This coming Sunday is Father’s Day. For some reason, it never gets quite as much attention as Mother’s Day. I decided to do a video on the men of the Upper Yellow River area from 1818 on. Very much like I did for Mother’s Day and the women of Oak Grove and surrounding communities. I found out in doing a bit of research on Father’s Day that we aren’t actually sure how the idea of Father’s Day got started. I found several stories of its inception. But the idea was approved by Woodrow Wilson in 1916 and President Calvin Coolidge made it a national event in 1924. I did discover that I’ve been more successful at collecting photographs of the women of the area, than of the men.  Not sure why that would be.  My Mom suggested it was because men don’t like to pose as much.  Maybe, but this coming Father’s Day round up the men in your life and take their pictures.  More importantly, print the pictures and label them so those that come later will know who those handsome devils are.

Since my Dad isn’t in this presentation, he wasn’t from what would become Okaloosa County, I want to say that I do appreciate the time I had with him and wish that life would have been easier for him.  One of my fondest memories is from the late fifties.  We had a Siamese cat named Prissy who was very confident in her being and she wasn’t inclined to take much nonsense from the humans in the household.  She was doing something Daddy didn’t like and he told her to stop several times, which she ignored.  He picked up a broom and whacked the ground between them and shouted “No!”  She got just outside of his reach with the broom and preceded to give him a mouthful of sass, or what some might say was colorful metaphors (aka “cussing”) in cat language.  He tried to stay mad but the corners of his mouth began to twitch and his eyes crinkled a bit as he tried to not laugh or smile.  It is never good to let the cat see you laugh.  When she was sure she had thoroughly chastised the human, she turned, flipped her tail at him and gracefully walked out of the room.  Daddy and I both broke into laughter at that point.  I miss him.

Music: Home Is Where the Heart Is by Pete Morse, Premium Beat.com

The men highlighted in the video are:

Joab HORNE
John BARROW, Sr.
Reuben HART, Sr.
Wright Harril GASKINS
Jesse SENTERFITT
Reuben N. BARROW
Richmond BARROW
Nicholas BAGGETT
James M. GAKINS
Reuben HART, Jr.
Moses A. GEORGE
Henry William STEELE
William Coplin KING, Jr.
Allen HART
John Jesse BARROW, Sr.
Reuben Joshua BARROW, Sr.
William Franklin KING
James Jefferson HART
Julius Monroe KING
Alexander M. HOWELL
Allen Jefferson KING
John Jesse BARROW, Jr.
Richmond Eli BARROW
William L. COLLINGSWORTH
James Myron BARROW
Louis DAVIDSON
Glenwood BARROW

Have a wonderful Father’s Day!

Until Next Time.