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The Pigs Won That Round, Part 1

Happy National Pig Day! When I saw that it’s National Pig Day it made me think of a story about my 2nd great grandpa Ervin “Poppy” Alonzo DRAKE. There are other posts about Poppy and you can find them at:

Ervin Alonzo Drake, 1940 (includes a photo of Poppy and his family);

Take It Easy (in the middle of the post, there’s a brief section about Poppy’s daughter Pearl and it does mention the hog attack in that post);

Poppy Makes a Comeback (includes a photo of Poppy and Annie).

In addition to the pictures in the posts above, here is a bonus picture of Poppy that I love:

As you can see, the photo is dated February, 1959. Back row from left to right: Ervin “Poppy Lon” DRAKE, Mark DRAKE, Eugene DRAKE. Bottom: Roy DRAKE.

Note to reader: I’m writing this story at the end of February – the end of Family History Writing Month. I’m in a creative mood and I wanted to write this brief story using the facts I found, but I also wanted to write the story as if it were in a novel. I wrote it both ways so I could decide which to publish. As it turns out, I want to publish both. So today you’ll get the facts – part 1. Tomorrow you’ll get the creative short story as part 2. I hope you enjoy both.

Dad’s Version

Dad was about 15 or 16 years old when Poppy was attacked by the hog, so he does remember when it happened. His version is below.

Dad said Poppy was old when this happened. Old enough that Poppy had stopped going to church because he didn’t feel up to it anymore. Dad recalled Poppy was in his mid-80’s when he was attacked by a feral boar. Poppy was sitting on his porch in the house he lived in down by the creek [Note: I believe this was his residence in the Poyner area over by Southwest City at the place that had a cave on it.] He had a barn and a sort-of-fenced barnyard. The hog came up in the back yard and Poppy tried yelling at it to make it leave but the hog wouldn’t leave. Poppy thought he could run the hog off so he got off the porch and the hog retreated into the barnyard. Poppy continued to advance on the hog and it attacked Poppy. It gored him with its tusks and bit him on the legs and buttocks. Dad said the hog tore chunks out of Poppy’s thigh. Poppy was in the hospital for a few days but didn’t want to stay there so they released him and he stayed with his nephew, John DRAKE, so John could make sure infection didn’t set in on Poppy’s legs and bottom. Poppy stayed with John for a few weeks after he was released from the hospital. Dad said Poppy was never the same after the feral hog attacked him. Poppy walked with a limp after that and his health went downhill fairly quickly. Dad said Poppy died a few years after that attack.

Dad had a lot of memories about Poppy. He recalled that Poppy had cancer both before and after the hog attack. Before the attack, Poppy had cancer removed from behind his ear – probably a skin cancer. Dad was about 10 or 11 years old when this cancer was removed. After the hog attack, Poppy had cancer again and it killed him. Dad recalled the attack being just one feral hog.

What the Newspaper Said

Now, let’s look at the newspaper’s version of this same story which is a little different.

9 November 1960, Miami Daily News-Record, Miami, Oklahoma.

Poppy would have been 85 years old when this happened. EIGHTY-FIVE! Let that sink in! Now, why on Earth would he try to separate two fighting male hogs at age 85?! I’m not sure why Poppy thought he could separate two fighting boars at his age (or even if that’s what really happened), but he paid a price for it. As Dad said, Poppy was never the same and his health began to decline after that.

My personal opinion about the newspaper article is that the author took liberties with the story. I can’t think of a single logical reason that, at 85 years old, Poppy would think it was a good idea to put himself in the middle of 2 boars fighting – whether tame or feral. He was smarter than that. Nonetheless, I’m grateful to the author for recording the story and, in all honesty, I can’t say what really happened because I wasn’t there.

After ‘The Great Boar Fight’

Three and a half years after ‘The Great Boar Fight’, Poppy passed away. Dad had a lot of fond memories of Poppy and loved him dearly. Some of Dad’s best childhood memories are of times he spent with Poppy. He mentioned that he wished all kids could have a chance to spend time with their great-grandpas and feel as loved as he felt.

I hope you get a chance to spend time with your grandparents or great-grandparents this week if you’re fortunate enough to still have them around. They are treasures! If you can’t visit them today, call them up and wish them a happy National Pig Day! Don’t forget, tomorrow is the more creative version of this story!

