Aunts, Uncles and Cousins

Before proceeding with new life experiences that began during the events described in the essay College Years: 1953 to 1969, a backward journey into the earlier years of my life needs to be expanded.  Experiences with family relatives added greatly to my growing up.  Details concerning how Granddad and Grandmother Graham were a large part of my early years and were covered in earlier essays.  These earlier essays included brief mentions of experiences with Aunts, Uncles and Cousins.  These experiences were thought about earlier for inclusion in previous essays, but the essays were already becoming too lengthy.  My intention was to write this essay sooner but composing it kept being delayed.  Thus, during the writing of College Years and Price Genealogy Update essays, it became obvious this essay should be written before proceeding into my adult life experiences.  Why was it so obvious?  Simple, these relatives were a large part of my growing up, and thereby had an impact on me.  Who are these relatives that had an influence on my growing up?  Primarily, they were part of the extended Price and Graham families.  On the Price side was Dad’s brother Uncle Walter and his family and Dad’s sister, Aunt Gladys and her family.  Since Mom was an only child, there was Peaches Graham, a Cousin Twice Removed, his wife Louise Graham and their son Jack Graham, a Second Cousin Once Removed.  Louise’s and Jack’s influence was covered fully in the essay A Baseball Journey.

As I searched the depths of my childhood memories it became clear that my first recollection of meeting a relative occurred when we lived at 212 East Edinger Street in Santa Ana.  The relatives were Peaches, Louise and Jack Graham.  This memory is vivid because I fell backward and hit my head on the brick fireplace, cutting a gash in my scalp. Sitting on a small stool, I fell backward attempting to emulate Jack leaning back on the rear legs of his chair.  This accident occurred sometime between mid-1937 and mid-1939, but probably after my Third birthday.  After this incident it is necessary to jump forward in time to about 1940 for me to have any memories of relatives.  In fact, the concept of Aunts, Uncles and Cousins was not understood for years, even though you addressed them as Aunt or Uncle, but you were on a first name basis with cousins.  It was the societal convention of the times.

It is reasonable to ask what is so unique about 1940 that reminds me of relatives.  The first clue is that I have a clear, positive image of what house we lived in at that time.  We lived at 1461 Cypress Avenue in Santa Ana, from April 1940 to August 1941.  When we lived in Santa Ana, my folks moved so often that we lived in eight different houses from my birth until we moved to Belmont Shores, as documented in the essay Early Years: 1935 to 1941.  My only memory of those eight houses were the ones on Edinger Street, where I bumped my head and Cypress Avenue, where I started Kindergarten.  So, what relatives do I remember meeting while at the Cypress Avenue house?

I can remember three sets of relatives that entered my world when we lived at the Cypress house.  Which set of relatives entered first, I have not a clue, butt our 1940 trip to Garden City, Kansas, see the essay The Early Years: Kansas 1940, may have been the first known encounter with relatives.  On this trip I met Great-Grandmother Rosa Huckstadt, several of Dad’s Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and In-laws.  Our visit only lasted about two weeks, and it was a whirlwind of faces, names and places.  There are distinct memories of some events; the outhouse, Dad’s shooting jackrabbits, Jack the dog and harvesting rye grain on Great-Uncle Mearle’s farm.  The visit photos are my only memory of anyone.  Writing the Kansas essay was the first time I could connect names and faces, which assisted in understanding the family genealogy.  Since, this trip was the last time I saw any of these relatives, they had no real measureable impact on my growing up.  When did the other relatives enter my life?

Perhaps you remember this photo of Uncle Walter, Aunt Dot, Cousin Carol, Mom and me from the essay Early Years: 1940 to 1944.

Bobby McClintock, Aunt Dot, Carol, Royal, Uncle Walter, Mom

Carol and I placed this photo in 1940, based on our size and similar photos taken about this time.  Bobby McClintock is Carol’s cousin from Aunt Dot’s family.  While I sometimes may brag about my memory, I have absolutely no memory of this snow outing.  Why I do not remember my first experience with the cold, white stuff is beyond comprehension.  My guess is that Uncle Walter and family were living in Riverside when our families took this excursion into the San Bernardino Mountains.  My remembered experiences with Uncle Walter, Aunt Dot and Carol really began after they moved from Riverside to Burbank, and will be covered later in the essay.

My first memories of Aunt Gladys and my Cousins Donna and Billy occurred while living at the Cypress Avenue house in Santa Ana. Now you can ask, do I remember an Uncle?  Well maybe, but to properly answer this question an explanation is needed that began over ten years prior to Aunt Gladys’ entrance into my memory.  In the essay My Parents: Different Journeys to California, I wrote that Dad returned to Kansas and brought Gladys to California in either 1929 or early 1930.   What is the basis for assuming this happened in these years?  First, Dad told me he drove from Colorado to California in 1927.  Second, Dad’s Cousin Bertha Louise told me he returned to Kansas to bring Gladys to California.  Is it possible that Dad brought Gladys in 1927?  I do not think so because of his story of picking up a hitchhiker and telling his campfire story.  I believe Gladys would have been mentioned if she was also with him.  Based on her birthdate in January 1911, it is assumed she would have graduated from high school in May or June 1929 at the age of 18.  Knowing Dad’s view on education, it is doubtful he would have returned to Kansas for Gladys until after she graduated.  Therefore, it was probably the Summer of 1929 when Dad brought Gladys to California.  The Summer of 1929 seems to be the most logical, because Fall and Winter travel could have been difficult, since most US roads in 1929 were dirt and not paved.  Inclement weather conditions would turn these dirt roads into muddy thoroughfares.

There is no information where Gladys lived upon reaching California.  It seems logical that Dad took Gladys to Orange to see her father, Robert A. Price, our Granddad Price, but probably did not stay with him.  I was aware that Granddad Robert A. Price married Opal Claire Stoves and they had a daughter Betty Lou Price born in April 1932.  It was a shock to discover they were married in January 1924.  Rummaging through family notes this marriage date was discovered, and subsequently confirmed in the 1930 Federal Census.  Based upon this information, there is no way Gladys lived with her Dad and Step Mother Opal, especially since Granddad disinherited his Kansas children (as told to me by Mom).  This marriage date is about two years after Granddad brought Walter to live with him in California.  Equally surprising is that Betty Lou was not born until eight years after the marriage.  However, Gladys found work and a place to live in Orange County.  This fact is supported by the 1930 Federal Census in Santa Ana, California.  In addition, this 1930 Federal Census shows that Dad and Walter were boarders in Riverside.  Dad was listed as an auto mechanic doing auto repair, and Walter was an electrician working for a power company (Southern Sierra Power Company).  These census records confirm that all three Price kids from Kansas were living in California, specifically in the Southern California cities of Riverside and Santa Ana.

The 1930 Santa Ana Census Records lists Gladys as a boarder in the household of James A. Bramley and his wife Elizabeth M.  They had four children living in the house: William A. age 21, Warren J. age 17, Gertrude E. age 11 and George W. age 2.  This Census Record listed James as a printer and William as a laborer.  Gladys was listed as a housekeeper working in a private home.   An obvious question arises; did she work for the Bramley’s?  While that answer is possible, it seems doubtful.  Census records indicate James’ job as a wage or salary worker.  His son, William was a wage earner also.  So it does not appear they would hire Gladys for housekeeping.  Plus, their house was located at 706 Cypress Avenue, which was not an affluent area of Santa Ana in 1930.  There is no record when Gladys began boarding at the Bramley’s home before the census was taken in late April 1930.  It is estimated she had not lived with the Bramley’s for more than six months before the census worker visited the house.

When I first discovered this 1930 Census Record, I was stunned to find Gladys was a boarder in the Bramley’s household.  Why was I stunned beyond belief?  I had learned many years ago that Dona’s and Billy’s family name was Bramley.  An obvious conclusion was that Gladys marred William.  William was only two years older than Gladys, so there is a distinct possibility an attraction developed between them that resulted in a marriage.  Is it possible this conclusion is wrong?  Finding marriage or divorce records would be helpful, but none have been uncovered.  However, my latest research clearly establishes that Gladys and William A. were married.  I found a Gladys Bramley and William A. Bramley listed in the 1932, 1933, 1934 and 1936 City Directories.  Un fortunately, there are no city directories listed after 1936.  An obvious conclusion is that Gladys was smitten with William, and married him.  It must have been a whirlwind courtship because Donna Louise Bramley was born 13 September 1931, no more than two years after becoming a boarder.  Then, about two years after Donna’s birth, William “Billy” Bunny Bramley was born on 21 November 1933.  This date is based on an unverified family note, and no official birth record has been found.

I believe Aunt Gladys divorced William A. Bramley sometime after 1936, but no divorce record has been uncovered.  There are a couple of reasons for this conclusion.  I have no recollection of meeting, or seeing, Donna’s and Billy’s father.  I must have been curious why Donna and Billy had no father, and I ask my folks about him.  There is a very vague memory of being told he was a fireman, which to me at age five was considered to be a great job.  There is also a faint memory of being told going to a firehouse was not possible.  Could it be that Aunt Gladys, Donna and Billy entered my life prior to her second marriage?  I really do not know, because my only memory of them is after she re-married.

It is also interesting to note that the 1936 City Directory listing indicated they lived at 2001 Orange Avenue in Santa Ana.  This street seemed familiar, and sure enough my folks lived at 2003 Orange Avenue from January 1937 to July 1937.  Did the Prices and Bramleys live next door to each other?  There is no way to know, but it certainly raises interesting questions.  Much to my surprise and shock, the 1936 City Directory and the 1940 Federal Census appears to debunk the fireman story for William A. Bramley.  The City Directory lists him as a painter, and the census record shows that William A. and his two brothers were still living with their parents at their Cypress Avenue house.  William’s job was listed as working as a bartender and he was divorced.  Further, the census record shows that his education was only through the Eighth Grade!  It is difficult to believe that someone with only an Eighth Grade education would be hired as a fireman, even in the 1930s.  Guess the real story will remain a mystery.  In any event, I never met, or knew, my Uncle William A. Bramley. My re-construction of Aunt Gladys’ life prior to entering mine is the only reasonable one that seems probable, especially given the city directories and census records.  There certainly are no family stories countering these records.  So, given this background, it is possible to return to describing my experience with Aunt Gladys, Donna and Billy.

