Background Information

Background Information





Here is an overview of our lives. This is to help you have a timeline, to follow, so you will know better, what i am talking about, when I tell of the events in my families lives.





Mom and Dad had 12 kids in this order: I am not absolutely sure of the years they were born, but most of us are between 12 months-2 years apart.


mom and dad were married about 2 years before their first son was born.





Robert Henry Jr. born : Aug. 25,1929, died Sept, 2007 . As far as I know Robert lived on the Ranch until he was 16 or 17 and got a job in Korbel with the Simpson Timber Company working in the mill.





Dorthy Lee, Born August 1931: she died in a house fire up on the ranch when she was nine months old. Dorthy and I had the same hair and eye coloring.





Vern Carlyle Born Oct 16 ,1936 . Vern was given Grandma Rachel's maiden last name for his middle name. He looks identical to dad, only taller and slimmer build. He was born 5 years after Dorthy died.


I believe the sadness that surrounded the death of mom's first daughter, Dorthy, just put her in a real deep depression. I remember her being sad and talking about it even when I was already grown. Part of the reason, was that dad blamed mom for the fire.


No one really knew how the fire started, everyone was up at the barn milking cows when it happened, and Dorthy was asleep in her crib. It was one of those really hot days in July.


The house was built by dad's father and mother, and was where he and his 3 sisters were born. It was down by the orchard, where the cherry tree is.


It was a two story building, and had a garage with 2 automobiles in it that also burned up. Dad did not believe in putting money in the bank, so all his money was burned up as well. They lost everything his mom and dad had worked for.

We used that area for a dump for all the tin cans and stuff when I was growing up.


Grandma Rachel was still living with them, at the time of the fire.

After the fire they lived in the barn, and then build a little tiny one room building at the top of the orchard to live in. Its at this time that Grandma Rachel went to live with aunt May in Eureka.


They then build the little one room cabin, that Marvin has since, moved up by his trailer.



Everyone lived in the cabin until around the time I or Lyle was born. The cabin was connected to the woodshed, and it had another room on it mom used as a kitchen. Most of the kids slept in the woodshed/kitchen area.


Then about the time Lyle or I was born, dad had build the house where I grow up .


He actually build it as a shed for his trucks, but mom was tired of living in a one room cabin, and insisted on using it until he got something else build to house the family and all us kids.



Dad worked on the house we were suppose to live in, for years, and never got it finished. He had so many other building he had to put up first to house his cars, trucks, and tools. The new house just kept being put off.


(You boys made a film in that house.. remember? The couch with the dust, and the old newspapers. Well that was suppose to be our house. )


Next born:


Ramona Ellean, Jan 11, 1938,


Ruby Ileane Oct, 30, 1939


Wendell Milton Aug, 5, 1941


Cyril Dean, Aug 15, 1942


Marvin Brice May 23, 1944


Lyle Meredith July 16, 1947


Deloris Arlene Nov 14, 1949


Delos Lance May 3 1952


Marcia Ranee Oct 10, 1954


Mom had one more girl, Theresa Lynn , I don't really know her real last name, as she uses McGaughey. she was born 1958 ( mom and dad had separated, and we went to live in Reading California to be by moms sister Lola.
Theresa's dad was a fish salesman. Mom later found out he had 2 wives between Eureka, and Redding, and was working on her to be his third. I remember him as very charming, likable and nice to us kids.)


Mom had tried to get a divorce from dad for years, and the court wouldn't allow it, as dad didn't want it.
Back then it was much harder to get a divorce than it is today. All dad had to say was he didn't want a divorce, and no divorce would be given.


Dad had blamed mom for Dorthy's death, and that was the beginning of the end of any Love that was in the relationship. Then in 1949 dad started listen to the World Tomorrow program, and taking the literature. Instead of dad learning to be more loving and kind, he became more mean. He had found out he was the boss, and God said so. also you have to know that , in dads day, the wife was a possession, not a person. She could be treated any way he wished, and no one would say it was wrong.

Dad was an only son, and his mom had to rely on him to help with the ranch, as his dad had died when he was only about 9. He was used to getting his way, and not very good at being understanding of any ones feelings. It was his way or the Highway.

Romona remembers dad, as "just mean and hateful".

He would quote scripture to us all the time. He yelled at us all the time. He told us we were worthless, and would go to the lake of fire, because we were lazy.

