Halbert was my paternal grandfather. Grandpa was a hard worker. After the war, he worked on farm equipment then to the Mid-Continent oil derricks of Oklahoma. He took jobs as the family moved westward to pursue better opportunities. For side work he restored antique grandfather clocks and did watch repair out of his home. He was a small engine mechanic for as long as I can remember he loved to tinker and fix things. Every place he lived he had projects going to fix neighbors roofs or pipes, whatever side jobs he could find to keep himself busy. There is one lasting memory of him that never fades and that's the smell of his cherry tobacco smoke. He smoked a pipe while he worked, I can remember being fascinated as I watched him work on delicate pieces inside watches wearing special loop glasses and he held the pipe sideways as little ringlets of smoke would encircle his head. Grandfather also loved to eat bacon and eggs nearly every day. One of the complications of his lifestyle was coronary artery disease. Halbert was one of the first open heart surgery patients at UCLA Medical Center in the 1950's. He married my paternal grandmother LaVaughn (Howerton) Routh in Pawhuska Oklahoma in 1924 After LaVaughn graduated from Cottey College and went to work first in a factory, thn a farm then a kitchen. She met him working in a kitchen. They married and within three years had two children, Bethel Bernice (my aunt) in Buffalo Missouri and James Halbert - my father was born in DeNoya in Osage County Oklahoma. LaVaughn's family resided in Long Lane and Buffalo in Dallas County Missouri where Halbert grew up. The Buffalo Reflex has many archived photos of Grandfather. Grandfather Halbert and Grandmother LaVaughn divorced many years later in Claifornia after Bernice and James were grown but the oral history is sketchy about what exactly happened. I think he remarried once but I visited him only twice and met his second wife whom he married in Nevada but I have no other details. No probate was connected to my father. I asked my father what had happened to their marriage and I think it was one of those hurtful things people prefer to leave alone. I wouldv'e been nice to havee the facts and know if he was cremated and what happened to his affects and second wife so I could do more genealogical research into our family history but family history is sometimes a touchy topic and one that's breeched after many years of it being covered up. Those involved have hidden the pain. Unfortunately for our one last living surname relative he will not know the full scope of home they lived, what thei work skills were, how they raised their children, what it was like to fight in a war. And personal facts that grandfather knew about my grandmother will never be shared, Important culture and recipes or quilting details I asked grandmother were not shared and are difficult to locate in family notes that are not kept or written down or past on, The importance of sharing these small things are very important because they make our family who they are and importance of sharing historical records can and does open up lines to other descendant lines.