Before proceeding there is something of mote that should be mentioned.  In writing about my experiences with Gladys, I have used the proper description of her as Aunt Gladys.  However, for whatever reason, to me she was always Auntie Gladys.  I find calling her Auntie Gladys somewhat strange, because I did not alter the names of Uncle Walter or Aunt Dot.  I suspect calling her Auntie arose due to a limited vocabulary, and speaking ability, thereby altering the word Aunt, which is common in young children learning to speak.

Even though my first memories of Aunt Gladys, Donna and Billy were when we lived at the Cypress Avenue house, there are no distinct memories of them at this house.  It is possible Aunt Gladys and my cousins visited us before she re-married.  The only memories that come to mind are those after Aunt Gladys married Harold Haskill.  I admit that his first name may be factious, but it is the best I can summon from memory.  Here again, there is a faint memory of calling him Uncle Harold.  Plus, spelling his family name is based on what I heard so many years ago, because there is no written proof of the spelling.  Perhaps because of this uncertainty in his name, research has failed to discover any records of their marriage.  When Aunt Gladys married Harold Haskill is not known, and no records have been uncovered when or where the marriage took place.  As described in the essay Early Years: 1940 to 1944, the Haskill family also lived in Santa Ana a few blocks due West of our Cypress Avenue house.  While I do not remember them visiting our house, I remember visiting their house a few times.

I do not know what Uncle Harold did for a living, but at some point he was in the US Navy or Us Coast Guard.  This knowledge is based on the only photo of him in a sailor’s uniform.

Harold Haskill

According to his uniform insignia, he was a Petty Officer First Class.  This rank is equivalent to a Staff Sergeant in the US Army, or US Marines.  Since I never saw him in his uniform, I do not know if he was still in the service at the time. Uncle Harold also had been previously married and had a son that was about one or two years younger than me.  His name has long been forgotten, but for this essay I’ll name him Harry.  There is a photo of all four kids while in Santa Ana in 1940.

Harry, Billy, Donna, Royal

This date is based on the following photo of just Donna, Billy and me that I know was taken at the Cypress house.  My height relative to Donna’s is about the same in both photos.  Thus, I believe both photos were taken about the same year.  The background in the first photo may have been taken in the Haskill’s backyard. 

Royal, Donna and Billy

Besides remembering some visits to the Haskill’s house, there is one other faint memory while they lived in Santa Ana.  I remember boarding a small boat moored in Newport Harbor, and it was not a rowboat!  How we reached this small boat I am not sure, but it must have been by some sort of boat.  My memory is blank on how we got to his boat!  There was a cabin below deck that was large enough for everyone.  To the best of my recollection the reason we went to the boat was for lunch or a dinner, probably lunch because there is no memory of anyone cooking.  It also seems as though we did this excursion a couple of times, but that thought is really vague.  That Uncle Haskill owned a boat moored in Newport Harbor raises the question about his job and financial status.  How he earned a living is not known.  Certainly, my folks never mentioned it to me, and of course I never ask.  There is the possibility Uncle Harold was the fireman I heard about, but I never saw him in any fireman’s gear.

Because Dad’s new job at the Terminal Island Naval Air Station, we moved to Belmont Shore in Long Beach in August 1941.  It is unclear when Uncle Harold, Aunt Gladys and my cousins also moved to Long Beach.  I do not remember visiting them until we had moved to North Long Beach in August 1942.  Their house was near the Virginia Country Club in the Bixby Knolls area of Long Beach.  I remember it was a relatively short walk to the golf course, certainly no more than a couple of blocks.  I believe this area was rather affluent at the time, so this fact also raises questions about Uncle Harold’s financial status.  To my knowledge Aunt Gladys was not working while married to Uncle Harold.  I remember several visits to their house, but none to ours.  Our house in North Long Beach was rather small, while their house seemed much larger.  It was at this house I remember Donna, Billy and me playing a game we called “Mousey”, which drove the adults nuts!  Donna had a play broom with a handle about two or three feet in length.  Billy and I would be on all fours pretending to be mice.  Donna would chase us around the room saying, “Shoo, you mice!”, or “Get out of my house!”  Billy and I would scramble around the room squealing like we thought mice would.  To our folks it was pandemonium and way too loud.  At first they said go into the bedroom, close the door and play your game in there.  But we were still too noisy and we were told to find something quiet to do.  Whenever we played Mousey, the game only lasted about five minutes and we were told to stop.  I thought it was our most fun game of all.  Now you may ask, did Harry play Mousey with us?  I never remember him participating.  Why I do not recall.

The best I can determine, sometime in late 1942 to early 1943 they moved to another house closer to downtown Long Beach.  Basically, the house was located on Long Beach’s major street, American Boulevard.  The house was located just one vacant lot north of 10^th Street. Billy and I would sometimes play “war” in the vacant lot.  We visited them many times while they lived here, which also to the best I can recollect was about 1945.  In fact, it could be they moved at the conclusion of World War II.  There are several memories and experiences when they lived here that should be told.

In the center of American Avenue were streetcar tracks for the Pacific Electric Red Cars.  Pacific Electric was a mass transit system with about 1,100 miles of tracks throughout Southern California.  Actually, there were more tracks than in New York City at the time.  Red Cars were very popular during the war due to gas rationing.  However, Californians preferred their cars and with the advent of freeways, Pacific Electric began to decline and was eventually phased out.  The last Red Car operated in 1961.  This photo shows a typical Red Car seen on American Boulevard.

Pacific Electric Red Car, Circa 19443

The photo shows two Red Cars connected together, but most of the time only a single car passed their house.  I have a distinct memory of Grandmother Graham and I riding a Red Car from Santa Ana to Los Angles to shop.  There is a faint memory of Aunt Gladys, Donna, Billy and me catching the Red Car near their house and also going to Los Angeles to shop.  I believe those were the only times that the Red Cars were used by me.  My other experiences remembered while they live here involved games we played, Easter Egg hunts, movies and a very traumatic event.

Donna, Billy and I continued to play Mousey, but our parents found a board game for us to play, to keep us quiet.  The game was Monopoly!  Donna was always the banker, while Billy and I usually fought over which token we wanted.  We both always wanted either the race car or airplane, with Billy usually getting the race car.  Needless to say, Monopoly was a long game that we never finished.  One or all of us would get bored and the game became chaos.  I am not sure we ever really understood the object of the game, we just liked playing with the money.  There was one Easter Egg Hunt I remember that had an unfortunate end.

In 1943 or 1944, Donna, Billy, Harry and I helped Aunt Gladys and Mom color about two dozen eggs for Easter at the American Boulevard house.  The Easter Egg Hunt began when Aunt Gladys and Mom went into the backyard and hid these eggs.  The four of us began our hunt with the goal to see who could find the most eggs.  Although remembering who found the most eggs has long faded from memory, we thought it was great fun.  So, one of us had the bright idea to have another egg hunt.  Rather than the adults hiding the eggs, we decided to take turns hiding the eggs and the remaining three doing the hunting.  After several hunts one of us noticed the eggs were cracked.  We did not have any idea why they were cracked, but noticed the eggs were in worse shape when Harry hid the eggs.  Donna, Billy and I decided to “cheat” and watch Harry hide the eggs.  Much to our horror, it became crystal clear why the eggs were being cracked.  Harry’s technique for hiding the eggs was to throw them at a hiding place!  After we “hunted” Harry’s eggs, we decided to end our egg hunting game.  After all the eggs would not have survived another “hiding” by Harry.  Looking back on this incidence leads me to believe we did not consider Harry as part of our group.  Plus, I do not remember playing with him very often.  Besides playing various games at the house Donna, Billy and I went to several movies.

There was a movie theatre within walking distance from Aunt Gladys’ house.  This theatre was located on Atlantic Avenue at 10^th Street, only about one block east of American Boulevard.  Usually the three of us would walk to the theatre on Saturday afternoons.  There are several movies I remember seeing at this theatre.  The movies we saw were in the Fall of 1943 through the summer of 1944.  There were usually two movies, a newsreel and a cartoon shown during these years.  One of the movies was the main feature and the second one would be a “B” movie.  The newsreel was short films of news of the day, usually about the war.  Of course, the cartoon was our favorite.  Cartoons were usually a Disney character or one of the Looney Tunes characters.  Movies I remember seeing at this theatre were Lassie Come Home, Guadalcanal Diary, Sahara, Fighting Seabees and Adventures of Mark Twain.  Lassie Come Home was memorable because it was in color and the star was a Collie.  Movies in color were rare in these years, and all the other listed moves were the standard of the day; black and white.  Guadalcanal Diary and Sahara were very memorable war films of the day.  As mentioned in an earlier essay, Guadalcanal Diary was about US Marines fighting the Japanese and my favorite teacher in Sixth Grade was a US Marine that fought on the island.  Sahara was Humphrey Bogart fighting Rommel’s Afrika Corps in the Sahara Desert.  Billy and I played Sahara in the vacant lot after seeing this movie.  Adventures of Mark Twain was memorable for two events shown in the movie; his birth and death.  Samuel Clements (Mark Twain) was born in 1845 when Haley’s Comet passed by earth in its orbit, and was visible to the naked eye.  His death occurred 75 years later in 1910, when Haley’s Comet returned to be visible again.  I was impressed by Haley’s Comet returning every 75 years, and determined I would be 50 years old when it returned again.  Unfortunately, in 1985 there was too much light pollution to provide a clear view of the comet.  The final memory of being at Aunt Gladys’ house occurred at Christmas 1944.

I was nine years old and had received my first pocket knife from “Santa”.  It was a small knife with only one blade.  That blade was not over an inch and a half in length.  We were at Aunt Gladys’ for dinner and to exchange presents.  While Aunt Gladys and Mom were in the kitchen fixing dinner, I was trying to open a present.  The present used Scotch tape to secure the wrapping.  After failing to undo the tape, I decided to use my knife to undo the tape.  Well, using my knife was not a good idea!  The knife slipped and I plunged the blade into my left wrist about, two inches from the heel of my hand.  Surprisingly, there was no great pain.  Miraculously, the blade missed tendons, arteries, veins and hit no bones.  Who removed he knife from my wrist, Mom, Dad, or me, I do not remember.  Somehow I was taken, or walked, into the kitchen.  The blood was washed away and pressure applied to stop the bleeding.   Aunt Gladys retrieved a Band-Aid to cover the wound.  Besides the miracle of the blade missing everything, I thought it was also a miracle I did not cry or shed nary a tear.  How I remained so calm is a hard to comprehend, even to this day.  The scar from this accident still exists on my wrist’s inner side.  This accident was a difficult way to learn knifes can be dangerous. Despite this collection of memories that occurred at Aunt Gladys’ houses, I have no memory of them visiting us during the war.  However, here is a photo of Donna holding a two year old Berta at the Sebren house, indicating they probably did visit us during the war.

Roberta and Donna, Circa 1945

Based on Berta’s age, the photo would have been taken sometime in 1945.  Thus, this photo supports my thought that sometime in 1945 the Haskills moved to the San Diego area.  Whether it was before or after World War II was over, I am not sure.  The cause for the move is unclear, but there is a vague impression that Uncle Harold moved for business. or financial, reasons.  Although I remember riding with my folks to San Diego, I do not remember visiting them after they moved.  What is remembered is that Aunt Gladys divorced Harold Haskill, and was living in National City, a suburb of San Diego.  It is unknown what year we first traveled to see Aunt Gladys and our cousins, but it must have been either 1946 or 1947.  Her first house in National City was large single family residence, and was located on Highland Avenue, a major street to the east of downtown.  Driving from the Sebren house to Aunt Gladys’ was a real journey in those days, it took at least four hours once we left our house.

We drove US Highway 1, which went through all the coastal towns from Seal Beach to San Diego.  The most exciting part of the drive was when we drove through Camp Pendleton, because there was always the chance to see Marine tanks maneuvering through the hills.  Even though the trip took over four hours, one way, I do not remember any overnight visits.  What is remembered is that my folks let me stay at Aunt Gladys’ place for at least a week during the summer.  Which year was my first stay in National City?  What year is not clear, but I remember on my first visit Billy had either been in the Eighth Grade, or he had been promoted to the Eighth Grade.  Since his birthdate was late November 1933, it is probable he would have started school in 1938.  Given Billy started school in 1938, he would have finished the Eighth Grade in June 1947.  If he started school in 1939, he would have been entering Eighth Grade in September 1947.  In either case, my first visit had to be in the summer of 1947.

It seems that after this 1947 summer stay at Aunt Gladys’, my summer visit became an annual event.  How many summers I spent in National City is also somewhat of a blur.  Based on some specific remembered events, I believe it was each summer from 1947 through 1950.  These visits halted because by 1950 my summers at home were filled playing baseball, primarily with the Lakewood American Legion team.  Yes, I began playing American Legion baseball in 1950, but I know Billy and I saw a movie that was not released until July 1950.  Thus, it seems reasonable that my 1950 visit occurred after the baseball season was completed.  While certain specific activities, or events can be recounted, in which year they occurred is also a blur.

Perhaps things are a blur because Aunt Gladys worked during the day, which meant Donna, Billy and I were left to our own devices. By 1947 we were too old to play Mousey anymore, which meant new activities had to be experienced.  It is possible we played card games, but the usual day’s activities took place outdoors.  Usually, Billy would show me his favorite places and activities, while Donna was visiting with some of her friends.  After all she was probably a high school sophomore on this first visit, and did not want to be involved with dumb boy things.  There were even some nights where Billy and I roamed the streets until around nine o’clock, which was Aunt Gladys’ curfew.  Our greatest crime on these nights out was ringing doorbells and running to hide.  We stopped after about three or four doorbells, because Billy was afraid the people would call the police.  I thought the visits were great because there was little or no adult supervision.  Aunt Gladys trusted us and knew we would not cause any real problems in whatever activities we undertook.  It just seemed like a perfect way to spend some of the summer away from my folks.  Aunt Gladys’ rules just did not seem as stringent as Mom’s during the day, or Dad’s in the evening.  However, there was one night adventure that we all enjoyed, even Aunt Gladys.

Whether it was planned, or just a coincidence, my 1948 visit coincided with the San Diego Padres playing a home stand.  You may remember, Jack Graham (Second Cousin, Once Removed) was playing for the Padres in 1948 and was hitting home runs at a record pace.  I wanted to see him play at Lane Field while staying with Aunt Gladys.  Either I talked Aunt Gladys into attend a game, or Jack knew I was in town and arranged for tickets.  I almost believe he was aware I was in town, but I am not sure.  This game had to be early in my summer vacation because it was before July 23 when Jack was beaned while playing the Los Angeles Angels at Wrigley Field.  Besides attending the game, we also had the good fortune that this night was Fan Night.  Fan Night allowed us to be on the field prior to the game, to meet and photo graph the players.  We met Jack and one of Aunt Gladys’ photos of Jack is in the essay A Baseball Journey.  It is unclear if Jack had ever met Aunt Gladys, Donna and Billy before this on-field encounter.  I do not believe Jack hit a home run that night, and I certainly do not remember if the Padres won or lost.  It was a memorable evening for me, and hopefully for everyone else.

Doorbell ringing and seeing Jack at the Padres’ game were the memorable highlights of my first two summers staying with Aunt Gladys.  Most of the activities were normal, everyday sorts of things young teenage boys do during an unscripted summer day.  However, there was one activity that was a regular event each summer.  Donna, Billy and I would board a city bus and ride into San Diego’s famous Balboa Park.  Balboa Park has many attractions, but the one we visited was the world famous San Diego Zoo.  The zoo trip was an all day event from morning until late afternoon before we would catch a bus back to the house. We went to movies in National City, but the theatre was within walking distance.  After my visit in the summer of 1948, Aunt Gladys moved to a new house.  It is a best guess that my first visit to this new house was in the summer of 1949.

The new house was located a couple of houses north of Eighth Street.  The new house was only a few blocks from the Highland Avenue house, so the neighborhood and area was familiar.  In fact, I do not believe Donna or Billy had to change schools.  This new house seemed smaller, but it had three bedrooms.  It could be the rooms were smaller than the first house, which gave it a smaller appearance.  Billy and I slept in the front bedroom, while Donna occupied the back bedroom.  Aunt Gladys’s bedroom was between the other two bedrooms. There was a garage on the right side of the property and it was set behind the house.  There are some photos of Aunt Gladys, Donna and Billy taken at this house, but determining when they were taken is a real guess.  These photos also include Berta and myself.  Attempting to determine our age in the photos is a real challenge.  To me it is difficult to know your own age just by looking at old photos, especially when there is not a specific remembered event connected to the photo.  After all, these photos were taken over 60 years ago.  So, I ask Berta and Cousin Carol for their opinions about our ages in various photos.  After receiving their opinions on these photos, I reviewed several cousin photos from the late 40s and early 50s, looking at heights, hair styles, shoes, etc., in an attempt to estimate everyone’s age.  As a result of this review, an approximate age can be estimated to assist in establishing when the photo was taken.  This approach is certainly subjective, but I challenge you to look at your own childhood photos and positively determine how old you were at the time.  Time dated photos are not allowed.  Then add a quarter or half a century to your memory and see how well you are at estimating your age.

It seems unusual that despite all the visits between the Price and Bramley Cousins there were so few photos of us all together.  The only previous photos of Donna and Billy were taken about 1940 in Santa Ana at both the Cypress house, and probably at the Haskill house.  The first photo showing all the Price and Bramley Cousins was taken during the summer of 1949.  This photo was taken with us sitting on the front porch of Aunt Gladys’ second house.

Royal, Roberta, Donna and Billy, Circa 1949

Depending upon when during the summer the photo was taken, I am either 13 or 14 years old.  On this basis, Berta would be six years old, Donna 18 and Billy 15.  There are three reasons for placing this photo in the summer of 1949.  First, I have a regular haircut, while in 1950 I began sporting a flattop hair style as a high school sophomore.  Second, a photo of me at age 12 or 13, Roberta and our other Price Cousins, Carol and Dave.  Finally, Berta estimated her age as five, but a year was added for her since she did not attend the Padres baseball game in 1948.  Billy was actually taller than me, but the photo does not have that appearance.  It appears Billy is relaxed, while I seem to be overly stiff and straight.  Plus, my expression is lousy!  For some reason, my facial expressions are sour or non-smiling.  Guess I did not like posing.

This photo also brought back a faint memory that Berta also stayed with Aunt Gladys, because I remember Berta staying with Donna in the back bedroom.  Whether it was 1949 or 1950 I am not sure.  However, at some point Berta also began spending a week at Aunt Gladys’ also.  While my visits came to an end after 1950, due to playing baseball, Berta continued her visits for a time.  In fact, Berta remembers riding Greyhound buses to National City for her visits.  I have no memory of riding Greyhound buses to National City.  If I did ride them, that memory has been swallowed by a black hole.  There was another member of Aunt Gladys’ family that has not been mentioned so far.  This next photo sows Berta sitting on the back porch with Smokey, Aunt Gladys’ cocker spaniel.  Seeing Smokey brings a funny story to mind.

