Joy Neal Kidney's Blog, page 51

Dead in the Water: The USS Yorktown at Midway by Stanford E. Linzey, Jr.

The Battle for Midway was fought 80 years ago this year.  Paul Linzey’s father, who served aboard the USS Yorktown (CV-5), survived the sinking of the aircraft carrier and wrote his memoirs.

Dead in the Water

Stanford Linzey joined the Navy so he could play in the US Navy Band. In 1939, he was assigned to the USS Yorktown (CV-5), serving through the Battle of the Coral Sea and at Midway, where the ship was sunk by the Japanese in June of 1942. During this time he also led Bible studies for navymen.

My uncle, Donald W. Wilson, served on the CV-5 “her whole life,” so I had plenty of details about those battles, but Linzey’s descriptions were so compelling–of playing for each morning’s flag-raising, for the “Last T-Bone Steak in Captivity,” and about how repair parties were conducted. He also writes about escaping from deep in the ship when “Abandon Ship” was called.

The book is also an account of Stanford Linzey’s call to ministry, answers to prayer, and his call to return to the Navy as a Chaplain. He served 8 years as a musician in the Navy, returning as a Chaplain for 20 years. An amazing coincidence was that, after experiencing combat during the Battle of the Coral Sea, Dr. Linzey became Command Chaplain on the USS Coral Sea (CVA-43), another aircraft carrier.

Dead in the Water is inspirational as well as historically important. This is a reprint of a book originally published with the title, God Was at Midway. It has a new introduction by S. Eugene Linzey III and a new afterword by Paul E. Linzey, a retired Army Chaplain, who are sons of the author.

Paul Linzey also wrote Safest Place in Iraq, stories of men and women who experienced God during the war in Iraq, demonstrating that it is possible to remain true to one’s values and calling as a person of faith in a hostile world.

This is a fascinating memoir of one Army chaplain’s experiences during war-time, ministering to his own troops and even those of allied groups from other countries. He is also honest about lingering consequences of living under stress and terror.

One light-hearted chapter is about an “international, interdenominational slugfest” called “Ping Pong with the Priest.”

The compelling book includes an Epilogue, Questions and Topics for Discussion, and a Glossary.

Farm Kids and Chores, 100 Years Ago

Farm kids certainly learned to do hard work in earlier decades, and to contribute to the family when they were young. Here are Donald and Delbert riding a machine pulled by a team of horses. You can be sure that their dad, Clabe Wilson, rigged up the horses for them.

He would have been a patient teacher about turning the horses at the end of a row and watching the field to make sure the weeder didn’t tear out any of the precious corn plants.

Check the photos for the boys’ doing fieldwork barefoot!

Donald Wilson, not yet 9 years old, running the weeder over the cornfield. SE of Dexter, Iowa, June 5, 1925Delbert Wilson, just turned 10, also weeding corn. SE of Dexter, June 5, 1925Taken on Delbert’s 10th birthday, June 3, 1925

But I’ll bet that Clabe Wilson kept an eye on his sons as they weeded the corn, then helped them unhitch the horses and taught them how to tend to the hot and sweaty horses.

I’m going through Leora Wilson’s memoirs, which she wrote decades later. She told about chores when she was a child. Like Delbert, she was the oldest of several children.

Her brothers Merl and Wayne plowed corn when they were 6 and 7, even younger than Delbert and Donald. Wayne drove the team while Merl handled the plow to cultivate corn, she said. “We were all taught to work early in life–a good thing, and we took pride in it.”

Can you imagine kids these days doing much more than mowing the lawn and caring for a pet?

 

Dallas County Freedom Rock Selfies

Memorial Day is when we Americans remember our combat casualties. If you don’t know someone who lost his/her life defending freedom, you might visit one of Iowa’s 99 Freedom Rocks. The one close to my heart is the Dallas County Freedom Rock at Minburn, which honors all five of my mother’s brothers.

Here are a few photos that people have sent with the Wilson brothers: Donald, Delbert, Dale, Daniel, and Junior. They with their sisters, Doris and Darlene, grew up in Dexter during the Great Depression. Four of the brothers were tenant farmers with their parents, Clabe and Leora Wilson, at Minburn during WWII.

