My How Things Have Changed

Yesterday I was sharing a memory from when I was a child with my boys. Soon after World War II, after we had come back to California, my parents decided to go to see one of their old friends. I was just nine or ten years old on the day that our family had this adventure.

We would have gone on the old car ferry as pedestrians to get to San Diego from Coronado. I remember many a time walking up the old wooden ramp to get to the top deck where the passengers could sit or walk around and see the sights during the short ride across the bay. There was the horn as the boat pulled out of the dock. We could often hear this sound from our grandparents house on third and F. There were many Navy ships in the harbor. Sometimes we would see porpoise in the bay. So many sights and sounds to recall from those old ferry rides.

When we got to San Diego we would ride on the streetcar to get to our destination. This is not as clear a memory for me, as the streetcars were gone by the fifties. We even had a streetcar that went down the middle of Orange Avenue from the ferry to the Hotel del Coronado. That is why there is the grassy island down the middle of Orange Avenue. Now there are trees and gardens in place of the old electric streetcars.

Back to our excursion to see my parents old friends. I mainly remember getting off the streetcar in the Mission Hills area and walking down a steep path towards the valley below. Our destination was an old adobe house where the friends lived. I remember having a delicious lunch which included rabbit. I think that is the only time I ever ate rabbit. I do not even recall the name of these friends. But I do remember that Mission Valley consisted of farms and a rural atmosphere. You would never have imagined the Mission Valley of today. For years I tried to figure out where the adobe house had been. At first I would try to find it when we traveled through the valley on a rare occasion. I also remembered the farm on the property next to where we visited. I remember a big old barn. We must have visited someone there too as I remember an old farmer that had lost his arm in a farming accident. I remember the pastureal scene in the valley with cows and all.

Later on I remember a highway through the valley before freeways existed. Seems to me this was one road we took to head east. I was mostly in Coronado so I would not have been in this area very many times. Sometimes I see an area of San Diego and try to remember what that area was like before freeways. I remember the first time I went to Mission Valley Shopping Center in the sixties. My mother-in-law took me on the bus to buy me a dress for Easter. She was good about doing things like that for us. She had a favorite cafeteria to go to at the shopping center so I enjoyed a rare treat for those days.

One thing that I remember clearly from my preteen years is going to Girl Scout camp in Cuyamaca. I can tell you exactly what road to take and where to turn. The camp isn't there now but the road is in the same place near Stonewall Peak. We did not have the freeway over the mountains in those days. It was the old highway which is fun to meander on now days. We enjoyed the days when we had a car to get to the mountains. Now we get rides with our son when he is in town. We also have a cousin that takes us on long rides about once a year when he is here.

So many memories from days gone by. Things may change as the years go by but God never changes. We may mess things up where there once was beauty, but there is still plenty for us to enjoy. There is still a river running through the valley with places to find birds. You will be reminded that it is a river valley when the rains come and the river rises. People may complain about not being able to get past certain roads when it rains. That is just a reminder that the river was here first.

It has been fun remembering the good old days. But these are good days too if we remember to appreciate what we have. God is so good. Let us not forget to thank Him for the beauty he has created for us to enjoy.

Nephews and Nieces

God's plan for families is one of the nicest things to have ever happened. When God put Adam and Eve together in the Garden of Eden and told them to be fruitful and multiply this was the beginning of marriage and families. We see families throughout the Bible. There are fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, sisters and brothers, and nephews and nieces. There are grandparents, aunts and uncles. Each one of these family members can be an important part of the family.

Today I want to tell about my nephews and nieces. I became an aunt when my sister Donna gave birth to her son Arthur Louis Sinclair on September 29, 1957. He is named after his father Louis Arthur Sinclair. I was already the mother of two year old Kathy at that time. Arthur was a beautiful baby boy, the first grandson on both sides of his family. In just one year and one day he would become the big brother to his sister Debra Marie Sinclair. She was given her mother's middle name Marie. We called her Debbie all through her childhood until she preferred being called Debra. She was as cute as any baby could possibly be. My daughter Laura was right in the middle of Arthur and Debra as far as birth order goes.

Donna's family lived in Los Angeles and we lived in San Diego so we did not see each other as often as I would have liked. Paul and I rarely went to L.A. Donna and Louis got to San Diego on special occasions or several times a year with their two little ones. The cousins enjoyed getting together as they got older and got to know each other better. There would soon be more cousins to add to the mix.

The next addition to the cousins was when my sister Betty had Gary. My handsome nephew Gary Edward was born February 19, 1960. He was an exuberant little boy, with a lot of personality. Laura really loved him a lot as one of her favorite cousins when they were little. Gary would become the big brother when Elizabeth Frances Hamilton was born on July 4th in 1961. She has her mother's middle name Frances. Elizabeth is also a family name. She was called Sissy for much of her childhood. Her family also called her Liz. My son Paul William, aka Bill, fits right in between Gary and Elizabeth age wise.

In December of 1962 I had my second son Griffith H. Marvin, aka Griff. The next baby would be another boy, Matthew Scott Hamilton, brother of Gary and Elizabeth. Matthew was born October 22, 1963. Betty and Sam now have three children, all born in California. One more son would be born in January of 1967 in Hawaii where Sam was stationed with the Navy. Mark Anthony would be child number four, the third son. They would move to Billings, Montana soon after Sam got out of the Navy the summer of 1967 while Mark was a baby. This is where the children would be raised.

When Betty and Sam and family were in San Diego, off and on during the Navy years, our children had chances to get to know each other. In later years after the Hamiltons moved to Billings they made trips to San Diego for family reunions. Gary spent time here the summer of 1973 with his grandma, my mother. He also helped us when we were moving that summer. I remember him with paint brush in hand along with my kids, his cousins. Elizabeth came to San Diego to visit her grandmother the spring of 1980 and ended up at our house for five years. Her dog Mouse joined our menagerie of cats, dogs and turtles.

Matthew has made several trips to visit us over the years. The year my Kathy was getting married Matthew came and helped immensely with putting the food out at the wedding reception. We had other help, but really needed Matthew's extra helping hands. Elizabeth was here then too and she had been involved with us in planning everything for the big day. It was her bright idea to make the mints. As for Matthew he actually prefers to be called Phinwe, but he has always been Matthew to us. Matthew the nephew with style. His color is black and he wears it well.

Mark was only here as a child with his parents. Mark has a sweet disposition whenever I do get to see him. He is the father of Brittany and Michael. They are both grown up now, and Brittany is in college and works for a vet. Elizabeth also has two children. Andrew, her oldest, is now a daddy to a baby girl. Elijah is a teenager, high school age. So Betty and Sam would be enjoying having a great granddaughter, as well as seeing their four grandchildren grow up, if they were still with us. We lost them much too soon. Sam was only 55 and Betty was only 67 when they died.

My sister Donna has more great grandchildren than I can remember. She may have only had two children, but they went forth and multiplied as was mentioned in Genesis. Debra and her husband have two children. Their son Shawn has two children. They all need prayer as there is division among them. Shawn has not been in touch with them as he should be in quite sometime, so Debra and Pete have not been able to see Shawn's girls since the first one was a baby. Debra and Pete have a teenager, Natasha, fourteen years and one day younger than Shawn. Remember that Arthur and Debra were one year and one day apart.

Donna's son Arthur has children and grandchildren. He has been missing since 1994 so he has not seen any of his family in a long time. He probably met up with disaster those many years ago. Arthur has three children and many grandchildren. His son David has four or five children plus a stepchild. David lives in Missouri with his family. Arthur's daughter Nicole lives in Wales and just had a baby boy in September. His son Michael lives near Donna and Fred and is a young man now. I wanted to say he is a teenager but time flies by.

Arthur was the cousin my boys had adventures with when they were young. Bike adventures and even a motorcycle adventure are included on the list of things they did together. Arthur was there when Griff had his bicycle accident on suicide hill. Years later Bill and Griff were trailing Arthur when he flew off his motorcycle. They came around a mountain curve and there was Arthur's cycle with the wheels spinning and no Arthur. He had flown off and was nearby. He survived with serious scrapes and bruises. He probably hurt a lot, but xrays showed no broken bones.

Debra has had health problems since she was a child. She has seizures that her medications don't seem to help. Right now she is in the hospital since one of the medications was making her very sick. She had been throwing up a lot and she was told her pancreas was the problem. It turns out to be that the medication is the problem. I don't know if they still think her pancreas is also involved. She has had one thing after another to deal with almost all of her life. When she was sixteen she had a tumor on her spine. That was resolved with surgery and radiation. Thankfully there was no malignancy involved. This all plays havoc with her emotionally. My prayers go out for this special niece.

