"Carminow" is the earlier spelling of the surname "Carmine". There are several individuals with the surname who may be the spouse of Joane Chute. One candidate who may be worth researching, based entirely on the dates given and which coincide with Joane's brother George, has the following pedigree. Note that The Carminow family generally originated in Cornwall. If this line is the correct one, at some point they may have relocated:

Ellen Molloy was the daughter of Alexander Molloy, a baker.

Pierce is a collarmaker, as was his father; Lucy Laurel's father Alexander was described as a laborer.

Source: Sylvia Chute Albertini

Richard Barry Chute works as a Salesman/Purchase Officer and Betty works as a nurse. The Attewell family web site says that the Attewell family had "farmed in the Empire Vale area since before the turn of the century." William Attewell's occupation has been described as "Shireworker".

Source: Sylvia Chute Albertini.

Noel Chute worked as a Frutier, and wife Lindsay worked as a clerk. Lindsay and her family arrived from India. Emigrated SS Talmer, arriving in Freemantle, Australia in 1948. Family on board the vessel: Eric, Daisy, Noel, Lindsay, and Stewart King-Adams, the latter of whom is deceased. They may have been in India due to Eric Clare King-Adams' occuation as an officer in the British Army.

Source: Sylvia Chute Albertini.

Thomas worked as an auctioneer, as did his father Michael, and Dorothy as a nurse.

"One of my elder sisters, Joan, died in January. She had a remarkable life. A Mother of ten. They were all with her when she passed away and they all prepared her requiem and burial. It was wonderfully done and a fitting tribute to a lovely lady. Joan was married to Tom McCormack who was a very well known cattle auctioneer. He pre-deceased Joan by three years I think. Attachment is a copy of the front page of her Mass booklet."

From the Fountainhead Music web site, which can be accessed at: http://sydney.citysearch.com.au/E/V/SYDNE/0018/63/15/1.html

"Fountainhead recording studio was established in 1988 by composer and songwriter Darryl Chute. Darryl studied at N.S.W. Conservatorium and in 1979 began a successful career in music education. He has written, arranged and recorded over 200 original songs and instrumental pieces, including a full length musical. He received a diploma in Music Education NSW Conservatorium 1975-78, was a classroom music teacher at Singleton High School 1979-82, was the principal music teacher St Leo's College, Wahroonga 1982-85, and has been teaching piano students of all ages since 1986. The studio has recorded in excess of 1,000 master recordings ranging from pop, jazz, blues, classical, opera, country to dance.

Review excerpt taken from a review by Tony Mack from "Lowdown" magazine - August 2000.

"In 1967 Viking published the first novel of 17 year old Susan Eloise Hinton. Called �The Outsiders�, it dealt with a conflict between two gangs in America�s mid West, the �Greasers� from the east side of town and the �Socs� from the West side of town. The book very quickly made Hinton one of the most popular American writers for young adults, and over the years sales in Australia have topped 250,000. In 1983 Francis Ford Coppolla made a film of the book, featuring a host of young actors who would shortly become famous � actors such as Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, Matt Dillon, Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe and C. Thomas Howell.

In Chute�s musical version the tunes are catchy, and the arrangements fairly simple. Schools are provided with a production kit including the libretto, songbook, rehearsal CD and band parts for piano, guitar, bass guitar, sax, keyboards and drums. If you�re expecting another �Grease� you may be disappointed, as �The Outsiders� has very little of that camp, self-mocking style. There are some very serious scenes in the second half as Johnny dies in hospital and Dally goes crazy and gets shot by police. Chute lightens the tone, however, by interspersing the early scenes of Act Two with two fantasy sequences, "Local Boy Hero" and "Lay Down The Law", and also makes some playing suggestions to eke out the opportunities for comic relief.

It�s still pretty demanding stuff though, and quality performances are required in some scenes in order to prevent the show tipping over into melodrama. While Chute recommends gender-blind casting, it�s probably worth noting that most of the characters are male, which may be a problem for some schools. If schools can take these factors into account "The Outsiders" is another good option for the major school musical, and a welcome addition to the range of musicals that cater to this market. The show is available at a GST inclusive cost of $1,100 for up to four performances, and $275 for each additional performance."

" Our father as you know was Robert A. McConnell, born in north of Ireland. A Baptist preacher. Died in 1923, I think. Mother, Julia, died in 1915." (Continued, letter dated 21 JUN 1958) "Our father's people came to Ireland from Scotland very, very long before he immigrated to Canada. Your book did not say so, but hinted that he belonged to the McConnell's who first settled on Long Island, if I have this correct - no matter."

Note: For further details on his military service, please see Special Events in History: World War I section.

