Thelma and Bernice

Thelma and Bernice or...

My sister and I used to think it was so funny when our Grandpa Smith would call me Thelma and Tudy, Bernice.

Our Grandma and Grandpa Smith had thirty-one grandchildren but Tudy and I spent the most time with them as children since they took care of us while our parents worked.  We moved to the San Francisco bay area when I was eleven and Tudy was nine but we still spent a lot of time with them since we were so attached to them. 

As Grandpa got older, he would forget and call us Thelma and Bernice instead of Helen and Tudy.  We would laugh between the two of us and go ahead and respond to Grandpa when he got our names wrong.

Aunt Thelma was our Mother's oldest sister and Aunt Bernice was her second oldest sister.  Mama was the youngest child out of a family of six children.  Actually, Aunt Bernice's name was Helen Bernice, but she went by Bernice and didn't use the Helen. I was named after her with my name being Helen.

Sometimes if one of us wanted to get the attention of the other one, we would call each other Thelma or Bernice and then laugh.  We loved both of our aunts very much and we loved our Grandpa very much.  We just thought it was funny and cute.

They are all gone now.  Aunt Thelma, Aunt Bernice (Nicey) Grandpa, and my baby sister, Tudy (Doreena), but I have very fond memories of all of them.  This is one that I thought I would share.

Tudy and Her Bottle

Looking for Tudy's Bottle

I remember when my baby sister was about 18 months old, my Mom and my Grandma Smith were trying to put my sister down to sleep. 

They were putting her down in the bed in the room that served as the kitchen, dining room and bedroom. The front room served as living room, and bedroom for Grandma and Grandpa. That was when Grandma and Grandpa only had two rooms to their house.

Anyway, Tudy would say she wanted her bottle.  Every time Mama would give her the bottle she would throw it and cry for the bottle again. Tudy wanted to go outside to get her bottle.  So we all went outside (except for Grandpa) with the flashlight looking for Tudy's bottle. We get out there and what does Tudy do?  She crawls under the house and comes back out with one of Grandpa's wine bottles!

That was back when Grandpa still drank alcohol. He would drink wine and beer.  Grandma never allowed anyone to bring alcohol into the house so Grandpa would drink outside and he hid his wine bottles under the house.  Tudy must have been watching Grandpa and decided she wanted to try out some of the stuff Grandpa was drinking.  The house was up on blocks so there was space under the house.

Of course Tudy wasn't allowed to have any of Grandpa's wine but leave it to her to have us going on a wild goose chase right from the start.  Never a dull moment with that girl, I tell ya even when she was a baby.

Unexpected Genealogy Gift

A Gift From A Cousin

My husband Frank and I flew to Dallas a couple of weeks ago to attend our nieces wedding.  As we arrived, there was a very bad thunder storm with lots of lightning.  For safety reasons, all of the ramps had been closed down.  We had to wait for about an hour and a half before we could collect our luggage and our rental car and be on our way.

While we were waiting, I checked my email and my Facebook.  One of my cousins that lives in Oklahoma and who is from my Smith line had sent me a photo of my Grandma and Grandpa Smith that I had never seen before.                                                 

Left to Right is my Grandpa Fred Burke Smith, his sister Augusta Caroline (Callie) Smith Butcher, and my Grandma Stella E Marie Holland Smith

I was extremely close to my Grandparents and they practically raised my sister and me until I was eleven and she was nine and we moved from Poplar, CA to the San Francisco Bay Area.  We would still visit them frequently and spent a month every summer with them.

I couldn't find a date on the photo, but I believe it was taken sometime in the 1960s so that would have put my Grandparents somewhere in their early 60s.  This photo was taken when they went back to Oklahoma to visit relatives.

This is how they always dressed for most of my life.  Later on Grandpa started wearing striped overalls sometimes.  When he went outside, he would wear a straw cowboy hat.  Near the end of his life, he would wear slacks, a shirt, suspenders and a dude hat when he went to the doctor.

