Lost Pictures Found of the 1968 Reunion, Part 2

by Glenn N. Holliman


1968 - A Summer of Discontent 

For those of us old enough to remember 1968, it was a wretched year.  Two political assassinations, inter-cities burning due to unresolved racial strive, an angry presidential election season, a war bitterly dividing a nation and the resulting tragedy of hundreds of young Americans and Vietnamese dying weekly.

I was thin as a rail, newly married, just graduated from college and headed for graduate school in history.  Current events intervened and Uncle Sam called me (read drafted) for military duty.  That July 1968, my young wife, Lynn, and I traveled to Gadsden, Alabama  from our home in Tennessee where I boarded a bus, traveled to Montgomery's military receiving station and passed my physical.  In August, I stepped across a line swearing to defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic.  Six months later I was in Vietnam.

Below, left to right, Motie, Ralph's wife, myself,
 Lynn and my sister, Becky, all of 18 in the background.



That July, 1968  E.C. and Mary Daly Herrin opened their home and spacious grounds for a Holliman family reunion.  Grandpa Uylss Holliman had died in 1965, and three years later a number of his children and their offspring gathered in Irondale, Alabama.  This was a happy respite for me, facing a difficult immediate future.  I remember the picnic as it was yesterday and not a half century ago.

Patti Holliman Hairston, Melton and Ida's daughter, was present with her first child, Holly.

Virginia Holliman Cornelius in the foreground.  In 1968, Virginia was an up and coming banker en route career-wise to become in her time the highest ranking female banking executive in Alabama history. My mother, Gerry, stands behind her and E.C. Herrin in background.

For some reason Charles and Loudelle Holliman Ferrell and Ralph Holliman posed with arms folded.  Ralph's daughter Kathy, holds his arm.  Something about Holliman formality.  It was a time with men dressed in white shirts and ties for a picnic.  That would change in a generation.

Vena Holliman Daly, the matriarch of the family at that time, below with her niece, Carol Cornelius.  Carol now lives with her husband Chuck Morton in retirement village for North Americans in Mexico.  

For some reason fate decried that of all the male cousins, I drew the straw to go to blighted war in South East Asia.  As a result of passing my physical (half in my group failed), I was soon at Fort Benning, Georgia.  The brief Alabama reunion in the rear view mirror, it was a time of testing and maturing. 

Funny, I still feel naive and still trying to develop a bit of wisdom, this being 50 plus years later.  I wonder if the many grandchildren of Ulyss and Pearl Caine Holliman have similar thoughts as we climb remorselessly into our very senior years?

By late October 1968, basic training was over (above), and even thinner,  I was soon en route to advanced training at Ft. Dix, New Jersey and Ft. Hamilton, New York.  By February 1, 1969, I was with the 1st Infantry Division north of Saigon, along with another 500,000 young Americans in an ill-fated attempt to intervene in an Asian civil war.

Next posting, back to World War II, and how our Alabama family held up during the crushing year of 1944.

An Alabama Family in World War II, Part 36

by Glenn N. Holliman

News from the Home Front, as Summer turns to Autumn, 1943

Bishop Holliman's destroyer left the Battle of Sicily and the Mediterranean and arrived in New York City in the late summer of 1943.  Brothers Melton and Ralph were in the Army - Melton as a medic in training at Ft. Bradley, Texas and Ralph, a clerk assigned to Reno, Nevada.

Their Mother, Pearl Caine Holliman sent Melton a newsy letter proclaiming that Ed Fortenberry, the Irondale, Alabama grocer, was ready to adopt Melton and Ida's new vivacious daughter, Patsy, if ever they wanted to give her away!  "She seems to win everyone's heart wherever she goes."

 Left, Ulyss and Pearl Caine Holliman in Irondale with their grand daughter, Patsy (Patti), daughter of Melton and Ida Hughes Holliman.  

Pearl wrote "We had a bond rally in Irondale last night and us women had to go door to door to sell bonds." A week later she wrote Melton, of which I publish a part of the letter (see below).  This is my grandmother's own handwriting.

In the 4th line, she writes that Motie, Ralph's young wife, has returned from visiting him and now has a job in Birmingham, but if Ralph stays long in Reno, she is going to join him.

In the 8th line Pearl refers to Vena Holliman Daly's pregnancy, one in which she often had been sick.  The child, Bob, will be born safely in October 1943 and was named after his father, Robert William Daly, Sr.


Right, Vena, Ulyss, Pearl and Mary, daughter of Robert and Vena Holliman Daly in 1942.

