Kitcheners' Wood

O! Canada, Mistress of snows and of mountain,

Tears are the dew of thy prairies to-day;

Thy blood has gushed forth as it were from a fountain,

‘Neath Belgium’s sweet soil thy noble sons lay.

Gallant the “Charge” that made the world-story,

Fierce were the odds, but they knew not dismay,

Ever their fame will reflect in the glory

Of self-sacrifice, as they fell on the way.

(Private George Gilmore, Tenth Battalion)

I remember my Grampa Dolan as a quiet and peaceful man. He never said a whole lot; was gentle and unassuming - to me anyway. David, Mary Beth, and cousin Kathy, and others may remember him differently. I have a hard time seeing him in combat - and close quarters combat at that. But he was. He saw it. He experienced it. He survived it. It was a place called Kitcheners' Wood.

Sketch of Battle for Kitcheners' Wood

April 22, 1915 was a beautiful spring day in Ypres – sunny, warm, temperatures in the 70’s. What would follow that day was not so nice. The 10^th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force made a name for themselves that day in what is called the 2^nd Battle of Ypres. That battle was really a series of battles. This was one of them. Just look it up. There's plenty of detailed information available. 

The 10th experienced the first ever gas attack, and made a heroic stand against the German offensive there. The account of the battle is too long to recount here, but it went something like this. Originally assigned to be a support battalion, they were called up to fill a huge gap in the line caused by the retreat of the French troops who received the brunt of the poison gas attack. The decision was made to counter-attack the Germans. The objective was a small woods, later called Kitcheners' Wood. They had to march across a ploughed field 500 yards from the woods. Just before midnight, within 200 yards of the objective, all hell broke loose. Machine gun and small arms fire from the front and the left flank mowed the Canadians down in droves. A small number made it to the woods where there was intense hand to hand combat. By the end of the day, most of the officers were dead or wounded, and chaos was everywhere. As the 10^th reformed on Friday morning, April 23^rd, only 5 officers and 188 other ranks were left out of the 816 who had gone into action 6 hours before.

What was left of Kitcheners' Wood

Friday was not as dramatic, but it was a day of fierce fighting as the 10^th fought to hold their positions. They were bombed and shelled all day. On the third day the 10^th fought off an all out attack by the Germans which was preceded by another poison gas attack. Finally they were ordered to withdraw, but that was no easy thing. They had to cross over a low ridge in broad daylight within 100 yards of the German machine guns. Now barely the size of a company, there were only 3 officers and 171 men left.

They weren’t done yet. The battalion was ordered back into action reinforcing another battalion. They found themselves in the direct path of another German attack, but time and again they fought it off. The Germans gave up on the frontal attack, but as one man said, “they (the Germans) started to play the piano on us”, which meant that they had to endure another heavy bombardment. Although they had picked up two new officers, the ranks were now down to 151 men. When night came on Saturday what was left of the 10^th moved back to the rear for a hot meal and rest. 

The rest didn’t last long. Just before midnight what was left of the 10^th joined up with what was left of another unit and were sent to shore up the line in a place called Gravenstafel Ridge. Sunday meant another day of shelling and fighting. Monday was more of the same. Finally on Tuesday, April 27^th, the 10^th Battalion, with only 2 officers and 117 men left, one of them Grandpa Dolan, pulled back to Ypres to regroup and receive replacements. They were assigned to guard pontoon bridges on the Canal de’Yser, and stayed there until May 5^th when the Second Battle of Ypres officially came to an end.

I vaguely remember asking Grampa once about the war. I don't remember learning much other than it was terrible. He did seem to want to talk about it. My Dad remembered his Dad and uncles talking about it as they sat around the living room. Uncle Bruno was there in Belgium and France, in the Machine Gun Corps. Uncle Harry got into it later in the war - in the Dardenelles. Gramma, who saw the results of war as a nurse (more on that later) claimed that Grampa suffered from the effects of the war to his dying day. I don't doubt it. I can't even imagine it. 

Who knows, maybe some of Grampa's quiet was reserved for that time he spent, and for those he left behind at Kitcheners' Wood.

