Granddad

My Granddad was hired by Coca Cola as a sign painter in the mid 40s. He worked for Coca Cola in San Francisco until he retired sometime in the 60s. This is a picture of him somewhere in the city in 1968, his union card and a receipt for a roll of film that shows him being called "Mr. Coca Cola", (probably because that is how the photo shop knew him, by his place of work).

My Granddad never talked about his work or even his past to me. I knew he worked for Coca Cola because one of the benefits was getting a case of Coke each week, which was a big deal, since both sides of my families were Mormons (Granddad brought home Coke and my other Grandpa smoked! Both are no-nos for Mormons.) I didn't know much about Granddad until my Mother got much older and we had time to chat and then after she passed away I came into a lot of ephemera that has been saved over years. Granddad had quite a life, his mother died in childbirth, he was raised by either a family friend or an aunt, he was a sailor in WW1, married a Utah Morman girl (and had a real hard time being accepted into the family), was a purser on merchant ships during the depression and eventually found a home and a job in SF.  
I have some of his letters written in the 1930s while he was shipping in a previous blog post:  https://njoy00.blogspot.com/2013/06/granddads-letters-from-1934.html

Here we have proof of Granddad going to a public school in Manchester, Iowa in 1908. He would have been 9 in 1908. Manchester is about 40 miles from Fayette, the town he was born in. The story passed down to the family was Granddad was cared for by an aunt.  His dad didn’t feel he could care for him since his mother died shortly after giving birth to Granddad. However his school records indicate he had a guardian named Mrs. Stowe or Mrs.Storie and there is no family name starting with Sto… in any of the genealogical records. So even though he had 2 older brothers and 2 older sisters he wasn't raised with his family.

By 1917 the US was involved in WWI and Granddad joined the Navy. He would have been 18. Later he would use the Navy training to become a purser on merchant sailing boats.

Granddad did continue to have family connections with his older sister, Edna. This is a picture of him in his US Navy Dress Blue Uniform with Edna and her daughter Lucille. Lucille was born in 1913, so this picture  was probably taken between 1918-1920.  In later years Aunt Edna and Lucille continued to have very strong ties to all of Granddad's own, growing family.

This picture shows Granddad with Grammy before he got out of the navy. They married in 1924.

Grammy (Martha Richards Eldredge) married Granddad April 20,1924 in Jackson, Missouri.  Grammy would have been 21 and Granddad 25.

Granddad did have a re-connection with his father. This is the only known picture of the two of them together. Probably taken in the 20s.

It's Hot, I'm LaZy!

Wouldn't be nice to be young again?

In Memory of Mary Jo Fuellenbach

In Memory of Mary Jo Fuellenbach

MARY JO FUELLENBACH

December 10, 1930 - October 20, 2013

BIOGRAPHY

Our Dear, Sweet, Loving Mother, Mary Jo Fuellenbach, will be truly missed. Mom left her earthly body surrounded by her children: Nina, Bev, Brad, Art and Ann on October 20, 2013 in Fremont. Our sister held her hand. We are ever so grateful for a loving and caring family that came together to help her on her journey.

Mom was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on December 10, 1930 to George and Martha Eldredge. “Jo Jo” was the sister to George (Pat) Eldredge, Paul Eldredge and Gary Jensen. Mom married her high school sweetheart, “Moss” January 27, 1951. Mom and Dad had five children and their spouses who were blessed with her love and loved her dearly: Nina (Jerry) Lowrey, Bev (Pat) Ready, Brad (Jan) Fuellenbach, Art (Shelly) Fuellenbach and Ann Fuellenbach (William West).

Grandma and Grandpa (George and Lyle) Fuellenbach treated and loved Mary Jo as the daughter they never had. She was preceded in death by her sister and brother in law, Edie and Lou Christensen and her brother in law and sister in law Ralph and Doreen Fuellenbach.

Grandma Mary Jo had 15 grandchildren who loved her very much: Jason (Kari), Shawna (Rob), Jeremy, Kristina (James), David, Julie, Janelle, Charles, Lisa (Chris), Bradley, Curtis (Christa), Jonathan (Katie), Brian (Fiona), Grant and Evan. She was Great Grandma to 15*, Aunt Mary Jo to 12**, Mary Jo to countless cousins and dear friend to many***.

Mary Jo was raised and went to school in Salt Lake, Utah and San Francisco. For the last 53 years home was Fremont, California. After she married and started raising a family she made homes in Richmond and Petaluma until she moved to Fremont in 1960. Mom enthusiastically became the school librarian at Mowry Elementary and later worked as the school librarian at Mission Valley Elementary. School children of that time will remember her love of reading through Book Fairs, Doll Shows, the Witches Cave at Halloween, and displays of a tarantella and silkworms. In her retirement she was owner of The Memory Box and had a consignment space at the Friends and I shop in Niles, selling memorabilia and collectibles.

