Of Fords and Chevys, Politics and Religion

LeRoy and Carolyn Walls are standing in right foreground while their Uncle Leland Douglas is hauling hay using his John Deere tractor. 

Photo by

  
Margaret Walls  

Written by 
LeRoy Walls 
CEO 

Our get-togethers in my Grandparents’ Oscar and Lottie Douglas family included some lively conversations. Opposing viewpoints were regularly offered on such subjects as:

• Ford versus Chevy cars

• Holstein versus Jersey cows

• John Deere versus Ford or Case tractors

• Baptist versus Christian churches

• Democrat versus Republican political parties - although in those days the family was pretty solidly Republican.

These discussions were rarely heated debates but were more along the lines of good-natured poking fun at what the other brother or brother-in-law had or believed. I’m sure that over the years there were a few ruffled feathers but no real harm done. Defending our turf and having pride in what we do is often a real part of who we are.

Recently Uncle Leland went around to the back yard at Mom and Dad’s home and saw Dad’s lawn mower. He took a fast look at it and then quickly kicked a tire real hard. Ruby, his wife, said, “Why did you do that?” Leland replied, “Well Lloyd’s new mower is just like my new one only it’s bigger!” My Dad thoroughly loved this. Uncle Leland was no doubt trying to be funny but he was maybe just totally honest about his feelings.

I know from growing up and working with my brothers and sisters that even with great parents it’s just plain hard to be one big happy family all the time. There are five of us kids. With spouses it makes ten and when our children, their spouses and their kids are added we have a real melting pot of beliefs and preferences. In my family we are no longer missing the Democrat perspective and the Ford and Chevy debate is still playing well.

The subject of religious beliefs between Fundamental Protestant and that of the Latter Day Saints (LDS) Church is quite another story. This subject was treated more with “kid gloves.” This was partially because Mom’s brother, Cecil Douglas, had married a fine lady who was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Uncle Cecil converted to his wife’s faith and was normally not there to defend his turf. Generally the rules of the “Douglas viewpoints game” was that there was little fun in kidding someone who wasn’t there.

My Uncle Cecil and I are not in full agreement on our religious beliefs. He may feel that I’ve missed the main point and I may feel that Uncle Cecil’s belief needs some adjustment but that’s just between a nephew and one of his favorite uncles.

The following story titled “Mormon Boys” by Baxter Black, the noted cowboy writer and poet, shows how much people have in common when they don’t concentrate on their differences.

THE MORMON BOYS

That they would find each other would have been as unlikely to predict as the fall of communism or the good sheep market. She was old and a lifelong Southern Baptist. They were young and on a mission for the Mormon Church.
A requirement of good ‘Mormonism’ for young men is to serve as a missionary for the church for two years. They are expected to go door to door wherever they are sent and spread the gospel of the Latter Day Saints (LDS), also called Mormons.

Now if you think that’s easy, put yourself in their place. You are nineteen years old, often from a rural background, no car, in a strange place, wearing a dark suit and tie, riding a bicycle and knocking on a stranger’s door. As you know, many who open that door and find out you are ‘peddling religion’ are not friendly.

They knocked on her door one day and explained their purpose. She said, “Well, I’m teachin’ our home Bible class.” They excused themselves and left. Later she said to her husband, “I’ll never turn those boys away again.”

Eventually they came back down her street and she said what she says to everybody that’s ever knocked on her door, “Have ya eaten yet?” Well, for two boys a thousand miles from home and batchin’, nothin’ sounded sweeter.

For the next eight or ten years, the boys “stationed” in her little Oklahoma town beat a steady path to her door. They overlapped each other every few months and each new missionary was taken to meet Uncle Leonard and Aunt Effie.

Many of these boys were country raised and homesick, I’m sure. They are not allowed to call home except Mother’s Day. Effie and Leonard were retired farmers, both in their 80s and sure knew how to cook for hungry boys. They played Skip Bo, ate fried chicken and peach cobbler, helped her with her garden when Leonard became unable, sang while she played on the piano and found an oasis from the pressure.

Uncle Leonard passed away last fall and Effie’s havin’ health problems. I visited her in the hospital recently and she talked about her ‘Mormon boys.’ Her face lit up. It was obvious how much they meant to her. Some still write and the new ones still come by checkin’ on her.

I’m sure they discussed religion, but as Aunt Effie told ‘em, “Yer out walkin’ the streets for your Jesus, He’s my Jesus, too, and that’s more than most religious folks do. I’m proud of you.”

She saw their need and filled it the only way she knew how. She offered them kindness. And if you ever questioned that passage, “It is more blessed to give than receive,” you ought to see her face when she talks about her ‘Mormon boys.’

I don’t know if they’re better Mormons or she’s a better Baptist for knowin’ each other. And I don’t know if the leaders of the Southern Baptist convention and the elders of the church of the Latter Day Saints would approve. But I do know that the human race is a little better species because these two took the time to appreciate one another as people.

Reprinted by permission of:
Baxter Black

Coyote Cowboy Company

12/31/1999