The Final Chapter - Ralph & Emily

In my previous post, Ralph and his cousin Morgan Ford attended a Youth Council dance where they met Emily Holliker and Dorothy Ford (classmates from Waterville OH).

And this is how you'll learn the rest of the story - in my mother's own words.

The following is taken from "The Grandparent Book" that Emily was given by my daughter, Leslie many years ago. While preparing photos and memorabilia for Emily's funeral, I happened upon the book. My comments/clarifications are in [ ].

Q. How did you meet grandpa?
A. Met Grandpa (Ralph William Brown) at Lucas Co. Youth Council

Q. How old were you when you met?
A. 19

Q. What attracted you to each other?
A. Good square dancer.

Q. What do you remember most about the courtship?
A. Going to see lots of movies. His kindness. Patience & consideration to let me date others as I had not dated before. He was very affectionate. Good kisser! Lovable person.

Q. When and where was the wedding?
A. April 30, 1949 (Saturday 7:30 P.M.) Waterville Zion Lutheran Church

Q. What did you wear?
A. White satin dress. Was made by "future" sister-in-law, Marie Brown. Veil borrowed from "future sister-in-law", Dorothy Brown.

[Marie was Cliff's wife who wrote Ralph so many letters while he was in the service.]
[Dorothy married Ralph's brother Harley in 1946. He was also in the service and mentioned frequently in his letters. He entered after Ralph, but got home from Europe before Ralph.]

Q. What is your strongest memory from your wedding?
A. Forgot to get my bouquet from maid of honor, so we walked out of church without flowers. After church reception we went back to my folks house & took gifts. - Bill got upset. - couldn't find marriage certificate & we wanted it as going to Niagara Falls - Canada. - Someone had it. OK.

[Emily rarely called Ralph by his given name; she usually referred to him as Bill.]

Q. Who was there (in general)?
A. All my family - mother, father, sisters & spouses, brother & wife - and their children.
Same for Ralph's family.
Cousins & friends.

Q. Did you go on a honeymoon? Tell about it.
A. Yes. Sunday went to Canada - Niagara Falls. Very little business open on a Sunday, like restaurants. Went to N.Y. after seeing American falls. Went on "Maid of Mist" boat trip. Went to New England States. Very cold in Vermont. - Went to Maryland & visited Baumgardner. On to Washington D.C. Was anxious to get home (on Sat home) to see all our wedding gifts.

[Earlier in the set of questions, Emily told how she moved out of the family home in October 1946 when she got a job with Ohio Bell Co. (Telephone). She lived with Mr. & Mrs. Baumgardner at the suggestion of a family friend. Her pay was $29/week.]

Q. What was your adjustment to married life like? Were there any surprises?
A. Not much of any problems. Bill worked all three shifts. Big meals sometimes at noon & other times evening. All night shift I had to sleep by myself - in old upstairs small apartment on Prouty Ave, Toledo Oh. I worked different hours also. Sometimes Bill picked me up from work at Ohio Bell Telephone, other times rode city bus or if after midnight, Co. sent me home in cab - free of charge.

[Ralph worked as a stationary engineer at Medusa Cement Co.]

Here is their wedding invitation and their wedding photo. And one more surprise! (Read through to the end of this post.)

Remember the year that Ralph asked his mom to buy Irene's Christmas present? Remember that he asked his mom to have Irene return it to him after she broke the engagement? Remember that it was a "hope chest" or cedar chest? Guess what he did with it.

Yep, he kept it and either gave it to Emily, or it just became a part of their furniture. It was brought to Florida in 2013 when my mom and I moved down here.

The Rest of the Story - Morgan Ford, Dorothy Hertzfeld, and Emily Holliker

Frequently in his letters, Ralph referred to his cousin, Morgan Ford. Here is some of his story:

• Morgan's mother Susie Brown Ford and Ralph's father, William Stephen Brown were sister & brother.
• Morgan's homestead/farm was in Berkey OH, next to the cemetery on Sylvania-Metamora Rd. His home was less than 2 miles from Ralph's home on Silberhorn Highway, Blissfield, MI.
• Morgan graduated from Burnham HS in Sylvania OH in 1937.
• Morgan served as a 2nd Lieutenant with the 8th Air Force, 466 Bomber Group. He was a navigator on a B24 bomber, but didn't fly any missions as his crew was broken up upon arriving in Norwich. He remained on the ground charting maps for other crews to fly.
• He passed away in July of 2013.