Roberta and Smokey, Circa 1949

Dad had bought some items from a joke shop in Long Beach.  Dad loved to play practical jokes on family, friends and colleagues.  One of these items was a realistic replica of dog poop.  When our folks took us for our summer stay at Aunt Gladys’, he brought this “poop” along.  While Aunt Gladys’ was in the kitchen we placed the “poop on the living room floor.  We alerted her that something had happened in the living room that she should come see.  When Aunt Gladys saw the “poop” she said, “Oh, Smokey!  He has never done that before.”  She returned to the kitchen and returned with a spatula and napkin to clean up the mess.  Of course that is when the real nature of the “poop” was discovered.  At this discovery, she decided to extend the joke.  Billy was not home and he had a brand new pair of Levi’s on his bed.  She suggested Billy would have a fit if he found the “poop” on his new jeans.  When Billy came home and found the “poop” on his new Levi’s, we heard a “Smokey!” from his bedroom along with some choice words about Smokey’s longevity.  Once Billy discovered the real nature of the “poop”, everyone had a good laugh.  The only one that did not share the laughter was Smokey; he just did not understand that he was the object of the joke.  Smokey was not the only new member of the family, Aunt Gladys had re-married again!

Exactly when she re-married is not known, and searching marriage records to date has been fruitless.  My only memory is that the new husband appeared at this second house.  Whether they were married when I arrived for my 1949 or 1950 visit, I do not know.  However, my best recollection is that I did not meet my new Uncle Roy Gardner until the 1950 summer.  Uncle Roy was in the US Navy as shown in this photo. 

Roy Gardner, Circa 1950

Based on the insignia on his arm, I believe he was a Chief Petty Officer.  He must have made the US Navy a career from all the “hash marks” on his sleeve.  If the count is correct, there are seven “hashes”, at four years per “hash”, which represents 28 years.  My memories of Uncle Roy are certainly sketchy, and how often I saw him is questionable.  It seems he was present only one summer.  However, there were some conversations with him that are remembered.  One of the first things he told me was related to his name.  Plus, I believe he felt some connection with me due to the similarities of our names.  He told me that he was not, nor related to, Roy G. Gardner, America's most infamous prison escapee and the most celebrated outlaw and escaped convict during the Roaring Twenties.  It seems having the same name as this outlaw was something he was proud about, although I’m not sure why.  This conclusion was reached because he mentioned it more than once, as though to stress he was not the outlaw.  Our other conversations involved his most recent Navy assignment.

Uncle Roy’s most recent Navy assignment was as a member of a US Navy Antarctic Expedition.  My recollection is that he had just returned from the expedition, and that it was one conducted by Admiral Byrd.  Until I began researching these expeditions that I uncovered the expedition was conducted earlier, probably before he married Aunt Gladys.  Admiral Byrd’s fourth expedition to the Antarctic continent was Operation Highjump in 1946.  The next Navy Antarctic Expedition was Operation Windmill led by Commander Gerald Ketchum in 1947-1948.  Operation Windmill was a follow-up to the 1946 Admiral Byrd expedition.  After discovering the dates for these Navy expeditions, I have to assume Uncle Roy may have been on both expeditions, but both assignments were completed before I met him.  I have a memory of an envelope with a polar bear on the front with the name of the expedition, but I cannot find it anywhere.  It should be noted there are no polar bears in the Antarctic.  There was one remembered conversation that was really a geography lesson.  He asked me, “Where on earth are you the greatest distance from land in any direction?”  His answer was in the Pacific Ocean half way between Hawaii and San Diego.  No idea if this answer is correct or not.  Since Uncle Roy was in the Navy, it was accepted as true.  Uncle Roy must have been going to the Naval base daily, because I do not remember him being around during the day.  As a consequence, Billy and I had some interesting adventures this summer of 1950.

Remembering a specific movie Billy and I saw has helped me pinpoint my 1950 National City visit.  Billy and I saw Winchester ’73, which was released in July 1950.  I had seen the movie at home, but Billy had not seen it.  Jimmy Stewart was the star and it was a great Cowboys and Indians, Bad Guy and firearm movie.  What more could any young boy want in an action-adventure movie?  Besides this movie, Billy took me to Balboa Stadium one night to watch motorcycle races.  While I was no stranger to car racing, I had never seen motorcycle racing before.  We sat on a grassy hill at one end of the dirt track, which made it difficult to follow any racer all the way around the track.  Motorcycle racing was really different than car racing because the rider had to put a foot on the ground going around the corners.  Even given this difference, motorcycle racing did not impress me.  This night of racing was my first and last motorcycle race.  Billy was becoming interested in car racing and he talked of attending drag car races near San Diego.  His interest in car racing was peaked when he became acquainted with a midget car race driver.

Billy became acquainted with Bill Vukovich, a well known midget car race driver.  Billy and some of his friends would visit the garage where Vukovich kept his midget.  Billy talked about polishing the car, as well as talking with the race driver.  Vukovich moved from midget racing to Indy car racing in the early 1950s.  In fact, Vukovich won the 1953 and 1954 Indianapolis 500.  Vukovich was killed in the 1955 Indy 500 while leading the race.  Dad and I were listening to this race and both felt sad at his death, because there was a connection to him through Billy.  Actually, I felt the same sadness I had experienced when Dad’s friend Rex Mays was killed racing Indy style cars, as explained in the essay Formative Years: 1950 to 1953.  What really topped off this summer was the motorized wheels that Billy had purchased.

Billy had bought a Cushman motor scooter.  These scoters were popular in the years following World War II.  A typical Cushman motor scooter of the time is shown in the following pho.

Cushman Motor Scooter, Circa 1952

His scooter did not appear as custom as in the photo.  Billy’s Cushman was dark blue and the seat was black in color.  Your speed was controlled by twisting the right grip.  The brake was another pedal on the right side.  The pedal on the left was a clutch to shift gears.  There were only two forward gears, and the gear shift was a rod that extended from the slot just under the seat.  This gear shift is visible, but extremely difficult to see.  Billy took me for several rides on the scooter, which created a lust in me to own one also.  As a result, I began to develop a heart-rending story as to why I “needed” a Cushman.

As all kids know, sell your idea to your Mom first and you are over half way to obtaining your desire.  I knew Mom was coming at the end of my visit and there would be one day before Dad arrived.  My plan involved taking Mom for a ride to convince her how great a Cushman would be to own.  So, I had to talk Billy into letting me use the scooter solo.  Billy understood what I was attempting and was willing to indulge me in this scheme.  Well, right out of the gate there was a problem; I could not shift from low to high gear.  After several attempts, Billy decided I should gun the engine, slip the clutch and start in high gear.  After a few tries, this technique worked and I rode a couple of practice runs up the street and back.  Now I was ready for Mom.

Since Mom was arriving a day before Dad, I suspect she rode a Greyhound bus, since we did not own two cars.  If you are saying, “He was not 16 years old and could not get a driver’s license, so how could he drive a Cushman.”  To the best of my recollection, in 1950s California you did not require a driver’s license to use a Cushman on the roads.  This fact was also at the heart of my “needy” story.  After talking Mom into going for a ride with me, and since Mom was game to try anything I figured a Cushman was in my future.  As we started up the street I began explaining how a Cushman was ideal for delivering papers.  As we turned around and head back to the house there was a big hiccup in my plans.  I was busy extolling the Cushman’s virtues as we approached a cross street.  A car appeared on our right that surprised me.  I hit the brake that threw us forward, but I did not lose control. Although the car stopped this incident just scared Mom and me.  Well, despite all the positives for a Cushman, that one near mishap doomed my plan.  I do not remember any further discussion about owning a Cushman motor scooter.  I was to learn later the dangers of riding motor scooters, and will be explained later in this essay.  Plus, Dad did not favor motorcycles or scooters due to his own experiences.  The Cushman adventure is my last memory of visiting Aunt Gladys during the summer.  However, as previously mentioned Berta continued these summer visits for some time.

Berta told me a story about one of her visits to Aunt Gladys’ that was very traumatic for her at the time.  Donna took her to a movie that scared Berta to death.  The movie was King Kong, which scared her out of her wits.  It is not hard to imagine a nine year old being scared, seeing the movie on a large theatre screen.  I originally saw it on TV, which on a “boob tube” it does not have such an overpowering effect as it would in a theatre.  The original King Kong movie was released in 1933.  This original movie was re-released in 1938, 1942, 1948, 1952 and 1956. There are some photos taken at Aunt Gladys’ that Berta estimates her age as eight or nine.  Hence, I believe Berta probably saw the movie in 1952.  One of these photos was also taken on the back porch with Smokey, Mom and Donna. 

Roberta, Smokey, Mom and Donna, Circa 1952

One of the other photos is the only one of Aunt Gladys as I remember her.  I believe his photo was taken on the same visit as the one above, because Berta is wearing the same dress.  Uncle Roy is also in this photo wearing civilian clothes, which may mean he had retired from the Navy, but that is only a guess.  How much longer Uncle Roy remained and Uncle, I am not sure.  All I know for sure is that they divorced at some point, because I have not been able to find any records.  It is estimated that the divorce occurred within a year or two of this photo.

Uncle Roy, Aunt Gladys, Roberta and Dad, Circa 1952

In addition to these visits to the San Diego area, there are memories of Aunt Gladys, Donna and Billy visiting at the Sebren house.  Dates for these visits are buried so deep in memory, they cannot be retrieved.  Even the duration of their visits are not recoverable, their stays could haven a week or more, or only a weekend.  The only memories that bubble to the surface involve one at Christmas, and another time when Billy and I slept in “The Little House”.  The Christmas memory is really weird; we had been listening to constant Christmas music on the radio for the week before Christmas.  Then the day after Christmas, radio programming returned to regular music.  I did not understand this change, because it was still Christmas vacation from school.  Billy commented that “Jingle Bells” was still being played, but I countered that “Jingle Bells” was not a Christmas song or carol.  I still believe that to be true, “Jingle Bells” is a seasonal song usually heard during the Christmas time.  To understand sleeping in “The Little House” requires some background.  This structure did not exist when we moved into the Sebren house in 1944, and it arrived years later.  Its existence is a story in and of itself.

