wrote letters, and attended to other details.  Even letters home, although cheerful, were the same old thing. They usually included a brief statement about what was happening in his world, questions about the farm, and some questions or teasing about his siblings. For instance, he would ask about Ed and the “girls.”

Still, Dewey was happy leading a boring life instead of dodging bullets overseas.  However, he thought the Allies would clean up Germany in two or three more months.

 

Changes Again . . . Or Not

The Army Air Force wasn’t about to waste good flying weather. And, in drastic shift, the brass was suddenly called for increased flying hours.  The senior officers planned to reach 15,000 flying hours during the month of May alone.  Dewey thought the 300 inspections required to support that many flying hours would prevent any of the mechanics from leaving Greenville anytime soon.  He wrote, “. . . a guy has about as much a chance of getting out of here as he would out of jail. . . I know this isn’t a bad place to be, but is kinda monotonous after all this time.”

Of course, not everything remained the same.  Dewey was again anticipating crew changes.  After all, he figured the new Major needed to make his mark on the unit.  How else would they know he had arrived?

 

Furlough

After word was received that Howard was missing in action (MIA), Dewey was able to get a furlough to come home for a visit.  It had been a long time since he had seen the family and with Howard missing he felt that a trip home was a necessity.  So, he packed a bag and caught a train for Florida.  It wasn’t exactly a direct route home, but in Jacksonville he could catch the Frisco’s Kansas City-Florida Special.

Soldiers on furlough enjoyed reduced train fares.  Still, a round-trip ticket from Greenville, South Carolina to Ft. Scott, Kansas cost about $30, which was significant given the pay soldiers received.

Despite being on leave, Dewey was still required to wear his dress uniform when in public, including while traveling.  It provided civilians the opportunity to thank the soldiers and helped maintain a positive image for the military.  All too soon it was time for Dewey to return to duty.  He left more or less the same as he was when he arrived.  The only additions were a bit more of a suntan and a bunch of chigger bites that he had gotten while haying.  Being a “visitor” was no excuse not to work.  And, it seems Dewey enjoyed being back working on the farm.

 

Dewey 40 Years Post-WWII (1986)

Winding Down Operations

With the surrender of the Japanese, operations at the air base in Grenville immediately began to slow. Dewey was now working 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with most days requiring less than a full day’s work. Labor Day weekend had yielded Dewey two and one-half days off.  He expected only about two-thirds of the planes in Greenville to continue flying. The remainder would be placed in storage. Thus, Dewey thought that he might start getting partial weekends off for the foreseeable future. It would be a dramatic change from the intense flying schedules of a few months earlier.

 

Separation Center

Once the war came to a close, the military had a much-reduced need for airplane mechanics or a flight training camp.  Thus, Greenville Army Air Base was placed on standby status in November 1945.   With no job in Greenville, Dewey was transferred to Ft. Dix, New Jersey, where ten divisions had trained for the war.  It was now a separation center helping return 1.2 million soldiers to civilian life. 

Dewey’s new job was taking the blood pressure of the men during their physicals as part of the discharge process.  Although it was not exciting, Dewey enjoyed the fact that with the men clad only in their underwear, he couldn’t tell who were officers and who were enlisted men.  Thus, he didn’t have to worry about saluting and he had the freedom to treat all the men the same.

One day one of the older soldiers being discharged asked, “Have you been taking blood pressures long?” “I was working on airplanes last week, sir” he replied, giving himself, if not others, a chuckle.

Eventually, Dewey found himself in the line to have his blood pressure checked.  On January 29, 1946, he was officially discharged from the Army. 

 

Afterward

Dewey later stated that when the atomic bomb was first exploded, that his outlook changed.  From then on, he believed that anything man thought of was possible.  That was likely not the only thing that changed about Dewey when he was in Greenville.  Later in life, he was a “real” card player.  He was very hard to beat and considered card playing serious business.  Dad always said that Dewey could keep track of every card that had been played, making him a tough opponent.  Although I don’t know for sure, I imagine he honed those skills during the boring down times at Greenville.

 

 

Note:  Portions of this story are adapted from a book I wrote about the family, but have not yet published.

 

What is a Family Reunion?

