Timeline...

Where are you on the timeline?

What are you babbling about?

You know, the time line of history. You must have a picture in your head of time; not clock time but overall time. How well you are able connect the dots is the key. The old west, six-shooters and covered wagons are a big part of my life. I love history, I have a college degree in history. For several years in the 80's my job was to trace land deed records in Oregon from just prior to statehood in 1859 to the then current date.

I don't have many old family photographs. One picture of my grandmother's uncle taken before 1900 and a picture of my grandparents taken in 1912 with the first of their nine children, my oldest aunt. I am also named after a man that was instrumental in settling South Eastern Oregon [six-degrees of separation principle]. Subsequent to his 1862 settlement of SE Oregon, 12 men in his family have my name. One of them moved to the neighboring ranch of my grandparents and was raised alongside my father. When I was born, I received the name of the family friend, therefore making the connection between me and the settlement of Oregon and closing the gap between me, 1949 and 1862.

I go to museums and dig through archives to find old photographs. They fascinate me. So not unusual to find a picture taken in 1955 of a Native American, age 78, and his then wife, age 25. This photograph really connected me with the "old west". The woman was the same age as my Mother.
As a child we always played cowboys and Indians. No thought that they were real, just somebody from another century, sometime way in the past. No relevance to me. And then I continued to grow up and move on to other things.

Jump now to the present, I have always thought of myself as being born in the wrong time. Growing up in an extremely rural area, we lived outside of town and the town had a population of 150, meant that we were away from the mainstream of amenities. I just related to earlier times.

During my history studies I discovered probably my most favorite character. Ezra Meeker . Now comes the timeline. Checking on the link you can read a quick history of his life.

Born in 1830 in Ohio. Walked alongside a covered wagon for 5 months to the Oregon Territory in 1852 with wife and child. An original pioneer of the West. Hardscrabble life we cannot really imagine.

50 years later (age 76), 1906, he made the trip back East in an ox drawn wagon all the way to Washington, DC.

In 1916, age 86, he drove an automobile across the US back East to Washington, DC.

In 1924, age 94, he flew in an airplane East to meet with the Wright Brothers, also in Washington, DC.

He died in 1928 at age 98.


What is fascinating is the fact of That particular timeline in which he lived. We, now, all of us, have grown up with such things as, running water, electricity, automobiles, radio, TV and airplanes. None of this was even thought of at the time of his marriage and trip out West. He lived though all of it and made the most of it even at a time when most people were done with life. Life expectancy in the 19th Century was generally not over 50 years old.

Ezra saw the development of all modern amenities. What huge steps to incorporate in your life on a continual basis.

How does that affect me?

I was born in the 20th Century, it is now the 21st Century. Ezra and I are 119 years apart.

When reading about these pioneers, you look at the life span, born 1830, to 1900 to 1928, died.

Reading about me, born 1949, to 2000 to 2010, to....

Doesn't look like I have much time left. It is a timeline. What is yours, have you looked at it?

This is of great concern to me. There is a history of longevity in my family on both sides. Several 90+ years. Currently a nice crop of 80+ relatives. Ohhh, if I could make 2047.

What a thought.

Carry on....I certainly want to...!!

EDIT: A very important note. I am in a small percentage Native American as my maternal grandmother was about 1/8 Cherokee. A small segment that was disbanded in the early 50's. At that time it was NOT cool to have Indian Blood. I have a picture of her at about age 80, and if printed in sepia, it could be switched for an Edward Curtis and blend right in. My mother had very dark skin and would have looked the same, unfortunately she passed away at a very young age.