Off to Work: Mildred Strand

This week's prompt is "Off to work." Besides farming, the other profession that keeps repeating itself in our family is teaching. We have had a great many teachers over the years. Granted, women did not have many opportunities for other careers back in the day, but it is interesting how many women in our family have taught over the years. Carl Strand's mother, Mary Pulsipher, taught school before marrying William Strandt. Mary even taught school again in her later years. She attended Western Michigan College in the 1940's to add to her teaching credentials. Her daughter and Carl's older sister, Eva, also taught school. Eva's daughter, Ruth, grew up to be a schoolteacher in Florida.

June 1941

On the Henrickson side, George Henrickson's aunt, Sarah Lena Fahna, taught school in Sweden. She taught until she retired. 

Mildred Strand also came from a line of teachers. Her mother, Elnora Truman, taught in a one room school before marrying Charles Bellinger. 

After graduating from high school, Mildred earned a diploma from a Normal School and was allowed to teach. Normal schools were educational institutions dedicated to training teachers. Mildred attended one for one year and was then credentialed to teach school in the state of Michigan. 

It states that Mildred V. Bellingar has successfully completed the prescribed course of study and completed practice teaching at Allegan County Normal School. Dated June 12, 1919.

Mildred taught for one year before marrying Carl Strand on July 9, 1920. While Mildred gave up teaching to become a wife and mother, she never stopped learning. She read voraciously and loved to study and learn new things. Several of Mildred's grandchildren and great grandchildren work in education today. 

I haven't been able to locate where Mildred taught yet. I'm still working on that. Mildred's high school diploma has also been found. Here's a copy of that.

It says that Mildred Bellingar has completed the scientific course of study and is declared a graduate of the High School. Dated May 30, 1918.

Many thanks to Mildred's son, Fred, who recently found these diplomas. They are the only records at the moment of Mildred graduating high school and Normal school. I'm very thankful they were saved and shared.

Questions, comments, more info to add? Leave them down below in the comments or email me. 

Oldest Story: The Bellinger family

 This week's prompt is "oldest story." The oldest story I could think of was of the history of the Bellinger family in America. Mildred Bellinger Strand wrote down her family history. She wrote of how when she was 16, she asked her grandfather, David Bellinger, about his family and the Bellingers. She wrote down what he told her. Mainly, that the original Bellinger came to America around the time of the American Revolution and was one of three brothers. They all separated and never saw each other again. She also listed David's father and mother and his aunts and uncles. I used this information when I started building my family tree. Mildred was very accurate with names and places. My research seems to indicate that the first Bellinger came over in the early 1700's. The family was part of the Palatine Germans invited to the American colonies by Queen Anne. There were Bellinger brothers and fathers and sons. The Bellinger name is all over the Hudson and Mohawk Valley area.

Our particular Bellinger is Oliver. Mildred did a great job in listing Oliver's brothers and sisters. She wrote that while Oliver moved his family to Michigan, the rest of his family stayed in Ohio. This is only partially true.

While I was filling out the Bellinger branch of the tree, I noted how Oliver Bellinger had married Margaret "Almyra" Jones in Cuyahoga, Ohio. The Bellingers had moved there from New York. The Jones family had moved there from New York, and before that had lived in Massachusetts. Oliver then moved his family to Michigan and ended up in Allegan. After filling out Oliver's branch of the Bellinger tree I decided to see what happened to his brothers and sisters. This is where the story gets interesting.

I started with Oliver's older sister, Parmelia. She married a man named William Jones in Ohio, and then moved to Michigan also. Next, his older brother Adam married a Lydia Jones in Ohio. They, too, moved to Michigan. Then, his sister Laura married Jefferson Jones in Ohio. They, too, came to Michigan. I began to see a pattern.

