Robert Henry McCune was the maternal grandfather that I knew and loved growing up. My mother
 |
| Robert McCune with his sister, Marie |
often comments how lucky she feels to have had two loving, caring fathers. Having lost his father at an early age, I am sure he understood and related to his wife, Virginia and her two children, Boyd and Iris.
Robert was born on May 21, 1901 to Henry and Mary Jane Slaven McCune. At the time the family lived in Galesburg, Illinois. Galesburg is located in northwest central Illinois. It was built around the foundation of Knox College. The railroad played an important role in the growth of the city as well. The city has a claim to fame as the birthplace of Carl Sandberg.
During high school, I had an assignment to interview two people who lived during the 1920s. The following are Robert's responses to the questions I asked.
Where did you live during the 1920s? "I lived in Galesburg, Illinois, and Salt Lake City, during that period."
What was your mother's occupation? "Since my father was deceased, my mother worked as a seamstress." (Notice the similarities in the childhood of Robert and his wife Virginia.)
What was your occupation? "I lived with my older sister, Jane, in Salt Lake City for a while, and worked on the Bingham and Garfield railroad which is a part of Kennecott. I worked for the CBQ railroad when I was in Illinois, and I worked for Independence Gas and Oil. I made about $140 a month when I worked for the railroad."
On politicians:
- Harding - "He was a front for corrupt politicians and they used him as a tool."
- Coolidge - "He was riding the tide of popularity although he was more capable than Harding."
- Hoover - "At that time it was not very good"
- Al Smith - "He would have made a wonderful President. He did a great job as governor of New York. I voted for him when he ran for President."
On prohibition:
"Prohibition was a farce, it accomplished nothing. I feel that a country cannot legislate a man to stop drinking, in fact, I think this caused many people to drink who would otherwise not touch the stuff.
The boarding house, in which I lived in downtown Salt Lake, was a speak-easy. I helped make some bathtub gin. We used pure grain alcohol."
On beauty pageants:
"That was something! I remember the girl that made my bed in the boarding house became Miss Utah, then Miss America, and then went to Rio to compete for Miss Universe."
On the Teapot Dome Scandal:
"I don't think you would have (heard) very much about Teapot Dome if Sinclair hadn't beaten Rockefellar to get the lease."
On the persecution of Negroes, Catholics, and Jews:
"This had no place here in America. Everyone, regardless of creed or color, is entitled to his own religious beliefs.
Comparing the 20s to the 60s:
"We have the same short skirts. There are more tensions today, and the pace is faster today."
Robert married Virginia Sparks Lunn on Valentine's Day 1938. At that time he became a father to Virginia's son and daughter as well as a husband. They lived in Virginia's home on McClelland Street. He was a loving husband and father.
The family enjoyed the typical family life of the period working and playing together. This pleasant time would be interrupted by the world turmoil of World War II. Robert enlisted and was made a Navy recruiter. At lease he was able to stay stateside.
After the war, Robert worked for Sinclair Oil. Over the years his assignments took him to Kansas City, Cheyenne, and Denver. He loved spending time with his children and grandchildren when they visited and shared the highlights of these destinations with them: Frontier Days in Cheyenne with the colorful parade and rodeo; the Natural History Museum of Denver, the Capitol; The Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs; and, rowing boats on the lake in the Denver City Park.
Traveling through his territory in Wyoming, his grandchildren learned that the first numbers on Wyoming license plates indicated the county where the car was registered: 19 meant Uinta, county seat Evanston; 1 meant Natrona, county seat Casper; 2 meant Laramie, county seat Cheyenne; 4 meant Sweetwater, county seat Green River.
Robert and Virginia would move back to Salt Lake in 1963. His eyesight was failing due to cataracts. He suffered a detached retina following surgery to remove the cataracts which led to his retirement.
he took his grandchildren to Denver Bear baseball games each summer.
Grandpa was an avid baseball fan. Every summer we made at least one trip to the see the Denver Bears play in their stadium. He would have been so proud to have a major league team in his hometown. He missed the Rockies by a few decades.
His other sports interests included boxing, wrestling, horse racing, football and dog racing. We were fortunate to see the customs associated with horse racing on visits to Englewood. I still watch the Triple Crown races each year in his honor. The bugle calling the horses to the track and the color silks of the jockeys combined with the beauty and grace of the horses make racing a marvelous spectator sport. I never could understand the science behind picking the winning horse and remember one time Grandpa's horse didn't finish the race. He never bet on a gray horse again.
Robert passed away on March 2, 1973 at his home in Salt Lake City.
 |
McCune Siblings
Bernard, Jerome, Robert
Jane and Marie |
 |
Jane, unknown, Marie, Robert,
and Mary Jane |
 |
| Virginia and Robert in the Redwoods |
The epitome of a loving, caring and brave frontier mother, Bertia Mae Duncan was the last child born to Matthew Madison Monroe Duncan and his wife, Rebecca Baxter Duncan. She was the only child to be born in the Indian Territory that would become the state of Oklahoma. Prior to her birth all of her siblings had been born in Tennessee. Sometime between the birth of her brother Nathan in 1873, in Tennessee and her birth on February 19, 1877, the family had moved to Lebanon, Indian Territory. At the time of her birth, Lebanon was part of the Chickasaw Nation. It is now part of Marshall County which was created when Oklahoma became a state.
