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Annie Lola Jennings Cunningham

Posted in Family Biographies/Histories, and Photographs

Annie Lola Jennings CunninghamMy great-grandmother, Annie Lola Jennings Cunningham, died when I was ten. As with my great-grandfather, Herman Cunningham, I don’t have many memories of her because I lived in Colorado and she lived in Texas, but, as with my great-grandfather, I do remember her.

Annie Lola Jennings was born October 4, 1899 in Tulia, Swisher County, Texas. Her grandmother, Lucinda Fannie Curry Jennings, moved west to Texas from Alabama in the summer of 1880, after her husband, John B. Jennings, was murdered. Family legend says she feared her sons would seek revenge against the man who killed their father one day unless she moved them away. John B. Jennings and Lucinda Fannie Curry had five children: Alpha Jennings, Daisie Z. Jennings, Veto Curry Jennings (Annie’s father), Richard Otto Jennings, and Worth Alston Jennings.

One of the things I will always remember about Granny (as I called my great-grandmother) is that every time I visited her she told me that her father had the same birthday as I did — September 17. I was a child and couldn’t be less interested in some old dead man’s birthday (as I thought at the time). I could tell that Granny thought this was special, and also that she didn’t realize she had already told me (or else thought I didn’t remember). Now I feel ashamed of feeling like that, but I was just a child, so I suppose I can be forgiven. Later, when I found my great-grandmother on the 1900 census, I found in the row next to her father’s name that he was born in September 1869. I don’t think I will ever forget that moment. I realized, looking at the microfilm, that I knew exactly what day in September because Granny had told me so many times. For the first time in my genealogical research, I connected these names with living, breathing people. It was a profound moment for me.

Veto Curry Jennings married Mary A. Silla Stallings (b. March 31, 1872) on December 2, 1888 in Fannin County, Texas. They had six children: Lennice Jennings, Lee Orman Jennings, Frank Gray Jennings, Annie Lola Jennings, Daisy Eysel Jennings, and Mary Ethel Jennings. There is also a Lela May Jennings born September 13, 1892 buried in the family plot at Rose Hill Cemetery in Tulia, Swisher County, Texas. She may be a daughter who died at birth or shortly thereafter.

Granny’s grandmother, Lucinda Fannie Curry Jennings was living with her son Veto Curry Jennings at the time of her death on September 18, 1912. Granny and her sisters found their grandmother. Mary A. Silla Stallings Jennings, Granny’s mother, had died two years before on June 18, 1910. Veto Curry Jennings remarried Venera L. Cluck . She was known in the family as “Aunt Jenny”; it was she who suggested the name Udell for my grandfather after a book she liked, Harold Bell Wright’s That Printer of Udell’s.

Annie Jennings became a teacher and met her future husband, Herman Cunningham, when she boarded at the Cunningham house. It was in this same way that Herman Cunningham’s parents, Amos Blakey Cunningham and Stella Ophelia Bowling met; she was a teacher and boarded with a number of county families, including the Cunninghams, in the 1890’s.

Annie Jennings and Herman Cunningham married on June 20, 1920 in Tulia, Swisher County, Texas. These photographs were taken on their wedding day:

Cunninghams' Wedding

Cunninghams' Wedding

My mother’s cousin Connie Luene Reed Bertrand, is currently in possession of Granny’s wedding dress. According to Connie Lue,

It is navy with handmade pleats and lace and all. It is in pretty bad shape, but I can’t throw it away.

It seems that after Papaw [note: I have only ever seen Herman’s nickname spelled Pa Pa, and this is how I remember it being spelled on the funeral wreath at his wake/viewing] died, Granny may have taken his death worse than any of us knew. Carolyn [Carolyn Cunningham, Annie’s daughter] came home from work one day and found this wedding dress in the trash barrel. Luckily, Granny had not burned the trash (you may not know that in the olden days, folks around here burned their own trash and garbage in large metal barrels). Carolyn didn’t ask her about it. She just took the dress out of the trash and hid it from Granny until she came to work, here in Floydada, the next day. Carolyn called me and I came to get it and still have it.

We thought that maybe she was angry with Papaw for dying. I’ve heard of that and it would make sense that she did do that. As far as I know, she never mentioned throwing the dress away to anyone and never knew that Carolyn had saved it.

