Uncovered a couple treasures this morning in the garage. I found several scrapbooks my mother kept, stored in plastic containers with snap lids, and believe it or not, those damn pack rats ate right through the plastic, but they didn't get to the actual photos. Crazy. Crazy lucky.
Lots of coverage from the early days in Kingman and Iowa. Here's an example page:
My grandfather's obit, plus plenty of Kingman Cowboys and a rare photo of my Aunt Patsy (upper right), who's full name was Ruby Irene "Patsy" Guess. She died after a brave fight with cancer on March 3, 1963. She was only 34-years-old. My mother kept very good notes and I realized some of my zeal for recording events on my blog, and in the magazine and in my books comes directly from her. So that was a sweet realization.
I also found a couple oddities, like these Polaroids from a "divorce party" held at Kathy Radina's and Carole Glenn's house in 1978. Wonderful Russ divorced Terry Townsend and myself and, I must say, the former Mrs. Robert Bell, to this day, is my favorite ex-wife.
Divorce Zonie Style
Here's a wedding photo from long ago that comes with a story:
The Pee Pee Crazed Ring Bearer
This is the Field-Heldstedt Wedding at the Linden Lutheran Church outside Thompson, Iowa in 1949 or 1950. The ring bearer mortified the entire wedding party when, during rehearsal, he blurted out, "I gottah go PEE PEE!" and bolted down the aisle to his mother's side. Everyone was worried about the actual performance but evidently the little pisser held his own.
I'm happy to say I don't blurt it out like that any more. Well, not in those exact words anyway.
"I gottah go see a man about a horse."
—BBB
