.

Here, gathered in our beloved South Dakota, are a few members of our Williamson / Mattson Clan. Charles and Luella are to be blamed (be kind, they didn't know what they were doing). We're generally a happy bunch and somewhat intelligent (notwithstanding our tenuous grasp on reality). I'm also proud to say that most of us still have our teeth.

Friday, July 12, 2013

Great Aunt Vennie Williamson Martin and Badger Clark. Deadwood 1947

Great Aunt Vennie Williamson Martin with Badger Clark in 1947


Vennie Zeffie Williamson


Birth
 28 Jan 1888 in Pennington, South Dakota, United States
Death 12 Nov 1952 in Spearfish, Lawrence, South Dakota,

Vennie was a sister of my Grandpa Charlie Williamson.  Charlie married Elda Vercellino.  
Charles Williamson was their only child.  Charles married Luella Mattson.


From the Fortess of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Hello All,
This is a photograph of my Great Aunt Vennie Zeffie Williamson Martin taken in 1947 at the Deadwood Rodeo Grounds.  She is photographed with Badger Clark, poet

Badger Clark, poet, lecturer, and traveler, was South Dakota's Poet Laureate for twenty years. Born in Iowa, Clark was only three months old when his family came to South Dakota in 1883. He accompanied his parents to several prairie towns where his father served in various capacities in the Methodist Church.

In 1902, Clark graduated from Deadwood High School and enrolled the following year at Wesleyan University, Mitchell, South Dakota. After one year there, Clark sought adventure outside of South Dakota. He travelled to Cuba, but became ill and returned home to Deadwood.

After returning to Deadwood, he contracted tuberculosis. Because a dry climate often helps to cure this disease, Clark spent four years as a ranch hand near Tombstone, Arizona, where he wrote poems about working on the ranch. His stepmother sent one to a magazine - the Pacific Monthly. Clark soon was a regular contributor.

After four years in Tombstone, Clark returned to South Dakota. He eventually decided to live and write in the central Black Hills in a simple cabin nicknamed "the Badger Hole." The cabin near French Creek eventually fell within the boundary of Custer State Park and may be still visited today.

During his life Badger wrote several books of poetry. One of his most successful was Sun and Saddle Leather. This book contained Clark's most famous piece of prose:

"A Cowboy's Prayer" by Charles Badger Clark (As printed in the book "Sun and Saddle Leather," Boston, published by Richard G. Badger, 1920, pages 35 - 37; pages 50 & 51 of the 1922 edition. Copyright © 1915 - 1922.)
Oh, Lord, I've never lived where churches grow.
I love creation better as it stood
That day You finished it so long ago
And looked upon Your work and called it good.
I know that others find You in the light
That's sifted down through tinted window panes,
And yet I seem to feel You near tonight
In this dim, quiet starlight on the plains.

I thank You, Lord, that I am placed so well,
That You have made my freedom so complete;
That I'm no slave of whistle, clock or bell,
Nor weak-eyed prisoner of wall and street.
Just let me live my life as I've begun
And give me work that's open to the sky;
Make me a pardner of the wind and sun,
And I won't ask a life that's soft or high.

Let me be easy on the man that's down;
Let me be square and generous with all.
I'm careless sometimes, Lord, when I'm in town,
But never let 'em say I'm mean or small!
Make me as big and open as the plains,
As honest as the hawse between my knees,
Clean as the wind that blows behind the rains,
Free as the hawk that circles down the breeze!

Forgive me, Lord, if sometimes I forget.
You know about the reasons that are hid.
You understand the things that gall and fret;
You know me better than my mother did.
Just keep an eye on all that's done and said
And right me, sometimes, when I turn aside,
And guide me on the long, dim trail ahead
That stretches upward toward the Great Divide.
"A Cowboy's Prayer," was read into the Congressional Record twice, and his patriotic "Lead My America" was set to music.

Clark wrote what today would be categorized as cowboy poetry. He painted word pictures of cowboys at work. He praised western values. A lover of the outdoors, Clark reflected the cowboy's lifestyle in his more than two hundred poems and thirty short stories. Another book titled "Spike" consisted of short stories. 
During the 1920s and 1930s Clark toured the country telling stories. In 1939, Governor Leslie Jensen named Clark poet laureate of South Dakota. With pun definitively intended, Clark also became known as the "Poet Lariat" of the West. Other selected works by Badger Clark include: Badger Clark Ballads: Selected Works of a Cowboy Poet; God of the Open; Sky Lines and Wood Smoke; and Boot and Bylines. One of his poems - Spanish is the Loving Tongue - was later recorded by Bob Dylan (1969). He died on September 26, 1957. His hand-built cabin now belongs to the state. You may visit and tour the Badger Hole in Custer State Park from Memorial Day through Labor Day
Taken from BlackHillsVisitor.com



A New Photograph of the Viano Family. Our Great Great Grandmother and Uncles - Aunts.