My other niece also deals with health problems and I pray for her to enjoy improved health soon. She is enjoying life with her "new" husband Jack, a pastor of a little church in Missouri. She also stays interested in Jack's family which includes his adult children and many grandchildren. Elizabeth became like a daughter to me when she was at our house for five years. I have not seen her or her brothers since I was in Billings for their mother's burial in April of 2008.

I was going to write about our niece and nephews on Paul's side of the family, but I will save them for another day. Paul has one brother and he has three children, plus grandchildren. Charlie's three are all younger than our four. His first was born five months after our youngest son. Eric, Carrie and Deron were all born when the family lived in Coronado so we knew them as babies. They moved to Sacramento and our contacts were few so our children did not get to really know each other, I'm sorry to say. It was always a pleasure to see the whole family. We have had some opportunities to get together with them over the years of which I'm thankful for. Paul and I do stay in touch with Paul's brother and his sweet wife Edye. They are the best at writing to us of all of our family.

Families are close to our hearts and always in our prayers. May God bless each of these dear people. We may sometimes have different ideas about life and our creator. We may have different thoughts on politics and other matters. But we come from the same grandparents and have the same aunts and uncles. Most of us have blue eyes, but there may be some with brown eyes. Some are blondes and some brunette. But we have the same blood line. We have bonds that hold us close even when the distance is great. I love my family. I love my nephews and nieces.

Donna married Fred Guapo in 1979 after some years of being a single mother. Her children were grown up by then, but Fred had a young son, Freddy. He is now a fine young man and has a beautiful wife. In 1980 Freddy was with our large family gathering in a family picture that included all of Mom's family. Donna, Betty and myself with all of our children, my husband Paul and Donna's husband Fred were all in this portrait. All were there except Betty's husband Sam. He was still in Montana as he couldn't make that trip to San Diego.

Family reunions are most enjoyable. Getting together with my grown children and grandchildren is extra special for me. My four are spread across the country from California to Florida. Our oldest daughter Kathy, her husband John and their family are in Colorado. Our granddaughters are all grown up. Becky is married and has a baby boy. Melissa is a teacher's aide for a preschool class and she is studying to be a preschool teacher. Our sons each served in the military for a period of time, and they each own their homes, one in California and the other in Florida. Laura shares our home with us. It is a challenge to get everyone together. We can manage to have three together, but that seems to be the most at one time.

Then when it comes to the nephews and nieces it would be a rare treat to gather everyone together again. The last time may have been when we had that large family portrait in 1980. We also had a very nice gathering with four generations at Kathy and John's wedding in 1983. But there is always someone missing in the picture. We have several more favorite family pictures when our granddaughters were little. These were three and four generation portraits with all four of our children present. It is fun to think on these things. I do not expect all of my mother's grandchildren to gather together again in my lifetime, but the memories are sweet.

originally written October 18,2011
first picture-Arthur and Debra
second pic.-Gary,Elizabeth &Bill in front
Laura and Kathy holding Griff in back
third pic.-my Dad with all of his grandchildren
fourth picture-Arthur with kitten
fifth pic.-Arthur, Laura and Kathy with kittens
last picture is our large family portrait with Mom
and all of Mom's family as described in story.

A Family Car

The blue Plymouth station wagon had served Paul's parents well and they were getting a new Jeep Wagoneer. The Plymouth still had miles left on it so Paul's dad gave it to us. We had not yet owned a car so this was a real blessing to our young family. We had four children and it was nice to finally have our own set of wheels. We lived in Coronado and could walk everywhere in our small town. Paul's dad, aka Pop, helped us by taking us to the grocery store when needed. We sometimes had other rides with him too so we had managed without a car. We also knew how to use public transportation when necessary.

This is the car that I had ridden in to go to the hospital to have at least two of our babies. I already wrote about the middle of the night ride to the hospital with Pop to deliver our youngest baby at Mercy Hospital in San Diego. Paul's parents also took me to the hospital in Coronado to have my first baby. The blue Plymouth was their vehicle then.

They purchased the Plymouth while Paul and I were dating in 1954, unless it was late 1953 as we were beginning our courtship then. It was a 53 model car. It is the car Paul's brother drove to take us to San Diego the day we were married at the Methodist Church in Coronado in August of 1954. San Diego was our destination since that is where we had our honeymoon. Paul had to work that week at the civic center in San Diego and we made the most of the situation. We stayed in a motel across the street from where Paul worked at the time.

This little blue station wagon was also the vehicle that I rode in with Paul's parents when they took me to Fort Ord to meet Paul after his Army basic training in 1955. We had an enjoyable trip going north on the coast highway towards Monterey, California and then to Fort Ord. Paul was ready for some leave time and I was so happy to see my new husband. I was expecting our first child that same summer and this would be the last time we spent together before she was born. Paul was able to come south with us back to Coronado and spend some precious time with me.

The next summer when Paul was in Korea his parents took baby Kathy and me on a vacation to see my grandma and other relatives in Washington state. The Plymouth was the vehicle we rode in on that memorable vacation. That was the only time I got to see Grandma after I was married and a mother. So Grandma got to see little Kathy, but never got to see my other babies. Kathy had her first birthday on that vacation. Paul's father had the car packed with the crib on top and the mattress to the crib in the back seat for Kathy to sleep and play on as we traveled. No child seats or seat belts in those days. I rode in the front with Mom and Pop. The luggage fit nicely in the back of the car.

That little blue station wagon transported family members for years. Paul's parents went on at least one or two other vacations in that car. One trip they took with just the two of them was to see family in Michigan soon after Paul and I got married. They did not get as many opportunities to travel as they would have liked. But they did enjoy life. They enjoyed square dancing together for a number of years.

I think it was 1965 when Paul's parents gave us the Plymouth. I know we had it when we moved to Olive Lane from the two hundred block of F Avenue. It was with us helping us move everything to the other end of Coronado, from near the bay to a block or two from the ocean. Our station wagon took us to church and Sunday school each week as well as trips to the grocery store. Old Blue was used to these trips as she had been used for transporting us over the years when the senior Marvins had her.

One time soon after we moved to Olive Lane we decided it was high time that we go to the mountains in our "new" vehicle. We had not been able to do this without a car of our own. It had been years since we had made this trip to our mountains. They are not very far away, but they may as well be in another state with no way to get there. We packed a picnic and all four children into our car and headed east to our destination. It had been so long since we had been that way. This is when the freeway over the mountain was partly built. I was used to the old highway so it was not all familiar to me. Paul was not used to driving freeways yet either. We had an adventure ahead of us.

We managed to get just to the other side of Alpine when we had car problems. It was overheating so we could not continue east to Cuyamaca or Julian. We were just beginning the mountain road east of Alpine and had to turn back to find another place to picnic. We were blessed to find a park in Alpine that fit our need. This was Dinosaur Park which was a very interesting place to discover. It had probably seen better days but that did not matter to us. We never found it again and it isn't even there anymore. So glad we enjoyed this little bit if local history.

Paul soon learned to drive freeways and get around San Diego with me navigating. We didn't go a lot of places though as we mainly stayed in Coronado. It was nice to have the car available when we needed it. We eventually got another used car and gave our blue Plymouth to a teenager we knew. I don't remember what year that would have been. Our old car was used by a class in high school to learn auto mechanics if my memory serves me well.

In 1972 Paul's Dad was getting another car so he gave us the Jeep Wagoneer that he had used for so many years. The Jeep had seen some good days with the family as well as some sad days. Our children had enjoyed rides with their grandparents in the Jeep. The senior Marvins enjoyed many happy moments together in their blue Wagoneer. Paul's mother had her final rides in this car not long before she died after her long battle with breast cancer. She died on her sixtieth birthday in December of 1971. She had been the hostess at many a family gathering. We would miss her delicious meals and the filled cookie jars. She was the grandmother that never forgot a birthday. I'm sure she would have liked seeing us enjoy our "new" Jeep Wagoneer. It may have been a 1965 model but it was new to us.

In 1973 we bought our home in San Diego, south of Chula Vista, east of Imperial Beach. This is the south part of San Diego somewhat removed from most of San Diego. We sure appreciated having Jake the Jeep to help us move this time. We traveled out of Coronado for this move. Our first time living someplace besides Coronado. My mother was just one mile from where our new place was. She was happy to have us nearby. Our blue Jeep saw us through many adventures. We finally had those mountain trips we so longed for. I learned the map by heart to get us places.