CHUTE, Lois Letitia - 91, Granville Ferry, Annapolis Co., formerly of Caledonia, Queens Co., passed away Saturday, June 15, 2002, in Northhills Nursing Home, Granville Ferry. Born June 20, 1910, in Molega Mines, she was a daughter of the late Neil and Sarah (Joudrey) MacLean. Lois was a member of Caledonia United Baptist Church and the Women's Missionary Society. She worked for a number of years in North Queens Nursing Home. She was a foster parent to a number of children. She enjoyed traveling to visit with her family in Alberta and Ontario. She is survived by daughter, Jeannette (Mrs. Denton Orde), New Minas; sons, Malcolm (Roberta), Orillia, Ont.; Byron (Barbara), London, Ont.; Richard (Joanne), Calgary, Alta.; 14 grandchildren; 22 great-grandchildren; daughter-in-law, Alberta Chute; son-in-law, Bruce Peach; number of foster children. She was predeceased by her husband, Bernard; daughter, Carolyn Peach; sons, Kenneth, Carol Melvin in infancy; sisters, Annie, Mary, Hilda; brothers, Leaman, Christopher, Norman and Malcolm. Visitation will be 7-9 p.m. today in Chandlers' Funeral Home, Liverpool. A funeral service will be held 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 18, in Caledonia United Baptist Church, Caledonia, Rev. Randall Read officiating, assisted by Rev. Donald Robertson. Burial will take place in Highland View Cemetery, Caledonia. Family flowers only. Donations may be made to Gideon Bible Society or a charity of choice. On-line condolences may be made through: [email protected]

"I am a descendant of George and Susan Potter. They had four sons: Moody, George B., Norris W., and Andrew. The family moved to Massachusetts in 1906. Norris Whitfield married Wilhelmina Wurster and they had six children: Norris, Kenneth, Grace, Eugene, Dorothy, and Theodore, my father. Norris' only living child to date is Grace, she is 94, and living in Ohio. Theodore married Lillian Siegmund in 1932. Their children are Ted Jr., Judy, David, Philip, Arthur, Paul(me), and Mary. We all have families of our own now, and would like to know a little more about our Nova Scotia connections. If you could send any information we would also be glad to fill in more about this branch of the Potter clan. Thank you for posting."

Source: Paul Norris Whitfield Potter, e-mail to Jacqueline Chute dated 19 JUN 2002, Subject: George Whitfield Potter, 3:34:25 PM Eastern Daylight Time.

Until further information is known, it is impossible to determine where their children were born. William E. Chute erroneously recorded the name "Whitfield" as "Whitefield".

The place name has also been spelled "Shadochurst" and "Shadoxhurst", which is located about 3 miles from Ashford in County Kent, England. His ancestry has been described as followed:

"Baron Taillefer, Norman Minstral of Wm the Conqueror, led the charge at Hastings, going into the Battle singing the Old War Songs; For his great services, he was given large landed possessions in the county of Kent, which descended to his posterity during the Reigns of Henry III, Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V. His descendants became the Earls of Pennington, who bear the same arms as those brought to VA by James Taylor, the immigrant, and now in possession of the family"

"Hanzer Taylefer (Taylor) lived in the time of Henry II. Continued the line with the family of Taytown in the county of Kent. John Taylor of Shadockhurst of Kent during the reign of Henry VII. d. 1551. wife: Thomasine, the dau of John Isaac of Sevington. Children: William, John, Joan, Margaret, Alice and Elizabeth. William Taylor was living in the Reign of Richard II, and from him came John Taylor of Shadockhurst in Kent, during the Reign of Henry VII. He died in 1551 and by his wife, Thomasine, the daughter of John Isaac of Sevington, he had six children: William, John, Joan, Margaret, Alice and Elizabeth. John, 2nd son of John and Thomasine Isaac Taylor was Lord of the Manor of Shadockhurst. m. Elizabeth, dau of Philip Chute, Esq of Brothersden. Children: George, Matthew, Susan b 1560, Phillipa and Eve. and 2nd. m. Bridgit, dau of Richard Buck of RYE. Children: John, Thomas, Mary and Elizabeth."

The Visitation of Kent, 1619, includes reference to the marriage between the Elizabeth Chute's step-son, John Taylor (mother was Bridgit Buck) and the unnamed daughter and heiress of William Austen of Goodherst. It was to this family that the Bethersden estate would pass, at the death of Baron George Chute.

"Elizabeth maryed to John Taylor."

Source: Benolte, Thomas; Cooke, Robert; Bannerman, W Bruce The Visitations of Kent Taken in the Years 1530-1, 1574, and 1592: The Harleian Society, 1923-1924. Vol.I (1530 and 1574 A-H); Vol.II (1574 I-W and 1592). Original: College of Arms, Queen Victoria Street, London. Page 5.

Among the many descendants of Sir John Taylor and Elizabeth Chute is the 12th President of the United States, Zachary Taylor.

"He was the first professional soldier to become President, having been elected because of his victories in the Mexican War. His presidency was brief (16 months) and his accomplishments few. He did, however, take a strong stand against Southern secession over the slavery question, though a Southerner and a landowner himself. Taylor was of English heritage and Whig political affiliation. He stood 5'8" tall and was an Episcopalian. His death came 9 July 1850 in the White House; he was buried in the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery near Louisville, KY.

Born in Virginia in 1784, he was taken as an infant to Kentucky and raised on a plantation. He was a career officer in the Army, but his talk was most often of cotton raising. His home was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and he owned a plantation in Mississippi.

"Old Rough and Ready's" homespun ways were political assets. His long military record would appeal to northerners; his ownership of 100 slaves would lure southern votes. He had not committed himself on troublesome issues. But Taylor did not defend slavery or southern sectionalism; 40 years in the Army made him a strong nationalist.

He spent a quarter of a century policing the frontiers against Indians. In the Mexican War he won major victories at Monterrey and Buena Vista.

