For more information on this line-check my website: pixleyblair.tribalpages.com And a gedcom has been uploaded to Ancestry.com under the tree name of Pixleyblair.tribalpages.com and I also have notes on MyHeritage.com and my entire gedcom on geneanet.org

Years ago I discovered a genealogy of our Blair family at my Uncle Lea's home. Compiled by cousin Effemey Blair Wall, she had left copies of her work to family members. Little did I know that would be the beginning of this fascinating journey into our family's heritage. My work is dedicated to her. She had no children of her own but what a legacy she left.

I have been a genealogist for over 50 years & presently have over nearly 20,000 names in my Legacy program. I would like to publish a book on our family history: "Pioneers and Princes". I have extensive files on our family's history. From my grandfather Dr. Frederick Blair & his mother Lucretia Fleming, our line connects to the Randolphs of Virginia and goes back beyond Charlemagne & numerous Magna Carta Barons. Thomas Jefferson is a cousin-his mother was a Randolph. The lines of Hannah Paul and her daughter in law Mary Westcott connects to many royal and aristocratic lines as well. Our ancestors include numerous kings including King Malcolm Canmore of Scotland, Alfred the Great, Viking warriors & Crusaders. We also descend from early colonial families & pioneers who made America. They settled in New England, Virginia, Pennsylvania & west to Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Nebraska, Kansas & others. Our ancestors fought in the Colonial, Revolutionary & Civil Wars & the War of 1812.

More information about our family, our ancestry and my biography is in the following Gedcom: 

=== GEDCOM Note === (Research): How fortunate I was to be born into what is called the Good Time Cohort or the Lucky Cohort. (a cohort is a generational group) Growing in up the post Depression and post WWII days. Our generations numbers were small-optimism & expectations high. The upwardly mobile middle class in close-knit, safe communities was doing just that. At our school reunions we spoke of our luck in growing up then It is a time that will never come again. Not wonder we were called the Lucky Cohort. (For more about these times at «i»pixleyblair.tribalpages.com«/i» & go to Stories at the bottom of the page-click on 'more' & go to«i» Do You Remember?«/i» & «i»Growing Up in the Best of Times«/i».

NEBRASKA TO CALIFORNIA I was born in Lincoln, Neberaska; my parents were living at the time at the Francine Apts. 1111-1119 H. St. The building is still there: 'typical brownstone of the period'. It is one of the area's very few examples of row house architecture. It is now apartments & condominiums. My parents moved to California in 1936 and settled in Huntington Park, California. (near Los Angeles). It was thought that the California climate would be better as my father long had been troubled by hay fever. We lived first on Rita Street, then moved to 2936 Live Oak Street & finally to 3135 California Street-both of the latter in Walnut Park-which is next to Huntington Park. My mother's brother Ted Blair had graduated from the USC Dental School and set up his practice at 6438 Rita Street--where he would later build a large apartment building that would house his office and the home of his parents, Dr. Fred and Ruth Blair when they too moved from Nebraska with my Uncle Lea who was in his teens and attended Huntington Park High School where I would later attend.

It was a wonderful place and time to grow up...We could go to the beach, desert, mountains. And a close knit community where my dad was a well-known and respected businessman. Family, friends, organizations, activities, teachers...a time that will never come again. My generation has been called: 'The Lucky Cohort'...and we truly were;

My paternal grandparents Leroy 'Roy' and May Pixley also eventually moved to southern California. I grew up in an atmosphere of Midwestern i.e. Nebraska people-even though we lived in California. That was the pattern then. Most of my school friends had been born outside of California. There was an ongoing joke about not being able to find a real "native Californian."

Some of my earliest memories are of WWII. My Uncle Elmer Pixley was a Captain in the cavalry & served in Europe, including Germany, my Uncle Lea Blair was in the Navy, serving in the Aleutians. (See their notes) Both my Pixley and Blair grandparents had small blue stars banners in their windows marking their son's serving in the military. Fortunately both my uncles returned. I remember gas & food rationing. My father was in government work. He had a trucking business, his trucks transported furniture-wholesale to retail in California. During the war they also transported supplies to various military bases such as Ft. Ord. He qualified for a 'C' gas rationing sticker which was the highest allotment, so we were fortunate. I remember tin can drives, paper drives and 'Victory Gardens'...patriotic movies and songs. I also remember sitting on my grandfather Blair's lap during 'blackouts'. It was a memorable time to be growing up. My generation will be the last to remember those days and the sacrifices made so many to make our lives possible.

SCHOOL DAYS Attending the area schools: nursery school, Miles Avenue Elementary, Hoffman Private School and Gage Ave. Junior High School. I graduated in 1952 from Huntington Park High School at the age of 16. (Having skipped half of the third & fourth grades at Hoffman Private School). HP High was such a wonderful school then. In post war suburban America, close-knit communities, an upwardly mobile middle class, fine schools & teachers. When we had our Class of 1953 reunions, we would talk about how lucky we were to grow up in 'the best of places in the best of times'. Indeed it was.

