Thursday, June 11, 2015

All Roads Lead to Sheboygan (At Least for Me- for a While Anyway)

Let me introduce you to Jay Kroll. He lives in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and just last week he contacted me via email. He happened to stumble across my JD's Jottings blog and I quote, "found it very interesting, informative and overall enjoyable. Good work.." Wowsers! That was nice to hear. I must say I was flattered, and somewhat surprised since most of my jottings came about rather spontaneously, and did not involve a lot of planning and forethought. I usually just sat down, picked out a picture and wrote about it. Thank you, Jay, for the compliment. That makes me happy.
 
Here's the thing. Jay is also a genealogist and family historian. He can't get enough of it. In his own words, he is a genealogy addict. I understand completely. Best of all, however, is (remember, his name is Jay KROLL, he is a 3rd cousin. My Grandma Haubrich was a Kroll. Her Dad, my great grandfather and Jay's great grandfather were brothers. Jay was kind enough to send me a file of his Kroll research and is is loaded with good stuff I didn't have. We plan to meet sometime in the near future.
 
I am very grateful for this unexpected contact and new acquaintance, for obvious reasons. But it is also helpful to me since it gave me a (re)-starting place as I hope to be able to spend a lot more time now on this good stuff in retirement. Jay is clearly a lot more polished, organized, and professional than I am, but I hope that our meeting with be of mutual benefit.
 
Anyway, about the KROLLS OF SHEBOYGAN:

 


Let me share with you one of my favorite pictures. I don't remember exactly when, but I do remember how excited I was when I found it, or it found me. (You see, I don't document very well!) It is the earliest photo we have of Grandma Haubrich, probably late 1888. It became the starting point for my Kroll family research. I knew who all the people were, but I wanted to learn all about them and what happened to them. There are lots of pictures too!

It a great place to make this fresh start in my family history research. Fred (Friedrich) Kroll and Anna (Thielmann) came to Sheboygan in 1873 from what was called Royal Prussia. Like many other like-immigrants, there is nothing especially unique and special about their life, but at the same time, like many other like-immigrants, their life is fascinating and amazingly interesting to people like me. I'll have more to say about that.

As for their children, there were seven, five of who survived into adulthood. Each one is a story in itself. Gustav is the oldest and became a career army man, serving from the Spanish-American War years, through WWI, and into the 1920s. He spent time in Prescott, AZ at Fort Whipple (been there) and settled in San Antonio, TX. He married a local girl of Mexican descent. Both are buried in Sam Houston National Cemetery.

Fred Jr stayed in the Sheboygan area his entire life. The Fred Krolls and the Haubrichs of Kenosha spent quite a bit of time together, the one visiting the other back and forth over the years. Fred married a Dutch gal and they had one son who died in his 20's. 

Emma was the oldest daughter. She ended up marrying a Kenosha man, Fred Lorenz and their home became the hub of sorts for the Kroll/Haubrich family into the 1940s. Another of my favorite series of pictures , which I will share sometime, were taken on their back porch. I have had an email contact with one of her granddaughters who now lives in Texas and has some of the same pictures I have. 

Emilie is my grandma and this is where the Haubrich family meets the Krolls. I could write a book about her. She lived with us for several years in Zion and died at the hospital in Waukegan. I will never forget carrying her frail body down the front stairs of the house on Elizabeth Avenue that day. I have a tape recording of her talking about her mom and dad and living in Sheboygan. She was an interesting lady.

Finally, there's Bertha. She married Grandpa Haubrich's younger brother Adolph, moved to Phoenix in the late teens because of his poor health, and died there while only in his late 30s. Bertha and her three children moved back to Kenosha. She lived as a widow for almost 45 years. We remember her best as living with her cousin, Elvira Lorenz, in a cute little house in Kenosha. Daughter Betty Jean still lives in Kenosha today. (Which reminds me, I need to call her.)

Yikes - I was going to make this a short one. Oh well. There you have it. Hopefully, I'll have more to share soon. Thanks, Jay Kroll. My house now is right on Hwy 23 in Montello and if you take that east you will drive into Lake Michigan in Sheboygan. So, I guess all roads do lead there, at least mine will, for a while anyway.

