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| AUBREY LA FOY-18 YEARS OLD-US ARMY AIR CORPS-CHINA-BURMA-INDIA |
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
CHRISTMAS
CHRISTMAS 1944
By R. Aubrey LaFoy
Christmas and family go together just like popcorn and butter. The two are compatible and if one of the ingredients is missing it is a not acceptable. Can you imagine Christmas without your loved ones helping you celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ? The depression years put a strain on families but my parents always provided my sister and me a memorable Christmas morning. Peering back to those days it is still leaves me wondering how they managed with money being short, Dad out of steady work and yet keeping the home comfortable and warm.
Christmas and family has always been high on my priority so it with trepidation and a little, “poor me” that I write about the worst Christmas of my life. My experiences were minor compared to many fellow servicemen as nobody was shooting at me and the areas I in were relatively safe. I was only 18 years old when I entered the military in 1943 in the United States Army Air Corps in World War II. My first Christmas in 1943 was spent with fellows that I had gone through basic training and was in a very well established engineer outfit. I was fortunate that first Christmas, away from home, to be with great army buddies and we had a wonderful chef to cook our Christmas dinner.
The second Christmas in the military occurred in India in 1944. The 20th Bomber Command I had trained and gone overseas to India had disbanded in late November 1944. I was sent to a replacement camp waiting orders to who knew where. Orders finally came late in December and I left Calcutta, India by train for northeast India called Assam in those days. The train trip took three days and Indian trains were not the greatest.
It was the day before Christmas 1944 and we finally arrived at the end of the railroad line. It was late afternoon and a truck arrived and transported us to our new outfit. There were four of us and I slightly knew one of the fellows. The truck driver hauled us about ten miles to our new assignment-51st Air Service Group. We were met by a corporal and escorted to a tent near the mess hall. The tent contained four canvas army beds, some blankets, mosquito netting and one weak light bulb hanging from the ceiling of the tent. It started to rain and it was damp and chilly. Finally somebody came over and escorted us to the mess hall for some Spam sandwiches and coffee. After that Charismas Eve meal we trudged back to our miserable tent.
We were sorry bunch of fellows and each of us could recall in our minds the great Christmas Eves we had had. We recited our memories of great Christmases back in the USA to each other. Photos were brought out and shown around and I recall one fellow showing us a photo of his two year old daughter. He looked at that photo and without any humility started to cry. We were all pretty weepy by then and the worst part was we could hear Charismas music being played over the camp loudspeaker. I did pretty well until “Silent Night” was played and I cried like a baby. I still get a little teary eyed whenever I hear that wonder Christmas song. So enjoy your Christmas with your friends and family.
The third Christmas spent in the United States Army Air Corps was a happy occasion. World War II had ended in August but it would be over four months before I was back in the USA, honorable discharge and home. After the war was over we continued to haul military supplies being stockpiled for the Chinese Nationalists in Liangshan, China. We drove over the Yangtze River each day (52 miles) and hauled back bombs, food, clothing and gasoline to our military dump. It wasn’t until November that we began our long trip home. The first leg was to fly to Kunming, China. I spent a week at Kunming before catching a B-54 flying from China to India. We landed at a former B-29 base and were there for about ten days.
Do you like mosquitoes or flies? I was scheduled to move to a base near Calcutta and embark on a ship headed for the USA. If I had obtained passage on that ship I would have been home for Christmas but my name was not on the passenger list. I inquired why it was not included but no one could give me an answer and being the army the list was in stone and no way to include my name. I was mad but could get nothing changed so my conclusion was that the clerk typing the list took his eyes away from the list to swat a mosquito or a fly and upon returning typing skipped my name. Nobody would admit this error but it meant a delay in passage for another two or three weeks. I finally moved to the USS General Brookes and left Calcutta December 5th, 1945.
We traveled to Ceylon then across the Indian Ocean, up the Red Sea, through the Suez Canal, Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Ocean and finally New York, New York. My third Christmas was spent sailing the beautiful blue water of the Mediterranean Sea. Santa Claus didn’t show up but Christmas music was played and the sailors did their best to provide us with a traditional Christmas dinner with canned turkey, boxed mashed potatoes, gravy, string beans, canned sweet potatoes, dressing and ice cream. It was different but we had won the war and the greatest Christmas present of all; we were on our way HOME.