Grandma told me that when they met, Grandpa was known as that big eyed Smith boy.  Grandpa did have big eyes...big blue eyes.  One of his eyes had a little bit of brown in it though.  My Grandma had very, very, deep blue eyes....almost purple or violet at times.  They were a beautiful shade of blue.

Thank you so much, cousin Medessa Cook Montgomery for the lovely gift that you shared with me.    It turned an otherwise somewhat challenging day into a wonderful, blessed day!  It also gave me one more photo to share with my other Smith cousins.  Medessa's Grandmother was my Grandpa's sister, Aunt Callie.

I heard a lot about Aunt Callie.  My Grandma would talk on the phone to family members and would relay the conversations to my Grandpa who wouldn't hardly ever get on the phone. 

I miss them both so much and think about them every day, sometimes, I think about them several times a day.  They didn't have much money and they didn't have much formal education, but they taught me so much, and gave me unconditional love.  That was priceless!!!

My Cousin Booger

Adventures with Booger

My maternal grandparents had over 30 grand kids.  My cousin, Booger was one of those grand kids and one of my many playmates when I was young.  I'm not sure exactly how he got the nickname of Booger, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was our Grandpa Smith that gave it to him.  I will refrain from saying what his given name is here, but those in the family will know who I am talking about.

Booger was an active kid and was blessed with red hair, freckles, and blue eyes.  He is about two and a half years older than me, and I remember that even as a child he had definite ideas of what he did and didn't like.  He is still like that to some extent.

I remember he and I were sitting next to each other one morning at Grandma and Grandpa's house having our breakfast.  Booger was quite active to the left of me, giving a lot of attention to the food on his plate.  I asked, "Whatcha doing, Booger"?  He said, "I'm mixing my egg (fried), gravy, and potatoes (fried) together".  I asked, "Why"?  Booger said, "Cause its good"?    I thought it looked like a big mess to me, but since my big cousin, Booger said it was so good, I thought I would give it a try.  I proceeded to try and create the same kind of mess on my plate as Booger had on his.  I ate some of it, but that was the last time I ever tried out one of Booger's recipes!  I wasn't as impressed with it as Booger was.  Lol

I remember my Grandpa telling about another Booger adventure as I was growing up.  Grandpa liked to tell how Booger was expelled from Kindergarten and then he would laugh and laugh about it.  Back then, if a boy stood up for himself, it was a good thing.  I could be wrong, but I don't think Booger was expelled.  I think he might have been suspended for a couple of days.  I don't know what he did, to be kicked out of school for a couple of days, but most likely he was just being active or maybe had a skirmish with another kid.  Remember, Booger always was a little stubborn, knew what he did and didn't like.  I think it goes with the red hair. 

None of us had very many toys, but I remember one time, I had gotten a doll for Christmas and I believe it was Booger had gotten a gun.  It might have been one of his brothers, but I think it was Booger.  I wanted to play with the toy rifle.  I always thought that boy's toys were so much better.

Booger is a good guy, who is highly intelligent, has a great sense of humor, was a good Husband, is a good Father, and is a good Grandfather.  He always has loved his family.

I always looked forward to visits with Booger and his family.  I am so blessed to have had so many cousins, playmates, and friends in one family. 

Booger definitely left an impression on me!

Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa Smith's House

A Smith Family Thanksgiving

One of my happiest memories as a child was spending Thanksgiving day at my Grandma and Grandpa Smith's house in Poplar, CA.  Although, I spent almost every day at their house, Thanksgiving was even more special because there would be so many Aunts, Uncles, and cousins visiting. 

Grandma would stuff and cook the turkey early in her stand alone electric oven so it would be ready to eat by noon.

Grandma's stuffing recipe:
cornbread
white store bought bread or stale biscuits
chopped celery
giblets
chopped onion
minced garlic (optional)
couple of boiled eggs
couple of raw eggs
milk
sage
salt and pepper to taste
Boil giblets until done.  Let cool, and chop liver, heart, and gizard meat.  Remove meat from neck and chop. 
Crumble cornbread, and tear bread into small pieces.  Mix in large bowl with chopped meat, chopped boiled eggs, celery, chopped onion, water from giblets, seasoning, milk, until the right consistency and taste.  Add a couple of raw eggs to help hold stuffing together before stuffing bird and putting remainder of stuffing in pan to be cooked. 