In February 1850 President Taylor had held a stormy conference with southern leaders who threatened secession. He told them that if necessary to enforce the laws, he personally would lead the Army. Persons "taken in rebellion against the Union, he would hang ... with less reluctance than he had hanged deserters and spies in Mexico." He never wavered.

Then events took an unexpected turn. Zachary Taylor spent July 4, 1850, eating cherries and milk at a ceremony at the Washington Monument. He got sick from the heat and died five days later, the second president to die in office.

After his death, the forces of compromise triumphed, but the war Taylor had been willing to face came 11 years later. In it, his only son Richard served as a general in the Confederate Army."

Austin Pino shared schooling and farming with his brothers, as each brother would study a semester at Michigan Agricultural College (now Michigan State), while his brothers worked on the family farm. To the best of family recollection, Ivan moved to Canada, Edna was unmarried and resided in Redman, Michigan. Arthur, an insurance agent, had a large family and resided in Lansing, Michigan with his wife Addie.

Served in the Army for 8 months at Fort Custer Michigan after graduation from college in 1917. The camp was near Battle Creek, Michigan. This time in service caused Austin and Eugenie to postpone their wedding plans.

Austin Pino was also interested in family genealogy and published a book of his own, Kimble, James R. and WEST, George and their descendants, in 1964. It is still listed as an Ionia County Genealogical Research Guide.

"Our Loss is Waverly�s Gain

Hillsdale will be losing two of its finest citizens next Wednesday when Mr. and Mrs. Austin L. Pino move to the retirement community of Bristol Village in Waverly, Ohio.

Mr. Pino has been an influential member of many civic enterprises. He was one of the leading forces in the ground-breaking in-depth study of Hillsdale County made several years ago by the county�s planning commission. The findings published in a book entitled �Hillsdale County � Its Resources and Their Development� has been used as a guideline in recent planning and is certain to be used to chart the future course of the county.

He served on the commission both as a member and secretary-engineer for several years. More recently, he has been interested in the local council for the aging, especially in its efforts to secure better and more economical housing for senior citizens.

His other interests in community service have covered a wide range.

Mrs. Pino has been a leader on the distaff side of church and community organizations. Her contributions have been numerous.

The Pinos first came to Hillsdale 35 years ago. Mr. Pino served as county welfare director during the trying days of the depression. He later established the Blue Cross office in Hillsdale. The Blue Cross called on him to take broader responsibilities, so the Pinos moved in 1945 to the Detroit area to be closer to his executive duties. Thirteen years later they build a new home over looking what is now Emery Park and the lagoons on the north side of State Street Road. Upon returning to Hillsdale they again began actively participating in worthwhile community affairs.

Waverly is 275 miles south and slightly east of Hillsdale. It is 60 miles beyond Columbus. The Pinos are not cutting all their ties with Hillsdale. They have assured friends that they will remain in touch and return for occasional visits.

We wish them well in their new life."

The Hillsdale Daily News
Friday, October 20, 1967

"Born Apr. 26, 1819; married Margaret Ann Chesley (William Smith, Samuel, Maj. Samuel), Aug. 24, 1841, and went to Ontario; lived in Bayham, Elgin Co., Townsend, Norfolk Co., and during the late war in St Clair Co., Mich.; but since the war in Moore, Lambton Co., Ont.; a farmer."

Source: Chute, William Edward. A Genealogy and History of the Chute Family in America: With Some Account of the Family in Great Britain and Ireland, with an Account of Forty Allied Families Gathered from the Most Authentic Sources. Salem, Massachusetts, 1894. Page 107.

"Bertha WEBB we think may be a sister to Franklin WEBB and William WEBB. Their parents were Alvin Henry WEBB and Annie Florence WEBB. Franklin WEBB (their son) married Mae White, they had 5 girls and 3 boys, one of them being my grandmother Doris May WEBB who married Israel Earl Outhouse (not a joke - let me know how long it took you to stop laughing!) Have been able to locate a lot but couldn't find a thing on Bertha Chute."

If any other family members can comment or shed light on the ancestry of Bertha Webb, drop us a line.

From the Leola SD, Centennial Book, 1884-1984, published by the Odessa Digital Library, 29 Nov 1994, http://pixel.cs.vt.edu/library/odessa.html, Leola Centennial Anniversary Book, 1984, Published by the Leola Centennial Committee, Leola, South Dakota

The following information pertains to Herbert Melburn Chute and Arthur William Chute, brothers, both sons of Sydney Chute.

"The 1884 tax list shows every section of Washington Township taxed. Some of the early settlers were: Nathan Pierce, Gottlob Pade, Sr., Jennie Hoffman (formerly Hummel), Robert Hill, Henry Young, Thomas Crompton, Arthur Chute , Frank Boyle, the Huntley family, Anna Russell, Ida and Laura Warren, Rosell Anderson, J. H. Darlington, and Hamlin Garland. The tax record shows J. H. Darlington owned only one quarter of land in the township. It was on this NE 1/4 of Section 36 that five men gathered in a shanty to organize McPherson County. The land description is noted in the first book of the McPherson County minutes.

