I.            Thou shalt not engage in a bidding contest when thy opponents provoke thee, but causeth thou to carefully consider thy cards, lest thy partner shall tear his hair out and go slowly mad in his attempt to decide what manner of play this is.

II.            When thy heart longs within thee, gaze not long upon the widow whilst holding useless cards in thy hand lest in thy weakness thou shalt find thyself gazing also at thy partner with a pitiful look whilst holding twice as many useless cards.

III.            Prove to thyself the rank of the Joker thou holdest in thy hand lest when thou loseth it whilst attempting to capture a larger Jack the wrath of thy partner might not come down upon thy head.

IV.            Tarry not amongst those infidels who knowest not the proper order of the Jacks for they are: Main Jack, Big Joker, Off Jack, Little Joker in that order. Thus it is and thus has it always been.

V.            Thou shalt not talketh across the board lest thy shins become bruised and tattered from the kicks of thy opponents and thy countenance shall surely fall.

VI.            Take care that thou removest the deuce of trumps and holdeth it after the round hath been played lest thy opponents attempt to lay hold to it, for they are surely a persistent lot and will draw short of nothing to defeat thee.

VII.            Measureth carefully the speed with which thy partner playeth his Jack on your lead King and be diligent in thy attempt to discern grief in his eyes, for although you long for him to hold the Ace, alas; he may have no further trump. He is only a mortal and hath no control over the cards.

VIII.            When thy hand runneth over with cards of excellence, droppeth not the seventh card on the floor. But alas, thy opponents shall declare a misdeal though no harm be done.

IX.            When thy Queen is high and thy four is low and thou makest a bid greater than four, boast not, but causeth thee to pause and give thanks for surely the Lord hath delivered thee from thy foolishness.

 X.            Beware the circle around thy score for if the contest be finished and thy score have never been uncircled thy opponents will jest of thee and make foolish motions of bad smells and speak to thee of the skunk.

 Related, but significant, afterthought

Thou shalt not kill thy partner when he biddeth and maketh it not unless the score shall be in thy favor and it be twenty to ten or less. Then thou mayest not kill him but only causeth him to be in much pain, lest the authorities who understandeth not the graveness of the situation shall, in their foolishness and worldly ignorance, incarcerate thee.

This year we will again have the pitch tournament at Joe and Debbie Craddock’s house near Oney, Ok. We will begin playing at around 4 PM on June 29th, the day before the big Family reunion. Everybody should bring either snacks or drinks or something that we can use in conjunction with either snacks or drinks. As a reminder, this is an adult get together. Over the years we have learned that it just works out better for parents to get a sitter. Besides kids are loud, talk to much and kind of smell funny. It would be the most awesome thing ever if a few people who don’t play would volunteer to watch the kids of the parents who who do but don’t have a sitter.

If you intend to come please tell either Debbie Craddock or myself so that we can get a handle on what to expect. Plus I want to begin my research on each of your weaknesses early this year. Last year I tried to cram in all of my planning of dirty tricks in only a couple of days and my game suffered. This year I intend to win.

Erik Craddock

All of you musicians be sure and bring your guitars, drums and voices. I’m looking forward to hearing music as only the Craddocks can play it.  I’d like for us to have an auction again this year. Uncle Joe has offered his professional auctioneer services. The auction will help us raise money to pay for expenses related to the reunion. Plus its a lot of fun.  If you have anything to donate please let me know.

Those of you who fancy yourselves horseshoe players are in luck. We will be having a horseshoe tournament, that is if enough of you are interested.  To help us with a head count, email John Morris (John@Craddock.org) if you intend to play.

Typically, everyone who attends brings a dish or something to that effect. I’ve tossed around the idea of grilling burgers and hot dogs but to pull that off I’d definitely need some help. Let me know what you’d prefer and if you can help let me know.

We don’t have a firm date for the pitch tournament yet but it will either be the Friday before or the Sunday after the reunion. Joe and Debbie Craddock have again offered to let us have it at their house near Oney, Ok. As a reminder, the Pitch tournament is an adult affair. Last year we had a couple of parents that weren’t able to attend because they couldn’t find baby sitters. This year I am hoping that some adults who don’t play pitch might volunteer to watch the kiddos of the parents who do. Anyone who wants to take one for the team and do baby sitting duty, please send me an email. Also email me If you want to attend whether you need someone to watch your kids or not. It would be nice to have a head count of who all is coming to the pitch tournament.

These reunions are a lot of fun, but there is lots to do. Aunt Ada has done most of the planning over the years but she is now retired. Unfortunately, I am not half as good at this as she is. It will take several of us to make up one Aunt Ada. I need some help, that is a plea . The more people that volunteer to help the less any one individual will have to do. Please email or give me a call to volunteer to help.

