Shepard Family Update, December 11, 2009

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Happy, happy Christmas,
that can win us back
to the delusions of our childhood days,
recall to the old man
the pleasures of his youth,
and transport the traveler back
to his own fireside and quiet home!
- Charles Dickens

Hello Shepard Family and Friends,

Greeting to all of you from San Diego, where chilly, wet winter weather is preparing us for our celebration of Christmas.

With winter upon us, I thought it an appropriate diversion to think about warm summer vacations. I recently rediscovered some old family pictures that were taken during a camping trip over 50 years ago to Yosemite National Park.

Yosemite is a true national treasure and a place of many family vacations over the years. For many of you -- as for me -- it is a place of wonderful memories, a place where our families went tent camping or backpacking or day hiking or to attend Christian encampments or just to sight see.

The first picture I am including, taken in Yosemite in 1953, shows Eugene Shepard with the three children he and Maida had at the time -- me, Gary and Linda. In addition to the four people in this particular picture, our trip included Maida Shepard, and her parents Leroy and Nola Gower. Behind us in the picture is the old sedan that all 7 of us piled into, with the tent secured on top.

Select this link to see a slide show of other pictures of this same memorable vacation. Part of what makes the slide show pictures so interesting is that they were taken on what may have been my very first trip to Yosemite. The pictures may have been taken with our family's old "Brownie" box camera, which had a little trouble adjusting to bright light as you can see from the picture above. Mom, however, who took this particular photo and others in the slide show, seems to recall the pictures being taken with a Kodak Instamatic, which was quite an advanced camera for its day, and was all the rage at the time. In the summer of 1953 Eugene was 32 and Maida was 29 and was in the early months of her pregnancy with their 4th child Darrell. It is interesting to me to note that Eugene and Maida were exactly the same age then, that our son Nathan and his wife Chenda are now.

The second picture I am including today shows three children who, like the three in the first picture, are descendants of Will and Bura Shepard. These three are just about the same age as the three kids in the first picture. In this second picture, taken last year at Christmas time, are Ashlyn, Damian and Ciara Ortiz, children of Desiree and Jeremy Ortiz, and grandchildren of Kim Boyd Clark. They are among the GGgrandchildren of Will and Bura.

Have a great week getting ready for Christmas. As you take family photos this holiday season, email one or more to me so that it can be shared with the rest of your larger family.

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Steve