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Do you have a skeleton in the closet??
- Thread starter MacDawg
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OK, I know you all were holding your breath to see RC,
the POW that was Billy's best friend before the war, during the war and after the war.
Now I never remember RC without Ruby, in fact in my family they were always mentioned together...
you know how couples always seem to get combined.
Every time they were mentioned it was always "Ruby and RC", never "RC and Ruby".
They always have a specific order to them.
Although they didn't serve together,
Billy and RC apparently were together either in boot camp,
or somewhere, because there are a number pics of them.
Woof, Woof - Dawg
the POW that was Billy's best friend before the war, during the war and after the war.
Now I never remember RC without Ruby, in fact in my family they were always mentioned together...
you know how couples always seem to get combined.
Every time they were mentioned it was always "Ruby and RC", never "RC and Ruby".
They always have a specific order to them.
Although they didn't serve together,
Billy and RC apparently were together either in boot camp,
or somewhere, because there are a number pics of them.
Woof, Woof - Dawg
Now, I know you all are wondering how come I don't know anything about any of this... my Dad's family, etc. Most all of this is pretty new to me, and you know about as much as I do. I'll remind you that my Dad was an only child (except for "infant" buried next to his mom, 9 years after my Dad's birthday, and I didn't know anything about that). So, as an only child, there were only aunts and uncles. Viola, his mother died 6 months after he enlisted, so my Mom never knew her. T.D. his father died shortly after I was born, and Mom did know him. But there were no visits to the grandparents, etc. In fact, my grandfather on my Mom's side, Alfred Ernest Hendix (pictured in this thread) was dead before I was born too. I only knew my grandmother on my mother's side. She remarried to a man that the family despised. He was the only grandfather I knew, and I didn't know him at all. I did not call him granddad, he was just Olin (his name), among other names my Mom called him. Anyway, my grandmother perservered, and she outlived my Mom.
Here is Billy Boy in the early years...
Maybe I'll post Mom's early years another time
Woof, Woof - Dawg
Here is Billy Boy in the early years...
Maybe I'll post Mom's early years another time
Woof, Woof - Dawg
So Billy Boy went off to war to serve his country right after Pearl Harbor was bombed at the age of 19. It is interesting to read his letters because they are so raw. The spelling, grammar, (and prejudices) are so fresh, young and alive. Not at all like I knew my Dad. He writes with passion and tenderness towards his mom and his dad.
One thing about his letters, he is always requesting sheets. Now at first I thought that he wanted bed sheets, but now I'm thinking he may have been requesting paper to write letters, but I'm not sure. I'm going to have to rethink the whole thing now and reread the letters!
That's Billy Boy on the back row, last on the left.
Now here is an interesting letter, and I'll "translate it" for you...
The piece of parachute was saved all of these years and is still with the letter
Woof, Woof - Dawg
One thing about his letters, he is always requesting sheets. Now at first I thought that he wanted bed sheets, but now I'm thinking he may have been requesting paper to write letters, but I'm not sure. I'm going to have to rethink the whole thing now and reread the letters!
That's Billy Boy on the back row, last on the left.
Now here is an interesting letter, and I'll "translate it" for you...
The piece of parachute was saved all of these years and is still with the letter
Woof, Woof - Dawg
I stumbled across this picture, and I don't know what to make of it!
The inscription reads:
Now I can't quite make out the name, but I know it isn't Alice Rose, who he writes about from day one, all of the way till the end... (sometimes lovingly, sometimes mad at her). It isn't the Italian girl he hooks up with (more on her later). It appears to start with an "M" like the other girl "Modian" I mentioned above, but it is a stretch to make this say Modian. I don't really know, and I can't be sure it was intended for Billy Boy, but if I had to guess, I would say it is!
I guess she was disappointed when he met my Mom!!
She couldn't compete...
Woof, Woof - Dawg
The inscription reads:
Now I can't quite make out the name, but I know it isn't Alice Rose, who he writes about from day one, all of the way till the end... (sometimes lovingly, sometimes mad at her). It isn't the Italian girl he hooks up with (more on her later). It appears to start with an "M" like the other girl "Modian" I mentioned above, but it is a stretch to make this say Modian. I don't really know, and I can't be sure it was intended for Billy Boy, but if I had to guess, I would say it is!
