Back To My Roots - Celina Church of the Nazarene - Part 5

This is the Nazarene Church building that I remember. Taken in 1948.

As stated before , this is a multi part posting of our trip To Ohio. If you haven’t read the other parts, do so now so you will be caught us with all of us.

When I lived in Celina from 1943 to 1949, I attended the local Church of the Nazarene -- why? Because my grandfather was the pastor and I lived with my grandparents! The picture above is the building as I remembered it. A current picture of the building follows this article.

The last time I was in this building was during the summer of 1952 after I graduated from high school. I took a trip in my brother’s car that he left with me when he was overseas in the Navy. I stopped in Muncie, IN to pick up my younger brother Bob who was living with our mother there. He was 12 or 13 at the time. Together we drove over to Celina to visit Grandpa and attend the church on Sunday. Grandma had passed away a couple of years earlier. In the morning service we were introduced as Rev. Moore’s grandsons. After the service the pastor came by to see me and I have written about that encounter before. It is also included in the “talk” I gave the church which is below.

It was 57 years later that we took this current trip to Ohio to revisit my roots. I found the church’s email address on the web and wrote to the pastor. I didn’t know his name or how long he had been the pastor. I gave him all my history of that church and told him my daughter Brenda and I would be in their Sunday morning service June 14th. I asked if I could address his congregation to let them know what had happened to me in the years since my last visit and what an impact this church had made on my life.

I received an email response back from Dr. Larry Hamilton. He said he was going to be gone that week prior to our visit to attend the District Assembly and that he would be back for Sunday. He didn’t respond to my request. Just said he was looking forward to meeting me and my daughter.

On Sunday morning we arrived at the church during Sunday School and looked around. The pastor was busy with a class and we would have to wait to see him. We had time to go over to the Sugar Street building (the old church building) and took pictures and video there. I showed Brenda where we used to farm the land next to the church and the story about raising cane. You can read that story here. The building has changed some as they took off the front entrance and made it a side entrance. I didn’t get inside the building to see what they had done to it. Would have liked to but didn’t have time then. We found out that the church membership relocated to another building between the old one and the current one which was built in 1981.
　
We returned to the new location for the service and met the pastor just before the service was to begin. He gave me the order of service which included an item named “Testimony”. That was where I would talk to the congregation. That was the first Brenda heard about it and asked if she could video this part of the service. The pastor said yes and she got the video camera. She included the entire talk in the special DVD that she and her husband Scott made for me of the "Trip Back To My Roots”.

When it came to my part in the program, the pastor gave an introduction of who I was and when I was a part of that church membership. I took the platform and was concerned if I would be able to deliver the two pages I had typed. If I couldn’t, Brenda would have to finish it for me. Fortunately, I was able to get through all of it without coughing. I’m including the two pages in this posting which makes it a long one but one in which you can see why I wanted to deliver it. I told them about the reason for the trip and that currently there was no cure for what I have with my lungs. I told them I needed the Lord to heal me.

Following the message by the pastor, he pulled out a small bottle of oil from his pocket and said that he didn’t know why the Lord asked him to take this to the service but he now knows -- to anoint and pray over Dick Moore! We had a healing service which included a couple others that came forward. As you can imagine, this brought tears to my eyes and to Brenda’s. Whether the Lord wants to heal me or not is up to Him. But all of us were faithful to His Will.

After the service several came up to talk to me remembering my grandparents. This was a good way to start off Sunday.

Talk given to Celina Church of the Nazarene, June 14, 2009

Thank you, Pastor for allowing me this time to talk to your church. My daughter, Brenda Ostrander, is with me on this trip.

I was an active member of this church from 1943 to 1949. Part of this time my grandfather, Rev. J. Irwin Moore, was pastor. He retired from active preaching in 1946 and moved out of the parsonage. We had to buy our own home which was located at 630 Brandon Avenue. Grandpa moved from being pastor to being the janitor. So I was still involved in keeping the church clean and the yard mowed. The church allowed us to farm the land around it and we raised a lot of our own food. I told people we were able to raise cane behind the church and get away with it.

I have a box of “Celina” things and found these two certificates from this time. The pastor then was H. J. Maish. Alva Keifer was the father of my best friend, Tom Keifer and his brother Dick Keifer who used to be your treasurer. Harlow Fetters and I shared the same month and day for our birthdays.

In September 1949 I moved to Kansas City Missouri to live with my Uncle Ray and Aunt Edith Moore because grandmother’s health was failing. Ray was the music director for the “headquarters” church - First Church of the Nazarene. I attended my last three years of high school in Kansas City. Upon graduation from high school, I took a trip back to Celina to visit my grandfather one more time before leaving for college at Pasadena Nazarene College in California. Grandmother had passed away in 1950. Grandpa lived to be 101 years and 11 months old.

This church started me on my way to living a Christian life. And in 1952 it started me on my way of singing solos in church. That is an interesting story -- "I was introduced in the church as Rev. Moore’s grandson. The present pastor and I had never met. He came up to me after church and asked if I would sing a solo in the evening service. I had never sung a solo in church! I had done so in youth group in KC but never in church. The pastor had guessed that since my name was Moore and there are a number of singers in the Moore family that I could do it too. I figured there probably won’t be 50 people here that night so I agreed to work something up. I was talking to Helen Howell who used to be my brother, Ben’s, girlfriend. The pastor knew that Helen sang and asked us to do a duet also. We looked at each other and said why not. Then he asked me if I would lead the singing for the evening service. I asked him if he wanted me to preach also -- he said “Could you?” No I can’t preach so he had to do that."

I graduated from PNC in 1956. Was married July 22, 1955 to Ann Edwards who lived down the street from my home in KC. Spent my working life at State Farm Insurance in management retiring in 1996 with 37 years of service.

I have spent my life in churches and been actively involved in their music programs in choirs, quartets, duets, and solos. In 1971 I helped form the Watchmen Gospel Quartet which traveled around the state singing southern gospel music. I was with them for 11 years. The quartet continued with my partner and they just retired at the end of 2008. They were in to their 38th year of singing the gospel.

I have planned this trip many times over the years and couldn’t find the time to take it. It’s been 57 years since my last visit. Recently I have been diagnosed with Ideopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis - a lung disease, for which at this time there is no cure. I would appreciate your prayers for a miracle healing by the Great Physician. My daughter Brenda said it was time for that long awaited trip back to my roots. She planned it for this weekend and I told her we had to come to Celina Church of the Nazarene even though it is in a different building.

