Bits of history: A Boy and his dog

Today’s photo, a cute but slightly over-exposed picture of a boy and his dog, is a shot of my grandfather Tex De Haven and his dog Old Jack in his youth in Nebraska. Normally, such a shot would elicit feelings of warmth and affection but to me, this is a profoundly sad photo. It’s sad because I know a few years after this photo Tex’s mother will pass away and then a couple years after that his father will die as well, robbing him of the rest of his childhood. After the deaths of his parents I heard that Tex was taken in for a while by relatives but when they couldn’t afford to support him, he was on his own in his mid-teens. I can only piece together through family stories a general idea of what his life was like after that but it was certainly hard.

Happy Belated 4th of July

It's a few days late but Happy 4th of July, everyone! These two pictures are actually from my mother's side of the family. Unfortunately, the identities of these relatives have been lost to the past. Still, I like these shots from the 4th of July in 1919, probably taken around Geneseo, Illinois.

Bits of History Revealed in Photo Form: The Pie Eating Contest

Hi, everyone. Recently, I was finally able to make a trip back to the United States (I live in Japan) and while visiting my mother in California I also was able to visit my aunt Joyce in Texas for a day. Although it was a short visit, it was truly a magical time. We were able to go through the hundreds of old photos that she had and she shared even more stories of our family history. In the next few weeks I think I’ll share some of the great photos that we came across. This week I’ll start with this funny one. 

The laughing girl you see in the middle of the photo is my aunt Joyce. Apparently she had just won a pie eating contest! I believe she said it was boysenberry or blueberry, something that leaves horrible stains. The photo was probably taken in Skagway, Alaska. I just love the joy on her face while her competitors are still face down in pie! The photographer (grandpa Tex perhaps?) really captured the moment. 

The 100th Anniversary of Great Grandpa Karl Becoming an American Citizen!

 100 years ago today, on December 19th, 1921, my great grandfather Karl Larson received his citizenship and became a full-fledged American. Karl came from a small town in Sweden and, after landing in New York, eventually found his way to the small Alaskan town of Skagway. It was there where he would eventually marry my great grandmother Edith Feero and make a life for himself while working as a carpenter for the White Pass & Yukon Railroad. Although I’ve shared it before, here is the certificate of his citizenship (below) and my favorite photo of him (above) with my grandfather Tex in 1946 while working on the railroad. 

The Final Two Pieces of Closure

My father, although not a poor man, did not leave behind many material items of value in his death. In my mother’s small apartment lies two large boxes filled with DVDs of MASH, books on Alaska, the many decks of playing cards I brought him from the flights I took to see him, and countless photos of his grandchildren that I sent him. 

Two items that I did value finally made their way to me yesterday. One was the Alaska license plate that he had on his car when he made his way down the Great Alaska Highway all the way to Southern California in the late 60s. The license plate hung on the wall above the tools in the garage in our Arcadia home for as long as I could remember. I made sure to take it down carefully when I was moving everything out of the house when it was put up for sale. For some reason, I always wanted this piece of family history. My dad offered for me to take it back with me when I last visited him from Japan but I declined at the time. I think I said I would get it the next time I saw him. Little did I know there would be no next time. Perhaps it felt too final for me to take it at the time and I declined, as if taking it would confirm my father would die. 

Looking at it now, I realize how beaten up it is, with the blue paint rough from exposure to the elements while it was in service no doubt. Still, for something that is 53 years old, it looks pretty good on the wall in its new home in Tokyo. It's kind of funny to think about the life this license plate has had. It started out on a car in Anchorage in the 60s, eventually went down to California where it rested on a garage wall for decades and now it's made its way all the to Tokyo, Japan. I wonder where it will go in the future when it gets passed down to one of my children.

From the wall in a garage in Arcadia, CA to Tokyo, Japan.

The other item that was sent to me was the last birthday present I gave to my father, a rather uniquely designed wrist watch. Because he always had trouble remembering the time difference when he called me in Japan I found him a watch with two faces showing the two different time zones. It was actually the second watch of this kind that I had gotten him but he cracked the face of the first watch. He loved the watch and it came to me in surprisingly good condition although it needs to have its battery replaced. I hope I can get a new battery soon and start wearing my father's final watch.

Things are finally drawing to a close when it comes to my father. His ashes have finally made their way to my mother, his obituary made it into the LA Times (and the Skagway News!) and these mementos have finally arrived at my doorstep. These two items, of little value to others, will be treasured by me forever. 

Remembering My Father, Karl De Haven: 1936 - 2021

My dad in Skagway, Alaska.

In front of his home in Arcadia, CA.

