The Extended Family

I do not believe that in 21st Century United States there exists the environment to sustain the extended family, but then that is up to us.


Viewing these little windows to another world, I believe, show proof that some of the folks in my ancestors' lives were not mere acquaintances and they were not just friends.  They were a part of something far more, they were family.




The Wendler Family

Adelaide and Edna Wendler were two sisters that Grandmother Martha Findahl knew all her life.  The earliest photo I have of her and Adelaide (left) comes from around the year 1914.
You can find it here:  http://tinyurl.com/2elgc7d


Other photographs with Adelaide can be found here:
http://tinyurl.com/2fpg5gu;
http://tinyurl.com/2ufoka8;
http://tinyurl.com/35k6rlr;
http://tinyurl.com/23joeey;
http://tinyurl.com/28nywhz

I've been able to place this photo at 1925 and there is a companion to it here:  http://tinyurl.com/3a8f3rr


My mother Marjorie remembers "Mother Wendler" but not the father.  This gentlemen is sitting very close to Mrs. Wendler in the back row and I'm suspecting he may be the man Mom never knew.


In the front row are three folks unidentified, followed by Edna Wendler, my grandmother Martha, and Adelaide Wendler Boike with husband Alfred Boike behind her.

Edna Wendler Kroeger


I think it is something to have such a nice portrait of her which underscores the closeness she must have had with my Grandmother.


Other photographs of Edna can be found here:
http://tinyurl.com/27ud94c;
http://tinyurl.com/22ntvh5;
http://tinyurl.com/2dgwz7l;
http://tinyurl.com/2fnzwkf;
http://tinyurl.com/23bxfq4;
http://tinyurl.com/23jkypn;
http://tinyurl.com/3xyzaja;
http://tinyurl.com/37z7koe;
http://tinyurl.com/25xobe5

I enjoy these portraits of Edna because they are such a contrast to the snapshots of her.

Back:   The first of an unidentified couple that were friends of the Kroeger or Wendler  family; Paul Kroeger; second of unidentified couple; Edna Kroeger; Mother Wendler; Adelaide Boike; Martha Findahl; Marjorie Findahl; Dorothy Boike


Front:  Donald Boike; Alfred Boike; (?); Lois Kroeger; (?)

Dorothy Boike and Mom


A memory Mom has of the Boikes is the amazing Christmas decorations and displays they would have each year during the holiday season at their home.  It was a very inspiring sight with a big tree, elaborate town, a train going around the perimeter with a player piano and music which Mom always enjoyed.

Donald & Donna Boike (mid 1940s)
There's another photo from this time that can be found here:  http://tinyurl.com/2fwvda6

Back:  Mom, Grandma Martha, Edna, Mrs. Wendler, Adelaide, Lois (Edna's Daughter), (?)
Front:  (?), Dorothy (Adelaide's daughter) ..rest unknown


At Lois' wedding shower November 1953


(Searching the internet I found that Adelaide was born 24 Oct 1899 and lived until 15 Aug 1989.  I remember Adelaide as she lived in the same neighborhood as Grandmother and of course I remember her daughter Dorothy.  I do not have information on Edna but know that she and Mr. Kroeger lived a little further out northeast of the city.)

Neat photo of Mrs. Wendler on her 93rd Birthday






The Littles

Cecil Little and my Aunt Betty outside her home in Detroit (1920s)


Mr. Little was a friend of Grandpa Gordon Findahl who shows up throughout Gordon's life in pictures.  We know he came from Illinois and stayed at the Findahl home for a short time until he could get on his own way.


He married a lady named Ruth and they would have three children, Dwight, Beverly & Billy.

Martha Findahl, Betty & Margie Findahl with Ruth Little (early 1930s)

Portrait of Cecil Little

Cecil and Ruth

Another photo from Bobby Findahl's confirmation (mid 1940s) with (?); Ruth Little; (?); (?); Martha Findahl & Edward Donahue (Bobby's uncle).


The companion photos to this can be found here:  http://tinyurl.com/27mhopc & here http://tinyurl.com/26n539t

Back:  (?), (?), (?), Christine Foley, (?), (?), Lillian Foley, Mom, Bobby Findahl, Dwight Little
Front: (?), Billy Little

Beverly Little




Other photos of the Littles can be found through these series of links:
http://tinyurl.com/25borc4;
http://tinyurl.com/23tft52;
http://tinyurl.com/2fwhz6r








The Carlsons

We have but this one nice photo of the Carlsons.  This is Nell and Carl Carlson with Martha Findahl shown in Arizona.  They were friends of Gordon Findahl and had one daughter Darlene.


