PrunePicker: October 2010

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Brunch with the Farleys

I was invited to Sunday Brunch by my good friends, Sue and Jewette Farley. The Brunch was at the Squire Creek Country Club near Ruston. I was delighted. The food was great and the Farleys are fun to be with. I want to thank them very much for the invitation.

The richest man in Lincoln Parish sat at the next table. I was impressed that Jewette exchanged greetings with this man. Jewette said that he and the man had gone to high school together. However, the man was better at math and had built his Father's small trucking business into a multi-million dollar business.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Breakfast at Ryan's

John and Kerry Adams having breakfast at Ryan's on Saturday morning with their grandsons, Ethan, Ross, and Christian. Kerry's father was there too.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Volleyball

Last night was the second night in a row that I went to the basketball stadium. Wednesday was a basketball rally, last night was for a Techster volleyball game.

The Techsters won three straight.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Preseason Basketball Rally.

The basketball gym jumped last night! The band played, 24 cheerleaders led cheers, the Royal Blues danced , the boy (Bulldogs) and girl (Techsters) team members were introduced, and the Techster coach, Teresa "Spoon" Witherspoon rode out onto the middle of the Karl Malone Court on a loud and big Harley!

The Bulldogs.

The Techsters.

The Royal Blues.

After a very fast and rigorous practice session Spoon rode off on the Harley. I wonder what Karl thought about a Harley on the floor he donated

The season starts next week. I will be there.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

The 2 of 9.

This a a picture of me and my sister Dallas. The picture was taken about 1930. I would have been 5 and Dallas 17. She was so beautiful! Dallas was always a good buddy to me. We are the only ones left of nine siblings.

Dallas 80 years later at the grand age of 97.

Chuck 80 years later at the grand age of 85.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Louisiana School for the Blind.

A heart wrenching sight in Ruston is of students at the Louisiana School for the Blind making their way around downtown. Can you think how sad it would be to be blind? It is a heart warming sight to see the student's courage and dedication.

The students live in different areas around downtown and can be seen following routes to classes and also for practice.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Old Family Portrait 53 years old.

I kinda like this old beat up photo. From the left is Nancy Ann (age 10), Jackie (age 31), Michael Kevin (age 6 months), Kerry Lee (age 2), Chuck (age 31), and Christopher David (age 8).

The picture was taken in Taft, California in front of the home of Jackie's Aunt and Uncle. I believe it was taken early in 1957. The picture is an indication of a very happy part of Jackie's and Chuck's lives.

Jackie and I had two little families of two children born close to each other. Girl then Boy. The girls were unplanned and the boys were planned so that the girls would have a playmate. There is six years between the two families. You might say that the girls were accidents and the boys were not.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Bluegrass Gospel at Temple Baptist.

Temple Baptist had a nine hour Bluegrass Festival on Saturday. I enjoyed several hours of good picking and grinning!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Bowling at Tech.

Because I am a student at Louisiana Tech and have a student body card I was able to host the Newberrys to bowling at Tech. Tech has a state of the art bowling alley with scoring machines. It is really a nice facility. In the same building are basketball courts, racquetball courts, exercise machines, table tennis and pool tables. The place was busy when we went bowling on Friday night.

Ethan and Ross have improved their game!

Friday, October 22, 2010

Senator throwing beads.

Senator Mary Landrieu joined in the festivities of the Parade at Franklinton..

Thursday, October 21, 2010

99th Annual Washington Parish Fair and Parade

The Fair is really a big deal here. All Franklinton Schools shut down for a week.

In the Parade were tractors.

There were about 20 tractors!

Lots of spectators.

John was up reaching for candy and a boy on a float threw him some and yelled "Here you are Old Man!" John was tickled. I guess he was proud to be taken for an old man.

There were bands.

And the Navy Jazz Band from New Orleans.

Three nice ladies. Katie and Johnny Miller and Mrs John Adams.

John likes beads!

Lots of horses.

And Queens.

The Navy Band played at the Fairgrounds.

My grandson in law, Justin Miller, works for Magee. I hope they sell a lot of cars!

More bands!

Don't let the fair get by you!

Roxy, the Miller's dog is sure good looking.

My niche in the Blogosphere.

My blog is about me, my family, my interests, my opinions, and my daily activities. My name is Chuck Monson. I am a native born Californian. I worked in the oil exploration and production business and am now retired and living in Ruston, Louisiana. I am a 91 year old widower. I blog because I really enjoy it. Posting gives me a schedule and is a wonderful make work project. I like pictures, both the taking and looking at them. I really like old historic pictures. I enjoy a good photograph. I like putting pictures and text together in a way that is hopefully interesting to others and that will be interesting to me in the future. I like to be silly now and then. It is also putting my memories down on paper. My blog serves as a diary. I have used it for a reference quite a few times.

