Being A Grown-up Is So Much Fun! Saturday, August 29, 2015

In some old photographs,

if you take anything out,

even a chicken or a little bird,

the magic will disappear.

~Mehmet Murat Ildan

Greetings today from Anacortes, Washington where Cindy and I and our grandson Logan are still visiting and enjoying family here after our family reunion last weekend.

Lyndsey Aquiningoc. Happy 25th Birthday today, August 29, to Lyndsey Aquiningoc of Weatherford, Texas. Lyndsey was born in San Diego in 1990, one of the four birthdays in our family that year. Since the turn of the century Lyndsey has lived in the Weatherford, Texas area along with several other members of her family.

Lyndsey's mother is Kerri Shepard Aquiningoc, and her grandparents are Jackie Perry and my brother Gary Shepard. She is one of the great grandchildren of Maida Shepard. Almost a year ago Lyndsey gave birth to her first child, Karver Bearden who is the second Great Great Grandchild of Maida Shepard. The picture on the left shows Lyndsey with son Karver.

Lyndsey: My birthday is coming up pretty quick. I hope it will definitely be a special one! I can't believe I'm going to be 25!! It's craaaazzzy! I really don't feel that old, lol! I don't have any plans as of right now. Kind of low on funds. My sister Mandi and I just got our first house together, in Granbury, Texas! So all our money goes to that. Being a grown up is so much fun! Hahaha. We love our new place! It's just sissy, me and the kids. Everything is going pretty good. I hope everything is well with you and the family! I wish we could have been there at the family reunion. It has been waaaaaaay to long! Tell everyone we said hi and we love and miss them dearly!

Another Never-Before-Seen Picture. This next picture is one more in the category of Never-Before-Seen Photos (at least in this blog). I have been aware of this picture for many years. And I have wanted to share it in this blog because it captures a unique moment in our family 45 years ago as we gathered around the dinner table. 

This picture has on it the date of January, 1970, but that must have been when the roll of film was developed. It was probably taken in December, 1969, at the Shepard home on Armstrong Street in San Diego. 

You've heard of "the elephant in the living room"? In this picture it's the mangled turkey in foreground. What were we thinking? How hard would it have been to move the ugly, picked-over carcass out of camera range? 

Having shared a happy turkey dinner, we wanted to capture the warm moment by taking a picture. Unfortunately the unappealing remnants of the main dish gets center stage. 

From left to right around the table are all 10 members of this part of the Shepard family: Maida, Barbara, Linda, me, Cindy, Gene (at the head of the table), Darrell, Russ, Kerri and Jackie.

This old photograph gets marred by the mangled turkey, but there is no mistaking the fact that this reflected a great period in the life of the Gene and Maida Shepard family. Cindy and I had only been married a year and were home for Christmas break from Abilene Christian College. My brother Gary and his wife Jackie had been married 3 years and had just one child, Kerri, the only grandchild of the family at the time. 

Many changes took place in the lives of the people in this picture in the ensuing months and years. And there were very few, if any, pictures taken of this entire family after this one. In spite of the bird, it is a memorable photo.
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Steve Shepard

Respect and Joy In Each Other’s Life, August 23, 2015

The bond that links
your true family

is not one of blood,

but of respect and joy

in each other’s life.
-Richard Bach

Greetings to all of you from Anacortes, Washington where Cindy and I and our grandson Logan from San Diego are visiting family here.

Yesterday was our bi-annual family reunion, this year in Bothell, Washington. Many thanks to Patrick and Nicole Shepard for opening their home to this family event. 20 of us gathered in the sunshine of the Great Northwest to renew the ties that bind us and enjoy one another's company. This first picture shows the whole group, from left to right Pam, Logan A, Barbara, Steve, Pat, Logan J, Mason, Nicole, Darrell, Mary, Maida, Gary, me, Cindy1, Rachel, Kellan and Brian. At the bottom left are Russ, Linda and Cindy2.

The food was great, the fellowship was wonderful, the family updates were many, and the memories we shared all helped to make it a special event. The ages of those who were there ranged from 90 years old (Maida Shepard of Anacortes, Wa.) to 8 months old (Mason Shepard of Bothell, Wa.). This second picture shows the two youngest members of the group, Kellan (11 month old son of Rachel and Brian) and Mason (8 month old son of Pat and Nicole).

