23. Noble roots and shoots

Today marks the sixth birthday of my second oldest (as well as my second youngest) nephew. Having no children of my own, I tend to celebrate those of my nieces and nephews, as well as their half- and step- brothers and sisters, and quite a few other friends, acquaintenances, and occasionally folks with whom I have no connection at all. I took presents last night both to my nephew and to his father, my only sibling, whose birthday was mentioned herein a week and a half ago.

My brother Kevin has two children by one woman and four by another. There may be a few others out there but no claims have been made, although they are consistently expected. This particular nephew is child number three by woman number two. His name is Kevin Joseph (Thomas) Noble, sometimes referred to as little Kevin or as Kevin, Jr., although he isn't a junior, given his name is not exactly the same as his father. As delivery neared for the birth of this boy, I spoke with my brother about the possibility of him having one of my names, either Jeffrey or Thomas, as part of his. I know that sounds a little strong, politicking to have your nephew named for yourself. But I was in a predicament. I wasn't to have any children and I did not know if Kevin was to have anymore. I used several arguments including the fact that over the years, he (my brother) had lived with me in my house longer than he had lived anywhere else, saving the house where we were raised off South Park Road in southern Jefferson County. His various visits, some for a week, several for six months, and one for a year and a half, invariably included a variety of female companions among the people he brought in, usually with no notice whatsoever. I also pointed out that our second cousin Robert Lewis, III was named for his (and our) childless uncle, Robert Lewis, Jr., the former Sheriff of Franklin County. So I lobbied. I was given assurances that indeed the child would bear my name in some way.

When little Kevin was born, I visited the hospital and noticed the name tag which read "Kevin J. Noble." Pleased at this, and assuming his name was Kevin Jeffrey Noble, I thanked Kevin for the gesture. Kevin was noticeably quiet at the compliment. Later that day, I was with the child's mother, Melanie, who noted that "little Kevin" was named for her uncle Joe, the brother of the child's maternal grandmother. "Oh?!?" I remarked. She asked what was wrong and I told her I thought they were going to name the child in some respect after me. Although she was laying flat on her back in a hospital bed, she was quick on her feet with the response, "He is. His other middle name is Thomas, after you." There was a precedent for this additional middle name, so I didn't entirely question her response. Their second child, a girl, bears the name Aubreana Vera Ellis Noble. Vera is the first name of the maternal grandmother, Ellis is the middle name of the paternal grandmother, and Aubreana is the name of a favorite soap opera character of my brother's oldest child Lindsey. When Kevin (my brother) came into the room, Melanie quickly, before I could say anything, pointed out to him that I was happy with the Joseph-Thomas combination of middle names. He was relieved, saying "Oh, good." Since that time, I have addressed cards to my nephew as Kevin Thomas, and will now-and-then address him as such. But other than me and his parents, no one of record seems to know that Thomas is part of his name. I know neither the hospital where he was born nor the Vital Records Department in Frankfort have any idea that Kevin Joseph Noble's "other middle name is Thomas," as reported to me by his mother. Hence the parenthetical Thomas first mentioned above.

As I've said, I have a total of six nieces and nephews. Now would be a good time to introduce them. The oldest of these is my niece Lindsey, who is 19 and something of an artist and free spirit. She attended duPont Manual High School, which I briefly attended and from which my mother and father graduated, Dad only briefly, getting most of his education at the old Flaget. She eventually graduated from the Jefferson County High School. Lindsey currently dates a young man named Matt who has his hands full keeping her feet firmly planted on Terra Firma. Jacob is 17 and a senior at Southern High School, which his father also attended. From when he was very young he was a skateboard enthusiast and can still be found on a regular basis at Louisville's Skate Park downtown. He dates a young lady named Laura "who drives" as he likes to point out since he has no car of his own. Jacob works at a Gatti's Pizza somewhere, although I do not know where. The third child is Kavesha who is 10 and is a student at Hite Elementary School in Middletown. Kavesha has been raised by a family friend Ms. Groves. She is very smart, very shy, and very petite. Aubreana is 7 and like her little brother Kevin, attends Cochran Elementary on W. Gaulbert Avenue in Old Louisville. The youngest is Elijah Gene Noble, named for his great-great grandfather Elijah Milford Hockensmith, Sr., and his paternal grandfather Gene Noble. Elijah will be 4 in May.

As to Aubreana and Kevin's school, my mother calls it the "new Cochran" as she attended the "old Cochran" at Second and Hill streets, now a part of the Youth Performing Arts School. I understand her doing this as I attended both the old and new Prestonia Elementary Schools. Long ago I identified three groups of students who attended the two different Prestonias. If you are older than 50 and never attended at both buildings, you call them "Prestonia and New Prestonia." If you are in the age group spanning the six years where you would have attended both, as I did, you call them "Old Prestonia and New Prestonia." I graduated from New Prestonia in 1972. If you are 42 or younger and only attended one, you would say "Prestonia and Old Prestonia." Prestonia, as an institution, closed for good in 1981. The old building, built in the 19-teens was torn down and replaced by an Aldi Food Market. The new one is now called Gheens Academy and is incorporated into the new Male High School campus, located on Preston Highway in the former home of my alma mater, Durrett High School, which like Prestonia, also closed in 1981. But, I digress.

Old E. M. Hockensmith, "Lige," for whom my youngest nephew Elijah was named, was a self-employed carpenter building mostly residential structures in Louisville, Frankfort, and Versailles. His oldest son, my grandfather Daniel Thomas Hockensmith, was born in a brick house still standing at the corner where S. 4th Street becomes S. 5th Street at Longfield Avenue on the backside of Churchill Downs. Like his father, Daniel was a carpenter and became involved in union politics here in Louisville, holding all of the various offices of the Brotherhood of Carpernters and Joiners of America Local Union 64, informally the Carpenters Union. My brother and I spend spent many hours as little kids running around the union hall located at 4017 Dixie Highway, next to Saint Helen's Church in Shively. My grandfather passed along his vocation of carpentry skills to my brother Kevin. Kevin named his first son Jacob Daniel after him. Daniel passed along his avocation of politics to me.

I also got Daniel's middle name of Thomas. Thomas was the middle name of both of my maternal grandparents. My grandmother, mentioned in previous entries, was Vivian Thomas "Tommie" Hockensmith. My middle name of Thomas comes from both of them. I'm not sure where Jeffrey came from, although judging by the number of Jeffreys in their mid 40s, it was pretty popular among the young women of the late 1950s and early 1960s. The same with the name Kevin; lots of 45 year olds named Kevin. His middle name is Dean, which is our father's late brother Don's middle name. Uncle Don, who died in 2005, was an artist, politician, raconteur, and all around crazy guy. He was an alderman for the old City of Louisville in the 1960s and was one of Louisville's civil rights supporters before it was a very popular thing to be. In retirement, Uncle Don spent his time drawing caricatures at different venues, when he and Aunt Judy weren't otherwise wiling away the hours at their place on Nolin.

That's enough genealogy for one day, even for someone like me who likes it. Entry number 23 comes to an end. Incidentally, I was born on the 23rd, so it was an appropriate discussion.

A reminder: tomorrow, 4:00 pm. Deadline. I'll be there.