GFNEWS9906i

I have to credit Dad with giving me an interest in genealogy. His own enthusiasm for genealogy rubbed off on me when I was very young. Actually, I have to credit Mom, too. It really started with Mom in a way. She would not tell me how old she was. No matter how I begged and pleaded and tried to trick her, Mom kept her age a deep, dark secret. By the time I was 12, I was still in the dark. Other kids knew their mother's age, but not me. It was getting to be ridiculous (or so I thought at the time).

Dad's Picture (Elven Gene Matson)

One day, Dad got out the family genealogy book. He explained to me about pedigree charts and group sheets and stuff. He told me about written marriage dates, death dates and birth dates. "Would you like to see our family chart?" he asked. BIRTH dates - the book had BIRTH dates! The light dawned on me and I eagerly nodded. That was the day I learned how old my mother was. I will never forget it.

And... that was the day I gained an interest in genealogy. Thanks, Dad! (and Thanks, Mom!)

Dad fostered this interest until it grew. Here's a link to his picture in the Forum's File Libraries Center. You might be able to tell he is Swedish from the bright blonde hair.

GFA Terry, Genealogy Forum Message Board Manager

My Neat Dad
submitted by GFSPilgrim@aol.com

My father, Clifford Wells Reynolds, Jr., an interesting character. He was a radio announcer in the 40's in Texas, he was a display man, artist, actor as well. He always kept telling me how much he hoped I would find his French roots, that his mother denied them having. I finally did, but only after I lost him. He sure would have loved to know that we descended from the Descomps dit Labadie family of La Rochelle, Ares, France. He was fluent in French and love it when I took him with me in 1995 to France. He was my interpreter, as my French is rather poor, although I do ok, his was much better. My Dad came from a long line of artists. He was in a bunch of commercials and was a character actor in several good productions on TV and in the movies. He wasn't famous by any stretch of the imagination, but he was my dad.

When my dad was still here he always sat at the head of the table like all patriarch fathers are supposed to. But the head of our table was by the refrigerator, downstairs at the house at the lake. This was the only place there was enough room for all of us. My brothers family, my family, My brother, my mom and dad which was lets see now, there is Dirk, Karen, Mitch, Mark, Linda, then, Greg, Julie, Nik and Alex, Lee, Dana, Matt, Lauren, Glen, Angie, Allison, and Adam in his high chair. With every one at the table that would be 20 people shoulder to shoulder. So we put a couple card tables against each other against the main table. Looking down the line of progeny that he and mom created, Dad smiled.

The MAIN family joke was that if someone wanted anything from the refrigerator, Dad would say "I'll get it, then just sit there till one of the kids got up and got it. LOL, so later if someone would ask for something from the frig, they would say "Grandpa, would you get me a can of Pepsi?" and then say, Oh, just sit there, I'll get it," Then, came the stories. Of his Ohio Highway Patrol stories, (Dad was one of the first on the motorcycle patrol) amongst "pass the ham, Mom," or pass the gravy Greg" or "Don't do that."

Then came W.W.II in the Navy stories, then came the "Going to the Indy 500" stories, where he went with mom every year with friends. Back when I was young my dad's cousin Howard VOGEL, of Toledo was working for Champion Spark Plug, was ready to retire as head of racing division for Champion, and asked dad if he was interested in taking over his job since dad was an automotive engineer. Dad said yes immediately and went to Champion the next day.

Dad went to Indy 500 and the complete circuit which back in those days it was called USAC, which stand for United States Auto Club, for the open-wheel cars, and also the NASCAR division races which back then Daytona 500 race was still raced on the beach. During the spring and summer he was at the races and during the winter there was research on the dynamometer back at the plant in Toledo, a machine that tests the cars. I remember one year when Dad was working at the Trenton race, He was about to come home, He was to fly home in the Champion Spark Plug owned airplane. But he decided to come back on the USAC Fire truck, because the plane was not going to land at Toledo coming to. It had been raining very hard.