We had family from Anacortes, Oak Harbor, Seattle, and elsewhere in Washington, as well as from San Diego. This third picture shows the senior member of our family, Maida Shepard, with her 5 children.

Happy Birthday Amanda! This coming Tuesday, Aug 25, is the 32nd birthday of Amanda Ortiz Davis of El Cajon, California. Amanda is the daughter of Kim Boyd Clark and the granddaughter of Thelma Shepard Boyd, of Blue Springs, Mo. Amanda was born in Gallup, New Mexico and lived much of her life in San Diego before moving to Missouri just a couple of years ago. She and husband Justin Davis moved back home to El Cajon recently.

Amanda: Yes, the big 3-2 birthday is rapidly approaching! Justin and I moved back to El Cajon last month and we are loving it! He says that's my birthday present lol we are just living and loving life while soaking up the California sun. The picture was taken 2 weeks ago when we took Justin on his first trip to Disneyland. 

The Disneyland selfie shows Justin and Amanda (upper right) with brother Jeremy Ortiz, "Goofy" nephew Damian, and sister Desiree Ortiz.
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Steve Shepard

We Develop From the Negatives, August 16, 2015

Family life is like photography,

we develop from the negatives.

~author unknown

Make your plans for our upcoming Family Reunion, this Saturday, August 22 at the home of Pat and Nicole Shepard in Bothell, Washington, 2 pm. See you there!

Happy Birthday today to my niece Linda Shepard of Anacortes, Washington. 22 years ago today she was born in the city where she and her family still live today. Linda and boyfriend Jamie Stockmoe live next door to her parents Russ Shepard and Pam Engan Shepard, also of Anacortes. Linda is the youngest grandchild of Maida Shepard. She is also one of the great grandchildren of both Leroy and Nola Gower, and William and Bura Shepard.

This first image shows Linda and Jamie from a picture that was taken this past winter. Linda says: "I put my notice in at my current job and will be moving to a different company while focusing more on nursing school. My eyes will be open to places to move as Jamie and I are ready to get out and see the world other than Anacortes. I am doing well otherwise and hope this year will bring a new and exciting chapter."

Best wishes to Linda for a wonderful birthday!

More Never-Before-Seen Family Pictures. Throughout this summer I have been sharing with you several family pictures that I have never shown before in this venue, for a variety of reasons. But now, it seems to me, the time is right to include some family photos in this blog that I have been unwilling to share until now. 

This second picture was taken in Idyllwild, California at Thanksgiving, 1975. It shows Cindy and me sitting on the couch in the living room of the mountain home of my Uncle Bill Russell and Aunt Pauline Shepard Russell. Next to us is my youngest brother Russ, a 13 year old Junior Higher at the time. 

I have passed over this particular picture a number of times and have never included it in a blog post. Not because of my frizzy hair do, which many of us guys were going with back in the crazy '70s, a phenomenon that today seems amusing -- to say the least. Actually that would have been reason enough to push this picture to the bottom of the stack. But no, there is another reason this particular picture has remained unused in The Shepard's Crook. 

Back in the "the day" young teenagers considered it cool to surreptitiously "give the finger" to the camera when school pictures or family pictures were taken. That is what Russ is doing here. He is trying not to be too conspicuous about it, but his intent is clear nonetheless. He was, of course, not the first to do this. He undoubtedly learned it from siblings or friends. 

The third picture I am sharing with you is another example of this same thing, although it is not nearly as obvious. You have to look closely at Russ in the bottom left to see him cleverly "flipping the bird" to the camera. With both hands.

This is actually quite a remarkable family picture, showing a unique collection of family members. I have a note indicating that this picture was taken in 1975 at the home of my Grandparents William and Bura Shepard, in Lakeside, California. This would have been when they lived next door to their son and daughter in law, Elmer and Beryl Shepard. Unfortunately half of Granddad William is accidentally cut out of the picture on the left. Next to the part of him that you can see, is Grandmother Bura in the blue dress. Behind her, peeking over her shoulder, is my other Grandmother Nola Shannon Gower. I think this is the only picture I have of my two grandmothers together at the same family gathering.

