6th insallment

During my high school years WW2 was still raging. Young men we grew up with went off to war Some to never return. In our small Ohio town people grew victory gardens. Many small industries grewup to make things for the war effort. Folks from West Virgina, Virgina, Kentucky, Tennessee

and several other states came into our area as there were a lot of small industry that supported the war effort. Many little fractories made small parts for many of the weapons used in war. My mother went to work for the Bendix corp. It became my job to look after my little brother Don. A job I hated was trying wake my older brothers to go to school. My step sister Had already left home so it was my duty now to take over her chores and do mine also. This was not bad as I learned to cook and plan meals. How to properly clean house and bake bread. There was a period that our greatgrandmother came to live with us. She taught me to crochet and knit, as well as make pie crust. She was a very exacting woman. When she was teaching me to crochet she told me that If I could not stop talking and crochet at the same time then I had better close my mouth. That was not possible so I learned to crochet and talk at the same time.

I had babysitting jobs, house cleaning jobs,and worked in the local resturant dipping ice cream cones. Hand dipped chocolates were made there and folks came from long distances to buy "Wallies chocolates"

Being a cheerleader, playing in the High School Band, taking part in the Drama department were all happy times in my life. I look back on those years with so many happy thoughts. The best part of growing up in a small town like Amherst is getting to make friends that are with you for life. The class of 1946 has been fortunate to have members that have kept the ties with many of us who choose to move away. I thank God every day that I was born and grewup in that community. Today one of the joys is to receive a Newsletter from my classmates "back home". I still keep in touch with some of them. There was a young man that I met from Elyria, Ohio. His sister married a fellow who lived on our street.Gladys and I became friends. She introduced me to her brother Jim. My mother was not to happy with that. He was 6 years older then I was. We carried on a long distance "young love time" by letter. Other young boys I went to school also came in and out of my life. Just the usual boy girl growingup relationships. Oh my life seemed that we had a million years ahead. May 1946 the class graduated from high school. Some went into the service, several thought about entering college. I found a job in a department store in Lorain, Ohio 8 miles from home. I walked to the bus stop about a mile each morning to go to my job. The bus dropped me off on the corner right across the street from the store. I Worked in several different departments. A class mate Connie Barck also went to work there. The job I had in the store that I liked best was "window dressing". I got to pick out the outfits to dress the "ladies" who stood in the window to present the fashions being sold in the store. Connie helped me picking out the clothes and hats. Boy in those days well dress ladies wore hats to match their outfits. People would come by and watch me work. Sometimes I'd see the same faces day ofter day. Always a smile and I gave one right back to them. Those years right after the war there still were many young men in uniforms of the different services. I remember one sailor standing watching me for a time and every time I looked his way he winked at me. Just before I had to go back into the store I blew him a kiss. Never saw that sailor again. I hope that God kept him safe.

I had sent for information to several different business type schools. I wanted to leave my home town as so many young kids do. The money that was sitting in the bank for me to use for education had grown to a decent sum for those years. I had saved some of the money I had worked for. January 7, 1947 my parents took me and my luggage to the train depot in Elyria, Ohio and when I climbed onto that train heading west to Omaha, Nebraska I felt so grownup and "smart". A whole new and different life ahead of me.

Day 5 to write my life

There were so many little things that made life a rainbow in my childhood. When I received my first bicycle. Going to our grandfather Wilsdon's in the summer during the county fair time or meeting our grandfather Koepp on the street in town and he would dig down in his pocket and magic, he had a nichol in his huge hands. That nichol could hardly be seen because he pinched it between his thumb and first finger. He would gently hand the coin to you and say"go get an ice cream cone". Playing kick the can in the summer and ice skating in the winter.

