The Generation of the Great-Grandparents Pt. 3

The Generation of the Great-Grandparents: James and Hope Newhouse

This installment is very meaningful to me because it concerns my grandparents who have been gone for twelve years now. They both passed away within a few weeks of each other in 1997. I made the trip to Rochester, Minnesota twice that winter. It was the first time that I had been back there since I was a child. I delivered eulogies at both of their funerals which are set out with very few changes below. For me, writing the eulogies was a chance for me to learn more about my grandparents while recalling my own memories.

James "Jim" Ernest Newhouse: February 10, 1904-November 15, 1997

Jim was:
Kristen and Stephanie's Great-Grandfather
Stephen's Grandfather
Nancy's Father

Eulogy for James Newhouse: November 19, 1997

We are here today to remember James Newhouse, my grandfather. Jim lived a full life starting at one end of the century and ending up at the other. He left behind a legacy of a marriage of 64 years, a daughter, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. And he lives on in our memories. On behalf of the family, I would like to share some of those memories. They are not all my memories. One of the things that I enjoyed about this project was talking to other people, especially my Mom, about their memories of Jim Newhouse.

Jim was born in Spring Grove, Minnesota in 1904. He was confirmed in 1919 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Spring Grove. You can see his confirmation certificate there in Norwegian. Jim grew up back when the various Lutheran churches still held to the old language. Jim was proud of his Norwegian heritage.

Jim had five brothers and two sisters. He was an active child. When he was around eight years old, he broke his arm three times in one year. By the third time, he was embarrassed to tell his father and they didn't figure it out until they noticed he was eating with his left hand.

He married Hope Streuble in 1933. They had a daughter, Nancy. Jim worked for the Minnesota Department of Highways. That required him to travel around a lot. However, he was still a devoted family man. My mom remembers that when he came home on Friday, the weekend was a special time for the family. They always attended church. My mom remembers going for walks around the park after church with her dad and sometimes she would get a treat. She remembers big family dinners on Sunday afternoon with my grandma's fresh-baked pies.

Just to show how dedicated a father Jim was, when my mom was at Macalester, he would stop by on Fridays to pick up my mom's laundry. My mom admits that she might have been a little bit spoiled.

I remember Jim Newhouse as my grandfather. He was there for Christmases, high school graduations, family vacations and my wedding. Even though we lived in Massachusetts and later in Texas, we still saw my grandparents. One memory our family has--and my grandma wanted me to mention this--is of a vacation to Cape Cod in Massachusetts. My dad had a sailboat he built. One of the things about a sailboat is that sometimes you tip over. That happened to my grandfather and he got soaked down to his wallet. My grandma said that eventually he got the money dried out--after all, he knew the value of a dollar. I remember my grandparents coming down for my wedding in 1984. All three of us remember our grandparents coming down for our high school graduations in 1979, 1985 and 1989.

Jim was very active in his retirement. The active life he led working for the Highway Department kept him vigorous. In his retirement, he did a lot of walking. He continued to shovel the snow and mow the lawn into his 90s until they persuaded him to let a younger man take over. Recently someone asked Jim if he smoked and he said no, then he thought about it for a moment and said that he used to but he quit 70 years ago. That's the type of healthy person he was. Jim enjoyed reunions and get-togethers with his extended family.

One memory my family has is that Jim loved to watch wrestling on TV. Just as my kids like to watch cartoons, Jim liked his wrestling. Even as his sight and hearing were failing, he would sit with his favorite aqua arm-chair pulled up to the TV with the sound turned up all the way.

Even though things were difficult toward the end, my mother and my grandmother's memories are filled with examples of his kindness. This summer when my grandma was in the hospital, my parents were staying at the house. My mom was washing dishes. Even though my grandfather was nearly blind, he got up, grabbed a dishtowel and began drying the dishes and putting them away. He didn't have to do that. That was just the way he was. When my grandma was in the hospital, Jim was there for her, always wanting to go and visit her.

When my grandparents went into the home this August, everyone was impressed by their devotion to one another. Jim would get up in the middle of the night to check on Hope and hold her hand. As his condition worsened, the roles changed and my grandmother was the one holding his hand. Finally, it was time for the end. Last Thursday night, Jim lost consciousness and they took him to the hospital. The difficult decision was made not to take any extraordinary measures and he was returned to the home to be near his wife.

