Hello!!

Hi there family. Thank you Candace for the invite to post here. I have sent a lot of you an email about what happened last month, thanks to everyone for writing back and letting me know how you are supportive. Things are great out here in CA. Since I've been recovering I have had LOTS of time off to enjoy the beach and unbelievable weather. I'm glad we have this spot to post and write and hopefully connect more often.

I will write more a little later. Time for dinner!

I Live in Hope

I live in hope that one day Uncle Mike and I will not be the only ones posting on this blog. Uncle Gordon promised to drop in and check it out . . . here's hoping that's soon. Then I won't have to post as much.

But, nevertheless, here I go. The uncle we lost before I had a chance to get know him is Uncle Eugene. He is the middle child of the Case brothers: Leighton, Eugene and Gordon, and an older brother to Uncle Mike and Uncle Rich. Here's what Uncle Gordon has posted on the family genealogical website about him.

Eugene Richard "Red" Case, was born September 10, 1935 at Compton, Los Angeles, CA

Died: June 3, 1959, Woodland Clinic, Woodland, Yolo, CA
Parents: Levi Freeman Case and Alys-Mae Barkwille

Married: Diana Louise Stevenson, Yuma, AZ

Children of Eugene and Diana are:
Eugene Richard Case, Jr.,
Jeanette Ann Case,
Daniel James Case.

Eugene Case was born second child of Levi and Alys-Mae Case. He, along with his brothers, lived with various relatives and friends after Freeman and Alys-Mae separated. After attending schools in Southern California, he lived with his mother Alys-Mae, her husband Richard Shrank, and his two brothers Leighton and Gordon in Hayward, Alameda, CA.

Eugene graduated from Hayward Union High School in 1955, where he had evidenced a talent for math, writing and participated in school plays. He played the lead in “My Heart’s in the Highlands”, about an elderly gentleman reminiscing about his childhood in Scotland.

Eugene was early interested in all things automotive. He once brought home a car to restore ( I think a ’36 ford) but he was too busy and didn’t have the necessary money, so we broke it apart with sledge hammers and axes, and it was sold for scrap. We “hung around” a Hayward truck stop so he could talk to the truckers about their trucks, and engines and he was a charter member of the Hayward Head Hunters, an early car club. Eugene worked after high school as a body and fender repairman, at a shop in Hayward. The shop owner had a sprint car that he ran frequently at the old Bayfair Speedway in San Leandro, CA, where Eugene learned to drive in races.

He attended one semester of Auto Engineering classes at U. C. Berkeley, but left , he always said, because they would not allow him to wear Levis--but I know he was distraught over a sweet-heart that had dumped him, and I think the theoretical world was just not for him. After leaving college, he left for Los Angeles to be “where the action was”. In Los Angeles, he worked at Sonny’s Muffler shop, where he became an expert welder and racing engine balancer. Eugene devised and sold Red’s Headers, a custom header kit, with quick-remove plugs that allowed exhaust to be routed around a car’s mufflers, for road racing. In Los Angeles, he drove for several racing teams:

Eugene’s ’49 Mercury, raked 2 feet, with high-powered engine and pressure fuel system was a frequent winner in Los Angeles area street-drags. It was also an easy target for the L.A. P. D. and after too many citations, in the summer of 1956, he and Diana moved to Tulare, CA. In Tulare, Eugene, Diana and his younger brother Gordon lived together for a short time, while he tried out the quiet life as Engineering draftsman for the Morrill Rake Co.

The rural life did not suit Eugene, so he and Diana returned to Los Angles where he became a mechanic and semi-professional driver for the well financed Sanchez racing team organized specifically to set world records.

It was easy to understand the lure and excitement of that drag-racing world. The car Eugene last drove, was one he built himself in 1958-59. I was a streamlined, unlimited-class dragster. Drag cars then had two gears, neutral and high, they were powered with super charged V-8s fueled with a mixture of Nitro and Methane. After being started with a push-car, and then hand pushed to the starting line, they were revved until running smoothly. When the starting light blinked, and the race was on, the cars roared to almost a dead-stop, as the tires squeeled, bit and then hurtled down the ¼ mile strip to speeds approaching 200mph in about 8 seconds.

The last time I saw Eugene alive was a pure coincidence. In February of 1959, I was in the Navy's electronics school at Treasure Island, San Francisco, and on the spur of the moment decided to hitch-hike to Mojave and surprise our Mom for her birthday. I was standing on the shoulder of Hiway 99, about 15 miles north of Bakersfield, when a black Chrysler station wagon towing a streamlined dragster pulled up to a roadside coffee-shop on the other side of the highway. Eugene and his crew were in that Chrysler on the way to a drag-meet, and we had a nice lunch together before he went North and I went South. Little did I know at the time that it would be the last time I talked with him---

That team’s car had some promising runs at Bonneville salt flats, and was a frequent winner in the California drag scene, until one May Saturday in 1959, at the Yolo County, CA airport drag race, the throttle stuck and Eugene went across the end of the strip in excess of 200 mph and the drague chute could not stop it from going end-over-end.

After 3 days of intensive care at the Woodland, CA clinic, Eugene died June 3, from massive injuries. He was buried in the Crestview cemetery, Porterville, CA after a funeral in which brothers Leighton and Gordon, and racing friends from Los Angeles were pall bearers. Also present at the funeral, in addition to Mom and Richard Shrank, Granny and Grandpop Barkwille---Dad and Helen, Uncle Deward Case and Aunt Louella.

November 1, 1959, Smokers, Inc. a Bakersfield, CA car club held a “Red Case memorial drag race and donated part of the proceeds to Diana and her kids.

So there's a little bit about the uncle we lost so early in life. Uncle Gordon thanks so much for being so diligent in gathering the family history. I know it is an expensive, time consuming effort but I love reading everything about our family.

Please post blogs of your own.

Once you sign in, located at the top right of the screen, you can then click on New Post and create a blog post of your own, filling us in and what's new and exciting. As things happen in our lives, I think it would be great to post that here.

Also, if Uncle Gordon is willing and can land in one spot long enough, I think it'd be great if he'd post an ancestral blog once in awhile. In the meantime, I'll try and fill in for him, of course pulling it all off his genealogy website.

Uncles, aunts and cousins! Come on, join us!

In the meantime: this painting to the left is titled "The Accolade" and was painted by Edmund Blair Leighton. Distant relative or not? Uncle Gordon, if you don't stop me, I'm going to claim him.

He's one of my favorite painters. I absolutely adore his work!

Happy Birthday Alvin!

Have I mentioned that today is my husband's birthday? And for this, his brother, and Harvey Unga's father (Jackson) one of his dearest friends called and we headed on over to the BYU Cougar practice field.

We are so excited for the 2007 football season. We have no less than four nephews playing on the team this year. Yes, we are very excited! This has been an added measure to our devotion as Cougar fans.

We watched the players practice and scrimmage and my sweetheart pointed out each nephew. Sete Aulai (Starting Center), Harvey Unga (Starting Running Back), Tyle Kozlowski (Wide Receiver) and Eathyn Manumaleuna (D Line). He was so excited to see each young man as they ran their plays. I have to admit, I was too. We were very proud of each one of them.

Harvey and Sete came on over to talk to us for a few minutes and Alvin snapped a picture of them with me.

They are such good young men, and I especially liked how much thinner I looked between the two. Hey, let's face it. I'm a woman, we think of things like that. If you want to know why I'm thinking of something like that at a time like this, take a look at Anne Bradshaw's blog on the LDSBA Whitney Awards. You'll see what I'm talking about.

Harvey is really proving himself in practice after practice, scoring at least two touchdowns in each scrimmage.

Sete has been puttin' the hurt on so many people as the center, that my husband was offering a lot of chuckles and "Owwws" with each play.

I popped on over to Google and typed in the boys names so I could grab a few pictures.

Last year, when John Beck connected with Johnny Harline in the final second of the BYU/U of U game for the touchdown and win, Sete was captured on the sidelines in complete disbelief as yet another Cougar miracle was pulled off. My nephew is one tough son-of-a-gun, so the raw emotion on his face speaks for itself.

An absolutely incredible moment in Cougar Football history.

Moving on to Harvey, whose last year was a redshirt year. He broke out in March practice and hasn't looked back. He's proven himself over and over, and he and Fui Vakapuna will be jockeying back and forth, assuming Fui's ankle completely heals. But as of now, Harvey is down as the starting running back.

I couldn't help but post this blog today because I am so proud of all these boys. Hopefully we'll see something of Tyler and Eathan as well this year.

Anyway, to my beloved sweetheart, Alvin, I wish the most beautiful of birthdays. You are my heart, my soul and you make my life worth living. Thank you for the being the man you are. True to your priesthood, your covenants, your values and your beliefs. You are a man above all men. I love you!

Happy Birthday!

GO COUGARS!

Uncle Mike's brood

Here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving 2006 ...

Aunt Sandy, Aunt Susan, and Bryan

Derek, Kristi, Matthew, Kristi, and Alexis
... AKA The Usual Suspects

(LtoR) Matthew, Derek, Joe (Kristi's husband)
& Kristi with Pheobe, Randi (Bryan's wife)
with Lauren, Bryan with Kylie, and Alexis holding Colin.

Uncle "I used to have hair" Rich, and Matthew

Other Misc.
(LtoR)

Back of Couch :My Dad (Richard Shrank), Great Aunt Francis, Uncle Gordon

On Couch: Red Harris, Granny (Maidie Barkwill), Pawpop(Earl Barkwill

On Floor: Uncle Mike, Raelene (Great Aunt Francis Daughter), Uncle Rich, Unknown Person.

Welcome to the Case/Shrank Blog

We have drifted apart over the last couple of years. I know life has been so busy for all of us and I have struggled to think of a way that might improve communications. I'm hoping this is it. I've invited as many family members as I had email addresses to participate.

My thought is that as new things happen in our lives, or if we just to fill everyone in on how we're doing, you pop on over to this blog, write a quick post and then it will be up to the rest of us to check this blogspot often for family updates.

Here are some pictures to remind of us of times past.

Picture 1 is Aaron and Connor Hunt (Heather's husband and oldest son) preparing the Dutch Oven dinner in the mountains of Utah for the 2004 Case/Shrank family reunion. At this reunion, Uncle Gordon, the patriarch of our family, created the family motto. F.G.A.B - Family Good Alone Bad. Hence the name of this blog.

Uncle Gordon, with his grandson -- help me out everyone. What is this handsome young man's name?



We had another reunion in 2005, also in Utah in deference to my husband's health (thank you everyone.) And we had a lot of fun that time too!

Uncle Gordon was the head chef at the park during this reunion. Love the hat and apron! We had a blast and the food was good! Hey, when it's cooked with love then it can only be the best there is.

While most of the kids played on the swings or ran around the park, the rest of the gang waited on Uncle Gordon to finish the food. (In reality, I believe, in fact I hope, that we all helped and the patriarch of our family was not left alone to do all the cooking in that hot Utah heat.













Now, just a few pictures of the family as they have come in over the years.

This is Bryan (Uncle Mike's son) and Randi Shrank's wedding. Don't they look absolutely amazing? What an incredibly good-looking couple.

Cash and Ryan hooked up for some "cousin time" in Dallas, Texas in 2002.

Look at these two tall handsome men! We have an overabundance of good-looking people in this family, no question!.

I have hundreds of more pictures and will share them over the course of time. I hope that each of you will fully embrace this method of communication, leaving comments on other blog posts, creating posts of your own.

I miss you all very much! Please spread the word around the family. Have them post a comment with their email address in the body of the comment and I will add them so that they can post blogs as well.