There was a child’s playhouse in our next door neighbor’s backyard to our South.  This playhouse was about eight feet square, walls about seven feet high with a gabbled roof.  The peak of the roof was probably at least ten feet, with no interior ceiling.  Each wall had a window and there was a door on at the front of the playhouse.  I believe our neighbor built the house and it existed there when we moved into the Sebren house.  Around 1947 or 1948 the Cassidy family became our neighbors when the original neighbor sold the property.  When they moved in the Cassidy family included Dean, Mildred and daughter Carolyn.  A son Eddie was born after they moved in.  Carolyn was about two years younger than Berta, and they became good friends and playmates.  For some unknown reason, Dean considered the playhouse dangerous and wanted to get rid of it.  Whatever the reason, Dad agreed to take the playhouse.  Dad worked out an ingenious way to get the playhouse into our backyard without dismantling it.  All it took was some grunting and sweating.

Dad’s method for moving the playhouse was simple; place the house on pipes and roll it to our property.  Dad used oil well pipe that Homer Cherry provided from his company.  Additional pipe was placed in front of the house as it was pushed toward our property.  Eventually the first pipe was uncovered by the house and this pipet was taken back to the front edge of the house as the house moved closer to its resting place in our yard.  Since the property line fence was a simple mesh wire, it was freed from the end post and swung aside.  With Dad, Homer and Dean pushing the playhouse was finally resting on our property.  We re-named the playhouse “The Little House” and it served many purposes.  It was used as a storage shed for some of Dad’s things, our toys, as well as a place to play.  Today the stuff stored in The Little House would probably be called junk, Dad even setup a drafting board for himself.  I could find only one photo that contained “The Little House”.  The photo only contains a portion of the house, but the door and part of a window are visible behind Pepper and Sandy.  “The Little House” became an integral part of our life over the years and it served us well.

Pepper, Sandy and Royal, Circa 1951

As I entered the High School years, contact with Aunt Gladys, Donna and Billy began to fade. The only time we saw Aunt Gladys and our cousins was when they visited us at the Sebren house. It is my recollection, I was attending high school the time Billy and I slept in “The Little House” during one of their visits.  Seeing them almost became non-existent once I entered college and married Beverly.  I believe within a year or two after Beverly and I married, Aunt Gladys married her fourth husband, whom we knew only as Jack Jackson.  I place their marriage after 1955 because there is no memory of seeing Uncle Jack while I was still living at home with my folks.  To date, their marriage records have not been discovered.  I remember Beverly and I meeting Uncle Jack with Aunt Gladys while they were visiting my folks.  Reviewing some family notes, I discovered some family genealogy information for Uncle Jack.  His full name was Ernest “Jack” N. Jackson, and was born in Nebraska on 16 January 1901.  Thus, he was ten years older than Aunt Gladys.  Uncle Jack and Aunt Gladys had a house located in an area East of National City.  Their house was located in a rural area, that I remember Dad showing some photos of the views from the house.  These views seemed to show the area was either semi-desert, or maybe in fact desert.

I remember Mom, Dad and Berta used to visit them once in a while, but Beverly and I never made the trip to visit them.  In fact, Beverly and I saw them several times in the late 1950s into the 1960s.  The primary reason for their visiting my folks was when Uncle Jack was seeking medical treatments at the Navy Hospital in Long Beach.  When Uncle Jack went to the hospital, Aunt Gladys stayed with my folks.  Uncle Jack had been in the Navy, hence his seeking treatment at the Navy Hospital.  This hospital was located at the corner of Bellflower Boulevard and Seventh Street, but no longer exists.  I believe there is a Veterans facility there now.  Best I can remember is that the duration of Uncle Jack’s hospital visit varied from a couple of days to perhaps a week.  Depending on the length of their visit, Beverly and I did not always visit to see them before they returned home.  Because we did not see them on each of their visits, it was during this time I began to lose contact with Aunt Gladys and Uncle Jack.  I do not believe Donna or Billy accompanied them on these visits, at least not that is remembered.  It was during this time that Donna and Billy were also marrying, which meant they were also beginning a new life. As a consequence, contact with them was also lost.  Obtaining a college education, marriage, the start of our own family and buying our own home just seemed to consume all our time.  Because of the contact my folks maintained with Uncle Jack and Aunt Gladys, along with information from Berta, I have been able to discover some information on Billy and Donna.

Beverly and I saw Billy and his wife at the Sebren house on one occasion.  Billy introduced his wife Nita.  Research has uncovered they were married 17 October 1959 in Clark County, Nevada (probably Las Vegas).  Nita’s full name was Juanita P. Bramley, nee Paul.  It is assumed they met in the San Diego area.  The time Beverly and I met Billy and Nita was prior to their moving to Buena Park.  Berta also remembers them moving there, and exchanged Christmas cards a few times.  But eventually, she did not receive any responses and stopped sending cards.  Billy’s interest in car racing resulted in his racing midgets.  Mom told me that Billy really appreciated Dad coming to watch him race.  I remember Dad talking about Billy racing, but I thought it was tin the San Diego area.  It seems Billy was racing in the Gardena area, probably at the old Carrel Speedway, or perhaps after it was changed to the Ascot Speedway.  Dad took a photo of a midget racer on a trailer, which I suspect was the car Billy drove.

Billy’s Midget Racer, Circa 1960s

Donna married Clifford E. Brown in Alameda, California on 14 January 1957.  Donna was 25 at the time and Clifford was 36.  Alameda is an island city in the East San Francisco Bay, just South of Oakland.  The island is separated from the mainland by a narrow channel.  Berta, with Dad and Mom visited Donna and Aunt Gladys somewhere in the Greater Los Angeles area sometime in the early 1960s.  Donna had a young boy about one or two years old.  She did not remember the boy’s name or age, just that he was not very old.  Searching Ancestry records has uncovered a William D. Brown born on 14 April 1960 in Alameda, California.  The mother’s maiden name was Bramley, so it is assumed the mother is Donna.  Berta was under the impression Donna had divorced, but no divorce records have been found.  Based on some information about Uncle Jack, I believe that Aunt Gladys was visiting Donna while Uncle Jack was undergoing treatment at the Naval Hospital.

Discovering Uncle Jack’s full name from the newly discovered family genealogic information also provided information on his death.  To confirm this information an Ancestry search was conducted.  A California Death record was found that agreed with the family information.  Uncle Jack passed away on 15 May 1968 at the Naval Hospital in Long Beach.  According to the family records, Uncle Jack received full military honors.  Nothing has been uncovered as to his burial site.    I believe this marriage for Aunt Gladys was her longest and happiest.  I do not know if Aunt Gladys continued living alone after Uncle Jack’s passing, but I’m sure Dad and Mom kept in touch with her in some manner.  This guess is based on the fact that Aunt Gladys, Donna and Billy made a hospital visit to see Dad about a week before he passed away.  It was after Dad’s passing that contact was lost with Aunt Gladys, Donna and Billy, at least for me.

Berta, and perhaps Mom, continued to exchange Christmas cards for a while.  Berta indicated that Aunt Gladys began living with Donna in the National City area.  It seems Donna returned to National City after her divorce.  The card exchange continued for a few years, but eventually Berta received nothing from National City.  While doing research on Ancestry for information on Aunt Gladys, Donna and Billy, I discovered a Social Security Death Notice for Aunt Gladys.  According to this notice Aunt Gladys passed away 13 December 2007 in Spring Valley, San Diego County, California.  Aunt Gladys was 96 years old at the time of her passing.  To my knowledge, Donna and Billy are still living somewhere in California.  To date nothing has been discovered concerning them.  All three of them contributed to my growing up, each in their own way.

Aunt Gladys, I believe, had the greatest influence on my growing up.  Perhaps the major reason for her impact was due to spending lots of time with her.  When we lived in Santa Ana and Long Beach our families visited each other on a constant basis.  After they moved to National City, our visiting did subside, but did not end.  That is because Berta and I visited them during the summer for week long visits.  Besides our visits to National City, Aunt Gladys, Donna and Billy visited us many times and stayed for several days at our house for each visit.  Our visits provided me the opportunity to know Aunt Gladys on a very personal basis.  From my perspective, she was always easy going and light hearted.  I remember her as a happy and easy to talk to on any subject.  She had a great sense of humor, as evident in the fake “poop” story.  One time while they were visiting us, she commented that Geritol really made her feel good.  I told her, “Well, you should because Geritol is 25% alcohol!”  She replied, “Are you kidding?’  I replied, “No.”  At that we both laughed about her using the product.  Despite her outward demeanor during our visits, perhaps those were her happiest moments.  To have three broken marriages before finding the right man must have been very disheartening and sad.  From my perspective, her multiple marriages were a search for the father she did not have.  Grandfather Robert Alfred Price left his three children in Kansas and headed to California.  Aunt Gladys was just eleven years old when he left them to be raised by Great-Grandmother Huckstadt and other Aunts and Uncles.  Then he disinherited his children after re-marrying.  Any child would be affected by such treatment by a father, and your only parent.  Whatever affect her early childhood had on her later life is not really known, but her multiple marriages provided a unique situation for Berta and me.

