Friday, September 25, 2015

Chapter 2, Episode 3, January 1999, Life in Oak Springs, the Homeplace


Life in Oak Springs, the Homeplace
January 1999


This series of posts on each Friday, henceforth, moving forward during 2015 will continue the stories of “The Homeplace Saga” series of family saga, historical fiction families in the area of Oak Springs following the novel “Christmas at the Homeplace,” which ended as 1997 began. Earlier, we have seen the community move from January 1997 through December 1998. We now move into January of 1999, in novel format…


[In case you missed it, and want to learn the whole story...]
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Chapter 2 - Bart; Episode 3

Last paragraph from Episode 2:

[Karen called her brother, Bart, to share the news about Beverly’s arrival. To Karen, memories of Beverly were merely a nuisance. For Bart, memories of Beverly contained a lot of hurt.]

Bart and his wife, Diane, happened to be on an afternoon coffee break at their home when Karen called with the news about Beverly. “Not again. What have we done to deserve this? Ok, thanks for letting us know. Keep us up-to-date as you hear more.”

Looking at Diane, Bart said, “Karen says our sister, Beverly, has checked into HER Oak Springs Motel and told the staff that she has moved to Oak Springs permanently. Can you believe that? What do you suppose she has in mind?”

Diane touched the forearm of her husband, tenderly, and replied, “Well, I’m going to try to take the positive approach this time. Perhaps she has simply come to be closer to that new grand-daughter of hers. Becoming a Nana for the first time can be life-changing! I’m certainly living proof of that. Give her the benefit of the doubt.”

“I’ll start with the doubt, and then work on the benefit, whatever that might be,” Bart added, shaking his head.

“Bart, we’re 57. Beverly is 58. That is fairly old for becoming a grandparent for the first time. She no longer has anyone in Mississippi, with Winnie gone. She has not only a grand baby here, but a son and a daughter, a daughter-in-law, a step-daughter, a step-son-in-law, and even a step-grandson, now that I think of it. At our ages, being close to family becomes more important than ever, don’t you think?”

“I suppose you could be right, but I’d hate to get burned again, by my sister’s shenanigans. I am too old for that. Why didn’t she let us know she was coming?”

Just the thought of Beverly back in their lives flooded both Bart and Diane with memories, few of them pleasant. Beverly’s first husband, Paul Gates, and their children, Scott and Heather, were certainly pleasant memories, and now good friends and family members on a daily basis here in the valley. Scott Gates was Assistant Farm Manager to Bart in the Bevins Corporation, looking after the extensive agricultural operations for the extended family. He had married Rachel Nixon, his long-time girl-friend, daughter of the local newspaper editor, and they were new parents of Faith, a daughter born just this past fall.

Diane, who now was Manager of the Bevins Stables and Trail Rides, was also a partner now with their daughter, Jennifer, and Heather Gates in raising Palomino horses. Heather was a real asset to have around the stables, in the trail rides business, as well as with Jennifer’s (Dr. Bevins’) Veterinary Clinic. They each worked smoothly as a team in maintaining and growing their several mutual interests.

Paul Gates had been successful in not only continuing to raise their children (Bevins family next generation descendants) in the Oak Creek Valley but had created a very successful tourism attraction in the valley by rebuilding and promoting visits to the mill and surrounding activities such as canoeing/kayaking on Oak Creek. He also represented his children well on the Bevins Trust and was an active community leader.

His older daughter, Sheila, was another story. Although now well re-established in the community as both the wife of Peter Bevins and as Assistant Manager at the Mill to her father, Sheila would always carry negative memories for Bart and Diane. She had been a primary target during the suicide-attempted murder episode in 1987 in which their son, Jennifer’s older brother, Donnie, had died. Sheila had become an HIV carrier and still was, even after these many year later. She had not contracted AIDS, but it continued to be a threat.