Grampa 2nd from Left With Three Other "Knuts" or Canadian Buddies
After Arriving at Lord Derby War Hospital in Warrington, England

They Sent Grampa to a Lunatic Asylum and Gramma Works There!

Now to bring some finish to the story of my Grampa and Gramma and WWI.

With the coming of May 1915 and Grandpa Dolan’s fourth month in France and Belgium the 10^th Battalion was totally refitted and reorganized. She was brought up to full strength when replacements joined the few survivors from the original contingent. After rest and further training they were sent back to the front at Festubert, which became the next major battle they participated in from May 19^th to the 25^th. The official history of the battalion described this battle as “the most unsatisfactory engagement” involving Canadian troops in the war. One participant called it “simply the gates of hell opened and everything let loose at once.” The casualties were again heavy, but again Grandpa survived it all. A week’s rest followed, and then the 10^th marched to their next assignment, a place called Givenchy. This was June 1and was the beginning of Grandpa’s last week at the front.

The battalion spent the next five days in the trenches, and then on June 6, 1915, a Sunday night, they came out of the line. The record says that during those five days two men were killed and fourteen wounded. It was probably during these five days, and it may have been those casualties, that lead to the incident that brought the end of the war to Grandpa. On June 7th the Dolans of 10 Isle Street in Newmilns received the dreaded telegram from London. Grandpa was reported as missing. (See JD's Jottings, "I Regret to Inform You"). He was invalided to England on June 15^th.

Lord Derby War Hospital 1915
(In 1993 my Dad and I drove our rental car around that driveway.)

By the end of June (16^th) Grandpa was moved to Lord Derby War Hospital in Warrington, England, between Liverpool and Manchester. His first stay here lasted until early September. One of the nurses at Lord Derby was a gal from north of Manchester, Elizabeth Yates, who would eventually become my Grandma. Grandma says that Grandpa was a difficult patient, but in time he came around. She must have spent a lot of time with him. Grandpa did have some competition at Warrington, however. At least one other patient by the name of Harold Prince also had his eyes on Grandma. She kept his picture with a nice little note on the back..

Sgt. E Dolan (note the inscription! Grampa had a wonderful handwriting.)

Grandpa spent the rest of the war in England and was in and out of several convalescent hospitals -Monks Heaton, Shorncliffe, Lord Derby again, and Granville Hospital in Ramsgate. Chest pains and nephritis were among the ailments listed and scabies too. He was also posted to London and a place called Seaford. While at Shorncliffe in early 1916 Grandpa was promoted to Corporal, and eventually was given the rank of Sergeant while serving as a steward in the officer’s mess. 

On June 22^nd of 1916, he received permission to marry. He had sent for Grandma, who was still at the hospital in Warrington, and they were married on this day in Folkstone, Kent. In November of 1916 Grandpa was posted to London. For a while they lived at 10 Clapham Road. Grandma did go back to Newmilns when she became pregnant with Uncle Ernie. He was born there in July of 1917. In 1918 Grandpa reverted back to the rank of private and was posted to a place called Witley. He was here when finally discharged and returned to Canada in April of 1919.

Brief Photo Album of the Asylum Turned War Hospital

Gramma is Standing, 1st Nurse from Left
Grampa was transferred by this time.

Gramma's Ward - She's Standing in front of Padded Cell Door
(It was an asylum before remember!)

Gramma Cueing It Up

Gramma and Her Nurse Friend, Dora.

That's Gramma, I think, Standing Left.
(In 1993 I stood in the spot where this picture was taken.)

Grampa Standing Far left, 2nd from End

They Called it "Wipers"

After 17 Exhausting Days of Tending to Wounded Soldiers at YPRES, Canadian John McCrae Spent 20 Minutes of Precious Rest Time Scribbling One of the Most Memorable War Poems Ever Written.

It's official Dutch name is Ieper, but it's famous as Ypres. It's pronounced like "E-prey" but the British "Tommies" couldn't say that so they just called it "Wipers." It was a quaint and beautiful Belgium town in Flanders, but became a ruins and a killing field for thousands of young men. My Grampa Dolan was there. He only spent about four months there, but they were four months that changed his life, and I guess you could say, impacted all of our lives too.

