Beulah Wilkinson (McFarland)

My mother, who died on April 9, 1999, often surprised me with revealing snippets of her vivacious past. Beulah Jane (McFarland) Wilkinson was an avid skier and traveler, after finally being released from the travail of caring for her own aging mother. Mom was the youngest of the McFarland children, and was expected to be the caretaker for Mother, who, according to Mom, took to shooing potential suitors away, for fear that they would lure her from her care-taking duties. Finally relieved of that burden, she was free to move away, eventually reaching Seattle and marrying my father. Both married late; Dad was 48 and Mom was 40 when I was born, making me the Last Chance Kid. This is a photograph of Mom and Pat, my dad's gold prospecting partner. (29K JPEG image.)

 We moved from San Francisco to Seattle in 1987 to care for Mom after her stroke.

Graham (Sparky) Wilkinson

My father, Graham (Sparky) Wilkinson, was born on December 9, 1900 in Tharpe, Tennessee. Dad worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad for forty years. By attending night school, he got a law degree. He died in 1959, when I was only eleven years old. I often look at this photograph of my father -- gold pan by his side, smokey campfire and unknown photographer (perhaps his prospecting partner, Pat) -- and wonder at his serious, almost sad, visage.Who was this man I barely knew? He could swear, and smoke (unfiltered Camels eventually killed him), and drink, and tell tall tales. My mom said she really loved him, and that he was a good husband and father. Among her dying words were, "He was a good man." (42K JPEG image.)

Addendum, August 20, 2004: In the process of obtaining a passport, I've discovered that the old homestead in Tennessee that dad was born on has become a part of the Land Between the Lakes National recreation Area. One site I visited describes the original area as being "remote and rather backward even by standards of the time." With the advent of TVA dams, farmers were forced from their land. The area was originally held by the TVA, but was eventually taken over by the Forest Service.