That summer of 1987 carried other memories for Bart and Diane as well. They lost a son, but also discovered that Bart had another son. This discovery nearly broke up their marriage. Years earlier, it turned out, Bart had a one-night affair, at an out-of-town real estate convention, with a colleague, Linda, the young wife of the family attorney, Carter Ogden. When the son, Christopher Ogden was born, Linda never mentioned that he might not be Carter’s biological son. When teen-aged Christopher was in a car accident, that critical summer night in 1987, and badly needed matching blood, however, the truth came out. The other bazaar connection was that Christopher’s girl-friend at the time was none other than Bart and Diane’s daughter, Jennifer. The young dating couple had discovered that they were half-siblings.

In the ensuing years, Christopher went on to college and law school and had now succeeded his father, who died in 1996, as the family attorney. Jennifer had graduated from Veterinary school. She had married Brian Kirk and they now had a daughter, Ashley. Christopher had married Nicole Evans, and they had a son named C.P.

Sheila, along with Peter, had some rough years. They were each active with HIV/Aids support groups and survivors, first as clients, then as counselors. In late 1996, they had married and taken into their new family a son, Jeremy, that Peter did not know that he had, from the years he lived in a commune-like setting on the west coast. Jeremy’s mother had died, in Oregon, of AIDS-related complications, and DNA tests confirmed that Peter was the father. The boy, Jeremy, was now a fine, young, 13-year-old member of the next generation of the Bevins family.

Not all of these memories, for Bart and Diane, could be tied directly to Beverly, of course. But, memories of her, and her antics and departure that year, even twelve years later, still set off that string of memories from their lives, that could not be laid aside. They simple always flowed back through their thoughts, and conversations, on each occasion when Beverly’s name came up. They could not help it then. They could not help it now.


[To be continued - next Friday]



"May everyone have a homeplace, if only in your mind."


Dr. Bill  ;-)


Friday, September 18, 2015

Chapter 1, Episode 2, January 1999 - Life in Oak Springs, the Homeplace


Life in Oak Springs, the Homeplace
January 1999


This series of posts on each Friday, henceforth, moving forward during 2015 will continue the stories of “The Homeplace Saga” series of family saga, historical fiction families in the area of Oak Springs following the novel “Christmas at the Homeplace,” which ended as 1997 began. Earlier, we have seen the community move from January 1997 through December 1998. We now move into January of 1999, in novel format…





Chapter 1 - Lori and Karen (Point of view) - Episode 2

Last paragraph from Episode 1:
[Lori knew this story well, having heard it many times over the ensuing twelve years. She knew that Beverly had, in deference to her husband and her children, agreed to stay and try to live out her husband’s vision, for the children’s sake. However, she also knew that within weeks, Beverly had freaked out, again, and returned to Jackson. Paul and the children had stayed, and lived up to the family obligations under the will. The Trust, Paul, Beverly and the lawyers worked out a divorce and a settlement wherein Paul and their children stayed, and Beverly remained, divorced, in Jackson. She eventually remarried, a wealthy, older southern gentleman, if fact. Now, that husband had died, and she had returned to Oak Springs.]

The phone rang, breaking Lori out of her memories. As so often happened when Lori and Karen talked about family relationships, it was Erin on the phone. Lori put the call on the speaker phone so they could all talk.

Erin was calling to see, for sure, when Grandma Karen was planning to come down to Austin for her grand-daughter Jessica’s birthday, on February 6th, which was a Saturday. This was to be a very big event for the family down there. There would be a party for Jessica and five of her little friends from daycare that day. Karen replied that, depending on the weather, of course, she was planning to drive down on Wednesday and Thursday and return home on Monday, if that would work for Erin. Erin said that would be great. They would plan on it. The three women continued to talk about Jessica and family matters for a bit, of course. Lori added she hoped the three of them would be able to come up from Austin in the spring, and Erin agreed that they hoped to also, but didn’t know yet just when it would be.