I honestly don't think any of us were lazy.. but he would talk like that to us, to get us motivated to do more work, or faster work. He just didn't understand how to be a christian dad. He thought he was doing right. but in the end, he actually drove everyone away from him. Everyone except me.

I loved dad, and I always felt sorry for him, because everyone was leaving him. He yelled at me some, but I guess, I was able to just wave that off, as I thought he did that because he was lonely. I always tried to be a good girl, so as not to encourage his wrath.


When I was about 6 years old (1955-56) mom left dad, and took , Ramona, Ruby, me and Delos with her, to go live with Robert in Samoa. ( where the Samoa cook house is). She had to leave the boys with dad. She never went back. At the time she was pregnant with Marcia.


We moved from Roberts' house to another apartment behind the Eureka Jail, and lived there a few months and then we moved to a 4 plex on J street in Eureka, and I went to school in Eureka 2 years.



Ramona and Ruby took jobs working at Laziozes ( a sea food sorting house by the boat docks)in Eureka, and renting one of the other 4 plex apartments in that same building. Then we moved to Redding for about 2 years. We lived in 3 different places there before we moved back to McKinleyville.

Then we lived in an apartment, just behind the McKinleyville mall. From there I and my little brother Delos and sister Marcia, decided to go back and live with dad. I had just finished 5th grade.


Marcia was so young, that dad took her back to mom, so she was only up at the ranch for about 2 months. Marcia wet the bed at night, and dad didn't like that one bit.

I was the only girl at home ( the ranch), and about 10-11 years old. I had all the cooking, cleaning, washing, canning, and all things, girls do.. plus the helping with the cows, ect.



I really liked living at the Ranch and didn't mind the work. It was home, it was safe, and we had food every day to eat. We also had our family pride of owning our own land and house.

During the time I lived with mom in Redding, Eureka, and McKinleyville, there were times we were very hunger. There was a stretch of time I remember just having only one meal a day. It would usually be our noon meal. I don't remember ever having 3 meals a day. I remember going to bed with my stomach hurting, because I was hunger. This was the main reason I wanted to go back to the ranch. We always had food on the ranch.

I prayed so many nights that mom and dad would get back together again, and I would cry myself to sleep many nights because I wanted us to go back home. I was young and didn't understand the complexities of adult relationships.



I am not sure when Vern left the ranch, you will have to ask him, but it was some where around the time before or after mom left.

Wendell and Cyril left together. I think they were 15-16 years old. Usually the boy all left as they got old enough to work at the Simpson Timber Company. Simpson turned a blind eye to their ages, because they knew the McGaughey boys would work, and work round the clock, without complaining.

Marvin and Lyle were still on the ranch when I returned with Delos and Marcia. I was about 10 or 11, and that made Lyle about 12, and Marvin about 14. They left together and went to Fieldbrook and stayed with Vern and went to high school.

Marvin only went to his second year, and quit to work in the mills. Lyle finished school. He was the first McGaughey to finish high school, I was the second one to finish high school. We two are the only original McGaughey kids to finish High school. I so badly wanted to go to colledge. I worked hard and got really good grades, but dad wouldn't let me go, because he said, I was a girl , and the only thing a girl needs to do in life, is get married, and have babies, so she didn't need any more education than that.

During 8Th grade, I realised that Dad was not going to let me go to high school, so I got my grade school teacher, Mr. Kinster, to talk to dad. He told dad that if I didn't go to high school the state would come and take me away from him.

Delos left the ranch when he was about 15-16. I don't remember who he moved in with, but think it was Wendell. All of the boys lived up in Fieldbrook, close to Vern and Robert, as they had the land up where Vern owns it now, and the rest of the land there was owned by our cousins. Well most of it anyway.

I hope this helps.. love to all ... mom

Haying Season

The other day I got a request from Mark to tell the story about Ramona falling out of a Tree. I wasn't there when that happened, so i called Ramona for the details, to make sure that the version I pass on would be correct.. But she denies it happened to her, but instead happened to our brother Cyril Dean McGaughey. He died in 1966 0r 67. I plan on writing about it, but it will have to wait until i talk to Marvin or Lyle, as one of them was the one that I think I got the story from.
Today's post will be about another event, I hope you will find interesting.


Haying Season

This was a typical summer haying season, for us on the Ranch.

