The Things that Make Me "Me"

Today is the first anniversary of this blog. I can't believe that I started it a year ago! And as it turns out, this is also the 50th entry. It has been a fun experience and one that has allowed me to share a lot of my family history with my children and others. I hope to pull it all together in book form one day, to share with generations to come, but I still have tales to tell.  

Clara Jean Garrison Hatch, Feb 10, 1939-Aug 21, 1991

Today would have been my mom's 77th birthday.  I started this blog because she passed away at such a young age and there were so many questions I wish I had asked her about her family and her years growing up.  So I set out to make sure my kids, and theirs, would know about her and all the rest of their family.  The blog has been a great way to share all I have found.  Happy Birthday Mom!

I went to see my son and family this past weekend and when I travel to their home, I listen to a lot of podcasts from some of my favorite genealogy gurus. I was listening to Lisa Louise Cooke's Genealogy Gems Podcast, and heard about a contest she had (it ended in December) that consisted of writing a poem about "Where I'm From." My mind immediately started racing and I knew I would have to take a few minutes and try this out for myself. 

The idea came from George Ella Lyon, the poet laureate of Kentucky, who was a guest on Lisa's show that day. George Ella wrote a poem on her own family identity, which has inspired people around the world to do the same.  Click here for her website and poem.  I thought it was a really fun idea and that I would take a stab at it. 

Where I’m From

I am from the shadows below Mount Rushmore
the sandhills of North Carolina
the big dunes of Michigan
the northern lights of Alaska
a one square mile base in Pakistan
the Show Me State of Missouri

and the home of the Alamo in Texas.

I am big sister to two brothers,
mom to Steph and Chip,
Mimi to my grandkids,
and wife to my wonderful husband, John.

I am from Grandma’s persimmon pudding and applesauce cake
and mom’s homemade enchiladas and pies.

I am from the Garrison, Hatch, Hayworth, and Marley bunch.
From coffee drank from saucers and applesauce in oatmeal.
From big family reunions and
games like Kick the Can and Capture the Flag.

I am from a family that came to America, from England, in 1699.
Who ran mills and farms and fought in wars.

I am from a family of golf, a grandfather who worked the courses 

and a mom who played them.

I am from snow and homemade igloos,

from Scotch-Guarded jeans and old skis,

bumpy ice rinks and ice hockey with brooms.

Zucchini that was grown during the summer in Alaska.

I am from earthquakes that shake,

volcanoes that blow, 

and veggies and flowers that grow huge,

thanks to the Midnight Sun. 

From campgrounds with tents and later a camper 

and walks through streams with our own pair of waders.

I’m from Jim who served his country around the world
and Jean who took care of us, through it all.

I am an Air Force brat, moving lots,
making new friends, leaving those friends.
Hard at the time, but grateful now.

I love playing in the dirt, watching things grow.
Working on my family tree,
creating things through cross stitch,
and seeing new places in the world.

I am blessed beyond measure and can’t wait to see 

what God has planned for my future.

That was fun!  I challenge each of you to come up with a little poem of "Where You Are From" and share it here in the comments!  It sure brought back a lot of wonderful memories for me.  Hope it does the same for you.  

Until next time...

There's Something About a Man in Uniform

The Hatch family has been a military family for many generations. Over the years, we had heard some talk of having ancestors who had fought both in the American Revolution and the Civil War. I decided to start looking for the allusive family member who was the American Revolutionist. After much genealogical research, I discovered that my fourth great grandfather, Alexander Hatch, had served in that war and through him, I was eligible to be a Daughter of the American Revolution (DAR). 

I applied last fall, was accepted and was inducted into the George W. Kendall Chapter in Boerne, in February. Now I will have to begin my search for the ancestor who fought in the Civil War.

My dad’s uncles served in World War II and his Uncle Lawton was a Prisoner of War in Stalag 9B in Bad Orb, Germany, about 30 miles from Frankfurt. After he was captured, he and the rest of his group were forced to march for two days, moving towards their place of imprisonment. During that time, they were only given a little piece of hardtack to eat. They ate snow to stay hydrated. 

