This past Saturday, Dec. 6th, our grandson Brooks Hallum Balka was born! We’ve been excitedly waiting his arrival (but none of us knew the gender & it was such a thrill to get to meet him)! Josie had asked me a few weeks before her delivery if there was a family name that was special to me. I had told her about my grandfather Basil Hallum Callaham, Jr. (1900-1975); friends & family called him “BH” (the same initials and middle name as Brooks Hallum). He died when I was only 11 yrs. old, but I still remember so much about him! He was my favorite! He always slipped me a quarter at every visit & I would climb up in his recliner chair & sit all day! He served as a corporal in WWI, earning several medals & a Purple Heart. He was a constable, & he also worked as a security guard at the JP Stevens plant in SC. He owned a small restaurant called Cafe Lonsdale in the Lonsdale Mill Community of Seneca, SC, & later in life he owned a dry cleaner business on Main Street in Seneca, SC. He was a great Christian man with a lively sense of humor. I only wish my children could’ve known him, & now to have a namesake of his in the family literally brings tears to my eyes! What an incredible honor & legacy! Little Brooks is certainly going to hold a special place in my heart, because he’s a precious gift from God, but each time I hear his name my mind is going to race back to my childhood, & my heart is going to well up with so many extra emotions!
Welcome to the Bates family blog! Gil and Kelly have been married since 1987 and have nineteen children. Twelve of the children are married. They have thirty-six grandchildren with four on the way. They have two foster grandchildren.
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