Bob and Ivan Episode 1
I've
given a lot of time with no result in the past few weeks. Decided that little
biography wouldn't hurt. - Bob Chaddock was my first cousin, and the only
one who lived nearby-about 4 miles. He was about 18 months younger than I,
but that was close enough. -As you may know when 2 children are in
trouble, it is always the older one's fault. -- So I began my early life
being a problem fairly often. --I did learn some protective measures,
however. -Whenever he cried, I would cry, also…Only worked some of the
time. Besides, he learned the same maneuver! Guess who was supposed to
teach whom how to whistle!? Somehow I never succeeded. Maybe that's why I
never whistle now!
Needless to say, he was
a smart one--- was made to skip a grade in the rural school where he attended.
So we ended up in the same grade in high school.
Our situation made me
think of "The City Mouse and the Country Mouse" many times. Our lives
were the same, only different in many ways. I'd be delivering my morning papers
and hurrying to eat before I walked the mile+ to school while he was hurrying
his breakfast to catch the bus to school!! At school I was in the
"College Entrance" block and he was in the "Manual Arts"
block. Guess who had the most studying to do! Guess this is enough
for now! I'm wiping my tears and will continue more later! --Pretty sad
start. See you next time!
Bob and Ivan Episode 2
Summers
Bob worked on the farm- Dairy farm- beans, hay, milking, etc. I
delivered my papers, biked to the farm where I worked. More of a truck
garden type farm. More hand work intensive- tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage,
hay, etc. Although on rainy days other work was done--for example candling
eggs, holding pullets to dose them to prevent worms, cleaning hoes; shovels,
forks , etc for the days when they would be in the front lines of the muscle
dept. One summer I followed up the farm work with working at an ice
cream store dealing out ice cream cones, packing boxes of ice cream for the
fastidious -after returning from the farm-a quick shower and there i was.
School attendance was also different in those days. Because of the
depression, hardly anyone could go directly from High School to college. The
rural adaptation to that problem was to let the student delay a course required
for graduation, and allowing the student a fifth year without having to
pay tuition which otherwise would have been required. The city students were
not in the ruition area so they were allowed to attend another year without
problems. That's what we did. He delayed Am history and I returned
for a PG post graduate) year.
After high school our lives took divergent courses.
Love and Kisses
to Y" all! (Back later)—Grandpa
Bob and Ivan Episode 3
After
High School our lives took grossly divergent courses- (1939)
Bob went to work at the Doehler Die Casting Co. He was enrolled in
the apprentice program to become a master die maker. This he accomplished in
the minimum amount of time. As a die maker, etc he had been on the payroll
during this learning period. The earnings were satisfactory enough that
he bought his father a tractor after a little more than a year at ' the
Doehler."For those times, at his age he was making "big money".
Bob had always loved machinery and mechanical things, so this was a natural extension
of his preferred life (see Heather).
Meanwhile, I was struggling through college until the summer of 1942,
when I started med school. Economically things became even more complex at that
point…Borrowed money from relative and from a fund that was sort of like a scholarship,
because the interest was only 2%. After proving i was going to survive,
more or less, in med school I obtained a job tending the rats, mice, dogs, etc
in the Physiology Dept. Here, in addition to the wonderful relationship with the
animals I met Alice Bunnell, who was the dept secretary and looked a lot like your
grandmother. We started a steadfast relationship at that point and it has
persisted to this day. The fact that her husband's name was "Ivan'
might have had something to do with it, but, not much. Ivan was a cardiologist
and into cardiologic research. "Good Man" Aside it might
be mentioned that later on we played Canasta, bridge, etc and we had the air
filled with "My Ivan's". Thank goodness I had no hearing problems that
point!
Seems like a good point to stop at! Love-- See you later!(for # 4)
Love Grandpa
Bob and Ivan Episode 4
The Army finished Bob's first session with
"the Doehler". After the usual break in time he was assigned to
the Aberdeen Proving Ground where his talents were used to a degree.
As a fact used so well he became married there in
August 1944. His exact work was never a topic of discussion between us,
but apparently he did things I would be incompetent at, with my background.
When the time came for leaving the Army, he didn't hesitate and went back to
"the Doehler". He stayed there with "the Doehler" as long s
it existed- National Lead bought it in the '50's as I recall. He and
Kathy proceeded to buy a home in Oakfield and raised 3 children. The
oldest, a girl, Crista was smart and beautiful. Was Valedictorian or
Salutatorian of her class in Oakfield. Unfortunately,
my college room-mate, Bob Beswick, was her principal so I never did get the
whole story. I prefer peace to problems! Mere mention of Crista would
make "cloudy faces, enough for me to back off. Crista went ahead and
became an airline stewardess where she met her husband, an attractive, nice passenger-guy.
