Shepard Family Update, September 5

Hello Shepard Family members and friends,

It is a beautiful day here in the mountains of Northern California: the birds are whistling, the squirrels are chirping, and the angled morning sunshine brings with it a warmth that suggests that the harsh heat of summer is behind us. Fall is not here yet, but it is certainly not far off.

200 years ago TODAY (Sept 5, 1808) Caroline Willliams was born. Caroline in my generation's great great great great Aunt; the sister of John Pouty Williams (who I mentioned a few months ago because he is one of only two 19th century relatives who lived into his 90s). Caroline Williams was Gram's (Bura Shepard's) great great aunt on her mother's side. Confused, yet? Keep reading. It gets better.

I mention Caroline Williams, not just because today is her 200th birthday, but because she reminds us of the immigration pattern of that part of our family. Her parents were born in the late 1700s back east (father in Virginia; mother in Pennsylvania); Caroline herself was born near Louisville, Kentucky; but as a child her family moved 150 miles northwest into Indiana (southwest of Indianapolis) and lived in that area for most of the 1800s. Gram (Bura Shepard) was born there in Indiana in 1896, but as a child her family moved southwest, almost 1,000 miles, to Beaver County, Oklahoma, and continued the family's westward migration that eventually took them to California.

Back to Caroline Williams: As a 16 year old girl, in August, 1825, in Washington, Indiana, Caroline married a 20 year old young man with the colorful name of Stockton Lockhart. He must have been quite a charmer, for later in 1825 they had their first child, a baby boy (oops!). They went on to have eight other children, the last one born when Caroline was in her mid-40s. What was it like to have been 16, then pregnant, then married, then a mother, in a small Indiana town back in the early 19th century? Those were the days of "shot-gun" weddings. Clearly Caroline and Stockton made the most of what their life decisions brought them. We come from courageous, flawed folks (just like us!), whose genes swirl within us still. Their stories we'll never know completely, but they are nonetheless part of the story of our lives. Happy birthday, Caroline.

I wish I had a picture of Caroline and Stockton to send to you, but alas, I do not. Back on June 20, I did sent you a picture of Caroline's niece, Callie (Caroline) Spear (who was named after her aunt Caroline Willliams; interesting, huh?). You can also see that picture on the June 20 posting of the family blog. That picture is as close as I can get, and is a picture at least taken during Caroline's lifetime.

What I am sending you is two pictures -- the first of which shows Thelma Boyd, the great great great niece of Caroline Williams Lockhart. The picture also shows Cindy and Steve Shepard, Maida Shepard, Terry Boyd, and Barbara Shepard. It was taken earlier this summer in Grants, New Mexico, when this group met one day for lunch.

This coming coming Tuesday, September 9, is the 158th Birthday of the great state of California. It also happens to be my 60th Birthday. I don't feel quite so old when compared to the age of California. Actually I am blessed by God to be turning 60 and still to feel as healthy as I do. I am also blessed to be in the good company of those in our family who also have birthdays this year that end in 0 -- whether 60 (Cindy and me) or 90 (Elmer) or 40 (Kerri) or 50 (Jeff) or 140 (Grandad William Shepard) or 200 (Caroline), or whatever age.

The second picture I am sending was taken 55 years ago at a family gathering in San Diego. It shows Gram and Grandad (Will and Bura Shepard), me in front of Gram, then Gene, Maida and Gary Shepard (who was not a happy camper this day!).

May all your days be filled with smiles!
- - -
Steve

Shepard Family Update, Aug 29

Hello Shepard Family Members and Friends,

Greetings on this Labor Day weekend! I hope all of you are able to be with some family or friends this weekend to celebrate the last holiday weekend of the summer season.

I am including two family pictures. The first is an old one (click on the picture to see a larger view) that Elmer and Thelma (two of the people in the picture) helped me to identify. This is what Thelma Boyd wrote:

"I just cracked up laughing when I saw this picture. I haven't seen that in forever. It was taken at Aunt Sadie's house in Elmwood, Oklahoma. I don't know the reason we were all there. The people: (from the left) Pat (Elmer) Getz and son Norman (the boy in front). Pat was married to my cousin, Alberta (Aunt Sadie Pruett's oldest daughter). Maybe Sadie is taking the picture. She's not in it. Then Glenn Barker (married to my cousin Gayle, younger daughter of aunt Sadie). Then Elmer with me (in front), Pauline holding Beverly, Eugene, Gayle with Rex (in front), Gram and Aunt Sadie (on the far right). Wasn't I cute? Just kidding, but I do think all of us little ones did look so cute. That made my day. Thank you!!!!!"