I finally arrived in Milford on January 7, 1946 and my folks had kept the Christmas tree up and we celebrated. It was a wonderful homecoming and Christmas. Since those three Christmases away from home and family have always had the privilege of family gatherings either in Milford, Mason City or at Lake West Okoboji.
The past 17 years we have spent Christmas in Arizona with our many friends but Connie and I always reserve Christmas morning to opening presents and calling our family and wishing them a Merry Christmas. This Christmas was different as we flew to Missoula, MT, rented a car and drove to Deer Lodge. My one and only sister Jean, was not good and she died on December 12th just before we drove into Deer Lodge. Her Memorial Service was on December 15th and flew back to AZ December 16th. Needless to say we didn’t get our many Christmas house decorations out of the boxes but did get our tree decorated and outside lights on. We did have a wonderful Christmas dinner with some friends and Connie and I opened our presents on Christmas Day. We did have a Merry Christmas and wish you a Happy New Year.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
CHRISTMAS
CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS
BY R. AUBREY LA FOY
Families’ gathering at Christmas is a time honored tradition with many families. A time to assemble with the one we love the most. It is a time to get the family in one place and best of all to see each other and have a feast. Children should grow up with wonderful memories of the happy times the families have at Christmas.
Growing up in Iowa we always associate Christmas with snow. Pine trees are decorated with tinsel, lights and ornaments. The stores and communities get into the holiday spirit with wreaths, decorations and colored lights. In my hometown it was traditional for many years to place a huge Christmas tree in the center intersection on Hwy. 71. That tradition was stopped when the state declared it a traffic hazard.
Christmas can be a fun and happy time. For many years our family passed around a triangle shaped box which we always-wrapped very specials with Christmas paper and ribbons. That box went from one member of our immediate family to another year after year. Who will get it this year? Another special Christmas present passed around contained a Polish calculator. Some joker long ago had glued an electric light cord with a plug in on one end to an extremely large lead pencil. No way would one plug it in but it always brought a chuckle from everybody. If one of the new daughter-in-laws was the reciprecant of either of those two it was like the family saying, “We love you and welcome to the family.”
What do you have to eat at Christmas? At our house Christmas Eve has a special tradition. My wife brought one from her family and over the years we have developed another tradition. Her family always had oyster stew on Christmas Eve. When we started our family we continued that oyster stew tradition but because several of our boys didn’t care that much for oyster stew we added thick chicken noodle soup a family favorite. So today no matter where we are we always have oyster stew and chicken noodle soup on Christmas Eve.
Christmas day dinner was always a feast for both of our families. Today and for many years we have a turkey and ham with all the trimmings. Having turkey was not found our family’s table at Christmas time and it wasn’t until years later that we bought one. Our family always had fried chicken and ham. My wife’s family lived on a farm so they had chicken, duck and goose. Mashed potatoes with thick gravy are a must along with dressing, squash, corn and watermelon pickles. One of our daughter-in-laws families always had cooked rutabagas so that dish has been added to our menus. For desert a pumpkin or mincemeat pie was always plentiful. Many families included wine with their Christmas dinner but neither of our families had that traditions and the only beverages were milk, coffee and tea.
Several years ago we were fortunate to be with our daughter-in-laws Italian family for Christmas. Her Father was the cook and traditionally had always prepared the food. Wine was poured out long before the dinner was served and a different wine was served before every course of the meal. Most of the dishes were like our traditional dinner except the first course was a big bowl of lasagna. In her family the kitchen was the gathering place and that is where most everyone congregated. A great time was had by all and especially Grandmother as who was the “grand lady” and everybody made a great fuss with and over her.
Tradition has it that the Baby Jesus received gifts so today we give gifts to our loved ones. It is always difficult for young people to look at the presents under the tree and not get open them until Christmas morning. In our family that is the traditional time to open gifts. But knowing kids we long ago started the practice of allowing them to open one present Christmas Eve. It is always exciting to watch them make that big decision. Which one shall it be, which one should I open? What fun!