My dear father always put a premium on education and would show up unannounced when I was in elementary school--sitting in the back of the classroom. When he found that his daughter was "cleaning erasers" because she had finished her schoolwork, he decided to put me into a private school so I could get more individualized assignments. I had so many good teachers in my elementary and secondary schools. Some of them went on to administrative and college positions. Having attended football games with my dad, thinking the Bruin Bear was cute & loving the color blue...I decided that UCLA was the place I wanted to go...even painted my bicycle blue & gold with 'UCLA or Bust' on the back'. (Little did I know that their arch rival USC awaited me & that the Trojans would be my forever alma mater)

MEMORIES OF THE EARLY YEARS Some of my earliest memories are of holidays, most spent at the home of grandpa & grandma Blair at 6438 Rita St., Huntington Park, California in the building built by my Uncle Ted Blair in the about 1942 & had his dental office & several apartments. It is still there. Christmas morning we would drive there and have juice & sweet rolls etc. then "have the tree" as we called it: distributing & opening the presents. I always received such wonderful presents-I remember Storybook Dolls, a doll house furnished to last detail and Oz books-which I still have.

With my parents & grandparents there was Uncle Ted, Aunt June, her mother Jessie Charles &, in the early years Aunt June's grandmother 'grandma Hoenschell. Sometimes joining us would be grandpa Blair's half sister Aunt Madge Corr & long time Blair family friends Rev. Marvin 'Uncle Marvie' Gilbert & 'Aunt Emma' Gilbert who had moved to Huntington Park from Nebraska. We would eat at the big table in the dining room...good food, good company, good memories...

We technically lived in Walnut Park, right next door to Huntington Park. My dad had his trucking business nearby at 6808 E. Slauson Ave. in Maywood. The area was a close-knit community. My dad was a well-known businessman, active in community organizations. About 1945 he became a Master Mason & began a lifetime association with various Masonic groups. (See his notes.) He would travel to other office in Oakland, California (see notes under Travel) We stayed at the St. Francis hotel where they had then the lovely Mural Room for dining & dancing. One of my earliest memories is of dancing with my dad on the dance floor to the orchestra of Harry Owens & His Royal Hawaiians. (I remember 'Hilo Hattie' doing the 'Hilo Hop') I was about 7 years old, people would look at us & smile. My dad was so proud.

My dad has a park named for him in Maywood, Ca. where he had his office for many years. Pixley Park was dedicated to him for all of his contributions to the community. (See Melvin Arthur Pixley on this site.)

 My first airplane flight was in the 1940s on a Western Airlines DC-3 from Burbank to San Francisco. My dad his northern California office and dock in Oakland. We would also take the train-'the 'Lark' from Union Station in L.A. It left at 9 pm and arrived in San Francisco at 9 am. What great service & food... 'Glad I have those memories. 

During WWII my dad did war work-his trucks transporting furniture etc. to the various military bases. He also did a lot of entertaining during that time at restaurants & nightclubs. I would often go to these events. At the age of seven, eight, nine...I remember those places including the Biltmore Bowl, Slapsy Maxies, Ciros & the Pirate's Den. The later, owned by a number of celebrities, was a fun nightclub where the waiters were dressed like pirates. The male patrons were called 'gob's, the females were 'wenches' & for any 'reason' could be thrown into the 'brig'. The comedian Doodles Weaver was appearing there when we were there celebrating my 8th birthday. He came to the microphone & announced that a nice lady was celebrating her 80th birthday. The spotlight came on me, my dad told me stand up & everyone laughed.

My first visit to Las Vegas was in 1947 with my dad & family friends Dr. 'Uncle Ned' Aull & Roberta 'Aunt Susi' Aull. (Uncle Ned had graduated from the USC Dental School with my Uncle Ted Blair.) We stayed at the Flamingo Hotel. This was shortly after mobster Bugsey Siegel, who had built the Flamingo, had been 'rubbed out'. I have pictures Aunt Susi, me & my doll at the swimming pool. I've visited 'Vegas many times over the years. When my dad was Potentate of the Al Malaikah Shrine Temple in Los Angeles-the Shriners would have conventions etc. there-so my dad had a lot of connections at the hotel. When I would visit with friends, I would treated very well. We would get good reservations to all the best shows. We stayed first at the Flamingo & then at the Sands where we would go about twice a year, especially to see the 'Rat Pack' with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis...you had to be there to understand the atmosphere in those performances. And all the great talent in the showrooms, lounge rooms...what a time is was. 'Vegas changed so much-now just a 'glob' of impersonal, generic, impersonal mega hotels-everything in overblown hyper drive-including the shows. Entertainers with real talent didn't blinding lights, deafening sound or overblown staging. And in those days, its was really like a small town...run by the mob or not...in many ways it was a better, simpler with great talent in the showrooms-gone forever.

During those years I so fortunate to see so many shows & great entertainers, not only in Vegas but in L.A. in the Hollywood Bowl, the Greek Theater etc., Broadway Shows in New York... I love opera & ballet. The first opera I saw was Carmen at the Al Malaikah Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles in 1947. It was my first formal & 'heels'...you 'dressed' for such events in those days. Carmen was Rise Stevens, I'll never forget it. And later, thanks to my dad's being active in the Al Malaikah Shrine Temple in Los Angeles, we got wonderful tickets to the performances there including The Bolshoi Ballet, The Royal Ballet with Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev, Maria Callas, Judy Garland... And the wonderful Shrine family shows. When my dad was Potentate of Al Malaikah we'd go backstage and have our pictures taken with stars of the show, such as Debbie Reynolds. And on and on...what wonderful memories...