I still make my stuffing like this but sometimes add spinach to it.

We would always have mashed potatoes, gravy, sometimes green beans and corn or some other vegetable.  We would always have pumpkin pie, always have banana pudding and sometimes we would have a cake.

Sometimes the Clay cousins (family of 9 kids), and the McKay cousins (family of 7 kids) might be there at the same time.  Aunt Betty and Uncle Bill Smith had 2 kids.  Aunt Betty and Uncle Don Smith had 4 kids.  Aunt Pat and Uncle Junior Smith had 5 kids, and my Mom and Dad had 2 kids. Grandma and Grandpa had six kids and thirty one grand kids.  The house was only two rooms, but I don't remember it being crowded at all when there was a lot of people.  Of course, I spent a lot of time outside playing with my cousins. 

Grandpa later added two bedrooms and an indoor bathroom.

We didn't have many toys, but we would play Red Rover, Red Rover, Dog Pile, Jump rope, Chinese jump rope, marbles, etc. 

It was so much fun with so many of my cousins there and the food was so good!

I am very Thankful to God for blessing me with my Grandma and Grandpa Smith, my Mom and Dad, my sister, my children, my grandchildren, my aunts and uncles, and all of my cousins that I grew up with.  I'm also Thankful for good health and all of my other cousins that I have.  I have so much to be Thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Evelyn Duvall Meek's Genealogy and Historical Books

Evelyn Duvall Meek

Evelyn is married to Walter Meek who is my Father's first cousin.  She has written several books about the places she has lived.  I would classify these books as Genealogy/Family History books.  As you read, you will find yourself caught up in the story.  Evelyn is a wonderful writer!

Evelyn's Woodville Story

Evelyn's Woodville story tells about how her family was struggling financially, often times not having enough to eat when they were living in Comanche, Oklahoma. She tells about their decision to move to California.  She also describes the trip from OK to CA and some of the experiences she had.  She tells the reader how her family moved into "Dewey Meek's Camp".  The Meek Camp was in the town of Woodville, CA.  It was a cotton laborer's settlement where people came and went depending on the work available in the fields.  Woodville is also where one of the Farm Labor Camps is located.

There are several other families mentioned in the book as well as the Duvall family.  This is a wonderful book that gives one a good idea of how the "Okies" had to live when they first came to California.

Evelyn's Poplar Story

From 1947 When we came to Poplar from Woodville to 1950

Evelyn's Poplar story describes the family's move from Woodville to Poplar.  She tells of living in a tent because they had to save money to buy the materials to build a house.  She talks about how life was in Poplar where many families were living in tents.  The reader learns about the bars and the churches in Poplar as well as the various families living there.  She mentions the Bunches, the Poseys, the Fred Smith family (my Grandma, Grandpa, Mother, Aunts and Uncles), the Kaisers, etc.  She describes the town and the culture of Poplar, CA to a tee.  This book is wonderful for anyone who has roots that go back to the central valley of California.                                              

                                              

Evelyn's Poplar and Boron Story

A True Story about the Duvall and Meek Families from 1950 to 1967

In the Poplar and Boron story, Evelyn tells the reader about how her Father finally got their house built and how excited she was about it. She tells about her rigid Christian upbringing, more about the people in Poplar, and having to work in the cotton fields.  She and Walter Meek got married and started having babies.  She talks about Ola Findley Meek and Wesley Meek (my Uncle).  Evelyn provides the reader with a lot of Poplar history and information about the families living there at that time as well as her own family.  She tells about the move to Boron, CA and what her life was like there while raising her children.  In this book she tells how my Mother and Father met and mentions my sister and me.  She describes my sister and me as...."They were beautiful, sweet little girls".
This is a great genealogy/history book!

                                                 

 

At this point and time, Evelyn and I are working with the LDS Family History Library-Donations, to donate her books so they will be available to everyone online for research.

