oregon
My nephew, Allen is his Grandpa Spencer’s namesake. He was named Allen Spencer Beach, so that our dad’s name would be carried on for another generation, in the only way that a family of daughters could give him a namesake. While his name tied him to his grandpa, he also followed his dad’s lead, and joined the navy. Now he is a Corpsman. He has spent time at Bethesda Naval Hospital, and he is currently stationed in Yokosuka-shi, Kanagawa, Japan, at the Yokosuka Naval Base. He went to Japan in September of 2012, and has a little less than a year left in the Navy, and while he has enjoyed Japan, and feels like it has been a great opportunity, he is nevertheless ready to come back to the United States. His time in Japan has not been a lonely time however, because he met a lovely girl there named Gabby. She is also in the Navy and is a Corpsman, so they have a lot in common. They have been dating for about a year now, so we will see where that leads. Gabby is from Oregon, so where Allen will end up could be tied to how that relationship goes, but Allen has pretty much decided to go to college when his time in the Navy is done. When his mom, my sister, Caryl and her husband, Mike visited Allen in Japan in August, he and Gabby showed them all the sights, navigating the train system there like experts, even though everything was written in Japanese.
Allen is very much into photography, and has taken some amazing photographs. He has a real eye for it…one that few people possess. I particularly like the one he took of himself walking away from the camera, and holding another camera. I really wish I had saved that one, because it would have been a great one to use here. I think Allen could go into photography as an occupation, perhaps as a journalistic photographer, if that was what he decided to do.
But, Allen’s interests lie in a different direction right now, and oddly enough, that is similar to 
yet another relative in the family…Louis Emery Freese. While they are not blood relatives, because Louis married into our family, they share an interest in making instruments, like the guitar and violin. Louis imported his wood from Germany to make the violins he made. Crafting instruments is a wonderful skill to have, and not only would it be profitable, but it would be very rewarding too. Those instruments are beautiful works of art. The craftsman who has the skill to make those instruments has a great skill indeed. Allen says that would be his dream occupation. I hope he is able to realize that dream. Today is Allen’s birthday. Happy birthday Allen!! Have a wonderful day!! We love you!!
In June of 1946, my Uncle Bill and Aunt Doris left Wisconsin, for points west. He had no intention of moving back to Wisconsin at that time. They weren’t sure where they wanted to settle, so they tried Idaho, Oregon, California, and Wyoming. Uncle Bill would have loved to stay in California…he said the warm weather suited him. Aunt Doris was homesick, and wanted to be nearer to her family. I can’t say for sure if it was totally Aunt Doris being homesick, or if it was my grandfather becoming ill, with the cancer that would eventually end his life, or a mixture of both. Uncle Bill has indicated the possibility of both being the reason for their return. It doesn’t really matter, but it is my opinion that Uncle Bill could not let his dad go through cancer by himself. I can relate to that quality in him, because I think I inherited it to a degree.
We never really know what events will transpire to change the course of our lives in an instant. We might be just living our lives, making plans for the future, or raising our kids, and then very suddenly we find ourselves in a position to step in when we are needed desperately. It is what we do with that call of duty that can make the difference between life and death for the person in need. Uncle Bill could not stay in Wyoming, where he was at that time, and simply let his dad handle the most horrible experience of his life without the benefit of help from family. He and his wife, my Aunt Doris headed home to Wisconsin, arriving in June of 1950. It was a decision he would never regret, nor did he ever decide to move away from Wisconsin again.
I think we eventually end up where we are supposed to be. Some of us move away from our childhood hometown, never to live there again, while others, like me, never live anywhere but in our childhood hometown, and still others like Uncle Bill, move away, and eventually move back for one reason or another, and never leave again. There must be something that either draws them away or back, or causes them to stay and never move away at all. I suppose the reasons vary as much as the people themselves, and sometimes there seems to be no real reason at all. They just end up in the place that draws them to it. I believe it is that we are in the place where God wants us to be.
I never knew my cousin Denny as a child, because I was not born yet, but I love looking at the old pictures of him and his brother, Gene. The both look so happy. Gene looks so proud that he has a little brother. It occurs to me that my cousin, Denny had to be a fun loving kid, because he so often is seen laughing, and I also think he must have been a curious kid, who didn’t like being cooped up in a stroller for very long…but then, what kid really ever did.
When my sisters and I were young, my cousin, Denny and his wife, Sandy lived here in Casper. We got to see them quite a bit, and I even babysat their son, David…my sisters might have too, but I can’t say for sure. We always loved having them come over to our house to visit. Then, they moved to Oregon, and we hardly got to see them anymore. We all really missed them a lot. Distance always seems to make the passing of time seem less noticeable, until you realize just how much time has truly passed….then you tend to feel the loss of those years very deeply. That is how I feel about the years that have gone by since we last saw Denny’s family, Gene’s family, and Aunt Laura. Both Gene and Aunt Laura are gone now, and that makes it all that much more sad. For that reason, I am very thankful for Facebook, so that those relationships can at least be rekindled virtually, if not in person.
Denny, like several of us in the family, inherited the family history bug. He has done extensive work on the history of our family and then collaborated with Uncle Bill to take it even further. Of course, there were others who helped too, including Denny’s brother, Gene, and their mom, my Aunt Laura, and his nephew, Tim, as well as a little help from me. It was a labor of love so that they could pass that precious history down to the rest of the family members…and my family and I have been blessed to be some of those people. Today is Denny’s birthday. Happy birthday Denny!! Have a wonderful day!! We love you!!
