Reunite These Soldiers With Their Families

Tom Brokaw called it "The Greatest Generation"  in his book about the generation that grew up during the Great Depression, and then as young men they fought for freedom during World War II with many dying far away from home in foreign lands.   This was the generation of my mother, Gloria Kennelly who graduated from Chicago's Providence high school in 1942.  Most of the young men were either in uniform or soon would be.  Young men and women of this age became friends and sweethearts quickly offering  promises to write hoping it would keep them connected to the lives they left.  They exchanged pictures . . . a visual rememberance of home while they prayed friends at home would remember them.

At the very back of  my mother's photograph album were several pages of photos of a few of these young men in uniform.  Some have names, some do not.  I have tried a few Ancestry searches in an attempt to locate remaining family members and have sent emails to individuals that listed men of the  same name and about the correct age.  So far, no responses.

So today, I want to share them with you.  Let's remember these heroes who left home and family when our country called.  I hope they made it back home safely . . . realistically, some did not.

Francis J. Carney

Corp.Francis J. Carney

Photo taken at Camp Elliot, San Diego, Calif. 1941. 

Enlisted Aug. 29, 1940.  Overseas 10 January 1942 to February 13 1943

I believe that this photo on the right is also of Francis J. Carney, and it was taken outside of my mother's home on Monroe St. in Chicago's Garfield Park neighborhood. Was he from her church, a neighborhood boy, or a young man she knew socially?  I'll never know. There is no name on the back so I have made this assumption of his identity by comparing their faces - enlarged through the wonder of digital editing software.

   

Robert S. Garthwaite, USN

There are several photos of Robert S. Garthwaite in my mother's album, usually they were just signed, "Red".  Did he have red hair, a ruddy complexion, or was there another reason for the nickname?  The black and white photos don't give us a clue, but in my mind's eye, he has red hair.  Luckily, one photo had his name on the back.

Paul Waywood

Paul Waywood

On the back of the photo, in my mother's handwriting, it says "Here's a picture of that Paul Waywood that I sent the Christmas box to."  There is no other information about him - no clue as to his military designation, rank or location.

James A. Blazek, pilot

 James Blazek

Back side of above photo

There is absolutely no information about James Blazek other than his name.  How did my mother know him?

Which brother is this?

John J. Tyrrell or Thomas Tyrrell

I have several photos of this young man and none of them identify him.  However in several of the photos, he is with my mother's best friend, Marilyne Tyrrell.  He and Marilyne look so much alike with identical smiles, it must be her brother.  But Marilyne had two brothers, John was four years older and Thomas was two.  Which brother is this?  One photo has a date of Feb. 1943 . . . but that was when it was developed, not taken.  You see,  1st Lt. John Tyrrell was killed in action January 9, 1943 at Guadalcanal. I don't know when he enlisted. Thomas enlisted in 1940, but mercifully survived the war.

"Bob"

With nothing but "Bob" to go by, I am afraid that he will remain forever unidentified.  Despite that, I wanted to include his photo and words in this post. "Dearest Gloria,  Well, you can't say you didn't ask for it.  Now suffer in silence.  Taken in Camp Henco, on the desert of New Mexico.  In the background are the tents we once used and though it was rough. It's home to us now.  Write soon,  Love, Bob

                                                        

Philip Carpenter
a co-worker at the Herald American

Article from unknown newspaper. Scan of original in my possession.

These are the soldiers whose faces stare at me from my mother's album.  It is a reflection of the times she lived through.  While this may be a futile post, I feel better for this small remembrance of their service to our country. 

If you can reunite any of these photographs with their families, I would love it. 

The Girls of Chicago's Providence High School . . . What Became of Them?

Providence High School - Chicago

 My mother, Gloria Kennelly, graduated from Chicago's Providence High School in 1942.  During that time period, Providence was a Catholic high school for girls.  She lived in the Garfield Park neighborhood, and so it was just a few blocks away on the opposite side of the park.  I wonder if she walked around the park or through it?


View Larger Map

My previous post about the home the Kennelly family rented for many years caused me to drag out the large cardboard box of photos I discovered on my closet shelf last summer and sift through it once again.  I always get bogged down looking through family photos. Time stands still as I pull my glasses to the end of my nose, tilt my head down so I can peer over them, and bring the photos up to within five inches of my face hoping to see some small clue that is hidden in it.  Invariably, I start to compare, sort, stack, and categorize only to find that even with my many, many categories, there are photos that don't really fit anywhere . . . or, conversely, fit everywhere.  What should I do?  So I gather them together, and, in true Scarlett O'Hara fashion, plan to deal with them tomorrow.

