In Addition

I was looking at the picture of Greg with his new rifle and another memory popped in my head. When Greg was in maybe third grade, he found a bullet at home and took it to school. He proudly displayed it to all his school mates and when the teacher caught wind of it, he was in trouble. Our parents were called in, Greg was reprimanded and told of course, "don't take the bullets to school again." Thing is, it didn't hit the news, he wasn't expelled, there was no shame.....just a boy taking what he thought was really cool, to school. Boys will be boys after all!

All Boy!!

I am thinking this was a BB gun but might have been a 22 given to Greg one Christmas. To me it represents the "all boy" that Greg was. Visions of playing war with rubber band guns (I was always delegated to the enemy side), cowboys and indians (me, indian), with toy guns that were fed with a roll of popping tape to make them sound real. For those who have never heard of this, a paper tape that was filled with a little gun power and would pop when the toy gun was shot. Did I mention rubber band guns? ouch! Or, we would build a fortress and have clod fights with the neighboorhood kids. Now Greg and I were always on the same team for those!!

Greg was the dare devil, always challenging me to participate or try something he invented like a game of chase that involved jumping off the roof or hide 'n' seek involving the one counting to 100 to also be tied up first.

Whether it was building a skate board from a 2x4 and old roller skates, a go kart from scrap lumber or a snow fortress for the ultimate snow ball fight, Greg had the imagination that made every day an adventure, and childhood memories for a lifetime.

Gus

This is Gus, the family dashound. We had Gus a really long time and later a mate for him, Suzie. Gus and Suzie had multiple litters of puppies. I don't remember what happened to Suzie but Gus lasted well into my late teens!

I remember being told that Gus had died and I just assumed he died of old age. I didn't find out until a couple years ago that he accidentally was hit in the head from flying debris. Seems Greg was cleaning out the yard, tossed some concrete over his shoulder and opps, Gus was behind him. He was blind and really old, lived a great life and was laid to rest in my grandfathers garden. Apparently Greg always felt some guilt over Gus's accident but he really saved old Gus many old doggy hardships. It was just one of those things.

Many cats and dogs followed Gus but he was the one pet we always connected with our childhood.

Santa came!

On this Christmas morning our folks forgot to fill the stockings and later when we found them full, they told us an elf slid under the door to do it while we weren't looking. Maybe Greg didn't buy it but I did. Christmas mornings Greg would always drag me out of bed at 3:00am to see what Santa brought us.....the folks too which I'm sure thrilled them.

When we were teenagers, Mom would joke that we would never admit to her that there was no Santa for fear Christmas morning would stop. There probably was some truth to that !

Greg never stopped believing in Santa and kept the spirit of those Christmas mornings all his life!

Manners

By todays standards our parents were really strict! We were expected to be well behaved and when we weren't we did get punished. There were no "til the count of three", "time outs", bribes or any question about what would happen if we did something wrong. Good manners were a really big deal to our folks. We were taught very early to have good table manners and to sit perfectly quiet and still in church. Children were to be seen, not heard and you never interrupted when adults were talking. At meals, the napkin went in your lap and you did not talk while eatting or chew with your mouth open!

You might think we had good manners out of fear of punishment but the truth is, our folks would always praise us for our good behavior. It meant everything to us to make them proud.

I remember when this photo was taken. All of my grandfathers great grandchildren were sitting on the couch and floor around him for a group picture. Alot of squirming was going on but Greg was sitting perfectly still for this historic picture. You can't see me, I was at the other end of the couch with my fingers in my mouth......at least one of us had perfect manners that day !

This is Greg with our Granny McEntyre, he was the first grandchild and only grandson.
We only remember Granny and Granpappy living in one house. We knew every room, every drawer and every hiding place. It had a furnace in the floor of the hallway that we would stand on to get warm until the soles of our shoes would melt and an enormous old fashioned bath tub and a screen door with a wooden thread spool nailed at a height we could reach to go in and out.
Granny kept Eskimo pies in the freezer for the four of the grandkids and made rootbeer floats in brown barrel glasses with wooden handles. I still have one of the original glasses just to remember those floats!
It was a place we always felt loved, welcome and at home. From Granpappy's lava soap and whiskers which he would rub against our faces to make us squeel, to Granny's giving us the priviledge ( and yes it was a treat) of ironing hankies and pillow cases. To mud pies and jumping off the roof ( sorry we talked you into that cousin Suz....I think you broke something?), to Sunday lunches and watermelon in the backyard. It was like a novel you read today and say " that couldn't have really happened, no one grew up that way" .......we did.