I’m looking forward to seeing you all.

Erik Craddock (erik@craddock.org)

VERDEN – Funeral services for Ansel Craddock Finley, 77, of Anadarko will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16 at the First Baptist Church in Verden with interment following at Verden Cemetery.

He passed away Sunday morning, Feb.12, 2012 at VA Hospital in
Oklahoma City. He was born in Lincoln Township, north of Verden, on Oct. 25, 1934 to Willie Aubrey and Faye Geneva Finley, who worked hard on their farm. A year later his sister Sue Ann was born and soon to follow were Rosalee and Keith. Life during the early years was filled with wonder as each new day brought an adventure, applied wisely by a very creative mother. Play was serious work to all of them. Ansel played basketball and ran track at Verden High School where he graduated in 1952. He attended one semester at OSU, then
joined the Army Paratroopers School, where he graduated after two years. Upon leaving the Army he married his high school sweetheart, Reba Jean Singleton and they had two children, Rene’ and Kyle.

Ansel’s broad range of interest and talents introduced him to many jobs, including working mostly as a carpenter, then as an insurance salesman, water tester for the U.S.D.A. Grady County Agricultural Department, mobile home manufacturing, and finally for several years as a Chemist for PetraFina Chemical Corporation. He retired from Fina and moved to Alvord, Texas to live near Keith and set up the Three Possums Ranch. The sudden death of his brother, Keith, brought him back to Oklahoma where he experienced his first amputation as a result of vascular disease. During that time his brother-in-law, Max Upchurch died. It was a very difficult time for him, as he recuperated in the home of his sister and brother-in-law, Rosalee and Clifford Nath. When he was ready he moved into his own apartment and lived independently until this past November. During all these years his true love has been various areas of sportsmanship, including archery, bowling, hunting, fishing, horse-racing, golfing, camping and also music. Ansel was awarded many trophies and awards in archery and bowling and golf. The Finley and Craddock families have enjoyed many, many hours playing cards and dominoes and laughing and making music together.

Ansel is survived by his daughter Rene’ and husband Scott Sanders of Bethany, OK; son Kyle and wife Diane Finley of Poway, CA.; grandsons Aaron, Seth, and wife Rachel, Canaan, Bryce and Austin;
granddaughters, Chelsea and Ashley; great-granddaughters, Teagan Elizabeth Finley and Monroe Marie Sanders; sister Sue Ann Upchurch of Anadarko; brother-in-law Clifford Nath of Anadarko and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and extended family and friends. He is preceded in death by his father, Willie
Aubrey Finley; mother Faye Geneva Finley; sister Rosalee Nath; brother Keith Finley; and brother-in-law Max Upchurch.

He is in state at Steverson’s Funeral Home in Anadarko until 9 p.m. Wednesday. The family would like to extend sincere thanks to those who assisted and suffered with Ansel. Mary Burcham, Sue Upchurch, Clifford Nath, Vonda Neal and staff of the Anadarko Housing Authority (especially Danielle
Walters, Susan Smith, and Chaplain Dennis King), Grace Living Center in Chickashas, Quail Creek Nursing Home in Oklahoma City, VA 4^th Floor Paliative Care Staff, and Pastor Troy Taylor of Verden FBC.

By this time she had learned all the ins and outs of the business. I have no idea what the laws are now but at that time bars in the city limits closed at 12:00 midnight. Those outside city limits could stay open until 2:00 A.M.  She knew that lots of her customers weren’t ready to go home at midnight … especially on the weekends. With that in mind she narrowed her search to buildings outside the city limits of the towns in the area and that didn’t leave much to choose from. She finally found an empty house right on a curve in the highway 1 mile west of Binger and decided that would be the place.

We moved to Binger in the summer of 1962 and they started working on the place. It was just a small house on a 5 acre lot and I don’t remember what she paid for the place but it wasn’t much. Regardless of the price my dad was convinced it was no different than throwing that money away and they bickered (to put it nicely) about it from mom’s first mention. One day while getting the place ready mom brought up the subject of what they would call it and dad jumped on the opportunity. It’s been too long for me to remember the conversation word for word but his response was something to the effect of “well it’s so little you couldn’t get nothing in here but a room full of midgets … you ought to just call it The Midget Bar!” He was obviously being sarcastic but in a tit-for-tat move of master strategery (thanks W) she did just that. In keeping with the whole ‘midget’ theme, the sign she hung outside with the name on it was so small you could barely read it from the road. They were quite a pair!

