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Friday, January 30, 2015

Friday's Faces from the Past: John Pape and Daughter-In-Law, ABT 1934


This picture comes from the collection of my second cousin Bill - it belonged to his grandmother, Martha Pape Bleidt (1890-1981), who was my great aunt.  The photograph is of my great-grandfather, John Pape (1851-1945) and his daughter-in-law, my paternal grandmother, Elizabeth "Betty" Florence Massmann (Mrs. Paul Robert) Pape (1902-2000).  The photo was taken in Des Moines, Iowa, where John's oldest daughter, my great aunt Clara Pape (1889-1975) , lived from 1933 to at least 1946, and where second daughter Rhea Maria Pape (1892-1977) lived starting about 1944.  Rhea's daughter Patricia "Pat" Pape Hunter Parks (1923-1967), John's first grandchild, also lived in Des Moines, beginning in 1943 (with Clara).

It's not clear when this photo was taken.  A guess is 1934, because the collection includes another photo of John with a June 15, 1934, date, inscribed "Fur Clara von Pa" (German for "For Clara from Pa").  John, Betty, and Paul may have gone to visit Clara in Des Moines, and Paul may have taken the photo and later sent it to Clara.  Martha ended up with many of the belongings of her single or widowed siblings, as she outlived them all, and many of them shared Uncle Lee Pape's home in Wilmette near the end of their lives.

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

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Wordless Wednesday: John Pape's Naturalization, August 15, 1892

Here is a copy of the naturalization paperwork for my great-grandfather, John Pape (1851-1945) that my mother ordered from Cook County Superior Court many years ago:



And here is a copy of the index card for his naturalization.  As you can see, because he was naturalized prior to 1904, there is very little information on the paperwork that isn't on the index card.  No information about date and town of birth, ports of departure and arrival, the ship he came on, occupation, nor information about wife and children.



Source:  "Illinois, Northern District Naturalization Index, 1840-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9PQQ-4M96?cc=1838804&wc=M6TM-5NL%3A165566301 : 20 May 2014), O-463 to P-142 Justina, Part B > image 1479 of 5274; citing NARA microfilm publication M1285 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).


© Amanda Pape - 2015 - click here to e-mail me.


Monday, January 26, 2015

Military Monday: SAC Survival School, Stead Air Force Base, Reno, Nevada, August 4-14, 1952

After my father, Frederick Henry Pape (1929-2017) was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant after graduation from navigator training at Ellington Air Force Base in Houston, Texas, on April 11, 1952, which began his three years of active duty, he visited home in Chicago in late April and early May.  He was en route to next assignment, which was B-26 bombardment training at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, beginning May 14.

On July 11, 1952, he was assigned to Night Intruder Crew #12 as the navigator-bombardier with First Lieutenant Milton C. "Milt" Royles, pilot, and Airman Second Class William R. "Pep" Peppers, gunner.  On August 4, 1952, the crew was sent to Stead Air Force Base near Reno, Nevada, for an advanced survival training course (completed August 14), and then on to Camp Stoneman near Pittsburg, California.

At survival school, they were joined by two other Night Intruder crews:

  • #8:  Captain Calvin S. Rowe, pilot; Captain Frederick B. Elliott, navigator, and Airman Second Class Albert A. Gagne, gunner; and
  • #13:  First Lieutenant Ben F. Pace, pilot; Second Lieutenant Richard Robert "Dick" Parks (one of Dad's classmates at Ellington), navigator; and Airman Third Class Maurice E. Price, Jr., gunner.




Dad said survival school was set up for teams of ten men, so they apparently had an (unnamed) student instructor assigned to their team.  Their civilian instructor was Jack Farnsworth.

On the back of another copy of this photograph, Dad wrote, "Stead A.F.B. -  Group picture after return from trek thru the mountains."

Here is Night Intruder Crew #12 at survival school, Milt, Pep, and Fred, the "Best B-26 Crew":


I have more pictures of Milt, Pep, Ben Pace, and Richard "Dick" Parks, and you can click on the links to learn more about each man.  Here is what I could find out about some of the other men pictured:

Calvin Swope Rowe, Sr., was born March 28, 1920, in Adair County, Kentucky, the only child of Kentuckians Martin Rowe and Vila Reece. The 1930 Census shows the family living at the Adair County Poor Farm, but by 1940, Martin has become the sheriff of Adair County and the family is living in Columbia.  Calvin is a clerk in the sheriff's office and is married to a woman named Maxine.   On October 16, 1942, Calvin enlisted in the Army Air Corps, and served in World War II.  In 1958, Calvin was still serving in the Air Force, and he and Maxine were living in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  Calvin also served in Vietnam, and ended his service at the rank of lieutenant colonel.  On February 4, 1982, he married Alma Givens Cress in Sacramento County, California.  He died May 17, 1983, in San Bernadino County, and is buried at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.

Albert A. Gagne was born August 4, 1929, in New Hampshire, the fifth of seven children and oldest son of furniture repairman Albert J. Gagne and Rose Labbe, both born in New Hampshire of Canadian parents. The family lived in Somersworth, New Hampshire in 1930 and 1940.  By the time his Air Force service ended, on November 5, 1955, he had reached the rank of Staff Sergeant.  He married in 1955 and had at least a son and a daughter.  He died October 5, 2001, and is buried in Pine Hill Cemetery in Dover, New Hampshire.

Maurice Edward Price, Jr., was born October 16, 1929, in New Jersey, the third of four children and first son of Maurice Edward Price, Sr., and Gladys Mabel Wentzell.  The family lived in Takoma Park, Maryland, in 1930, and in Washington, DC, in 1935 and 1940.  Maurice died February 18, 1955, and is buried at East View Cemetery in Salem, New Jersey.  His service separation date was supposed to be October 25, 1955, so he may have died while serving in the Air Force.  He had reached the rank of sergeant in the 308th Bomb Wing.

I was unable to find any definitive information about Frederick B. Elliott or Jack Farnsworth.


© Amanda Pape - 2015 - click here to e-mail me.

Friday, January 2, 2015

Follow Friday: Genealogy Do-Over in 2015



This is a 13-week program designed by Thomas MacEntee of Geneabloggers.  The idea is to stop and take a breather from genealogical research, get organized, and then start back up in a more orderly fashion (citing sources thoroughly, for example).  The topics to be covered are relevant and timely for me.  I've felt I've gone about as far as I can with the same old resources, not to mention, so much of my and mother's research is so disorganized that I am probably repeating searches.

I'm linking to a few resources here:  Thomas' blog posts on this topic, and the resource page.  I've already decided the Facebook group is way too overwhelming and too much of a time suck.  I may go to it to get other ideas on particular topics that Thomas brings up that are of interest to me, but (as with many groups I've joined in Facebook), I need to pull it out of my news feed.  For now, I'm just following the links shown here.

I don't plan to do a whole lot differently in this blog.  I will eventually continue the series about my dad's military service that I worked on in May and November 2014.  I'll keep sharing and writing about old family photos.

The project for yesterday and today is data backup.  My file organization system, especially for photos, is really lacking.  My plan is to read the links above each week but not necessarily do everything right away.  I'd rather learn first before jumping in and possibly making an even better mess.


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