The heavy coats but bright sunshine suggest this picture was taken in the fall, maybe around Thanksgiving. Beverly, the baby in the middle, looks to be a few months old and was born in Two Buttes, Colorado in April, 1939. Will and Bura Shepard did not move their family to San Diego until September, 1940, so evidently the family was visiting in Elmwood, (Beaver County) Oklahoma. That's where Will Shepard's sister Sadie and her family lived, and where all of them had lived, until 1928.

Eugene and Elmer have "TB" on their shirts, which stands for Two Buttes, the tiny town in the Southeast corner of Colorado, where the family lived from 1928 to 1940. Eugene graduated from high school there in the spring of 1939 (just a few months before this picture was taken), and Elmer three years before that. Two Buttes was only about 150 miles from Beaver County, so it was not very far and the family went back for visits occasionally (when gas was only about 10 cents a gallon!).

The picture above is actually very good technically, compared to a lot of photos taken that long ago. It does a great job of capturing the mood and the feel of the people at that time. The family members have a tough look about them, even with their smiles. It definitely has the feel of a farming group that has seen some difficult times. It is a timely picture for this labor day weekend as it clearly shows that our family was a hard working bunch; even at family gatherings, overalls were common!

Happy 18th Birthday TODAY to Lyndsey Aquiningoc in Weatherford, Texas! She is the daughter of Kerri Aquiningoc,the granddaughter of Gary Shepard, and the oldest great granddaughter of Maida Shepard. The other picture I am sending shows Lyndsey with her mother Kerri and grandfather Gary, taken at the family reunion last month.
- - -
Steve

Shepard Family Update, August 22, 2008

Hello Shepard family members and friends,

The Shepard family news is coming to you this week from Las Vegas, Nevada, where Cindy and I are spending a few days with Nathan from San Francisco, and Jerry and Cathrina Clark from Lubbock, Texas.

I received an email recently from Kim that she talked to Dane Shepard who expressed interest in hosting a Shepard family reunion in Oklahoma next year. (Thanks so much, Dane!) He'd like to know when would be best for everyone. Would earlier in the summer be better or would you prefer later in the summer closer to Labor Day? Or would mid July like this summer be your preference? Please let us know by sending an email to me or to Dane or to both of us. We know it's a year off and most of you probably don't even know if you can make it, but if you can give us some idea of what time of summer is best, it will help in putting something together.

The first of the two pictures I am sending this week shows Mary and Darrell Shepard and their 3 children, Patrick, Rachel and Christopher (go Chargers!). It was taken at the 1995 family reunion in Anacortes. (click on the picture to see a larger view.)

The other picture was taken in May this year in Maui, Hawaii after Cindy, Barbara and I had driven the looong and winding road to the small historic town of Hana.

Our sympathies are extended to Mary Shepard whose mother Barbara Medina passed away Aug. 8 in Florida. She had been sick for a long time, but it is always difficult when one's parent dies. Our prayers and best wishes are with you, Mary.
--
Steve

Shepard Family Update, August 15, 2008

Hello Shepard family members and friends,

Happy 15th Birthday tomorrow to Linda Mae Dawn Shepard of Anacortes, Washington! Linda's was one of the smiling teenage faces at the family reunion last month and is the youngest grandchild of Maida Shepard. Her parents are Russ and Pam Shepard. See a recent picture of Linda.

Next Thursday would have been the 58th birthday of her aunt and namesake Linda Rae Shepard, who was a sister/daughter/wife to many of us, and who died in a car accident in 1971.

Our deepest condolences are extended to Jane Brock whose father Quay Hodge, passed away earlier this week in Lubbock, Texas at 92. You may recall he fell and broke his hip earlier in the summer. His memorial service was today in Lubbock.

My apologies to Nathan for last week's comments about global warming, which he said, "Made me sound like a Republican!" If you know Nathan, you know that the only thing worse would be to make him sound like a Democrat. (shut up, Steve!)

Thelma Boyd won the prize for being the first to solve the brain teaser I included in last week's family email. The question related to the July 28 birthdays of Barbara Shepard and Jeff Clark, who were born ONE year apart. They were both born in a YEAR that starts with 5 (forget the "19" part of the year), but only one is now at an AGE that starts with 5. What years were they born? The answer is 1958 and 1959. Thelma wins a free CD of the photo presentation that was made at the family reunion, which includes hundreds of old and new family pictures. Congratulations, Thelma!

