Friday, July 8, 2011

'Swede' Oscar Ross Dawson


Becky Bair's Thoughts (daughter)

The things I remember about my childhood is that our family didn't have alot of money to spare. But it seemed like mom and dad made sure that we took family vacations. The one I remember is when we went to yellowstone. We rented a u-haul trailer to pull behind are car. At night time my Dad slepted on the back seat of the car,I slepted on the floor of the car and my brother Jim slepted on the front seat of the car. The rest of the family slepted in the back of the u-haul. It saved money so we didn't have to have a motel. Alot of our family vacation I remember we would bring along my Grandma Churchill. She came with our family alot. Most of the time we would just grab food and sleeping bags to go camping with. We would bring a big tarp and lay it on the ground and then put all our sleeping bags on it. We would put a tarp on top just in case it started to rain. Another thing I remember about my growing up years is that my Dad would always like to take a Sunday drive. I used to dread those sunday drives and mom would always make us go. We would sing in the back seat of the car to entertain ourselves. One time we were on are way up to featherville and a deer jumped out in front of the car of course we hit it. We had to be towed. Another time we had an old station wagon and the tire fell off of it. I remember the time it was my mom,dad, Loretta and I went to disney land. We all shared a room together. My Dad snored alot well my sister Loretta would make these loud sounds to try and wake him up. Of course it didn't wake him up but it woke my mom and I up. Dad was a carpenter and some times he would take jobs out of town to make money for the family. He was working in Las Vagas we got to spend a month down there living in a camp trailor at a KOA camp ground. It was fun. I remember that I went swimming everyday why we were there. They also had a two seater bike that the seats were side by side. On payday Mom would let us rent one for an hour to go riding around. The other things we would do to keep our selves intertained is play card games like old maid. Needless to say some of us would tend to cheat. But I remember laughing alot. I guess the best part I remember being together as a family no matter what the case was.

Michael Bair's Thoughts

I do not see my Grandpa and Grandma Dawson as much as I'd like, but I have some great memories with them. I love Christmas parties in Grand View. The party is even better when Grandpa gets out his guitar and plays some music. Grandpa plays the classic old country songs that I love. He does it with a huge grin on his face with his foot tapping to the beat. It is impossible for anyone there to look at Grandpa and not smile yourself. I really appreciated Grandpa and Grandma showing up at our wedding reception. He is a great guy and still working hard at his age.

I love grandma. Just like Grandpa it seems like she is always wearing a smile and you can't help but smile back. I love the sound of grandma's voice. It is sweet and kind and is usually asking me how my life is. I enjoy playing games with grandma and some good ol Scrabble. Every once in a while Grandma and Grandpa will stop in at home with a load of wood or just to say hi. I'll never forget every year my parents letting us open a present on Christmas Eve. For a while we were able to open what Grandma got us, but eventually we started to choose to open up something else because Grandma Dawson always got us body wash and we wanted toys. I also appreciated my Grandma sending me a card every once in a while when I was on my mission in New Mexico.

Dawson Christmas Party 2011, Swede Dawson, Grandview, Idaho



http://youtu.be/aii7eXWd6Jg

http://youtu.be/eWjLuCRceJM

http://youtu.be/a1irptJgR1M

http://youtu.be/nf4QeJLNhyQ

http://youtu.be/7gfjUtWclqM

http://youtu.be/QaWu8F8hFWs

Dawson Christmas Party 2011, Swede Dawson, Grandview, Idaho

I was really excited when Grandpa decided to strum the guitar a bit. He put on what he called his "Vegas shirt" for me. He referred to the guitar he chose to play as "this blonde" when giving the reason why he chose to play this guitar because it looks good on camera. When Grandpa plays I can't help but smile. He walks into the room, makes time for you, and makes it a point to say hello and leave you smiling.

Grandpa and Grandma both talked about how they met each other playing a game of "ditch 'em". The game entailed chasing each other around in cars. They eventually moved to Grand View from Caldwell because of work and for the opportunity to be out on their own.

Grandpa had several stories that he shared this weekend of hanging out with his brothers. He talked about experiences they had of run ins with others and how they'd take care of problems by smacking someone with a solid punch in the face when something was going wrong. He and his brothers looked after each other and spent a lot of time together. Grandpa said when he came back from Korea that he was in great shape and was a solid 240 pounds.

Grandma talked a little bit about what it was like growing up. They did not have electricity for a long time. She would have to milk the cows every morning before running a quarter of a mile to catch the bus. Kids have it a lot easier these days she said. Her sister Faye had to feed the pigs. She said the greatest invention that has come around during the time that she has been alive is the washing machine. She recalled the huge task it was to have to wash clothes before the washing machine came around.

My favorite part of the Dawson Christmas Party this year was spending time with my Grandpa and Grandma. I love them and am grateful for who they are and what they do for me.

 Michael, 19 December 2011

Military Certificate
Oscar with mother Alcie

Ruth and Oscar

Oscar Dawson Chart
Spouse:
Ruth Isabel (York) Dawson

Children:
Sharon Ruth (York) Hensen
Irma Jean (Dawson) Johnson
Diana Lynn (Dawson) Whitted
Jimmy Ross Dawson
Loretta Kay (Dawson) Wilson
Becky Rae (Dawson) Bair

Parents:
Harold Oscar Dawson
Hessie "Alcie" Isa Belle (McGowen) Dawson

Siblings:

Harold Dawson, Jr. 
Jerold Oliver Dawson
Arthur Joe Dawson
Laurence Darell Dawson
Ethel Irene (Dawson) Chapman

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Michael, I love what you had to say, I had tears running down my face. I think it's because Dad and Mom are getting older that I appreciate the wonderful things you shared about them. I love the fact that you and Kylie are doing family history. Keep up the good work.

Loretta said...

Hadn't looked at your family history in a while so, thought I would see if there was anything new. I love that you added Dad and Kevin singing.

momchap49@yahoo.com said...

OK., big brother is going to murder me for this; but census shows him thus,as well as his original birth certificate.
GEORGE Oscar Ross DAWSON;
As he had it legally changed to Oscar Ross Dawson; {SWEDE} this hampers family researching for him. Sorry big brother; love you. Sis

Anonymous said...

This photo taken about 1950=
I was a little over a year old and Oscar was going over seas to Korea.
Believe this is only photo of all of our family; dad Harold.,mom Alcie,Oscar.Harold.Arthur.Laurence
and me,Ethel {Irene}.

Anonymous said...

RUBSONAmICHAEL; WITH TEARS STREAMING DOWN MY FACE, YOU GAVE TO ME THE MOST WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER, BY POSTING MY OLDEST BROTHER, HERE ON YOUR WEBSITE AND HIM TALKING AND PLAYING. MAY GOD BLESS YOU.
AS BEING THE ONLY GIRL ,AND THE YOUNGEST OF DAD AND MOMS, SIX CHILDREN, THIS WAS VERY SPECIAL FOR ME TO BE ABLE TO SEE AND HEAR THIS VIDEO. THANKYOU,IRENE