Jake the Jeep was a few cars ago, but we are still in the house we moved to in 1973. We bought several cars that we got a lot of mileage from and then Paul's Dad gave us one more car after he stopped driving. The last one we got from him was a Nissan Sentra. It was a nice little car that we enjoyed for a few years. We bought one more car that we used for a short time. We now use public transportation and enjoy the kindness of others when they offer us rides. Our car history is not really very long, but we have enjoyed going a lot of places along the way. We have collected memories from all the western states and many National Parks. We have enjoyed living close to beaches. And it is not really so far to the mountains and desert. San Diego county has it all. We can do three separate terrains in one day. But we do need a car to do this.

Thankfully we have family and friends to continue our adventures with. When Bill is here from Florida we go more places than we did when we had our car. So the adventures continue.

Our Old Dodge

When I was nine or ten years old, soon after we came back to Coronado after WWII, my parents were blessed to receive a 1938 Dodge from my grandfather. It was a black beauty that had the misfortune of being crashed into as it was parked next to my grandparent's house in the middle of the night. Third street did not have much traffic in those days, especially in the wee hours of the night, so this was big news in our neighborhood.

In the morning when I got up I heard about all the commotion that had gone on while I was sleeping. Granddad's car had been hit by a young man as he drove down the street next to our family home on third street. The old Dodge now needed repair and a new paint job. Since Granddad did not do much driving anymore he decided to give the car to my parents as they needed it. They had not had a car during the war and were so glad to accept our grandfather's generosity. Since the car needed to be painted they chose to have it painted green. It was more common for cars to be black in those days so our car stood out with the new paint job and the rack they had installed on top of the car.

Mom and Dad began painting houses together around this period of time. Originally Dad was the main painter, but it was not long before they were a team. Mom did the driving as Dad did not see good enough to drive anymore. Dad used to drive for a living when Mom and Dad first knew each other, but things had changed over the years. Now Mom was at the wheel and Dad navigated. He was good at this. He was a very good painter and soon had Mom doing detail work. The car with the rack on top gave them a way to carry paint supplies and ladders to their jobs.

There was plenty of room in the old Dodge for my two sisters and me when we needed to go someplace in the car. I mainly remember walking most places I went since we were mostly in Coronado at this time. I do remember going down the Silver Strand on occasion with my parents. The Strand was just one lane each way in those days. It was widened later in the fifties. I remember going to Imperial Beach where Mom and Dad were painting some houses that were being built then. They also painted one or two houses for the same contractor out near Spring Valley or Lemon Grove. They mostly painted in Coronado for different homeowners.

In the spring of 1949 we decided to travel to Washington state in our old green Dodge. My sister Donna had been there since the previous summer so it was just Betty and me in the back seat along with our pets and many belongings. Mom and Dad were in the front seat along with a friend of the family. I guess this way Mom had someone else who could help drive. Dad was still the navigator. The trunk was full and the rack on top had a large wardrobe with things packed inside. The pets Betty and I were sharing space with were my little turtle, Mac, and our little red hen, Susie Q. Yes, we shared space with a chicken. We had her in a crate for her own safety. This is probably my most told story, with variations each time. I should have a picture for posterity.

I may forget other old cars Mom and Dad probably had after this, but how can I forget our old green Dodge? There are other memories associated with it too. I remember our family going to Tijuana in the car. I remember that one time we went to the horse races south of the border in our Dodge. That is the only time I ever went to the races. I was still a child then.

We sometimes visited my Aunt Clara and her family at their home in Spring Valley. It was still country then. There was a little stream that went along their road that I remember playing in. There was a large California pepper tree in the yard next to the old two story house. I remember climbing this tree as a child. In 1950 we stayed in my aunt's house for a quarter of the school year after we came back from Washington. Some of my cousins were with us then. Mom and Dad had to commute to Coronado from the house in the country so they could continue painting houses in the city. It was a long ways to go in their old green Dodge each day. I took a school bus to school in La Mesa. My sisters went to a nearby school in Spring Valley.

In Washington we also went to the country school by bus. We lived on our grandparents farm then. Mom and Dad helped my mother's parents with their farm at that time. Dad came back to California earlier to find a place for us to live. That is when he made arrangements with his sister for us to live in her Spring Valley house.

Dad's brother came to Washington after Christmas to help us move back to California. This was 1949, just before a new decade. I had just turned thirteen. The reason my uncle came to help us is because his two children were with us then. They had been on the farm with us since summer. They got lessons in a completely different lifestyle than they were used to. They were city kids with no farm experience. I mean old fashioned farm, including outhouse. We left Susie Q on the farm. I hope she survived the blizzard that hit a day or so after we left. We were back in our old Dodge with more kids than before and I still had my turtle. We added a kitten to the mix. We were pulling a small trailer for our belongings on this trip. There was Mom and Uncle Elliot with at least one child in the front seat. No seat belts in those days. The children and teenagers in the car were my two cousins Malcolm and Geraldine plus my two sisters and me. A full car.

So our old car that Granddad gave us after the war was part of our family history. These stories are a significant part of my growing up years and I never get tired of telling them. If it weren't for the time my cousins were with us on the farm and in Spring Valley I would only have childhood pictures to know them by. I barely saw them any other time in my life. When I was very young there are pictures of us on the porch of our grandparents home on third and F in Coronado. These are cute pictures of us playing with Grandma's pots and pans. And since I am back to the place this story began I guess it is a good place to close.

Mom and Dad's New Beauty

It was pink and it was pretty. It was the first new car Mom and Dad ever had and the year was 1960. It was a beauty, long and sleek. Mom was at the wheel and Dad was the navigator of their brand new Mercury. They had only owned older vehicles in the past and they had served them well. It was time for them to own this beauty. It would be their home away from home as they spent their days painting other people's houses. There was plenty of room in the trunk for all their painting equipment, except for the ladders. I don't remember how they managed the ladders with this car. I know they had a rack on top of at least one of their older vehicles, the main car I remember from the past.

This new automobile would be the one that would bring me and our new baby boy home from the hospital in November of 1960. Since Paul and I did not yet own a car my parents brought me home from the hospital with at least three of our babies. Laura, Bill and Griff were all born at Mercy Hospital in San Diego. I remember that Mom and Dad are the ones who brought us home from the hospital since it became a tradition to stop at my father's cousin's house to show off the babies on the way home. Ethel and her husband lived on Fifth Avenue just south of Mercy hospital so it was a nice opportunity. I'm sure that in 1960 my parents would have also enjoyed showing off their new car too. Two years later in December, right after Christmas, our second baby boy would have this ride in the Mercury. This was baby number four and the last time we made this same trip home from Mercy Hospital.

Eventually Mom bought another new Mercury, but I don't remember if it was while Dad was still with us or a while later. This second Mercury is the one my children remember best. It was more of a gold color car. Mom and Dad put a lot of wear and tear on their vehicles as they did a lot of painting and that is hard on cars. The cars appeared well lived in within a short time.

Mom and Dad also bought their first new home in the early sixties. I remember spending Christmas of 1962 at their new house with Paul and our three children. I was great with child and would go to the hospital early the next day to give birth to our youngest child. Actually Paul's father took me to the hospital sometime after I had our children snug in their beds for the night. I had a nice Christmas with family and timed it so that Griff was born the morning of the 26th. How is that for good timing? This was the only time I had to go to the hospital in the middle of the night with any of the children.

I can remember going on the ferry from Coronado to San Diego in the middle of the night when the boats did not run as often. This was way before the bridge was built. When Paul's Dad and I were on the ferry I said to him that I hoped that I was in labor. He told me that I better be. He and I had a good relationship so I was not too concerned about this comment. I think it is sort of humorous. Thankfully I never had false labor with any of the babies.

My Dad did not get to enjoy their home very long before he got cancer. All he knew was that he was in pain and never got treated properly for cancer until it was too late. He died in November of 1964. He worked hard until the very end. I'm glad that my parents were able to enjoy their beautiful Mercury before Dad got sick. I'm thankful that they bought their first home while Dad was able to do so. We enjoyed several family gatherings in their new home with my sisters and their families as well as my family while Dad was with us.

Mom lived in this home in the area where we now live in the south part of San Diego until her final days in 1996. She was happy when we bought our house just a mile from her in 1973. Eventually our house would be where most family gatherings took place. As with her home ours is beginning to get old after so many years of sheltering our family. The homes and vehicles of our lives need upkeep and they show signs of age after a while. But the memories we have with them are wonderful.