Also in this picture, across the back, from left to right, are Jane and Jerry Clark, Gary Shepard, Darrell Shepard (placing rabbit ears on his unsuspecting brother Gary!), Kim Boyd (almost hidden) and Jackie Enderle Shepard on the far right. In front of Jackie, from right to left, are Dane Shepard, Joan Shepard, Jason, me, Cindy and Kelly Shepard, then Kerri Shepard (the shy young one with the bare midriff), and finally my mom Maida Shepard with two-fingered Russ in front of her. 

Disclaimer: If you choose to share this post with your teenage children or grandchildren, do so at your own risk.
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Steve Shepard

No One's Family Is Normal, August 10, 2015

No one’s family is normal.

Normalcy is a lie

invented by advertising agencies

to make the rest of us feel inferior.

~Claire LaZebnik

Family Reunion. Our family reunion, on Saturday August 22, is fast approaching. You are welcome to join us at the home of Pat and Nicole Shepard in Bothell, Washington, starting at 2 pm.

Happy Birthday Heather. Today, August 10, is the birthday of Heather Robson Cotten, daughter of Paula Tuzzolino and granddaughter of Vicki Gower Johnston. 

Heather, one of the 14 great grandchildren of Leroy and Nola Shannon Gower, lives in San Antonio, Texas with her husband Sean and daughters Tori and Lexi. The picture on the right, taken last month in Oak Harbor, Washington, shows Heather with her Grandmother Vicki Gower Johnston.

Happy Birthday Jeremy. This coming Tuesday, August 12, is the birthday of Jeremy Ortiz, one of the 21 great grandchildren of William and Bura Davis Shepard. 

Jeremy lives in El Cajon, California with his wife Desiree and their 5 children. Jeremy's mom is Kim Boyd Clark and his grandmother is Thelma Shepard Boyd. Best wishes to Jeremy for a great birthday! This second picture shows Jeremy with one of the young twins of his and Desiree's, either Isaac or Dominic.

Getting It Right. In my last post I included a picture of Jerry Clark which was taken 45 years ago, just weeks before he and my sister Linda Shepard were married in the summer of 1970. I was mistaken about where the picture was taken. Jerry let me know that it was actually taken in the home that he and Linda would soon be moving into in Lubbock, Texas. 

Yet Another Never-Before-Seen Photo. Continuing with a series of photos that I have been sharing, I am including here one more on my list of never-before-seen family pictures, at least never before seen in this blog. 

This photo shows three very lovely women in our family: my sister Barbara Shepard, my niece Kerri Shepard, and my mom Maida Shepard. 

Numerous times in the last several years I have been tempted to share this photo with you, but I just couldn't do it. My mom on the right -- Kerri's grandmother! -- is just too sexy. It doesn't seem right for me to put this photo out there for the world to see. Dad was obviously a lucky man to have such a attractive wife, even into Grandparenthood. Yet for me even to say that fills me with a certain awkwardness I cannot define. Even so, for the sake of full disclosure I feel compelled to share this beautiful but difficult photo with you. 

Judging from the age of Kerri in this picture, who looks to be about 2 years old, it was probably taken in 1970. My sister Barbara tells me that it was taken in front of the home of my brother Gary and his wife Jackie on Eagle Rock Drive, a home they had recently purchased in Mira Mesa, which at the time was a new community of San Diego.

Summer Activity Pictures Wanted. I am planning to put together a collection of photos in a few weeks, of "the summer of '15" family activities. If you have some pictures of family activities this summer you'd like me to include please send them my way.
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Steve Shepard

Never Before Seen Photos, August 5, 2015

There are no rules

for good photographs,

there are only good photographs.

~Ansel Adams

Celebrating 9 Years of Marriage! Happy Anniversary today to Chris and Amanda Farrell. Amanda is one of the daughters of Jerry Clark and Jane Clark Brock of Lubbock, Texas. 

Chris and Amanda, who live today in the Dallas, Texas area, were married 9 years ago in Texas. The first picture shows Chris and Amanda with Amanda's Dad Jerry Clark, in a picture taken earlier this year.

Never Before Seen Photos. In this post I would like to continue a theme that I began a few weeks ago. And that is sharing photos that you have never seen before, at least not in this venue. You may never have seen the picture above, but that is simply because it was taken recently. I am talking about family pictures that may be a few years old -- or many years old --  that have never appeared in The Shepard's Crook, which has been including pictures in nearly 500 posts, over the last 8 years now.

I have chosen not to share some pictures simply because of the poor quality. Here is one such example, an image probably from the early 1940s, possibly earlier. It is a photo of my Dad Eugene Shepard taking a "selfie", with him holding the camera. It was taken some 75 years ago! The term "selfie" has only been around a few years.

These days pictures of oneself are common, with countless numbers of them appearing in social media daily. But in the first half of the 20th century? I dare you to find a family selfie older than this one. No, really. If you can find one older than this, I will gladly post it for all to see.

This selfie that Dad took is actually not that bad, considering how long ago it was taken, and the limitations of most popular cameras back in the 1940s. The plants behind Dad in this picture are in focus, even if Dad is not. 

Speaking of selfies, click here to see an attempt at a selfie that went terribly wrong! It happened just last week when my granddaughter and I were learning to use a "selfie stick".

Here is one more image that I have never shared before in this blog. Since Jerry Clark appears in the first picture above with his daughter Amanda, it only makes sense to include another picture of him, this one of a very handsome young Jerry, taken 45 years ago. 

It was taken in the San Diego home on Lynne St., of my Grandparents Leroy and Nola Shannon Gower. The picture is dated July, 1970, the month before his marriage to my sister Linda Shepard. The reason I have never shown this picture before should be obvious: one should use the utmost discretion when making public the picture of a family member sitting on the toilet.
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Steve Shepard

The Keys of Paradise, July 28, 2015

Children are the keys of paradise.

~Eric Hoffer

Greetings to all of you on this warm summer day in San Diego. This is one of those rare days in our family when 3 different people are celebrating birthdays. 

Happy Birthday Jeff! The first born among these three is the husband of my cousin Kim Boyd Clark. Jeff Clark lives with his family in Blue Springs, Missouri. Jeff is a native Missourian who works for Hallmark Cards and has been married to Kim for 8 years. 

This first picture shows Jeff just a few days ago, and comes with the comment from wife Kim, "Grandpa Jeff loves spoiling his grandkids." Best wishes to Jeff for a great birthday.


Happy Birthday Barbara! Today is also the birthday of my sister Barbara Shepard. Originally from San Diego, she has lived in Anacortes, Washington now for over 35 years. But she still considers herself a California girl. She and mom Maida are visiting San Diego to spend time with family and to celebrate her birthday with the young fellow mentioned below. Barbara has worked for Safeway in Washington for 8 years now. 

This second picture -- taken just yesterday -- shows Barbara with our grandson William, youngest son of Chenda and Nathan Shepard.

Happy Birthday William! And finally, happy 3rd birthday today to William Quincy Shepard, our youngest grandson who lives in the San Carlos community of San Diego. Born in San Francisco, William and family lived in Alameda until last year when they moved to Southern California. 

The following is a photo presentation to celebrate William's third birthday, accompanied by the music of James Taylor. 



   

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Steve Shepard     

Our Religious Roots in Ohio, July 25, 2015

We are often haunted

by relationships from the past.

As we work them through,

they go from haunting us

to becoming simply part of our history.

~Norman Doidge

Happy Birthday Logan! Yesterday was the second birthday of Logan Joseph Shepard of Bothell, Washington. Happy Birthday and best wishes to Logan and his parents Patrick and Nicole Shepard, his brother Mason, and his entire family! Thanks to Nicole for posting this picture of handsome Logan on Facebook yesterday.

Logan

Logan and his family will be hosting this summer's family reunion at his home on Saturday, August 22, 2015 in Bothell, Washington. Make your plans to join us!