Jim had one last surprise in store. Friday morning he woke up, shaved, got dressed and ate breakfast. He had lots of visitors and ate popcorn. God gave Jim the gift of one last day with his wife and friends. Then on Saturday he was gone.

Jim lived a full life and passed on a legacy to his daughter and his grand-children and great-grandchildren. My mother remembers that she learned by her parents' example that there are some true values in life. Work hard. Take pride in what you do. Don't expect anyone to give you anything, but always be there for others. These are the values of his Norwegian heritage and the generation that grew up in the Depression.

My brother David couldn't be here today but he wrote some words that he wanted to share with you and they follow on the same theme. David wrote:

Grandpa was a simple man and some people might think that he didn't do that much with his life, and yet out of the things that really matter in life, he probably accomplished more things than most people dream of. I think it's unfortunate that people who are growing up today are not more like grandpa's generation. People of grandpa's generation are people of great honor, people who kept their word, people who are genuinely interested in others and finished each day knowing that a full day's work had been done.

These words exemplify the values that my grandparents passed down to their daughter and grandchildren and that I would like to pass down to my children.

I'd like to close with the words of Revelation 21: "God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. And death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away." Jim's earthly body has passed away, but our memories of him remain. And we can remember Jim as he looked in this picture from 1945: a strong man with clear eyes and keen hearing. For that is a small reminder of how he must look in heaven.

Hope Streuble August 27, 1908-December 4, 1997

Hope was:

Nancy's Mother
Stephen's Grandmother
Kristen and Stephanie's Great-Grandmother

Eulogy for Hope Newhouse: December 10, 1997

We are here to remember Hope Newhouse. On behalf of the family, we are pleased that so many of you could be here with us to share our memories and our grief. I know many of you were here a few short weeks ago to remember James Newhouse. I really didn't expect to be here again so soon. It is so hard to accept that the vibrant woman who was my grandmother is now the box of ashes you see in front of you. It is a stark reminder that, as we hear on Ash Wednesday, ashes you are and to ashes you will return. However, Hope Newhouse lives on in the lives that she touched, those of her daughter and son-in-law, Wayne and Nancy, her three grandchildren, her two great-grandchildren and so many of you who are with us today. This morning we are going to share just a few of those memories with you.

Earlier you heard the reading of the obituary. Hope Streuble was born in Mora, Minnesota in 1908. Her background included French, Irish and Pennsylvania Dutch. One of her French ancestors, Jacques Lareau, stowed away on a ship and fought in the American Revolution. Hope was the youngest of six children. She had three brothers and two sisters. Growing up in Mora, she lived in a big white-framed house. Down the hill was Lake Mora, one of your 10,000 lakes. Grandma used to go for picnics on an island in the lake and went swimming in the Snake River. I don't think there were really any snakes, though. Hope took violin lessons in high school and I'm told that she practiced very faithfully. My mother found that violin at Grandma's house when we were getting ready for the service today. Because Hope was the youngest of six children, she stayed in Mora to support her father, who was crippled.

Hope married Jim Newhouse on July 9, 1933. They moved to Spring Grove, where they had a daughter, Nancy Ann. My grandmother liked to cook. Her husband, Jim, was Norwegian, so she learned to bake Norwegian treats, such as leftsa, krumkake and spritz cookies. Her baked beans were a favorite of family reunions and picnics. She also cooked things which were less popular, like the oatmeal my mom dumped in the trash when she was three.

In 1943, Hope returned to Mora to go to work. With the war going on, there was a shortage of men to fill the jobs. My grandmother was invited to take a job in the Insurance Department of the Kanabec State Bank. She worked there for 16 years and developed a keen business sense. In recent years, she like to watch Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street Week which she used to discuss with my dad.

My mom remembers that Hope was a devoted mother. She helped my mom with her home economics projects in junior high, even though my mom's baking soda biscuits were a disaster and she needed help sewing pajamas.

Hope liked animals. When my mom was in first grade, she brought home a stray cat that Hope let her keep. That was Blackie. Blackie had a kitten named Thomas that my mom used to dress up in doll clothes. In later years, Hope never wanted a Christmas present for herself, except that she was always happy to receive a cat calendar. While she was at Maple Manor, someone brought her a kitten to hold and that meant a lot to her.

Hope liked to sew. She made my mom's clothes, including her wedding dress. She sewed quilts which our family still uses today. As a matter of fact, my brother Mark slept under one of them last night.

