Two Sides, Part Two: Religion & Politics

Religion and Politics. Oh, yes.

Politics has never been a divisive issue in my family tree. The reasons are simple. On the Kear side, you didn't talk about your politics. So although there were, I'm sure, both Democrats and Republicans amongst the Kears, no one really knew it.

On the LeCrone side, the reason for political unity was just as simple: Democrats were considered evil. One of the great family stories, which I retold at Grandma's funeral a few years ago, was about the time I asked Grandma if we were Republicans or Democrats. It was 1968. Because of the presidential election, I had just become aware of the existence of political parties. Being the curious type, I ask my Grandmother if we were Democrats or Republicans. She looked at me as if I had fallen from the sky. Then with great determination she told me, "We are Republicans!"

Continuing with my curiosity, I asked Grandma why we were Republicans. She replied, in all seriousness, "Because you cannot be a Democrat and a Christian!"

Looking back, I'm pretty sure it was the grace of God that kept me on the right side of the aisle until after Grandma had passed away. I'm guessing that my passage to the dark side, had she known of it, might well have killed her. To the best of my knowledge, I am still the only Democrat on the LeCrone side of the family. Baa, baa, black sheep.

Pa LeCrone was a quiet man. And when he spoke, it was slowly and with purpose. The only thing I remember about him politically was that he had a button in his jewelry box that said, "I Like Ike." He also once said that he personally knew Henry Bellmon and liked him. He was a farmer, you know.

When it came to religion, now that was something to talk about. Again, the two sides of my family were very different, but there were also some similarities. Both sides were deeply religious, and deeply spiritual. Both came from simple Protestant backgrounds. Both sides believed in prayer.

The Kear side came from Primitive Baptist roots. I have stood at the grave in the cemetery behind the old schoolhouse at Pennington, where the Primitive Baptist minister who married my grandparents is buried. He also is a Kear, an uncle I believe. When Grandpa and Grandma Kear migrated to New Mexico, there were no Primitive Baptist Churches there, so they became Southern Baptists. My Grandma taught Sunday School at the Pennington Baptist Church (which met in the old schoolhouse).

My Dad often recalled with tender fondness the night he walked the aisle and accepted Jesus as his Savior. In the front of one of Dad's old Bibles he has written, "I was converted and gave my heart and life to Jesus Christ in the summer of 1949. I was saved in the Baptist Church at Pennington, New Mexico. Pastor Earl H. Brock was holding a revival at that time. Thank God for the reality of salvation in Christ and the memories of that night I gave my heart and life to Jesus."

In the mid 1990s, I was able to stand with my father on the exact spot in that old abandoned schoolhouse, where he accepted Christ as a boy. With tears in his eyes, he told me, "At that moment, I knew that I knew that I knew that I was saved."

My Dad and his mother were the most religious of the Kear side. Religion could be discussed amongst the Kears, but calmly. There was to be no hard selling of faith. I never went to church with Grandpa and Grandma Kear. I was never invited to. I have heard them testify as to their faith in Christ, however, and I remember Grandma Kear telling me that her favorite hymn was Mansion Over the Hilltop. When I would sing that song in later years, especially if I sang it with my sister and brother, it would make my Dad cry.

The LeCrone side, now that was a horse of a different color! The LeCrones were descended from Holiness people. They were Wesleyan Methodists. Great-great-Grandpa Lanham (Grandma LeCrone's maiden name) had been a Wesleyan preacher. Religion ran hot and deep like lava in the LeCrone family. It was a fiery religion, but not embarrassing. This was a family that knew good from evil and would be happy to tell you about either.

The LeCrones dressed up for Church. I remember going to church with Pa and Grandma LeCrone many times. Pa was the Sunday School Superintendent. Grandma taught Sunday School. Youngest daughter, Linda, was a singer. Church was far more than a personal matter, it was a show. When my grandparents owned the cafe in Meno, Oklahoma, they made it a point to sponsor a religious tune (usually How Great Thou Art) on the local radio station each day. My Grandma wore her Wesleyan hair piled high, and took great satisfaction in bringing as many family members to Church on the holidays as was possible. The minister would always recognize her from the pulpit and compliment her on the number of visitors she had brought with her.

I'm not trying to make Grandma LeCrone out to be superficial. She was no more superficial than the next person. And I can personally attest that she was an authentic and deeply spiritual person. I remember waking up once in the middle of the night at her house (this was after Pa had died), and stumbling to the bathroom. As I passed her bedroom door, I could hear her talking. Wondering who she was talking to, I paused and listened. She was on her knees next to the bed praying for her children and grandchildren.

On the LeCrone side, men were expected to at least look into the ministry. Two of my uncles became ministers, as did I and my brother. Several of my cousins also entered the ministry. Ministry was an honorable profession amongst the LeCrones.

I should also mention that my Grandma LeCrone took great pride in being related to the Gaithers of Indiana. I do not know the exact nature of the relationship, but I do have a large photograph from a 1951 Dyson family reunion (Dyson was Pa LeCrone's mother's maiden name) in Indiana which shows my Pa LeCrone, my Great-grandmother LeCrone, and my Great-great-aunt Molly Lawrence, standing with Bill Gaither and Danny Gaither. In the 1970s, Grandma LeCrone even traveled to Indiana and visited with the Gaithers. It was one of the highlights of her life. So, in honor of Grandma LeCrone, I often tell people that Bill Gaither is my distant cousin.

Now, when it comes to spiritual things, the LeCrone side, as you might well imagine, were much more outspoken in their beliefs than the Kear side.

Growing up with the LeCrones, there was no doubt that we believed in the unseen world around us. There were stories galore of ghosts, angels, and demons. There was the story about Pa LeCrone and Uncle Charley Lawrence who saw the two dead kids riding a white horse. After giving chase, the white horse went over a hill and disappeared. The two men never could find it.

To this day, the supernatural is an accepted and expected topic of conversation at LeCrone gatherings. I'm not talking about silly occult stuff, but honest-to-goodness hardcore ghosts, demons, and angels! There's a war going on in that spirit realm that is all around us. God has won the war, but the battles are still being waged.

Ah, religion and politics. Things that make families so interesting!