This site, dedicated to my family's history, is usually filled with accounts of relatives who passed away long, long ago. Unfortunately, today's entry is dedicated to my father, Karl Michael De Haven, who passed away in his sleep just last Friday on February, 5th, 2021. He was just a couple months short of his 85th birthday. 

Born in 1938 as the second child of Jim Hartley and Urania (Rainie) Larson (daughter of Edith Feero), my dad’s life kind of got off to a rough start actually. Unfortunately for the family, Karl’s birth father Jim turned out to have an alcohol problem and was apparently abusive. The final straw was when, while drunk, he shot a gun off, narrowly missing hitting Urania in the stomach while she was pregnant with my father. Urania then left Jim and soon after (how soon is hard to calculate) married Vernon De Haven. Some time later Jim came back to try and take back his firstborn daughter Joyce but was prevented from doing so. He was allowed to visit the kids once on the condition that he not reveal that he was the children’s father. Although Joyce disputes that Jim didn’t want Karl, my father still mentioned the pain of this perceived rejection toward the end of his life. He also expressed great gratitude that his step-father (who he called “Tex”) had saved the family from a horrible situation. (Interestingly, Tex first dated Urania’s sister Ellen for a time) His grandfather Karl (his namesake) also did well to prevent Jim from taking back the kids. (Actually, because he shared his name with his grandfather, my father was called by his middle name “Mike” inside the immediate family)

My dad with his sister Joyce in Skagway.

After a few years in Skagway, my father and his family moved to Anchorage where Tex worked for Alaska Railroad. By then he had two little brothers (by Tex); Roy and Pat. After getting kicked out of University of Alaska Fairbanks (for, as my dad described it, “being at the wrong party”) he made his way to University of Western Kentucky where he would graduate with a BA. (He also later obtained an MA from USC) To support himself through college he worked at fish canneries in Alaska. Eventually after working as a surveyor (for the military building bases),a forrest ranger, and some other odd jobs he started his career as a teacher. It was as a teacher at Ursa Major Elementary School where he was introduced by his best friend Charlie to his future wife (my mother) Mary Hennessy. The two married in 1967 and then made the long trek down the Great Alaska Highway to her native Southern California (she was originally from Long Beach).

My dad and mom at their wedding (1967).

The couple first settled in Mission Viejo but were unable to find teaching positions close by. Tired of the long commute to Pasadena (where my dad taught) and Arcadia (where my mom taught) they moved to Arcadia, where they remained for good. By then, my brother (who was born while they were living in Mission Viejo) and I (born in Pasadena after the move to Arcadia) were in the picture and our family (plus or minus many cats and one poodle) was complete.

My dad would end up teaching science and math in Madison Middle School in the inner city for many years before moving on to Wilson Middle School (located much closer to Arcadia, just over the border in neighboring Pasadena). He was also extremely active in the MESA program at Cal State LA. The MESA program helps educationally underprivileged kids excellent at math, engineering, and science, helping many become the first in their family to go on to college. In the summers, my dad would also teach oceanography at Baldwin Stocker Elementary in Arcadia. This was where I had the unusual opportunity to be a student in my dad’s class. His influence on his students was great. For many, many years, it seemed that we would run into his former students working somewhere. To them, he was always know as “Mr. D.”

One of my father's school portraits.

As a person, my dad was a very friendly, talkative guy. As my aunt described, to him there were no strangers, only friends he hadn’t yet met. As a child, this habit of him striking up conversations with any and everyone could be sometimes embarrassing (I later heard that his mother was the same way). We often joked in the family, that someday he might accidentally start a conversation with a serial killer with a line like, “That’s a nice knife you’ve got there.” He was good natured and loving, never hesitating to express his feelings for me whenever I called him up from Japan. He also loved to laugh. His favorite tv show of all time was probably MASH. At night, while typing his lesson plans out he would watch the show from 11 to 12, his “holy hour” as he called it. He was a bit clumsy (although he was a very good bowler for many years, winning trophies while in Alaska) and sometimes sloppy with his clothing (mom did her best to keep him looking good). He was also an excellent cook, preparing almost all of our meals at home and only relinquishing the kitchen when grandma Rainie would come to visit. I often remember him falling asleep snoring in front of the tv only to wake up when I would change the channel. "Snore-snort, I was watching that." He was horrible with names, often confusing Hershiser with Kershaw when talking to me about the Dodgers ("Dad, Orel has been retired for like 20 years!"). 

Karl bowling as a youth.