From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Hello All,
Tonight's digital gathering is thanks to cousin Tharon Peterson, son of Karen Vercellino Peterson. Tharon sent the photograph below of our Viano relatives gathered for a family occasion before 1918.


Click to Enlarge













 Tharon sent the following identifications:

Standing Left to Right:
Bernardo Raschiatti, 2nd Husband of Catterina Maria Camerlo Viano 
Margaret L (Wilson) Viano, Wife of Great Grand Uncle; 
Joseph Camerlo Viano, Son of Catterina and Giovanni Viano, our Great Grand Uncle 
Mae W (Viano) Moran, 1st Cousin 2x removed; 
Catterina Maria (Camerlo) Viano- Raschiatti, 2nd Great Grandmother
     Great Great Grandmother Catterina married Bernardo Raschiatti after our GGGrandfather Giovanni      Viano died in 1890.
Catterina Maria Camerlo Viano - Raschiatti.
Our GG Grandmother
   
Nicholas Bonomo, Husband of Great Grand Aunt; 
Julia (Viano) Bonomo, Daughter of Catterina and Giovanni.  Our Great Grand Aunt; 
Dolph Viano, Son of Catterina and Giovanni Viano, our Great Grand Uncle
Frances "Fannie" Delfina (Viano) Davis, Daughter of Catterina and Giovanni.  Our Great Grand Aunt; 
Miah "Michael" Marietta, Husband of Great Grand Aunt; 
Eleanora (Viano) Marietta, Daughter of Catterina and Giovanni.  Our Great Grand Aunt;

Sitting
Aurelia (Viano) Wheldon, Daughter of Catterina and Giovanni.  Our Great Grand Aunt; 
Edith Angela (Marietta) Roeder, 
John “Jack” Metelo Marietta, 
Mayme Gertrude (Marietta) McDonald, 1st Cousin 2x removed.


Relationship Chart


Giovanni Viano (1857 to 1890)  married Catterina Maria Camerlo (1853 to 1918)
Giovanni and Catterina are my Great Great Grandparents.
Both were born in Italy.
Giovanni's arrival in the United States is documented below.



Giovanni and Catterina had the following children:
Joseph Camerlo
Eleanora
Maria Maddelena Gertrude (Our Great Grandmother)
Julia
Dolph
Francis Fannie Delfina
Aurelia


 Catterina's basic information is below 

Catterina remarried after Giovanni's death.  Her remarried information is below

 


Maria Maddelena Gertrude. Great Grandmother
Mother of Grandma Elda
Maria and Giovanni (John) Vercellino
Great Grandparents

Great Grandparents
Maria Maddelena Gertrude married Giovanni (John) Vercellino
Maria and John had the following children



Raymond Domenic (1898-1992) 
Elda Kay (1905-1995)  Our Grandmother

Edward Daniel (1907-2002)  

Elda Kay married Charles Williamson
Elda and Charles had one son

Charles Ray Williamson
Charles married Luella Mae Mattson
to Us



Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Against All Odds, My "Vacation" to South Dakota with the Dowager Empress and the Four Sisters

From the Fortess of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Hello All,
     My birthday treat this year turned out to be a vacation to South Dakota with my mother, the Dowager Empress, and four of my five sisters.  It was the Greatest Show on Earth, the Williamson Circus descended on the Black Hills.
     To ensure a problem free border crossing, I telegraphed the South Dakota Highway Patrol to tell them we were coming.  I would have phoned, but telephone service in the Dakotas is spotty at best, and even if you get a connection, there is no guarantee you'll be heard over the static.  We agreed to notify the highway patrol of our comings and goings as part of a plea bargain; things got a bit out of hand during our last Williamson family reunion.
     This "vacation" was my opportunity to finally see our Deadwood vacation house for which I've been making monthly payments over the past few years.
     "You'll love it, you'll love it, you'll love it," Kim drilled into my head over and over during the nearly eleven hour trek across the wastelands of Wyoming.
     "Why do you keep telling me I'm going to love it?" I asked, questioning her motives.
     "Focus on the road, watch the lines, focus on the road and listen to my voice...." Kim's backseat voice grew softer and softer.  "Are you focused on the road?  Do you feel relaxed?  Listen to my voice and repeat after me.  I will love the house."  She waited for me to repeat the phrase.  I had the strangest feeling she was trying to hypnotize me into liking this unseen house.  It is no secret how much Kim loves the house and would hate to see it sold to recoup the investment.  "Listen honey, you need to repeat after me, I will love the house," she continued.  There were still nine hours left in the journey; I knew I had to play along or suffer through multiple failed mind control attempts.
     "I will love the house," I replied.
     "Good, now that we have that settled, I need to make a few phone calls."  Kim took out her phone, tied it to her face and never took it during the whole trip except to charge it during the night.  Mother stared out the window and nibbled on whatever she could find in her purse.  I drove and did a little mental math.
     "There are 24 hours in a day.  We will be gone seven days.  There are 60 minutes in an hour......" I mumbled under my breath.
     "What's that honey?  What are you saying?"  Kim was on to me.  If she knew I was counting the hours this trip would take there would more indoctrination sessions.
     "I will love the house."  My monotone voice was convincing.  She went back to her call.  I counted the stripes on the highway.

