Rev Guy C Broadway - and Old Soldier...

General Douglas McArthur, one of America’s most formidable, prominent, and memorable military leaders, in a speech given before a joint session of Congress during the Korean war, made the line from an old army ballad quite famous. He felt he was talking the heartbeat of the military.

At 54 years old, I have known quite a few guys in the military – from old boyfriends, to cousins to uncles, now some students. Every one of my mother’s six brothers served in the military. Even Paul and his dad and Paul’s brother David all served in the military. All branches of the armed forces have been represented in my acquaintances. Some serve their minimum time, others “Lifers.” Let it suffice to say that many men I have known in my life had donned the uniform and served their country. Mostly with pride and a true sense of duty.

They might have served in the military and were soldiers at the time, but none of them was what I think McArthur was talking about when he made his speech. The type of soldiers of days past is not the soldiers we know now. And, whether that is for the best or not is not the topic of this writing. And, I do not know if McArthur’s saying is true or not. I’ve never had the chance to know any US Military type of soldiers at the end of their lives.

Before a packed room, McArthur quoted the ballad - instantly making the words famous: “Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.” However, I can say one thing for sure:

McArthur didn’t know the

Rev Guy C Broadway!

Bro Broadway was definitely a General in the Lord’s Army. A true Soldier of the Cross. Such an example of how we all must join and serve. As he once reminded me – “ya know, girl, (his name for me), once you are a front-line fighter in the Lord’s Army, there’s no turning back. In fact, there’s no R&R in God’s Army. We just fight!”

Even in his last year, full of hospitals, doctors, and sickness, anyone that knew him KNEW there was no way that Bro Broadway was going to “fade away” in any way, shape, or form.
Ø his wit and humor never faded
Ø his sparkle in his eyes never faded
Ø his work ethic never faded
Ø his LOVE for his beautiful wife, Rachel, never faded
Ø his desire to ONLY serve the Lord never faded
Ø his desire to win souls never faded
Ø his LOVE and complete DEVOTION to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ NEVER NEVER NEVER faded.

And let me make one fact perfectly clear, he wasn’t just going to “fade away” from life, his church, his friends either. Even on his deathbed, he masterminded his last days – the cleaning of his yard, the goings on around the house – he was still in control. Why, he even orchestrated his own funeral.

Fade Away! I don’t even think so.

And let me say one more thing I know for sure: Rev Guy C Broadway will NEVER just “fade away” from any of our memories. Talk about making an impression. You didn’t just “meet” Bro Broadway. He was kind of like an “experience.”

And yes, while people for 50+ years have spoken of Gen McArthur, and his name is in history books all across America, I can say even more about Bro Broadway. Yes, I will also say that he was definitely a “formidable, prominent, and memorable leader” in God’s Army of Truth. People across Texas, the South, even the US know who Bro Broadway was. Everyone knows a story to tell about him, knows one of his stories or his jokes.

But more importantly, the Rev Guy C Broadway’s name is also written down for all of history - The Eternal life kind of history. And his name is in a book, too, for you’ll find his name written down in the most precious, most important book – The Lamb’s Book of Life.

As Promised: An Adam Story

Again, some background info: Mary and Ellis Martinez were probably our dearest friends in Port Arthur. Mary and I met at a La Leche League meeting, Adam was just months old, as was her Christina. Their birthdays are only 4 days apart. It was an instant bonding. We truly were inseparable after that – everyone knew that if you couldn’t find Mary at home, call Kathleen, and vice-versa. Our Andrew was born in Feb of ‘82, their Erik in Nov of the same year. More bonding… Not only did we have our kids in common, we both loved kids period, plus, we both loved to sew and craft, loved to cook, loved our families, and were “stay-at-home mothers”. (that moniker is a joke, because Mary and I were so busy with our kids and families we were never home – hahaha!) And – hey, Mary – we Newtons all remember that huge Lincoln you use to drive all over town. And then the potty in the van. Carne guisado at “Grandma Liscano’s. Dickens. Renaissance Festival. What memories… Oh well, back to the story…

I really am not sure what year it was, but it was September. Time for the Mexican Heritage Fiesta in Port Arthur. Mary’s children had always danced in the fiesta as soon as they were old enough. She and I have made many a gorgeous costumes for the occasions. Christina’s “ribbon dress” was my all time favorite – the hardest, yet the prettiest! Mary and I would spend time together sewing and making while the kids played. Adam and Christina were quite alike in their ways, as were Andrew and Erik. Made for two “two-somes” of friends. We were all entertained. Even when the Newtons added extras, they all seemed to fit right in together.

The festival was held each year at the Port Arthur Civic Center. We would go for practices and for fittings, and then, of course, for the fun. This story centers on one HECTIC day. Everything was going way too fast, there were many things left to still do, and precious little time to get it all done. Mary and I and the kids were at the Civic Center, and so were lots of our friends working and trying to get everything readied for the activities. We had worked quite a bit, we were all tired, but with much to do later. It was time to go. Time to round up the kids – the easy part, and get all of our stuff together to go home – the hard part.

We were trying to get everything together in one place – the lobby. We got the 4 older kids and asked them to stand together, outside, right outside the lobby doors while we grouped more stuff together and carried it to our cars. Suddenly it began to POUR!!! I mean really coming down. “Pitchforks and shovels” or “cats and dogs” whichever best describes the downpour. Mary and I rushed to get to the cars, and rushed back to the kids.

