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.