Gary Meacham is Grandfather and Grandmother Doak's First Great Grandson and his father Hulburd was the first Grandson in the family

Not many family members know that Gary's first name is really John. He's gone by Gary these 68 years. Gary will be 69 on the 26th of November. His little sister Norma Jean is 20 years younger than he is. Gary held onto his bachelorhood till he was 60 years old. While he was vacationing in Chili, after his retirement, he met a lovely lady named Cecelia Poblete, Cecy (say-see) for short. They live in Silverton, Oregon. She has embraced American life while still managing to see her South American family almost every year since she's been here. She works with migrant workers and the school district.

In the above picture you can barely see Gary below the beautiful ceiling which is somewhere in Mexico. Below is a picture of Cecy in Mexico.

Cousin Lois Doak Faunce Felt Cheated

Cousin Lois Faunce told me she felt cheated as a youth not having the opportunity to get aquainted with her cousins in the West. We will at least try to share a few pictures. Here is a photo of Sylvia and Merritts children. The picture goes left to right the youngest to oldest as follows - left to right- Gene, David, Gordon, Erma, Bud, George, and Hulburd. The occasion was Hulburd's 80 the birthday. All the siblings were there for the occasion which was nearly 15 years ago and held at the home of Bud and Clara Meacham in Clarkston, Washington, which is across the river from Lewiston, Idaho, where many Meacham's live today.

GreatGrandaughter Carolyn Betty an Opera Singer

The musical ability of the Howard's particularly and Carolyn's grandfather Everett Doak who loved to lay on the couch and listen to Opera on Saturday afternoon is a legacy that continues through greatgranddaughter Carolyn Betty. Her grandmother Betty Ruth who is now in her late 80's was undoubtedly a great musical influence on Carolyn. Betty Ruth was a high school music teacher. She described Carolyn's voice as a pure voice. By searching her name on the internet I found that Carolyn will be performing in Seattle Operas. Here is a little write -up on her just to let you know some of the great musical talent in the family. I wish I could hear her someday. Perhaps you can also.

Carolyn Betty
Carolyn Betty is quickly distinguishing herself as a one of the new up and coming sopranos to watch.
This season, Ms. Betty returns to the Pittsburgh Opera as First Lady in Die Zauberflöte. She most recently appeared there as Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte and Micaela in Carmen. Other recent opera engagements have included Anna Maurrant in Kurt Weill's Street Scene, Nanny in Miss Havisham's Fire and Annina in La Traviata at the Opera Theater of Saint Louis; Vitellia in La Clemenza di Tito and Anna Maurrant at the Wolf Trap Opera;. roles in the Opera Company of Philadelphia's productions of Aida, La Traviata, Il barbiere di Siviglia and Susannah; and the title role of Vanessa and Fiordiligi at the Curtis Institute of Music.
A recent graduate of the Pittsburgh Opera Center, Ms. Betty's roles there included Vitellia, the Fifth Maidservant in Elektra, and Amore and Melanto in Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria.
In concert this season, Ms. Betty performs Mendelsssohn's Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night's Dream with the National Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Betty recently appeared at the Hollywood Bowl in a concert performance of Götterdämmerung with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in a performance of Howard Shore's The Lord of the Rings Symphony. Her other concert engagements have included First Flowermaiden in Parsifal with Pierre Boulez, and Dvorák duets with Iván Fischer at the Los Angeles Philharmonic; Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with Mariss Jansons and the Pittsburgh Symphony; Rosalinde in selections from Die Fledermaus with the National Symphony Orchestra; Handel's Messiah with the Baltimore Symphony; and recitals with Stephen Blier with both The New York Festival of Song and Wolf Trap Opera.
A Wilmington, Delaware native, Ms. Betty was a winner of the 2002 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Her other awards include the 2006 George London/Kirsten Flagstad Memorial award, a 2004 Richard Tucker Study Grant, the 2000 Richard Gaddes Career Grant, a 2002 Sullivan Award, and a 2003 Shoshana Foundation Award.

So many of Doak Descendants are Earning the Title of Mother

We just got back from a 2 week stay with our daughter in Aptos, California. I felt like our daughter Kirsten as well as her married sisters and sister-in-laws are running a marathon. To watch and hear all they do to earn the title "Mother" is literally exhausting. If you look at the links on the AADoak Blog you will see the big job that so many of his descendants are undertaking in working to raise their families and to teach them and to keep a semblance of peace and harmony in their homes. It is inspiring to watch them work so hard to be a credit to their family name. It was interesting that one evening after a long day for Kirsten, a Cameron -Meacham cousin sent this article which I read to her and the next morning my brother Doug Meacham sent the almost exact test to earning the title Mother. All I can say is - keep in the race and do your best and you will all earn the title.

