Dearest Isabella, Part 8

Just a few other people to mention. There seem to be so many, but I am going to limit myself. You may continue to receive e-mails over the years of people that I have thought of and want to tell you about. Right now, I will limit it to four more people.

Glenn Davis Broaddus My mother’s brother and prank player deluxe. I have heard more stories than I can count about the pranks that he played on my mom. He loosened the cinch on the saddle of the horse that my mother and Uncle Glenn road to school. Mother would get on and promptly fall off as the saddle came off the horse. He figured out a way to hotwire the seat of their old Model T Ford that they drove to school later on and would shock my mother. He laughed how he would watch her squirm. Again, not a complainer, Mother never said a word. When I ask him to sign my autograph book, he wrote “To the little girl that needs a moving van every time she goes out of town.” Apparently, this characteristic was begun early and one of the first “discussions” Coach and I had was all the luggage that I took on our honeymoon. When the valet man at the Village Inn in Lubbock opened the truck, he looked at Gary and said “All of this?” You never know when there is going to be a formal and I wasn’t going to be caught short.

Luther Earl Sheldon Aunt Evelyn’s husband from Des Moines, Iowa. I could write a book, but will keep it to a few lines. The way he treated Aunt Evelyn stands out most. While he was in the war, he arranged for a florist to send her flowers every week while he was away. He always bought her the prettiest gifts at Christmas and I admired their 50 plus year love affair. One time I remember him drilling Mollie and I on the state capitals while we rode a jeep up a narrow mountain in Lake City, Colorado. Why that stands out, I don’t know. He just expected a lot out of us and helped us achieve it. There were family vacations in Colorado and holidays in San Angelo or Amarillo and a two week vacation to California with six people in a small car. Mollie and I were promised a motel with a swimming pool the last night of the trip. When we would get unruly, my Dad would say “Do you want Uncle Luke to ‘lay down the law’? I didn’t know what that entailed but I was pretty sure I didn’t want to find out. He worked for Phillips 66 all his life in San Angelo, was a elder in the church and was a community leader. I can’t pass a Phillips 66 station without thinking of him.

Dearest Isabella, Part 7

You are now twenty four days old. Soon you will be a month and then six months and before you know it we will be driving to Dallas to celebrate your first birthday. Well, I promised that I would tell you about the people that influenced me after I married. I think I will combine the men and the women. At least for now, I’ll try that. I lay in bed or am driving the car and all the sudden I think of someone else I want to tell you all about.

Probably the two people that I would put near the top of the list would be your other great Grandmother and great Grandfather, Doris Cash Crofford and Curtis Alvin Crofford. They (guess what) always made me feel welcome and loved---are you seeing the pattern to great admiration? Sounds a lot like Jesus’ commandment of “The Greatest of these is Love.” Your great Grandmother Doris has a lot of spunk. Maybe Sarah got a double dose of spunk—Grandmother Doris’ AND Great Great Grandmother B’s (Broaddus). But I rather like the idea of the women in our family being full of spunk. A strong powerful woman is very appealing. That doesn’t mean she isn’t a Godly woman, but she is no push over and knows who she is. There is a difference between being Godly and being squished. But I am rambling and I intended to tell you about Grandmother Doris. Her house was and still is immaculate. We always joked that you could operate in her kitchen if the hospitals ever got full. Every time she came down she would clean out my refrigerator. No one does it better and if she is still around when you get married, I bet she would be willing to clean yours out and show you how. I never was interested in knowing how. She always did it to perfection and you can’t beat perfection. She was always willing to jump on a plane when your Mother and Uncle Curt were little to come babysit. I owe part of my photography career to my total lack of worry when I would go to Texas School, a class that was held each year for photographers, or any other seminar or weeklong school that was offered or even a vacation with Coach. I never worried once about whether your mother or Uncle Curt were well cared for or if the house was running smoothly. Hey, it was probably running smoother than when I was in charge. She was still driving by herself to Oklahoma City or coming in at 2:00 a.m. from a card game with her friends into her 80’s. She says she has the best looking grandchildren in the world and I hear her making those same claims about her great grandchildren.

