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1959/60 Baby Brother Brian was born in December of 1959 while we were still living on Kenilworth Ave. with Mother's parents. That's me looking in on newborn baby Brian in his crib and holding him on the couch... |
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1960 With little brother Brian and Uncle Herman (Mother's father's brother) in Charleston, South Carolina. Uncle Herman was a barber and was as nice a man as there was. He never married - always lived with his sister, our Aunt Beadie. I remember that he had a sophisticated, southern gentleman way of being and he always gave us interesting Christmas gifts - we always looked forward to opening packages from Uncle Herman. Uncle Herman died on September 18, 1979. |
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1960,
December On Somerdale Lane. Brother Brian's 1st birthday in the newly completed house on Somerdale Lane, in the Windsor Park neighborhood of Charlotte. We moved to Somerdale Lane in September of 1960 when I was a little more than 2 and a half years old... |
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1960,
Christmas Steve and little Brother Brian - our first Christmas on Somerdale Lane. I'm not sure why I was holding that guitar left-handed, but I soon straightened up and played right... |
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1960,
Christmastime Somerdale Ln. 1st shot - My Mother's mother, little Brother Brian, and me. 2nd shot - Mother, little Brother Brian, and me. 3rd shot - Father, little Brother Brian, Mother, and me. |
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1961,
Easter At Somerdale Lane with little Brother Brian, on the "planter" that went around the front corner of the house... |
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1961 At Grandfather Charlie and Grandmother Dollie's Culberson home. 1st shot (l-r): Father, Aunt Blanche, Grandmother Dollie, Uncle Elmer. 2nd shot (l-r): Cousin Cathy, Cousin Michael, Brother Brian, Cousin Henry, and Cousin Danny. |
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1961 At the beach, with little Brother Brian and Father... |
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1961,
Halloween At Somerdale Lane. Little Brother Brian was a clown, and I was Felix the Cat... |
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1961,
Christmas Eve Somerdale Lane... |
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1962 At Somerdale Lane, me and little Brother Brian. Could be just after Christmas 1961, or early 1962. We're sitting on my Grandmother Dellinger's red Rambler... |
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1962,
Easter Somerdale Lane. Little Brother Brian, Father, and me... |
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1962 At Somerdale Lane. Me and little Brother Brian... |
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1962,
December |
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1962,
Christmas This became the quintessential Christmas morning memory for me. Grandfather Dellinger built the platform for my electric train and that setup lasted for years. For several years that electric train was probably my most used possession. Countless battles with little plastic army men played out on that train platform, and I remember Gil Chandler saying (way back then) - "let's get out your men and have a battle!" That's little Brother Brian with his fireman's hat... |
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1963,
Easter |
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1963 Somerdale Lane Kool-Aid stand. (l-r): Steve, Gina Griffin, Linda Griffin, ?, little Brother Brian, and Gil Chandler. |
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1963 In the backyard at Somerdale lane. Gil Chandler, little Brother Brian, and me... |
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1963 Somerdale Lane, me and little Brother Brian... |
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1963,
December Little Brother Brian's 4th birthday... |
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1963,
Christmastime Me and little Brother Brian... |
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1963,
Christmas |
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1964 Thompson family portrait... |
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1964 At Somerdale Lane. Steve, Father, and little Brother Brian... |
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1964 Young Steve and little Brother Brian in a Photo Booth, probably at the old Clark's store on East Independence Blvd., in Charlotte... |
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1964 Steve and little Brother Brian. This may have been on a trip to the mountains - to Murphy (Culberson) - to visit Grandfather Charlie and Grand Mother Dollie. We often drove through Cherokee on these weekend trips... |
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1964,
Halloween Somerdale Lane. I'm the skeleton, little Brother Brian is a devil... |
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1964,
December At Somerdale Lane, little Brother Brian's 5th birthday. (l-r): Father, Grandmother Dellinger, Brian, Steve, and Grandfather Dellinger. |
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1965,
January At Somerdale Lane. My 7th birthday party. That's David Carr hoisting little Brother Brian into the shot... |
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1965,
December At Somerdale Lane. Little Brother Brian's 6th birthday party. |
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1965 At Somerdale Lane. New bunk beds for Steve and Brian... I pulled rank and got the top bunk... |
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1966,
January At Somerdale Lane. My 8th birthday party. In the first shot Little Brother Brian is about to take a bite, and in the 2nd shot he's second from the left... |
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1966 Steve and little Brother Brian... |
