Independence Day, Great Depression Style

In the southern part of Beadle county, South Dakota, Cain Creek meanders through the slightly hilly terrain of Clifton township.  Nearly 50 miles long, the creek enters western Beadle county and winds its way southeasterly, emptying into the James River.  A small portion of the creek just barely caught the northwest quarter of Will Knutz's 80 acre farm, and as my mother remembers, was down a rolling hill from their house.   In the weeks before the Independence Day holiday in 1933, someone looked at that creek and had a great idea...

The dot inside the red circle shows the location of the farmhouse of the Will and Virta Knutz family, and its proximity to Cain Creek.  The road just to the left of the red circle is Highway 37, south of Huron.

Neighbors and friends gathered to build a dam on the creek, forming what was said to have been an excellent, and very popular, swimming hole.  The Knutz children, among others, spent their days enjoying a refreshing swim and the company of others there for the same purpose.  Young Richard Knutz, just 16 at the time, "just about lived in that pool," said his mother, Virta.  Will Knutz gave his blessing to the project, on the condition that everyone pick up after themselves before they left.   A small baseball diamond was added as well.

A group of young swimmers at the Knutz swimming hole

The swimming hole was the site of an incredible 1933 Independence Day party.   On July 3, some of the ball players showed up and "fixed up" the diamond, cleaned out the tree grove, and "penned off a corner of the pool for the little kids to swim in," Bill Knutz wrote.  And the Knutz family prepared for the onslaught of guests the following day.

Swimmers - from left, Bill Knutz, Lillian Christensen (who would later become his wife), and second from right is either Howard or Richard Knutz. 

It was estimated that about 1,000 people showed up for the festivities, starting with a "kitten" ball game for the youngsters, commencing at 10 am and stopping at 12:30 for a picnic lunch.  Afterward was the women's ball game, and then the races - first the younger kids, then the young men's race, the married couples race, and lastly the "fat man's" race.   Cash prizes were awarded for first and second places for each race.  The "big" baseball game followed the races, and it was estimated that as many as 90 cars were parked there at that time.   Pop and ice cream were sold; horseshoes, and of course, swimming, were all-day events.  It was noted by Bill Knutz that there were so many people in the pool that the water was nearly to the top of the dam.  All the neighbors for miles around were there, "and then some," noted by one of them, Miss Edna Christensen.

After dark, another neighborhood acquaintance, Mr. Baum, hosted a barn dance for which Bill Knutz and His Harmonians supplied the music.

After the Fourth of July party, the swimming hole continued to be a hot spot for the rest of the summer, with cars coming and going all day, "up until midnight," said Mrs. Knutz.  But the following spring, when the snow began to melt and the rains came, the dam washed out.  The neighborhood came together again to rebuild it, and they enjoyed another summer of swimming.  But the following spring, in 1935, the waters proved too much for the dam and again, it wouldn't hold.  This time, it was not reconstructed.  The days of the Knutz swimming pool were over.

Cain Creek today, photo courtesy of Google Earth.

Sources:
Photos
Elvirta Knutz's Life Story, as written by herself
Letters of Bill Knutz to Lillian Christensen
Letter from Edna Christensen to Lillian Christensen
Huron Daily Plainsman, 20 Feb 1966
List of Playing Dates for Bill Knutz and His Harmonians
1949 Beadle County Plat Map, R. C. Booth Enterprises
Betty Hammer
Google Earth
http://cartoongraphics.blogspot.com/

Run For Your Life - A Story of Strength from World War II

Many of our ancestors faced situations that required every bit of strength and courage they could muster.  But few of those situations could compare with running for your very life from the Nazis.

My grandmother, Lisa Hammer, had a life that repeatedly required strength, from the time she was a toddler pining away for the home and mother that she'd never return to, to teaching and ministering to the poorest children in Norway, and much more in between.  But the astounding story of her fortitude during World War II shows what she was made of.   At the time of this story, she was a teacher in Kjøllefjord, Finnmark in northern Norway. I can't tell the story like Lisa could, so I will let her do it.  Keep in mind as you read the story that she got terribly seasick on boats, and that the Nazis had mined the waters.  Also please keep in mind that English was not her first language.

With that, may I introduce my guest host for this posting, Lisa Hammer.

**********

In 1940 the World War II broke out and lasted five years.  There was very little food around.  We fed the kids oatmeal soup and cod liver oil in the school and when the weather was bad, the fishermen stole the fish they had sold the day before.  The kids were not fed the way they should be and many times it was a lot better to give them a bath and teach them history and something else.  After the war I got a year off and went to a garden school.

The country was neutral but in big trouble because the Germans took the food for the soldiers.  For three weeks at the school we ate sour rhubarb jam with no butter on the bread.  The people were often put in camps because they didn't join the Nazis and they were starving to death.  The farmers in the south smuggled food in in empty garbage cans.  We could not write to our mothers because all mail was opened up and every telephone call taped.  All radios were taken away and nobody knew for sure who the next man was so we never dared to talk freely.  I stayed with one of the teachers at the school and had a very good year with them.  We made a lot of potato flour to take home and we bought a lot of caraway seed for tea.

Kjollefjord, 1928.  Original source of photo unknown.

In 1945 the Germans lost the war but before they left they burned the country and they evacuated us to the southern part.

We heard the news about the burning but did not know how serious the situation was before we saw the smoke come rolling over the mountain from Kjøllefjord.  We came together for a meeting and decided that all the men should go home and pack and all the women should bake bread so we could take it with us the next day.  It was in November and still no snow on the ground.  I lived alone but neighbors helped and we all worked together.  I went to bed and slept to 5 A.M.  Somebody knocked on the door and asked if I would go with my friends who had an old mother and were leaving.  I said no because I was sad and there were many who needed help.  I slept again until 7:30 A.M. and had another knock on the door.  This time the Germans were on the harbour, shooting down the pier and coast light.  I took the bike and my valuables up in the mountains to a small lake where we had water.  The Germans threw hand grenades in all the houses and that evening, not one house was left.  We had bought coal for heating for winter and all was burned up.  They put us in a fishing boat and said go to the south.  They were sure we would be bombed on the way but the first night the weather was so bad we couldn't go to the boat.  We made a big fireplace outside and fried sheep meat and drank beer.  We roasted the sheep and ate them.  The cows were running wild around; we milked them before we left and took as many pails with us as we could.  Of course we were to have food for three days.

Lisa's home in Kjollefjord

It was early Sunday morning the Germans come and they threw the grenades in the houses and we were all up to and before evening came, there wasn't one house left from all the places where we had the winter coal saved for the next year.  And we went down there and tried to find ourself but we couldn't find it because it was too dark and I was wondering where my map was at and all my papers and I couldn't find it and one of the neighbors who was born there, she came with a lantern and she said you follow me and I will find it, and she found it up in the rocks that night.  We had big bowls of sweet stuff, the cranberries, the blueberries and the snowberries we had saved for the winter, we dug them under the sod in the fence of the graveyard.  When we saw we couldn't take it with us we sat and ate out of the crocks.

