Ramblin' with Roger

My mom’s paternal relatives

Daniel and Sarah Williams

It occurred to me that when I have written about my mother’s ancestors, I’ve almost always written about my maternal grandmother’s side but little about my mom’s paternal relatives. The reasons are several.

Among them is that many of the folks on her mother’s side, at some point, lived at 13 Maple Street in Binghamton, NY. That’s where my mom grew up, and my sisters and I spent a lot of time as kids. Some, including my great-great-grandfather, James Archer, were buried at Spring Forest Cemetery, maybe 300 meters from 13 Maple Street. And many of their names are recorded in the family Bible.

However, my mother’s father, Clarence Williams (b. 1886), was largely absent. He had married Gertrude Yates (b. 1897) in 1926, and my mother was born in 1927. But Gert’s mother, Lillian Archer Yates Holland (1866-1938), and perhaps her grandmother Harriet Bell Archer (1838-1928) disapproved of Clarence and drove him away, we had been told. Was it because he was so much older than Gert?

My mom was not devoid of male role models in her household. Her maternal uncle Ed Yates and Maurice Holland, Lillian’s second husband after her first husband Edward died, were around.

Her dad

Her father, though, was out of the immediate picture. Clarence Williams, who fought in World War I, was a machine shop laborer.

He lived with his mother, Margaret (or Marguerite) Collins Williams (1866-1931), in Owego, NY, according to the 1930 Census. Her parents were Irish, though I don’t have their first names or her mother’s maiden name, and I’ve been actively looking.

An odd thing, though. If there are any photos of my mom with ANY of her paternal relatives, even her father, I’m unaware of them.

According to Selective Service records, Clarence resided in Deposit, near Binghamton, with his father, Charles (1863-1944), in 1942. But he was living with his wife Laura back in Owego, in Margaret’s old house, in 1950.

Or were they married? My mother told of her and her mother visiting Clarence’s home in early 1958 and not being allowed to enter the house by a woman. His July 1958 death certificate says he was divorced, but was that from Margaret or both Margaret and Laura? The house became my grandmother’s after Clarence died; it is pictured above from more recent times. I attended his funeral in Owego.

When I was at my Grandma Williams’ funeral in Binghamton in May 1982, more than one of her in-laws said, “I bet you don’t remember me, do you?” That would be correct since I last saw them when I was five.

Her great-grandparents

Charles Williams, the elder, married Margaret Collins c. 1883. They were together in 1915 but not in 1920. I assume they divorced since the elder Charles married Margaret Greenleaf in 1921, as I noted.

Charles’s second marriage license led me to HIS parents Daniel Williams (1829-1893) and Sarah Benson (b. 1833), who were born in Maryland.

From the book An Evergreen Companion: “Sometime before 1860 [Daniel] lived in the Tioga County Town of Barton with his wife Sarah and five children. [The middle three were born in Canada.] Late in the Spring of 1863, he registered to serve the Union Cause in the War of the Rebellion (Civil War).

“He enlisted on August 23, 1864, and became a member of Company F of the 43rd United States Colored Infantry Regiment. The 43rd served with special distinction in the battles around Richmond and Petersburg, VA, capturing a Confederate battle flag and rescuing a Union flag at the Battle of the Crater. The regiment lost 239 men during service; 188 died from disease. Williams mustered out of service in September of 1865.”

What did Mom know?

I know my mom knew a lot about her mother’s lineage. But what did she know of her father’s line? What was her relationship with her father? She was familiar with her uncle Charles playing baseball, though I had never heard any details.

How well did she know her paternal grandparents? Was she aware she had TWO great-grandfathers who fought in the Civil War? These are questions that I’d love to ask her but can’t since she died in 2011.

Today would have been my mom Trudy Green’s 96th birthday.

The Great American Smokeout 2023

The State of Lung Cancer

The Great American Smokeout 2023 is here. I celebrate it annually because I know people, including my dear grandmother Agatha Green, whose life was certainly shortened – she died at the age of 62 – because of those coffin nails.

