The authors of these stories are members of a polyamorous family of seven. We formed between 1969 and 72 and have been an exclusive group since 1972 (that is 48 years in 2020). We're from Bettina a hamlet just outside Llano Texas. Back then there were 578 people living in Bettina township, 2608 people living in Llano township, and 6978 in the whole county. Despite its name -- Llano means "plains" in Spanish -- it's located on its namesake river, a tributary to the Colorado. In the Texas Hill Country just south of Baby Head Mountain, 110 miles north of San Antonio and 75 miles northwest of Austin.
Executive Summary --
George is Lisa's brother. Ethan is their younger brother. George, Lisa, and Ethan are Peter, Kevin, Paul, Hugh, Monica, Jamie, Eva, Lillian, and Claire's first cousins, and Kristin's third-cousin. Eva and Lillian are sisters. Claire is their younger sister, and George, Lisa, Ethan, and Jamie's first cousin, Paul's second cousin, and Kristin's third cousin. Paul is Peter, and Kevin's younger brother, and George, Lisa, and Ethan's first-cousin. Paul, is also Eva, Lillian, and Claires second-cousin, Jamie's second cousin, and Kristin's third-cousin. Kristin is George, Lisa, Ethan, Peter, Kevin, Eva, Lillian, Claire, Hugh, Monica, Jamie, and Paul's third-cousin. Jamie is Hugh and Monica's sister, George, Lisa, Ethan, Eva, Lillian, and Claire's first cousin, Paul's second-cousin, and Kristin's third-cousin.
Here is the complete list (for masochists)
Claus Adel b 1896 -- Erin's husband --J.W.'s father Hugh, Monica and Jamie's paternal grandfather
Erin (Casey) Adel b 1903 -- Claus' wife -- Kaylee's sister J.W.'s mother -- Hugh, Monica and Jamie's paternal grandmother
Morgan O'Connor b 1898 -- Kaylee's husband -- David's father Peter, Kevin, and Paul's paternal grandfather
Kaylee (Casey) O'Connor b 1900 -- Morgan's wife -- Erin's sister -- David's mother -- Peter, Kevin, and Paul's paternal grandmother
Nikolas Saunders b 1897 -- Lizbeth's husband -- Judith, Gabriel, and Michaels's father -- George, Lisa and Ethan's paternal grandfather -- Peter, Kevin, and Paul's maternal grandfather
Lizbeth (Reiley) Saunders b 1905 -- Nikolas; wife -- Judith, Gabriel, and Michaels's mother -- George, Lisa and Ethan's paternal grandmother -- Peter, Kevin, and Paul's maternal grandmother
Jean Deveraux b 1907-- Connie's husband -- Pastor R.P. Deveraux's father -- Eva, Lillian, and Claire's paternal grandfather
Connie (Reiley) Deveraux b 1909 -- Jean's wife -- Pastor R.P. Deverax's mother -- Eva, Lillian, and Claire's paternal grandmother
J.W. Adel b 1920 -- Heidi's husband -- Hugh, Monica, and Jamie's mother
Heidi (Strauss) Adel b 1927 -- J.W.''s wife -- Katherine and Loreli's sister -- Hugh, Monica, and Jamie's mother
(Uncle) David "Doc" O'Connor b 1920 -- (Aunt) Judith's husband -- Judith, George and Michael's 3d cousin -- Peter, Kevin, and Paul's father
(Aunt) Judith "Judy" O'Connor b 1922 -- (Uncle) David's wife George and Michael's sister -- Peter, Kevin, and Paul's father
Gabriel "Gabe" Saunders b 1924 -- Katharine's husband -- Nickolas and Lizbeth's son -- Judy and Michael's brother -- George, Lisa and Ethan's father -- Peter, Kevin, and Paul's uncle -- Kristin's second cousin once removed
Katherine "Kate" (Strauss) Saunders b 1929 -- Gabe's wife -- John and Sarah's daughter -- Heidi and Loreli's brother -- George, Lisa and Ethan's father -- Eva, Lillian, Claire, Hugh, Monica, and Paul's aunt -- Kristin's second cousin once removed
(the late) Arthur Blume b 1928 -- Miss Sherri's deceased husband, killed in the Korean War -- Gabe's second-cousin -- Steve and Kristin's father
Miss Sherri (Mindenhall) Blume b 1929 -- widow of Arthur -- Steve and Kristen's mother
Pastor R.P. Deveraux b 1924 -- husband of Loreli -- Gabe's first-cousin -- Eva, Lillian, and Claire's father
Loreli "Lori" (Strauss) Deveraux b 1931 -- wife of R.P. -- Eva, Lillian, and Claire's father
"Aunt" Anne and "Aunt" Carol -- David, Gabe, Judy and Kate's lovers from Lackland Field, San Antonio -- Mutt and Jeff's girlfriends
"Mutt" and "Jeff" -- the nicknames of two friends of David, Gabe, Judy, Anne and Carol, 8th USAAF pilots killed flying B-17s over Germany
Hugh Adel b 1949 -- stepfather of two -- lives with his sister Monica on Claus' farm