Clayton Wilson from California was the first in the family to see “our Freedom Rock.” His great grandfather was Delbert G. Wilson, the oldest brother who is second from the left on the Rock.Some of the Young Patriots Club who sang at the dedication of the Dallas County Freedom RockI’m with Emina Nisic Hastings at the dedication at the Dallas County Freedom Rock at Minburn. She took photos for me that day and my author photo on “Leora’s Letters” and “Leora’s Dexter Stories” is one she took.

The photo on the left popped up on Instagram in July 2020 by c6_crazy. I sent him a little history of the brothers, and he showed up a couple of weeks later on his “other Corvette.”

My high school classmate, Steve Radakovich, sent a photo of himself with the rock.

Steve Radakovich at the Dallas County Freedom Rock

Val Plagge is the blogger at Corn, Beans, Pigs, and Kids. After reading “Leora’s Letters,” she told her kids the story of the Wilson family and they visited the Freedom Rock at Minburn. Her oldest daughter took the photo.

Jorja Jensen Dogic is with me, the day the Dallas County Freedom Rock was dedicated. She’s been an encourager from early in my writing about the Wilson family, and was a beta reader of the first two books.This is Jorja’s dad, Rodney Jensen, who is from northern Iowa. He read both Leora books earlier this year, then drove down to Minburn to see the brothers on the Freedom Rock.

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

Memorial Day, to Remember Our War Casualties

Memorial Day is set aside for Americans to remember our war casualties. 

Not our veterans. Not our ancestors. Our war casualties.

That means more to families directly affected, but each Memorial Day there are ceremonies to remember in cemeteries across the county. In fact, people in Europe and in the Philippines and around the world remember our war dead with solemn observances in our overseas American cemeteries. They still revere those Americans who lost their lives to help free their nations from tyranny.

Our family always took homegrown flowers to Perry’s Violet Hill Cemetery, to honor the three Wilson brothers who lost their lives during WWII. Only Junior, the youngest son of Clabe and Leora Wilson, is buried there. A cenotaph commemorates Daniel Wilson, who is buried in the Lorraine American cemetery in France, and Dale Wilson. Only God knows where his remains lie today. 

Leora Wilson arranging home-grown flowers, Violet Hill Cemetery, Perry, 1969

With all five sons gone, Clabe and Leora Wilson moved to an acreage near Perry in late 1944, when they could no longer handle the tenant farm at Minburn. Clabe buried not long after the war, having died of a stroke and a broken heart. And since 1987, the boys’ mother Leora Wilson has been buried there.

Be sure to take time to remember those who gave their lives for our nation, even for our world. 

Or you could take your family to visit one or several Freedom Rocks around the state. All five Wilson brothers are pictured on the Dallas County Freedom Rock at Minburn. Only two of them came home. 

Donald, Delbert, Dale, Daniel, and Junior Wilson on the Dallas County Freedom Rock, Minburn, Iowa

Remember that Memorial Day is reserved for those who lost their lives in service to our nation.

Leora’s Letters: The Story of Love and Loss for an Iowa Family During World War II is the story of the Wilson family.

Bridal Shower Dessert, 1966

This lemon dessert was served at my 1966 bridal shower with Guy’s family and friends from Glidden, Iowa. I made it for decades with different flavors–butterscotch, chocolate, pistachio (a pretty green), besides our favorite lemon.

Guy's Aunt Vesta's Lemon Nut Dessert

1st layer: 1 cup flour
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup pecan chips
2nd layer: 1 cup powdered sugar
2 cups Cool Whip
1 8-ounce pkg. cream cheese
3rd layer: 1 16-ounce box lemon instant pudding
3 cups milk
4th layer: 2 cups Cool Whip
Top: additional pecan chips

Combine 1st layer and press into a 9X13" pan. Bake at 350 degrees 15 minutes. Cool. Combine 2nd later and spread over crust. Combine 3rd layer according to package directions (using 3 cups of milk instead of 4). Spread over 2nd layer. Spread Cool Whip on top and sprinkle with nuts.

If using chocolate pudding, sprinkle with mini chocolate chips, etc.

The other special thing about the day is that all four of our grandmothers were there. I wish I had a photo with Guy’s grandmothers–Rosie Kidney and Teresa Walker.

This photo shows Grandma Leora Wilson, Guy’s cousin LaVonne (Kidney) Farner (Aunt Vesta’s oldest daughter), unknown girl, Mom serving coffee, Grandma Ruby Neal. May 1966, Ralston, Iowa

Tiny Tintypes

Emelia (Moore) Jordan (center) with daughters (L-R) Lottie Anderson, Laura Goff, Cora Parrish, Floy Cowden

Mom asked me whether I’d noticed how much older Laura Goff was than her sisters. Well no, they all looked “old” to me.