“About 34 million American adults still smoke cigarettes, and smoking remains the single largest preventable cause of death and illness in the world. Smoking causes an estimated 480,000 deaths every year, or about 1 in 5 deaths.

“While the rates of cigarette smoking have declined over the past several decades, from 42% in 1965 to 14% in 2019, the gains have been inconsistent. Some groups smoke more heavily or at higher rates and suffer disproportionately from smoking-related cancer and other diseases. These populations tend to be those who experience inequities in multiple areas of their lives, including those at lower socioeconomic levels, those without college degrees, American Indians/Alaska natives, African American/Black communities, LGBTQ communities, those in the military, those with behavioral health conditions, and others. “

The State of Lung Cancer report from the American Lung Association has some mixed news. While the disease remains the leading cause of cancer deaths among both women and men, over the past five years, the survival rate has increased by 22% nationally to 26.6%.

However

Tobacco use is the leading risk factor for lung cancer, accounting for 80 to 90% of cases. While we have seen historic decreases in the national smoking rate, not all Americans or regions of the country have benefited equally.
Secondhand smoke has also been shown to cause lung cancer. There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. The “State of Lung Cancer” report highlights that making homes, workplaces, and public spaces smoke-free air zones, with no smoking allowed, can reduce the risk of exposure. This report’s sister, “State of Tobacco Control,” grades states for efforts to protect public spaces from secondhand smoke.

I found this tidbit from the September 20, 2023, Los Angeles Times to be curious. “In 1998, California adopted a pricey cigarette ‘sin tax’ to discourage smoking. The money was used to create a network of agencies to help young families by funding preschools, pediatric health care, literacy projects, and, among the most successful services, maternal home care visits. But as the number of smokers dwindles, funding for the agencies is plummeting, putting them at risk.” Clearly, the value of people not smoking outweighs the funding loss of these programs.

November rambling: can we talk?

Apollo 13

per Bizarro.com – https://www.bizarro.com/faqs

Behind the Curtain: Trump allies pre-screen loyalists for unprecedented power grab.

Takeaways from the November 7 elections

Israel-Hamas War War: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and Can we talk about Israel and Palestine?

A settlement marks a step toward ending abuses at for-profit immigrant prisons.

Sesame Street Getting “Reimagined” for Season 56

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Anonymous Strike Diary: A Writer’s Back-to-Work Hangover

Why the Dying DVD Business Could Be Headed for a Resurrection

US Census Bureau: Interracial Couples More Common Among Same-Sex Couples and U.S. Population Projected to Begin Declining in Second Half of Century

Health and more

COVID Immunity in 2023: Guide to Weathering the Winter Resurgence

Vision Impairment May Raise Your Dementia Risk, Research Suggests

In a Comment Submitted to U.S. Copyright Office, FTC Raises AI-related Competition and Consumer Protection Issues

Stand Up To Cancer and the Trebek family have launched The Alex Trebek Fund to accelerate critical research with the goal of better treating pancreatic cancer, which has the highest mortality rate of all major cancers.

Astronaut Frank Borman was the commander of the Apollo 8 mission, humanity’s first mission around the Moon in 1968. He passed away at the age of 95.

Thomas K. Mattingly was originally part of the 1970 Apollo 13 mission but was bumped 72 hours before takeoff due to his possible exposure to rubella. He helped to guide the Apollo 13 crew as they returned to Earth after an explosion compromised their lunar mission, then flew on Apollo 16. He died at age 87.

Peter S. Fischer, ‘Murder, She Wrote’ Co-Creator and ‘Columbo’ Writer, Dies at 88

Condolences to Kelly and his family upon the passing of his mom, Theresa Sedinger

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Hey, writers! It’s NaFaDoYBIMSCoM

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The 2023 Gold Glove Award winners

CDTA’s New BusPlus Purple Line BRT commenced on Sunday, November 5, 2023. Service along the Washington & Western corridors will be enhanced from downtown Albany to the University at Albany and Crossgates Mall.