WELCOME TO TROY! At the age of 16, there I was in Westwood...& decided that maybe liking the color blue and bears were not the best reason to choose a university...It was so large & impersonal. So at the end of that semester I swallowed my pride, owned up to my mistake and transferred to USC-where both my uncles and so many of our family friends had attended...(So much for wanting to be different?!) I sent out notices that "hereafter Josephine Bruin will be known as 'Trixie Trojane". I also pledged Chi Omega sorority. In all fairness, I was young, but at USC, the first day after Orientation, the Dean of Women passed me on campus and said "Hello Barbara"...I almost fainted...It sounds like a little thing...but it made all the difference. And, of course my Uncle Ted & Uncle Lea had graduated from the USC School of Dentistry. Many of our family friends were Trojans too. My dad belonged to Cardinal and Gold and the Trojan Club I knew I was home and had rejoined the family: The Trojan Family...and I still belong! (Always root for Big Red Nebraska and the Trojans!) I graduated from the USC School of Dentistry in 1956. With all the dentists in the family, dental hygiene seemed like a good choice but after graduation- although I enjoyed working for my uncles-among others..it just wasn't for me. (I also worked for Dr. Stanley Vogel in Beverly Hills & among my patient's was Lana Turner's daughter soon after Lana's infamous trial. Dr. Vogel's wife was actress Osa Massen.)

TO BE A TEACHER My dad said he'd finance grad school if I got my Master's which I did in 1962: A Master's Degree in Secondary Education-thesis in art education. During my undergraduate years at 'SC, I had also attended classes at nearby Chouinard Art Institute, so by the time I finished my Master's, I had dual majors-art/science and minors-English/Soc. Studies...I would eventually teach all of them..but mainly art. I knew the moment I first walked into a classroom as a student teacher at Dorsey HS that I was "home". Fortunately there was an opening for an art teacher at my alma mater Huntington Park High School & I was hired before I finished student teaching. I finished my student teaching there that summer. It was just at the end of that 'golden era' that I had been a part of & what fun it was to teach with some of my former teachers. And so many in the community knew my dad and some were my Uncle Ted's dental patients. I went on to teach at Hamilton High School and then at the college level: California Lutheran College, El Camino College, California State University and the Fashion Institute, where I developed several programs in Art History, History of Costume and Theatre Costume. I also taught with the Adult Ed. Program with the Las Virgenes Schools, Pierce Community College & taught special art classes for the gifted with the Conejo Schools I would have stayed at the HS level, but the once great LA City School System was beginning to have serious problems that were so sad to see.

ACTIVITIES I always loved to draw & paint. In 1984 I studied calligraphy which has been really rewarding, doing it for organizations & fancy envelopes for birthday cards etc. Another enjoyable hobby is Pyzanky, intricate Ukrainian egg dying. Being in a family that loved good music, I have long enjoyed classical music & opera & jazz. As a child, the first record I bought was The Waltzes from Der Rosenkavalier...I remember the purple 'Columbia Masterworks' label. Uncle Ted had a wonderful collection of records including classical & Broadway shows that I enjoyed listening to.

From 1970 to 1990 I was a docent at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, doing school, special tours and art labs. it was fun and rewarding. I was also a member several years of the museum's Costume Council and In 1970, became a member of Mensa International in and was active in the San Fernando Area Mensa. Memberships also included the Los Angeles Opera Associates & The Southern California Caledonian Society.

CHI OMEGA At USC, I had pledged Phi Chapter Chi Omega sorority and have been active in alumnae groups. My daughter pledged ChiO at San Diego State.(see her notes)--Sally Liechty, who had been Sr. Princess of Bethel 44 Job's Daughters, was President of the Phi Chapter when I pledged. She thought the world of my dad. And the following year a friend I'd known since Kindergarten-Margie Krogstad (Shanklin) whose mother had been a ChiO also pledge Phi Chapter.

Highlights include attending Convention in 1954* at the Greenbriar in West Virginia, serving as President of the L.A. area Panhellenic in 1972, the 1995 Centennial Celebration at our headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee with some Phi sisters and receiving my 50 year recognition at the Northern California Eleusinia in San Francisco in 2003. For an only child, its been wonderful having so many nice 'sisters'. In 2013 in Arlington, Virginia I received my 60 Year Membership Certficate at the DC area Eleusinia. I was so nice to have my ChiO daughter Christy in attendance. In 1989 she had pledged Chi Omega at San Diego State University. My Chi O 'sisters' were thrilled and she was model pledge at her initiation. What a wonderful memory that was.

• In 1954, after attending the ChiO Convention, I spent the summer in New York City- took a class at Barnard (Columbia Univ.) and had a wonderful time with friends, & some of sorority sisters whom I'd met at the Convention...traveling and seeing shows etc.

TRAVELS My father considered travel as an educational experience...so my Christmas gift in 1954 was a wonderful trip-spending the summer seeing Europe on a tour with other college gals: England, Scotland, Scandinavia, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Spain...what fun we had! There a so many wonderful memories. In 1955 I 'did Europe' with a group of college gals. A gift from my dad--it was a great tour of Europe...from England & Scotland (my first real taste of bagpipes at Edinburgh castle) across the channel to Norway (around the lovely fjords) then to Denmark & Sweden. In Scandinavia I was mistaken for a 'native' & asked directions by tourists. This was not the case in Italy where tall blondes are at a 'premium. We saw Switzerland, France, via the Riviera & Italy. We flew to Spain and from their home. What fun it was-practicing by fractured languages.

Other trips have included Hawaii & Japan-with the Shriners . Fond memories include frequent trips to Las Vegas during it's "golden age"--Frank Sinatra-the "Rat Pack and all. What fun we had-seeing all of those great performers & shows. Being the 'Potentate's daughter' didn't hurt when it came to getting tickets etc. It's such a different place now. (See notes for cousin, actress Marilyn Maxwell, about those Vegas memories.)