Bugler Ernest Dolan 1915

So how did a Swede, who grew up in Scotland, end up in the Canadian army in Belgium? It was something like this: Grampa and two of his brothers, left for the "new world" seeking adventure, and more likely, a good job. They made their way to a fast-growing boom town in the prairies of west Canada, called Calgary. That was about 1911. In August 1914 the Great War began, and along with thousands of others in the territories of the British Empire, Grampa signed up. If they had only known!

The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was established and a battalion from Calgary was formed. They were to become famous as "the Fighting 10th." Most of them died fighting on Flanders Fields. Bugler E. Dolan was one of the few from the original 10th who survived. After initial training at Valcartier, Canada, the CEF was headed to the front. But the boys were given leave when they got back to the "old country" and so Grampa came home. The clip from the Newmilns, Scotland newspaper tells the story of this hometown boy on his way to war. The flowery language and visions of glory are interesting - and soon to be smashed.

Long story short - Grampa and the rest of the 10th soon found themselves in reserve near the town of Ypres. Things were to start picking up soon - world war-wise and on a personal level. The 2nd Battle of Ypres officially was fought from April 21, 1915 to May 25th, and Grampa Dolan would be in the thick of it. The world was introduced to the use of poison gas as a weapon of mass destruction. Gas masks were crude and often ineffective. (Grampa told how they would even "pee" into a handkerchief and put that over their nose and mouth. That was supposed to help. If that doesn't give you a hint on how terrifying and desperate it got in a gas attack, nothing will!) A huge German attack followed, and the 10th Battalion played a big part in saving the day, but at the cost of 75% casualties. Use the link on  this website for Wikipedia or just "google" the 2nd Battle of Ypres, if you are so inclined.

The 10th Battalion Drilling on Salisbury Plain in England Preparing for the Call to the Front. Recognize the World-Famous Landmark? Grampa's in there Somewhere!

Gas was bad enough. The machine gun mowing down men by the score in the open field must have been awful. And the constant shelling! Grampa said that the shelling might have been the worst. It was shelling that ended his stay in Ypres. By the early part of June he was in a hospital near Liverpool, England. Winwick it was called and was a "lunatic asylum" converted into Lord Derby War Hospital. He met a nurse there. Her name was "Bessie". She became my Gramma!

All that happened because of a place they called "Wipers!"

At Hospital. Gramma is nurse standing in center of middle row. Grampa is just peeking out of the back row underneath the right arm of the guy on the top.

I Regret to Inform You

Picture this. You're a Mom and your son is somewhere on the Western Front. People were just beginning to get used to the postings in the local newspapers and billboards listing the war casualties. The realities of war were beginning strike close to home. The pride, the cheering and flag-waving was giving way to fear, shock, and grief.

Such was the scene at the little cottage home at 10 Isle Street in the quiet river town of Newmilns in Ayrshire, Scotland. Imagine Great Gramma Dolan getting this telegram delivered to her door on a summer day in June! Can you imagine how hard those first words hit: "I regret to inform you ...." - then you see the name of your boy - and then what? Was their relief (of some strange sort) when you read the words "missing" rather then the dreaded "killed in action." 

I've been to Newmilns. My Dad and I walked down Isle Street together. We knocked on the door of the cottage at 10 Isle Street that's there now (the old ones were torn down long ago.) Try to imagine. Put yourself there. Mrs. W.J, (Augusta) Dolan was a tough lady and had been through a lot in life already. Now this.

We don't know when the second telegram came - how long they had to wait for some word. I try to think of what that was like too. But what a relief to learn that they found Ejner after all (they likely would have called him by his Swedish name. I remember Gramma calling him that when I was a little boy.) It doesn't take too much imagination to gauge the mood and guess at the conversation that day. "Where's Le Treport? (There was no "google maps!) What do they mean contusions and shock? Is he okay?" Were the younger brothers, Bill, Harry, and Joe wide-eyed and wondering? Was young Lily crying? And the old soldier Dad, William James - what did he say? Did the neighbors and community rally around the family? Don't you wonder? I do, but maybe that's just me.