My wife and Brenda’s mother is handicapped and unable to travel so she is at home. We have our 54th wedding anniversary coming up next month. We also have a son, Rick Moore and each of our children have two children of their own. Rick and Anne have Emily and Eric - Brenda and Scott have Hannah and Rachel.

Thank you for allowing me to share my story. If you would like to read more about my life, you can visit my web site where I am writing my memories for my family. You can read it too! Ask me for a card with the web site address.

This is the "old Sugar Street Nazarene Church " building.

Dr. Larry Hamilton, Pastor and Dick Moore

Present Celina Church of the Nazarene opened in 1981.

Pastor Larry Hamilton and wife with Dick Moore.

Sign by the road announcing the services.

Dick talking to the Nazarene congregation.

Another picture taken during his talk.

Dick showing the certificates he kept from 1948 for attendance and promotion.

Back To My Roots - Norman "Whitey" Klosterman - Part 4

This is a many part story of my recent trip back to my home town of Celina, Ohio. If you haven’t read the other parts, please do so now. Then you will be caught up with the rest of us!

Have you ever met someone that you were immediately friends with and felt that you have known them a long time? That is what happened when Brenda and I met “Whitey”.

On Saturday afternoon June 13, 2009, we were walking on Market Street heading for the corner of Market and Main. I noticed an old car going our direction and waved to the driver. He waved back. I caught up with him at the corner and asked him what year was this Buick? He said “it’s a 1946 and I am going to park around the corner. I want to talk to you”. So Brenda and I turn the corner and find Whitey in the alley with his 1946 Buick 4 door sedan. It is a stick shift straight 8 beauty. We met and instantly felt that we had known each other in the past. We hadn’t but felt like it. Both of us were born in 1934 - graduated high school 1952 and are now 75 years old. Whitey graduated from Coldwater High School which was about 5 miles from Celina. I would have been in the 1952 Celina High School graduation if I had stayed there but moved in 1949 to Kansas City where I graduated from Southeast High School.

After a while of admiring his car he asked if we would like a ride in it. YES! And off we went to take a tour of the area. I asked him if he knows where the West Bank Inn is as we were to check in there for the next two days. He did and proceeded to take us there so we will know how to get there later. Great tour and conversation. We told him why we were there in Celina and that our stay would end on Monday morning. I told him we would be visiting the Celina Church of the Nazarene on Sunday morning and he said he lived right next door to the church. He has another old Buick he wanted to show us and we could stop by after church. We didn’t have his address and didn’t see signs of the cars so we thought that we would not have a chance to see his second car.

On Sunday evening Brenda and I had dinner in a restaurant that uses the same parking lot as our motel. After dinner, we walked across the highway to see the Spillway which controls the water level in the lake. Interesting watching the birds catch fish there. Then we started back to our room and here comes a cream convertible towards our motel. It was Whitey! He had to show us the car. It was a 1948 Buick Convertible also with a straight 8 engine. This one was an automatic. I told Whitey he can’t get by just showing me this car -- we needed a ride in it too. So we got a ride in his convertible.

It seems that everyone in the town knows Whitey and are calling out to him as we were driving along. Brenda and I felt like celebrities and started waving back when someone waved and called “Whitey”. Another fun ride! What makes this even more interesting is that cars that were new in 1946 and 1948 were new cars when I lived in Celina!

We chatted for a while and shook hands telling each other that we were glad that we had the chance to meet. Whitey and I exchanged addresses and phone numbers for later contact. All three of us had a tear in our eyes when we parted.

That was on Sunday night. On Friday I got a call at home on my answering machine and it was Whitey. He opened the local paper The Daily Standard and there on page 3 was his two new friends. I called him back and talked for a while. The story about the article will be coming in a later posting.

Whitey is one in a million. You know you like him the moment you meet him. I had only one friend in Celina that I knew of and that was Karl Allmandinger. Now I have two!

Whitey's 1946 Buick when we first saw it at Market and Main Streets.

Dick and Whitey with his 1946 Buick in the alley.

Dick in the 1946 Buick ready for a ride and a tour of Celina and Grand Lake.

Whitey and Dick with his 1948 Buick Convertible by Grand Lake.

Whitey's 1948 Buick Convertible at West Bank Inn on Sunday 6-14-09.

Brenda sitting in the back of the 1948 Buick Convertible. After our ride by Grand Lake.

WOW! What A Quick Trip To Ohio!

My daughter, Brenda, and I took a very quick and very active trip to Ohio last weekend. This will take a number of postings to tell you everything about the trip and how special it was. I will list some of the topics that I will write about over the next two weeks. I have many pictures to help tell the stories.

We flew from Santa Ana, CA to Chicago, IL to Indianapolis, IN. Rented a Lincoln Town Car. Brenda and I shared the driving.

1. Saw my younger brother Bob and his family after 25 years. The last time was in 1984 at our mother’s funeral here in Covina. Bob lives in Muncie, Indiana. We stayed with him Friday night and also had lunch with him on Monday on our return trip.

2. Trip to Troy, Ohio Saturday morning to visit Riverside Cemetery where my dad was buried in June 1940 when he was 31 years old and I was 6. Bob was one. Bob has never been to the cemetery but plans to go soon. Our grandparents are buried there about 30 feet from our dad. Interesting story coming up in a posting.

3. Celina on Saturday afternoon:
A. Web Cam at Market and Main. (Unplanned) We called my wife Ann and Brenda’s family so they could see us waving to them on the internet.
B. Meeting “Whitey” Klosterman and riding in his 1946 Buick.
C. My friend, Karl Allmandinger, who I knew in Junior High and who married a friend of mine. Complete story later.
D. Dinner out Saturday night with Karl.

4. Celina Church of the Nazarene visit
A. Different building than when I attended in 1949. In fact, this is the second location since the one I remember.
B. I got to address the congregation concerning my background with this congregation and what I have done with my life.
C. Met some people who knew my grandfather who was pastor of this church from 1943 to 1946. He retired from active preaching and had to buy his own home since he was living in the parsonage. He continued to attend this church and became the janitor -- yes, my brother Ben and I cleaned the church, kept the lawn mowed, and the snow off the sidewalks.