If you ever are in the neighborhood, you MUST come by and see this dress. Mom showed me some of the features of the dress and explained why it was made the way it was. One of the features is a maternity feature. She made it for an “all occasion” dress since they were poor. It is very ingenious. And it is very beautiful.

I know that my great-grandmother and her daughter Flois were both seamstresses. My grandmother told me about showing Granny some dresses she had made for my mother in order to earn her approval. Granny was somewhat notorious in her dislike for her daughters and sons-in-law; she had been known to refer to them as her “out-laws.” My mother, however, says that she was very loving and gentle with her grandchildren, and that is how I remember her, too.

Mom says that when she was little and scraped her knee, she preferred to go to Granny to get fixed up rather than her own mother. She insisted that although Granny and my grandmother did the same thing — put Campho-Phenique and a bandage on the scrape — Granny blew on it, which Mom insists prevented it from hurting.

Granny always sent me a card for my birthday. I remember one year that she sent me some toy cars as a gift; I can no longer remember if it was a birthday or Christmas gift, but I think it was Christmas. I wrote a thank-you note and showed it to my mother. Mom was aghast because she felt that my letter was rude. I remember what I said, and Mom was right. I told Granny “Thank you for the cars, but we are not boys.” Mom made me rewrite it, so thank goodness I never sent that rude letter to my Granny! My edited letter was much more gracious.

I will always remember Granny in her kitchen. Even in her 80’s, her hair was jet black. My grandfather heard the family had Cherokee ancestry. He believed himself, according to family legend, to be 1/8 Cherokee through his mother’s family. If this were true, Granny would have been 1/4 Cherokee, meaning one of her grandparents — John B. Jennings, Lucinda Fannie Curry, John Thomas Stallings, or Sarah Long Thomas would have been full-blooded Cherokee. I can find absolutely no corroboration for this. I don’t entirely discount that there may be Cherokee ancestry, as my grandmother had dark skin, eyes, and hair, as well as high cheekbones, that are common features of Native Americans, but I can find no proof that Annie had a Native American grandparent, and such stories should be taken with the proverbial grain of salt.

Granny used to make orange Kool-Aid for Pa Pa (my great-grandfather). My mother asked Granny if she might make another flavor some time, but Granny insisted that was what Pa Pa liked.

Granny also used to tat lace. She tatted snowflake Christmas ornaments that several family members have. She also used to crochet. She made booties for me when I was a baby. I still have one bootie (it’s mate, sadly, has been lost in various moves we have made). It is in good condition except the ties used to have balls on the ends that have fallen off. My own daughters wore these booties, but the mate had been lost by the time my son was born.

I only remember visiting Granny a few times before she died on April 8, 1982. She had a stroke. My aunt Carolyn found her when she came home. She entered the hospital and had a second stroke some days later, which was the cause of her death. Many family members believe that she simply didn’t want to live without Pa Pa. He died eight days before their 60th wedding anniversary.

I remember going to her funeral, but not as clearly as Pa Pa’s. For instance, I do not remember going to a viewing, though we probably had one, and I do not remember the service at all, as I remember Pa Pa’s. My recollections are very vague.

As with my great-grandfather, I wish I had been able to know her better, but I suppose I am fortunate to have known her at all.

Sources:

Bertrand, Connie Lue. “Cunningham Picture.” E-mail to Dana Huff. 5 Aug. 2005.

Jennings, Jan. 2006. Descendants of John B. Jennings. (PDF version of document sent in e-mail to Dana Huff, 24 Jul. 2006).

Note: This post is Part 2 in a series on grandparents and other relatives I remember personally in my lifetime.

Herman Cunningham

Posted in Family Biographies/Histories

Herman CunninghamMy great-grandfather, Herman Cunningham, died when I was not quite nine. I don’t have many memories of him, as he lived in Texas and I lived in Colorado. However, I do remember some things, and this post is a biography of my great-grandfather focusing on all of my memories with a bit of what I’ve learned from others.

