Throwback Thursday - The Notebooks

Dad from the Oral Veterans History Project

My dad left three notebooks which he tried to record bits and pieces from his life. I'll use the next several Thursdays to record his words. I'm not sure of the order of the notebooks. They begin the same way and some of the stories are the same. At the time Dad was writing, he was around 88 or 90 years old or so. He never mentioned to me that he was writing his memoires. What we didn't know during this time was Alzheimer's was taking Dad away. I suspect that's why there were three notebooks with the same stories. Poor old dude either didn't remember filling a notebook and/or where he had put it. I found the notebooks while cleaning out the house. TBT will give me a good excuse to transcribe what he wrote.


My Life As I Remember and Lived It [ed: Dad was born 17. March 1919]

While discussing events with friends I'm asked if I have written anything for my children about my life,as they tell me that I have done some wonderful things. I do not think so, but I do so because I did not ever meet my grandparents on both sides. Nor any of my ancestors. Today I have cousins in Italy, Switzerland, England, and in South America whom I have never met and whom I cannot get in touch with them.

I recall when I was a child that the uncles came to visit there was talk of their parents and friends, since they wrote to their parents. As time went by and things worsened in this country [ed: The Great Depression] things seemed to stop. Their dreams of visiting their parents stopped. And even their thoughts.

To My Son, My Daughter, The Grandson, The Eldest, The Young One, The Daughter-In-Law, and Himself, The Son-In-Law.

I love you all and I am blessed to have such a lovely family.

This begins my life, but before I start let me tell you a little bit of your grandparents. And if the films I gave to The Daughter to share with you, which are very old still can show good photos on the canvas [ed: movie screen] you will know what they looked like.