THE NEXT SURVIVOR SERIES
Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each for six weeks . Each kid will play two sports and either take music or dance classes . There is no fast food . Each man must take care of his 3 kids, keep his assigned house clean , correct all homework, and complete science projects, cook , do laundry , and pay a list of 'pretend' bills with not enough money. In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week . Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives, and send cards out on time
--no emailing. Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment , a dentist appointment and a haircut appointment . He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the Urgent Care. He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a social function . Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house , planting flowers outside and keeping it presentable at all times . The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done . The men must shave their legs , wear makeup daily , adorn themselves with jewelry, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes , keep fingernails polished and eyebrows groomed . During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or slow down from other duties.
They must attend weekly school meetings, church, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting . They will need to read a book to the kids each night and in the morning , feed them , dress them , brush their teeth and comb their hair by 7:00 am . A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information : each child's birthday, height, weight, shoe size, clothes size and doctor's name. Also the child's weight at birth, length, time of birth, and length of labor, each child's favorite color, middle name, favorite snack, favorite song, favorite drink, favorite toy, biggest fear and what they want to be when they grow up. The kids vote them off the island based on performance. The last man wins only if... he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment's notice. If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18-25 years, eventually earning the right to be called Mother ! After you get done laughing, send this to as many females as you think will get a kick out of it and as many men as you think can handle it. Just don't send it back to me.... I'm going to bed .

Great Granddaughter Georgia Meacham named Realtor of the Year for Idaho

The Idaho Association of Realtors last week named Georgia Meacham, an agent in Century 21 Advantage's Idaho Falls office, "Idaho Realtor of the Year" for 2008. Georgia received this honor last week at the annual Idaho Association of Realtors convention in Portland. In addition, she was also elected as one of three Idaho representatives to the National Association of Realtors Board of Directors.The Idaho Realtor of the Year designation is the highest award a real estate professional in Idaho can receive. There is only one per year for the entire state."What an honor, not only to be Realtor of the Year for Idaho, but also to be elected to serve on the National Board of Directors representing realtors in the same year. Being the first woman from Idaho Falls to ever serve in these positions makes it doubly gratifying," stated Ms. Meacham."We are so proud of Georgia. This is a high honor for her, our local association, Southeast Idaho, and our company," said Steve Taggart, broker of Century 21 Advantage.Georgia Meacham first licensed in 1986. She currently represents Blake Jones Construction, a premier builder in Idaho Falls. She is currently serving on two national committess and several state and local committees.Century 21 Advantage is the area's largest single real estate agency with approximately 100 agents and offices in Rexburg, Rigby and Idaho Falls. The agency was named one of the top 500 U.S. real estate agencies by RISMedia in both 2007 and 2008.

What is Uncle Thomas Doak ?

Cousin Betty Ruth recalls when women first got the right to vote with women's suffrage. Someone came to the door and ask Everett's wife Mary if she was a democrat or a republican. She didn't know which party to affiliate with so she ask the question of Uncle Everett, "What is Thomas?" He replied that he was a Republican. That settled it for Aunt Mary. She was a Republican. Alexander's brother Thomas kind of ran the town according to Betty Ruth. She said that Tyler county was the only West Virginia county that voted republican at that time. Here is a picture of Uncle Thomas and Aunt Mattie Doak. Also one with their children.

Shaped Notes

You musicians in the family, have you ever heard of shaped notes?
I had never heard of them till cousin Betty Ruth, Uncle Everett's daughter told me that they often gathered around the piano and sang from their hymnal composed of songs with shaped notes. The notes would have triangles, squares, circles or whatever shape was designated for that note. Even though Betty Ruth went on to teach music in high school she said she wasn't that good on the piano at the time. I also have fond memories of the few times we gathered around the piano and sang hymns to my mother or older brother trying to pick out a few notes to keep us on key. It was a spiritual experience to me. After looking on the Internet I found pictures of the shaped notes. Particularly the Church of Christ which originally didn't use musical instruments but sang acapella used the shaped notes. Some Baptist congregations also used them. Our Doak ancestors were originally from the Church of Christ. Before his mission my son Craig and I visited the graveyard at Deep Valley West Virginia where many of our Doak ancestors are buried and also helped build the church. The neighbor who lived by the church mentioned it as a matter of some disagreement that they were now using instrumental accompaniment with their singing. The Church of Christ are very strict in following the New Testament and didn't note any musical instruments used in the services. The New Testament is such a wonderful book but it was sad to learn that they did not use the Old Testament at all. I personally would hate to miss the great stories of Adam and Eve, Noah and the Ark, Abraham and the 12 tribes of Israel, Daniel in the Lion's Den, Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego to mention a few. To me it is an important part of history and great examples of God's watchful care to the faithful which still applies today.