Mom and Dad were able to take at least one good trip in their beautiful Mercury in 1961. Mom and Dad traveled that one time with my sister Donna and her husband and children to Washington to see family. That would be Donna's only chance to see our grandmother in Washington since we were children. They also got to see Mom's brother Ray and his family on their farm at that time.

Mom would have more chances to travel in her later years with her second husband Frank. They enjoyed many vacations together in their vehicles. They enjoyed visiting her brother's family in Washington and my sister Betty's family in Montana, as well as Frank's brother in Florida. Many stories could be written about their adventures together. Mom may have had other new vehicles over the years, but none can compare to that beautiful pink Mercury in 1960.

My How Times Have Changed

I'm remembering the first time I used a phone when I was nine or ten years old and thinking about kids today growing up with personal phones, quite the contrast. When I lived on my grandparents' farm in Washington state during World War II there was a crank phone that was rarely used, and never by me. When we arrived back in Coronado after the war my grandparents must not have had a phone since I remember them having one installed in their home. That is the first time I remember using a phone. I actually had a small problem the first time calling a friend. I got used to phones right away even though I rarely used the phone. The phone was in our grandparents' part of the house. We lived in a small apartment in the back part of their home in Coronado.

Then when I was a teenager we lived next door to our Coronado grandparents. We still used their phone as we did not have one yet. I don't think my parents got a phone until soon after I was married. Paul and I got our first phone just before he went into the Army nine months after we were married. I remember one time I had to walk a few blocks to Paul's parents in the evening when it was dark to use their phone. Paul had fallen down the basement steps and needed me to call the doctor. I did not do well walking alone after dark, but I did this for my new husband. The doctor said that if Paul was able to make it back up the steps, as he did, he should be fine. Paul may have been bruised and in pain, but he ended up being o.k. I had the walk in the dark with some big dogs barking at me and making me nervous, but I also survived the experience. I'm not such a scaredy cat now days.

Fast forward to today with so many people on their cell phones daily. We are used to seeing people walking down the street with hands free phones seeming to talk to themselves. We now know that they are not delusional as they are on their phone. When cell phones were new it seemed as if people were just showing off when they had their phones out in public, such as when they were on the bus and on their cell phone. Some people need to learn to keep their conversations private and not talk loud. Too much personal information is given out for the world to hear.

I remember in 1993 when my daughter's family moved from San Diego to Colorado with two cars they used walkie talkies to stay in touch with each other on the highway. I guess there were cell phones then but they were not widely used. It wasn't long before they all had their own cells. my grandchildren have been connected to all the latest conveniences most of their lives. Their dad works for their local cable company. He has always been up to date with all the latest gadgets, unlike our household. It was many years before we got cable and the internet. Laura always wanted to have the internet.

We rarely made long distance calls when I was young. We had to do it through the telephone operator. I never got to talk to my grandparents by phone as a child. I learned to write letters. Contrast that to today when I can pick up the phone and call my grandchildren any time I want to. When Paul was in the Army I only talked to him one time long distance. That was just before he was leaving for sixteen months in Korea. No phone calls, no internet for us all the time he was so far away. I wrote letters every day. He would get a bunch at once after much delay. The same thing at this end. I would get a bunch after much delay.

We are so spoiled with all of our conveniences now days. Josie grew up with no running water or electricity where she lived in the Philippines. She would not want to go back to that. She appreciates our modern lifestyle. I write her a letter and she picks up the phone and thanks me. I appreciate the phone call.

Cameras are another thing that have changed a lot. I mostly use the little one use cameras now so don't have immediate access to the pictures I take. When I was taking some pictures of the children I taught in Sunday school they wanted to see the pictures right then. I hated to disappoint them. I have been using my son's digital camera this week so I am progressing to the modern way. We have a little digital camera but I have not mastered it yet. Laura uses it.

It is amazing that I do anything on the computer. I was hesitant to begin, but I have a teacher in my daughter. She pushed me to learn and still needs to help me at times. I don't use it for much besides Facebook, Email and my Blog. That is enough for me. We still don't have a cell phone so I am attached to the wall when on the phone. I guess I am attached to the old ways.

The first time I remember seeing TV was when I was twelve or thirteen. The first TV my sisters and I saw was next door to my aunt and uncle in L.A. It was a little black and white screen in a larger cabinet. My parents got their first T.V. during my early teenage years. They got the biggest and best they could possibly afford. So I was used to a television in the house during my teens. We were not T.V. addicts though. We had other things to do. Most baby sitting jobs I had did not have television so there was not that distraction. I did my homework after the children were in bed. If no homework I learned to take my own reading.

Paul's family didn't have television till sometime after we were married. Paul was not used to T.V. and did not want it in our house. So we did not have it in our house. Basically our children grew up without television. They got to see special programs at their grandparents' house. They missed some historical events such as the landing on the moon. They would have enjoyed and benefited from seeing this. They benefited from reading and other enjoyable activities. When we finally got a T.V. I liked it too much. We have had times over the years with no television and then times with it. We adjusted either way. We have one now and I doubt I will be without one again. Even Paul enjoys it. Actually he may like it more than me. And he was the one that said no T.V.

Times change and we adjust to this change. One thing that never changes is our Lord. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. We would not want Him to be any other way. Praise the Lord.

Life is But a Moment in Time

As I was trying to read my devotions and was deep in thought I thought about the fact that just the other day I was a child and now I'm facing my seventy fifth birthday in two months. It was only yesterday that I was playing jacks and jumping rope with my friends. Now we are all grandparents. It was just a hop skip and a jump since we played hopscotch until now when even walking is affected by arthritis. Where did the time go? Life is fleeting, a moment in God's time.

When I was a child I was so anxious to grow up and get married and be a mommy. It seemed like forever. When I was a newlywed and Paul was drafted into the Army and was gone so long it felt like forever. It was much too long considering that he missed a year and a half of our first baby's life. Then when I was a young mother with four children it seemed like I would be forever attached to a buggy or stroller. It was not so long after all. My babies grew up much too fast. The next thing you knew they were teenagers and then high school graduates.

Our youngest child left the nest first when he joined the Marines at the age of seventeen. I only had him under my wings for seventeen short years. Only a short time in the scheme of things to nurture him and lead him to the Lord. But I was a baby Christian myself so I missed too many opportunities to lead him where I would like to see him be. Did I plant seeds or water them? I would hope that I did. He is a dear son and is good to us. He may be more than six feet tall but he is still my baby. But he has a mind of his own and I can only pray that he will accept the Lord, hopefully while I still have breath left on earth.

The next child to leave home was the oldest when she got married at the age of twenty eight. I was blessed to have her with me all those years. She enjoyed Bible stories and nursery rhymes as a child. She was close to me as the first born. I am thankful that she loves the Lord and brought her girls up in a Christian home. It was such a blessing when she became a wife and then a mother. I loved being a grandma to her two little girls. They are not little girls anymore but I still love being their grandmother. Time flew by and now I'm a great grandmother. That sure happened fast.

The third child to leave home was our third child, our first son. He joined the Air Force and then left the nest. He has only been home for Christmas one time since then. But he comes home during the year and shares quality time with us. As a child he did not get many opportunities to travel but he puts in the miles on his car now days. He takes us places when he is with us. As a child he loved his blocks and puzzles as well as all of his boys toys. When we had sons after two daughters we found out that boys make boys noises. Cars and trucks require that sound. That was just the other day. Where did our little boys go? As with our other son our prayer is for him to know the Lord.

We still have one daughter at home with us. When she was a young child she loved sitting with me in the rocking chair and being read to. I guess all of our children enjoyed this ritual. But some latched onto this ritual more than the others. She loved her "Nanny book" which was part of a large set of children's books we got when she was a baby. She grew to love the Word of God too. Thankfully we continue to go to church with her after all these many years. She is child number two in birth order. Not only did I teach her things when she was a child, she now teaches me new things such as using the computer.

Not only did the time swiftly pass in raising four children, it has been but a brief moment in time since our granddaughters were little. And now we have a great grandson. How can I be about to celebrate seventy five years here on earth? I was just seventeen years old and walking down the aisle at church on an August afternoon in 1954. I was looking forward to being a good wife and mother. Well, I tried to be those things but it wasn't all picket fences and roses. There were thorns along the way. Oh to go back and do a better job. Thankfully I came to know the Lord along the way and that is the best part of all. Where would I be without the Lord? I would be lost and facing my senior years in darkness. As it is I enjoy sharing my days with other believers and look forward to spending eternity with Jesus in the home He has prepared for me and other believers.