As a father, he made sure to take my brother and I to the kind of events his father never took him to. He took my brother many times to see the Dodgers in Chavez Ravine and helped out with his little league team (I was horrible in sports and lasted only one season in t-ball). He took both of us to the LA Olympics in 1984. My brother lucked out by going to a soccer game. I was taken to the much more difficult to understand archery (can you name one famous archer besides Robin Hood??). Still, it was a great memory. Later in life, as I got into pro-sports, I would end up taking him to many hockey, baseball, soccer, and basketball games. Toward the end however, with his decreased mobility, it just became too hard to take him to a game whenever I visited from Japan, leaving me to go alone unfortunately.

My brother, dad, and I after little league.

Sometimes, my dad wasn’t the best at speaking clearly. One funny memory was when we were in the car as a family and he noted that he once had two dogs named “Peanuts and Popcorn” except every time he said peanuts, it sound like “penis.” Surprised by his choice of a name, I kept on asking him “did you really name your dog penis?” He would say yes and repeat the name while mispronouncing it. The more I asked to confirm, the more my mother would laugh, making him angrier because he didn’t understand what was so funny. I think the misunderstanding got cleared up when I asked him to spell it out. 

Karl with one of his dogs.

Retired life wasn’t too kind to my dad. A myriad of health problems (back, legs, shoulder, heart) limited his mobility, eventually forcing him to live the last six to seven years of his life at a rehab facility.  across from Santa Anita race tract in Arcadia, just a few minutes from his house. I would have loved to have him visit me in Japan. It would have been great to see how he would react to such a foreign place and have the chance to see a baseball game in Japan. I also really wish he could have spent more time with his grandchildren. The distance and cost worked against us there. We were able to bring over Yuzuru, my first born, three times and Fumi, my second, once but because of the pandemic, my dad was robbed of a chance to meet his granddaughter Willow (born last February). Damn that virus. Although it’s nice to think he is watching down on her now I would have loved to capture the expression on his face when he was able to meet her in person. 

My dad with his first grandson, Yuzuru.

My dad with Fumito, his second grandson.

He was a great father, husband, and person that I and many people will miss dearly. He is survived by his wife, Mary, his two sons, John (JP) and Shawn (myself), his older sister, Joyce, younger brother, Pat, and his three grandchildren (Yuzuru Alistair (5), Fumito Sebastian (4), and Sumire Willow (11 months)). If you have a story to share about him I’d love it if you share it in the comments section.

The Feero That Almost Shot Tom Selleck

I bet that headline got your attention. Yesterday night, I had a moment to myself and decided to take a glance at the book about Christian Feero and all his descendants. Randomly, I opened it up to page 144 to see a picture of Clyde and Mida Feero with a description of their children and grandchildren below. I was surprised to find out that their son Robert and his wife lived in Los Altos, California (relatively close to my hometown). Reading further, I noticed that their son Robert Clyde Jr. was listed as a television and film actor in Hollywood. Wondering if he had been in anything that I would know, I broke out IMDB (Internet Movie Database) and put in his name, and sure enough, there he was! 

The head-shot of Robert Feero.

I was happy to discover that, while not a star, Robert (who passed away in 2011) had guest-starred in many of the major TV shows of my youth. After making his acting debut in George Lucas' first film, "THX 1138", Robert racked up guest spots on Battlestar Gallactica (the 70s version), the Incredible Hulk, Bionic Woman, B.J. and the Bear, Simon & Simon, Knight Rider, and Magnum P.I. to name a few. Although I wasn't able to find any YouTube clips of his acting I was able to go back and see the episode of Magnum P.I. (I own all seasons on iTunes) in which he guest-starred, playing "Dolphie," a henchman to a drug lord named. And if you look at the shots I was able to take (below) of his first scene you'll understand the headline of this blog entry. (The episode is "...By Its Cover" from 1983, by the way)

Hello, cousin Robert. What's with the gun?

Don't shoot Magnum!

Doing some further research into Robert's career while looking for some more pictures of him acting I came across some photos of him playing a character named Bora, an alien that made two appearances on Battlestar Galactica. There is a great in-depth interview with Robert regarding his time on the show and acting career on a Battlestar Galactica fansite. It's really worth taking a look at. You can also see him briefly in the YouTube clip of the preview of the episode (so cheesy!).

That's my 4th cousin in the center. No resemblance, thankfully.

Finally, before I go too deep into this rabbit hole (too late, I know), I just thought I would share this image below (sorry it's not better quality). That's right! Cousin Robert had his own action figure! How cool is that?!

I hope you enjoyed this little bit of family history. This blog entry was a nice, light-hearted one compared to the previous entries on the death of my great-great-grandfather, John E. Feero. It just goes to show that you never know what you are going to find on the family tree. Sometimes, you might even find an alien.