The Maternal Genealogy of
Stella Esther Poisson
(mother of John Dosithe Brule)
The ancestors of John’s mother lived and worked in the county of Nicolet, Quebec before their emigration and settling in Upper Michigan abt 1868. In the 1800s, they, and their neighbors, were “cultivateurs” (farmers) and “laborers.” They were solidly rooted in the French Catholic church culture and its religious values, rituals, and practices which shaped their expectations and character for generations. Their attachment to Land, Family, and the “French” Catholic Church was paramount.
JOHN D. POISSON/ EMELIE COTE
Your Grandparents
Houghton County, Michigan
The name “Poisson” is familiar in northern Michigan; so is the English translation to “fish,” or “fisher.”
Stella Esther Poisson was born in Chassell, Michigan in 1894. She was the third child of John D. Poisson and Emelie/ Amelie Cote. Both parents were born in Quebec, in the county of Nicolet. It is difficult to establish precisely when each of them emigrated, and finally came into Michigan.
They were married in Lake Linden, Houghton Count, Michigan on May 1, 1887. The witnesses at their marriage were Edward Poisson, and Albert Cote.
Their children were all born in Houghton County, Michigan. John probably worked in the lumber business before he tried to make a living as a hotel keeper, according to the 1900 U. S. census. He knew that renting rooms to laborers in the lumbering and mining operations moving back and forth between Canada and the lakeside U. S. border states was a need that could provide a cash income. And it did for a while. At least two male Poisson “labourers” of this period died in lumber accidents; one Joseph Poisson killed by a “falling tree.”
John however, decided to “go back to the land” and the 1910 Census finds him in Chassell, reported as a “farmer.” The census records also tell us that Emelie gave birth to at least one other child, who did not live. Like many French Canadians, and other emigrants, the Poissons changed their name. In most of the U. S, records they are listed as John and Emily Fish. Census documents are not always accurate. When you look at the four census documents (1900, 1910, 1920, and 1923) for their household, you expect a consistency of information on basic questions, such as “where were you born?” In 1920 John is reported born in Maine; yet in the 1900 and 1910 census he lists birth in French Canada.
THE POISSON & HEBERT FAMILES IN NICOLET, QUEBEC
Great Grandparents
The mystery of the name “Dosithe” is solved in the baptismal record of “John D.” The Poissons live in the parish of St. Edouard, Nicolet, village of Gentilly and that is where his parents marry and raise their very large family. A parish in French Canada was often a recognized civil municipality. “Dosithe is the 9th child, baptized on January 19, 1863. It is the baptismal date that is recorded in Quebec, not the birth date. His parents are Pascal Poisson., (son of Pascal Poisson and Marguerite Brunel) and Esther Hebert dit Manuel, daughter of Francois Hebert dit Manuel and Victoire Lavigne. They were married on January 7, 1845 in St. Edouard’s, their home parish. The record states that an impediment had been dispensed with by the recognized officials of the church, and that the parents gave their consent. As was the custom, brothers were the primary witnesses for the families. Jean Evangeliste Poisson, Pascal’s brother; Augustin Verville, “beau frere,” (brother in law). His sister Philomene’s husband; and Joseph Hebert dit Manuel, Esther’s brother. They had a large family; the ideal for an agricultural French Catholic family.
While the records are not always easy to translate, I believe there are about 14 children born to them: Marie Climeme, Cyrille, Albert, Melanie, Agnes, Octave (1 st dies infancy; second named Joseph Octave b. 1860; Sarah, Dosithe, Virginie, Eugene, Philomene, Josephine, Olive, Horace ..)
We know, because of records located, that at least one sibling, Albert, the eldest son, moved to Michigan also. He was born about 1850, and was twelve years older than John “D.” he married Sarah Mercier in 1873, and we know of at least two children of theirs who were born in Chassell, Michigan. Joseph was born in Lake Linden in 1881. Edward was born in Chassell in 1891. So there would be descendants from Albert in the area, as well as directly through John D. Poisson.
DETAILS OF THE HEBERTS
Esther’s parents were Francois Amable Hebert dit Manuel. Their home poarish was St. Edouard’s, Nicolet, Gentilly. Francois was born on Feb 9, 1783. He married Marie Victoire Rivard-Lavigne, who was b. 18 May, 1790.
THE POISSON& BRUNEL FAMILIES IN NICOLET
Great, Great Grandparents
Pascal “pere”, was born about 1785. He married Marguerite Beaufort-Brunel in St. Edouard’s Parish, Nicolet, village of Gentilly. Felix was born 1815, Julie 1820, Pascal, 1821, and Pierre Onesiphore in 1822. Another family lists a Joseph Poisson, born 1825. There may be other children, from these parents but these are the ones I have discovered so far. Marguerite Beaufort-Brunelle’s parents were Alexis Beaufort Brunelle and Genevieve Baril.
MORE POISSONS & PROVENCHER
Great 3X Grandparents
Pascal parents were Joseph Antoine Poisson ( b. march 29, 1743 in Champlain, Champlain, Quebec. He married Marie Josephyte Provencher in Becancour, Nicolet on January 21, 1782. Marie Josephyte’s parents were Charles Provencher and Marguerite Deshaies-Tourigny. Joseph and Marie had, at least, five children: Antoine Charles Innocent Poisson, Pascal Poisson b. 1785; Marguerite Poisson, Julie Poisson, Pierre Poisson.
POISSONS & RIVARD-LA VIGNE
Great 4X Grandparents
Joseph Antoine Poisson’s parents are Alexis-Francois Poisson and Marguerite Genevieve Rivard-Levigne/Lavigne. Alexis-Francois was born in Champlain, Champlain, Quebec on January 12, 1716. His occupation was Quatrieme Seigneur de Gentilly. He married Marguerite Genevieve Rivard Lavigne on July 1741 in Champlain, Champlain, Quebec. He died on January 2, 1796 in Champlain, Champlain.
POISSON & DISY
Great 5X Grandparents
Alexis Francois (often called Francois) Poisson was the son of Jean Francois Poisson and Elizabeth Disy. They were married July 5, 1841. *The “story” about Jean Francois was that he was taken by the Iroquis with others, never returned, and was supposed killed by them. Something to look into.
Francois is one of the four surviving children, the only son.
THE COTÉ & ST. LOUIS FAMILIES
Nicolet, St. Pierre Les Becquets
Nicolet, Parish of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Becancour
Great Grandparents Emelie Cote was born abt 1859 in the village of Becancour. Her parents were Edouard Coté and Marie Sophie St. Louis who were married February 2, 1858 in the Parich of the Nativity of the B. V. M. in Becancour. Edward, however, was not from this parish, but a resident of St Pierre des Becquets.
