Finding Peace in a Turbulent World

    Susie Maroney did something that nobody else had ever done. On May 12, 1997 the 22-year-old Australian became the first person to swim from Cuba to the Florida Straits. For 110 miles in shark infested waters she swam nonstop for 24 1/2 hours. To protect her from the sharks she swam in a special cage pulled by a boat moving with her. To encourage her along the way her mother and brother rode in the boat cheering her on. Along with this amazing feat of endurance she arrived in the Florida Keys she was dehydrated, sunburned, and covered with jellyfish stings. Even more amazing to me is the fact that Maroney was born with cerebral palsy. She took up swimming at the age of four and began competitive swimming three years later. As a teenager she had pushed herself to the point where she could compete in long distance swimming contests.

    Life is lived in a turbulent world with obstacles that seem to challenge us at unexpected turns. Health problems. Financial concerns. Family conflicts. Career upsets. Sometimes the challenges of life make us feel like we are swimming with sharks and no shore is in sight.

    Jesus has the perfect solution for handling life’s ups and downs. To those who have obeyed Him in baptism and who strive daily to maintain their faith He offers peace. To His disciples He proclaimed, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). That promise is just as available today as then. Jesus will surround His faithful followers with a peace the world can never penetrate. Live your life with determination and faith and Jesus will give you peace.

David Bragg

A Wing and a Prayer

    On February 1, 1943 Lt. Kendrick R. Bragg flew out to North Africa with his team, the 414th Bomb Squadron. On the way back to their base they came under attack by a German fighter pilot. The enemy plane suddenly spiraled out of control crashing into the lead American plane sending it crashing down. Still falling, the German plane next struck the B-17, the All American, piloted by Bragg. With a gaping hole in his plane's fuselage, the rear of the bomber literally swaying as it flew, he was somehow able to bring the plane in for an emergency landing. Once on the ground, the crew emerged unharmed from the damaged plane just before the rear portion collapsed. Later, in relating his experiences to Jimmy McHugh, Lt. Bragg told how "we came in on one engine and a prayer" (www.armyairforces.com). Not only did his story inspire McHugh's song, A Wing and a Prayer, but also a film with the same title.

    Prayer is one of the greatest spiritual blessings bestowed upon Christians during their earthly sojourn. In it the power of God beautifully blends with the faith of the believer. The resulting masterpiece only further emphasizes the crucial role Jesus plays as the Christian’s mediator and Savior. Prayer can make the difference in our attitude in facing life’s adversity. It may not always change circumstances, but it will most certainly change you.

David Bragg

A Lurking Danger in Mattoon

    For several generations my family has lived near the town of Mattoon, Illinois. Following my graduation from junior college I lived and worked in Mattoon. Yet, I could never have imagined a time of darkness that terrified that community in 1944 when it was terrorized by the “Mad Gasser of Mattoon!”

    In a time before air conditioning was prevalent a mysterious figure dressed in black would strike without warning spraying "a paralyzing gas" in the open windows of private homes. Over a period of two weeks twenty-four attacks were reported to local authorities of a sweet-smelling gas being sprayed through open windows. Some screens were slashed at the windows in questioned and when there were witnesses seeing a fleeing suspect the descriptions were usually consistent.

    Authorities were stumped and eventually dismissed many of the attacks as mass hysteria. Yet, despite armed vigilantes roaming the streets the attacks continued as did the skepticism of baffled law enforcement (www.historicmysteries.com).

    A far more dangerous force regularly attacks the entire human race. Unlike the Illinois case, we know this enemy and can recognize his tactics (2 Corinthians 2:11). Also unlike whatever or whoever terrorized Mattoon in the fall of 1944, Satan’s attacks never end as long as life endures.

David Bragg

Everlasting Love

    It started with a simple question and a group of children. They were asked, "What is love?" Their answers are insightful.

