52 Ancestors: Sports - Ardee News Sports Reporter

My dad, Gordon Levy, was the sports reporter for the Ardee News in 1946.  He talked about his time writing for them but until recently, I thought he was referring to the RD News.  Oh how I wished I'd spent some time talking about it with him.

The Ardee News star reporter is on the job

On February 6, 1946, Dad wrote home to his parents from his post at Furstenfeldbruck, Germany - or as he sometimes called it, "Firstandthirdbase".

Our little paper (one of which was mailed to you the other day) has finally undergone an organization which made one of the veterans an editor.  In turn, the new ed made me sports chief – which should pan out pretty nicely.  Later on in the spring and summer, they are planning on a large sports program here which will include everything from track to baseball to swimming and ping pong.  So we should have quite a bit of fun trying to build up interest – that’s right up our alley.  Maybe one of these days I’ll take Harry Truman’s place as man of the year on Time’s cover.

He left me a few of the "papers", although it's confusing to me that these are from mid-January, 1946 and his letters home stated he arrived in Furstenfeldbruck on January 24.  Maybe these papers were published en route?  Or maybe the Wooster Booster was a separate publication from the Ardee News?

The Wooster Booster, January 9, 1946

It's hard to read but at the bottom left it shows a list of the staff and shows Dad as Editor.  Hmmmm.

And, of course, my photographer-wannabe father had to take pictures (with captions!)  Boy, I'm glad he did!  Here's a few.

These were the Eagles

Babich Field on opening day

We always play hard

Jungle press box, constructed for Ardee News 'good afternoon baseball fans'

Giant Babich Field scoreboard

It wasn't just baseball - here's the Soldier's Field pool.

And track stadium in Nurnberg.  This field was the scene of Hitler's pageants and in 1946 was owned and operated by the 26th Infantry Blue Spades.

Looks like he even took in some volleyball in Furstenfeldbruck.

The Ardee News on the spot at an Archway Court volleyball game in Furstenfeldbruck

I'm so glad my dad left me some tidbits about his time in Germany.  I hope that one day I run across some of the newspaper articles he wrote.

52 Ancestors: Preservation - Blog Books

A few months ago I shared that I wanted to get back to publishing my blog into books.  In 2011 I published a book using blurb.com of my first year's blog posts to give to my Mom as a Christmas gift, which she seemed to really love.  When we next were together, we had such fun looking through the book and talking about her family.

I'm the little one in the front.

It was fun to do and since she seemed to enjoy it, I made another one in 2012.

Four generations of women in my family

2x great grandmother, great grandmother, grandmother, 3x great grandmother

And then it happened.  In May, 2013 Mom passed away and when the holidays approached that year, I just couldn't face making another book since it felt like there was no one to gift it to.  So I took a pass.

And that pass lasted for eight more years until just a few months ago when it occurred to me that I needed to preserve my blog in different ways.  Maybe, just maybe, long after I'm gone a descendant will come across it and learn more about those ancestors who came before them.  So it was time to get serious and get those years documented in print form.

Naturally, my first stop was blurb.com since I'd had such success with it before.  Unfortunately, blurb had discontinued the service of "slurping" a blog which would mean I'd have to figure out another way.  A blogging friend, Wendy, commented that one way to do it would be to cut and paste.  Duh, why hadn't I thought of that?  So I started to explore that option.  After a lot of cutting and a lot of pasting, I was close to the finish line when I realized that for a 130 page soft cover book, the cost was going to be $82.  Not bad for one but I had nine books to make so that was looking to be a hefty price tag.

Come on, there had to be another option.  And then another blogging friend, Amy, said that she prints her blog books using lulu.com so I explored that option and sure enough, the same book in hard cover would be $27.  SCORE!  So off I went.....

The books would be slightly larger and I'd have to change the cover a bit and it was fun to find a special photo to put on the covers.  It wasn't long before I had my first two books in hand - the end of 2012 and all of 2013 in two different books.  I was thrilled!

Left - Me drying a bowl, Right - my great grandfather, Herman Levy

I was hooked!  Sure it was labor intensive but by putting it in Word I was able to re-format and size things before I converted into a pdf.  Lulu was fairly easy to use and I got it down to a routine.  And then when I got an e-mail from Lulu and realized I could take advantage of their discounts at certain times, I got even more enthused.  It wasn't long before the 2014 book was complete!

Santa Cruz High School Graduating class, 1890, Bertha Schwartz (great grandmother) standing on right

And on it went until I completed through 2020.  What a collection I have!

So that's how I've preserved my blog - I am so happy I finally took the plunge and completed it.  Next up, publishing all of the letters my dad wrote to his parents and the pictures he took when he was in the Army in 1945-1946.  Working on a title for that now.......

52 Ancestors: Steps - Hills of Eternity

When I saw the blog prompt Steps, I immediately thought of a very special step at Hills of Eternity Memorial Park in Colma, California.

