I am not drinking fine Czech beer, or any beer, nor am I shopping or cruising down the Vltava, but I wish you good cheer and have fun. On the other hand, I do have photos of our family gathering place -- at McPherson's Old Town Pizza Co. in Klamath Falls, Oregon. On this occasion in 2003, my Aunt Pearl McPherson was in town and wanted to have a chance to visit with our family. She had been married to my dad's brother, Clive McPherson, for just over forty-six years when died in 1980.
Mother and Pearl were but teenagers in 1934,when they dated the brothers, Harold (my dad) and Clive. After they were married, the two young couples shared a small house in Stockton, California, where their husbands worked for Weyl Zuckerman Co. Later both couples moved back to Klamath Falls and worked for Zuckerman Brothers Farms. For nearly twenty years, mother and Pearl were close friends as well as sister-in-laws. Their lives were intertwined not only because their husbands worked together, but also because they were swooped into that extended McPherson family. They raised their children to be nearly as close as siblings and they shared triumphs and heartaches as their husbands built an entity they called McPherson Bros. Then one day, with the death of Harold, it all started to unravel. Mother stayed in Klamath Falls and Clive and Pearl and their family moved to southern California. Even so, those bonds forged as teenagers and young mothers remained.
It was a good day for a family gathering. Lunch at the pizza house was the last time that Pearl and mother ever saw one another. Pearl passed away in Apple Valley, California, three years later, 2006 November 6. Mother died at her home on 2008 February 17, a little over a year after Pearl's death.
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| Pearl Beasley McPherson and Ruth Sigford Carland at Old Town Pizza, 2003 |
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| Pearl Beasley McPherson at Old Town Pizza in 2003 |
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| 2003, Ruth Sigford Carland seated at Old Town Pizza with one of her sons and his wife. |
Now, stroll on over and take a seat for the fare served by other Sepians
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© Joan G. Hill, Roots'n'Leaves Publications
That's a great story, Joan -- lifelong sisters-in-law and friends! It doesn't happen like that very often any more; it's a grand statement about the close-knit McPhersons!
ReplyDeleteYes, the memories in that family go way back.
DeleteNice to have somewhere to call a "family gathering place" and to have these sweet photographic memories of two old friends, your mother and her sister-in-law.
ReplyDeleteJo, Old Town Pizza has been the the family gathering place for birthdays, wedding and anniversary receptions, after and before sports, and lots of times "just because."
DeleteLovely story, thank you for sharing it and the photographs.
ReplyDelete/Thanks, Barbara. glad you enjoyed it.
DeleteHow wonderful and how lucky Pearl and your mother were to be able to remain close friends all those years despite age and distance. Adding to that, how neat they could still enjoy pizza!
ReplyDeleteIt was a good day and glad I dinna miss it. Also, the Old Town Pizza had a great buffet and salad bar, of which mother was particularly fond.
DeleteI really enjoyed this story, Joan. Too often we hear of family squabbles instead of the closeness that overcame any differences.
ReplyDeleteWendy, thanks for the reading comment, but most of all for that evocative thought. I'll ponder upon that for a while.
DeleteBeautiful story Joan. It must have been hard being apart after all those years together.
ReplyDeleteAlex, thanks for the nice words. People's lives take different paths over time, but those memories of youth seem to be more embedded in our memory banks --- and make for great stories.
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