Prelude to a Kiss, January 20, 2016

If you hear a song in blue,

Like a flower crying for the dew,

That was my heart serenading you,

My prelude to a kiss.

~Craig Lucas

Valentine's Day is Coming Soon. In a few short weeks we will celebrate Valentine's Day. I plan to compile a musical photo presentation to celebrate love in our family. I invite you to send me a photo of members of your family kissing, to be included in that presentation. 

It could be a dad's peck on a baby's cheek, a warm smooch on an unsuspecting ear, a familial peck on a grandparent's forehead, a warm kiss in a loving embrace, an old photo, a recent snapshot, etc. I think you get the idea. The possibilities are endless. Are you up to the task? Pucker up and give it your best shot. Have some fun. Be creative and send me your photo in an email before Valentine's Day.

Birthday Wishes to Dane and Nathan! Tomorrow, January 21, is the birthday of my cousin Dane Shepard and his son Nathan Ross Shepard who were born on the same day of the year. One would think that would be a highly unusual occurrence, since the odds of it happening are 1 in 365. It happened to Dane and Nathan, when the latter was born in 1996. Oddly enough it also happened to my brother Russ when his son Steven was born on Russ' birthday in 1990: twice in the Shepard family in 6 years! What are the odds of that happening?

Dane lives in New Castle, Oklahoma with his wife Cindy and daughter Kaylan, while their son Nathan will celebrate his 20th birthday tomorrow while in college in Florida. This first picture shows Dane and wife Cindy in a recent photo that Dane graciously sent me recently.

Dane: Yes, it's that time of year again for Nathan and me. We have had a very eventful year which has kept us busier than ever. Turning 65 is a milestone. You definitely know you are a senior citizen when you join Medicare and are eligible for senior discounts when you fly. I haven't slowed down at all and I'm grateful for the continued health to keep up with Nathan and Kaylan, and the rest of our extended family here. Cindy and I certainly enjoy the progress they are making.

Nathan continues to do well getting his business degree with an emphasis in behavioral science. He is in his third year at Florida College and plans to remain in Florida to attend USF for graduate work. He has managed to balance being in two performing groups, working part time, and dating while keeping up with his studies. Thanks for your continued work with an ever expanding family legacy. "Roots and wings" go well together. ...Gratefully, Dane

Nathan: Hey there! Thank you for the birthday wishes! It has been a little while since the family reunion in OK! I hope you are doing well! I will actually be at school in Florida for my birthday however my parents will be coming down the following week. I would like to give a warm hello to all the Shepard family and best hopes for a good year!

Happy Anniversary Havilah and Kevin. This Saturday, Jan 23, 2016, is the 6th wedding anniversary of Havilah and Kevin Wardle. Havilah is the daughter of my cousin Joan Shepard of Dixon, California and Art Colgain of Salt Lake City, Utah. She is also the niece of the aforementioned Dane and Cindy Shepard. Best wishes to Havilah and Kevin for a wonderful anniversary celebration.

Happy 90th Birthday Bernice Johnson Beckham! Also, best wishes go out today to Bernice Johnson Beckham of Mountain View, Arkansas who turns 90 years old today. Bernice is the first cousin of my mother Maida Gower Shepard. 

Bernice and Maida are among the last surviving grandchildren of my Great Grandparents Samuel Pickens Shannon and his wife Finetta Clementine Dearien. Bernice, who has lived her whole life in Mountain View, Stone County, Arkansas, is an important connection to that part of our Shannon and Gower families that have roots in the hills of Northern Arkansas that go back almost 200 years.
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Steve Shepard

Finding a Fallen Hero, October 3, 2013

Family isn’t something that’s supposed to be static, or set.

It’s always evolving, turning into something else.

~Sarah Dessen

I mentioned recently in this blog that a few weeks ago my mom and I visited her birth town, Mountain View, Arkansas. A genealogical trek like that is an opportunity to meet some relatives for the first time, to see where our ancestors once lived, to visit some beautiful towns or cities, and to be graveyard jackrabbits. This particular trip was all of that. And more.

Mountain View, Arkansas. We stayed in Mountain View with mom's first cousin Bernice Beckham. Mom and Bernice are both grandchildren of Sam and Finetta Dearien Shannon, early settlers in Northern Arkansas. While in Mountain View I was fortunate enough to meet several of my second cousins for the first time. One of them was Bernice's daughter Jana Richardson, CFO of a nearby health care facility who was exceptionally hospitable, even for Stone County, Arkansas. (See first picture of Bernice, Jana and Maida at the Shannon Family reunion.)

The Saturday evening of the reunion, Jana took it upon herself to drive us to a beautiful scenic overlook, which on this particular evening provided a remarkable view of the town. Jana made it clear that this was a special place, as she oohed and ahhed, revealing her affection for her hometown, where she has lived her whole life, where her mother has lived her whole life, where my mother was born, and where both my grandparents, Leroy and Nola Shannon Gower, were born and raised. It was a lovely sight as the setting sun allowed its evening glow to give Mountain View its best light.

After basking sufficiently in the view, Jana decided to show us the thing for which her town is most famous: music. Mountain View is known as "The Folk Music Capital of the World". (Google that phrase and Mountain View comes up every time.) Each evening during warm weather crowds of people gather in the middle of town and hear pickers and singers whoop it up and have a good time. (My guitar pickin' brother Darrell would be in "hog-heaven" -- an Arkansas phrase.) That Saturday evening we strolled through at least three different venues where Folk Music was on display to the delight of hundreds of spectators. I couldn't have imagined a better way to experience the heart of this historic town.