Monday, June 1, 2015

Now I'm One of the Old Timers

 
     Today is the first day of being "retired" and I'm not sure how I feel about that. I guess it may take a while to figure that out - then again, maybe not. I do know that it got me thinking about the past and our family, not that it takes a whole lot to get me doing that. One picture popped into my mind - the one below.

      Some may remember this, but at 4711 20th Avenue in Kenosha, where Aunt Norma and Uncle Kelly lived, with Grandma Haubrich living in an upstairs apartment, Uncle Kelly kept a very organized and clean basement. It was still a basement with a low ceiling, but it was not a real scary place like basements could often be. Among other things, I remember Uncle Kelly's work bench area straight head when you came in the door, the red-painted floors, and the dart board baseball game back in the corner. (It was always covered with a sheet and it was a real treat when it got uncovered and used, which was not very often. I mean, what could go wrong with a couple of kids in a low-ceiling basement throwing darts!)
       Then there was the bathroom and shower. It was on the outside wall of the bathroom that this picture (or one like it, if not this actual one) was hanging. I remember looking  at it and wondering who those people were. They must have been important or they wouldn't be hanging on the wall in the basement! (I also remember that on inside wall of  the bathroom was a little corncob in a glass box. It said, "For Emergency Only" - so I guess someone had a sense of humor!
      The "Old Timers" was a club at the Simmons Company in Kenosha. At first I thought they were all retired, but I guess not. The picture below in from 1940, and Pa Haubrich retired in 1947 (according to his obituary.) So I think it was just a group of workers who had achieved various milestones of long and faithful employment in the company. Pa worked there for 50 years!
       That's him in the second row, just left of center, over the right shoulder of the lone female in the picture. They called him "Shorty," and he was, but it looks like there could have been any number of "Shortys" in this group. Also in the picture is his brother-in-law, Fred Lorenz and cousin Fritz Haubrich. (The last two guys in the front row right.)
 
 
       Simmons - the mattress company, was a major employer in Kenosha for a greater part of the century. They were a huge part  of the community. Not only did many of the Haubrichs work there, but many Kenoshans. It almost was a community in itself. Pa played in the Simmons Band and Simmons Park has always been a landmark and popular place for get-togethers and relaxation. Even my Dad talked about the amazing Simmons picnics.
       I never really knew my Grandpa Haubrich since I was barely 4 years old when he died, but I do remember this picture very well and I am glad I have it. Too bad I can't talk to him about it now. I am sure  he would have lots of  great stories about working there and about old Kenosha as well.
       Maybe he could have given me some tips on how to be one of the "Old Timers" today.
 


Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Nice Day for a Swim

Norma Haubrich Greening - Carl "Kelly" Greening - Doris Haubrich Dolan
1930s Location Unknown
A good 2-3 inches of snow fell this morning. The sun is out now, but the wind is howling. How about some summertime thoughts!

What do you think my Mom and my dear Aunt Norma and Uncle Kelly would think if they knew I was posting this photo. (That little smirky smile on Kelly's face leads me to think he'd be okay  with it. Mom and Norma, maybe not so much.) But hey, it's fair game. They took the picture. It was in Norma's photo album. I love it.

Imagine  shopping for swimwear in those days. "Ah, excuse me, do you have something less plain and black and no so much 'let's show everything', please?" Obviously, the  answer was "No!" Nice touch with the little "belt", Mom.

What I love about going  through these old photo albums is that (among other things) you realize that our mom/dads/aunts/uncles/grandparents were young once too - and they liked to enjoy themselves. That sounds a bit silly, I suppose. Of course they did. It's just that as I knew them, later in life, you just didn't think about it that way. At least I didn't. Pictures can teach so much!

I wish I could have been there with them that day, although I don' think I could do justice to the suit like my Uncle Kelly did! Anyway, it looks like a good time was had  by all.

What Else Did You Do, George?