According to the 1884 tax records, personal property tax carried a higher levy than real estate. Hamlin Garland's land value was $575, taxed at $1.43; Thomas Crompton's land value was $650, taxes were $1.62; Gottlob Pade, Sr.'s personal property was valued at $170, taxed at $7.65; Arthur Chute's personal property valued at $245, taxed $9.80; and Henry Hoover's personal property valued at $700, taxed at $23.36.

The first school in Washington Township was called the Chute School, later known as the Nelson School. It was located seven miles south of Leola, on the Wetonka corner. The second school, called the Crompton School was located about three miles east of the Chute School. Both schools were built in 1884. The third school, the Pierce School, was located 1 1/2 miles from the Nathan Pierce farm (five miles from Leola) and this school was started around 1910. It was later known as Washington No. 2.

A post office was started January 13, 1885, with Herbert Chute as postmaster. It was discontinued in 1886."

WEC: "Judith married John Atkinson or Edmondson and had seven children." (WEC, page 9)

I have never been very comfortable with these records. Parish Records confirm that a John Edmundson, Jr. was born to a John Edmundson, Sr. in Crosby Garrett. The same John Edmundson marrying a "Judith Chute" came from an unconfirmed pedigree submitted by a member of the LDS church. That the couple named one of their sons "Lionel Chute Edmundson" may have also come from a parish record. My difficulty with this record has always been the dates of the records. Our Lionel would have been her older brother, born in 1580. This Judith is estimated to have been born around 1624 (44 years later), and marrying John Edmundson in 1649, when Lionel - by this time deceased - would have been a year shy of 70 years old. Is it possible that Susan Greene's child-bearing years spanned over 44 years? (Judith still had a younger sister, Grace).

Interestingly enough, there is record of a George Chute, estimated birth date of 1584, located in Shropshire, a mere two counties away from Westmorland, and a considerable distance from Essex. Again, an Ancestral File and not an official source, but something worth researching further.

Mary Grace was one of the trio of prolific authors from the same family, which included Marchette and B.J. (Beatrice Joy). A partial list of her work includes the short stories (ss) published in various magazines:

The Lord called His servant Vernon Richard Chute, 90, home on Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008, after an extended illness. Vernon is survived by his son, Joseph Richard (Sue); grandchildren, Joseph Lane (Julie), Allissa Gwen, Richard Elwood (Danielle) and Heather Joy; extended family, Allan Geyer (Marcia), Melanie Ross (Larry); and grandchildren, Cori June and Lauren Shaw.

Vernon was preceded in death by his father, William Abner, and mother, Elsie Estella (Curtis); wife, Edna Alice (Radcliffe) of 36 years; wife, Nancy June (Geyer) of 16 years; brother, Amos Clifford; sister, Dorothy Ann; and great-grandson, Corbin Riley.

Vernon was an active member of Parkview United Methodist Church for over 60 years. He was a member and past Master of the Westgate Masonic Lodge 623.

A funeral service will be 10 a.m. today at Parkview United Methodist Church, 344 S. Algonquin Avenue. Interment will be at Sunset Cemetery following the service with the Rev. Patty Cook officiating.

Contributions may be made to Parkview United Methodist Church Memorial fund in his memory.

Schoedinger Hilltop Chapel, 3030 West Broad St., Columbus, is in charge of arrangements.

Source: Parkersburg News and Sentinel, March 27, 2008

The only "Verne Chute" whose date of birth matches that provided by the following list is Vernon Richard Chute, even though "Verne Chute", the writer of westerns, was born in 1898. However, further confirmation is needed that this Vernon is indeed the author of the following list of short stories:

Al was born and raised in International Falls, a small Minnesota town on the Canadian border. He spent a lot of time hunting and fishing with his father, and enjoyed spending time at both grandparents' lake cabins. As a boy, he played ice hockey and baseball, and was in the Boy Scouts. He also learned how to play the accordion, and he played violin in his school orchestra. At Falls High School, Al was a member of the speech and debate teams, and he also was an actor in school plays, earning the "Best Actor" award one year for his lead role in the school musical "Carousel." During his senior year he was the president of the school's chapter of the National Forensic League. He graduated from high school in 1973. Al received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York from former Vice President and then-Senator Hubert H. Humphrey. During his third year, he met his future wife Sharon. Al was on the Dean's List throughout his years at West Point and was sometimes on the Superintendent's List -- a special recognition for military performance as well as academic marks. In addition to the academy's mandatory athletic programs, Al was a member of the USMA debate team, serving as team captain during his senior year. He was also selected as a cadet company commander during his senior year. Al graduated from West Point in 1977 and received his commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Signal Corps. Following his graduation, Al attended Army schools at Fort Gordon, Georgia and Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He then served in a series of Army assignments. His first major assignment was as a platoon leader of the Division Main Signal Center Platoon in the 2d Infantry Division in Korea close to the North Korean border. This was a large platoon with over 100 men and women -- probably the largest platoon in the division. After his return to the U.S., he served for a brief period as an electronics engineer at the Army Foreign Science and Technology Center in Charlottesville, Virginia. Al and Sharon were married in June 1979 and then lived for two months in Charlottesville. As his next assignment, Al was selected to attend law school at the Army's expense, and Al and Sharon moved to Minneapolis where Al attended the University of Minnesota Law School and graduated in 1982. During his third year, Al was the president of the Minnesota Law Review. Al then served four years in the Judge Advocate General's Corps at Fort Lewis, Washington, one year at the Judge Advocate General's School earning an advanced degree, one more year in Korea, and then two more years as a member of the staff and faculty of the Judge Advocate General's School. Sharon and their two sons (the third not having been born yet) stayed in Charlottesville during Al's year in Korea. In 1989, Al was promoted to Major. In 1990, Al left active duty, but was immediately commissioned in the Army Reserve. In 2001, Al was promoted to Colonel.When he left active duty, Al joined the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania office of a large law firm, Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue, where he is a member of the firm's litigation group. Al and Sharon have three sons, all born at different places as Al and Sharon moved around the country. Andy was born in Minneapolis in 1981; Tony was born in the Army hospital at Fort Lewis in 1986; and A.J. was born in Charlottesville in 1989. Al, Sharon, and the boys live in the Pittsburgh suburb of Upper St. Clair at the time of this writing, and they are members of St. Louise de Marillac Catholic Church. All three boys are involved in Scouting, play ice hockey, and play in their school bands. Al is the Scoutmaster of his sons' Boy Scout troop and is also a hockey coach.