The 1861 Canada census shows them as a family of four living in St. Pierre des Bequets, within the extended Cote family, with their two daughters: AdelinelDelina, and her sister, Emelie, born two years earlier, probably 1860, who was then 1 year old. Delina, we know, also came to Michigan, and married Thelmas Soumis in 1887, the same year her sister Emilie married John D. Poisson.
In 1871, I do not find the family, they seemed to have moved and Edwards’ parents, and the remaining family members, also moved away from Nicolet since the last census. They are living in St. Jean, Lotbiniere, north of Becancour. Along the St. Lawrence River. Joseph is making a living as a “cordonnier,” a shoe repairer, while his sons are listed as day laborers. But I have not located Edward and Sophie.
COTÉ & DUSIAUME2
Nicolet, S1. Pierre Les Becquets
Nicolet, Parish of Navivity of B. V. M., Becancour
The parents of Edouard Coté are Joseph Coté and Josephte Dusiaume(?) In the 1851 census, their household consists of Flora , 19; Paul A. Brejean (probably Flora’s husband) Joseph Coté 16; Josephine, 16; Edouard, 12; Ludger 9; Theodore 4; and Clie, age 1. Since the ages of the parents are 46 and 49 respectively, it is possible there were other children who moved close by, or who died.
ST. LOUIS & RICHER FAMILIES
Becancour, Nicolet
The parents of Marie Sophie S1. Louis, (who married Edouard Coté) and who are therefore your great grandparents, are Theodore S1. Louis, b abt 1788 in Becancour, and Marguerite Richer, born abt 1794. Sophie S1. Louis was baptized March 12, 1842 in Becancour in the Parish of the Nativity of the B. V. M. Her godparents were Oliver Richer, and Marguerite St. Louis. In the 1851 census, the household consists of Zephrim, 20; Euphresne, 17; Ferdinand, 13; Sophie, 10; and Michel, age 44, and Magdalene Deshaies. The age of the parents at the date ofthis record would be 63 and 57 respectively, so we can safely speculate that more children were born between Michael (44) and Zephrim (20).
Theodore St. Louis married Marie Anne Richer on February 13, 1816 in Parish of the Nativity of the B. V. M. in Becancour., Nicolet.
Theodores’ parents are Joseph St. Louis & Marie Anne Levigne/Lavigne. Marie Anne’s parents are Jean Baptiste Richer & Marie Anne Robichaud/Robicho
Jean Baptiste Richer married Marie Louise Robicho/Robichaud on January 24, 1780 in Parish of the Nativity of the B. V. M. in Becancour, Nicolet. Jean Baptiste Richer is the son of Joseph Richer & Marie Jeanne J/Geillet(?) Marie Louise Robicho is the daughter of Francois Robicho & Cecille Tibeadeu(?)
THE DUSSIAUME/JUSSIAUME NAME
METIS
Josephte Dussiaume’s (spouse of Joseph Coté) name was especially difficult to read. After a while I realized she was the only one I had seen with a different origin noted. I could barely make out “nord-ouest” which does in fact mean Northwest Territories (Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan) and that a few letters I could not make out as a language. But trying a different approach, with the help of other Page 5 researchers, I discovered that Josephte was a “Metis”, that is, a “half breed” born of French Canadian and Indian parents.
In general the Dussiaume ancestry has been charted, but to fill in detail will take significant time.
THE DUSSIAME ANCESTRY
Josephyte/Josephine was the daughter of Joseph Alexander Jussiaume and
Marguerite Goulet. Joseph Alexander Jussiaume’s parents are Pierre Alexandre Alexis Jusseaume and Marie Louise Legris dit Lepine. Pierre Alexandre Alexis Jusseaume’s parents are Alexandre Jusseaume and Marie Anne Madeleine Audet dit Lapointe. Alexandre Jusseaume’s parents are francois Jusseaume de France and Catherine Langelle dit Langelier de France.
BRULE
Brule Family History
As Recalled By
Edward J. Brule
July 30, 1975
FATHER
Joseph Hercule Brule was born July 19, 1852, son of Norbert Brule
and Sophie Beaugrand dit Champagne in the parish of St. Cuthbert
Province of Quebec, Canada. He came to Lake Linden at the age of 16 yearsand worked in a lumber camp for Joseph Gregoire. He died in 1919 at the age of 67. He was married at the age of 20.
MOTHER
Aurore Ethier born in Black Brook, N. Y. in 1856, month of December(date unknown). She was the daughter of Joseph Ethier and(mother’s name unknown). Her mother died very young and her father’s death was accidental. He was hauling hay into the hay barn and walking along the side of the wagon. His chest was crushed between they hay rack and the door frame.
FAMILY HISTORY
How they (mother and dad) came to lake linden, I do not know for sure.It seemed they came by train as far as L’Anse. then by tugboat to the Gregoire sawmill at Gregoirevil1e which was across Torch Lake from Lake linden. They did not come together. Dad worked in a lumber camp at Boot Jack for Jos. Gregoire. That iswhere he met mother, she and her sister worked as helpers to the woman cook at the camp. They were married Christmas week of 1872. On their wedding day, they travelled from Boot Jack to Gregoireville by horse and sleigh,·’then across Torch lake over the ice to Hubbell where they were married.
Genealogy of the Brulé name
Edward Joseph Brule married Stella Fish July 26, 1920Joseph Hercule Brule married Aurora Ethier, Winter 1872, Lake Linden Norbert Brule married Sophie Beauregard February 2, 1841 St. Cuthbert, Canada
Joseph Brule married Angele Thomas dit Tranchemontagne July 27, 1812, St. Cuthbert
Joseph Brule married Marie-Anne Laurendeau January 30, 1775, La Visitation, L’-lie-Dupas
Joseph Brule married Marie-Anne Sylvestre January 28, 1750, La Visitation, L’-lie-Dupas
Antoine Brule dit Francoeur married Angelique Melin November 1, 1711, Contrat Lepallieur
Antoine Brule marred Madeline Aubry in Saint-Germaine d’Amiens Picardie, France
Je me souviens – I remember
Centre de documentation et de genealogie de L’-lie d’Orleans enr.
The people in the airport saw our plight, and directed us to a tourist aid office just around the corner from the terminal building. We tried calling NIT, but it was late at night, so no contact was made. Then the tourist aid people got to work and made arrangements to put us up at a very special house that used to be the home of a US banker. It was called the Xing Gou Guest House. The place was extremely well appointed with linens and silver services. We had a fine sleep, and we were served breakfast in a formal dining room. By late morning NIT had been contacted by someone, and shortly a Mr. Wong showed up. He was from NIT, our school in Nanjing, and was supposed to have met us at the airport. Later we learned he used the excuse that things got screwed up as people didn’t account for the date change because of the International Date Line that we crossed. Mr. Wong also spoke no English, but a Mr. Yin, Da-lu also arrived and was to be our guide in Shanghai. He also spoke little English, but accompanied us to our hotel, the Jing Jang hotel. Then he took us on a tour of Shanghai. We walked along the Bund and visited the Shanghai Industrial Exhibition. The next day we were shepherded to the train station, along with our luggage, and then we were on our merry way to Nanjing. After he delivered us to Nanjing we never saw Mr. Wong again.