I am including two family pictures with this email. The first one was taken on my college graduation day in Abilene, Texas, May, 1970. In the picture are Gene Shepard with Barbara in front of him; mom and me in our graduation gowns; and Linda and Jerry Clark, just a few months before they got married. Do any of you recognize the fellow on the right? He was one of my High School buddies and a member of the Linda Vista church youth group. His name is Terry Marren, and he is now a District Court Judge in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The other picture is of Jeremy Ortiz whose birthday was this past Tuesday. He is with his young son Damian, Kim Clark's youngest grandchild. Thanks, Kim, for sending this picture that was taken just last month.
--
Steve

Shepard Family Update, 080808

Dear Shepard family members and friends,

What a pleasant summer this is turning out to be! And not just up our way in the mountains. Down the hill, in the Valley and the Bay Area, triple digit days have been few and far between this year. Nathan would say, "See the Global Warming scare is NOT all it is touted to be!" I would bite my tongue in face of such political comments, and simply appreciate the fact that the weather has been relatively pleasant.

But from what I hear, that is not true for all of you. Blessings on you if you are having to endure hot, muggy weather. However, everything is relative when it comes to weather. I talked to Mom in Washington a few days ago and said, "We are having cool weather here." She replied, "We are having hot weather here." Turns out we were both talking about temperatures in the 80s!

080808: On this day 5 years ago my dad, Eugene Shepard, died. On this day 86 years ago, Cindy's dad, Joe Harris, was born. This is also the day the China Summer Olympics start. And it is a day the casinos claim is the luckiest day of the year. (Yeah, right.) It is also "the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!"

I received some more pictures of the July family reunion this past week from Barbara. Thanks so much! Nathan invites any of you to visit the online location for his pictures from the reunion.

I am including two family pictures for your viewing pleasure. The first one is a picture Barbara took at the family reunion and shows Kim and Jeff Clark from Blue Springs Missouri. The picture also shows the words that were on the wall of the social hall where we met, that spoke eloquently of our time together: "Welcome home... one in Christ Jesus," from Galatians 3.

The other is a picture of Eugene Shepard and Joe Harris (click on the picture to see a larger view of it) and their respective daughters, on what was among the happiest days of their lives. Joe is walking Cindy down the aisle of the La Mesa Church of Christ in December, 1968. Gene is walking Linda down the aisle of the Linda Vista Church of Christ in August, 1970.

I failed to mention in my last email that early last week we had two birthdays in our family. Happy Birthday to Barbara Shepard and Jeff Clark! They both share July 28 as their day of birth. Not the same year, but within 1 year of each other!

Here's a brain teaser for you: Barbara and Jeff both were born in a YEAR that starts with 5, but only one now is at an AGE that starts with 5.

Figure it out. The first one to do so and email me wins a prize.

Also Happy Birthday to Jeremy Ortiz, Kim Clark's older son, in El Cajon, Ca. He turns 28 this coming Tuesday.
- - -
Steve

Shepard Family Update, Aug 1

Dear Shepard family members and friends,

Hello from California where the summer is working its way through a pretty pleasant stage here, especially for this first day of August. We are still mulling over the experience of being together in Washington two weeks ago for the family reunion and hoping that all of us who came from out of state made it home okay, especially Jeff and Kim Clark who drove all the way from Missouri.

Last week I had no more than made a request for some reunion pictures when here came several pictures by email! Thanks to Jerry Clark for the wonderful photos he took, two of which are attached to this posting.

The first one is a picture of Gary Shepard and his two daughters and 3 of his grandkids. On the left is Gary's youngest Kelly Sauvage. Her son Nate is in front on the right. Next to Kelly is Mandi Aquiningoc whose mom Kerri is in the soccer shirt. On the right is Kerri's older daughter Lyndsey. Everyone in the picture except Gary lives in Weatherford, Texas. Not in the picture are Gary's son Jason Shepard, and his other grandchild Kyle Sauvage, both of who were unable to be at the reunion.

The other picture (click on the picture to enlarge it) shows all 29 of us who attended the family reunion. Shall I try to name them all? Okay here goes... Seated in chairs are me (Steve) and Cindy, Kim Clark (husband Jeff is on the far back left), Vicki Gower, Maida and Gary. Down in front are Linda and Cindy. Back row from left to right are Patrick, Nicole, Jeff, Rachel, Christopher, Amber, Samantha, Kelly, Mary, Lyndsey, Nate, Darrell, Mandi, Nathan, Barbara, Kerri, Steven, Pam, Russ, Cathrina and Jerry. Thanks to Jerry for looking so calm and cool after setting his camera and rushing to get in the picture!