George Donlon (left)
Not long ago, I mentioned that my Uncle George was a mailman in Anaheim, California. That was his last job. Before that he sold men's clothing - and was very good at it. That's another story I want to tell some day. But George had other jobs too. Like the one above.

I know its Kenosha. I know it's late 1930's or early 1940's. He had a uniform and he delivered something - maybe orange crush, among other things. Milk man? For whom? That's something I will try to find out.

But this is one of the photos among my "faves" for a number  of  reasons. First of all, it involves an unknown that I can try to solve. I like that. It helped me learn something else abut my uncle and godfather.

And ... the delivery trucks are classics! I wish I knew cars. That would tell me something about the date of the picture for sure.

I wonder what else I didn't know about Uncle George.

Lookin' Good, Marv

Marvin Haubrich - 1930's
The obituary of my Uncle Marv had this short sentence, "after high school, he worked as a musician playing violin and string bass with dance bands."  I think this was his "uniform"! Wow! Lookin' pretty sharp, Uncle Marv.
 
Among my research goals is to learn more about Marv's WWII days with the 5th Army in Europe. Slowly but surely, I've been working on that. (Thanks to cousin Karen and Aunt Evelyn for some great pics and other information!). But's that's a coming attraction.
 
The dance band story intrigues me as well. I wonder what the bands were called. Where did they play? Who else was in the bands? Oh well, at least I got some pictures. Betty Jean knows a little bit, I think. I better ask her soon.
 
The Haubrichs had music in their blood, and I bet they could "cut a mean rug" too!















 

The Little Big Man

Edwin Schultz circa 1930s
Have been spending a lot of time lately in and around 286 E. Montello Street which, God willing, will be  home in a couple of months. This last week part of  the time was spent in the basement, cleaning  out the old coal room (found a couple of treasures in there!), and then out in the shed in the  back yard.
 
It got me  thinking a lot of about Grampa Schultz. I only knew him later in life, and although I  heard things about him, I can't say I really got to know him. But I have been learning about him now as we rummage around the  house and yard he made a home for so many years. He has made me smile, shake my head, scratch my head, and marvel at his knowledge, creativity, determination, and sense of humor. There's so much to be learned and told about him, but this is  not the place for it. But it can be a start.
 
I found this picture of him recently. It was in his daughter's (Delores Schultz Mateske) picture book and it was labeled "Daddy." Not sure where it is (I doubt that it is 286 Montello), and I'm not really sure when it was taken. I think in the 1930s. He's wearing what almost could be called his trademark hat and coveralls. The only thing he's not wearing here is the smile that was usually on his face when the camera came out. In this picture he looks proud and confident.
 
Edwin Schultz was a little man - but only in stature. I am discovering that he was a pretty big man in so many ways. I really hope he would be okay with me taking over the place he loved so much and worked so hard for so many years. I'd like to think he would.
 
(I sure wish we still had that gun! I wonder what it is. It looks pretty small)

Grampa Edwin Schultz with Amy Dolan and Paul Mateske
Back Porch  of 60 Church Street Montello - 1979
One of  his last and (I think) best pictures!

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Please! I Need a Caption for This One

Found this wonderful 1961 picture of Mom/Aunt Carol's Great Grampa Walters and Great Aunt Tillie Walters Bahr (Granny Schultz' Dad and Aunt). It is an nice family picture to have! It was taken in the backyard of Tillie's son in Milwaukee, I keep laughing every time I look at at. What's with the barbells?

C'mon, people, help me put a caption on this one! Who says history can't be fun!

Great Grampa Frederick Walters and Great Aunt Tillie (Walters) Bahr
Fall 1961

Monday, February 16, 2015

Holy Cow! My Uncles Liked Baseball Too!