Get Out the Popcorn.  Its Time for Home Movies    



This digital family gathering wouldn't be worth your time if I didn't show home movies of our trip.  Pull up some chairs, gather the kids around the screen, dim the lights and prepare yourself for something truly spectacular.  The quality isn't very good.  Each conversion lowered the picture quality one or two levels leaving us with the following YouTube upload.  

Remember, after the movie I've got several photo albums full of pictures of the ordeal you'll not want to miss.  I guarantee a throbbing headache before I'm done with you, so now would be good time to pop a few aspirin.

Now, hush-up; the movie is about to begin.  May I present Against All Odds, a vacation survival story set in the Black Hills of South Dakota.  


Against All Odds told in photographs.  

June 25.  Tuesday
Kim and I are both early risers.  We decided to take a neighborhood walk while the other slept.
These are pictures taken of homes on Williams Street and Forest Avenue, directly above us.


Right cozy neighbors, wouldn't you agree?

Going to Deadwood is like stepping back in time.  Homes are built on the hillsides  leaving little if any room
for garages.  Most people park on the narrow streets.  Be careful if you visit, people have been shot for parking
in the one or two parking places each home is allocated on the street (and I ain't akiddin)


Grandpa Charlie Williamson and Grandma Elsie lived here at 53 Forest Street, right above our current
home on Williams Street.  We use to come visit them when Kim, Kevin and I were young.  I remember
the adults would sit around the table in the kitchen while we went outside to play

Downtown Deadwood seen from Forest Street.  You can see there is very little room for homes.

They still do things the old fashion way in Deadwood

The homes step right out onto the street.  Children play at their own risk in Deadwood.

A perfect place for a leisurely afternoon.  Know you're beginning to understand why we
love Deadwood and the Black Hills.  It is in our family's blood.  This is Williamson country.


Kim on Forest Street.  Notice how narrow the streets are.  It is one car at a time
on these streets.  Whoever has the bigger car has the right of way.  I was constantly having
to back down with my little Hyundai rental.

The old Deadwood Methodist Church once sat here.  Now it is the Methodist Park


Great Uncle Walt and Aunt Frances lived in this home on Main Street.

This is Great Uncle Walt Williamson's old grocery store in Deadwood.  I forgot why they called it Goldberg's - it must have been the original owner's name.   Walt and Francis sold the store some time ago.  Luella worked for them
right after she and Dad married.  She worked the bakery counter while pregnant with Kim.  The fresh baked
goods use to set off her morning sickness.  Charles and Luella lived above the old Montgomery Ward store in a small apartment.  Yes, Jack McCall was captured in the Walt's store.   We had two Great Uncles who owned grocery stores in the black hills.  Walt owned Goldberg's in Deadwood, and Ed Vercellino (Grandma Elda's brother) owned the 5th Avenue Grocery Store in Belle Fourche.




Great Uncle Maurice and Great Aunt Josie lived in a small upstairs apartment in this home the early 1940's. 

Once everyone was awake, we loaded up the car and drove to Hulett, Wyoming to visit Lisa, Bob and to pick up Draker and Aidia.   On the way through Belle Fourche, we stopped to visit Grandma and Grandpa Mattson's graves.  


It took quite awhile to find them.  Luella had us looking in the wrong spot.  The sprinklers were going, making
the search even more interesting.  We found them just moments before we were going to call it quits.

Kenedee, Luella, Kim, Jilane and Grandma all together 

We stopped in Aladin, Wyoming (population 13) to visit the locally popular general store.
Kim and Jilane fit in with the general run down appearance of the place.  

Luella looking for a bottle of "Diet Coke" to get her through the day.
Her pre-Mormon self comes out on these trips.
 We stopped in Hulett, picked up the kids and drove just down the road to Devil's Tower



Kenedee, Aidia and Draker on the Devil's Tower Walkabout

We're walking about
 Kim, Luella and I left the kids in Hulett with Jilane and Lisa.  They were all coming to Deadwood after closing for a Victor's Birthday celebration dinner at Saloon #10.  Luella, Kim and I went to Sundance, Wyoming to visit Karen Vercellino Peterson.  Karen was Great Uncle Ed and Aunt Iris's daughter.