Big bro, little sis

We were always Greg and Debbie, it just went together. We were together in almost every childhood experience. I learned alot from Greg like what to do as well as what not to do ! It was like he paved the road to make my growing up a little easier. I saw him get in trouble for things and I learned not to do that ! He also taught me to play war, shoot marbles, jump off the roof, walk the tile fence, build a fort, throw a snow ball, ride a bike, sled at lightening speeds and ultimately go off the jump at the end of the run. We snow skiied together, played baseball with the neighboor kids, climbed trees, waded in creeks, explored the forest, caught horny toads, explored caves, got in trouble and shared in rewards. A trip to Dairy Queen for being good in church or an afternoon stuck in our rooms for not coming home from one of our treks in the woods on time. It wasn't always good, there was alot of "he did it" or "she did it"....we both got in trouble anyway!! Partners in crime, teammates, playmates, friends,...............always little sis, big bro.

Belated Easter Post

Growing up this was our typical Easter. Dressed up in our best dress, always with an Easter bonnet and Greg looking dapper as well! The top left picture was taken at our Granparents McEntyre's house, seated are Susan, Greg, Connie, and Debbie ( me). The picture by the pool was taken in our Grandparents Rumbaugh's backyard. Left to right are Debbie, Greg, cousins Billie, Kathy, Steve and Brenda. The color picture was again taken at the McEntyres with Connie, baby Susan, Greg holding her and me.

Easter for us always started with us waking up to eggs hidden all over the house. These were the colored ones we left for the Easter bunny to hide and the old fashioned candy eggs and always a chocolate bunny in the basket. Then it was dressing up in our finery and heading to church. Afterwards we would change clothes and head to the grandparents for the traditional ham. We would hide and refind all our eggs at both grandparents but at the McEntyres Greg was the unofficial bunny and would hide them for us girls to look for over and over. It is a wonder any of them were fit to eat after that.

Alot of family, food, and good times !

Earliest Chrismtas family picture

This is the earliest family photo I have, taken at my grandmothers house at Christmas time. I am guessing that we are about seven and four years old here. Christmas at my Grandparents Rumbaugh's house can only be described as controlled chaos. The house was full, the presents abundant and the tree huge with bubble lights that amazed us.
Christmas was a huge occasion at the Rumbaugh's. There literally were so many relatives, including great aunts and uncles, that presents filled the room. The kids always sat at the kitchen table leaving the dining room formality to the adults. The food, homemade and fabulous. Laughter, fun and memorable.
In contrast, Christmas at my other grandparents house was simpler but equally as memorable. On Christmas Eve Greg, myself and cousins Connie and Susan always went carolling in the neighboorhood and were invited in for cookies. Then Mom would play the very old upright piano and we would sing carols, my grandad adding his bass voice and Mom her beautiful soprano.
They had a small house but Greg and I loved going there. Metal Christmas tree in the window with the rotating color lights to made it change colors, ribbon candy always in the dish and music....lots of music.
What I've described sounds so Norman Rockwall, but it really was that way. We were so blessed to have all our relatives in one place so these kinds of holidays were possible. From the smaller home for the holidays memories of the McEntyre's to the more formal and huge occasion at the Rumbaugh's, Greg and I were given the background that gave us the desire to always create Christmas for our families that we had. What was missing was that simpler time when all the family lived in one place and everyone was together for the holidays. Where there were bubble lights, metal Christmas trees and ribbon candy. Oh and where you could send the kids out to go door to door carolling!!

