My “favorite sister,” as she prefers to be called, sent me a number of articles and photos published through the years by Newspaper.com of the man we hold in common. Cecil Ralph Banister of Scipio, Indiana is her father and my birthfather that brought us together a few years ago from DNA samples through Ancestry.com. We’ve gotten together twice and text frequently about sports and common family. He passed many years ago presumably not ever knowing of my existence, so I naturally never got the opportunity to meet him. 

I do look like him in photos, a physical connection that adoptees like myself often never get to experience. I purposely subscribed and submitted to the Ancestry website to learn more about my past, while she was tested as a gift from her son, undoubtedly shocked at the results. Her son was skeptical for bringing me into her life, but I think we’re both glad that he tied us together. Cecil and his wife, Marilyn, who was also likely stunned when I materialized at the Creekside home they built, had four other daughters and a son. She knew my birthmother Edna Faye Banister from high school but never realized there was a relationship. Despite this awkwardness, she was more than warmly receptive to my wife and I during our visit. 

I appreciate any information on my bio-parents that reveal some of the secrets about them. Edna is still alive but has ignored my claims, so I will probably never learn if there was a courtship or simply a brief affair between these two distant cousins. Letters to Edna’s remaining son and daughter have gone unanswered, although I regularly check their Facebook pages, even if it might be considered stalking. There is a strong curiosity about all ten of my step siblings, but a friendly relationship with only one. I’ve briefly met Cecil’s three other daughters, while his son tragically died as a teenager. By the same token, Edna has sadly mourned the loss of two children. 

The first article I received was from May of 1945 recognizing 13-year old Cecil’s perfect attendance in grammar (oddly misspelled with an e) school. He was four years older than Edna while Marilyn is two years younger, so none of them probably shared any classes together although attending mostly the same schools. Next was a story from December of 1952 when Marine Sergeant Banister of North Vernon returned to the states from Korea aboard the transport General William Weigel in time for Christmas. Thank you for your brave service, Cecil! He and Marilyn had been married since October of 1951, just after my arrival in August of that year.

Marilyn and Cecil gave birth to their first daughter according to a newspaper account in January of 1954. Their son was announced in a clipping from 1955. At the end of the year, the paper reported that Cecil’s 1952 Chevrolet was damaged in the rear section to the tune of $100 shortly after 5 p.m. Maybe commuting from work? A second vehicle received $200 front end damage in the accident, leading me to believe that Cecil was not at fault.  Three months later a headline in 1956 showed a second daughter was born. By January of 1957  the couple listed their “6-room house with aluminum storm windows and windows, gas furnace, chicken house, and garden. All well fenced on 1 1/2 acres in Scipio.” This was to accommodate their growing family that soon included “favorite sister” in 1958.

An obituary for Marilyn’s father, Harold Foist, made the 1961 press. He was only 49 but had worked for Cummins Engine in Columbus since 1950, the same year that Cecil started his 35-year career as a machine operator. Cecil and Marilyn’s last daughter was born in 1962 according to a Tribune headline.  A 1963 Republic article recognized Cecil as president of the Scipio slow-pitch softball league. Bill Foist, a cousin, was also one of the organizers, according to the account.  

Cecil was apparently quite the athlete, appearing in numerous stories starting in 1965 with two hits for Building 55 in a 22-18 victory over Drafting as part of the Cummins softball league, and followed that up with three more hits in an 12-2 victory over Personnel. There was also a team photo showing his 6’2″ physique while holding a trophy for winning the Cummins league title. As I look for any genetic  comparison, I played softball for many years in the Media Leagues, although I was two inches shorter. Both of us also played basketball, but he could actually score. The next article mentioned that he had 11-points  for the Gusslers in a 35-32 victory over the Demons. My team would have probably more likely been named the “Guzzlers.” Another report recorded him with 10-points in a 33-31 win over Hatchets. The following year, 1966, he had two hits for Mahan Ford in their win over the Seymour Eagles. In 1967, he made euchre news as a runner-up in the Ceraland Championship. The 1988 Republic reported a hole-in-one on a Par-3 with a pitching wedge, as he proved his skills in golf, a sport where I still don’t excel – so much for genes. 1990 and 1993 kudos include winning Senior honors in both miniature and par-3 golf.

Cecil’s mother, Daisy Branham Banister, died in 1992 as acknowledged in The Columbus Republican, while The Seymour Tribune posted the 2005 obituary of Marilyn’s brother, Ronald Wayne Foist, another long-time Cummins employee. Other Banister-related family news included military honors, marriages, and graduations. The last clipping I was sent was of Cecil’s death in 2001 at age 79. He left behind “six grandchildren and two great grandchildren.” Edna is now approaching 88, so I at least have longevity on my side. I was certainly grateful to get these little Banister tid-bits, as I continue the search surrounding my roots.