Well, Jay. Last summer your mother asked me to write some of my memories of childhood. Here they are. Some are pure memories, some have been told to me, and some are simply my childhood daydreams. Some of the experiences made profound impressions on my memory and influenced my values as an adult. Others simply produce a smile over a pleasant memory. I hope they will do the same for you and others who read these pages. Your mother and grandmother read these after they were written and made some comments. Your Aunt Enid and Uncle Joe DeBarthe read them while we were on vacation in Massachusetts. Since they spent years on or near the homestead in Wyoming, some of the situations brought vivid memories to them. So these pages could not have come to be, were it not for their input. Also, Grandma Wanda and your Aunt Robin Stubbart have been of the utmost help with their computer knowledge and assistance in placing my pen-and-ink sketches in the text and adding photos. And finally, I sent a copy of "Jimmy" to your Great Grandmother, Audrey Stubbart (pictured here), and asked her to use her editing and proofreading skills on it. When she returned it, she commented that some of the situations in the story were not as she remembered them as "Jimmy's Mother," but that may simply be from one individual seeing it in a different light than another saw it. But since she is of such importance to each of us and to the story, we have copied a picture of her taken at work from the Web. The picture was similar to one used by HBO in their "A Century of Living" which was aired on Christmas Day, 1999. She was born June 9, 1895, so as soon as this millennium is past, she will be living in her third 100 years! That's something most of us will never be able to do. Finally, I have enjoyed writing this and making the sketches for you for your 1999 Christmas present. Grandpa Stubbart
About the Author: My Dad, Ken Stubbart grew up on a 1,000 acre sheep ranch in north-east Wyoming in the Black Hills. There was only one tree on all that property, the rest was all prairie - grassland. He told me that if he stood on tip-toe on the edge of his property, he could just barely see Devil's Tower. He later told me that he wasn't quite that tall, but they were still fairly close to it. My Dad lived a pioneer life. Riding everywhere in a wagon, attending a one-room schoolhouse, and using an outhouse were some of the luxuries he got to enjoy. My Dad wrote this story about his growing up years on that ranch out west. At 13, his parents sold the ranch for $1/acre and moved close to Kansas City, Missouri. Then my Dad had to get used to city life. My Dad was always interested in animals and plants. Every day on his way home from school, he would walk by a very nice house which had lots of very nice plants in the yard. There was a lady out in the yard, so he talked with her about the plants. Years, later, he found out that the lady was Bess Truman - former First Lady of the United States. My Dad met my Mom, Wanda Stubbart. And after working at a few youth camps together, they decided to get married. My Dad received his teaching degree and was able to teach for a year in Kansas, before he was drafted by the Army during the Korean War. The army moved them and my sister Bunni to Virginia. After he received his honorable discharge, the family moved to Columbus, OH where I and my sisters, Robin and Laura, were born. My Dad wrote this story for Laura's son Jay. My Dad taught high school and junior high until he retired. He also directed several youth camps. So he had plenty of experience with children and had a good idea of the things they'd be interested in reading. For a few days, I worked with my Dad in a florist shop. My Dad worked there as a second job, when they were very busy - holidays, weddings, etc. My Dad always made the nicest corsages. He also liked to garden, and at the age of 88 he still tries to go out in the yard every day to see how the plants are doing. My Dad is an artist. He drew the logo for my company - Yellow Bear Journeys. My Dad did ceramics. He also knitted and crocheted. He can look at pretty much any pattern and duplicate it. His latest and current hobby is raising birds. He started raising birds when I was a teen. At one point he was raising over 200 birds, canaries and parakeets. Now he is down to a handful of canaries. Dale Stubbart