Larry Craddock

I know that I had a wonderful time, even if I was forced to wear a Pink shirt the entire time. Playing music with my high school band mates was a personal highlight. We may all have gained a hundred pounds since then but let me tell you, we still rocked like no time had passed.

The pitch tournament was a blast, despite the fact that I nearly ruined everything by accidentally bringing pinochle cards. I’m sure I won’t live that down anytime soon. Lynne tried to get a picture of me with one of those decks of cards. I’m curious to see if she has the nerve to post that picture online, ha. I didn’t fare so well in the tournament. I went 3 and 3. Joe Craddock and Rodney Craddock both won all 6 games. The trophy came down to points of which Uncle Joe had 3 more.

On Sunday, we all headed to Chickasha to the family reunion. As I believe I have mentioned before the reunion has been held every year for over 60 years. I had a great time talking to family I hadn’t met before as well as those that I hadn’t seen in a long time. Come to think of it, I also enjoyed the company of those who I see all the time. Most everyone brought a dish and the food was excellent. After we ate Bob Craddock got on stage and filled us all in on our shared heritage. You can count on me posting those stories here in the next few weeks. Before it was time to go home, several of us got up and picked at the guitar and sang a few songs. For me the reunion can’t be over until I hear a duet from Dan and BJ Craddock.

I think we all had a great time and I’m already looking forward to next year. Aunt Ada and Aunt Debbie have managed to reserve a pavilion at Fort Cobb lake next year which we will either use for the Pitch tournament or the family reunion depending on how a few things work out.

I hope the rest of you had as good of a time as I did. Be sure to comment below and tell us your favorite moment of the reunion weekend. I’d really appreciate hearing from you.

As it stands now we are expecting around 30 people attending and nearly 20 playing pitch. I appreciate all of you who have let me know that you are coming and what you intend to bring. Any of you that haven’t let me know, please do so. You can see who has committed to bring what here. After much consideration we have decided that the pitch tournament this year should be an adult get together only. Of course all the kiddos are welcome at the Family Reunion the next day at the Grady County Fairgrounds in Chickasha. If anyone is going to have a problem finding someone to watch the kids please let me know and I’ll see what I can do to help.

The time for your defeat is very near. I look forward to visiting with those of you attending and watching you pitch players out there sweat when you find yourself at the same table with me.

As you know, the tournament will be held and Joe and Debbie Craddock’s place near Oney, Ok. We are well into planning the details of the event but it would be nice to know who all is going to make it this year and what they will be bringing. If you could please confirm your attendance that would be wonderful. You can do that by commenting below or sending me and email at erik@craddock.org.

Also since Uncle Joe will be hungry and the rest of us might want a snack between games, we will need food and drinks. Typically in years past, everyone would bring something to snack on and share it with the other attendees. It would be nice if not everyone brought the same thing. If you will let me know what you are bringing I will post it here so that others will know to bring something different. I know what your thinking “but Erik, what should I bring?, what do you need?”, below is a list of things I’m told would be nice to have, but bring something different if you’d like.

• Decks of Cards – Erik Craddock
• Hot Dogs – Debbie Craddock
• Relish Tray – Debbie Craddock
• Chips and Home made salsa – Linda Craddock
• Guacamole dip – Larry Craddock
• Burrito Casserole – Samie Craddock
• Brisket or Chicken – Sue Ann Upchurch, Clifford Nath, Ansel Finley
• Desert - Sue Ann Upchurch, Clifford Nath, Ansel Finley
• Dip (Cheese, bean etc) – Stephanie Intagliata
• Veggy Tray – Stephanie Intagliata
• Soft Drinks
• Coffee
• 1 Case of Coke – Stephanie Intagliata
• 1 2 liter of Coke – Heidi Dent
• Finger Food
• Cookies – Stephanie Intagliata
• Plenty of ice – Lacey Craddock
• Watermelon – Ada Morris
• Flatware and napkins – Ada Morris
• Paper Plates (regular and saucer sizes) – Ada Morris
• Plastic or Styrofoam cups – Ada Morris
• Your special dish that you make better than anyone

Let me know what you’re bringing and I’ll keep the list above updated. Also again please let me know that your coming and if you intend on playing pitch or not. We need to know so that we can figure out how many tables we need to procure. Help me get the word out to everyone.

This year many of those issues have been corrected. The 2011 Craddock Family Pitch tournament will be played on Saturday, July 16th at the residence of Joe and Debbie Craddock near Oney, Ok.  Play will begin at 4pm central standard time. All attendees should bring a small snack as well as their wits. There will be plenty of banter, laughing and good times to go around.