Well, tomorrow arrived.  Once again, I started to sort and stack. One of my stacks I mentally labeled as Providence High School.  As I pulled pile after pile of photos out of the box, the Providence stack grew larger. Naturally, my mother had not labeled any of the photos with names.  My curiousity about these girls grew as I saw them posing and laughing in photo after photo.  I love a photo set.  It seems to tell more of a story than a single photo, and I have shared photo sets before on this blog.

I wonder . . . whatever happened to them?  World War II was raging, the only eligible men were under 16 or over 40, and rationing of consumer goods had just begun. But in the faces of these 18 year old girls all you see is excitement and expectation for the life in front of them.  What were their lives like?  Happy or heartbreaking?  Exciting or wasted?  Do they have children or grandchildren who would cherish a glimpse into their grandma's past?  Are there 1942 graduates still around who could identify them?  Will you help me?

I present the Girls of Providence circa 1942

Coming out the front doors of Providence - March 1942. 

Compare to the photo above to discover the photographer for this photo. My mother, Gloria Kennelly, on far left.

 Watch those skirts, girls!

Chicago is the windy city.  Forget the hair . . . they're all smiles!

Let's take a break.   What else can we do?  Gloria Kennelly front right in plaid skirt.

Do you get a feel for personalities from this set?  Who is shy and who is gregarious?

Is the salute a sign of the times or are they saying, "Goodbye high school.  Hello life"

 On another day outside of Providence

The photo says February 1942, but this is not February in Chicago!  Gloria Kennelly, back row, center right.

Gloria Kennelly back row left.  Can you help me identify her friends?

Will I ever be able to identify them . .  or even a few of them?  In 1969, Providence merged with the all male St. Mel's becoming a co-ed school.The current school - Providence-St. Mel's is located in the original Providence building.  I called the school and inquired about their records.  They directed me to the alumni association, but it turns out that this is considered a "lost" period due to water damaged records.  They also suggested that I might try the Sisters of Providence, but I am not exactly sure how to do that. Did they have yearbooks? . . . I haven't found any yet, but I have a search saved to ebay just in case.  I do have a copy of the commencement program with the name of each graduate, but that doesn't match them to the girls in my photos.  I think the Beatles have the perfect song for this:

HELP

Help, I need somebody.

The 1942 Providence Commencement Program

Click to enlarge and read names

Click to enlarge and read names

Merry Christmas . . . to Me

Vera Bradley hard shell computer case

I have been terribly unfocused recently (more so than usual) flitting from one side of the family to the other and from one hobby to another with work sandwiched in between.  I can't help it.  I'm a baby boomer, and I want it all!

I have multiple posts titled and languishing because I know it will take some major time to put them all together.  Of course, it is exactly that hoped for organization that propelled me into blogging in the first place.  So, I will start with this very simple and very late post about my newest family history toy wonder.

Flip-Pal scanner

For Christmas, I received a check from my brother-in-law because he was at a loss for what to get me. It was a very generous check, and I knew exactly what I wanted . . . a Flip-Pal scanner!  Ever since last summer when I discovered the giant box of old photos on a top shelf in my closet I have dreamed of a Flip-Pal.  At the two genealogy conventions I attended, I would walk more slowly past their booth and watch as they demonstrated the marvelous stitching ability of this mighty mite.  On two previous research trips to Iowa, I lugged my full size scanner which had to be connected to my computer.  This was awkward and not without a few problems.

I placed my order but went with just the basic scanner . . . had to stay within my budget.  I knew I wanted a carrying case, but the one on the website seemed a bit wimpy and did not really provide protection.  Ah ha!  There was a new Vera Bradley shop at the outlet mall in Michigan City, and I was looking for an excuse to buy something.  I was sure they would have something I could use.  After all, Vera Bradley has a bag for everything. I looked up the dimensions for my new purchase and off I went. I entered the store and was greeted by a giant sign that told me there was an additional 30% off their already lowered prices.  I walked around and around looking at everything and opening anything that was remotely the right size.  Then, at the back of the store on a lower shelf was THE perfect case.  It was a hard shell case with a quilted cloth exterior, a zippered pocket on the side and a shoulder strap. It was my dream case.  Oh no, the size was just a bit too small for the dimensions listed on the website.   I decided to wait until my little gem arrived, hoping that the actual Flip-Pal would fit.  This turned out to be a good decision as my dream case was also the Perfect Case.  I added a matching small zippered case to hold the USB stick that comes with the scanner and clipped it to the handle. 

The case was created for a mini computer, but with the repositionable Velcro sticks that can be placed anywhere in the interior, it is perfect as you can see!  Best of all the cost was a mere $24.  I would suggest that Flip-Pal pair with Very Bradley to offer these perfect cases on their website.  Can I get a commission for suggesting this?   You can travel to your nearest Vera Bradley outlet, or order one from their website.  No guarantee that the price will be the same and the price varies by the pattern chosen.  I do realize that purple floral might not be a male Flip-Pal owners cup of tea.  Oh well . . . Merry Christmas to me!