The train ride was very pleasant, and we got a chance to recover a little from our jet lag on the way to Nanjing. The land was being farmed up to within a row of trees of the railroad tracks, and loads of irrigation projects were underway. The greatest product was rice, and there was so much of it, it looked as though there was no room for weeds.
The next day we started our teaching. We were shuttled by a car and driver from NIT, and we made two round trips each teaching day. Our driver was particularly gas conscious, and whenever he could he would shut off the engine and let it coast. He must have made about 30 restarts of the engine each trip. The major streets in Nanjing are very broad, partly because they include about two 20-foot wide bicycle lanes, one going in each direction. In addition there were two lanes in each direction for automobile traffic and also two trolley tracks. We arrived in Nanjing in June and the weather seemed unbearably hot. Nanjing is known as one of the three furnaces of China – the other two being Wuhan and Chongqing, all situated on the Yangtze River. The intense heat of the sun was made quite bearable by the Sycamore, or plane, trees that line the streets. These trees are managed carefully and their huge branches stretch out over the street and supply shade to the perspiring citizens.
The picture shows the primary characters in this expedition. Left to right there is Frani Cumming, Ted Bickart, Prof. Wong the president of NIT, myself, Sally, Song who was Ted’s translator, and Xing my translator.
The streets were always filled with activity – bicycle riders, walkers, a few cars, animal driven carts, and the like. One very common vehicle is known as a su-fu-tu-lar-gee. I felt very proud when I realized that I now knew a 5 syllable word in Chinese! This is a picture of that remarkable vehicle. The engine is way out in front, and a cart is attached to it. It is a vehicle used mainly on farms.
One weekend we went to the Purple Mountain Observatory. The ancient astrological instruments were simply beautiful. One was an armillary sphere. This instrument had an arrangement of rings to show the relative positions of the ecliptic and the celestial equator. We were told that some emperors didn’t like science and preferred art. Thus the only way to have scientific instruments was to have them appear to be art pieces.
There are 13 tombs to the emperors named Ming, and all but one of them are in Beijing. The tomb of the first Ming emperor is in Nanjing, and one weekend we went to visit it. The long walkway
to it was lined with stone statues of various animals. As we walked along we encountered other visitors and they had found some soda to drink. So we looked around and found a small stand where it was being sold. We bought a bottle of each of us, since the heat was devastating. It tasted so bad we could not swallow it even in our desperate straits. We henceforward referred to it as “tomb water.”
We also saw many mothers out airing their children, and here is a typical example. Not much need for diapers. Our guide at this time was a single lady, and her English was quite poor. Whenever we saw something we liked, she would say “Want to Buy?” So, we nicknamed her Miss Want to Buy?
In mid-July we sarted on a new adventure. This one sticks strongly in my mind. Early in the morning we started the trip to Huang-Shan Mountain, supposedly about a 7 hour drive from Nanjing. The van started overheating and not only did that mean many stops to let it cool off, but the interior of the van became almost unbearably hot. In all it took 13 hours. About 7:30 the next morning we started the climb up the mountain to a hotel on the top.
Our next trip was to Xian to view the terra-cotta figures that were being excavated. In 1974 some farmers digging a well came across a figure, and subsequently it was found that there are over 6,400 life size figures of warriors and horses all protecting a tomb. No two figures have the same features. The figures are in a large field covered over by a roof. Many figures were damaged when a roof collapsed, but they have all been repaired. The emperor whose tomb is the one being guarded is the person who unified the language, the system of measurement, the width of cart tracks and created the “Great Wall.” However, he also ordered all the people who made the figures to be killed. We also visited a museum at the site, and found a fascinating wall hanging. It appeared to be a bamboo tree, but upon closer inspection it is seen that the leaves of the tree are such that they form Chinese characters. Xing, our guide, was fascinated by it and said the characters are of ancient form. He said the message is one of protest against the Emperor but the artist hid the figures in the bamboo tree.
On the way back to the hotel we drove by a cave house, as shown here. We stopped in to visit and were hospitably received by the woman of the house. She showed us her home, and was very excited to meet the “merigoes.”
We then flew to Shanghai and the next morning took a train to Suzhou. This is known as the city of gardens, and at one point we visited the smallest, called the Fisherman’s Net. It has an intricate structure of aisles, doors, water, bridges and the like so that even though it is less than 100 yards square it seems to be immense. After we had lunch we went to another garden, called The Garden of Lingering. It seems almost endless the number of different things to see and marvel at. Suzhou is also known for its beautiful women, beautiful dialect, and incredible double-sided embroidery, which we saw being made. The young women making it were fabulous artists. We were told that they could work on it for only a few years before their eyesight would deteriorate too much.
China is amazing! Construction cranes everywhere. It is about 35 miles to Hong Kong. The lease from China for Hong Kong is up in 1997 – about 16 more years – and nobody seems to be bothered by that since the construction seems to be going on everywhere.
When we arrived in Kowloon we said goodbye to Ted and Frani since they were going to stay with friends. We then went to check on our room. We thought we had a reservation at the “Y”, but nothing was recorded. However we were able to rent a suite for $50 a night, and it was most comfortable. After lunch we took the Star Ferry over to Hong Kong and again were amazed at how much it has changed from our trip in 1967 when we had stopped on our way to the Philippines. New construction was everywhere, and now 5 million people are living here. We took a bus tour of Hong Kong and visited the Tiger Balm Gardens, went to the top of Victoria Peak and passed by the ladder street. But we had been doing so much sight seeing in the past few weeks that we felt rather jaded and called it a day. We took the Star Ferry back to Kowloon and settled into our hotel rooms.
Around this time we started to have anniversary celebrations. Our first big one was for our 35th wedding anniversary, in 1982. We bid upon the services of a favorite band – the Cranberry Lake group composed of a washtub base, a guitar, a mandolin. a singer and a ukelele. We held the celebration in our back yard and invited all the friends we could think of. Here is a picture taken at this first one, of Sally, Rachel, and Dolores Morgan. A great time was had by all and included square dancing and such activities. We did this every five years through our 50th anniversary celebration in 1997.
