Joy Neal Kidney's Blog, page 25

What I’m Reading – by William R. Ablan, Pen Name of Richard L. Muniz

 

This is the second time I’ve read through Joy’s book. I’m intending over the next few months to read all four books in her series, and of course started with the first. It’s rather pathetic on my part that I never really gave it a proper review.

So, Here goes.

If you’re not familiar with her first of four books, Joy inherited boxes full of letters and telegrams that were written to family members from five uncles during WW II. As a result, much of the perspective is from the people who received the letters. In short, the book takes place in a setting largely ignored in the histories of WW II, and that’s home.

What we have are small snapshots from the men on the front lines, and then the reactions and lives of the people getting the letters. In some cases, the letters have been censored so details of location, units, arms, and so on aren’t referenced. This often left the folks at home with more questions than answers, some of which wouldn’t be answered (if ever) for months or years.

There are several high points of drama in the book. One was from her Uncle Donald who was on the Yorktown. The folks back home have an idea that a critical battle has been fought at Midway, but all they know is the Yorktown was hit. When Donald writes from the Battleship California, it’s clear there’s more to the story than the carrier being hit. It was sometime before it was confirmed sunk. Donald Wilson was up to his eyeballs in trying to save the Yorktown after it had been hit and they were going to try to tow it back to Pearl before being sunk by a Japanese submarine. That by itself would make an epic story.

Perhaps some of the hardest hitting parts was the two brothers becoming MIAs. Danny flew the vaunted P-38 Lightning. On a raid in Austria, he disappeared. Turns out he was shot down and given a proper burial by the Germans.

New Guinea

There’s no such closure for Dale. His B-25 was hit and seen to crash into the sea about one and half miles from the targets they’d hit (shipping and facilities at Wewak – a Japanese stronghold in northern New Guinea). The reports are a little contradictory. In one letter, the plane was seen to be under some manner of control, hit the ocean, bounced and then settled in, an almost classic belly landing at sea. Given the limited amount of time they were under observation (twenty to thirty seconds – remember, the rest of the bombers were fleeing the area to avoid being shot down themselves), no one was seen to escape. Another account says the plane hit and broke up, sinking almost immediately. Both accounts agree that no one was seen to leave the aircraft.

A few days later, a short-wave broadcast was received indicating Dale Wilson and his crew were POWs. But at the end of the war, nothing is known about their fates.

This is history at its best because it caused me to do go out and learn something. Where was Wewak? What’s the story there? There was an airfield and harbor there. There was also a POW camp there, but the majority of the inmates were from India. Several of the survivors state that they occasionally saw Americans and British there. I also found the names of Known POWs from the US Japan held. Dale Wilson’s name isn’t among them, nor are those of his crew. That wasn’t a surprise considering the Japanese POW system was a joke and a mess at the same time. Given the broadcast (and multiple stations received it), it makes one wonder if the Japanese had indeed captured the crew or what happened. Were they killed and any trace of them vanished (destroyed reports) in subsequent attacks. Were they taken somewhere else and simply “Lost” as happened to so many. Were bodies recovered and through a clerical mistake put in the POW category instead of dead. We may never know.

But reading the accounts from home also shows that along with the big questions, life went on. There were still crops to plant, babies to be born (including the author), and dreams to fulfill. Despite pain, heartbreak, dashed hopes, these people pushed on and survived the loss of three of five sons.

One thing the book does a first-class job of is preserving family history. To many times, things like these letters and pictures vanish into a box and are disposed of someplace. I recall as a child, that shortly after my great grandmother passed away, her house was being cleared out. We found drawers full of letters. Every letter was destroyed. Today, I look back and wonder what was in them. I guess I’ll never know.

I’m glad to see that hasn’t happened here. In addition to a great resource for history, it preserves something even more precious. It helps to ensure these people won’t vanish into the night.

I envy Joy that she was able to do this for her family and the future.

NOTE: This would make one heck of a movie or TV Series. Mr. Tom Hanks, think about it if you ever read this. I’ll be first in line to buy a ticket!

You might like to have a look at his website!