Posted on by FHadmin

Some families have gatherings weekly or monthly, others for major holidays, and others never get together at all.  When it comes to Joseph Andrew and Nellie (Peelle) McCracken’s family, any time two or more family members get together, it isn’t just a family gathering, it is a family reunion.

Holidays

McCracken Family Reunion in 1953 – Grandpa’s Generation and some of their offspring

My McCracken grandparents had 11 children.  Ten grew to adulthood and when I was born all were living except my Uncle Howard who was MIA in WWII.  By the time, my dad and his siblings stopped having kids, Joe and Nellie had 18 grandkids.  Fortunately, they didn’t have as many kids as their parents or nobody in the family would have had a house large enough for the entire clan.

McCracken Christmas at the Homeplace

Christmas & Thanksgiving

In those growing up days, the family usually got together on or around Christmas or Thanksgiving.   We had turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, gravy, rolls, lots of Jello salads, pies, mac & cheese, multiple items with cranberries, veggies, and more.  At Christmas, each generation drew names and everybody got grandma presents.  Once you add in spouses, the number of presents under the tree got quite large.

Christmas 1961

We also gathered for the 4th of July.  It would start off with tons of food, usually out on a hay-rack.  Lots of picnic food.  Potato salad may have been the biggest favorite.   Home grown watermelon and soda pop that had been sitting in a tub of ice all day were probably my favorite things.

 

4th of July

Firecrackers went off all day and in the evenings some of the folks stayed around for night-works.  They would go on for what seemed like an eternity as there were so many.  Such was the display that when we held the get-together at Dewey and Jackie’s (the Homeplace), people would stop along Highway 7 and watch.

After Grandma passed and the next generation’s kids got grown up, the holiday celebrations changed.  Christmas and Thanksgiving gatherings shrunk as more families had their own  celebrations and made their own traditions.  Larger family gatherings did occur from time to time, but usually in the summer or tied to some other occasion (e.g. Dee’s 80th birthday).

 

 

Coincidental Meetings

McCracken Siblings 1994 @ O’Ella’s 80th Birthday Celebration

Now, a formal planned gathering was not required for a family reunion to occur.  Almost every time we went to Whitesides to get groceries, a mini-reunion would occur with Ester, Stan, or Steve, who worked there for many years.   Of course, seeing other relatives was always a possibility. 

These days those family meetings seem to generally take place at Walmart, but they bring just as much chatter as the ones of old.  However, one of the most interesting ones occurred when Rod and I saw Steve and Liz at QuikTrip in Overland Park – when we were still living in Denver.  The people there clearly weren’t accustomed to McCracken mini-reunions.  I think there were a few looks about these strange people that were hugging, talking, and laughing.

 

Funerals

McCrackens took the approach that when there was a death in the family and you were all together, you might as well enjoy a good visit.  Fun and laughter were a part of the gathering.  They didn’t believe in sitting around and being sad.  As a Peelle, I am not sure Grandma approved of the McCracken philosophy on funerals.  It was clearly a different approach than that of some of the in-laws’ families.

 

Surgery

When Dad had his septuple bypass about a month before he turned 85, it was quite a risky operation.  Dad wanted to talk to Sky before the surgery (Sky and Vance were as close as he could get to talking to brother Don).  Sky decided that instead of talking on the phone, he needed to make the trip from Kentucky to see Dad.

Waiting Room Demeanor

Well, the day of surgery, Cindy, Steve, Sky, Ann, and I were all there.  Dad’s surgery lasted for many hours and we were waiting in the “Waiting Room,” which wasn’t really a room at all.  St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Joplin had been destroyed in the huge EF-5 tornado on Sunday May 22, 2011.  Instead of a several story hospital, Dad was having surgery in  a temporary hospital made of modules that were put together (there was one place you could see up above the ceiling and see the chains holding things together).

The surgical area was a large area surrounded by hallways.  The main hallway connecting to the patient rooms just happened to also be the surgery waiting area.  So, the family was there gabbing away, laughing, and telling stories.  At one point, one of the volunteers came over and offered to get us a room to hang out in.  We responded that were fine.  I think that was to her dismay as I think she didn’t think we had the proper demeanor for people who had a family member undergoing a serious surgery.  But, Dad wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.  He wouldn’t have wanted us to waste that time being serious and solemn.  Family was together and he believed you should enjoy it when you got the opportunity.