Our Family's Religious Roots. I would like to follow up on my last post and discuss one aspect of our genealogical trek to Monroe County, Ohio last week. When my GGG Grandparents Alexander and Jane Davis settled in Indiana in 1852 they were among the first members of a new church start in Owen County called the New Union Church of Christ, a congregation of the Restoration Movement, also known as the Stone-Campbell movement. It is an historical connection that I have written about in this blog before and one that we can be proud of.

That movement had its beginnings in the early 19th century in the area around Monroe County, Ohio where both Alexander and Jane were born. Did they bring their affiliation with the Stone-Campbell movement with them when they and their young family traveled those 350+ dusty miles in horse drawn wagons and settled in Indiana? It is one of the questions I had in mind when we visited Monroe County last week.

Many of our Shepard, Davis and other family members -- including Cindy and me -- continue that affiliation with present day congregations of the Stone-Campbell tradition. Many of you who read this blog are connected to a congregation that traces its roots to the Stone-Campbell movement: congregations of the Churches of Christ, or the Christian Church or the Disciples of Christ.

There are church records in Spencer, Indiana that show our family's membership in the New Union Church of Christ (also known as a Christian Church in some records) as far back as the 1860s. Unfortunately I could not find such clear evidence of Alexander and Jane Davis' participation prior to that time in a church in Monroe County, Ohio where they made their home until 1852.

Sunfish Creek, Ohio

What I did find was very interesting however. The Davises lived in an area of Monroe County called Adams Township, which includes lovely Sunfish Creek (see picture). Amazingly, the population of Adams Township today is not too different from what it was 200 years ago when our ancestors settled there. Last week Cindy and I drove slowly on the dusty gravel road that winds along beautiful Sunfish Creek and through the verdant forests of these Ohio backwoods. As we did so it felt like stepping back in time. 

Along Sunfish Creek many settlers, including Alexander Davis' family and Jane Buskirk Davis' family, made their homes. A history of the area reports that 3 of the first 5 churches to be organized in Adams Township were congregations of the Stone-Campbell Movement. It was a time when this particular religious movement was spreading like wildfire across the American frontier, and was one of the fastest growing religious movements in our country. The very first Church of any kind built in Adams Township was a "Cambellite" congregation (as they were sometimes called) in the town of Cameron in 1825. Today, congregations of the Stone-Campbell tradition are still among the most numerous in all of Monroe County. 

In 1845, when Alexander and Jane Davis still lived in Ohio, a new Church was begun in the Monroe County Seat of Woodsville, just a few miles from the Sunfish Creek area. At the founding service of that congregation Alexander Campbell himself (considered the founder of the Restoration Movement) attended and delivered the inaugural sermon. Campbell's home, the historic Campbell Mansion (which you can still visit today) was in Bethany, West Virginia, only 50 miles away.

The search will continue for more specifics of our family roots in Monroe County, Ohio. But it seems clear at this point that our Davis ancestors may have actually been members of the Stone-Campbell movement back into their Ohio days of the early 19th century. If not actual members, they were certainly very familiar with it. They were familiar enough to make it their choice in Indiana, a choice that has continued for many of their descendants for some 7 generations now.
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Steve Shepard

Our Roots in Monroe County, Ohio, July 21, 2015

A person represents each of several of his ancestors, 

and they constitute the variety of notes 

for that new piece of music 

which his life is. 

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Greetings to all of you from Columbus, Ohio where Cindy and I find ourselves on this beautiful July day. We are here in Columbus to attend the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). This has given us a chance to travel to Monroe County in Eastern Ohio, where we have some important family roots.

In the early 19th century my GGG Grandparents Alexander Davis (1819-1866) and Jane Buskirk (1823-1895) were born in Monroe County. In the 1840s they married here, bought some property, started a farm and began a family. What we have been looking for, in our few days here in Ohio, was some kind of historical evidence of their lives here. We found some records of property purchase by Alexander and then some property sales ($20 for a number of acres!), as well as some graves of family members.

Above on the right is a picture of the grave of Jane Buskirk Davis' Grandparents Samuel and Charity Foggin Buskirk, who also lived here in Monroe County. They migrated to this part of Ohio from Pennsylvania. He died in 1841, she in 1847. They are buried in Rutter Cemetery along Sunfish Creek, just a few miles up the creek from the town of Clarington on the Ohio River. Sam and Charity's headstone is barely readable at over 150 years old, but is one more piece of evidence clearly showing our family's roots in Monroe County, Ohio.

