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Walls And Bridges (1974-79)
1974 - I remember the symptoms started late the year before. Dad had a constant skin irritation. The sequence of events that followed are fuzzy but after years of taking medicine to control his high blood pressure, Dad's kidneys had shut down.
It became a race against time because dialysis wasn't working. He couldn't walk, could barely hold an eating utensil and the worry was his "galloping neuropathy" would eventually reach and stop his heart.
I remember once calling him at the hospital and asking, "Well Dad, how are you feeling?" His reply, "Like a piece of dead meat," shocked me. Nonetheless the appreciation I had of him giving it to me straight at the age of 14 overtook the shock. This was the way he would always be.
A donor was eventually found. I understand he was a teenager who was killed in a motorcycle accident and it was his one kidney which was added to Dad's two. As Dad's organs were not diseased, it was apparently better to just leave them where they were and add the third kidney.
A long road back was before us. For starters Dad was put on 16 different types of medications. We'd get him up in the middle of the night sometimes to take a pill. It was quite a year, still considered the worst in my memory.
Dad did learn to walk again and would be back at his work with Detroit Edison. This photo was taken for the company paper along with his story.
It became a race against time because dialysis wasn't working. He couldn't walk, could barely hold an eating utensil and the worry was his "galloping neuropathy" would eventually reach and stop his heart.
I remember once calling him at the hospital and asking, "Well Dad, how are you feeling?" His reply, "Like a piece of dead meat," shocked me. Nonetheless the appreciation I had of him giving it to me straight at the age of 14 overtook the shock. This was the way he would always be.
A donor was eventually found. I understand he was a teenager who was killed in a motorcycle accident and it was his one kidney which was added to Dad's two. As Dad's organs were not diseased, it was apparently better to just leave them where they were and add the third kidney.
A long road back was before us. For starters Dad was put on 16 different types of medications. We'd get him up in the middle of the night sometimes to take a pill. It was quite a year, still considered the worst in my memory.
Dad did learn to walk again and would be back at his work with Detroit Edison. This photo was taken for the company paper along with his story.
1974 - I admit, especially during this time, I was not into being confirmed at our church but I did it for my parents.
As far as any graduation ceremony goes, in the end Dad couldn't be involved anyway.
I really can't stand any of the pictures taken from that period, except I thought this one not too bad.
As far as any graduation ceremony goes, in the end Dad couldn't be involved anyway.
I really can't stand any of the pictures taken from that period, except I thought this one not too bad.
Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Livonia, MI
I have a confirmation group picture I participated in but I still thought this photo a better illustration of the inside of the church we attended as a family (even though it is from a worn postcard.)
As found at the Holy Cross website: Holy Cross Lutheran Church began as a mission of Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church of Detroit which was located at West Chicago and Stoepel.
Hope, one of the largest Lutheran Churches in Michigan, noted that a number of their members were leaving the city of Detroit and moving west to the suburbs. Without help from the Synod, Hope Church bought ten acres in Livonia and built what is now the chapel of Holy Cross Church. On June 8, 1958 they dedicated this first unit and called the church Hope Lutheran Extension. Hope's three pastors took turns serving the Livonia branch.
Hope then decided to make the extension an independent congregation. On April 25, 1963 Rev. William G. Moldwin became pastor of the new congregation which was legally named Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church of Livonia, and it was officially organized with 486 charter members on May 5, 1963.
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The history is that we were members of Hope Lutheran Church when I was born and then in 1964 moved to Holy Cross.
We were such lucky children because our church going experience was more of a thing we did as a family and what you got out of it was left up to the individual.
I am eternally thankful for the freedom of thought our parents gave us.
August 1974 - My first 'press' in The Detroit News.
In amongst the 'horrors' of the day I had put my heart into the joy of obtaining my very own copy of the Grandfather of all Dinosaur films, "The Lost World" (1925).
This was the film crowned by the art of Marcel Delgado and animation genius Willis O'Brien, both who would go on to make the legendary "King Kong" in 1933.
