PrunePicker: July 2015

Friday, July 31, 2015

This a long tradition. Who ever is currently involved in a seminar at Fort Warden gives an hour program for free at the Fort. Hence the name "Free Friday at the Fort" . Jackie and I went every time. I went today. This week was blues with acoustic guitars.

Ben Hunter and Joe Seamons put on a great show. I enjoyed each and every selection.

Typical scene at Free Fridays.

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Dancing to Hot Damn Scandal.

Concert on the Dock.

This affair is held every Thursday evening during the summer. Jim Spaulding and I went to every one. I went this evening. Some of the dancers at the one this evening were there when Jim and I went years ago.

People in Port Townsend like to dance!

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Scenes around Port Townsend/Chimacum.

Corrie came to visit me and stayed over Monday night. We had such a good time. We hope we can do it again some day.

Corrie and I are seated in the two seat window booth at the Mexican restaurant in down town Port Townsend. Jackie and I sat in this booth many times over many years. We could see the sidewalk traffic and some ocean traffic out the window. I am a walking nostalgic nut. Thanks to Corrie for filling in for Jackie.

The Blue Moose Restaurant at the Port Townsend shipyard. Corrie bought me breakfast here.

This organization chart for the Evergreen Coho Resort was drafted by me 25 years ago. It is still posted on the board in the same prominent position. It is an heirloom.

The drafting area is still in use and neat.

The picture board directory was my suggestion. I was told to make it.

Larry and Jo Anderson. Larry ran the coop backhoe. He still does at 92.

Paul Cooper was the Resort Architect.

The Landscape Committee put on a fund raiser dinner while I was there. A nice lady introduced me as a worker in the early years of the Resort. She was most kind and I received a good hand. Many old friends came to my table to say hello.

Tuesday night Poker game.

Clubhouse buuletin board with posters for various coming events.

Front of Clubhouse.

Downtown Port Townsend scenes.

This was Jackie's favorite downtown store. "April Fool and Penny too!"

Across the water scene. That is the crane at the Indian Island Navy ammo dump. Tallest structure in the county. The end of a ferry is visible on the right.

Monday, July 27, 2015

Family fun (4th and last) pics on Orcas Island.

Off to Port Townsend.

Corrie on paddle board.

Corrie on cupcakes/

Pirate Winter. Matt and Janelle are after her.

Pirate Holly.

Pizza remains.

Cupcake remains.

Gas station still in use.

Paymaan.

Grandma Nancy. My little girl!

Annie Shafai.

Last look at West Beach pier

Entrance to Whidby Island Naval Air Station.

Family fun (more more) on Orcas Island.

We had a great time. I will remember it for the rest of my life.

Annie, Paymaan, and Mark.

Charlie

Charlie, Winter, and Max.

Jack Shafai. He smiles.

All five cousins. A gaggle of cousins?

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.

PrunePicker

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