It was very bad weather that night so we couldn't enter the boat - it wasn't possible to come to the boat so we were a mess.  We roasted some sheep, fried them on the fire and we drank some beer.  Milked some cows, packed silver in the shoes and boots so we could take as much as possible and next morning we went to the boat.  It was a fishing boat - we were laying in the bottom of the boat.  One man got crazy but we had a basket that was made up ready to go to the hospital if somebody should be sick.  Of course it was far away to the hospital.  So we tied him up in that basket, it was the only thing to do.  And every place we went by that day there was burning and burning and burning.  We tore apart sheets and bedspreads and washed the kids and one woman got her pants filled up screaming what should we do and throw it in the ocean, no, no, no we can't afford to do that, but there was nothing else to do.

So, for three days we went south and the Germans were sure we would all be bombed and died.  But later the weather got beautiful, we didn't see a plane.  We came to a city Phlocea.  They backed us into some cattle wagons with no windows, just one door, no lights and the rest room outside.

So we came down to a city called Mansus.  That is a side road going down to my home country and I took two families and we ran away in the dark.  The rest came south and I come home to my mother and my father with my two families.

**********

Lisa eventually went back to Finnmark and continued on to build up a fine school district from virtually nothing, and 30 years later she left it all behind for a new life in the United States with my grandfather.


Many thanks to Elizabeth O'Neal for hosting the Blog Party

Duh! Overlooking A Major Breakthrough in a Moment of Stupidity

Elsie and Jens Eriksen

Subtitled: The Porch Light's On, But Nobody's Home

Like many people who have been working on their family's history for a long time, I've plucked all of the low-hanging fruit.  Sometimes I'll pick an ancestor, block out all other distractions, lay my head back and pretend I'm her (or him).  I'll think about her life, imagine her daily routine and interactions, and sometimes come up with different avenues to pursue in my search for more information. The only caveat is that your assumptions about their lives need to be correct if you're going to have any success.

During one such creative session, I was pondering the life of my great-great grandmother, Elsie Eriksen.  Her son, Peter Christensen, came to the United States at the age of 17 to learn the baking trade from an uncle in Omaha.  What did I know of Elsie?  Not much.  I had one photo of her with her husband, Jens Eriksen.  I had heard that her first husband, Mr. Christensen, was a mailman and had died.   I didn't enjoy researching Elsie, as I knew so little and it was typically a frustrating exercise in futility.  She lived her life in Denmark; I didn't read Danish, there weren't a lot of resources available, and I had no idea how to move forward.  However, I had an idea that I don't even remember now, and began looking at various databases.  To make a long story short, by the end of the night (or should I say the wee hours of the next morning) I had well-documented her life in Omaha, and identified her parents, who, surprisingly, lived in Iowa!

Peter Christensen

One of the things that held me back with this branch of my family were my assumptions - assumptions that led me down a completely erroneous trail for nearly 15 years.  I thought Peter Christensen was the immigrant ancestor, when in actuality, it was his grandfather, Peder Larsen, who, in 1886, at the age of 42, left Denmark for greener pastures in Exira, Iowa.  His daughter, Elsie, chose to stay behind.  As Elsie's children reached adulthood, most of them crossed the pond as well.  And, as it turned out, Elsie and her husband Jens did eventually leave Denmark and settle in Omaha where other members of the family had been for years.

I pulled out every bit of information I had on Elsie's son, Peter, to re-examine what I thought I knew.  And there, on his 1901 ship manifest from his first trip here, it said that he was going to his grandfather, P. C. Larson in Exira, Iowa.  There it was, right there the whole time.  Suddenly I had a flashback to all those years earlier, when I first saw that information.  The lines on the manifest were hard to follow, and there was writing in between the lines that confused things even more.  That is my excuse for being so incredibly dense.  I vividly remember thinking, "His mother was still in Denmark, so her parents surely were there too.  He COULDN'T have a grandfather in Iowa.  Besides, the last names don't match."  I concluded that the information was for the person on the line above him.  I'd love to travel back in time and thunk myself in the noggin for being so obtuse.

P. C. and Jacobine Larson

However, the story does have a happy ending.  I made contact with a descendant of Elsie's brother, who had abundant information and photos, and very generously shared them with me.  Despite myself, I have a goldmine on a part of the family I truly never expected to know.


Many thanks to Elizabeth Swanay O'Neal of Little Bytes of Life for hosting the Genealogy Blog Party.  

Log Books and Flight Summaries - February and March, 1944

The following are excerpts from the Pilot's Log book of 1st Lt Joseph Elden Leonard and flight summaries from “417th NFS Illustrated History," edited by Dan Whitney.

1st Lt. Leonard and his radar observer Flight Officer Raymond Christensen, were night fighters for the 417th NFS, U. S. Army Air Force.  Both were killed in action when their plane was engaging a Nazi night fighter over the Tyrrhenian sea.  Their plane disappeared from radar and presumably crashed into the sea after being shot down.  F/O Christensen was my great-uncle.

Much of the work of the 417th NFS was to protect boat convoys as they transported allied suppies and soldiers.  As you can imagine, these convoys were prized targets of the Nazis.  Also, the 417th were sent on missions to check out "bogies" that showed upon their radar, and if found to be an enemy plane, engage in combat.

These excerpts resume in Tafaraoui, Algeria.  F/O Christensen was radar observer for all of these flights, so I have not mentioned him specifically.  Other passengers are noted.   The quotes are from the flight summaries of 1st. Lt. Leonard.   Notes between brackets are mine.  All crews from the 417th are named "Bishop 50, Bishop 51," etc.  Note the crazy hours these guys fly!

******

These entries conclude the log book and flight summary data.

Feb. 3, 1944.
Flight 1: Beau 151.  Sgt. Sabo along as well.  Night Fighter Training.  2:00 pm - 2:40 pm.  "151 is undoubtedly the best A/C [air craft] on the line, everything checked up perfect, wonderful day."
Flight 2: Beau 151.  Convoy Patrol - Turban (Woodlog) [ground control].  5:35 pm - 8:30 pm.  "Convoy patrol on Turban, ran one PI [practice interception] with Bishop 57, seven mile range on the AI [airborne intercept radar], was vectored after bogie with negative results, had trouble with Woolsack and Frenchmen in the pattern, A/C [air craft] has slight hydraulic leak."

Feb. 6, 1944.
Flight 1: Beau 177.  Pfc. Coleman was along.  Night Fighter Training.  2:20 pm - 3:00 pm.  "NFT, ship and radio were OK, but AI [airborne intercept] was PP ["Piss Poor"]"
Flight 2: Beau 177.  F/O Heinecke along as well.  Practice interceptions with Woodlog.  A.I. U/S. [airborne interceptions - ?/?].  6:30 pm - 8:15 pm.  "PI's with 50 on Woodlog, pretty good night despite the fact that my AI was U/S, ship and R/T [radio transmitter] were OK."

Feb. 15, 1944.
Flight 1: Beau 204, Night Fighter Training. 3:05 pm - 3:50 pm.  "Night Fighter Training in the soup, very nice, A/C [air craft], R/T [radio transmitter], and A/I [airborne intercept radar] OK also."
Flight 2: Beau 204, Convoy patrol with Fishbone [ground control].  5:55 pm - 8:05 pm.   "Convoy patrol on a helluva big job about 80 ships, nothing doing as usual and Joe Long was off the ball on his vector, A/C [air craft], R/T [radio transmitter], and AI [airborne intercept radar] OK."
Flight 3: Beau 204.  Scramble.  2:20 am - 3:40 am.  "Scramble after bandit that failed to materialize, I investigated a destroyer that turned out to be friendly, my first scramble and I get lost on the Taxi strip, C'est La Guerre ["That's war!"].  R/T [radio transmitter] a bit ropey."