I guess she was disappointed when he met my Mom!!
She couldn't compete...
Woof, Woof - Dawg
When Billy Boy met Mary Hendrix, it was "lights out" all over for him!
He was crazy in love (as you can tell from the pics)
And why shouldn't he be? She was a knockout, and a fireball!
So Alice Rose, Modian, Margaret, the Italian girl Vima Scarciglia and everybody else...
EAT YOUR HEARTS OUT!
Woof, Woof - Dawg
He was crazy in love (as you can tell from the pics)
And why shouldn't he be? She was a knockout, and a fireball!
So Alice Rose, Modian, Margaret, the Italian girl Vima Scarciglia and everybody else...
EAT YOUR HEARTS OUT!
Woof, Woof - Dawg
wwidgirl said:
Yeah, it's pretty sad but on my side, I have almost all of the mails (important ones) I have sent to my girl. One day I'll print them and will sort them by date.
Oh man, this thread is awesome, really, it's a good feeling that you give me (us) , I'm really sorry not to have it read yesterday by it's better late than never, everything what I know from my dad's family is on my mind, no papers, no letters, just what has come from my dad and his dad and so on, I know the history of 4 generations before me, and what I know will go to my children, I consider seriously about writing it, don't want to stop the tradition, from my mom's family, I know a lot, since her grandma, there have been some black sheep, including an uncle but I never met him, the only thing I know is his name and that we shared birthday, now he is resting in peace, I hope, from this generation, I can't say that I'm the black sheep but I have given a lot of talk around the family and I don't care about that, because I've always consider that the word "normal" was invented to point the rest.
Again, amazing thread! Congratulations.
my mum's brother wont talk to his sister because my grandad died when they were teenagers and left a fortune of almost £15 million (that's about £60m/$130m today), and my grandma and aunt (mum's sister) pissed it all away over about 8 years. YES, EIGHT YEARS. my uncle was the only sane one it would seem and kept all his money, eventually losing it bailing them out of near bankrupcy.
how pissed was i when i heard i could have been rich beyond my dreams? just a little.
how pissed was i when i heard i could have been rich beyond my dreams? just a little.
These have been quite interesting posts MacDawg, keep it up!
I've done some digging into my family, and there are quite a few interesting stories (I'm looking for collaborating documents) but no black sheep per-se. I once did a google image search on my last name (which is fairly rare to come across) and someone with my family name had a coat of arms back in the 1600's! I don't know if they are related, but my grandmother is seeing how far back she can go in the family tree. Right now the big project is to digitize my Grandfathers slides (using iPhoto) and create a DVD (using iDVD)for my Grandmother... only another 500 or so slides to digitize and sort.
I hope your keeping the scans of the pics you've posted. The one of your parents on the third page is an absolute gem.
Raid
I've done some digging into my family, and there are quite a few interesting stories (I'm looking for collaborating documents) but no black sheep per-se. I once did a google image search on my last name (which is fairly rare to come across) and someone with my family name had a coat of arms back in the 1600's! I don't know if they are related, but my grandmother is seeing how far back she can go in the family tree. Right now the big project is to digitize my Grandfathers slides (using iPhoto) and create a DVD (using iDVD)for my Grandmother... only another 500 or so slides to digitize and sort.
After looking at the letters, is it possible that the name was Morine or Marian? It's hard to tell...MacDawg said:
I hope your keeping the scans of the pics you've posted. The one of your parents on the third page is an absolute gem.
Raid
Loving the posts 'Dawg.
Since you are scanning much of this, I hope you will be doing a CD/DVD for your children to have something to hold on to down the road.
Since you are scanning much of this, I hope you will be doing a CD/DVD for your children to have something to hold on to down the road.