We started this trip with a short tour to Xian and a visit to the Qin tomb with the terra-cotta warriors. On our first trip to Xian in 1981 we had been enthralled by a wall hanging in the museum in Xian. While in the museum I had bought a wall hanging, but when we returned to Syracuse I wasn’t sure if it was a print of the “protest” wall hanging. So on this trip we went back to the museum to check on it and sure enough we had bought the right wall hanging. This picture shows the hanging. The story of this hanging is quite interesting. A certain poet was very upset with the emperor at the time. He wrote a poem criticizing the emperor, but to protect himself he hid the poem in a bamboo tree. The leaves of the tree form ancient Chinese characters and they express the feelings of the poet. I found this intriguing. When I first talked with Xing, our guide in 1981, he was thrilled to be studying the meaning of the ancient characters.
At 6 a.m. the following morning we were blasted awake with the blare of trumpets. This was reveille for the workers and there followed a broadcast over loudspeakers that must have been some sort of pep talk. We decided this was a good time to survey the area, so we roamed around the University and the surrounding streets. First of all it was extremely hot. Chongqing deserves its name as one of the three furnaces of China. The University is on a plateau and thus is a high point. But below the plateau is a plant of some sort and the chimney top for that facility extended to just above the plateau. When the wind blew in the wrong direction we were exposed to the smoke of that monster.
This breaking away was very obvious in one other frightening way. From time to time we would see a large sign posted on a wall, usually with a big red check mark, and we wondered what it meant. The first friend I asked about them just brushed it off and said it was just some local thing. Finally I found out more about what was going on. It seems that some time a person would be accused of some action against the law, and would be tried and if found guilty would be punished. More than once we saw a truckload of men being transported by a police vehicle, and we found they were being taken to be executed. The signs were then placed around the area where the person lived to warn others of what had happened and what could happen to them. The big red check mark indicated the problem was solved – the person was executed. In addition, the family of the criminal had to pay the state for the bullets used in the execution.
We then bussed to the “Sleeping Buddha.” A small part of it is seen in this picture. It has hands all around it, and by actual count it has 1007 hands. According to Sally’s notes, the sculptures were started in “the first year of Jingfu in the Tang Dynasty” – 892. I was so taken with all these Buddhas that I bought one. It is a very special one in that it is a laughing Buddha, and children are climbing all over the figure.
This is a picture of that Buddha – it sits on top of my desk and keeps me pleasant company. There are five little people around the figure. It appears that one of them may be nursing, but I don’t know if there is any gender assigned to Buddha. A search of the internet finds that in some cultures the word byanjana is used to describe a Buddha. This word denotes a sign or mark of gender or other characteristic. Hence, in literal terms the word means ‘a person with the signs of both sexes/genders’. In any event it is so pleasant to have such an icon sitting before me.
The next weekend we went to the mountain Jin Yen Shan and on the way stopped at the Bei Bei Glass factory. All the work is done by hand and we saw them make tumblers, sherry glasses, etc. and cutting patterns into them. Shown is an example of their work. When we arrived at the hotel we found it was a Chinese Workers Hotel. The beds were hemp pads on a tightly woven mat mattress with a sheet under you, at quilt over you and a pillow made of cement. (At least it felt that way.) The next day we climbed the mountain and viewed the Jailing River in the mist. On the way back to the hotel we encountered a group of men trying to catch a runaway piglet. We had many laughs over that scene!
Another time we visited a steel mill, which seemed to me to be terribly old. There were open hearth furnaces and the heat was almost unbearable. However, we were told that a new factory was being built but was not yet open.
The trip started at about 5:00 a.m. and was absolutely beautiful. Once again our cabin was hot, but the scenery was fabulous. We saw an old road along the cliff that was carved out some 1700 years ago. At one point we saw a mule pulling a boat upstream.
We traveled through the Three Gorges for three nights and finally came upon the Gezhouba dam and lock. This lock drops us some 20 meters in one lock – certainly the largest lock I have ever seen. They often have trouble with the gates in the lock because of the buildup of dirt being washed downstream. This picture gives some idea of the size of the lock. We arrived in Wuhan in mid afternoon the following day and were met by a representative from the Mid-China University of Technology. They had failed to purchase airline tickets to fly us to Nanjing the following day, so we had to spend an extra night in Wuhan. The apartment we stayed in was nice, but all air conditioning is turned off at 11:00 p.m and we just sweltered. I had been pressured to give a seminar here but I refused to do so. Well, that was probably a mistake because they had even more trouble getting the tickets to Nanjing and another night was added to our stay.
When I showed up in January, 1987, Roger Bajarias was the Chairman. I got to know him and his family quite well. We worked together in developing the faculty and setting up courses for me to teach. After being Chairman for about four years he accepted a job with KGS Corporation and this required him to move to Japan. The company manufactured Braille reading equipment and he worked for a few years in Japan. While there their second child, another girl, was born. Unfortunately she was quite premature and required oxygen in order to save her life. This resulted in her losing her eyesight so by the time she left the hospital she was blind. This is such a combination of circumstances I am dumbfounded by it. Roger working for a company making aids for the blind, then having a blind child, and Sally’s involvement with Braille and the Cebu Braille Center, and finally the child going to the CBC and being involved with Nellie Bautista who was Sally’s motivation for getting into Braille production. What a world we live in!
So, Roger works for KGS and he is the manager of their plant in Mactan. Anytime I am in the Philippines I contact him. One time this contact went a lot further because of involvement with a product of KGS. Roger set up a trip to KGS in Tokyo for Sally and me to spend a few days there evaluating a new Braille writer they were planning to market. What we did was to fly to Tokyo from Cebu and then meet with their personnel to try a new braillewriter and give our comments. This was great as we stayed in the house of President Takeo Kurematsu and got to see the functioning of a Japanese family. The picture is of President and Ms. Takeo and Sally and me. They had one daughter and one day as he was driving us to a meeting at KGS Corporation he told us that on that day his daughter was scheduled to take an examination for admission to college. This is a very important exam because it is difficult to get into College in Japan.
As we were driving he looked up and was startled that Mount Fiji was visible! He explained to us that this was a remarkable sign of good luck and he was thrilled that the mountain became visible that day. It is a nearly perfectly shaped volcano that last erupted in 1708. Here is a picture of Mount Fuji that I found on the web. I never did find out how his daughter did on the exam. While we were in Tokyo we were treated grandly except one evening he took us to dinner at a Korean restaurant. This meant sitting on pillows and eating off a low table. Sally and I had indicated that we would enjoy a western meal since it had been some months since our last one. So we were surprised when we ended up at the Korean restaurant. Another little anomaly was that Kurematsu asked us to pick up some ubi ice cream in Cebu and bring it to him. He really loved this ice cream and he couldn’t get it in Tokyo. We were only too glad to do this and we hand carried the treat to him. Of course he was very polite in thanking us but he never offered to pay for it. So we never got the opportunity to tell him we were giving it to him as a gift.