First, yes, Oliver had other brothers and sisters come to Michigan. That wasn't a surprise. What really surprised me was the recurrance of the last name "Jones." Jones is a popular name, but what are the odds that 4 brothers and sisters would all marry people with the last name of "Jones"? I did some more research and it turns out that William, Lydia, Jefferson and Almyria were all brothers and sisters too. 4 brothers and sisters of one family married 4 brothers and sisters of another family. Cuyahoga, Ohio must've been one small area in the 1820's and 1830's. :)

I looked into the Jones family and the parents were William Jones and Chloe Sprague. Both parents came from Massachusetts and go back pretty far. At least to the early 1700's. In the Plymouth, Mass area. The Sprague line goes back to Ireland. I haven't researched the Jones line all the way back yet, but I would expect it to go back to England. This family definitely needs some further research. They must've been close neighbors or friends. Especially for 4 siblings from each family to marry each other. Unfortunately records from Cuyahoga in the 1830's are hard to come by.

There is one further twist to this story. While filling in the information for the children of these unions, all first cousins to our David Bellinger, I found something interesting, and weird. Parmelia and William had a daughter named Adline. When she was a widow at the age of 63 she remarried. She married a man named Philip Bellinger. THAT'S interesting I thought. She happened to meet a man with the same last name as her mother's family. Well, turns out Philip Bellinger was the son of Adam Bellinger and his wife Lydia Jones. Philip and Adline were double first cousins. All 4 of their parents were brothers and sisters. Genetically, they were about as close as half siblings. Adline was 63 and Philip was 66. This was in 1903, Mount Pleasant, Michigan. When the marriage application was filled out, Philip's parents were correctly listed. Adline's mother was listed as "unknown" and her father was listed as William Sprague, instead of William Jones. "Sprague" was her grandmother's maternal name. It looks like they were trying to hide their relationship. Maybe not. I would definitely love to have more information on this relationship. They both had children from their first marriages. I haven't researched them. I guess the Bellingers are just like the royal families of Europe. :)

Marriage application of Philip Bellinger and Adline Jones Hicks.

War: What was the Civil War like for David Bellinger?

This week's prompt is "War." Of course, that immediately makes me think of David Bellinger and his service in the Union army during the American Civil War. He served in the 19th Michigan Regiment, Company B. While researching David's service I came across 2 books for sale. One is "They Died to make Men Free: A history of the 19th Michigan Infantry in the Civil War," by William M. Anderson. Hardscrabble Books. Berrien Springs, Michigan 1980. The other book is, "I Hope to Do My Country Service" The Civil War letters of John Bennitt, MD, Surgeon, 19th Michigan Regiment. Wayne State University Press, 2005. I was able to order them off Amazon and eBay. I haven't had a chance to read them yet but I have skimmed through them. Here are a few snippets of information from They Died to Make Men Free.  

When David signed up he was given his first month's pay plus $25 of a $100 bonus upon enlistment. Money was a great motivator used to encourage men to sign up and fight.

After signing up, Company B, which was mostly from Allegan, took the train to Dowagiac, Michigan. They brought the Allegan brass band along with them. The band played while the company marched through the streets from the train station to where they were housed. 

For their first Thanksgiving in the army, the men enjoyed boiled salted beef, hard crackers, and coffee. 

For the first Christmas, the officers supplied the men with oysters and a half keg of beer for each company. 

The battle at Thompson's Station in Tennessee is where David Bellinger was wounded in his thigh and taken prisoner. The fighting was fierce on both sides and while it looked as if it would be a Union victory, the win ultimately went to the Confederates. The 19th Michigan went into the battle with 531 men. They suffered a 21% casualty rate. 20 men were killed, 92 wounded. The 19th suffered a greater casualty rate than any other regiment, including the Confederates. 

The 19th was marched 17 days to a prison camp 75 miles away in Tullahoma, Tennessee. The Rebel enlisted men were reported to have treated the 19th with compassion, even sharing their meager rations with the 19th, but only when the Confederate officers were not watching. The officers of the Confederacy did not share in the compassionate treatment.  After being housed in Tullahoma, the 19th was put on a train and moved to Libby prison in Richmond, Virginia. At Richmond their main meal mostly consisted of one food, mule meat. Sometimes they were given the water the mule meat was cooked in also. Mule meat was not a favorite of the men. After approximately 30 days from originally being taken prisoner, the 19th was released. 

Here is the daily schedule the men followed after first signing up and getting adjusted to Army life.