MacDawg said:
from my experiences as a middle aged person, me and my peers have all gathered some skeletons..here's a list..i will change their names for privacy
me...i was a pothead in college and used to sometimes show up drunk or stoned to class...and i would drive to class and when i think of that, i shudder
best friend "K"...he go caught with meth and got sentenced and had to do rehab
musician friend "M"...had problems with drugs but has triumphantly beat it after many years
musician friend "M2"...still does drugs into his mid-30s, a very sad sight
business client "S"...hooked on prescription morphine and has been in 3 or 4 car accidents in the last year
if any of us ran for president, those skeletons would get quite a bit of press being that only 13 years ago bill clinton had to make the preposterous claim that he smoked dope but did not inhale...he knew that a straight out admission to using marijuana could derail his chances at the white house
grandfather and two uncles...alcoholics
Dawg, that's absolutely fascinating. Thanks for sharing.
I have no skeletons in the closet (that I'm aware of), other than an aunt that's been married FOUR times. The only interesting snippet of information is that I'm supposedly very distantly related to the author Jane Austen (on my mother's side). My grandmother showed us the link on an Austen family tree before she died but I didn't really take that much interest (much to my present disgust). I'm much more into genealogy now and have started work on a family tree.
I have no skeletons in the closet (that I'm aware of), other than an aunt that's been married FOUR times. The only interesting snippet of information is that I'm supposedly very distantly related to the author Jane Austen (on my mother's side). My grandmother showed us the link on an Austen family tree before she died but I didn't really take that much interest (much to my present disgust). I'm much more into genealogy now and have started work on a family tree.
jayscheuerle
macrumors 68020
skeleton? Lemme look...
I've got a spleen, a stuffed badger and can of Simonize, but no skeleton...
Maybe I'll check the fridge...
I've got a spleen, a stuffed badger and can of Simonize, but no skeleton...
Maybe I'll check the fridge...
Raid said:Right now the big project is to digitize my Grandfathers slides (using iPhoto) and create a DVD (using iDVD)for my Grandmother... only another 500 or so slides to digitize and sort.
Please start a thread on this project- I am curious as to pic sizes you use, and time and file size per 100 slides. We have a few thousand to sort through, and my family is thining-I would like to start this project within 12 months. Also curious as the the hardware you will use. I have been told to put the slides on a carousel, then dv the slide show in to imovie/final cut. Saves time and size-with so many slides.
MacDawg-still enjoying it-really am curious as to how you will preserve and present this to your children. Thank you for sharing.
Stu
stubeeef said:
I'll see what I can do, but all the files and set up are at my parents place. My father is using a Nikon Coolpix (it's an older one ... about 3.2 Megapixels) and we've been using the highest resolution and size for them. To transfer the slides we have an attachment that screws to the camera lens via the macro/zoom lens ring. This one has a 'rail' that holds three slides (a little faster than one at a time, but not by much. Next time I'm at my parents I'll have a look and confirm file size, resolution and image size.
To get enough light we're using a couple of halogen work lights reflected off of a projector screen (to even out the light). It works pretty well, but it's slow going switching out the slides so often. We tried projecting the images onto the screen and a wall but the screen makes the images appear grainy when transfered to the computer, and/or focus was hard to get right.
That reminds me, becarefull not to keep too many pics on your card, we did have a couple of goofs that we couldn't see because the camera's LCD screen was too small. Going back through 50 slides is annoying so take them in groups of 20-25 and then import them to iPhoto. Usually though the lens attachment has produced some fantastic results.
If more people are interested PM me and I'll start my own thread. I don't want to hijack MacDawg's thread any more than needed.
-Raid
Well, back in the 1650's, yes - the 1650's - one of my great great "whatevers" was murdered in Norway. He was found on the beach with a harpoon through his chest.
Still can't find any witnesses...
Still can't find any witnesses...
No real sketetons, but family fueds on my mom's side have resulted in a complex web of alliances, and lots of people on her side won't talk to each other. In fact, my mom's mom wouldn't go to her brother's funeral ( about a year ago) because of will disputes left from when my great grandmother died- 9 YEARS AGO!
In fact, my mom's mom wouldn't go to her brother's funeral ( about a year ago) because of will disputes left from when my great grandmother died- 9 YEARS AGO!
