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Tuesday, January 4, 2022

Newlin's Story: 1988–1989

The Nevis family in 1988 and 1989: 

Newlin at an event circa 1988

photo by Joel A. Nevis, for public use only with acknowledgement
Newlin in her kitchen circa 1989

Ashmore sisters Sheryl, Newlin, Eloise, and Floreine, circa 1988

Tallahassee, Florida, circa 1988
Ashmore spouses: Opal, Emmett and Clarisse

Tallahassee, Florida, circa 1988
Ashmore siblings: Ludlow, Sheryl, Newlin, Eloise, Floreine, and Lytton

Tallahassee, Florida, circa 1988
Ashmores: Emmett, Sheryl, Clarisse, Ludlow, Newlin, Lytton, Floreine, Eloise, and Opal

Newlin and Joel visit Newlin's niece Linda in Jacksonville circa 1988

Andrew in the family room, circa 1988

Friend and pastor Rev. Glenn Dickson with Newlin at a church event in her house

In December 1988 North Florida had a sustained hard freeze the day before Christmas and lost power in the region. An overhead pipe froze over night and then defrosted during the day bursting and flooding the back half of the family house on 11th avenue. Newlin ran to the curb in front of the house to shut off the water to the building and Joel immediately started removing everything from the bedrooms to the front of the house. Andrew and Eric were summoned home to help with that work until the late afternoon when we realized we had no place to sleep. Andrew was expedited to secure a couple of hotel rooms but managed only one room due to the weather affecting travelers on Interstate 75. We had a hard time finding a restaurant open on Christmas eve (thank you Red Lobster for being open). And for Christmas we were invited to share Christmas dinner with a family that Eric knew. 

We lost almost nothing due to the quick work we did to remove anything on the floors in the bedrooms, not even the carpeting, but we did have to replace the two decade old rug pads. Mom's insurance agent was a neighbor a few doors up the street, and he came done when power was restored with some oversized floor fans to air out the rooms, preventing mold and mildew from growing. A few months later Newlin got a check for $800 from the insurance company. That neighbor had compensated her for our manual labor that a professional company might have been paid.

Here is Andrew in the family room with dismantled bed frames behind him:

Andrew, Christmas 1988

Joel worked in Columbus at Ohio State University from 1987 to 1990 and had an excursion to Cleveland in the spring of 1988.

Joel in Cleveland, spring 1988

Joel spent the summer of 1988 in Helsinki, Finland, attending a refresher language class and visiting Finnish pals. His friend Karen Sobul from Columbus arrived for a vacation, too. They got invited to the summer cabin of an acquaintance, so they hopped a bus to the woods of southern Finland laden with food and booze. 

Joel at a road-side bus stop in southern Finland

Joel in southern Finland

Joel and Karen eat dinner with their Finnish host

Joel and Finnish friend

Joel being silly

Joel and Karen the morning after the party

Joel at someone else's summer cabin

Back in Helsinki, Joel and Karen visit Seurasaari open-air national museum; they happen upon a dance festival. Here is Joel dancing a schottische:

Joel dancing a schottische

Joel boating in the Gulf of Finland

Joel and Karen visit Tallinn, Soviet Estonia, too. They craft an improvised sign in honor of his OSU Professor Ilse Lehiste, and they manage to stop a passing Soviet sailor for a photograph.

1988 photograph by Karen Sobul
Joel in Tallinn

Joel with Soviet sailor in Tallinn, Estonia, Soviet Union

In 1988 Allan was married and living and working near San Francisco; Andrew was a teaching assistant at the University of Florida as he finished a master's in mathematics and then entered a PhD program at Florida State University; and Eric worked on a bachelor's in microbiology. 



next post  Newlin's Story: Newlin Tours China with Family

previous post  Newlin's Story 1987

first post in Flashbacks  How the Nevis family came to California

first post in Arnold's Story  July 1943

first post in blog  Leonard's Story: May 29, 1943 




Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Newlin's Story: 1987

While he applied for academic jobs, Joel worked in a bank in New York City. By Fall 1987 he returned to the Ohio State University to supervise the teaching assistants in the Linguistics department.

Joel in Manhattan, Spring 1987

Joel with coworker's daughter at Citibank

Joel with Citibank coworkers

Joel with coworkers

Joel returned to Florida in the summer of 1987, bought a car (Mazda 323) and drove out West to attend a linguistics conference at Stanford Univerity. He and some OSU classmates drove over to the Pacific Ocean:

1987 photo by Uma Subramanian
Joel with OSU classmate Riitta Välimaa-Blum

1987 photo by Uma Subramanian
Joel and Riitta picnic off the trunk of his car

Allan got married in August to Cathie Coe. They were living in El Cerrito and married at Rockefeller Lodge in San Pablo.

1987 photo by Joel A. Nevis y Flores, for public use only with acknowledgement
Cathie with pet rabbit Ray Charles, El Cerrito, Summer 1987

1987 photo by Joel A. Nevis y Flores, for public use only with acknowledgement
Cathie's rented house in El Cerrito

Bridegroom Allan, August 1987

mother of the groom Newlin and bridegroom Allan

Andrew cracks a joke with Joe, Cathie, Allan, and Eric

newlyweds Allan and Cathie with Joel and with Allan's friends

Newlin with nephews and niece: Larry's wife, Larry, Kathy, and Walter (Arnie's brother Leonard's three children)

Before and after the wedding Nevis family members toured the area. Newlin's sister Floreine and her daughter-in-law Suzanne came out for the wedding from Florida, and Arnie's sister Laura came up from Los Angeles.

Suzanne, Eric, Laura, Joel, Floreine, and Andrew at the Cliff House (with Seal Rocks in background)

Newlin in a redwood tree, Muir Woods National Monument

Eric with a strangler fig, Muir Woods National Monument

Suzanne, Newlin and Andrew, Muir Woods National Monument

Newlin enjoying Muir Woods National Monument

Eric hamming it up near Mount Tamalpais

Andrew and Eric on a trail down Mount Tamalpais

Newlin, Allan and Eloise at Mount Tamalpais East Peak

Allan and Cathie came to Florida with Cathie's daughters Nikki (Nathalie) and Denise to spend Christmas with the Nevises.

1987 photo by Joel A. Nevis y Flores, for public use only with acknowledgement
Christmas tree in Newlin's living room, 1987



Scandinavian Christmas decorations on Newlin's dining room table

Stockings by the fireplace

Allan and Cathie open Christmas presents

Newlin opening a Christmas present with Nikki and Andrew

Denise in St. Augustine

Eric shows his romantic side

Between Christmas and New Year's Newlin arranged a reception at Wakulla Springs Lodge for our Ashmore relatives to meet Allan's new family: Cathie, Nikki and Denise.

Allan in a suit for the reception

Cathie and Allan on the left, Sheryl and Newlin in the middle, and Mary Alice on the right

cousins Linda and Joel

Wakulla Springs Lodge


next post  Newlin's Story 1988–1989

previous post  Arnold and Newlin: Postscript 1986

first post in Flashbacks  How the Nevis family came to California

first post in Arnold's Story  July 1943

first post in blog  Leonard's Story: May 29, 1943