Feb 18, 1944.  Beau 938, 2:15 pm - 3:05 pm.  "NFT [Night Fighter Training] with [Bishop] 70, A/C [air craft] check out OK but engineering marked it out so they could play with it.  R/T [radio transmitter] and A/C [air craft] OK."

Feb 22, 1944.  Beau 158.  8:05 pm - 12:40 am.  "PI [practice intercepts] with Bishop 53 on Stalecrust [ground control], we worked quilt at Angels 11 [altitude of aircraft - 11,000 ft] - the blackest damned night that I have ever seen.  We were both getting visuals from 800-300 ft.  Ship and set OK."

Feb. 23, 1944.  Beau 151.  5:35 pm - 8:25 pm.  "Convoy patrol with Perform [ground control], Bags of Oranges and Orange juice, uneventful as usual, ship and set OK, but it leaks."

March 3, 1944.  Beau 151.  7:55 am - 9:35 am.  "Dawn patrol with Bradshaw [Tafaraoui RAF Aerodrome control].  After waiting 25 minutes for [Bishop] 57, Bradshaw vectored me after a bandit which I chased for about 25 minutes when my radio went out.  I turned back and about 5 minutes later my port engine went out, but the radio came back in so I was vectored home, R/T [radio transmitter] OK."

The Summer of 1934

When Elizabeth O'Neal suggested a Genealogy Blog Party, I was all in.   (Thanks, Elizabeth!) The theme for the opening party was to create a time machine to visit an ancestor.  I truly did not feel there was any one ancestor in particular that stood out over the others, so I decided to sit this one out.

Then, later on in the week, I remembered The Diary...

Yes, it's a diary with the whole summer ripped out of the center.  Not ripped, exactly, more like surgically removed with a sharp instrument.    I immediately knew that if I could get that time machine, I'd zip back to 1934 and see what was going on for myself.  I'd try to become my grandmother's new best friend and confidante.

Yes, that diary belonged to my grandmother, Lillian Christensen, and anyone who knew her knew she could keep a secret, and take it to the grave if she had to.  And obviously that's what she chose to do with the Summer of 1934.  That block of time has been neatly removed from her life as if it never happened - May 5 through August 31.  Whatever she was up to, she didn't want anyone to know about it.  But why didn't she just destroy the whole diary, instead of leaving this blatant gaping hole in the middle?

Because she wanted to torment me for being so nosey, that's why.

My grandfather often told the story of how he and Lillian "claimed each other" in third grade (or was it second?)  Once they laid eyes on each other, the rest was history, he said, neither of them ever looked at anyone else.  Grandma never said anything while he was telling the story of his youthful little heart going pitter-patter at the mere sight of her.  But then, Grandma's lack of involvement wouldn't have been surprising.  He was the storyteller, she was the practical one.   I never gave it a second thought... until now.

All I really knew of Grandma's young adulthood was that she was a nanny for awhile, then worked in the office of a government agency, and at some point had her own apartment.   I had no timeline for any of these events.

Thanks to old newspapers, city directories, and the diary, I've been able to put together some of the story.  Her diary begins in January, with her living with the Hansowitz family, caring for the children and helping out around the house.  She is dating my grandfather at the time, and makes references to what they're doing on the weekends.  She was also doing office work during the day, and may have been working through a government program, as she mentions being shuffled from the court house to the post office and back again.  And that's where the diary ends.

She must have gotten a permanent position at the U. S. Crop Allotment Office shortly thereafter.  In early June of 1934, Huron Construction Co. placed the following advertisement in the local newspaper:

Lillian Christensen is listed in the 1934 Huron City Directory with an address of 425 Wisconsin av. SW.

Lillian, on the roof of her apartment.

So, I know exactly where she worked, and approximately when she started there.  I know exactly where her apartment was, and I know her job must have been permanent or she never would have gotten her own place.  (Yes, Grandma, I did listen to everything you told me on that subject).  And while I still don't know exactly what she was up to during those missing four months, I'm getting a pretty good idea of the situation.  Oh, did I mention that the letters she'd written back and forth with my grandfather have a huge gap after April of 1934?

I'm going to keep going through her papers and letters looking for clues I overlooked.  And I WILL figure this out, if there's any way possible.

I'll bet she's terribly amused by all this...

Log Books and Flight Summaries, January 1944

The following are excerpts from the Pilot's Log book of 1st Lt Joseph Elden Leonard and flight summaries from “417th NFS Illustrated History," edited by Dan Whitney.

1st Lt. Leonard and his radar observer Flight Officer Raymond Christensen, were night fighters for the 417th NFS, U. S. Army Air Force.  Both were killed in action when their plane was engaging a Nazi night fighter over the Tyrrhenian sea.  Their plane disappeared from radar and presumably crashed into the sea after being shot down.  F/O Christensen was my great-uncle.

Much of the work of the 417th NFS was to protect boat convoys as they transported allied suppies and soldiers.  As you can imagine, these convoys were prized targets of the Nazis.  Also, the 417th were sent on missions to check out "bogies" that showed upon their radar, and if found to be an enemy plane, engage in combat.

These excerpts resume in Tafaraoui, Algeria.  F/O Christensen was radar observer for all of these flights, so I have not mentioned him specifically.  Other passengers are noted.   The quotes are from the flight summaries of 1st. Lt. Leonard.   Notes between brackets are mine.  All crews from the 417th are named "Bishop 50, Bishop 51," etc.  Note the crazy hours these guys fly!

******

Jan. 1, 1944.
Flight 1: Beau 940.  Sgt. Gura also along.  Night Fighter Training.  3:25 pm - 4:40 pm.   "NFT with [Bishop] 70 who returned with a bad engine so I stooged around and flew single engine for awhile."
Flight 2: Beau 940.  Practice interceptions with Woodlog [ground control]. 5:45 pm to 8:10 pm.  "PI's with Woodlog and [Bishop] 59.  Wizard control and a beautiful night.  Ran three interceptions and the AI [airborne interceptor radar] was remarkably good.  VHF [very high frequency transmission] and A/C [air craft] OK."

Jan. 4, 1944.
Flight 1: Beau 940.  Night Fighter Training.  4:40 pm - 5:10 pm.  "NFT with [Bishop] 59, my port transmitter went out and bismuth screwed the detail more than usual.  A/C [air craft] and AI [airborne intercept radar] OK."
Flight 2: Beau 940.  Practice interceptions (Woodlog and Perform were ground controls).  6:00 - 9:15   "PI with 53 on Woodlog - very good work on the part of Woodlog.  They turned us over to Perform and we did convoy patrol with them until they vectored us in.  A/C [air craft] and R/T [radio transmitter] OK."