Herman Cunningham was born on March 16, 1895 in Lewisville, Denton County, Texas. The Cunninghams had moved to Texas from Georgia, where Herman’s father Amos Blakey Cunningham, was born. I am not certain when the Cunninghams moved to Georgia, mainly because of the loss of the 1890 Census, but I am certain it was between 1878 and 1894, as Herman’s parents married that year in Collin County, Texas.

Herman served in the Army in World War I. He spent most of his tour of duty in the hospital with spinal meningitis. My grandfather told me that Herman was one of only two who survived this meningitis outbreak; Herman exchanged Christmas cards with the other survivor for years.

Herman met his future wife Annie Jennings while she was boarding at his parents’ house. Annie was a school teacher. Herman and Annie married on June 20, 1920 in Tulia, Swisher County, Texas. The Cunninghams lived in Tulia until 1931; their first three children, Alvin, Udell, and Flois, were all born in Tulia. Nelda Gene and Carolyn were born in Lockney, after the family moved to Floyd County.

My grandfather also told me that his father worked for the W.P.A. during the Depression:

My dad worked on the W.P.A. He rode a truck to Lubbock where they were making what turned out to be Lubbock Air Field. It is now the municipal airport. Reese Air Base was 10-12 miles west of Lubbock.

I can recall visiting my great-grandparents’ farm when I was small. By that time, it was somewhat run down. There was an old windmill that I used to climb with my second cousins, Angie and Misty Bertrand, and there always seemed to be kittens in the barn. All of my great-grandfather’s grandchildren called him Pa Pa, me included. Pa Pa smoked a pipe most of his life. His farm was littered with discarded Prince Albert tobacco cans. Pa Pa used to whittle. He created all kinds of interesting things out of pits, seeds, shells, and bits of wood. I remember he used to hollow out walnut shells so they looked like basket s and glue blue Tic Tacs inside to look like robin’s eggs. He also carved peach pits into tiny baskets. He made tiny owls out of wood and some type of seed or pit I couldn’t identify. My most special memory of Pa Pa involves him taking me out to the side yard personally, and pointing at a hole in the tree. He smiled as I looked inside and found one of his little owls. I remember feeling special to have been singled out for attention from my great-grandfather. I also remember feeling like showing me the owl was a present. I remember Pa Pa’s smile so clearly.

My mother reports that Pa Pa only liked orange Kool-Aid, so that was the only flavor Granny (my great-grandmother Annie) would make. I recall when I went to visit them that they always seemed to have those little red hot candies in their candy dish, so Pa Pa must have liked those, too.

My great-grandparents’ house was very old. It had no hallways: each room opened into another. It was quite small. My grandfather told me his parents paid $500 for the house some time in the 1930’s. The one feature that stood out to me as a child was that the bathroom had one of those commodes with the tank up high. You had to pull the chain to flush. It was a real novelty to us kids!

The house also had a really low-slung tree in the front yard. The trees where I lived were all too tall to climb, but this one was easy to climb. I loved to get into the tree and see how high I could get.

I remember how surprised I was when Granny and Pa Pa appeared at the 50th wedding anniversary party of my other great-grandparents, Ted and Lucille Thurman (my grandmother’s parents). It never occurred to me that they knew each other! I realize now how silly this was, as they lived near each other in Lockney for some time and their children had married, but as my own maternal and paternal grandparents had no interaction, I suppose I thought everyone else’s were like that.

Pa Pa also used to grow sunflowers. My daughter Maggie, who is currently five, selected sunflowers to grow in her garden this year. We planted them late — about a month ago. I have been watering the flowers every day. They are about a foot tall now. Every time I see sunflowers, I think of my great-grandfather, so he has been much on my mind lately.

I do clearly remember going to his funeral. Pa Pa died of emphysema. He was 85. I recall seeing one of those funeral wreaths with a large ribbon that said “Pa Pa” across it. The wreath was near his casket during the viewing, which as a small child, I remembered being somewhat scary and disturbing (hence, my own desire not to have anyone looking at me after I’m gone). I do recall my grandmother and mother crying during the funeral, and I felt very bad that I wasn’t. His was the first funeral I had gone to.

I do wish I had been able to know him better, but I suppose not that many people get to know their great-grandparents well, and I was fortunate to have some time with him.

Note: This post is Part 1 in a series on grandparents and other relatives I remember personally in my lifetime.