Due to Aunt Gladys’ multiple marriages, while growing up that with each marriage I had a new uncle.  As it turned out, I only knew three of these men and Berta only knew two of them.  Writing this essay, it occurred to me that only one of her husbands was my uncle, William A Bramley.  Her other husbands were, in a sense, Step-Uncles.  However, Ancestry classifies these last three men as the Husband of Aunt Gladys.  I rather prefer Step-Uncle because it seems more descriptive.  In reality, I never knew my Uncle William A. Bramley, but knew Step0-Unle Harold, Step-Uncle Roy and Step-Uncle Jack, while Berta knew Step-Uncle Roy and Step-Uncle Jack.  In retrospect, I do not believe any of them had an impact on my growing up because they were in my life for such a short time.  Uncle Harold (#2) was in my life the longest, about five years, but I really do not remember how we interacted.  I have no negative memories about any of them, while Berta had an uncomfortable experience with Step-Uncle Roy when he was drunk.  It seems he was teasing Smokey, which seemed rather cruel and caused an argument with Aunt Gladys.  Beta and I were fortunate to have only one Mom and Dad, while Donna and Billy had to contend with three Step-Dads.  How having multiple Step-Dads affected their lives I am unaware.  I have no memory of either of them complaining about Step-Dads.  It is entirely possible there are no complaint memories because we three enjoyed each other and had fun being together.

During the years in Santa Ana and Long Beach, Donna was like an older sister to me.  She was four years older, which at the time I just knew she was older.  Donna was very tall compared to Billy and me.  I suspect Donna gained her size from her father.  I would estimate her final height was between five foot eight to six feet.  Her height overwhelmed me, which just added to the feeling she was so much older.  Donna joined in our playing games of all kinds, but she did not play the boy games that Billy and I dreamed up.  Once they moved to National City, Donna was well into her teenage years, which resulted in us growing apart somewhat.  We had different interests and activities.  There are several photos of Donna and Berta together, from the time Berta was about two until she was about nine or ten.  Donna treated Berta like the sister she did not have.  I believe there was a special relationship between Donna and Berta.  I believe Donna and Billy were close also. 

Billy was the big brother I always wanted.  I looked up to him and thought whatever he said was the absolute truth.  Yes, I was gullible!  Billy was a free spirit, probably because he had no father influence.  Billy pushed the envelope, doing things I thought outrageous and would not do on my own.  From my perspective, Billy could do no wrong.  Whatever he wanted to do, I followed.  After they moved to National City, Billy was also growing into the teenage years and his interests were becoming different than mine.  He was entering high school and was interested in girls and racing, while my passion was baseball.  Billy was growing up faster than I was.  He earned money and had a Cushman scooter, while I did not even have a Learner’s Permit yet.  It just seemed he was growing up faster than me, and I could not keep up.  I guess that is what big brothers do.

Obviously, Aunt Gladys, Donna and Billy were involved and had an impact on my growing up.  We shared considerable time together until I was about ten years old.  Looking back, Aunt Gladys remained in my life into the early years of my marriage before fading.  In retrospect, Donna and Billy were really my first playmates until we moved to the Sebren house.  Donna and Billy remained in my life after they moved to National City.  After the move, seeing each other occurred only on visits.  They became teenagers before me and our interests were diverging.  As such, their impact on my teenage years was minimal.  Our interests and activities were totally different, plus the 100 miles separating us was a major factor in losing contact.  Whatever the reasons, it is still sad to have lost contact with them when they were such a large part of your growing up.  Uncle Walter’s family was also part of my growing up, but the experiences were considerably different.  Certainly different, because his family was stable and similarly structured like mine.  However, before plunging into experiences with Uncle Walter’s family, it will be helpful to return to Kansas in the early 20^th Century to add depth to his beginnings and history.

As a refresher, Uncle Walter was born Walter Herman Price on 5 July 1906 in Olsburg, Kansas to Grandfather Robert Alfred Price and Grandmother Charlotte “Lottie” Estelle Price, nee Huckstadt.  At some point prior to the births of brother Robert Otto Price and sister Gladys Mae Price, the Price family moved to Westmoreland, Kansas.  Westmoreland is about 13 miles east of Olsburg, with both towns located in Pottawatomie County.  This county is situated in the Northeastern part of Kansas.  The reason for moving from Olsburg to Westmoreland is not known, but perhaps it was the purchase of a farm.  The 1910 Federal Census lists Granddad Price as owning a farm, as an employer with one laborer.  Granddad Price also owned a general and hardware store.  When this store was purchased is not known, nor whether he still owned the farm.  An old photo shows this store with people standing in front of it.  In fact, upon close examination Grandfather’s name Robert A. Price can be seen on the building’s side.  I have assumed the store was in Westmoreland, but this assumption has not been verified.

Grandfather Price’s General Store, Circa 1910s(?)

This photo’s quality is insufficient to identify the people standing in the photo.  My guess is that the man with the tie is Granddad Price.  The man near the top stair is in overalls, thus possibly an employee, or a local farmer.  While there appears to be three people in the photo, based on a closer examination the image to the left of the stairs is possibly a double exposure.  Noting the stairs at the rear of the store raises a question whether they lived above the store?  Living above the store would not be out of the question, but no way of knowing.  Our Dad and Aunt Gladys were born in Westmoreland after the move from Olsburg.  Tragedy struck the family when Grandmother Lottie passed away three weeks after Aunt Gladys was born.  Grandmother Lottie Price was laid to rest in the Westmoreland Cemetery.  Granddad Price was left with three young children to raise and a farm to operate and maybe a store too.  I am sure Great-Grandmother Rosa Huckstadt, as well as other relatives, provided assistance and care for the children.  As you may remember, Granddad Price eventually left Kansas for California.  It has always been a mystery as to why and when he left everything behind.  The Why may never be known, but by considering Dad’s school records, the 1920 Federal Census and a newly found Granddad Price obituary, the When he left can be estimated fairly accurately.

Dad’s education began in 1914 at the Cree school, located in Westmoreland.  In the 1919-1920 school year, Dad attended Cree and Fostoria schools.  Research has shown the Fostoria school was located near Shannon.  Shannon is about nine miles Northwest of Westmoreland.  The 1920 Federal Census lists Walter, Dad and Gladys living with Great-Grandmother Huckstadt in Shannon.  Since Dad told us that our Great-Grandmother raised them, it appears Granddad Price left for California sometime during this school year.  As you may remember, Grandfather Price moved to Orange, California and was living with Great-Grandfather Price. It is not known whether they moved together or separately.  A recently uncovered obituary aids in solving when he left Kansas, and a reason for his suicide.  The article also provides additional information about his life in Kansas and surviving relatives.

Obituary for Grandfather Robert Alfred Price

Funeral services for Granddad Price were held on 21 December 1935.  The obituary states he arrived in Orange 15 years prior to his death.  This information confirms his arrival in 1920, which also is supported by the 1920 Federal Census.  This information also supports Dad’s changing schools during the 1919-1920 school year, as well as the 1920 Federal Census listing the Price kids living with Great-Grandmother Rosa Huckstadt.  According to the article Granddad Price worked for the US Government buying and delivering mules during America’s participation in World War I (1917-1918).  Did he perform this job in conjunction with operating the store, or the farm?  No way of knowing.  A possible reason for his suicide is cited in the obituary.

Apparently, Granddad Price suffered a severe injury in August 1932.  It is assumed this injury was sustained while diving a truck for an orange grower’s association, but this fact is unclear.  His injury occurred just five months after the birth of our Half-Aunt Betty Lou Price.  He did not recover from this injury, and after three years dealing with the situation he committed suicide.  Given the nature of Granddad’s death, the hymns chosen for his funeral seem to have rather ironic titles.  In addition to Betty Lou, the article lists Walter, Robert and Gladys as his children from his Kansas marriage.  It also lists his Grandchildren as Donna and Billy Bramley and a Robert Jr.  Hey that’s me!  Also listed is a sister Anna Richards living in Santa Ana and a brother Nicholas Walter Price living in Sacramento.  My research listed Anna and Nichols as siblings of Granddad Price, but the article revealed new information concerning them.  First, I was unaware that Anna married John F. Richards in Pottawatomie County and eventually moved to Santa Ana.  Second, I knew Nichols lived in Sacramento, but did not know his middle name was Walter.  This obituary certainly answered some questions about our Price family history and genealogy.  Given this family background, it is now possible to resume with Uncle Walter’s history.

Further review of Dad’s school records shows another school change during the 1920-1921 school year.  The new school, and subsequent schools he attended, are in the area around Garden City, Kansas.  This area Mom, Dad and I visited on our 1940s Kansas trip.  You may remember that Granddad Price returned to Kansas in October 1922 to take Walter to California.  Walter had contracted Rheumatic Fever and his recovery was probably hampered by the Kansas climatic environment.  It was believed the warmer Southern California climate would aid his full recovery.  Walter was 16 years old when he left Kansas to live with Granddad Price and after January 1924 with his Step Mother Opal Clair Price, nee Stoves.  Uncle Walter attended Orange High School and graduated in 1926 at the age of 19.  It is unclear what Uncle Walter did after graduating from high school, but he apparently became interested in electrical engineering.  What prompted this interest is not known, but by 1930 he had a job as an electrician with the Sierra Power Company and was living in Riverside.  It is not known when he moved to Riverside, but it was probably shortly after graduating from high school.  To further his education, he began attending Riverside Junior College studying electrical engineering.  While attending Riverside Junior College he. met a young Missouri woman, Dorothea Elmira Newton.  Dorothea was majoring in business when she and Walter met.  Dorothea was born Dorotha, with the difference to be explained shortly.