David Jordan family, late 1889 or early 1890, Guthrie County, Iowa. From left: Floyd Roy Jordan, Emeila Ann (Moore) Jordan, Frederick David Jordan, Floy Temperance Jordan, Lottie Belle Jordan, Collis Moore Jordan, Laura Arminta Jordan, Cora Nell Jordan, David Jordan.

It’s actually more obvious in this family photo, with Floy, Lottie, and Laura in the center back, with youngest sister Cora leaning against their father. Laura married in early 1890 and became a mother late that year.

Laura was born in 1868, then three children who didn’t live very long: Phoebe Caroline “Cally” (1870), Riley Ephraim (1872), and Rose Emma Jane (1874). Those three died in late 1873 to spring of 1875, and are buried in the old cemetery at Monteith, in Guthrie County, Iowa.

Recently I found a small envelope of tintypes. I’m so thankful I had kept them. I’m sure that two of them are of my great grandmother, Laura (Jordan) Goff as a girl and one is the wedding picture of her parents (another one like it was labeled).

But there are three tintypes of babies, two of them labeled. I’m sure that the unmarked one is of one of the three Jordan children who were lost long ago.

(BTB) Phoebe Caroline “Cally” Jordan (Jan. 8, 1870-May 27, 1875), buried at Monteith, IowaRiley Ephraim Jordan (Feb. 14, 1872-Dec. 27, 1873), buried MonteithRose Emma Jane Jordan (Apr. 26, 1874-Apr. 11, 1875), buried Monteith

I’ve seen the gravestones for these little ones when searching for ancestors in the cemetery at Monteith.

When I was a girl, Great Grandmother Laura Goff lived with her daughter, Grandma Leora (Goff) Wilson at Guthrie Center. Neither drove, so I remember Mom taking them to Casey, a town in southern Guthrie County, to see their sister and aunt, Cora (Jordan) Cowden. My sis Gloria and I were along that day, but it was pretty boring to us to listen to old ladies talking. Oh, I wish I’d paid attention, maybe even asked questions!

The youngest Jordan, Frederick David, was born a year before his oldest sister, Laura Goff, became a mother, when Leora Goff was born. When Fred Jordan grew up, he married Rectha Wilson in 1909. When Leora grew up, she met Clabe Wilson at Fred and Rectha’s house in Monteith. Leora and Clabe were married in 1914.

For those of you who’ve read Leora’s Dexter Stories: The Scarcity Years of the Great Depression, the youngest Jordan sister was the Cora Parrish who hired Doris Wilson in their Guthrie Center restaurant. Yes, that one who wondered how Leora had raised a daughter who didn’t know how to cut up a chicken!

 

8th Grade Graduation

Dexter’s eighth grade graduation of 1958 was held in the 1916 Dexter Community Building. I wasn’t aware of the history all around me. The building itself is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Both of my parents played basketball there, as well as graduated from Dexter High School. So did most of their siblings.

I had no idea until the building’s centennial celebration that Dad’s grandfather, O.S. Neal, was on the committee that planned the permanent Community Building to replace a temporary tabernacle. Dad’s mother, Ruby Blohm, graduated from Dexter in 1916, but the new building hadn’t been completed yet.

Seated on the stage are Superintendent L.O. Wineingar, Principal A. E. Ellingson, and an unidentified gentleman.

Dr. Keith M. Chapler, probably school board president, hands me my 8th grade diploma. He was the doctor who had delivered me almost 14 years earlier, along with my sister and most of my cousins.

He’d also patched up Buck and Blanche Barrow after the 1933 shootout with the Barrow Gang (aka Bonnie and Clyde) in Dexfield Park!

Dr. Chapler’s wife, Eleanor, was my piano and organ teacher for years.

Mom made my dress of light blue cotton sateen, with piping and a black velvet ribbon, which tied in the back, threaded through decorative lace. (I still have the dress.)

You can see the back of the dress in this photo.

I’ve been thinking about Grandma Leora Wilson, who wanted to go on to high school but her father forbade it. Dad’s mother, Ruby Blohm Neal, is my only grandparent who completed high school, at Dexter. Both of my parents did, in 1935 and 1936, also at Dexter.