Way More Than Six Degrees, Part 2

Posted in Family Biographies/Histories

Tennessee Williams I recently posted about my distant relationship (Twain would laugh about it, I’m sure) to Mark Twain. Imagine my surprise to discover I am connected to another of my favorite American writers, Tennessee Williams.

Tennessee Williams (1911-1983) was born Thomas Lanier Williams to Cornelius Coffin Williams, a traveling shoe salesman, and Edwina Dakin Williams. His troubled family life proved fertile ground for his writing later. Tennessee had an older sister, Rose, who suffered from schizophrenia and served as the model for Laura in The Glass Menagerie. Rose spent most of her life in mental hospitals. She never recovered from a lobotomy in 1943. Tennessee also had a younger brother, Walter Dakin (known as Dakin).

Cornelius Coffin Williams (1879-1957) was born to Thomas Lanier Williams II (1849-1908) and Isabella Coffin (1853-1884).

Williams' grandparents

Tennessee’s grandfather was the Commissioner of Railroads for Tennessee.

Thomas Lanier Williams II was born to Col. John Williams (1818-1881) and Rhoda Campbell Morgan (1819-1867).

John WilliamsJohn Williams was born to John Williams (1778-1837) and Melinda White (1789-1838). John Williams, Sr. was known as “Prince John.” He was a veteran of the War of 1812 and served in the U.S. Senate from 1815-1823. Melinda White’s father was General James White, who founded the city of Knoxville, TN.

John Williams, Sr. was born to Col. Joseph Williams (1748-1827) and Rebekah Lanier (1757-1832). Joseph Williams was known as the “Duke of Surry.” His family settled in Surry County, NC. Col. Williams was a colonel in the Colonial Army, but resigned his commission when the Revolutionary War broke out and became a colonel in the Continental Army.

Joseph Williams was born to Nathaniel Williams (1712-1763) and Elizabeth Washington (1717-?).

Nathaniel Williams was born to John Williams (1679-1755) and Mary (most likely Mary Keeling, 1684-1730). John Williams emigrated to America from Llangollen, Wales, most likely in the 1690’s. He first settled in York County, Virginia, on Queen’s Creek. He later moved his family to Hanover County, where he built his home, “Studley,” before 1712.

Studley

The above drawing of “Studley” is from Appleton’s Cyclopedia, 1888, via Early Descendants of John Williams, “The Wealthy Welshman” of Hanover County, Virginia.

John Williams was also the father of my ancestor, Joseph Williams (1721-1792). Many of my ancestors allied with the Williams line, including the Anthonys, moved from Virginia to Georgia and settled in the Wilkes/Elbert/Oglethorpe/Madison counties. Joseph Williams married Henrietta Jouett, a descendant of Daniel Jouett, who emigrated to Plymouth, England after the Edict of Nantes was revoked by Louis XIV in 1685. Jouett later emigrated to Rhode Island (1686), and it is said that he is the ancestor of most Jouetts/Jewetts in America.

Joseph Williams and Henrietta Jouett were the parents of Matthew Jouett Williams (1749-1818). Matthew Jouett Williams married Barbara Walker (1754-1817). Matthew Jouett Williams was apparently visiting relatives in Surry County, NC. when he died. His will was proven in Elbert County, GA. on January 15, 1819.

Matthew Jouett Williams and Barbara Walker were the parents of Rebecca Williams (1782-1832). Rebecca married Micajah Anthony (1782-about 1850), son of Joseph Anthony, Jr. (1750-1810) and Elizabeth Ann Clark (1754-after 1810). Micajah Anthony and Rebecca Williams were the parents of Matthew Jouett Williams Anthony (1808-1868).

Matthew Jouett Williams Anthony married his second cousin, Ann Blakey Roberts (1810-1873). They were the parents of Mary Ann Penelope Anthony (1835-1917). For some strange reason, it seems to be through this ancestor that most of my really “interesting” ancestors and connections form.

Mary Ann Penelope Anthony married Johnson Franklin Cunningham (1823-1899) in Madison County, Georgia in 1851. In the picture below, Johnson Franklin Cunningham and Mary Ann Penelope Anthony Cunningham are seated in the bottom row.