In the 11th line, Bishop has been reassigned from the USS Butler to the USS Barker, but goes for more radio direction training in Maine before shipping out again into the North Atlantic.

His Mother is worried he will be sent back to Italy, where 'they are having some slauter (sic) over there.'  Here Pearl writes, as she did in most letters, of her deep Christian faith, a faith that through prayer all her boys would come home safely from the war.

Toward the end of this letter, Pearl expressed her concern that her sister, Vista Caine (1898-1986), had a new boy friend (Vista smoked, drank, was twice divorced and generally enjoyed life).  Pearl's strict religious beliefs and Vista's life style created stress between the two sisters throughout their lives.  Their Mother, Lula Hocutt Caine (1861-1957) had a more live and let live approach to life!         

                                                                                                                                       

Above, Fred Gumpp, Vista, Bishop and Gerry Holliman in 1974 at Vista's home in Indiana.  She married that 'rich man', Fred, and settled down to 40 years of marriage!

Next post, more letters from the home front in Alabama!

How a World War Changed an Alabama Family, Part 31

by Glenn N. Holliman

The War Continues to Disrupt the Lives of an Alabama Family....

In the summer of 1943, the Holliman family of Irondale, Alabama became fully engaged in World War II as three sons and a son-in-law were in military service.  Ralph, b 1924, left his young new wife, Motie, and did his basic training in Miami, Florida.  In mid-summer he was transferred by troop train to Camp Buckley, Colorado.  There he learned to be an Air Corp clerk, later to serve in France.

Right, decades later Ralph, Motie Chism Holliman (1925-2003) and Virginia Holliman Cornelius (1922-2011). Virginia's husband, Walter, went to the Army that spring of 1943 also.

Ralph's despondent mother, Pearl Caine Holliman (1888-1955) wrote her sailor son, Bishop Holliman, b 1919 - "They moved him (Ralph) to Denver. He came through Irondale and his train stayed in our town for over two hours and we did not know it. He could not call; I could hardly stand it."


From his new posting in the West, Ralph wrote July 2, 1943 to his brother-in-law Robert W. Daly, Sr. (1901-1959): "You meet any kind of person here, and I would not take anything for the friends I have made in the Army.  Most of the fellows are in the same boat. They all left their homes (believing) that something was to be done and the sooner that was over, the sooner we would get back to our homes. I think I was lucky to get into the Air Force and into clerical school.  The school is seven weeks."

Ralph had received a  letter from his brother, Euhal Holliman (1912-1989) in Gadsden, Alabama.  "It was signed from the five of us.  He said he had been working hard. I hope he doesn't have to go."  

Left, Euhal in 1982 fishing in Alaska.  He and wife, Edna Westbrook Holliman, had six children of whom, Terry and Jerry, the twins, would make their homes in Alaska.

In the summer of 1943, Euhal was 31 years old and supporting three children - Terry, Jerry and Anne Holliman Phillips. A fourth child, Jean, was born in 1944. Fortunately for his family's sake, Euhal, who perhaps had a physical injury, was never called.

Below, the summer of 1943, front row left to right - Charles H. Ferrell, Patti Holliman Hairston and John Ferrell.  Back row left to right - Carolyn Ferrell Tatum, Mary Daly Herrin and unknown.




Loudelle Holliman Ferrell (1914-1998), sister to her siblings and the wife of Dr. Charles Ferrell, Methodist minister in Jacksonville, Alabama, wrote to announce her Victory Garden already had produced beans and beets.  She also reported the apprehension by the police of an Army deserter, missing for four months, who had taken shelter under their church.  

My grandmother, Pearl, wrote of her great distress when her oldest son Melton, (1908-1958), age 35, was drafted into the Army.  He was ordered to report to Ft. McClellan,
Alabama for his physical in July 1943.  He passed the examination and at age 35, he prepared to leave his lucrative career as a pharmaceutical salesman, his young child and wife and do his duty.


 Right, Melton and Ida Hughes Holliman, 1942, when visiting Melton's brother, Bishop, who was stationed in New Orleans for training.

While his brothers were training for war, Bishop Holliman, a radio specialist in U-boat tracking, was about to engage in the first hostilities a member of the family would experience - the July 1943 Allied Invasion of Sicily, the first attack on Hitler's Europe.

That is the subject of our next posting. 