I had seen an advertisement for it in "Castle of Frankenstein" and was astounded by the fact it was being offered "feature length".
Being into collecting films in the old Standard 8mm home movie format, one could easily find edited down versions of feature films, but a true feature length film to own was a rarity, not to mention they were expensive.
This item was roughly 5 or 6 reels long and at the price for such a prize, it would take quite a while to save up for a copy especially on the allowance of a 13 year old kid.
August 1974 - My first 'press' in The Detroit News.
Sadly, it would be even longer to obtain such a copy. Although I do and always did like the "Castle" publication, I felt betrayed when my movie never arrived. I can't tell you how many days I waited in anticipation for my package to arrive, and it never showed. Time can move slowly, especially when you are a kid.
Finally, I wrote to the Detroit News column "Contact 10" for help and by our surprise we got a call and they so graciously helped us out and I eventually got my movie!
I felt badly when they telephoned us the day it arrived that I didn't sound as appreciative as I would have liked. I was indeed deeply grateful, but as I watched the film I realized that although the story seemed well edited and complete -something was missing.
There were dinosaur sequences I saw in photographs that didn't occur in the film. I didn't know it at the time but the original release of the film was much longer and had since been edited down to this version with all excised footage presumed lost.
That would change, however, and my Lost World Story would continue to play out years later!
Anyone from the News reading this, I assure you I was so glad you helped me. I was pretty lucky. They even did this illustration!
Also, I liked the ducks.
There's a very old photograph of my Grandmother visiting a cemetery and my mother told me how they would sometimes pack a lunch. Thinking at first the oddity of that I'm reminded we do practically the same thing, although instead of bringing food it's a restaurant later which completes the ritual. We are indeed products of our history.
I can't remember the fellow's name in front but I believe it's Alison Cutts behind him.
It may have been fun at the time to have an extended Summer vacation in 1973, but it sure was tough paying the price for it during the Summer of '74.
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The only person I remember by name here is Vera Blake at the right end of this line-up.
1975 - This is Pam Schreckengost and myself. Pam was a huge fan of the Marx Brothers and she got me into them as well.There was a movie theatre a few miles north of our house that sometimes had Marx Brothers Film Festivals which myself and Dad would go to. Oh did they make us laugh!!
I'd met Brian in our first year of Jr. High. He used to really make me laugh too! A real good kid. We remained in touch for a few years more and I saw him again for the last time in 1982 when visiting from Texas.
It really was a 'last' day too. The school strike of 1973 proved the beginning of the end for myself and public education.
After my Dad's illness, nothing was the same again for me. Despite what some of these photos imply, classmates were distant and the quality of education was eroding.
Standing left: Doug Martin
Right: Mrs. McCreery
We lost our tree in front of the house to the Dutch-Elm disease in the 60s and it was eventually replaced by a Japanese honey locust which we brought home in the trunk of Dad's car. You can see some of it here in front of the expanded porch.
I'm now struck by the gas lamp in front we had all those years. That seems like an idea from another time!
I loved this shot of Mom back then but it doesn't reproduce so very well. You can see my scan of it on my Facebook account. Before migrating it to this blog I did take it to Ritz Camera to have those folks scan it for me and I think I've finally captured what I saw in 1976.
(The wax museum was a favorite in Disney World. A lot of great scenes from great movies are reproduced there!)
It's a good mention of what he went through and how grateful we were for the United Foundation, in particular the Kidney Foundation of Michigan.
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To help get up-to-date with my story, in late 1975 through the Winter of 1976 I worked my first job delivering the morning paper for the Detroit Free Press.
I thought it was a great start as a job and to my day as I loved getting up in the morning even if it was at 5AM in such cold weather. Then something happened and they couldn't get the papers to me on time! So many mornings I'd have to come home to warm up and go back later to avoid freezing to death waiting for a morning delivery.
The irony of all came the day the Free Press man dryly handed me all the customer complaints over late papers, as he himself hours late was handing me my daily quota.