Christmas morning can come mighty early especially if youngsters are in the house. The kids seem to wake up very early and I can still remember my sister shaking me and say, “Get up, get up its Christmas morning.” A traditional rule we have that on Christmas morning “all” must be gathered before anyone opens a present. Santa always comes during the night and leaves some things for the kids. Traditionally milk and cookies that were left for Santa were gone in the morning indicating that Santa had consumed.
As the children get older and develop their own families they may continue traditions learned earlier as children or they might acquire others. When we first moved back to Iowa from Colorado we told our families that we were having Christmas in our home. They were welcome to come and join us but it was our time with our family and our traditions. As our children grew up and had their own families we said the same to them, “Christmas is time for your family and for you to develop your own traditions. If we are here in Iowa we hope we will be included.”
What Christmas traditions does your family have? Religion plays an important part in many families and attending services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Our church has had a traditional church service conducted by the choir for many years. Christ was born in a setting far removed from Iowa yet we have built our Christmas traditions that include evergreens snow and cold weather. With tongue in cheek isn’t it too bad that Christmas doesn’t come in warmer weather, day like June. Traveling in Iowa at Christmas time can be hazardess but most people will risk the weather to be with friends and family at Christmas. But if Christmas came in June then we would have the opportunity to have vacation in December when both students and teachers can get away from each other for a good revitalization of body, mind and spirit. Traditions are the glues that hold our society together and although they differ from family to family Christmas traditions are what dreams are made of.
Followers-What are your family traditions? Comments requested. Aubrey
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
My sister Jean Elaine (LaFoy) Scanlon
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| JEAN SCANLON 08/15/10 |
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| JEAN IN THE WAVES-KOREAN WAR |
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| JEAN (LA FOY ) SCANLON |
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| MOTHER-JEAN-BROTHER-AUBREY & JEAN |
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| HONOR GUARD-DEER LODGE CEMETERY |
Jean Elaine (LaFoy) Scanlon was born in Milord, Iowa August 29, 1928 and passed away after a losing battle with cancer on December 12, 2010. Her parents were Ray and Jean LaFoy. Jean attended Milford Public School from 1st to 12th grade graduating in 1946. While in high school she was very active in the music department singing, and playing a baritone horn in the band. Her classmates of the graduating class of 1946 have always been very close and Jean continued to e-mail with them frequently.
Upon graduation from high school Jean attended Morningside University in Sioux City, Iowa and also the University of Northern Iowa at Cedar Falls, Iowa. In 1950 Jean enlisted in the navy WAVES and became highly skilled as a surgical technician. While in the service she met her future husband, Vince Scanlon and they were married on 1950. After Jean’s honorable discharge from the WAVES she followed her husband, Vince in his 20 years of service. The couple lived in California, Hawaii and Virginia during those years. At each base, that Vince was assigned, Jean managed to secure a job and was very successful in each position.
Upon retirement the Scanlon’s moved to Deer Lodge, Montana where Vince was employed in a drug research program working for Hoffmann Roche. The project closed in 1983 and Vince and Jean bought and operated an H & R Block concern for a number of years. They sold that business and Vince became the pastor of the First Baptist Church in Butte, Montana. While Vince was the pastor Jean played the piano and produced several wonderful musical concerts. She loved music and was choir director of several churches in the Deer Lodge community.
Jean worked at Colonial Manor in Deer Lodge for several years. She was always helping people in many ways. Jean was a wonderful Christian woman and an inspiration to many who knew her. Jean is survived by her husband, Vince, and daughter, Alison and her husband Bruce and two grandchildren, Sarah and Aaron Lanctot of Las Vegas, Nevada. She is also survived by her brother Aubrey LaFoy and wife Connie and three nephews, Randy, Ray and Carl LaFoy and their seven children.
Jean was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend and we will miss her a great deal. God Bless Jean, and we know she is with Jesus Christ, her and our Savior.