5. Sunday afternoon tour of Celina with Karl:
A. Visited both houses I lived in from 1943 to 1949.
B. Two of the three schools I attended were torn down and the land has new occupants.
C. My Junior High School (7,8,9) was also the Senior High School (10,11,12) building. It now has school offices and a Head Start school. New Elementary K-4 school, new Intermediate School
5-6, new Middle School 7-8 and new High School 9-12.
D. The planned Web Cam appearance at 2:00 p.m. Ohio time which was mentioned to others so they could look in and see us wave! My son, Rick took pictures off the internet of us and wrote an article for his BLOG (HolyCoast.com).
E. Dinner near the West Bank Inn and Spillway Sunday Night. Here comes Whitey Klosterman to see us in his 1948 Buick Convertible. Another ride.

6. Monday morning at The Daily Standard newspaper offices meeting the publisher and staff. Two hour tour and interview for story with pictures. They will send me copies. The photo and story was in Friday June 19th edition. Whitey called me from Celina and Karl emailed me about the newspaper article and picture.

7. Lunch with brother Bob, his wife Mary Lou, and their son Bobby at The Cracker Barrel in Muncie.

8. Indianapolis Terminal, return rental car and flight home to Santa Ana, CA Monday afternoon via Dallas.

So you can see there are many stories here and I want to split them up to make them more interesting to you.

Stay tuned!

Taking Your Dad To His Home Town - Priceless!

I have written about my home town of Celina, Ohio several times on this BLOG so you know where I spent my youth from ages 9 to 15 years. I left Celina in September 1949 which will be 60 years ago this September. My last visit there was in 1952 just before I left for California to begin my college days at Pasadena Nazarene College in Pasadena.

I have planned, with my wife Ann, to make the trip back there so many times but things just didn’t go right for us to visit my home area. She wanted to see where I grew up and I wanted desperately to show her. We planned trips by car and during my working years, vacations were used up quickly for other family needs. So I never got the chance to go back. Now it is difficult for her to travel.

My daughter, Brenda, wrote me an email and said -- Dad - it’s time for you to take that long awaited trip to your roots - your home town of Celina. She said we could go on Friday June 12th and return home Monday June 15th. She had American Airline miles that could be used and both of us would pay a small fee for the trip.

My first thought was about Ann who is handicapped and needs someone here with her and provide a lunch out daily. Our son, Rick, will help there along with our son-in-law Scott. A granddaughter will come and stay with Nana so the home front is taken care of by family.

I am required by my pulmonologist to take an oxygen compressor for the “in flight” use only. Do you have any idea what a hassle this has been to get that approved by the airlines? I think we finally have it worked out.

We will fly from Santa Ana to Chicago and change planes for Indianapolis arriving there about 5:30 p.m. Indiana time. A car rental is waiting and we will drive to Muncie, Indiana to see my younger brother who I haven’t seen since 1984 at our mother’s funeral. He is arranging dinner plans for us and we will stay the night there with Bob. In the morning we will leave for Troy, Ohio to visit a cemetery that has my dad (died in 1940) and my grandparents. I want Brenda to “meet” them.

Then it’s off to Celina, Ohio where I spent my youth. We have reservations at a lakeside hotel. A friend from my school days there married a friend of mine named Helen Howell. She was my brother, Ben’s, girlfriend when we lived there. I knew Karl Allmandinger from my time in Celina schools. He was a year ahead of me. We will be with Karl who will “show” us the sights around Celina. I expect to take a lot of pictures.

On Sunday morning Brenda and I will visit the Celina Church of the Nazarene where I used to attend -- new building and a different location. Grandpa was the pastor of this church for a number of years. You can read about my last visit to this church in 1952 by clicking here. The afternoon will be spent seeing the sights and locating any people that I might know. At 2:00 p.m. Celina time (11:00 a.m. California time) Brenda and I will be standing in front of the Mercer County Court House talking to Ann on the phone while she sees us wave on the Web Cam the city has set up. You can read about the web cam and how to access that by clicking here.

Monday morning I hope to be able to visit The Daily Standard office where I used to work as a paper boy and janitor. Then it is off to Indianapolis for our return trip home. A hurried trip but will be worth the effort.

Thanks, Brenda, for making this trip possible. Something that was on my “Bucket List” can now be scratched off!

We will have the story and pictures on our return.

Celina, Ohio -- My Home Town - Part 2

This posting is a continuation of the story concerning my home town. Enjoy!

Celina was a small town of about 5,000 people. It was next to a large lake called Grand Lake. That is, Celina called it Grand Lake. Ten miles away was Saint Marys and they called it Lake Saint Marys. You will find both names on maps to this day. The lake was 12 miles long and 3 miles wide. Lots of fish and we spend many evening catching our next days meal. Grandpa liked to fly fish - drag a line through the water and have fish grab it. Grandma enjoyed cork fishing -- just throw a line in and watch the cork. When it went under, you had a fish! We used to sit there and chat while waiting on the fish to act.

Grand Lake was our swimming hole during the summer and a place to ice skate during the winter. I had clamp on ice skates and we would skate at night to car lights shining on the ice. I remember a fellow with a Crosley car driving the ten miles to Saint Marys on the ice. Ohio was cold during the winter. I learned to swim there. Mainly by doing it. No one taught me.

We lived in three houses while I lived there from 1943 to 1949. The first one was on Sugar as I had mentioned before. I don’t remember the inside of the house. I have a picture of the outside with Uncle Gary in army uniform on the porch. The second house was at 230 West Warren Street and was a two story brick house. Had a half city block lot so there was some yard to mow. Houses back then had a “front room” that was closed off during the winter to save heating costs. Hardly ever used during the winter. Everything was open for summer including the doors as it was hot and no air conditioning. We slept next to an open door that had a screen to keep out the flies. We were in the Warren Street house until Grandpa retired from being the minister. Had to find a home of our own for the first time.

Grandpa bought a large lot that had a two story wood frame house covered with an imitation brick siding. The address was 630 Nickerson (later named Brandon) Avenue. The house had one cold water pipe to the kitchen -- no bathroom and no hot water. We had a path outside to the outhouse. Believe me, that was a cold trip during the winter. Fortunately, Grandpa built a bathroom off the kitchen using the pantry and extending it out for the shower. Added hot water heater and we were like normal people again. Prior to this we had to heat water on the kitchen stove for our Saturday night bath. Baths were taken in the kitchen.

