Happy 102nd Birthday to Grandpa John Bartram!

Today would have been my beloved Grandpa John's 102nd birthday! Grandpa always liked a good celebration, so I think I'll have a drink in his honor tonight. Meanwhile, here's the blog post I wrote two years ago for his 100th birthday. Enjoy!



If you've been following my posts, you know that I have a huge soft spot for my maternal grandpa, John Bartram. Today would have been Grandpa John's 100th birthday, so I'm dedicating this blog post to him.

I've already written about Grandpa's rodeo exploits and his knack for telling tall tales. Here's a little bit more about his life. John Bartram was born on April 4, 1911, in Allen, Kansas, to Joseph and Alice Veale Bartram. He was the fourth youngest of 17 (!!) kids. He and his siblings grew up on his father's farm, and he left school after third grade to help out with the necessary chores that kept this large ranching family alive, including farm work, carpentry and horse shoeing.

Grandpa had the adventurous spirit that was so prevalent in many of my ancestors. In 1924, at the young age of 13 years old, he made his first trip to California, hopping a west-bound freight. He stayed here for one year, working on ranches in the Clearlake area, before heading back home to Kansas. He again returned to California in around 1927 at the age of 16 (again riding a westbound freight train), and this time he stayed for good. He landed a job at the Rowell Ranch in Dublin Canyon (between Hayward and Dublin) where his brother, Dutch, was working as ranch foreman. He worked at the Rowell Ranch until the early 1950s.

Riding in a parade at the
1939 World's Fair in San Francisco

In 1932, Grandpa began his career as a professional rodeo performer, competing in rodeos all over the west for over 20 years. He bulldogged and roped steers and rode broncs and bulls. He joined rodeo greats Johnny and Frank Schneider and Joe Berl to make up the American team of rodeo riders sent to the World Games in Australia in 1936, where they competed against cowboys from Russia, Australia and other countries. He also participated in the rodeo portion of the World’s Fair in 1939 in San Francisco. This was a dangerous sport, but he competed with gusto. At one rodeo, Grandpa was bucked off a bull and broke his back.  He recovered and continued his rodeo career, but the injury stayed with him through his life.

In 1936, Grandpa met a pretty little rodeo queen at the Livermore Rodeo: my grandmother, Donna Madsen. They fell in love and were married in Reno, Nevada, on March 26, 1938. Grandma and Grandpa had four children: Clinton James, Brenda Rae, Rebecca Elizabeth (my mom); and Clay John. In 1959, Donna and John were involved in a terrible automobile accident which left my grandma brain damaged. She passed away in 1966, leaving Grandpa John to care for the family.

Back: Uncle Jim, Aunt Brenda, Mom (Becky)
Front: Uncle Clay, Grandma Donna, Grandpa John

L-R: Uncle Jim, Aunt Brenda, Grandpa John, Mom, Uncle Clay

As a grandfather, he was wonderful to all eight of his grandchildren. He was loving and attentive, and seemed to enjoy spending time with us. We probably didn't realize it at the time, but my sister, Cindy, and I were fortunate that Grandpa lived with us for part of our childhood. Here are some of my memories of growing up with Grandpa John:

• His tall tales and songs. I've already written about his story of the buzzards who hoisted him out of a dry well. There were plenty of other stories and songs, including some that I can't repeat in polite company... 
• He never lacked a ride! Grandpa was an alcoholic and we eventually had to take his drivers license away from him. It didn't slow him down, though. Whenever he wanted a six-pack of his favorite beer (Olympia), he'd saddle up his horse and ride a few miles down the road to the local country store. He didn't even need to dismount since the storekeeper would come out with his beer, take his money and then come back out with his change. Then, he and his horse would ride back up the hill and he'd enjoy a nice cold brew out on the porch. 
• His short-lived excitement at me getting my own drivers license. At first, Grandpa was tickled about me getting my license because it meant I could take him into town for more affordable beer. I wasn't so excited about getting this chore, though, so I made the poor guy suffer it by taking him on joy rides and watching his knuckles turn white with every turn. When I moved away to college, Cindy continued the joy rides with Grandpa (including one infamous ride that entailed running over chickens, which he never really got over).
• His wake-up calls. I'm not a morning person, but Cindy and I raised sheep in 4-H, which meant we had to get up early each day to feed them. Grandpa made sure we were up every morning to take care of our sheep, and usually had to resort to tearing my bedclothes clear off of me in order to do the trick.
• He called me Wendower -- not sure why!
• His pride in us kids. Grandpa didn't get to finish school, so he was proud of us kids and encouraged us to succeed. He helped us when he could, especially with our 4-H endeavors, and cheered us on in everything else.  