During these trips Sally spent a lot of time with Nellie and the people of the Cebu Braille Center. At one point the Cebu State College, the place where the Braille Center was located, decided to honor her. They had a nice convocation and gave Sally a plaque in recognition of her contributions. This picture shows her giving an acceptance speech for the honor. On the podium in front of her is a Perkins Braille writer which is what she and the transcribers used at the Braille Center.
She also spent time with Nellie at the AVRC (Area Vocational Rehabilitation Center) and we attended the graduation ceremonies there. is a picture of one of the graduation ceremonies. All of the graduates are challenged in one fashion or another and they all were quite thrilled to be finishing up with their formal education. Moreover some of the blind students will go to the Cebu Braille center for more access to higher education.
Roger Bajarias was Chairman of the Department and he helped to set up a program with local industry for the purpose of increasing the cooperation between local industry and the University. So several visits were made to possible partners and I helped in these visits and in setting up some of the courses. This all worked out just fine and the University was so happy about it that they awarded me an honorary doctorate. The citation read “…in recognition of his Distinguished Career and outstanding contributions in the field of Engineering Education.” March 22, 1991. I thought that was pretty nice. This happy event preceded a reduction in my health a few months later. In the first week of August I underwent a heart bypass operation. I had been having some chest pains and when I went to the infirmary at Syracuse University for my annual checkup the doctor threw the book at me and made an appointment for a stress test the following week. So, I never had a heart attack but did have the operation. I went back to the Philippines in January of 1992 and things seemed OK. However I got too involved with running around and developed chest pains again. So upon my return to Syracuse that was checked out and the conclusion reached that all I needed was to be more sensible. In fact, things were so good that in the Spring Sally and I returned to Hawaii and did a lot of sightseeing, including a mule ride down to the leper colony on Malakai. However this threw a scare into me and I decided to take advantage of the offer by the University to accept early retirement. So I officially retired in 1997 although for the next couple of summers I taught a summer course at SU. Incidentally the occasion of my retirement party brought a visit to the gathering from Dolores. I had gone to her retirement party in 1990 – we just had two or three meetings over the years from when I left for the Philippines in 1967. Sally and I started having celebrations of our wedding anniversary every five years beginning in 1982 for our 35th. We would celebrate it in the summer and had a catered outdoor gathering. Usually we had my favorite group, Cranberry Lake, play at the event. This meant that it would end up with the group square dancing and having a ball!
Our packing and planning for the trip went easier this time because only three of us were going, and we were not renting out the house. Sally decided to take her Perkins Brailler with us, along with a supply of Braille paper. Just about this time, Spring of 1978, I found out about a computer put out by Radio Shack – the TRS 80 Model I. I decided I should take one, but the waiting list to obtain one was quite long. I found out that my colleague, Ming Hu, had one on order and he said he would let me take that one and he would wait for the next one to come in. It had 16 kilobytes of memory and the mass storage was a cassette tape. This computer cost me $4000. The programming language was BASIC II, and I wondered what I would do with it over there. After talking with another colleague, Ed. Stabler, I decided to buy an assembler that would allow me to write programs in a language called Assembly language, and run them on the computer. While I had written assembly language programs for the IBM 650, I had never written an Assembly language program for this machine, but I was sure Mark and I could figure out how to do that once we got to the Philippines.
When the CBC was started it was necessary to train some people to be braillists. Sally took it upon herself to do the training and after some months work four of them graduated from her school. They could only hire three, so one had to be dropped, and that caused a good deal of hurt feelings. Of the other three one went on to get her Masters Degree in teaching at the University of Manila. Some year’s later one more left, but at last recording one of the original braillists is still with the Center. The picture shows Sally getting an award from the Cebu State College for her efforts on behalf of blind people in the Philippines. 
Here is a picture of Sally at the braille center and four of the students. In later years after Sally and me, and then my grandchildren and I, visited the center we were able to ascertain that all was still proceeding and students were graduating and entering college.
In late June we packed up the car and trailer and headed west. We decorated the sides of the camper with various signs and symbols, and had a large peace symbol attached near the entrance door. Starting in 1969 and continuing through 1980 we traveled west every summer to go camping. This first year was quite typical. My parents were still alive, and living in Hancock, Michigan. It is about 1000 miles to that part of Michigan and we went there first on our way to the mountains. We drove north to 1000 Islands and then headed northwest up to North Bay, Ontario. The original home of the Dionne quintuplets was nearby, and one year we stopped there to check out their homestead.
We often spent the night in Sudbury, Ontario, before continuing on our trek to Upper Michigan. The land around Sudbury is highly unusual due to a meteor strike that occurred almost two billion years ago. As a result the area is rich in minerals and they are being exploited. However, the picture shows the result of the exploitation. In addition the entire area was almost devoid of vegetation due to the great amount of acid rain that occurs as a result of the mining. But the area has worked hard to improve this and in 
After out stay in Sudbury on the following morning we continue the journey westward to Sault St. Marie, Michigan. This is a small city on St. Mary’s river between two of the Great Lakes, Lake Superior and Lake Huron. There is a 21-foot difference in levels between Lakes Superior and Huron and the Soo locks are here on the St. Mary’s river to allow freighters to sail between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. It was still about 300 miles to Hancock, so we hurried on our way.
Leaving Hancock we now were really on our way to the west. We traveled for a day through Upper Michigan, part of northern Wisconsin, across Minnesota and ended the day in Chamberlain, South Dakota. Setting up our tent trailer went just fine, and we relaxed after the long day on the road. However, soon people were running through the campground shouting. It seems that a tornado was on its way towards us, and everyone was told to go home. Home for us was about 1500 miles away so we just lowered the tent and tied everything down. We could feel the change in pressure, and watched to see what would happen. The sky changed to weird colors and the birds all stopped singing. The wind picked up and we kept a wary eye to the western hills. Fortunately the tornado skipped over, or around, us so we had no trouble.
The next day we passed through Wall, S. Dakota. This is really a world famous stop over. Their big advertising project is: Free Ice Water at Wall Drugs. You will see signs for this store from many hundreds of miles away and it is worth a short stop to check it out.
Also, the Badlands of South Dakota are nearby, so it is a last stop before reaching that sight. The Badlands are quite fascinating if only because they are so different from the rest of the landscape. These large mounds of rock just seem to jump out of the ground and appear to be formidable. We roamed around in the area for a couple of hours and then continued on our way to Rapid City. This was our first major stop, and we camped in Custer State Park, which is nearby. Of course this is also the home of the famous memorial, Mount Rushmore, and the ongoing project of the Crazy Horse Monument.
Here is a picture of the Mount Rushmore group of four. It is quite a site to see. Of course we had a history lesson in the process, and the kids were easily able to identify Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Lincoln.