5 am            Reveille

6:30 am       Roll Call

7 am            Breakfast

8 am            Clean up tents

9-11 am       Drill

12 noon        Dinner

2-4 pm          Drill

4 pm             Half hour swim and supper

6:30 pm        Dress parade (as long as the Colonel likes)

9:30 pm        Tattoo and lights out

The 19th Michigan came under General Sherman's command and marched with him through Georgia and to the sea. The first picture shows the march. The second picture shows all the engagements and places visited by the 19th during the course of the war. 

I can't wait until I have more time to properly read these two books to find out what life was like for David and the men of the 19th. One thing is for sure, David Bellinger was very lucky he survived and lived to come back to Michigan and marry Loretta Foster. Lorett's first husband, David, died while being held prisoner at the infamous Andersonville POW camp in Georgia. 

How David Bellinger fits in:

David Bellinger, father of 

Charles Bellinger, father of

Mildred Bellinger Strand, mother of

Viola, Howard, Marylaine, Joyce, Yvonne, Milton, Fred 

Viola Mildred Strand Henrickson

 Today, September 9, 2023, we're celebrating the 101 year birthday of Viola Mildred Strand Henrickson. Last year was her actual 100th birthday. Viola is one year older than the Walt Disney Company which is celebrating their 100th anniversary this year. 

Viola was born to Mildred and Carl Strand on September 9, 1922 in Allegan, Michigan. Viola was the only child of Carl and Mildred's 7 children to be born in a hospital, the others all being born at home with Mildred's mother Elnora acting as a midwife. Shortly after being born Mildred suffered from post partem depression and voluntarily checked into the Kalamazoo State Hospital. Older brother Howard went to live with his Bellingar grandparents and Viola was taken care of by neighbor Jay Treece and family. Viola slept in a dresser drawer. Mildred eventually came back home and got better with help from a local Native American medicine man.

In the 1930's Viola and her family moved to the Strand family farm. It was while she was living on this farm that as a teenager she met Raymond Henrickson, a local farmer. Ray and Viola started seeing each other and became engaged. They were married in Grand Rapids, Michigan on April 20, 1940. On April 6, 1941 Viola was baptized into the Lutheran faith and confirmed as a member of the Sandhem Lutheran Church. 

Ray and Viola lived on the Henrickson family farm Ray had taken over from his parents. Together Ray and Viola raised 8 children on the farm. There were 20 grandchildren, and even great grandchildren born before Viola passed away on December 8, 1999 at home. Viola raised children, cooked, cleaned, helped with farm chores and always had food on the table. Despite Ray saying her cooking wasn't as good as his mother's, Viola's children thought her cooking was pretty good, especially her pies and cookies. I can attest to the fact that the macaroni and cheese, and chicken and dumplings she made while visiting us in Florida once were the best I'd ever tasted. I always enjoyed any time I got to spend with her. One time while visiting her on the farm a phone solicitor called and said she had won a free prize. She said, Great, send it to me then. He said she had to pay for the shipping and handling. Viola huffed and said, "It's not free then, is it?!" and slammed down the phone. lol. I knew then I'd never have to worry about her being scammed. I also remember how she and Ray would sit and watch Jerry Springer every day and get a hoot out of the people who came on. She was definitely a treasure and continues to be missed. 

Mildred and most likely Howard and Viola

Mildred, with Viola standing to the left, Mildred's right.

Viola and Milton

Viola and Ray, and kids, having dinner with Carl and Mildred. 

Viola, 2nd from right, front row. With Carl and Mildred and brothers and sisters, circa 1970.

Feel free to leave any stories about Viola down below. I know there are a lot of good ones out there. The prompt for this week was "prosperity". I think prosperity fits Viola. She brought a lot of happiness and joy to all who knew her. She may not have been prosperous in a financial sense, but she was prosperous in friends and family. 

Tradesman-Carl Albert Strand

 With Labor Day approaching, the prompt for this week is "Tradesman."  When looking over the family tree I settled on Carl Strand. He seems to have had the most varied careers.

