Shepard Family Update, November 7, 2008

To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order;
to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order;
to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life;
and to cultivate our personal life, we must first set our hearts right.
- Confucius

Hello Shepard Family and Friends,

Hello on a wonderful Friday in San Diego where this week's email originates. The election is over and there are no more political phone calls or commercials on TV. Praise be to God!

Tomorrow is the 112th anniversary of the birthday of Bura Davis, who died 22 years ago. She, of course, along with her husband William Shepard, form the couple who is at the heart of this family blog. All of us are their descendants, or family or friends of their descendants. I am sure you share with me a deep appreciation for the lives of these two and the values they taught us. They were not perfect people -- none of us are! -- but we can be grateful for the legacy of love they left us.

Gram was a slight woman all her life -- I bet she never weighed over 110 lbs, maybe not even that much -- but she had a big heart, and was without a doubt the spiritual center of her family. I was her fourth grandchild, born when she was only 51. She was the bearer of the religious torch for our Shepard family. She was proud of the fact that her parents and grandparents had been good Church of Christ members as far back as anyone could remember, probably to the very beginnings of the "Restoration Movement" of early 19th century America. I have heard that William Shepard even met her at the South Flat Church of Christ near Elmwood, Oklahoma, sometime before 1915, when they were married there.

It is hard to imagine the impact on her of the changes that occurred in her family and in her world during her lifetime (1896 to 1986). Had she or Grandad lived until today, the election of Barack Obama, the first black American to become president, would certainly have left them absolutely astounded, perhaps even dismayed! I always had the impression though, that Gram accepted the cultural changes she experienced with grace and strength, even though with some misgivings. She was serious and caring, and not a gregarious woman, and was characterized by the stoicism of mid-America, having been raised a Hoosier. She did have a sense of humor, and I can still recall that unique laugh of hers. Grandad was the man of the family, and was the funny one of the two, but she was as steady as the rock of Gibraltar.

I still sometimes find it hard to believe that she has been gone for over 20 years, and Grandad for over 30 years. To put things in perspective, nearly half of our present family was born since Grandad passed away.

The first picture I am including today shows Bura (Gram) as a young mother of 22. This picture was taken in 1919, when Woodrow Wilson was nearing the end of his second term as President. She and Grandad had been married about 4 years and had two children at the time, Pauline and Elmer, who are in the picture with her. It is not the best quality picture, but beggars can't be choosers when it comes to photos this old! And it certainly does not flatter her. But it does show her love for her family and her background presence, where she usually made the biggest impact. After all, women did not even have the right to vote in the U.S. until the year after this picture was taken!

Okay, trivia question for this election week... Who was president of the U.S. when Bura Davis (Gram) was BORN? Think about it for a moment before reading on.

While you are thinking, let me say that the second picture I am including today shows my musical brother Darrell Shepard. Did you know that he is part of a band known as "Midlife Chrysler"? Visit their website to find out more about them and their schedule.

The picture is actually two pictures in one: the left half of the picture shows him way before the term "mid-life" was even in his vocabulary, much less part of the name for his band. It may have been taken when he was a student at Abilene Christian University. He will have to confirm that for me. The right half of the picture shows him just a few years ago. (Around the one and only time that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were in the Super Bowl.)

Did you think about the trivia question above? Here is the answer: Democrat Grover Cleveland was the lame duck president on Gram's birthday, Nov 8, 1896. BUT Republican William McKinley was "President-elect." He had won the presidency just 5 days before she was born.

On the day of her birth, I wonder if THEY were glad there were no more political commercials on TV!? ;-)

One last bit of trivia, and the final presidential comment: 4 years to the day before Gram was born, incumbent President Benjamin Harrison was defeated in his bid for re-election. Harrison was the only Church of Christ member (he was even a minister!) to ever be president of the United States.
- - -
Steve

Shepard Family Update, October 30

If you don't know your family's history,
then you don't know anything.
You are a leaf that doesn't know it is part of a tree.
- Michael Crichton

Dear Shepard Family and Friends,

Aloha to all of you, and Happy Halloween from Maui, Hawaii, where Cindy and I have taken our mothers -- Paula Harris of San Diego and Maida Shepard of Anacortes, Washington. Nothing "scary" is happening with us right now. Instead we are happy to report that "the girls" have been very well behaved to this point! We will see what happens Saturday, however. In addition to being All Saints Day (woo-hoo!), it is also Maida's 84th birthday and we plan to celebrate!