So what happened? No one really know for sure, but this much we do know. The 2nd Battle of Ypres was technically over, but the war was still going on - patrols, sniping, repairing and replacing barbed wire. And there was the shelling! You could hear it coming. They had names for it - a "blind pig", a "daisy cutter", and the dreaded "whizz-bang." The trenches had its own language and a somewhat morbid sense of humor. But there was really nothing much you could do, just get in your "cubby hole" and wait it out. All you could really do is endure "the morning hour of hate" as they called it.

Soldiers in their trench "cubby holes"

I have been told it was a direct hit. All of a sudden all of those around him were dead or buried. They called it "contusions and shock." Gramma Dolan told me that Grampa "went out of his mind." Whether he ran off or got led off by someone else, I don't know. Maybe they thought he was dead, blown to bits or buried in the mess left behind by the shell. At any rate, when they counted heads, Private Dolan was no where to be found. It didn't take too long, it would seem, because on the same day the second telegram was sent to Isle Street with the news that Grampa was at an aid station. He was a mess, but he was alive.

Grampa Dolan Soon After Arriving at Hospital in England

One more telegram arrived at the Dolan Isle Street home before long. They spelled the address wrong, and the official wording was different. But it was good news this time. Instead of "I regret to inform you" it began "I beg to inform you."  The information was that Grampa had been admitted to Lord Derby War Hospital in Warrington, England. To greet him and countless wounded warriors like him was a hospital staff that included Elizabeth "Bessie" Yates. The future Mrs. E. Dolan would take it from there.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Goteberg

William James Dolan - Step Great Grandfather (right)
with Co-Workers - circa 1891
Goteberg, Sweden

In the late 1800s, the Johnson Shields Company of Newmilns, Scotland, was expanding. They opened a couple of new lace factories, one in Barcelona, Spain, and the other in Goteberg, Sweden. In order to aid in the start-up of these new endeavors, lace weavers from the home factory were sent to the new factories to work and share their knowledge and expertise.

Among the group sent to Sweden was the man, who while he was there, would become my great- grandfather and give me my surname. William James Dolan, with the nice 'stache, is pictured above with two of his lace weaver friends from Newmilns.

But ... as the story goes, a funny thing happened on the way to Goteberg.

As the 1880's came to a close in Ayrshire, Scotland, a young couple, William Dolan and Catherine Boyd, were making a new life for themselves in Newmilns, a little manufacturing town on the Irvine River. They had a little girl named Mary Ann. Then the unimaginable happened. Somehow, little two year old Mary accidentally drowned in the lade - a small watercourse or rivulet of the Irvine River just a short way from their home. It was a horrible tragedy that struck about the same time as the new factory opening in Goteberg.

Perhaps not coincidentally, and maybe fortuitously, William and Catherine moved to Goteberg, no doubt trying to begin a new life after the tragic loss of their daughter.

Before the 1890s were over William was back in Newmilns, only now with a new wife, 5 Swedish step children, and 3 children of his own. Sometime, somehow, shortly after arrival in Sweden, first wife Catherine is out of the picture. She must have died, but it remains a mystery to me. No record or reference has been found - yet.

Also, about the same time the Dolans arrived in Sweden, a young Swedish family had a tragedy of its own. Axel Ljungberg was found dead, drowned in the Moldals Creek near their home in Goteberg, leaving a widow, Augusta, and those 5 children, one of which was my grandfather, just a year old at the time. Widow and widower somehow meet, get married, have those 3 children of their own, and then return to Newmilns. They must have been the talk of the town!

There is a short biography that I have written about William James, but it is too long for a vignette on these jottings. I may have to get it out, clean it up a bit, and let you read it if you wish. There are more pictures too. Likewise, sooner or later I'm gonna have to tell Axel Ljungberg's story. It's a lalapalooza!  And don't you want to know what happened to Catherine too?!

So, in a little over a decade, a lace weaver get's married, has a daughter, loses a daughter, moves to Sweden, loses a wife, finds a wife, inherits 5 children, has 3 more children, and goes back home. And that's not even the whole story.

Like I said, a funny thing happened on the way to Goteberg.

