Merlin Ringering
known as Merlin
also written Merlin Ringering, Merlin, Merlin Howard Ringering, Captain Merlin Ringering in the book
Biography
Described by the narrator as "our cousin"; supplied pictures of the early generations. Styled Captain Merlin Ringering; no service details are stated. Bernie's cousin and a major source of family information and old photographs. Lived intermittently with his grandparents Dan and Olive as a boy. Located, documented, and repaired ancestral grave sites. Recalled Dan’s gestures and facial movements. Told of accidentally urinating on onions while visiting his grandparents at seven or eight, spoiling two meals and receiving a willow-switch whipping. Said he intensely disliked Olive because of undeserved whippings. Remembered the small two-story tar-paper-covered house Dan built on Falk’s farm. Floyd's nephew. Supplied recollections about Ira, Bessie, and Floyd's noisy Model-A. Admired and imitated Uncle Floyd's hair, eyebrows, and rapid 'Yep.' Received a letter about Floyd from Arnold. Daddy's nephew. Visited Normal with his companion Dorothy in 1996 after seeing Dee in Moline. Recounted family memories; Daddy was his favorite uncle.
Timeline
1996
Merlin and Dorothy visit Normal
Overnight visit in a completely outfitted camper, during which Merlin shared family stories.
Barbara's ChapterJust before the 1996 Normal visit
Merlin visits Dee
Barbara's Chapterdate not given
Merlin Ringering supplies early-generation family pictures
Gave the family photographs of the early generations.
We NineFor years, on the Fourth of July
Fourth of July family gatherings
Daddy returned for family reunions, arriving in new cars. He stopped going sometime after Bernie and Bob were twelve or thirteen.
Barbara's ChapterWhen Merlin was seven or eight
Merlin accidentally spoils his grandparents’ onions
Urine from the upstairs window soaked onions drying on the porch, spoiling bean soup and liver and onions. Merlin received a willow-switch whipping.
History of the Guild Family
Stories mentioning Merlin
- Merlin's Camper Visit and a Familiar GestureRetired steamship pilot Merlin visited Normal overnight with Dorothy after seeing Dee in Moline. His wife Marilyn had died two years earlier. During his visit he shared family stories, and Barbara noticed the finger-by-the-nose gesture that Dee had said resembled Daddy's.
- Fourth of July with a Favorite UncleMerlin fondly recalled Daddy's Fourth of July visits to family reunions in Brainerd. He loved seeing his favorite uncle and the entertaining Aunt Gertie. Daddy's new cars made relatives think he was rich. The visits stopped sometime after Bernie and Bob were twelve or thirteen, disappointing the family.
- Keeping the Family Pictures SafeThe narrator identifies a photograph as the only known picture of the whole family together and celebrates the many other family photographs preserved for the book. Cousin Merlin Ringering supplied pictures of early generations, while Iris rescued precious photographs from an old olive-drab strongbox and kept them safe. Many are being seen for the first time. The pictures in subsequent chapters are arranged roughly chronologically rather than necessarily illustrating nearby stories; assembling so many pictures made the book a long time coming, but worth the wait.
- Gus Falk Opens a Door to MolineDaddy spent much of each summer with a nearby Minnesota family. Their grandfather Gus Falk, who lived in Moline and worked at John Deere, visited to hunt and fish and took a liking to him. Following Falk's promise of work at Deere, Daddy quit school at sixteen and went with him to Moline. Minnesota relatives thereafter called Daddy the rich relative.
- Merlin Remembers the Older GenerationMerlin recalled disliking his grandmother Olive, who stuck her tongue out at him and prompted his mother to switch him. He related that Olive had five children before meeting Dan Guild and moved in with him after Clarence Vosberg died. Olive and Dan married quickly because Bessie was expected, a revelation that still disturbed Merlin. Dan was remembered as quiet, mechanical, and a poor dirt farmer. The account says Olive had eight children by three husbands and Daddy had five half and three full siblings; it separately calls Gertie Dad's stepsister.
- Clarence's Long Recovery in the Stone ShedDad's favorite full brother Clarence was helping take pigs to market when he jumped out of the truck on a hill, ran alongside it, and fell beneath a tire. After his lower abdomen was run over, the family took him home rather than to a doctor or hospital. He survived nine months of recuperation in a small stone shed without medical care.
- Gathering the Family's Memories, Facts, and First-Class MythsBernie introduces accounts of Floyd, Ethel, and Edward Williams compiled after family members had already written their memories. Earlier impressions were deliberately left unchanged. Bernie credits relatives' recollections, photographs, grave-site work, genealogical tracing, and oral-history interviews, including Diana's margarita-assisted conversations with Mom. Although initially described as true stories based on the most reliable information available, the accounts are also explicitly called anecdotal, possibly allegorical, and unprovable.
- A Snowstorm, an Open Door, and a Growing FamilyDrawing partly on Floyd’s accounts, the family recounts Dan and Bernal’s rented farm and Olive’s desperate appeal after Clarence Vosburg’s accidental death. Dan offered shelter in exchange for cooking and housekeeping, initially unaware of her two oldest daughters. Olive and Dan married in 1899 and had five children, two of whom died young. The account also recalls Carrie’s devout household and Bernal’s departure after Newton’s death to sell sewing machines, including his meeting with Belle Woodley.
- Hard Work, Strong Tempers, and Lasting Family TiesThe family describes poverty, shared winter coats, uncertain meals, Dan’s mechanical ingenuity and repair shop, and the heavy household work borne by Olive and her daughters. Severe arthritis and unproved suspicions of infidelity colored Olive’s marriage and behavior. Recollections differ sharply: some emphasize harsh discipline and complaints, while grandchildren recall kindness and others see a devoted couple with stubborn tempers. Dan’s brief 1925 departure ended in his return, and they never divorced. The narrative also remembers affectionate sibling bonds, Floyd’s signature practice, and Olive’s willingness to shelter daughters between marriages. Sweeping judgments about the Vosburg and Guild children are presented as family opinions rather than independently established facts.
- Merlin and the Unfortunate Sack of OnionsWhile visiting his grandparents, Merlin urinated from an upstairs window at night to avoid waking them. Unknowingly, he soaked onions Dan had left drying on the porch. Olive’s bean soup and liver and onions were spoiled and went into the hog’s slop barrel. Merlin received a willow-switch whipping but remembered the accident as getting even for punishments he considered undeserved.
- A Sawmill and a Small Home on Falk’s FarmAfter stating that Dan lost everything, the account says he retained the sawmill. Harold Falk let him build a small house on his farm in exchange for sawing logs into boards. Dan also used sawdust to preserve winter-cut lake ice for summer sales. Iris, Merlin, and Bernie remembered the plain two-story tar-paper house, where tarpaulins divided living and sleeping spaces. A barn for cows and pigs was added later. The 103 acre farm included part of Round Lake and two rivers and was still owned by Marvin Falk in 2001.
- From the Old Farm to a New Start in MolineFamily memories follow Dan and Olive on the Falk property, the mysterious driveway inscription, Myrtle's minnow sales, and Bessie's diphtheria quarantine and marriage. After Dan lost the property, Clarence moved to Bessie's home and Floyd stayed with Uncle Bernie, learning horse care and practical jokes. Gus Falk helped Floyd move to Moline and find work in 1921. Relatives admired his success, and visits and reunions continued through his parents' later years. The passage preserves contradictory dates in Olive's calendar account and the boys' refusal to admit writing the inscription.
Referenced in
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Notes sent in by the family and approved on review. They sit alongside the original record — the book's wording is never changed.
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