Grandpa John and his girls!

Grandpa John passed away on August 15, 1987. He had suffered for years from the effects of alcoholism, emphysema and, finally, lung cancer (not to mention a broken heart from losing his Donna). He was a strong guy with a strong heart, though, and fought these diseases for far longer than anyone expected he could. It was still quite a blow to all of us when we lost him. As I think of Grandpa John on this 100th anniversary of his birth, I'm happy to remember his warmth, humor, resilience and love. Happy Birthday, Grandpa John!

Tall Tale Tuesday: How Grandpa John was Saved by the Buzzards

Grandpa John, no doubt telling
Cindy and me one of his stories

If you've been following my posts, you know that my maternal grandfather, John Bartram, was quite the adventurer. He was a rodeo cowboy who traveled the West and the world entertaining audiences with his fearless attempts at riding bulls and broncs. Grandpa John was also an entertainer of a different sort: he was the master of tall tales. He was so good at telling his crazy stories that some of his kids and grandkids didn't realize they were made up or embellished until after Grandpa had already left us.

Here's one of Grandpa John's favorite yarns. Grandpa lived with us, off and on, while I was growing up, and I recall hearing this one more times than I can count!

One day, Grandpa John was riding across the Kansas prairie when his horse stumbled into a large dry well. He and the horse plunged to the bottom of the well and were unable to get out.

After a couple of days, the horse died and Grandpa, of course, was worried that his time on this earth was also nearly at end. Pretty soon, the buzzards started gathering and circling the well.

When the buzzards began descending into the well to eat the flesh off of the dead horse, Grandpa had a flash of brilliance. He decided he would leap up and grab each buzzard, in turn, by their legs. He then hitched a saddle strap to each buzzard until there were enough buzzards attached to his saddle that the large, frantic birds simply hoisted both the saddle and Grandpa out of
the well.

 To hear Grandpa John tell it, it sounds completely plausible!

Finding your history in the oddest places

John Bartram, 1911-1987

One of our family's favorite pastimes has always been trolling the antique stores. My mom and I make a game of seeing if we can find items similar to the treasures that either of us grew up with: the dinnerware set that our family friend, Granny Sis, had when Mom was a little girl, a penguin ice bucket (or bun warmer, if you prefer) like the one Mom and Dad received as a wedding gift in 1964 (it's in my kitchen now) or Madame Alexander dolls that my sister and I collected as kids. It's a kick finding these things that remind us of our past, and we sometimes even bring them home. But, we never expected to find our own family in an antique store up in the California foothills.

Actually, my mom and her husband did the finding. I just reaped the benefits!

Here's how it happened: Just before Christmas, Mom and Rodney took a drive up to Mariposa, where several of Rodney's family are buried. They decided to snoop around the downtown antique stores, and boy was Mom surprised when she spotted some framed rodeo programs that featured her dad, John Bartram! She purchased a couple to give to my Aunt Brenda and Uncle Clay for Christmas, found out the name of the vendor who was selling these treasures, and asked him if he had any more. So, the day after Christmas, we wisely avoided the malls and headed back up to Mariposa to pick up some framed family history for ourselves.

Check it out!

This is a rodeo program from the Rowell Ranch Wild West Rodeo in Dublin, California, on June 4, 1941. Grandpa competed in three events that day: Brahma Bull Riding, Steer Wrestling and, of all things, Wild Cow Milking. That last event was a new one for us!

Not only was it fun to see Grandpa John's name all over this program, but also the names of so many of his good friends from back then. We recognized a lot of names from the stories Grandpa often told.

Here's the cover of the rodeo program. Grandpa John and his brother, Dutch, both worked for Harry Rowell from the 1930s through the early 1950s. Harry raised rodeo stock that was used for events not only at his own arena, but throughout the West. You can still see the rodeo grounds as you drive east on I-580 into Dublin, California.

Grandpa John is the #5 rider in the Brahma Bull Riding event. He competed professionally from 1932 until 1954. During that time, he participated in the rodeo portion of the 1939 World’s Fair in San Francisco, and joined rodeo greats Johnny and Frank Schneider and Joe Berl to make up the American team of rodeo riders sent to the World Games in Australia in 1936. You can imagine some of the wild stories Grandpa had to tell about his adventures!