Curtis Alvin Crofford This is one of the men that your Uncle Curt was named after. (The other was my dad, Thomas Jackson Lynn.) One of the things that I remember him saying was “Nothing good ever happens at the back of the bus.” So he chose to sit at the front of the bus where he could stay out of trouble. I’m afraid that I would have been turned around to at least see what was going on “back there”. He was a very moral and highly principled man. He was on the city council and when the mayoral race was approaching, a group of men talked him into running for mayor due to his high standards of conduct. He was an elder in Southside Church of Christ and later Southwest Church of Christ when it combined with another church. He was a member of the Kiwanis Club and evened booed the Lion’s Club one time when we went by a sign with their logo. Coach can give you all the details, but he worked very hard all his life. He started out working for Pepsi Cola but broke his back when a garage door fell on it while he was unloading the truck. He was confined to a cast from under his arms to his pelvis with a brace on his neck. He couldn’t ever go back to his manual labor job. His boss, being a kind man (and I am betting recognizing quality when he saw it) said he had a new distributorship in Amarillo and needed a bookkeeper. Your great granddaddy began to learn bookkeeping and eventually studied and passed the CPA exam. Coach says it took him along time to pass all the parts, but he preserved. I think perservance would be one of the characteristics that he has passed on to our family. But the greatest lesson that he ever taught me was his faith in God. Not just saying he had faith, but living like he had faith for all to see. One scripture that sums Granddaddy up would be “All things work together for good for those who love the Lord.” He lived by that. I bet he was quoting it when he broke his back and I know he quoted it (because I heard him) when it looked like Coach was headed straight for Vietnam. Again, Coach can tell you the long version, but Coach was all but assured that he would be accepted into the Navy’s Judge Advocate program. He had a very high LSAT score, a test that he took to get in law school. He turned down a place in the army reserve to gamble on the Judge Advocate program. He heard a few days later that he was turned down for the JAG program and by all accounts, he was headed for the front lines of Vietnam. Granddaddy pulled that verse out like Dad was just headed for the grocery store. Again and again, he quoted it and refused to panic and refused to not trust God. I’ll tell you the rest of that story in a few minutes. So, one of the verses that you will need to lay claim to is “All things work together for good, for those who love the Lord.” I even bet your great Granddaddy will help you learn it.

Dearest Isabella, Part 5

 Mabel Faye Davis Broaddus. Isabella, this is my grandmother and she is your great, great Grandmother.  She was wonderful.  I stayed with her a lot and rarely had babysitters, other than Mrs. Prescott.  Grandmother would braid my hair, make snow ice cream and wonderful sugar cookies, baked squash and home made rolls and burnt sugar cake.  Oh yes, and wonderful fried chicken!  I wish I had paid more attention to her cooking skills.  Mother said that during the Depression (Another terrible time that your great grandparents lived through and something that I pray that you will NEVER have to experience!) she always fed anyone that came to her backdoor that was hungry.  When she was a young single woman still living with her parents, she was not allowed to date my grandfather because he drove his horses too fast.  He trapped furs and sold them to buy her a bracelet, which she hid in the attic.  She wasn’t allowed to accept gifts from men.  I guess that bracelet was just too pretty to turn down and I have it now.  I wear it a lot and think of her and the great story that went with it.  She got caught dating him because she had someone else pick her up in a one horse wagon but my grandfather, Tom Broaddus, brought her home in a two horse buggy.  Grandmother’s Dad saw the tracks in the mud or snow (They lived in cold, cold Missouri).  Not long after that they married and moved to Amarillo, Texas from Missouri.  I have a picture of her as a teacher in a one room school house that I will show you when you are older.  She always bought Mollie, my cousin (Aunt Evelyn’s daughter), and me Easter bonnets and we always hunted Easter eggs at her house.  She was a wonderful part of our life. On a very cold and snowy day in Amarillo when Coach and I were first dating, we were trying to drag a sled behind a car on the expressway (which hadn’t opened yet).  All we needed was a rope.  I figured that Grandmother would give me one.  When I knocked on her door, she asked me if my mother knew about this. “Well, of course not, that is why I came to you!”  She went and got the rope.  You will see her type of spunk as you get to know your cousin Sarah.  My grandfather died on Father’s Day in June before I was born in October.  I never knew him or any of my other grandparents.  Isn’t it ironic that you were born on Father’s Day 60 years later?  God always makes “sad” sweet.

My Grandmother's Class That She Taught in the One Room School in Rural Missouri.

