Brothers: Alfred & Alvin Johnson
“I haven’t seen you since you were a little boy!” That’s what my Aunt Bernice exclaimed as my now 67 year old father walked through the front door to surprise his brother, Alfred. The major impetus for our trip, my father’s reunion with his brother Alfred, was about to occur. My cousin Alfreda, wanted to surprise her father with my father’s visit, so she took us to her parents’ house after we arrived in Sacramento without any advance warning.
Many have expressed shock that my father and his brother had not seen each other since their father’s funeral in 1960. To provide some context, my father has 19 siblings thanks to his very prolific father, Elkana Johnson. My grandfather had 13 children with his first wife and 7 children with his second. His first child was born in 1910 and his last child around 1954 so the circumstances and age ranges meant that the 20 offspring did not grow up together. Elkana’s death and funeral in February 1960 in Alabama was most likely the only time all of them were ever together (including both his ex-wife and widow). My father’s memories of his brother, Alfred, were from his childhood when Alfred and his wife, Bernice, lived nearby. Dad recalled that Bernice made wonderful brownies and other sweet confections, and Alfred, an avid fisherman, often came home with a bounty of fish for all to share. These memories are from 1947 to 1952. Uncle Alfred left Alabama in 1966 vowing to never return. He and his family moved to Sacramento and he kept his word. Until last year, my father didn’t have a phone number or address to contact his brother.
My uncle Alfred is now 85 years old and long retired from many years working for the Air Force. When my cousin Alfreda coaxed her father out of his bedroom with the request that he come meet a friend of hers, Uncle Alfred came into the room and stared at my father. We all waited. Finally, he smiled and said, “That’s Bud.” Bud is my father’s family nickname. Greetings, hugs, introductions, and laughs were exchanged. Uncle Alfred has been slowed by a stroke but he maneuvered well with his cane and clearly had his wits about him. He started telling stories of other Johnson siblings and we all learned about family members often mentioned but now gone. I learned that my grandfather, Elkana, was a carpenter and his comfort with wood and building continued through many of his offspring including Uncle Alfred, my father, my cousin Alfreda, and even me when inspired by HGTV. Uncle Alfred also enjoyed talking about fishing and yearns for the day when he can be on a local lake in his boat trying to hook the next big one! He enjoyed showing Dad and me his fishing equipment and talking about his boat. My father also a boat owner and frequent fisherman took pleasure in having this common hobby with his brother.
During our visit, I got to meet some of my Sacramento cousins and noted their resemblance to other Johnson family members. Whatever gene is responsible for our classic Johnson good looks must be a strong one because I think I’d know them to be family anywhere I saw them.
It was a day of memories that created new ones. Reuniting with (or meeting) Uncle Alfred and his family was worth the 3,000 miles of driving and all the twists and turns, ups and downs, of the many mountain crossings. May 31, 2008, was historic.
P.S. Gas here in the Sacramento area seems to consistently be in the $4.10 to $4.30 per gallon range.
After two weeks and almost 7,000 miles of driving, we returned safely to our starting point, my parents' home in Reisterstown, Maryland. Sadly, we said "goodbye" to the Town & Country. The agent noted that I could have washed it as he checked it in. Then, upon seeing the number of miles on the odometer, he asked, "Where did you go?!?"