William James Dolan and Catherine Boyd Dolan
Sweden 1891

That Was A Good Day, John!

Delores Mateske and John Dolan
May 1978 - Mequon, WI

Here's one from my favorite pictures category - favorite for a couple of reason. The occasion. The little details. A good memory. I came across this quite accidentally a couple of week's ago and wanted to share.

The date in May 1978, the day of my graduation from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. The location is the farm on Donges Bay Road in Mequon where we lived. The occasion is my graduation "afterglow" with family and friends.

It is one of those pictures of a moment caught in time when I would have no idea what we were taking about, what Mom Mateske was saying, or anything. If I were to put a caption on it, remembering here as I do, I can hear here saying with a very thankful and satisfied voice something like: "What a good day this has been, John!"

And it was - a great day! So many family members were able to be there, Sarah was just a little girl, Amy was in Mom's tummy; friends from most every part of my life were there too. The weather was beautiful. Ya, a good day indeed!

The Gang's All Here

I've told you how much I like group pictures. A lot of people in one place at one time, usually for some special gathering, plenty of things to learn by who's in the picture, and also by who's not! Here's a couple. From one more recent to another a generation ago, and then one two generations old.

Did I say that this is the most recent one? That's scary! How did all those kids grow up so fast?! Look at all those cute little girls. And the "bow-tie boys, Tim and Paul - ya gotta love it. I remember that green checked sport coat. Yikes! What was I thinking! Grampa and Gramma - we all - were so young. 

What's the occasion? The location? It's March 29, 1981, Aaron's baptism. We are gathered in the parsonage basement at St. James in Portage, MI. Who's missing? This time - no one. Everyone was there.

It was a good day.

I wish I had a dollar for every picture that was taken on and around that front porch at 4711 20th Avenue in Kenosha. This is not the best photo ever taken as far as clarity and most everything else. And I have no idea what the occasion might have been. But one highlight has to be the fur coats! Lookin' Aunts Lilah and Evelyn!

It's the late 1940's. David was born in 1945 so you can date it by looking at him. It was winter and it looked cold. Looks like it might have been a sunny cold day though. Doesn't it look like they are squinting a little bit.

Ladies are in the front; the guys in the back. That's Aunt Norma in the front left, her daughter Carol Henrich (still Greening then), and Aunt Evelyn. Aunt Lilah and Mom are in the second row with Great Aunt Bertha (Gramma Haubrich's sister). The men are all peeking out. Uncle Marvin looking dapper as usual; then David in the questionable hat and earmuffs; Daddy's holding him; then Uncle Kelly and Uncle George. Speaking of Gramma and Grampa Haubrich. Where were they, I wonder?

One thing I've noticed - and I think I'm right, this group had some fun and good times together after the war and into the 50's and 60's. Just saying.

Once again this is not the best quality photo and I have no idea where it was taken or what the occasion might have been. But I like it, and I remember how happy I was when I found it. So what's the attraction?

First of all, it includes some family that we have few pictures of. For example: the lady sitting in the middle with the kids all around her is my Great Aunt Ida (Haubrich) Fischbach. She was the oldest girl in the family. The lady on the far left sitting is my Great Aunt Rose (Wagner) Haubrich. Don't have many pictures of either of them. Rose's husband is Frank (back left in the vest) and Ida's husband is Karl Fischbach, second from right in the back. Then the young lady in the apron is daughter, Matilda Fischbach. They called her "Toats." I have been able to learn very little about her. Likewise, her brother, Lester Fischbach, laying on his back far right. So this picture will stay handy for me so that I can remember to learn more about the Fischbachs (besides the rather unforgettable name!)

Then, what I really like is that all the cousins seem to be having a lot of fun - all bunched up in the middle. There are 10 first cousins here from four different parents. I thought of this on Friday this week after Tom's funeral in Antioch watching a narthex full of cousins from at least 7 different families, by my count, running around, bonding, and enjoying themselves.

Here's the roster with some commentary, so go slow and pay attention. 

Starting in the back row, left to right: Frank Haubrich, Morris Wickham, Albert (my Grampa) Haubrich, Karl Fischbach, and Paul Haubrich. 