My Grandmother's Three Children- Aunt Evelyn, My Mother, and My Uncle Glenn

Dearest Isabella, Part 6

Ilma Beryldine Broaddus Lynn. There were, and are, so many wonderful women in my life but the best was and is my Mom. Isabella, she is one of your great grandmothers -- Grandma Beryldine. At age 92, she still has a beautiful smile and sweet spirit. She doesn't remember very well anymore and has lived in a home for people with memory loss for about a year. The other day when I was there visiting the activity director there told me that Grandma Beryldine tells her regularly how blessed she is and how happy she is to have such a nice place to live. Never a bit of grumbling about her circumstances or where she now lives! And the activity director said that Grandma Beryldine is the only resident who ever tells her that. She is the most unselfish person I have ever known! She always does what is best for everyone else rather than herself. When she moved to Houston, she said she wanted to do it before she “had to” and when she could still make friends rather than just rely on Coach and me to entertain her. Her attitude has always been such an example to me and to Coach and your Uncle Curt and your Mom. She always wanted me to go out and learn how to be with people; then she would add “all kinds of people.” She is the reason that I so love meeting and being with people! She lived on the farm and could not participate in after school activities because she had to ride the school bus home right after the school day ended. So, I got to do any activity I ever wanted to try. She did not spoil me (At least I don't think that I am spoiled. Ha) by indulging me but she encouraged me and supported me in everything that I ever did. She was always my biggest supporter. When your Mom and Uncle Curt came along, she was their biggest supporters as well. She was the minister’s secretary all my life. She started out keeping the books accounting for the Church's money and when Daddy gave her a mink coat for Christmas one year, she made him take it back because she didn’t want anyone to think she was stealing money from the collection plate and buying a mink coat with it. Trust me! Everyone at that Church loved her and admired her so much that that thought would never have occurred to anyone. People would sometimes stop in the Church office unannounced to visit with the minister about a complaint that they had. She would listen to the person talk while they waited for the minister to be available and, often, by the time the minister was available, the person was satisfied just by having had Grandma Beryldine listen to them sympathetically. She was a life long worrier, but also a life long encourager. I am honored to have called her Mother.

Well, Isabella, these are just some of the women that influenced me growing up. It was a good exercise to think about them with such pleasant memories that night that I held you for the first time. I hope when you are holding your grandbabies, you will be able to recall all the women in your life that made you the person you will have become. You won’t remember that night when you were ten days old and I held you in my arms most of the night and prayed over you but it was one of God’s sweetest gifts to me.

I will love you forever.

Cici (Cease)

P.S. Another time I will tell you about more people that influenced me as I was an adult. Remember, I wasn’t really much of an adult when I got married. I was 18 (Almost 19, I like to point out) and Coach was 21. We have pretty much grown up together. Another time I will tell you about people that I have met along the way that helped me become who I am today.

My Mom ("Grandma Beryldine") and Dad ("Papa") - Nov. 1945

Grandma Beryldine at home in approximately 1992 or '93. She was about 75 at this time

Aunt Evelyn and Grandma Beryldine having fun in San Angelo in about 2004

Dearest Isabella, Part 4

p> Evelyn Louise Sheldon:  My wonderful Aunt Evelyn!  Isabella, she was your Grandma Beryldine’s only sister and would be your great, great aunt. She also had beautiful dishes, perfect posture and great style.  I used to watch her paint her fingernails with red fingernail polish and she wore Chanel No. 5 perfume.  She was elegant and my Mom wanted me to grow up and be like Aunt Evelyn.  She said that Aunt Evelyn didn’t know how to do stuff at home when she was young but became the best housekeeper and cook after she got married.  I am not sure if there is a time limit on when those housekeeping talents will appear. I am still waiting! Mother used to talk about how they didn’t go to the USO during the war (World War II, a terrible time that your great grandparents lived through and something that I pray that you will NEVER have to experience!), the USO came to them because Aunt Evelyn could jitterbug so well. She was beautiful! My only girl cousin, Mollie, and I used to spend lots of weekends and Summer vacations together. I had been begging my mother to let me “frost” my hair to no avail.  One Summer while I was visiting them in San Angelo, Aunt Evelyn let me put lemon juice on my hair to bleach it out.  I was sure that I was a lot blonder!  She and Mother didn’t ever make Mollie and me do the dishes and they didn’t even get mad when Mollie and I (or it might have just been me) opened a box of marbles during the church service and the marbles hit the sloped concrete floor and rolled all the way to the front of the sanctuary.  The preacher thanked us for waking up the folks that were sleeping.  What was I doing with marbles in church? She gave me a wonderful bridesmaid’s luncheon at the Amarillo Country Club the day of my wedding and it was as elegant as everything else that she did!  But don’t be confused!  Aunt Evelyn WAS NOT just a person of beauty and style but no substance.  She was involved in her community and church and a leader in all in which she was involved.  She never met a stranger and was outgoing and friendly and inviting to all.  Coach says that when we began dating and he first became involved with my family, he was a little shy and uncomfortable but Aunt Evelyn always made him feel special and welcome.  She treated him as family, right from the beginning.  As you grow a little older and get to know your cousin Jack, you will see these leadership and friendliness traits in him.  He often talks about his family.  I wonder if Aunt Evelyn is coaching him.  My beautiful Aunt Evelyn died just a few days before your Mom and Dad’s wedding and I will forever be disappointed that she was not there to share that wonderful day with us. But, I am sure that she was looking down from heaven and smiling with approval at how beautiful the wedding was!  Grandma Beryldine often can’t remember that Aunt Evelyn has died and she asks about her. I don’t have the heart to remind her that Aunt Evelyn is no longer here.   Grandma Beryldine sometimes introduces me as her sister.  I just smile and relish in the compliment.  Maybe I’m turning out like Aunt Evelyn after all.