Downstairs we had the kitchen, dining room, front room, bathroom, and master bedroom. Upstairs we had a guest room and one bedroom that Ben and I shared. The rest of the upstairs was turned into a small apartment with outside stairs. Grandpa was very good at building and did all the work himself. We rented that out to help with expenses. We had a number of fruit trees on the property and a grape arbor. A large portion of the land was farmed for food. So this land and the church land was farmed for everything but meat, eggs, and milk. Those we bought. We even grew our own popcorn!

The dining room was our social place. That was where the heating stove was that kept the house warm in the winter. We used coal that had to be brought in from the garage. Listening to the radio and playing a board game with Grandma was a highlight. A porch swing got a lot of attention during the warm evenings.

I’m a collector of things that don’t seem to be important to others but to me they mean something. Things of my past. I had a postage stamp collection in a book for that purpose and it is interesting to see the countries that no longer exist as that name. For instance - Ceylon. I stopped collecting stamps when I left Celina in 1949 and the book remains in the condition it was when I moved to Missouri.

I'm including a paragraph from Part 1 concerning the webcam:

Celina has a webcam at the corner of Main and Market showing the Mercer County Court House. You can check it as I do daily to see what is going on there. Here is how you can access it: http://www.dailystandard.com/ , click on Community, then Celina, then webcam, and you can enlarge the picture for better viewing. With high speed internet, you can watch cars go by, people walking, see if it is raining, snowing, etc. Since it is my home town, I check it daily just to see what is going on. This corner is right down the street from The Daily Standard which is to the right of the picture. Check it out.

Celina, Ohio -- My Home Town - Part 1

As mentioned before, my grandfather was the pastor of the Nazarene church in Celina, Ohio, in 1943 when we moved there. The church provided a house (parsonage) for the pastor and the first one I can remember was on Sugar Street near the church. We could walk to the church from that home. I was nine years old at the time.

The church bought another parsonage at 230 West Warren Street which was on the corner of Warren and Sugar about a mile from the church. This house I remember very well. Ben and I shared a corner room on the second floor. Grandpa had a printing press in the back of the house where he printed the church bulletin each week.

I had 4 uncles in the army serving the United States of America during World War Two. I can remember a flag that was placed in the window with four stars on it representing each of the four uncles. Uncle Carlan served in Peru. Cecil made a career of the Army serving 20 years. He was in Europe and was involved in secret work for our government. Cecil met his wife, Francis, who was also in the service of our country. Dale served in Patten’s 3rd Army in Europe and related to me how he came upon an airfield where planes without propellers were there. Germany had the first jet aircraft but fortunately ran out of fuel for them keeping the jets on the ground. Dale met his wife, Leyla, in Paris, France. Uncle Gerald (Gary) served in Okinawa in communications.

During the war rubber was hard to come by for bike tires and Grandpa wanted us to have a bike. So he bought one (1) and Ben and I shared it. You can imagine how successful that was. It wasn’t long before I bought my own bike from money I earned on the paper route. I bought a Schwinn bike from my Uncle Carlan.

From 1943 to 1949, I had a paper route with The Daily Standard. This was a 6 day a week job as they didn’t publish a Sunday paper. I had about 150 customers and collected every Saturday for the week. I think it was 20 cents a week for the paper then. Sometimes people would give me a dollar and I would punch their card for 5 weeks. But I had to budget the money and pay for the papers every week even though they were paid up on my books. The paper route taught me a lot concerning finances. Christmastime was great as many would give me a tip or a gift for my service throughout the year. Because of the job, I was able to save money and buy things that I wanted without needing to ask for help.

Besides the bicycle, I bought a used Whizzer Motor Bike. I rode this motor bike all over Celina and the surrounding area getting 35 miles per hour and about 125 miles to the gallon. Pretty cheap transportation. When I left Celina, I sold the Whizzer to another news boy for $100. A reconditioned one in 2000 sold for about $5,000. Whizzer is back in business again and you can read about it here.

One day in 1949 I found a 1948 (P48) Powell motor scooter for sale -- one year old. They sold for $300 new and he wanted $50 for it. I told my grandpa and he thought it was a mistake but we went to see it. He asked the man what he wanted for it and he said $45. Grandpa said sold! I paid for this one myself as I had for the other modes of transportation. The P48 got about 50 miles to the gallon and could travel at 70 miles per hour. Had a 7 horsepower motor and was belt driven using a centrifugal clutch (no gears to shift). That motor scooter went with me to Kansas City in 1949 when I moved there.You can read about my teen modes of transportation here, here, and here.

While we are on the subject of transportation, I rode solo only once on a motorcycle - a 1937 Indian whose controls were opposite those of a Harley Davidson. This belonged to my Uncle Bob. We visited him at his home and he saw me admiring it. He asked if I wanted to ride the motorcycle. I had never been on one so he showed me the foot clutch, hand gear shift, speed control on the left handlebar and said have fun. Bob lived in the country so there was very little traffic. The Indian had a clutch that wouldn’t stay down when you came to a stop. That added a little excitement when you had to slow down and turn around. But I managed and found this to be a fun experience.

During my last year in Celina and at the newspaper, I served as janitor of the office after my paper route. The publisher and owner, Parker Snyder, paid me 50 cents an hour to do that job. Mr. Snyder was getting ready to have one of the employees teach me to drive the Studebaker pickup truck so I could take the papers to other cities. I moved before that could happen. Besides I was 15 at the time. Probably could get a license that limited me to the job.

In the six years I served as news boy I kept only one Daily Standard. That was April 12, 1945 Extra that we sold when President Franklin D. Roosevelt died and Harry S. Truman became president. Because of that paper, I was shown in one of the Reminisce magazines holding the paper with a short article about it. The story appeared on the front page of The Daily Standard as one of the subscribers to Reminisce lived in Celina and showed the article to the newspaper. So -- former Celina newspaper boy makes good!

In 1948 I decided to buy a box camera to record my adventures and friends. It was an Ansco Box Camera and my daughter currently has the original. I have one just like it that I found in an antique store in Oklahoma. The camera took eight (8) pictures to the roll and didn’t have a flash -- all pictures had to be taken in daylight outside. I took pictures of our home, my grandparents, brother who lived there and relatives who came to visit. I have a picture of Grandpa’s 1938 Hudson Terraplane, my Whizzer Motor Bike, Ben’s motor bike, a 1948 Tucker on tour that stopped in Celina, Uncle Gary’s 1937 Reo Coupe, and Uncle Cecil’s 1948 Frazer Sedan. I regret that I did not take a picture of my P48 Powell motor scooter.

