#Eugene Gosnoll

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Though theirs is not a fairytale story, Eugene and Goldie's love for each other endures even as time chips away at them. Goldie didn't want much for her birthday but to spend a quiet evening with Eugene and she got exactly what she asked for.

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Eugene surprised the family with a bulldog puppy shortly before Frances' birthday. Duchess, as she was dubbed, didn't like new people but did warm up to them quickly. Well, almost everyone. Frances did not like the dog, and the feeling was entirely mutual.

Can I just gush over how regal Goldie and Duchess look in the first pic of them!

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The family celebrated Eunice's birthday with her favorite cake, strawberry, and before long little Gordon was a toddling all over the place. The house was overrun with people, but they were happy. Gilbert managed to get around the house without his wheelchair by leaning on every available piece of furniture, and Effie continued to paint and donate her masterpieces to the museum.

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Early 1881

After the excitement of last year and the reminder of how uncertain life can be the family had an updated portrait taken.

Thank you to @antiquatedplumbobs for the wonderful portrait studio! It has made taking portraits so much easier!

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Eugene was turning the big 3-0 and Goldie wanted to do something for him that she'd never attempted. She wanted to bake him a cake. So with Effie's help, she managed to bake him an edible chocolate cake.

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In Memoriam of Eugene Gilbert Gosnoll 1867 - 1928

Eugene was the oldest son of Euphemia and Gilbert Collier. His younger years were unorthodox, but full of love and he was quite close with his grandmother Lavinia. He follows in his father's footsteps and attended university with an overall GPA of B+ and an Honors degree in History.

He married his sweetheart, Goldie, and moved to Springhaven where he began his career as a politician. His policies cleaned up the smog in Springhaven and he paved the way for a Code of Ethics among journalists in the greater Brindleton Bay area. Throughout his career he was known as the Neighborhood Confidante and he used this to further the policies he felt would benefit the people. Health issues kept him from attaining the highest seat in the land, but he was happy to be included in the Cabinet of the current President.

Amongst his daughters, he was known to be a jokester. He was always supportive, but was strict. He was a devoted family man and is preceded in death by his wife, Goldie, his parents, Gilbert and Effie Collier, and his daughter, Edith Viola Gosnoll. Eugene is survived by his children; Eunice Kennedy, Francis Gosnoll, Gordon Gosnoll, and 4 grandchildren.

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Village of Wythe, Id., Mid 1872. My dearest Mother, I was glad to hear that I have a new niece! Clara is such a lovely name. I do hope that Lauretta's recovery has been efficient. How are the new parents? Lauretta is a terrible epistolarian. She should work on improving that. You can tell her I wrote that. I wish I had such good news to impart, but alas, I do not. Gilbert has been diagnosed with anemia and has to take these awful iron salts every day. He hates the taste of them, but he feels better when he does take them so he figures they taste so bad that they must be working. I don't find that to be very sound logic, but who am I to argue with him when his color and his stamina have improved. Eugene is doing well if lonely. Since Bertille's passing, he's been bereft of another child to play with. We celebrated his 5th birthday with a lovely dinner at home. I hope that I'm able to give him a brother or sister soon, but my monthly courses plague me every month. It was so easy to have Eugene, why cannot I seem to have another? I'm sorry to finish this letter off on such a despondent tone, but know that I care for and miss you all. Your loving daughter, Effie Collier. Mr. Gilbert Collier, Roseburg, Oregon.

Print version of the letter under the cut...

Village of Wythe, Id., Mid 1872. My dearest Mother, I was glad to hear that I have a new niece! Clara is such a lovely name. I do hope that Lauretta's recovery has been efficient. How are the new parents? Lauretta is a terrible epistolarian. She should work on improving that. You can tell her I wrote that. I wish I had such good news to impart, but alas, I do not. Gilbert has been diagnosed with anemia and has to take these awful iron salts every day. He hates the taste of them, but he feels better when he does take them so he figures they taste so bad that they must be working. I don't find that to be very sound logic, but who am I to argue with him when his color and his stamina have improved. Eugene is doing well if lonely. Since Bertille's passing, he's been bereft of another child to play with. I hope that I'm able to give him a brother or sister soon, but my monthly courses plague me every month. It was so easy to have Eugene, why cannot I seem to have another? I'm sorry to finish this letter off on such a despondent tone, but know that I care for and miss you all. Your loving daughter, Effie Collier. Mr. Gilbert Collier, Roseburg, Oregon.