Maida is, of course, one of only four remaining members of our family from the first generation after Will and Bura Shepard. She became their first daughter-in-law 63 years ago this past spring. That's when she married the young military man Eugene Shepard, during WWII, in a small private ceremony in the parsonage of the El Cajon Blvd Church of Christ in San Diego.

It is hard for most of us to appreciate what an amazing, hectic time the early 1940s were for our family.

• In September of 1940 Will and Bura Shepard moved their family from a tiny Colorado farming community to the booming metropolis of San Diego (undoubtedly with some major culture shock!).
• In 1941, the U.S. entered WWII, with San Diego being a major center of the effort.
• By 1942 Eugene and Elmer were both in the military, Elmer flying in the Air Force and Eugene sailing in the Navy.
• By 1943, over 100,000 U.S. men had died in the war.
• Maida (at that time Maida "Gower") moved from Oklahoma to San Diego in late 1942, just in time to graduate from San Diego High School in the spring of 1943.
• A year later she and Eugene met and began a long distance romance; and in May of 1945 they were married, even though he was stationed 100 miles away in Orange County at Los Alamitos Naval Air Station.
• In December of that year Eugene was discharged from the military and 3 months later Maida would give birth to their first child Gary.

Whew!

Maida's next 33 birthdays would be spent with Eugene in San Diego, where they raised their 6 children. Her last 30 birthdays have been spent in Anacortes, Washington, where they retired in 1978. Since she has always enjoyed traveling, it is only fitting that her 84th birthday be spent in Hawaii, at a nice restaurant sipping fine Champagne. We toast the good health of both our mothers and plan to celebrate many more birthdays with them!

The first picture I am including was taken in San Diego in early 1945, while WWII was still raging, and shows birthday girl Maida Gower with Eugene and Elmer Shepard, in uniform.

This coming Thursday is the Birthday of Havilah Colgain who lives in Auburn, Calif. She is the 8th great grandchild of Will and Bura Shepard; the daughter of Joan Shepard, and the grand daughter of Elmer Shepard.

The second picture I am including today shows Havilah and her father Art at the 1994 Shepard Family Reunion in Anacortes. Among the things she does these days is help people with their travel plans. Followyourtravel.com is her business website. Happy Birthday, Havilah!
- - -
Steve

Shepard Family Update, October 22

You don't choose your family.
They are God's gift to you,
as you are to them.
- Bishop Desmond Tutu

Aloha Shepard Family Members and Friends,

Salutations from San Diego, where Cindy and I (and our mothers!) are about to board a ship and sail away to Hawaii, on this beautiful day in late October. One of the readers of this blog responded to last week's post and said that my comments sounded sad and depressing. In particular when I said I was feeling pensive and reflective, and that I was getting older. Whatever I was feeling at the time, it has now disappeared, as we anticipate our sea cruise across the vast Pacific!

You may not know that this blog, "The Shepard's Crook", has evolved over the last few years. For all of 2008 it has been exclusively a family blog, with weekly postings devoted to William Shepard (1888-1976) and Bura Davis Shepard (1896-1986), their descendants and ancestors, as well as their families and friends. Before 2008 it was the place I posted articles I had written for a Church I served until last year. Most of the archives in this blog now relate to the Shepard family, and it has become a rich resource for stories and pictures related to our family. Nearly a hundred different family pictures are found here! My hope and plan is that it will continue to be a place where old and new family pictures and stories will be found. But don't be surprised if you happen to come across some postings in the older archives that are not necessarily family related.


Next Thursday, October 30 is the Birthday of Pam (Engan) Shepard of Anacortes, Washington. The first picture I am including shows Russ and Pam on their wedding day in the summer of 1986. (Can you tell that Russ was a little distracted that day?)