Military Experience: Colonel, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Army Reserve. U.S. Army 1977-1990 (Signal Corps and Judge Advocate General's Corps); U.S. Army Reserve 1990- . Affiliations, Clubs: American Bar Association; Pennsylvania Bar Association; Knights of Columbus

I like "human interest stories" and many of you have let me know that you do, too. So enjoy Alan's 28-year saga since graduation and I appreciate his willingness to share. He is the son of LESTER '48 and FLORENCE (JENSEN) CHUTE '46 who now live in Bemidji.

Alan wrote to Mr. Carey, "Perhaps I could summarize what has happened to me since 1973 and bring you 'up to speed.' As you know, I went to West Point and graduated from there in 1977. I was a member of the debate team, and elected captain during my senior year.

I served for a little over 13 years on active duty. I spent two years in the Signal Corps branch, including an assignment as a platoon leader in Korea. Then, while on active duty, I went to law school at the U/Minnesota, graduating in 1982. I served the balance of my active duty time in the Judge Advocate General's Corps. I was assigned to Ft. Lewis, WA, for four years; the JAG graduate course in Charlottesville, VA, for one year; Korea again for one year; and then on the staff and faculty of the JAG School in Charlottesville. I then left active duty, moved to Pittsburgh, and entered the Army Reserve in 1990. Since then, my Reserve assignment has been at the JAG School and I was recently appointed to Colonel.

I married my wife, Sharon, in 1979. We met when I was in my third year at West Point. She is a speech-language pathologist and works for a school system in the Pittsburgh suburbs.

We have been blessed with three boys - Andy is a junior studying environmental science at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. Tony is a high school sophomore, and AJ. is in 7th grade. Andy became an Eagle Scout, and it looks like the other two will be following in his footsteps. All three are musicians and participate in school band activities. And all three are ice hockey players. (Through hockey, I met another Falls native in the Pittsburgh area - KEVIN CONSTANTINE '77 -- who moved here a few years ago to be the head coach of the NHL Pittsburgh Penguins. He still lives and works in the area, and has been my kids' hockey coach during 'spring league' clinics.)

When we moved to Pittsburgh, I began my civilian career with the law firm Jones, Day, Reavis, & Pogue, This is a huge law firm, with about 1,200 lawyers in numerous offices throughout the world. I am a member of the firm's litigation group, and spend most of my time on insurance coverage litigation. In my 'spare' time, I am a Scoutmaster and a hockey coach.

Note to readers: the hockey coaching may come as a surprise to you. When we moved to Pittsburgh, our oldest son Andy became interested in hockey, and his brothers have followed suit. This was mainly because we moved into a hockey-crazy neighborhood with several boys playing street hockey (more like driveway hockey), and some played on ice hockey teams. Also a player from the Pittsburgh Penguins lived in the neighborhood.

The Penguins had a great playoff season in 1990-1991, and won the first of their two Stanley Cups, which drove more people, especially kids, into a hockey frenzy around here. This was quite remarkable for an area that had no high school or amateur hockey programs until the early 1970s.

Andy persuaded us to send him to a series of developmental hockey clinics to learn how to skate and to play, and he then tried out for and made a team. After a year of this, his coach (who happened to be a talented player himself and a former HS coach in Minnesota) asked me to be one of his assistant coaches. Since then, I have been either an assistant coach or a head coach for one of our boys' teams, depending on which teams my boys make and the coaching needs of the association in which we play. I have learned so much about coaching and the game along the way from some very talented and knowledgeable people, including former and active NHL players and coaches. One year, the then-current head coach of the Penguins was a parent on my team, a very supportive parent, I might add. Lately, I attended Kevin Constantine's own coaching clinic, and I use instructional materials that he has prepared.

This year I am the head coach for A.J.'s Pee Wee "A Minor" team in the Pittsburgh Predators Association. We are off to a good start-not great, but good. Above all we are pursuing our No. 1 goal for the season: have fun.

My parents live in Bemidji, and there are very few members of my family left in the Falls area. The occasion for the most recent visit was my grandmother's illness and funeral a few years ago. It was about 50 degrees below zero the day we arrived. I think I saved the Daily Journal from that day, and the paper had an article about the cold temperature."

