What Day Is It, Anyway?

It's Tuesday after the long holiday - Labor Day - weekend. To be honest, once you retire, unless you have something scheduled for a particular day on a regular basis, you tend to lose track of just what day it is.

Also, when you begin to immerse yourself in the past, you begin to wonder what year or even decade it is. I am totally embedded in 1943 right now and can almost imagine what it was like to be at war with the Germans and the Japanese. Families were scattered as husbands took up arms and went off to basic training; that great unknown of where their next posting would be; rationing; victory gardens; and other hardships.

Many people, like my dad, his father and brother lived in boarding houses. This boarding house was at 710 Virginia Park in Detroit. Photo courtesy of Google Maps.

Copyright 2010, ACK for Gene Notes

A Walk Down Someone's Memory Lane

Today is Relatively Speaking Day; please be sure to check out "cousin" Karen's blog here.

Now that I am totally immersed in the letters written to my uncle Johnny by various Percival & Bowman family members way back in the World War II era, I have gotten pretty curious about some of the "players" in these letters. First was Bill Badgero. His name was fairly significant to me since I knew he and Janet Dean were the "elopers" that my yet unmarried parents went to Fremont, Ohio with in July 1946. Since my parents also got married on that trip and Bill & Janet returned the witness favor, their name has stuck with me.

The other name that rings a bell, because my parents mentioned this couple often, was Fairchild, more exactly Keith and Loie Fairchild. Keith's parents were the boarding house owners where the male Percivals lived. My mother and aunt also lived at the Fairchild house. Must have been pretty interesting.

I got curious and it appears Bill Badgero died in 1983, no record of his wife; and Keith Fairchild died in May of this year.Wife, Loie still living.

Another name that cropped up was that of Freddy Payne. Freddy played with the Detroit Tigers from 1906-1908 and then with the White Sox from 1909-1911. In 1943, Fred worked as an inspector in my grandfather's department at the Detroit Water Board.

It's fun, like opening a treasure chest to see what is in each letter, what secret will be told, what information can be garnered.

L-R: John Percival, "Bob," and Frank Percival,  1943

I found this gem of a picture, which as grandpa says was the "best of the bunch" and still I had to adjust it a bit. It was taken the evening before Uncle Johnny reported for service.

Copyright 2010, ACK for Gene Notes

Sympathy Saturday - Joseph Zimmeth

I've actually run out of unknown people on Funeral Cards, so I will be sprinkling headstones, obits and funeral card notices (mid 1800's) from now on.


This headstone is for my mother's uncle, Joseph Zimmeth. He was the oldest of the Zimmeth children and was born in Iosco county. His marriage record at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in East Tawas, Michigan states that he was baptized in AuSable, Michigan and that the church records were destroyed in the 1911 fire. You may say that Michigan was keeping vital records as early as 1867, but in fact, there are no birth records for many people born before 1900 as well as no death records for a great many either.

Headstone for Joe Zimmeth

If you click on the image, you will see the death date is not filled in. Yes, Uncle Joe is buried there in St. Joseph's Cemetery, East Tawas, Michigan. I presume he bought the stone and had it set when his wife, Mary Quosky Zimmeth died, and that the funeral director failed to take steps to have the date carved. It should read 1957. This is the first time I have ever seen his name as John Joseph rather than Joseph John. Since there is no birth record or baptismal record to fall back on, who can really say?

Here is the obit for Joe.

From Pinconning Journal.

Services Friday Morning for Joseph Zimmeth.

Joseph Zimmeth passed away on Tuesday afternoon of this week, September 17, at the home of his brother, Charles Zimmeth who resides on South Van Etten street in Pinconning.  He had been in poor health for over a year.  Mr. Zimmeth was 84 years of age, born April 14, 1873, in East Tawas.

Funeral services will be held Friday morning at 9:00 o'clock from St. Agnes Church with Rev. Fr. Casimer Szyper officiating.  Burial will take place in St. Joseph cemetery in East Tawas.  The body is at the Lee Funeral Home.

Copyright 2010, ACK for Gene Notes