One of the things I remember about their wedding was Bura's (Gram's) presence. Grandad had been gone for about 10 years, she was nearing her 90th birthday, and she had some trouble getting around. During the wedding she spent most of her time in a wheel chair, but we were all very pleased that she could be there, and she seemed to enjoy herself. Since she died the following month, it was probably the last family event that she attended. Russ and Pam's marriage ceremony was a garden wedding on a beautiful day in August in front of the Shepard home on Wildwood Lane. 22 years later now, Pam and Russ continue to make their home in Anacortes and are the proud parents of Steven (18) and Linda (15). Best wishes for a very Happy Birthday, Pam!

This comng Sunday, Oct 26, is the 16th birthday of Mandi Aquiningoc! Mandi is the younger daughter of Kerri Aquiningoc of Weatherford, Texas, the granddaughter of Gary Shepard, and the second great granddaughter of Maida Shepard. That makes her one of the great, great, grandchildren of Will and Bura Shepard. Mandi was born in 1992 in San Diego just a few months after the unfortunate death of her father, Manuel Aquiningoc. Mandi's earliest years were spent growing up in San Diego, but several years ago her part of the family moved to Weatherford, Texas where they now make their home. She is a junior at Weatherford High School.

Instead of just one picture, today I am including with this post a collection of pictures of Mandi. Just click "play" below to see the pictures. Happy 16th Birthday, Mandi!
--
Steve

Shepard Family Update, October 17

Family faces are magic mirrors.
Looking at people who belong to us,
we see the past, present, and future.
-Gail Lumet Buckley

Hello Shepard Family members and friends,

Greetings from our home in the mountains of California, where autumn has definitely arrived. We even got a little snow a few days ago, and our fireplace has suddenly become active again. This has never been my favorite time of the year, unlike many people who love autumn. But the older I get, the more my mind may be changing on that score. I find it a pensive, reflective season, and as the years go by, the more I find myself becoming exactly that. Anyone else have that experience?

Today is the Birthday of Art Colgain, the father of Havilah Colgain. Art was in our hearts and prayers this past summer when his wife died in an auto accident in Utah, where he lives. Havilah (daughter of Joan Shepard, granddaughter of Elmer Shepard) continues to be a great support to her father through this difficult time, with regular trips from her home in Auburn, California, to Utah to visit her dad. Our prayers and best wishes are with them. The first picture I am sending today shows Art with his first wife Joan and his daughter Havilah, when she was but an infant. (We knew how to grow hair back then, didn't we?)

Tomorrow is the 11th birthday of Kori Lynn Boyd, the second youngest of the 20 great grandchildren of Will and Bura Shepard. Her parents are Darren and Vicki Boyd of Lakeside, Calif., and her grandparents are Thelma and Terry Boyd of Gallup, N.M. The second picture I am sending today shows Kori earlier this year. Her auntie (the generous giver of the picture) tells me that the person with Kori is Hannah Montana. Okay, it's probably not Hannah Montana, but a look-a-like, who is unrelated to Kori (except perhaps for their common affinity for the megastar).

Misteaks happen. Two weeks ago I referred to the birthday of Bill Russell on October 8, 1908. Actually he was born October 18, 1908. Thanks to Kim and Thelma for that correction. They knew that Uncle Bill and Kori Boyd share the same birthday. By the way, if I don't mention your birthday when it rolls around, it is most likely because I do not have the date. If that is the case, please drop me an email and let me know what it is.

Update on Mary's health condition. Darrell's wife Mary will be having surgery on Nov 17 to remove the kidney that they believe is cancerous. They are very hopeful about the surgery and her recovery. But our prayers of support for Mary need to continue.
- - -
Steve

Shepard Family Update, October 10

Hello Shepard Family Members and Friends,

We made it back from our Spain trip last weekend and got off the plane in San Francisco with wicked head colds, but are doing much better now. Here is a link to some pictures from that trip.