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.  Psalm 90: 12

October Festivities

It has been almost a year since I wrote my first blog post on Halloween of 2010. I shared some things about Halloween in the first couple of blog posts I wrote. My husband's birthday is near Halloween on October 26th. This year he will be 78 years old on his birthday. When we were kids that was considered old. We may look like seniors, but we still think like younger folk. We may have more wisdom than we did a number of years ago, but it is still hard for us to see ourselves as elderly. When the newspaper writes about someone in their sixties they refer to them as elderly so that must really mean we are old. Then when we walk down the street I can tell that we are not as young as we used to be as we have slowed down significantly.

My father did not have the chance to get to be a senior. Dad was only 53 years old when he died from kidney cancer. He was a hard worker all of his life, until the very end. Mom and Dad painted houses together for many years. They started painting together after World War II and continued into the sixties. Mom was still painting even after Dad died. Dad was born in Washington DC on October 16, 1911 and died in November of 1964 in Chula Vista, California. He was the ninth child in a family of nine children. He was the seventh son and was twenty years younger than his oldest brother. He was the only one born in a hospital of all nine children. He became an uncle at the young age of one year old when his sister had her first child.

Dad told about the time he was playing in Rock Creek Park in Washington DC and saw President Wilson go past where he was playing. That is how I can remember who was president when Dad was a child in Washington. Dad and part of his family moved to California when he was nine years old. Granddad came to San Diego to work at North Island where he was until he retired. They moved to the house on Third and F in Coronado soon after they came to San Diego. This is the house that I consider the family home as my grandparents were there the rest of their lives. After Grandma died in 1960 the family sold the house and there have been several owners, but I still call it Grandma's house. My Grandfather died early in the 1950s. He would have been in his seventies.

I did not meet all of my father's siblings as not all of them came to California. Many were adults when the family headed west. Some visited in Coronado over the years, but at least one never came so Dad never saw him again after he was nine years old. I knew most of his brothers and one sister though. I also did not know all of my cousins. My sisters and I were the youngest set of cousins of my dad's family. There were one or two cousins Donna's age, but I doubt any as young as my youngest sister Betty. We had cousins almost as old as Dad that we did not ever see or communicate with.

If I remember the story correctly some of Dad's siblings were actually born in the west, but they moved east before my dad was born. So some of the ones who were born in the west ended up staying in the east most of their lives. And Dad who was born in the east ended up living in the west most of his life. I have a niece who knows all the details, much more than I know. She even corrected me on one cousin's name. I always thought grandma called him Luke. I don't really know what his real name is. And my niece said we spell Grandma's maiden name wrong. At least she knows the correct way to spell it.

The reason I wanted to talk about my father, R. Eugene McDonaugh, aka Gene, is because he would be one hundred years old if he were still with us. A century is quite a landmark event in history. I miss my father even more today than I did when he was first gone. The pastor we had when Daddy died visited him in the hospital along with Paul and a friend of ours. Dad was in very bad condition but they said he accepted the Lord. I hope Dad knew what was going on enough to really have accepted Jesus as his Savior. I want to believe that I will see him again someday.

Daddy was young at heart and he looked young too. It seems to be a family trait. He has been gone almost half a century and I can see him clearly in my minds eye. I wish that he had been here longer so my children would have a much clearer memory of him. My boys were too young to remember, but the girls may remember some things. Daddy was the same age as Laura is now when he died. So young.

My sister Donna will celebrate her birthday on October 18th, two days after we remember Dad's birthday. She is younger than me, yet she has passed the seventy milestone. Donna is certainly young at heart. She has always looked younger than she is. That can be a blessing when we are older. When she was younger it was sometimes an inconvenience. Another family trait is that she is a hard worker like Mom and Dad. She was the one that pushed buttons and made Betty and me keep on keeping on when work needed to be done when we were kids. I may have been the mother hen, but Donna was often at the top of the pecking order even though she was the middle child.

Donna has not had an easy time as she had to divorce her first husband and was a single mother for a number of years. Arthur and Debra kept her challenged. Donna kept the home in order and worked very hard at a fabric store too. She also did a lot of sewing for people as well as for herself. It was a blessing when after a number of years she met and married Fred Guapo. Fred had a young son who has since grown to be a fine young man. Donna's son Arthur has been missing since 1994 and we know that something happened to him for him to not be seen all these many years. As soon as he went missing we feared the worst. Nothing has changed since then. It must be hard for Donna to have a missing son. It breaks my heart as his aunt. My prayer is for us to someday find out what happened to Arthur. May we be able to see Arthur and all of our loved ones someday in heaven. Then we can really celebrate.

We have more October birthdays to celebrate. My nephew Matthew Hamilton has an October birthday. He enjoys Halloween so I try to find a cute Halloween card for his birthday. Matthew dresses with quite a flair. He likes to wear black and that is his signature in his attire. Nothing sloppy about him as he puts together his wardrobe. He likes to have a hand in the life of his nephew and niece too. Matthew and at least one of his brothers live in their family home in Billings. Both of their parents are no longer with us. Betty and Sam died much too soon. Thankfully they left a nice home for their kids.

I have several friends with October birthdays. I won't even try to list them as I would feel bad if I left out one of my friends. At least one of my friends does not like having her birthday so close to Halloween. It is a dark day to celebrate. I just remember the fun times we had as children on Halloween. And then when my children were young we enjoyed making up costumes and going trick or treating. But I can understand why someone would not like that day. We do not want to celebrate the bad spirits, ghosts and goblins and witches.

We need to celebrate life. Jesus died to give us life and we need to celebrate the life we have in Him. Darkness and light cannot coexist. Jesus is the light of the world.

So in October we can remember the loved ones whose birthdays we celebrate. We can remember the ones who have gone on before us. This is the time of year we think of autumn leaves and all the pretty colors of fall. Pumpkins and apples and other seasonal fruit remind us of God's many blessings.

family portrait is of Gene and Ida McDonaugh
and their daughters Caroline, Donna and Betty
the day Donna graduated from eighth grade
in Coronado.
The next photo is Donna's senior picture- 1956

The Violin

When I was a child our family had an old friend named Mabel. One of my cousins was even named after her. Mabel seemed to be a little bit cranky to me, yet she had earned a place in the heart of my grandparents and aunt. She had a cute little cottage on tenth street in Coronado and my dad did a little bit of work for her over the years.

I remember that one time when I was quite young Mabel gave me a pet goose. This goose was mean as geese can sometimes be. I was the only one brave enough to get close to it. One time my goose disappeared and was found on the next block. He was having a grand old time in the beautiful fish pond at the apartments on that block.

When I was in sixth grade Mabel gave me a beautiful antique violin. I enjoyed violin lessons given by the music teacher at school. My parents also got a little violin for my youngest sister Betty so she took lessons at school that same year. The problem is that we moved before the school year was over and did not get to continue our lessons. We never got past "Baa Baa Black Sheep." I continued to be proud of my violin though.

When I was a young adult I loaned my violin to the son of one of my friends so he could learn to play. He did quite well and even got to be in the young peoples orchestra. I think it was the San Diego Junior Orchestra. Or maybe it was the Youth Orchestra. Anyway he was quite skilled and really benefited from using my violin. He went into theater and became a teacher in that area.

I eventually got my violin back. The last time I talked to Mabel she thought that I got rid of my violin. I assured her that it was still mine.

My children never got the opportunity to use the violin. Kathy wanted to learn an instrument and was able to borrow an instrument from what was available at school. It was a woodwind instrument that she could never get the hang of. I"m sure she would have done a lot better on my violin, but I did not have it at the time. All of the children would have benefited from music lessons. They enjoyed trying to teach themselves the piano that we had. Laura is a natural at the piano. Griff eventually picked up the guitar and enjoys playing it. Bill may have picked up the guitar at one time too.

Fast forward to the next generation. Our granddaughter Melissa started violin lessons before she was big enough for my violin. She continued private lessons and eventually grew into my old violin. Her parents had to have the violin repaired to get it in working condition. It had been on display at times and that can dry out an instrument. Besides some helpful young hands had handled it and the strings were shot.

Melissa has benefited from her many years of lessons. She played in her school orchestra for a couple of years. I was able to get to Colorado one time when she was playing in a concert at school. She doesn't always use the old violin as she keeps it for special times. She has another violin for using more often. I got to see her play at her church one time too. She is in a group at her church that routinely plays for services. I have yet to see her in this group.