Side Story

Yes, I remember where I was at the time of the Joplin tornado.  We were in Lawrence at Bigg’s BBQ on Iowa Street having a post-KU graduation dinner.  Sis got a call from Dad who was at home.  That was really alarming because he didn’t just call for no reason.  Well, he called to tell us about the tornado. 

When we drove through Joplin the following year, you could see the tornado track.  And, a year later  there still were areas that looked like they had been bombed. 

I also remember how emotional the  people in Joplin still were nearly two years later while Dad was in the hospital.  The tornado was mentioned more than one time, probably because at the time of  Dad’s subsequent surgery tornado warnings went off one night.  And, I could see tears in multiple people’s eyes just at the mention of the tornado.

Planning

Once, they said that the surgery appeared to be successful, the cousins started planning a big bash for his 90th birthday.  There was a debate about 90th or 95th, but they decided not to push their luck.  Ninety was a good choice, as he made 90, but not 95).

 

Interjecting Oneself

After the surgery we – as in all of us – talked to the doctor, who I think was a bit shocked to see a room full of people.  Afterward, we walked into the hallway and were preparing to go our separate ways and some of us were staying and others were heading home.  As is typical the good-bye took some time because the conversation continued.  At some point, Sky began to tell a story.  I don’t remember the topic, but a total stranger overheard our discussion and walked up stating, “Hold on a minute, I want to hear this!”

So, he joined the group just like he was one of the family.  Sky told the story and we eventually went our separate ways.

 

Dad with cousins in attendance at his 90th birthday party. Glenda was there, but not at the time of the photo.  Note: The cousins are standing in order of age.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

90th Birthday

Dad with the Fisher Clan. We took pictures like this with everyone that attended the celebration.

Our last big family reunion was Dad’s 90th birthday party.  It was a family reunion plus neighbors and friends.  It had been awhile and everyone was excited to get together for a reason that didn’t include someone dying.  Although we thought it might be too much for him, Dad really seemed to enjoy the day.  And, he got a special request to sing “Randolph the Flat-Nosed Reindeer” because one of his nieces wanted her daughter and granddaughter to hear the song..  He obliged.  And, those who heard him, loved it.

 

 

Family, Neighbors, Friends All Talking and Having A Good Time

Changing Gatherings

Four years later when Dad passed at 94 years, 4 months, and 3 days, change occurred again as he was the last of Nellie and Joe’s children.  So, the big formal family gatherings are likely to be few and far between as the glue that held the grandkids together has faded.  Besides, all of the grandkids are getting older, five of them have already left this earthly plane, and many of the others have their own kids and grandkids. Guess we will need to hang out at Walmart if we want to see family.

 

Photograph of Nellie, Joe, and Children:  Photographed by Rennett’s Studio.  Copyright purchased from the studio by L. Thomson.

 

 

The Passing Of A Storyteller

Posted on by FHadmin

 

Sometimes the timing is just perfect.  So, when an upcoming prompt is about a storyteller and a storyteller passes, you are required by the laws of coincidence to write about that person.

 

A Man of Many Roles

Dean Ackermann Thomson born near Palmyra, Nebraska on September 24, 1940 to Alfred Ackermann and Helen Esther (Caddy) Thomson passed from this life on May 31, 2024.  He took each of the roles that he played during his life very seriously.  He put energy into being a husband, father, grandfather, etc. Included among his roles was that of family historian and storyteller.

 

Family History

I am not sure exactly how many notebooks Dean had filled with information related to his and his wife Elida Esther (Angulo) Thomson’s families.  However, I do know that they can cover the dining room when all (or at least most) of them are out.  Of course, there are also the countless emails and files that I am sure he had.  Personally, I have over a thousand email streams with him that I saved.  So, I can imagine how many he shared with all the family members and researchers with whom he connected.  And, he also had information on ancestry.com.

Dean’s family information, however, did not simply include names, places, and dates.  It also included supporting information, stories from family and others in the area, stories he had written of what he believe it would have been like, and more.

 

Mary Peebles and Rod Thomson standing next to the Hurry/McGinley family plot in the Old Pine Church graveyard during the church’s 250th Anniversary celebration. Something that occurred only because Dean made connections.