Disclaimer:  I have not received ANY compensation from either Flip-Pal or Vera Bradley. . . shucks.    I doubt they even know I purchased their products. I am just a very satisfied and enthusiastic new owner of scanner and case.

The Pan . . . Christmas 2012

Well, I can't let a Christmas go by without showing "The Pan" in its most recent finery.  My brother has always been an extremely talented woodworker, but this past year, he purchsed a new CNC router.  Somehow, I knew that "the pan" would be decorated in  splendid wood, and I was right.  He used our family tree and created a billboard of our grandparents back through 20 generations.  And no, before you ask - we don't have documentation for all of them.  There are many in the latest generations that have been attached to our tree by another family member, but as of now, we consider them family.

I am glad I have a year to plot plan what I will transform it in to next, because right now my mind is blank!  It still has the wood office/desk divider glued to the inside.  I think that might be a problem to remove . . . .hmmmmmm.

If you are new to my blog, you can read about the origin of "The Pan" and its reincarnation in subsequent years: 2009, 2010, 2011

Thank You for the Nomination

A very humble thank you to Heather Kuhn Roelker at Leaves for Trees and  Iowa Girl at Iowa girl Memories.  Both kindly nominated   me for the Liebster award.   For me this was nice because I have let my blog reading grind to a halt, and I haven't added any new blogs to my RSS feed in ages.  Both of their blogs were new to me, and I have enjoyed reading them immensely.  Like me, Iowa girl is a knitter and through her other Liebster awards, I was introduced to some wonderful blogs including a gansey knitter from Edinburgh, Scotland.  While reading Heather's blog, I discovered that she is a new quilter and I have quilted for years . . . following in the footsteps of my seamstress extraordinaire great grandmother whose quilt is part of my banner at the top of my blog.  I was even a vendor at quilt shows for over ten year, and have often found my quilting passion overlapping my family history passion.  Examples are here and here.

What is the Liebster Award?  I could try to be creative, but Heather said it best so I will just quote her.

"Liebster is a German word that means friend, dearest, adored, beloved, chosen one. The Liebster Award is given to bloggers who have less than 200 followers. The whole point is to encourage bloggers to keep chugging along and to help spread the word about interesting blogs to a new audience.

The rules for the award vary. Some bloggers ask for a list of questions or random facts to be answered and some just post their nominees."

• Thank the one who nominated you by linking back.
• List 11 random facts about yourself/your blog.
• Nominate five blogs with less than 200 followers.
• Let the nominees know by leaving a comment at their sites.
• Add the award image to your site (optional).

As I have stated, my blog reading has stagnated so rather than nominate blogs and require them to link back I will just recommend a few of my favorites and hope you will check them out . . .  no obligation on their part.

Shakin' the Family Tree - A quote from her blog opening  gives you a flavor for the no nonsense atitude of Dee Burris.

as Julia Sugarbaker said in Designing Women:

"...we're proud of our crazy people. We don't hide them up in the attic. We bring 'em right down to the living room and show 'em off. ...no one in the South ever asks if you have crazy people in your family. They just ask what side they're on." Like Julia, mine are on both sides.

A Sense of Family - If you have Ohio ancestors, then Shelley Bishop's blog is a must read.  It is a treasure trove of research information.

Finding Eliza -  Always a fascinating read but her current post about awards is spot on my feelings.  While you are there, take time to search for and read her post/poem, "I Come From . . ." - or the title is something close to that.

Family Archaeologist - While there are no recent posts, take time to go back and read the story of how Linda Gartz grandparents immigrated to the United States.  It is a compelling story.

'On a Flesh and Bone Foundation': An Irish History -  If you have Irish ancestors, then you will enjoy the photos and stories from Jennifer.

When life allows it, I spend a few hours minutes reading family history blogs.  We have a creative, knowledgeable, sharing community. It doesn't matter if they have 10 followers or 10,000.  And while comments on our blog posts are encouraging, and greatly appreciated, most of us blog for self fulfillment above all else.

Thank you for reading my blog.  Thank you for commenting on my blog.  Thank you for being a family historian and saving the story of your family for future generations.

Hellooooo . . .Marcia Fennell

About six to eight weeks ago I noticed that one of my posts was being viewed a disproportionate number of times.  It was my post, At the End of the Trail in which I concluded the story of my search for Margel B. Wells, my grandmother's best friend in high school.  Since her name has now come down to me, I was interested in finding out who she was and a bit about her life.  I remember asking my grandmother about when I was still a teenager.  I found out more than I ever thought possible.  It was a personal quest and few . . . very few . . . readers paid any attention to this post.  No matter.

