The Photo That Changed Lives

It all started with this photo and its corresponding note, written in my grandfather's handwriting, then corrected in blue by his sister, Jane:

Two weeks ago, in the post about Peepeye's birthday, I wrote about my grandfather Jack Burtnett's album and how I believe it's my duty to treasure and keep it. As promised, I did spend some time with it in honor of what would have been Peepeye's 100th birthday. The feeling that came over me was one of lament, that I would never know these fine relatives long dead, and what a shame it was that I have all these pictures yet know not what happened to many of the people or their descendants.

Then I came to the photo above with the note stuck there long ago by Peepeye and Jane. Who can help but spend extra time studying such an extraordinary group? I knew who Alda was: the sister of my great-grandfather, Harry Burtnett (Peepeye's father). That made her Peepeye's aunt, and my Dad often still mentions Aunt Alda and what a character she was. Howard was her husband, and through research I knew his last name was Mangus. Kermit, Theda, Amber, and Neal were their children, and they lived in Cleveland, Ohio. The back of the photo told me that it was taken there in 1943.

I looked at these four cousins of my grandfather and longed to know them. What kind of people were they? What ever happened to them? Eaten up with curiosity, I headed to the computer and searched for each one, in order. Kermit Mangus was born in 1914, and Theda in 1915, so they are deceased, and I found that Amber was, too. However, after a little time, I saw that Neal Mangus is alive and well in Florida. I'll give him a call, I thought!

And call him I did. To my delight and to his surprise, we chatted for the better part of an hour. I found this 88-year-old gentleman, the good-looking 16-year-old in the photo, utterly charming. In his western Pennsylvania accent, he told me funny and helpful things about himself and the Burtnetts. When I asked him about Alda, Harry, and their siblings, he recalled, "They all had stark white hair. We'd have reunions once in a while. They all were very nice...all very religious."

About life in Johnstown, Neal said, "We lived right by the river, slaughterhouse, and junkyard...it was a great neighborhood where a kid could get in trouble!" The family left Pennsylvania when brother Kermit landed a job in Cleveland, and helped his father, Howard, get one as well, during a time when work was hard to find. Neal remembered staying on for a year with his sister, Theda, while the family got settled in Cleveland. When he was a boy, Neal lost his younger sister, Jean, who was only three. He said, "We both had pneumonia, and she died in the bed right next to me." My heart ached for Aunt  Alda to have gone through that. 

Aunt Alda & Uncle Howard Mangus, shortly before his death in 1951.

My grandfather's cousin, Neal, is a winsome man. We agreed how happy we were to have found each other, and that we will communicate often. All of this happened on Peepeye's birthday, and I couldn't help but think he'd be excited to know I had found a Burtnett relative. But that's just the beginning.

Neal encouraged me to speak to his son, Dave. Again, I had to make a call and identify myself as a long-lost relative, and again, I was received warmly. Dave took the time to talk to me for almost an hour, too, and recommended that I call Theda's daughter, his cousin, Karen Crawford, who also lives in Neal's town. At that moment, my heart was filled to overflowing, so my contact with Karen came a few days later. All through this, I mused over the fact that it all started with a photo and a post-it note.

Karen is one of Theda Mangus Hammond's two children; her brother, Rodger, is older. She was forthcoming with information and willing to share all she knew. She and her Uncle Neal see each other often. She described Alda so I could learn more about her: a "character," as my Dad had told  me, who lived in Johnstown after Howard died, until her death from cancer in 1964. 

A tremendous piece of the family puzzle that Karen helped with has to do with Amber, sister of Theda, Kermit, and Neal. Not only did Alda lose Jean and another baby, but in the early 1950's, she lost her daughter, Amber, to an untimely, tragic death. At the time of her death, Amber was married to Bill Saum and had two sons, Ken and Gregory. Ken was a young teenager, but Greg was only a baby. I studied the photo and marveled at this family that endured such hardship, the family who, at the time of the photo, had no idea of the trials to come.

Bill Saum remarried, Karen said. After telling me a few more details, she asked, "Remind me again where you live?" When I said western North Carolina, she responded, "Ken's son lives in Asheville!" I couldn't believe it. Did I really have a third cousin this close in proximity? Did my poring over Peepeye's album, singling out this photo, seeing the post-it, calling Neal, Dave, and Karen...really lead me to a relative practically in my backyard?

The short answer is, yes! In all this research, I am becoming adept in finding people, an amateur sleuth of sorts. It turned out that I found my cousin, who lives next door to a friend of my husband! Within minutes of my sending an email with the long details of who I am and how we're related, his wife wrote back! Not only were they ecstatic to hear from me, but we planned to meet the following weekend!

When we met the Saums yesterday, it was as if we had known each other all our lives. We were all wanting to know each other and be known. Because of his grandmother's death so long ago, Kevin Saum had not known her side of the family well. Until yesterday, he had never even seen a photo of Amber. His lovely wife and I looked on with lumps in our throats as Kevin gazed at the photo in the album, and many more. What a blessing it is to bridge the gaps that have been open for so long!

Need I say again that all of this started with the album my grandfather loved so dearly? It had led to two third cousins and their spouses in a kitchen, looking at a crumbling book, sharing stories about loved ones long gone. Amber is worth remembering; what we did and are doing honors her, as well as our other departed loved ones. It's never too late to pick back up. Family ties can never be broken as long as members are willing to strengthen them again.

With Kevin Saum

This post is extra long because the circumstances just keep getting better! After the Saums left, I texted Dave Mangus this photo and told him about me finding Kevin within 25 miles of my house. He said he was in Sarasota visiting Neal, and proceeded to send me copies of old family photos, including two more of Amber. One of these was taken the same day as the famous photo that started my searches! Now Kevin and his siblings, father, and uncle have pictures of the grandmother and mother they lost. I believe God is using this to help and grow us all in many ways.

The photo from Dave Mangus, the same day as the one in the album.
Back: Kermit, Neal, Bill Saum.
Front: Hazel Mangus and her children, Kermit Jr. and Jeanne, Howard and Alda Mangus, Theda and her son, Rodger, Amber and young Ken.

Who imagined that looking through the album would produce such fruit? Who knew how many Burtnett descendants are out there, glad to be found? Who knew that Kevin's family and mine would form an instant connection? I like to picture my great-grandfather, Harry (known to us as "Pop"), and Kevin's great-grandmother, Aunt Alda, delighting in this reunion of a family long grown apart. I wish I could tell Peepeye all about it, and that he could talk to his cousin Neal. I wish Amber knew that she is not forgotten. What a privilege it is to bring us all back together.  

"I will restore to you the years the locusts have eaten." (Joel 2:25)

Thank You, Lord...I can't wait to see where this will lead next.