One of the music venues was the steps of the Stone County Courthouse, just a few blocks west of one of only two stoplights in the entire town. We listened for a while to some wonderful, heartfelt folk music, while children danced in front of the singers, putting their best skills on display without a hint of embarrassment. The talent of these young two-steppers made that evening all the more impressive. Clearly Mountain Viewers of all ages take their music seriously. This was small town America at its best.

Gone But Not Forgotten. As we moved along to another music setting we happened to pass by a memorial in front of the Court House that read In Loving Remembrance of Our Stone County Sons. (See second picture.) "I wonder if your uncle is listed here", I asked mom as we walked by. I had learned just a few months ago that Grandpa Gower had a brother, 3 years older than him, who died in World War I in 1918 at just 22 years old. It took but a moment to locate him in the second column of names, the third one down: Lloyd Gower. As that Saturday evening drew to a close, my connection to this small town was growing stonger than I had expected. 

A day or two later cousin Jana continued to practice her best Arkansan hospitality -- this time with husband Aubrey, also a Mountain View native -- when they guided us to a couple of the local cemeteries. One was Cooper Hill Cemetery, easily accessible about 9 miles west of town on SR66. It's a beautiful, grassy location, protected by several lazy cows, who lounged just outside the fence surrounding the graves. They stood as mindless sentinels, quietly suspicious of strange visitors like us, as they tail-slapped the flies off their backs, all the while remaining wary of us, as if we were grave robbers or dangerous hunters.

It was at Cooper Hill, under the careful gaze of those mindless sentinels, that we found the grave of WWI soldier Lloyd W. Gower (1896-1918). Although he died 95 years ago this week, his headstone is still fairly easy to read and continues to stand as a solemn reminder that we are descended from brave, sacrificial folk to whom we owe an immeasurable debt. 

At this beautiful burial ground we also found the graves of Lloyd's grandparents (my great great grandparents) Leroy and Ellen Taylor Gower, among the earliest Gower settlers in Arkansas. (See picture of Lloyd Gower's grave, top; and mom and me at Leroy and Ellen Gower's grave, bottom.)

It's not clear when I will ever return to Mountain View, Arkansas, but the few days we spent there in early September showed us that there is a family presence in that place -- among both the living and the dead -- that will ever be welcoming and hospitable. For countless generations to come, our family history in Stone County will be a touchstone from which to appreciate our proud Gower and Shannon heritage.
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Steve Shepard

The Arkansas Connection, September 5, 2013

Your past is just a story.

And once you realize this,

it has no power over you.

~Chuck Palahniuk

What a great experience the last few days have been in the town of Mountain View, Arkansas, where my Shannon and Gower ancestors had strong roots. For the first time my mom Maida and I attended the Shannon Family Reunion, held each year on Labor Day weekend in this historic town in Northern Arkansas. We stayed with mom's cousin Bernice Beckham, whose family graciously welcomed us. 

The first picture shows cousins Maida Shepard and Bernice Beckham side by side in Mountain View, the left half taken about 1940, the other half just last weekend.

1,700 miles separate Mountain View from San Diego, and in some ways it feels like a great distance, culturally, linguistically, and socially. But the feeling of family spirit this past week united each of us, whether Shannon kin from right here or from far away.

Mountain View, and Stone County in which it sits, is a beautiful place. I can understand why our Gower and Shannon ancestors settled here in the 19th century. Today the hills of Northern Arkansas are a wonderful vacation destination, and understandably so. Being here makes me appreciate even more the sacrifice and difficulty my grandparents experienced leaving here and settling first in Oklahoma and then in San Diego for the second half of their lives.

Shannon is the maiden name of my grandmother Nola Shannon Gower, who was born in Mountain View, and is where she met and married grandpa Leroy Gower in 1921. It is also where their first two children, Maida and Hank, were born in the early 1920s. Grandma Gower was not at the reunion, of course, having died in 2004. But I could feel her presence as I mingled among her many kinfolk.

Being in Mountain View gave us a chance to visit the final resting place of some of our ancestors, including my Shannon great grandparents Samuel Pickens Shannon (1859-1931) and his wife Finetta Dearien Shannon (1861-1960). Finding Gray Cemetery where they reside was an adventure in itself.

From Mountain View we headed west on AR 66 for a few miles and turned left at Happy Hallow Rd., which after just a few miles turned to dirt. After several more dusty miles we arrived at the Oyd Johnson farm and turned right on Bobcat Trail. In a phone call earlier that day, Mrs Johnson indicated it was the way to the cemetery. "If the sign is still there", she added.

As we slowly crept along Bobcat trail, we sought some sign, any sign, that a cemetery was nearby. But there was nothing. We did see an unlocked gate in the fence on the left so I got out of the car to investigate. Beyond the gate I saw some indication of faint tire tracks, but other than that there was nothing but bushes. 

After walking a ways I happen to notice a pile of stones just to my right. Kicking away some overgrown plants I drew closer and looked carefully at what appeared to be a grave surrounded by a small stone wall. To the left of that grave I noticed a flat headstone on the ground. I brushed away some leaves and uncovered a headstone that read "Finnetta Clemintine Shannon", with her dates on it. Her first and middle names were misspelled, but it was definitely her, my great grandmother. (see picture)

Next to her, beneath a badly weathered and barely readable headstone, was her husband of 50 years, the father of her 9 children, Samuel Pickens Shannon, my great grandpa. 

The joy of finding these two was tempered a bit by it being such an overgrown graveyard. They both deserve better. One could walk within a few feet of the place and not notice that they were there. As I carefully trudged around some more I counted 34 graves, only 4 of which had readable names on the grave markers. Many of them just had rocks for headstones. Nevertheless, to find Sam and Finetta was special. 

We drove the dusty road back to Mountain View with the sense that we had accomplished something important. The picture of our family's history was a little more complete.

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Steve Shepard