Along with much of the rest of the country, we watched President Obama’s State of the Union address last night. I always like hearing him and, when I do, I’m never sorry I voted for him. It’s sometimes in between the speeches that I waver a bit. But last night, I actually enjoyed his recap of the decade so far and his thoughts about what needs to be accomplished during his final two years.
I come from a long line of Republicans. My great-grandfather was an earnest republican according to Julian Hawthorne who wrote about him in his History of Washington – the Evergreen State published by the American Historical Publishing Company in 1893. Hawthorne went on to say:
…[Espy] has served the public in various capacities. He was one of the first two Republicans to cast their votes in Pacific County. In 1889 he was a delegate to the convention which nominated delegates to the Constitutional Convention of Washington.
Muriel “Mona” Espy, c. 1925
Two of R.H. Espy’s sons were also involved in politics. His eldest son, Edwin, was a member of the California State legislature. He died of tuberculosis at age 31, his death hastened by his having himself, while extremely weak from his disease, brought into the legislative hall on a litter to speak for a bill he had introduced banning horse racing. The bill was defeated, but a similar one became law soon afterward, and horse racing was forbidden in California for the next quarter of a century.
My grandfather Harry, R. H.’s second son, served as Washington State Senator from Pacific and Wahkiakum Counties from 1912-1914 and was an alternate delegate to the National Convention in Chicago. He was supported Teddy Roosevelt and was proud of being a ‘Bull Moose-er.’ Harry’s daughter, my Aunt Mona, was active in the Washington State Republican party and was an avid Eisenhower supporter. The letter she received from him dated January 18, 1953, was among her treasured possessions and still resides in its frame on the hallway wall.
I don’t know when I became the family maverick. Probably during the Kennedy years. I’m not sure about any of R.H. Espy’s descendants of my generation. We seldom talk politics and none of us is politically active as far as I know. I wonder what my Republican forbears would have thought of last night’s State of the Union speech. For that matter, I wonder what they would think of the state of the union.
Your two California Democrat friends watched, also, smiling and nodding and enjoying the cameras as they panned the “audience”. Although there is a family of “Rs” related to us, we do not spend time with them and if we did, we would definitely not discuss politics and/or the president. Thank you for the spot on post today! What would our ancestors think of the state of the union?
I, too, come from a long line of Republicans on both sides of the family, involved in state and precinct politics and am a maverick. Once my mother asked in despair of her parenting, “What happened?” “Vietnam,” I replied. I’ve oft pointed out that while she might be the target audience audience for FaixNews’ campaign of fear, she isn’t wealthy enough to have the Republican party give a tinkersdamn about her beyond her vote. Quite the opposite. We listened to the President’s speech with pleasure. We are not convinced Joni Ernest listened to it at all. My mother was engrossed with “Out of Africa” on TCM and missed it all.
I can pretty much guarantee they wouldn’t think much of either. Sorry, but I also come from a long line of elephants and am quite happy keeping the faith. Thanks for another interesting post Sydney. By the way, the Espy line runs very strong in you, as you can tell from the great photos you share with us. Good stock, as they say.