•  "When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." – Karen, age 7
• "Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other." – Karl, age 5
• "Love is what makes you smile when you're tired." – Terri, age 4
• "Love is when Mommy sees daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford." – Chris, age 8
• "Love is when my Mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK." – Danny, age 7
• "Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well." – Tommy, age 6
• "When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth." – Billy, age 4

Billy's answer reminds me of Jesus' observation when He quoted from Psalm 8:2: "Out of the mouth of babes’” (Matt. 21:16).
    One of the major platforms upon which Jesus established His church was the unchanging promise of unending love. One of the blessings we look forward to in Heaven will be His everlasting love. Is it any wonder that Jesus observed that the greatest commandment is to love (Matt. 22:37–38), or that we demonstrate our discipleship to the world by love (John 13:35)?

David Bragg

Last of Our Parent's Generation

Last fall I posted on this blog the passing of Dad's youngest sister, Ruth Alice Stone. This summer we lost Mom's youngest sister. With the death of Aunt Eva all of our parent's generation slipped away. Known as the "Greatest Generation," they lived through the Great Depression and the Second World War, many of them served in the military but all of them were hard working and resilient. WE are better people because of their example.

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Eva M. Ethington
January 30, 1930 - June 04, 2020

Eva M. Ethington, 90, of Sullivan, passed away at 1:53 a.m. Thursday June 4, 2020 in Mason Point, Sullivan.

Private family graveside services will be Thursday June 11, 2020 in the French Cemetery, Allenville with Pastor Grant Wade officiating. Memorials are suggested to the donor’s choice. Reed Funeral Home, Sullivan in charge of arrangements. Online condolences may be sent to the family at reedfuneralhome.net.

Eva was born January 30, 1930 in Allenville, the daughter of Luther and Ruth Standerfer Ethington. She had been a cook for Candy Land, Hardens Café, The Spot, Titus Home and Hardees. She was a member of the Allenville Christian Church.

Surviving are her nephews Jess (Cheryl) Bragg of Centralia, Charles (Rebecca) Bragg of Sullivan, James (Glenna) Bragg of Marshall, Larry (Donna) Bragg of Shelbyville, David (Ann) Bragg of Kernersville, North Carolina, Ronald (Linda) Bragg of Havre, Montana, Mark (Becky) Bragg of Mahomet, Neal (Mary Ann ) Whitely of Valley Springs, South Dakota, Glen Parker of La Junta, Arizona and Wayne Ethington of Terre Haute, Indiana; nieces Ruth Bauer of Decatur, Reva (Ron) Martin of Sullivan, Debra (Michael) Green of Masonville, Colorado, Donna Bornhoff of Chicago, Christine Wulff of Bement and Diane Ferrol of Florida.

She was preceded in death by her parents, four brothers, four sisters, two nephews and a niece.

Did You Know #52

Until a recent email I would have had to admit that I didn't know anything about the existence of a man named Gideon Pitts (1807-1888). At the time of his death in Richmond, NY, Mr. Pitts was lamented as "its most distinguished citizen" (Ontario County Journal, June 29, 1888). He was, prior to the Civil War, an active leader in the Abolitionist movement to end slavery and their home was one of the stops for runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad. He was a farmer and colonel in the militia.

Gideon enjoyed the support of his family in serving the abolitionist's cause. He married Jane Wells who died just a few years after her husband (March 22, 1892). To this union five children were born, a son also named Gideon, and four daughters (Helen, Lorinda, Jennie and Eva). In the death notice published for Jane Wells Pitts the only mention of her family is that "her mother, four sisters and two brothers all died in the month of March" (The Naples Record 30 March 1892).

Fortunately family records are available for the family of Jane Wells Pitts. We know that she was the daughter of Paoli Pascal and Anna Wells. Of special interest to our family, though, is the fact that Anna Wells maiden name was Munson. Jane Wells Pitts' Great-great-great Grandparents were Samuel and Martha Munson who also happened to be 6th Great Grandparents of our Grandmother Bragg.

What makes the family of Gideon and Jane Pitts of interest? They were not greatly unlike other northern families committed to the anti-slavery movement and for the cause of freedom and rights of former slaves following the close of the Civil War. But the Pitts family was unique in their close personal relationship with the former slave and Abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass. The Pitts family hosted meetings for Douglass in their New York home and worked closely with him through his Washington DC area home. In fact, when their oldest daughter, Helen (described as "an able, accomplished woman"), moved to Washington she became a next door neighbor to Mr. Douglass who hired her to work for him as "a clerk in the office of the Recorder of Deeds in Washington, to which he had just been assigned" (Wikipedia). She worked closely with Douglass in his speaking engagements and in the writing of his autobiography.

