Bessie's History (1)

Some things about our Brother Marion's life, how well I remember his big smile. Raymond tells of how his Dad used to talk about having to work in the fields before and after school end during summers. One thing I remember so much about working in the fields with Marion, he would take, what we called tobacco juice from the grasshoppers, put it on a leaf and throw it on the girls. Even though we had to work hard we did have some fun while working. I sure we all remember what good popcorn he made and later he made such good popcorn balls. Verna tells of the time Charlene told their friend Lois Keaton that she was dating Marion Robertson. Lois told her he was Verna's brother but Charlene said no he had told her he didn’t have any sisters or brothers, he was an only child. What a surprise it must have been to Charlene when she found out just how many he did have.

When Marion graduated he wanted to become a Doctor. Mother took him to see about getting in O. U at Norman, but with the depression there were no funds to send him. He joined the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) formed by President Roosevelt to help the jobless. They repaired the roads and other things regarding the land and I believe he made $25.00 a month. He was in the CCC for 18 months at Rush Springs. When he came home he started dating Charlene and got married They had their own filling station in Cement for awhile. Wayne was born while they lived there.

In 1942 they went to Goshen, Oregon with Bessie and her family. Marion worked in the timber. After Rymond was born in Goshen, Marion and his family moved to Portland, Oregon where Marion worked in the shipyards until he was drafted. He was in the Army and ready to ship out the day the war ended but he had to go to the Philippines where he was lit the army of occupation for 6 months. After he came home, they went back to Oregon, again with Bessie and her family. The men worked in the timber and construction and while they were away, Charlene and Bessie took the kids and worked picking hops, beans, etc, Raymond remembers this trip, he said the kids were restless from traveling so the adults had them watching the Motel signs to see if any vacancies. He says his dad was a “Stay-at-it travelor, never stopping for sight seeing. He tells of one of their moves when his Mom's ironing board wouldn’t fit but his Dad knew if he had to throw out the ironing board would have to throw out his Mom so he cut off the small end of the board to make it fit and says his Mom used that ironing board for years. They got homesick and sold out and came back to Cement. Marion went to work in the oilfield and was transferred to Markham, Texas. The girls were born here and Marion and Charlene lived there for the rest of their lives. Raymond says his Mom and Dad were always a team and backed each other up in dealings with the kids. There was no working one against the other. When the girls were in high school, Charlene went to work for J.C. Penny.

After Charlene passed away, Marion took a long bus trip back east, visiting Sullivan, Indiana where our Dad was born, going to see the Capital in Washington, DC. After he retired he was going to go to Oregon, I had planned to go with him Ruby had mentioned going, what did he do, he got married, said he got married so he wouldn’t have to take his sisters with him. So glad he found a nice lady, Jean Greweel, to share his life, They loved to go camping if met some one they liked at the campgrounds would spend 2 or 3 days, didn’t have to rush on their trips. In July 1981, they came by and spent a few days with Verna and I,JV and Bea were here for one day and we all had’ such a good time visiting. On their way home they camped at Moab, Utah one night, there was a butane explosion and fire, they were badly burned and were sent to the burn center in Salt Lake City. Marion did talk some to his children and Elmer and Donald, before he and Jean passed away on August 4, 1981.

Marion, Charlene and Jean are missed so much by all of us.

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