My Cousin Mollie and Me.

Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Luke Right After World War II, Late 1945.

Aunt Evelyn's Favorite

Dearest Isabella, Part 3

Mildred Callaway: When I was growing up, the Callaways lived next door to us on Monroe Street in Amarillo. Mildred’s daughter, Becky, was my best friend as I grew up. I was at their house ALOT. They had three boys and I was always jealous that Becky had brothers. I dreamed one night that we bought their house and wrote the brothers into the contract and got them along with the house. (One time I remember telling Mary Lou, see below, that Mother and Daddy were adopting a child---complete wishful thinking also know as a lie. I also told Mary Lou that they were building an expressway from Amarillo to San Angelo. Mary Lou must have been a GOOD listener with a straight face—back to Mildred) Mildred was so much fun. At night their family would have Bible stories and a devotional. Burl always prayed with great vigor for a LONG time. They had wonderful purple Wisteria hanging off latticework on their backyard porch. They had a huge brick barbeque grill in the backyard and a really big plastic swimming pool that you could stand up in. I remember lots of good times at their house. I ate a lot of meals with the Callaways and I loved all the fun at the table mostly lead by Mildred.

Iris Wherry: Iris was another of my mom and dad’s best friends. She was married to Gerald and Gerald used to date a woman named Violet but he married Iris. I always thought that was the best story. Gerald was the best man at my Mother and Dad’s wedding on Easter Sunday of 1941. My Mother and Daddy and Iris and Gerald played lots of bridge together. She loved pretty dishes and I loved to eat at her house. Her table was set with a one -of –a- kind glass at each plate. I loved how colorful it was at her house. She was way ahead of Baskin & Robbins Ice Cream. She would take vanilla ice cream and mix in coffee, or orange juice or grape juice to make a swirl. I couldn’t wait to see what she had made. She gave me a party when I got married and I remember how pretty everything looked.

Marylou McGregor: Mary Lou was, and still is, one of Grandma Beryldine’s very best friends. Mary Lou and I still talk to this day. She and her husband Joe played a lot of bridge with your great grandparents as well. She sewed beautifully and made your Mom the cutest little yellow print dress when she was born. I’ll show you the picture of your mom in the dress someday. She wrote me a note and told me how having a little girl was wonderful---that she would bring me so much joy and break my heart at the same time. I e-mailed Mary Lou when your Mom had you. Such a wonderfully caring lady! She calls or e-mails me often to check on Grandma Beryldine’s condition and I appreciate it so much. Her daughter, Shirley, lives in Houston and we talk often. I am photographing Mary Lou’s grandson, Ben, next week for his senior picture. I love that I have that connection to Mary Lou!

TO BE CONTINUED

Dearest Isabella, Part 2

Hays Williams: One of my Mother’s (Your great-grandmother, known to our family as “Grandma Beryldine”) co-workers at the church. Hays and Mother were such good friends. She always acted happy to see me when I would run in and out of the church office. Even later in her life when she would write Mother, she called her “Dear Friend” and longed to see her. She passed away a year or so ago and I can’t bear to tell Grandma Beryldine that she is gone. I value their example of lifelong friendship.

Bessie Hart: Another one of Mother’s good friends and co-workers at the church. She always made me lots of custom designed doll clothes. I remember my mother taking time to go visit her, even when she moved to the Juliette Fowler Home in Dallas. I am beginning to see a pattern of very giving people.

Rella Nugent: One of my Sunday School teachers. She was so sweet and I think my love of scripture and felt boards for storytelling came from her. She was another one that made me feel loved every time I saw her. I am beginning to figure out that they loved my mom and therefore they loved me. She became blind or almost blind at some point but I don’t ever remember hearing her complain whenever I saw her.

Iris Prescott: My babysitter when my Grandmother wasn’t keeping me, which was rare. She had a hair coming out of her chin that always seemed to be there. But out of her mouth came wonderful Bible stories any time I was with her. I can remember sitting on the floor listening to them any time I was with her. We also found empty locust shells and made locust parades. I have not thought of this until your Uncle Curt told me about Jack and Sarah finding locust shells the other night. The best memories pop up out of nowhere.

Brickey Bearden: She was a fiery red head with a great laugh. She was another of my Sunday School teachers and she always scared me just a little. She was earthy and bold and there was something that I liked about her. She was always at church helping someone. She even adopted two young Vietnamese children at a time when adopting children of a different nationality was rare.



TO BE CONTINUED