Lori had just hung up from talking with Erin when the phone rang, again. This time it was Trace Watkins, with the Jensen & Watkins Construction company. Trace was calling to set up an appointment with Lori to go over some concept designs they had been working on for the proposed “Homeplace Estates” housing development. Lori had been expecting his call, but didn’t know which day it would be. She was anxious to keep the process moving along. When he asked if she could be available this evening at 6, she had agreed. Trace said that he and Gary would have pizza and drinks for supper, if that was ok with her, and they could talk about the latest work on the designs.

“Homestead Estates” was a concept that had developed in the two plus years since Lori had moved to Oak Springs. Several family members had mentioned a desire to buy or build homes for the families, and, as they talked, Lori shared her experiences with a group in the Los Angeles area that was in residential housing development. That had led to a meeting with the leading local residential building contractor, Jensen & Watkins, which in turn led to a joint agreement to explore, in detail, the concept of a housing development, in the county, on the Homeplace land, near the pool under the mill. The concept would include, in addition to the residential properties, a common clubhouse, tennis courts, perhaps a Par-3 golf course, access to Oak Creek for canoeing/kayaking, tie-in to the trails system being developed as part of the McDonald Conservancy, and direct access, from the east, to the Bevins Stable and Trail Rides.

When Lori had finished, Karen asked, “What’s the latest on your development?”

“He has the third revisions done to the concept design we discussed at that last Bevins Trust meeting. Hopefully, if everything looks good, we will be ready for final approval and we can start moving dirt when the weather allows, in a month or two. “

Nodding her head, Karen replied, “Good to hear. I think this will be a project the entire extended family will be pleased to get under way. Come to think of it, this is even something that Beverly will probably endorse.”

“Thanks, Mom. That would be nice, for sure. I’ll be sure to bring Beverly up to speed on what we are doing.”

“Now,” Karen added, “before that phone rings, again, I need to make a call.”

Karen called her brother, Bart, to share the news about Beverly’s arrival. To Karen, memories of Beverly were merely a nuisance. For Bart, memories of Beverly contained a lot of hurt.


[To be continued - next Friday]





"May everyone have a homeplace, if only in your mind."


Dr. Bill  ;-)


Friday, September 11, 2015

January 1999 - Life in Oak Springs, the Homeplace


Life in Oak Springs, the Homeplace
January 1999


This series of posts on each Friday, henceforth, moving forward during 2015 will continue the stories of “The Homeplace Saga” series of family saga, historical fiction families in the area of Oak Springs following the novel “Christmas at the Homeplace,” which ended as 1997 began. Earlier, we have seen the community move from January 1997 through December 1998. We now move into January of 1999, in novel format…



Chapter 1 - Lori and Karen (Point of view) - Episode 1

“Beverly has moved back to Oak Springs, permanently, again!”

Lori repeated what she had just told her mother. Karen, Lori’s mother, thought for sure that she had heard her daughter incorrectly. Beverly, Karen’s younger sister, had a long history of not wanting to visit for any length of time, let alone live in, their home community of Oak Springs. Now, Lori was saying that she was back, for good. Could it really be true?

Lori had just gotten off the phone with her friend, Jaxine Hagen, the Assistant Manager at the Oak Springs Motel, located out near the Ozarks Community College campus on the west side of town. Jaxine had said that Beverly was very clear in her comment on checking in at the Motel, just minutes earlier. They all did know that Beverly was now the owner of the Oak Springs Motel following the death of her second husband, Winnie, the prior fall, but no one expected her to move back here, away from the mansion she lived in, in Jackson, Mississippi. The motel was just another fine investment that she had inherited, they had all assumed. Now, she had said she would be living there, at the motel, right here in Oak Springs.