Soon it was impossible for me to stay and wait for papers. Despite my apathy about school I still believed my classes came first. The first one started at 9AM in the morning. Many customers had gone onto their jobs by the time the paper was ready for delivery. I was forced to quit.
I explained the problem to my customers as to why I was leaving the job, and a few of them quit with me as well.
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Continuing my work history, I then started as a doorman at the Northland Theatre. My first day was for the Wednesday matinee, February 16, 1977. I really enjoyed that job and eventually persuaded my old friend Wayne Welkenback to come along after much persistence from the manager who was looking for another employee. For some reason I just thought Wayne wouldn't be interested!
It was the Northland Theatre which helped take my mind away from the disaster which was Cody High School. For the most part education there was non-existent. I did have a wonderful drafting teacher though and stayed with my Archetectural & Machine Drafting classes for 2 & 2-1/2 years. Finally I was creating drawings the teacher (Mr. Decker) would add to his cirriculum. Even though more classes were offered he told me there was really nothing left he could teach me.
The same was for Math classes. I always did well in Math and liked the subject a lot. Had it not been for the incompetence of scheduling at Cody, I would have taken Calculus. As it was I got as far as Algebra 4. I'd twice try to continue my math education in College but this would fail due to the pressures of time.
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What happened was most of my friends wound up dropping out of school. My job at Northland temporarily ended in a scheduling miss-hap and although I would return in early 1978, with only six months left of High School I thought it a good thing to stick it out and dive into my studies one final time no matter what was happening around me.
As awful as Cody was, I could have got out of there. It was even suggested I might live with my sister far away from Detroit and its rotting culture. Since it was only six more months and it would then be over I made the best of it. I would, however, pay a price for that.
Alison Cutts was one of them shown here.
Good-bye Cody High!
The first was to be a part of the whole graduation thing.
Me and Mom doing the cap 'n' gown.
1978 - The first joke of the event, however, was when I found out later I actually graduated cum laude! I ranked something like 59th out of 625 graduates. Amazing, and I didn't even know it.
I was the only one to show up for graduation whom they forgot to give honors to.
I was the only one to show up for graduation whom they forgot to give honors to.
The commencement was downtown Detroit (one more time!) and at the Masonic Temple. That was a pretty nice place for such an event.
My dear Dad took this photo before I left for the prom finally 'decorated.'
Me and Susan. I'll leave her last name out of it. I was foolish for asking her out on this prom and she should have told me ahead of time she had no intentions of staying very long. After feigning illness, I took her home and that was the end of her.
The really sad thing was that I was determined to have a good time even without her and returned to the prom but was not allowed back into the party because I had already left, in their eyes.
He's shown here at his brother's birthday party with Paul Allen.
Rick I met through Frank and Bernadette I knew from school. This was a good time!
This trip Wayne taught me how to use a manual shift which was unusual because the shift stick was mounted on the steering column.
Oh how I tortured poor Wayne grinding those gears!
One day in the mid 70s I learned of a place right here in Michigan which became a main source in obtaining many of the great classic films for my collection, including an 'upgrade' of my print of "The Lost World" from Standard to Super 8mm gauge.
It was a store called Thomas Film Classics. If it was available, they had the title. My greatest achievement would be obtaining an English print of the unbeatable "King Kong" (1933) for Christmas 1976. In it were almost completely restored sequences that had been cut when it was re-issued in 1938 and I was seeing them for the first time. Unlike my silent classics of the 20s, I now was beginning a collection of film with sound, and "King Kong" roared in my basement!
Denny Thomas was really a wonderful man who ran Thomas Film Classics. When I got the chance to work in his store with all my love of movies it was a dream come true.
While the Northland Theatre helped me in figuring out crowd control, "Thomas Film Classics" (later "Thomas Film Entertainment" and then "Thomas Video") was a great place to perfect my customer relation skills for one-on-one contact. I even sold some movie projectors.
