Living the American Dream
Shown from left to right are friends from Mom & Dad's Church in Detroit, Merrill & Lorna Hoffman with Dad.
Mr. & Mrs. Hoffman were from New York State and after a while they moved back from Michigan and my parents lost touch.
Mom recalls at the time that Grandma Stoscup did complain of some neck pain. In the extreme of irony Grandma was visiting a lady friend in the hospital when she had what must have been a massive heart attack. Grandpa Stoscup was in the parking lot waiting for her and was jolted with the news of what was happening. Despite the best and quickest care, Grandma Anna G. Stoscup died August 6, 1955.
One person that took it particularily hard was Mom's Dad Gordon Findahl. Being that she was only 53 years old he just couldn't believe it. In less than three years he himself would be dead.
Along with death, however, it was also a time of much new life in our family and the stage would be far from empty by the time I came along four years later. Here Dad is holding son David in early 1956.
Coincidentally Shirley arrived on Dad's birthday, March 24, 1956
Mom shown here and the new 1957 Ford Fairlane.
"Davy, Davy Crockett King of the Wild Frontier." The Davy Crockett - Walt Disney television series introduced a new song, "The Ballad of Davy Crockett". Four different versions of the song hit the Billboard Best Sellers pop chart in 1955. The versions by Bill Hayes, TV series star Fess Parker, and Tennessee Ernie Ford charted in the Top 10 simultaneously, with Hayes' version hitting #1.
Checking up on this I found that "during its early years, (the company) Taylor-Reed's main line of business was packaging sugar and chocolate rations for the War Department. In the postwar years, the company's best-known product was Cocoa Marsh chocolate syrup, which advertised heavily on children's programming in the New York City television market during the 1950s and 1960s"
I think I can see on the extreme left Grandpa's brother Arthur Stoskopf (or is it Charles?) next to my mother Marjorie. Sister Shirley is in the stroller. The child seated on the left is brother David with Uncle Bill Stoscup next to him. I think I see on the right side Aunt Edith and we have another picture (maybe not quite as good as this one) where you can see Dad's brother Uncle Gordon Stoscup. Dad is probably taking the picture.
Besides one other photo, that's about all we have left that documents our connection to our Canadian relatives.
A nice contrast from the Detroit neighborhoods was that there wasn't all that fencing Detroit had dividing neighbors.
Mr. Gask sang at Mom & Dad's Wedding. I like the big stove!
I chose this picture because although it may be hard to see, I like the cowboy decor. The Western still reigned high in popularity in 1957. Look at that wood finish too!
In the back behind the balloons is my mother, who is in between two neighbor ladies who were twins. At the extreme left is Olga, then Mom, Olga's sister Helen, my brother David, Eddie, & friends.
One of the better pictures we have of Grandpa Gordon before he passed away. By this time he knew he wasn't feeling right. Soon he and Grandma Martha Findahl would travel out to Arizona to see their friends, the Carlsons. Grandpa had an idea the trip might help make him feel better but some time after their return they learned he had cancer.
In the beginning of 1958 he was pretty bad off and on May 31, 1958 we lost him. To this day the Memorial Day weekend remains a special time of thought for his memory.
I don't mind saying working with these photographs has made me feel closer to him.
I chose this photo because of the basement lay-out. I'm seeing things familiar to myself, like that wooden toy-box!
These are from home slides so I can only guess it was my Dad taking the photos. (Gordon is Dad's brother.)
Front row: (?); (?); Edith, Gordon, Edith's mother Mrs. Jarrett, Gordon's father Wilfred Stoscup, (?)
Back row: William Stoscup (Dad's other brother), Edith's father Mr. Jarrett, and her brother Bob Jarrett to the right.
For any local folks or others interested in aviation, this is what our airport looked like in 1958
Back in a time when we used to go visit the airport to watch the planes. No one hangs around airports these days if they don't have to!
This was a trip that my Mom & Dad, David & Shirley took to Florida with Grandma Martha after Grandpa Gordon's death.
Dad probably took this one from their balcony as the sun set. Mom recalls this was about May 1959.
While in Florida, the family stayed at a place run by Grandma's friends, the Benders. (We have a Christmas card from them shown in my Christmas photo album.)
I'm pretty confident this is Cypress Gardens
The thing about these photos is they always remind me of the sequence in the motion picture "Cinerama" filmed in Cypress Gardens some years before.
Shirley, Cousin Janice, with Dave in the background. (Janice is the first daughter of Gordon & Edith Stoscup)
I chose this because it shows the school I would never attend, McColl, which was only about four blocks down Patton street.
I enjoy wondering what it is that Eddie and Dave and a few others are looking at.
