Yates & the Gate

Everybody knows, well okay my friends and family know that I've staked claim for any future offspring to be named after my favorite great Uncle. Yates hitchhiked to California from Enoree as a fourteen year old. Well, he most likely rode at least half the journey with his cousins; however, I like to pretend it would be much more romantic to hitch hike in the late 1920's.


The end of the line was Sausalito, California. Uncle Yates got a job on the new construction of the Golden Gate Bridge connecting the San Francisco bay. We've determined that he was probably our earliest relative to ever be union (and proud) as he was an iron worker on the bridge. This photo shows Uncle Yates posing next to the cable connectors in 1936. I think one of the most ironic things about him is that his name literally means "gates"...so it seems inevitable that he'd end up constructing one of the biggest gateways in the country. Weird useless fact.

When my great Aunt Martha passed away, I knew she kept most of Yates' personal things and his photo collection. I wanted so much to see if he had any mementos of his life in California. I only dreamed I'd find a photo as spectacular as this. We have a special kinship with Uncle Yates, as he was also our only family member to be a full-time RVer. He lived most of his adult life in his camper (that he pulled with his gargantuan Cadillacs). He traveled extensively through Europe, getting married in Athens, Greece and shared a special love for the beautiful American southwest. He was a cool cat with a great sense of style,wearing his Converse sneakers even in his golden years. The last time I visited with Uncle Yates, he was staying in Laurens Memorial Home. MaMa took us to visit often and we always looked forward to seeing him. Hopefully my little homage to him will help us all remember what a interesting and unique person he was...and if there's ever a little Yates, we'll hope he decides not to hitch hike to California until he's twenty-one.