After the war, Ralph and Morgan attended Youth Council meetings and dances in Riga Township sponsored by the Lucas County Farm Bureau. It was there that Morgan met his future bride, Dorothy Hertzfeld. Dorothy grew up on Noward Rd. in the Waterville/Whitehouse OH area. They were married on May 28, 1949.

Dorothy had a classmate, Emily Holliker. Emily grew up on Dutch Rd in Waterville OH. She and Dorothy graduated together from Waterville HS in 1946. They went to a dance where they met Morgan Ford and Ralph Brown.

And that's just about the rest of the story.

The next post will be shared on October 25th.

Ralph's Separation & Discharge

There were no more letters after October 18th. We can assume that the plans Ralph wrote about were what transpired.

I have no record of when he finally arrived home to see his mother & father, as well as his siblings, their spouses, and his nieces and nephews.

However, I do have copies of his separation and discharge papers that tell us when and where he ended his time in military service....Fort Knox KY on 13 Nov 45, almost a full month after boarding a ship in France.

Note: Look carefully on his discharge paper and you will see the date he arrived in the States was Nov. 7th. The Pay Data section is also interesting.

The next post will be on October 24th.

The Rest of the Story - Irene

Remember Irene?

Ralph's fiancee who broke their engagement.

Here's what I found out about her life:

• She was born in Berkey OH in 1922 to Lelah & Frederick Setzler. The 1940 census lists her mother's name as Dortha.
• Her name was recorded as Irene F. Setzler in the 1940 census.
• Her home was located on Lathrop Rd. in Berkey OH (1940 census).
• Irene was the oldest of 4 girls; her sisters were Irma, Fern, and Marilyn (1940 census).
• She had a sister, Irma, who married Charles (Charlie) Stutzman on Aug. 16, 1944 in Metamora OH. He served 4 years during WWII with the Army Air Force. He was born in 1921 (making him about 2 years younger than Ralph).

Here is the obituary I found:

F. Irene Brothers, 94, of Bradenton, FL, formerly of Oregon, OH passed away July 24, 2015. Born in Berkey, OH, to Lelah and Fred Setzler, she graduated from Metamora High School in 1940. She was employed as a secretary to a VP at Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Toledo, OH for 41 years, she retired in February 1986. She was a member of the Ohio Rural Letter Carriers Auxiliary serving as Secretary Treasurer for several years, she also was a member of the Oregon Art Club and the First St. John’s Lutheran Church. When she moved to Bradenton she became a member of Evangelical Covenant Church. She was married to Kenneth L. Potts in 1947 until his death in 1995, then she married Donald S. Brothers in February 2000 until his death in 2006. She was also preceded by her parents and sister, Marilyn Cranis. She is survived by 2 sisters, Irma Stutzman of Burlington, IA and Frene Root of Bradenton, FL and Fenton, MI; also many nieces and nephews. There will be no local Services. Burial will take place August 3, 2015 at 10:00 A.M. in West Union Cemetery in Gibsonburg, OH. Brown & Sons Funeral Homes & Crematory 26th Street Chapel, 5624 26th Street West Bradenton, FL 34207 in charge. Condolences www.brownandsonsfuneral.com.

The next post will be shared on October 23rd.

More of Ralph's story - from 1945

I found this photocopied clipping from the Metamora newspaper.

.

The next post will be on October 22nd: The Rest of the Story - Irene.

France Oct. 18

Dear Mother & all,
      Just a few words to let
you know how I am getting
along. We leave here tomorrow
th for the boat. By the time
you receive this letter I will
be somewhere on the high seas.
I don't know yet if we go to
La Havre or Marseilles. If you
go to Marseilles we will come
through the Straits of Gibrator. [sic]
   I will receive my discharge
at Camp Attebury Ind.
   When I get in the U.S. I will
try to call you at once. Then
when I get my discharge and
on my way home I will
telegraph Cliff so he can get
it first and let you folks know

what station I will be at. Adrain [sic]
or Toledo and what time. I
figure they will be able to get
the telegram first by living
in town.
   I probably will be home for
Thanksgiving. My unit isn't
comeing so don't keep looking
for the 30th Air Depot Group
on the shipping list. I am in
a replacement pool and in a
casual unit. I should arrive
in the states in the early part
of Nov. Well so long for now.
Hope to see you soon. Let
the rest know. I am just writing
to you now.
                         Love Ralph.