  

Helen provided a source of strength to Frederick Douglass when, in 1882, the famous civil rights leader's wife, Anna Murray Douglass, passed away. Prejudice would soon rear its ugly head in the Pitts family when just two years later the 66-year-old former slave and the 46-year-old clerk were married. "Despite the fact that her family were ardent abolitionists and colleagues of Douglass, they were outraged at the marriage and refused to speak to Helen" (www.findagrave.com). Following their wedding Gideon and Jane Pitts "broke contact with her and Douglas" (Matthew Conheady, Pitts Mansion, nyhistoric.com). They were not the only ones who disapproved of the couple's decision to marry. Frederick Douglass' children were also said to have "scorned the marriage." It is encouraging, however, to read the obituaries of her parents in which we can infer that relations were eventually restored. This is especially clear in the death notice of Helen's mother, Jane, whose final days were spent in the Douglass' Washington DC household. Helen Pitts Douglass would remain the happy wife of her beloved husband until his death in 1895 and would become her husband's most ardent defender and the founder of the Frederick Douglass Memorial and Historical Association.

So how specifically is our family related to the second wife of Frederick Douglass? The chart below illustrates this connection of our Grandmother Bragg and her 5th cousins (2 times removed) Helen Pitts Douglass.

Samuel and Martha Munson
Joseph Munson (1677 - 1725)	Samuel Munson (1669 - 1741)
Ephraim Munson (1714 - 1770)	Solomon Munson (1689 - 1773)
Jerod Munson (1742)	Samuel Munson (1717 - 1790)
Anna Munson Pascal (1777 - 1836)	Samuel Munson (1763 - 1832)
Jane Wells, wife of Gideon Pitts (1811 - 1892)	Isaac Munson (1802 - 1864)
Helen Pitts (1838 - 1903), 2nd wife of Frederick Douglass	Joel Munson (1846 - 1921)
	Elvira Belle Munson (1871 - 1939), wife of Cicero Gilbreath
	Gladys (Gilbreath) Bragg (1898 - 1977)

Joel Munson, our Great-great Grandfather and Helen Wells Douglass were  5th cousins.

Ruth Alice Stone

On the 24th of August 2019 a generation closed, but more importantly, a beautiful life ended. Aunt Ruthie was the youngest and last surviving of Dad's siblings. She was always cheerful, smiling, and seemed to live a life full of joy. Below is a copy of Aunt Ruthie's obituary.

     Ruth Alice Stone, 90, of Sullivan, passed away 2:11 a.m. Saturday, August 24, 2019, at Mason Point, Sullivan.
     Funeral services will be held 11:00 a.m. Thursday, August 29, 2019, McMullin-Young Funeral Home, Sullivan. Visitation will be held an hour prior to the service Thursday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Greenhill Cemetery, Sullivan. Memorials may be made to the Okaw Valley Ag Complex: 709 S. St. John Street, Bethany, IL 61914
     Ruth was born July 17, 1929; the daughter of O.B. and Gladys (Gilbreth) Bragg. She married Lloyd “Tiny” Stone on September 5, 1948 in Bruce; he survives. Grandma Ruthie was loved by so many people, especially her family, grandchildren and her husband of 71 years, Papa Tiny.
Ruth is survived by her husband, Lloyd “Tiny” of Sullivan; son, Chris (Brenda) Stone of Lerna; daughter, Connie (John) Wise of Bethany; grandchildren, Stacey (Matt) Ellegood, Jeremy (Melissa) Stone, Matt Jerod (Jennifer) Stone, Curtis (Lindsey) Wise, Jennifer (Eric) Thoele and Wesley (Christina) Wise. She is also survived by 8, great-grandchildren.
     She was preceded in death by her parents, 3 brothers and 1 sister.