Ray Scott passes away at age 77

Cousin Ray Scott passed away April 26, 2015 in Olympia, Washington.  He was 77 years old. Ray was the son of Bryan and Minnie (Maiden) Scott.  He grew up in the Kenwood neighborhood of north Chadron, taking a job sweeping out Joe Lichty's barbershop when he was just seven years old — followed by a job of setting pins at the bowling alley when he was 12.

After graduating from Chadron Prep in 1955, Ray married Melody Thomas of Chadron.  He went to work for a time with the Kansas-Nebraska Natural Gas Company and also had worked for fire departments in Rapid City, South Dakota and Gillette, Wyoming.  In the 1960's, Ray and Melody moved to Orting, Washington,  to where several other family members had moved.  He soon took a job as a fireman for the Olympia fire department, followed by a stint as a fireman for the Boeing Corporation.

Ray later worked as an over-the-road truck driver for Puget Sound Truck Lines and Arrow Truck Lines.  He retired in 2002, but after a couple of years, chose to return to work part-time with a security firm.

Ray is survived by his wife, Melody, and daughters Debby and Ramona, and sons Joe and Robert, as well as 10 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.  A daughter, Mona, died in an automobile accident in 1994.

A classmate of Ray's at Chadron Prep, Doug Wilson of Lincoln, Nebraska, had kept in touch with  Ray, and he also visited with Melody after Ray's passing, noting that "Ray will be remembered for his sense of humor, caring ways, and the interest he took in the well being of others."

A few years back, long after Ray had finally retired, Ray wrote to his cousin, John Miller, and said, "…I've had a whole lot of fun getting to where I'm at; I've got 10 grandchildren, 10 great grandchildren, and most of them have spent a lot of time crawling all over 'Papa.'  I wish we hadn't lost Mona,, and I wish I hadn't hurt a lot of people that I did, but all in all, if God has got a sense of humor, I think I'll be all right!  Ray."

We wish we'd kept in touch and had known Ray better, but sometimes we allow day-to-day life to get in the way of important things.  Our heartfelt condolences go out to Melody and all of the Scott family.  

Rest in Peace, cousin Ray.

About Martha Merritt Norman

Labeled "Grandma Norman," this is a photo of Martha Merritt Norman, who lived most of her life in Iowa, giving birth to 10 children, at least eight of them were girls.  Martha's granddaughter, Leota (Durham) Maiden would also raise a large family of mostly girls.  Martha Norman lived from 1835 to 1901.  She died in Cherokee, Iowa.  For a bit more about Martha Merritt Norman -- and a few more photographs as well -- visit our Maiden Gallery.  (Thanks to Doug Henderson for sharing this picture)

Which Maiden witch is this?

This witch flew in to Sugarland Ridge in Sheridan, Wyoming, on Halloween of 2014.  Scary as she may be in this photo by the Sheridan Press, we're convinced that she's "good witch" Betty (Maiden) Jolovich, accompanied by her daughter Jan (Love) Tenold at left and husband Paul Jolovich at right.  The young princess in the foreground is unidentified.  Witch Betty is holding the new "Stealth 88" broom, which celebrates the number of years she's been bewitching folks.

A WWII-era photo at 6th and King in Chadron

Probably taken in the winter of 1944 at 6th and King in Chadron. This motley crew of cousins -- all grandchildren of William J. and Leota Maiden -- includes (in the back) Ray Scott, Johnny Miller, Leota Scott and (in the front) Linetha Miller.   We're advised that John and Lettie (Maiden) Miller rented the small house that sat on the southwest corner of the intersection at 6th and King Street, across the street west from the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

J. B. finds another artistic outlet...

"She ain't much to look at, but she's hell for stout."

That's a quotation from grandfather William J. "Bill" Maiden that echoes back to me occasionally as shared by brother John, who remembers the phrase from grandad's description of items he crafted over the years.  I well remember some of those items, including a small sewing stand that sits in the corner of our den.

And while its rustic style doesn't fit most modern tastes, it surely was built "for stout."  In earlier years, I even stood atop the wooden stand -- something that now causes me to shudder, fearing the damage that could have been caused to what has become a treasured item.

But if style and aesthetics weren't high on grandpa's list, that doesn't mean the Maiden family line was devoid of such traits.  In fact, creativity and a flair for artistic endeavors can be found in several descendant lines.

One such person is Johnny Davis of Denton, Texas, a great-grandson of Bill Maiden and a son of Bruce and Linetha (Miller) Davis of Madill, Oklahoma.

Like several of his cousins, young Johnny Davis, now 47 years old, was enamored with rock music back in the '70s and '80s.  Soon he was cranking out music in a rock band, all adorned with hairstyles and attire of the time -- probably to the chagrin of his parents.  But we're pretty sure they recognized his propensity for "the arts," though it would manifest itself in ways they might not have predicted.

