Flashback Friday # 4 ~ My Uncle Howard

This is a slightly edited repeat of my Friday, December 16, 2005, blog posting.

This is # 12 for Linda but only # 4 for me. You see I will never catch up.

Linda's orders are: Tell about any of your grandparents, cousins, or other extended family that was special to you growing up. She had a little more too and you can read them on her site. On her site you can also find other nice stories about others' relatives. Just click here on the button to the right.

Uncles and Brother-in-laws
[Brother-in-laws and other uncles are a WIP*]

The picture is Uncle Howard with his family in the 1940s.

I had four very nice uncles, three brothers of my Father were Lester, Chester, and Howard, and Don, a brother of my Mom. All have died. There weren't any blood relation aunts on Dad's side of the family who lived beyond infant hood. Mom's full brother lived in Oregon most of my life and I don't remember much about him. Mom also had four brothers or BIL's about my age. Two of those have died.

Here goes. Uncle Howard was Dad's youngest brother, two years younger than Dad. I felt that I was his favorite nephew; he called me "Jimmy." My best remembrance of him is that he could yodel. He is the only person I know or have known who could yodel. He yodeled good, very good. He would only yodel when nobody was around, except me.

Uncle Howard's favorite song was Cattle Call:

"The cattle are prowlin'
The coyotes are howlin'
Way out where the doggies roam
Where the spurs are a jinglin'
And the cowboy is singin'
His lonesome cattle call
[Yodels]
He rides in the sun'
Til his days work is done,
And he rounds up the cattle each fall
[Yodels]
Singing his cattle call"

I still like to sing that song when nobody is around too. And I try to yodel. Uncle Howard never sang in public either. Not even in church.

He had two boys, John and Jack. Jack and his sons do the farming on our family farm, John has completely retired from the Corps of Engineers. The both live in Tekamah, Nebraska. Jack is married with three sons; John is divorced and has one son. Jack makes fairly regular visits to Conroe (Texas) in the spring. It is a nice use of his Time Share credits. He has grandchildren south of Houston and of course a cousin, us, living in Montgomery

Uncle Howard finished school through the eighth grade at District # 42, the same school Dad, the other two uncles, John, Jack, two girl cousins, my sister, Lois, and I all attended until high school. It was a one-room schoolhouse. That was all the education my grandfather would allow, except for my Dad who when through the tenth grade. Grandpa needed his 'boys' to help on his farms.

Uncle Howard had newer cars and tractors than we had. Dad still used horses for farming a lot in the thirties; Uncle Howard had tractors early on. Uncle Howard did keep a team and a riding horse. He was the first one in the neighborhood to use milking machines.

His wife, Aunt Fae, and my mom were friends before either married these two brothers. I thought that I was my Aunt Fae's favorite nephew also. She would make cookies and candy for us. Aunt Fae and Uncle Howard traveled a lot. Mom and Dad didn't travel much until their later years. So we didn't go on any long vacations until I had graduated from high school.

Uncle Howard was a very clean living man. He was the only one of the brothers who didn't smoke. I don't think he ever inhaled a cigarette or tasted beer. Not even when he was young. I could be wrong, but that was the impression he left for me to remember.

He was also very religious. He became a deacon at middle age and remained one for the rest of his life. I saw Uncle Howard the day he died.

Later that day, about an hour before he died, he led a prayer group in his hospital room with his family. He requested all the nurses and staff who could come to be there also. Uncle Howard prayed then. He prayed for each family member and hospital attendant by name. And he died in less than an hour.

Singing his cattle call
.
*WIP --> Work In Progress.
Actually progress in this line of other uncles and BILs has stalled. This post with the encouragement of Linda my encourage me to finish the job. As you can see there are eight other uncles and then I have two BILs. All my uncles are deceased except for three who are younger than I.

- - - - - - - -

Today is National German Chocolate Cake Day.
Have you had yours yet?
(Link for other June Holidays)
(Link to recipe help from Ask Dr. Jim (blog)