She traveled to Norway, Europe, East Coast, the South, Canada, Mexico and Hawaii and saw most of the western United States. A favorite family vacation was camping at LeTrianon Resort in Lake County. She enjoyed a good time and loved horse racing and roulette, especially at Fitzgerald’s in Reno. Mom loved home the best, spoiling her family by decorating the house for every holiday, especially Christmas. We are fortunate to have many fond memories of family gatherings because she loved for us to be together.

Mom and Dad had a truly romantic loving relationship. They lived for each other and enjoyed many of the same adventures. After Dad died in 1997 Mom continued to live for her family and kept Moss in her heart. We believe Mom and Dad are together again for eternity.

The family will share a Celebration of Mary Jo’s Life November 10, 3:00 at the Winchester Ranch Mobile Home Club House, 500 Charles Cali Dr San Jose, CA 95117‎ in San Jose where we had many family parties. Friends and family are encouraged to come with a story or favorite memory. Please email fuellenbachfamily@yahoo.com for any more information.

*She was Great Grandma to Emma, Maya, Lisa, Ben, Logan, Jacob, Blake, Brayden, Bailey, Brooke, Zachary, Caleb, Abigail, Cayrn, Alexander, Andrew, Noah, and Joshua.

**Aunt Mary Jo to Daryl, Mark, LouAnn, Lisa, Suzanne, Laurie, David, Stephen, Rich, David, Patty and Billy.

*** Dellarias, Bradleys, Fitzpatricks, Heiss’, Ngs,Youngs, Volheim

CELEBRATION OF LIFE

Sunday November 10, 2013, 3:00 at Winchester Ranch Mobile Home Club House 

Grammy's Brother ...Dr. Paul

My mother often talked about her experiences when she was young.  One of them involved traveling by train to work as a nurse assistant at her uncle's hospital.  I never understood exactly where she went or much about the arrangement until I read about Dr. Paul. Download this pdf and read about Dr. Paul's Legacy.  
BINGHAM CANYON DOCTOR  
The Life and Legacy of Paul S. Richards

   http://faculty.weber.edu/eswedin/Site/BinghamCanyonDoctorPaulSRichards.pdf

Granddad's Letters from 1934

Ok, so I'm not much of a blogger. Blogger=writer. I never "liked" to write. But you feel good after its all finished-kind of like housework (which I REALLY hate!) Can't really update on everything--just say I get tired of seeing "Nina's Notes" as a bookmark on my computer and I never do anything with it. So....... I think I'll post what I've learned about my Granddad. Granddad is George Leon Eldredge, Sr. born 1899 and died in 1979. He was my mother's father.  It was months ago (more like a few years!) that I found these letters but they are most interesting and worthy of a "Note".  These are the letters he wrote when he was sailing as a purser, during the Great Depression and Maritime Strikes.

2nd Letter

Shipping is a lonely life.

This letter is just a quick hi from Grandad to his family but noting

the dates of the letter, envelope and his location along with some
history of the time tells a very interesting story. Its great that he
used the Steamship's stationary.





The last and third letter.

The envelope and some pictures to go with the letter.

To fully appreciate this letter and my Granddads words "glad to be away from California now" you have to understand some history.

Information about the Dollar Steamship (SS) Lines and Maritime Strike

http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/dollar.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1934_West_Coast_waterfront_strike

Granddad’s letter is dated July 5th and the above website says this: “it took five days for the San

Francisco to Honolulu and a further nine days on to Yokohama.” So the ship must have left San

Fransicso June 30th or so. Granddad left San Francisco just as the picketing and striking was peaking.

His letter is dated the same day that 2 strikers were killed in San Francisco by police and that day

became known as “Bloody Thursday”. His sentence that says he was glad to be away from California

now, takes on significant meaning.

From website

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1934_West_Coast_waterfront_strike

The strike began on May 9, 1934 as longshoremen in every West Coast port walked out; sailors joined them several days later. The employers recruited strikebreakers, housing them on moored ships or in walled compounds and bringing them to and from work under police protection. Strikers attacked the stockade housing strikebreakers in San Pedro on May 15; two strikers were shot and killed by the employers' private guards. Similar battles broke out in San Francisco and Oakland, California, Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. Strikers also succeeded in slowing down or stopping the movement of goods by rail out of the ports.The Roosevelt administration tried again to broker a deal to end the strike, but the membership twice rejected the agreements their leadership brought to them. The employers then decided to make a show of force to reopen the port in San Francisco. On Tuesday, July 3, fights broke out along the Embarcadero in San Francisco between police and strikers while a handful of trucks driven by young businessmen made it through the picket line.Some Teamsters supported the strikers by refusing to handle "hot cargo" - goods which had been unloaded by strikebreakers, although the Teamsters' leadership was not as supportive. By the end of May Dave Beck, president of the Seattle Teamsters, and Mike Casey, president of those in San Francisco, thought the maritime strike had lasted too long. They encouraged the strikers to take what they could get from the employers and threatened to use Teamsters as strikebreakers if the ILA didn't return to work.[1]