Carl's first job was as a young boy when he was hired to dig up potatoes for a neighbor. Carl was allowed to keep the potatoes that were too small to sell at market. This helped feed his family who often struggled for food. After completing the 8th grade Carl quit school and started working. One of his first jobs was working the family farm, which he enjoyed and seemed to be rather good at. Conflicts with his father over the running of the farm gave way to Carl leaving home and finding work elsewhere. Carl worked for the Michigan and Chicago Railway. He made his way to Battle Creek, Michigan where he then went to work for the Nichols and Shepard Farm Equipment Manufacturing Company. They built threshing machines.

In 1920 Carl married Mildred Bellingar. By now he was working for the  E.W. Eady shoe factory. In fact, on Carl and Mildred's marriage license, Carl is listed as a shoemaker.

During the 1920's the family moved to Kalamazoo. There, Carl worked as a truck driver, owning his own truck. He also had a construction business too. Life was pretty good. Then the Great Depression hit.

With it being hard to make ends meet, both for Carl and for his parents, Carl moved his family back to the family farm and began life as a farmer again. Being a farmer was hard and the family often had trouble making ends meet, but they made it through. Life began to get easier again in the 1940's. In April 1949 Carl began to try out a new career, as a politician.

Carl was named Watson Township supervisor after the current supervisor resigned the post. He eventually ran for the post, and won, by one vote! Carl stayed active in local politics up until his later years. 

Carl Albert Strand worked as a potato digger, railway man, shoe factory worker, factory assembler, truck driver, construction, farmer, and politician. Definitely a jack of all trades. 

Pets

 This week's prompt is "Pets." I just had to say goodbye to Becks, a cat I've had for the past 16 years. Pets truly become members of the family. They bring us joy and help us deal with life's ups and downs. No matter what, our loyal pets are always there for us. So, this week, in honor of the prompt I thought I'd share some photos I've come across of pets in our lives.

First, I can tell by looking at photos that I have always loved cats. I can't remember a time without a cat in my life. Whether it was mine, or someone else's. There's always been a cat.

Cats have also been popular with my ancestors.

Great granduncle Horace Ashley with his wife and family cat.

Grandfather Ray Henrickson holding a barn cat.

Dogs have also been a popular pet over the years.

This was Bum. He rode on the floorboards of my Grandpa Thompson's car. He'd go with Grandpa all over town.

Lower picture. This was our Airedale Terrier Timothy. Mom had had an Airedale growing up that she had fond memories of. Airedales have been popular dogs in the Henrickson household.

While not normally seen as pets, horses have played an important part in the lives of my ancestors too. A good team of horses could make farm work a lot easier. 

Carl Strand's team of horses, circa 1917.

Henry Truman's team of horses. Older brother to Elnora Truman Bellingar.

These are just a few of the pictures I've found with animals and pets. Do you have any favorite memories of pets, or any stories of ancestors with their favorite pet? Share below or email me. susanmichele83@gmail.com

Helen Lucille Bellingar

The prompt for this week is "Starts with a vowel." So, I'm writing about Mildred Bellingar Strand's younger sister, Helen Lucille Bellingar, who moved to Los Angeles. (Angeles begins with an "A".  It's a stretch. :) )

Helen Lucille Bellingar was born August 25, 1903 in Allegan, Michigan. She was the third child and second daughter born to Charles and Elnora Bellingar. Whereas Mildred is described as shy and reserved, Helen is described as vivacious and outgoing. Mildred is remembered as having said she was surprised Carl Strand asked her to marry him as she always thought he was more interested in the lively Helen. 

Here is a picture of Helen at age 3 in 1906.

Helen Bellingar 1906. Colorized photo.

On the 1920 Federal census, dated January 27, 1920, Helen is living with Thomas Young and his wife. Helen is 16 and listed as a servant in the household. She did not attend school but knew how to read and write. She was employed for wages and worked as an operator for the phone company. She lived a few houses down from Fred Germain, who would be such a big help to Carl and Mildred in later years. On August 14, 1920 she married Archie Keith Kent. 