Another monument was under construction when we were first there in 1969, and in 2006 it is still in the process. The work was begun in 1948 by sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski at the request of Native Americans. Korczak died in 1982. His wife, Ruth, and their family continue the project working with the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation. The project is progressing at a snails pace, and the most recent picture of the monument doesn’t seem much different than one taken 37 years ago. This composite picture shows the monument in the background and a 1/34th model in the foreground.
But anyway they decided to lay some out on the top of the camper to see if it would dry, since we intended to be in the park a few days. Their immediate attempt was to see if they could make some good tea. Everyone was having a great time, but finally we all went to sleep.
On this first trip when Gail was with us we went to Mesa Verde National Park to check it out. The Hopi Indians lived in earthen structures along the side of the mesa, but for some unknown reason some few hundred years ago they just moved out and disappeared. We were able to tour around their structures, and climb the ladders into their dwellings. The ladders that had to be climbed between levels petrified Gail and Sally. But they lived through it!
One time we looked for something different that was going on, and we found a tourist trap where one could try panning for gold. So we got Nannette and Mark into it, and they tried their hand. If they did get any gold it was significantly less than the amount needed to pay for the experience. However, I bought a couple of bags of dirt from the miner with the intention to pan it after I got back to Syracuse. I never did do that and only threw out the dirt when I sold the Standish Ave. house some 30 years later.
The next idea was to try to make figures out of the horseshoe nails. The number of different figures could be enormous when one thinks of all the athletic games played and the many instruments in a band or orchestra. This raised two problems – how to hold the figures together and how to sell them. My first attempt at making the figures was to solder them. Well, this never worked out because the solder joint wasn’t strong enough. So then I thought I would use silver solder and this worked better. But, it was very embarrassing if I would sell the figure and very soon the buyer would track me down because it broke. Finally I invested in an oxy-acetylene torch system and braised the nails together. This worked great. The picture above is that of a cross-country skier. Five horseshoe nails, two slate nails and two pieces of welding rod make up the figure. The figure below is a saxophone player.
Another question that needed to be answered was how would I market the nail figures? One way was to mount them on a metal plate and sell them as trophies or as tabletop decorations. But the best idea was to string them into mobiles. Any number of figures two or greater could be tied onto arms and hung so that they were in balance. The largest mobile I made had 45 pieces, and it was a full orchestra. Brasses, strings, woods, percussion and of course the conductor completed the hanging. This was made for friends of ours, the George Sterns, who had a house with a spiral staircase leading to the second floor. I hung it in the open space of the staircase and it was beautiful.
We also had to give some thought about how to display our work. I got intrigued with domes and so built one where the edges were conduit. This was a lot of fun to build, at least the first time, but it required too much time to assemble and disassemble. So we settled for a framed display device as shown in the picture. We would pack all our mobiles and extra pieces into boxes and put our stand into the back of our station wagon and off we would go to the next craft fair. The picture on the next page shows Sally running the stand, but it is hard to see the mobiles because the pieces are essentially just two dimensional and not very large. We went to craft fairs pretty much throughout the entire northeast. The first time we had gross sales of $1000 worth of mobiles was at the Allentown fair in Buffalo, New York. Our sales were not always that high, but we had a lot of fun. We went to the Allentown fair a couple of times and enjoyed it. Sally’s brother Bob and his wife Rita lived in the Buffalo area so we stayed with them during the fair. One year their daughter Linda worked the fair with us, and the three of us had a great time. Our time with Bob and Rita gave Sally and opportunity to bond with them, and we usually had a great time. The scotch flowed easily with them, and perhaps we overdid it a bit. However we always had to back off a bit because the next day we had to go back to the fair, set up the stand, and sit in the hot sun all day.
Well, this was so exciting we decided to go to the Pentagon and see that place. We took a taxi over there and then went in and roamed around the public places. I remembered that I had worked with Dr. Robert C. Seamans while on one of my tours at MIT. He was now Secretary of the Air Force so I went to the security desk and told them I wanted to visit him. They called his office and they sent down an escort to bring us up to his office. As we were walking from the elevator to his office we passed a women rest room and I noticed there was a sign indicating that the room was closed to public use. I inquired of the guide why this was the case and he reminded me that a few weeks previous the Weather Underground Organization successfully planted and exploded a bomb in a fourth-floor women’s restroom.
After a few months of work she took the certification exam from the LOC, and passed it with flying colors. In July, 1971 she received certification from the Library of Congress as a “Volunteer Braille Transcriber”. So, she joined the OBO and they then loaned her a Perkins Brailler. This device has six keys and Braille paper is inserted at the top. Pressing a key causes a Braille dot to appear on the paper in the appropriate position in the Braille cell. It is much faster to use than the slate and stylus, of course. So once Sally was certified by the LOC and in 1971 then she began to Braille for the OBO. They basically did textbooks for schools with some private work for individuals that wanted to send a letter to a blind friend. All the labor they did was free and they only charged for the material they used.
You can also see that making multiple copies is tricky. Once the original was completed it was copied onto special paper by a thermoform machine. The blind reader much preferred the original made by the Perkins Brailler as the dots were much crisper. Sally really enjoyed doing this work, even though at times it was quite complex. There were many rules to follow, especially when it came to formatting the Braille for special cases like tables. Brailling the Periodic Table was a particular challenge.
so we didn’t realize that we should force ourselves to immediately put our bodies on local time. The mid-day naps we took in Tokyo only made matters worse. But, we found time to do some sightseeing, and rode the subway into downtown Tokyo. We wanted to see the Ginza, but how does one know the character for Ginza? We also journeyed on a monorail out into the countryside, and were amazed by the speed and comfort of the ride. We hung around the hotel room sometimes, and the children got a big kick out of watching TV and viewing Ponderosa in Japanese. We also roamed around some temples we found, but perhaps we were disrespectful. At one point we saw that a robed gentleman was following us and decided we should be more careful.
After a few days in Hong Kong we continued on to the Philippines. It was a few-hour flight to Manila, and we arrived in late afternoon. We had to go through immigration and then claim our baggage before going through Customs. The heat and humidity was overbearing and sweat just poured off us. We had many pieces of baggage, as we knew we would be staying at least a year. We did not have any language difficulty as English is spoken throughout the country. We found that we had to change terminals from the International terminal to the domestic terminal to catch the flight to Cebu. This caused no end of tension, as we had to hire more than one taxi to get all of our baggage and us safely transported. Many of the taxies did not use a meter and it meant fixing the price for the ride before we loaded our baggage. This took some doing, as the taxi drivers understanding of English seemed to decay as we tried to negotiate a lower price.