Now I Know: The Man Who Sued Himself (and the IRS) and Won and The Girl With Two Twin Sisters and New Jersey’s Fake Sister and The Problem With 500 Pounds of Pennies and The United States/North Korea Alliance of 2007 Am I happy about Christmas television ads starting on November 1st? I am not.

MUSIC

A friend wrote about Now and Then, “It’s a trap! It’ll get us marveling at how cool it is to hear The Beatles again and use that feeling to lull us into ‘AI complacency.’ I am deeply suspicious.” AI is so suddenly ubiquitous that I understand the confusion. I saw Tony Dokoupil raise similar concerns on CBS Mornings, with his co-anchors explaining the process, which you should see on the Beatles website. Rick Beato’s reaction to the recording is similar to mine: I’m glad it exists.

Now and Then – the MonaLisa Twins

Sweet Sounds of Heaven – The Rolling Stones & Lady Gaga (Live from Racket NYC)

Eve Was Black-Allison Russell

Quiet City by Aaron Copland

Cast Iron Skillet – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

Another Wasted Life – Rhiannon Giddens

El Dorado – Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway

Work Until My Days Are Done – Blind Boys of Alabama

De todas las flores – Natalia Lafourcade

K-Chuck Radio: The cheapest knockoffs.

Dymaxion – Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society

Woven Song – Ólafur Arnalds (Hania Rani Piano Rework)

Dracula OST by John Williams

What Now – Brittany Howard

Coverville 1463: The Johnny Marr Cover Story II and 1464: The Joni Mitchell Cover Story IV

18,000 strangers sing Africa by Toto

Jenny– The Mountain Goats

Goodnight, My Someone – Voctave from Meredith Willson’s The Music Man

Dumb Guitar – Mount Kimbie

Decimal – Tom Lehrer

When You Wish Upon A Star – Dave Koz

Another sighting

lookalike

Roger.cartoon There was another sighting.

I was waiting for a bus on Northern Boulevard, across the street from Memorial Hospital. A guy comes up to the bus kiosk and sits next to me. I told him the #182 bus would arrive in about ten minutes.

We get into a conversation about the value of mass transit. He said something I’ve expressed to my wife, that he would HATE being isolated outside of access to bus lines. I noted my support for public transportation.

It was a pleasant simpicato conversation. We both got off at Washington and Lark. He introduced himself, and I told him my first name. Then he said, “You look just like…” I get that a lot. It’s often a former teacher at Albany High School.

Bingo!

He said, “You look just like a guy who worked at a comic book store.” Ha! I said, “You mean the comic book store that was over there,” pointing in the general direction of 21 Central Avenue.

“I was around 12 when I went there!” He went to the store when Matt worked there, so in the 1983-1988 period. While I understand why people thought FantaCo was great, I’m surprised anyone remembers me. I only worked the front when the new comics arrived, the store was busy, or covering lunch periods. Mostly, I was in the back room doing the mail order, balancing the checkbook, or writing.

I conveyed this story to someone at choir rehearsal, where I was heading. “That can’t happen too often,” someone said. “You’d be surprised,” I replied.

About a year earlier, I was at the Readers’ Theater, sponsored by Wizard’s Wardrobe, taking place in the new Capital Repertory building. A guy helping set up said, “You used to work at FantaCo!” This was not a question but a statement.

I suppose it helped that my hairline hasn’t appreciably changed. The picture of the duck represents my look in 1983.

It’s so weird. Pleasant but weird.

The Raoul Vezina Chronicles

I am calling these the Raoul Vezina Chronicles because these are bits and pieces about the life of Raoul Vezina. He worked at Crystal Cave on Main Street in New Paltz, NY which I frequented, in the mid-1970s. He was working on New Paltz Comix and other artistic and musical pursuits.

