Roland's parents were definitely an unmatched pair.
Daisy Green, Roland's mother, was born to a wealthy family in England. Her father, William Green, was the captain on the last large English sailing vessel, the William Tell. It was a beautiful, sleek vessel, the luxury ship of the line. The William Tell catered to royalty, and was also used by the ship's owners. When the ship didn't have royalty on board, Captain Green would take his family with him. By the time Daisy was grown up, she had traveled nearly around the world with her father. She had been around Cape Horn three times. One of the trips had been in winter, an exciting adventure that very few professional sailors of that day had undertaken.
The Greens were well to do. In class-concious England, they were considered to be in the upper class socially. Daisy's life was one of ease with maids to take care of her every need.
When Captain Green retired, he left England, and moved his family to Vashon Island, near Seattle, Washington.
In America, life for Daisy Green was quite different than what she had been used to in England. There were no more maids, however, the family did have Japanese houseboys.
In direct contrast to Daisy, Hoyt Buck was from a very poor family in Missouri. He had gone to school only the fourth grade.
In spite of his lack of schooling, he was a natural scholar, and read and studied every free minute. He taught himself math and history, as well as some Greek and Latin.
Hoyt Buck was a dashing young man of nineteen when he and Daisy met. He had dark wavy hair, deep blue eyes, and a strong physique from much manual labor. He was the captain of a boat that had been rented for an outing by the church group in which Daisy was involved.
Daisy was very attractive, with long, coal black hair and snapping black eyes. She was barely five feet tall, and had a tiny nineteen-inch waist. She was twenty-five years old. Hoyt courted Daisy, however and finally persuaded her to marry him.
It wasn't until they went to get their marriage license that Daisy found out that Hoyt was only nineteen. She almost called off the marriage, but he was very good looking, and extremely persuasive. The marriage took place against the wishes of her family.
Hoyt came from a family background that was not religious at all, but about a year before he met Daisy, this determined, strong young man had experienced a real life changing, born-again conversion. Daisy's family were strong Episcopalians, but she came into a personal relationship with the Lord when she met Hoyt.
Daisy was totally unprepared for the life she was to lead. She had been very sheltered, and was a dreamy romantic. She loved good music, and good books. She was a beautiful, flowery writer and in different circumstances, may have become an author. Instead, she entered a life of hardship and poverty without her parents' support. But Daisy Green Buck had met the Lord in a real way, and a faith in Him began to grow, a faith that would sustain her thru all the hardships that were ahead. A faith that she implanted in her children along with her love for beauty, her gentleness and her finesse.
Soon after they were married, Hoyt became a lay minister in the Christian church. He worked off and on in the logging camps, and would preach to the men he worked with. In fact, Hoyt never stopped preaching from the time he found the Lord until his death.
And so the stage is dramatically set for Roland's entrance into the world. A totally unmatched pair for parents, but with a deep love for each other and for the Lord.
Next: Seven Bucks