Jan. 6, 1944.
Beau 177.  Convoy Patrol (Woodlog and Perform ground controls)  10:30 pm to 2:30 am.  "Convoy patrol with [Bishop] 53 on Woodlog who ran one PI [practice interception] and then turned me over to Perform who attempted to vector me on to a bogey which they had a plot on.  He went home and so did I.  Port receiver went out, otherwise OK."

Jan. 7, 1944.  Beau 938.  Practice Interception with Fishbone [ground control]. 06:10 am to 8:05 am.  "PI with[Bishop] 53 controlled by Fishbone and was it ever lousy - 2 interceptions apiece.  A/C [air craft], R/T [radio transmitter] and AI [airborne intercept radar] OK."

At this point, they moved to nearby La Senia, preparing for the big move to the island of Corsica.

Jan. 10, 1944.
Flight 1: Beau 167.  Also joined by Bernie Brun.  Convoy Patrol.   5:40 pm to 8:00 pm.  Squadron history reports a Nazi Ju 88 plane damaged by 1st Lt. J. E. Leonard off the Coast of Spain.  "Convoy patrol with Fishbone [ground control].  Chased two P-39's and then noticed some gunfire from "across" then Joe Long vectored me on a fighter.  Engaged the enemy twice and got hits on his tail the first time and got two hits on stbd wing.  Got another contact and followed it to the coast of Spain.  One Ju88 damaged.  Cannon all fired.  Chris [F/O Christensen] was on the ball.  A/C [air craft] was perfect.  VHF [very high frequency transmission] good.  Everyone is on the ball I Oh!  What a beautiful morning."
Flight 2: Beau 941, Convoy Patrol.  7:00 am to 8:40 am. "Patrol on 'Links.'  "C" Channel crystal went out.  Beautiful morning.  AI [airborne intercept radar] U/S."

Jan. 13, 1944.  Beau 938.  Pvt. Schoenberg along as well.  Night Fighter Training.  2:30 - 3:20.  "NFT with[Bishop] 53.  Canary check OK.  A/I [airborne intercept radar], U/S and rheostat in gunsight U/S."

Jan. 16, 1944.
Flight 1: Beau 938.  Night Fighter Training.  "NFT rather uneventful.  Ship, AI [airborn intercept radar], R/T [radio transmitter] OK."
Flight 2: Beau 938.  Don Barnhart also along.  Convoy Patrol with Perform [ground control].  5:45 pm - 8:00 pm.  "Convoy patrol with Bishop 53 on Perform.  53 ran two PI [practice interceptions] whole damned thing was uneventful.  Everything OK."

Jan. 19, 1944.
Flight 1: Beau 204.  On patrol off Balearic Islands.  4:30 pm - 7:30 pm.  "Patrol near the Balearic Islands which was rather fruitless but we learned a lot.  Receiver went rather duff on the way out.  AI [airborne intercept radar] and A/C [air craft] OK."
Flight 2: Beau 204.  Sgt. Filipowics also along.  Convoy patrol with Woodlog [ground control]. 12:55 am to 3:40 am.  "Single plane patrol on "Nipper."  Went to sleep three or four times; ears are still plugged up.  A/C [air craft], R/T [radio transmitter] and ship OK."

Jan. 24, 1944.
Beau 941.  Convoy Patrol (Woodlog ground control).  5:40 pm to 8:25 pm.  "Convoy patrol with Bishop 70.  My port receiver went out so came back on "C" for Charlie.  Port engine rough."

Jan. 25, 1944.
Flight 1: Beau 961.  Night Fighter Training.  2:20 pm - 3:05.  "NFT.  AI [airborne interceptor radar] ropey and then went out.  A/C [air craft] and R/T [radar transmitter] OK."
Flight 2: Beau 961.  From La Senia to La Passet.  "Alert at Lapasset.  Did a dawn patrol and PI [practice interceptions] with [Bishop] 70 and returned to base after having had breakfast at Lapasset.  A/C [air craft] OK."
Flight 3: Beau 961.  Practice Interceptions with Woodlog [ground control].
Flight 4: Beau 961.  LaPasset to LaSenia.

Jan. 31, 1944. Beau 151.  Duty: Tenacle.  4:00 pm - 7:50 pm.  "Tenacle with no results, received Whitetooh, Bradshaw [Tafaraoui RAF Aerodrome control], Madbrain, and Oxter, landing ropey as usual, AI [airborne intercept radar] was out completely, A/C [air craft] was very good."

Log Books and Flight Summaries, December 1943

The following are excerpts from the Pilot's Log book of 1st Lt Joseph Elden Leonard and flight summaries from “417th NFS Illustrated History," edited by Dan Whitney.

1st Lt. Leonard and his radar observer Flight Officer Raymond Christensen, were night fighters for the 417th NFS, U. S. Army Air Force.  Both were killed in action when their plane was engaging a Nazi night fighter over the Tyrrhenian sea.  Their plane disappeared from radar and presumably crashed into the sea after being shot down.  F/O Christensen was my great-uncle.

Much of the work of the 417th NFS was to protect boat convoys as they transported allied suppies and soldiers.  As you can imagine, these convoys were prized targets of the Nazis.  Also, the 417th were sent on missions to check out "bogies" that showed upon their radar, and if found to be an enemy plane, engage in combat.

These excerpts resume in Tafaraoui, Algeria.  F/O Christensen was radar observer for all of these flights, so I have not mentioned him specifically.  Other passengers are noted.   The quotes are from the flight summaries of 1st. Lt. Leonard.   Notes between brackets are mine.  All crews from the 417th are named "Bishop 50, Bishop 51," etc.  Note the crazy hours these guys fly!

******

Dec. 2, 1943.  Beau 911, had passenger M/Sgt Swain aboard.  Mission was [enemy?] Convoy Search.  4:40 pm - 6:25.  "Went out to look for a convoy near Alboran and found another one instead.  Also saw a small one while returning to base.  Otherwise uneventful.  Ship and R/T [radio transmitter] OK."

Dec. 4, 1943,  Beau 911.  Airborn Intercept Target.  10:10 - 11:30 AM.  "[Acted as] AI target for [Bishop] 50 but his weapon bent* so I returned and pancaked [landed]."
*plane, or some part of the plane, not working properly.

During the time period between Dec. 4 and Dec. 13, the 417th upgraded from MK VI radar to MK VIII. Flight Officer Christensen was presumably training on the new equipment; 1st Lt. Leonard continued to fly with other radar observers during this time.  They were based out of Reghaia, Algeria rather than Tafaraoui until later in the month.

We resume with F/O Christensen as the radar observer:

Dec. 13, 1943.  Beau "B", also joined by F/L Quittenden and F/O Van Laecken.  Airborne Interception practice.

Dec. 15, 1943.
Flight 1: Beau "L", also joined by F/L Quittenden, F/O Potter.  Airborne Interception practice.
Flight 2: Beau 938, also joined by F/O Potter.  Airborne Interception practice.
Flight 3:  Beau 938.  Practice Interceptions with "Madbrain" [ground control].

Dec. 18, 1943.  Beau "F", also joined by F/O Van Laecken.  Acted as Airborne Interception target.

Dec. 21, 1943.  Beau 834, also joined by F/O Potter.  Flight from Maison Blanche to Tafaraoui.  3:00 pm to 5:30 pm. "MB to TAF.  Picked up at 155 MI.  834.  Flight without incident."