It seems that children who play an instrument do better in school. Melissa had some struggles at the beginning of her school years. She did one grade twice which is not unusual in our family. At least one or two children in each generation going back to my father have had to repeat first or second grade. It appears to me that Melissa started doing great in school as she got into her music lessons. I'm all for schools keeping their music programs. I enjoyed what little violin lessons I had. I especially enjoyed the singing we did in school. I chose to be in girls chorus as many years as possible in high school. Music is good for the soul. I love singing in church.

Paul took many years of piano lessons and it was very beneficial to him. He ended up being the church organist for many years even though he never had a lesson at the organ. He had an opportunity to play for chapel in Korea and that was the beginning of his organ playing. He is out of practice now and he has a bad eye so he is not playing at this time. But he had a long time at the organ and piano which I enjoyed. I'm sure he enjoyed it too. It was really neat when he played duets with whoever was playing the piano at the time. Friendships were also formed by doing this.

Photos are of Melissa Joy Golden with The Violin

Trust in the Lord With All Your Heart

As I write I try to keep a positive tone to my words. It has not always been this way. I went through a long dry spell where I could not see the light at the end of the tunnel. This was many years ago and even though I have had struggles in more recent years I try to look at the positive side of life. We are truly blessed with knowing that God loves us and has provided the way for us to enjoy eternity with Him.

If I did not have the Lord in my life at this time I would be wallowing in a self pity party. There are so many things that can overwhelm the soul. As we get older our bodies are wearing out and we need a strong resolve to not give up. At the same time those we love are going through struggles of their own and may need our encouragement. I try to be the one who says the word of encouragement to my loved ones. In the past there were many who helped me along the way.

I had family there for me when my children were young and I needed an extra hand. I don't know how to say this without seeming to be negative about my husband, but I was basically the mother and father to our children. Paul faithfully held a steady job and he was always faithful to me. But I had a very difficult time and went into serious depression for a number of years. Paul did not know how to be the daddy that our children needed. If I said anything he would just say that he didn't do anything. Meaning he did not do anything wrong as far as he could see. I even tried to get help with this situation but had no success.

I did not intend to write about this at this time. I have put my thoughts on paper many times and torn up half of what I put on paper. I am mostly past those hurtful days but they sometimes come back to haunt me. When I see happy families I am jealous and that is not good. I love my husband and my children a lot and want the best for all of them. Thankfully my husband loves the Lord and we share the same values in most ways.

The main thing I wanted to write is about my dear daughter that is going through her own very difficult time. I am able to be most sympathetic and understanding on one hand. But on the other hand I miss having her available to talk to and really be able to communicate with her. She has always been close to me and we can share so much with each other. Problem is I depend on her and she is not well enough to be able to give that much of herself at this time. I am here for her, but mostly I can pray for her. I pray for the Lord to put His healing hand upon her and to put His loving arms around her. Thankfully she loves the Lord and puts her trust in Him.

Not only is my body wearing out, our house is showing it's age and needs a lot of loving care. Over the years we have done our best to do what is needed for the house, but things are multiplying and I need to be a better manager of time and talent. Thankfully Paul keeps the books. But so many things are on my list and not his list. We have sons who do what they can when they are able to be here. I often have a 'honey do list' for at least one of our sons when possible. Actually they each have their own ways of doing for us which are more interesting than what I ask them to do. One son fills our cupboard and refrigerator several times a year. The other son takes us on excursions when he is in town. They are appreciated. They are in my prayers each day.

I need to go to Colorado to see our other daughter and her family. I haven't even seen our great grandson yet. I am missing out on precious moments in time and I can only blame myself. I need to go get my identification updated so I can fly. I will figure out the funds when that time comes. Families are precious and I miss those days when we had our granddaughters here with us. I loved having them nearby when they were little. Thankfully they stay in touch with me on Facebook. I am so glad that they know the Lord.

By trusting in the Lord I get my mind off myself and think on things of greater importance. I can forgive the things which have been negatives in my life. I remember my dear sisters in Christ that were there for me when I was so needy. So many precious moments that I must not forget. How can I testify if I can't share the sad moments that make the happier moments so much more meaningful? Yet there are some things that are buried in the depths of the sea as the old chorus goes.

"Down in the depths of the deep blue sea lie all the sins once charged to me. Buried for time and eternity, down in the deep blue sea."   This is how I remember this old song we sang when I first knew the Lord.

Thoughts on August

On August 15, 1954 Paul and I said our marriage vows in the old Methodist Church in Coronado, California. This was my parents' nineteenth wedding anniversary. After this I would never forget their anniversary and they would not forget mine. Paul and I were teenage sweethearts looking forward to our years together. We had a sweet wedding with many friends and family present on a lovely Sunday afternoon.

A year later on August 28th our first baby daughter was born at the Coronado Hospital. Kathleen Jean Marvin weighed eight pounds plus one and a half ounces. She shared my middle name Jean. My dad was known as Gene so my name was partly from him. Kathy was born on a Sunday which is my favorite day of the week.

Paul was in the Army at Fort Ord and not able to get away to see his new baby girl for another week. He had a weekend leave and barely had time to visit us for a day or two before he had to head back to his training at the base. Kathy was a week old when he saw her. Then again when she was six weeks old he was able to get to Coronado again to see us. Back to Fort Ord and more training. After this Paul spent eight weeks in Colorado in a tent in the snow getting ready to go to Korea where he spent sixteen months. Thankfully this was after the war. But it was not easy for us to be apart for almost all of his time in the Army. As it was, Paul only saw his new little daughter those two times during her first year and a half. Not a good way to start a new family.

Since these are my thoughts on August I will get back to my theme. Kathy spent her first birthday with her Grandma and Granddad Marvin and me on the trip we took that summer. We had gone to Washington state to see my grandma and other Davenports there. We were on the way home from Washington on little Kathy's first birthday. Yes, Paul's parents took me on this trip to see my grandmother. They were going to Canada so decided to take Kathy and me to Washington. They were always good to me and were great with their grandchildren.

On Kathy's second birthday I was in the hospital after having surgery. Kathy spent her birthday and many other days with her Grandma and Granddad Marvin. I'm sure my parents and sister Betty would have spent some of that time with Kathy. She was the darling of the family. My parents loved being grandparents as much as Paul's parents did. My sisters loved their role as aunts.

By this time my sister Donna was married and living in Los Angeles with her new husband. They were expecting their first baby by this time. Their baby was expected in September. I was expecting our second baby and she would be born in March of 1958.

We now celebrate another August birthday as our granddaughter Melissa Joy Golden was born August 16, 1988. She joined big sister Rebecca Jean Golden who was born four years earlier in September of 1984. Missy was born on Whidbey Island in Washington state and Becky was born in the Navy Hospital in San Diego. Their Daddy John Golden was in the Navy at the time.

It has been a blessing to be a grandmother and I have enjoyed spending time with Kathy and John's girls over the years. The girls are grown up now and Becky is a Mommy to Jacob who was born in December of 2010. They all live in Colorado.

My sister Donna became a grandmother six years before I did. Her first grandson, David, was born August 6th, probably in 1978. My sister Betty's first grandchild was also born on August 6th. Brittany is twenty one this year so she would have been born in 1990.

We have had other August weddings and birthdays over the years. Becky and Jay were married August 8th last year so they recently celebrated their first wedding anniversary. They had a sweet backyard wedding with their close friends and family. I'm sorry to have missed their special day. But Laura and I were at the restaurant with the family when they announced their engagement. Becky and Jay also came to San Diego for their honeymoon so we got to see the newlyweds.

So in August we have many birthdays to celebrate as well as wedding anniversaries to remember. There may not be any holidays in August, but we can celebrate life and love. The next month we also have many loved ones to remember. We are certainly blessed.

top photo- Caroline and Paul
next photo- Paul
last picture- Becky and baby Jacob

In Remembrance of Those Who Have Died in the Line of Duty

All too often we hear on the news that there has been another shooting in San Diego. Ordinary people enjoying a normal day get caught in the middle of gunfire and are seriously injured or die from their wounds. It has happened to elderly as well as the very young. I do not spend my days in fear as I walk to the bus or through different neighborhoods. We can't spend our life being fearful. But I can understand why someone would be fearful if they have been anywhere near someone who has been shot.

Again our city is mourning the loss of one of our finest. There have been too many police officers shot and killed in the line of duty. The list is long and another name will be added to a memorial this year. This weekend we lost San Diego police Officer Jeremy Henwood. Just last October we lost San Diego police Officer Christopher Wilson in another ambush. The Border Patrol has also suffered loss not too long ago. In 2009 Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas Jr. was killed while on patrol. And the list goes on and on. Oceanside lost two of their finest in recent years.

