personal

Another in the series of stories about my relatives. My Aunt Gladys Watts Waddell, whose husband was Edward Waddell (also great and frequently mentioned as the man with the camera!) was awesome. She never had children, but she treated us like grandchildren. She and Uncle Edward were the best. At left, my aunt and uncle stand in front of their house in Linden, Alabama (sometime, I suspect in the early 1970’s) after moving from Huntsville, Alabama, (correction, my sister Suzanne explained that the house shown in the picture is actually their house in Huntsville–and I was just thinking that they had aged amazingly well) where they lived from the late 1950’s after moving from Alaska. One of the many, many things my Aunt Gladys did was make the most amazing chocolate chip cookies. So wonderful they were that I managed to get a story about them in one of the Southern Living Christmas cookbooks.  I only wish that the original story that went with it was still there. The basic story was that I’d hide my box of wonderful cookies and dole out one or, if they were very, very lucky, two cookies to my sisters. Then, the box would disappear in my room, hidden carefully to avoid detection.

Later, this little story of her life will certainly have to be updated, but for now, here it is:

Gladys Antoinette Watts: Received a diploma from State Normal School at Livingston, Alabama which was at that time, a two year college. She received a B.S. degree from the University of Alabama. In 1935 she went to Alaska and taught at Kodiak, a territorial school; Akiachak, an Indian Service School on the Kuskokwun River; Eklutera, a boarding school for Eskimos and Indian children; and Tanana on the Yukon River. Later she taught in the Anchorage City Schools. While in Alaska she married Edward Waddell, nephew of the Superintendent of Education in Alaska. They left Alaska in 1956 and lived in Huntsville, Alabama, where Edward worked for NASA and Gladys taught school. Upon retirement, they moved to Linden, Alabama. She lived in Linden until her death in 2003. As she aged, she broke a hip and had several other ailments, finally moving into the Linden nursing home. Several years before the move to the nursing home, she was asked if this was really hard. Her answer: “I made it through many winters in Alaska, eating frozen fish and dog sledding to my teaching job. This is nothing compared to an Alaskan winter.”

Genealogy is exciting stuff. My brother-in-law Bill Till has gotten me started. He has put together an impressive collection of genealogical information on ancestry.com. I’m in the process of filling in some of the pieces, particularly as they relate to photos and stories. One of the really valuable resources is the “A Family Called Skinner” book my cousin Julia Skinner McLean produced in the 1980’s–a real testament to a time when cut and paste literally meant scissors and tape. The book is filled with genealogical information, but, more important to me, it is also filled with the stories of these people. The research can come up with most of the connections that tie us to the past. What it can’t do is tell us how our ancestors lived and if they were characters filled with humor and laughter or serious work. This book helps fill that void. Below is the story of my father, Clark  Watts. It is short and needs so much more information as the “War years” lasted only a short time and the many years of being raised in Miller, Alabama, the years–and I mean many years–raising a family, the time after retiring–all that is a story still not told. But this is a wonderful place to start:

Clark Ethelred Watts: saw continuous service in World War II. He was assigned to the 544th Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment. A demolition specialist and light truck driver, his basic training was on the beaches of Florida. His Company was the first to invade and liberate Luzon from the Japanese in the Philippine Islands. From there he was sent to Manila. He was among the first troops to 1and on the shore of Wakayama, Honshu, Japan. For his service he was awarded the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Ribbon, New Guinea Campaign Bronze Star, Luzon Campaign Bronze Star, Bronze Arrowhead, four Overseas Service Bars, World War II Victory Medal and the Drivers and the Mechanics Badge. His Commanding Officer cited Clark as a “conscientious soldier who, with others like him, succeeded in the war mission.” After WWII, he worked for Lauren Skinner as a mechanic in Thomaston, Alabama before working for American Can in Pennington, Alabama.

His service record is attached here:
clark_watts_service3.pdf