Ladies sitting: Rose (Mrs. Frank) Haubrich. [By the way, her brother Fred married a Haubrich sister, Tillie, not pictured.] Then "Toats" Fishbach; then my Great Aunt Bertha (my Gramma's sister who married my Grampa's brother, Adolph Haubrich who died at age 39 not long before this picture was taken.) Bertha's daughter, Betty Jean is on her lap. (Betty Jean is the only one in the picture still living as this is being written); then comes Gramma Haubrich and then Aunt Lina (Mrs. Morris Wickham).

The cousins: Herb (Frank/Rose) in tie; Lilah, Marvin, and Margaret (Bertha/Adolph) sitting around Great Aunt Ida; Mom leaning on Bob Haubrich leaning on his sister Margaret, then finally Lester (Ida/Karl) laying in front of Aunt Lucille.

Did you follow all that. Looks like the gang was all there that day (well most of them anyway.)

Hey Buddy, Wanna Move Out of the Picture

Thomas Williams and Mary Beth Dolan
August 23, 1975

It just never seemed to get old - even now almost four decades after the fact. Almost without fail, whenever a family group picture was to be taken, someone would bring it up again. It was always funny, and no one had more fun with it than Tom.

The details are a bit fuzzy and may have been embellished a bit over the years (something Tom was pretty good at himself!), but as the story goes: it was our wedding reception in Montello at the Buffalo Lake Lodge. The photographer (his name was Norbert Netz, step-father of good friend, Mark Braun), was taking a number of outdoor family shots. It was time for the Dolan side picture and we were getting it together and almost ready to shoot when it happened. The exact words are long-lost and may have been something different, but it went something like this: "Hey Buddy, wanna step out of the picture." He was referring, of course, to Tom, all gussied up in his white leisure suit. Not sure what Mr. Netz thought, and the situation was quickly remedied, but everyone had a good laugh - not only that day, but many times over.

I couldn't even tell you anymore which picture is the one in question. It has yet to be scanned and right now is packed away in a moving box. The one above was also taken that afternoon, and by that time Tom obviously was recognized as a legitimate member of the family. It is a classic! Tom and Mary were married a couple of months later.

I miss you already, Tom. And when the next family picture gets taken, and how ever many more there may be after that, I'll have a smile, and might even sneak in a "Hey, buddy, wanna step out of the picture."

UPDATE to "Hey Buddy, Wanna Move Out of the Picture

In the comments below I have updated - or should I say - corrected the story. Although Norb, the good old photographer was there taking pictures that day, it was cousin Warren who asked Tom to step out of the picture. I think that makes the story even better! Note well the picture below. Many years later, the unknown Tom at our wedding in 1975 and the innocently unknowing Warren, were captured in this great photo (by me) at Tom's daughter, Erin's wedding. Who knows - maybe they were having a good laugh over that day in Montello way back in '75. A classic moment - I think! 

(Thanks KT for finding the photo!)

The Courtroom Is Adjourned

Thomas Everett Williams
1949-2015

Tom was a lot of things to a lot of people from closest family and friends to mere acquaintances. This is not the place and I am not the one to speak to that. That would be a magnus opus, to be sure. (Here is where Tom would respond to the Latin with a witty quip like, "Yeah, okay, I got ya ..." or "I don't think they had Latin  over there at Luther College.")

This short post simply speaks to something that I think was noticeable early on and often  in Tom's life with our family. It always amazed and amused me.

Whenever there would be a Dolan-side gathering and all or some of the nephews and nieces were in attendance (especially the boys, I think), sooner or later you would see Tom "holding court" - as I like to describe it. In some corner or another, there you would see the the groupies huddled around and Tom would be in the middle commanding their attention. It might be one of his stories which he had a knack for telling - all of which may or may not contain some degree of truth. ("Hey, did I ever tell you about .....?") No one was better at taking an otherwise normal, ordinary event or happening and making it interesting, funny, if not knee-slapping hysterical. It may have been some of his self-deprecating humor, or a bit of his experienced advice on a variety of issues. But on one level or another, there was some wisdom to be had, to everyone's joy and delight - and no one enjoying it more than Tom himself.