'Also enjoyed Greece & Turkey, the British Isles several times, Alaska & Costa Rica...using slides from many of these trips for use in my art classes. Many of these trips were with my children...including Colorado & California dude ranches, the Canyon lands of Utah & down thru the New Mexico & Arizona, a visit to Nebraska in 1980 and a trip around California in 1982. We went to Scotland & England in 1984 & Expo 86 in Vancouver then a tour of Canada. Randy & Christy also took an Alaskan cruise with my parents.

I wanted to take at least one trip with each of my children before they were out of college...In 1984 Christy and I went to Scotland, drove around the country and she danced in several Scottish games, with time in London to see the shows. Randy wanted to see the Berlin Wall-so in 1991, we went to Germany, including Berlin-where we were among the last to go thru "Checkpoint Charlie"...We toured Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Austria revisiting some the places I had toured while I was in college. We then went Egypt-where we visited the historic sites & took a Nile Cruise. What wonderful memories.

ON THE TRAIL OF OUR ANCESTORS On the aforementioned trips we also visited sites of our early ancestors. In 1985 I took the children on the trail of their American ancestors. Starting in Boston we traced some of our Pixleys from Hadley, Mass. then south-visiting historic places & battlefields, then to New York City-and on to our Fridays, Kricks and Blairs in Pennsylvania finally to Washington DC and Virginia for our Flemings and Randolphs etc including Willamsburg. We visited Tuckahoe plantation where cousin Thomas Jefferson had lived with our Randolph family.

JOB'S DAUGHTERS My father was active in Masons (see his notes) and I was a member of the International Order of Job's Daughters, Bethel 44 Huntington Park--was Honored Queen in 1953. My daughter was also Honored Queen of her Bethel in Canoga Park. Ca.. Such good memories and friendships. (I later served as Guardian of the Grass Valley Bethel.)

TO BEAUTIFUL NORTHERN CALIFORNIA After having lived for 20 years in the West San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles. Our home was at 22351 DeGrasse Dr which was initially in Woodland Hills & later was incorporated into the city of Calabasas, near Topanga Canyon & Mulholland Highway.

In 1991 I moved to the lovely area of Lake Wildwood, near Grass Valley in northern California-living for several years at 13340 Thistle Loop & in 1998 moving to 12181 Lake Wildwood Dr. It was again, my dad who was responsible for my finding this wonderful place. I close Shriner friend of his had moved to Lake Wildwood & invited me to come up & take a look. He showed me around & I fell in love with it-even calling the Guardian of the local Job's Daughters Bethel to ask about how it was to live there. The rest is history-what a wonderful place is was & great memories made there-thanks to my dad.

I was active as a docent in both of our nearby state parks, chairing the history station and wildflower program at Bridgeport at the South Yuba River State Park--(Its is such a special place)--and doing private and public tours at the Empire Mine State Park. The Gold Country Celtic Society was just being formed so I got to design the official coat-of-arms and write their brochure. It was fun marching to the pipes in our local parades! (The annual Nevada City Constitution Day Parade in Sept. is sponsored by the local Masonic Lodge & always includes a contingent of Shriners.)

It was a gratifying experience to teach for several years in the High School Diploma Program with the Nevada County Schools-Adult Education-helping these student achieve their goals. Another wonderful activity was Allegro Alliance-the support group for our famed Music in the Mountains Programs. It was a privilege to serve on the Nevada County Civil Grand Jury 1996-97, again in 2005-6 and for several years as a member to the County's Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council for the Probation Department. I transferred my membership in Eastern Star from Woodland Hills to Nevada City, and in 1995 served as the Chapter's Worthy Matron- continuing our family's Masonic tradition-such wonderful people and friends... For several years, I taught in the High School Diploma Program for Adult Education..It was a different type of teaching than I had ever done before. It was gratifying to help these students finally begin to achieve a measure of success. And, of course I continued to enjoy painting, drawing, calligraphy, and pyzanky (Ukrainian egg painting) etc...(I am told that I stood up in my crib and scribbled crayon on the wallpaper) 'Also enjoy opera, classical, jazz & 'golden oldies'...the good stuff! Art education is so important & so neglected in our present day schools

For years environmental and animal issues have been a priority--the first group I joined in Grass Valley was PAL-Pet Adoption League..& support our Animal Save organization, building a no-kill shelter. Becoming a vegetarian in 1974 seemed the obvious thing to do...for our health, the health of the animals & the environment & continue to support a number of environmental organizations. Love animals, don't eat them! .
Animals, especially dogs have always been important our family. We can measure the 'epochs' of our lives by the dogs that shared the years with us. Just thinking of them brings back special memories. [Dogs aren't our whole lives but they help make our lives whole.]

FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA In June, 2011, I moved to Fredericksburg. Virginia to be closer to family-daughter Christy had moved to Alexandria-she & her husband work for NCIS. She was at the Pentagon & Darren was at Quantico. (Son Randy had moved to Cumming, Georgia.) It was difficult leaving wonderful Lake Wildwood but had to do it. Virginia of course was the home of many of our colonial & revolutionary ancestors, including our Randolphs who built Tuckahoe Plantation where cousin Thomas Jefferson grew up with our family. I arrived in time for the start of the 150th commemoration of the Civil War & the Battle of Fredericksburg-which was a moving experience. A walk from the Rappahannock River to the battlefield was done at the actual time and day of that conflict in December 2012. We carried red & white carnations to remember those who were wounded & died-placing them at the sunken wall...very few dry eyes.