"thomasfilmclassics.com" pretty much tells the story: Thomas Film Classics was originally founded in 1974 by Dennis Thomas as an outlet for Classic movies on Super 8 MM Film. In 1977 this retail outlet became the world's first video movie store offering movies released on Beta and VHS for the collector. Dennis Thomas retired from retail in 1998 and upon retirement made it his mission to locate, preserve and offer to collectors the rare, hard to find classics that had fallen out of copyright and were now considered public domain.
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In the meantime, here are three pictures with three reasons why it was easier to not be too worried with what was happening to me in High School. Most of my friends were now the people I worked with at the Theatres.
Even though there is no writing on this picture I remember her as Tracy Dubois, an usherette and good friend from work.
1978 - Karen, another usherette who like the others also worked as cashier sometimes.
She writes: I will have to see how your movie turns out after you have it done.
Wouldn't she be surprised to know she's in it? Unfortunately I can't remember her last name either right now.
She writes: I will have to see how your movie turns out after you have it done.
Wouldn't she be surprised to know she's in it? Unfortunately I can't remember her last name either right now.
1978 - While working at Thomas Film Classics, now Thomas Film Entertainment the sad reality began to sink in. Actual motion picture film as a home entertainment medium could not compete with the more economical video tape which was beginning to make some headway into the business.
Even compacting it to 8mm was expensive. A pity really because nothing can compare to the experience of darkening the lights and creating a real home movie theatre experience with a real movie projector and big screen. At the time there was even a Stereo Super 8mm projector available, but I'm not certain how many Stereo 8mm films were produced.
Even compacting it to 8mm was expensive. A pity really because nothing can compare to the experience of darkening the lights and creating a real home movie theatre experience with a real movie projector and big screen. At the time there was even a Stereo Super 8mm projector available, but I'm not certain how many Stereo 8mm films were produced.
1978 - This is page two of an article that best describes what was happening at the time and a little story of a company Magnetic Video, which we at Denny Thomas's store did business with.
There were a few times I'd have to drive over to Magnetic Video to pick up a box or two of cassette video tapes with pre-recorded motion pictures on them. No doubt these were less expensive than film itself but I wasn't happy with the quality of tape on a television set this early in the game.
There were a few times I'd have to drive over to Magnetic Video to pick up a box or two of cassette video tapes with pre-recorded motion pictures on them. No doubt these were less expensive than film itself but I wasn't happy with the quality of tape on a television set this early in the game.
1978 - Nonetheless, I could see where things were going and as much as I loved the Thomas store, he couldn't compete with the better wages I could get elsewhere and I left to work at Magnetic Video Corporation in their shipping and receiving department.
1982 - This is a photograph of the building where I worked as mentioned at the end of the news article. It was taken when I returned for a visit to Michigan from Texas.
As mentioned it was for a very short time. (One personal thing for me is this ID shows how far back I've been signing my name this way. At some time I'd decided I wanted 'prounounced' initials.)
Shown here, myself, Dad and my Uncle Bill Stoscup who took us on a tour of the plant he worked at which (forgive me because my memories are fuzzy) I believe was the General Motors Transmission Plant in Ypsilanti, MI. I know he had us loaded on a little buggy tooling all over the place with him giving the guided tour. It was a fun day.
This is what I found on-line about where he worked, and again there is a Ford connection: Willow Run Transmission (also called Ypsilanti Transmission Operations) is a General Motors factory in Wayne County, Michigan. Opened in 1953, it produces Hydra-Matic automatic transmissions for use by General Motors and others. This factory was originally the Ford Willow Run facility, which built B-24 Liberator bombers during World War II.
As much as I enjoyed my work at Magnetic Video Corporation the question of attending College dogged me. I thought about attending either Michigan State or the University of Michigan but chose Lawrence Institute of Technology and in the field of Electronics.
I went there mainly because my brother did before me and I thought maybe I could get into roughly the same field as he and my Dad. After all that I went through in High School I still made the effort late in 1978 but was discouraged.
I found the classes that I was most interested in I was failing and the ones I had practially no interest in I could pass with flying colors. An example was my English class. I found the teacher so engaging I could not help but pay attention and did well.