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1966,
Christmas Somerdale Lane. With Sport... |
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1967,
January At Somerdale Lane. My 9th birthday party... |
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1967 At Somerdale Lane. I'm on the go-cart with Sport. Little Brother Brian and Mark Holston are standing behind. Our Nimrod Rivera tent-trailer is at the end of the driveway... |
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1967 By 1965, when I was in 2nd grade, me and little Brother Brian , and Father, wanted to go on camping trips, but Mother would have nothing of "sleeping in a bag on the ground." In the Fall of 1965 Father took me and little Brother Brian to a sportsman show at the old Charlotte Coliseum and there we saw so many fascinating things! I remember they had an indoor fishing tank which I could barely be pulled away from. We also saw tents, tent-trailers, travel trailers - - we discovered the Nimrod Riviera tent-trailer! We began to reason that if we had the Nimrod we could convince Mother that she would be up off the ground in a bed almost like home, but we'd still be camping and everybody would be happy! Our scheming worked and soon we had a Nimrod tent-trailer! Except during Winter, we were then out on camping trips to the mountains or beach every month or two. These two shots were taken on one of those camping trips to the mountains, where Father taught us to fish... |
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1967 At Somerdale Lane. Steve and little Brother Brian... undercover men... |
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1967 During the summer of 1967 the family took a three week trip to Montreal, Canada for Expo '67, camping the whole way in the Nimrod Riviera tent-trailer. Grandfather Dellinger accompanied us. In the first shot I'm on a cannon at Gettysburg, and in the second shot with little Brother Brian at Niagara Falls. This great vacation was one of the most memorable experiences of my early days - - with this trip, Mother and Father gave us a gift that has never been forgotten... |
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1967,
Christmas At Grandfather and Grandmother Dellinger's Kenilworth Ave. home. One of the gifts received that day was an RCA record player and several records, including Best of the Lovin' Spoonful, The Beatles - Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Ballad of the Green Berets, and a 45rpm of the Beach Boys Darlin'. I was in the 4th grade then and I've remained fond of the Beach Boys and the Lovin' Spoonful to this day... 
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1967,
Christmas At Somerdale lane. Steve with a microscope, little Brother Brian in an Atlanta Falcons football suit... |
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1968,
Spring At Somerdale Lane. Father put up a basketball goal on the driveway; the best setup on the street as I recall. Here I'm taking a shot over #88, little Brother Brian, as Gil Chandler looks on. The Nimrod tent-trailer is behind us on the driveway. Behind the Nimrod the top driver's side of Father's 1963 turquoise Volkswagen Beetle can be seen. That's Mr. Hinson's 1959 pink Thunderbird in the next driveway... |
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1968 In the backyard of Somerdale Lane eating watermelon. Little Brother Brian, Mike Washam (middle), and me... |
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1968 At Somerdale Lane. Watching TV with little Brother Brian on my parent's bed... |
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1968 The room I shared with little Brother Brian at Somerdale Lane. There was a lot of silliness going on in those days... My guinea pig cage is on the toy box behind Brian and some of my models can be seen on the shelf; including a creature from Lost In Space, El Camino, Apollo Orbiter, and The Forgotten Prisoner of Castel Mare. The legs of my Major Matt Mason Moon Walker can be seen behind the open drawer. Swimming trophies are on top of the drawers and a fiberglass bow stands in the corner... |
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1968 At Six Flags over Georgia, near Atlanta. Steve, little Brother Brian, and Father... |
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1968 Somerdale Lane. I had become a Boy Scout - first in Troop 28 out of St. Andrews Episcopal Church, then Troop 158 out of Third Presbyterian Church. Brother Brian was a Cub Scout - Pack 152. Father had become a Cub Scout leader in Pack 152. Father went on to help start Boy Scout Troop 152, but I was already in Troop 158 and never in Father's troop, though the two units were closely aligned... |
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1969,
June At Somerdale Lane. Me, Sister Jan, and little Brother Brian, when Sister Jan was brand new... |
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1969,
Christmas At Somerdale Lane. Baby Sister Jan's first Christmas. Brother Brian received Hot Wheels and I have a gerbil on my arm. The box for my gas powered control line Cox PT-19 Trainer plane can be seen beside my left leg... |
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1970,
January At Somerdale Lane - my 13th birthday. (l-r): Father, baby Sister Jan, me (wearing a red Davidson Wildcats sweat shirt), little Brother Brian, and Grandfather Dellinger. |
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1970,
June A family portrait from around the time of little Sister Jan's 1st birthday... |
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1971? Mother and Father, somewhere in Florida? I think this is from the Disney World trip in 1971, but I'm not sure. Brother Brian in the 2nd shot.. |
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1971,
Christmas Little Brother Brian, little Sister Jan, and me... |
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1972 Family portrait... |