Ross Wieringa, a name of Dutch origin, and he came from the Dutch area of
Michigan. Bob and Kathy's sons existed, but I never saw enough of them to
realize who they were, even.
The Army made my economic problems tolerable, so on 11 Sept 1943, we were
married in the Rectory of St. Joseph's R.C. Church in Batavia, NY.
Immediately on closing the ceremony your grandmother gave one of the
longest loudest sighs on record. I never interrogated her about that,
either.(Remember I am a man of peace). A litle item about completing education
, might be mentioned here. Ruth told her parents she would complete her education
before she became married. She graduated from William Smith Sunday, the
5th of September and didn't get married until Saturday, the 11th of September!
Talk about patience!
That's enough of that! Love to Y'all
See you later- #5
Bob and Ivan #5
To give justice to Bob's life after the Army, I
must mention that his life was definitely a public servant type as well as a
master die maker! His love of machines and their extension let him into many
things of worth in a small rural community, such as Oakfield. He was
active in the Volunteer Fire dept. In addition to being available for the
fires, he actively made sure the Fire Engine was competent, as well as spic and
span! This community activity led to a spot on the school board, as well
as being an officer in the Volunteer Fire Dept organization. He was well
thought of in his community and served it well. Such activities as you never
heard of, probably, were high on his list of worth- while activities. In
western and central NY every summer there are "Tractor Pulls" - which
as you may have guessed featured Tugs (tractors) of War, exhibits of old
restored tractors, Queens of the occasions, etc. Life is(can be) full of
things I (and you?) never thought of! Undoubtedly there were more
activities -perhaps higher on Bob's list that I have failed to mention.
To return to Ivan, it was a different
pattern! The Army kept him right into med school to complete his
training! We lived, first, in a 2nd floor apt over a restaurant. It was
almost directly across the street from the rooming house where I had lived as a
freshman student. As a soph,in the cold weather, I had had a job shoveling
coal, ashes and snow for an elderly couple, in return
for my room. I didn't transfer all my effects from the first place having in
mind, hopefully, that we'd be able to move into a place for both of us. (Which
we did, when the time came) To get back to us at our first
"home", it was a "D" shaped facility, with the arc by the
study around to the area over the restaurant front, the kitchenette, and living
room. . The bed was a "Murphy bed" which came out of the wall. One of
the outstanding features was that on Saturday nights, the restaurant sprayed,
to discourage living creatures from making permanent places of residence.
Sunday a.m. there was a great crackling as we came to life and walked
into the kitchenette! Scurrying, too! As Ruth would say, from time to
time, she never saw a cockroach until she married me! She never did seem
to like insects!
The places we lived at could each make small
vignettes, so I'll go on and just mention our places of dwelling in our peripatetic
life until we landed at McAllen. Two places on Staten Island, Kenna Drive
in South Charleston, WV and Brinton Street in Buffalo, College Ave in Buffalo,
Ross St in Batavia, Artillery Drive on the Post at Ft Sam Houston,?? on the
bluff in Santa Barbara,Ca., ?in Santa Maria, Ca., Wherry housing in El Paso,
412 No. 12th St, McAllen. 1200 LaVista, McAllen. When Ruth and the family
lived in Batavia I was stationed at the118th Station Hosp,in Fukuoka, Kyushu,
Japan; 121st Evac Hosp in So. Korea. The Evac Hosp was in 4
different sites while I was with it in Korea. Incidentally, should you watch
MASH the 121st is mentioned periodically. They may mention Tokyo General or
"Stateside Hospitals", also. Of course, with every transfer in
the Army there was an indefinite time at "The Officers' Quarters"
until a more permanent living site was arranged.
This seems to be enough to me. I could
give a brief bio of me (and us at McA), but that hardly seems necessary, Love
to Y'all Grandpa
Kathy Hunt Chaddock -Died 21 Nov 1991 age 70--Brain tumor
Robert Hamilton Chaddock -Died 27 Jul 1996 age 74-- Lymphoma
Ruth Amidon Kuhl-- Died 4 Nov 2009 age 86-Cardiomyopathy(Assoc,
Cachexia