Dorotha Elmira Newton was born 9 August 1908 in Deerfield, Missouri.  Her parents were Emory Eugene Newton and Maud Newton, nee Hogmire.  Dortoha had an older sister, Bernice Irene born 28 December 1906 in Deerfield, Missouri.  After Dortoha’s birth the Newton family moved to Baker, Oregon where her younger sister Lucille Olivia was born 23 September 1909.  Homesteading in Montana appealed to Mr. Newton, so they moved there and were recorded in the 1910 Federal Census in School District 30 of Custer County, Montana.  However, in the 1920 Federal Census the Newton’s were listed in School District 47 in Prairie County, Montana.  No, they did not move from Custer County to Prairie County.  In 1915, Prairie County was formed from portions of Custer, Dawson and Fallon counties.  The Newton’s homestead was a one room cabin, which eventually added a log kitchen.  It is assumed that while the school district number changed in 1915, it was the same school the sisters had been attending.  They attended a three room schoolhouse, which was probably similar to the one room schoolhouse Water, Dad and Gladys attended in Westmoreland, Kansas.  When their first teacher left the school and did not return, Mrs. Newton began teaching all eight grades at the school.  Mrs. Newton had been a teacher in Missouri, and she continued to teach until, probably Bernice, was ready for high school.  At this point, the Newton family moved to Miles City, the county seat of Custer County.  Based upon Bernice’s birthdate and the 1920 Federal Census, it is assumed this move would have been about 1921 or 1922.  This move certainly raises the question whether Mr. Newton abandoned farming?  How long they lived in Miles City is also unclear, but next they moved to Riverside, California somewhere abut 1924 or 1925.  Dorothea graduated from Polytechnic High School in Riverside, it is assumed by about 1926 or 1927.

Names recorded in Federal Census records need careful examination; the Newton family is a case in point.  These records are usually collected by citizen volunteers who can read and write, but not necessarily able to spell.  In the 1910 records Bernice and Lucille were spelled phonetically as Burniece and Louseil, while in the 1920 Census Record, their names were spelled correctly.  However, Lucile was spelled with only one l.  Then in 1930 record, Lucille’s middle initial was recorded as a D, not an O.   Dorotha is a special case: her name had three different spellings from 1910 to 1930.  She was listed a Dorthy L. (1910), Dorotha E. (1920) (her birth name) and finally Dorothea E. *1930).  She did not like Dorotha and changed it to Dorothea.  No idea when she changed it, but henceforth she was always known as Dorothea or Dot.  Thus, it is easy to see that genealogy research can be very challenging.

After graduating from high school, Dorothea began majoring in business at Riverside Junior College where she met Walter.  What year they met is not known, nor the length of the courtship, all that is known for sure is when they were married.  Walter Herman Price married Dorothea Elmira Newton on 17 August 1930 in the Christian Church in Redondo Beach.  Walter’s former Scoutmaster was the minister of this church and performed the marriage ceremony.  They honeymooned camping in the High Sierras, visiting San Francisco and returning to Riverside by driving down the coast.  While in Riverside she worked as an Assistant Probation Officer and he was an electrician for the Sierra Power Company.  Their first child, a daughter, Carol Fay Price was born 25 December 1936 in Riverside.  About a year after her birth, the family moved to San Bernardino for about a year, then moved back to Riverside.  They were still in Riverside at the time of the 1940 Federal Census.  This census lists Walter as a radio mechanic, whatever that job entails.  I envision a person with wrenches, screwdrivers and hammers working on a radio.  Now I’m sure that was not the case, and he was really a radio technician.  This 1940 data collaborates Carol’s and my guestimate that the photo of the two Price families in the snow was probably taken about 1940.  I have discovered a couple of Christmas cards they sent to Mom and Dad, which show Carol at their front door carrying a present.  My guess is that Carol is about three years old.  This photo is one the earliest I have of my Cousin Carol Fay Price.  To me she was always Carol, but to Aunt Dot she was Carol Fay.

Carol Fay Price, Circa 1938

Sometime after the 1940 Census, Uncle Walter, Aunt Dot and Carol Fay moved to Burbank, California.  Yes, Aunt Dot is really Aunt Dorothea, but I knew her only as Aunt Dot!  When she became Dot, I have not a clue, although Dot is an obvious contraction of her given name (as modified by her).  Carol believes they moved to Burbank in 1941, when Uncle Walter was hired by Lockheed Aircraft and was working at the plant, which was located at the Burbank Airport.  Thus, I believe our first visit would have been that summer of 1941.  Further, it seems 1941 is correct, because Carol would have stated Kindergarten that year.  One of my first memories of visiting Uncle Walter and Aunt Dot were the planes taking off from the airport flying directly over their house, and very low.  One plane in particular I remember was the Hudson Bomber, which was being built by Lockheed for the British Royal Air Force for use against Nazi Germany.  The planes were so low over the house you could see the tail wheels still spinning.  A photo of that plane, with full camouflage paint, was shown in the essay Early Years: 1940 to 1944.  Best I can recall is that seeing these planes was prior to America entering World War II; because I have a faint memory of Dad and Uncle Walter discussing whether we would enter the European war.  Of course, within a few moths the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and America was swept into World War II.  In fact, Carol remembers hearing the radio announcement about Pearl Harbor being bombed.  Once the war began, gas rationing limited our visits to Burbank.  Despite gas rationing, it appears we visited Burbank during the summer of 1943.  While there is no memory of the visit, there are some photos that define when our visit occurred.

Early in 1943, there to two “blessed events”, which prompted our visit to Burbank because there were two new Price babies!  David “Dave” Alan Price was born 28 January 1943, and Roberta “Berta” Rene Price was born 26 days later on 23 February 1943.  After Dave and Berta entered the world, each family consisted of a girl and a boy.  Carol and I were the oldest with almost identical age differences with our siblings.  Carol and Dave were six years apart, while Beta and I were seven and a half years apart.  Carol and I are 16 months apart and Dave and. Berta are only one month apart.  Our parents took a picture of the four of us, with Carol holding Dave and Berta in my lap. 

Berta, Royal Dave and Carol, Circa 1943

Lockheed also produced a unique WW II fighter, the P-38 Lightning.

Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Circa 1941

The Lightning saw action in both Europe and Pacific Theatres.  I remember seeing several of them, but I’m not sure whether on this Burbank visit.  It should be noted that the identifying star on the wing and tail boom existed prior to WW II.  The red dot was removed and wide panels added to both side of the star.  This change was made because US piolets confused the red dot with the Japanese insignia on their planes. 

Uncle Walter was transferred to the Van Nuys plant in 1944 and the family moved to North Hollywood.  It is unclear how many times we visited them at this house, but I have two distinct memories of their house.  First, there was no garage, but only a foundation for one.  It was common practice during the war and for a while after the war to build only the foundation due to rationing of building materials.  Uncle Walter’s garage was an Army wall tent.  There is a photo of their backyard and the tent.  I thought it was very unique!

North Hollywood Garage, Circa 1946

What I also found unusual about their house was that in the living room, the window sills were only about six to eight inches above the floor.  Why I found this unique is no clear, but the image has been burned into my memory for some reason.  Also, I seem to remember that the Burbank house had a brick patio, which they moved to the North Hollywood house.  In fact, I believe the table and sandbox are sitting on the bricks in the photo.

While I am sure Carol and I played together, neither of us can remember what we did.  I find this somewhat fascinating since I have lots of memories playing with Donna and Billy.  The best I can conjure up is that we played board and card games.  One card game would have been “War” for sure.  In addition, there is an overexposed photo of me riding a bicycle.  The bike was probably Carol’s, and I was trying it out.

Besides the photo of the garage there is one photo taken at this house of Carol, Dave and Berta standing on the front porch.  Carol is dressed as a Dutch girl, which Carol indicated that she was dressed for some type of dancing.  No idea where I was when the photo was taken.  Maybe I was riding the bike.  I am guessing this photo was taken after the war, and Dave and Berta are about three and a half years old.  This would mean Carol was about nine and a half.

Dave, Carol and Berta, Circa 1946

Lockheed developed the first jet fighter, the F-80 Shooting Star.  I saw my first Shooting Star while visiting Uncle Walter’s in North Hollywood.  It did not have swept wings like later fighter designs.  It was operational in the Korean War, but was not a match for the Soviet MIG-15.

Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star, Circa 1946

Our Sebren house was about one mile East of the Long Beach Airport, and during the war airplanes were seen every day.  When hearing a plane, you looked up in the direction of the plane’s engine noise to see the plane.  Upon hearing the jet, I looked up as usual and could not see the plane.  It was then I learned to scan the sky in front of the jet noise to locate the plane.  Learning this new plane spotting technique required several attempts before knowing where to look. 

Uncle Walter was still working in Van Nuys when they moved from North Hollywood to San Fernando.  Where they lived now is in the city of Sylmar.  According to Carol, this move was in 1947, but may have been in 1946 so Carol and Dave could attend school for the 1946-1947 school year.  This new house was very small and there was no garage.  A photo of their patio shows the bricks were transported to the new house.  Although there are some other houses in the photo, the area was outside San Fernando City Limits and was a developmental area.  In fact, the house had no electricity and kerosene lamps provide light at night.  The refrigerator ran on either natural gas or propane.  Yes, it was rather primitive!  But, Uncle Walter and Aunt Dot were raised in a similar environment and they were familiar with rugged living conditions.

Sylmar Patio, Circa 1948

We visited them on a regular basis.  It was a 50 mile drive from our house to their house and took over an hour.  It seems like we visited about every six to eight weeks.  I remember listening to “Ozzie and Harriet” on the radio during the trip home, at least if I did not go to sleep.  There are several experiences remembered about our visits while they lived here.  Some memories are mundane and others are significant.  One experience not remembered is captured in photos of an outing in the desert.  Carol and I estimated our ages to be about 12 and 13 years old, respectively. 