Have questions about Holliman family history? You are invited to join the Hollyman Email List at Hollyman-Subscribe@yahoogroups.com and the Hollyman Family Facebook Page located on Facebook at "Hollyman Family". Post your questions and perhaps one of the dozens Holyman cousins on the list will have an answer. For more information contact Tina Peddie at desabla1@yahoo.com, the list and Facebook manager for Hollyman (and all our various spellings!).

There is also a massive Ancestry.com Holyman and Associated Families Tree available for review.  For an invitation to this collection of over 30,000 individuals, please write glennhistory@gmail.com.  

Blog sites are available not only at http://ulyssholliman.blogspot.com but also at 
http://hollimanfamilyhistory.blogspot.com.  For archival materials and manuscripts of Holliman and associated families, visit www.bholliman.com.  If you would like to 
save your family materials and photographs at this site, please contact glennhistory@gmail.com. 

Ralph Holliman's 90th Birthday

by Glenn N. Holliman

Friends and Family gather to Celebrate a Milestone....July 2014

The youngest of the seven children of Ulyss (1884-1965) and Pearl Caine Holliman (1888-1955) observed his 90th birthday surrounded by friends and family in Gulf Shores, Alabama recently.  Speaking emotionally to over 70 guests at a birthday luncheon, Ralph Holliman, retired corporate executive, father of two and grandfather of one, said "he could not believe he was 90", and "must be the luckiest man alive".  

Ralph grew up in Irondale, Alabama and served in the European theater during World War II.  For sixty years, he was married to the late Motie Chism Holliman (1925-2003).  Below after their wedding in 1943 in front of the Robert W. Daly, Sr. home on 3rd Avenue North, Irondale.   Ralph entered the U.S. Army shortly after the marriage, and did not return home until 1945.  

Below, left to right: Ralph with his lovely wife of seven years, Laura; daughter Pam Holliman, grand daughter Rachel Harbour and front son-in-law Tim Donald, (not shown) Kathy Holliman's husband.  Ninety candles blazed on the cake while the caterer (background) stood by with a fire extinguisher!

Known for his wry and understated sense of humor,

Ralph boldly sported a 'Happy Birthday' cake chapeau

during much of the event!

           

Ralph and his first wife, Motie, were blessed with two talented daughters and grand daughter.

Kathy (left) is a professional writer and Pam (right) a seminary professor.  Kathy's daughter, Rachel, edits art history publications for a Boston publisher.







Relatives in attendance on a glorious summer day were seated left to right: Pam Holliman, Ralph Holliman, Laura Holliman, Kathy Holliman and Rachel Harbour.  Back rows: Terri Heyduk, Jean Holliman, Wally Allen (back row), Tommie Holliman Allen (partially obscured by the candles!), Chuck Morton, Carol Cornelius Morton, Nancy Ferrell, Charles H. Ferrell, Glenn Holliman and Tim Donald.

Bishop Holliman, Ralph's 94 year old brother, had planned to attend but had complications that prohibited his visitation from Indiana.  The two brothers survive from siblings of seven - Melton (1908-1958), Vena (1909-1990), Euhal (1912-1986), Loudell (1914-1999) and Virginia (1922-2011).  Below, Ralph and Bishop Holliman in the 1980s.

Next posting, back to World War II and its impact on the Holliman family of Alabama....

 Have questions about Holliman family history? You are invited to join the Hollyman Email List at Hollyman-Subscribe@yahoogroups.com and the Hollyman Family Facebook Page located on Facebook at "Hollyman Family". Post your questions and perhaps one of the dozens Holyman cousins on the list will have an answer. For more information contact Tina Peddie at desabla1@yahoo.com, the list and Facebook manager for Hollyman (and all our various spellings!).
For additional information on Hollimans, check out http://hollimanfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/ . 

Ulyss and Pearl Caine Holliman and their Descendants

The Seventh Child of Ulyss and Pearl Caine Holliman, 

William Ralph Holliman, Part VIII

by Glenn N. Holliman


The years slipped by for Ralph and Motie.  From a clerk at American Bakeries in Birmingham, Alabama, he climbed the corporate ladder to office manager and plant manager, regional, divisional  and finally national vice president of operations in Chicago.  At one time the company had sixty-two plants and 10,000 employees.  Those were busy years, but he never lost his Alabama roots.

Right, in 1965 at the Robert and Vena Daly home in Irondale, Alabama, five of the six surviving siblings of Ulyss and Pearl Caine Holliman gathered for a group picture. Left to right are Euhal, Vena Daly, Bishop, Loudelle Ferrell and Ralph. Notice the three men are in suits and ties.  