At this point, F/O Christensen and 1st Lt. Leonard are back at Tafaraoui.

Dec. 26, 1943.  Beau 938.  Practice interception with Woodlog [ground control]. 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm.  "PI's with [Bishop] 70 on Woodlog, but 70's radio went out so we returned to base.  Bags of clouds."

Dec. 29, 1943.  Beau 834, also joined by Lt. Johnson.  This mission was a somber one - searching for a missing aircrew (Swift and Kohrman) from their unit.  1:25 pm to 4:40 pm.  "Search - no luck.  Conducted square search in vicinity of Cape Figalo and searched north to 40-50 NE of Oran [Algeria]."

Dec. 30, 1943.  Beau 168.  Practice interceptions with Fishbone [ground control]. 6:10 am - 9:40 am.  "PIs with [Bishop] 59 on Fishbone with Joe Long giving vectors.  Beautiful ship and beautiful interceptions.  AI [airborne interception radar], R/T [radio transmitter] and A/C [aircraft] OK."

Log Books and Flight Summaries, November 1943

The following are excerpts from the Pilot's Log book of 1st Lt Joseph Elden Leonard and flight summaries from “417th NFS Illustrated History," edited by Dan Whitney.

1st Lt. Leonard and his radar observer Flight Officer Raymond Christensen, were night fighters for the 417th NFS, U. S. Army Air Force.  Both were killed in action when their plane was engaging a Nazi night fighter over the Tyrrhenian sea.  Their plane disappeared from radar and presumably crashed into the sea after being shot down.  F/O Christensen was my great-uncle.

Much of the work of the 417th NFS was to protect boat convoys as they transported allied suppies and soldiers.  As you can imagine, these convoys were prized targets of the Nazis.  Also, the 417th were sent on missions to check out "bogies" that showed upon their radar, and if found to be an enemy plane, engage in combat.

These excerpts resume in Tafaraoui, Algeria.  F/O Christensen was radar observer for all of these flights, so I have not mentioned him specifically.  Other passengers are noted.   The quotes are from the flight summaries of 1st. Lt. Leonard.   Notes between brackets are mine.  All crews from the 417th are named "Bishop 50, Bishop 51," etc.  Note the crazy hours these guys fly!

******

Nov. 1, 1943.  Beau 806.  Practice Interceptions with Stalecrust [ground control]. 5 am - 7 am.  "Dawn patrol and practice interceptions with Stalecrust and Bishop 70, ran about 7 interceptions in all thru the clouds.  Joe Howard was a little off the beam, ran into some low cloud, 700 ft., east of field, ship, R/T [radio transmitter] and AI [airborne intercept radar] OK."

Nov. 4, 1943.  Beau 806.  Patrol with Fishbone [ground control].  6:05 pm to 7:25pm.  "PI [practice interceptions] with [Bishop]70, but the oranges were sour [?] so 70 stayed on the ground.  Patrolled with Fishbone  giving the vectors.  Cloud base at 7000 but 5000 over sea, A/C [air craft] OK."

Nov. 7, 1943.  Beau 760.  Patrol with Fishbone [ground control].  5:00 am - 7:30 am.  "Patrol with Fishbone and [Bishop] 59, Patrol, Patrol, Patrol, too tired to do PI [practice interceptions].  [Bishop]59, Damn him, shot me down when coming back to base.  A/C [air craft] in good shape."

Nov. 10, 1943.  Beau 806.  Practice Interceptions with Stalecrust [ground control]. 5:45 pm - 8:15 pm.  "PI with Bishop 59 on Stalecrust with Joe Howard intercepting, made 5 interceptions apiece and got a beautiful workout from  59.  My knees are stiff from kicking rudder, beautiful night, beautiful A/C [air craft] good R/T [radio transmitter] and AI [airborne interception radar] OK."

Nov. 13, 1943.  Beau 814.  Practice Interceptions with Stalecrust [ground control] at night.

Nov. 16, 1943.  Beau 760.  Patrol with Fishbone [ground control].  5:45 am to 7:50 am.  "Patrol with [Bishop] 59, ran a couple of impromptu interceptions, had a dog fight, R/T [radio transmitter], A/C [air craft] OK.  Weather fine."

Nov. 20, 1943.  Beau 819.  Practice Interceptions, returned due to bad engine.  5:35 am - 7:09 am.  "PI with Bishop 53.  Stalecrust [ground control] did a fair job.  My port engine went a little haywire and cut out several times.  Instruments all checked up but it used about 100 gallons more gas than the starboard.  Very cold, and they Africa is hot!"

Nov. 21, 1943.  Patrol duty.  5:20 pm - 8:15 pm.  "Patrol with Perform [ground control] doing the vectoring.  Uneventful as all hell.  Ship, AI [airborne intercept radar], and R/T (radio transmitter] OK.  The night was black, and hazy and black!"

Nov. 25, 1943.
Flight 1: Beau 814.  Practice Interceptions with Perform [ground control]. 6:15 am - 8:45 am.  "PI with Bishop 70 on Perform.  Bradshaw [Tafaraoui RAF Aerodrome  control] really had their head up this morning.  W. W. was really on the ball on 4 interceptions.  Ship, R/T [radio transmitter], and AI [airborne intercept radar] were OK."
Flight 2: Beau 814.  Navy Co-op.  1 hour, daytime.

Nov. 28, 1943.  Beau 819.  Convoy Patrol.  5:00 pm to 7:35 pm.  "Uneventful patrol of "Decode [name of convoy?]."  Saw Wellington, one "Snowball" ship and 4 P-39's took a close look at me.  Used flood for landing; best flood yet.  A/C [air craft], AI [airborne interception radar] and VHF [very high frequency communications] OK."

The Joyce Bricks Start to Crumble

Well, who would have guessed that when I sat down at the computer this morning to drink my coffee, that I'd end up breaking down a significant portion of the hardest brick wall I've ever encountered?

Certainly not me, or I'd have brewed up a whole pot.

Two years ago, I lamented on the difficulties I encountered while researching Michael Joyce.

This latest chapter of the story actually started last week, when I knew I'd have a three day weekend with nothing planned.  I "got off my wallet" and plunked down the $28 for monthly access to an Irish records database.  I was searching for Michael Joyce, b. abt 1829 in County Galway, to "Pat Joyce" and "Rose Maden."  I came up empty handed.  No birth records, no baptismal records, no parents of anyone listed as Pat Joyce and Rose Maden.  I searched every way I could think of.  I did come to the conclusion, as I had expected, that "Maden" was actually "Madden," but learned little else.  Because I couldn't quite give up, I left the browser, with several potentially pertinent tabs, up.

This morning, I decided I'd putz around on the computer while I drank my morning coffee.  I took a look at some of those browser tabs I'd left up last week, and started following links here and there, eventually ending up at FamilySearch.  For kicks, I typed in Michael Joyce, and didn't get anything too exciting, but before I started the laundry I decided to type in "Patrick Joyce" and "Rose Madden" as parents, and left all other fields blank.  I got one return - a death certificate for Bridget Cummings.  Bridget's parents were listed as Patrick Joyce and Rose Madden.  I dug into the life of Bridget Cummings a little deeper, and realized she was just six years younger than our Michael.  My hopes began to rise, but when I realized that she lived and died in Clinton, Massachusetts, where our Michael lived after his arrival in the U.S., I had a strong hunch that I was on the right track.