Connections

For Dean, part of creating a story was making connections.  Some of those came in the form of connecting with other researchers and historians.  He also liked to connect researchers with other researchers.  Dean often suggested that I  contact someone. It could be someone who sent him information, someone whose name was associated with something he had found, or someone with the “right” name.  He  loved to engage others in researching new (and old) things he found and clearly believed in teamwork to get the job done.

It was his connection to Mary Peebles, a distant cousin that was researching the McGinley and Hurrie/Hurry families, that resulted in Mary and I working together on those family lines.  Coincidentally, we found that we lived only five miles or so apart and that made it easy to meet and work on genealogy. 

In addition, Dean was in contact with Ronn Shaffer, the historian at Old Pine Church at the time.  This led to the opportunity for Rod, Mary, Mary’s husband, and I to attend the 250th Anniversary celebration for Old Pine Church in Philadelphia, PA.  Rod and Mary’s direct ancestors attended this church and are buried in the church graveyard.  William Hurrie/Hurry, who is a direct ancestor and who rang the Liberty Bell to signal that the Declaration of Independence had been sign, was also the first sexton of the church.  The church has lots of history and family ties.  Yet,  it likely wouldn’t have happened if Dean hadn’t made the connections.

 

Looking For the Story

In a similar vein, Dean did not limit his research to recent generations or his direct family line.  He didn’t care how long ago the person lived or whether they were a direct ancestor or not.  If they had an interesting story, he was interested.  He would even look for connections to interesting stories. 

For example, over 15 years ago, Dean found a poem titled The Ronalds Of The Bennals.  It had been written by Robert Burns in 1780.  Of course, he immediately began to wonder if his Ronald family line whose earliest confirmed ancestor is Thomas Ronald of Scotland was related to the family that was the subject of the poem.

He wasn’t sure how to prove the relationship.  As far as I know, he never determined if there was a connection or not.  The story was still worth relating as it was something that *might be* and he was okay with including the maybes.

 

Connecting Stories and Events

The other aspect of connecting that created Dean’s stories was connecting stories, events, incidents, and odd facts to people in the family tree.  Dean was great at making associations and looking to see if it was possible that something might be true.

We often discussed and sometimes debated whether a story was true or whether a connection was accurate.  Sometimes it was a debate about a major and important detail for the family history and other times it was simply trying to iron out the details. 

One such discussion occurred over the father of Joshua Brooks, Dean’s 5th great grandfather.  We were looking at various men in the area as the father of Joshua.  He was focused on William Brooks who married a woman named Elizabeth.  I asked him, “Why William?”  His response was “Because William loved Elizabeth?? Because Joshua needs a father? I don’t know.” 

 

Stories

Dean loved to share the facts he found no matter how big or small.  If the facts made a story that was even better.  He always had his own perspective and shared that with you, too.  It was never a bunch of raw facts.  That said, he was always quick to let you know and adjust the story if he found information that contradicted his assumptions or a fact from a less reliable source.

Often he would send me an article or a tidbit about a name I had never heard before.  Or, sometimes it would simply be “What do you know about some person in a story he had found ?”  I found myself more often than not, asking how the person was connected to the family.  Then, he would send me more of the story.  He usually knew  how they fit in the family or had a theory about how they might connect and what the story might mean.  It was like he put feelers out to see if there was interest before he went to the trouble of writing up the story.

I believe his story telling was a way for him to verbalize (or write) what he was thinking.  It allowed him to better piece things together to create a fuller story.  This is also one of the things he loved about traveling or researching locations.  It added dimension to the stories and helped him prove his assumptions.

 

Publications

Source: Local newspaper, unknown issue and date.

Besides stories that he shared or added to his genealogy records, Dean wrote or co-wrote a booklet on the Thomson family, a booklet on the Caddy family (his mom’s side), and the book Ring Papa Ring!: The Story of an American Family.

Dean would have liked to have co-authored at least one other book.  Last summer, he messaged me telling me to drop everything and write a book about Arthur Reid Thomson.  He thought the story could cover him being an orphan, immigrating to Canada and then to the United States.  His history as a woodsman, carpenter, farmer, and pioneer, he believed would all add together to make a good story and that he felt it really needed to be told.  Dean suggested that I “tear apart all the family stories we have and weave a good true tale.”  He thought he could assist with the details.  He felt it could be done in six months if we focused solely on it.  I am not sure what spawned the request, but within a short time he told me to never mind.