Now guess what we found?!? Out in the middle of the rain stood Adam and Christina. Andrew and Erik were nowhere to be seen. We grabbed the very WET kiddoes, and went inside to see 2 DRY little boys standing right by the door, waiting for us.

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Why were Adam and Christina standing in the pouring down rain one asks?!? Well, that is where they were told to stand. They were doing what they had been told to do. Compliant, sweet, mindful children. The 2 dry kids – well, one could easily say they had the “common sense to come in out of the rain”, which they did. They also knew well enough to not go “off” somewhere in the Civic Center. While neither Adam nor Christina had a self-righteous bone in their bodies, they knew that those two little boys should get in trouble for not minding. It was worth getting wet if it meant doing what you were told. In fact, they told Andrew and Erik to do what “mama said”, but they wouldn’t listen. Of course, that wasn’t a news flash, either.

What’s a mother to do! This was not a win-win or lose-lose situation. AND, these situations and the appropriate responses are not ever described in “The Big Book of Mothering”. Don’t have a copy? Oh well. We did the only thing we knew to do, what we hopefully did the best: Just mothered them. We dried the wet ones off, got clean clothes for everyone, gave everyone a good snack to “hold ‘em” until dinner, told everyone we were proud of them – and then we loved them all – just the way they were, and ARE!!!

4-year-old's view of a Wesson oil party...

Since there are so many events that happened in the Newton household that I deem worthy of a “story” that include the Allison clan, I felt I needed to include some “background information” before I tackle another story. John and Mary Allison were not only our neighbors, but also our dear friends. I watched their children for years while they both worked. We camped together as families. We were involved in Scouting together – John, aka Yogi, was even Adam, Andrew, and Matt’s Scoutmaster for some period in there. I even spent many a midnight hour sewing motorcycle handlebar grips for John’s fledgling company “Wrap-on Industries.” Great times.

They had three sons: Wesley, who was 9 months older than Adam; Christopher, who was 8 months older than Andrew, and Michael who was 7 months younger that Matt. That made for 3 pairs of great buddies. More great times.

It is Christopher and Andrew who win the prize for most stories. I can promise you – what one didn’t think of the other did. They were a force to be reckoned with when they were together. They were very ingenious – clever, resourceful, creative – in their play, to say the very least. They were definitely outdoor boys, too. And we were outside as much as possible. I folded clothes outside. I had a 50 ft extension on the phone cord so I could talk outside. I even had a table sturdy enough so I could sew outside. Anything to keep Andrew, and Christopher, busy. Therefore, it is this beautiful springtime that always brings to mind most of their more unusual tactics.

We had a fence around our yard in Port Arthur. It was NOT necessarily built to keep people out – it was built to keep Andrew in. He was a master at escape. Whether it was carefully watching the cat to see what “holes” the cat maneuvered through to get out of the yard, and quickly following, to learning very early how to unlock the best of “childproof” devices. He was ready to go.

It was Spring Break 1986. As with many Spring Breaks that I can remember, it RAINED! Here you have kids at home and neighborhood kids at home, so everyone can play, and it rains. No outside for the guys. That “Go” that Andrew had inside of him needed some release. That’s the beginning of an “uh-oh”.

Since Mary was a schoolteacher, she was home. Adam was down at the Allison’s playing with Wesley; Christopher was with Andrew at our house. Matt was just a 5-month-old baby. Such idyllic life, huh. I don’t remember the time or necessarily the sequence of events surrounding this story, but I do know that I went into my bedroom to lie down and nurse the baby where it would be quieter. It was the quiet that was soon disturbing…

We had a big old house in Pt Arthur, but as a mother, I had learned most of the “sounds” that the kids generated. There were “play” sounds that came from the different rooms. However, it was soon almost too quiet in the other part of the house. Then I started hearing a very muffled giggle. I got up; sneaked quietly down the hall to get a peek at what the guys were doing.

THEY WERE HAVING A SLIP AND SLIDE “WESSON OIL” PARTY IN MY KITCHEN! How, you say. Well, they had opened a huge bottle of Wesson oil and poured it all over the vinyl floor. Then, they had taken off their clothes and were slipping and sliding everywhere. I had a big old kitchen and they were taking full advantage of it. They were having a great time.

I realized very quickly that I was NOT going to have a “Great Time” cleaning up the mess, but I really hated to stop their fun. I have to be honest and say I really wasn’t happy at all, though. What an INCREDIBLE mess, and what messy boys.

I scooped them up, put them in the tub with this wonderful product that would strip grease off anything, but was “earth friendly.” Then squirted this same product all over my kitchen floor and began the clean up.

Again, I must admit I don’t remember the specifics of the clean up – I really don’t. Especially after all of these years, my memories are somewhat selective: I like to remember to “good times.” What I best remember about this day was two naked little boys, all shined up and glistening, with eyes sparkling and twinkling over their chubby little hands that are covering their mouths so I wouldn’t hear their squeal of laughter, jumping, running, twisting and sliding all over the kitchen floor.

Oh Lord! What a mess. But, what a day. Why didn’t I have a camera back then? Thanks for the memories…Great life – great times!