Book Clubs and the “Leora Stories”

I bet the person who ordered eight copies of Leora’s Letters from Amazon purchased them for a book club. Recently I learned of another group who’ve chosen it for a winter meeting. At least a half-dozen book clubs from Polk City and Indianola, Iowa, to cousin Judy’s in Texas have discussed at least one of the Leora books.

Some groups use their own questions, but all four books have Discussion Questions at the end. Beta reader and retired teacher Elaine Briggs composed a list of “Classroom Topics of Discussion and Activities” for Leora’s Letters.

I’ve enjoyed being invited to book clubs when they discuss Leora’s stories. One of them, a local group of therapists (physical, occupational, and speech), included the first three Leora books and voted on their favorite. Leora’s Dexter Stories: The Scarcity Years of the Great Depression won. If I’d found a book like it when I was a student, I wouldn’t have avoided history classes all the way through college. This one has short chapters, which I think students would appreciate. Several people have mentioned it.

Delta Kappa Gamma, a Dallas County teachers’ sorority, invited me to their discussion at the Minburn Library. Afterwards, we gathered in the wind at the Dallas County Freedom Rock with the five Wilson brothers remembered on it.

Elaine Briggs has written two books: Joe Dew: A Glorious Life and Yes! All Can!: Increase Reading Levels in Weeks, Resolve Conflicts and Build Character, Develop Leadership. Here is her Amazon Author Page.

One of the Top Ten Books by Iowa Authors of 2023

Tyler Granger, founder of the Windsor Heights Book Fair and author of Iowa Trouble, announced the Top Ten Books by Iowa Authors of 2023. Number 7 is What Leora Never Knew by Joy Neal Kidney:

“Joy Neal Kidney’s October 17th, 2023 release, What Leora Never Knew, is more than just a book; it’s a granddaughter’s poignant excavation of family history and a companion piece to Leora’s Letters, their shared legacy etched in the crucible of World War II. Devouring it in a single afternoon, I found myself captivated by the tale, each document and photograph a silent witness to the family’s grief. The toneless telegrams announcing tragedy after tragedy — ‘The Secretary of War desires me to express his regrets…’ — resonated with a heartbreaking finality, amplified by Kidney’s sparse, Midwestern prose. Yet, amidst the crushing blows, life continued in rural Iowa. Hope flickered amidst uncertainty as the family regrouped, comforting Leora and sharing the weight of her sorrow.

“With her first three books, Kidney gifted us an intimate glimpse into the lives of a single Iowa family, a microcosm of America where ordinary lives intertwined with extraordinary sacrifice. Leora’s Letters laid bare the raw truth of losing three of five sons to the war. Now, in What Leora Never Knew, Kidney meticulously reconstructs the lives of these men, weaving a tapestry of their hopes, dreams, and tragic fates. Read not for the sadness, but for the heroism it illuminates. This is a tale not just of one family, but of countless farm boys, truck drivers, and factory workers who traded their furrows, wrenches, and tools for the uncertain promise of freedom. In their sacrifice, we glimpse the debt we owe, a debt that can only be repaid by upholding the ideals for which they gave their all.”

Here’s Tyler Granger’s Amazon Author Page.

A Mumuration of Starlings

I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed this phenomenon before, but I even knew what it’s called. It took place when I walked my loop Friday, right here in the suburbs.

Starlings were flocking in neighborhood trees earlier this morning, but here was a whole flock of them in an aerial dance right ahead of me, swooping and looping back on themselves, undulating.

This will give you the idea.

I learned about it when I wrote the story of Dale Wilson earning money for his senior year during the Great Depression when there was a bounty on the pests.

Story also in Leora’s Dexter Stories: The Scarcity Years of the Great Depression.

From The Wandering Voice by GardenBird, “The beautiful sight of them flocking and flying in perfect formation is something you don’t forget in a hurry once you’ve seen it, but arguably, the most interesting fact about murmuration is that starlings are the only species of birds who do it.”