I also discovered that during the War of 1812, my great-great grandfather John Tarlton Fleming passed with his regiment through Fredericksburg from Richmond on the way to Canada-where he suffered serious illness. In 2013 I joined the local James Monroe Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of 1812. (See his notes.) In 1864 great-grandfather John Henry Friday was wounded & taken prisoner during the Civil War not far from here in the Shenandoah Valley in Liberty-now known as-Bedford City, Virginia. Another great-grandfather John W. Smith saw action during the Civil War in Virginia including Petersburg & Winchester. His company also was in the Shenandoah Valley. I wonder of he & John Henry ever met? (See their notes)

The weather was a challenge but 'try to stay busy but lived in a nice gated community: Falls Run (at 50 Harborton Lane)-which had activities and trips. I joined the Falls Run Singers who sing at special events in Falls Runs & for retirement & rehab centers. I did a special version of the song «i»Three Little Fishies «/i»that had been made popular by Kay Kayser. The singers and audience joined in for 'boop, boop, didum dadum wadum choo'...what fun! 'Was also a staff writer for the Falls Run monthly magazine: the «i»Gazette «/i»which also fun to do. 'Became a docent at Belmont the nearby home and studio of artist Gari Melchers-a National Historic Landmark-giving tours of the house & grounds. Also belonged to several other organizations including the Fredericksburg Scottish Society and Washington Heritage Museums. 'Also volunteered at the Fredericksburg Area Museum & Cultural Center. I moved to Grayslake, IL to be near my daughter & her family. She & her husband were with NCIS...she had been at the Pentagon, he at Quantico but she is then became Supervisor at the Great Lakes Naval Station near Chicago where they moved and where I also moved to be near in Grayslake Il. They are both retired from NCIS and work in the private sector.

  Its not choice of places to live but need to be near family,

Of course, I continued research of our family's genealogy started over 55 years ago. Who knew where that would lead?

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Its been a wonderful, busy life--born into a wonderful family of intelligent, fun-loving, active and thoughtful people. I always said that my family would send you a sympathy card if your plant died! I remember the love and the laughter... So many good people have passed through and touched my life. How lucky I have been. We must honor those who have gone before us and lighted the way. In the words if a poet: "Hold high the torch. You did not light its glow. It was given to you by other hands, you know. It's your task to keep it burning bright And pass it on when someone else needs light." from «i»The Eleusis of Chi Omega

«/i» Hopefully this research will help light a torch & illuminate the way for others trying to discover their own family's history, so they too will write their own story for future generations to read.

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«u»NOTE«/u»: In 2017 cousin Julee Blair sent me some letters, diaries, photos etc. of our family that Uncle Lea had. Among them were letters that Aunt June had written when she worked for my dad in 1944 & 45-when Uncle Lea was in the navy. (See notes for June Charles.) There were letters written by my Grandfather Blair when he was Lincoln, Nebraska & also diaries that my grandmother had written in 1934 & 1935. The 1935 diary inlcludes my birthday on Oct. 29 at Bryan Memorial Hospital. She had come from California to be with my mother. She talks about how hard my dad was working & about his first mastoid operation that he had just before I was born. He would always have trouble with his ear. (The entries include names of friends family, some of whom I remember.) The entry on Tuesday, October 29, 1935 includes: Barbara Lou arrived 9:03 P.M. She talks about the doctor, Dr. Harry & says: "A darling little girt & perfect." Melvin and the Pixleys (his parents) were at the hospital. Elmer & Lillian came the next day (my dad's brother & wife.) Several days later they would visit with their daughter Phyllis. Phyllis & I became very close. (See notes for Phyllis Pixley.) Friends Betty & Lyle Hans also came. I called them Aunt Betty & Uncle Lyle. Their son Bob aka Bobby Lyle was born 6 months later. When we were very young, we were back visiting in Lincoln, riding in a car & for some reason he started saying "Tractor Bactor" whatever that meant. And I kept saying "I don't that!" So he'd say again just to upset me. It became a running joke: 'tractor bactor'. When I took my children to Nebraska to visit in 1990. We visited Bob & his wife Lily. My children Christy and Randy went out with their two children to 'de-tassle' corn. I presented Bob with a toy red tractor on a walnut base with the words Tractor Bactor. When we went to dinner at the Cornhusker Hotel and the salad was served-there on the lettuce was a little red tractor. How we laughed! What great memories.

In her diary Grandma says about my dad: "He is such a dear boy..." She talks about other friends visiting the hospital. On November 1 she says said about me: "How much I love her." (And how much I loved her.) On November 3 family members Aunt Lilly (grandma's sister) Frank Lambert-her husband, their daughter Zola Brewer & her son Myron came to the hospital. On November 5 a number of people came to the hospital including Ruth Hested. Her husband E.J. Hested (I called them Uncle & Aunt Ruth owned the Hested stores. That day grandma says that a number of my dad's friends came as well. I came home on November 8 to the apartment at 1113 H St. in Lincoln, Nebraska. On November 17 she says-talking about me-that "Melvin put a little hat on her, she sure looks cute." She says that on November 23 Mr. & Mrs Gilbert came & brought Babe a sweater. They were Rev. Marvin & Emma Gilbert. I called them Aunt Emma & Uncle Marvie. He was a Methodist minister & believe he was or had been the minister at the Fairbury Methodist Church. They would later move to Huntington Park & would join us for some of our holiday gatherings. Their son was an actor Loren Gilbert.