They continued to the next point, where they were put in a boxcar for a four-day ride. Sixty men were crammed into the car, which comfortably fit only 25. At one point they were in the rail yards and the RAF came over and bombed the area. They were locked into the car and basically, left to die.

He ended up at Stalag 9B. This particular camp was known as one of the worst Prisoner of War Camps that held American POW’s. It also held Italians, French, Serbians and Russians. Uncle Lawton said the conditions were horrible. There were windows but many of them did not have glass, and there was no heat. The food was the worst and he lost 30 pounds while in confinement.

During this time, he and the others heard very little about what was going on with the war. But eventually, some British soldiers came to the camp. They had some way of finding out information, so they kept the troops up to date on what was happening. They were eventually liberated, but Uncle Lawton wasn’t clear on the details of how all that happened. He came home, spent a few days processing out and then was allowed to go home to his family. An experience he would never forget.

My Grandpa Hatch wanted to serve in the military, but for health reasons he was not able to. So he did the next best thing. He became a Civil Service Fireman at Pope Field, which made him feel he was part of something important. He was also a volunteer fireman, for years, in Southern Pines, North Carolina.

My dad, James Vernon Hatch, was career Air Force but if he had not been pressured by a buddy, I wonder if he would have joined at all. In another one of those “things I never knew” scenarios, I asked my father why he decided to go into the Air Force. He said his buddy Harold, now deceased, kept bugging him to go join and he kept telling him no. At the time he said he was happy working at the local Modern Market, living at home, and dating, but his friend kept insisting. So in order to appease him, he went with him to the Post Office, met with the recruiter, and took the entrance exam. They were told they had made perfect scores. (Dad said “Yeah, right!”)

Anyway, the recruiter said there was a waiting list to get in, so he told the boys to go on about their lives and he would call when it was time to go to Raleigh for the physical and induction. Dad said he was still not going but Harold kept prodding. They got the call several weeks later, got on the train and went to Raleigh. Dad said they took the “ridiculous” short physical (Can you hear me? Yes?…Good, you’re alive. Welcome!). They ended up in a room with a bunch of other folks and he held his ground that he was still not going, when in comes an officer. “Please raise your right hand and repeat after me…etc. etc. ….so help me God. Congratulations, please go through that door and a bus will take you to the airport for Texas.” Hey, wait a minute! Texas? Dad said he didn’t have any clothes except what he had on, hardly any money and kept asking Harold, “What have you gotten us into?” 

Dad, early Air Force picture 

At this point, he had to call his mother and tell her what had just happened because she had no idea that he was joining the Air Force. By the looks of things, I don’t think dad had any idea either. But off they go to do their basic training in San Antonio and 21.5 years later he retired, having had a great military career. He was in communications, which took him all over the world. He received numerous awards, including: First Sergeant of the 2008th Communications Squadron and Airman of the Month for both the 740th AC&W Squadron and the 26th Air Division.

He retired a Senior Master Sergeant but I am certain he would have gone on to be a Chief had his daughter not made his life miserable around the spring of 1975. You see, the Air Force had decided to close the base where dad was stationed, and move everyone to Scott AFB in Illinois, right as I was to start my senior year in high school. So I threw a bloody fit. Dad had already served the amount of time required to retire, so he put in his papers to do just that, before the move to Illinois had to be made. As it turned out, the Air Force decided to wait another year before closing the base and told dad he could stay in for that time and then he would have to retire. So in 1976, he officially retired, out of Richards Gebaur AFB, in Kansas City, Missouri.

The things you do for your children! I know I have not said it enough...thank you dad! Not only for your service to our country but for being my dad! You are my hero, in oh so many ways!

Today's Terri's Tidbit: There is an app you can download that can help you raise funds for your favorite school. It is called Shoparoo. You simply download it, choose your school, take a picture of your receipts from a grocery retailer and points will be given that will earn them money. Receipts from stores other than a grocery retailer are entered into a monthly drawing for $1,000 that goes to a randomly selected, registered school. Lots of parents, grandparents and friends are taking advantage of this easy way to raise funds. Check it out here and start helping your favorite school now!