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1972 Little Brother Brian, Eastway Jr. High School 7th grade picture... |
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1976 On the deck at Farmwood. (l-r): Tracy Todd, me, little Brother Brian, and Randy Angel. |
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1976 Farmwood. Little Sister Jan, me, and Brother Brian. This must be before we put in the cement pond... |
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1976 Catawba College (where I was on the football team). (l-r): Brad Cox, me, Randy Angel, and Brother Brian. Brad, Brother Brian and my parents were visiting Catawba College for a football game... |
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1976 Catawba College (where I was on the football team). (l-r): Brad Cox, me, Father, Randy Angel, and Brother Brian. Brad, Brother Brian and my parents were visiting Catawba College for a football game... |
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1976 Christmas break during my freshman year at Catawba College. 1st shot (l-r): Brother Brian (on accordion), Stevie Scholastic on guitar, Pete "Dum-Dum Davis. 2nd shot: Brother Brian. |
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1977,
January At Farmwood, my 19th birthday. (l-r): David Bost, Brother Brian, me, and little Sister Jan. |
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1977,
January 29 At Kenilworth Ave., Grandfather Dellinger's 78th birthday. (l-r): Uncle Herman, Grandfather Dellinger, Jimmy, Brother Brian, Sister Jan, Father, and Aunt Beadie. I was away at Catawba College... |
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1977 Morrow Mountain State Park, North Carolina. 1st shot (l-r): Me, little Sister Jan, April, Brother Brian, and Father. 2nd shot (l-r): Brother Brian, April, Father, little Sister Jan, and me. I regret the deterioration of the 2nd shot... |
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1977 Visiting at Father's boyhood home in Culberson, near Murphy, in the North Carolina mountains. (l-r): Father, little Brother Brian, Grandmother and Grandfather Thompson. |
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1977 At Farmwood with Brother Brian... |
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1978,
April At Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina. (l-r): Me, Valerie Bost, Perry Hovis, Cheryl Grubb, Dean, Pam?, David Bost, and Brother Brian. We were at WCU to watch David Bost in a weight lifting competition... |
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1978,
June Brother Brian's Senior Prom day. 1st shot: Brother Brian. 2nd shot: April, Sister Jan, and Brother Brian. 3rd shot: Me and little Brother Brian. |
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After Grandfather Thompson's funeral... (l-r): Uncle Fred Thompson, Cousin Cathy Johnson and Lonnie, Cousin Michael Thompson and Mildred, Aunt Blanche Miller, Peyton, Glenda, Auut Lois Thompson, Brother Brian, Aunt Christine and Uncle Elmer Thompson, Aunt Lois Brown, Uncle Woodrow Miller, Sister Jan, me, Father, my Father's mother, and Cousin Henry Miller. |
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After Grandfather Thompson's funeral... (l-r): Brother Brian, Cousin Henry Miller and Glenda and Peyton, Cousin Michael Thompson and Mildred, Sister Jan, Cousin Cathy Johnson and Lonnie, Cousin Danny Thompson, and me. |
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1989 Family portrait... |
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1992 Thompson family portrait... |
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1999, August 31 Mother, Brother Brian, and Father, at Sister Jan's new house... Photo-Journal... |
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1999, Thanksgiving 1st shot: Young Will, Matt, Brother Brian, and Father. Photo-Journal... 2nd shot: Brother Brian, Father, and Matt. |
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1999, December 2 Brother Brian Turns 40... Photo-Journal... |
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1999, December 21 1st shot: Jill, Jan, and Brian... pre-Christmas. 2nd shot: Will hands Brian a new RC Night Racer. 3rd shot: Brian and his Night Racer. Photo-Journal... |
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2000, April 15 At Will's 2nd birthday party... Photo-Journal... |
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2000, May 4 Father's birthday celebration (a day early)... Photo-Journal... |
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2000, October 19 In Father's office, with Father... Photo-Journal... |
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2000, October 24 Brother Brian and his home in Indian Trail, on the outskirts of Charlotte... Photo-Journal... |
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2000, December 24 1st shot: Arrival at Thompson Manor in Farmwood, in Charlotte... with Beloved Mother and Brother Brian... Photo-Journal... 2nd shot: Brian and Matt's parents - Bill and Marda... |
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2001, May 5 A birthday feast for Father at Sister Jan's home... with Baby Ryan... Photo-Journal... |
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2001, December 25 - Christmas Christmas afternoon at Thompson Manor... Photo-Journal... |
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2002, January 2 At Thompson Manor with girlfriend... Photo-Journal... |
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2002, December 24 At Farmwood with Father, and a new RV / motorcycle trailer... Photo-Journal... |
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2002, December 24 Christmas Eve at Farmwood... Photo-Journal... |
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2002, December 25 Christmas Day at Hamilton Manor... Photo-Journal... |
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2009, October 5 At Mountain Island Lake with Sister Jan's family, Brother Brian's crew (Brian standing tall in the back) and Smithers... |