Until next time,

Lisa @ Days of Our Lives blog

Resources

“The Local Scene,” (Miami News-Record, Miami, Oklahoma), 9 Nov 1960, local news article; Newspapers, https://www.newspapers.com/ : accessed 26 Feb 2024, page 7, col 1.

Drake, Roy. Interview. By Lisa Williams, 26 Feb 2024.

Drake generation family photo dated Feb 1959. Privately held photo.

Report Card 2023

Each year I do a “report card” review of my goals for the year. In the report card posts, I review the old goals and make new ones. This year I think I’m going to claim the Butterfly Effect over all my projects. The concept of the Butterfly Effect is that when a butterfly flutters her wings, it creates a tiny change in the atmosphere. That tiny change carries the possibility of altering the path of, or maybe even preventing, a tornado. In other words, small changes can create large results. 2024 will, I hope, be a year that tiny changes will create big results.

2023 Goals in Review

Last year my plan was “simple and uncrowded”. 2023 was anything but “simple and uncrowded”. It was off the rails crazy! Probably the weirdest, craziest year we’ve had in a decade. We were blessed with a new grandchild, said our final goodbyes to way too many family members, welcomed a son-in-law to the family, had seemingly endless job problems, and I wrote 2 novels. Yes – two. You read that correctly! Rough drafts of books 2 and 3 of my children’s series have been completed. I attempted to edit book 1 on my own and found it was just too much with everything else that was going on so as a Christmas present to myself, I hired a book coach to help me edit book 1 so I can hopefully get it published in 2024. The books do have a genealogical component so, while you didn’t see a lot from me in the way of new genealogy blog posts, I was writing like crazy outside of the blog and using my family history that way.

The goals for 2023 were:

Self-education at the rate of one training per month with a different topic each quarter;
Organization of all the 36 years (!!!) of genealogical data I’ve collected;
Writing: 1 blog post per month plus editing/publishing book 1 and writing book 2
Focus Family: William & Hester (MITCHELL) DRAKE.

Goal 1: Self-Education

I didn’t actually keep track of all the trainings I did so I can’t say whether I met that goal or not but I did do a lot of self-education throughout the year. I’m going to go ahead and at least give myself a C/Average on that one.

Goal 2: Organization

F/Fail. Fail. Fail. Fail. I did not organize at all!

Goal 3: Writing

I’m giving myself an A/Above Average on this one. I just squeaked in at 12 (mostly) genealogy blog posts. Although my blog posts suffered, I was able to partially edit book 1 and write rough drafts of books 2 and 3. That’s an amazing amount of progress and the books do involve my family history so I’m counting them. I’d say I made exceptional progress on this goal. Hopefully in 2024, I can make progress on both the blog AND the books.

Goal 4: Focus Family

I am not sure I researched William and Hester (MITCHELL) DRAKE at all this year. If I did, I must not have found anything terribly exciting or I would have shared it with you and would likely remember what I found. I’m coming up blank on this one so either I did not work on this goal at all, or I made zero progress. So, I guess it’s an F/Fail on this one.

2024

So there you have it, 2023 in a nutshell. Here’s hoping that 2024 will be calmer (not likely since it’s an election year) and more productive in a variety of areas. My new goals are:

Self-education: I like this goal so I’m keeping it. I love learning new things.
Organization: Ever the hopeful person, I’m keeping this one too. This will be one of my tiny changes that, I hope, will create big results.
Writing: My goal this year will remain 12 blog posts plus I plan to edit and publish books 1 and 2 and (if I’m very lucky) book 3. I’ll also be writing a rough draft of book 4.
Focus Family: My focus this year will be split between two families, both of which appear in the books I’m writing. Family 1: Jefferson LATTY. Family 2: William RITER and his dad, Nicholas.) Since I will be researching both of these families for upcoming books in my children’s time travel series, I will be more likely to actually work on the families.

Wishing You a…

I’m wishing you all a calm and peaceful 2024. A year with no loss of family. A year with beautiful additions to your family. A year with much love, peace, and joy for you.