In 1978 Vena, Ralph, Virginia and Bishop took time to gather in Birmingham.

In 1984, Motie, Ralph, Mary Daly Herrin and Bishop Holliman met in Irondale, Alabama, Mary's home.

Below, Ralph, Gerry Holliman, Motie and Bishop Holliman, 1987.

Next, the Children of Ralph and Motie Holliman....

Ulyss and Pearl Caine Holliman and their Descendants

The Seventh Child of Ulyss and Pearl Caine Holliman

William Ralph Holliman, 1924, Part VI
by Glenn N. Holliman


Success in Corporate America


There were three war time marriages in the Ulyss and Pearl Holliman family – Virginia and Walter Cornelius in January 1942, Ralph and Motie Chism in February 1943 and Bishop and Geraldine Stansbery in June 1945. 

Below, two new sister-in-laws, Motie and Gerry Holliman, Bishop’s wife, in Irondale, Alabama in front of the Holliman home at 2300 3^rd Avenue,  February 1945.

With the war over, Ralph took the G.I. Bill and returned to Birmingham-Southern College.  Motie and Ralph joined in the production of Baby Boomers when in 1947, their first child, Pamela Holliman was born. Katherine, a second daughter, entered the world in 1951.  With his family growing, Ralph took a job as a clerk with the local branch of the American Bakery Company in Birmingham.  It was a fateful choice as Ralph’s skills were appreciated, and he began a career of 37 years with the same company.

It is tempting to see something of Ralph’s career in William H. Whyte’s best selling book The Organizational Man, a 1950s treatise on corporate America and the men (yes, mainly men at that time although his sister, Virginia Holliman Cornelius, was a pioneering exception) who ran America’s businesses.  With each promotion and increase in responsibilities, heads of households had to move their families from branch office to branch plant and so forth. 

During their marriage Motie and Ralph moved 17 times, and Pam attended seven schools by the 7^th grade!  The cities tumbled by: New Orleans, Jacksonville, Birmingham, Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Atlanta, Dallas and finally Chicago which became their home for 22 years. In 1993, Motie and Ralph moved to their retirement home in Gulf Shores, Alabama, where Ralph lives to this day.

The U.S. economy was rapidly expanding, along with a population demanding televisions, appliances, air conditioning, bigger and newer automobiles and houses.  The consumer age was born, and the GDP of America kept going up, up and up.

Ralph Holliman in the company attire of his generation – white shirt and tie.  No computer on his desk in this early 1950s photograph.  Letters were done by dictation, generally to the female secretary. Direct dial telephones spread rapidly in the 1950s, and one no longer had to wait for an operator.  Hard to believe in the 21^st Century, but families and businesses often had to share a party-line, that is one could pick up the telephone and hear a conversation of others on the ‘line’.  And the phone would not be available until that person had finished their call!

Next - the 1950s....

Ulyss and Pearl Caine Holliman and their Descendants

by Glenn N. Holliman

Virginia Ruth Holliman Cornelius, 1922

the Sixth Child of Ulyss and Pearl Caine Holliman

Below is a charming 1959 Christmas card of Carol and Susan Cornelius at their home in Homewood, Alabama.  Both girls now live in Texas with their own families and grandchildren.

On Virginia's 80th birthday in 2002, her daughters prepared a lovely multi-page biography of their Mother.  I can't improve on it, so I reproduce it here with their permission.  Just click on the pages and it will enlarge for reading purposes.

Here is a photo from the 2002 birthday party when this biography was presented. Left to right, Motie Holliman, who has passed away, Ralph Holliman, Virginia, Bishop Holliman and Bishop's wife, Ellen Cox Holliman. Ralph is in the insert picture in the biography above.

More of her printed biography in the next post....


Note: The information and opinions expressed in these family biographies are those of the writer alone. Comments, corrections and additions are most welcome. The purpose of these articles is to capture a period and family in American history and to pass this legacy along to future generations who share the common bond of family.


Plan now to attend the Holliman and Associated Families Genealogical Round Table at the Fayette County, Alabama Civic Center, 10 am to 3 pm, Saturday, October 15, 2011. For information and reservations for lunch, contact Glenda Norris at gnorris@bcbsal.org or Glenn Holliman at Glennhistory@gmail.com.  Sessions to include Tracing the Holymans from England to Alabama, Holliman Farm Sites in Fayette County and sharing of information on Associated Families.  All invited  All invited, including the Holliman social at the Rose House Inn, Fayette, 5:30 pm to 9 pm, Friday, October 14th.