It makes me wonder how many other people may have gotten a similar request.  Dean really, really wanted the stories and the history preserved.

 

Influence

Dean clearly made an impression on his children and grandchildren with his storytelling and love of history.  Whether it is genetic or his day-to-day influence isn’t clear.  I am sure a case can be made for both.  I know that he wanted everyone to love the stories just as much as he did.  It wasn’t just researching the family that became his legacy . . . It was telling the stories to anyone and everyone that would listen.

 

And, Now . . .

Dean has left several us to continue on with the family research.  My last email from him was only 10 days before he passed.  He just couldn’t let genealogy go even when he was being called home.  Now, what is he doing?

Well, the pastor officiating my mom’s service nearly 20 years ago gave me a perspective on the afterlife that was different than any I had encountered.  He said that she not only was with her loved ones who had passed, but also that she was doing what she loved most while living.

When I consider who Dean is with and what he is doing, I know that he is with his wife Elida, who was truly the love of his life.  That showed as he beamed when he spoke of her.  He is also visiting and reminiscing with other members of his close family.  But guaranteed, he is finding time to look up his ancestors and all the branches out from his direct line.  He is intently listening to their stories.  If his version of their life differs from the story as they tell it, he is likely sharing his version of their life story while smiling and laughing at the truths that had escaped.

 

Grasshoppers

Posted on by FHadmin

Grasshoppers can be a nuisance.  However, when they turn into huge creatures with bright red legs and  long wings that work together to satisfy their huge appetites, they can destroy your entire livelihood.

The Jury Homestead

In 1869, John Charles Jury Sr., his mother, children, sister, and his brother’s family moved from Ontario, Canada to Bourbon County, Kansas.  Once in Kansas, they set up housekeeping in a clapboard house.  By 1871, they had moved to a log cabin.  His brother William and his family settled nearby.

Eleanor (Willett) Jury

Both men went to work farming while the women raised the children and tended to household chores.  John’s mother Eleanor “Ellen” (Willett) Jury and his sister Eleanor “Ellen” were helping raise his children since his wife Matilda (White) Jury had died in Canada the year before they undertook their journey to America.  However, neither his mother nor his sister was listed in the 1870 census begging questions of where they might have gone without the men folk.

 

The Invasion

When the grasshoppers (Rocky Mountain Locusts) swarmed the Midwest in 1874 (John’s son John’s notes say this occurred in 1873, but he was only a child and it seems he was off a year per other supporting evidence), all attention turned to the sky and the grapevine for signs that swarms would be descending on the area.

Reports came in that the grasshoppers were in this county or that county.  Often the reports included the damage, direction of movement, and sometimes even an estimated speed and expected date of arrival. 

 

Warning

The newspapers also prepared their readers for the worst or scared the daylights out of them (depending on your perspective).  They told horror stories from other states of the damage the grasshoppers had done.  In some locations the grasshoppers were said to have eaten everything green (plants, tree leaves, fruit, corn, etc.), clothing, wool from live sheep, paper, wood handles, and even saw dust.

They even invaded homes eating anything they found to their liking and ruined uncovered wells.

 

Stopping The Trains

The St. Joseph – Denver railroad reported that the grasshoppers were so thick on the rails in one area that the train there could only proceed at a snail’s pace.  Another train was completely blocked from making any progress due to the little critters.

 

Exaggeration

Some stories might have been exaggerated (e.g. entire fields stripped in a matter of minutes), but the damage was real.  Some areas had been completely devastated.  There were reports of families having no food except wild animals they could catch or handouts from those not so severely affected.

 

In the News

So, while waiting to see if Bourbon County, which was already fighting drought and chinch bugs, would be the next target of the “enemy”, the newspapers added grasshoppers to stories right and left.  Some of the grasshopper happenings included:

  • Grasshoppers being soulless and establishing their machine shop
  • Grasshoppers taking a boxcar to Peoria, Illinois, being offered a free ride back, but deciding to stay
  • When moving south, grasshoppers read a newspaper that they had missed destroying some crops and they turned around and headed north “to finish the job.”
  • Grasshoppers had taken control of the grapevine so the newspaper didn’t have a lot of news.
  • Large numbers of grasshoppers visiting the town imitating farmers that come to town one day a week to do business.
  • A guy was in the country “herding grasshoppers.”