I do mix it up. Some of my blogs are “what I had for breakfast”, some are just pictures, some are items of genealogical nature, and there are items from my family history. I have a history of the Munson/Monsons in America. The study of this history has led me to the discovery of much American history that had previously been unknown by me.

I have had a lifelong interest in history, archeology, philosophy, religion, politics, architecture, technical subjects, music, food, and sports. I spend time every day reading blogs and posting to my blog. I do not pontificate on religion or politics because I do not consider myself wise enough to try to persuade others to my beliefs. My beliefs are quite nebulous anyway.

I was started on blogging by my late son, Christopher David Monson. Chris wrote the blog "snaggletoothie of the Loyal Opposition" There is a link to his blog above. I look at Chris's blog often. I have read most of his posts.

My adult years.

I married Jackie Lois Ireton in 1944 in San Luis Obispo, California. I met her on a blind date when I was taking amphibious training at Moro Bay. We have been blessed with four children, nine grand children, and nine great grandchildren. They are an exceptional group. I love them and I am proud of them.

I was an army combat engineer (infantry with shovels) during World War II. I served in the Pacific. I was wounded on Peleliu Island helping the marines on Bloody Nose Ridge. I was shot in both legs just above the knees. The wound locations indicate that I was not running away.

I received a BSME in 1950 from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California. Jackie received a PHT. (pushing husband through.) I retired from oilfield work in 1985. Jackie and I moved into a fifth wheel trailer and enjoyed the RV lifestyle until Jackie's health failed. We traveled across the continent 3 1/2 times. We spent a summer as volunteers at Acadia National Park. For 17 years we helped build an Escapee RV park in Chimacum, Washington. Jackie passed away in 2007. We had been married 63 years. We were married on June 3, 1944. I still live in our fifth wheel trailer. It is parked in the yard of my daughter Kerry's home in Ruston, Louisiana. It is by far the nicest RV park that I have ever lived in.

My teen age years.

I was born in 1925 in Pomona, California. Pomona is on the east edge of Los Angeles County. It is halfway between Los Angeles and San Bernardino and halfway between the mountains and the beach. I thought that it was great to be an hour from snow covered mountains and an hour from the ocean surf.

In my days of growing up, Pomona was completely surrounded by orchards and truck farms. Oranges, lemons, grapefruit, peaches, apricots, olives, persimmons, and walnuts. Watermelons and strawberries. During the depression I had many meals from the orchards.

They say that you cannot go back home. That is true of the Pomona Valley of my youth. Because it is no longer there. Most of it is now covered with asphalt and stucco buildings.

My ancestors.

I am getting more and more into genealogy. I have a trove of information on the Munsons/Monsons. My father is buried in California. His father by adoption (He was an uncle.) is buried in Kansas. His natural father is buried in Kentucky. So I have two grandfathers. I have a grandfather and four great grandfathers buried in Kentucky, one great buried in New Jersey, and three greats buried in Connecticut. I have two greats buried in Rattlesden, Suffolk, England. I have been led to believe that my ancestors before that came from Denmark and Normandy.

Captain Thomas Munson was the first Munson to move to America. He was baptized in Rattlesden, England in 1612. The baptismal font is still in use. He served in the militia in the Pequot Indian Wars in 1637. He served in the militia all his life and reached the status of Captain. His signature is on the founding document for New Haven, Connecticut.

In 2011 I visited New Haven and took pictures of his gravestone. In May 2012 my oldest daughter Nancy Ann escorted me to England and France. We visited Rattlesden and I took some pictures of the Captain's baptismal font.

Why is the old prune picker living in Ruston, Louisiana?

In 2006 my wife Jackie was in poor health. Jackie had kidney failure and was on dialysis. She had heart problems for some time with A-fib. She had fallen and broken her hip. She had broken ribs and vertebra just moving around normally. My family thought that I needed help caring for Jackie. My daughter Kerry and her husband John offered to park our trailer in their backyard in Ruston and help. Jackie and I accepted their kind offer. My daughter Nancy accompanied Jackie in an airplane flight from the Olympic Peninsula in Washington to Ruston. My son Mike took time off to help me pull our trailer for five long days to our new home. We were and are grateful. We enjoyed our new home very much.

Unfortunately and sadly, Jackie passed away in six months. I had sold our truck and was permanently parked. I was ready to give up full time RVing anyway. It is very pleasant in Ruston and I am close to family. So that is why I have been living in Ruston, Louisiana since October 2006.