Cousins

Yesterday was a Red Letter Day at our house.  The Schreiber Cousins came calling!  Seeing them seated around our table (with all its leaves pressed into service!) made my heart sing!  I could almost hear our Espy forebears humming along from on high.

Pater familias of the group, Alex Schreiber, is my first cousin Mona’s oldest son, making him my first-cousin-once-removed.  My Uncle Willard was his grandfather.  Alex is ten years younger than my son Charlie and is an Associate Professor of Biology at Saint Lawrence University in upstate New York.

Max, Micah, Ben

With him were sons Max (25) and fiance Micah, Sam (23), Jack (18), Ben (16), and daughter Maddie (12),  my first-cousins-twice removed.  Willard would be their great-grandfather but they only know him by reputation.  It was Maddie’s first trip to Oysterville but the boys and their dad have been here many times.  They have a “real time” history here you might say.

When I was still teaching, probably in 2001, Alex brought Max and Sam visiting and actually did a lesson on frogs in my 1st/2nd/3rd grade classroom.  He had assured me that he had developed the material with Sam’s preschool class in mind and that it would be perfectly age appropriate.  It was fabulous!  The two little boys came to my classroom with him and acted as his “teaching assistants.”  I was totally impressed.

Alex, Jack, Sam

For the Sesquicentennial in 2004,  all four boys came dressed in Davy Crocket outfits, complete with coonskin hats. Somewhere I have a picture of them with their mom (also in period costume) in front of the house here.  Since then, Max and Sam have visited more than the others, perhaps, but all have special memories of the house and of Willard’s (once) red cottage.

Max and Sam are now living in the Seattle area and working in the IT field.  Jack, too, is headed in that direction but his pathway is with the army.  Ben is interested in the same aspects of technology as Jack, “but not the army part” he said.  The conversation (which was diverse) included thoughts about Edward Snowden’s recent book which I am currently reading in preparation for a March Book Talk in Portland. It was great to get their perspective on a whole host of things I can barely grasp.

Willard Espy (1910-1999)

Micah, Max’s girlfriend of eight years, was wearing the gorgeous ring that Max designed for her and gave her on the occasion of their recent engagement.  I put in a bid for the Oysterville Church as a wedding venue and they are taking my suggestion “under advisement.”  I almost think Willard, himself, would appear if that happened!