Remembering Uncle Bill

If we are fortunate, we get to know some of our relatives in the generations that precede us. I consider myself blessed to have gotten to know my grand parents and their siblings, especially in the case of my paternal grand parents. Although they all died withing a relatively short time period I was a teenager and older by then and had at times lived with them. There is no telling how much what I learned in that time has benefited me and shaped what I have come to believe is proper living. Needless to say, their era was one of hard physical work and living off the land. My paternal grandfather had three brothers and two sisters and with the exception of his brother Fred who died shortly before I was born, I got to know them all pretty well, a blessing as stated earlier. Actually they were step siblings and between women of the same first name dying and remarrying cousins the genealogy even makes my head spin. But that's material for a future post when I work up the courage. In this post I want to remember Granddad's (Eli's) brother, or half brother or whatever the relationship really was, William J. Schoonover.

Uncle Bill was one of the most delightful men I ever met. Never, in my presence, did he have an unkind word to say about others. He and his wife Stella served for some time as the stewards at one of the local hunting and fishing clubs and later opened a restaurant in the village of Bushkill. That restaurant and the adjoining bar was a favorite watering hole for most of the locals and I was amazed that Uncle Bill was never too busy to listen to folks or lend a sympathetic ear to the stories that surrounded those patrons of long gone establishments like his. About the time his career changed from club steward to restaurant owner, he examined a piece of property that adjoined land my grandfather had purchased about ten years earlier and decided to buy it. When I inherited most of the land that had belonged to my grandfather I  was approached by Uncle Bill's children and asked if I would be interested in that beautiful piece of timber and swamp. That land along with what we already owned is, to the best of our resources, being managed and remains a rustic island in the middle of housing developments. I would like to believe that is the way Eli and Bill would have it

When he first examined that piece of property Uncle Bill, not unlike most of the old timers, sought out a nice Beech tree in the middle of that plot and carved his initials and the date in it. I knew that tree and had visited it quite a few times but the thought of it slipped my mind a few years ago when we contracted to have a thinnng timber cutting done in that area. I realized after the timber sale that that Beech tree had grown into a prize specimen and was so regretful that I had not said anything about it being spared when the trees were cut. The timber sale was over, the heavy equipment and log trucks were long gone when that awful feeling from the pit of my stomach surfaced with the thought that I had sold that historic tree. I tugged on my boots and headed out the half mile or so that would bring me to the spot where I might find only a massive stump where that tree had stood.The tree and my conscience were saved by the fact that "Uncle Bill's Tree" was within the wetland border that the harvester was obligated to overlook.

Just like you and me, trees are temporary. But just like you and me, they symbolize much more than their physical characteristics. Trees as well as other people are a God-given gift. We are asked by their Maker through His Son to love one another. I was so glad to find that tree that served as a reminder of the timeless ambitions we all have. Had that tree been removed, it would have been unintentional on my part but the damage would have been done. When we fail as Christians to love one another as we've been asked that too is often unintentional. I encourage any good person who might read this to carefully consider how grateful we are to be for all God has provided and the stewardship with which we are to treat it.