There will be no more letters posted; this is the last one.

However, I will post some follow up information that many of you have asked to know.
This information will be posted on October 21st. There will probably be more than one follow-up post.

Background Information (and comments):

• Here is what I found about Camp Atterbury:

ww2dbaseCamp Atterbury near Edinburgh, Indiana, United States began construction in Dec 1941. It consisted of over 1,500 buildings for the purpose of military training, convalescence of wounded soldiers, and holding German and Italian prisoners of war. The camp ceased operations in Aug 1946. It was reactivated between 1950 and 1954 for the Korean War. It was reactivated again in 1969 and remained activate at the time of this writing.

Over 275,000 soldiers trained at Camp Atterbury during World War II, including the 83rd Infantry Division; 8th Detachment of Special Troops, ... The Camp also served as an internment camp, housing between 12,000 and 15,000 Italian and German prisoners of war.

Homeward Bound. France Oct. 14 - 45.

Dear Mother & Dad,
      Well here I am, sweating it
out and on my way home. We
left Illesheim Germany Wed. Oct. 10
in 40 & 8 boxcars. Gosh what
a ride. We arrived here in
France Friday afternoon about
3:00 oclock. It is somewhere
near Metz. We really have a
good place here. This Repple
Depple have the buildings that
were used by a French garrison
that worked at the Magnot [sic] line.
It is right near us. Most
Replacement Depots are so crowded
all you do is sweat out chow
lines. Not here. About 10 minutes
is all it takes to go through.

     Yesterday we had steak for
dinner and today we had fried
chicken. Movies everynight.
     We have been told we will
go from here on Thursday to the
P.O.E. Hope to be on the boat
shortly after that. One can never
tell though, now the Limey's
have taken there boats away.
Just the fellows with 70, 71, 72
and 73 points are in this group.
     Well mother I hope to see you
soon. This may be my last
letter. Wish me good luck.
                         Love Ralph.


The next letter will be posted on October 18th.

Background Information (and comments):

• I learned something new - 40 & 8 boxcars and Repple Depple. I have also included information about the Maginot Line that Ralph referred to. Finally, I found a reasonable explanation for POE.

Quarante et huit (Forty-and-eights)
Forty and Eights-style covered goods wagon in the U.S. Army Transportation Museum
Capacity	40 men or 8 horses or 20 tonnes (19.7 long tons; 22.0 short tons) of supplies
Operator(s)	French Army and French railways
Specifications
Weight	7.9 tonnes (7.8 long tons; 8.7 short tons) tare
Braking system(s)	Air
Coupling system	Buffers and chain
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)

• Forty-and-eights (French: Quarante et huit, typically written 40/8 or 40&8) were French 4-wheel covered goods wagons designed to hold 40 men or eight horses. Introduced in the 1870s, they were drafted into military service by the French Army in both World Wars. They were also used by the occupying Germans during in World War II, followed by the Allies.
• A replacement depot in United States military terminology is a unit containing reserves or replacements for large front-line formations, such as field armies. As such, the term refers to formations similar to, but larger than, march battalions in other countries. The slang term "repple depple" came into common use in the US Army ...
• once a soldier was separated from his unit by wounds or illness, there was little chance of him returning to that unit. Instead, he was sent to a replacement depot, a repple-depple in Army slang. 
• The Maginot Line, named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, was a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles, and weapon installations built by France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Germany and force them to move around the fortifications.
• 
  
  

• port of embarkation

  The geographic point in a routing scheme from which cargo or personnel depart. This may be a seaport or aerial port fromwhich personnel and equipment flow to a port of debarkation; for unit and nonunit requirements, it may or may notcoincide with the origin. Also called POE. See also port of debarkation.