Benjamin Thelmer– by Louise

Benjamin Thelmer's first year.

I stayed in the hospital for his first ten days. Mama rode the bus for the 50 miles from Breckenridge. She was in the room when he laying beside me, started whimpering. I wildly looked to her for help. "Just pat him on his little bottom." That quieted him, I was so surprised. Glenna June was a cute little girl. She called him her 'little brother'. Several years and he got almost as tall as she was. She decided that she was going to marry him.

We didn't have a car, so she and Aunt Etta come to bring us home. Our baby was not in the nursery. A nurse come walking with him, down the big stairs. She had been 'showing him off'.

Home was our rented, 12x16 room, in the trailer park on the highway. It was where the bus line run to Camp Walters. We had everything in that 12x16 room that we needed, including a 3x5 bathroom, with a shower.

Aunt Etta assured us that she would be back next morning to give him his first bath.

When she got there, his Daddy had already bathed him. And he kept on doing that.

His little reaching fingers would grab around his Daddy’s. They had a game, Thel would pull and Benny Thel would hang on. I tried to stop them. He would cry for his Daddy to let him hang onto his fingers. He had a metal bouncy seat that set on the floor. He would jump and bounce and stand alone. Then he would stand alone and bend his knees and laugh. Dance? He would not take a step. When he did learn to take a step, he could walk from one room to the other.

Thel was first a cook and then Mess Sgt. On 24 hours and then off for 24 hours. Without us having a car, they had lots of playing time. I took pictures.

Now it would be child cruelty-- to let your baby hang onto your fingers.

And child endangerment to hold him in your hand on two feet and then later-- one foot. Thel had very big strong hands. Benny would bend his knees and jump, standing in his Daddy’s hands. Then stand in his hand, and jump. Most of the time he would be laughing too.

Then Thel was sent overseas. I wrote him, usually every day. Always saying something about Benny Thel.

My Daddy come the 50 miles from Breckenridge to get us. All of our belongings fit in the back seat of his car. Benny Thel had a happy life on the farm with my siblings, Eldridge, Alicea and Stanley. Soon, I got a job in town at Alexanders Creamery-where I mixed and made ice cream. Later I sold it in their retail Ice Cream Store.

That rocked on, until Thel come home--on the 11:11 bus. Aunt Etta had sent me a telegram. I was at the bus station and we walked the two blocks- back to the ice cream store and I quit my job.

We drove the three miles to Daddy’s farm in his car that I had driven to work. Benny Thel probably didn't really remember his Daddy. It was a joyful reunion.

We bought a car of our own from Uncle Jim. He had several for sale, setting at his service station. It was a real good car, it lasted us a long time. I still have the canceled check, $450. New cars were built all during the war; but they were only sold to the army or Doctors.

2016- I was shelling pecans. Benny said, "Pecans might have saved my life, one time." "I was alone with my hunting dog on my hunting lease, down close to Coleman. It was before we all carried modern water bottles. I got real tired and set down on a log. I looked down and there were pecans. I had set down under a pecan tree. I ate several of them and got to feeling better, and I got up and went on.

During Benny's high school years, he had a nick-name- Mr. Clean. He was tall and so good looking. There was a good-looking country singer Roy Clark; that Benny resembled. I mentioned it to him one day. He passed it off; talked about something else. I asked him, when was the last time that he was mistaken for Roy Clark.

He grinned and answered, "The last time that I flew to California."

We all went to the dentist a lot, Dr. Garcia, on 21st street, 'in the stock yards'.

Benny was a big boy, maybe 8 or 9. He never had any problem at the dentist. One day, Benny had an appointment for 3:30. His Dad left him at the dentist office and he drove on to work at Convair. We gave him 5 cents to ride the bus home. When his appointment was over he was to walk two blocks east to North Main street and catch the bus on north to the 38th street. And walk the two blocks west to our house. He had never rode the bus very much, never alone before. I was waiting for him when he come walking up the hill. He said that he had walked, and not rode the bus. He wanted to save his nickel.

I was about 25, Thel was Mess Sgt. They were fighting their way up through Italy. Me and Benny Thel was living with my parents. Daddy never would let us pay anything. I did buy him a Stetson hat, like all the Gills wore. I was friendly with a neighbor woman. I was at their house and we washed our hair. We broke a raw egg on our hair and rubbed it in. We couldn't tell any change in our hair.