Monday, December 22, 2014

Advent Calendar of Christmas (and Military Monday) Memories - Christmas Homecomings

It's the annual Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories!  I've participated the past five years (2009 through 2013), and this year, the prompts and their sequence are the same as in 2013.  Due to some pressing needs to get some other projects done, I have been linking to the appropriate post from 2013 (which also links to older posts, when applicable) in the prompt name, and adding (a) relevant photo(s).

The prompt for December 22 – Christmas Homecoming

The link above goes to a grab bag prompt from earlier years where I wrote about my Dad's memories of Christmas growing up in Chicago and Evanston, Illinois.  One of those memories was at Christmas in 1951, when he was a navigator cadet at Ellington Air Force Base outside Houston. The Chicago area received tremendous snowfall that December, and getting there for Christmas was going to be a problem. He said Colonel William L. Lee, the commanding officer of the 3605th Navigator Training Wing, released some planes, and two were going to the Chicago area. Dad managed to get into O'Hare (this was back when it was being used by the Air Force and wasn't the commercial airport it is today) when all other Chicago area airports were closed.

Here are some photos taken during my Dad's visit home.  Since my grandfather, Paul Robert Pape Sr., is not in any of the photographs, I think he probably took these photos: 

Marilyn, Fred, Elizabeth, and Rosemary Pape outside 2093 W. Lunt Avenue, Chicago, Christmastime 1951

Fred Pape with his younger sisters Marilyn and  Rosemary Pape outside 2093 W. Lunt Avenue, Chicago, Christmastime 1951

Fred Pape with his mother Elizabeth Massmann Pape outside 2093 W. Lunt Avenue, Chicago, Christmastime 1951,
Rosemary Pape is off to the right

Fred Pape with the family dog, Lucky, outside 2093 W. Lunt Avenue, Chicago, Christmastime 1951


The Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories (ACCM) allows you to share your family’s holiday history twenty-four different ways during December! Learn more at http://adventcalendar.geneabloggers.com.


© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

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