I have pictures of a few friends, especially my best friend Tom Keifer. Tom and I were the same age and attended the same church. He lived a few blocks from me and we would go bike riding often together. We built a trailer that was attached to the back of my bike and there is a picture of that in my scrapbook. Tom was at the train station when I left Celina. After a few years, I lost track of Tom. He came to visit me in California in the early 1960’s and we lost contact after that. When my name appeared in the paper, his brother, Dick Keifer, called me to chat. He told me that Tom had passed away about 1989.

The church we attended was Celina Church of the Nazarene where my grandfather was the pastor. I took a picture of the church back then but the congregation has moved to another location which I have never seen. The building had a basement where all the Sunday School classes took place. Up stairs was the auditorium for services. There were approximately 125 who attended regularly. Some names that come to mind were Harlow Fetters (had the same birthday) and Bill Baer (led the music). Mr. Fetters bought a new 1946 Plymouth and I rode in it a few times. My first car was a 1947 Plymouth that I bought in 1954. The Keifer’s attended the church. Ralph Grapner was my age and attended.

Beside being the pastor, it fell to our family to mow the yard and remove the snow on Sundays when necessary. The church gave us a large plot of land surrounding the church building for farming. We grew a lot of our food there. Many hours were spent planting, hoeing, harvesting the food. You name it -- we grew it. Including sugar cane that was turned into molasses. We used to say we raised cane behind the church and got away with it!

When Grandpa retired as pastor, he continued to serve the church as janitor. So we spent a lot of time there taking care of the building and yard. They allowed us to continue to farm the grounds surrounding the church as well.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this story.

Celina has a webcam at the corner of Main and Market showing the Mercer County Court House. You can check it as I do daily to see what is going on there. Here is how you can access it: http://www.dailystandard.com/ , click on Community, then Celina, then webcam, and you can enlarge the picture for better viewing. With high speed internet, you can watch cars go by, people walking, see if it is raining, snowing, etc. Since it is my home town, I check it daily just to see what is going on. This corner is right down the street from The Daily Standard which is to the right of the picture. Check it out.

Events That Change Your Direction In Life

I often marvel at the events that came into my life to get me where I am today. So many things had to fall in place in order for me to have the life that I now enjoy.

I was born in Piqua, Ohio in 1934 to Leonard and Evelyn Moore. I was their second child as Ben was born in 1932. I don’t have any recollection of living with my parents. Nothing seems to have stuck in my memory of those years. Some people can remember when they were two years old and I can’t remember anything prior to six years of age. During that time we had Faye join our family in 1937, Bob in 1939 and Lenna in 1940.

Two months prior to Lenna’s birth, our dad passed away from an infection that is curable today but was not in 1940. The next two years are a blur as well. Our mother moved us a couple of times as I do remember living in a farm house but we didn’t farm the land. Just rented the home. Another house was a portable temporary housing that was available during World War Two. I believe this was in Troy, Ohio which is about 10 miles from Piqua. Our dad worked at Hobart Manufacturing in Troy. It was at this home that we were picked up by the authorities and was headed for Foster Care had our grandparents not intervened. Grandpa didn’t want any of his grandchildren in Foster Care. So he went before the judge and requested permission to place the five kids into homes of his family. Our grandparents had 12 children. One died at 6 weeks and my father died at age 31. So 10 were left to help.

Faye went to live with our Aunt Ruth Reynolds in Elkhart, Indiana and was raised as one of Ruth’s children. Robert Lee (Bob) was first sent to our Uncle Bob Moore’s home in Covington, Ohio and later to Aunt Doris Wright’s home in Los Angeles where he stayed for a short time. This didn’t work out in Bob’s life and he opted to move in with our mother in Muncie, Indiana. I don’t recall when he did this but he was living there in the summer of 1952 when I visited him and took him on a trip to Celina and Elkhart to visit our siblings and relatives.

Lenna was a baby under two years of age when she went to live with Aunt Betty Ummel near Elkhart. Lenna and Faye grew up near each other and were able to be together often. Lenna really didn’t know her father and mother. She had little contact with her mother.

Ben and I went to live with our grandparents, our dad’s mother and father. Our grandfather was the pastor of the Nazarene church in Coshocton, Ohio at this time. Shortly after that, he was asked to be the pastor of the Church of the Nazarene in Celina, Ohio. Ben was 10 years old and I was 8 when we began our lives with our grandparents.

In 1949 after completing his junior year in high school, Ben left the home to live with our mother in Muncie, Indiana. That left me alone for the first time at age 15.

Our grandmother’s health was failing in 1949 and as had been the practice of the Moore children, they came to see their parents as often as they could. One of those visits in late August was from Ray and Edith Moore with their 18 month old daughter, Kathy. They spent a few days with us and then left for home in Kansas City, Missouri. A few days later I received a letter from Ray which I still have in my Memory Box. He asked me to consider moving to Kansas City, Missouri to live with them since grandmother was having difficulty in caring for me. I showed the letter to Grandpa and he said the decision would be entirely mine. I was welcome to stay there with them if I chose or take Ray and Edith up on their offer. My choice.

The decision had to be made very quickly as September was right around the corner and I was headed back to school for my 10th grade. I would be leaving everything that I knew and friends that have been pals for several years. I also had my job at the Daily Standard delivering papers for the last six years and my janitorial duties at the newspaper to consider. I would be starting over at a new place, new family, new church, new school and hopefully new friends. I had a Whizzer Motor Bike and a Powell Motor Scooter to think about. I sold the Whizzer to a fellow newspaper friend and shipped the Powell to Kansas City.

The decision to move from Celina to Kansas City was not an easy one. But it was the right one. Grandmother passed away in 1950. I met a girl of 14 years of age just one and a half blocks from my new home who I married six years later. This July 22nd will be our 54th wedding anniversary. Ann Edwards went to the same high school and church and later to the same college in California.

This story is a great example of what Romans 8:28 says -- “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose”.

Small College Advantages - Part D 1955-1956

This is the last of a series of five postings. If you haven’t read the previous four, please do so now before reading this story.

D. Senior Year 1955-1956

The summer of 1955 up to July 22nd was spent working full time (wasn’t I already doing that?) at the book store. I took my earned vacation and drove back to Kansas City to be married. I left on a Friday night after work and drove continuously until I could no longer see straight. Stopped in Kansas for a three hour nap and continued on to Kansas City. It’s a wonder I got there at all. But we do crazy things sometimes and this I can chalk up to one of those.