School reorganization in 1958 meant that all four of my high school years were spent at neighboring Earlham, which was Dexter’s long-time football rival!

Soapstone Bed Warmer

My husband Guy’s mother, Carol (Walker) Herman, gave us an old soapstone bed warmer with a note that she and her siblings used it while growing up from about 1910-1930 near Glidden, Iowa.

She said that it was heated on a potbellied parlor stove and wrapped in newspapers and carried to bed.

Soapstone warmers were popular in the mid-1800s and were also used to warm feet for those who rode in a sleigh or buggy during the winter.

What is soapstone? In its purest form, it is talc, the same stone used to make baby powder. Talc gives the stone the characteristic greasy feel for which it is named. Based on the percentage of talc in the stone it could be used for a variety of things.

Its heat conductivity made it popular. The stone is so dense that it retains and radiates heat. Unlike most metals, soapstone releases heat very slowly. Soapstone, with its density, can also be reheated over and over without cracking like other metals.

This heavy old thing is a soapstone bedwarmer.

Guy’s mother still lives on the family farm. She’ll be 99 in September!

The Quiet Cowboy by J. D. Wininger

The Quiet Cowboy

by Guest Blogger J.D. Wininger

With a nod of his head, he states matter-of-fact, “We’re burnin’ daylight.” As he sits down beside me, I think to myself, This fella doesn’t talk much; but he sure is a good worker. After early morning chores (feeding, watering, and herd checks), he glances my way, “Time to feed the critters”, and off we go to feed Bubba and the barn kitties. Following a pat on the head and straightening Bubba’s rugs, it’s time for our breakfast.

He pours his coffee in silence. He knows where things are located now, so he’s able to help himself. “How do you want your eggs, Mr. John?” As he grabs a couple of plates, he grabs a small bowl and says, “Scrambled please.” A brief reply is his usual response.

Oh, sometimes he’ll talk your ear off. “I was a pretty good dairy man in my youth. I could work a 100-foot Straight A (a type of dairy barn) by myself, before sunrise.” He isn’t bragging, but remembering his strong work ethic as a young man. That same spirit flows through him today, tempered with age and seasoned with wisdom from a lifetime of lessons.

He’s quick to remind me, “I wasn’t always responsible though. I quit my dairy job. Not because I didn’t love workin’ with them ole cows, but because it wasn’t fair to them or my boss. They deserved someone more responsible than I became.” I thought, I wish we all could be that honest with ourselves. It seems people today seek to blame others rather than look in a mirror and see what part they had in the situation. As I’m getting to know my ranch foreman better each day, I’m learning more from him than he is from me.

As is often the case, the mentor can end up being the one who learns the most. CLICK TO TWEET

I met Mr. John at our church. A quiet fella, he would sit by himself near the back. Sometimes a shy lady accompanied him; turns out she is his widowed sister-in-law. He would only speak when spoken to. I made it a point to seek him out each Sunday morning for about a month and spend a couple minutes sharing with him. When he came forward, requesting to make sure his salvation was secured and later baptized, our entire church erupted in celebration. One morning, noticing the brand on my vest, he quizzically looked at me. “You got a ranch?” When I affirmed I indeed had a small ranch, his eyes lit up. “I grew up in Pickton, over by Como”, he excitedly stammered.

Smiling, I replied, “I didn’t know that. That’s great cattle country over there. And good hay too.” With a broad smile, he looked up, “My daddy, brothers, and me worked in them hay fields 14 hours a day years ago. Ooh-wee, was that hard work, but hard work makes you healthy. I’d make almost 30 dollars a day.” From there, the roots of friendship grew.

It seemed Mr. John was leery of most folks. He would talk with Pastor Wilton or Pastor Grady and his wife, but mostly, John kept to himself. As we grew more comfortable with one another, I invited him to Life Group. He shared he didn’t drive, and he wasn’t comfortable walking the streets after dark. I promised we’d carry him home, and he agreed to join us.

When I learned where my new friend John lived, it broke my heart. It seemed prejudice and persecution displaced him; and he was most grateful that a nearby church offered him a dry place to sleep, and others a shower now and again. With no bathroom facilities and winter coming on, God placed a burden on my family’s heart to do more. It took some convincing him, but Mr. John is the newest resident at our Cross-Dubya ranch. He’s cleaned up the old bunkhouse (two rooms plus a full bath where the original property owners lived while building the house) and made himself a great apartment. Mr. John is an answer to prayers for help around the ranch; and he’s cleaned everything else too. I’ve never seen the barn, garage, workshop, and bunkhouse so sparkling and clean. Neither has my Ms. Diane, much to my chagrin.