Southern Pines Teen Shot in Hunting Mishap

Jimmy Hatch was the class clown.  For anyone that has known my dad over the years, I suspect that doesn’t come as a surprise. He has always had a great sense of humor and has never known a stranger. He had lots of great friends growing up.  Even after all these years, he still tries to keep in touch with several of the really close ones. 

James Vernon Hatch

One of his friends from school, went on to be the North Carolina Boy’s Champion Tennis player, in spite of some injuries he suffered in an auto accident. Another friend opened a coffee shop in Washington DC.  It was one of the early beatnik hangouts that became famous.   He knew Penny Fuller, although she was younger, who went on to become an actress and another classmate became a famous artist.  His graduating class had 33 people. Sadly, only a small portion of them are still here today.

When my dad was a kid he hung out with his cousin David Johnson. They would get together and act out some of the old Western movies, where the Cowboys and Indians would fight each other. One of them would be up in a tree and the other would pretend to shoot him and he would fall out of it, just like the actors did. I always thought that they were lucky to not have killed themselves from the fall.

Dad played JV football until the day he got shot in the leg. What?? No Cowboys and Indians here. He was out at a farm, hunting with a friend, when they got separated. His friend saw some movement through the trees and thought it was a squirrel and fired a shot…right into my dad’s leg. That friend has since passed away but there were never any hard feelings between the two, and their friendship endured to the end.  Dad still has a big ole scar but it has never seemed to bother his gait.
 
Jimmy took all the required courses in school but his favorites were band and drama. He emceed the Junior/Senior proms, had the lead in the class play, played in the band at school, sang in a trio, and had a little band of his own with friends, called the Downbeats. He loved all these fun things and although he hated to study, he did graduate in 1954. 

Jimmy Hatch is on the second row, second from the left.  

His favorite teacher was Billy Williams, who he had for homeroom, chemistry, and biology.  She was also in charge of the proms. He said she was a great teacher, pushed him along, encouraged him to study (which was not something he wanted to do) but she would also let him get away with murder. He said they used to call her “Bat Cave”, (not to her face however), because she was from Bat Cave, North Carolina. Funny how certain teachers make a long term impact on your life. I have a few of those myself!

One of dad’s favorite memories is of Christmas. His mother would go all out. There would be lots of decorations, carols on the radio, and a bunch of presents. He said that being an only child, they spoiled him rotten. His mom always made fruitcakes during the holidays, too, just like my mom’s mother.

During the war years his mother’s job at the telephone company was considered essential to the war effort. She had to work many nights and weekends, so her time at home was precious. Dad's Grandma Hatch took care of him a lot during those times and he was crazy about her. Even though she would have to get a switch to him once in awhile, he still thought she was a wonderful lady. 

He remembers a time when they lived in Wilson, North Carolina, that they went to the Annual Tobacco Festival. There was a parade during these festivals. This particular year, Ava Gardner and Mickey Rooney were in that parade. Ava was from a town nearby and at the time, her and Mickey were dating. Dad said that his mom, Ola Mae, was beside herself because she was getting to see them. A wonderful memory for both her and my dad. 

Dad’s first job was at the Modern Market, working for Walter Emmett Blue, better known as W.E. He stocked shelves, took out groceries, swept floors, etc. He also worked as an apprentice electrician, at a radio station as a sports announcer, and for the water department cleaning and repairing water meters. He said his favorite job was the radio announcer because “you were somebody". He got a lot of attention from that job. He also wrote the football coverage for the local paper and that got him a lot of added kudos.  He loved his job at the Modern Market, too, and they promised him a raise to $100 a week if he would not go into the Air Force. I don’t think he ever got that raise…

Today's Terri's Tidbit:  Do you use Ebates?  If you order anything online, go to the Ebates site and order through them and a lot of stores will give you a percentage of your total back.  See their website here.  If you have a Tidbit that you think is worthy of sharing, just leave me a comment and I will try to work it into a future blog.