Text is from a “Meet your neighbor” column from the Feb. 24, 1977, Tri-County News written by Robin Hasslen. [Shirley Good of Fair Haven had been adopted as a child, along with one brother. She grew up, married, and began a family of her own. After her three children graduated and left home, Shirley began serving as a foster mother. In her spare time, she makes quilts – 54 of them in the years 1972-1977.] Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Shirley, her first family had been searching for years for her and her brother Richard who now lives in St. Paul. Eugene and Wilma (her older brother and sister) had remained with their father and moved to Portland to the shipyards. Their natural Mother had remarried and also moved to Portland, and so the two children lived between the two families. Ann, another sister, had been adopted separately by another family, but Eugene found her in 1945 when she was 13. Over the years, the brother and sisters had many frustrating experiences trying to locate their family. They were given no help from the authorities who never even answered any of their letters. After 41 years of trying, Eugene was ready to give up on his search for Richard and Shirley, but Wilma had read a story titled “Jody” in Reader’s Digest and wanted to make one final attempt. She wrote an open letter in November 1976 to the newspaper in Ipswich, South Dakota, where they all were born. A lady who had been a neighbor of the Sparks family remembered them and immediately wrote to Wilma. However, she could not wait for the letter to make its way west, so she called instead. She knew that Richard was a Pillsbury and Shirley, a Good. She also remembered an Uncle William McNeil in Bonilla, South Dakota. Well, they hit dead ends with every lead but Uncle William, who in turn told them about his brother John who lived in Howard Lake and knew where Shirley was! On December 8, 1976, around suppertime, Shirley had just returned home from some shopping when her telephone rang. Someone at the other end told her to sit down for a shock. She immediately thought of her 80-year-old Father and worried that he might be ill. Then, the voice said, “Hi Shirley, this is your sister.” The three – Wilma, Eugene and Ann – who had placed that call from Oregon had wondered what their little sister’s reaction might be after 41 years … but the ensuing confusion of shouts, sobs and crying reaffirmed to them that she, too, had wanted to know about her family. The next call was to Richard in St. Paul. When Eugene said, “Hello, Dick, this is your brother,” he was answered by an “Oh, yeah, okay.” Richard is a member of a Lodge where everyone identifies himself as a “brother” … and he just imagined this person on the phone to be one of the lodgers. On the 27th of December, despite the flurry of letters and tapes and snapshots which were sent back and forth, Ann appeared on the steps of Shirley’s house in Fair Haven. Then, in the middle of January, Richard, Shirley and Bruce drove out for the family reunion. Shirley heard stories about how her brothers and sisters had fed her macaroni as a baby when there was no other food in the house. She met all her nephews and nieces and their children … and even her own natural parents! Now that all the excitement is over, Shirley is settled back into her very satisfying work as a foster mother. On the surface, things are pretty much the same as the Goods enjoy living quietly within the confines of their family. However, there just may be an extra little hug or squeeze or kiss to one of her babies as Shirley thinks about the importance of the family and its all-encompassing love … which endures for years and years. *** Sharing at least a dozen of her countless hand-made quilts, Shirley Good is one of our generous supporters during the Kimball Area Historical Society’s annual August event in City hall. Thank you again, Shirley. We appreciate you. Thanks for placing your confidence in us through new or renewed membership during our current membership drive. Join the more than 100 individuals, families and businesses from across the nation in supporting the society’s mission. Since our beginnings in the year 2000, the Kimball Area Historical Society’s many volunteers stay dedicated to improving the world we live in, and the world we leave to our children and grandchildren. To be able to access and understand how Kimball and its surrounding areas grew and developed, you can help through membership. For family research, information, membership, or stories for this column, please contact the Kimball Area Historical Society at P.O. Box 100, Kimball MN 55353, or by telephone at (320) 398-5250, 398-5743 or (800) 252-2521 from out of the area.