Sharon was born and raised in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. She attended St. Agnes Catholic School and Lock Haven High School, graduating from there in 1973. As a girl, she learned how to play the piano and was a member of the Girl Scouts. In high school, she was a cheerleader. Sharon attended Marywood College in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and she studied communication disorders. She met some lifelong friends there. Sharon worked as an assistant to the staff in the Communication Disorders Department at the college. During a fall weekend in her junior year, she accompanied her roommate to West Point to see her roommate's boyfriend. It turned out that the roommate kindly gave another cadet -- her boyfriend's roommate -- a ride to a local eye doctor's office. That cadet was Sharon's future husband Al. Sharon graduated from Marywood in 1977. Sharon then went to Athens, Ohio for a two-year graduate program in speech and language pathology. She finished that work and received her Masters Degree in 1979. She took a special examination for certification in her field, and earned the Certificate in Clinical Competency from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. After her marriage to Al, and after the two of them moved to Minneapolis where Al would attend law school, Sharon started her first job as a speech and language pathologist at Hilltop Elementary School in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota in 1979. She worked there for three years, and was the school district's cheerleading coach. When Al and Sharon moved to Washington and bought a house in Tacoma, where they would live for four years, Sharon worked at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital. During their four years in Charlottesville, Virginia, Sharon worked in the Albemarle County School system at Stone-Robinson Elementary School. When they moved to Pittsburgh in 1990, Sharon began her work in various schools as a speech and language pathologist for the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, where she works as of the time of this writing in 2002. Sharon is also involved in her sons' activities. She has served as the business manger of several of her sons' hockey teams over the years, and she also serves as a religious education instructor for St. Louise de Marillac Church. She volunteers her time for a variety of activities, and has chaired the annual "Spaghetti Dinner" fund-raiser for the Upper St. Clair High School band.

Affiliations, Clubs: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association; Pennsylvania Speech-Language-Hearing Association Residences
Charlottesville, VA 1979 1979 Minneapolis, MN 1979 1982 Tacoma, WA 1982 1986 Charlottesville, VA 1986 1990 Pittsburgh, PA 1990

Lester was born and raised on his parents' homestead in Ray, Minnesota. He was the first White child born there. After Lester and Ethel were married, they traveled as he worked on construction projects in Montana and elsewhere, but it was not long before they settled permanently in Ray. They built their own home next to his parents' home, and they raised all of their children there. When Lester was a child, Ray was a small but very active and prosperous community.

His father Robert played an instrumental role in developing the area as a local businessman. To this day there are subdivided but now empty residential plots in Ray in an area known as "Chute's Addition to Ray." Robert died in 1916 when Lester and his siblings were quite young. His mother later remarried John Hoel and had additional children. Lester always remained close to the relatives on his father's side, however, and he and Ethel frequently visited his cousins, aunts, and uncles at the original Chute family homestead near Aitkin, Minnesota. Lester and Ethel also ensured that their children and grandchildren knew the relatives well. After John Hoel's death, Lester's mother Julia continued to live at the family homestead in Ray, where Lester and Ethel looked after her.

Lester was an employee of Koochiching County, and worked at the County garage in International Falls. His son and grandchildren lived a short distance from the garage, and his grandsons visited him there on many occasions and enjoyed themselves while playing on bulldozers and road graders. For over 20 years, Lester was the owner and operator of a school bus that transported students from the Ray area to schools in International Falls. Thus, his children who attended school there had door-to-door service. His grandsons who lived in International Falls would frequently ride this bus to Ray after school on Fridays to spend the weekends with their grandparents. Lester enjoyed outdoor activities very much. One of his and Ethel's favorite places was a lake cabin that Lester built on Cranberry Island in Lake Kabetogoma. He added to the cabin and the docks over the years. Since this was an island, everything there had to be transported across the water. He transported some of the materials by boat during the summer months, but transported most of the materials across the ice during the winter.

Lester also was a sports fan. For several summers, he and Ethel made an annual trip to attend a series of Minnesota Twins baseball games 300 miles away in Minneapolis. They took their children David and Roberta, and also took their grandchildren. They always had some of the best seats in the stadium, usually a few rows above the Twins dugout along the first base line. Additionally, while their daughter Roberta attended high school in International Falls, Lester and Ethel had season tickets to Falls High Broncos ice hockey games. Lester was close to retirement at the time of his death in February 1970 in a hospital in Virginia, Minnesota. His funeral was at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, where he, Ethel, and their children were members and where they attended worship services every week. He was buried in the Ray Cemetery, which had been donated to the community decades before by his father Robert. The Ray Cemetery is just up the hill and within sight of Lester's home. He is buried near his mother Julia and his grandparents "Doc" Warren Crabtree and Susan Seth Crabtree.

Ethel was born on Faunus, Michigan, to Swedish immigrant Thure A. Bergdahl and his wife Marie. Ethel and her family spent their early years in Michigan, but the Bergdahls eventually moved to Ericsburg, Minnesota, a community half way between International Falls and Ray. Her father worked for the railroad. They lived in an area known as Bergdahls Corner a very short distance from Ericsburg, and that area later became known as Rogers Corner. Ethel attended the former Rogers School in Ericsburg and Falls High School in International Falls.