Dick & Ann Moore - Married July 22, 1955 in Kansas City, Missouri

After the wedding, we spent our honeymoon driving back to California by way of Colorado. When we arrived back home in Pasadena, we began our life in a duplex at the corner of Carmelo and White. This was owned by one of the teachers at the college and Ann’s traveling sponsor/speaker the previous summer. The duplex was furnished and water paid. It had a kitchen (small), living room, bedroom, and bath. No garage. But it was home to us and we loved it. Paid $45 a month which was a lot considering I made $200 gross a month.

Dick Moore standing at the door of our duplex on Carmelo in Pasadena, CA.

Ann Moore at our front door of the duplex 1956

Ann had a job lined up to work for an insurance company office to help support as I continued to work at the book store. Well, she actually worked for one half a day! Came home very sick and was unable to return to work. Seems that she was pregnant with Ricky and for the next 3 months was too sick to do much of anything. So our married life is off and running at a much slower pace than we had planned. We thought I would be making $200 a month at the book store and she would be making $200 a month at the insurance agency. Now that is cut in half and an addition to the family was going to make an appearance within a few months.

I was in my senior year of college and taking 16 units to complete my studies for graduation. With a very sick wife and a baby coming, my thought went to supporting my family instead of finishing college. Ann’s parents, Robert and Mildred Edwards, came to our aid and told me they would pay the last year’s tuition if I would work and support the family. So that is how I was able to make it financially through my last year of college. We will be forever grateful to them for helping us get through this difficult year.

To me, college was my passport to the future and I needed to complete that if I was ever going to accomplish anything in this life. With taking a full load of studies and working full time as well, this left little time to be a part of the college community. I was not in sports or any clubs. I was living off campus and had little time to socialize outside of our home.

Dave Cole had a part time job of music minister at Central Church of the Nazarene in Pasadena. He got three other guys and a piano player forming a church quartet that sang every Sunday evening. I was the bass and Dave was the first tenor. Each of the guys (except Dave) were paid $5 a week for that one song. Dave got more since he was in charge of the entire music program. The $5 came in very handy and we enjoyed singing together.

My yearbook that year had no signatures or comments written by other school attendees. Apparently I didn’t have time to stick around after I got the book. Since I lived off campus and was married with a child here at the time the book was available, I had things to do that didn’t include finding people to sign my book. I regret that I didn’t get any but that’s life.

My sister, Faye, was a freshman this year at PNC. She appeared in three pictures in the yearbook other than her class picture for activities she was in. She was at the school only one year, my senior year. She attended Whittier College but didn’t graduate. Ann appeared in one of the pictures of the crowd at a basketball game. I was sitting next to her but wasn’t in the picture. Ann was wearing maternity clothes. I just had my senior class picture in the book. At this point I was ready to move on.

Richard Robert Moore born in Pasadena, California. Picture taken in hospital.

On April 10, 1956, our family grew by one with the addition of Richard Robert Moore. This was two months before my graduation. I attended the Senior Retreat in Big Bear as my last social contact with the college students before graduation.
Graduation Day picture of Dick Moore June 1956

Attending and graduating from Pasadena Nazarene College was a highpoint of my life. I met many friends that have become life long friends. Being in the Nazarene church for many years and singing in the Watchmen Gospel Quartet in Nazarene churches, brought me in contact with many of the people I knew at college. Last year I wrote an article about what my freshman year was compared to my granddaughter Emily’s 55 years later. You can read that article here.

Through the years we have attended a number of class reunions held at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. The first one was our 25th. Other reunions were the 30th, 35th, 45th, and the big one - 50th. In November 2006, Dave and Marlene Cole and Dick and Ann Moore attended together the Golden Anniversary of Dick & Dave’s graduation. There were 27 of the 111 in the graduating class of 1956 that attended. It was great to see them again and remember “The Good Old Days” of college. Many of these people had changed so much they didn’t even recognize me!

Here are some pictures from the 50th College Graduation Anniversary held in 2006.

Old Friends - Dick Moore and Dave Cole. Spent four years in college together and a lifetime keeping in touch with each other's families.

Dick Moore, Ross Irwin and Lyle Pritchard. Ross was very active with the college alumni.

Dave Cole, Keith & Sheila Holly. Sheila was still working for the university then.

Dave & Mert Jones. Dave was a member of the Shoremen Quartet from Long Beach for many years. Mert was my first date in my freshman year and a regular at our morning breakfast.

Years ago the alumni sold bricks for the "Alumni Walk" with your name and year of graduation. Here's mine.

Thanks for coming along with me on this memory tour of my college days. Hope you enjoyed reading these postings.

Moore Family Reunion Of 1993

The Moore family (my uncles and aunts - dad’s brothers and sisters) have had a Round Robin going for many years. One who receives it takes out their last letter and writes a new one. Then it is on to the next person to do the same. It takes about five months for the robin to make it’s flight and return to you. My dad, Leonard, had passed away in 1940 and when the robin was started, his family was not represented. Uncle Dale asked me to represent the Leonard Moore family in the robin about 1988 or so. I joined it to bring them up on our family and what my brother and sisters families were doing. I knew all the aunts and uncles very well as I had contact with them while living in their parents home in Celina. So I was a natural to join and was glad to do it.

After a few years I thought it was time for this family to get together once more. We had most of the family together for grandpa’s birthday parties but not all could make it. I wanted to honor the original members of my grandparents family with this reunion. They were all getting up in years and before too long wouldn’t be able to make a trip to whatever location was chosen for the reunion. Everyone was all for the reunion but no one wanted to step forward to plan the event. So I took charge and became the Director of the Moore Family Reunion of 1993.

Director and Master of Ceremonies Of The Moore Family Reunion Of 1993 - Dick Moore

It took 18 months of planning to get this organized and done. My superintendent at State Farm was a computer whiz and he helped me design a letterhead for communications that included two pictures -- grandpa and grandma! I had copies make and used them in all requests and information that I needed sent out to the family. We had to choose the time and the place for this reunion. I lived in California and we have a lot of things to do here but some were coming from the east coast which made it a long trip. I decided to hold it in Oklahoma City over the weekend of July 30, 31, and August 1, 1993. This was Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We wanted to spend as much time together as we could. Uncle Ray and his family could help me because they live nearby. Ann’s sister, Helen, also lives there and could recruit her family to help in the details of the reunion.

