James Edward Bendure

Father's Day weekend seemed like a good time to talk about my father.  James Edward Bendure was born to Ray Bendure and Avis Dickerson Patterson on March 14, 1936.  He fell about in the middle of his siblings (Marjorie, Billy Ray, Phyllis, James, Claudine, Lillie Fay, Patsy, Rose Mary, Nina, Paul, and Larry) and he seems to play the peacemaker role.  He graduated from Chouteau High School in 1954 where he played in the band.  He didn't play sports because he was always compared to his brother, Billy, who was a natural athlete.  He went to work on the pipeline (his father was a pipeliner) immediately following high school.  He followed Billy into the Army and served in the Korean War toward its end.  He worked in personnel but was assigned the extra duty of being the last man to cross Freedom Bridge if they were ever attacked, given the duty of blowing up the bridge before invasion.  Luckily, he never had to do that.  He served in the Army until 1958 finishing as a Sargeant.  He had opportunities to stay in the Army and work in Washington DC. but chose to come back to Oklahoma.  He bought into a gas station in Chouteau and ran it until he met Norma Gore one evening in Pryor.  They were married on September 19, 1959.

James went back to work on the pipeline because he could make more money.  It was while working on the pipeline in Kingwood, WVA, that his daughter, Jamie, was born (in July of 1960).  When work ran out, he took classes at Northeastern State at Tahlequah, but never obtained a college degree.  Some years he worked at the Pryor radio station - one of his favorite stories was the "bear hunt" they had around Adair where they would call him with updates on the hunt and he would broadcast it over the radio.

In 1965, he moved the family to Mt. Vernon, IL, so he could go to work for Vedal Pipeline Construction's main office.  This enabled him to provide for his family all year long as he would work in the office both on the job and during off months.  In 1967, son Robert was born in Mt. Vernon.

In 1974, Vedal chose to close down and James began to seek other employment.  Sheehan Pipeline in Tulsa hired him as an office manager and they bought a home in his hometown of Chouteau, Oklahoma.  Within days, an offer to go to work for Santa Fe-Curren in Denver was made for more of a public relations type of job, but he turned it down thinking that the move to Oklahoma would be best for his family.  James worked all over the United States for Sheehan, starting as an office manager and finishing as a job superintendent.  James is known for helping others, whether it be financially or in some other manner.  He would have no problem giving you his opinion, but is always fair in his discussion with you.  He is well liked by family and friends.

My father worked hard, and he tried to be at all the "big"' events of our lives because his father often was not.  Still, it was difficult to not have him with us all the time not only as his children, but also for his wife, who had to be both parents.  There were years that Dad would work nearly 300 days out of the year, with his family seeing him only through the summer and holidays.  He did it to provide us with everything that he could.  It was always understood that we would go to college.  It was always understood that we would do our best.  And when we needed him, he was and is there not only for his children, but for his siblings, nieces and nephews. 

So, on this Father's Day, in a year where he has suffered a stroke but come out of it in as good a shape as possible, I just wanted the world to know that I am proud to be his child and hope that I can be as well thought of as he is by all who know him.  Thanks for everything, Dad!

Norma Jean(ne) Gore Bendure

My mother was born to Goldie Marie Austin Gore and Lawrence Madison Gore on September 17, 1937 in Pryor, Oklahoma.  She was the oldest of four (James Gordon, Marilyn Sue, and Cheryl Rene') who spent most of her young life taking care of them. 

Her parents ran a dairy farm in the country near Locust Grove, Oklahoma.  While her parents would take care of the cows and chickens, she would start breakfast for the family and make sure her siblings were fed and clothed for school.  Her brother Jim suffered from polio at a very early age (he was cared for in Tulsa at a location near what is now St. John's hospital) and her parents would take a long trip (crossing the river by ferry) to visit in Tulsa, leaving her with her paternal grandparents.  She often talked about staying with them and sharing Almond Joy candy bar's with her grandfather - even though he was a diabetic.  It also helped to make a strong family relation with her father's youngest sister, Dorcus Bernice.

Norma's father sang in the Hogan Gospel Quartet and she would often get out of school to play piano for the group at funerals, replacing her cousin Joanne while she was in college.  (The Quartet had a radio show on Pryor's radio station on the weekends.) Upon graduating from high school, Norma attended beauty college in Muskogee, Oklahoma then came back to Locust Grove and worked in her aunt's (Opal Campbell) beauty shop.

She met her husband, James, while hanging out with girlfriends in Pryor.  They married at the Locust Grove First United Methodist Church on September 19, 1959.  James worked pipeline, was a radio dj at the Pryor radio station, and briefly went to college at Northeastern State in Tahlequah.  (More to come on James on next blog)  Their first child, Jamie, was born July 20, 1960 in Kingwood, West Virginia.  They traveled the country doing pipeline work until Jamie began school in Pryor, Oklahoma.  In December of 1966, James accepted a job for Vedal Pipeline in Mt. Vernon, Illinios and the small family moved.

Norma never went back to work formally, although being a housewife was intense work itself.  Their second child, Robert Duane, was born October 17, 1967.  They continued to live in Mt. Vernon until 1972 when they moved to Chouteau, Oklahoma, where they continue to live.

Norma has often been a caretaker for others.  She took care of her sister Rene' when she developed cancer.  She took care of her mother in her final days.  She and her husband helped take care of her daughter when she had a heart transplant at age 44.  Never intending to become a nurse/caretaker, she handled each situation with earnest and care.

Know Your Past To Know Your Future

One of my many hobbies that I have acquired over the years is tracing my family history.  It started out as a favor for my "Granny Gore"...Goldie Marie Austin Gore.  She wanted to find out some more things about her family history....something further back than the origin of Kingston, Arkansas, that she was aware of.

Her husband, Lawrence Madison Gore, had someone in his family do a short family tree for a school project years before and they had found this to be a source of pleasure and discussion for them both as well as the rest of our family members.

So, we began our trek by going back to visit Kingston, Arkansas...Granny, my mother Norma, and myself.  That was around 25 years ago.  Since then, and through the wonders of the Internet and other family connections, I've found some interesting connections and stories.

So, I've started this blog to begin to write it all down.  I hope to be able to go on to actual visits to the "home sites" of my ancestors, possibly meet descendants, and generally just learn more about my family history.  I've always been a history buff, and I've always believed that to know where you are going you have to know where you have been.  I am looking forward to learning about each member and discovering how their choices affected my life.