Now for a history interlude…

Mommy started writing this post in January, then stopped until she could get more information. As she has learned, if you wait until you have all the info before going forward, you’ll never get anywhere, so…here is what there is so far:

We got to learn more about one of the men you were named after: Daddy’s father’s (Don), father’s (Cyril), father (Alonzo). Grandpa Don was very little when his grandfather died and doesn’t remember him, but his cousin, Phyllis, shared some of her memories with us, as well as some family history she learned about Alonzo’s parents.

Alonzo Oliver Brewer was born in Tumwater, WA (near the capitol of Olympia). His parents Oliver P. Brewer and Margaret C. Stevens Brewer had come over the Oregon Trail from Arkansas with Oliver’s family right after they were married in 1853. His father was a farmer, teamster (person who drove wagons and took care of draft animals), and part-time local Methodist pastor.

Alonzo’s nickname was “Lonnie.” He had one sister, Sarah, and three brothers: Wright (real name Milton), Theodore, and Loren. His family moved around a lot, living in several places in Washington including Tumwater and Elma. For a while, he and his brothers owned a livery stable in Elma; they were known for their nice singing voices. He married your great-great-Grandma Helen Halliday Brewer on June 5, 1893 (114 years and 11 days before Daddy married Mommy). Her nickname was “Nellie” and he thought she was “pretty as a picture”.

Alonzo spent most of his life at his fruit orchard in Grandview, Washington where he grew Red Delicious apples and other crops. Alonzo loved to read. He was very kind, making sure that anyone who visited his farm had something to eat even if they didn’t have any money (during the Great Depression, many people had trouble finding jobs and buying enough food). He believed that girls should be able to learn the same things as boys (for example, he taught Phyllis how to shoot) and he insisted on doing the chores around the house that he thought were the most unpleasant so that the ladies of the house did not have to do them.