Happy Birthday Steve!

Here a couple of pictures of Steve in his early years.

Steve on our first Christmas in Shawnee in 1951. He got this very cool train set that came with a board.

This picture is also from 1951 in Topeka before we moved. Pictured are our two grandfathers, on the left is E A Burkhardt and on the right is Ray Morgan, Sr. Sitting on EA's lap is Chris and on Ray's is Steve. Chris was born in March of 1947 and Steve in October 1947 so Chris is clearly the older gent.

1950s Styling

Sally and I in January 1953 showing off the latest in Russian headscarves. Not really, but vegetation hadn't really taken root yet.

This one is dated January 1953. I think it's self-explanatory. It's hard to know why these styles of sofas didn't stay chic. But as I remember it hid the dirt well. As you can tell Steve was serious about his cowboy gear. I'm sure he'll know who he was - Roy Rogers? Gene Autry?

Happy Birthday, Mary and Helen!

Happy Birthday to both Helen and Mary Grace. The following are just a few pictures through the early years.

This photo is of Allan, Edna, Helen and Ethel when Helen was very young. From looking at the trees I'm guessing it was probably warm day in November 1920.

Helen and Mary in a professional photograph circa 1924.

And last, but not least, is a picture of the three sisters from the early 1940s taken in from of the house on Jewell.

Ray in Dibble's Update

As you may recall I was confused as to the age of Grandad in the photo in Dibbles. The date on the picture was 1919 which would have made Ray 23, but he looks older than that. Some of the confusion has cleared up through the diligence of Debbie. She, as have others, looked at the various items in the picture and noticed boxes of Wheaties. But through her research and then through my own, we've discovered Wheaties were not sold until 1924.

The following is a quote from the official Wheaties site:

The popular cereal flake in the orange box was born
when a Minneapolis health clinician accidentally spilled
some wheat bran mixture on a hot stove, creating tasty
wheat flakes. The idea for whole-grain cereal flakes was
brought to the attention of the head miller at the
Washburn Crosby Company (General Mills’ predecessor),
George Cormack, who perfected the process for
producing the flakes. In November 1924, the ready-to-eat
cereal known as Washburn’s Gold Medal Whole Wheat
Flakes during its development was ready for the market.
The cumbersome name was shortened to “Wheaties” as
the result of an employee contest won by Jane
Bausman, the wife of a company executive.

So there you have it; Ray is at least 28 in this picture. My understanding is that Vala identified the people and event and Mary Grace recorded the information. They probably did this at least 40 years after the fact and probably a lot more years.

This incident illustrates one of the hazards of researching, falling too much in love with one fact and not taking into account the other clues.

Baseball

Baseball, on many levels, has always been a part of our lives. Dad's father, Ray Morgan, Sr., played on a semi-pro team until he broke his leg sliding into home plate. He never played with us, but his bat from his playing days was too heavy for us to lift. This picture of him and his in-laws was taken in 1928. It's as close as I've found to him and a bat.

The other picture is from 1951 as you can tell it was taken a long time ago. The fence hasn't been built and neither have the neighboring homes. As you can tell it was before I knew what to do with a baseball. There is probably some discussion as to whether I ever did learn.







This is a home movie that Mom and Dad took in June 1947 when they visited St. Louis. It's hard to see, but somewhere in the video is Jackie Robinson. They had traveled first to the Ozarks and then onto St. Louis in a car borrowed from Roy. In St. Louis they went to the Cardinals-Dodgers game, a golf tournament and the zoo. If this game's the one played on June 15, about two months after Robinson's debut, the Cardinals won 11-3. Robinson, who at that point played first, got two hits and scored a run. There is clearly a lot of scoring.

Now for the corrections of the above post. The golf tournament was the 1947 US open which was won by Lew Worsham in a playoff with Sam Snead. Also the baseball game was the Saturday afternoon game which the Cards won 5-3, but Robinson did score. I thought Saturday was a double-header and I knew Mom didn't like double-headers, but it was actually an afternoon game and an evening game. Now I've seen the tickets and the letter from the Cards telling them about their choices for the game - an afternoon game at 1:30 or a night game at 8:30. There's a second letter that says their tickets for the game will be available at the press gate under Dad's name anytime after 12:30. Mom didn't keep score so the scorecard is not filled out except for some writing by Dad which is hard to read. I remember her always keeping score, but that may not have happened until Steve started Little League.

Ray & Mary Get Married - July 21, 1946

To honor Mom and Dad's 65th Wedding anniversary I've taken a few scenes from the DVD that Sally made from the early home movies. Somehow I've not included the sound.

To my four siblings and me this was a fortuitous day and also for their grandchildren and great grandchildren.

I won't attempt to describe them because to know them or have known them one knows that they are indescribable.

So copy the following link and you can enjoy a short version of the wedding. In the video she starts to toss her bouquet, but Ray has a direction. But they work it out and the flowers are tossed. It seems to have been a system they perfected over the years.

Here's to Mom and Dad. Thanks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HBTr7OcBqg

The Sharpes Come to Kansas - Continued

This photograph has always confused me because the people in the picture are identified as Rebekah and William Sharpe and their children, Betsy, William, George and another name I can't make out. The only problem with that is that Betsy who is identified as the little girl is older than George. She and William are almost 10 years older than George. How does this relate to their immigration to America?

My thought is that it's a photograph taken right before they left England for America. That would make it a picture taken circa 1869. The children then would be George who would have been 9 in 1869 and James who would have been 8 in that year. I would guess the other children are Ada born in 1868 and Maude born in 1869. Why the five older children are not in the picture, I can't answer.

To be continued. . . .