Peace & Love,

Lisa @ Days of Our Lives blog

Driving Mrs. Coleman

Note to reader: I started writing this story in the first day or two of January 2023. It’s a story that I first heard my father-in-law tell shortly before he passed away. It intrigued me and I began researching and writing the story right away. I’ve been sitting on the story longer than I intended and now it’s time to release it. As many of you know, we lost Bart’s dad in March of 2023. I’d like to thank my guest blogger Rae CONNER for helping me finish this story. I was unable to make much headway in my initial research so I reached out to her for help since the subject of the post is her family.

The nugget of the story that I started with was that Louis KIRK was a chauffer for George and Jessie (CARR) COLEMAN who owned the historic Coleman Theater in Miami, Ottawa County, Oklahoma. My father-in-law was young and one of things about Louis KIRK that intrigued him was Louis’ prowess in performing rope tricks.

I’m keeping the original story as I wrote it in January, 2023, which is what you’ll see starting in the next section. I’ll add in Rae’s story as well which was also written in January of 2023. Please be kind and courteous with copying the information. I’m fine with my portion being copied but please give credit to my blog. If you wish to re-post or copy Rae’s portion, please contact her before doing that. I hope you enjoy one of my father-in-law’s last stories. I’m grateful for the opportunity to tell it.

Louis KIRK, Chauffer

We took my husband’s parents on a road trip today (note: this was on the 1st or 2nd of January, 2023) because I needed information. We took them back to a place my father-in-law lived when he was young. There wasn’t much he could tell me. However, he did tell an interesting story as we were driving through Miami, Oklahoma. I’d like to relay that story to you.

Coleman Theater

In downtown Miami is a nice, historic building where the Coleman Theater is located. The Coleman Theater was built about 1929 for George COLEMAN (husband of Jessie COLEMAN), who was a “local mining magnate” . It’s been beautifully restored inside and out. I encourage you to go look at the pictures on the website. As we were passing by it, my father-in-law said that his aunt Ina’s husband used to chauffer Mrs. Jessie COLEMAN around. The husband/chauffer was Louis KIRK and he liked to do tricks with a lariat. When Mrs. COLEMAN was ready to go to Colorado, Louis would chauffer her there and when she was ready to return to Oklahoma, he would go pick her up again and bring her back. Some of Ina’s and Louis’ kids also worked at the Coleman when they were young. My father-in-law said all three of the girls worked there but he wasn’t sure about the boys.

Here’s What I Found

Ina Virginia PAGE was born in 1925 in Hartville, Wright County, Missouri, to George Benjamin and Ina Jane (CAWYER) PAGE. Ina was my father-in-law’s maternal aunt.

Picture was posted on Ancestry by Tammy Shelton.

Beautiful, isn’t she? She married Louis KIRK around 1943. They lived in Miami, Ottawa County, Oklahoma. According to the 1950 US Federal Census, at least one of the sons, Louis Dean, did work at the Coleman Theater. He was a ticket taker at the Coleman at age 15. 1950 is the most recent census released so it is doubtful that other records could be found at this point.

Ancestry, 1950 US Federal Census entry for Louis E. & Ina Virginia (PAGE) KIRK.

In all my searching, I haven’t found anything that officially declares Louis to be the chauffer of Mrs. Jessie COLEMAN. It’s possible this information was never recorded publicly. It’s also possible that it’s in a later census record that hasn’t been released yet or in records that have long since been destroyed. I did note that, like Mrs. COLEMAN, Louis made trips to and from Colorado, so there’s that.

Because I couldn’t find a lot of information, I reached out to a relative (Rae) and asked her for information. The next section is the story she sent me.

Rae’s Story

Thanks for reminding me about dad’s lariat roping tricks. I truly forgot about them. Dad could rope anything. He did try his best to teach me but I am afraid I could not catch on to anything. My rope would go flat. I just remember he could make perfect circles and large ones at that! It is unfortunate that I do not remember how he learned. I know he lived in Colorado for a while with his first wife, Ollie, and his three boys. Dad also ran the trains as a hobo in his very young and early days. Wish I could say more. Dad’s life almost seems secretive and has many missing pages. He was married prior to Ollie; however, it did not last but a few weeks due to the woman’s character and immoral habits.