When Alex and Jane Davis settled in Indiana in the 1850s they were among the first members of a new church start in Owen County called the New Union Church of Christ, which was part of the Restoration Movement, also called the Stone-Campbell movement. That movement had its beginning in the area not far from Monroe County, Ohio. Did Alex and Jane bring their connection to the Stone-Campbell movement with them when they settled in Indiana? In my next blog post I will share some thoughts and findings relating to our family's connections to the Restoration Movement in Ohio in the early 1800s.

The following is a 10 generation lineage from Samuel Buskirk and Charity Foggin Buskirk down to the present.

• Samuel Blackmore Buskirk (1765-1847) who married Charity Ann Foggin (1762-1841)
• John Foggin Buskirk (1795-1873) who married Mary Terry (1807-1886)
• Jane Buskirk (1823-1895) who married Alexander Davis (1819-1866)
• Charles E. Davis (1849-1926) who married Malinda Wright (1847-1920)
• James Brooks Davis (1870-1928) who married Callie Spear (1865-1951)
• Bura Davis (1896-1986) who married William Shepard (1888-1976)
• Eugene Shepard (1921-2003) who married Maida Gower (b. 1924)
• Steven Shepard (b. 1948) who married Cindy Harris (b. 1948)
• Nathan Shepard (b. 1977) who married Chenda Sou (b. 1980)
• William Quincy Shepard (b. 2012)

Feeling the need to move westward, Alexander and Jane Davis, about 1851, packed up their two kids, Sarah and Charles, and moved to Spencer, Indiana, where their family continued to grow and where they remained settled for several generations. Indeed some of their descendants live in Spencer, Indiana even today. 


Part of that family growth was their Great Granddaughter (my Grandmother) Bura Davis Shepard, who was born in Spencer in 1896.

Victoria Cotton. Happy birthday this week to two of our extended family members. First, birthday wishes go out to Victoria (Tori) Cotton, who turns 8 this Thursday, July 23. She is the daughter of Sean and Heather Robson Cotton of Austin, Texas. Tori is the granddaughter of my cousin Paula Tuzzolini and is also the Great Granddaughter of my aunt (and her namesake) Victoria Gower Johnston of Oak Harbor, Washington. My aunt Vicki just said goodbye to her husband Duke Johnston, whose memorial service was in Oak Harbor this past week. 

Heather: Tori is a very special little girl and I am grateful that God chose us to be her parents! She is turning 8. She's a great big sister and a wonderful artist! The second picture shows Tori (on the right) with her sister Lexi.

Shannon Wilk. And best wishes to Shannon Wilk who will have a birthday on Friday of this week. Shannon is one of the Great Granddaughters of William and Bura Davis Shepard. Shannon lives in Atchison, Kansas with her daughter Emma Beverly Jean Wilk.

This final picture shows Shannon Wilk and was taken earlier this year. Happy Birthday Shannon!
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Steve Shepard

"Master Of My Fate, Captain of My Soul", July 14, 2015

I am the master of my fate,

the captain of my soul.

~W. H. Henley

Duke Johnston (1932-2015). It is with sadness that I report that my uncle Duke Johnston passed away this past Thursday, July 9. Duke was the husband of my aunt Vicki Gower Johnston, who lives in Oak Harbor, Washington. They have been married for over 25 years. Originally from New York, he retired from the Air Force and had practiced law on Whidbey Island for over 30 years. Duke had been struggling with cancer for many years.

The quote at the top of this post is one that Duke sought to live by. Select this link to read the full obituary for Duke at the website of Evans Funeral Chapel in Anacortes, Washington (which is where I found this wonderful digital image of Duke from back in his Air Force days).

In this time of Duke's passing, our prayers and best wishes go out to aunt Vicki and cousins Paula, Gloria, Michael and David, as well as Duke's entire family.