By the time I reached the age of 13 I felt pretty grown up. All the girls wore their hair long. It was WW 2 time and lots of us copied the hair styles of our Hollywood idols. Mine was Rita Hayworth. She had the most beautiful hair. We were grownup, in Jr. High School. Changing classes when the bell rang. I loved Hom Ec. Sewing and Cooking, History was another favorite English had to be endured and Math was such a pain for me. Again my brother Bill was so good in that subject. He was taking trumpet lessons and doing so well. A wonderful couple helped organize a club for we teens."The Rec" We could go and dance to the latest tunes on the Jukebox, play games and just "hang out. About 85% of us could walk to town from our homes so we had a place to go and get off the street. Only a few of the older boys had cars or the use of their family car. It was war time and gas was rationed. There was a group of Boys who formed a dance band. They were darn good and they played on Saturday nights. I loved to Polka. A boy that I went to school with, Bill Wilhelm was my partner. He was the one I planted the kiss on in 1st grade. He had a regular girlfriend Louise but she did not like to dance the solvoc dances so she let me borrow him. They are still together today. My Brother Bill was a member of that dance band. He played a mean trumpet.

A young man named Phil Lodge who was a senior ask me to go to a basketball game with him and some the other students of his class. I had never had a real DATE and to be asked by a senior Wellllllllllllll. I was just finishing 8th grade. I told him I would have to ask my mother, which I did. She said," well if he will come and ask me I will let you go." so back to school the next day I went. Found Phil and told him what my mother had said. Now you know that my mother thought he would never come and ask permission to take me out. He did. She was stuck but she gave me permission. Before she did however she had to tell him that I was still a little girl and he had better take good care of me. He did and all that summer he took me to movies, dances, picnics and just came and sat on our front porch and talked. He was such a nice boy and a perfect gentleman. My first real boyfriend.

My Life 4th writing

The school that my brother Bill and I attended was the school that our Mother graduated from High School in 1927. She was the President of her class and a very lovely to look at girl as well as being very popular with her fellow students. We had small classes in comparison to classes of the major schools today. Brother was a better student then I. He knew when to shut his mouth and listen. Me on the other hand was a social butterfly even in tomboy years. We lived in what was known as the german settlement of our little town. Summertime we had a wonderful baseball lot to play baseball on. Our crowd was very competitive. I am sure that the whole neighborhood heard me over the rest of the kids. Even today I can clear a room if I am not careful. It can be a real bother to have a loud voic.e Some of the kids We grew up with were Lois and Jimmy Dean, Karl and Gwen Smith, Ken Rogal, Dale Bruce, Peter Daraksis and his brothers, Bob Schaefer and our step-brother Jack Reinhardt and our half brother Don. Oh what a happy bunch we were. Most of us were poor as church mice but we did not know it. Life was so good. The house that our parents bought right after WW 2 faced North Main Street. It was owned by a brother and sister. Her name was Hattie and we kids were really frightened of her. In later life I realized that she had a learning disability, but in those days we all thought she was "nuts". She always looked so scarey. Could because we all swiped apples off her trees on the alley side. Mother and Dad made a real show place of that house. It did not have a bathroom only outside plumbing, When the boys got more grownup they made it a real project to knock over the outhouse at Halloween. I think that several of the fathers knew that we would have to set it back up right each year.

At the other end of the alley was Mrs. Wenzel's place. She raised chickens and a large garden as our step-father did. Mother bought eggs from Mrs. Wenzel for $.15 a dozen. I believe she called them Pullet eggs. The first eggs layed by the hens.

Living in a large old house on Long Street with close neighbors we all had such fun. There was a group of the neighborhood kids that did many things together. In the summer we spent time in a wooded section that had a creek running through it. Evenutally this creek found its way to the entrance of Lake Erie. We had wonderful games in the summer of "hide and Seek, Kick the Can, Baseball" on a lot owned by the Aunt and Uncle of one of the kids. I was pretty much of a tomboy and tried to out do all the boys. You can be sure that my voice always was heard over the rest. My poor Mother tried to clean me up on Sundays for Church and Sunday School. In the winter time The town fire department came to the end of Main Street and filled in a great depression that became the town skating pond. We had a wood shack to change our skates in and warmup. After several years a fire got to hot in the stove and the shed caught on fire and burned to the ground. We lived close to the pond so were able to go there as many nights that mom would let us go. There was a large flood light for the skate pond which lighted up the whole area.