After collecting a fair amount of information on Bridget Joyce Cummings, I turned to Ancestry family trees.  While I am cautious about information listed there, I like to get an overview of the family I'm researching, and potentially some clues.  I saw on Bridget's timeline that she had a brother, Thomas, in Berlin, Wisconsin.   I nearly fell off my chair - several years ago, we made a research trip to that area, as Michael lived in Berlin, and later moved to nearby Ripon, Wisconsin.   In our research, we ran across records on this Thomas Joyce, but could not make a connection despite feeling that there had to be one somehow.

The family tree I found listed the children of Patrick Joyce and Rose Madden - and among them was Michael, with no information other than that he died in North Dakota.  Our Michael died in South Dakota.  If you ask people who don't live in either area, it's all interchangeable!  :)

Now, the hard part.  I sent off a message to the tree owner, and I now am waiting for a response, although I think I already have the answer.  I will dig out the information I saved on Thomas Joyce from Berlin, and try to find more documentation that he and Michael are of the same family.

There's still more work to do, but it's good to know that Michael Joyce did NOT just drop out of the sky.

Oh, and I'm going to brew up another cup of that coffee.  And I'll do the laundry tomorrow.

Log Books and Flight Summaries, Oct. 10 - 29, 1943

The following are excerpts from the Pilot's Log book of 1st Lt Joseph Elden Leonard and flight summaries from “417th NFS Illustrated History," edited by Dan Whitney.

1st Lt. Leonard and his radar observer Flight Officer Raymond Christensen, were night fighters for the 417th NFS, U. S. Army Air Force.  Both were killed in action when their plane was engaging a Nazi night fighter over the Tyrrhenian sea.  Their plane disappeared from radar and presumably crashed into the sea after being shot down.  F/O Christensen was my great-uncle.

Much of the work of the 417th NFS was to protect boat convoys as they transported allied suppies and soldiers.  As you can imagine, these convoys were prized targets of the Nazis.  Also, the 417th were sent on missions to check out "bogies" that showed upon their radar, and if found to be an enemy plane, engage in combat.

These excerpts resume in Tafaraoui, Algeria.  F/O Christensen was radar observer for all of these flights, so I have not mentioned him specifically.  Other passengers are noted.   The quotes are from the flight summaries of 1st. Lt. Leonard.   Notes between brackets are mine.  All crews from the 417th are named "Bishop 50, Bishop 51," etc.  Note the crazy hours these guys fly!

******

Oct. 10, 1943.
Beau #843.  Practice interceptions.  11:00 pm - 1:10 am.   "Ran a PI with Bishop 70 and made two interceptions.  Bounced twice on first attempt to land, so I went around-starboard engine three fire when I gave it the gun.  The mechanics checked up and found two stacks out."

Oct. 11, 1943.  
Flight 1: Beau #806, Night Fighter Training.  2:05 pm  - 3:05 pm.  "NFT with Bishop 70 who ran interceptions."
Flight 2: Beau #822, Night Practice interceptions.   "PI on Fishbone [ground control group] with [Bishop] 53, made 5 interceptions and controller was pretty damned good.  822 is still the best ship on the line except that the throttles are out a little.  Beautiful night!!"

Oct. 13, 1943.
Beau #822.  Formation and Night Fighter Training.  1:30 pm - 3:30 pm.  "Formation with [Bishop] 53, 56, 70 and it stunk!  Ran NFT with [Bishop] 59 and checked canary with Stalecrust [ground control group].  A/C [air craft] fine."

Oct. 14, 1943.  
With Lt. Fitzgerald along as well.  Beau #822.  Practice interceptions and S/L [?].  6:50 pm - 10:05 pm.
"PI with [Bishop] 70 and Fishbone [ground control]and they made 6 interceptions - all gone but one.  Both 70 and I went over to S/L and flew for about an hour.  We both had S/L officers as passengers.  S/L can really hold on to you if they find you."

Oct. 16, 1943.
Flight 1: Beau #831.  Night Fighter Training.  3:00 pm - 3:50 pm.  "Finally found Bishop 55 for target and ran one interception.  Set was very good.  Beautiful clouds about 6500 ft. so I did a few steep turns and a buzz job on them, stooged around for awhile, then came in.  At last - a good landing."
Flight 2:  Beau #831.  Practice Interceptions with Perform [ground control group].    6:50 pm - 10 pm.  "PI with Perform with Bishop 65 as playmate.  Al Withers did a very good job of Controlling, making 7 interceptions.  Perform on the ball.  (Al Withers).  Pancaked [landed] at 2200."
Flight 3: Beau #831.  Capt. Lathrop joined.  Practice interceptions with Fishbone [ground control].  4:10 am to 7:10 am.  "Bishop 63 [acted] as target.  [Bishop] 65's set went out so he flew target for me.  The controller made 5 interceptions that weren't too hot.  Cloud layer at 10,000.  Plane and AI [airborne intercept radar] Ok."

Oct. 17, 1943.
Beau #743, practice intercepts with Stalecrust [ground control].   11:05pm to 1:40 am.  PI on Stalecrust with Bishop 59 and had three interceptions apiece.  My stbd [starboard] transmitter had a squeal in it so I used it to signal the controller with.  The port tachometer was fluctuating from 200-700 rpm.  And after landing it went out.  Beautiful night."

Oct. 20, 1943
Flight 1: Beau #831, with two additional passengers.  From Tafaraoui [Algeria] to Reghaia [Algeria]
Flight 2: Beau #831, from Reghaia to Tafaraoui, 2:30pm - 5:40pm.  "X-C [cross country] Reghaia and return time 1430-1740.  Had two passengers going up and came back with observer only.  The trip was uneventful and came back the water route which is pretty nice scenery.  Radio and A/C [air craft] both in good shape.  Logged 2:30."
Flight 3: Beau #831. Practice interceptions with Stalecrust [ground control], 10:55pm to 1:40 am.  "PI with Bishop 60 and Stalecrust.  They were breaking in some new controllers and things were rather rough.  My interceptions were without incident as the target did not use any evasive action.  A/C [air craft] and R/T [radio transmitter] OK.

Oct. 22, 1943.  Beau #822.  Convoy patrol, then landed at Reghaia.  12:55 am. to 3:40 am.
"On patrol with Perform [ground controllers] and was told to return to base.  80 miles from base Bradshaw [Tafaraoui RAF Aerodrome control] told me to go to Blida and Perform vectored me for there but Blida had me to go Reghaia.  No damn sleep and a lousy breakfast. Sector said our field was closed in and I finally got fed up and took off anyway."

Oct. 23, 1943.
Flight 1: Beau #822.  Flew from Reghaia back home to Tafaraoui, 9:40 am to 11:00 am.  "Reghaia to Tafaraoui, very uneventful.  ceiling 1200 ft. over field."
Flight 2: Beau #822.  Night Fighter Training.  Flew from 1:50-2:50 pm.  "NFT with Bishop 59.  Very uneventful.  My canary checked very weak with Stalecrust] ground control].  A/C [air craft] and R/T [radio transmitter] both OK.