Together, we tackle all the chores that need doing around the ranch. I love his work ethic, attention to detail, and “Can Do” attitude. It’s been years since being blessed to work with a self-starter who not only thinks for themselves but does every task with skill, precision, and professionalism. Our cattle and other livestock adjusted to him quickly as he exhibits the same calm, easy-going nature I handle them with.

When I glance over to check on him while we’re doing separate tasks, I see a mixture of joy and satisfaction on his face. When we’re not working, he keeps to himself. On sunny days, I’ll find him sitting outside in the sun, reflecting upon life. At other times, I find him listening to music, reading his Bible, or reviewing his Sunday school lesson. He wanders out to the barn or a pasture to “check on things” every afternoon. I often find him out there, offering a treat to “Mavric” the bull or visiting the donkeys. There’s such a peace about him when he’s outside in “God’s country” as he likes to call it. I can’t tell you how many times he has said, “I never dreamed I could ever do this again.”

When you find him sitting alone or with the animals, he seems to look into the distance. Pensive, contemplative; it’s as if he is reconciling his life. I sometimes wonder if he’s thinking about the past, thanking God for the present, or wondering about the future. Perhaps it’s all those things, but John is quick to tell you, “There’s a reason the rear-view mirror is so small and the windshield is so big.” I can’t help but think of Chapter 42 of the book of Job when I consider my friend and brother in Christ, Mr. John.

God will redeem the years you have left when you surrender your life to Him. CLICK TO TWEET

Watching him hold a newborn calf; cradle its head in his hands as he reaches down to nuzzle its nose and softly talk to it. His gentle soul is on full display. Surely, God is redeeming his years.

Since hiring on here at the Cross-Dubya, Mr. John has not only made my life easier, he’s brought an infectious, child-like joy of discovery into our every day. The way he fusses over “Miss D” and spends time with Bandit the cat and her litter of kittens, he expresses his gentle heart in so many ways. To see his smile and hear his “ooh-wee” when I gave him his own ranch business card and apparel with our brand on it was priceless. In his usual laconic manner, he clutched the shirts and muttered, “Reckon I’m ridin’ for the brand now.”

How long our friend Mr. John stays with us here at the Cross-Dubya remains to be seen. While he’s here, he is a tremendous help to me, brings joy into our home, and God’s blessings keep pouring in. I love discussing God’s word with him, explaining things, and working beside this precious man of God. I pray you reach out and touch someone with God’s love this week.

As a special treat, I’d like to share the words of a poem from Mrs. Martha Snell-Nicolson. I cherish these words as I, too, have grown older. Click this link to read and download “His Plan for Me”.

God’s blessings,

J.D. Wininger recently shared this as an 8-minute story on Our American Stories.

J.D.’s website.

He is also a regular contributor to www.pjnet.tv

Unfortunate Spring Weather, May 12, 1907

All of Sherd Goff’s Audubon County crops had been planted the spring of 1907.

But the Audubon newspaper an the unfortunate story: “We have had all kinds of weather the past week. Sunday [May 12] was very warm but exceedingly unpleasant because of the wind that blew the dust in all directions. One man put it the wind blew corn rows crooked. In fact, it was one of the worst we have ever seen of the kind. Monday was cooler and Tuesday was cold and Wednesday cooler still, with a little snow. . . The whole country is suffering more or less from the unusual cold and drought we are having this spring.”

Decades later, Sherd’s oldest daughter Leora remembered that the wind blew all day and most of one night, and the dust in the air was terrible. A lot of seed was exposed and some blew away. It was a little late in the season to replant field corn, so Pa decided to plant popcorn since it has a shorter growing season.

That popcorn crop did so well that he continued raising it, along with field corn, oats, and hay. For several years, he contracted with a popcorn company each spring, in Chicago or Odebolt, to grow so many acres, the company furnishing the seed. 

Sherd Goff’s crib of popcorn

They did so well from marketing his popcorn crops to buy a farm in neighboring Guthrie County four years later. He was even called the Popcorn King of Guthrie County.

Leora’s Early Years: Guthrie County Roots