Then he worked at FantaCo at 21 Central Avenue in Albany, NY from 1978 until his untimely death in November 1983. He co-created Smilin’ Ed Comics, made the store signs, and other creative work. Not incidentally, you can find Smilin’ Ed Comics: da complete collection on Amazon.

I had sometimes a great notion of creating a Wikipedia page for Raoul, but I now realize, after a decade of trying on and off, that wasn’t going to happen soon, if ever.

Still, I have gathered a lot of material from several of his friends. In honor of Raoul’s passing 40 years ago, here are some bits, in no particular order except being the oldest in my email. There will be more pieces soon. I will try not to replicate what I wrote here or elsewhere. (Most of my links here still work.)

Here’s Naturalist At Large, a book by Don Rittner and Raoul.

Raoul created cover art and/or lettering for some records. here’s his comics bibliography.

Bio

The bulk of this will come from Raoul’s younger sister, Maria, the Chief Nursing Officer at a major hospital and a keeper of the Raoul flame.

Raoul Francis Vezina was born on January 12, 1948.

His father was Raoul E. Vezina MD (1913-1975), a General Practitioner physician in Troy NY. He grew up in Springfield, MA. He went to The College of The Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, and Tufts School of Medicine in Medford, MA.

His mother was Elizabeth Pitaro Vezina (1912-1999) was born in Calabria, Italy and came to the United States when she was 12 years old, settling in Troy, New York. She graduated as an RN from the Samaritan School of Nursing in Troy, NY, in 1935. [I really liked Betty.]

Raoul went to St. Peter’s Grammar School, graduating in 1961, and Catholic Central High School in Troy, NY, graduating in 1965. He drew and sketched his way through school, always leaving behind many notebooks filled with original artwork rather than schoolwork.

He attended Le Moyne College in Syracuse, NY, in 1965 and then transferred to the State University of New York at New Paltz, majoring in art. Raoul was a naturally born artist and musician who never formally trained in art or music.

Art

Once the front of 279 Fair street in Kingston, NY, owned by the late Bruce Talbott, of New Paltz. Provided by Jim Abbott.

A natural born artist , as a young child, Raoul used to draw on the TV set at home during “Squiggle Time” for the rabbit Freddie Freihofer on the “Bedtime Stories” TV show hosted by Uncle Jim Fisk. Later, as an adult, Raoul drew advertisements for the Freihofer Bakery in Lansingburgh, the northern section of Troy, New York. In 1987, Friehofers was sold to General Foods.

Raoul was fascinated by animal art and super heroes and science fiction early in life while composing many sketches of Mighty Mouse and Superman at a very young age. Never taking any art or music lessons, Raoul had a natural inborn talent for both art and music.

Raoul’s art matured to cartoons and political satire, publishing “Naturalist at Large” environmental cartoon with Don Rittner. Raoul admired Lenny Bruce, a social critic and satirist. Watching That Was the Week That Was (TW3), Laugh-In, The Twilight Zone, and the Smothers Brothers in the 1960s became his weekly favorite TV shows. Raoul’s early childhood exposure to animal art influenced his original creation of Smilin’ Ed Smiley, the rascal rodent who became the mascot for FantaCo.

Music

Raoul played electric piano and harmonica for several local bands in upstate New York, including Love’s Ice Cube with Paul “Piper” Rafter, John Randall, Paul Sadowski, and Gary Grimaldi. Original Art showcasing this band’s logo, designed by Raoul, was last seen in the River Street Beat Shop in Troy, New York.

He also performed with Witz End in New Paltz, NY, writing original music and jamming with many local musicians, again playing electric piano and harmonica. He became an early music aficionado of blues and rock n roll admiring Bob Dylan, The Band, The Byrds, Theolonius Monk, Randy Newman, Paul Butterfield, Mopy Grape, Canned Heat, Spirit, and local upstate band -NRBQ, to name a few.

Raoul tragically died of status asthmaticus, a severe acute asthma attack, on November 13, 1983. He was 35 years old.