Our plane had landed on the island of Mactan, and so we had to cross over to the main island of Cebu, which is about ¼ mile away. There was no bridge, the previous bridge having been destroyed in a typhoon. (A typhoon in the Eastern Hemisphere is the same as a hurricane in the Western Hemisphere.) So our caravan headed for the shore, and drove onto LST’s. These ships, which were left over from the war, were now serving as ferries. There was much evidence of the war still around. For example, an electrical generator that was on an LST supplied part of the power needed by Cebu City.
On the following day we were introduced to many people throughout the administration, from the President, Father Rahmann on down. The University had made arrangements for us to rent a house on the street Andres Abellana, in the Capital district of Cebu City. So we went there the next day to look it over. The house had a nice lot, and three bedrooms on an upper level. The main floor had a large dining/living room, a kitchen, a maid’s room, and a wash room. We were also told that we should hire a cook and a maid. Sally was quite concerned about this, as she had no experience with hired help. But the need to do shopping for food in the city market, contact with vendors, laundry, and maintenance of the house soon convinced her that it was worth a try.
I went to the Engineering College, and started to meet the faculty. I met the Dean of Engineering, Jose Rodriguez. He had been Dean since shortly after the end of World War II. The main building of the Engineering College is in the barrio Talamban, about 8 kilometers (5miles) out of the city. At first I took a taxi to get there, but when I learned about which jeepney to ride, I switched to that mode. The jeepney is the most widely used form of transportation throughout the Philippines. They all are highly decorated and colorfully adorned. Usually two passengers ride up front with the driver, and the rest of us ride on side benches. Often a helper will hang on to the back of the jeepney and collect the fares. But usually the driver is alone and the passengers each pay the driver as they leave the jeepney. The fare when we first arrived in the Philippines was 10 centavos, with 100 centavos in a peso. At that time in 1967 the peso was worth about 25 cents. A jeepney had the sign: “God Knows, Judas not Pay.” The full meaning of that line becomes apparent when you remember that the J has the sound of H.
Sally and I got involved with this activity to the extent that we would go out to Miramar each Sunday afternoon, and bring a couple of bagsful of sweet rolls. We would be around with them while they swam, and then pass out the rolls for a little snack. One day Brother Willie and Father Verstrallen brought them to our house prior to the swim, and this picture shows them as they greeted us. That is Father Verstrallen on the right, along with a little bit of Brother Willie. We figured that they had worn their shirts and pants for quite some time, so we went out and bought replacement clothes for the. The other picture shows them in their new attire. Of course, within a day or two the new clothes in lower picture took on the form of the clothes in the upper picture.
This picture was taken at another part of the University. This place was known as Girls High School, and was a few kilometers from the main building. Jim went to Boys High School, which was in still another part of the Cebu City.
The people in the department would, from time to time, have a gathering of the families. Of course we would meet at a beach and have a day of swimming, snorkeling, and general bonding. The big danger most of us were aware of was the need to protect ourselves from the sun. Being on the ocean in the tropics is delightful experience, but sunstroke is always a danger. Also, the tides resulted in a change of water level of about 3 feet. That isn’t so much, but when we are swimming at a nice beach that is quite shallow then there can be quite a change in where the shoreline is.
The group left the beach as the tide was going out, and they were gone a few hours. When they returned they found that the water had become so shallow that they had to debark from the banca at a distance of about 100 yards from the shore. The floor of the ocean in this interval was just thick with sea urchins, and they all started walking towards the shore. Well it didn’t take more than a couple of steps before the children screamed and started crying because they couldn’t step between the sea urchins and thus were getting spines into their feet. So, what could they do? The bancas couldn’t get closer to the shore, and so the men that were on board each took a child on their backs and waded through the sea urchins! We who were on the shore could see the pain on their faces, and also hear their shouts of anger/pain. What a sorry sight, and what a way to end a joyful day at the beach.
Hans took great pleasure in relating stories about filipino myths, and giving modern interpretations. The feast of the Santo Nino occurs in mid January, and Cebu is the center of the observances that go on throughout the Philippines. Nowadays this is called the Sinulog. One story is that during this period the Santo Nino and the black Madonna disappear and meet on the island of Mactan. The story goes that as a result of this meeting the human line is continued. The figure to the left is the classic figure of the Santo Nino. The next figure shows the women dancing outside the Basilica of the Santo Nino in Cebu. The women are dancing to help people with their prayers. Anybody can purchase a candle and then give it to one of these women to perform their dance for them in the hope that the prayer will be answered. Usually the prayer is a call to assist the penitent to achieve her desired state of being pregnant.
The picture below shows one small part of the parade that went down one of the main streets of Cebu City. The people line the streets to see all the participants in their costumes and listen to the music of the marching bands.
The crucifixion is real and begins with a procession through the streets. Eventually they reach the desired open space and the penitent is nailed to the cross with steel spikes driven through his hands and feet. This man stayed on the cross for the full three hours in the blazing sun. It was not only that he was able to stand the pain, but surprisingly didn’t suffer from heat stroke. The time around Easter Sunday is the beginning of the summer in the Philippines and it gets quite hot in the direct sun during the summer. It seems to me that in the Philippines the event of the crucifixion and death of Christ is more important than the resurrection. Also, All Souls day, November 2, (sometimes called the Day of the Dead) is more important than All Saints day, November 1. The day purposely follows All Saint’s Day in order to shift the focus from those in heaven to those in suffering.
After we had been in the Philippines for several months we decided to take a trip to Bohol. This is an island very close to Cebu, so we went there by ferryboat rather than flying. We were drawn there by the word that many fine orchids were in the market in Tagbilaran, main city of Bohol. So we found a hotel in the city and looked around at the market there. But, the real attraction, for me at least, is to the Chocolate Hills. As you can see in the picture the hills look like chocolate drops and in the dry season the leaves on the trees turn brown, and the likeness becomes striking. We hired a taxi to take us up to the hills, and spent the night there in a dormitory. It was a full moon night, and the view was spectacular.
It is interesting to note that some years later (in 2003) I returned to the Philippines with Dolores and my granddaughter Rachel and we visited some of the places that Sally & I frequented in 1967-68. On our trip to Bohol in 2003 we tracked down a small monkey called a tarsier , as shown in this picture. The tarsier is about the size of a small person’s hand, and spends most of the day sleeping. It is an endangered species as you might well imagine.
We also went back to the cave and here is a picture of Rachel part way into the cave. They added the cement steps, but otherwise not much else was different from what it was in 1967. The picture down below shows the cave entrance.
A technician in the Engineering College was a man from the Netherlands. He went by just his last name, Pols. Maybe that’s because his first name is Cornelius. He is married to a beautiful Filipina, Tessie. I happen to have a picture of her at a party in our home. I never did get a picture of Pols. Pols was an unusual person in that he had many many complaints about the Philippines, Filipinos, USC and the engineering college in particular. However, he and I would sometimes go down to the waterfront in the evening and have a few beers and discuss world shaking matters. Pols finally went back to the Netherlands, and a couple of times his son telephoned me when he was in the US.