Cunninghams

In the back row on the far right is Amos Blakey Cunningham (1871-1962). He married Stella Ophelia Bowling (1867-1938) in 1894.

Cunningham wedding

They were the parents of Herman Cunningham (1895-1980). He married Annie Lola Jennings (1899-1982) in 1920.

Herman Cunningham and Annie Jennings were the parents of my grandfather, Udell Oliver Cunningham.

Herman Cunningham was the sixth cousin of Thomas Lanier “Tennessee” Williams; thus, I am Tennessee Williams’ sixth cousin three times removed (see chart below).

Relation to Tennessee Williams

Yes, in other words, hardly related. I still think it’s cool. And I have a feeling if ol’ Tennessee were still around and I ran into him somewhere and told him I figured this out, he’d get a kick out of it. He was “openly proud” of his family history (Leverich 9). However, I have a feeling Mark Twain might have agreed more with Tennessee’s father Cornelius on the matter — “Bragging about ancestors is like bragging about potatoes: The best part is underground” (qtd. in Leverich 9).

Sources:

Leverich, Lyle. Tom: The Unknown Tennessee Williams. New York: W.W. Norton, 1995.

Williams, Scott K. Early Descendants of John Williams, “The Wealthy Welshman” of Hanover County, Virginia. 22 Mar 2006. 18 July 2006 <http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/county/stlouis/williams/>.

Lucille Inez Willis Thurman

Posted in Family Biographies/Histories, and Photographs

Lucille Willis, 1927On February 19, our family lost its matriarch — my great-grandmother, Lucille Thurman. Granny, as she was affectionately known by all of her grandchildren, was 91 years old. Granny had been ill with leukemia for some time preceding her death. She was buried in Marietta, Oklahoma, next to my great-grandfather, Elmer Theodore “Ted” Thurman, who passed away two years ago this past October.

Granny was born Lucille Inez Willis, the fifth of seven children, to Grover Cleveland Willis and Melvina Meeks Willis on March 19, 1914 in Marietta, Love County, Oklahoma. She married my great-grandfather when she was fifteen and gave birth to six children: my grandmother Doris LaNell Thurman Cunningham, Willis Floyd Thurman, Billy Loid Thurman, twins Winnie Sue Thurman Bolding and Minnie [Penny] Lou Thurman Paul, and Lynn Doyle Thurman. She was preceded in death by her son Billy, husband Ted, and daughter Winnie.

At the time of her death, Granny had approximately 20 grandchildren, about 50 great-grandchildren, and about 20 great-great-grandchildren.

I will always remember Granny as feisty. There was nothing she wasn’t bold enough to say. She called all of us kids “Sugie.” She used to keep Dr. Pepper in bottles in her fridge, which was covered by more refrigerator magnets than I’ve ever seen on anyone else’s fridge. She used to let us play with them when we visited her. She had a keen sense of humor, and she enjoyed a good joke.

On February 16, she told family members she was “tired” and “ready to go see Ted.” She died in her sleep about 9:00 in the morning on February 19.

Dirk and Aaltje Swier: 50th Anniversary Tribute by Walter Swier

Posted in Family Biographies/Histories

My father’s Aunt Ruth gave him a copy of a Swier family history, which he copied for me. Inside was a tribute in honor of the 50th wedding anniversary of Dirk Swier and Aaltje Zwier Swier, my great-great-grandparents and the first of my father’s family to come to America, written by my great-grandfather (and their son) Walter Swier. If you have visited here before, you may recall that Walter Swier and Laura Helen Schmidt Swier adopted my grandfather when his own mother was unable to care for him, most likely saving his life in so doing. Here is the text of Walter Swier’s tribute. I believe it may originally have been written in poetic form due to the rhyme apparent throughout, but the version I have is laid out as prose.

Dedicated to a Mother and Father whose dauntless courage, cheerful sacrifice, whose devotion to family and unwavering faith in God have proven and inspiration to their family and worth of emulation in the succeeding generations.

“All flesh is grass.” Man reckons time in years, in days and months, while in this vale of tears, at morn we flourish, then the heat of the day, with evening comes the sickle and we pass away. Parted the silver cord, the golden bowl is broken. Life’s little day is done, and the last good-bye is spoken.