Oct. 25, 1943.  Beau #822.  Convoy Patrol with Perform [ground control],  Flew from 11:20pm to 2:40 am.  "Convoy patrol with Perform giving the vectors.  Ran two interceptions but neither Bishop 59 or myself was on the ball so we called the whole thing off.  Lots of oranges [?]."

Oct. 26, 1943.
Flight 1: Beau #822, Night Fighter Training, 1:40pm - 2:40 pm.  "Checked Canary with Stalecrust and Fishbone [ground controllers].  Unsatisfactory on both stations.  Had a practice homing by puncture which turned out OK.  Radio, AI [airborne intercept radar], and R/T [radio transmitter] were OK."
Flight 2: Beau #822, Practice Intercept (Stalecrust ground control), 10:00pm - 1:10 am.  "PI with Stalecrust, Bishop 57 was playmate but went back with a rough engine so I stooged around until he got another plane.  57's I/C [intercept control??] went out on the first interception so he ran target for me.  The control was very good, visuals at 1000 ft.  Landing poor, very poor show."

Oct. 28, 1943.  Beau #806.  Night Fighter Training.  2:30 pm t0 4:00 pm.  "NFT with [Bishop] 59, his weapon was bent*, ship, R/T [radio transmitter] and AI [airborne intercept radar] OK."
* something wrong with the plane or a component of it

Oct. 29, 1943.
Flight 1: Beau #819.  S/L.  9:10pm - 9:50 pm.  "Flew S/L with Bishop 53, A/C [air craft] seemed to run rough - control cable caught when turning port, R/T [radio transmitter] very bad so returned to base."
Flight 2:  Beau #760.  Practice Interceptions with Stalecrust [ground control].  10:00pm - midnight.  "Flew PI with Bishop 53 whose weapon was bent* so he flew target.  Joe Howard did a pretty good job of controlling but the night was dark as hell and I lost three visuals the first interception [required to visually confirm the target plane as "enemy"]  Completed about 4 with target's altitude varying from 10,000 - 7,500.  A/C [air craft] OK, R/T [radio transmitter] noisy."
* something wrong with the plane or a component of it

Log Books and Flight Summaries, Part 1

The following are excerpts from the Pilot's Log book of 1st Lt Joseph Elden Leonard and flight summaries from “417th NFS Illustrated History," edited by Dan Whitney.

Joseph Leonard's Log Book

1st Lt. Leonard and his radar observer Flight Officer Raymond Christensen were night fighters for the 417th NFS, U. S. Army Air Force.  Both were killed in action when their plane was engaging a Nazi night fighter over the Tyrrhenian sea.  Their plane disappeared from radar and presumably crashed into the sea after being shot down.  F/O Christensen was my great-uncle.

Much of the work of the 417th NFS was to protect ship convoys as they transported allied supplies and soldiers.  As you can imagine, these convoys were valuable targets of the Nazis.  Also, crews of the 417th were sent on missions to check out "bogies" that showed upon their radar, and if found to be an enemy plane, engage in combat.

These excerpts begin in Tafaraoui, Algeria, North Africa.  F/O Christensen was radar observer for all of these flights, so I have not mentioned him specifically; any other passengers are noted.   The quotes are from the flight summaries of 1st. Lt. Leonard.   Notes between brackets are mine.  All crews from the 417th are named "Bishop 50, Bishop 51," etc.

*****

Sept. 26, 1943
Flight 1: Beaufighter #819, Duty: ground gunnery, 4:00 pm - 4:30 pm.  "Gunnery Mission, Shadow [name of ground control unit] but playmate failed to take off so I stooged around and did some ground gunnery but the gunsight went out and since the radio transmitter was bad I returned to base and pancaked [landed]."
Flight 2: Beaufighter # 819, with S/Sgt Gonzales, practiced interception from 8:15 pm - 8:50 pm.  "Took off on P.I. [practice interceptions] with playmate to follow.  Bradshaw (Tafaraoui RAF Aerodrome ground control) vectored me out and then my radio transmitter went out and I returned to base and pancaked."
Flight 3: Beaufighter # 911, practice interceptions,  9:30 pm - 11:10 pm.  " PI [practice interception] mission after Bishop 53 pancaked with bad engine.  My radio transmitter seemed weak on take-off but I flew the mission and my radio transmission was weak.  I flew [as the] target on four missions in which Bishop 71 failed to get contacts although my observer got back-blips on each one and attempted interceptions.  My radio transmitter went out during an interception I made on Bishop 71 after he failed to make contact.  I then traded headsets with my observer and Stalecrust [ground control unit] made a very good interception with Bishop 71 as target.  On landing I bounced the first one and pulled an overshot.  Got visual at 1000 ft."

1st Lt. Joseph E. Leonard

Sept. 29, 1943.  Beaufighter #760.  Convoy patrol,  6:50 pm - 8:50pm.  "Convoy Patrol on "Manicure."  Bradshaw [Tafaraoui RAF Aerodrome control] vectored me out and I sighted the convoy at 1903.  The patrol was uneventful.  The weather was perfect.  We came in on "Mother" for about 60 miles.  The plane was in damned good shape."

Oct. 1, 1943.  Beaufighter #743.  Practice interceptions, 1:30 am - 3:45 am.  "Ran PI with Bishop 70 and Fishbone [ground control].  Lt. Palmer pulled a couple good interceptions and then another controller took over and got about two interceptions.  I wrote up the prop pitch control, throttles and damned bolt the keeps sticking in your chest on the Sutton harness."

F/O Raymond Christensen

Oct. 2, 1943.  

Flight 1:  Beaufighter #806.  Formation Flying, G. Gunnery, Night Fighter Training.  1:50 pm - 3:40 pm.   "Formation went ok at 500 yds.  But was spread out too far so we closed in to 150 which was too close.  The slip-stream was too close when turning so we tried 250-300 yds, which was much better.  At the close of the exercise we tried some formation over the salt lake at 500 ft. and then made a run over the field at that altitude.  Bishop 70 and I ran an NFT {night fighter training]and his weapon was bent so I ran two interceptions and then went over to Fishbone [ground control group] for a cockrel and canary check.  I ended up by buzzing them a couple of times.  I came into the circuit cut somebody out and landed.  A 3-point!!!!!"
Flight 2:  Beaufighter #806.  Practice Interceptions.  7:20 pm - 10:50 pm.  "Took off on Vector 280 for a mission with Stalecrust [ground control].  Playmate with Bishop 70.  I climbed to 11,000 ft. and Joe Long took over.  Lt. Long made 14 interceptions in 3 hours and all were good.  The radio transmitter on the stbd set was rather weak.  The landing was lovely but someone dropped the runway about five feet."

Oct. 5, 1943.  Beaufighter #819.   Formation and Night Fighter Training.  2:20 pm - 3:40 pm.  "Got into A/C [air craft] 806 and started the engines but they couldn't close the back hatch so I cut the engines and put my chute in 819 and took off on formation with 53, 59, 70.  The formation was "piss-poor" and when 53 returned to the field we climbed up but didn't run an NFT [night fighter training] because of too many bumpy clouds.  The V. H. F. [very high frequency communications] was very noisy and my transmission was weak.  A/C was in good shape."