Oranges: A Movie, a Recipe, and a Book

This sweet rabbit trail began when I watched my husband peel a gorgeous orange to share with me. The aroma was so heavenly, it’s no wonder oranges were savored as Christmas presents, sometimes the tale-tale bulge in the toe of a Christmas stocking that also held hard candies and all sorts of nuts still in their shells.

“I think angels eat oranges in heaven.”

After savoring my share of bliss, I googled oranges and Christmas, and found this delightful Christmas Oranges film, which I took the time to watch. It’s Hallmark-y and predictable, but the characters are winsome (except for the grumpy fella, until the end). If you’ve got the time to watch, you’ll end up with a pleasant lump in your throat, or tears. Or both.

Candied Orange Rind

I made candied orange rind one year. When oranges were rare in Iowa’s early days, I bet my foremothers found a way to enjoy orange rinds, possibly using a similar recipe.

Candied Orange Rind
4 large navel oranges, washed (I used a fruit/vegetable wash)
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
Peel the oranges, saving the peels. Strip off the bitter pith (white spongy albedo). Cut into thin strips, about 1/4 inch wide and 2-4 inches long.
Simmer the strips in water, 1 cup of sugar, and the salt about 20 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Turn off heat and let rest 5-10 minutes. Arrange a drying rack with waxed paper underneath. Use tongs to lift peels to the rack to dry and cool about 15 minutes. Toss them in the remaining sugar to coat. Let dry completely at room temperature. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

They won't last that long. I don't think my original recipe included vanilla extract or salt. I used my fingers to arrange them on the rack. Even though I stripped off as much pith as I could, these thick rinds made for awfully tart candies.

A Book

John McPhee wrote a whole book about Oranges, everything you ever wanted to know and then some! You can’t believe how many types of oranges there are, and which side of a tree grows the sweetest oranges, and that they are grafted onto sour lemon tree stock. (It reminds me of the banana book my daughter-in-law loaned me earlier this year.)

This entire blog post was inspired by the heavenly aroma in the kitchen when my favorite Guy peeled a delectable orange.

And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.” – Genesis 1:29

Gold Star Families Comfort One Another

Even after WWII, the parents of those lost on the bomber off New Guinea wrote to one another. 

Fred Wieland, father of pilot John Wieland

[Philadelphia] Jan. 5, 1947

Dear Mrs. Wilson,

      Your kind letter with your greeting card received and Mrs. Wieland and myself were glad to hear from you, but we were shocked to learn of the passing of your dear husband.

      He must have been a comfort to you when the tragic news was sent to your home from the War Department from time to time regarding your sons and miss him very much.

      We do not know why many things happen and we should not question beyond a reasonable doubt the workings of our Lord and Christ but I know he cares and will take care of you and will help you bear your burdens and griefs.

      I would suggest you to read First Corinthians 15th Chapter especially the 58th verse and Revelation 21st Chapter for your consolation and help and there are many other comforting chapters and verses in the Bible which helped us during our dark days and carried us through. 

      As like yourself we at home feel very close to you folks and the other parents of Jack’s buddies. 

      Having grandchildren like yourself we have three grandsons to comfort us. . . . 

      Mrs. Wieland joins me in sending you our very best wishes and hoping the new year brings you and yours a new hope for tomorrow. 

      Augusta Stack, mother of navigator John Stack   

Grand Rapids, April 4 – 1947

Dear Mrs. Wilson –

Your card with the benediction was so sweet and thoughtful. I have just returned from the “Good Friday” services at our congregational church and have found them most sad but encouraging and uplifting.

It is nice to be in communication with you. Are hearts were saddened at Christmas time with the knowledge of your husband’s passing but I feel as you do that the world is so full of suffering that those who have gone before are safe in God’s keeping We miss our loved ones but rejoice in their well being. . . .

Hoping that you are in good health and that your family is well, I am

Lovingly – Augusta C. Stack

Christmas 1948 from Mr. & Mrs. John R. Stack, forwarded from Perry to 505 N. 4th St., Guthrie Center, Iowa

Essie Sharpton, mother of gunner Ted Sharpton

Essie Sharpton of Dacula, Georgia, was such a blessing to Clabe and Leora Wilson. Her youngest son was a gunner on the B-25 missing since November 27, 1943. 