Phil Moore helped me with the talent show. Linda Comingdeer registered everyone and handed out packets of materials that we had for all. Ron Comingdeer took pictures at the program so we could enjoy the family and not be concerned with documenting the reunion. Perry Gering handled the video portion of capturing the reunion on film. Ron also ran the golf tournament for me. Others had a role such as securing the locations of our gatherings and entertainment. A lot had to be done and the family helped when given an assignment.

I took a week’s vacation during Ann’s Spring Break and we went to Oklahoma to handle some details. One of the things I did was to meet with the Mayor of Bethany, Oklahoma, and explain what we were doing. I went to City Hall and found that he doesn’t office there. He was a Farmers Insurance Agent and handled his mayor duties out of his insurance office. This was interesting as I worked with State Farm, a competitor. I asked him if he would declare July 31, 1993 as “Moore Family Day” in Bethany. He said he would be happy to help in making this a memorable day for all. He would come to the main program on Saturday and present each honored guest with a proclamation declaring the special day. He did a wonderful job on this and made everyone welcome. He didn’t want to leave the program as he was having as much fun as the rest.

We started with a picnic in a local park. Dick standing by the sign.

We would first meet at a local park in Bethany for lunch on Friday. Uncle Ray organized this for us. At this time we would share pictures of the past and present for each family. We had a banner that a friend made for me to identify the actual place for the picnic. It was great to see everyone and talk over “old times”. We met again that evening after dinner for a concert at the First Church of the Nazarene in Bethany given by one of the professors at Southern Nazarene University. He did a program on the piano like Victor Borge which was hilarious. Also demonstrated the various styles of church pianists which had everyone laughing very hard.

The next day was Saturday and we had suggestions for get together opportunities. The golf tournament was held at the University of Oklahoma. Uncle Ray had his brothers and sisters over for brunch. The zoo and several museums were available for meeting someone and enjoying the morning. The packets we had given each family contained many suggestions for use of this time.

Our main program would be at 3:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of Oklahoma City First Church of the Nazarene. My cousin, Phil Moore, was the Minister of Music there and arranged that room for us. Here we had the Mayor of Bethany proclaim the day as ours and he handed out an individual proclamation to each aunt and uncle or family member if they were not there. I accepted the one for Leonard Moore. Aunt Betty had passed on and her daughter Donna accepted for her. The only living member of the original family that wasn’t there was Carlan. He was unable to make it that weekend. But the other eight living members were there and what a time they had. Each one was able to relate a story of their childhood living in the Moore household. We talked about the “Humor of J. I. Moore” relating some funny things that grandpa had said or done. We had the talent show with many participating in it. Uncle Gary and his daughter Becky sang a duet. Ray, Dale, Bob, and Gary sang a quartet. Doris and her daughters Eileen and Carolyn sang a trio. Eileen and Carolyn did a funny sketch about two cats. Phil, Harlan, Rick and I sang a quartet number about “What A Meeting” relating our reunion in Heaven. Rick sang a solo. I was scheduled to do one but time got away and I decided not to do it. Ray and Gary did a duet. It was a great time.

Uncle Dale had prepared “The History of the Moore Family” which was printed in the program and he delivered it orally as well. Uncle Cecil was a pastor in Georgia and he delivered a sermonette on “Family Values”. I brought a clock momento to each of the honored family members which had a picture of their parents on the inside cover. The clock was engraved with their name and date. I had several nieces and nephews call each one up and give them the gift.
The ladies of the church prepared the evening meal for us. So we continued the conversation around tables and food. Ernie Reynolds was the first grandchild of our grandparents and we asked him to pray for the family.

On Sunday morning we gathered back at the Oklahoma City First Church of the Nazarene to worship together. The Moore Family sang a special number for the congregation as most of the family are singers. This was a wonderful experience. We had lunch together at the church and bid everyone farewell. Of the nine living members at the time, eight have gone on to their reward in Heaven to this date. Bob, Doris, Dale, Cecil, Ruth, Carlan, Ray and Pauline have reached their eternal destination and are rejoicing with their family members who have gone on before them. We have pictures and video of them participating in the reunion which I believe was Heaven inspired. I am so thankful that I took the time and effort to get the family together and share this one last time enjoying each others company.

Front Row: Pauline, Doris & Ruth

Back Row: Gary, Cecil, Ray, Dale, & Bob

The Moore Round Robin continues to fly with cousins taking the places of those who have passed on. Gary is the last remaining of the 12 siblings and still participates in this letter exchange. The family continues to keep in touch and we hope it will continue for many years.

Early Days Of Television

I was born before television was a household word. We marveled at radio! How could they send the sound from New York City clear across the states to Los Angeles? Now add the picture and you can imagine our amazement.

Television was introduced to the general public at the 1939 World's Fair in New York City on Sunday, April 30, 1939. This is just before World War II started. So it had to take a back burner for development until after the war ended in 1945. The first station was in New York City and basically served a few people in that city. Not many sets were available elsewhere but time brought many manufacturers all over the USA to develop this unique entertainment vehicle.

At the World's Fair, visitors crowded together to watch NBC broadcasts or internal closed circuit demonstrations. Frequently, volunteers were escorted outside to the cameras and encouraged to wave at the folks inside. Television was such a novelty at the time that "I was televised" cards were handed out as a souvenir of the experience.

I lived in Kansas City, Missouri in 1949 when TV came to that city. Of course, the picture was in black and white only at that time. You had certain hours that you could watch anything. Programming went off the air with the National Anthem being played and sometimes a prayer by a local pastor. Then you got the test pattern which was used to adjust new sets. The first station there started just after I arrived in Kansas City. It was WDAF-TV Channel 4 and had it's start on October 16, 1949. Radio stations that started TV stations just added "TV" to their call letters. NBC radio station WDAF was the first to get a license to broadcast TV in that area. As there were few TV stations, they weren't affiliated with just one network but chose programs from all networks. WDAF-TV was affiliated with NBC, CBS, ABC and an independent called DuMont Network. The station later became the FOX Network station for that area. Randell Jessee was the first anchorman for the station and well known in the Kansas City area.