Education was important to Hope. She was too poor to go to college herself. She was very proud that my mom received a scholarship to Macalester. One interesting thing is that Great-Grandma Streuble, Hope and my mother were each the salutatorian of their high school graduating class.

In 1959, Hope and Jim moved here to Rochester. Hope worked for Knopf Insurance Agency until her retirement. In her retirement Hope liked simple things. She liked to watch The Young and the Restless on TV. She enjoyed listening to the Minneapolis Symphony on the radio. She enjoyed reading and would always return from the bookmobile with an armload of books. When she was diagnosed with borderline diabetes, she was told she could keep it under control with diet and exercise. She would walk 3-5 miles twice a day rain or shine.

Hope was also a dedicated letter writer. Although we were separated by thousands of miles, I felt like I was with her through her letters. She was very interestedin her great-grandchildren and she always kept track of what the weather was like in Texas. It was a real treat for me to receive her letters and see that precise penmanship that was always there.

The last years were difficult. Just as she had cared for her father, Hope cared for her husband, Jim. It was difficult when Hope got sick this summer and she and Jim had to move out of their house and into Maple Manor. However, even at the end there are good memories. On behalf of the family, I would like to thank everyone who was so kind to Hope during her stay at Maple Manor, especially Lynn who took Hope home with her for Thanksgiving dinner, and Howard Ralston and many others. When we were here just a few weeks ago, I was surprised at how frail Hope had become, but when she spoke, there was that spark in her voice and I know my grandmother was in there.

My mother's final memory of Hope was a phone conversation they had one week ago, the night before she passed away. Hope was upbeat and her voice was strong. She talked about the good home-cooked meal she had for Thanksgiving. After half an hour, she said, "I'm a little tired now." My mom said, "I love you a lot. Good bye."

Hope's death came more suddenly than we were prepared for and touched us deeply. Death leaves us with unfinished business. On the morning that Hope died, I was preparing to mail her photos of her great-grandchildren, a promise that I made to her on our last visit. I never got the chance to. And I'm sure that there are many things that we the family and you her friends wish that we had found time for. However. in our regrets, we can take comfort that Hope and Jim will spend Christmas together just as they have for the past 64 years. I'd like to leave you with Job 11:18, which I found on a plaque exemplifying grandma's name: "And thou shall be secure, because there is hope. . . ." And we are secure in knowing that we shall see Jim and Hope again together.

So What Is This Tenth Amendment We've Been Hearing About?

There has been a lot of talk about the Tenth Amendment lately. During the recent Republican primary, I received mailers from candidates for Justice of the Peace and State Representative pledging to uphold the 10th Amendment. During the final days of the campaign, Gov. Rick Perry ran an ad in which he stated, "As Governor, I will always champion the Consitution's Tenth Amendment which is supposed to keep Washington from messin' with Texas."

So, what is the 10th Amendment and how does it keep Washington from messing with Texas? The 10th Amendment states:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

So, basically, the Constitution says that the federal government must stay within its enumerated powers. So far, so good. However, when you look at the powers delegated to the federal government by the Constitution and its amendments, they can be interpreted pretty broadly. Here are some of the powers granted to the federal government:

Section. 8. The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

To establish Post Offices and post Roads;

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy;

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; — And

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

U.S. Const. Art. I, Sec. 8

Section. 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened), against domestic Violence.

U.S. Const. Art. IV, Sec. 4.

Section. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Section. 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.

Section. 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Section. 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

Section. 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

U.S. Const. Amend. XIV.

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

U.S. Const. Amend. XVI.

Here are some of the powers granted to the federal government:

1. The government may collect taxes to provide for the general welfare.
2. The government may borrow money on the credit of the United States.
3. The government may regulate commerce with foreign nations and between states.
4. To pass all laws necessary and proper to carry out the powers granted to the government.
5. To levy a federal income tax.
6. To protect the states from invasion or domestic violence.
7. To enact laws to protect civil rights.

When you start talking about terms such as providing for the general welfare, passing laws necessary and proper and regulating interstate commerce, you can encompass a lot of power. The U.S. Constitution (unlike the Texas Constition) is relatively brief and speaks in terms of generalities.

So, can the Governor of Texas keep Washington from messing with Texas? According to the Constition:

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

U.S. Const. Art. VI.

Laws of the United States are the Supreme Law of the Law according to the Consitution. Therefore, a state cannot just ignore a law it doesn't like. So what can a state do?