I wanted to find a picture that could illustrate adequately Tom's courtroom in action, but could not find one on such short notice. Maybe one will turn up. Better yet, maybe one of you can remember one, or have one to share. Give it some thought. Give it a look. Let me know if you find anything.

This family will continue to get together, I am sure. However, we cannot take that for granted. If it is going to be, it is up to thee! They will never all be the same, but that is the nature of the beast, and time and life circumstances have a way messing with us. And God will always have his say.

But with Tom no longer with us, one thing is for sure: the courtroom is adjourned.


UPDATE to "The Courtroom is Adjourned"

Here you have the first contribution photo showing Tom in the act of holding court. It was 4th of July, 2004, in the basement of St. Peter in Fond du Lac. Whatever Tom had going that day sure tickled Tim's funny bone and had Aaron's attention. Way to go KT Dolan for finding this one. I am sure there are others. JD's Jottings will wait patiently.

Simpler Time

Winter Fun at Home - 1904 Elim Avenue, Zion
1956

Simpler times when winter storms were hoped for and welcomed. Biggest concerns were dry mittens and keeping snow out of your boots or geting down your sleeves.

Uh Oh! Somebody Forgot to Say Cheese

Previously, I wrote about group pictures - how interesting I find them and how telling they can be. Some new little detail seems to appear every time I look, some hint leading to new otherwise unknown fact, or another story to tell.

This has always been one of my favorites, containing all of the features of the group picture that family history nuts love. Lot's of people all in one place at one time; a place that is now lost to time and the wrecking ball of "progress," missing family members, and more. I will try to be brief, but it will be hard.

This is the Kroll (Sheboygan) branch of the tree. It's mid 1920's (Mom was born is 1921 and she looks younger than 5 here). It's the back porch of the home of Fred and Emma (Kroll) Lorenz. Emma is our Gramma's older sister. The event (gleaned from the back of another picture from that day) is when brother Gustave Kroll was visiting from San Antonio, Texas (a whole other story). The house is now gone, that whole area re-developed  - 5802 14th Avenue in Kenosha, called the "Devil's Elbow (I guess because of an unusual angle in the street at that point.)

Who's missing? Sister Bertha (Kroll), who married Adolph Haubrich (Grampa's brother), and their children, Margaret, Bob, and Betty Jean, are living in Phoenix, AZ at this time. (Another story.) Another tidbit is that Aunt Lilah, sitting in the front row next to Mom, was that last surviving person in this photo, 90 years later.

Another thing I like about this photo and that led to this post in the first place, is this. Notice how unhappy everyone looks! I know it is common in older pictures for people not to smile the way they do today for pictures. But look at it. It's almost like someone forgot to "say cheese!"

Starting at the top is Gramma Haubrich (Emilie) and it looks like she is trying to smile. That's her Dad, Frederich Kroll, who didn't speak much English. I can hear him muttering something like, "Ach du lieber! Nein, ich werde nicht sagen, Käse." Next to him is Great Gramma Kroll. She suffered a stroke and probably can't smile much anymore.

Next row, against the house is Hilda Lorenz and my aunt Norma Haubrich (Carol Henrich's mom.) They are not only cousins, but became lifelong best friends. (Another story.) The rest of the row is Laura (Mrs. Fred) Kroll, Josephine (Josie, Mrs. Gustave Kroll), Fred and Emma Lorenz, and on the end right, their daughter, Elvira. Only Norma and Elvira are giving any hit of maybe wanting to smile.

The three guys sitting in the next row are Gustave Kroll, Fred Kroll and Raymond Kroll (Fred and Laura's only child.) Raymond will die only a few years after this picture is taken, in his twenties. The bookends standing on either end of that row are Henry Lorenz and our aunt, Lucille Haubrich. Once again, no "cheese" with this group.

Finally, that's Grampa Haubrich with Marvin between his legs, them Mom and Lilah. Pa looks uncomfortable, Marvin bored, and Mom and Lilah are looking at something else.

But I love this picture. I wish I could hear what they were saying. I wonder who took the picture?What did they have to eat? I wish the house was still there. And, although someone may have forgotten to say cheese, I bet they had a good time that day.