When it came time for me to start Kindergarten McColl wouldn't admit me. I guess it was because they didn't have room for more students. Either way it was a bit strange and Mom wound up pulling both David and Shirley out of there and all of us went instead to Horace Mann Elementary School, which I think was about twice the distance from our home than McColl was.
Dad took David & Shirley to the Detroit Zoo this day. I wasn't quite born yet, so Mom wasn't up to going along this time.
It would make perfect sense to believe that, since my father's name was Robert Charles, I had been named after him. Even my brother's name is David Robert, so you can see the pattern. When I was born, my mother recalls the nurses believing that I had been named after John Charles Daly, the television personality. I was actually named after the baritone singer, John Charles Thomas, who would unfortunately pass away later that year.
John Charles Thomas
The view is north looking down our street on Patton toward Plymouth Road.
I think these photos represent the era. True, we lived in a place once renowned as "The Motor City" and it was that city which gave so much opportunity such as it did to my family.
These were also days when it was much easier to trade in an automobile after only a few years. Things would change shortly, however, and it would be more time before one could trade in a car.
This is kind of a 'day in the life' series of pictures. Here in our backyard is my brother Dave in the middle with Eddie Mich to the right. Eddie's house is behind him. Besides Eddie we only recognize the one child with his head turned as from the Budzeszewski family.
I'm taking a step slightly out of sequence photo-wise. This was actually taken in 1960 at Grandpa & Grandma Stoscup's home on Heyden St. in Detroit. Here is my Aunt Edith watching Shirley, David & Cousin Janice in the pool.
There is a companion shot that shows also Uncle Bill, Uncle Gordon, my Dad and Grandpa Wilfred Stoscup that you can see in his 'memory photo album'.
You can find that photo here: http://tinyurl.com/3gehvhc
By the time of this photo, Grandma Anna Stoscup had been gone five years already.
In 1962 Grandpa's diabetes had got to the point where he went into the hospital to have a toe removed. We think he had the operation but never recovered.
Grandpa Wilfred Stoscup died on June 20th, 1962.
My mother was home when she got a call from his doctor to let her and my father know that Grandpa had 'expired'. Mom was so stunned (as this was not expected) it took her a little time to process what had happened.
My own dad too was in a hospital suffering from high blood pressure and she wasn't certain if this was the thing to tell him, but of course she had to.
This is from August 24, 1956 when Grandpa and his sons Gordon and Bill took a trip to Florida. This was one year after Grandma had died.
I like the writing on the front by my mother: Dad Stoscup & boys
Two years old (and already three grandparents have left us) with brother, sister and very faintly, my remaining Grandma Martha Findahl
This is wonderful for me because it really shows our car & trailer, a combination which has a very short time-line in my memory.
They had a Halloween party at the campsite in Irish Hills. Even I had forgotten how far back myself and the fun of Halloween went.
Although I don't look like I'm having fun here, do I? I don't believe I was so frightened by my mother as I was feeling bad about what must have happened to her!
A bit cramped looking, this does show a small portion of the inside of our trailer. I think it's the only photo we have of it.
I love the history here. I see my mother in the background behind Shirley & David.
I'm here next to David and Shirley is holding my hand. I understand I did get an honorable mention for being the youngest party goer there.
I don't have an exact date on this but it is probably (very) early 1960s and of my cousins, the Johnsons we see: Bill & Joanne with Tim & Chris out front.
I see myself peeking out of the corner followed by my mother, Uncle Gordy holding Jim, followed by Janice & Shirley and Aunt Edith. (Not exactly certain who might be sitting in the foreground.)
This is out in the Badlands of South Dakota with our family and the Johnson family.
I still remember the awe of seeing Mount Rushmore (shown in the background.)
This is of what they called: American Indian Boys Dance Team.
The sign in the middle states: Please Tip
To show these young dancers you appreciate their skill and effort in bringing you colorful Indian Dances -- Thank You.
The last says: Step Up to take Pictures
I don't think that is something you would see too often these days!
Clockwise: David, Mom & Shirley (with two matching dresses they both made together) and me.
I must say one thing I would have liked to have done is learn to ride. I did get on a real horse one time for a ride with folks I worked with from the theatre in the late 70s. Those were very tame horses, however.
I think at my age now, this will be one experience I'll not have this lifetime.
Remember he was with us throughout this story as we are seeing most of it through his lens.
Dave is riding the waves with myself clinging to Shirley out in 'deep' waters.
They were indeed oh, so happy days.
On the back it simply states: A Silhouette from Fantasy Island
John, Shirley & Dave (Children of Margie & Bob)
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Originally published February 11 - May 6, 2010 on my Facebook account
