A Walk Down Someone's Memory Lane

Today is Relatively Speaking Day; please be sure to check out "cousin" Karen's blog here.

Now that I am totally immersed in the letters written to my uncle Johnny by various Percival & Bowman family members way back in the World War II era, I have gotten pretty curious about some of the "players" in these letters. First was Bill Badgero. His name was fairly significant to me since I knew he and Janet Dean were the "elopers" that my yet unmarried parents went to Fremont, Ohio with in July 1946. Since my parents also got married on that trip and Bill & Janet returned the witness favor, their name has stuck with me.

The other name that rings a bell, because my parents mentioned this couple often, was Fairchild, more exactly Keith and Loie Fairchild. Keith's parents were the boarding house owners where the male Percivals lived. My mother and aunt also lived at the Fairchild house. Must have been pretty interesting.

I got curious and it appears Bill Badgero died in 1983, no record of his wife; and Keith Fairchild died in May of this year.Wife, Loie still living.

Another name that cropped up was that of Freddy Payne. Freddy played with the Detroit Tigers from 1906-1908 and then with the White Sox from 1909-1911. In 1943, Fred worked as an inspector in my grandfather's department at the Detroit Water Board.

It's fun, like opening a treasure chest to see what is in each letter, what secret will be told, what information can be garnered.

L-R: John Percival, "Bob," and Frank Percival,  1943

I found this gem of a picture, which as grandpa says was the "best of the bunch" and still I had to adjust it a bit. It was taken the evening before Uncle Johnny reported for service.

Copyright 2010, ACK for Gene Notes