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Gordon returned to Springhaven to bury his mother about a year later. Her passing was sudden and it hit the family hard. Nieces, nephews, and cousins all came into town to send her off properly. Per her last wishes not a soul wore black. Some came close with gray or navy, but Gordon smiled at the thought that they would've been swatted on their arm for impertinence if Goldie were still with them. Those maudlin thoughts led Gordon to the docks later that evening. His sisters had his father well in hand and he felt in the way. So he wandered to the bar turned soda joint. He ordered his a favorite drink - a juice on the rocks and sat in his sorrow. He sat there until the late evening crowd came in and a very familiar and unapproving face showed up.

It was Elizabeth Kennedy, Eunice's sister-in-law. Elizabeth was a widow now and mostly unchanged from when they were children. Gordon remembered how fun it was to annoy and tease her when he was younger so he decided to try his hand at it again. Elizabeth was more than game for Gordon's childish antics and both, fueled by alcohol, made some questionable decisions that evening.

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"How could we not come up, son? You phoned and told us that Evie had abandoned the lot of you. Your mother had the train schedule in her hand before I had even hung up." Eugene grasped his son by the shoulders and hugged him close. "Let's go up. Your mother will want proper introductions to her newest grandbabies. I can't imagine it. Two sets of twins for our first grandchildren and all boys!"

Eugene was correct. Goldie was upstairs tending to the boys. Everett was not very sure about his grandmother but she knew just what to do about his gassiness and that helped him settle right in to her arms. Frank was the happiest thing; always smiling, but he sneezed a lot and he had a good appetite.

While Goldie fawned over her new cherubs, Eugene and Gordon went to the kitchen to get a bite to eat. "What's your plan, son? How can we help? Are you sure you won't move back with us?" Eugene's rapid fire questions did not surprise Gordon. His father may be up there in years, but his mind was as sharp as it ever was.

"Obviously, I'm going to keep the nanny on. I may need to start drawing on my trust on a regular basis, but I don't want to stop working. I like my job and I love the headway we're making with the braking system. I'm frustrated with management, though. General Simtors and Chryslims are both introducing a hydraulic braking system on their higher end cars. The hydraulic system is more efficient than the mechanical one. Old man Fitz and his team of talking heads think that we don't need to change the brakes for the sake of change. It's going to become a safety issue at some point. They should make this change now to keep the edge against the other manufacturers!" Hearing his son's impassioned speech about his work brought a smile to Eugene's face. His boy had loved automobiles since he'd seen them on the boardwalk that day long ago and it'd only grown when he'd brought home that Auburn in 1906. Eugene knew that his son would never leave Dartford and he wouldn't ask him to.

"Keeping nanny on is a sound plan and your trust is there for you to use. It's just been collecting dividends since you left Springhaven. I'll have it transferred to a bank more accessible to you here. What about finding those boys a mother?"

"I can't think about that now, Father. Evie...she was not at all like I thought she was. She was meanspirited and malicious. I think it's just going to be the boys and I for a bit. I'm thankful that they won't remember any of this horribleness."

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"Father, I don't know what I'm doing wrong. She's always angry and says horrible things to me and sometimes our friends." Gordon was thankful for the opportunity to speak to his father without Evie in the apartment. Things were tense since they'd found out about the baby. Gordon had suggested they get married but that had set off a 3-day long argument that he'd ended up apologizing for because she thought he only wanted to marry because of the baby. That might be true but he did also usually like Evie, just not so much lately.

His father's voice on the other end of the line broke into his thoughts, "Pregnancy is hard on women. It makes them crazy and become people they aren't usually. Just try your best. Has she reconsidered your proposal?"

"She has not, and I don't dare bring it up again. I'll mention it again after the babe is born. Do you think she's reticent to marry me because of my eye? She brags about her engineer boyfriend to her friends all the time and how I'm able to afford her, although it would be nice if she'd consider getting a job. Having extra income is never a bad thing, but I can't understand why she'd turn me down."

"Pssshaw. Your eye doesn't detract from your virtues and if she's that vain then maybe not being married to her and stuck with her for the rest of your life is a good thing. You know you have your mother's and my support with whatever comes, but marrying the girl would probably ease a lot of her angst. Does she know about all your accounts? I know you don't want any of my money, but it's there for you if you want it. I've set up a trust for you and the girls."