Place: The Netherlands; Fifty years ago today. In eighteen-seventy-nine upon the first of May. A lass of twenty summers and a lad of twenty-three, in costumes quaint, before the dominie plighted their troth and promised to be true, as long as water flowed and the skies were azure blue. For better or for worse they pledged their hand and heart, for weal or woe, sunshine or cloud, until death do us part. Then trudged their homeward way. The classic wooden shoe beat its staccato cadence on the curbstones too.

Undaunted, hopeful youth, the future held for thee. High hopes, new hopes, bright visions, new responsibility. No fear of dark clouds in yon distant sky, no thought of adverse winds to bring the shadows by. Then one by one soon fourteen years passed by, came with the years, six children playing on the floor and in the churchyard underneath the sod, another little one — her spirit flown to God. The grim disease the father’s health did undermine, the only hope, removal to a drier clime. So in the second month of eighteen-ninety-three, they crossed the turbulent and bleak Atlantic sea, landed on Ellis Isle, their goods and family, beneath the lighted torch of the Goddess Liberty.

Westward they wended their way, hoping to leave the shadow of the grim white plague in the land of Colorado. There the father’s health returned, but the family funds departed with fraudulent land sharks, so for Iowa they started. With gratitude to God for regained health and life, two cows, a horse, five dollars, six daughters, and a wife.

To the new home came a son, on May one, ninety-four, a year of financial panic and then three daughters more. Again the pioneer urge to come out father west to the valley of Yakima where nature did its best. Still louder came the call to the western Canaan land, when one of the spies returned displaying in his hand the trophies of his skill; like Salome with her charger, a large Wolf River apple and spud some three times larger. Followed the “Piper” friend of the dulcet agrarian song to the land of the setting sun with a large excursion throng to the western land of promise where sunsets intoxicate, of balmy breezes, milder weather, and springtime never late. Came to a frontier town adolescent and uncouth, teeming with hope and muddy streets and exuberance of youth.

Out in the desert of sage, in a seemingly arid waste, they erected their pioneer home in the quickest possible haste. Down the newly dug canal from receding mountain snows, came a living silver stream and the desert blossomed like a rose. And here to gladden their hearts, in the land of purple sage, came two more stalwart sons, staff in declining age. And so came sunshine and clouds, the bitter with the sweet. As they think of two more silent mounds they left with lingering feet, one of a baby girl whose spirit long since departed, the other in womanhood, with a family heavy-hearted.

So fifty years have passed and they have lived to see their children’s, children’s children romp upon their knee. Passed the allotted span of three score and ten years. Life’s course will soon be finished in this vale of tears. And now to Him to whom a thousand years are but a day and all flesh as the grass, to wither soon away. We pray thee thou wilt grant us at this Jubilee thy sacred presence as at Cana in yon Galilee. Also to drink with thee of thy new Kingdom’s wine, to sit with thee in Glory, living branches of the vine, Courage and faith to follow unto life’s end when thou comest to find us watching, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Letter from Udell Cunningham, November 2005 Part 16

Posted in Family Biographies/Histories, Letters, and Primary Sources: Letters, Documents, Diaries, Histories

Halloween is coming soon. The Halloween that occurred when I was a kid was different from the social event of today. We did the trick part, but the treat didn’t happen at all. Our main trick was tipping over the outhouse, trashing the place in general. Teachers and principals bore the brunt of our meanness. One year we even put a horse-drawn wagon on top of the school house. I don’t know how the kids were able to put a wagon on the schoolhouse because they had real problems getting it down. Another time we put a snake in a teacher’s desk. Real inspirational things — but no treats.

Another stupid thing was taking a shoe box, filling it with barnyard droppings. Then wrap the box in brown paper and place it beside the road. We would be hidden nearby to see the unsuspecting finder unwrap their finding. Big fun. I heard that one such prankster put a wildcat in a box. This time… about a hundred yards down the road all four doors slung open and the car ran into the ditch. And we thought we were having fun.

When I was a kid we could go to the movie for a dime. When you were 12 years you had to pay adult fare of 25ยข. Boy there was sure a lot of eleven-year-old kids in those days.