Dad worked for Mrs. GL Coleman (her name, Jessie). He was her full-time gardener and chauffeur. Due to his dark colored skin (mostly due to being in the sun all day and being part native Indian) some people thought he was a black man. He supervised several men during his 30 plus years working for the Colemans at their home in Miami Oklahoma. I remember going with dad and Mrs. Coleman to the Tulsa airport together. I was sitting in the back with her as dad drove quietly to Tulsa. He looked so handsome in his Chauffeur’s uniform and cap.

Two of my brothers helped him at times in the yard, working side-by-side with dad. My eldest brother also had his son help on occasions. Mom worked as a housekeeper for quite a while, helping the aging maids do their work. When I turned 14, I lived in the home as a companion to Mrs. Coleman. When she came home from vacation, she found me sleeping in the maids’ quarters and asked them to move me to Ann’s room (her daughter’s room). It was a surprise to us all. This lasted about six months while she was there. We would play Chinese checkers at night in her bedroom sunroom. I took breakfast with her before dad would take me to school. After Mrs. Coleman left for the summer, I was asked to stay with the maid and help her out. I will never forget the yellow cakes she made with creamed topping.

Dad told stories about Bing Crosby and Bob Hope staying with the Colemans. He would drive them to and from the airports. Dad worked hard, keeping the grounds up, the horse stalls and the pool kept in good condition. His gardens were outstanding. Dad would work from early morning until late every day. His pay was just enough to pay the bills and provide food on the table. When Mrs. Coleman passed a few months prior to dad, we discovered dad was in the Will. Unfortunately, before the Will could settle, dad passed away June 1979. Mother did receive a small amount of money from the Will in dad’s place. It was not much, but it helped mom out at the time.

I must say even after Jessie passed; we remembered in the Coleman’s Christmas Card list. I only knew them as good people that never treated us like we were less than they were.

Dad bought a couple of their cars from them, making payments, of course. So, we had nice cars for a while. The Cadillac was a black beast of a thing. We liked it.

I believe both my sisters worked at the Coleman Theater in reception and concession. I know sis Dian did. I do not remember how long and they are no longer here to ask. In fact, I am the only one left from our joined family. My niece worked for Jessie’s daughter for a while, but I do not know that story.

Seriously wish I had listened more to my parents when I was young. I know my dad loved his job and was loyal and faithful to his employers.

Bonus

My father-in-law lived in the Picher-Cardin area when he was young. I snapped a couple of photos of him while we were on our trip. They’re your bonus for today.

My father-in-law at the Picher Gorillas monument park. Picher, Oklahoma, 2 Jan 2023.

While we were at the monument park a man showed up. He is almost exactly the same age as my father-in-law and was born in Picher. He comes to the monument park occasionally and sits. I didn’t catch his name. Picher, Oklahoma, 2 Jan 2023.

Final Thoughts

I highly recommend gathering up your people and taking a road trip. I ended up getting road trips with both my in-laws and my parents this weekend. It was good. Wishing you a wonderful week.

Lisa @ Days of Our Lives blog

Resources Used

Ancestry.com
Newspapers.com
Miami, Oklahoma website
Coleman Theater website
Wikipedia, Coleman Theater entry
Wikitree, Jessie CARR COLEMAN entry
Contact with relative of Louis Kirk on Ancestry

World Beard Day Fun!

In the comments, vote for your favorite beard!

James Thomas Gibson. (It’s hard to see, but it’s there on the bottom!)

Levi and Nancy (White) Hubbard. — Levi Hubbard.

Joseph and Mary (Lane) Larkin — Joseph Larkin.

August and Ernestine (Paff) Schneidenbach family. — August Schneidenbach.

Heinrich "Henry" Wolf. — Heinrich “Henry” Wolf.

Out of these 5 beards, which is your favorite??? Tell me in the comments!

It’s Calendar Adjustment Day!

If you love researching your family history and you research in the U.S. and Britain, you should definitely know what this day is all about!

On this date in 1852…

In 1852, eleven days needed to be dropped in Britain in order for the calendar to sync properly with the other countries in Europe using the calendar. In Britain and the American Colonies, September 2 was followed by September 14. Thus, September 2 is today referred to as Calendar Adjustment Day.
https://www.checkiday.com/

So, if you’re looking for an ancestor that was here (or in Britain) in September of 1852, or you’re calculating a date that covers September of 1852, just remember they lost 11 days. September 3-13, 1852 do not exist!