I received word from Dane recently, who said that his Dad Elmer's operation went well. "It was outpatient surgery where they made two small incisions on his spine and applied cement/glue to his compression fracture. He came out of surgery doing well and ate all of the light meal they gave him. He seems to get disoriented whenever he returns home and this time he was very uncomfortable from the soreness of his operation. He laments that he was doing well until this episode. He was bending over and making his bed when it occurred. He'll have to be more careful with lifting and bending in the future. I think his back will be fine. This type of surgery has a high success rate. Lord willing, we can all make plans for next summer's reunion."

Speaking of next year's family reunion in Oklahoma, Dane and Kim are still thinking about when would be the best time for the reunion. If there are certain parts of the summer that would be better or worse for you, please let one of them, or me, know. They want to set a date that will work best for everyone.

Kim emailed me from Gallup, New Mexico, recently. "Jeff and my mom did some research yesterday and found all of Nona Kilpatrick's family. They are in Bolivar, MO. My mom called Norma Lou Allen and we are going to meet them in about a month. They are having a Davis/Kilpatrick reunion in 2 years in Branson, MO and they are inviting all of us. You got us motivated to find people - it's fun." Two of Bura Davis Shepard's (Gram's) sisters married Kilpatrick brothers, which gives us a couple of linkages to that family.

I am including two pictures - the first one illustrates the connection between the Shepard family and the Davis-Kilpatrick family. (Click on the image to see a larger view of it.) It is a picture of Will and Bura (Grandad and Gram) with Myra Davis (Gram's sister) and her husband Will Allen Kilpatrick. This picture was taken in 1958 in San Diego, when Myra and Will Allen were visiting from Oklahoma.

The other picture was taken just a few weeks ago and shows Kim Clark with husband Jeff and daughter Amanda, along with Dane and Cindy Shepard and their children Nathan and Kaylan. Thanks, Dane, for sending me both these pictures. In the picture of you and your family, is that a Christmas display in the background? In September? (Is this is one of those crazy results of the financial meltdown? Say it isn't so!)

Two other health concerns to report to you: I received word this week that Thelma had cataract surgery recently in Gallup, N.M., and will have some more next Wednesday. We're glad you are doing well, Thelma, and that the surgery was successful.

My brother Darrell wrote me to say that "Mary was tested this week and she does have cancer of the kidney. They are recommending surgery to remove the cancerous kidney. We will meet with the surgeon tomorrow (Friday) to talk about a date and time. Feel free to include this news in your weekly family emails." Our prayers and very best wishes are with Thelma and Mary (and Elmer) as they deal with important health matters.
--
Steve

Shepard Family Update, October 3

Hola! Shepard Family members and friends,

Greetings from beautiful El Vendrell, Spain, on the Mediterranean coast, where Cindy and I are about to conclude our vacation here.

Next Wednesday is the 100th anniversary of the birthday of Bill Russell. Many of you may not even know who he is. He was Will and Bura Shepard´s first son in law, having married their oldest child, our aunt Pauline. Uncle Bill was a most remarkable man who had a leg amputated when a teenager and lived with an artificial leg for most of his life. He loved to sit next to the youngest child at family gatherings and wait for the shock on their faces when they bumped up against his artificial leg. It sounds a little bizarre when I mention this now - but at the time it was all a part of the amusing personality of this man that many of us knew as uncle Bill. To some, including Shannon Wilk, he was known instead as grandfather. Bill died in 1998 in San Diego at 89 years old.

I am including two pictures. The first is an old one that shows 37 year old uncle Bill Russell on the left, along with a number of other family members, a few of whom were visiting from Oklahoma. (Click on the picture to see a larger view.) The picture was taken in Tijuana Mexico in 1946, just a few years after the Shepards had moved from Colorado to San Diego. We have several old pictures of family members in Tijuana in the early 1940s indicating that it was a popular place to visit in those days, especially with out of state relatives, as is the case in this particular picture. Tijuana is still a popular vacation destination for San Diegans, although surely it took less time to get back and forth across the border 62 years ago than the 2 hours or more that it takes today!

