Christie's Diary

1964

 Aug 1 Leonard went to Dr. he has to lay off a week, losing to much weight

* * *

PHOTO: Leonard Till

Here is a piece about Leonard, written by his son, Ralph Till:

Leonard Carl Richard Till: Memories

He was born to August and Augusta Till on the Till homestead, corner of CR 330 & 66th St, Bangor, Geneva Township, Van Buren County, MI. This is where Ralph & Joann Till reside now (February 2006), but the address is South Haven.

He grew up on the farm, third in line, with 4 sisters and 1 brother. He graduated from the eighth grade from the Jericho Country School. He had Bright's disease, a form of kidney disease, when he was a teenager. The doctor said he knew of no cure & didn't expect him to live. Someone told his mother to boil up a big pot of navy beans and feed him the watery broth off the beans. She tried this remedy and it worked and he soon got better. While he was in bed so long, his mom taught him to crochet to pass the time. He got quite good at it, making table cloths & doilies. Later in life Madge & he made squares for an afghan, which she sewed together. When he was 18, he drove his car into a large tree in front of Dr. Gano's office on Monroe St. in Bangor. He remained unconscious many days.

He helped his father and brother on the farm until he married Madge Treat on November 8, 1925 at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, South Haven, MI. They got married  in the parsonage, with his sister Elsa and her husband Ernest Muske standing up for them. He had been baptized 3-8-1903 & confirmed 4-13-1919 in this same church.

Early in their married life, he was doing some building work at the Sleepy Hollow Resort, north of South Haven, and he met the gangster Al Capone, who was visiting there. In the 30s he worked as a mechanic for Nick Bian in Bangor, he also worked on some farms in the area and managed a couple, the last one a 640 acre fruit and grain farm on 16th Avenue, South Haven, for Somner Sollite, a construction company owner from Chicago, from 1939 to 1952. He then worked at the Everett Piano Company, South Haven, Michigan, until he retired at 62, in 1965.

When his son Ralph bought the farm in 1963, where Leonard had grown up, he and Madge bought a trailer & moved from Monroe St., Bangor, Michigan, to the farm the next year. He was very happy to be back on the farm where he grew up and loved, helping with the pigs and working the land again.

He had medium brown hair, hazel eyes, and was 5'11'' tall. He was a handyman, could fix most anything. He was easy going and dependable. He wasn't fussy about what he had to eat, so Madge often sent son Ralph's lunch leftovers for Leonard's lunch the next day. He also took the cold coffee left from supper to work the next morning, and liked it.

PHOTO: Augusta and August Till (Leonard's parents)

PHOTO: The family of Carl Till. (Grandfather of Leonard Till)

Carl, Pauline, Justina, Julianne, August, Ernestine & Carl Julius came to the USA 21 July 1892 on the ship Darmstadt, departure port of Bremerhaven, Bremen, Germany. There are also two youngsters listed, Olga and Rhinehart Till. --Source www.ellisislandrecords.org (researched by Susan Till Mills)

PHOTO: Leonard Till

PHOTO: Leonard Till

Christie's Diary

"5" written at top of page 187

1964

Aug 19 Effie Weiland admitted to hospital for operation Monday morning 20th. was released on Monday afternoon 27th Mary came down and took her home.. stayed till Thursday AM 30th then Effie went home with her to stay then she went to Ann Arbor Wednesday 5th Aug for more tests to see if another operation is possible.

* * *

One thing I remember about Aunt Effie is that she had an old black car that sat in the garage, and she only drove it when she had to go out of town. Bangor was such a small town that you could walk to all the stores and to church and wherever else you had to go in town. Grandma & Grandpa Thomas lived about 3 miles out, so Effie would drive her car when she went to visit them. 

Sometimes Aunt Effie would take me to church with her. She went to the Methodist Church, and walked right past our house on her way there. I don't think I went with her very often -- only a few times. Most of the time I went to my Burford grandparents' house on Saturdays and went to the Church of Christ with them on Sunday. The main thing I remember about going to church with Aunt Effie was that they sang the Doxology (Praise God from whom all blessings flow...) every Sunday. Every time I hear that song I think of her.