During the summer starting in June.
We worked hard in cutting the fields surrounding our home, the orchards, and the top field where Marvin has his work shed, now. These fields were always done at the same time.
Dad would drive the tractor with a cycle on it, and cut the tall 2 or 2 1/2 foot grass. We kids had to follow the tractor around and around the field and pick out thistles and daisies and anything else that would not be good for the cows, and throw the stuff we found, over the fence. As we got closer to the middle of the field, we carried a gunny sack with us to put the thistles and daisies in which meant we had to carry, or drag that sack along until it was full, and then take it to the edge of the fence and empty it out on the other side. When the older kids was home one or two of the kids would follow the tractor, then next time around a couple others would go, giving us some time to rest. When all the boys had finally left the ranch, I follow the tractor all day long, by myself and did it all with no one to help.
After the grass was cut, Dad would let the hay dry for about a week. Then one of us kids, when we were tall enough to ride the big iron rake, would ride on the rake behind either the Little tan, Massey-Ferguson Tractor, or the big red Case Tractor. When everyone had left the ranch, I was the only one left to do this.
Dad would attach to one of the tractors, the hay rake with its big 3 foot iron wheels, and C curved Iron tongs, that spanned about 8- 10 foot across, and it had a big iron seat to sit on, with no padding and the seat rim was beveled so you could hang on to it. This was not an easy ride and the rake weighed about 1000 lbs and had no shocks, and it jerked as it hit gofer holes and dips in the fields.
On the first trip around the field, the tongs on the hay rake would gathered the hay and dad would holler out,"TRIP", and we would stomp on the lever to release the hay. Ever 50 feet or so we would stomp on the rake leaver, and make a row of hay.
We would ride around and around the field all day, and every time we would come to where the row was we would then trip the rake again. We only stopped to remove something or to adjust something on the tractor, but no breaks were even considered. You were on that rake until dad stopped and that was that. Dad would work from morning till milking time, or until the job was done. That is just the way it was, when you are farming, as you had to get it done before the rains.
Rain on dried hay, could ruin the crop, and cause it to mildew.

The hay was what we had to feed the cows with, when they came into the barn to be milked. One of the things you must do, is have a good supply of hay, as most of the time in the winter, the grass was so short that the cows really didn't have enough to eat and relied on the hay to get them through until spring.
We had milk cows and they were what we called, " hay burners".

After the hay was made into rows, then we had to take a pitch fork and a hand rake, and go out into the fields and put them up in "shocks". ( a shock was a jelly bean shaped mound of hay ). there is a right way to make a shock and a lazy way to do it. Dad always said I made the best shocks.
A good shock could be lifted with a pitch fork and toss onto the hay truck, in one try. In other words, when it was being lifted, it wouldn't fall apart.
Everyone, including mom would have to help with the "shocking". We could usually get it all done in about 1-2 days.
When the boys had all left the ranch, I and dad tried to do the "shocking" by ourselves, but it was way more than just the two of us could do, and there was always the threat of rain. So dad would go down town and tell the boys to come and help.
Usually we could count on Vern, Wendell, Cyril, and Lyle. When Marvin wasn't in the Army he would make it too. They would all get together and come, and so that was a real relief to me, and for at least 1-2 days, it was nice to have them all there again, and be working together, like old times.

The next step in haying, was to get the hay truck with its racks and one person would slowly drive, two people would toss the shocks on the truck (one on either side) and one person would be in the bed of the truck to load. The loader was sometimes, me. I was too short to toss the shocks over the racks of the truck, and the boys all fought for the right to drive the truck. When I was too young to do the loading, I was cleaning up after the shocks had been lifted onto the truck. which meant that when the shock was lifted onto the truck, I had to rake that spot clean where the shocks had been and that hay was also tossed onto the truck. If that shock wasn't made right, the raker had a lot of work to do to clean up the scattered hay.
This is why I learned to make the "shock", right!
After the truck was loaded as high as it could safely go, we would all ride on top of the hay to the barn. The truck was parked in back of the barn. We had a dairy fork, that was attached to the inside of the barn, on a long track. The fork was lowered to the hay on the truck and dad or one of the boys would set the fork into the loose hay as far down as it would go, and lock the levers on the side of the fork.
At the other end of the barn, we had a old flat bed ford truck, and we hooked a rope to the truck and backed it up the hill about 100 feet or so. the rope would pull the dairy fork up into the barn, with its load of hay. Dad would be inside the barn and when the hay had glided across the track, to where he wanted it dropped, he would yell out, "Whooowe". One of us kids would stand outside the barn and yell at the driver to stop the truck. Then one of us kids on the back of the barn would be holding a long rope attached to the dairy fork, and pull it really hard to trip the hay, so it would fall into the barn. This was repeated until the truck was empty, then back out into the field we would all go to get another load of hay for the barn.
Ever year at the end of the haying season, when that last load of hay was finally put in the barn, we would all take turns tying to climb the dairy rope to the top of the barn, which was about 80 foot high. You couldn't use anything except you hands and your feet. you couldn't put you feet on the barn to help you.. so it was a challenge. I think it took most of us several years to be able to accomplish this. I don't remember who all was finally able to do this but I was the only girl in the family that could.
There was a lot of pride in the family, if you were a hard worker. It was expected that you would work all day and into the evening with little or no breaks. We would take jars of water with us to drink, but wouldn't have anything to eat until we stopped for the day, which was usually after cow milking time.

