Ruth Neal proudly shows the butterfly and crosses made by her daughter.
I consider myself lucky to be able to share other people’s stories in this publication. This opportunity has allowed me to learn about a variety of folks all the while finding similarities and truly understanding that it is a small world. I find that with each interview my search in “Discovering Seadrift” expands further — into our county, Southern coast and Texas history.
Recently I’ve been invited to interview residents of Trinity Shores. I’ve walked through the serene green hallways when I interviewed Bernice Cook. I greatly enjoy spending the afternoons speaking to these wise spirits and I wanted to share with The Dolphin Readers one of my recent experiences at Trinity Shores.
Walking into the room of Mrs. Ruth Peterson Neal, I was immediately attracted to the beautifully crafted butterflies which adorned the lamp to my left. They could not go without notice; each had contrasting sizes, radiant colors and sparking jewels. “My daughter made those for me,” explained Ruth. “She lives in Washington and is very crafty.” Indeed, Nina Lee Neal is extremely crafty. She had made the butterflies from plastic bottles; the back of the butterflies had a magnet allowing them to be positioned in various flight patterns. “I love butterflies,” I said to Ruth. “Several years ago I gave my grandmother a birthday card that was decorated with nothing but butterflies on the front. I named two after us and inside I wrote, ‘one day we would be free to flutter together on the earth.’”
The topic lead us to talk about her great-great grandparents, Ole Peterson and Christine Olsen who arrived in Louisiana from Europe via boat in the mid-1800s. Ole was born in Denmark and Christine in Germany. They married once they arrived in the United States. They had one son, Jens Peter Seyer Peterson who was born November 13, 1822 in Copenhagen, Denmark. As I inquired more about her descendants she said, “Would you like to see my history book?” My heart beat faster; if you’re a regular Dolphin reader you already know I greatly enjoy learning about people’s lineage.
For the next hour, I sat on the floor next to Ruth, turning through the pages of what must have been a 5 inch thick binder that contained everything from birth certificates to newspaper clippings, even report cards. Her daughters had beautifully organized the book for her tracing their ancestors as far back as 1822. While most of her descendants ended up in Texas, there were some that navigated as far as Brooklyn, New York and South Gate, California. I sat mesmerized and asked Ruth question after question.
She answered each question and told me about her adventures growing up in Bear County and then her marriage to Alfred Neal. The couple lived in San Antonio, settling in Corpus Christi. Ruth’s husband worked in the refineries in Corpus, he also worked with sheet metal and even repaired military planes at the local airport. I sat up on the edge of my chair the instant she said the latter — “What kind of planes?” I eagerly asked.
“Fighter planes used in the war,” Ruth answered gingerly. Images of the Spruce Goose, B-17 Flying Fortress, P-47 Thunderbolt, P-51 Mustang, and B-24 Liberator flooded my mind. I could barely mutter, “Wow,” under my breath. What I would give to talk to Alfred about his experience being a mechanic on these vintage aircraft! And yet Ruth was so casual about it, today it still brings a smile to my face.
The pages that followed were of their children, grandchildren, great grandchildren’s smiling faces. As I stared up at Ruth, I saw clearly how she only viewed the beauty in life and I felt admiration for her. Often times we spend our days and minutes thinking about the ‘why nots’ and ‘could of beens’ instead of focusing on how rich we are with family, friends and being thankful for what we do have. Positivity and liveliness radiated from Ruth and I am lucky to have come across a person such as herself.
As I arrived home and walked towards the front door, a monarch butterfly hovered by me. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen a butterfly roaming freely. Just as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared. It brought a comforting smile to my face and I was reminded that everything happen for a reason. One day I hope to fly alongside all of the special souls I’ve come across. Till next time.
Ruth’s Family Photo
Louie (1) & Stella (2) Peterson Brown, Eugene (3) Barlow, Robert (4) Peterson Sr., Doris (5) Peterson Hunter, Vol (6) Peterson, Lyda (7) Peterson, Nina (8) Emerson, Ida (9) Barlow Peterson,
Louise (10) Peterson, Ruth (11) Peterson, Charles (12) Peterson, Watson (13) Barlow, Meluin (14) Barlow, Stella (15) Peterson, Seated Uncle George (16) William Peterson.