Yes, that step shows the name Gunzendorfer, which was the family name of my paternal grandmother.  There are several Gunzendorfers buried at Hills of Eternity.  The family plot shows a few.

Ferdinand and Fannie, seen in the foreground, were my second great grandparents.  They spent the later years of their lives in Monterey - I'm not sure what took them to the San Francisco area for burial.  To the right of the Gunzendorfer monument is their grandson (my grandmother's brother), Wilton, who was placed there after his death in 1989.

From the Hills of Eternity website:

Judaism views death as a natural part of life.  Hills of Eternity Memorial Park honors the two basic principles that are part of this natural life cycle:  k'vod ha-mayat - the dignified and respectful treatment of the dead - and k'vod he-chai - the honored treatment of the mourners.

Congregation Sherith Israel established its first cemetery in accordance with these principles when it was founded in 1850.  The cemetery was located in Pacific Heights on Vallejo Street, between Gough and Franklin [San Francisco].  In 1860, Sherith Israel dedicated its second cemetery in the area that is now Dolores Park.  Twenty nine years later, Sherith Israel's cemetery moved again to its current location in Colma.

I'm relieved to learn that the Gunzendorfers are interred in their original burial location.

Also from the website:

Hills of Eternity Memorial Park consists of twenty acres of graciously landscaped gardens at the foot of the San Bruno Mountains.  The grounds and mausoleums are respectfully maintained under endowed care.  Fresh flower placements and grave ornamentation plantings add to the dignified beauty and serenity of the park.

Also at Hills of Eternity is the Portals of Eternity mausoleum and chapel, which was built in 1934, and was designed by Samuel Human and Abraham Appleton.

Photo by jcemsf.org

It is the Portals of Eternity Mausoleum where my great grandparents, Abraham and Bertha (Schwartz) Gunzendorfer, are interred.

It's hard to see but that's them in the center with the arrow pointing to their name.  I did not add that in the picture - the arrow is actually scratched etched into the plate.  Why would that have been done?  They are very high up so really no way for vandals to have been able to accomplish that.  A mystery, for sure.

Also interred at Hills of Eternity are some of the Steen family - Bertha's mother was a Steen and while she is not there, these are some of her relatives.

Interred here are:  Dena Steen (1866-1894), Hannah (Plotzky) Steen (1828-1909), Hyman Steen (1887-1924), Jacob Steen (1831-1909), Julius Steen (1862-1876), Lena (Jacobson) Steen (1848-1927), Meyer Steen (1861-1926), Rosalind Steen (1885-1902).  

I was so fortunate to have been able to spend time in this cemetery in 2012 and, hopefully, will be back again one day.

52 Ancestors: Fun and Games - Let's Play!

Over the years I've learned that my favorite blog posts are those which show pictures - lots of them!  So in that light, I've put together photos of my ancestors (and me) at play.  I sure wish I had more of them because it really brings them to life.

First up, my grandfather, Sig Levy, loved to play tennis.  I not only have a photo of him as he played, but even have some of his tennis racquets hanging on my wall.

Sig Levy

I also found a photo of my grandmother's brother, Wilton Gunzendorfer, in the 1915 Monterey High School yearbook, El Susurro, when he was a freshman - turns out he liked to play tennis, too.  Yep, he was known as "Champ Gunzy".

It makes me wonder if Sig and Wilt ever played tennis together.  I do know that he played with his brother, Ben Levy, as he wrote on November 2, 1916 to his future wife and my grandmother, Loraine Gunzendorfer:

What do you know about my young brother and myself qualifying in the semi-finals in the county tennis tourney.  Well he is tickled stiff as we have worked our way up to the real fast players.  I had never played with him before and it must be good-fortune that is with us.  Our next opponents are real sharks so I have no hopes of winning but we are getting a lot of fun and good exercise out of it.

I've read a lot about my grandmother, Loraine Gunzendorfer, rowing on a lake in Oakland with her cousin, Hyman Steen.  Since she lived close to Lake Merritt, I assume that's where they went - boy would I love to find a photo of that!  But this picture of her with her Mermaid friends will just have to do.

1915 Monterey High School, El Susurro

Loraine, second from left

I don't have too many photos of my mom and her ancestors, especially of them playing.  But I thought this photo of her with her parents, Clara Fitzgerald and Earle Martin, showed a playful side of the family.

My dad liked to play games and sports - he was ready for football in the backyard on Christmas Day, 1937.

And even when he wasn't actually playing, he found an opportunity to be playful while watching others play.  He must have been watching a granddaughter play softball while he sported her high school letterman's jacket.

Of course the playful gene didn't stop with Dad - he made sure his kids followed in his footsteps.  We had A LOT of board games as kids - one entire shelf in the storage room was filled with them.  I don't remember too many specifics about what we played (or who won) but it was fun to see this 'canned' pose (for a Christmas card, I'm guessing).  Was I paying off little brother.....or was he paying me off?