Service were held on Wednesday December 15, 2010,at 11:00 a.m. at the Christ Fellowship Church, 306 Montana Ave. Deer Lodge, Montana. Internment was at Hillcrest Cemetery, Deer Lodge, Montana. Jean was a Korean War veteran and a military honor guard conducted a service.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
STUFF
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| AUBREY & ED |
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| AUBREY & MAX |
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| BECCA 'S BIRTHDAY & CONNIE |
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| AUBREY-LISA & MAX |
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| DUTCH LUCHTEL-CONNIE-JEAN LUCHTEL & AUBREY |
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| CARL & JET IN MASON CITY BACKYARD |
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| CONNIE |
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| CONNIE & AUBREY |
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| CONNIE & FRIEND IN SEDONA |
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| MY MOTHER-JEAN LA FOY |
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| MY FATHER-RAY LA FOY |
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| SON RAY LA FOY-CONNIE & AUBREY |
STUFF
“Mother I need some string.”
“Well look in the drawer,” she would say.
That was usually her reply whenever you wanted some tape, rubber bands, tacks, screwdriver or whatever. It was in the “drawer” and always it had “stuff” in it.
I don’t know about your house but when I was growing up we always had a “stuff” drawer or two. Not really junk but a drawer in the kitchen table that was reserved for all kinds of stuff. We actually had two of those “stuff” drawers in Mother’s kitchen. One held most any small item and the other was larger and was reserved for toys, games, cards, paper and pencils.
Early in my life it was always a Sunday morning ritual to go the drawer, take out the small flat can of shoe polish, rag and shoe brush. I didn’t have to learn how to shine shoes while in the military service because my mother made my army platoon sergeants seem lax. My shoes had to shine so you could see your reflection in them.
The shoes were black leather with black shoestrings; this was before the days of sneakers and tennis shoes being in fashion. The shoe strings always seemed to be broken and that meant you put in a knot and tied them anyway or looked in the “stuff” drawer-one might be in there.
Shoestrings were in short supply in those Depression years and more than one pair of shoes had string used that was dyed. Some of the shoes had those old half-soles attached but my socks were always darned and no holes. It was a disgrace to have a hole in your sock.
The “drawer” in the kitchen cabinet was my place to store my current supply of marbles. I remember once I forgot and left my marble bag outside; I accused my sister of taking my marble bag and she professed innocence. I felt very foolish when it suddenly dawned on me that it was my mistake. I can’t remember if I apologized.
Another time I had been fishing. I had taken my night crawlers with me in a Prince Albert tobacco can and upon coming home put them in the “stuff” drawer. Several days later we began to detect this terrible odor in the kitchen. The smell kept getting worse until finally my Dad traced the smell to my night crawlers in the tobacco tin. It took several days to get that stink out of the house.
In our kitchen we had a table with a white metal top. It was pushed up against the south wall that had two windows. This made it a desirable place to sit, eat and look out the windows. One of the “stuff” drawers was in that table. There was always a pencil on that kitchen table as we wrote notes to each other on the metal top.
When I think of sitting at that kitchen table I always think of the wind directional arrow that was on our neighbor’s roof to the south. We had a perfect view of the arrow and could look and see what direction the wind was from. We got more use out of that wind gauge than did the neighbor.
The “stuff” drawer in the kitchen was wide but not very deep. There were some compartment dividers in it and it was a place one went for rubber washers, plumbing supplies, electric plugs, fuses, tape and string. It was a storehouse of the hardware supplies such as screws, nails, washers, bolts and nuts. It also had odds and ends like button hooks, corkscrews and bottle openers. Today much of that junk in the old “stuff” drawer is classified as collectibles.
When I was a child I thought the kitchen was a big, huge room, but as I got older it started to shrink. Not only the kitchen but the junk drawers changed character. As a child it was like finding a treasure chest with all that stuff to look at and sort but by the time I got into high school the drawer just seemed to be filled with junk. After my mother passed away we disposed of her possessions and the house and it was with deep regret that I had to empty those “stuff” drawers. I know that I took much longer emptying them than tending to anything else in the house.
Each item in those “stuff” drawers had a memory of my father, mother and my sister Jean. I don’t remember now just what was in those “stuff” drawers but over the years we had put in buttons, notes, pencils, match covers, coins and lots of other items. I pondered over why we kept this item or that and knew that it was an accumulation of over 35 years of living. It was a difficult task and I loved and hated every minute of that operation.