Four Generations

In this photo is, Gregory Charles, Charles Rowland, Addison Craig and Roland Craig Rumbaugh. (or my brother, dad, grandfather and great grandfather.)
I love this picture of the four generations in the oil field. Greg was about 18 months old and my Great Grandfather was I'm guessing 80ish. The Rumbaugh's came from a long line of oil business men of one sort or another. My Great Grandfathers, father built wooden oil rigs in Pennsylvania. As the oil played out there, he and his brothers moved their families to Louisiana and from there to Longview and from there, Odessa. They followed the oil booms. The story goes that my Great Grandfather invented a method to move a rig on tank tracks later to be called "skidding the rig". But that is a family story and I don't know how true it is. If it is true, there is no patent on it which is really too bad!!
Their business was trucking in West Texas and moving rigs from one location to another and yep, skidding the rig! My Grandfather Rumbaugh used to sport a coke bottle on his desk with a tiny bit of oil in it. He said it was the only oil he ever got out of the ground trying to hit the big one. So even though, the family wasn't oil tycoons in the industry, they made a contribution and it was a good business for them until it played out in the early 60's.
NOTE: My Aunt Betty emailed me that the family story is different than I have been told. Here is her info on it...
Roland Craig Rumbaugh ( Great Grandfather) invented the oil well elephant pump (as Aunt Betty called it) It is on all the wells pumping in Texas. Gulf oil founders stole it from him when he took the model to them in Shreveport. His family was at the first dilling of a well l in tx.

Riding the buffer

Back in the day, wood floors didn't come prefinished and to keep them nice they used paste wax and a big buffer to shine them up. To make the buffing more effective, it needed a little more weight, hence, getting the kids to ride the buffer! As we grew, we all got our turn on the buffer and would actually fight for the privledge. This is a rare picture of Greg getting to do that and help his Dad ! Not only did we do this at home, but also at our grandparents where we also had cousins fighting over the buffer ride. Simple fun during a simple era.

Camel's

You've got to love this linoleum floor!
One of the earlies pictures of Greg with his new little sister, me.
Since I don't have any stories behind this one, obviously I was too little to remember much then but I'll give some more family history.
Mom met Dad when she became the secretary for my grandfather at Rumbaugh Trucking Co in Odessa, TX.
Dad took Mom up in a small airplane for their first date. They didn't date long before getting engaged but I think what really cinched it was when Mom, sick of Dad's grouchyness from stopping smoking, bought him a pack of Camel's. It was love from then on I think. And looky here......two adorable kids resulted from a pack of Camel's and an airplane ride !

First house in Odessa, TX

Here is Greg at about two years old with our Mom. I actually do remember this house as this was the first one and we lived there until I was about four years old. Greg and I shared a bedroom and Mom tells the story that when I was sleeping in my baby crib, Greg would throw things at me. So she took me out and sat him in my bed and proceeded to sit on the floor and throw things at him. " Now how does that feel? Aren't going to torment your little sister any more are you?" Of course not, ha ! Isn't that what little sisters are for?
One time an old gas heater exploded while Greg was standing in front of it and I think scared him more than hurt him. It is probably one of my earliest memories which is of black smoke and suet all over him ! He was ok, but I'm sure my folks never forgot it.
Our paternal grandparents lived across the street and in another house, my Aunt Margaret, Uncle Cecil and their three kids, Cecil Lee, Billy and Kathy. We were always running back and forth across the street and always had a cousin to do things with.
Our house was a small two bedroom, one bath frame house with what we called a swamp cooler for air conditioning. The was west Texas after all, swamp coolerrs did the trick. I remember Christmas there, wood floors and swimming in a bricked walled off encloser that could be filled with the water hose but you had to keep it running as it really didn' t hold water too well. We weren't too picky and it was hot after all! There was also a huge cedar tree next to the front door that was hollowed out underneath. That was Greg and my playhouse, fort and hiding place.
I don't have an picture of that house which is too bad.

In the beginning

Since I am three years younger I don't have any baby stories except things I have been told. My mom was only 19 years old when she married my dad. She says she got pregnant on their honeymoon and on June 24, 1949 Gregory Charles Rumbaugh was born.
He really was an adorable baby ! He was the first and only grandson on Mom's side and since there were only girls born after that, Greg always held the distinct position of one and only grandson to my maternal grandparents.