Back when Kansas was the Wild Wild West!

L to R: My Grandfather Paul Jones Lindsey (1895 - 1983)
my Great Uncle Samuel Gordon Lindsey ( 1893 - 1918)
and their friend Ira Heidleburg (1891 - 1953)
Until earlier this summer, I had never seen this mysterious photo, dating back to sometime between 1913 - 1915 in Southeast Kansas or Northeast Oklahoma. Shortly after it was taken, both Paul and Sam joined the army and went to France: Grandpa to the Argonne; and Uncle Sam to the Aisne - Marne, where he was killed in action in 1918.

Knowing how solemn the photographic expressions could be back in the day, it was hard to tell at first whether the picture was a practical joke or a formal portrait. It looks very serious but also very posed. I have to say I never saw my grandfather play poker or smoke a cigarette in his entire life! Maybe it was a set - up, perhaps at a county fair or photo studio. It certainly seems posed when you consider all the little details, such as their friend Ira's 2 fingers on the 2 coins! And the way Paul is showing his hand!

Yet another mystery -- can you see how the picture has been torn down the middle? That's how my cousin found it at the bottom of a box of photos when his dad (Paul's son, my mother's brother John) died. Was it torn accidentally or intentionally? We'll never know! My cousin Johnny thought that maybe Grandpa didn't want us to see him with a cigarette, even if it was fake. Who can tell? We're just lucky that somehow Uncle John was able to find and save both halves of the pic and that Johnny was able to gently repair the tear.

Most importantly, I love knowing that Paul, Sam, and Ira had that moment together! How remarkable that a century later, we are still able to see those sly looks that they are giving the camera! In their expressions, I see a resemblance between my older son Ben and his great - grandfather Paul, and my younger son Sam and his great - great uncle Sam -- after whom he was named.

When I showed my Sam the picture, he replied memorably: "Yes, it is a great picture and well worth saving. It's sad to think of all of the photos that have been taken that were then thrown away and no one ever got to see. (If a picture doesn't exist, did that memory really happen? -- that's why I love taking pictures!)"

P.S. Happy Birthday, Sam!
Be sure to take some pictures!

Upon another dress - up occasion ~ 1907
Samuel Gordon Lindsey (R)
with older brother ~ Wayne Wallace Lindsey (L)

Calendar for Another Year

Another Year

Another year gone and the old man with the scythe
Is mowing closer. He hasn’t been subtle, has he.
Too many good people gone, and I could sit and cry
For them except that you look exceptionally snazzy
Despite the miles on your odometer,
As if you have a few more aces up your sleeve,
Maybe you were born under a lucky comet or
Maybe it’s the wine, but I do believe
When I look at you and take your hand you’re
Positively glowing. Maybe we’ve been sorry a
Long enough time and now we get some grandeur
And do our dance and sing our aria.
May this year bring us before it has flown
All we would have wished for had we only known.

by Gary Johnson

**********************

Calendar for 2024
An Assemblage of Ancestors,
Living Their Best Lives

Sketch in Pencil
by Rosanne Bristow McCartney (1933 - 2021)

January
98 Years Ago!

Little Buddy Heideman (b 1922)
Son of Rovilla's brother Melville Miller Heideman

February
Ostler by Trade

Gerry's Great - Grandfather
Benjamin Bristow (1845 - 1915)

March
The Bristows of Little Crosby

Benjamin & Sarah Bristow
& Daughters: Birdie & Betty

Gerry's Grandpa Harry in 1910
Henry Emanuel Bristow
25 December 1889 - 14 August 1966

April
Wild Wild West

L to R: My Grandfather Paul Jones Lindsey (1895 - 1983)
my Great Uncle Samuel Gordon Lindsey ( 1893 - 1918)
and their friend Ira Heidleburg (1891 - 1953)

May
When Grandma Was a Girl

My grandmother
Mary Rovilla Heideman Lindsey
1908 ~ age 17
8 October 1891 - 14 June 1966

June
Business & Home

Rovilla's grandfather
Henry Wise Miller
27 May 1834 - 29 October 1915

Emporia, Kansas ~ Homestead
of Henry W. & Elizabeth Birkinbine Miller
Grandparents of Rovilla Heideman Lindsey

Osborn, Ohio ~ Homestead of
John & Sarah Cox Haddix
Great - Grandparents of Paul Jones Lindsey

July
Barrel of Fun

Rovilla, age 18
in 1910 with her cousins
Willie Golder & Ruth Reider

August
Musicians All

"Jack" Willard Samson Carriker
6 December 1898 - 6 March 1974

"Shug" [as in "Sugar"]
Melvina Adeline Beavers Carriker
17 May 1901 - 18 November 1981

With her daughter Frances (at the piano)
and daughters-in-law Theresa & Elaine

McNabb Sisters in 1892
Nancy (b 1849) & Delia (b 1860)
Shug's great - aunts

September
Ready for a Show

Clinton, Arkansas ~ Cornet Band
Late 19th Century
James William Beavers (1872 - 1932)
in second row, with hat on knee

 My Uncles: Leon & Glen Moots
With their new guitars in 1959

My great - uncles
Wayne & Sam Lindsey, before World War I
L: Wayne Wallace Lindsey (1889 - 1951)
R: Samuel Gordon Lindsey (1893 - 1918)

October
The Sporting Life

Ron McCartney (back row, far right)
Portrane Mills Cup, 1949

Ron McCartney (second from left)
T. Byrne Mills Cup, 1950

November
Harvest Festivals

Shug & Jack, 1959
Grandma & Grandpa Carriker
riding in a wagon just for fun!

