a work in progress...

this genealogy blog continues to be a work-in-progress but it is hoped that you will find something of interest as you browse - please feel free to do just that - browse - enjoy - and come back soon...

MY SECOND YEAR

august 11, 1944 - august 11, 1945

while posing outdoors at my favorite paternal aunt's [aunt mae] house in winnfield, louisiana, right, going into my second year [at the age of 14 months] it was obvious to me that my frilly girly wardrobe should be modified at least for every day wear  and so i somehow managed to obtain what would become my favorite play outfit [overalls] by the time i was 15 months old - in january 1945, there were daily photos done at mamastrap's house with other aunties, as well - 

from left, aunt fay from minden, louisiana - mamastrap - and aunt mae, who, as usual, was dressed in one of her many many brightly colored floral print dresses - were her hands visible, her weekly manicured nails in fire engine red would be seen - as was the custom in that time, all the women dressed daily in beautiful dresses and silk hose - their  hair and nails were done every week at the local "beauty shop" where the latest gossip was exchanged and tea and cookies served - 

in april of 1945, my sister and i are posed in front of mamastrap's house and as is quite visible, again, i am not at all happy with the frilly frills of my frock -  

- visible in the window behind us are the crocheted curtains hanging - these beautiful handmade crocheted pieces were everywhere at mamastrap's - in the form of chair back/arm protective pieces and curtains and even coverlets on the beds - her flower boxes were always in bloom and her yard full of gorgeous hydrangeas in pinks and blues - but my favorite of all her plants was - and still is - the lantana - i was fascinated by it's little flowers within a flower head - she had them in every color -

1943 - THE WORLD AROUND ME - updated 05302011

 

so as i come into the world and begin to take baby steps here baby steps there, these are the things taking place in the universe which i now call home -

* * * * *

i was born in memorial hospital -  Doctor R.L. Simpson delivered me, assisted by Nurse Fritch - while i was unable to locate 1943 photos of the hospital, or any of dr simpson or nurse fritch, this 1937 photograph of a nurse in front of the hospital is a close resemblance to nursing dress and the hospital a few years later, i would think:

 

memorial hospital was built in ___  [1921] and was located on ____ street where it remained until 1964 -

when i left the hospital, i came home to 504 ferry street, a pretty little cedar shake siding bungalow with a nice front  yard and a large shade tree - i have always loved the architecture of the bungalow - including the little stained glass windows that were a common feature - 

this is how our little bungalow looks today in 2011 - a far cry from the beautiful cedar shake bungalow to which i came home - structurally, the house is no longer a two-family duplex but is apparently a business of sorts and this is the way it looks today - to the left side, in the little room that sticks out from the house [in the upper left corner of the image of me  in my buggy above], the pretty multi-pane glass window is still there - but the wonderful porch columns are gone - more of these bungalow features are visible in the 1944 photos of my life - some of our neighbors' homes included these beautiful little places - 

our next door neighbor  at 502 ferry had this 1910 bungalow, to which a two car garage has since been added but the charm of the home is obvious now as it was when i was the new kid on the block - these images have been left in color rather than black and white for a realistic view of the street on which i came into this world in sedro-woolley -

 


then, there is this beautiful little 1910 place at 511 ferry street - small but full of the charm of that era

and down the street just a bit at 532 ferry was this house - built in 1903 - that remains there today, as well


i wonder just who our neighbors were then - in 1943 - and who lives there today - did they have children then - where are those children today and what are their lives like - i wonder -

a bit of sedro-woolley news happenings during the  year of my birth included these hot items:

Side Glances — Oliver-Hammer Sedro-Woolley Courier-Times, Jan. 29, 1943       [We noticed] tall and luxuriant tomato plants in George Hammer's garden at the rear of his store.
      [Journal Ed. note: George Hammer was a partner in the original Oliver-Hammer Clothes Shop. At the time of this story, it was located on its original lot, 805 Metcalf Street, on the east side of the block between the L& M (Leber and Martindale) grocery and the Courier-Times, in the building that two gift shops occupy today. That building is not as deep on its lot as the other neighbors, so Hammer had plenty of room out back to grow a small garden, with eastern exposure, where cars are parked today. Hammer sold the business in 1958 to Pinky Robinson and Greer Drummond, who had been associated with him for two decades.]

---

Royce Crossman leaves his market Sedro-Woolley Courier-Times, July 8, 1943       Royce Crossman is taking a temporary leave from his Crossman's Market in the Tradewell building because of ill health. Bob Mahaffie, owner of Mahaffie's Market, has purchased the stock and will take care of Crossman's business while he is away. The same high-grade service and meats which have for years made Cross- man's Market so popular, will be furnished in the absence of Mr. Crossman. Pete Kilgo will continue at the market and Mr. Crossman expects to be back in a few months
      [Journal Ed. note: the address of the Tradewell Market was then 212 State Street, in a 40x120-foot building that is no longer there. At that time through 1965, Metcalf Street dead-ended at State Street. In the late 1950s Tradewell moved to the old Jech Universal Motors buildings on Murdock Street, which is now the home of the Sedro-Woolley Museum. Mahaffie's Market was at 823 Metcalf Street, the southern half of what is now Joy's Sedro-Woolley Bakery.]

