Bee Bell Knapp
Bee Bell Knapp was born September 29, 1896 to Charles & Florence McNeil Knapp. He was named after the doctor who delivered him into this world, Bee Bell Andrews. He is lovingly known by most of the family as "Daddy Bee". When just a youngster his family moved from Nebraska to Lockridge, Oklahoma. The family later followed the McNeil uncles to Montana, where they had homesteads.
Daddy Bee's growing up years were full of adventure, excitement, good natured mischief and moving. He and his brothers would play jokes on the neighbors as well - like moving the outhouse back a few feet and putting a man's milk cow on his roof. Of course, as he related the story to others, he was always innocent.
Two of his uncles, more like brothers, found a homestead for Bee, so he set up housekeeping. He later joined the service and served as telegraph operator in World War I. While he was gone, his uncles died in the flu epidemic of 1918. Upon his return, he just couldn't settle on the homestead. So he moved on again.
He joined forces with John Sherod, and they "batched" together and traveled the country. They worked with threshing crews and followed the harvest. They also worked at the Long X ranch, as well as other places. One of their jobs was to round up horses for the Cavalry.
He was a story teller, and one never tired of hearing his yarns. I believed every one of them, even though they changed a bit each time it was retold. He loved to talk about his "batching" days. One story he told was of he & John during this time. It seems they took turns doing the chores. One would do the inside chores, like cooking, and the other would do the outside chores. Daddy Bee didn't like cooking duty. They would keep a batch of starter on the back of the stove to make hotcakes. So, one morning, Daddy Bee made the hotcakes. He saw something strange and discovered that they shared the cabin with a mouse, who had deceased. So, he put a stack of hotcakes on John's plate, with the mouse in the middle of them. John came in and poured syrup on top and stuck his fork in the stack only to discover a mouse tail hanging out. They may not have shared very nice words at the time, but it did make for some fond memories.
Daddy Bee was a fiddler. Folks would get him to come to play for a dance at the end of harvest. They would travel for miles on horseback to get to the gathering. Once there, all the furniture in the house would be taken out. They'd play and dance all night and in the morning put the furniture back in the house. He loved to play the old songs.
He married Margueritte Anne Cody in 1926. Though his single days were over, he still moved his family around. They traveled by covered wagon to Idaho, then back to Montana. In 1952, he moved his family south, away from the harsh winters. He lived out the remainder of his days in the south, but now and then he would think he was in Calgary again. He saw beauty in every part of creation. He would marvel at the color and precision of a single flower. He would hold new kittens in his hand and pronounce them as perfect little creatures. What a great heritage he passed on. He taught others to be kind and helpful to their neighbors, to take care of your family, to enjoy the simple things of life. He always had a kind word and always had a compliment to give.
picture: Bee Bell Knapp with team