      She began writing information to them as soon as the military revealed in early 1945 the addresses of the families of the six missing crew members. 

      When Mrs. Sharpton learned of the Wilsons’ other losses, she wrote, “Truly you have had more than your share of sorrow in this world conflict–and though my sorrow is great, I’m ashamed to complain. I feel humble and sorrowful in your great sorrow, and I know it could just as easily have been me instead of you. Why, I don’t know, that it was you who lost three instead of me? I don’t feel I deserve the difference. I’m just trying to be thankful and trusting the Lord for guidance, as I know you are or you couldn’t stand up under so much. May He continue to give you the strength of faith and love that it takes to carry on.”

Only combat mission

Yet, there was a hope that the missing crew members might show up, and she was still hoping and trusting that they’d be found. Her son, Willie Ted Sharpton, was added as the sixth crew member, to man a gun.

      He was lost on his only combat mission.

“Yet I know I’m not better to give than my Heavenly Father, who sent His only Son to die a horrible death for our sins, and I know He knows best whatever has happened–and I know I must trust to Him for comfort. He’ll bear our burdens if we’ll trust him.”

     The week before, a young Air Force man had visited Mrs. Sharpton. He was part of a squadron in Europe whose job was to do a thorough job of searching for MIAs. Just because they’d been presumed dead didn’t mean they’d quit searching for them. 

      (Later I found evidence that this was true. The records of this crew were compared with evidence found by these search teams, even several years later.)

      “And though we may never understand why we had to bear these burdens here, we can know in the Great Beyond, and only trust a Higher Power to guide us to a better life.”

Christmastime

Leora Wilson and Essie Sharpton wrote to each other, at least at Christmastime, for decades. What a blessing these two women were for each other through the decades.

Gunner Ted Sharpton, born in 1919, was the son of Essie Sharpton, a lunch-room lady in Dacula, Georgia, who had been widowed since about 1934. She had eight children–six sons and two daughters. One son was still in high school. Mrs. Sharpton wrote to Leora Wilson for decades. Even after her death in 1982, Mrs. Sharpton’s daughters, Lillie May Parker and Dollie Foster, continued to send Christmas cards to Leora. After she died in 1987, a daughter sent Christmas cards to Dale Wilson’s twin, Darlene Wilson Scar.   

(I’m still in contact with two great granddaughters of Essie Sharpton and a niece of John Stack.)

Craig Matthews, an Author to Watch

Pilgrim.com asked authors for their three favorite reads of 2023. Mine included two nonfiction, no surprise there, but my favorite was historical fiction by Craig Matthews. I “met” Craig on LinkedIn, a comment about Goodreads, so I checked him out. I found his first two books on Amazon, but both words in the title, Immigrant Patriot, were what drew me to that one. What an incredible and surprising story it held!

Immigrant Patriot

What an incredible weaving of the immigrant journeys of a young couple, from Scotland and Italy, who meet in Utah after he survives WWI and the influenza pandemic. By then, she is a young widow, who has lost a young brother, her father, her husband in the war, and another brother to the pandemic.

But they have much more to face, from the deception and destruction of a rampant secretive religion. Remarkably, they escape and find redemption. Immigrant Patriot: One family’s struggle for freedom and faith in a world gone mad. is the almost unbelievable story of the author’s grandparents, written as a novel.

After Immigrant Patriot, I wanted to see what else Craig had written. I almost didn’t finish this next one, but I’m thankful I did: 

The Stars in the Sidewalk

Gritty and powerful. This story of the consequences and coping mechanisms of a broken past is so brutal but felt so authentic. Scooter owned up to his addictions and demons, but they piled on, even after he reached out for help.

A couple of scenes were so brutal that I quit reading. I went back because I needed to know what happened to one of the characters. I’m glad I did. This redemption story is made even more powerful by the author’s revelation at the end.