Peter O'Connor b 1947 -- Kevin and Paul's brother -- became a doctor and moved away
Kevin O'Connor b 1949 -- Peter and Paul's brother -- became a lawyer and moved away
Paul O'Connor b 1951 -- Lillian's husband -- Peter and Kevin's brother --the father of six (with Lillian, Eva, and Lisa)
Lillian (Deveraux) O'Connor b 1954 -- Paul's wife -- mother of two (with Paul)
Monica Adel b 1951 -- Hugh and Jamie's sister -- mother of two (with George) -- lives with her brother Hugh on Claus' farm
George Saunders b 1952 -- Lisa and Ethan's brother --father of six (with Kristin, Jamie, and Monica)
Kristin (Blume) Saunders b 1952 -- Steve's sister -- mother of two (with George)
Pastor Eva Deveraux b 1953 -- Lillian and Claire's sister -- mother of two (with Paul)
Lisa (Adel) Saunders b 1953 -- Jamie's wife -- George and Ethan's sister -- mother of two (with Paul)
Jamie (Saunders) Adel b 1953 -- Lisa's wife -- Hugh and Monica's sister -- mother of two (with George)
Ethan Saunders b 1955 -- Claire's husband -- George and Lisa's brother --father of two (with Claire)
Claire (Deveraux) Saunders b 1955 -- Ethan's wife -- Eva and Lillian's sister -- mother of two (with Ethan)
Uncle Mike's kids, our "other" first-cousins: Christopher, Diane, and Robert
Our second cousins "Petey" (not Kevin and Paul's brother) Donna, Connie, and Darcy.
Wendy spent summers at her grandparent's house in town.
Kids we went to school with: Our third-cousins - Meiko, and Michelle, third-cousin and Kristin's brother- Steve, brother and sister Joe (who died in Vietnam) and April, brothers - Joey and Earl, brother and sister - Duane and Mave, brother and sister Geoffery and Lydia.
Bellina Township, Llano County Texas - population 578 (1970)
We all went to BBHHS, the Bellina-Baby Head High School, Paul, and George were class of '70. Eva and Kristin were in the class of '71. Lisa, Jamie, and Lillian were class of '72. Ethan and Claire graduated in '74. Together we all went to the Holy Brethren Church where Pastor R.P. Deveraux -- Eva, Lillian, and Claire's dad -- was the minister. We were each other's casual playmates, swimming in ponds on the farms during the summer, playing Pirate or "Huck Finn" where the girls invariably got tied up and held captive by the boys. Playing "Laban's House," the polygynous version of the classic -- as directed by our resident Biblical scholar, Eva.
Except for Kristin -- she had to work mornings at her mom's diner, Miss Sherri's -- we were all on the track and cross-country running teams, where the girls all played "Truth-or-Dare" in the locker room. We went to 4-H -- "head, heart, hands, and health," run by Texas A&M's agricultural extension service - and Future Farmers of America -- which was run by local volunteer farmers, including our Aunt Judy -- together. Most of us were in the local Civil Air Patrol Squadron that Pepe and Sra. Sanchez ran. Texas Squadron 69 -- really, T-069, it was derived from Llano Municipal Airport's FAA designator of 6N9 -- today the airport designator is a far "less fun" AQO, proof that AWOS blows, or maybe proof it doesn't. Our uncle, "Doc" O'Connor, Paul's dad, owned a PA-12 which was a three-seat version of the J-3 Cub. Paul, George, Lisa, Jamie, and Lillian took lessons in that little tube steel and fabric Piper. We received our Private Pilot Licenses between 1968 and '70.
Things sure seemed to move at a different pace back then. Nobody tried to endlessly extend childhood. We had tons of fun, but we were preparing to be grown-ups. The specter of Vietnam was certainly looming, the whole town turned out for the funeral of Joe, April's older brother. He was the first son the county lost over there. Eva and Lisa had developed a plan for all of us to stay together forever, to make "Laban's House" a blueprint or a trial run. Lisa failed to launch on her first attempt, but she and Jamie made a better plan together. The boys needed the experience of Wendy and Michelle to appreciate the alternative when it was offered. Eva was successful with Paul and later Lillian joined them forming a throuple. Lisa's second shot at George was perfect, Jamie joined in and then we achieved perfection adding Kristin. We grew together and prepared for the future.