What about next year? Can we plan a date when the family can gather again? I have asked some of you if it would be possible to plan a gathering somewhere in the Texas/New Mexico/Oklahoma/Missouri part of the country. That way those of you who live back there would not have so far to go, and those of us here on the west coast would have the farther distance to travel. Would some of you give it some thought and let us know? I have found that if you can plan something by Christmas it is usually enough time to get the word out.

Do you miss seeing an OLD family picture in these postings? Me, too. Maybe next week.
- - -
Steve

Shepard Family Update, July 25, 2008

Dear Family members and friends,

Hello on this Friday after the family reunion. The dust has settled and we are relaxed a bit after all the energy and effort and hard work that went into the family reunion last Saturday in Anacortes, Washington. It was a very special occasion, as anyone who was there can tell you. 29 of us were together, about half of us from in and around Anacortes, and the other half from around western Washington, the Kansas City area, Weatherford and Lubbock, Texas, and San Francisco and Dorrington, California.

Special thanks go to Barbara and Maida Shepard and the other locals who provided places to stay and helped make all the arrangements. And to (Gary's) Cindy for the keepsake cups that were provided for the occasion. And to Kim Clark who came from so far away with her husband Jeff and brought lots of old photos.

We shared a wonderful meal and visited with some family members we don't get to see very often. Some of us even met other family members for the first time -- new spouses, young children, distant relatives. We looked at lots of old and new pictures -- some black and white photographs from 50 or more years ago, some digital pictures in a PowerPoint presentation, and some baby pictures that made us belly laugh when they were identified.

We acknowledged the oldest and youngest persons among us (the winners were Maida Shepard of Anacortes and her great grandson Nate Sauvage of Weatherford, Texas); as well as those who had come the farthest (Jeff and Kim Clark of Blue Springs, Missouri). But most of all we simply celebrated the family that we are -- very diverse in age, vocation, appearance, life style and home location, but united as one in love and respect for the ties that bind us and the shared history that brings us together.

Family Faces. And of course we took pictures. Lots of pictures. I had a difficult time selecting just two for this posting (more will be forthcoming). My camera was one of the few that did NOT get a picture of the WHOLE group, so I need Jeff or Jerry or Gary or someone else to send me a picture or two that was taken of the entire family group. I want to share that picture in the next posting. Would one or more of you please do that? I would appreciate it very much.

The first picture today shows Maida Shepard and her children and their spouses (click on the picture to enlarge it). In the back row, left to right, are Pam and Russ Shepard, Barbara Shepard, Darrell and Mary Shepard, and Cathrina and Jerry Clark. On the front row are Cindy and Steve Shepard (me), and Maida, Gary and Cindy Shepard. You can see from the smiles -- and from Darrell's imitation of the historic "Russell pose" (hint: the hands tell it all) - that we had WAY too much fun with this photo session, as we did with the entire day! ;-)

The other picture shows three of the beautiful teenagers that were with us, Linda Shepard of Anacortes (Russ and Pam's little girl) on the left, and then Lyndsey and Mandi Aquiningoc (Kerri's daughters, Gary's granddaughters) from Weatherford, Texas.

If you would like a CD of the Powerpoint Presentation that I showed at the reunion, please send me your physical address and I will send you a copy. It shows about 200 old and new family pictures, including the oldest family picture I have, of Edmond Owens, who was my grandad's great grandfather on his mother's side.

Do you have other comments or reflections or pictures of the family reunion? Send them my way and I will be glad to pass them on to everyone else.

It came to my attention that I missed the birthday of Nathaniel Sauvage, who turned 6 years old on the 7th of this month. Happy Birthday to Nate Sauvage!, whose proud parents are James and Kelly Shepard Sauvage of Weatherford Texas. Any other birthdays I missed?
--
Steve

Shepard Family Update, July 18, 2008

Dear Family members and friends,

Well here we are at long last - the family reunion is tomorrow. Almost 7 months ago when I first started with these family messages, it seemed like such a long time off! I wondered at that time how I would ever have enough to say, enough pictures to post, and enough interest to carry us to July. But here we are! The time has flown by. Thanks for your many responses. You can look forward to more family messages -- even if not EVERY week. In the next few messages I am planning to include information about how things went at the reunion and show some pictures.

We are looking forward to a beautiful day in Northwest Washington tomorrow, which is not unusual for this time of the year. Many people here have a hard time with all the rain this region gets, but there is an up side. It makes for some glorious sights when the sun comes out, and the mountains and trees and water and sky show how lovely the creation can be!