PHOTO: This is a picture I downloaded from the internet. It says M.E. Church, Bangor, Mich. I think this is the church Aunt Effie went to, but wouldn't guarantee it. I don't remember much about how the building looked -- from my perspective at age 5. That was a long time ago.

As best I can recall, Aunt Effie's car looked similar to this -- except it wasn't a police car, of course.

The man in this picture is Larry Cramer.

Christie's Diary

1964

 7-19 it turned cool last nite temp at 6:10 AM was 70 inside 67 outside last nite it was 82 dgs outside at 8:30 PM. 90 inside. today is club day annual out dinner day will go to Grace Shriner to play cards after dinner at the Midget lunch room $1.25 for our dinner each

* * *

Unusually warm weather for Michigan, even in July.

$1.25 for lunch!!

The Midget Cafe in Hartford. There was also a Midget restaurant in Watervliet (5 miles away), owned by the same family. That's probably where Christie's club went for lunch. 

PHOTO: Some of the ladies from one of Christie's clubs. I don't know which one -- if any -- is Grace Shriner.

Christie's Diary

[page 188 has note: "Over to page 4 then back to this page (should have been)"]

"4" written at top of page 193, where this entry is written. 

1964

7-29 Effie Mary and boys came out Tuesday evening after she got home on Monday after noon from hospital after her throat operation she looked got [good?] and seem to feel good.

* * *

I must admit that I never have been able to figure out exactly the order in which these diary entries were meant to be read. So if some of the events seem out of order... well, I did the best I could. As best I can determine, Aunt Effie (Bill Thomas' sister) had two surgeries in July and August of 1964 for what turned out to be throat cancer. She died in May of 1965.

Mary was the wife of Allan Miller. Allan was Effie's nephew, whom she raised when his mother died shortly after he was born. I assume "boys" refers to Allan and Mary's sons.

PHOTO: Effie and Harry Wieland, Allan Miller

PHOTO: Allan Miller

PHOTO: This may or may not be Allan's wife, Mary. The back of the photo says 'I don't think Mary ever dreamed her picture would travel to Japan'. Allan did enlist in the Army Air Corps in 1940, but I don't know if he ever went to Japan or not.

PHOTO: This is Allan and Mary's son James. Their second son was named Gerard Preston Miller (after Allan's two brothers). I don't know if he was called Gerard or Preston or maybe 'Jerry'... and I don't have a picture of him. Both of these boys are now deceased.

Christie's Diary

July 1964

"4" written at top of page 193 

[page 188 has note: "Over to page 4 then back to this page (should have been)"]

wrote to Goldie about 25 June 64

wrote to Faun about the 26 or 27th 64

wrote to Hazel Kelso Tuesday 7-1-64

Sent Helen Hawes a birthday card July 1 -- her birth day

sent Dwayne Rice a birthday card his was 6-3 the 3rd of July 64 didn't mail it

* * *

I don't know who Goldie is. I don't have a Goldie listed in the Treat family records.

Faun was Christie's cousin. She lived in London, Ohio.

Hazel Kelso was one of the ladies in one of the clubs Christie was in.

I don't know who Helen Hawes was.

Dwayne Rice was a brother of Eileen (Bernarde's wife).

PHOTO: Bob and Faun, Bill and Christie

PHOTO: Hertha Woodrum, Christie Thomas, Mrs Evans, Edith Davis, HAZEL KELSO, Stella K, Mrs Haynes

Christie's Diary

1964 

8-9 Ricky came over Sunday & staying to go to market tonite Monday 10th with 2 sows

* * *

PHOTO: Grandpa with pigs. This would have been a long time before 1964, but it's the only picture I have of Grandpa and his pigs.

PHOTO: Ricky's school picture 1964

PHOTO: Rick holding John

This would have been just a couple weeks after the diary entry above.

PHOTO L-R: Mom holding John, Dad, uncle Morris, Leon Hinton (friend of Morris), uncle Bob, aunt Jackie, (front) Rick, Mark, Dianne holding Lori. (Mark and Lori were Bob & Jackie's children).