The basement and garage also yielded a lot of stuff. The double garage was and always had been a disaster zone. There were old tires, rims, chains, shovels, picks and an assortment of nails, bolts and all kinds of iron scraps. Most of the items in the garage were really “stuff.” If you put all the items together you would have a good pickup load that was not worth much. The only reason most of the things were still in the garage was that when my Dad passed away nobody had bothered to clean it up. It was a good place to store things. Only one side of the garage was ever used for a car and even then during the depression years our car was drained and put up on blocks for the winter. We never went out of town in those winters.
The basement was a treasure trove for collectors as it had lots of tools, grindstone wheel, walnut dressers, buckets and glass jars. The most important box in the basement was an old cigar box that held my Father’s mementos from World War I. Even as a child I loved to go though that box and ask what each item was and where it came from. I kept that box and even today love to go through it and identify each and every item.
Everybody should have a “stuff” drawer or two in their home. Where do you keep your “stuff?”
Several years ago I was up helping our son Randy move to his small cottage he had purchased on White Bear Lake. Being a true LaFoy he had accumulated lots of “stuff”. Anyway as we were grubbing things out and putting them in my truck I made the comment, “You sure have a lot of junk.” Wow! Right then and there he informed me that it was not junk but Stuff. From then on whenever we downsized a cottage or moved from one house to another we always moved “STUFF”. Age does help and now at 85 I realize the most important things in life are family, friends and health and faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. None of these can be purchased or hoarded. So value them and forget the STUFF you can’t take them with you.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
WINTER FUN
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| CHRISTMAS CARD AT THE LAKES |
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| SNOW EQUIPMENT-SHOVELS AND MUSCLES |
WINTER FUN
BY R. AUBREY LA FOY
Growing up during the depression days was not all that bad. We could always find something to occupy our time and we didn’t have diversions such as TV, computer games, I-pods, etc. We had to invent our own pleasures.
Snow is made for kids. Adults have a difficult time managing the stuff because it stops traffic, clogs up roads, driveways, sidewalks and after a huge deposit where do you put it? Kids on the other hand see snow as God’s gift for playing. In those days adults had their own problems and did little to find something for us to occupy our time. In those kids should be seen, but not heard. I tried to think of the many activities we indulged in during the winter using snow as our prop.
Kids in those days could find a place to play that under ordinary times would not be utilized. This opportune place was only one block north of our home. Sometime earlier a basement had been dug but that was the end of the operation. We discovered that it was a wonderful place to go sledding.
The community I grew up in (Milford) is elevated from the surrounding land. It was bordered on two sides by Mill Creek on the south and east and West Okoboji was 1 ½ mile north. Continuing west (2 ½ miles) of town the land drops slopes towards the Little Sioux River. On the east side of town were a series of hills that descend towards Mill Creek. Milford had built right up to the edge of those slopes and that is where we discovered a wonderful place to go sledding. It was called Kesey’s Hill. Just to the south of the Kesey house and barn was a very open field that stretched quite a ways south and a very steep hill that ended in Mill Creek. In the winter many Saturdays found Kesey’s Hill filled with kids sliding down towards Mill Creek. There was neither a warming house nor rope machine to pull us back up the hill after a wonderful and exciting slide down the hill. We would get to the bottom, turn around and trudge back up the hill to turn around and away we went. We raced each other and tried to see how far towards Mill Creek on our sleds we could go. Some of the sleds were great and looked pretty slick but no matter because the runners were metal and one could even somewhat steer the sled because it had a handle that extended across the front of the sled for you to grab. Attached to holes in the handles was a looped rope that after you slid down the hill you could pull the sled back up. Some of the kids used flattened cardboard boxes and thinking back don’t know if they did that for lack of owning a sled or for the novelty.
