1949

I was adopted by John and Sally Pearson in 1949. I remember very little before that. I was very fortunate to be adopted by the Pearsons. They were two of the best people I have ever known.

Here I am in 1949 with my new Mother and Grandmother. A new start. Picture is not very good, but that gets better. I am guessing that this picture was taken by my new Dad. (060108)

My Nana

Nana was my mother's mother. My parents were in their mid-forties when I was adopted. One reason they had waited so long was that they took care of my grandfather, Nana's husband, until his death. I never met my Grandfather. Nana was living with Mom and Dad when I was adopted. The house they built, the one Nana and I are standing in front of in this picture was a new house.

It was built as a two bedroom two bath house specifically so Nana could stay there. Truly a Mother-in-Law room with a private entrance. Nana and I were great buddies. She was a bit senile, I do not know how much, but it was great for me. She and I would sit at her window and she would talk about all sorts of things and people in our backyard. The thing is they were not there, they were in her mind. She saw them and as she talked about them I saw them. I credit this for my very active imagination. It is a shame that we separate our elders from their families now. (060208)

Nana can be seen at her window where we would sit together and see things of great adventure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was my 4th Birthday and the second Birthday at my new home.  It is very strange that I do not remember Nana leaving.  It must have been hard to loose my playmate.  From our home she went into a nursing home.  Mom just could not take care of Nana and me.  I do remember visiting the nursing home when we got the girls, Geneva and Carol.  Below is a second picture of Nana and me at the front porch.

Granddad Pearson

Nana was my Mother's Mother. This is my Father's Father. I really do not know a lot about him. They (he and Mother Pearson) lived in Clarmore. Oklahoma. I remember that we made three trips there. This picture must be in August of 1949 for my Birthday. We were also there for a Christmas and for Granddad's funeral.



I really do not remember this visit and is in my knowledge only in that I have pictures of it. IT is my understanding that Granddad ran a general store. When my father was young they lived on a farm in Talalah. It was on land Mother Pearson had inherited, and was part of the Cherokee Reservation there. They raised six children there.

I am not sure when the move to Clarmore was made.

Of note here is that when my father was born, Oklahoma was not a state, it was a territory. (060408)

Puppy and Me

I have no memory of this dog at all. In the first picture I have such a pained look on my face. The puppy is pretty small, and probably is no more comfortable than I look. Don't know the dogs name. I just do not remember anything about it.


Later when the dog is larger, I seem to be a bit more comfortable with it.



Note in the first picture that there are clothes hanging in the background (just the bottom edges are visible). We did not have a dryer at this time. In fact the washer my mother used was a old wringer washer. Too bad I do not have a photo of that. It was an open topped washing tub with a machine driven agitator. Below is a picture I got off the internet that us similar to the machine we had.




There was no spin cycle so you took the clothes and squeezed the water out with a "wringer". Then you refilled the tub and rinsed the clothes and wrung them out again. Then you took the clothes out to the "Clothes Line" and hung them up. That was a great advancement, a marvel of the then "Modern World". (060508)

Mom and Me

As you will see over time if you follow this blog, my mom and I became good friends when I grew up. I can thank my mom for a lot. I notice in these early pictures that Mom always a worried look on her face. She was so glad to have a child she did worry that she would not measure up.



It was a false worry. At 61 I am very healthy and I give her credit for that health. She approached Motherhood as a job. She studied and worked to provide me, and later my sisters with a diet and environment of health.

Mom had read that we needed grains in our diet, but we would no eat cream of wheat or any cereal grans. We would eat pancakes however, so she put the grains in the pancakes. She put All-Bran, Wheat Germ, Malt-o-Meal, and Cream of Wheat in our pancakes and we gobbled them down. The flavor of those pancakes was rich. When I left home I wondered why no other pancakes were so good. (060608)

Larkin and Me

Here I am with my cousin Larkin. He was the grandson of Mother's brother Bruce. I think this was taken in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Both of Mother's brothers lived there. I do not remember this trip.



Larkin's mother was Betty Gayle. I do not know a lot about the story of Betty Gayle's first marraige.



I never really got to know Larkin or the family from Arkansas. Family is a funny thing. We talk today a lot about family values but aside from the core family, Mother, Father, and children, family does not seem to mean much. Since the 50's American's have been mobile and that allowed families to disperse. With that great dispersal went our sense of identity.

Maybe for me that connection is more important becauee I have no blood family. There is no one in my life that I am genetically connected to. Truly this man is an island. (060708)

Scouting

I was in the Cub Scouts, Webelos, and Boy Scouts. Scouting was good for me on the whole. I have some good memories.

First Picture is of me in my scout uniform. In Alvin we got our uniforms from Bates Clothing. It was on Gordon and was a wonderful old store that had a disordered Order about it. There was a smell that was a blend of new clothes and new shoes mixed with a little dust and age. I guess Mr. Bates ran the place and you asked for what you wanted and he knew right where it was. On top top of that pile or under this pile. Quite a place to start the first adventure where I had costumes, I mean uniforms.



A salute. All these pictures come from a scrapbook I made for a merit badge or something. This picture is from October 1954, I was 6. Probably just starting Scouts. My Den Mothers were Mrs Howard, Tommy Howard's Mother, and Ivy Lee, Terry Lee's mother.



I remember this Indian costume, it was for scouting, and I am sure it was totally inappropriate. I was hardly the average boy. I was going to go to summer scout camp and my mother made a huge canvas TeePee for me. We painted Indian Symdols ont he sides of the Teepee. I wish I could find a picture of it. This was taken in February of 1955 (as was the first picture).



Finally, I got to camp. It was August 1955. I got sun-burned as usual. This is the picture of my den. Kneeling are Larry Dewitt, and Walter Todd. Standing is Wayne Lynch, an unidentified kid, Tommy Howard, Me, Mrs Howard, Franklin Ball and another kid with his face covered.



The camp was Camp Mohawk on Chocolate Bayou. There was a lake in the middle of the camp and it seemed to be a pretty large lake. It wasn't. There was a Webelo Ceremony. A burning arrow was shot across the water and that lit (or so we were to believe) a large burning arrow. Then the Chief Aleka brought back from the Indian Beyond to preside over the Ceremony. Jim Briscoe played Akela. TO a seven year old it was pretty impressive stuff.



Akela arriving.



The Burning Arrow.



Camp Mohawk is now a County Park. It had been run down but now the County has been upgrading it. It has overnight facilities as well as day use of hiking trails and play areas. (030409)