Bristol Beaufighters in flight

Oct. 7, 1943.  Beaufighter #834.  Practice Interceptions.  12:15 am - 3:00 am.
"Three interceptions with Stalecrust [ground control], Bishop 65 as playmate.  First visual at 1200 and others at 600 - 900.  AI [airborne intercept radar] was poor and plane and VHF were ok.  Interceptions were good."

To be continued...

If you've been pursuing your family history very long, you know at some point the "Happy Dance" moments don't come as frequently as they use to.  You've gathered all of the low-hanging fruit, and it takes a little more perseverance to learn something new.   But, oh, when you do...!!

Today a package came in the mail, addressed to me.  When I saw the return address, I knew what it was, and it was all I could do to get into the house with the armload of things I already had without dropping something.  As soon as I was able, I ripped into it, almost in a frenzy by then.   It was a copy of a flight log book from World War II, kept by 1st Lieutenant Joseph Leonard, the pilot that my great-uncle, radar observer Raymond Christensen, had teamed with.  At best, I was hoping for some mention of Raymond, but I really had no idea what sort of information was recorded by the pilot.  My expectations were far exceeded.

I learned that 1st Lt Leonard and my great-uncle spent quite a bit of time training together in England, which I had not realized.  The book logged nearly every flight Raymond made while in the 417th Night Fighter Squadron, with dates and times, at least those made with Leonard, which were likely most of them.  In addition, other personnel in the plane were noted, the type and number of the aircraft flown, and the reason for the flight (i.e. convoy patrol) and destination, if applicable, and how long they were in the air.  This information, particularly the reason for the flight, when correlated with Raymond's descriptive letters home, will give a particularly well-detailed look at Raymond's time with the 417th.

Unfortunately, the entries in the log book stopped abruptly in February, 1944, 3 months before their ill-fated flight of May 13, when the plane and crew went missing.   As a rule, they would have flown between 2-4 times per week , so there are a significant number of flight logs missing.  My guess is that this book was replaced by a new one which has been lost to history (so far), as I believe the pilots were required to keep these records.  Perhaps finding this log this will be our next big breakthrough - and cause the next "Happy Dance."

The Bill Knutz Orchestra

      Bill Knutz and his bands supplied the Beadle County, South Dakota area with dance music for more than 20 years.  The first band, “Bill Knutz and His Harmonians,” was documented as early as the summer of 1934[1], and consisted of Bill playing saxophone, his brothers Howard on bass fiddle and Richard on drums, Raymond Christensen on fiddle and trumpet, and Ray’s beautiful sister Lillian, on piano.  Lillian would eventually become Bill’s wife.  Ray and Lillian’s brother Clarence, who played clarinet, joined them sometimes as well.  Bill’s mother, Elvirta Knutz, handled their calendar for them.

     Howard and Richard Knutz both eventually left for the west coast, and Raymond went off to college, so Bill reformed the band around himself and Lillian, with various other local musicians.  The new band was called “Bill Knutz and His Orchestra,” and they continued to play at barn dances as well as regular venues.[2]

     His daughter, Betty, described the dances:  “Most barn dances were usually quite crowded!  Depending on the popularity of the bands, but most of them took turns at different places each week.  The crowds were ordinarily quite sizable since most everyone did bring their kids, baby sitters and grandparents.  Everybody came!  Teenagers came with their parents to learn to dance.  Other kids depending on their ages brought their toys, pillows, etc., whatever they wanted to play with.  And then they found a corner to fall asleep in!  Some of those little guys were pretty good dancers, too!”[3]  During the years of the Great Depression, barn dances were affordable ways to have some fun.

     Occasionally, younger members of the family would get a chance to showcase their own musical talents.  Bill’s younger sister Dorothy, and his daughters Betty and June would sometimes join the band to sing.[4]

     Nearly 120 tunes are among the several set lists played by the band.  When, exactly, Bill Knutz and His Orchestra stopped playing isn’t clear, but one of the songs on that list was from 1953, making their run at least 20 years.

---

[1] See newspaper ad at top left, from the ad for the dance at Honrath’s barn, from the Daily Plainsman (Huron, South Dakota) 16 August 1934, pg. 5

[2] The newspaper ad for Albert Baum’s barn dance was from the Daily Plainsman of 17 June 1937.  The ad for the VFW Club was from the Daily Plainsman of 31 Dec 1948, pg. 5.

[3] Interview with Bill and Lillian’s daughter Betty, about 2002.

[4] Betty also noted that her sister June played Hawaiian guitar and sang second soprano, while Betty had a Spanish guitar and sang Alto.  Bill’s sister Dorothy sang soprano.  The three girls would get together and practice songs.

Climbing the Photograph Mountain

Here I sit, labeling old photos.  Again.  I feel like I will grow old and feeble, right here, pen in hand. I have a large box of them, but considering that I started out with at least 5 large boxes of them, I will not complain.  In the overall scheme of things, I am nearly done.

All of these photos came from my grandmother's massive photo collection, and that of my mother's as well (the apple didn't fall far from the tree...)  Some have been put into pages, some have been somewhat sorted and stuffed into envelopes, and many are loose.

Over the years, I've become the owner of photos featuring faces I don't recognize, and always thought it was a pity that the subject in the photo would remain a mystery, for all of posterity.

As I started going through this mountain of pictures, I noticed a common trend.  They either had no identification on the back, or would have something written like "Me and Dad."  Worse yet, if Grandma had made copies for someone, she would write *their* name on the back.  All this is fine if everyone already recognizes who is in the photo, but one day I had the realization that if I drop dead tomorrow, there are very few people left who could identify these images. So, I stacked up the boxes, took a deep breath, and started plugging away.

Part way through, I realized that I wasn't being very complete.  My goal was to enable my descendants to not only know the names of the people, but the circumstances of the photo.  I wanted them to know the people who came before.  So I made a list of things I thought would be helpful when labeling.

1) Use full names.  "Mom," "Kevin," etc. won't necessarily help your descendants years from now.
2) Date the photos, if possible, or at least a rough guess ("1987?")
3) Identify the location ("Phoenix, AZ").  Also, with the really old photos, I often wondered whose beautiful home that was in the background, especially if I noticed family heirlooms, so now I note that as well if I can.
4) Note if there was a particular event that inspired the photo ("Aunt June's visit to South Dakota")
5) Include relationships.  I realized while identifying the two older ladies in one photo, that my descendants might recognize one name as their great grandmother, but would not know that the other woman was her sister.

In short, I am trying to inscribe these photos as if I'm describing them to a stranger - because at some point in the future, I very well may be.  Fifty years from now, the person looking at it may have no idea they're looking at an ancestor.  Also, don't assume pictures from the same event are going to stay together.  Label each as if it were a "stand-alone" photo, because some day it might me.

I'll be the first to admit that all this is a little overwhelming.  But if I don't do it, it isn't going to happen.  My kids don't recognize most of these people, so once I'm gone, these photos will be essentially worthless to my family.  And I don't want any of these precious people in the photographs to be forgotten.