From Amazon: The Stars in the Sidewalk: My Demons Don’t Die Easy is a story of an every day working guy who gets triggered by a tragedy on the job site and is forced to face his many issues he had buried deep in his past. Ronnie is a young boy who is thrown back into the foster care system and is intrigued when a concrete crew shows up at his new foster home to put in a pool. Ronnie grows close to the guys over the course of the project. The concrete being poured is special and designed with hundreds of small stones that look ordinary during the day, but glow a bright blue at night, looking like stars.

Tragedy strikes the worksite and no one knows who is to blame. Is it the foster parents, the construction crew, young Ronnie, or the bully next door? Perhaps, something far more nefarious is at work. The tragedy sends Lawrence spiraling back to Angie, his beautiful counselor, after a four year hiatus. It also puts him back on the road to dealing with the issues he has kept buried since childhood. The negative patterns he thought he had killed had been active in keeping him a prisoner. He was convinced he was controlling them, but their influence was leaking a destructive power into his life. Our demons don’t die easy. Could he break their stranglehold at this critical point, or would he retreat back into his cave of addiction for another twenty years?

Addiction is a powerful force and its tentacles can build an impregnable fortress that are impossible to break out of in our own strength. Your demons don’t die easy and we wither under their relentless attacks. Lawrence had tried the faith thing many years before this event, but would God continue His silent routine in these areas of his life, or finally move? Could Lawrence ‘will’ his way out of this trap if God wouldn’t help, or was he stuck forever?

After I reviewed Stars, Craig asked if I’d have a look at a new manuscript. It’s his best one yet, so I was glad when he asked if I’d write an endorsement for it.

Cameron Lost

Compelling characters wrestle with their beasts, their demons, even while attempting to forgive and encourage others. Cameron does something unspeakable to his family, knowing it can never be forgiven–by God, by anyone. His journey through his misery takes him on a real one, hiking and hiding in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Known by his trail name as Caveman, this miserable misfit meets Butter, also a trail name, who runs a place called the Oasis. Theirs is such a compelling friendship, deeper than that.

Cameron Lost takes the reader on a journey through rich UP vistas while sharing in Cameron’s losses and terrible choices and misery to eventual redemption.

Craig is refreshingly candid and has a website, Craig Matthews Media. You can follow him on LinkedIn and and on Facebook, where he has shared videos of making his own maple syrup in his neck of Michigan. He’s also a foodie, so we’re are always tempted by his creative concoctions. Last month he shared videos while hiking part of the Appalachian Trail.

Craig’s 24-minute interview on PJNET.tv

Once I asked him if he has more books in the works. Yes, about fourteen of them! I’ve been able to read a couple of his as-yet unpublished manuscripts and the amazing beginning of another. He’s definitely an author to watch.

Christmas 1941

Christmas 1941

President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill led a somber ceremony on Christmas Eve, 1941, only seventeen days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7. Millions listened from their homes on radio, probably including Clabe and Leora Wilson near Minburn, Iowa. They were tenant farmers, along with sons Delbert, Danny, and Junior.

Their landlord had bought a tractor for them to use, which made the farmwork easier than working with and taking care of teams of horses.

Delbert and Donald Wilson enlisted in the Navy for four years back in 1934. Delbert was dischrged after his four years were up, hoping to find a job in California to help support his family in Dexter, Iowa. After several tries, he returned to Iowa and moved with the family to the Minburn farm.

But Donald reenlisted, attended a Naval school, then was assigned to the crew of the new USS Yorktown (CV-5). In 1941, the aircraft carrier had been ordered into the north Atlantic for Neutrality Patrol. Knowing that the outbreak of war was imminent, he and a crewmate slipped home, AWOL, that November. After the Wilsons got a notice from the Navy about his absence, the navymen headed to Des Moines and were ordered to the brig at Great Lakes, Illinois. When Pearl Harbor was attacked, they spent the rest of their punishment aboard the Yorktown, which was refitted and ordered back to the Pacific.