 Then this past Fall, six months after I posted, it became my most read post, and this activity continued week after week.  I was baffled.  I searched to see if the related posts on Margel B. Wells were also being read, but it did not appear that they were.  Very interesting . . . then my stats showed that the majority of page views were coming from France.  That was really interesting.  This continued for over six weeks when suddenly, I found the following comment on the post, "I am Marcia Ann Fennell, Margel's daughter. How do I contact you? Now, this made sense.  Margel B. Well's family must haved found my post and probably told other family members about it.  Unfortunately, the comment was anonymous, and she left no email address for me to answer her.  I had no way of contacting her.  I did the only thing I knew to do and answered the comment on my blog listing my email address hoping she would come back to it . . . but she has not. 

The activity on this post continued for a few more weeks, but I never heard from Marcia Fennell.  I would love to make contact with her and share the other information I have about her mother.  Maybe she even has photos of my grandmother that were left  in her mother's belongings.    The activity on that post has dwindled to previous miniscule levels.  So this is my plea to find her.

Helloooooooo . . . Marcia Fennell.  My email is listed in the column to the right.

Finding the 1940 Kennelly Family Home

Let me first explain that I have an aversion to facebook.  Maybe it is because I am too old ,but it has always seemed so confusing and is always changing.  Oh gee, that really did sound like an old lady statement!  Several years ago, I jumped on the facebook bandwagon and accidently  offended a good friend.  I didn't realize that the email I received was just a copy of a post on my facebook wall and that my response (whch I thought was private) would also go on my facebook wall.  After that, I closed and blocked everything I could.  But . . . time went by and organizations that interest me used facebook to send messages to members.  My son and his wife post their vacation photos on facebook to share with friends and family.  And so I am a reluctant and infrequent facebook user.

Then about a year ago, I took the bold step of joining a facebook group . . . Chicago Genealogy.  I mostly lurk but now love the fact that I get emails of each post.  If you have Chicago ancestors . . . and I have a boatload . . . I highly recommend this helpful and informative group.

Last August I posted the following:
 Now that I have found my mother and her family in the 1940 census records for Chicago, I hoped to see if the building is still standing. They lived in the Garfield Park area - about two blocks away from the park. The address is 3918 W. Monroe. It appears that there is a building there, but sadly, there is no street view for Google in that area so I cannot tell if it is the same. Any suggestions for getting a photo? I have only partials in the background of photos of people. Thanks!

Almost immediately  Michelle Gobert responded, not just with a suggestion, but with a link to the photo at right. It came from the Cook County Assessor's Office, property search  

Catherine Keckeisen then suggested using the Cook County Geographc Information System.  

Warning that it could be a bit complicated she posted step-by-step instructions for how to use the system.  First go to this website. "Then under "Online mapping with Cook Viewer" click on "Cook Viewer Mapping Application".  Scroll down when it will let you and click on "Accept" (of course after you read all their rules, etc.).  On the next screen that appears, type in the address.  I typed 3918 W. Monroe.  For the city, I typed Chicago.  Click on Search. A new box will appear that shows a bunch of information about the property.  Make sure it has the same address.  Your property is 99 years old for instance.  Make sure you jot down the Parcel Pin number as it can be helpful to get other information from Cook County on this property." ". . .Look down in that second box on the right and click on PHOTO and there you have it! Exciting, huh???"  

And it was!

The next step was to compare the partials (mostly the front porch) with the current appearance of the house.  I am sure my grandparents rented because I don't remember that they ever did anything else.  The information from the above sites indicated that the building is now two apartments with a combined total sq. footage of just under 2700 sq. feet.  The current value is listed as $180,000.

Left side of the porch

Right side of the porch

When I compare the current view of the building and its companions on either side, I can tell they have been modernized . . . and not for the better!  But who am I to criticize. . . I like old stuff. 

The photo at left of my Uncle Ed in his Bishop Quarters uniform shows a beautiful and substantial stone front porch with ionic columns and an arched window with decorative stone detail below.  The current view shows a replacement porch of wimpy wrought iron and a shingled roof with a white plastic chair blocking the view below the window.  Do you think that beautiful architectural detail is still there - or was it sold to a salvage yard . . . worse yet, dumped in a landfill??  

Home to the left

Home to the right

Sadly, the same modernization trend seems to have attacked the buildings on either side of my mother's former home.  The building on the right also had the stone porch removed to be replaced with 1970's chic, but a search for the building to the left (3922 W. Monroe) shows that its stone porch has survived although the building has been painted white.  Architecturally, this is a wonderful block of buildings.  I hope my photos have given you a flavor of the neighborhood that used to be here.

Wait!  Can I see the window detail still there in the photo of the 3922 property??

Both methods ended with the same photo, but depending on the property, one might work better than the other.  So now you have, not just one, but two ways to find Chicago properties courtesy of the facebook group - Chicago Genealogy!