MacDawg! I am really thinking of the Kathy Mattea song "Where've you Been?" now. How dare you let long work days and family slow your posting here!
Hope your fingers aren't too sore from the new ole position.
Just kidding of course, but I bet most will be ready when you are, Have a restful weekend (if not working).
Stu
Hope your fingers aren't too sore from the new ole position.
Just kidding of course, but I bet most will be ready when you are, Have a restful weekend (if not working).
Stu
OK, I've been organizing some of these letters and pics over the past day and a half (my off days now). I'm trying to separate the letters into categories: letters from my Dad, letters to my Dad, etc. I'm also separating the pictures into categories as well, pics of my Dad's side of the family, pics of my Mom's side. It is a slow process because I am reading stuff as I go, I just can't help it.
Anyway, I'm going to post some more stuff, just on the off chance that anyone is still interested in this thread. If you don't want to respond to the thread and feel like sending me a PM, feel free to do that to.
As long as people are interested, I'll try to keep posting some of my findings. If not, I'll just spend the time cataloging it for myself.
Woof, Woof - Dawg
Anyway, I'm going to post some more stuff, just on the off chance that anyone is still interested in this thread. If you don't want to respond to the thread and feel like sending me a PM, feel free to do that to.
As long as people are interested, I'll try to keep posting some of my findings. If not, I'll just spend the time cataloging it for myself.
Woof, Woof - Dawg
I'll start off with what I thought was an interesting letter from January 7th, 1945. Billy Boy has not been writing to his dad. In this letter, he now reveals why he hasn't been writing, he has been in the hospital... but not just in the hospital, but in the hospital getting circumcised! At this point, Billy Boy is 22 years old! I understand that circumcision was not always performed early in the 1900's, but I can only speculate as to why he is being circumcised now. He has been in the military for 3 years already, he has been to North Africa, and I believe he is now in Italy when he writes this. I can't imagine that this is something that was routine, but that was a necessity for some reason (an infection? I don't really want to think about it).
Woof, Woof - Dawg
Letter from 1945 said:
Woof, Woof - Dawg
I realize the best thing to have done would have been to organize everything and tell the story of Billy Boy in chronological order, but it is too late for that! I have to just tell little stories as I find them. This set of postings will have to do with Billy Boy's love life. I want to go back now to Billy Boy's relationship with Ruby and R.C. because it fills in some of the story.
Reese (R.C.) Stephenson was Billy Boy's best friend during High School. His girl was Ruby Penn, and they were all pals. (Interesting to read the letters from this era, everyone is a "pal", letters are signed 'your pal', etc. Another word that comes up frequently is "swell". Everything is just "swell" all of the time, and items that are sent to the soldiers are "swell".)
Well, back to the story.
R.C. and Ruby are a couple before the war during High School, and Billy Boy runs around with them and with Alice Rose. Now we have heard Alice Rose mentioned before, and she is apparently Billy Boy's sweetheart. However, she is not always as interested in him as he is in her, at least according to the letters. You will notice in the "circumcision" letter in the last post that Billy Boy asks his dad to "give my love to Alice and tell her to be good." That letter was written in 1945, so Billy Boy carried a torch for Alice Rose all during the war, and even after the war as we shall soon see.
Woof, Woof - Dawg
Reese (R.C.) Stephenson was Billy Boy's best friend during High School. His girl was Ruby Penn, and they were all pals. (Interesting to read the letters from this era, everyone is a "pal", letters are signed 'your pal', etc. Another word that comes up frequently is "swell". Everything is just "swell" all of the time, and items that are sent to the soldiers are "swell".)
Well, back to the story.
R.C. and Ruby are a couple before the war during High School, and Billy Boy runs around with them and with Alice Rose. Now we have heard Alice Rose mentioned before, and she is apparently Billy Boy's sweetheart. However, she is not always as interested in him as he is in her, at least according to the letters. You will notice in the "circumcision" letter in the last post that Billy Boy asks his dad to "give my love to Alice and tell her to be good." That letter was written in 1945, so Billy Boy carried a torch for Alice Rose all during the war, and even after the war as we shall soon see.