Eating off the land

Eating off the Land

As a kid living up on the ranch we all had lots of work to do and that helped us feel like we were needed and everyone counted. No one was useless, as all of us had work that had to be done in order for the family to survive.

We had plenty of interesting things to do and see. I really loved my life living up there. It was a peaceful place with so many things to explore.
I remember sometimes, while my little brother Delos and I were going to get the cows, or just exploring, we would stop at a hazelnut tree and eat some of the nuts.
Those things were really good eating, but they were a lot of trouble to get to.
They have a green soft covering with little tiny stickers, and when you pick them, the little stickers, sort of stayed in your finger tips.
My little brother Delos would get me to pick him some and peal off the outer covering.
He would put the nut into his mouth and bite on it to open it so he could eat the nut meat inside.

All of us kids cracked nuts with our teeth, and I don’t remember any of us had any broken teeth from opening nuts this way.

Many times on our trips to do something, like getting the cows, or getting the firewood for the house, we would go find a bush with some kind of berries to eat. We had a lot of Himalayas, which are kind of like black berries, only they have seeds and are bigger and rounder.
We would find huckleberries, which were red and small, but really good.
We also found raspberries growing along the roadside on our way home from school, I especially liked those.

The Secret

This is a story about my brother Delos and I. We were about 9 and 11 at the time. His full name is Delos Lance McGaughey. He has one son that carries his name. He died in 1970. He wasn't just my brother he was my first, "best friend ".


The Secret


One very cool fall Sunday morning, after the chores were done, Delos went off to explore in the woods by himself.
He was gone all morning, and when he returned back home that afternoon, he had something wrapped up in his shirt.
I asked him what he had in his shirt. He said, “If I show you, will you promise not to tell dad because it has to be a secret?”, and of course, I promised.
Delos carefully opened his shirt up, for me to peek inside. He had found and caught a small chipmunk.
The chipmunk didn’t try to get away, and we just observed it for a few minutes.
Its tail would switch back and forth, like animals will do when they are really agitated. It had somehow been on the ground and had been hurt or possible sick. We kept looking at it but nothing seemed to look like it was broke, or anything.

Usually, a wild animal will bite you if you do catch them, but this one didn’t attempt to bite him or run away. Delos felt that something was wrong with it and he needed to protect it and help nurse it back to health again.
He figured that, if he caught it, he could make it his pet.

This was something all of us kids did at one time or other. We even had little homemade cages for the small things we would catch and bring home to make into pets.
One time we had found a baby fawn, and one of the boys brought it home, and we took care of it and eventually it got big and left us to go back into the wild.

Well anyway, this chipmunk was now destined to be Delos's new pet. He didn’t want me to tell dad, because he didn’t like it when we would get wild animals and bring them home. He said they usually always would die, and he was right, but all of us had to try.

Delos decided that he wanted to keep the pet chipmunk in his room, which was not allowed. Dad wanted us to keep all wild animals outside, and for a very good reason.

Anyway he got an empty Shredded Wheat box and put some cotton from an old mattress, in it.
Now Delos figured, his pet chipmunk had a wonderful bed to recover on, and this box was small enough to fit nicely under your his bed, and it had a lid that could be closed, but the ends would still let air in.
Delos was really a fairly neat person. He made his bed almost ever day. So he was sure the chipmunk would be very happy there.

We all went to bed that night and in the morning Delos had observed the chipmunk and told me that it must have been really tired, because it was still sleeping. He had left some pieces of bread in the box for the chipmunk to eat, so he figured it would do just fine until we got back from school.

