52 Ancestors 2020 Prompt "Long Line"

Ivan Macbeth and Three Generations of Descendants: A Long Line of Cat Lovers

This week’s 52 Ancestors prompt had me struggling. “Long Line”. What should I talk about? There were a lot of obvious topics—long lines of farmers, a long line of descendants from Francis Dane of Andover, Massachusetts, and the Ingalls and Chandler families as well. But none of the possibilities enthused me. I was dreading writing a boring post.

And then I ran across a lovely photo of my Grandpa Ivan Macbeth as a child, perched on the steps of his house with a cat next to him. It reminded me of photos I have of my mom, his daughter, as a child with cats, and photos of myself as a child playing with cats. And suddenly I had my post topic I could really enjoy writing about: A Long Line of Cat Lovers.

My grandfather, my mother and my brother and I all grew up on farms, and farms nearly always have cats. Farm cats are generally outdoor cats—they live in the barn and the farm outbuildings, and help keep the mouse population at bay. Often they are semi-feral, but there are always a few that become true pets, and are family favorites.

Here are photos of our long line of cat lovers. First, my maternal grandfather, Ivan Macbeth. I remember hearing stories about my grandfather Ivan with one of his pet cats. He raised dairy cattle when my mom was little. In the days before the electric milking machines, milking was done by hand, and my grandfather trained one of the cats to come alongside whatever cow he was milking and he’d squirt milk into the cat’s open mouth. Quite the trick!

Next, two photos of my mother, Ione Macbeth, as a child with cats. I love the one with the baby ducks—my mother looks like she’s having to struggle to hold onto the cat. I’m guessing it wanted to chase (and probably eat) the baby ducks! Photos from the 1930s.

Next, a 1963 photo of me on Grandpa Ivan’s farm with three of his cats. Visiting their farm cats and kittens was always a highlight of any trip to see my grandparents.

Here’s a photo of my brother Kent Peterson covered with napping kittens. These were our first “indoor” cats—Kent had found a lovely stray calico cat we named Harriet, and she became a house cat, and her kittens did as well. Harriet was an amazing cat, living to the age of twenty!

Next are photos of my children, Amanda and Greg Aird, with Boojum, one of our favorite in a long line of pet cats my husband and I have had over 38 years of marriage. Boojum grew up with the kids and had a real personality. Photos taken around 1996.

Now that our children have grown and established their own homes, they have adopted cats of their own. The long line of cat-lovers will continue to yet another generation!