Saturday, February 27, 2010

My family.......

My older brothers doing their thing in the front yard.

Ronald James Burgus looks into the camera while his younger brother Rex Thomas Burgus checks out the person taking the photo.  While my dad was in the service in Washington D.C. and then in Europe, these guys and mom lived with Grandma Brown, mom's mother.  This is in Murray, Iowa and I suspect the year is 1945.  Ron would be 16 months older and I think he looks close to being four years old here. The house that they are sitting in front of still stands today, except some time after they lived there the owner removed the second story and made it look like a ranch house.

Back row: Zella Marie Brown Burgus, Dwight Burgus and Jesse Thomas Burgus
Front row: Rex and Ron Burgus

After dad returned from the war,  Dwight Lee  was born in Feb. 1947.  At first my dad worked as a mechanic, repairing tractors.  He then made his move to become a farmer.  They rented a farm in which dad would give up half of the crop for the rent. This photo is taken out on that farm, south of Murray, near a little town called Hopeville.  Someday I will blog about Hopeville. 

Click on the picture and enjoy the chicken in the background. One also can see the photographer and friend is in the picture.

 Dwight, Rex, the border collie, and Ron

This photo is out on the rented farm in 1949 or 50.  I was born in 1950 and I think Dwight looks almost three here so I could have been born by then.  Stories I have heard from the family about the dog, was that he was so protective of his family and no one else was welcomed on the property.

Today Ron owns a printing company in Mesa, Arizona and Rex co-owns with two partners a company that make trailers for recreation vehicles in California.  Dwight started his working life as a construction worker, working as a contractor for companies in Mesa, Arizona.  As his addictions continued in his life he demoted himself to being a drywall installer and living with my parents back in Osceola, Iowa.   My father died in 2000, age 82 and my mom passed away in 2008, age 89 years, three months after then my brother Dwight died. He was 61 years old.

 Check out the many friends of mine who are participating in Sepia Saturday. 

15 comments:

Delwyn said...

Hello Larry
I enjoyed your story of family history and you have inspired me to take part in the sepia postings once I return to Au.

Happy days

Martin said...

Wonderful story, charting the activities of your family over the years.

My grandparents had a dog that guarded the travel cot our daughter slept in during visits. It was a hard job getting past sometimes.

Anonymous said...

L.D., looking at the second photo Rex and Ron look almost like twins!

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed these photos and the history very much. Beautiful dog and I'm glad you brought our attention to the chicken.

Vicki Lane said...

Love the little boys in their overalls! Such a practical garment for hard-playing kids!

Kat Mortensen said...

I looked at the chicken, Larry. Before you open the photo it rather looks like a goat in the distance.
I like the shadows in that shot-it must have been late afternoon.
You have a pretty big family!

Kat

Mel said...

Great pictures and stories. My dad also went to live with relatives during the war, as his Dad built ships in Baltimore and his mom worked in the plane factories. I wrote today about their failed farming efforts at the end of the war.
I love the chicken photo, in close up you can see that it is huge, and even better, you can see what a fine loving family the picture captured.

The Silver Fox said...

Something about those shots gives me a peaceful feeling...

Betsy Brock said...

What a great group of pictures...adorable boys, that's for sure. But of course, I'm partial to boys. ;) I thought there was a dove on the steps in the first picture until I clicked on it to make it larger!

Tess Kincaid said...

That last shot looks like it could be on my ancestor's farm in Howard Co., IN. Boys need their dogs.

Stephanie said...

I love the shot with the photographer's shadow! It gives the photo more depth somehow.
The first photo is just so tight!

Enjoyed your post.

Megan said...

Omigosh, that middle photo. I have one almost exactly like it of my grandparents and my uncles. I'll have to find it!

Alan Burnett said...

Such a rich family history, Larry. I love the way the different stories and different lives all seem to fan out from the common origins as set out in these old family photos of yours.

The Retired One said...

I love the nostalgia trips one goes down when looking at old family pictures. I just got back from taking a trip with my only brother to visit two uncles (one 88 and one 90 yrs.old) who we taped a DVD of telling family history and stories..it was great! Both our parents have also passed away, so these were two of our last uncles on my Dad's side (they are brothers).

Far Side of Fifty said...

Hi Larry, Wonderful photos of your family. I especially enjoyed the one with the Border Collie..great photo! You endured some losses close together back in 2008..I sense sometimes that you really feel badly about your brother. Sometimes people make you wonder with the choices that they make..but we can't change things..they are what they are:)

Tall and Short....

 At four in the morning and one is walking the empty hallways, one never knows what the camera might shoot.