I found these books to be invaluable.  While reading them, it took me right back to my childhood in Poplar, CA, how we lived and the people we knew.  Thank you cousin Evelyn!

Sissy Swallowed a Plum Seed

Almost Went Plum Crazy Before Almost Dying!

 

I know I have mentioned my grandparent's house of two rooms before and how much time my sister and I spent there.  Well, we were there once again along with our parents in the evening.  Grandma and Grandpa had a black and white Philco television set.  Since we didn't have one, we would watch television at Gandma and Grandpa's house.

Their television looked very much like the one in the photo above.

We were watching "Sing Along With Mitch".  It must have been summer time because Tudy and I were eating plums from Grandma and Grandpa's tree. 

Grandma was always warning us about not eating the center of any fruit seed.  She told us that it would make us go crazy and, or possibly kill us.  Well of course Grandma knew everything!  I didn't doubt for a minute that if I ever ate the center of a fruit seed, I would go crazy and die.

I was really enjoying my plum, and I was pretty much done with it but I was trying to get the last little bit off the seed.  Before I knew it, I had swallowed the entire plum seed! I jumped up and starting running in circles yelling and crying that I had just swallowed a plum seed.  My baby sister Tudy, was right behind me, yelling and crying, "Sissy swallowed a plum seed".  We were both running around in circles in the front room yelling and crying like a dog chasing its tail.

I just knew I was going to go crazy and then I was going to die!  Our Mom was trying to catch us and calm us down.  Our Dad was laughing, Grandpa was lying on his bed, all laid back as usual watching the commotion.  Finally, they got a hold of me and Grandma said I would be okay since the seed was whole and I didn't eat the poisoned part of it.  I was about seven and Tudy was about five.

Our parents called us Pete and Re-Pete because Tudy would do and say everything I did.

From left to right
Me, Tudy (my baby sister), Gerald Lee Clay, Roseann Clay, Rosie Mae Smith Johnson (My Mother) holding Monte Ray Clay and Stella Holland Smith (My Grandma)

This great adventure took place in the room pictured in the photo above where I am with my baby sister, my Mom, my Grandma, and some of my Clay cousins.  My sister and I were a little bit older in the photo above than we were when we had the "Plum Crazy Adventure".

It was always something and never a dull moment with all the kids around.  Good times!

Tudy and Me

This is Tudy (Doreena) and me at our Grandma and Grandpa Smith's house on Rd 198 in Poplar, Ca.  I was about 7 or 8 here and Tudy was 5 or 6.  We were born almost exactly two years a part.

The house was still two rooms at this time.  The front room served as a living room/bedroom combination and the back room served as the kitchen/dining/bedroom combination.  Our Grandpa built the house himself.

Tudy and I spent more time here than we did at our own house since Grandma took care of us while our parents worked.  I thought it was the most wonderful place in the world and felt very safe and secure there.

As you can see, our skin was tanned from playing outside so much.  Tudy would always get much darker than me since she inherited the skin tone of our Father.  I would burn first and then get a little tan.  In the summertime, it would get so hot we wouldn't stay outside for too long unless we were in the shade.  We would run around in the  sun a bit, back in the shade, and back into the house to cool off.

Grandpa only had a swamp cooler in the front room that had to be sprayed down with water from the outside periodically, but it did a pretty good job of keeping us cooled down.

I don't know how my parents, Grandpa, and other family members stood the heat to work in the fields to support us.  Thinking about it now, I have a whole new respect for them and what they had to endure.

Smith Cousins - Mama's Side

Uncle Don and Aunt Betty's Girls
  
My Grandma and Grandpa Smith had six kids. Uncle Don was the first one to marry, although, he was the third one born out of the brood.

In this photo is Edna Mae, (the oldest out of thirty Smith grandchildren) Donna, and Barbara.  I'm not sure where the photo was taken.  I thought it might have been taken in Poplar, CA at the left front of my Grandma and Grandpa's house; but after looking at the surrounding background, I have determined it wasn't.  It might have been taken somewhere in Stockton, CA. 

I always thought Edna Mae was so wonderful and so pretty.  She was such a sweet person.  I miss my big cousin.