There will be ample room for us in the Anacortes Christian Church fellowship hall when we gather at 12 noon. After all, ours is not a large family. I was talking with a person just the other day who is one of 11 children, and her mother is one of 12 children! Can you imagine family reunions with hundreds of people? That is not us. We are expecting maybe 25 or 30 people tomorrow, and that will be a fine family gathering, if you ask me.

Fascinating Family Fact. There was a time when families were much larger on average than they are today. Not too many generations ago, times were tough and families needed all the help they could get to "make a go of it" on the farm. The more children you bore, the more hands you would have to work the farm.

Will and Bura Shepard and their descendants have not had large families. He was from a family of only 2 children (2 others died in infancy); she was from a good sized family of 7 children. They had 4 children themselves. Those 4 in turn had families with an average of only 3 children (2, 2, 6 and 2). There have been 18 marriages among all the descendants of Will and Bura Shepard. From all those unions, 38 children have been born, an average of only 2.1 children per marriage, a rather modest figure even by today's standards. Let that be the fascinating family fact for this week.

Family Faces. I am including two family pictures. The first is a picture of Bura Davis as a teenager. I don't know the exact date of the picture, but it was taken before she married William Shepard at age 18 in 1915. What would you guess her age is in this picture?

The other picture was taken earlier this year of Thelma Boyd (on the left), her granddaughter Amanda Ortiz next to her, then Shannon Wilk with her daughter Emma, and Thelma's daughter Kim on the right. Kim is the only one of this family group who will be with us at the reunion. We will miss the others and hope that the next family reunion will be different with even more family and friends able to attend.

Family News. Last week I mentioned that Havilah Colgain's father Art Colgain and his wife Jill were in a car accident in Utah and that Havilah had gone there to be with them. Art was released from the hospital, but Jill remained in critical condition until just a few days ago when she passed away.

I received an email from Joan Shepard, Havilah's mother, on Wednesday this past week.

"Jill died around 5:00 P.M. yesterday [Tuesday]. Havilah was with her and said that her transition was peaceful. Family and friends will celebrate Jill's life on Saturday, first at the church building then at the Colgain home. We all appreciate the love and inspiration that everyone has offered. I know Havilah has felt the presence of those praying and sending affection. I'll be thankful when Havilah can return, probably next week, though I know Art will miss her."

As a large part of our family meets and enjoys ourselves tomorrow, we cannot help but be mindful of those who will not be with us, especially Joan, Havilah, Art and their loved ones. Our prayers and very best wishes are with them in their grief and loss.
--
Steve

Shepard Family Update, July 11, 2008

Dear Family members and friends,

Hello on this smoky day in our part of the world. Since Cindy and I live in a forested area of Northern California, we alway get nervous when the fires starting burning like they are now. There are none burning in our immediate area, but the sun stays a reddish color from the smoke of the fires that still rage 40 or more miles away. It makes for beautiful sunsets, but the air quality is not good, and is a constant reminder that the next fire could be much closer.

Our Shepard family reunion is next weekend on Saturday, July 19, 2008, at the Anacortes Christian Church fellowship hall (12th St at M Ave) in Anacortes, Washington. We will gather at 12 noon, meet and greet one another, enjoy a catered Barbeque meal, laugh at old and new family pictures displays, view a pictorial family tree, and much more.

Fascinating Family Fact: Did you know? There are about 70 living members of our family today. About 25 of them will be at the reunion next weekend. I mentioned two weeks ago that the family descendants of William and Bura Shepard number 82 people. But that number included 12 people who have died, which leaves about 70 living members of the family. That includes family births as well as those who have married into the family. The largest portion of that 70 is Eugene and Maida Shepard's part of the family, with their 6 children and their individual families.

Since we have not been in touch with Pauline's son Rex Russell and his family for several years, we are not sure how many new births there may be in that part of the family. So the number of living family members may actually be a little larger. With the number of older teenagers and young adults in our family right now, some of us are thinking that number of 70 will grow soon. In other words we may be looking at a modest baby boom in the next 5 to 10 years, a heartening thought as we look to the future.

Family Faces. I am including two family pictures. The first is a picture which I received recently from a long lost cousin named Roberta Owens Brooks of San Antonio. She is a distant relative of ours who saw our family tree on ancestry.com and contacted me. This picture is of our common ancestor Edmond Owens (1795-1864), her great great grandfather, who was Grandad William Shepard's great Grandfather (through his mother Elvira Owens). I am very grateful to Roberta for sending me this picture.

