GenealogyClassBlog

Joe Becker and crew John Smart with the C22 National Championship traveling trophy, 1976

My mother scanned some of these old sailing photos several years ago and I am glad to have them to share here.

The first is from 1976, with Joe Becker (skipper) and John Smart (crew) next to the 60-pound traveling trophy which was over five feet tall. The third member of the crew was Gerry Gavin of North Sails who had apparently returned to Wisconsin before this photo was taken. Joe and crew had finished first in the 1976 C22 Nationals in Seattle, Washington. John Smart continued to crew for Joe in local races, and when he crewed in Jackson, Mississippi for the 1977 C22 Nationals, I was the other crew member. The winner that year was Dick Durgin, a sailor from the local area. We finished second overall.

Lake Huntington, California, 1985, Joe Becker and crew, Bill Hall, with the entourage

In 1985, Dr. Bill Hall was Joe’s crew. When Joe was unable to explain being passed by competitor after competitor, Bill dove in to the lake to discover the cause of Luff Affair’s poor performance, and found that a piece of carpet had been stuck to the leading edge of the boat’s keel. The explanation was simple:  the carpet was stuck as a result of a last-minute paint touch-up before Joe had lowered the retractable keel down onto the trailer and onto the protective scrap of carpet placed between the keel and the trailer’s keel-guide.

I can’t recall the name of Bill’s wife at the time, but the other two pictured along with Joe and Bill were my mother, Gerry Becker seated at the left, and my aunt, Sara Becker Coleman of Canoga Park, California, which was ironically very close to Catalina Yachts in Woodland Hills, California.

For the results of the 2013 Catalina 22 Nationals, and for a history of the Catalina 22, visit http://www.catalina22.org.

Desmond Walls Allen will be in Tulsa to present a workshop for the Tulsa City County Library on Saturday, 23 April, and I am very excited. I had a chance to meet Desmond at the FGS Conference in Little Rock in 2009, and I have always been a huge fan. She is a very witty and bright speaker and she has such a wonderful depth of knowledge about any of her topics that I always learn when I attend one of her lectures. Desmond is a professional genealogist from Arkansas, who has published numerous books for genealogists to use to find Arkansas ancestors. I found 42 in the library’s catalog, most of which can be found at the Genealogy Center. She is the author of First Steps in Genealogy: a Beginner’s Guide to Researching Your Family History, which is available for check-out to library cardholders at several of the branches.

by Desmond Walls Allen

The workshop will be at the Hardesty Library, in the Frossard Auditorium, from 9:30 to 4:30. I hear that she will be taking questions at the end about Arkansas research among other topics, but the focus for most of the day will be digital images, which we all need to understand better. Here is a description from the library’s Event Guide:

Discover how you can use your digital camera to document your family history research. Learn how to photograph records, cemeteries, heirlooms and old photographs, as well as touch up old photographs to make them a great addition to research notebooks and scrapbooks.

I haven’t heard whether she will have any of her books for sale, but you might want to bring some money along, just in case. I look forward to seeing you there.

For those of you ladies with an interest in scrapbooking, here is some news about an upcoming scrapbook camp. While this is not exactly genealogy, those who have an interest in preserving their family’s photos and keepsakes have a lot in common with those who have an interest in preserving their family’s history. It is because of that connection, this will be the second time that the retreat’s hostess, Becky Luster, has asked me to come present a program on genealogy to those attending the scrapbook camp.

My sister, Becky Becker Luster, is a Creative Memories consultant and she has put together her third scrapbooking getaway, called SAY Retreat III. SAY stands for “Scrappin’ and Yappin’. She has a large building at Camp Christian (near Chouteau) reserved for the event. Each attendee has a large, clear table to spread out her personal photographs, her own scrapbooking supplies from home, and she can use Becky’s tools and shop for new papers, albums, embellishments, and more, right on the spot. Becky provides yummy meals and gives out prizes (I hope that wasn’t a secret), and gives a presentation the first evening to explain the latest news from Creative Memories. I’ll be giving a very basic talk on researching in the federal census on Saturday. She’ll be promoting Creative Memories products, but she isn’t an arm-twister, so you don’t need to worry about high-pressure sales tactics. Having the products there just makes it convenient for the attendees to buy what they need as they work. I must admit, though, that the “store” is very tempting.

The ladies at the last SAY Retreat I attended were very fun and had a friendly competition going to encourage each other to get some very cute scrapbook pages completed. This is limited to ladies because one of the attractions of the retreat is being able to wear pajamas while scrapbooking. They share sleeping quarters and bathrooms, too. Many stay for the entire weekend, but there are registration rates for those who elect to come for only part, as well as for the whole 55 hours.

Visit Becky’s website and click on “My Files” for details. There is an online registration form that you’d mail in with your registration fee (listed on the form), but since the retreat will be so soon, I’d suggest contacting Becky to let her know you’re interested, too. There is a Contact Me link on her website.

I hope to see you there!

OSU Rodeo Association?

Jennifer Hall provided the information for this post. She first told me the story, and then agreed to scan the photo and give us the details.

“I was shopping in an antique store and this photo caught my eye. The photo appealed to me because of the vintage western clothing the people are wearing. It never occurred to me to look for family members, so it was quite a surprise when I recognized my great-uncle, Leo, in the picture! I quickly bought the photo and showed it to other members of the family. They pointed out that it wasn’t just Uncle Leo in the photo, but also Uncle Bob and his wife, as well as a cousin. Family members say this is a photo of the roping club my uncle started. It just goes to show that genealogical sources can be found in unexpected places.”

Jennifer wrote later,

“I think the photo was taken in the late ’40s to early ’50s. My Uncle Robert tells me he’s certain this is the roping club Leo started in Stillwater. I did a little bit of searching on the web and found some information.

There is an article about the 60th anniversary of the OSU Rodeo Association. It says Uncle Leo formed the club with his friends in 1946 when they enrolled at OSU. The group started with 6 members. They won first place at their first intercollegiate rodeo in 1948. The trophy now belongs to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.

The article names Larry Kilgore as one of the founding members of the group and he is also pictured in the photo I have. My mom knew him and recognized him in the picture.

I found another article on OSU’s website about the scholarship my cousins created in Leo’s honor. It tells a lot about Uncle Leo’s. See this OSU website article.

I’m not looking at the photo right now, but Uncle Bob is seated on the front row, a little to the left of center. There’s a blond woman to the left of him. She was his wife, Bert. Uncle Leo is almost in the center of the photo, a little to the left. He his wearing a light colored cowboy hat that is tilted toward the back of his head so that it almost forms a circle around his face. He didn’t want to flatten his hair, I guess. Uncle Leo passed away last year, but Uncle Bob (not the Uncle Robert I emailed, I have 3 Uncle Roberts on the same side of the family, so confusing!) is still living. I don’t have an email address for him, so I’ll be sending him a letter. He should be able to give me more info.”
Jennifer Hall, Boston Avenue UMC Genealogy Class Student. Fall 2008