In April of 1969, Dad came home and announced that he was being transferred to Brussels, Belgium for 3 years as Director of Engineering for Europe. He and Mom were leaving for there in a couple weeks. They had quite an experience there. He traveled all over Europe, England, Italy, Germany, to different auto companies to have them use Champion plugs as original equipment when the cars rolled off their assembly lines. Mom got involved with the American Women's Garden Club and met the John Eisenhower's (Ike and Mamie's son) as John was Ambassador to Belgium. Her club each year decorated the embassy for Christmas plus built a beautiful garden on the upper deck of the manor.

After the 3 years were up, you wouldnt believe all the neat stuff mom and dad collected from being over there. Mom is a garage sale nut, I guess that is how I inherited it. But there everyone in the neighborhood got their stuff together they wanted to sell and it was hauled out into the street. I have two Belgian prayer chairs for $4 a piece, from the churches that were bombed out during WW11, and a walnut hutch with leaded glass doors that she paid only $25, that she gave me when they got home. Dad had retired and they came home on the QE11. They had come home several times during the time they were in Belgium. Mom came home when my third son Glen was born in October, that first year they were there. The summer before they were coming home for good, They took a holiday and came back and had a house started at Lake LeAnn in Michigan. When they got home, Dad and mom finished the house on their own.

Dad didn't want to just sit around and do nothing so he contacted Dick King who was President of USAC and worked on the Technical team till he became Technical Director. After each race was over, each winning car was inspected for parts that were not allowed to be used. Then he traveled to Monza, Italy and England for races. Mom went with him. Wherever Dad went, Mom went also. They were so in love. Then back home, it was the Indy car circuit which was sanctioned by USAC rules. I remember one year when Dad was working at the Trenton race, He was about to come home, He was to fly home in USAC leased plane, but he decided to come back on the USAC Fire truck, because the plane was not going to land at Toledo, it was going on to Indianapolis.

It was raining very hard and somewhere near South Bend, the plane crashed and all were killed. We heard this on the radio and Mom was frantic because Dad had told her he was coming on the plane. They called everyone they could think of that would know who would be on the plane, my brother even called the Indianapolis newspaper but they wouldn't tell him. Then about 11 pm Dad had been dropped off at Toledo Airport where his car was left before he flew to Trenton, Dad started driving from Toledo to the lake, he didn't even know about the crash till he got to Blissfield and was listening to the radio to keep awake, It would be an hours drive home. There was a newsflash about the plane crash near South Bend, Indiana that killed 10 USAC officials. Dad stopped in Blissfield and called Mom right away, "I'm not on that plane!"

Boy, was mom relieved! Later that week, Dad and Mom drove to Indianapolis for the funeral of their close friends who were killed. Dad had to go and testify that that plane should never even had taken off in the first place that it was raining so hard, but the pilot said he HAD to be back in Indianapolis the next morning. The other officials tried to talk him out of going but he was adamant about it. Each family was awarded $1,000,000, but it didn't bring their loved ones back.

Then when Roger Penske started CART (Champion Auto Racing Teams), he came to my dad and asked him to be Chief Steward. The Chief Steward was the "Head Honcho" of the authority for everything for each race from up in the control tower, at Indy or MIS or California Speedway or any race track that a CART race was held, down to the officials around the track or in the pits to the flag man to start the race, to putting out each flag like the green flag to start, or the black flag to send a car into the pits that was violating a rule like passing another car when the yellow flag was out during an accident on the track, to leaking oil on the track, or the checkered flag at the end of the race to the winner.

Dad was Chief Steward for 10 years for CART till he had his first heart attack. Dad had left around 7 am for the track, which is only 12 miles from where they live. Mom and I were driving down through the underpass under the track when we saw the ambulance pass us. We got to the office when one of dad's friends told us that they had taken Dad to Foote Hospital in Jackson Michigan. After that, Dad was forced to retire from CART. I do not wish to talk about what one of the other officials did, who ended up being the next Chief Steward.

So, back to the head of the table, Dad had been telling us and the kids all these interesting stories till my nephews and my sons had them all memorized but they never told their grandfather that they were tired of hearing his stories.

Dad passed away July 24th of 1997, while I was on my trip to China, after 63 years of marriage with Mom.