Mom, Berta, Royal, Uncle Walter, Dave, Aunt Dot and Carol, Circa 947

There are a couple of other outings with everyone that are remembered.  We went to Pasadena the day after the Rose Parade to view the floats.  We were able to walk around a float and even touch the flowers.  A few years later, I attended a Rose Parade, which was much more exciting because of the bands and people on the floats.  Then there were the Drive-in movies!  At the time each car space had a speaker mounted on a post in fro not the car.  Carol and I would lie on the fender of our Chevrolets rather than watch the movie from the back seat.  At their house, one of the mundane memories involves a dirt road just beyond Uncle Walter’s black Chevrolet, and the road had been eroded in spots. Carol remembers I had some toy soldiers that I played with in these eroded area (my memory is rather sketchy about these events).  There was an incident that seemed mundane, but in actuality was a learning experience.  There were olive trees near their house, and since I loved olives an olive was plucked from a tree to eat.  Much to my surprise this raw olive had a bitter, unpleasant taste and was immediately spit out.  I learned that olives must be processed to be eatable, which raises a profound question.  “How was this process discovered to make olives edible?  An extension of this question apples to all discoveries.  In reality, it is human nature to wonder “why”, explore and innovate.  One final mundane memory involved Dad’s comment as we prepared to leave for Uncle Walter’s; “This is the last time we will see the house lighted by kerosene lamps!”  Their house was scheduled to be connected to the power grid the next week.  Looking back, it is difficult to imagine in the early 1950s that not all of Los Angeles County was connected to the power grid, especially in the LA Basin!  Remaining memories are not so mundane as these, but were more serious.

When Dave was about nine years old, I believe in the Fourth Grade, a classmate jammed a pencil in his ear, which punctured his ear drum.  When I ask Aunt Dot why did the classmate do it she said, “The student wanted to see what would happen.”  Neither at the time nor today do I comprehend why one person sees a need to deliberately injure another.  Finally, Uncle Walter suffered a serious injury that prevented him from working for quite some time.  He was commuting to work on a Cushman motor scooter and received serious internal injuries due to a fall.  While returning from work he came upon some road construction that required detouring around the construction.  This required turning on to a dirt section that contained loose gravel or rocks.  Hitting the loose gravel, the Cushman slipped out from under him.  As I have learned on a bicycle, the fall happens so quickly you have no way of stopping it.  One second you are on the bike, the next second you ae on the ground.  As a result, Uncle Walter was out of work for quite a while, and I recently learned from Carol, the family was financially strapped until he could return to work.

I believe when they were living here, they visited us a couple of times.  There are two experiences I remember from these visits.  Carol had an Ant Farm she brought with her and set in down in our living room.  I had seen them previously and wanted one of my own.  When they began to leave, Carol had forgotten the Ant Farm and was in their car.  I did not say anything hoping it would be left.  However, Carol remembered it and returned to retrieve it.  Yeah, that was sneaky, but it would have been returned on our next visit.  On a separate visit, Dave went to the bathroom just as they were leaving and locked the door.  Of course Dave did not know he locked the door and did not know how to unlock it.  Dave believed his folks were leaving him behind and started screaming in panic.  Fortunately, the door could be unlocked from the outside.  He was quite relieved when we opened the door.  In 1952 they moved again, this time to Palmdale, California.

Uncle Walter was transferred to a Lockheed facility at the Palmdale Regional Airport in the Mojave Desert.  Too my knowledge he performed final electrical inspection on aircraft before delivery to the customer.  Recently, Carol told me that the move to Palmdale occurred prior to her high school senior year, which was very upsetting to her.  A move at such a time is traumatic for any teenager.  Thus, Carol attended Antelope Valley High School for her senior year and graduated in 1953.  For some unknown reason, I did not realize both of us graduated high school the same year.  I was aware Carol had been promoted a grade, but did not realize we were in the same grade for several school years.

It seems that our visits to Uncle Walter’s decreased after they moved to Palmdale.  The trip took a little over two hours.  When we used the Angeles Crest Highway, I spent the time looking for flying saucers that had landed.  Yes, I know that was stupid, but that was when I believed they were real.  Eventually, Dad let me drive on the way home, which for me was a definite highlight.  Best I can remember, Carol and I would sit with our Dads and listen to their conversations.  However, within an hour of sitting down both of them would have dozed off.  Must have been a male Price DNA.  Carol and I might talk, or we would go listen to our Moms; they ne never fell asleep.  What topics we discussed, I have no recollection.  Although I was surprised when Carol told me that when her date took her to the drive-in movies, they had to run the engine so keep the car warm.  In fact, the drive-in theatre provided money, or vouchers, to pay for the gasoline.  Palmdale is in the high desert and nighttime temperatures can be below freezing in the winter. 

The year following the move to Palmdale, Carol began college at Antelope Valley Junior College.  At the same time. I started college and married two years later, as described in the essay College Years: 1953 to 1959.  Thus, contact with Uncle Walter, Aunt Dot, Carol and Dave became less and less.  However, there are a couple of experiences that come to mind.

Aunt Dot had a pre-Thanksgiving dinner a couple of weeks before the actual holiday.  One of these dinners is quite memorable.  Aunt Dot’s sister Bernice and her husband “Mac” McClintock were also usually attending the dinner.  Mac was a successful businessman and always seemed to have the latest gadgets.  This time it was a stereoscopic slide projector, which projected slides in 3D.  Each slide was constructed like all slides, but there were two images in each slide holder.  Whether the photos were identical or different is not known.  So, after dinner Mac was presenting a very unique slide show for us.  He came to one slide that was a photo of Bernice, but Bernice’s face could not be discerned.  Mac was baffled and did not understand what was wrong with the photos.  Bernice did not like her facial expression and had poked holes in both images of her face.  Mac was flabbergasted and everyone had a good laugh.  Carol eventually inherited this pre-Thanksgiving dinner at her house, but that is a story for another time.  The other experience was at Carol’s wedding.

Carol and Tom Pappas were married in August 1958 in Palmdale.  Immediately after the ceremony the photographer was taking photos of Tom, Carol and the wedding party, the usual wedding photos.  I also took slides at the same time.  I would wait until the photographer aligned everyone, then I would snap a photo just before he took a photo.  Sometimes, I took one right after he had taken one.  Best I can remember he was irritated with me.  After my slides were processed, I gave a set to Carol and Tom.  Carol commented that mine were better than the photographer’s. After the ceremony and a wedding dinner, we all returned to Uncle Walter’s to see Carol and Tom off on their honeymoon. In any event, Tom’s friends had smeared his exhaust pipes with Limburger cheese.  Tom told me later the smell never went away.   After the honeymoon Carol and Tom went to the University of Colorado, where Tom studied pharmacy. Their wedding was the last time I saw Carol and Tom for several years.  In fact, after Carol’s wedding I do not remember seeing Uncle Walter and Aunt Dot too often, just when attending the pre-Thanksgiving dinners at the Pappas’ house.  While we did not attend these dinners every year, contact was maintained with everyone.  Thus, contact with Uncle Walter, Aunt Dot, Carol and Dave continued; unlike my relationships with Aunt Gladys, Donna and Billy, Unfortunately, Uncle Walter and Aunt Dot passed away in the late 1990s, but I was able to attend their memorial services.  Despite gaps, Carol and I have remained in touch with each other.

In fact, Carol has provided valuable assistance with these essays, by proofing and editing most of the essays.  Her assistance on these essays has allowed us to discuss differences in our families, as well as our life experiences.  My continued contact with Carol will be discussed in later essays.  Unfortunately, I have lost contact with Dave, but he receives notifications when a new blog is posted.  It is only appropriate to show adult photos of Carol and Dave, rather than leave everyone with only childhood images.

Much to my surprise, I recently discovered Carol graduated from Fresno State College in either 1957, with a Bachelor’s degree is in business.  Her graduation photo shows a very attractive young woman.

Carol Fay Price, Circa 1957

Although Carol and I have few memories of our visits and what we did, I have pleasant memories of being around her.  I believe we always had a good time together when we saw each other.  I certainly do not remember having any difficulties between us.  In a way, I remember always thinking she was the more intelligent one.  Throughout our childhood and whenever I think of her today, Carol seems more like a sister than a cousin.

Since Dave was nearly eight years younger than me, contact with him during his teenage years and adult life were mostly lost.  As a consequence, my memories about him are flawed, but Carol has filled some holes for me.  To my knowledge, after finishing high school Dave joined the US Navy.  After his discharge from the Navy, Dave married Linda Thayer.  I believe they knew each other while in high school.  Dave and Linda divorced a few years later.  Dave worked for Edison in Hemet for a while.  Dave re-married Sharon while working for Edison.  To my knowledge, Dave was encouraged by a high school friend to come to Bozeman, Montana and build houses and cabins.  While living in Bozeman, Dave went to college and obtained a Bachelor’s in Education.  After completing his education, Dave and Sharon joined the Peace Corps and served in Liberia.  Dave taught school, while I’m unsure how Sharon served.  After this service they returned to the Palmdale area and Dave taught school until retirement.  Dave and wife Sharon, now live in Arizona.

Dave’s photo was taken from a Christmas card he sent from Japan.  The last time I saw Dave was at Uncle Walter’s Memorial Service in 1999.  His eulogy of Uncle Walter was amazing.  To me, Uncle Walter was a very quiet man, quite intelligent and very soft spoken.  However, Dave’s eulogy clearly demonstrated how Uncle Walter and Dad were actually “Two Peas in a Pod”.  Uncle Walter’s character matched Dad’s almost identically.  The only differences between them were the actual projects undertaken.  They could fix anything, were skilled craftsmen and were knowledgeable in many subjects!  These two men from Kansas attended a one room schoolhouse, grew up without a mother, considered education important, advanced in life and helped raise four accomplished children.  A legacy to be proud of!

David Alan Price, Circa 1964

The impact on my life by Uncle Walter and Aunt Dot was subtle.  Their influence was low key, probably due to the fact that I only spent portions of a day with them, as compared to

time with Aunt Gladys.  Uncle Walter was easy to talk with, but he was very quiet and did not seem to be outspoken.  Aunt Dot was totally different.  She was very verbal and easy to have a conversation with.  After they moved to Palmdale, we used to kid each other about smog in the LA Basin and its approach toward Palmdale.  While I learned things from Uncle Walter, conversation skills were learned from Aunt Dot.  Looking back at them now, it is plainly obvious that Uncle Walter and Aunt Dot were very similar to Mom and Dad in many respects, which actually re-enforced the lessons learned from my folks.