This is my grandparents as I remember them. Grandpa was a commercial fisherman on the Mississippi River. Only once or twice was I allowed to go in the john boat with Grandpa. Those old wood boats twisted & moved in the river and scared the daylights out of me. Grandma fished for the fun of it. She taught me to bait a hook in a way that the "fiddlers" couldn't steal the worm. I have Grandma's old tackle box with her last fishing license still glued to the inside of the lid (that way she didn't forget it).In their younger days, each had learned to play a musical instrument. When the kids were old enough, they too learned to play. I never got to hear them play together, but I never tired of my mom's stories of the family band. I believe Grandpa played fiddle, banjo, and mandolin; Grandma played piano. When Dorothy,Blondie,& Bobby were youngsters,they played "live" on the local Burlington,IA radio station. I remember Mom saying that "little Bobby with the big guitar" was popular.
I received this picture of my Grandparents from my stepdad. He found it while going through some of Mom's old pictures. The picture was probably taken in one of those "photo booths" shortly after they were married. It amazes me that Aunt Myrt looked so much like her mother. The picture was not in very good shape when I received it, but with a decent graphics program, I restored it the best I could. (I love doing restoration.) Note the Purple Heart medal on Lennie's lapel.There also is a campaign ribbon of some type on Grandpa's lapel. Now that I know that Grandpa was in the military, I will try to find out all I can about his service time. Like how he received a Purple Heart, when he served, where, what branch, etc.