---

Bob Mahaffie's shops stay open Sedro-Woolley Courier-Times, July 29, 1943       Bob Mahaffie, proprietor of Mahaffie's Meat Market, has arranged to turn his market over to John Pittington of Mount Vernon, when he leaves in a few days to join the army. Pittington is at present manager of the meat market at the Safeway store in Mount Vernon.
      He will take over the Mahaffie shop for the duration of the war, and will also supervise the Crossman Market at the Tradewell store, which Mahaffie took over recently from Royce Crossman.

---

Mahaffie goes to army, change in market manager Sedro-Woolley Courier-Times, Aug. 5, 1943       John Pittington, manager of the Safeway meat market at Mount Vernon, has taken over Bob Mahaffie's Market in the Parker Dependable Grocery building [southeast corner of Ferry and Metcalf streets, Swastika building], for the duration of the war. Mahaffie reports this week at Fort Lewis for active duty in the army. Pitting-ton will be assisted in the market by his wife.
      Shortly before being drafted, Mahaffie had arranged to take over Crossman's market at the Tradewell store, as Royce Crossman, proprietor, on account of poor health, is retiring from business for a year or two. This market will now be managed by Nels Enberg, with Pete Kilgo continuing as his associate in the business. Enberg has been employed for several months at the Mahaffie market.
      [Journal Ed. note: At that time, state law dictated that the butcher shop in any grocery store be separate from the grocery section. Most often there was a different manager who leased the butcher section. In Mahaffie's case, his shop was solely devoted to butchering and wholesale and retail sale of meat.]

---

Running at State Farm Insurance Co. Sedro-Woolley Courier-Times, July 8, 1943       Jac Running attended an interesting district meeting of the State Farm Insurance Company at Mount Vernon last Friday night.
      [Journal Ed. note: Jac Running (Jacob Ben) originally owned a small neighborhood grocery store at 319 Gibson street, a block north of the Great Northern tracks, in the residential district, a block away from the original P.A. Woolley mansion. Jac was born in North Dakota in 1891 and his Norwegian-immigrant parents — Martin Johan and Anna Margarethe Running, moved to Sedro-Woolley sometime in his childhood. Their address in the 1913 Polk Directory is RD1, which probably means they lived somewhere in the Skiyou-Utopia area. Running became most famous locally for his talent as a musician. Several old timers have recounted that he performed in the John Philip Sousa band. Sousa (1854-1932). Sousa was widely recognized as the "king of the American march." and a writer "for the feet instead of the head." Sousa's band performed all over the country, including many times in Seattle, but we suspect that Sousa performed with the band regionally rather than nationally because he would have been too young to march with Sousa's national band in its heyday.
      In September 1926 he organized a 21-piece Drum and Bugle Corps band for the Sedro-Woolley American Legion post #43, which consisted of ten bugles, nine sets of drums and two leaders. At that time he also sold sheet music out of his store. He married one of the pioneer debutantes of Woolley, Ruth Bovey Shrewsbury, the granddaughter of the Bovey family who owned one of the first boarding houses in old Sedro by the river in 1889, and the daughter of a Woolley pioneer and mill owner, Homer Shrewsbury. She was also an accomplished musician and dancer. In the 1920s, bands such as the one led by Running often marched in a funeral cortege with lodge dignitaries all the way from downtown to the Wicker cemetery, and on Memorial, Fourth of July and Armistice Day ceremonies. Running was a World War I veteran, but we have no details of his service. We hope that a reader who is a descendant of any of those families will share family historical details with us and especially a photo of Jac and/or Ruth.]

for a complete reading about sedro-woolley during this period, just click  here .

on a national level, there was also a lot movin' and shakin' - for even more information on what was going on nationally and globally, check here and here -  

Following American involvement in the war manufacturers around the US became as efficient at producing war machines as they had been producing other goods with companies like ford and GM managing to change from cars to bombs and aircraft engines and at the same time due to the number of men overseas fighting the war using more women for manufacturing a total of 18 million women were employed. Due to shortages America sees it's first rationing. Italian and German forces surrender in North Africa as the war in Europe starts to turn the Allies way. The Glenn Miller Orchestra provided the most popular music of the time.

How Much things cost in 1943

Average Cost of new house $3,600.00
Average wages per year $2,000.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 15 cents
Average Cost for house rent $40.00 per month
Bottle Coca Cola 5 cents
Average Price for a new car $900.00

World War II 1943

U.S. - The Pentagon, considered to be the world’s largest office building is completed - In the United States, it is announced that shoe rationing Canned food, meat, cheese, butter and cooking oils will go into effect 

Poland - German forces liquidate the Jewish ghetto in Krakow.

Germany - German Afrika Korps and Italian troops in North Africa surrender to Allied forces.