Karen and Lori were sitting in the office of their the Homeplace Country Inn on the opposite side of Oak Springs, in the east Oak Creek Valley. In the early 1990s, Karen and her husband, Jason, had remodeled her family’s old farmhouse into a modern Country Inn including a large meeting room they called the Heritage Room. The Homeplace Inn now honored the more than 150 years the home farm, the “Homeplace,” had been in her family. They had welcomed the addition of the Oak Springs Motel across the valley because more rooms were needed for the growing agri-tourism and college visitors to the valley in recent years. The Inn and the Motel tended to serve different clients, so they had each thrived together.

In 1959, Beverly had left the Homeplace within days of graduating from high school saying she never planned to come back. Her youth was an unhappy one. She felt she had always been compared to her ultra-successful older sister, Karen, and could never live up to expectations of family or community. She wanted a fresh start, in a new place, and she had chosen Jackson, Mississippi, a few hundred miles to the south of Oak Springs, in the southern Missouri Ozarks mountains. There, in Jackson, she had found work as a secretary in a construction company, married a divorced engineer with a young daughter, and they had two children of their own. As she had promised, she hadn’t come back for many years.

This changed in the fall and winter of 1986-87. In the fall, her widowed mother, Mildred (McDonald) Bevins had died. Mildred left a very unorthodox will that received the full attention of her four surviving children: Karen, Beverly, Bart and Peter. The will required that to be considered for any portion of the inheritance from the estate (including several hundreds of acres of family farm land and substantial cash investments) each of the siblings, now scattered across the country, would be required to commit to live on the farm land in Missouri for a minimum period of two years. Upon hearing this, Beverly had just about “gone ballistic” threatening to sue to break the will and taking any actions necessary to “get her inheritance” for her children.

Karen, Jason, and their four children had been living in Tucson, Arizona, where Jason was a Financial Planner and Karen was a long-time nurse at a local hospital. Jason and Karen made the commitment to return ‘back to the homeplace’ in their motorhome, leaving their youngest son to finish high school in Tucson. Matt, their oldest son, lived in the Boston area with his wife, Susan. They had eventually moved to Oak Springs, in 1996, with their two children, Tyler, nearly 9, and Emily, nearly 6. Lori was living in the Los Angeles area, at the time. Erin, her younger sister, was in college at the University of Texas, in 1987, when her parents moved back to Missouri in response to the will. Erin had since married Mark James and they lived in Austin, Texas, with their daughter, Jessica, who would be 2 next month.

Bart, and his wife, Diane, were the only ones who actually lived on the farm. Bart had left his real estate career to return to run the farm for his mother when his father, Frank, had died of a heart attack ten years earlier. Bart and Diane had assumed that he would continue to farm the land for the family when his mother passed on, many years in the future. That future was now, in 1987, and they found their future very uncertain, as well, both for themselves and their two teen-aged children.

The youngest of the four siblings, Peter, lived in Oregon, where he was a teacher.

Beverly, committed to “getting her share” of the farm and her inheritance, had come to Oak Springs in February of 1987 for the “reading” of Phase II of the will, with some reluctance. She was accompanied by her husband, Paul Gates, and their children, Scott and Heather, still youngsters of 9 and 5, respectively, along with his nineteen year old daughter, Sheila. The “reading” was actually a “video will” that Mildred had made with the assistance of the family attorney, Carter Ogden. Different versions had been made depending on the number of her children who had decided to attend the “reading.” So, when they had gathered, rather than the attorney reading the will, Mildred, on the video screen, spoke directly to each of the children. They were seated around a conference table, in a pre-planned seating arrangement, so that she looked at each one, individually, as she spoke, and told them the plan she and her husband, their father, had developed.

What the children didn’t know, until later, was that the whole point of the unusual exercise was to assure that the Century Farm of her family, the McDonald family, remained intact into the future. The McDonald family had originally settled the land in 1833, shortly after Missouri statehood. Frank and Mildred did not want to see the farm broken up and sold in pieces after all those years of building it to its present state. The will created the Bevin’s Trust to administer the farm land and cash reserves, regardless of how many of the children chose to participate.