Rovilla's brother Harry (far left)
Harry Louis Heideman (1887 - 1940)
with friends and his wife Ethel (top left).
Pretending the wagon needs gas!

Top of Haystack:
Harry & Ethel's daughter Mildred (b 1913)

December
Happy Holidays

Stylish trees of the time
at Aunt Ethel & Uncle Harry's house
in Indendence, Kansas.

Mildred's First Christmas Tree

Ethel with Mildred Della (b 1913)
or Ila Maxine (b 1917)

I began the New Year with an epiphany of sorts, looking through my collection of hundred - year - old family pictures, searching for some that I wanted to use for this calendar. Often, looking at the dear faces in the old photos makes me feel so sad, because I know the sorrow and loss that was to follow for so many of them.

This time, however, a new insight began to crystallize as I saw their mirthful whimsy living on in my world, decades after their departure from this planet. I kept my focus on how much fun they were having, going out of their way to create clever photo ops, living their best lives! And their efforts paid off -- because here I am in the next century witnessing their talent, admiring the nuance of their wit, and feeling proud to be their descendent.

So, in the words of Janis Ian:

"Let's drink a toast to
those who most believe
in what they've won . . .

Let's drink a toast to
those who best survived
the life they led . . ."

Veterans Eve

I have spent the last few weeks looking through stacks of family papers that have come into my possession over the years, including all the army pension documents of my great - grandfather James Sankey Lindsey (1846 - 1921) who came home sick from the Civil War with untreated measles (contracted by his entire division: Company B, 185th Ohio Infantry) from which he never fully recovered (chronic kidney & digestive ailments).

He spent the remainder of his life petitioning the government for a decent pension in return for his service to the Union at a very young age and was met with resistance at every turn. Shameful! The funds were finally granted in 1912, nine years before his death, in the amount of $15.50 per month (would be approx $373 per month in today's economy). Imagine how much taxpayer $$ was wasted in repeatedly denying his rightful claim instead of granting it outright! And how many people were employed in the wasteful task of telling him -- and doubtless thousands of others Veterans -- "No" instead of "Yes."

That's what I'm going to be thinking about this year on Veterans Day.

Civil War Veteran James Sankey Lindsey & Family ~ c. 1911

My maternal grandfather -- Paul Jones Lindsey -- is the tall,
handsome brother in the middle of the back row.
His brother -- Samuel Gordon Lindsey -- sitting on the front,
right-hand side, beside his mother -- was killed in France in WW I.

Sam, with his mother, my great - grandmother
Sarah Elisabeth Hartman Lindsey ~ c. 1916


My grandfather
Paul Jones Lindsey ~ 1922

My Grandfather's Birthday

Paul Jones Lindsey
4 November 1895 - 11 June 1983
I took this photograph of my grandfather in September 1982
In the twenty-six years that I knew him, I learned so many things from my mother's father. What a treat it was to hear him recite the poems of Robert Service, especially "The Cremation of Sam McGee," and to listen to his real - life stories of the Dalton Gang (see my post from the Dalton Museum) and Buffalo Bill (see last summer's post, "Hominy, Horseradish, and Buffalo Bill," on my Fortnightly Blog).

The Atchison, Topeka, and Sante Fe, June 1966
Here I am with my Grandpa Lindsey, ready to ride the train
to Kansas City to visit his sister, my Great Aunt Mabel
Shortly before he died, my grandfather taught me a very important lesson about trusting and sharing when it comes to family heirlooms. It was Christmastime 1982 when he offered me the 1913 photograph of his brother Sam, who was killed in WWI. Knowing this to be one of his most treasured possessions, I said, "I don't want to take it if you're not ready to part with it."

My grandfather responded with words that I shall never forget: "Well, Honey Girl, if I give it to you, I'm not parting with it." As I left his house that December night to return to college, he wished me a Happy New Year and said, "You're a quarter of a century old now, Kitti Girl. You must make your own decisions." That was the last time I saw him. I should have got on a Greyhound Bus and gone to visit him over Spring Break; I regret to say that I did not.

I used to think that one day, if I had a son, I would name him after this favorite grandfather. As it turned out, however, I married a man with the last name of "McCartney" and decided that it would not be fair to name a child "Paul McCartney," thus saddling him with the task of repeatedly denying that his parents had named him after one of the Beatles. Also, as it turns out, my husband Gerry, hails from Liverpool, though he claims no relation to the famous Paul, other than to say that they are related "by talent"!