Karen, Luella, Karen's Husband and Kim
June 26.  Wednesday
This day started with a visit to Spearfish's Walmart to pick up a few things.  Jilane and the girls went to Spearfish's water park.  I dropped Kim and Luella off at the Spearfish Park.  Draker and I went in search of the local Dairy Queen.  It was one of those days where the two guys needed to get away from the six girls to regroup over a mammoth chocolate dipped cone.

On our way to Spearfish Park we drove by Charles and Luella's very first home right after
they got married in June 1956.  They lived in this home's small basement apartment.  This was their
entrance.  From here they moved to Deadwood.

This was the Spearfish Mattson home.  They lived here after selling their Montana ranch.
This was where we visited Grandma and Grandpa Mattson the whole time we were growing up.

The back of the Mattson home showing the detached garage.  Dad, Mom, Kim and I lived in
a small trailer parked right in front of this garage for awhile in 1958 before moving to Rapid City

The Mattson backyard.  We loved running and up and down that cellar door and peering
at everyone through the kitchen window.

We found Kim at the park.  She was on her phone 24/7.

"This is literally my favorite place in the world.  I could sit here for hours just taking in the nature.... Hold on,
I've got a call."  

Kim and Draker enjoying Spearfish Creek.

Luella enjoying her Aladin "Diet Coke"

Her reaction when caught and challenged



Kim's phone rang right after I snapped this candid photo of Luella.   It was Jilane asking for a ride to the park with the girls.  They were water parked out.  Kim insisted I pick them up with Draker.  She was too wrapped up with nature.
"I don't know where to go," I complained.
"Draker knows where it is.  So go, and bring us back some drinks and food," Kim strongly suggest while taking aim at my head with a rock.

It turned out Draker didn't know where the park was.  We drove up and down the freeway several times looking for the right exit.  We finally got Jilane one the phone.  She gave us bogus directions, directions she was being given by a local boy who happened to be listening in on her conversation.
We finally found them and had to listen to her ragging about it all the way back to the park.  Her tone softened after we stopped for pizza.  I've learned that's the best way to deal with her moods - food.

Earlier that day, Kim and I drove to the land my brother Kevin and I own just outside of Deadwood.
Lot 39, with a forest so thick walking is difficult.

Found this gem growing on one of the trees.
 June 27  Thursday
Kim and I got up early and drove to Lead for a morning pick me up and a few cinnamon rolls for the kids.

We found Great Grandma Vercellino's old home next door to the coffee shop.


Great Grandma Vercellino dropped dead of a stroke while sweeping this porch in the late 1930s.

Lead's dance hall.  Grandma Elda snuck out of her house to come here dancing when she was a  teen.

We drove to Mt. Rushmore.


Aidia, Draker and Kenedee

Draker with two of his loving aunts, Jilane and Kim

Jilane, Janice and Kim.
Janice flew in to join us.  She didn't want to miss out on all the fun.

From Mt. Rushmore, we drove to Rapid City to look at our old homes.

39 East Signal Drive.  We lived here from 1959 to 1966.
Kevin, Janice, Jon and Jilane all joined our family when we lived here.

Kim and I spent many a summer day as kids sliding down this grassy hill on cardboard .


Jefferson Elementary sits at the bottom of our hill.  Kim and I went to school here up until 3rd grade.


The main hallway.  My 3rd grade classroom was up on the left.  I

My kindergarten classroom.
From Signal Heights we moved to 210 N. 42nd Street.  We lived here from 1966 to 1968




From 42nd Street we moved here to 2214 38th Street in 1968.


We went to Canyon Lake Park for a bit



From Canyon Lake Park to Story Book Island

While there Janice found the brick I purchased when we were in Rapid for the Williamson Family Reunion, 2007

Wouldn't you know it was right in front of the restrooms.

The debate on what to do next begins.
June 28.  Friday
We got up early for a nice long hike around Lead.


Back to the house so sisters could get themselves ready for the day





An hour or two or three later........  It was back to Rapid for shopping and other things.


After time wasted at the mall, we drove up to Dinosaur Park.   This is the view of west Rapid City from the Park.


This is directly north

Directly south

And directly east and downtown.

The kids introduced planking to South Dakota over the dino's tail

Draker feeling accomplished

Kim read while the kids planked.
Next stop, Stavkirk, a replica of an old Norwegian church originally built in 876 A.D.

Draker, let loose in the gift shop

Draker and Aidia trapped in the Norway Home Museum.  I let them out when Kim was finished channeling the spirits of Norwegians long gone.


June 30 Sunday
Our Last Day and Pactola Lake.  We rented a pontoon boat and spent the afternoon enjoying Pactola Lake.  






Janice and Kim.  The Video describes what you're seeing very well.

Draker spent the last hour or so under the blanket texting his girlfriend

Aidia enjoying the afternoon

And the vacation ends with Lisa looking very upset over the loss of her new iPhone.
It slipped from her bra strap and into the drink.  She was not a happy camper