Generation Passing

Tom Brokaw called them "The Greatest Generation." They grew up during the Great Depression and came of age just in time to face World War II. The young men fought in Europe and across the Pacific. The women filled the labor gap at home, kept families going, and joined the armed services as support personnel, nurses, and pilots who delivered planes to the war zones. So many died in the war. The survivors came home, went to college, built businesses, worked hard, raised families, and tried to give their children easier lives than they had had themselves.

The recent death of our uncle Leonard, who passed just a few days before his 92nd birthday, has me thinking about the greatest generation members of my family. Only two remain--two dear aunts, both in their 90s.

In our family we had members (both blood relatives and by-marriage relatives) in every branch of the military. Uncle Joseph Philip Mackey--Navy; Uncle William Boyce Mackey--SeaBees; Aunt Cornelia Elizabeth Mackey--Army Nurse; Uncle Leonard R. Sauble--Army Air Force; Father A.G. McLaughlin--Army; Uncle Lee Tyrrell--Marines.

Those left at home kept things going, raising families, teaching school, ranching and farming (providing meat, wool, and farm commodities), and sending love and encouragement to those in the military. Our family was one of the lucky ones--friends were lost, but all our family members survived the war.

Here are some of our Greatest Generation.

C. Elizabeth (Bess)  Mackey Sauble and Leonard Sauble

Willaim Boyce Mackey, with very young Me

A.G. "Red" Mclaughlin, Rose McLaughlin,
Elsie Tyrrell and Lee Tyrrell

Joe Mackey with his sisters and mother. The way his sisters all are touching Joe
tells me  that they are very aware of the dangers he would be going back to. Joe
was on a ship in the Pacific that was sunk by the Japanese. Though he spent some
time in the water, he was rescued and continued to serve throughout the war. He
stayed in the Navy for about 30 years.

As the generations that were my grandparents, parents, aunts, and uncles pass on, I realize that my sisters and I are now the elder generation. We have lived through many turbulent times, but nothing on the scale of the Great Depression and World War II. We have seen huge social changes in our country; some of these are very much for the good and should be celebrated, others seem to be undermining the moral and ethical fiber of our nation. What will our generation leave behind us?

Mother's Love

Rose McLaughlin, age 21, obviously
adores baby Terry Loel.

I am working now on redoing my Mother's old photo album that covers the years from 1936 to 1952. I've looked through this album many times throughout my life. Working on it, however, has me studying and thinking about the photos in a different way. The pages I worked on yesterday are from 1937 to 1939, the years my parents' first two children were born. These were the years when the country was struggling to find a way out of the Great Depression. Work was scarce and people took whatever they could find. We would consider ourselves extremely poverty-stricken if we had to go through the everyday circumstances of those days.

Mother with Terry and second daughter, Grace. Mother
has made matching dresses for the three of them, and has
fixed Terry's hair with a cute ribbon. I love the look of
love and pride on Mother's face.

Looking at the photos of my parents in that time, with those first two babies, you would not know how difficult survival was. They are not seeing these little ones as burdens. The adoring love and pride is clear on their faces. We have more pictures of Mother with the children, which is why I titled this Mother's Love, but our father was very good with little children.

It amazes me that in this time when so many people have so much more than my parents even imagined having, a lot of people seem to look upon children as burdensome nuisances. Some babies never get a chance at life, being disposed of like they were diseased tissue. Some are neglected; I cringe at what I hear some parents saying to their children as they drag overtired, over-stressed, crying children through the stores. Some expect the schools, the child-care facilities, or a relative to feed, teach, and raise their children for them. Some people are amazed that anyone would want more than one or two children.

Well, I got a little off topic there. I really only meant to talk about the treasure the old photos are, as they show the love and care my parents had for their babies!