After a quiet Fourth of July the employers' organization, the Industrial Association, tried to open the port even further on Thursday, July 5. As spectators watched from Rincon Hill, the police shot tear gas canisters into the crowd, then followed with a charge by mounted police. Picketers threw the canisters and rocks back at the police, who charged again, sending the picketers into retreat after a third assault. Each side then refortified and took stock. Hostilities picked up again that afternoon, when a group of strikers surrounded a police car and attempted to tip it over. The police fired shotguns in the air, then fired their revolvers at the crowd. One of the policemen fired a shotgun into the crowd, killing a striking seaman and a strike sympathizer, Nicolas Bordoise and Howard Sperry. Strikers immediately cordoned off the area where two picketers had been shot, laying flowers and wreaths around it. Police arrived to remove the flowers and drive off the picketers minutes later. Once the police left, the strikers returned, replaced the flowers and stood guard over the spot. As strikers carried wounded picketers into the ILA union hall police fired on the hall and lobbed tear gas canisters at nearby hotels. At this point someone reportedly called the union hall to ask "Are you willing to arbitrate now?" Under orders from California Governor Frank Merriam, the California National Guard moved in that evening to patrol the waterfront. Similarly, federal soldiers of the United States Army stationed at the Presidio were placed on alert. The picketers pulled back, unwilling to take on armed soldiers in an uneven fight, and trucks and trains began moving without interference. Bridges asked the San Francisco Labor Council to meet that Saturday, July 7, to authorize a general strike. The Alameda County Central Labor Council in Oakland considered the same action. Teamsters in both San Francisco and Oakland voted to strike, over the objections of their leaders, on Sunday, July 8. 

SS Pres Cleveland was built in 1921. First called Golden State, 535 ft class built for US Shipping

Board, 1922 renamed President Cleveland, 1925 purchased by Dollar Line, 1938 transferred to APL,

1941 sold to US Navy renamed USS Tasker H. Bliss, 1942 sunk during invasion of North Africa.

For more information about the Maritime Strike:

http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist/thursday.html 

http://depts.washington.edu/pcls/documents/research/Kagel_1934Strike.pdf

May 29, 2009 --Officially retired as First Grade Classroom Teacher

Ok--it's been a year-plus since I had such great ambitions for this blog.

But, for REAL! I should be able to put some effort into this blog because I retired!! WOW!! YES!! It really happened. So I think my focus might change--it won't be so much on teaching now, although "it" (teaching) will always be in me. Just ask my daughter, who says I repeat everything at least 5 times.

So what have I been doing since retirement someone asks? Like trips, fun stuff, what's life like?
Really, nothing like that. So far, it's just like a summer vacation except I brought everything that was mine home with me and my garage is loaded to the max. I am having a hard time parting with stuff. So many of us retired all at once at my school, Mattie -- without much preparing -- that there was too much stuff trying to find a home/new classroom. If I left anything it was going to the dumps.

And then there is 20 years of an unkempt house! I have my grandmother's and mother's disorder--"material" girl--save everything--you might need it someday! It was just 4 weeks ago that I actually gave my classroom key over so -- no, haven't really done anything except start to relax. But it is already feeling different because I'm not anticipating getting back into my classroom or looking at Back to School sales or even thinking---"What the hell am I going to wear this year besides denim jumpers?"

Discovering History

People's stories. Stories of life, history, feelings. I have always been interested in the past. Even when I was little and my grandmother would tell me about when she was little. I liked to look at the pictures, touch objects, collect old things. Both sets of grandparents were Mormons. I actually have quite a lineage through both my grandmothers. The genealogical family records have always been something my family has had. Many of the records are just dates, names of places and a few pictures. There is a Richard's family book about my mother's mother's side of the family that is more telling.

Anyway, starting this blog has made me think about telling my stories. It doesn't really matter who cares, who will read them or if they are of any benefit. It matters that I do it for me. Because I really wish there was a place like this for the people that I can no longer touch or hear their voice. I remember when I told my mother-in-law that she should write some of "this stuff" down. She never did and my memory of her stories fades as the years go by. My grandmother was always going to and she did some so I hope to find it and record it somewhere permanently.

I have found some sites that tell stories. I want to go back again and read them all--if I ever have time.