(Child 2) Born Bert, die Chuck.

When I was born, the family of my father Charles Abner and mother Olive Monson consisted of my five sisters, Nita, Thelma, Jean, Dallas, Donna, and my three brothers Keith, George, and Warren. No son named Charles. My sisters thought that I should be named Charles. My father did not agree. My father had been adopted by his uncle Charles (he had been born in Kentucky) and raised on a farm in Kansas. He was called little Charles and his adopted dad was called big Charles. My dad did not like this and did not want any such thing in his family. The girls countered with this proposal. I would be name Charles Elbert and the girls promised to always call me Bert. He agreed.

And that was the way it was. My Fremont Junior High Yearbook refers to me as Bert. I was Bert everywhere. I thought of myself as Bert. I was Bert Monson for 18 years. I just received a card from a niece addressed to Uncle Bert.

When I was drafted into the Army the Sargent would call the roll and refer to me as Charles. I went along with it and then adopted Chuck. I did not want to argue with the Sargent. So I have been Chuck for a long time now.

I was born in a house on the north side of Kingsley. My first memory is of a house on the east side of South Gibbs. That is the place where all the memories of my mother took place. She went to the hospital from there. The next house in my memory is on the south side of East Kingsley close to where I was born. Without my mother but still a lot of family at home.