Bill,
Many, many thanks for your post.
If my memory is correct, I believe we may have met though a long time ago.
I spent a summer in 1961 on
Mick and Shirley’s farm. As a city boy, that experience is as sharp and as meaningful today as it was 47 years ago. I have many fond memories of
Mick, Shirley, Mike, and Steve from those two months (
Patty was not there that summer). I also have fond memories of that part of
Iowa – Arnolds
Park,
Milford,
Spencer, Estherville, and
Terrill.
One afternoon that summer,
Mick, Mike, Steve and I went over to your dad’s farm to help bale hay (at least I think it was hay. It could have been something else like alfalfa.). I believe that your dad’s nick name was Slip (I may have spelled this wrong.) I seem to remember that he had some children so if you alive then, I probably met you. I can’t say that you made an impression on me though. I clearly remember baling the hay since it was hot, hard, and dirty work. I rode on a flat top wagon that was pulled behind the baler (pulled by a tractor) and with Mike and
Mick tried to keep up with the bales coming out and get them stacked.
My father died in 1983. He served in the U.S. Navy for 30 years. After he retired, he went to a small
Baptist teacher’s college in
Phoenix to get an elementary education teaching degree and taught school until 1972 when he retired. He actually was not part of Charlie’s business (or at least not on a day to day basis). I grew up in
Phoenix, went to college and got a degree in chemical engineering, and have worked as a chemical engineer since. Most of this time was spent in
Houston or Mobile,
Alabama.
In April last year, I made a trip through upper
Iowa to look for
Livingston graves and other information. I spent some time in
Cresco and found a copy of the high school year book for my father’s senior year. I believe he only went to
Cresco high school for two years and graduated in 1925. Before that he was in
Milford. We drove to
Spencer, spent the night and looked for graves in
Ruthven and
Milford the next day. I found Charlie’s father’s grave (John or Jack
Livingston) and his mother’s (Julia
Wilson Livingston) in
Ruthven. In
Milford, we found the graves of Eula and Ethel Bell
Livingston (my father’s older sister who died in
Milford in 1913 the day before my father turned seven).
I have a sister Ethel who lives in
San Diego. I have two daughters but no sons. My father’s first family (he was married to a woman named Ruth from
Cresco) produced a son named Frederick
Livingston. He is deceased but had two sons and a daughter. I am not in touch with them.
In November 2002, I met Steve
Sanders in Indianapolis at the funeral from Francis
Livingston who was Shirley and my dad’s brother. I did not get an address from him so I have not been in touch with him.
I would like very much like to hear more from you.
Sincerely,
Dave