I am not sure just how long that chipmunk “slept” but it was a day or two
.
That next night when I went to bed I noticed some fleas in my bed. I guess I never really thought too much about it, and just killed the ones I saw, and went to sleep.
In the morning, we all hurried around and did our chores, and got ready for school.
Delos was in such a hurry, that he forgot all about his new pet.
We came home from school and was busy with chores again, and never even gave our new house pet, any thought whatsoever.

What happened later that evening was something I will never ever forget.

We kids had gone to bed around 8:30, just after the World Tomorrow program on the radio was over.
I noticed quite a few more of those nasty fleas in my bed; I killed them, climbed into bed, blew out the lanter, and snuggled under the covers for a good nights sleep.

Around 10:30 p.m. I heard Dad in his bedroom.
His bedroom was an L shaped room, and his bed was at one end of the L and Delos's bed was at the other end of the room, with a blanket drawn across the room, so he could have his own space.
Dad was stomping around and hollering at the top of his lungs. He was as mad as I had ever heard him.
He ended up waking everyone up, and we had to go see what was causing all this hollering.
I grabed my flashlight, and jumped out of bed and went and stood outside their bedroom door and asked Dad, “What’s the matter, are you O.K.?”

He loudly hollered, “Don’t come in the room, I have fleas in my long johns, I have fleas in my bed. How in the world did they ever get in my long johns, now I have to take them off and pick the fleas out?”

I am not too sure exactly what all dad said to Delos, but I do know that he was in a whole pile of trouble.
He had that chipmunk under his bed, and it had died. When the chipmunk’s body cooled off, those fleas ,that are on all wild animals, went looking for some more warm bodies to feed off us, and that was us!

Dad was boiling mad at us. He didn’t care that it was 10:30 at night, and it was pitch black outside, he made us take that died chipmunk right back where Delos had found it, which was over at the prairie in the trees close by my favorite Rock.

We were lucky he wasn’t going to give us a good hard beating.

I was scared to death of the dark, and I didn’t like the idea one bit, I was pretty mad at Delos and Dad for putting my life in danger like this, because we could get eaten by a mountain lion or something.
Delos wasn’t really afraid of the dark, but he knew that there were animals out at night looking for food. He grabbed his flashlight, and the shredded wheat box with his dead chipmunk in it, and we headed up the hill to return it to its home.

I was mad at him, but mostly I was afraid.
I remember telling him he better help me pray that no mountain lion kills us, and he better never, ever ask me to keep a secret for him again.
I think we ran and prayed all of the way there, and am absolutely sure we ran and prayed all the way home.

the Old Rooster

I was about 5 or 6. Mom and dad were still together and everyone from Vern on down was still living at home.

On the ranch there was always plenty to do. Dad always said if we were not working, then we were Idol, and that made us Idolaters, which was totally against Gods way of life.

Dad didn't really know too much about what some terms in the Bible meant, and mostly came up with his own ways of figuring things out, and like a lot of people in his day, he treated kids, like they were adults.

Well every family of any size, usually has one kid, or two, that just doesn't like to work. Manual labor type work, that is.

In our family that was your uncle Wendell. He is about 2 years older than uncle Marvin.

Our 12 cows had to be milked ever evening about 6 pm and every morning about 6 a.m.

It was always one the kids that had to go, find where they had wondered off to, in search of good pasture and water. Sometimes dad would send 2 of us younger kids.

Usually the cows were over at the prairie... that was my rock area. Or they would go down the road to the old sow wash area... that was down the road from the house, and at the first fork in the road you make a hairpin curve and you go back about half a mile. That is also where we would go in the summer, to get water for the house.

Well this one evening was Wendell's turn to get the cows. He hated all that walking, so he would sometimes try different things to get out of it.

This particular time, he decided he would go over to the chicken coop, and make a hole in the fence, that kept them inside their chicken yard, and if they got out, he would be too busy chasing chickens to have to go get the cows. Well that was his plan...

Now for you to appreciate this story, you have to know that we only had one rooster in our chicken coop, with about 17-20 hens. We called him "The Old Rooster".. that was his name.

The Old Rooster, had more pride and more meanness in him than any thing I have ever seen in my life.

I think it may have been because, when Marvin and Lyle were bored, they would go over there and tease the poor fella just to make him jump at the fence with his spears, in a feeble attempt to attack them.

Well anyway, mom warned and warned, us all, time and again, to leave The Old Rooster alone.

Wendell never was very good at listening to good advise.