Archie Keith Kent was born in Allegan, Michigan on April 3, 1899. He is also related to me through my paternal side. He's my cousin through my 3x great grandmother Hannah Kent Thompson. At sometime Archie left Michigan and moved to live with an older brother in Los Angeles, California. On his draft card for World War I he lists LA as his address and assistant tech switchboard operator as his job. However on the 1920 Federal census he is living back in Allegan as a boarder at a boarding house. His job is listed as laborer with an automotive company. On the marriage certificate he's listed as being in War Service Against Germany and his address is listed as Los Angeles. Helen's age is listed as 18. She was actually a few days shy of her 17th birthday. Witnesses to the marriage were Carl and Mildred Strand.

I believe that Archie and Helen move back to Los Angeles soon after getting married. I've found Archie registered to vote in California in 1924. He's registered as a Democrat. There is a Helen L. Kent listed in the city directory for Los Angeles who works as a telephone operator but I can't be sure it's her. LA is a big city. The next verified finding of either one occurs on April 23, 1926. Archie places an ad in the Los Angeles Times saying that he will no longer be responsible for any debts incurred by his wife Helen. 

The next is October 22, 1926 when Archie files for divorce from Helen. The divorce is granted on December 10, 1926. Archie stays in California and remarries at least one more time. He passes away in 1977, living in Apple Valley, San Bernardino County. He never had any children.

Meanwhile Helen remarried the very next year on December 17, 1927 to a Robert Earle Jodon. Robert was listed as a switchboard manager in the city directory and the 1930 Federal census. Robert was born and raised in California. His marriage to Helen was his first. His father was an electrical engineer with Edison Company. I've found newspaper articles in the social section talking about elaborate holiday dinner parties that Robert and Helen, along with Robert's parents were invited to.

Dec. 2, 1933.

In the 1940 Federal census Helen and Robert are still living in Glendale, California. Robert is now a district wire supervisor with the Southern California phone company. Their neighbors include public school teachers, radio singers, a claims attorney and even a playwright. Helen shows having a high school education through the 1st year.

The 1950 Federal census shows they have moved but are still in Glendale. Robert is a District Supervisor with the phone company. Helen does not work and is not seeking work. Helen used to send boxes of her unwanted clothes to Mildred, and Joyce would wear some of them. Howard would fly out to California and visit with Helen when he was earning his flying hours. Mildred always used to look forward to getting letters from Helen. I imagine living in Los Angeles in the 1920's and 30's was much more exciting than living in Allegan, Michigan. Joyce wrote that one time during the 1930's Charles and Elnora decided to drive out to California to visit Helen. They followed son Ray who drove on ahead. At some point Charles lost track of Ray and ended up getting lost in New Mexico. Charles wanted to turn back but Elnora said, "No." and they drove on to Albuquerque where they found Ray and continued their journey. Helen came back to Michigan once, in the 1950's. 

Helen passed away January 10, 1980 at the age of 76. She and Robert lived in San Bernardino County. During the 1960's Robert sold their Glendale home to the local library and the land was turned into additional parking for the library. I haven't been able to find an obituary but Helen died after having cancer. Robert passed away in 1989. They never had any children. 

Helen's life was definitely different than Mildred's. Helen married twice, never had children, lived a comfortable life and lived in Los Angeles, California. Mildred might have been envious of Helen and her lifestyle, but who can say for sure. I know I would definitely loved to read Helen's letters from LA.

 

 

I Can Identify

 This week's prompt is "I can identify." I thought I'd interpret it by identifying people in a picture. One of the pictures I was sent that had belonged to Carl and Mildred Strand was a picture of a child and 3 men labeled "4 generations." No names were attached to it. At first I thought maybe it was from the Strand side. I wasn't able to find 4 generations of Strand men that would work. I also looked on the Pulsipher side. No luck there either. I thought the younger looking man looked a bit like Mildred's uncle William Truman so I looked for 4 men that would work on the Truman side. No luck. I put the picture away for awhile. Later, I was working on the Bellingar side and was untangling the messy personal life of Mildred's older brother Ray. That was when I realized he had his first born son in 1917, and that Ray's grandfather David Bellingar didn't pass away until 1921. Ray and his family were also living in Michigan at the time his son Elwyn was a toddler, about the age of the child in the photo. It also makes sense that Mildred would have a picture of her nephew, older brother, father and grandfather. Finally, I had a plausible explanation for the men and child in the 4 generations photo. David, Charles, Ray, and Elwyn Bellingar are the only 4 generations on the Strand or Bellingar side that were alive all at the same time and make sense for Mildred to keep. The mystery had been solved!

