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The Family Tree That
Almost Didn’t Grow
By Ernest Ohlhoff
This is the story
a young girl’s strong moral courage and the 101 people
who enjoyed life as a result.
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Elizabeth
(Clarke) Trabold with her four children.
Left to right: William, Florence, Robert (in
back), and Richard. |
The year was 1896.
The location was Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Now, imagine
being a 13-year-old house cleaner who suddenly finds
herself pregnant as the result of a violent rape. Lilly
Clarke was undoubtedly terrified. She received no
encouragement or support from anyone around her and her
prosperous employer, who was the father of the child,
tried to pressure Lilly to "do away with" the baby.
But Lilly was made
of sterner stuff. At 13 years old, she left home on her
own. She found her way to Philadelphia and gave birth to
a baby girl who she named Elizabeth. Lilly and Elizabeth
later moved back to Johnstown where Elizabeth grew up
and married Arnold Trabold. Elizabeth and Arnold had
four children, Florence, William, Robert, and Richard.
Three of Lilly’s
grandsons all served in the military. William served in
the Navy and was part of the “D” day invasion of
Normandy, Robert was a Navy musician who served in a
military band during WWII and Richard served in the Navy
during the Korean War.
Lilly’s
granddaughter, Mrs. Florence Bischof, who recently wrote
a letter to the editor about her grandmother, was the
source for this story. Florence has a long history in
the pro-life movement which dates back to 1973 when she
joined the Virginia Society of Human Life (VSHL). She
was chairman of the Potomac Chapter in Vienna, Virginia.
Later, the family moved to Williamsburg, VA, where
Florence started, and was the chairman of, the
Williamsburg Chapter of VSHL.
Florence and her
husband Ted were unable to have children so they adopted
five. One of whom was a Vietnamese baby girl, Lien, who
Ted brought home from Vietnam in 1967. Lien had been
suffering from a lack of love and affection, and had
numerous rat bites including the partial loss of one
ear. After a long hard struggle, Lien graduated college
and is now a school teacher and has four children.
Jeffrey George
Trabold, one of Lily's great grandsons has served in the
U.S. Air Force for twenty-five years and was just
promoted to Chief Master Sergeant and awarded the
Meritorious Service Medal. Another great grandson, Lt.
Damien Trabold, earned a Bronze Star in the Persian Gulf
War for his ingenuity and guidance in supervising the
capture of six hundred Iraqi prisoners with no loss of
life.
Other descendents
include an engineer, five nurses, musicians, a dairy
plant supervisor, teachers, an office supply store
manager, and an architect, to mention just a few.
Lilly Clarke is
the root of a family tree which over the last 115 years
has produced 4 children, 24 grandchildren, and 73 great
grandchildren. This entire family tree was made possible
by the courageous decision of a lonely and frightened
thirteen year old girl.
And the tree is
still growing.
Author’s
note:
As I interviewed
Florence Bischof, I realized Lilly Clarke’s story
presented a wonderful opportunity to show how one
person’s actions can change the world. At present, 101
individuals form Lily's family tree, but as time goes
on, the tree will continue to grow to thousands and tens
of thousands, etc.
We tend to look at
the world around us and focus on the immediate, the here
and now - - people, places and things that we deal with
that seem to have an immediate impact on our lives. In
the greater scheme of things, there exists a broader
perspective which is part of the ongoing act of God’s
creation. The single rain drop that falls from the sky
can becomes part of the ocean, or a lake, or a river,
and can provide sustenance for living things. That
single drop of rain is important to our world.
Everything we do
ultimately affects the world around us. Acts of kindness
and charity benefit our world. Selfishness, acts of
omission and sin have a negative impact on the world.
These acts are not isolated events and do not end with
the act itself. Like Lilly Clarke’s family tree, our
actions go on and on and can have many unforeseen
consequences in the world.
That is why
abortion is not simply a decision between a woman and
her doctor. Every human life is of inestimable value to
God’s ongoing act of creation. Each person is part of a
family tree and is an integral part of God's plan. We
may never know what blessings the Lord intends to bring
forth from any person's life, or how that life will
impact future generations, but we do know that God has a
unique plan for each life that He creates. As John
Cardinal O'Connor once said, “God draws straight with
crooked lines.” We have lost immeasurable benefits
because of the killing of 53 million aborted babies in
our country alone.
Ernest Ohlhoff
has served as the director of outreach for National
Right to Life for more than 22 years.
Please send
your comments to
daveandrusko@gmail.com.
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four |