Vern was up on the hillside, just about a 100 feet from the chicken coop, and he was building himself his own cabin. He had all the poles set, and some of the siding on, but that was as far as he had gotten.

I knew what Wendel said he was going to do, so I stayed back behind the gate that goes into the yard of the house, and watched. Marvin and Lyle, were on the other side of the gate watching as well. We were all scared to death of The Old Rooster.

Well at 5 each morning and night, you could hear dad holler out one of our names, and then command, "time to get the cows".

It was about 4:50 pm when Wendell desided it was time to carry out his big plan. He loosened the chicken wire on the coop, stepped back a ways to wait for the chickens to come out.

Nothing happened.

He then went up to the the cage and rattled the chicken wire a little.

Nothing happened.

(dumb chickens didn't even know they could get out)

He started tossing rocks into the cage to scare them out. They fluttered and squawked and ran all over the inside of the cage.. but didn't seem to know they could get out.

by now Wendell is really mad at those dumb old chickens..

So he ran up to the cage to really rattle the wires and holler at the chickens, and .... swoosh.. quick as a flash,... The Old Rooster, came bounding out of that hole, running and hoping on both legs, feathers flying everywhere, his spures on his feet straight out after Wendell's legs. He ran faster than you would ever think a bird could go, squawking and hollering with all the meanness of Satan himself, right for Wendell. Wendell took off running as fast as he could go, hollering, "hold on ,hold on, don't hurt me, don't hurt me, help somebody help!", The Old Rooster chased him up the hill, over the road, and up the next hill, and The Old Roaster caught him just as he started to climbed straight up one of the poles that Vern had put in, for his cabin.

There Wendell hung, for dear life, as The Old Rooster spurred him with his claws and pecked him with his beak.

Wendell was glad he had on heavyweight blue jeans, that sort of protected him a bit.

We all just about split a gut laughing at him. Boy, that was the funnies thing you ever saw in your whole like. Wendell hollering at The Old Rooster, and begging him for mercy. Wendell stayed up that pole until one of the boys, ran and throw rocks at The Old Rooster, and another ran and got dad.

Dad was the only one that The Old Rooster would not attack.

Well , Wendell got a good beating for that dumb trick.

We all had to help get the chickens back in the pen, but Wendell had to mend the fence and he still had to go get the cows!

One Sabbath

This is for my David. He mentioned that he would like me to post some stories of when I was a girl .
Let me start out by saying, that we didn't tell a lot of stories when you kids were growing up. I guess I never thought any of you really wanted to have stories, as you all were so busy, just ...growing up.
I am very pleased that David has shown an interest... so here goes.. and if you all make comments, to let me know you at least read them, I will continue.

One Sabbath


I must have been maybe 4 or 5.
One fall afternoon, as the sun was reaching it highest point in the sky, I looked up to see some beautifully fluffy white clouds, just lazily coasting across the rich blue sky that rested over our wonderful peaceful Norther California ranch.
My brothers Lyle and Marvin had been playing inside the barn, that dad had built, some 30 years earlier. I contemplated going in and joining the fun, but I knew that if we got caught, Dad would really be mad at us. You see... it was the Sabbath, which meant we would not be doing any work on that day, except what was needed to take care of our milk cows, chickens and pigs. We were suppose to be resting. We could play, but not be too rambunctious.
I chose to stay where I was, Laying, on the side of the embankment resting and looking up at the clouds. I was just a stones throw from our barn.

I could hear my brothers jumping from the rafter in the barn, and knew they were landing in the loose hay, that was used to feed our cows, while we milked them.
They were only suppose to be in the barn, on the Sabbath, to cleaning it, after the cows had been milked, and had left their" gifts", as cows will do. So I knew they were being bad, but I was not going to be bad, I was going to be good.

Dad was in the house, laying across the foot of his double bed, and his feet propped up on the window sill. He was snoring full blast, so we knew he was not going to be up for at least another half hour.
The boys came running out of the barn.
Lyle was chasing Marvin.
No doubt Marvin had teased his younger brother, and that called for a good smack on the back, if he were to be caught.
Lyle did catch him and laid a big old smack on him, and he fell down in the dirt in the barnyard. That made Marvin mad and he got up and started chasing Lyle down behind the barn. That made me laugh, because marvin had cow poop on his clothes.
Lyle was a lot faster runner than Marvin, as Marvin was Pigeon-toed, and would stumble all over himself when he tried to run in a hurry.
Marvin finally gave up, walked back up the hill, and slid under the barbed wire fence, and sat down beside me.
Marvin told me he hatted Lyle, and wished he were dead. I told him.. "ya.. but you looked really funny when you fell down in the cow poop", and we both started laughing, and laughing.
Lyle was down behind the barn, peeking around it, to see where Marvin was and when he noticed we were laughing, he stared running toward us laughing too.
All was forgiven and everyone was friends again.