I uploaded the photo to Ancestry and MyHeritage. They have technology on their websites that can repair and colorize old photos. I tried both and this one came out the best, I think. 

L.to R. Charles Bellingar, Ray Bellingar, Elwyn Bellingar, David Bellingar.

Ray Bellingar Road Trip

 This week's theme for #52ancestors is #RoadTrip. Awhile back Ginger Strand shared with me transcriptions she made from Mildred Strand's post card collection. Many of the postcards were from her older brother, Raymond Bellingar (1895-1982) as he traveled around the country when he was younger. In 1912 he sent some postcards from his travels to Canada, looking for work. He was 17 years old at the time. In March of 1915 he set out again, this time traveling west. He was looking for work, and he also mentions finding "Uncle Judson". Uncle Judson must refer to his mother Elnora's younger brother, Judson. In 1904 Judson married his wife Mary Elizabeth in Columbia, Oregon. In looking for Judson, Ray can never remember where, exactly, Uncle Judson lives. Ray is also traveling with "Rex." I have no idea who, or what Rex is. A friend? A pet dog? Does anyone have any guesses?

Here are the transcribes, as transcribed by Ginger Strand.

"Kalamazoo River and Gull Street Bridge, Kalamazoo, Mich." (pm) Kalamazoo Mar 11, 1915 2 pm Dear Mother: Arrvd in Kalamazoo OK and am leaving on the 11:57. Will make good connections. Will get there on Sat. for ? 16.00 ? Good luck so far Your son Ray Got Rex OK too.

"Dearborn Street Depot, Chicago" (pm) Chicago IL Mar 11 5:30 pm Dear Mother: arrived here O.K. and will leave at 6:30 pm for St. Paul. Got here 4:00. Will try and rite from St. Paul. Love to all, Ray

"Hennepin Avenue, East from Sixth Street, Minneapolis, Minn." (pm) Milbank Mar 12 4:30 pm Friday Well we got in Minneapolis at 7:55 a.m. and got rite on the 8:00 to Milbank where I change for Wilmot. Will get there Sat. morning. Love from Ray

"E.S. Main Street Millbank, S.D." (pm) Milbank SD March 12 1915 4:30 pm Dear Mother: Am in Milbank S.D. Got so far O.K. am leaving for Wilmot at 5:20 pm, get there at 6:10 am. Sat. Will rite from there. Love to all, Ray

.

"Birdseye View of Wilmot, SD" (pm) Wilmot SD Mar 13 5 pm 1915 Dear mother and all, Well what do you think of my home to be? Am leaving for the farm this afternoon. Yours with lots of love, Ray

"Come to Wilmot While the Going's Good" (pm) Wilmot SD Mar 15 1 pm 1915 Dear Dad: See what it says on this card? Well take its meaning. The country is just great around here. The man I am going to owns the largest farm in these parts. Love to all from Ray

"The country around here is wild and mountainous." (pm) Wilmot SD Apr 19 1 pm 1915 Dear Mother: Am leaving for Mon. tonite, will rite along the line. How is everything? This leaves me in the best of health. Love to all, Ray

"Bird's eye view, Wilmot S.D." (pm) Wilmot SD Apr. 19 8 pm 1915 No. 1 Dear Mother: Am leaving for Three Forks Mon. Get out that old old Chi, Milwau, RR & St. Paul time table and you can follow me on the map. I presume I will be

"Bird's eye view, Wilmot S.D." (pm) Wilmot SD Apr. 19 8 pm 1915 No. 2 some time getting there. Am going by jumps and jerks. We are going to see the country. Will rite from different places when I can. I expressed our suit cases to Three Forks this afternoon. Will follow tonite. Love Ray.