I have been writing The Shepard's Crook now for nearly 8 years. In that period of time I have shared with you numerous family pictures -- at last count about 1,200. Even considering the fact that that a number of those photos have been shared more than once, that is a lot of family pictures! Sharing them -- especially the old ones -- and the stories they tell has been one of the most gratifying parts of writing this blog. It has been an opportunity to keep alive for posterity the tales of our Shepard, Gower, Davis and Shannon families, tales that will be lost over time if we do not keep telling them.

Never Before Seen Photos. But there are some family pictures that I have never shared in The Shepard's Crook. For a whole variety of reasons. Some are very poor quality. Some are unflattering and simply inappropriate, such as hospital photos, or other pictures of people who are very ill. And there are some goofy photos that caught people at a strange or awkward moment. Other pictures I have not shared because they have referenced relationships that occurred before the family members involved found their life long spouse. (Who wants to have their old love interest shown for all the family to see?)

I know some of you may not believe this, but I really don't intentionally share pictures that embarass family members, or cast them in a negative light. I want to share pictures that make you look good, as much as you do.

But the time has come, it seems to me, to share with you some of these family pictures that have never before been seen in this blog. I am choosing to share them for the sake of historical accuracy, if for no other reason. In this post are two examples. They are pictures that I have considered including in a blog post a few times, but they simply have not been exactly what I wanted to use in that particular situation.

The picture above on the left shows my dad and his girl friend in Tijuana back in 1942, almost 75 years ago, some 3 years before mom and dad were married. This, by the way, is an example of several "Tijuana pictures", that were taken back in the 1940s when travel south of the border was charming and romantic, when it was easy to get there and back. In recent years, traveling by car to Mexico has gone from charming and romantic, to dangerous and very time consuming. 

Just to show you that I want to be fair in my sharing of never-before-seen photos, the third picture is a rather odd photo of me in the spring of 1966 at the corner of El Cajon Blvd and 54th St. in San Diego. You don't see $.22 hamburgers anymore, and public telephones are not in high demand these days. By the way, why is my head tilted a few degrees southward? Full disclosure: this picture was taken about 9 am on a Saturday morning after a young woman named Cindy Harris and I had just finished partying all night long. Enough said.

I have more never-before-seen family photos to share, but those I will save for another time. Stay tuned.
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Steve Shepard

Lots of Happiness and Smiles, July 7, 2015

Love is many things.

It is varied. 

One thing it is not,

and can never be,
is unsure.

~Maya Angelou

Family Reunion, August 22, 2015. Summer time is the occasion for family reunions! If you know of any reunions happening in our extended family this summer please let me know so I can promote them in this blog. 

And remember that plans are being made for a Shepard and Gower family gathering on Saturday August 22 in Bothell, Washington at the home of Patrick and Nicole Shepard. Make your plans to be with us for this celebration.

Desiree Ortiz. Happy Birthday yesterday, Monday July 6, to Desiree Ortiz who lives in El Cajon, California with her husband Jeremy Ortiz and their 5 children. The above picture was taken in San Diego last fall and shows a happy Jeremy and Desiree. Best wishes to Desiree!

Nate Sauvage. Happy Birthday today, Tuesday July 7, to Nathaniel Sauvage of Weatherford, Texas. Nate is the older son of James and Kelly Shepard Sauvage, and one of the Great Great Grandsons of both Leroy and Nola Shannon Gower, and William and Bura Davis Shepard. He is also one of the grandsons of my brother Gary Shepard. This second picture shows Nate on the right with his mother Kelly Shepard Sauvage.

Happy Anniversary Joan and Dee! Congratulations to my cousin Joan Shepard and her wife Dee Shannon who were married one year ago today on July 7, 2014. Joan is one of the grandchildren of William Shepard and Bura Davis Shepard. 

Joan was born and raised in the San Diego area but lives today with Dee in Dixon, California. Dee is originally from North Carolina but has lived for many years now in Northern California and has worked at UC Davis. Included is a picture of Joan Shepard (on the left) and Dee Shannon, taken just last night at their home in Northern California. With them is their Spring Spaniel "Sophie". Best wishes to Dee and Joan for a happy anniversary! And thanks to Dee's son Tim for this photo.

There are lots of happiness and smiles this summer in our family far and near. May it always be so!
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Steve Shepard