Sunday, March 16, 2008

Pesky Little Brother

At a family reunion held in Washington in 1989, I asked Newt's sisters to relate some memories they had of my dad in his younger days. The one thing that really stuck in their memories was how much a big tease Newt was. Mayme and Mable (Newt's younger twin sisters) related that when they would be talking 'girl talk' and gossiping and telling all sorts of juicy secrets to each other, invariably, Newt would be hiding somewhere (under the bed, in the closet, back of the couch) and after he had an earful, would jump up and run off laughing at what he'd heard. One time he was under the bed while the twins and their friends were playing. He popped his head out and took off running, and teased them for years about what he overheard.
Mable remembered how Newt would rise early and noisily take the trash out from near their room while they were still trying to sleep. One visit with his brother-in-law Charles concluded with evening stories of the pranks they played as youths. Tipping outhouses was common and once Newt and his friends hoisted a neighbor's wagon or carriage onto the roof of his barn.
-From writings of Katie Clausen-

Arkansas Family

We children walked the mile and a half to school through fair weather and foul. I remember having frost-bitten feet from the severely cold winter weather. As we grew older, we also walked to late evening and night events in our rural community, such as church services, parties, ice cream suppers, pie suppers and the annual "Cap Tiller" silent western movies which were shown at the Stoney Point school house. It didn't matter if the country roads were lighted by a full moon or if there was no light at all, we had no difficulty since we had learned every crook and turn in the road. And it was safe in those days. We had no fear of being molested or harmed in any way as we walked in the dark. Though simple, those were enjoyable times.
Mama had a strong faith. It was not always possible for her to attend church regularly but she did when she could and read from the Bible often. One of the most pleasant memories of my childhood was of her reading Bible stories to us each night at bedtime. I learned a great deal about the Old Testament characters in particular from those bedtime experiences. This was a practice which I had good intentions of following with my own children, and I did make a start, but regrettably did not continue. Sad to say, the television got in the way. I feel indebted to Mama for setting a good example of strong faith and for encouraging us to be religious without pressuring us into any particular one. She and Daddy co-existed peacefully in a Methodist/Baptist relationship. (Extracted from 'A Tribute to my Mother, Bertha Freeman Simpson' by her daughter Mable Simpson Brown, April 1989)
Newt was a great concern to his mother as he left home as a boy and ended in Salt Lake City where he married a Mormon girl. You can imagine how this disturbed his mother who cherished her faith and considered Mormons little more than heathens. Newt didn't attend his wife's church often or any other for that matter but he did volunteer to assist with work projects and perform music. His smoking and occasional drinking binge kept him from converting to the LDS faith for about fifteen years. He was unable to stop smoking for very long though he was baptised and Temple endowed. Smoking no doubt contributed to the lung cancer that claimed his life.

 I was sitting on the porch one afternoon several months back. Perhaps I had been practicing guitar. One of my favorite poems is "The T...