This picture shows a small part of the terraces, which extend over many square miles. We found a small rooming house in Banaue, and spent the night there. We were invited to attend a ceremony in a kiva in the barrio, so we climbed down into the small room that was to be part of the service. There were several men there, all smoking pipes, so it was indeed quite stuffy. Also, the talk was all in the local dialect so we had no real idea about what was going on.
About 25-30% of the terraces are now abandoned, which has led to damage to some of the walls. This has arisen because parts of the irrigation system have been neglected, which in turn is due to people leaving the area. The situation is also aggravated by the effects of pest species of worms and snails; Despite good planning, irregular development is taking place, which threatens to erode the heritage landscape. Thus, this important heritage site is in danger of being lost.
Another time we decided to check out the island of Palawan. This island is quite remote from the rest of the Philippines, being quite far to the west. We flew out there and landed at the capital city Puerto Princesa. We found a place to stay at a Hyatt Hotel. But, this was many years ago, so no ‘touristy’ accommodations were set up for us. Instead we made our way to the beach and surveyed the possibilities. A host of young Japanese tourists arrived at the same time, so we toured the area together. We found a couple of bancas and made arrangements for a couple hour tour along the shore. The scenery was magnificent, as you can see from the above picture. We visited the famous Princess St Paul Underground River Cave and were just overwhelmed by the beauty and quiet. This was all done some 40 years ago, and all has changed. There are now many resorts on the outlying islands, and no longer the feeling of being isolated.
The Parthenon, one of the most beautiful structures to be seen dominates the Acropolis. We were intrigued by the information that the columns of the Parthenon are slightly out of line so that when the Parthenon is viewed from the Pynx against the blue sky, then they appear to be vertical. The above picture attempts to show that. (The Pynx is another hill in Athens.) On the north slope of the Acropolis is another building. This is the Erechteion.
The next picture shows this building. The roof of the building is supported by a number of statues of Greek maidens. But one is missing. That statue was looted by Lord Elgin, along with an enormous amount of other marble work, in 1801. The entire lot of the marbles he looted is known as the Elgin Marbles, and they all finally ended up in the British Museum in London. The reason I mention all this is because a few weeks later we were in London, and visited the British Museum. As we were prowling through it Mark suddenly yelled: “there’s the missing statue!” Indeed off to one side was that particular Elgin Marble. Sally & I were thrilled that Mark remembered that incident back in Athens.
We found the remains of an old theater, shown in this picture. This is the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. The acoustics are amazing – a sound on the stage could easily be heard throughout the structure.
In order to figure out our future we decided to take a bus trip up to the Oracle at Delphi. The stories around this site and how it all figured into the politics, and economics, of the time are fascinating. Briefly, the Oracle was quite good at making economic predictions because so many merchants came to the Oracle for predictions. Well, they might have come for predictions but they also unwittingly gave a lot of information about their home countries, their products, and where they were headed. So, this is what is left of the Oracle, and it was fascinating to walk around the grounds and think back upon all the events that had occurred here over the centuries.
Our next excursion took us east from Munich. We decided to drive to Berchtesgaden, the location of Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest. The drive was again momentous as the mountains in the area are so beautiful and we took the time to walk along the sides of them. We drove up the mountain to the Eagle’s Nest, and were able to tour the inner buildings and again get the feeling of those times. On to Salzburg for a look at that city and that completed this side excursion.
When we went on a retreat we went to Mount Savior Monastery near Elmira, New York. This was operated by Benedictine monks and was a singing group. This is a picture of that place as it now appears. The Sodality would go there for a long weekend and it was an unforgettable experience. Silence was the order of the day. The men and women of the Sodality slept in separate sections of the monastery, but married couples could share a room. The days were filled with some lecture, study, and enjoying the beauty of the hills. The men and women took their meals separately, but the men had their meals with the monks. To me the highlight of each day was the evening service called Compline. This is a contemplative service that ended with the monks walking slowly into a basement grotto while singing a closing song. I found it to be very moving and look forward to going back there to attend that service. Our association with the group continued for several years but our interest waned. Especially around the time that Mark F. decided to give a lecture on angels and indicated how important it was to believe in them.
As you can imagine the Pharmacy played an important role in the Corp family. Bob was sort of expected to take it over from his dad, but he had no interest in the place. Sally helped out in the store as a child. During the depression Clarence would spend hours there with little time at home. He would try to get some sleep and he would go into the back of the pharmacy to lie down. Sally would watch the store and wake up her dad if a customer showed up. This is a picture of the sign for the pharmacy that was over the front door. When Clarence retired and the building was sold to a new vendor this sign was sold to someone in Weedsport, NY. I tracked it down and finally was able to buy it for $75 from the person who acquired it. I hung it in our breakfast room at 212 Standish drive until I sold the house. I then gave ot to Bobby and Billy Corp – two of Bob and Rita Corps sons and they put it in their bar near Buffalo, NY.
The move to 212 Standish Drive from Loma went very smoothly in spite of it being in the winter. Here is a picture of our house.
Our neighbors to one side were Joyce and Sid Goldstein. Below is a picture of them taken recently. They were a dynamic young couple – Sid was a business man and Joyce was a budding artist. Her medium was pottery and she was busy making all sorts of pots and other designs. She often had to go back to SU to fire her pots and so and one point she decided she wanted her own kiln. I was thrilled with this and it gave me an opportunity to try designing it. So I got a long length of light rope and hung it from the two ends thus forming a catenary. We adjusted it until it was the right height and width and then I traced the catenary onto a piece of plywood and then cut the plywood around the edge of the catenary. This served as a template for Joyce to build the kiln to the right shape. She succeeded in doing so and had a very good kiln.
Here is a picture of a plaque that Joyce made for us in her new kiln.
While we were living on Loma Avenue and shortly after we adopted Nannette Sally had a miscarriage. This was a source of sadness, but we thought it was kind of usual for a pregnancy to follow an addition to the family. Sometime after that Sally became pregnant again and we hired a part time housekeeper, Mrs. Hopkins, to help out in the hope to prevent another miscarriage. Since we were going to have an increase to the family we decided we should look for a larger house and one closer to the University. After some searching we found an ideal place at 212 Standish Drive in the Bradford Hills section of Syracuse. The picture is of the house at the time we moved in to it. Mark was born on November 19, 1960 and we moved in the first week of January, 1961. The new house cost $27,500 and after the down payment coming from the sale of 340 Loma Avenue our mortgage came to $119.00 per month. We felt we could handle that so we were all set.