How interesting it was to read this my Grandma Blair's diaries & all the other letters etc. My parents moved to Huntington Park, California tin 1936, living close to the Blairs. Grandma & Grandpa Pixley came to California about 1945. Are family holidays were really family holidays-birthdays & gatherings. I had all four of my grandparents until I was twenty. How fortunate I was grow up when & where I did & to be loved so much. What wonderful memories. Online pixleyblair.tribalpages.com Pioneers and Princes Barbara Pixley Website begun July 2007 Y Y Information about the ancestry of the Pixley and Blair families. 3

GEDCOM Note

GENERATIONS
My life cycles ever around. My memories grow Entwining the memories of generations My mind holds the echoes of all the voices of my past, The visions of my childhood, The dreams of parents and my grandparents, The tears of my frustrations, and the glow of my joys.

My life cycle ticks out its destiny. Vitalizing the lives of my children and my children's children, Enriching the streams of my life. All the genes and tracings of my ancestors echo And imprint a mold for the living cycle of my life and theirs, As it makes its way toward the sea.

The rivers of the generations fuse The contributions of all my ancestral voices in my memory. My loves, my faith, my causes. In the cocoon of my heart, I do not stand alone. Watching the circling of the wheels of my life, For the generations of my ancestors support me. by Elizabeth Morse «i» The Blair Bruidhinn «/i»newsletter 1st & 2nd Quarter 2000

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"It is a reverent thing to see an ancient castle, or building, not in decay; or to see a fair timber tree sound and perfect; how much more to behold an ancient family which hath stood against the waves and weathers of time." Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

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"Trying to plan for the future without a sense of the past, is like trying to plant cut flowers." Historian Daniel Boorstin

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"When a nation goes down or a society perishes, one condition may always be found. They forgot where they came from."Carl Sandburg

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A paper in the «i»European Journal of Social Psychology «/i»reported that "thinking about our genetic origin...how Grandpa survived the Depression et al...enhances intellectual performance" It is called the "ancestor effect". «i»Newsweek«/i» Jan. 10-17 2011

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...You gave your future to me You made me what I became. You have your future through me. I am proud to carry your name...

From 'On Eagle's Wing' by John Anderson-a musical celebrating the Scots-Irish (2004) performed in Belfast & shown on PBS.

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PREFACE: «u» The Legacy Of A True Seannachie «/u» This is dedicated to Cousin Effemey Blair Wall. She never had children of her own, but what a legacy she left.

It started years ago. Having long been interested in history, the discovery of Cousin Effemey Blair Wall's notes was my "genealogical epiphany'. She had worked on the Blair genealogy for years. She could be truly designated as the our 'seannachie'-Clan genealogist. I have had the honor to carry on her work. I evidently met her when I was about 5 years old. She was living in Los Angeles at 826 W. 8th St. in 1940. My first family history information was from her family history book. I also found copies of her research in the L.A. Library. I also have a letter included in her book with the address: Mrs. E.B. Wall-438 S. Olive St., Hotel Munn, Los Angeles, Ca. Her home was, however, in Carthage, Mo.

She gave copies of her research to various members of the family. The one left to my grandfather Dr. Frederick Blair was the one I found at my Uncle Lea's home during a family gathering...I took it home to "look it over". Little did I know that this would be just the beginning!...That was 1967..and now, after years of corresponding with cousins & others, "wrestling with the stubborn vagaries" of genealogically research (& of the computer), hopefully I can try to do justice to our ancestors & their brethren.

After all, these were, real, living, breathing people like us...with hopes & dreams & lives to live. I hope not only to relate some this remarkable history but also to help bring them to life for the reader. It is through our Blair line, to my grandfather Blair's 'Fleming' mother that our line is transported back to the realm of Charlemagne & beyond, through the crowned heads of Scotland, England and Europe; to the illustrious Randolphs of Virginia, including cousin Thomas Jefferson. But whether of royal blood or so-called commoners, their stories comprise OUR story. When you think that if just ONE of these ancestors were missing...WE'D be missing!

It is a rich, sweeping, & complex panorama of western history, of familial lines that intersect & intertwine. With cousins marrying cousins, different sources listing various spellings & dates for the same people...sources disagreeing with one another, it is at times like trying to navigate a "spider web"! No one ever said a genealogist's task is an easy one...frustrating & daunting at times but nonetheless fascinating, surprising, certainly educational & endlessly rewarding! What better way to learn history than through the lives of our own ancestors?

From the castles of Europe to colonial plantations & the homesteads of Nebraska, it is quite a trip! We descend from the famous and the infamous, crowned heads & concubines, crusaders & soldiers, heroes & scoundrels. The threads of their lives are woven into the tapestry of human history. It is the story of those who lived in castles & died fighting each other. Our ancestors would also fight for & bring forth one of the world's greatest documents, the Magna Carta, that would inspire our own United States. We are proud of most of them, not a proud of some of them...but their story is our story. Some of them even fought & killed each other in battle...ah well!

Most meaningful to those of us fortunate enough to claim this heritage is the story of the brave men & women who came to America to make a new life. They were among the earliest settlers, colonists & pioneers. Only a few of our ancestors were landed gentry or "Virginia Cavaliers". Most arrived on these shores with little more than the clothes on their backs. They faced hardships that we today can barely comprehend. With their beliefs in hard-work, education & self-sacrifice, they endured, persevered, fought for their new country & left us the priceless called 'America'.

