Gus arrives

Well, Clellie wanted brothers and sisters, so I showed up first. On what was probably a cold and certainly dark morning in February (the 11th, to be exact) in 1939, I arrived at 2:00AM in St. Luke's Hospital, St. Louis, Mo.

I didn't know until Clellie's writings on this blog that it was Mom who wouldn't let me be called Frank Roosevelt Philpott, Jr. Thanks for that! There were some years when I was Frank R., Jr. (before I knew better).

I've gone back and forth between Frank and Gus. I am reminded of when I was called which, by the people I knew then. I must have been "Frank" at Flynn Park Grade School, because my 6th Grade girlfriend still calls me "Frank". And my University City (Mo.) High School German teacher calls me "Frank".

I prefer "Gus", and I've been called that (along with some other names that I won't print here), since about 1971, when I moved from Chicago to Denver.

I didn't even know why I was called "Gus" until my 40th birthday. A friend was over for dinner, and we had killed off two lobster tails and a bottle of wine. About 12:30AM she asked me if Gus was my real name, and I told her that my given name was Frank. So she asked where Gus had come from. When I told her that I didn't know, she said, "Ask your parents."

Too late for that! They had died almost 20 years earlier. She asked about brothers and sisters, and we called Clellie. Well, we were in Denver, and Clellie was in Florida - two hours' time difference.

Ring, ring. Clellie answered. I told her it was Gus calling.
"Who?"
"Gus"
"Who?"
"Gus. Your brother. Gus Philpott."
"Oh."

And then she told me that, when Mom was pregnant and I kicked, she'd pat her tummy and say, "Down, Gus." Clellie wasn't exactly sure why Mom said that...

The Original Family

Frank Roosevelt Philpott was born November 12, 1900 and Ruth Dosenbach Philpott was born May 5,1909. They were married June 29, 1929. Clellie was born December 16, 1930 and they moved into their house at 550 Warder Ave.,University City, Missouri. U. City is in St. Louis County. Frank sold insurance, mostly life insurance and later all types of insurance. Ruth did not work. They had a colored maid named Mattie. It was the years of the depression, but everyone still bought life insurance.

Gus was born February 11, 1939. His name is Frank Richey Philpott. He is not a Junior because Frank was named for Teddy Roosevelt and in 1939 Mother would not name him Roosevelt because she was a Republican and did not want people to think he was named for Franklin D. Roosevelt. His middle name, Richey,  after Frank's sister's husband,  so he would have the same initials as Frank. When she was pregnant, she referred to the baby as  "Gus" and that name suited him. Good thing that he was a boy, I do not think a girl would like to be called "Gus".

Betsy was born May 11, 1940. Ruth wanted to name her Betsy, but Frank said she should have a real name, so she was named  Elizabeth, which was Frank's grandmother's name. She does not have a middle name. Clellie does not have a middle name either. Her name is Clell after Ruth's mother. Actually, Ruth's mother was her stepmother because her real mother died when Ruth was five and her Father, Dan Dosenbach , married again when Ruth was 9. We called her Gagy and we called the grandfather, Dan.

Jimmy was born January 30, 1942. His name is James Daniel Philpott. He was named after both grandfathers. Of course, now that he is all grown up, we call him Jim.

Ruth died August 21, 1960 of cancer and Frank died June 8,1962 of a heart attack. Ruth's Dad, Dan, died when Clellie was about 14, so the little people probably don't remember him and her mother, Gagy, moved to Canada with her sister, Auntie Nez, in later years and lived to be in her nineties. Frank's parents had been divorced for years so we only saw his Dad, James one tme but he lived to be old  and his mother Larinda,who we called Rindo, lived in Valley Head Alabama with Frank's sister Thelma and later in Roanoke, Va. where she died in a fire in her home when she was in her nineties. Frank had one other sister, Inez, who killed herself , but I do not know when, she was probably in her fifties. Ruth did not have any brothers or sisters so we do not have any cousins.

This is our basic family as told by Clel. I did not grow up, I just grew old and shortened my name. The family still calls me Clellie. I am the oldest member of these Philpotts.

How the family started

I just put this on. I think I did well for an 80 year old woman....had to call brother Gus a couple of times to help with a couple of the spaces

Our family was Frank and Ruth Philpott. when I was in the second grade, I wanted a brother or sister and said the dumb kids at school had them and I was smart and  they told me to pray so I did and less than 3 years later, there were 3 and they said for me to stop praying. Gus is 8 years younger, Betsy 10 years younger and Jim almost 12 years younger. So we were known as Clellie and the little people.

Time for the little people to help me add to this....