Still, despite this quandary of surname, I was reluctant to relinquish my plan to honor my grandfather with a namesake. Our first son already carried the family name of "William," so Gerry and I settled on naming our second son after Great Uncle Sam, whose memory my grandfather had cherished all his life. I feel sure that having a great-grandson named Sam would suit him every bit as much as having one named Paul. Here is the picture that my grandfather passed on to me, and that I in turn will pass on to my son, Samuel Jerome McCartney:

Samuel Gordon Lindsey,
my grandfather's brother,
in 1913, age 20
Died in France, 31 July 1918
at the Battle of the Aisne-Marne

A letter from my grandfather ~ October 19, 1980:

"About the picture of your Uncle Sam: it was taken close to Barnsdall, Oklahoma, about this time of year 1913. He lacked a little over two months of his 21st birthday. We were both working on a booster station there and I had my 18th birthday while there. He lived five years after that. He was killed July 31, 1918 in what is known as the Aisne - Marne Battle. Aisne - Marne are two rivers running parallel to each other, and the battle was about 30 miles northeast of Paris. There is a National Cemetery of the same name, and Sam was originally buried there but was brought home two years later and buried at Niotaze. He looks like a little boy in that picture, but he was much of a little man. Never weighed as much as 150 until he went to the Army."

Click below to hear
the inimitable Johnny Cash (1932 - 2003)
or
Robert Service himself (1874 - 1958)
recite "The Cremation of Sam McGee"

Mini Saga ~ Grandpa Lindsey

A Girl & Her Granddad

Paul Jones Lindsey
4 November 1895 - 11 June 1983
More about Paul: FN & QK

Maybe you already know about this writing exercise, but I only learned of it a few months ago when my friend -- poet and earth - mom and all-round goddess -- Tammy Sandel texted me one day and said, "Let's write some mini-sagas!

A minisaga, mini saga or mini-saga is a short story based on a long story. It should contain exactly 50 words, plus a title of up to 15 characters. However, the title requirement is not always enforced and sometimes eliminated altogether. The form was invented by writer Brian Aldiss (1925 - 2017) at The Daily Telegraph, which has held several mini-saga competitions, as has BBC Radio 4.

Minisagas are alternately known as microstories, ultra-shorts, or fifty-word stories. The concept truly induces the writer to choose each word with utmost care. Prepare to edit severely! I'm posting mine today in honor of my Grandpa Lindsey's 130th birthday. I could be wrong about this, but I always thought I was his favorite; maybe he made every kid feel that way:

Presents for Me
Because I really wanted them, Grandpa bought the black corduroy sneakers with red plaid saddles -- like the classic black and whites -- except better! Mom asked, what about the other kids? Another time, he arrived, orange cowboy hat on head, little  brown purse on arm.  For me?  No, mine, he laughed!

*************

That's it!
I hope it captures the essence!

I no longer have the shoes or the hat,
but I do have the purse. It may not look like much,
but I felt super stylish back in 1965!
I think it was already vintage then
-- now even more so!

Something else that Grandpa got for me — just because I really wanted it — was a Springerle rolling pin. I’ve had this rolling pin nearly 60 years, even though I’ve only made the actual cookies a few times. I guess I love it for the memory more than for the cookies. I was only a child, but I saw that rolling pin and couldn't stop asking for it until my grandpa finally surprised me with it!

Perhaps it's time to make another batch of Springerle
-- maybe this Christmas.

Photos from Previous Posts

Riding the train to Kansas City in 1966

Sitting on the front porch in 1981

Recent Posts about Grandma Lindsey
Sewing Box Lost Forever & Belonging to Rovilla

More about Rovilla
FN & QK & KL

War Horse

Movie by Steven Spielberg
Book by Michael Morpurgo
When watching this movie last week, I couldn't help thinking of the letter my grandfather, Paul J. Lindsey, wrote about his trench warfare experience:

"Kessler and Moore were my two best buddies and were killed not over two feet from me in an awful artillery bombardment with shells bursting from the treetops to the ground, just a literal rain of shrapnel. We had dug in the night before but had not cut brush to cover our foxholes up with. We pitched our pup tents over the holes and the shellfire was so awful that all the ropes holding our tents up were cut and the tents had fallen down. I had turned on my right side with my face to the side of the foxhole and a slug of shrapnel hit my helmet laying on my head. I have always thought the old 'hard hat' saved my life that night. In that awful rain of death I promised God if He would let me live I would serve Him. My life was spared, and I was spared from any real dangerous duty after that."

My Grandfather's
Battle of the Argonne Participation Medal in MiniatureMore information on the Battle of the Argonne
For more information on World War I

Paul Lindsey in Uniform

Siblings Day

My mother Mary Elisabeth
(b January 21, 1931)
******
and my Uncle John L. Lindsey
(b November 15, 1932 ~ d August 14, 1983)

Siblings with Goat & Basketball
[I'm guessing around 1936 for these two pictures]

My mother Mary & her middle brother John
in their band uniforms,
their younger brother Earl on the porch;
and their mother's writing on back of photo.

John & Mary Beth, all grown up . . .

Taken on October 8, 1951
~ their mother's 60th birthday ~My Grandma Rovilla & Grandpa Paul Lindsey