I especially remember October 12, 1954 when Coronado police Lt. Frank S. Greene lost his life during a traffic stop. Such things never happened in Coronado! We never heard of policemen being killed in San Diego. The last one that had happened in San Diego county had been in 1933 when a San Diego police officer had been killed. Coronado's Frank Greene was a neighbor of Paul's family on Pomona Avenue. He lived right next door to Paul and his family. He had a wife and teen age son. His son Craig was in my sister's class at Coronado High School. Alice Craig Greene, Frank's wife, was a well known mystery writer. Frank Greene had been a Coronado High School graduate and was a football star while in high school. He even played professional football.

Paul has stories to tell about his good neighbor. Frank taught Paul how to throw a curve ball. Frank also witnessed some of Paul's teen age adventures. One time in the middle of the night at, 2:00 A.M., Paul and a friend were fencing, or at least taking the stance of fencing, in the middle of the street outside of the Greene's home on the corner of 5th and Pomona. This friend happened to be a girl, the older sister of the girl that Paul really liked. Anyway they were having fun and not causing any trouble even though it was a strange hour to be goofing around. They were under the street light for any night owl to see. Paul saw that his good neighbor Mr. Greene was silently watching the show.

It was a shock to have a shooting in Coronado in 1954. It was a bigger shock for it to be someone that so many in Coronado knew. There was a big man hunt for the bad guys and many people have stories to tell of their experiences of that day. Some of my classmates shared their adventures of that day even fifty years later at our class reunion. I think some of them wanted to help catch the bad guys. We were seniors that year. Frank's son Craig was a junior when he lost his father. Our 1955 CHS yearbook was dedicated to Lt. Frank Greene. The dedication page reads--

In the praise of Lt. Frank Greene there just isn't enough that can be said of his loyalty, courage, devotion to duty and his service to his "home town." Through the thousands of peaceful nights while we slept, Lt. Greene cautiously and diligently made his rounds in his prowl car in search of marauders. To this departed former student of C.H.S. and a true friend to all we say thanks for a job well done. To the memory of Frank Greene we respectfully dedicate this 1955 Beachcomber.

To this day there is a picture of Frank Greene at the Coronado Police Department. Some time after the new police station was built in Coronado Paul and I decided to go inside and take a look. We especially wanted to see where Frank's portrait was hanging. We asked a policeman where it was and he graciously showed us. We had a very nice conversation with him and it turned out that his family had been our neighbors when we lived on Margarita Avenue and our girls were babies. They lived across the street from us. I had known his parents in those days of the late fifties. Coronado is a small town even if there are more people there now.

There is a Police Memorial at the Chula Vista police station. Paul and I took pictures  of it several years ago. I had especially wanted to see Lt. Frank Greene's name on the memorial. It was there along with all of those in San Diego county that had been killed in the line of duty. Sorry to say there will be more names added when we see it again.

As for catching the bad guys that ambushed Frank Greene, Paul remembers that it was someone that we had known who found the bad guys. His name was also Frank, another home town hero.

Old Time Friends

In my last blog post I mentioned my friend Betty Clark as we have known each other for many years. Laura and I got together with Betty and our friend Carolyn Moorhouse the other day at the Ferry Landing in Coronado. Betty and her family have history in San Diego. I think it was her grandfather that was the first doctor in the area where he lived, maybe National City. Her father and an aunt were professors at San Diego State College, now SDSU. Her father's class surveyed the mountain for the large S that remained there for many years. Maybe it was his class that put the first large S in place.

Betty's brother Ted Livingston and his wife were missionaries in Japan for many years. First Baptist in Coronado used to support their mission work long before I ever was part of the church. Betty lost her brother Ted the very same year that she lost her husband Buford, within a month or two of each other. Betty is headed to Washington to spend time with her sister-in-law. They will go through Ted's things together. Then Betty plans to go to eastern Washington to see more family including her son and his family.

Carolyn and her husband John are probably the only ones left in the church that remember Betty from her time at First Baptist in Coronado. There is possibly one other person that would remember the Clarks. Betty's husband was our pastor in 1966 and 1967. I told more about them in my previous post. Everyone else there now would have come to our church since those years in the sixties. Carolyn and her husband were there when the church was founded sixty years ago. They remember the days of meeting in the VFW hall on Sunday mornings. They had to clean up the place for church after whatever took place on Saturday evenings. It was early in the fifties that the current church was built. I remember visiting there sometime before I ever got married in the early fifties. Paul and I joined First Baptist in 1961 when we were young parents.

Carolyn's husband John was born in China as his parents had business there. They were from England if I remember correctly. They came to Coronado when John was a young teenager. John's father was on business abroad when he became a POW during World War II. Actually the family saw the beginning of the war when Japan invaded China while they still lived there, way before Pearl Harbor ever took place. John was anxious to join the Marines as soon as he was old enough to do so. It took him a while to be able to though. He finally succeeded and soon went to war. He was injured in Okinawa and received a Purple Heart. Eventually John was able to be at the place where his father had been held prisoner and he was there when his father left the prison. John has written his story in book form and I got to read it. I am not good on all details, but I think I have a pretty good thumb nail sketch of his story. John can say that he saw the beginning of the war as well as the ending of the war.

Carolyn and John are both graduates of Coronado High School, as are Paul and me. Carolyn was a majorette for CHS. Paul had a newspaper clipping for many years showing Paul and his sousaphone and Carolyn and her baton, together on the front page of the paper. The high school band was greeting the Valley Forge aircraft carrier as it was arriving at North Island. Paul has misplaced this important news clipping after saving it for many years. Maybe he will find it again someday.

Carolyn's cousin Phyllis was one of my classmates in high school. She was one of my friends and hosted one of my bridal showers. She lived in a house that would have been about where the Lutheran Church is now. I was totally surprised when I got to her house and my friends were there to give me a shower. I pretty much guessed I was having a bridal shower when it was at my grandmother's house. It was family and close neighbors at that shower. My aunt or sisters put that shower on. But the shower at Phyllis' house was a total surprise. Her mother probably helped put that party together. I last saw Phyllis at our fiftieth high school reunion.

I got to know Phyllis' mother quite well when we joined the Baptist Church. We were both active in the women's missionary work. I also got to know Carolyn's mother as she was active in the women's work too. She was one of the founders of First Baptist, Coronado, a charter member. I guess Carolyn and John were charter members too. They were married in First Baptist Church of San Diego before our church was started. We were an outreach of the San Diego church. It used to be downtown for many generations but is in another area now. We used to go to events in the downtown location over the years.

This history can get wordy so I will not go into any more details. It all started with remembering old time friends and all of our connections to our past. There was a reason the Lord led Paul and me to our little Baptist Church in Coronado. We heard the message we needed to hear. We had some wonderful men of God who touched our hearts with God's Word. When we were first in the church we had Pastor Lyon. He was a dear man of God. When we first started going to the church there were visiting evangelists that attracted us there. They came about once a year and we appreciated them. After Pastor Lyon we had Pastor Bruce another dear man of God.  We loved their wives too. They ministered to us in a heartfelt way.

Paul and I had been in the Methodist Church when we got married in 1954 and when our first three babies were born. We made many friends and happy memories there as young people, but the time had come for a change. Our lives are forever changing.

One thing remains the same and that is God's Word, His truth does not change.
"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever." Hebrews 13:8

More Coronado Memories

No sooner was I finished with my last blog post about Coronado than I thought of more things to share. I know I can get redundant, repeating myself, but I also don't want to forget anything.

Yesterday Laura and I were walking down an alley in Coronado which made me remember several things. I remember when not all of the alleys were paved. It took a long time for all the alleys in Coronado to be paved. Laura even remembers that some were not paved when she was young. I assume they are all paved now. Many communities still have unpaved alleyways. We don't even have alleys in the area we live in.

Our last place of residence in Coronado was on Olive Lane, an alley. It is an interesting alley, shaped like a T, with little cottages facing the alley. There are other interesting alleys especially named such as Adella Lane. Paul and his family lived on Adella Lane in the little house they built before they built their larger home in front, on Pomona Avenue. They lived on Pomona Avenue when I met and married Paul. That is the house that our children remember.

Another memory that was triggered while walking in the alley is a faint one from my childhood. I know it is true because the subject came up a couple of years ago while visiting Paul's brother Charlie and cousin George. The conversation starts with, "Do you remember the alligator in Coronado?" I guess this was a conversation starter during several gatherings that year. Yes, I do remember the alligator. As children several of us looked over the tall fence in an alley to get a good look. It had a nice pond and was securely enclosed in the yard. I wonder how many years it was there.