Woof, Woof - Dawg
Well, after Pearl Harbor, Billy Boy and RC (along with a lot of others) rushed off to sign up with Uncle Sam. Billy Boy we know was under age, but we don't know about RC. They both went into the Army Air Corps and were in the same place for a time, but they eventually went their separate ways. Billy Boy made his way to North Africa by way of London, and then on to Italy. RC became a "gunner" and flew on airplanes, where he was eventually shot down and became a prisoner of war in Germany.
This is just a sample envelope to give you an idea,
it didn't go with this letter
It is Oct 21, 1943 and Ruby just had her 19th birthday is going to try and make it to RC's graduation where he gets his wings. Alice Rose wants to come along, but RC isn't keen on that idea. Notice he says that Alice is "still the same Alice (if you know what I mean)." He says she is still pretty, but apparently she is a real pill too! Billy Boy often laments in his letters that he hasn't heard from her.
Woof, Woof - Dawg
This is just a sample envelope to give you an idea,
it didn't go with this letter
It is Oct 21, 1943 and Ruby just had her 19th birthday is going to try and make it to RC's graduation where he gets his wings. Alice Rose wants to come along, but RC isn't keen on that idea. Notice he says that Alice is "still the same Alice (if you know what I mean)." He says she is still pretty, but apparently she is a real pill too! Billy Boy often laments in his letters that he hasn't heard from her.
Woof, Woof - Dawg
RC encloses the following card inside the letter that is posted above. It is about the size of a standard business card.
I can almost hear them singing those songs... can't you?
Woof, Woof - Dawg
I can almost hear them singing those songs... can't you?
Woof, Woof - Dawg
Now, back to Alice Rose... Ruby writes a Christmas card to Billy Boy and mentions her again. It always seems that they are guarded in what they say about Alice Rose when writing to Billy Boy, like they don't want to hurt his feelings. I guess that was typical during the war, you didn't want to crush our boys on the front lines.
But, it is interesting that I do not have a single letter from Alice Rose to Billy Boy, not one. I have tons of letters from his mom, dad, aunts, grandmother, RC, Ruby and even a few others... but nada from Alice Rose. I know she wrote, not as much as Billy Boy would have liked, but there are no letters.
Perhaps he threw them out when he met my Mom, I don't know. Maybe he was heartbroken when he got back home and burned them. I guess I'll never know.
Woof, Woof - Dawg
But, it is interesting that I do not have a single letter from Alice Rose to Billy Boy, not one. I have tons of letters from his mom, dad, aunts, grandmother, RC, Ruby and even a few others... but nada from Alice Rose. I know she wrote, not as much as Billy Boy would have liked, but there are no letters.
Perhaps he threw them out when he met my Mom, I don't know. Maybe he was heartbroken when he got back home and burned them. I guess I'll never know.
Woof, Woof - Dawg
Well, RC and Ruby couldn't wait till the end of the war. RC was in the States for school, and he and Ruby got married, but as soon as they were married, he received orders back to the front lines. He made it to Italy, but I have no indication that he met up with Billy Boy there. This letter from June 29, 1944 shows he made it to Italy... and from there he was eventually shot down over Germany.
What a sweet letter this is as RC talks about Ruby...
Ruby's mother, Mrs. Penn was apparently not for the marriage, but got over it. Ruby's grandmother was still "hot" about it! But such was marriage in time of war.
RC wants to get back home ASAP to be with his Ruby
He talks about the dangers of flying with Billy Boy
He describes what it is like to be shot at, and says it hasn't happend "yet?"
It was an omen of what was to come
RC would be shot down and become a prisoner of war in Germany
Woof, Woof - Dawg
What a sweet letter this is as RC talks about Ruby...
Ruby's mother, Mrs. Penn was apparently not for the marriage, but got over it. Ruby's grandmother was still "hot" about it! But such was marriage in time of war.
RC wants to get back home ASAP to be with his Ruby
He talks about the dangers of flying with Billy Boy
He describes what it is like to be shot at, and says it hasn't happend "yet?"
It was an omen of what was to come
RC would be shot down and become a prisoner of war in Germany
Woof, Woof - Dawg