Upon hearing and seeing the video will presented, Beverly was initially furious. It just confirmed in her mind how little her parents and siblings “cared about her feelings.” She adopted a totally selfish and self-serving attitude and approach. Fortunately, her husband, Paul Gates, was there to see another side to the situation. He saw an old mill on a creek in a beautiful Ozarks valley along a spring-fed creek running through the farm that could be made into a major tourism attraction with a little tender loving care by a good engineer. He saw a great place to raise their children. He saw a new life for his troubled older daughter, a fresh start for them all.

Lori knew this story well, having heard it many times over the ensuing twelve years. She knew that Beverly had, in deference to her husband and her children, agreed to stay and try to live out her husband’s vision, for the children’s sake. However, she also knew that within weeks, Beverly had freaked out, again, and returned to Jackson. Paul and the children had stayed, and lived up to the family obligations under the will. The Trust, Paul, Beverly and the lawyers worked out a divorce and a settlement wherein Paul and their children stayed, and Beverly remained, divorced, in Jackson. She eventually remarried, a wealthy, older southern gentleman, if fact. Now, that husband had died, and she had returned to Oak Springs.

[To be continued - next Friday]


[Photo Credit - Don Wills]


"May everyone have a homeplace, if only in your mind."


Dr. Bill  ;-)


Friday, September 4, 2015

December 1998 - Life in Oak Springs, the Homeplace


Life in Oak Springs, the Homeplace
December 1998


This series of posts on each Friday, so far, during 2015 has continued the stories of “The Homeplace Saga” series of family saga, historical fiction families in the area of Oak Springs following the novel “Christmas at the Homeplace,” which ended as 1997 began. Here is a peek at ‘Life in Oak Springs,’ and the surrounding valley, in December of 1998.




The Oaks Springs Historical and Genealogical Society held a regular monthly meeting at the Oak Springs Public Library on Tuesday evening, December 15. For the program, Sarah (Campbell) Flanders shared some of her research on the Campbell family from 1838 and the history of the Oak Springs Savings Bank. [Follow her story through the links starting here: http://homeplace.wikispaces.com/Campbell+family.] It was announced that election of officers for the 1999 year would be held at the January 1999 meeting.

Out in the east valley, it was noticed that the Visitor Center building for the McDonald Conservancy on the east side of north Highway 37 was now fully enclosed. Work on the interior would apparently continue through the winter.

Oak Springs merchants were in full holiday mode through the month of December. Many new holiday decorations had been added, and the Oak Springs Enterprise was filled with holiday specials.

Among out-of-town visitors for the Christmas holiday was Beverly (Bevins) (Gates) Threshold. This was her first visit back to Oak Springs since the death of her husband, Winnie. She spent Christmas Day with Scott, Rachel and Faith Gates. Heather Gates was also a holiday guest  

*****
We have now arrived at January 1999 when the next novel, “3 Threats to the Homeplace” was supposed to have begun. As many of you will recall, last spring, I published this essay: http://homeplaceseries.hubpages.com/hub/3-Threats-When-is-a-novel-not-a-novel - “When is a novel not a novel.” Since that time I have been exclusively writing 600 to 1250+ word episodes, both in the 1880s stories and here, to bridge the gap from the end of 1997 to the beginning of 1999.

Beginning here next week, I intend to publish adaptations of the first 12 chapters I had drafted of the “3 Threats” novel. The caveat, the adaptations, of course, is to let the characters ‘tell the story’ rather than me trying to force them into an ‘overarching theme.’ My characters didn’t seem to take well to that attempt, earlier, and now we get to see where they take us with these stories in this new, serial, approach.

Readership of these weekly posts has been exceptional in recent months. I hope my stories continue to draw you in. As I’ve said before, I love feedback, so feel free to share your thoughts with me, here, on Facebook, on Google+, or via private email.

Thank you for your continued support!



"May everyone have a homeplace, if only in your mind."


Dr. Bill  ;-)