Uncle Ernie Dolan
      Spring training is just around the corner. That's always a good thing. As someone once said, "In springtime a young man's fancy turns to ... baseball" or something like that. I got to thinking about baseball today, and thought a jotting was in order.
    Another story that family pictures tell is that some of my uncles liked baseball too. That is especially true of my Uncle Ernie Dolan, my Dad's brother. He always talked to me about baseball. It was Uncle Ernie who first took me to the friendly confines of Wrigley Field in Chicago. 
    As long as I live I will never forget that moment on that day. It was very late 1950s or maybe very early 1960s. It was kind of rainy and gloomy that day. I remember walking up the runway from the main concourse. Then there it was. It was so green! The grass and the famous ivy-covered walls - it was so green that day, standing out in contrast to the grayness of the weather. And I remember the colors ofthe Cub uniforms - the bright blue caps and blue trimming. Then there was the reds - the Cincinnati Reds, that is, with their colorful uniforms. The Reds had some big sluggers, like Gus Bell and Ted "Big Klu" Kluszewski, who played sleeveless even though their jerseys then were cut up to the shoulder. It was a religious experience and that day my Uncle Ernie was a god. By the way, the Redlegs killed the Cubs that day.
      The problem was that I became a Milwaukee Brave fan, and Uncle Ernie liked to yank my chain by calling my heroes, "dem bums from Milwaukee" and then he'd spit tobacco from the chaw the size of a golf ball that he had packed in his cheek.
      But he loved the Cubs. One of his favorite moments was taking the "Cubs Cruise" with Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry "Holy Cow" Carey as host. It didn't surprise me at all that he had a drink and got a picture. It's one of my faves!


Hall of Famer Harry Carey and My Uncle Ernie Dolan
Uncle George Donlon
      It might surprise some to know that my Uncle George liked baseball too. I knew he was a fan, but apparently he played too. The pictures don't lie. Friedens had a team, and you will see a young George in the back row, third from the left, in the picture that was taken outside the church or school in Kenosha. Nice "uni", huh!
      After he moved to California in 1960 and the California Angels became an expansion team in Anaheim, George became a big Angel fan. I can still hear his distinctive voice on the phone, "How 'bout my Angels, John!"  (He never called me Johnny.)
      Here's a bit of family trivia: When George got a job as a mailman in Anaheim, what baseball great was on his mail route? Answer: The Hall of Fame pitcher, Nolan Ryan. Yup, my Uncle George delivered the great Nolan Ryan's mail! Bet you didn't know that.
Uncle Kelly Greening and Uncle George Donlon

     Here's a snapshot bonus. Also in the same picture is another of my uncles, Uncle Kelly Greening. He is right next to George in the back row, second from the left. Uncle Kelly did a lot of things and was known especially for his green thumb (evidenced by his awesome garden and golf course quality lawn at 4711 20th, Kenosha.) But he played ball too. I didn't know that.

     Here's one more and another one of my faves. It's an old Zion ball team - looks like an all-star team. Uncle Ernie is kneeling in the front center. He was a pretty good pitcher and I know he had at least one tryout. He told me that he met and worked out with another Hall of Fame pitcher, Dizzy Dean, and his brother Paul "Daffy" Dean of the old St. Louis "Gashouse Gang." You can look it up.
     Usually it's not a good thing to write on the front of pictures, but in this case, I'm glad my Dad did. He identified everyone in the picture. Along with Ernie is a Dolan cousin, Axel Dolan, and Ernie's brother-in-law, Paul Erickson (Paul did play for Cubs and was on the mound when the Cubs clinched the 1945 pennant - another story for another day.) Also, you see the Guy brothers, good friends of the Dolan family, and one of them, Alfie Guy is the Dad of my Facebook friend, Marty Guy.
     I just love this stuff! No wonder I grew up loving America's Pasttime. Play Ball!


Tuesday, February 10, 2015

A Rare Mateske Find


I have been told that pictures of Great Grampa Mateske are few. True enough. Here is one of them (center of the picture.) And its a good one.

Occasion and location? Don't know. Circa 1957. Here's the role call:


Uncle Don Teztlaff, Dad Bob Mateske Sr, Grampa Edward Mateske.
Bob Mateske Jr. Gramma Minnie (Crown) Mateske with Cousin Jayne (Tetzlaff) Wilkins in her lap, Mom Delores (Schultz)Mateske with Carol (Mateske) Dolan in her lap, Aunt Jane (Mateske) Tetzlaff

Monday, February 9, 2015

Crown Me With Many Crowns (Sorry!)