In the picture with uncle Bill is aunt Pauline Shepard Russell in the very front with Thelma (aged 10) next to her. Sitting on the Donkey/Zebra (?!) are Beverly (7) and Rex Russell (10). On the far right in the tie is Grandad (Will Shepard) with Gram (Bura Shepard) next to him. On the back row in the middle is Uncle Levy Pruett; in front of him and to his right, in the black dress, is his wife aunt Sadie Shepard Pruett. The other three people I cannot identify but I am fairly certain they, like aunt Sadie and uncle Levy, were visiting from Oklahoma. Thelma, Maida, or Elmer, can you help us out by identifying these people?

The other picture was taken just last week, also in a spanish speaking foreign country. It shows me and Cindy and our traveling friend Linda Tanner in Barcelona, Spain. In the background is the National Art Museum of Catalonia, which is located on the site of the 1992 summer Olympic games.

I received an email stating that Mary Shepard is doing much better and feeling her old self again. She will have some more tests done next week. Jerry Clark is also doing better after burglars broke into their house and conked him on the head. Our prayers are with both those families.

We will return to the U.S. from our trip to Spain later today.
- - -
Steve

Shepard Family Update, September 26

Hola! Shepard Family members and friends,

Greetings from Barcelona, Spain where Cindy and I find ourselves on this first Friday of fall. And indeed it is fall. We have had rain all day today, even though it has not been cold nor has it kept us from seeing the sights of this city of 3 million people!

Happy Birthday this coming Monday to Cathrina Clark, wife of Jerry Clark, who lives in Lubbock, Texas. It would be terribly inappropriate for me to say how old Cathrina is, but I will say that I was but a boy, who had just turned 10, when she was born, in Germany of all places!

We just got a report today from Jerry that he was mugged in his own home last week. In the middle of the night he was surprised by some burglars who had broken in. This was the new home that they just built and have not been in but a few weeks! Jerry writes, "I am doing good and am on the mend."

Our best wishes are with Jerry and Cathrina as they recovery from this shock and Jerry's injuries. Thank God it was not worse. We hope they will be recovered enough to celebrate Cathrina's birthday joyfully!

The first picture I am sending shows Cindy and me with Jerry and Cathrina when we got together for a few days last month. Thanks to Jerry for the picture. Cathrina is the one with heavenly sunlight emanating from behind her.

Many of you got a chance to meet Cathrina at the family reunion in July, but for those who don't know her, she tells me this about herself: "I was born in Dusseldorf Germany. My father was born and raised in Lancaster, S.C. My maiden name is Helms. My mother's maiden name is Hartig. She was born in Chemnetz, Germany. Her family moved to Lichtenstein during the war due to all the bombing. My mother and her sister escaped East Germany when she was 16 and her mother moved to Dusseldorf. My mother and dad met in Pforzheim and my father had to go back to the states about 7 months after I was born. My mother and I moved to the states when I was a year old. "

There is obviously a lot more about Cathrina that can be said, but let that be enough for now. Happy Birthday, Cathrina!

The old family picture I am including is yet one more of the pictures I recently received from Dane. (Click on the picture for a larger view.) He reported that his dad Elmer says, "It was taken in July of 1920 and features a threshing rig hooked up to a steam tractor/engine owned by Grandad (William Shepard). He (Grandad) is standing above the rest. The two men to his right are Lawrence (left) and Jess (right) Davis. On the ground (right to left) is Mrs. Erickson (a Swede from Illinois), Gram (Bura) holding Elmer, Gayle Pruett (girls head), Pauline next to her, Elvira, an unknown woman, Tillie Erickson in back, and an unknown man."

This is quite a period piece and shows the respective place that men and women had at that time in that part of the country. The men, in the shadows, dressed in dark, standing above the others, are the hard workers. The women and children, dressed mainly in white, are in front, looking clean and innocent and hardly affected by the huge machines and the grease and grime. Today our machines are mini-computers that children use with ease; but then the machines were gigantic, dirty and powerful, dangerous things.

As a final note, Mary Shepard has been very ill in recent weeks with what looks to her doctor like Kidney cancer. Other than some pain and discomfort she seems to be doing pretty well, but more will be known after tests are done. Our prayers are with you, Mary and we wish you the very best.
--
Steve

Shepard Family Update, September 20

Hola! Shepard Family members and friends,

Greetings from Madrid, Spain, where Cindy and I woke up this morning on this last Saturday of summer. Tomorrow begins the first official day of fall, but you would never know it from the warm Spanish weather we are having.