* It can refuse to accept federal funds which come with strings attached (as Gov. Perry has done);
* It can file suit in federal court to block laws which it believes are unconstitutional (which Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has done); and
* It can urge Congress to reject laws which impose upon the states.

However, the notion that the States can pick and choose which laws they want to obey was put to the test when state started seceding in the 1860s. A Republican president established the precedent that the United States is not just a voluntary association of sovereign states, but is a unified nation. That is not going to change.

Controversy Over "Al Qaeda Seven" Shows Disrespect for Lawyers and Rule of Law

Have you heard about the Al Qaeda Seven? An ad put out by a group called Keeping America Safe implores the public to "Tell Eric Holder that the American public has the right to know the identity of the Al Qaeda Seven." From the name, you might think that this is some dangerous terrorist cell threatening our national security. However, they are something much more sinister--lawyers.

The so-called "Al Qaeda Seven" are seven lawyers who once represented Guantanamo Bay detainees and now work at the Justice Department. They are a subset of the Gitmo Nine. Why are these lawyers so sinister? They represented detainees at Guantanamo Bay prior to going to work for the government. When Sen. Charles Grassley learned that two former detainee lawyers were now working for the government, he demanded to know how many other of these suspicious characters were lurking around the halls of the Department of Justice. Attorney General Eric Holder acknowledged that there were seven more, but refused to divulge their identity at first. This prompted Keeping America Safe (a group associated with Dick Cheney's daughter) to run their Al Qaeda Seven ad. Now the names of these lawyers have been made public in response to pressure from Fox News.

So, what is the big deal? Keeping America Safe equates advocating legal rights for accused terrorists with being a terrorist sympathiser. Look at the name they were given: Al Qaeda Seven. Were any of these lawyers members of Al Qaeda? Of course not. Were their clients members of Al Qaeda? Maybe. We don't know because in most cases, the government has not been required to prove its cases.

However, even if the lawyers represented hard core Al Qaeda sympathisers, does that make them dangerous? Liz Cheney thinks so. She is afraid that they will infiltrate the Justice Department and cause it to examine terrorism suspects as criminals rather than really bad dudes who don't deserve any rights.

Let's have a little perspective here. The War on Terror is breaking new legal ground. In the past, we could justify different rules for enemy combatants on the basis that they fought for another country and that once the war ended, they could be repatriated to their own country or tried for war crimes. However, what do you do with an enemy that is not a nation state and a war that has no end? This gives rise to some serious legal issues, as shown by the fact that cases involving terrorism detainees have been up to the Supreme Court five or six times (I have lost count).

For a lawyer, the chance to litigate serious constitutional issues in an undeveloped area is a major challenge. This is important stuff. In order to get it right, there have to be good lawyers on both sides. That means that someone has to represent the people we don't like, the bad guys, the accused terrorists, not because they like terrorism, but because they passionately believe that America is a country bound to the rule of law rather than men.

Consider this example. An occupying army fires into a crowd of civilians. The soldiers are prosecuted for murder. A local lawyer dares to defend the soldiers despite the unpopularity of the cause. He later enters government service. However, he considered his defense of the soldiers who fired upon civilians "one of the best pieces of service I have ever rendered my country." The lawyer was John Adams. He defended the Redcoats who participated in the Boston Massacre. He went on to become president of the United States.

As with so many examples these days, the ad about the Al Qaeda Seven is about manipulating the appearance of things without regard to their substance. It turns out that the Bush administration also hired lawyers who had represented detainees. Rudy Guiliani's firm Bracewell Giuliani represented detainees. Many of the fiercest advocates for the detainees have been military officers from the Judge Advocate General Corps.

Lawyers are not an extension of their clients. In the ordinary, humdrum world of litigation, lawyers may seem like mouthpieces for their clients. However, when serious principles are at stake, when we are trying to find our way through uncharted ground, lawyers represent their clients, but also represent the rule of law, one of the principles that defines this country. Now that the Al Qaeda Seven have been outed, I hope that Americans will respect them as lawyers worthy to represent their country and its dearest principles, not as fifth columnists seeking to undermine the nation.

For a really good discussion of this issue which pre-dated the latest nonsense, read "We Want Tough Arguments" by Theodore Olsen and Neal Katyal. Theodore Olsen was Solicitor General under George W. Bush and argued the government's position before the Supreme Court. He has a personal stake in the issue because his wife died in the 9/11 attacks. Neal Katyal is one of the Al Qaeda Seven and argued for a detainee before the Supreme Court.