Some memories of Mom's: Nell was originally from Florida and worked at General Motors in Detroit in the cafeteria for GM Executives. At one time the Carlsons stayed at the Findahl home for a short while before moving to a place nearby. Eventually they moved to Arizona where Carl Carlson's brother lived. 

Mom would marvel that Darlene could play the piano so well and the whole family enjoyed listening to her play while my Grandma would be getting dinner together.  Darlene is shown with my mother to the left and my Aunt Betty to the right.

Darlene Carlson with Margie & Betty on Mom's Confirmation day.







The Nystrom Family

An early photo from the 1920s with (?); (?); Martha Findahl, Al Nystrom and unidentified child in what must have been an early visit to Michigan from Illinois.  Al Nystrom was a friend of Gordon Findahl's.


There are some early photos of Mr. Nystrom and Gordon here:
http://tinyurl.com/2ebrc7c;
http://tinyurl.com/2eqs5ll

This is a series of photographs from a visit he and his family made to the Findahl home during 1938.
Here he is with Margie Findahl, his daughters Joanne & Phyllis, Betty Findahl

Gordon, Martha, Betty & Margie Findahl, Joanne, Phyllis & mother Phoebe Nystrom

I liked this photo as it is a rare shot of the front of the Findahl home with kids Joanne, Betty, Phyllis & Margie.

Close up of Phyllis & Joanne Nystrom with Betty & Margie Findahl (1938)






The neighbors on Cedarlawn:

Mr. & Mrs. Shilbe lived across the street to the Findahls and I remember them myself.


This is a photo taken by one of the good friends they were all visiting in Canada of themselves and other neighbors that lived on Cedarlawn (1956)


Back: Unidentified neighbor; Mr. Earl Shilbe; Gordon Findahl; neighbor Mr. Harry Neal
Center: Martha Findahl, Mrs. Neal, Mrs. Shilbe
Front: Canadian friend & neighbor;  unidentified spouse of "Mr. neighbor" at the back

Back:  Lorraine Schwartz, Grace Shilbe, Dorothy Boike, Mom, Beverly Rockwell, Rosanne Wood, Ivan Parrot


Front:  Norville Parrot, not certain of the names but the two boys were sons of Jerry Walker, Barbara Rockwell











Remembering the Gibbs:

We don't have a photograph of Emmett & Nettie Gibbs but they were so close to the family that Grandpa   Gordon Findahl stayed at their home until he could get himself settled with a place of his own in Detroit. Mr. & Mrs. Gibbs had three children, Jeanette, Douglas & Doris.


This is a photograph of Jeanette (back right) and her family.   Husband Roy is on the left, Douglas in the middle and up front are Robert, Richard and Anne from May 1948

Here is Grandma Martha holding my Aunt Betty and on this photo she wrote the caption: Mother and Baboo at Gibbs.


Emmett & Nettie Gibbs ran the Dixboro General Store in Dixboro, MI. This store also served as their home. [In fact even today you can go on the internet to Google maps, type in "Dixboro, MI" (which is west of Detroit) and find this store still labeled and in existence.]  Mom remembers a band made up of Ford employees that would some Saturday nights play at the Gibbs Store providing a place for folks to dance upstairs.

We visited in the 1990s once and talked to the then owners. The place has been completely renovated. 


Mom just told me a story that Grandpa would arrive home at the Gibbs' late in the evening from work and he'd see a string running from the door knob that Mrs. Gibbs would have attached to a piece of pie (or some type of food) she wanted him to have before going to bed.  (I love these stories!)






Other close people to the Findahl Family include Carl Swanson
 http://tinyurl.com/2ajzxem;
The Gannes's; The Bollmans and others that have not been mentioned merely because we might not have a photograph of them.


This was a part of the story, however, based off of what images we knew we had and I felt it deserved its own section.


So, for now, I think this is it concerning our series of stories from the "Original" Findahl Family, The Nichols & the Kulicks.  We'll leave Grandpa & Grandma and their friends and family to enjoy the pleasant day.

The End