One store advertised that they had “grasshopper prices,”  whatever that means.  Meanwhile, meteors were compared to grasshoppers.  And, in a interesting approach the Lawrence Journal started a discussion about whether the grasshoppers were sent by God. 

Meanwhile, the local newspapers told stories of the “huge” grasshoppers that had been found by local people.  It appeared to be a bit of a competition and quite embellished.

Source:  Fort Scott Daily Monitor, The Border Sentinel, various issues.

 

Source: Fort Scott Daily Monitor, August 23, 1874.

Preparations

When they saw the swam coming, some  people tried to smoke out the little creatures.  This had limited success.  Sometimes the creatures would turn away and other times they simply ignored the smoke.  If the flame was small enough, they smothered it.

Others tried covering their crops.  This had its limitations because it wasn’t physically possible to cover fields of any size.  However, people were sometimes able to cover sections of their gardens. However, the cloth or other covering was often eaten along with the vegetation that had been below it.

Dust, explosives, shooting into the swarm, and swinging of boards or farm implements were  also attempted to be used as a deterrent.  Usually, these were unsuccessful. 

Even the most successful technique was a matter of timing and knowing exactly when to execute the defensive plan.  It needed to occur just before they arrived.  However, none of these methods was guaranteed to work.  The best method was to harvest crops, assuming they were ready to be harvested.

 

Destroyed everything

John Jr. reported that at “the time of the grasshopper raid in Kansas they were so thick they looked like snow coming down.”   This was similar to other depictions of the invasion of the grasshopper army. 

Despite the county being relatively spared of the wrath of the grasshoppers, the Jury family lost all their crops.  There crops were gone and likely the next spring there would be another wave of grasshoppers, possibly worse than this one, as the beasts seem to lay eggs everywhere they went.

According to John C. Jury Jr., they had no choice but to sell out and move.  As of 1870, John Sr. and his brother William each had $1500 of real estate.  It is unknown how much they got for their barren land in the fall when few people were moving around or moving into the area.  It was off-season for moves as most people moved in late winter or early spring just before planting season.  Additionally, the swarms of grasshoppers were scaring people away from moving westward.

 

Ellen (Jury) Hartnett

Missouri

It is unclear if they had a destination in mind when they packed up and headed out.  I assume they traveled until they found some place with little damage by the invading insects and also had farms to rent. 

Although Missouri was also a destination for the pesky grasshoppers, John, William, their mother, and families ended up near Chiliothe, Livingston, Missouri.  John’s sister Ellen had married Thomas Hartnett and she remained in Bourbon County, living in Hiattville.  He was a farmer, but may have had less damage.  Additionally, with the completion of the railroad, Thomas began working for them and their small boarding/hotel business expanded.

On Christmas Day, William’s wife Agnes Jane (Moore) gave birth to their seventh child, a son.  Despite Agnes being only 29 at the time, they would not have another child for 10 1/2 years.  It begs the question, “Why?”  I wonder if it was their living conditions and situation that played a part in that result.

The next summer they “raised a good crop of corn, broom corn, and 11 acres of tobacco.” (John Jr.)  However, by the time they returned to Kansas in the spring of 1876, they had lost all of their horses, but one a piece.  John Jr. did not explain how or why their horses were lost.

 

The Border Sentinel, August 14, 1874

Post-Grasshoppers

John remarried to Harriett Warner in August 1876 in Bourbon County.  They had two children in the following couple of years.  One  died when only a year old.  Like, William and Agnes, they had a 10-year gap before their third and last child was born, which may be due to their movement around the country.

During that gap in time, John, William, their mother, and their families moved again.  This time much further north, landing in Michigan.  There John Jr. stated that he hauled logs and shingles.  It isn’t known what John Sr. was doing, but he had been a shingle maker in Canada so it is very possible that he returned to his previous occupation to make a living.

After some time at the location where they settled, they decided that they had moved too far north.  And, they moved a bit further south, but stayed in Michigan.  John Jr. stated that John Sr. purchased 40 acres of timber, which they cut and presumably sold.  This is possibly the only property that John Sr. and William owned after selling out in Kansas.

