Plenty of Heart and Plenty of Hope

The Buckner Family Summer 1954

Names from picture above (from left to right):
 Back row (at the top): Charles, Bill, Mary, Delbert holding Gail, Monroe, Jean, Reedis, Herbert holding Sylvia
Middle row: Joyce, Margaret, LaRue holding Jerry, Max holding Bobby, Clara Nell, Thomas, Geneva Lois holding Tommy Walter, Laura Ann
Front row: Delmar Dan, Van Layton, Lynn, Grandma Buckner holding Ann, Duane, Grandpa Buckner holding Ron, Michael Ray behind Grandpa Buckner, Linda Kay
Very Front row: Marilyn (looking up at the sky), Loy, Truitt, Larry, Roger

The day after dad's funeral, we (mom, Carol, Morgan and I) went back to the cemetery. On our way home, I was playing songs from a CD from the state's centennial (located here).  One of the songs on it is "Oklahoma" from the musical--we all sang it, even Morgan. The prologue to the song ends with the phrase, "Plenty of Heart and Plenty of Hope" which I think describes dad's life, as well as his parents, growing up in southeastern Oklahoma.

The above picture made me think about doing this blog.  On the back of these pictures (there's another one just like it except further away), every person is identified except the child in Grandpa Buckner's lap.  We finally compared the family tree with who was there and it turns out the only child not identified was Ron--born in 1953.  So we are pretty sure that he got the honor of sitting on Grandpa Buckner's lap. That's Marilyn standing next to them looking up to the sky (I love that) and Linda (caty-korner behind her) looking so prim in her white dress.

Herbert, two hounds (and a coon? or a cat?) and turkeys!

 I think there might be another picture super-imposed at the top of the picture above. I think that's the cellar in the background which means that the house is just to the right of where the turkeys are.  In the picture below is the red barn.  I never remembered them keeping any animals there but they probably did.  I do remember by the time I was a child, there were several horse apple trees (osage orange trees but Grandpa called them horse apple trees) growing all around it.  

Turkeys, Marion, Herbert or Delbert,  1940

Thanksgiving at Grandpa Buckner's (kids table in the background) 1969--
that's my brother Bob in the ever popular 1960's olive shirt and, I think, my dad
beside him.  Grandpa Buckner sits at the head of the table--not sure who is
sitting by him? Frances?  I think the boy in yellow in the background might be my brother, Terry.

I'll do a post next month about Grandma and Grandpa Buckner.  For now I wanted to remember them and the wonderful thanksgivings they always had.  The kitchen was so tiny and the door we always entered, which was technically not the front door, went straight into the kitchen which was filled with activity with grandma and aunts getting food together. Mom said that Grandpa Buckner rebuilt her kitchen in the late fifties or early sixties and built her Hoosier (flour cabinet) in the new cabinets: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoosier_cabinet. Hers sort of looked like this, as I remember it:  http://tparty.typepad.com/the_tcozy/2009/09/my-hoosier-cabinet.html  My recollection was that the upper cabinets had glass in them and I think they were etched sort of like those in that hoosier picture.  What I loved most was that grandmother would serve water to the kids in these aluminum glasses (like these).  Grandpa encouraged the kids to eat the carrots as they would keep our eyes blue.  And anyone under ten was pretty much relegated to the kid's table with aspirations of making it to the big table one day.

If you have any memories of Thanksgiving at their house, please post in the comments.

Update:  My nephew, Jason, reminded me that this week is the "great listen" on Storycorps at NPR.  There is a free app available to do the recording. Make a plan to interview someone you love on Thanksgiving!


Happy Thanksgiving everyone!