"Main Street North, Summit, S.D." (pm) Summit SD Apr 20 7 pm 1915 Dear Mother: Arrived here O.K. and am still going. Am on the great divide now of So. Dak. between So & Nor Dakota. Big hills all around. How is everything? I am in the best of health. Love, Ray

"We work all day/ We're tired at night/ But friends like us/ Must try to write" Summit, SD Apr 20 7 pm 1915 My Dear Dad: Well I am on my way O.K. and if nothing happens I'll be in Butte, Mont. the last of the week. Am trying to see the country a little. Rex is still with me and we are both in the best of health. Yours, Ray

"A Bunch of Trail Cattle. In the Northwest." (pm) Miles City Mont. April 24 - 15 Dear Dad: Arrived in Miles City O.k. but had some time getting here. Will tell you the particulars when I get a chance to write a letter. We've only been 3 days coming, 6 divisions, U know what that means. Love, your Ray

"The Tetons" (pm) Roundup, MT. April 25, 10 am 1915 To Mildred Bellingar Sunday. Dear Sister: Well what do you think of this great nature? Am seeing lots of these. Will see Uncle Judson next week if nothing happens. Love from Ray

"C. M. & P.S. Depot, Roundup, Mont." (pm) Roundup, MT. April 25, 10 am 1915 Dear Dad: Well I am still on my way. Am headed for Seattle now. Wish I knew Uncle Judson add. but I think I can find him. This is the place where the C, M, & St. Paul get all their coal. Tell Ma to excuse me for not writing on that card but I rolled it up before I tho't. WIll rite later. With love to all, Ray

"Signal Butte near Miles City, Mont." (pm) Miles City, Mont. Apr 24 1915 Dear mother: Well here I am so far in Mont. am looking around for work but have got a little change under my belt yet. You can see these kind of rocks just as far as you can see. This place is a little larger than Allegan. Gee but it's great air here. Will write when I can. Love Ray

"Viaduct and Tunnel, Montana Canyon" (pm) Miles City & Butte Apr 26 1915 Dear Dad: Well we have just commenced to see the Rockies now, from now on to Seattle they are big Mts. Did you find the map? If you did you can follow me by the cards. Will rite every time I get a chance. Good bye. With love to all, Ray Wish you could see them.

"The Eagle Tunnel, Montana Canyon, Rocky Mts. Mont." (pm) Miles City, Mont. Apr 26 1915 Sunday nite at Harlowton Dear Mother: Got here O.K. and am leaving for these tunnels tonight. We just came in sight of snow on the Mts. at 4:00 p.m. today. Think I will see Uncle Judson next week but don't rite to him about it. Love + your Ray

"East Side Main Street Three Forks Mont" (pm) April 26, 6 am. Dear Mother: Well this is the town I shipped my suit cases to, but I ain't going to stay only till this afternoon. Am leaving for Butte, Mont. Gee but there is some pretty senery around here. How is everybody? Well good bye till next time. Love to all from Ray

"Mammoth Log Drive of 80,000,000 Feet, St. Joe River, Idaho" (pm) St. Marie S April 29 1915 9:30 am Dear Dad: Well I got out of that State Mont. into Idaho at 12:30 yesterday. I tho't we never would get out of that state. How is this for a log drive? We are only 60 miles from Spokane where John S. is. Will be 30 miles from there about noon. Love, Ray

"Fishing on the Shadowy St. Maries River, Idaho" (pm) St. Marie S April 29 1915 9:30 am Dear Mother: Well I got into this state OK. I have changed my mind, I am going to Portland, Ore. I have forgotten whether Uncle Judson is in Seattle or Portland + remember your saying he can go from Portland to the coast on the Columbia. But I think I can find him in either place. Will rite when I can. Yours with love to all, Ray

"Milwaukee Lumber Mill, St. Maries, Idaho" To Lynn Bellingar (pm) St. Marie S April 29 1915 9:30 am Dear Brother: Well what do you think of my trip? Rex and I was in this mill morning what do you think of the logs? Tell Helen + Mildred I said Hello. Love from brother, Ray

"Crossing the famous Kittitas Valley, Wash." (pm) Plummer & ? Apr 29 Walden, Wash. 4-29-15 Dear Mother: Well I am in Washington. Got into this state about 12:45. We will go through this valley tomorrow some time. Will rite when I can. Yours with love, Ray Gee but we are seeing some pretty scenery.