We would get all bundled up at home wearing our sheepskin coats, aviator caps with the goggles, three and four buckle overshoes, scarf and wool mittens. We always had plenty of wool mittens as my grandmother, Georgia Holcomb, knitted them for us. Two pair would keep your hands warm until they would get so wet and heavy that your hands would turn red. We pulled our sleds over to Kesey’s Hill which was about seven blocks from our house. We didn’t have cell phones or a way to communicate with our folks and if they were worried about us we never heard it. We would play and slide until we would get so cold and wet it was a necessary to pull our sleds back home, take off the wet clothes and then stand over our floor heat registers and warm up. I don’t recall ever getting frost bitten but we sure had rosy cheeks and were tired. That night we didn’t have to be told to go to bed, we went.
Another place that we went sliding was only one block north of our home. I don’t know when the basement was dug nor why it was not completed but it gave the neighborhood kids a wonderful place to slide. Digging basements in those days was accomplished with a team of horses hitched to a large hand scoop bucket. The bucket was a scoop with two handles and the worker would dig into the dirt and the horses would pull it up out of the excavated hole when the worker thought it was at the correct place, would push the handles up and dump the load. This operation continued and the hole would go deeper and the dirt would be piled up on the north end and form a hill. The site was abandoned but that little hill and coasting down into the hole or basement created a miniature sledding area for kids. I don’t recall having any disagreements or fights as we took our turn, sliding down the hill, turning around and pulling the sleds back up to the top of the mound, pick up the sled, get a running start, slam it down and away we went. My sister and I had an advantage because that little hill was near our LaFoy grandparent’s house so we could go over there and warm up when we got cold. We naturally included our buddies but we were always welcomed. We even created some jumps to go over and many a Saturday afternoon was spent at the location. But Kesey’s Hill was a lot more exciting and challenging.
One Christmas Santa Claus brought me a pair of skies. The skies were pretty elementary and you had a strap on each ski to put your foot in. No binders and really no way to turn the skis. I got two sticks for poles and it was exciting to push off from the top of the hill and go down, down, down with wind rushing past your face and even passing up the kids on the sleds. But again after getting to the bottom, we would jump-off the skies and trudge back up the hill. Falling down often was the norm in those days but one of my falls sort of bent my shoulder as I fell on a rock buried under the snow. In those days we took our lumps and seldom told our parents. I often thought of those early skis when we began with our boys. Rope tows and ski lifts made it a lot more fun and tripled the skiing time. Sometimes we would take our ice skates along when we went to Kesey’s Hill, slide down, put on our ice skates and glide up and down frozen Mill Creek.
Today, Kesey’s Hill as we knew it as kids, no longer exists. It became the victim of modern progress being that sand was more valuable than a hill for kids to slide on. Thinking back it would be hard to estimate how many kids used Kesey’s Hill on any given Saturday, in the depression years, but there were probably 50 to 100 kids. We took turns, helped each other, raced and had a wonderful time. The price was right as it was FREE. Wet mittens and jeans was the order of the day and after playing there for hours the tramp home loomed in the future. Many times we stayed until it was so dark that we were afraid somebody would run into us as we plodded back up the hill after an exhilarating slide down Kessey’s Hill.
There was always something to do in those days and we had little to no adult supervision or interference in our playing in and with snow. How about a Fox and Goose game after lying out the pattern in some newly fallen snow? You’re IT.
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| LOOK AT THE ICE AND SNOW |
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| SNOW BOUND TRAIN SOUTH OF TERRIL-1936 |
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| ICE TOOLS AT MARITIME MUSEUM |
When our boys (Randy-Ray-Carl) were growing up we came to the lakes from Mason City most weekends. During the winter we had two snowmobiles and two iceboats which provided plenty of entertainment. We loved to go around the lakes but, for me, ice boating was the ultimate. There was no other joy so dear to me to get your ice boat up on two runners and go. An ice boat will go three times the sped of the wind -so a 20 mph wind will let you travel 60 mph. Many winters we ice boated all winter and others only a day or so. I built the boats from kits in our basement in Mason City and carried them on the roof of our station wagon between Clear Lake and Okoboji. Our son, Randy,still has one of our original ice boats at White Bear Lake in MN. He keeps me informed if he gets to go. Winter was fun but, alas warm Arizona appeals to us more as we grow older. Have a great Winter!!!
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