UK - British deception plan " The Man Who Never Was" or Operation Mincement executed.

Italy - Mussolini Resigns in Italy and Surrender Of Italy is announced on September 8th

Hungary - Budapest more than 2,000 citizens sent to Concentration Camps

U.S. - America takes control of Guadalcanal

Iran - The Allied leaders of Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union meet for the first time in Iran

UK - The Dambuster Raids by RAF 617 Sqdn on 17th May on German dams

Poland - Warsaw Jewish Ghetto Uprising against the Nazi's

Germany - The British and Americans bomb Hamburg on July 24th causing a firestorm that kills 42,000 German civilians.

U.S. - Future President Lt. John F. Kennedy's command the PT-109 is sunk by a Japanese destroyer

U.S. - US General Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes the supreme Allied commander

Events of 1943

U.S. - Great Depression ends in the United States: With unemployment figures falling fast due to World War II-related employment

U.S. - The Works Progress Administration ( PWA ) designed to provide jobs during the Great Depression of the 1930's is ended.

U.S. -  Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C is Completed

U.S. - Due to shortages in Copper the U.S. one-cent coin is struck in steel

U.S.  - Montana Coal and Iron Company Explosion Kills 74

India - Bengal, India famine leaving up to 3 million dead.

Lebanon - Lebanon Gains Independence From France

U.S. -  "Pay As You Go tax" introduced in US

U.S. -  Car Tax Registration introduced in US

U.S. -  The Pentagon in Washington D.C. is Completed

THE STORY OF ME...[updated july 13, 2012]

and so it is that
i came into this life -

MY BIRTH AND FIRST YEAR
august 11, 1943 - august 11, 1944

as a true LEO, it was only fitting that i came into this world with all the drama befitting one of such stature - and so, in utero it seems that i was playing hulahoops with my umbilical cord which i wound round and round my little short neck - which meant a theatrical appearance at birth - according to my father, who loved to tell this tale, i was the color of the penny minted in 1943 

 - because of the war effort, this was the only year that copper was not used in the penny composition, thereby resulting in a zinc-coated steel-colored penny -  

and, also according to this teller of tales, the doctors indicated they would not wager the copperless penny that i would survive the feat of my strangulating birth - so i was immediately immersed into tubs of alternating hot and cold water in an attempt to resuscitate/shock my little lungs and heart - well, the end result is obvious - here i am - none the worse for wear and tear - 

in addition to the black penny birth story is the story told by my mother - and written in my babybook - of somewhere in the hospital at the time of my birth, a choral group was singing “when the roll is called up yonder” - and then, there is the fact that i was born on a wednesday - wednesday, the day whose children are allegedly full of woe - having been born on the middle day of the week, i was also the middle child of three children -

be all that as it may, this is the story of my physical entry into this world -  

 






my birth is announced with all the fanfare of the day...

- my first name - jenean - is from the world war I song "jeannine i dream of lilac time" a song which my mother apparently loved [see lyrics in sidebar] - my middle name - corette - is after my maternal grandmother, cora agnes rowan perry [photos September 5, 1943]

parents holding me on august 28, 1943:

 

october 11, 1943:

======================

upon my birth, my mother thought i should have my very own manual blog so she began the written blog of "life begins":

and these were the first posts all about ME:

 

and from as far away as trinidad family congratulations on my birth arrive:

following my birth in the midst of world war II it was necessary for me, an infant, to be issued a war ration book by the federal government aka BIG BROTHER - and, accordingly, they took away my name and issued me a number 247990DX:

sedro-woolley is a beautiful magical part of the country - 

seattle is nearby - a beautiful drive - and from the air just as beautiful:

for more beauty, just follow the seattle floating bridge to the magestic mount ranier:

- while i have no conscious memories of my life in washington, all my life i have felt such an affinity for the mountains - i can smell the trees and hear the bubbling mountain streams still - a few months before my first birthday, my parents took us into canada - but i've no photos of that journey -

* * * * *

awaiting my arrival home was my three year old big sister, jerelyn charlene [born october 29, 1940] - until my birth, she had been the "only child" of our parents - the apple of our father's eye [he called her "jeri" because he'd wanted a boy or so it was said] - so my showing up was a challenge but one that she seemed to enjoy at least, at times, and/or as these photos seem to indicate [end of august to mid september 1943]:

 

the next few months were filled with lots of photographs of me, all befitting my dramatic role in the family -    

all of my little wardrobe was handmade [including blankets, booties, bonnets, coats, gowns, and dresses] either by my mother or by my paternal aunt mae nash -

my big sister had a matching ensemble, handmade, as well, and we were dressed in these for our studio portrait here -

as i seem to be saying in this photo made when i was 10 months old, i was never one for the prissy little organza frocks that i was destined to wear and would much have preferred the barest necessities for modesty's sake only:

and then comes my number one birthday celebrating the first twelve months for me -  

HAPPY

HAPPY

FIRST

BIRTHDAY

TO

ME