Letter from Udell Cunningham, November 2005 Part 15

Posted in Family Biographies/Histories, Letters, and Primary Sources: Letters, Documents, Diaries, Histories

When [we] were stationed in France, Doris [my grandmother, Udell’s wife] had to carry a “French I.D. card.” She even had to carry it when she hung clothes on the line. If caught without it she was subject to arrest and [would be] jailed. The only amazing thing about this card is that it was required of all American women over 16 and French prostitutes! The card didn’t identify which category you were. The French tried to force the Canadians to this indignity, but the Canadian general told them where they could stick it.

And then I get orders to Wiesbaden, Germany and that my family should stay in France as I would have base quarters within a month. One of the items on my base clearance was to visit the French cmdr. office to return the I.D. card to the French. I told them my wife was not leaving France and needed to keep the card. It was a standoff until I told those Frogs [sorry — that was the term he used!] I was going to call HQ USAFE and tell the Inspector General of the trouble. They went ahead and cleared me by exacting my solemn promise that we would drive by when I returned for my family. I still have the card! Well, Wayne [my uncle, Udell’s son] has it. The Frogs deny the existence of this card, but I have one.

Letter from Udell Cunningham, November 2005 Part 14

Posted in Family Biographies/Histories, Letters, and Primary Sources: Letters, Documents, Diaries, Histories

When I was a toddler Dad had to tighten the bearings on his ’28 Chevy. Well, when finished it was too tight for the starter to start the motor. They needed to get it out of the driveway to the street where they could pull it and get it going. We were hand-pushing it out to the street. There was a ditch by the sides of the road and when they almost had the front end on the level road the truck rolled back into the ditch area. I was shoving on the front fender, fell down, and the truck ran over me. We never went to a doctor, but I couldn’t walk for a long time. Mom pulled me everywhere in a little red wagon. I finally walked again. For some reason I was X-rayed after retirement and the doctors asked me when I broke the bones in my foot. I told them I had never broken my foot. They showed me on the X-ray — I guess that happened way back when I was about four years old. Back in those days you never went to the doctor unless you had money. We never had money. I saw my first doctor when I went into the military in 1943. When I went to school I needed eyeglasses to read the stuff on the blackboard. The teachers would allow you to move around the room so you could read the blackboards. I got my first glasses at age 17 when I saved enough money to get them at Plainview [Texas].

Letter from Udell Cunningham, November 2005 Part 13

Posted in Family Biographies/Histories, Letters, and Primary Sources: Letters, Documents, Diaries, Histories

While on Attu I had horse-traded for a clarinet! Later a soldier stationed on Shemya (island near Attu) wanted it and traded me a Jap officer’s class book/diary. It was a hardback book made for officer training with many pictures of all the Japs in his class with much about his training — then the last of the book was blank where he had wrote about his military life. He was a very good artist and had lots of illustrations. Anyway, about a week before coming home someone stole the book. I couldn’t report the theft because I was supposed to turn over such intelligence for their [superior officers’, government] use. I sure wish I had it now. I strongly suspected a so-called buddy from Forth Worth of stealing it.

I had a buddy on Attu named Richard E. Cook. He and I were very close buddies. He went to Montana State University and even said he enrolled me there too and reserved a place for me in the dorm. Well, I went to Texas Tech instead. He studied Chemical Engineering and later got a job with Dow Chemical at Midland, Michigan. He was in charge of the factory making Saran Wrap. I should have went north to study.

Letter from Udell Cunningham, November 2005 Part 12

Posted in Family Biographies/Histories, Letters, and Primary Sources: Letters, Documents, Diaries, Histories

On December 7, 1941, we (Mom, Dad, Alvin, me, and Flois) were visiting Uncle Clint and Aunt Ethel at Tulia, Texas. The Bells were moving to California, and this was sort of a last family reunion. The Kurths were there from Minnesota and the Hearns from Pueblo [Colorado]. I don’t recall if the Jennings brothers Frank and Lee were there or Nina. [My grandfather is referring to the families of his mother’s sisters — Bells, Kurths, and Hearns — and her brothers — Jennings; Nina was his father’s sister.] We were stunned at the news of the attack of Pearl Harbor. All us boys just knew it would be a very short war, as all we had to do was start a fire and all the Japs’ towns would burn down. Yeah, sure.

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