To be completely honest Roberta did mention to me that she is only fairly certain the picture is Edmond Owens. (The back of the picture says "Grandad Owens", an ambiguous reference! A word to the wise -- when you label photos, give the person's NAME, not "grandma" or "my uncle".) The person in the picture could be Edmond's son Payton Owens (1826-1872, who was Grandad William Shepard's grandfather). In either case this is now the oldest family picture I have, probably taken during or before the Civil War. Edmond Owens was born in 1795. How old would YOU say he looks in this picture?

The other picture is of a family gathering back in 1990 at the Shepard family home in Anacortes. It shows Maida and Eugene Shepard, on the left. Then from left to right are Russ Shepard, Steve, Cindy and Nathan Shepard, Mary and Darrell Shepard, and Barbara and John Clay. In front are Steven Paul Shepard, Pam his mother, and Rachel and Christopher Shepard.

Family News. This past week I sent out an email regarding the traffic accident in Utah involving Havilah's father Art Colgain and his wife Jill. Havilah Colgain Reynolds is Joan Shepard Colgain's daughter. Last I heard Jill was still in critical condition, Art had been released from the hospital, and Havilah was on her way from her home in Auburn, California to be with her dad in Utah. Does anyone have a more recent update? Our prayers and best wishes are with them all.
--
Steve

Shepard Family Update, July 4

Dear Family members and friends,

Hello on this July 4th mid-summer holiday! I hope you are all able to enjoy this day with family and friends. Cindy and I are doing something a little different this year -- enjoying a quiet holiday at home alone. Nathan is vacationing in Southeast Asia -- of all places! -- but will be home in time for the three of us to go to Anacortes in two weeks for the family reunion.

Fascinating Family Fact: Did you know? On this July 4th holiday it is interesting to note that our family has been almost entirely rooted in the U.S. since before its founding in 1776. Drive around any U.S. town or city today and you will see a large percentage of citizens who are first or second generation Americans. And the number is growing rapidly. But of all the family roots that converge into Will and Bura Shepard, the one that winds its way back to another country first is traced through Gram's (Bura Davis') mother, Caroline Spear (see pictures of her in messages dated June 6 and June 20). Her great grandfather was an Irishman named James Spear, born in County Armaugh, Ireland in 1768.

James Spear came to the U.S. as a young man -- probably not long after 1776. He married an American born woman from Delaware named Elizabeth McConnahaw, had 12 children with her (!), and eventually died in Belmont County, Ohio in 1821. He is the first person I can find among all the ancestors of Will and Bura Shepard who was born in another country. In other words, you have to go back 240 years -- before there was a United States -- to find a single ancestor in Will and Bura's family tree born in another country. To me this is pretty amazing. And we are talking here about ALL the ancestors of Will and Bura, going back four generations before them. The amount of U.S. history experienced first hand by these ancestors is staggering. It covers the entire history of our nation -- every president, every war, every milestone, every single July 4th holiday ever celebrated.

Now to be sure, there are a few gaps in the information I have on the roots of our family, especially in Grandad's (William Shepard's) paternal line before the civil war. So there may be an exception to what I'm saying, but it's unlikely. This, of course, refers only to the ancestors of Will and Bura Shepard. We each have other ancestors named Gower or Boyd or Russell, etc., who are are a different story altogether.

Family Faces: I am including two family pictures. The first is a picture that Dane sent me a while back, taken at a family gathering, probably in Valley Center (near Escondido, Calif.) at the home of Rod and Violet Ramirez. Left to right in the picture are: Gary and Cindy Shepard; Bill and Pauline Russell; Carl, Phil and Shannon Wilk; Steve, Cindy and Nathan Shepard; and Dane Shepard. I am guessing the year this picture was taken is 1983 or 84, based on Nathan, who looks to be 6 or 7. Can any of you make a better guess?

The other is a picture of 5 of Maida Shepard's grandkids in Anacortes, Washington. Taken in the summer of 2002, it shows -- starting from the bottom left -- Steven, Rachel, Patrick, Linda and Christopher Shepard. Steven and Linda are children of Russ and Pam Shepard; and Rachel, Pat and Chris are children of Darrell and Mary Shepard.

Celebrations: Congratulations to Jerry Clark and to Jane Brock on the birth of their third grandchild last Saturday! Miller Sims Cave was born to Matthew and Becky Clark Cave in Weatherford, Texas.
- - -
Steve