Enjoy your research adventures, friends!

Lisa @ Days of Our Lives blog

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Science Saturday & Blogger Day

Today is Blogger Day! I’m thankful you’re here reading and I want to introduce you to another blog I read. Tisserand Institute is a company I trust for accurate information about essential oils. If you’re interested in information like the infographic below, then you’ll like the Tisserand Institute blog.

I’m offering you this graphic for my Science Saturday posts that I’d like to start doing. It’s important to know what your essential oils can do and what you can’t do or shouldn’t do with the oils. Knowledge is power! Here’s a little information about the popular Lavender essential oil and it’s effect on knee osteoarthritis..

So now you know! I hope you have a great weekend! If you have a favorite essential oil blog, put it in the comments below!

~ Lisa @ Honeysuckle Farm

Introducing…

If you follow me on social media, you might have seen my post introducing a blogger I recently met online. Just in case you missed the post, or don’t follow me on social media, I wanted to introduce her here on the blog because today is Blogger Day!

Blogger Andrea A. writes the blog Between the Lines: Stories from Family History. Andrea’s blog is much like mine. She tells stories about her ancestors. She also uses 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks blog prompts like I do. I highly recommend Andrea’s blog, especially right now when I’m not blogging due to life circumstances. If you’re looking for a good story from history, go check out Andrea’s blog and let her know I sent you!

Until next time,

~ Lisa @ Days of Our Lives blog

Friday Fave

One of my favorite products are the magnets from Shutterfly. I gathered up some ancestral photos and put them on these magnets then I displayed them in my home. Here’s one with my great-grandparents:

When my grandsons come over, they often play with the magnets. They will ask about the people in the photographs and that’s when I get the opportunity to introduce them to an ancestor. My hope is that one day they will be interested enough to learn more. For now, I’m happy to get an opportunity to tell them a story and familiarize them with their family history.

You can get these magnets on the Shutterfly phone app for $2 plus shipping using the code APPMAGS. If you like my 2×2 magnets, choose the “Modern Border Photo Magnet”, then upload your four photos and type the ancestor’s name in the label bar if you want the ancestor’s name on the magnet, too. I don’t know how long the magnet sale will last so if you love these, download the phone app and get yours ordered asap! I hope you like this Friday Fave. Have a great weekend!

~ Lisa @ Days of Our Lives

Back to School – Friday Fave

It’s that time of year again – back to school! Some teachers will return this week, some of you return a little later, and some homeschools never stop for the summer! Here’s my back-to-school gift to you: a diffuser recipe that will bring calm to your classroom. I hope all of you have a great school year!

Doughboys and Polar Bears

We finish with the bayonet.

The motto of the Doughboys who fought in the Polar Bear Expedition of the 339th in North Russia.

SITUATION REPORT:

It’s 0300 on 1 April 1919. My company – Company E – is stationed near Arkhangelsk, Russia. Temperatures are frigid. The snow is waist deep. It’s a new moon. I can barely see in front of my face but I know they’re coming. I can hear them. The Bolos – Bolsheviks – aim to kill us, one way or another. They’ll begin shooting at us soon. I can feel it. I pray. I think of Fred BRUMM in Company H. Are they attacking him, too? I pray for him as well. I pray for all the Detroit boys. And then it happens. At 0330…a frontal bayonet assault on the blockhouses! God help us!
An imagined scenario that depicts Otto MOELLER on 1 April 1919.

Otto Moeller

On 1 April 1919 at 0330 in the vast nothingness of Arkhangelsk, Russia, just below the Arctic Circle, Otto MOELLER battled the Bolsheviks in a war that seemingly would not end for his unit. Armistice had already been signed in late 1918 but here he was – along with the rest of the 339th – still in battle against the Bolsheviks in North Russia and for what? The ‘why’ was never clear. No end goal, no consistent mission, no clear motive. Even after he returned to the United States he would never really know why they continued on in Russia.

I’ll be posting a full blog post about Otto this coming week and I’ll include information about Fred BRUMM who was in the 339th with Otto, but in Company H. For today, I just wanted to set the scene for you for Otto’s April 1st in 1919. Happy April 1st to you. Stay tuned. You won’t want to miss Otto’s and Fred’s experience in North Russia.