It is the history of these immigrants-who would literally carve their lives from the soil of a new land with their own hands & intellect. The noblest of them were not necessarily the "princes" but the pioneers who with hardship, hard work & sacrifice blazed the trails that brought forth a new nation. And the blood of all of them flows in our veins! As Abigail Adams once admonished her husband: "Remember the ladies, John!." Indeed, the women-many nameless-who bore child after child..some dying in the process: the wives, mistresses, concubines, the "uppity women"(bless 'em)- even warriors...faced incredible hardships, against all odds. Yet, it is amazing that many of them through intellect, ingenuity, self-reliance and sheer force of will-did manage not only to survive-but to wield power & leave their stamp on history. «u» Here's to the ladies, lest we forget«/u»!

In our present lives of ease and air-conditioning, we can't even begin to understand the courage it took to survive & even thrive! They include our German ancestors coming by covered wagon to Nebraska, homesteading near the Oregon Trail, the Scots-Irish making a new life in Pennsylvania, the English emigrants finding their place in New England & the influential Virginia Cavaliers. I have therefore entitled my endeavor: "Pioneers and Princes". It is truly a sweeping human drama with events & intrigues fit for a grandiose soap opera. Truth, I have always believed, is more fascinating than fiction-although the "truth" can sometimes be embellished with legend. Its sometimes difficult to tell the difference. It is said that you can pick your friends but not your relatives. If it is luck that picks the latter, than I would say that we were pretty dumb-lucky!

Hopefully, this history of our ancestors will just provide for an "interesting read" about their lives and times. And I hope that it will help some readers "connect the dots" as they climb their own family tree so that perhaps, someday, I might become someone's Cousin Effie!

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"Some may forget but let me tell you this: someone in some time will think of us." From the ancient Greek

«u»NOTES FROM MY GENERATION«/u» This is a picture of my era & what it was like to grow up in America. The following is taken from the program I gave at our high school reunions: Huntington Park High School, Class of '52 Perhaps, future generations by reading this, may gain a sense of what it was like to live in "my generation".

RECOLLECTIONS OF A VERY LUCKY LIFE «i»"THE BRIDGE GENERATION" «/i» It has been said that "timing in life is everything"..Well, if not everything, it certainly is a lot!..Those of us who grew up in the this lucky time, were indeed lucky! According to a recent survey, a cross-section of Americans was asked what period what period they believed was the "best of places in the best of times". The majority answered: "A typical suburb in the 1950's." Even the media has waxed nostalgic over the days of "Grease" and "Happy Days". For many in America-they were 'happy days'.

Of course the world then was neither a perfect place nor without its problems. As teenagers, we had our share of anxieties and disappointments. But looking back over the years and taken as a whole, we probably did enjoy the kind of lives that today most people in the world can only dream of. We felt safe, the pace was slower and optimism ruled!

When I returned to Huntington Park High School as a teacher and had the opportunity to serve on the faculty with some of our former teachers, I soon learned that H.P. had been known as the "country club school". Not because the community was the wealthiest in terms of money, but because most of its students came from stable homes with caring, supportive families. Teachers asked to be placed there. It was the golden age of that best of all world's: the upwardly mobile American middle class. The post-depression, post-war era was a time that folks worked hard their whole lives with the assurance that their children-through hard work & perseverance-had the opportunity for an even better life-that they could achieve "The American Dream".

To some sociologists, we are the "30's Cohort", the "Good-time Cohort" (cohort meaning a generational group)-the latter because our numbers were small and our opportunities were great. Those born between Jan. 1, 1930 and Dec 31, 1939 have also been called the "Bridge Generation"-being the critical link between the first and second halves of the century. We have early memories of WWII. I remember my Uncle Elmer Pixley being in the war and Uncle Lea Blair going into the Navy (see their notes) and sitting on my grandfather Blair's lap during 'blackouts'. Fortunately both my uncles came back from the war.

We were 'end of depression babies' & the post-war 1950s were an era of a new, optimistic world of seemingly unlimited possibilities. We could be whatever we wanted to be. So, for all of those people who think that "a typical suburb in the 1950's was the best of "all worlds"..that place may just have been where I grew up.

An article in «i»Newsweek Magazine«/i» stated the following: "There was a time when American culture was placid and family centered. it is called the '50s'. As it happens, that pristine image isn't entirely a myth. The American dream became a reality for a generation that had suffered through the Great Depression...The families of the 50s hunkered down, saved their money, and planned for a better life for their children. it was a unique moment." Indeed, we had the "dumb luck" to be part of that moment. We were fortunate in so many ways...and owe so much to those who made it possible: our families, our teachers and community...to those who have gone before us.

One of my friends recently read an article about a high school teacher who showed her class several videos of the 'Ozzie & Harriet' TV shows. They were to write an essay about what they saw and thought about it. She expected their remarks to range from "bored" to "how dumb"...To her surprise, the overwhelming responses read in effect: "It was such a different time...", and "I wish I could have lived then." Some almost professed a 'nostalgia' for a time they never knew. Ozzie & friends hardly personified the real world of the time, but one must admit the gap between the worlds of Ozzie Nelson and that of Ozzie Osbourne is enormous! Those students recognized the increased speed, changing morality and stress of their times; many seemed to envy "our times". John Updike describing his hometown wrote: "We leave that home but the having and the leaving we remember forever."

We are the product of our time and place, & we remember: We remember how lucky we were.

GOOD MEMORIES Although we were very young during WWII, ours is the last generation with firsthand memories of it: The small 'star' banners hanging in the windows-commemorating those family members in the service-blue stars for the living-gold stars for those who would not be coming home. We remember saving "scrap" & having paper drives-to help the war effort. We had rationing, blackouts, war movies, patriotic songs, victory gardens, VE and VJ days. My dad bought me a large war bond at a rally in Huntington Park. Both of my uncles who had been in the service came home alive & well...Now, we believed, the world WOULD be a better place!