By the time I got to Electronics and Math, my main subjects, there was a disconnect and eventually I dropped out of those classes.
Then I saw an advertisement in the newspaper for a job at this dealership which killed my interest in school for a while, although the above senario would be repeated again later.
1979 - Unbelievably I still have the classified which I replied to and did get the job.
I would get a repair order written up by a salesman with the mechanic's description of what was done to correct the problem on the car. Most repairs could be found in the Warranty book with what the company would pay the mechanic. The trick was repairs didn't always go 'by the book' and sometimes we had to get creative in finding ways of paying the mechanic what the job was worth. In many cases we could work directly with the company representative to get proper payment documented. Sometimes we had to make it up elsewhere.
I worked with these ladies but I'll be darn I can't remember their names today.
Mom and Dad went by themselves and I drove myself, David, Shirley & her husband Carl. My cousins sent us these pictures later after we got back to Michigan.
This is outside the church with myself & Shirley.
1979 - David, Carl & Shirley in Galesburg, IL
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We do have pictures of our Grandma later in life but I can't find anything as nice as some of these earlier images of her.
This one, for example, is taken of her with family on the Stoneburner farm near Jackson, MI. (Mr. Forrest Stoneburner had married Robert Findahl's mother, Marcella, after father Virgil's death. Virgil's brother, my Grandpa Gordon Findahl, became friends with Mr. Stoneburner and the two would go hunting together.)
Shown here are:
Mrs. Ruth Little, Mom, Mr. Stoneburner, Dwight Little, Grandma Martha Findahl, Aunt Betty & Mr. Stoneburner's mother on the Stoneburner Farm
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In 1979 Grandma suffered a stroke and was being temporarily cared for in a nursing home. My memory is that she didn't want to be a burden, which was typical of her, and we all thought she would get better and be out of there soon.
The day before we were to bring her home someone came into her room and startled her, she fell and broke a hip. Well, it was an unfortunate slow downward spiral from there. Sometimes we'd visit and I wondered if she knew we were there.
The night before she died, however, a nurse was passing out some juice and my mother asked Grandma, "Mom, would you like some juice?" and she very clearly replied, "No, I'm fine."
This made my mom feel so satisfied to leave her because she seemed so content. I remember too, it was a little bit of a shock as she hadn't spoken for a long time.
The next day, March 8, 1980 she left us.
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Here is a another photo with Mr. Stoneburner's mother, Ruth Little, Beverly, Billy, Grandma, Mom
This picture, however, was taken elsewhere on some property which was bought out on what became a portion of Kensington Park, Michigan
Grandma is shown with Earl Findahl & his wife Frances's three girls. (I'm totally guessing that Grandma may be holding Sharon and the two girls on the right are Marilyn and Rebecca.) My Cousin Joanne Johnson is sitting on the chair in the middle.
He came to Holy Cross Lutheran Church near the end of my brother & sister's confirmation classes in 1969 and had a lot on his hands to pull together. He not only did make it an honorable experience but he would continue to come through for our family during some of our darkest periods.
When I was confirmed five years later, I did it for my parents even though my dad couldn't witness the end result because of his illness. Still Pastor Lindholm helped make it something special.
He really supported us during the loss of family members. Most personally was when my dad passed away and here when Grandma left us. In each case and more he gave us dignity & peace when we needed it most. For that I can't forget him.
I personally liked this little verse she picked out for me when I was confirmed and wanted to share it along with some of her handwriting and all the wonderful memories she gave us.
The title "Walls and Bridges" taken from the John Lennon Album (1974)
"Last Good Time In Town" (Walsh-Souther)
Taken from a song on The Eagles LP - "Long Road Out of Eden" - 2007
I like to go out every now and then
I can't wait to do it again
But I haven't had the time - Lately
I like to step out every once in a while
I kind of like to do it in style
I haven't had the time - Lately
Originally published June 24, 2010 on my Facebook account