Now married and the father of two boys, Johnny Davis has developed into a top-rate artists.  His favorite subject seems to be motorcycles.  We've seen several of his pieces, and they're extraordinarily good -- and usually extraordinarily large.  But now his creative juices are flowing in a new direction.

Johnny has become an editorial contributor to the flashy Ride Texas magazine, a quarterly publication out of Austin that focuses on the best back roads in the Lone Star state.  He's crafted an engaging narrative about an old-time general store that adorns the roadside in the north Texas hamlet of Rosston.

He had passed through the town a few times in recent years -- had noticed the weathered wooden building that houses the Rosston General Store -- but had never stopped.  Sparked by memories of a story he had read earlier about the decline of such unique places, and having passed over opportunities to visit the store, Davis saddled up on his motorcycle and headed toward Rosston.

"I was so enchanted with this place and its friendly clientele that I opened  my saddlebag, got my camera, and took a quick snapshot of my motorcycle next to the hitching post," he wrote in the latest (December 2013) edition of Ride Texas.

Of course, we're delighted at the description that Johnny shares about the Rosston General Store and his experience there.  But we remain utterly fascinated by his skill as an artist, capturing things on canvas in a way that few are able to do (photo above).

Perhaps we shouldn't be so surprised, since his mother, Linetha Davis, has been turning out wonderful paintings for several years.  You'll find some of those in our Davis Gallery.

Now, we'll have to add a place for son Johnny!

But perhaps his greater accomplishment is as a stay-at-home dad for a pair of cute sons, Eli and Isaac, and as a husband to Kathleen,  who recently earned her Ph.D.

It's fun watching the development of the "younger generations."

Maiden descendant a drone pioneer

A few years back, we posted a 2010 news story about young Brandon Tenold of Reva, South Dakota, who was then delving deep in to amateur radio and already had garnered a number of accomplishments at an early age. Now he's making a mark in another related technology. 

For the past few years, Brandon has begun working with radio-controlled aircraft, a hobby that has intrigued him greatly, and one which is closely related to an item that is in the news almost daily: drones. Of course, the military has been using drones for years, and the technology has significantly altered military and rescue operations worldwide.

When Amazon's Jeff Bezos unleashed his vision of drone delivery of Amazon-ordered products, the topic was elevated to coverage by CBS' 60 Minutes. And the potential of drone services has mushroomed throughout the economy -- including some potential services in the range country of the Dakotas and Wyoming. 

That was the focus of this televised report done by KELOland Television. Brandon is a grandson of Gene and Janice (Love) Tenold of Reva, South Dakota. And Janice is a granddaughter of William and Leota Maiden, who were the inspiration for this website.

                                                             

A holiday celebration of Loves

A cold and snowy night -- in a place we'd never heard of.

But the moment we walked through the door, we were delighted at what we found.  We were guests at a family reunion to honor Betty (Maiden) Love Jolovich at a remote guest ranch about 17 miles north of Buffalo, Wyoming.  

We've lived in South Dakota and Nebraska for a good number of years, and we've traveled quite a bit throughout Wyoming, but we'd never heard of this place:  The Ranch at Ucross.

Jan (Love) Tennold and her siblings -- Sandra, Matt and Beverly -- orchestrated this special reception and dinner to honor their mother, who is the last living child of William J. and Leota (Durham) Maiden.  They couldn't have chosen a nicer place.

But we have a feeling that no matter where they might have assembled, there would have been an outpouring of warmth and love that would have filled the room.  We counted 25 children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and other assembled family.  And we were fortunate enough to live close enough to receive an invitation the the festivities.

The afternoon was a time for family members to visit, tell stories, and catch up on activities.  From California and South Dakota to Arizona and Wyoming, there was an abundance of stories and lots of reminiscing.  What great fun for cousins and kinfolk to be able to come together for a holiday reunion.  The group paused long enough to be captured in the photo below.  You'll find a higher resolution version of this photograph in our Maiden Photo Gallery.  And we're working on compiling all the names for a caption, so please lend a hand!  A simple e-Mail note will do!

Following a reception and dinner at the Ranch House,  the group reconvened at the Lodge to view  an hour-long video that Larry and Karen Miller recorded at Betty's home in Dayton in 2008.  

We can think of no other way to celebrate the Christmas season that family coming together to share memories -- and to show affection for the lady who helped make it all possible:  Betty Maiden!  

With a gloomy medical diagnosis, this remarkable lady faces the future -- however short or long -- with great dignity and grace, and still nurturing the keen sense of humor that she has embraced for her 87 years.  While doctors count her future in months, we all know that her spirit -- and our memories of her -- will be alive for generations to come.  What a lady!