Ethel was always a very active woman. In the 1940s, she was the driver for the school bus that she and her husband owned, which must have been an unusual sight at the time. She served her community as the Clerk for Meding Township when it had an active government. She was a member of the Ray Ladies Aid and frequently was the hostess for Ladies Aid meetings at her home in Ray. For many years she also was the "Ray News" correspondent for The Daily Journal in International Falls, and wrote short articles about Ray community activities. In these columns, she sometimes mentioned her grandchildrens' visits to her home. To supplement the family income, Ethel became a Tupperware dealer. Tupperware was a company that made plastic household products and toys, and sold them through a network of dealers who conducted Tupperware parties in people's homes. Ethel was always a generous hostess of large family gatherings in Ray. She cooked delicious meals. She and Lester hosted their own fortieth wedding anniversary party the summer before Lester's death, and all of their children and grandchildren attended as well as numerous other relatives and friends. Despite the pressure that they must have experienced that day with so many visitors in their home, they were finely dressed and looked like the handsome and loving couple that they always were.

Like her husband Lester, Ethel very much enjoyed spending time at their lake cabin. She made many meals of freshly-caught fish for her family and their numerous visitors to the cabin. She was very disappointed when the federal government in the 1970s confiscated everyone's property at the lake and made the area part of Voyageur's National Park. Also like her husband, Ethel was a sports fan and looked forward to their annual trips to Minnesota Twins games. Often, they stayed at the Robbinsdale, Minnesota home of her older sister Anna, and they visited her brother Ernie in St. Paul during these trips. Also like her husband, Ethel enthusiastically looked forward to attending Falls High Broncos hockey games during the winter months.

After Lester's death, Ethel and her daughter Roberta lived in International Falls during one school season while Roberta attended Rainy River State Junior College. Ethel maintained the family home in Ray, however, and lived there for many more years afterward. In the 1980s, Ethel moved to an apartment in International Falls in the same building where her husband's sister Mildred lived, and where Ethel continued to live for several more years. She very much missed the family home in Ray, but always was in bright spirits as a very proud woman and seldom let her disappointment be known. Still later, she resided at the Good Samaritan Center in International Falls. After a brief illness, she died peacefully at Falls Memorial Hospital in 1996. Ethel's funeral was at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in International Falls, where Lester's had been 26 years before and where all of their children were confirmed. Ethel is buried in the Ray Cemetery next to her husband, just up the hill and within sight of the home where she raised her family, entertained her grandchildren, and spent over fifty years of her life.

Lester was born in his grandmother's house next door to where his parents lived in Ray, Minnesota. He attended the Ray School and then attended Falls High School, graduating in 1948. He played on the school football team.

Lester served two years in the U.S. Army, and was in the Signal Corps. His duty stations included Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, and an Army installation near San Louis Obispo, California. Lester and Florence were married in 1954. They bought a house in the Carson-Lupie neighborhood of International Falls, Minnesota, and raised their family there. In 1964, Lester built an addition to their home, doubling its size. A few years later, he tore down the old half of the home and rebuilt that section to match the other half. He had a keen interest in building houses, partly as a hobby and partly to earn extra income to support his family, and over the next ten years he built three houses in the same neighborhood and sold them.

Lester is an avid outdoorsman. He spent a considerable amount of time hunting and fishing, and he also liked to use a snowmobile in the areas surrounding International Falls. He took his children on most of these excursions. His hobbies are coin collecting and gun collecting. He was a member of the local trap shooting club, and was always one of the best trap shooters. He also served as an assistant coach of one of his son's ice hockey teams. Lester worked as an electrician for the Mando paper and "insulite" mill in International Falls. Later, beginning around 1965, when the company was known as Boise Cascade, he became a shift foreman in the "vinyl bond" siding plant, which produced pre-painted exterior siding used in home construction. When this plant was closed around 1980, Lester resumed his career as an electrician. He worked for a while in Minneapolis, and was a frequent visitor at his son Alan's home while Al was attending law school. Lester and Florence then spent several years working for a government contractor at Kwajelien Atoll, part of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. They subsequently moved to Bemidji, Minnesota, where Lester became semi-retired and worked part time as a real estate agent. At the time of this writing in 2002, Lester is working part time for a telemarketing firm in Bemidji.

Florence was born in Hamar, North Dakota, and eventually moved with her family to International Falls. She attended the old Holler Elementary School, the same building where her son Alan would later attend elementary school in the fourth through sixth grades. She also attended Falls High School.

During the mid-1940s, Florence and her family suffered the loss of two brothers, Ernie and Harvey Jensen. Ernie died of natural causes, and Harvey died in a plane crash while he was serving as a military pilot during the World War II years. Florence continues to have very fond memories of these two older brothers. The Jensens were a very close-knit family. Florence's aunts, uncles, and cousins were frequent visitors, and Florence and her family were also frequent visitors at their relatives' homes in various communities. During the late 1940s, Florence and her parents, along with one of her remaining brothers, Milo, spent a few months touring the western part of the United States in a Hudson sedan. They visited many of the same places that Florence and Lester would later take their own family during a month-long vacation in 1973.

