Today’s blog theme is ‘album’. My two immediate thoughts were “photo album” (way too broad) and “Eagles album”. Yes…Eagles album. A few years back Bart and I were in Winslow, Arizona. We took our pictures on the corner in Winslow, Arizona.

Bart on the corner in Winslow, Arizona.

Lisa on the corner in Winslow, Arizona.

Eagles album cover
Enjoy the tune while you’re reading:
The Eagles live- Take It Easy.
It was a fun trip. We enjoy that area. As it happens, I have distant relatives in the nearby Flagstaff, and Winona, Arizona area. I’d like to focus on the folks south of Flagstaff and directly south of Winslow, though. I’d like to write first about my dad’s family- Pearl Belle DRAKE GANN- and then second about my mom’s family- Short and Ella Amanda GIBSON LONG.

She Waited with Hope- Pearl Belle DRAKE GANN
Pearl DRAKE GANN was my 2nd great-aunt. Aunt Pearl made headlines in April of 1959 when she needed (and received) a cornea transplant.

About a year and a half later in November of 1960, Pearl and her daughter, Bonnie, were called back to Oklahoma because Poppy Lon DRAKE (Alonzo Ervin DRAKE- my 2nd great-grandather) was sick. I thought possibly 1960 was when Poppy Lon was attacked by the hogs but Dad said it was more likely when Poppy was diagnosed with cancer. Dad said Poppy was attacked by the hogs about a year before he died and never quite recovered from the attack before he died. Poppy died in 1964. I wonder if Pearl thought about the fact that the cornea transplant allowed her to see her dad’s face again before he died. I wonder if this was the last time she saw him before he died. Pearl was able to see (and possibly quilt again) for 9 years before she passed away.
Shorty Long the “Bug” Conductor and a Missing Branch of My Family- Ella Amanda GIBSON LONG
You might remember my post about my 2nd great grandfather, James Thomas GIBSON. He was accused (and later the charge were dropped) of raping his daughter, Ella Amanda GIBSON. I never knew much about Manda (the name she went by before marrying Shorty LONG). I sometimes wondered if Manda and Dettie (my great-grandmother and Manda’s half-sister) knew each other or even knew about each other. I think they probably did because over the years I found a photograph of Manda and Myrtle (Myrtle is Dettie’s full sister). So I think I can safely assume both that Dettie and Manda knew about each other and that they had met and actually knew each other. I don’t have any pictures of Manda and Dettie but I do have the photo of Manda and Myrtle.

Manda is on the left with glasses and Myrtle is on the right. (I think!)
Weren’t they beautiful?
I’m not sure why or how Shorty and Manda ended up in the border town of Nogales, Santa Cruz, Arizona. They married in Monroe County, Iowa. I suspect they ended up in Arizona due to Shorty’s job with the railroad. Shorty spent much of his life being a train conductor for Southern Pacific railroad. While in Nogales he conducted a passenger train called the “Bug” that ran between Nogales and Benson. At some point either this train crossed into Mexico or Shorty worked another railroad job where he did cross into Mexico. I know this because Shorty had to get a passport for his job.

Shorty LONG’s passport photo.

Later photo of Shorty.
In January of 1911 Shorty’s train was in an accident. Shorty was lucky and only sustained an injury to his hand.

Clipping about accident.
As an adult, Shorty and Manda’s son, Virgil, moved to New Mexico but soon moved back to Nogales, Arizona. When he moved back to Nogales he became the assistant postmaster. This is what I know about Manda. I’d like to connect with her descendants someday to try to piece together story (and subsequently her dad’s story). Maybe I’ll get lucky one day and one of them will do a Google search and this post will turn up.

Until then I’ll wait.
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives