As one of the final projects of the year, 7th graders at Erie Middle School are challenged to pick an ancestor, or someone else that they could research and learn more about, in order to write a story telling about their life. Students conducted interviews with family members, and some were able to gather additional resources and pictures to help tell their story. While there were many great stories written, not all will be published.
This project was a collaborative effort between students’ history classes, with Mrs. Kruthoff and Mr. Armstrong, English class, with Mrs. Wolf, and their families. It was inspired by the original project that long-time English teacher, Mrs. Wiersema, made a tradition in her 8th grade class.
Students enjoyed getting to know more about their families, and many were surprised to learn how interesting their families were. We hope you all will enjoy their stories, too!
Edward Allen Clayton Jr.
- By Ethan Meier
- Ms. Shabani’s class
- Period: 4th
- May 2, 2024
Do you know where Dixon is? It’s known as the birthplace of Ronald Reagan, a former United States president, but that is also where my hard working maternal grandfather, Edward Allen Clayton Jr. was born. Edward Allen Clayton Jr. had an eventful life. In Edward’s childhood, he had a lot of siblings but not a lot of money. Edward never had a stepmother or a stepfather. He ended up marrying in his early twenties to Shelly Shumski. My wonderful grandfather is currently still working but is also enjoying time with his family when he has time off from work. Edward Allen Clayton Jr is an amazing grandpa now. Now let’s look at his childhood in Dixon, Illinois.
Edward was born on January 24, 1965, to a family with not a lot of money, in Dixon, Illinois. My funny grandfather’s parents were Linda Clayton and Edward Clayton Sr. Edward had seven siblings with four of them being girls and three of them being boys. Their names were Kim Clayton, Al Clayton, Ken Clayton, Carla Clayton, Chris Clayton, Michell Clayton, and Susie Clayton. Edward loved to play baseball as a child. Especially with his three brothers Al, Ken and Chris. My athletic grandfather played basketball and football in high school. With basketball being one of his favorite sports besides baseball. Edward was not the youngest of his siblings.
At age twenty-three he married Shelly Shumski in 1988. That is where they would end up moving to Fairmont, Minnesota with most of his family like his sister Carla. Also, that is where his mother in law lived. That was his only marriage. My hard working grandfather had three children who are Nick Clayton, Phillip Larson, and Erica Meier. His son Nick Clayton lives across the street from Edward. Edward’s other son, Phillip Larson, used to live in South Dakota but now he lives in North Dakota. Edward’s daughter Erica Meier, whose maiden name was Larson, lives in Erie, Illinois.
His job is being a semi truck driver. He gets to drive all over the country, so my dedicated grandfather won the one million miles award at the truck driving business. This award is a very large achievement at his place of work. He did not drive out of the country for his job. He never ended up serving in the military. His hobbies are baseball, fishing, and hunting. His favorite vacation was his vacation to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, as well as the Grand Canyon.
Edward’s favorite foods are macaroni and cheese, pork steak, fried potatoes, and green beans. While on the topic of his favorite foods, his favorite desserts are sugar cookies and also pumpkin pie. I always have to fight for the last piece of pumpkin pie every Thanksgiving. Edward also has six grandchildren, who are Lexi Larson, Ashlyn Larson, Zoey Larson, Madilyn Meier, Jackson Meier, and Ethan Meier. There are four girls and two boys. Three of my maternal grandfather’s grandchildren live in North Dakota, while the other three grandchildren live in Erie, Illinois.
After Edward Allen Clayton Jr. lived in Fairmont, Minnesota with most of his family, he moved to Tampico, Illinois with his wife and children . My hard working grandfather had earned the achievement of one million miles driven at work as a truck driver, also he got to see the country for years and years and got to marry his wife, Shelly Shumski. He has had one marriage his entire life and they are still married. He has some lifelong friends and they are named Rick Pickert and Bob Pickert. They are still friends to this day, and they live about an hour away from Tampico.
Unfortunately, his sister Michell Clayton died in 2016 from heart problems or more specifically, she had a heart attack. Her death took place in Fairmont, Minnesota. This was a big struggle for him, but my courageous grandfather got through it. He did have a dog named Callie, but she passed away. However, they got a new dog a couple years before she died, so they have always had a dog. His name is Ben, but his full name is Bentley or Benjamin. My maternal grandfather claims that he doesn’t have free time, and that he is always working. That proves that he is hardworking and dedicated to his job as a truck driver.
Then, before I left my maternal grandfather’s house, he gave me some advice. He told me to stay away from drugs, and that they are bad. My grandfather also told me that if he could go back he would change the way he did his job, so he didn’t have to work as long as he has been. I would think that this would be good advice seeing what some parts of the world have been affected by them. He hasn’t passed away and Edward hasn’t retired yet. He is still working at his truck driving job. He’s currently living in Tampico, Illinois with his wife Shelly and his dog Ben or Bentley.
In conclusion, Edward Allen Clayton Jr. is an amazing maternal grandfather because he was a good brother, he is funny, and he hasn’t retired, which proves that he is a hard worker. My funny grandfather was born at the birthplace of Ronald Reagan, a former United States president, in Dixon, Illinois. People always remember Dixon, Illinois as the birthplace of Ronald Reagan, but I remember it as where my inspiring maternal grandfather was born.
Now that I have the knowledge of what he has done and what his life was like, I am now much closer with my maternal grandfather now that I know him a lot better than I did before I did this ancestor research paper. This was an important paper for me and I now hope that you learned something about my maternal grandfather’s life, Edward Allen Clayton Jr. A man who is hardworking, funny, inspiring, and courageous.