To avoid any type of game play issues, etiquette concerns, or tournament rules confusion, I am publishing a list of Craddock Family Pitch Rules for everyone’s consideration. I encourage everyone to read the rules and speak up if any of them seem incorrect. I also have a glossary list of terms for those of you who are unfamiliar with Pitch.

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone and more importantly having everyone else see me walk away with the trophy. I will be posting more reunion and pitch related stories later this month and early next month. If you would like to be notified whenever new articles are posted on the Craddock Connection, I encourage you to sign up for our newsletter. You can do this by entering you email address in the text box at the top right and clicking the Join button.

I stood one day surveying, for the first time, the ruins of the old fort St. Joesph, on that beautiful peninsula, which guards, like a crouching lion, the entrance to St. Mary’s River. There was the old road, the crumbling walls, the gun emplacements, and the most impressive of all, some gentle garden flowers, which have wasted their fragrance on the desert air of over a hundred years; a gentle but sure reminder of the place where human beings lived. There mail symbols of the past drew me into a reverie of retrospection and I saw in fancy the old fort of 1812; I saw men in the scarlet and blue of the British Army, men in blankets and leather stockings, men rough and unkept called voyageurs, and I saw women and children. I heard the blast of the bugle, the tramp of men and the jumbled sounds of a human community. But then, what’s the use of daydreaming? Fancy may be far from fact. 

I left the fort that night resolved that I would search here and there til I knew the facts about some of the individuals who lived there during the stirring days of 1812. Thank fortune, I have not searched in vain, and I am now able to tell the story of some of the sturdy souls who lived and wrought there.

There is one whose life story claims singular attention to the citizens of St. Joe, because he was born at the old fort. He was the child of Lieut. John Craddock, of the 42nd regiment, who served for a number of years on the frontier defenses of Canada. The lonely, rough life of the backwoods had its effects on John’s spirits and aspirations and he was “jollywell bored and beastly omesick” when he chanced to meet and finally marry a winsome halfbreed daughter of lower Candaa. There was a flutter of excitement at Fort St. Joeseph when this soldier, with his wife and little Katrine arrived one day in the fall of 1811. The soldiers had their gossip on the side about this “andsome hofficer and ‘is bloomin’ awf awf”, but they agreed she looked like a good fun and there was nought better to be ‘ad or oped’ for in this bloomin wilderness.

One morning in the spring of 1812, the doughty officer was offered the conventional congratulations on the arrival of a wee, dark-skinned baby boy. The answer to the query, “What yer going to callim?”; he answered, I expect we’ll call him Joesph, in honor of this bloomin fort, and he was christened Joseph Craddock, the fort baby, the pet and mascot of the garrison.

For a few weeks John Craddock experienced the joys and comforts of a happy little home, even if it were improvised and on the edge of the great wilderness and then the cruel god of war tore his family asunder, for the god of war mocks domestic felicity and shows his teeth at all tender feelings of men. One beautiful morning, in July of that fateful year, John bade his little family a soldier’s hasty farewell and hurried on board the schooner Caledonia, to take part in the expedition that was to capture the fortress of Mackinaw; for war had been declared. “You’ll likely ear from me within the forenight”, were among his last assurances, and “I’ll come get you when we’re settled.” But the fortunes of war reeled otherwise and John was never again to see his dusky loved ones at the old St. Joe from Mackinaw. He was went as dispatch runner to Montreal and from there was ordered back to England and the last we hear about him, he was numbered amont the slain at Waterloo.
What became of little Joe? do we know? Yes, we know. For sixteen years he lived with his mother and little Katrine in the shadow of the forts at Mackinaw and Drummond Island and then in 1928, they moved with the garrison to the new base at Penetanguishene, where Joe grew to manhood.

What kind of man was he, this son of the old fort? Was he worthless or worthwhile? Good or good for nothing? Is his name worthy of remembrance or had he better be forgotten? These are the very questions by which history will search all our lives in the great future and the fire shall prove every man’s work, of what sort it is. And there is the fire of history and it has no respect for persons.

Joesph Craddock lived well past the allotted time, dying in Coldwater in 1900, full of years and adorned with creditable record, for it is written of him that “He was scrupulously honest and upright in all his dealings, highly respected and a pattern to the community in which he Lived.” A splendid epitaph one which might be the pride and the envy of us all. Great opportunities and favoured circumstances were not his: the fort, the wilderness and the shore was his world; the indian, the soldier, and “the awf and awf”, his companions, yet he leaves the record: scrupulously honest and upright in all his dealings, highly respected and a patter to the community in which he lived.

http://members.tripod.com/joanne_rice/