Our Father came home for two special visits during these years. On one of the visits he purchased Brother Bill a beautiful red Elgin Bike. He had to share with me for awhile. Later I had my own bike with chrome fenders. Oh Boy did I love that bike. Our grandfather Wilson, Mother's father who lived in Wellington 25 miles south came and picked up Bill and I for a stay there. It was always close to the Lorain county Fair time. The wonderful times we had there. Grandfather had a beautiful light blue Chrysler car. Probably the fancist one he could buy. He would tie our bikes on the front and back bumper of his car and off we'd go for our Summer vacation with Grand Dad. What a neat guy he was. We got to ride the ferris wheel, the merry go round and see all the 4H exhibts when he took us to the County Fair. And who could forget the cotton Candy? Some real wonderful summers we spent there. Our great Grandmother Elsie was still living on the Farm in Penfield where Bill, Mother and I went when we left the little white house. The big old barn was still there and that darn outhouse I was so afraid of in earlier years. The tire swing was gone. Summers in the 1930's really were sweet and easy for two kids that lived in a little town where we could walk to our grandma Koepps and have sugar cookies and watch our Grandpa Koepp swing around the corner in his Model T Ford and just fly in the barn. All the while he knew that Grandmother was going to get after him for driving TO FAST. He always managed to find to nichols in his pocket for us and that meant an ice cream cone. White House ice cream--Vanilla with big red cherries.Yum Yum.

My life the beginning

The time is September 11, 1928. Location--Amherst, Ohio at the Amherst Hospital. My Mother Buelah Wilson Koepp gave birth to me easily. I am sure that my father William Koepp was proud as any new father. With my birth began another branch of the Wilson, Koepp clans. My Mother's lineage includes a relative who came to this country on the Mayflower as a servant to Pricilla Allen's father. He secured his passage by working as a servant for 5 years. My father's father emigrated from Germany with his Mother and Step-father as a young boy, coming through Ellis Island as so many of our ancesters did.

Life was good. My parents built a Sears pre-cut home. Even if it was the time of the great depression. It was a darling house. Steps going up to the front door, with 2 white columns as used in the southern homes of the civil war days. I remember a beautiful fireplace in the living room. I have not been in that house since my Mother, brother and I left it to live with our great grandmother, but I can close my eyes and see that fireplace . It had black cement between the stones that sparkled. My brother William Jr. was born December 29, 1929. Our father was a seaman on the ore freighters of the Great Lakes. Lorain, Ohio only a short distance from Amherst was a large Steele town. The ore boats used to pull into Lorain, Ohio on Lake Erie. That was his summer job as the lakes froze over in the winter. In the winter he worked in the sandstone industry that was very preveliant in our area.

Day 2:

As far as my knowledge of this relationship, it went well for the first few years. Then as in all marriages something crept in to make a perfect world, not so perfect. My father drank to much as did a lot of his friends. Mother was alone for periods of a time and for a young wife with two small children it could not have been easy. She did have transportation. A model T-Ford. It had to be cranked to start and in my adult years she shared stories with me and she was laughing at herself and I laughed seeing her in my mind cranking the darn thing and then running to get in before the spark died. In my adult years I was able to share some wonderful moments with her that only a daughter can cherish. I do not remember leaving the house on Milan Avenue but remember being at our Greatgrandmother Elsie Wilson's farm. It was winter. Mother, brother Bill and I walked across the road and laid down in the snow and made snow angels. At Great Grandmother's the grocery wagon(large truck) came every once in awhile. He carried staple type goods and I remember especially the large suckers shaped like footballs. They had real long sticks, were many colors and tasted so good. Wish I knew for sure how much they cost, if I had to guess probably .01 or .02 cents. Remember this was the GREAT DEPRESSION.It was so cold that winter. The only heat was a large pot bellied stove and the woodburning cook stove in the kitchen.At night we had bricks heated on the wood stove and wrapped in paper and flannel cloths to put in our beds to keep our feet warm. The only running water was a pump on the sink from a cisturn under the back porch. The drinking water was from a pump by the milk house from a well of wonderful well water. In case you were wondering--no bathroom, only the little 3 holer outside down from the house. Oh Lordy I was so afraid of that outhouse. Yes there was a catolog. Not sure if was Sears or Mountgomery Ward. At night the little potty under the bed was there also. Mother always took care of that in those days. Another thing that is so vivid in my mind was two beautiful tall pine trees in the front of the house and one of them had a tire swing that was so much fun. Along the side of the house was a row of black walnut trees. Those darn nuts were so hard. That I learned in my teen years when I helped Mother pick nut meats from the nuts for Christmas cookies.