Right after high school Paul and George were invited to go "Camping at Killeen" -- US Army basic training at Fort Hood --. We went to see them for the "transition weekend" between the basic and the advanced infantry courses. They came home for Christmas and then they departed on an "all expenses paid twelve-month walking tour of Southeast Asia"-- as George puts it. Eva was ordained by a Pentecostal church because the American Methodist Church, the successor to the Evangelical Union, and the Brethren. required a penis for admission to their seminary.
George and Paul got themselves "Airframe & Powerplant" licenses after going to a school in San Antonio with their GI Bill money. We borrowed Pepe's Cessna Bobcat to fly down to see them while acquiring multi-engine time. We moved into our own little playhouse, five of us got Commercial Licenses. Then we flew Beech Eighteens. We built a basement playroom. We lived in the dark, flying through the state at night. But had lots of fun in that little house, in the kitchen, the bedroom, and the jacuzzi tub. We logged for quite a few hours and all received our Air Transport Licenses right about the time we went to Alaska for two years.
We were supposed to be getting jobs flying for the Conglomerate that was building the Alaska Pipeline but people who were already up there had more experience so they took the "newer" higher-paying jobs and we took the jobs they vacated when they jumped ship. Alaska in the 1970s was the most wonderful existence for a young pilot without children to worry about. We flew passengers, fuel, and general freight in old round-engine airplanes. We even flew some "fire-suppression" -- aka water-bombing missions -- in converted World War Two bombers, and Lisa developed her Catalina fixation. The one thing we did not do but would have loved to have done professionally was stay in Alaska longer.
Our families were all in Central Texas, so we came back. The seven of us started an air-taxi business with Jamie's brother and sister -- our cousins Hugh, BBHHS '68, and Monica, BBHHS '70. The seven of us had ten children each of whom growing up had two daddies and five mommies who all loved them. Once, Eva had a dream of creating a commune, but it didn't work because many chose not to exert themselves. We lived there and flew Piper Cherokees, then Navajos, and eventually Chieftains. It was a partnership that morphed into an organic commercial farm.
Monica set up a Montessori school there on the grounds. Then George "assisted" Monica in her desire to become a mother. Now all of us have grandchildren and even a couple of great-grandchildren. Ethan was in the class of 1974 and missed the Vietnam War. When he got out of the Army, he and Claire -- who was also '74 -- he went to work flying for us. We grew our aviation business, took an equity partner to obtain capital to grow, and we bought new Embraers to run a commuter service. We merged the company with its codeshare partner and eventually sold our stake in it, and we moved to the Caribbean for the first time.
We spent eighteen years living in Sosua in the Dominican Republic flying C-117s to Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, and Miami, Florida. We flew C-46s to the Cayman Islands and Rotan, Honduras, L-749s to Sint Maarten and Guatemala City. We flew DC-6s to Georgetown and Lethem in Guyana and L-1049s to Curacao and Belize. When the US President decided to pressure the Dominicans we started passenger flights using a DC-8. Initially, we carried vacationers from Spain, and Italy, we had long layovers in Europe, so we took the kids and visited France and Switzerland. The Trade war ended and we started flying freight to Holland and Germany before shifting our operations to serve South America.
We flew the L-1049s again this time to Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil and to Montevideo Uruguay, and to Buenos Aires, Argentina. We acquired a couple of Boeing C-97s and flew them to Panama, and Suriname, and Columbia, and French Guiana. After the 9-11 terrorist attacks, the big corporation that bought us out went bankrupt. We returned to the US to run the commuter operation. We flew twin-engine Embraer Jets from Wisconsin to Houston, Chicago, the Twin Cities, Ohio, and Michigan. Then, forced to retire "due to excessive experience," by the FAA, we moved back to the Caribbean where we could legally run our aviation business.
Some of our stories involve the folks we grew up with back in Texas, Steve and Earl (class of '69) Wendy and Joey (class of '70) Christopher, Michelle, Geoff, and Duane (class of '71) Meiko (class of '72) Diane, Darcy, Mave and Lydia (class of '73) and Robert (class of '74). Sally Fulbright was our science teacher, track and cross-country coach. She taught us about science including endorphins and endocannabinoids. Besides Mr. Freely -- a jovial pervert who taught us Shakespeare -- she was the only competent teacher in the school. Miss Sherri was Kristin's mom and ran a diner in town, Jamie and Kristin both worked there. Earl and Joey's dad ran the Farmer's Coop.