"Lake Keechelus, Cascade Mts., Wash." (pm) Plummer Apr 29 1915 Dear Dad: Well what do you think of this kind of country? I have changed my mind again. I am going to Seattle for I have got to thinking it over and it seems to me Uncle Judson is there. Wish you could only whisper in my ear. Well goodbye. With love to all, Ray

"C. M. & St. P RY. Bridge Across the Columbia River at Beverly Wash." (pm) South Cle Elum, Wash. May 3 2 pm 1915 Dear Mother: Well I am within a hundred miles of Seattle. Wish I knew if Uncle Judson was there or in Portland but if I don't find him in one place I will the other. Yours with love, Ray

"McCall's Peak, Cascade Mts., Wash." To Helen Bellingar (pm) South Cle Elum, Wash. Date indistinct but probably May 3, 1915 Dear Sister: Well what do you think of this? I will be in Seattle tomorrow morning. I have seen so much scenery I don't like only the very best. Love to all Ray

"See Washington First: Mt. Queets and the Elwha Basin, in the Olympic Range" (pm) Tacoma, Wash. May 3 1:30 pm 1915 Dear Mother: Well I am in Tacoma, the prettiest city on the map I believe. Am leaving for Portland tonight. Am seeing everything as I go to believe me. Wish you could see what I've seen. Well good by till later. Love your Ray

"The Battleship Oregon in the New Dry Dock at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Washington" (pm) Portland, Oregon May 7 9:30 am 1915 Dear Mother and all: Well I arrived in Portland O.K. but can't find anything of Uncle Judson. Have looked in all the directories and every place else. Am trying to find work here. So as soon as you get this write me a short letter directed to Portland P.O. city. With love to all, Ray

Ray must've liked where he was and stayed awhile as Ginger notes that there is a 6 month gap with no postcards. The postcards pick up again in November 1915.

"Pocatello Hospital, Pocatello Idaho" (pm) Pocatello ID, Nov 18 1915 Thurs. 18 Dear Mother: Well I have got this far. Have been riding since 6:15 Tue. I will be in Salt Lake 1:15 today. Hope this finds everybody ok? Love to all from Ray.

"Ruby Castle, Utah" (pm) Nov. 18 1915 Utah Dear mother + all: Well I am in S[alt] L[ake]. O.K. This will be my road out. What do you think of it? Am only sending one card as I want to write so many but have got my pockets full to bring home. Love from Ray.

"Orchard Scene near Grand Junction, Colo." (pm) Grand Junction: Nov 19 1915 Fri. 19 '15 Hello folks: Well I've only got 102 miles left. Am shure glad believe me. This is about all you can all rite around this place. Acres + acres mostly cherrys. Love from Ray

"Las Animas Canon, Colo." To Mildred Bellingar (pm) Olathe Colo. Nov 22 2 pm 1915 Dear Sister: Well what do you think of this? Don't forget to rite. Add. Delta Colorado. Ray

And one last postcard from Ray in June 1916. On Dec. 25, 1916 Ray would marry his first wife, Elizabeth Hill in Fruita, Mesa, Colorado.

"The Portals, Canon of the Grand River, Colo." To Mildred Bellingar (pm) Olathe, Colo. June 8, 2 pm 1916 My dear sister: Read your welcome letters a few days ago + was shure glad to hear from you. I can see this scene nearly every day. Now don't wait for a letter from me but write again soon. With love, Ray

Reading the postcards you can sense Ray's delight in traveling and seeing the country. You can also sense his love for his family too. He sends postcards to his mother and father. He sends postcards just to his siblings. He's living his best life traveling the country before settling down. 

He later takes up residence again in Michigan, lives in Arizona for awhile, and eventually settled down in Hillsborough County, Florida by 1950 where he lived until he passed away at the age of 87 in December 1982.

Ray Bellinger working in Saskatchewan, Canada. 9th from right.