This was September 1965. I'm including it because Rick is holding his home made cigar box guitar. Isn't he just the cutest thing? I couldn't resist.

Christie's Diary

 

1964

8-8 Bill went to Dr for physical check up & he's all ok so said Dr Gano

* * *

Dr. Gano was our family doctor when I was a young child.  Bangor was a very small town -- I don't know if there even was another doctor in town at that time. This was the era when doctors still made house calls. As far as I know, he was a good doctor and was well respected by most everyone.

PHOTO: Dr. Avison Gano

PHOTO: Dr. Gano's office, Bangor, Michigan

(I downloaded this picture from Bangor Historical Society website.)

DR. GANO OBITUARY

BANGOR – Born on Aug. 8. 1911, to Avery W. and Dorothy Gano in a rural farmhouse in Carrollton, Ill., Dr. Avison Gano quietly passed away in his home on Dec. 22, 2001, in Bangor, Mich. He was the third of four children. He was preceded in death by his wife, Maude E. Gano, his daughter Marian Riley, and his brother, Berry Gano. 

His son, Dr. Avison Walter Gano; six grandchildren–Ryan Walter Gano, Jason Douglas Gano, Debra Elizabeth Benschoter, Steven Walter Kruslak, Peter Michael Kruslak, Penny Brandner; and seven great-grandchildren survive him. 

Dr. Gano began his education in a one-room schoolhouse called Brush College. The students came from nearby farms located within several miles of the school house of which the county had a total of forty-one. At the age of 16, he graduated from high school; and with a $ 50 two-year scholarship, he was admitted to the University of Illinois pre-medical program. 

Upon completion of this two-year program, he was able to obtain a $ 270 two-year scholarship which allowed him to enroll in their 4-year medical school curriculum. With financial support from his family, and by working nights, he completed this program graduating from the University of Illinois medical school on June 28, 1934. At the age of 22, he was one of the youngest in his class of 404. Upon moving to Michigan he secured an internship at Hackley Hospital in Muskegon. After completing the internship in June 1935, he started his surgical residency at St. Mary’s in Grand Rapids and completed his studies there in July 1936.

 

During his internship he met a young nurse named Maude Elizabeth Gronevelt who was working at Hackley Hospital. They were later married in August 1935. As his residency progressed, they looked for areas to start his medical practice, and after several trips they decided on Bangor. They were able to locate office space above Karston’s (Swanstras) Drug Store. Dr. Joe Campbell took the front office for his dentist practice, but the back office was vacant and adequate for his use. Dr. Gano moved in and began his practice in July 1936. The new South Haven Hospital was completed in 1942, and with his expanding practice, Dr. Gano made good use of it. 

As World War II gathered steam he enlisted in the service in 1942. Instead of moving into the new home he had just finished building, Dr. Gano rented it to the Bangor High School coach “Doc” Gauthier, packed up his family and moved to Nashville, Tenn., where he served as a lieutenant in the Army Air Force Medical Corps. After 3-1/ 2 years he returned to Bangor in 1945 as a Captain, and restarted his medical practice. 

Dr. Gano’s medical practice spanned 41 years from 1936 to 1977. During this period and later until his death, he was active in local affairs. He served on the Bangor School Board, The West Michigan Savings Bank Board of Directors, Chief of Staff at the South Haven Hospital, an active member of the Masonic Lodge, and he was actively involved in the building of the present Simpson Methodist Church. He attended many of the Bangor High School sporting events and enjoyed cheering the Vikings on to victory. 

He and his wife had long wanted to give back something to the community in return for all that they had received. They particularly thought about establishing a scholarship fund for Bangor High School. The year following the death of his wife, the Maude Gano Scholarship Fund was established. He actively participated in the enlargement of this fund, and currently the fund has assets of over $ 100,000. Scholarships are presented every year to qualified seniors graduating from Bangor High School. 

The family will meet friends on Friday, Jan. 4, 2002, from 3 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at the Bangor Chapel, D.L. Miller Funeral Home. Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 5, 2002, at Simpson United Methodist Church, Bangor, with the Rev. Sandra B. McNary officiating. Interment with full military honors by the Wilcox-Eastman-Salinas American Legion Post 160, Bangor, will follow at Arlington Hill Cemetery, Bangor. The family suggests memorials be made to the Maude Gano Scholarship Fund.