After the matriarch of the family died in 1883, John Sr. and his sons looked at other opportunities, but ended up in Kansas, where John Sr. rented property in Drywood Township and later just north of Hiattville.  His brother William and family remained in Michigan.

John Sr. died September 7, 1911.  By this time the Rocky Mountain Locust were extinct.  As quickly as they had come, they had died out, but not before changing the course of the lives of many families, including the Jury family.

 

Grasshopper/Rocky Mountain Locust Statistics and Fun Facts

  • 1873-1877 crop damage in Midwest estimated $200m
  • Estimated 12 trillion grasshoppers
  • 120 billion created a path 100 miles wide in 1874
  • The cloud of grasshoppers in 1875 estimated to have 3.5 trillion covering 198,000 square miles as possibly as much as a mile deep.
  • The grasshoppers in 1874 covered 2,000,000 square miles.
  • Grasshoppers estimated to weigh 27 million tons, which was more than the bison population
  • The 1874 invasion led Kansans to start growing more winter wheat, which was ready for harvest earlier in the season before grasshoppers usually appeared.
  • The “hopperdozer” was created to capture grasshoppers by raking it across the land.
  • The hopper vacuum was created.  It sucked the grasshoppers into the machine and bagged them for disposal.
  • Rocky Mountain Locust bodies (minus legs and wings) were said to have a nutty flavor, taste like crawfish, and to be good fried or in stew.

 

Sources:

1874 The Year of the Locust

The Locust that Ate the American West

Grasshopper Plague of the Great Plains

 

Image at top: John Jury, Sr.

The Injury

Posted on by FHadmin

 

Sometimes a single event can totally change your life.  Rod’s Uncle Kenny (great-uncle, but referred to as uncle) was only 15 when an event occurred that likely changed the direction of his life.

 

On the Job

Smith Baking Company 2 26th and O Street, Lincoln, Nebraska. Source: Lincoln State Journal March 7, 1926.

When Great-Uncle Kenneth Duane Van Allen (Uncle Kenny) was not quite 16, he got a job working at Smith Baking Company.  The company had been around for some years, having opened November 13, 1913.  However, the new modern facility at 26th and O Street in Lincoln, Nebraska had only opened three years earlier in the spring of 1926.

The new facility could product 15,000 loaves of bread a day.  In addition, the company had added pastries to their offerings.  The mixing and baking process was one of “mechanical accuracy.”  The mixing, dividing dough into loaves, wrapping, and other functions were controlled by electricity.

 

Three-Days In

On June 12, 1929, it was Kenny’s third day and last day on the job.  On that day, his hand got stuck in some dough and was pulled into the dough breaking machine.  It was an electric machine that consisted of rollers that the dough was fed through.  His fingers and palm on his right hand were mangled.  Four days after the incident, the doctor amputated his 3rd and 4th fingers and the worst part of his palm.  The doctor hoped he could save a third finger that was a bit less damaged.  However, it was not to be.  Thus, Kenny was left with a thumb, one finger, and a portion of his palm.

 

The Lawsuit

His father John (Warren) Van Allen had died in a farming accident when Kenny was a baby.  Therefore, it was incumbent upon Kenny’s mother Grinda Josephine (Hanson) Van Allen to sue the Smith Baking Company on his behalf.  She sought $25,000 in damages. 

 

The Plaintiff’s Claims

Doctors supported the extent of Kenny’s injuries and testified that he had lost 80 – 90 percent use of hand. The attorney for the plaintiff claimed that the machine should have had safe guards to prevent such an accident. 

 

The Defense

Meanwhile, the defense brought in a boy/young man from small town some counties away that had received damage to his hand that they felt was similar to Kenneth’s injury.  Injured at age 11, he had gone on to become captain of his basketball team.  They also had him demonstrate writing and other functions.

Additionally, the defense argued that Kenneth had accepted compensation under the employer’s liability act.  Thus, they felt that he was not allowed to request additional compensation.

 

Machine Stoppage

Both sides argued over how quickly the machine could be stopped.  The defense argued that it could quickly be stopped by the operator.  Meanwhile, Kenneth’s attorney argued that it wasn’t as quick and easy as the defense stated.