The Family of Franklin Crown and Julia Sell

Ok, here's one for the Montello side of the family. While in Montello recently I got to looking for some of the albums I had seen before, but hadn't seen for some time. Found them. One of them belonged to Gramma Minnie (Crown) Mateske. It was a scrapbook of sorts that followed the descendants of Franklin and Julia (Sell) Crown - or in other words, Gramma Minnie's siblings.

Julia was Great Grampa Franklin's second wife. The first one, Caroline Fenske, died. She is buried in the cemetery out at Mecan. They had five children of their own. Now, add seven more!

The Crowns were farmers in the Township of Mecan. Don't know where the farm is - yet. I will find that out soon and check it out. I may even be a regular at the Crown family reunion - if they have any more of those. These were quite the affairs in their day, but alas, things change.

Making heads or tails of who's who in this family always confused me (like: there was a Big Ella and a Little Ella - really!? Did they know that?) Working through Gramma Minnie's book helped me sort some of it out. This picture is a classic - and a family historian's dream. You just have to follow each one of the seven children, and sit back and learn a lot. Some highlights of the picture:

+ Gramma Minnie Mateske is the little girl on the end right. 
+ Aunt Clara Quick (Aaron and Clara from Waupun) is the little girl standing front left. 
+ Martha is the older girl back left. Her family lived and grew up in and around Rochester, MN.
+ The other older daughter in the back is "Big Ella", who married a Bill (Ross). Their son Arnold made his home in Princeton. He and his family were active in our church there. A friend of my brother David, Pastor Bob Pless served them for many years. And a former MLC tutor and son of one of my grade school teachers in Kenosha, Dan Heiderich, buried his wife not long. Now, sit down for this one. One of the great, great grandchildren of Bill and Big Ella was a student of mine at FVL and another married a child I baptized, the daughter of our good friends from Appleton, Matt and Denise Schlawin. Blows my mind. And God smiles!
+ The boy in the center is William (Bill) who married Little Ella (Schmitz). We bought the refrigerator we took to our first call in Portage from them.
+The other boy is Walter. He married Lena Schmitz who is the sister of Little Ella. Follow?
+ And another one for my brother David. The older son in the back row is Clarence Crown, the father of Harley, and the grandfather of your prep friend, Terry Crown. Small world, huh!

And there you have it. Ask me when you are in Montello, and you can see the Crown book.

Sunday, February 8, 2015

I Need Your Help - What Do You Think?

Identifying old pictures is fun, but it can be a challenge. There are times when it is obvious (especially when someone wrote on the back.) Educated guessing often is the order of the day. Knowing someone else in the picture, or recognizing a place, can help. A process of elimination usually becomes part of the process too. 

Here is an example. Look at the three young ladies below. Look at their faces especially the one standing and the one sitting on the right. It's from Sweden - 1800s likely - so that helps. I think this is a picture of the three Jonsson sisters, my great grandmother, Augusta, (standing) and her sister Emelia (Emily) sitting on the right. The third would then be Reka (Fredrika).


How did I come to this identification? I looked at other pictures of Great Grandma and Amelia later in life and compared. (I have no pictures of Reka. I look at Augusta's face and the way she holds her head in pictures, and Emelia's eyes are very distinctive. Maybe I'm guilty of wishful thinking, but then again since the picture was in an old family album belonging to Augusta, so maybe I am right.

What do you think? 

Augusta Jonsson Ljungberg Dolan

Amelia (Emily) Jonsson Frykmann

Saturday, January 24, 2015

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 10th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force made a name for themselves that day in what is called the 2nd 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 10th reformed on Friday morning, April 23rd, 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 10th fought to hold their positions. They were bombed and shelled all day. On the third day the 10th 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 10th 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 10th 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 27th, the 10th 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 5th 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 10th 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 19th to the 25th. 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 10th 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 15th.
Lord Derby War Hospital 1915
(In 1993 my Dad and I drove our rental car around that driveway.)
By the end of June (16th) 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 22nd 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.


Friday, January 23, 2015

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.


Saturday, January 17, 2015

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