Before she was married, Florence worked as a telephone operator for Bell Telephone Company. After she was married, as was true with most women at the time, Florence devoted her life to being a housewife and mother. She was the "taxi" driver who continually drive her children to their various activities. Florence also remained a devoted daughter. She spent considerable time with her parents during their retirement years, and provided transportation for them when her father could no longer drive the Hudson. She also ensured that her children got to know their grandparents well, and the children were constantly visiting their grandparents' home at Birch Point on Rainy Lake.

When Florence and Lester were in the Marshall Islands, Florence worked as a cashier for the Army & Air Force Exchange Service -- known as the "PX." As of this writing in 2002, Lester and Florence make their home in Bemidji, Minnesota, which is about 120 miles away from International Falls and which is where their daughter Suzanne lives.

Source: Chute Family Data Worksheet, submitted by Alan Dale Chute, July, 2002

Obituary, Lester Robert Chute

Lester Robert Chute, 76, of Bemidji died on Friday, Sept. 8, 2006, at his home in Bemidji. The funeral was at the Cease Family Funeral Home in Bemidji. Interment was in Greenwood Cemetery.

He was born June 22, 1930, to Lester and Ethel (Bergdahl) Chute in Ray, Minn. He graduated from International Falls High School in 1948. He served in the U.S. Army from 1950-52. He married Florence Adele Jensen on Sept. 4, 1954, at Zion Lutheran Church in International Falls. He started working at what was then called Mando Paper Mill, which later became Boise Cascade. He also worked with his father's school bus contract from 1969-1973. He retired as a supervisor for the Boise Cascade vinyl bond siding plant in 1979. He later worked as an electrician in Minneapolis for a time. He then moved to the Marshal Islands in the Pacific Ocean where he worked as an electrician for five years.

He moved to Bemidji in the early 1990s. He worked part time as a real estate agent for Century 21 Dickinson Realtors and for a local telemarketing firm. He loved to collect firearms and coins. He enjoyed hunting and fishing.

He is survived by his wife of Bemidji; sons, Alan (Sharon) Chute of Pittsburgh, PA., and Michael Chute of Bemidji; daughters, Roxanne Chute of Thief River Falls and Suzanne Halverson of Bemidji; 11 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; brother, David Chute of Ray; sisters, Phyllis Heikkila of Virginia, Minn., and Roberta Chute of Billings, Mont.; and three nieces and a nephew.

He was preceded in death by his parents; and an infant granddaughter.

Bemidji Pioneer, Sept. 10, 2006

("Featured here are family histories which were submitted ca 1993 for a proposed supplement to the 1980 Clinton County History book. See "Clinton County Trails", Volume 12, No. 1)

My grandfather, Sander Pliny Pino, came to Essex Township in Clinton County, from Kent County in 1854. He married Julia Anna West in 1878, and they lived in a log cabin about a mile from the Lowe School and Church. To this marriage were born seven boys and one girl: Ivan, Floyd, J. Arthur, Ralph, Edna, Otto, Austin and Vernon.

I remember my father, J. Arthur, telling us that the older ones slept in the loft and that they had to shake the snow from the bed covers before they arose. But it was a wonderful life, according to all accounts. They lived just across the fields from their Uncle Herman and Aunt Mary Ward who lived on Colony Road. There were many other relatives and friends living not too far away, some of whom have been written about in The History of Clinton Co., Michigan, published in 1980.

They moved to a larger and much nicer farm in 1898 in Gratiot County. Perhaps the hardships which they endured in their earlier years imbued them with the fortitude and character needed to withstand the heartaches which were to follow. Floyd contracted typhoid fever and died. My father was also stricken with the disease and had to have a leg amputated just below the knee. This tragedy, however, may have transformed the lives of his younger siblings. He had always planned on being a farmer, but he had to face the fact that this would now be impractical for him. He enrolled in Ferris Institute and lived in the loft of a barn, taking care of horses in order to work his way through. Upon leaving, he became a life insurance agent for the Mutual Benefit Life Ins. Co in Big Rapids and then on to Owosso. It was here that he met his future wife in the Methodist Church where they were both actively involved. Within a year's time he moved to Lansing to become district manager.

He inspired all of his younger brothers and one sister to further their education as much as possible, which they all successfully did. They became teachers, a doctor, a horticulturalist, and an engineer. They all helped one another to obtain these goals.

My father traveled by horse and buggy during his early years as an insurance agent over much of his old stamping grounds, often staying at the Frank Anderson farm or with Jim Campbell. It was not unusual for him to fill in as a preacher, Sunday School teacher or leader of the Epworth League if he were called upon to do so as he traveled about.

J. Arthur Pino and Addie E. Smith, a teacher, musician, poet and scholar, were married in 1911, and had six children: Ralph, Dorothy Sheap, James Robert, Harriet King and Edward.

My husband, Stanley Sheap, and I have lived on Turner Toad in Clinton County for 48 years, only three miles away from where I grew up on Delta River Road. We have three children: Catherine, Robert and Rebecca, and three grandchildren, none of whom live in Clinton County.

"Both Sander and Julia are buried in Ithaca, MI. [Julia] died before my parents - Austin and Eugenie Armstrong Pino - were married; so I never knew her. Floyd Pino - another son, born 19 OCT 1881, d. 10 OCT 1898, died of typhoid fever."

According to the 1881 British Census, the family lived at 2 Queen Ann Road, Bristol St. Philip & Jacob Out, Gloucester, England. Stephen Macready Chute worked as an accountant.