 

Fight Over His Age

Much of the trial, however, focused on a secondary issue – his age.  Grinda’s attorney claimed the company had hired Kenny knowing that he wasn’t 16, which was the legal age for working in this job.  The defense claimed that he had presented himself as being 16 and that they couldn’t be held accountable for him being illegally hired. 

The defense argued that there were discrepancies in the records over the year and that some records had been doctored.  Not having access to all the records of the trial, it is difficult to comment on what they saw in the records.  However, I suspect that they had assumed that he started school at age 6.  However, he started school before he turned six and he graduated 8th grade at the same time as Donna, his sister who was just over a year older than him.

 

The Verdict Is In

In early November in 1929, the jury awarded Kenneth $10,000 for his injuries.  However, the case didn’t end there.  The defense sought a new trial on the grounds that the jury tried to guess at how much money would need to be paid to the plaintiff’s attorney.  Two jurors claimed that they wanted to give him $5,000, but doubled it to pay for the attorney.  Also, it was claimed that one of the jurors independently investigated the machine and told the other jurors about it.

On January 3, 1930, the judge reduced the judgment to $5,000, overruled a new trial, and got both sides to waive their right to appeal.  After that date, the Smith Baking Company continued to be in litigation over the case.  At this point, they were suing the liability company for $2,995 for refusing to pay the claim.  What is confusing is that they earlier stated that Kenneth had received payment from the liability company.  It is unclear how that was resolved.  In any case, an event that lasted a few seconds wasn’t fully resolved at least until 1931.

After settling the case for $5,000, instead of giving the money to Grinda since Kenny was a minor, a guardian was appointed to accept the money for him.  The Guardian controlled Kenny’s money until November 1934.  Once, Kenny had access to the money, he purchased a Chevy coupe.

 

Farming

In 1935, he purchased a small farm.  The following year Kenny married Adla Mae Slepicka.  However, the year following his marriage, he gave up his farm.  It was during the depression and making a living farming was a challenge.  The following year Kenny was a salesman for the Beatrice Creamery Company.

 

Kenneth Duane Van Allen’s signature in 1940 on his WWII Draft Registration.

Beatrice State Home

New Job

By 1940, Kenny had taken a position as an assistant farmer or assistant to the farm manager at the Beatrice State Home.  He would have overseen some portion of the farm operation. The facility had been around since 1885 and had grown to have 1,570 patients.  The patients were of varying abilities including those needing complete care, those that could be trained to care at least in part for themselves (e.g. dress, toilet), and those that although mentally challenged could be educated.  A portion of the patients worked on the farm in various capacities.

In 1945 Kenny was recognized for the purebred Hampshire hogs that he raised.  It is unclear if they were raised as a part of this operation or if he raised them independently.  However, he is credited for them and the home is not mentioned.  Thus, I assume that he raised them separately from his job at the state home farm.

 

Making It A Career

By 1950, Kenny was the farm manager and his wife was the house mother.  The family had 20 patients living with them and working the facility’s large farm.  What was once a 40 acre property was now nearly 650 acres.  In addition, 500 more acres were leased by the facility.

By 1957, the facility had grown to house 2,184 patients with a large staff of teachers, nurses, farmers, and others.  The home’s slogan was “Learning for Living: Love, care, and training.”

The facility had 23 buildings including a 3-story school, and two hospitals with one dedicated to tuberculosis patients.  It also had gardens, orchards, and farm acreage.  The previous year a dam had been constructed creating a 7-acre pond/lake.  The facility had previously stated that they had 218 head of cattle that produced 400 gallons of milk daily.  In addition, they raised swine and poultry. 

In 1976, Kenny was acknowledged for 35 years of service at the Beatrice State Home.

 

Influence

Kenny’s influence went beyond this specific home.  He spoke about conservation, production, and management of agriculture.  His knowledge was shared with state officials and officials at other similar facilities.

Kenny was also a member of the Elks and the Gage County Saddle Club. 

 

Morale of the story

Kenneth might of lost three fingers, but he didn’t let it hold him down.  He married, raised three children with his wife, and worked in a management position where he appeared to have been recognized as an expert.  Still, we don’t know how that few moments on July 12, 1929 changed Kenny’s life.

 

 

Image of Kenneth Van Allen is from the Beatrice Times, February 2, 1945.