"She thinks you still hold all the purse strings and I'm not telling her any different. Its bad that I don't want to be fully honest with her, isn't it? I just can't explain it. Something isn't sitting right."

"It's not good that you don't feel like you can be honest with her, but now is not the time to start. Let's get this baby welcomed into the world and then we'll see what's what. Love you, son."

"Love you, too, Father. I'll talk to you soon."

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Time marched forward through 1905 as the family went through the stages of grief. Eunice sought out her mother's support as she tried to work through it, but in those moments when her mother's words were not enough to assuage the sorrow; she would escape to the piano. Goldie loathed the times where her daughter would practice her scales so she found other distractions; whether it be Eugene or escaping to the new boardwalk.

The boardwalk was filled with amusements that were not wholly centered upon the rides and frivolity that could be found on the shore. Goldie greatly enjoyed catching up with new found friends in the cafe, visiting the social club's library, or stopping into the curiosity shop. Eugene enjoyed having his office in the heart of the boardwalk. He was able to practice speeches and try to pass legislation, like a journalism code of ethics. He could hear from townsfolk and tourists alike, and he got to enjoy the views that the boardwalk offered, although it was not always sunny on the boardwalk.

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Just after the dawn of 1919, Eugene found Gordon in his office pecking away at his typewriter.

"What are you up to there, son?"

"I'm drafting a letter with my skills to send off to Fitz Motor Company. I want to work on motorcars again. That's what I did in the Army and I was never so happy as when I had a wrench in my hand. I like knowing that I can fix something or make something better than it was."

"What about Britechester? They kept your acceptance open. It's yours if you want it."

With both of his father's degrees looming over his head, Gordon swallowed, "Things have changed since I left school. I have real world experience now. How could I possibly go back to stick my head in a bunch of books that may or may not be obsolete by the time I read them? I won't even be able to drink my cares away as the women in this country decided that alcohol was the devil and made their husbands act like randy fools, when in fact, maybe their husbands were just randy fools alcohol or not!" Gordon took a breath, and his father gazed at him with wisdom and experience behind his soft eyes. "I'm sorry to get so heated, Father, but this life I've come back to is not what I want anymore. It was what I wanted. It was what I wanted before I saw all the death and terror over there. The explosions...I still hear them at night. I can still hear the screams and I get... so...up-upset." Hearing his son's stammer, Eugene offered his son some solace.

"Gordon," he started gently, " nobody wants you to follow the path that you thought you were going to travel. You need to travel the path that you're on. There will be forks, turns, and dips, but the path you're on is the one that you're supposed to be on. Now what are you thinking for your future?"

Gordon and Eugene spoke very late into the night and by the end of their conversation, Gordon was feeling rather good about the direction his life was going. Eugene would miss his son, but it was time for Gordon to leave the nest.

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The headline stopped Eugene in the hall, his face ashen. Goldie looked up from her breakfast and with one glance at the front page of the newspaper joined her husband at his side. Gordon followed suit and they read what their future held.

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The war in Europe was hitting closer and closer to home with each passing day. Eugene and Gordon read and reread the same stories coming out of it with increasing dread.

"Father, what if Simerica is dragged into the war?"

"The president is quite adamant that we stay out of it, but I don't see how we can continue to do so with our casualties mounting. These people aren't soldiers. They're tourists and passengers. I don't think we can stay neutral much longer."

"I think I should like to join the fight if it comes to that." Gordon waited pensively for his father's response. A myriad of emotions crossed Eugene's face, but in the end he grasped his son by his shoulder and squeezed it as he pulled him into an embrace.

"I don't want to see you killed, but I cannot stop you. You will be 18 soon and it is admirable that you want to step up to the challenge and fight for our country, but I pray it does not come to that. I hope that cooler heads will prevail and this dustup will end before you come of age."

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Early 1915

The family celebrated their last breakfast together as a family. It was a bittersweet affair as none of them could remember the last time they didn't all breakfast together. All of Eunice's things had been moved to her new home, Sloan's Point.

Mr. Henry William Kennedy had purchased the large seaside home as a wedding gift for Eunice and Thomas. The home was situated upon the cliffs overlooking the harbor, but close enough for Thomas to still be able to help manage his family's shipping empire.

Eunice was excited to begin her life as Mrs. Thomas William J. Kennedy, but she would miss these moments with her family. She supposed that Thomas was not the only one who could commute back to town.