My Early Life History, 1936-1947

My brother Steve asked for this yesterday, my 83rd birthday.

I was born in 1936, in Ft. Madison, Iowa, my father's hometown, in an inexpensive house owned by my father's mother. It has since been torn down.

My father had joined the Marine Corp in 1930 and was sent to Haiti, where he had a Black girlfriend, much to the horror of his family back home!

Dad sent all his money home to his mother, and when he came back, he used that money to buy a photography studio. But because of the depression, he made little money.

WWII changed everything. Since Dad had the only studio in town he made lots of money and moved his studio to a better location. We also moved one block, into a better house, And I went to Richardson Grade School, which still exists.

Our house occupied two city lots, the other half was used for a Victory Garden and a Hen House. This was an upscale area because the street was paved with bricks, and we had a bus service!

Dad's family had left town because of a Railroad strike, and his father had a stroke that crippled his left side. But they returned, and Grandmother worked as a cook for the Santa Fe Reading Room. Grandfather was a teamster in the original sense of the word. He had a team of horses, one of the best in town. He was always surrounded by his animals; pigs, chickens, and rabbits.

On weekends I could take the bus uptown to Dad's studio, which was right next to the Library that had a section for children's books. I read all of the Wizard of Oz books.

In 1947, when I was 11, we moved across the Mississipi River to my Mother's hometown of Nauvoo, Illinois. A beautiful fruit-growing area with lots of grapes and apples.