I am including a couple of family pictures. The first one is another of the pictures I recently received from Dane that was found in his father's photo archives. It shows a stern but well dressed Bura Davis Shepard with her youngest child Thelma Shepard (now Boyd). Dane tells me this picture was taken in 1941, behind Will and Bura's rented home on Granada Street in San Diego. That would put it within about a year of the time the family moved there in 1940 from Two Buttes, Colorado. That move began the presence of our family in San Diego, a presence that continues to this day.

Will and Bura's first three children, Pauline, Elmer and Eugene, were born in 1916, 1918, and 1921, but it was not until about 15 years later that Thelma was born. When the family moved to San Diego, Pauline was already married to Bill Russell and together they had two children, Rex and Beverly. At the time of the move, Elmer and Eugene were in the service in WWII, or would be shortly, but Thelma was just a child of 4. She had actually been born back in Two Buttes just 2 weeks before her nephew Rex Russell, an interesting phenomenon that often came up in family conversations when I was young.

The other picture I am including was taken earlier this summer and shows a proud Maida Shepard with three of her grandchildren, the children of Darrell and Mary Shepard -- Christopher, Rachel and Patrick. All three live with their folks in Bothell, Washington. Donations to the Patrick Shepard clothing fund will be gladly accepted! (Do I sound like old school, or what?)

I mailed to a couple of you a CD that had on it the presentation that was made at the family reunion back in July, plus many more other family pictures. Some others of you may have asked me to send you a copy, but I am sorry to say I do not remember who. So if you would like a copy of that CD and have not received one, please let me know. I will be glad to send you one. Be sure to send me your physical address as well.
--
Steve

Shepard Family Update, September 12

Hello Shepard Family members and friends,

Greetings to all of you, wherever you may be. My summer job comes to a close on Monday, with mixed feelings. I have enjoyed it very much, but Cindy and I will be free again to travel and to visit family and friends, which seems to be our life's passion these days.

Happy Birthday this very day to Kelly Shepard Sauvage. Kelly lives in Weatherford, Texas with her husband James, and their two children, Nathaniel and Kyle. As Gary Shepard's youngest daughter, Kelly, along with her sister Kerri and brother Jason was born and raised in San Diego. They are yet one more part of our family who have migrated elsewhere in recent years. Within the last 10 years that part of the family has all moved to Weatherford, Texas and are now settled there, although the rumor is that they have remained San Diegans at heart. Kelly and James were married in San Diego in 2000 just before they joined the others in Texas.

The first picture I am including is a collection of Kelly pics (click on the pictures to see a larger view of them); the top picture is from the 70s with her mother Jackie, the next one from the 80s with her father Gary, the next one from the 90s with her brother Jason and niece Lyndsey, the next one from Y2K with her fiance James, taken just days before they were married, and the last one with her older son Nate, taken at the family reunion this past July. We hope your birthday is a great one, Kelly!

I received a couple of emails from Dane Shepard recently. He has been digging into his Dad's photo archives and found a few old family pictures that he scanned and sent to me. Thanks so much, Dane, for the great photos! I am including one of the best of the pictures he sent. It was taken in 1947 in front of Will and Bura's home on Wilson St in San Diego, and shows a handsomely dressed Elmer Shepard (Dane's father) with his niece, a Shirley Temple look-a-like, Beverly Russell who was a mature looking 8 years old at the time. Ours were pretty simply folks back in those days, so to see them dressed so stunningly like this is something of an anomaly. (Although truth be told, Elmer was regularly the sharpest dressed in many old family pictures.) Bev's smile, however, could not have been more characteristic of her, and reflected a heart of gold.

Enjoy the rest of your summer, and I will see if I can continue these weekly postings as Cindy and I make our way in the next few weeks to some far off places.

P.S. If you do not know who Shirley Temple was, ask your parents or grandparents. I am sure they can tell you!
--
Steve

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