In early 1950 I caught double pneumonia and was bed fast at home while the doctor made daily house calls to save my life. Our teen group at Kansas City First Church of the Nazarene (NTO) rented a 7 inch round tube TV to keep me occupied. The only TV in the home! I later was able to buy the first TV for my aunt and uncle that I lived with there. A store was selling a few sets for a very low price if you got there in time and Uncle Ray did.

There were a few shows like Milton Berle's Texaco Star Theater in 1948. He kind of pioneered the variety comedy show idea. In fact, NBC gave him an unheard of contract in 1951 for 30 years at $100,000 per hear to do 360 shows. When his TV show was cancelled, NBC had the obligation for the balance of his 30 year contract. But Milton Berle couldn't appear on any TV show on any other network during the contract. He was tied to NBC which he tried to get out of but they wouldn't let him. Minor players now get that amount or more per show and he had to settle for a yearly payment. Contrast his earnings with the last year of "Friends" where all six players received One Million Dollars per half hour each for 22 episodes ($22 Million per actor). What sounded great in 1951 became a noose around Uncle Miltie's neck.

When someone got a new television set, they also got a lot of visitors stopping by for a visit. It was so new that people couldn't get enough of television. What in the world did we do with our time before television came available?

Some of new television shows were:

Ed Sullivan's "Toast Of The Town" (variety show)
Your Hit Parade (countdown to the top songs of the week)
Arthur Godfrey (daytime talk show with guests)
Your Show Of Shows (Sid Caesar & Imogene Coco - Variety)
The Honeymooners (Jackie Gleason situation comedy)

There were some radio hits that moved to television:

Red Skelton, Jack Benny, George Burns & Gracie Allen, Fibber McGee & Molly, Bob Hope, Amos & Andy, and The Lone Ranger. These were just a few of them that I could think of quickly.

It was an exciting time in the entertainment industry. Television gave the movies a boost because the movies could be shown again in another medium. Think of all the actors who took a flat fee and didn't get residuals because they didn't know the movies would be shown again.

Do You Want Me To Preach Too?

High School Graduation Picture 1952 Kansas City, MO

I grew up from age 9 to 15 in a small town of Celina, Ohio. My brother, Ben, and I lived with our grandparents and Grandpa was the pastor of the local Church of the Nazarene. In June of 1949, Ben left the home to live with our mother in Indiana. Grandmother's health was failing and in September I moved to Kansas City, Missouri to live with Uncle Ray and Aunt Edith Moore. I graduated from Southeast High School in 1952 and was making plans to attend Pasadena Nazarene College in Pasadena, California.

Rev. J. I. and Mattie Moore, my grandparents

My grandmother had passed away two years earlier. I wanted to visit my retired grandfather and my hometown one more time before leaving for California. I had my brother Ben's 1939 Pontiac (he was overseas in the Navy at this time) and I stopped in Muncie, Indiana to visit my mother and my younger brother Bob. I took Bob with me to Celina and up to Elkhart, Indiana to visit our sisters, Faye and Lenna who were living with other relatives.

Celina Ohio Church of the Nazarene 1948

We were able to spend a couple of days with Grandpa and visiting friends in Celina. On Sunday, we visited my former church and the then pastor who I had not met before asked me to sing a solo for the evening service. I was introduced in church as the grandson of Rev. J. I. Moore. The Moores had a reputation for being singers and he thought I was a singer also. I had never sung at that church and had sung solos only for the teen group at the church in Kansas City. I agreed to do it because there probably wouldn't be more than 50 people there that night. Then he asked me to do a duet with Helen Howell who I was talking to and who used to be my brother Ben's girl friend. OK we said. Then he asked me to lead the singing for the service and I asked him if he wanted me to preach also -- he asked "Could you?" I drew the line on that.

But my last visit to the church included participating in the entire music part of the evening service. Something I will never forget.

53 Years And Counting

Today (July 22) is our anniversary. Our 53rd anniversary! Where has the time gone? How come I can remember so many events and place years to them during these 53 years? I'm too young to be married this long!

But the truth is -- Ann and I were married on July 22, 1955 in Kansas City, Missouri at our home church. Ann was born in Kansas City and started attending Kansas City First Church of the Nazarene when she was able to go to church. Her father, Robert A. Edwards, was the treasurer for over 40 years. Her mother, Mildred Speakes Edwards, was the organist for as long.

I came to Kansas City from Celina, Ohio in September 1949. My Uncle Ray and Aunt Edith invited me to live in their home. I was at my grandparents home from 1942 to 1949 and grandmother was in failing health when I was asked if I would move to Kansas City to live with an uncle and aunt. They had one child -- Kathy -- age 18 months. I accepted their invitation and began a whole new life. Moved from a small town of 5,000 people to a very large city.

A day or two after I arrived, I went with Ray & Edith to the Edwards home which was one and a half blocks from them. Ray had to see Mildred Edwards about some music (Ray Moore was the Minister of Music) and I sat in the living room being uncomfortable as their daughter, Ann, was there. I was 15 years old and Ann was 14. I was not into meeting girls at that age. Not interested at all. But -- Ann had different plans. After the visit she told her mother "that is the man I will marry"! How did she know?

I dated a couple of girls in the next three years but only a couple of times. Again, I was not into that. I went to Pasadena Nazarene College in the fall of 1952 and Ann came there in 1953. We had a "standing" agreement that if she didn't have a date on Friday, we'd do something like miniature golf, go out for a hamburger, go see one of the Radio/TV shows in Hollywood, etc. Funny how she happened to not have any plans on Friday evenings.

We started going steady in February 1954 and engaged a year later. It's been quite a journey and I wouldn't change a thing.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, ANN. Thanks for being my wife and the mother of our kids, Rick and Brenda.
53 years and counting!

Raising Cane

Celina Church Of The Nazarene - 1948

I mentioned earlier in this BLOG that I had submitted three things to Reminisce magazine that were published. This story was in the September/October 2004 issue.

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Able to Raise Cane

I lived with my grandparents in Celina, Ohio in the 1940's, My grandfather was pastor of the local Church of the Nazarene.

The church was on a large plot of land that we were allowed to farm to help put food on the table. We raised everything that would grow in that area, including sugar-cane that was turned into molasses.

We used to say that we raised cane behind the church and got away with it.

Dick Moore

Mission Viejo, California

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The picture above was taken of the church during the winter but does show part of the area around the church that we farmed. It was quite large and took many evenings planting, hoeing, and harvesting what we grew. During the 1940's many Americans had Victory Gardens to help with the family food supply. We had a garden at our home also.