--Source: The Herald-Palladium, 02 January 2002

Christie's Diary

1964

8-8 Madge & Leonard were out Saturday evening a while Leonard is off work for 2 weeks because he is so down with his sugar diabetes

* * *

Madge and Leonard were Christie's sister and her husband Leonard Till.

PHOTO: Madge and Leonard Till

PHOTO: Bill Thomas, Marcus Treat, Leonard Till

(Bill was Christie's husband, Marcus was Christie's father)

PHOTO: Leonard Till

PHOTO: Madge and Leonard Till

PHOTO: You can't see Leonard very well in this photo, but I included it because I'm pretty sure this picture was taken on the front porch of Madge & Leonard's house in Bangor, Michigan, probably around 1958.

* * *

Here are a couple pictures of Leonard when he was young.

Christie's Diary

1964

8-2 Sunday after noon John & Mable & Madge were out here had a good visit then we went for a ride after 7 o'clock to South Haven and around to cool off it was 80 degrees all nite

* * *

John was Christie's brother. Madge was Christie's sister. Mabel was John's wife.

PHOTO L-R: Mabel, Bill, Christie, John, Madge

Christie's Diary

1964

7-31 sent 1 dollar to disabled American Veterans 1425 E McMillan St Cincinnati Ohio, serial no of dollar bill X17143632A

* * *

PHOTO: Ray Treat

Ray Treat was Christie's brother. He was a veteran of World War I.

Ray died in 1963, about a year before this diary entry was written.

PHOTO: Christie at Ray's grave, Arlington Hill Cemetery, Bangor, Michigan

PHOTO: World War I Veterans are shown as they looked when they marched in the first Memorial Day service held in Bangor in 1921. Ray is in the front row, 5th from left.

* * *

Here are all the other pictures I have of Uncle Ray

PHOTO L-R: Ray Treat, John Treat, Marcus Treat

(John was Ray's brother, Marcus was their father)

Here is what Jack Treat wrote about his uncle Ray Treat:

 He was never married and using today’s upbeat description, would be considered a "Free Spirit". He was very similar in size to his father, around six feet tall and over two hundred pounds. He had many talents which included Barber Shop Quartet singing, and I have been told he was an outstanding left handed baseball pitcher. He played for several local town teams. 

  He joined the army the second day of April 1918 and was fighting in France the twenty eighth of June when he was gassed, and later received the "Purple Heart" medal along with others as the war ended November 11, 1918. After the war he worked on river steamboats as fireman and later as a trucker, which was his lifetime occupation. He hauled mainly produce, but also anything else that was moved by truck including farm machinery, livestock and fish. Ray was known by his family as "The Big Boy" and is buried in Arlington Hill Cemetery beside his parents in Bangor, Michigan. -- (Source: Jackie Dallas Treat) 

Here is what my dad wrote about Uncle Ray:

 

Raymond was a PFC in Co. 1 28th Infantry in World War I, (Serial # 58249) He always said that had a problem from the mustard gas that the Germans used in that war. (He was gassed May 28, 1918 in France.) According to his enlistment record he enlisted on May 10, 1917  in Columbus, Ohio, and was discharged February 1, 1919 at Camp Custer, Battle Creek, Michigan.  He was  also told to report for induction for WWII (1942) but was rejected because he was gassed in WWI. 

  I remember one time on one of his trips to Ohio and Tennessee he brought home a lady friend; shortly after we were at my mother's and my brother Bernarde said who is that lady that Uncle Ray is shacked up with, and mother said that was his house keeper and that's all. 

  One Christmas Eve we invited Uncle Ray for dinner and when he was late we called his house to find out why, When he answered we could hear people laughing and singing, He said that he could not make it and was sorry. -- (Source: Richard M. Thomas)

PHOTO L-R: Ray Treat, Chris & Bill Thomas, Ralph Till, Massie Treat, John Treat, Bernarde Thomas, Mabel Treat, Richard Thomas (my dad). This picture was taken some time between 1952 and 1954.