Tracy's 25th

Today I want to tell about my daughter, Tracy.

As in the past I have given an overview of the birth of each of my sons.

I will do the same for my only girl.

This wonderful event happened July 16th, 25 years ago.

It was a Sabbath, Larry wasn't feeling very good so I stayed home from church to be with him.

Larry and I were just resting for awhile. He started to feel better so we decided to take a walk down to lake La vista .

It was a nice day, a little hot, but the trees along the path offered much shade, and we sat on the lake side, observing the ducks. I could tell that my baby, was going to come soon, but didn't know if she was going to be born that day, or maybe the next. We weren't there very long and strolled back home. Larry was good company and kept my mind off of things.

Dad had taken the other 2 boys to church and returned.

I had just finished eating lunch when I really began to feel like this was going to be the day.

I mentioned to dad that I thought this was going to be it. Well, he had already decided he was going to take a nap, which was his regular way of doing on the Sabbath.

He went in to rest, the boys were playing, and I went into the living room to lay down for a while.

I wasn't there very long, and then I knew, this was not some small thing, that was going to go away.

I got dad up and told him we have to go to the doctor.

He sort of wanted to wait. I told him, NO we were not going to wait.

We got all the boys rounded up and in the car. We took them to Veda Mitchell's home here in Columbia and dropped them off.

We then headed down to Jefferson City, where our doctor had told us to meet him.

We walked into the hospital, and waited, then the doctor came and examined me, and told me we had better go on down to the clinic, in Tuscumbia, where we had arranged for this birth to take place.

I guess, at this point, dad was pretty excited, he actually can drive fast.. can you imagine that? The Doctor had a jeep he was driving, he flew past us going many more miles an hour than us.

On the way there, the pains had really picked up speed, and I hoped we would make it. After all the boys each took 17 hours to make their entrances. But I guess Tracy just wasn't wanting to hang out in a small, dark , damp place.

We arrived at the clinic, and I was put into the labor area, and examined again. I don't think we were there for more than an hour.

We had taken the Lamaze classes at the university hospitals and clinics, and so we were using all the techniques they taught us. Or I should say I was.

There was only the doctor, nurse, dad and I at the clinic. I really liked having no other emergencies taking place, and the quietness of the place. It was really nice.

Well, we finally went into the delivery room, and had one of those birthing chairs, that you sit up in, like a recliner, with a cut out area underneath. let me just say this, that is the only way to have a baby. it lets gravity help you. With each of the boys, I was laid flat on my back and had to actually push uphill.. to get them here. So the birthing chair is a real nice change. This was absolutely the easies birth ever. I was even telling the doctor jokes, and he was joking too. Dad was being a good support too. The birth was perfect.
Dad got to hold her first, then they gave her to me.
While I was having her, I thought "oh no, what if its not a girl, and its a boy", not that I wouldn't love it, its just that I never even considered it would be a boy, as I already had 3, and my church friends had given me a baby shower, and everyone bought girl stuff.

As it turned out, I had nothing to worry about, It was a girl.

The prettiest little person you ever saw. She had rosy cheeks, and such a quiet disposition.

I felt wonderful, and I wanted to get up and take a shower, but they made me stay in bed for an hour, and drink a 7 up. After that, I got up, took a shower, and dressed. Then I dressed Tracy in one of her little gifts; a pink gown, and wrapped her in a pink light weight blanket, and off we went to the car.

We stopped in Jefferson city to show John and Cherry and the boys, and they had fresh squeezed lemon aid for us to drink, then we heading home, stopping off to get gas, and met our neighbors that lived across the street.

Then we came to Columbia, and showed the boys, and then went to Grandma and Grandpa Trumbo's house.

They weren't there, so we waited. It was their wedding anniversary so they had gone out to eat. When they got back they were very happy to see their new little granddaughter.

Tracy shares her birthday with my brother Lyle, my brother-in-law, Bob, my nephew's first wife, Sharleen. I talked to my brother Lyle and he said to tell Tracy, "Happy Birthday".