When my children were young the talk of the town and in the Coronado Journal was the cougar. One family had a real live cougar. I think one of our children knew someone from that family. She may have been in Bill or Griff's class. Paul wrote about the cougar in one of his many letters to the editor. I still run into articles about the Coronado cougar.

When I was young our family raised chickens in Coronado. I remember having an incubator to keep the young chicks warm. They grew fast and my parents sold them as fryers. Yes, Dad had to butcher them. He was not a farm boy, but he learned to do this. My mother was a farm girl and knew how to clean them so they could be eaten. Some grew to be hens and provided eggs. One was our pet and we were attached to her. She is the subject of one of my favorite stories.

When Donna was ten years old she was the first one in our family to fly in an airplane. She flew to Washington state to spend the year with our grandparents on their farm. She went to help them with their chores. I'm sure it was more beneficial to my sister as she received many valuable lessons from our grandparents. There were eggs to gather and lessons learned in the kitchen as well as the barn. There were also Bible lessons to learn.

I mention this story as it leads to the chicken story. In the spring of 1949 Mom, Dad, Betty and I decided to move out of our grandparents' home on Third and F in Coronado and head to the farm in Washington. This meant finding homes for several pets. We decided to take Susie Q, our pet hen, with us on the trip. I also had Mac, my turtle, along for the ride. Our car was loaded with all our worldly goods as well as our family and pets. We had things piled on top of the car and in the large trunk. Betty and I shared the back seat with Susie Q and Mac. Susie was in a suitable box and safe for the journey. She laid two eggs on the trip, and we always said one of them was while we were crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. Maybe that was so.

You can picture us being quite the sight for sore eyes. Before heading north we stopped at our dentist's house as he and his wife were friends of ours. Mom and Dad had done a lot of painting for them. His wife said that her cousin's husband was a pastor in Washington. Can you imagine the surprise when we went to church that first Sunday we were in Washington and the cousin's husband was the pastor at the little church that my grandparents always attended. He had even baptized my sister during the time she had been with our grandparents. It is a small world.

Later that year, right after Christmas, we headed back to California. We left Susie Q on the farm, but my turtle came back to California with us. I have written about this eventful year several times so will not go into more detail about all that happened.

Fast forward to the sixties and we meet up with the pastor from my grandparents' church again. Paul and I were going with our children to First Baptist Church in Coronado. In 1966 we had a new pastor and his family at the church. You guessed right. It was the same pastor as I mentioned before. He had been at the Logan Heights church in San Diego for years and was happy for the opportunity to move to Coronado. To this day his wife Betty is one of my good friends. They were not in Coronado long, but lived in San Diego for many years. Four years ago they moved to Texas to be near family as they were getting on in years. Pastor Clark went to be with the Lord several years ago and it is good that Betty is near her family.

Yesterday Laura and I met Betty in Coronado along with another good friend from so many years ago. Betty is visiting friends in San Diego and then is headed to Washington to spend time with family. This was my second opportunity to see Betty since she moved to Texas. So Betty, Carolyn, Laura and I spent time together at the Ferry Landing in Coronado yesterday enjoying getting caught up on family news. We could have talked longer but everyone has a full calendar. These are precious moments in time. Oh, Betty is 90 years old now, or will be in December. She could pass for a much younger lady. Except for Laura I was the youngest of the bunch. I will be 75 in December. Just a kid, ha ha.

Since I mentioned the Ferry Landing I will mention the old ferries. Until the bridge opened in 1969 we had the large car ferries between Coronado and San Diego. They went from the foot of Orange Avenue to where Sea Port Village is now. We could go across in our cars or as pedestrians. It did not cost much and was a break from the trials of the day. Sometimes as pedestrians we would go back and forth without paying any extra. It was a time to feel the breeze from the bay and look for an occasional porpoise near the ferry. The San Diego skyline was different then too.

When Griff was a cub Scout we had an opportunity to go with his fellow scouts and their families on a whale watching trip out of the Coronado Yacht Club. This was the first time that I can remember going out in the ocean. We enjoyed whale sightings and a relaxing time on the water that morning. Since then we have gone on several whale watching day trips. Another fun trip is the Harbor Cruise around the bay. We have done that a number of times. We have taken friends and family over the years. We like the two hour cruise rather than the shorter cruise.

When I was in fifth grade my friend  Georgette and I spent some time hanging around the yacht club and someone gave us a short jaunt on his sailboat. That really caught on with my friend as she continued to be enamored with boating over the years. I remember one summer I spent a very long day with her at the beach and got very sunburned. We all have to learn the hard way to be careful in the sun. Another time, with other friends when I was fifteen, I spent a day sailing in the bay to the cove which is now part of the State Beach. It was another long day in the sun and another bad sunburn.

My children had their bad sunburns too. The sunburns were so bad they maybe needed medical care. They became very cautious after that. Paul has always been cautious since he was a redhead with fair skin. Kathy is very fair too so has always had to be careful. The other three are the ones that got the bad burns that I mentioned. I remember my sister Donna getting a bad burn or two also.

One time when I was thirteen my friend Georgette and I were walking our dogs on the beach and they got tar or some kind of oil on their paws. It was impossible to get off them. We tried alcohol if I remember correctly. It really hurt their poor little paws. That is a not to do ever again experience.

When I was in sixth grade I spent a lot of time at the Coronado stables. Yes, Coronado had stables. They were near Forth Street, near the North Island gate. There are houses there now which are part of the Country Club Estates. There used to be a golf course on that side of town west of Alameda Blvd. As for me spending time at the stables, I never rode any horses there. I liked a boy that was there. I spent a lot of time with Penny that year too. I'm sure she went to the stables with me. This was not long before our family left for Washington in 1949.

That is also the year that I went on a first date to the Village Theater in Coronado. The Village would have just been two years old at that time. Nicky is the young man who took me to the movies that time. I even remember that we saw "The Three Musketeers". Nicky also spent time at the stables. He was not the one that I had my eye on at the stables though. I liked a boy named Paul. But he preferred that I would turn my attention to Nicky. It was all very proper sixth grade situations. Nothing improper occurred.

I always had another boyfriend as long as I can remember. Hotchy was a neighbor boy that I always knew. I really liked him and sometimes he liked me. One time he took me ice skating in San Diego. Even though I could roller skate I had no luck with the ice skates. I tried and tried to stand up and ice skate to no avail. Hotchy (Charles) lost patience with me and put me on the bus in San Diego with instructions of what to do to get home. I guess it only took one bus as that was no problem. But I misunderstood on when to put my coins in the fare box. I paid as I was getting off and the bus driver said that "It was about time that I paid." I did what I thought I was meant to do. That may have been the end of Hotchy for that year, but there were other years with times as his friend. Once I was in high school we never spent any time together. I often wonder where he is now.

We have a lot of childhood friends that we enjoyed time with for a period of time. Karen and Judy were good friends of my sisters and me. We spent much of our childhood playing with them, not always peacefully. Our imaginations were often in action when we got together. We planned plays or skits with them in their backyard. They lived next door to their grandparents and shared a large backyard with them. They had other relatives nearby too, much like us. We remember Karen and Judy having certain chores to do and their little house was very neat. Karen and Judy were both in the same graduating class as me. We graduated from Coronado High School in 1955. We did not really hang out together much after we were in high school though.

I enjoyed many friendships over the years and am always happy to see these friends again at reunions. One friend that I was close to in high school and for several years afterwards was Joan. I want to be in touch with her again. We have talked on the phone several times, but I never seem to follow through on getting together with her. I hope this will be the year. We are not getting any younger.

Madeline and I have remained good friends all these years. I am ever so thankful. We first met in third grade and we have each had a lot of friends over the years. Yet we have developed an even stronger sister bond as the years pass by. We are sisters in the Lord and that is one reason we have bonded. We are both silly together too. Wouldn't know we are elderly. That is for other people. Her mother could qualify, yet she is a young 94 year old. It is a blessing to have this mother in our lives.

My other mother Rosalie is also 94 years young and a blessing from the Lord. She was born in Coronado and has almost always lived in Coronado. Donna and I both adopted her as a mother. She was also a cupid for Paul and me. Rosalie's father was a Coronado ferry captain in years gone by. Such history our families share.

"More Coronado Memories" could go on and on, but this is time to close this post. There are always more things to write as they come to mind. I think of them faster than I can write. Sometimes they flit away before they reach the keys. See you the next time I sit here. Hugs  :)