We also remember: REAL music and the golden age of movies...those without parental warnings..the world BEFORE television! We grew up with the 'theatre of the mind--radio! I shall always be grateful for that. Hop Scotch, Jump Rope, Hide and Seek, running thru the sprinklers, when oly-oly oxen-free made perfect sense. Hats worn with white gloves, peter pan collars, peddle pushers, bobby sox and saddle shoes, Mary Janes, your first pair of high heels & nylon stockings (trying to keep those darn 'seams' straight!). Flat top haircuts for the guys, rolled cuff jeans, Letterman sweaters, Senior sweaters, argyle socks, tee shirts with rolled-up sleeves. Fleer's bubble gum with jokes twisted inside, Blackjack, Juicy Fruit, Clove and Chicklets gum. Little wax bottles with juice inside, See's candy-a dollar a pound, Cracker Jack prizes, 5 cent candy bars, Coca Cola in glass bottles. Comic books: Superman, Green Hornet, Walt Disney Comics and Stories, Wonder Woman... Life and Look magazines, The Saturday Evening Post with Norman Rockwell illustrations... Dime stores, Drug stores, Woolworth's, sitting at the counter having a cherry-lime phosphate, chocolate malt, ice cream sundae or banana split. Milk came in bottles with paper caps, the cream rose to the top and it was all left at your door step. Bakery goods were also brought in a truck by a driver who stopped at the Helms sign your mom had put in the window. My dad loved those the jelly donuts! The Good Humor truck played little tunes. Ice cream 'specials' were "Twisties" and a "free sticks". Records: 78's, 45's, LP's...played on the 'hi-fi', reel to reel tapes...We could actually record our own voices! The blue bottle of Evening of Paris perfume, White Shoulders;Tangee and Chen Yu lipstick. Wave set-(guys used it too) Prell shampoo in tubes, Max Factor pancake make-up, Coty powder in round boxes... Decorating for the big dance, the first formal clothes, fruit punch & chaperones. Playing Old Maid, Hearts, Dominoes, Parcheesi, Chinese Checkers, Slumber parties where no one ever 'slumbered' The Oz books, Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew... Paper airplanes, Tinkertoys, Lincoln logs, Storybook Dolls. Sand Lot baseball, Kick the Can, jacks & marbles, roller skates, blowing soap bubbles, your first real bicycle... Mimeograph paper, carbon paper (never could get that blue stuff off of your hands!) Blue Stamps, Green Stamps--sometimes you got them when the guy at the service station put gas in the car at 15 cents a gallon. ('got your windshield wiped and oil checked too). The Golden Days of Radio: The Shadow, Fibber McGee & Molly, The Lone Ranger, Let's Pretend, Inner Sanctum...The soap operas: when Helen Trent was "over the hill at 35!" How we loved our Captain Midnight Secret Decoders (You had to be there). When flying was fun, the service was great and the food was a good! (Trust me it really happened!) You just went to the airport, showed your ticket & friends or relatives went with you to the gate & sat with you until you said goodbye & got onto the plane...(Trust me, it really happened!) How I miss those days! When male teachers wore shirts and ties and female teachers always wore skirts. TV moms like June Cleaver wore heels, hose, dresses & pearls to do their housework! When Jane Russell's "shape" was shocking and Joan Crawford's shoulders set the style, Bette Davis' eyes, Grable's legs, Errol Flynn in tights (wow!) and Tyrone Power (wow!) Drive-in movies were called 'sparking places'... Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Johnny Ray, Doris Day and Rosemary Clooney--We sang along. You could understand the lyrics and repeat them in front of your folks! Ah! those WERE the days! (But "portable" radios weighed six pounds!) Saturday matinees with a double feature, a dozen 'serials' and a newsreel before the main movie--all this and 10 cent popcorn. Dancing the New Yorker and Bunny Hop. (My mother taught me the 'Charleston'). Angel hair and real tinsel on the Christmas tree. When the tree lights went out, it took 20 minutes to find the "bad bulb". It took 3 minutes for the TV to warm up and you had to call the TV repairman when it broke down (the horizontal 'hold' often didn't). Brownie cameras, flash bulbs, developing negatives, our 16 mm home movies, threading the projector. Our first TV set..watching Uncle Miltie, Your Show of Shows, Jackie Gleason, Cecil & Beany...until the test pattern came on, all in glorious black and white! 3 cent stamps, penny postcards & handwritten letters. Doors that were seldom locked. (It's really true!) All this & so much more...

Where did they go? Those days were swell. "The *Shadow' knows", but he won't tell!

So I hope the reader has enjoyed some of the things that my friends and I remember from our youth. Of course, some things are better now, medical advances, technology, and certainly the opportunities for women...I was fortunate that my family made it clear that I could be anything I wanted to be. Of course, that wasn't true for everyone But most of us from this generation look back on the days of our youth with fondness. At our class reunions we talk of our lucky we were to be young then; how much faster life has become, more complicated... For those of us lucky enough to be in that "typical suburb of the fifties", it was, indeed, the "best of times." And we were very, very lucky to have been a part of it! I can only hope that my grandchildren can have the same opportunities that we did..and look back on their youth with fondness & good memories.

(*The Shadow was a wonderful old radio mystery show.)

GEDCOM Note

The Mark of the Scots The Mark of the Scots Their Astonishing Contributions to History, Science, Democracy, Literature and the Arts. Duncan a. Bruce Kensington Pub. Corp.
850 Third Ave NY NY 10022 1998 Y Y