Who Am I?

I have always said, "Who we are today is the sum total of who we have been all of our yesterdays".  That is, perhaps, a little simplistic.  Who our parents and the grandparents we knew has to figure into the equation. 

My grandfather, Leo VanHoose was born sometime around 1882.  That is right, my grandfather.  Comes of being born of very much 'older' parents.  Poppy died in 1969 at age 87.  Do the math.  My grandmother was  Victoria DeBoard and was ten years younger than he and lived to be nearly (or over) 100 so she would have to have been born around 1892.  And this was in Southeastern Kentucky.  Pretty isolated so their experience does not translate to others of that time period who were not living so far back in the sticks.

My Dad was Willie VanHoose and wasborn in 1902.  When he had just turned 19 he participated in "The Battle of Blair Mountain" (look it up) in West Virginia as mine owners fought to stop miners from joining a union.  At age 22 he joined the Navy and stayed until 1952 when he retired after 30 years and made the mistake that produced me in late 1953.

My mother was Stella VanHoose and was ten years younger than my Dad and was 41 when I was born.  I always loved my grandparents and never cared much for my parents which is odd I guess since my parents were first cousins. (My paternal and maternal grandfathers were brothers).  Yes, yes, I know... Kentucky, marrying cousins, etc.  Still it happened and I'm one of the results.

So, I grew up in the sticks hearing stories from the late 1800s and early 1900s.  People born in a more civilized place and time cannot possibly imagine the way things were then.  And when I was growing up it was much better for me than it had been for my parents and, I guess, my parents had it better than their own parents.

My Dad only made it part of the way through fourth grade and my mother only part of the way through the third grade.  My brother and sister both dropped out of school so I was the first of my family to finish high school.  I would have loved to be the first to have finished college but that was not in the cards.  I heartily regret it daily, though.

For the first few years of my life and during my teens I lived in a place where everyone withing miles was one of my relatives.  It was kind of an enclave.  At one time my Dad owned a good bit of the country and gradually sold it off for nothing to cousins needing a place to build.  By the time I was an adult there was nothing at all left.  He gave my grandmother the last 27 acres so she could give it to her daughter to take care of her.  I find that believable as I never did care much for that aunt anyhow.

Now we're getting to the age where all the older generation is gone and the younger generation of cousins are starting to go.  I'm glad I don't live near enough to them to go to all the services as I hate funerals. 

Anyway, that is a short background of how my childhood was and why it was as it was.