In 1934 our Mother married our step-father, John Reinhardt. Our father William then went to sea to sail on the oceans. His ports were in the southern ports of the US. and along the South American coasts. He sent many post cards and letters to Bill and I during these years and he made 2 visits that are vivid in my mind. One he brought a friend home and he and his friend took Brother Bill and I on the New York Central train all the way to Cleveland Ohio. We went to see a baseball game. Bob Feller pitched. That must have begun my love for the game of Baseball as today it still is my favorite major league sport. In those days the trains stopped in Amherst. It was so exciting to climb on that train and be going somplace. Wow what an adventure. In 1940 our grandparents (Koepp) in poor health and needing assistance our father was on his way home to render that assistance. I am sure it was because he was single and could do it easily. His last port of call was to be Seattle, Washington. The ship was tied up in San Pedro Harber. In those days no great big Long Beach shipping center. The large ships had to anchor out and I suppose they were unloaded on to barges that were towed to shore. A shipmate had gone ashore for shore leave and got terribly drunk. He carried weapons and other shipmates had complained to no avail. He stumbled coming back on the boat and a fight broke out. Angry he pulled a gun and shot and killed one man who had tried to help him. Then in a crazied state he began to run. Our father was a deck officer so his quarters were on topside. He was laying on his bunk. The man who was also a friend pointed his gun at Dad and shot him, saying, "Bill I am going to shoot you". This is what was told to me in later years by Dad's Sister Florence, who along with her husband went to California for the man's trail. My Aunt and Uncle were my God Parents. Dad did not survive the gunhot wounds. That was December 9, 1940. A very special date to me which I will elaborate on later. At the age of 12 and 11 my brother and I helped lay our father to rest in the place where his Mother, Father and brother Walter were later laid.  My` father was 37 years old.  Our Oldest grandson Peter has lived past the age of 37.

September 1935 began 12 yrs. of attending the best small town school in Lorain County. My first grade teacher was Miss Bond. A sweet blond lady who really liked kids. Many of the children that I began going to school with I remain friends with today. That is one of the really neat things about attending a small school. Somehow we all became like family. There were fellow students that lived on farms and rode the school bus. The high light of that first grade for me was I had a crush on a cute boy named Bill. I finally got up enough nerve and grabed him in our coat hall off the room and planted a kiss on him. In the winter My brother and I had to walk to school. We lived north of town just inside of the line to be able to ride the bus. The cold wind blew in off Lake Erie. Getting bundled up to walk home was a real job. We wore snuggy underwear and long brown stockings, as well as snow suits and heavy rubber boots to keep warm. In the spring I can remember rollinmg down the stockings to the ankels because they were so warm. Mother also gave us codliver oil on the spoon so we did not catch colds. Yuck.

My very first Post

June 30th,2009---Gloria Stilling has begun her Blog. It will be like the blind leading the Blind, but I am sure I'll have a bunch of laughs along the way. A number of years ago The Pastor of my Church told us all to write the story of our lives for our family. Not so sure that my family is really interested but perhaps this blog will interest them in Mother, Grandmother and Great Grandmother. I have a lot of guts to begin this. Life is a rainbow!!!!!!!!!!