Davenport Family Additions

It has been a long time for a new post. The Pandemic has meant I have had to keep my social distance from everyone, but the restrictions are easing. Along the way I have some new family additions to my family tree.

Elliot Hudson Clemons

b. September 11, 2020

Elliot is beautiful son of my daughter Stephanie and son-in-law Steven.

Montgomery Anna Martini

May 27, 2020

Montgomery is my newest step-granddaughter and the life of the party.

Rosella Grace Carauna

b. Oct 5 2020

Rosella Grace is not really a biological granddaughter, but a very close friend at church and she is just beautiful.

Colorado Road Trip – Day 8-11

Spent four days in Colorado with Stephen, Heidi and Noah. Lots of good time with them and Heidi’s family. The following are a few picture highlights of our stay in Colorado. (and if you just want to see pictures of Noah, then scroll to the end)

Day 8 – Visit to the Vestas plant where Stephen helps make these wind turbine blades.
Day 9 – Coyote sighting
Day 9 – Black Billed Magpie
Day 9 – Self explanatory
Day 9 – Partial hike to Glacier Basin.
Also a short hike to see Bear Lake and a hike around Sprague Lake
Day 11 – A trip to Grandby, with a stop along the way at the continental divide.
Day 11 – A train museum in the works, being built by Heidi’s step dad.
Day 11 – Choo Choo

A few shots of Noah and his family as we said our good-byes and headed for Nebraska and eventually home.

Noah and dad Stephen and mom Heidi

Arthur J. Mead – Part 2

I have discovered some additional information on Arthur, who would be our great uncle, stepbrother of Grandma Nora.  Thanks to some direction from Char… I was pointed to the Vernal Express (originally the Uintah Papoose) which is a newspaper founded by Grandma Nora’s step mother, Catherine (Kate) Jean Boan.  More on her another time.

Arthur did indeed commit suicide as evidenced by the newspaper article in the January 13, 1911 edition of the Vernal Express.  The letters that are referenced in this newspaper as written by the hand of Arthur are the very letters that my mom has and which I attached to the previous post.  Although the letters mentioned in the newspaper article were addressed to his brother and his children, the letters I have are addressed to his brother and his mother.

His son that would have found him as noted in the article would be Hudson Stuart Mead and he would have just turned 11 years old.  His other three daughters would have been 18, 14 and 7 at the time.  What a horrible thing for his son Hudson Stuart to have gone through.

Thanks to the http://www.findagrave.com website I learned he was buried at the Greenwood Cemetery in Chadron, Nebraska, Plot: Block 7, Lot 46, Space 7.  So now I need to make a trip to Chadron (where I was born) and see if I can find the headstone.

Vernal Express AJ Mead ref 1911-01-13 Suicide

Double Run!

Posted just for posterity sake.  I had a double run in pinochle (single deck) a few years back, which is something my parents said they never had in all their decades of playing pinochle.  It was during a game of three handed pinochle, which has a slightly better odds than with four handed, but it is the least likely of all melds one can get in pinochle.

score

Odds

Retirement.

This isn’t about slowing down after retiring from full time employment, but traveling ahead with whatever and wherever the Lord may lead me.  Traveling to see my children and grandchildren. Traveling to see new places and hike new trails.  Traveling to see friends and relatives wherever they may be.

The Lord has blessed my life way beyond what I deserve already.  So everything else is gravy and the best is yet to come!

Retirement is still about 5 months off, but in my mind I am 90% retired already. I am ready.

Frank (James 4:6-10)