Dale, Danny, and Clabe Wilson, Frank ___ (came home with Donald), Donald, and Delbert Wilson. Frank and Don were headed back to the Yorktown. November 1941, Minburn, Iowa

Now that war had been declared, Dale Wilson knew he’d be drafted. His goal though was to become a pilot in the Army Air Force, and he’d been studying math at home hoping to pass rigorous tests. No birth certificate had been issued for twins Dale and Darlene in 1921, so his mother Leora rounded up a newspaper clipping about their birthday, his baby picture, and a church Cradle Roll certificate. His application for a Delayed Certificate of Birth was notarized December 17, 1941.

Dale’s twin, Darlene, married Sam Scar that spring. Because they farmed near Earlham, they didn’t know whether Sam would be subject to the draft or not. Doris, the other Wilson sister, was a waitress at McDonald’s Drug in Perry, Iowa.

Delbert, the oldest in the family at age 26, knew he’d probably be called back by the Navy. Danny had just graduated from nearby Washington Township High School, valedictorian of his class, and had registered for the draft. Junior Wilson, ten years younger than Delbert, was still in high school.

The Yorktown, darkened each evening and sounding general quarters (battle stations) each morning, headed for the Panama Canal, transiting on December 21.

The Christmas of 1941, the nation prepared for a war of biblical proportions, Donald’s carrier was headed to San Diego to join a task force. It was an uneasy Christmas for the Wilson family, with the nation at war with both Japan and Germany. 

The Wilson home on the Minburn farm, December 26, 1941

That Gallant Ship: U.S.S. Yorktown (CV-5) by Robert Cressman

Story from Leora’s Letters: The Story of Love and Loss for an Iowa Family During World War II

 

Striped Baby Booties

December baby Daniel Neal Kidney home from the hospital, 1974

Favorite Striped Baby Booties

These can be done with one color, but I enjoyed changing yarn color every three rows for this candy cane version. There are more loose ends to weave in, but how darling!

With size 2, 3 (my favorite), or 4 knitting needles and baby yarn, cast on 40 stitches. (K = knit, P = purl, KO = yarn over, tog = together)
Pattern:
Row 1 (wrong side): K
Row 2: P
Row 3: K
Repeat these 3 rows until 6 "patterns" are made.
Row 19: K
Row 20: K1, *YO, K2 tog. Repeat from *, end K2 tog, K1
Row 21: K
Row 22: K25, slide remaining 15 onto holder (I use a large safety pin.)P10 and slide remaining 15 onto another holder.
Working on the center 10 stitches, complete 8 "patterns." K1 row and pick up 12 stitches along instep, then K the 15 stitches on holder.
Next row: P37, pick up 12 stitches along instep, P15 from holder (64 stitches). Complete 5 "patterns"

Sole: Row 1: K2 tog, K 28, K2 tog twice, K28, K2 tog
Row 2: P
Row 3: K2 tog, K26, K2 tog twice, K 26, K2 tog
Row 4: K
Row 5: P2 tog, P24, P2 tog twice, P24, P2 tog
Bind off in P

Whip seams together. Crochet a string tie or use ribbon to thread through the spaces at the ankle.

Christmastime 1922

Families created their own entertainment before radio and TV. When the Wilson family lived at Stuart during the 1920s, Doris was about 4 years old. Her older brothers were 6 and 7, the twins just eighteen months.

Leora sang while her children marched around the table. One of the tunes was the Ragpicker Song, “Any rags, any bottles, any bones today?” She also sang Civil War songs she remembered her own mother singing when she was a child.

Twins Dale and Darlene are in front. Back: Doris, Donald, and Delbert Wilson, Stuart, Iowa, about 1922

They must have gotten some toys, but the only tidbit Leora left for us in her memoir was that around Christmastime, she sang to them “Jolly Old Saint Nicholas,” substituting the names of her children:

Jolly old Saint Nicholas, lean your ear this way.
Don’t you tell a single soul what I’m going to say.
Christmas Eve is coming soon, now you dear old man
Whisper what you’ll bring to me. Tell me if you can.
Delbert wants a story book. Doris wants a dolly.
Donald wants some roller skates–he thinks dolls are folly.
As for me. . . etc.

From Leora’s Early Years: Guthrie County Roots