I sure wish I had some photos of playing games with our next-door neighbor, Mary.  Our favorite places to play were in the far back of their station wagon parked on the driveway (what?) and under the ping pong table with blankets over the top and sides to make a tent.  Not only board games but paper dolls - oh, those were the days!

We also liked to play dress up and produce plays.  Looks like we were here with our cousin putting together some sort of dance routine.  Remember those candy cigarettes with red coloring on the end so you felt like you were smoking?

Cousin, me, sister

My parents loved to play and watch golf - looks like they tried to get big sister interested, as well.  Or at least I think that's big sister?

Dad was not much of a fisherman so not sure how this happened?  Were we at family camp at Camp Campbell?

Little brother liked to play, too!

Maybe my grandmother's love of rowing rubbed off on me and little brother.  Not sure where this is or even how far we got but for a brief moment in time it looks like we were having fun.

As time marched on, I dabbled in different playful activities.  While maybe not exactly play, I remember the March of Dimes charity walk we participated in a few times.  I don't remember exactly how far we walked but I do remember it was a LONG day and my feet hurt like crazy by the time I took the last step.

That's me on the right with the sunglasses

It's fun to see my ancestors at play - I've learned a lot about how they spent their free time and what gave them joy.  Not to mention it's fun to see myself at play as a child.  I just hope I wasn't playing here.  Artillery?????

52 Ancestors: Working - Dean Witter

Last week I mentioned that I "discovered" an album I'd stashed away where I found some great photos of my parents at their graduations from Stanford University - you can read it HERE.  PLEASE tell me that others have stashed things away and forgotten that they had them?

Also included in the album were a lot of newspaper clippings - remember that my dad had a bit of the scrapbooking gene in him.  Most of them were loose and just haphazardly placed into the album - his parents apparently didn't teach him appropriate scrapbook etiquette.  I never really had the scrapbook gene but I guess you could argue that my blog is the 21st century form of scrapbooking.

After my dad's graduation in 1951, they moved to San Jose where my dad began his career at Dean Witter.

San Jose Mercury, 17 Sep 1951

San Jose Mercury, 14 Oct 1951

Interesting that Dean Witter was located in the Bank of America Building - more on that later.

By 1952, Dad offered San Jose Chamber of Commerce members "a positive investment policy".  The article is small and hard to read but a couple of his rules to follow are below.

San Jose Mercury, 3 Feb 1952

• Select concerns manufacturing needed goods.
• Choose concerns that are leaders in their particular industry.
• Achieve diversification (such as five different companies in as many industries to spread the risk).
• Put the same amount of dollars in each company.  
• Buy shares listed on major exchanges.
• Choose shares having a 10-year earning and dividend record and only those shares which have earned $5 for every $4 paid out in dividends.
• Annually weed out poorer stocks and replace them with better ones.
• Deal only with a reputable brokerage house or bank.
• Buy only on one's own capital (instead of with borrowed money).

I wonder how Dad would feel now with the self-investing that is prevalent today.  I can remember him coming home after a day's work and saying how bad the market performed that day and he'd say "can you believe the Dow was down 25 points today?"  He'd be hanging on for the ride these days!

This article has no date but I assume it's from the same event.  Not as detailed but easier to read.

And then, the office moved from the Bank of America Building.  I often wondered if he started at the office on First Street and now I see that he did not.

Wall Street Journal, 15 Dec 1952

Newspaper and date unknown

Oh boy, I remember the quotation boards where someone would stand at a chalk board all day and change the quotes.  And they called that fast information and service.

And here's Dad posing in front of the new office.  I remember going there as a child.

Another interesting story that I could have helped Dad with.  In the 1980's Dad felt the need to "try out" another career and joined the San Jose Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau - they must have liked his talk in 1952.  He spent a decade with the Chamber and then decided to go back to what he loved and re-joined Dean Witter.  I remember him telling me that when he went back they were not going to give him "credit" towards his pension for his previous service there.  Believe it or not, there were no computer records and my packrat father couldn't come up with an old pay stub or anything to prove that he'd previously worked there.  He told me that finally he was able to come up with a photo of him shaking hands with Dean Witter - success!  But if he'd only looked at his own scrapbook he would have found this.....

Dean Witter was a special part of Dad's life and I'm glad he left me some mementos so that I could take a trip in his honor down memory lane.

52 Ancestors: School - Gerry and Gordon Graduate

Labor Day weekend is always a tough time for me as my dad died on Labor Day in 2005 which was September 5.  I can't believe it's been 16 years ago today.  So when the prompt of School came up, I thought there was nothing better than to write about my dad, Gordon Levy and my mom, Gerry Martin.

Dad received his Bachelor's Degree in 1949 (5 years due to military service) - I wrote a bit about his early college days HERE and HERE.  I just ran across another photo album (WHY do I stash them in different locations?) and thought I'd share a few photos here.

My mom, Gerry Martin, graduated from Stanford with a BA, Economics 7 April, 1950.  I always wondered why she studied Economics - ick.  But she did and sure was a proud graduate.

Gerry Martin, 7 April 1950, Stanford University

Not sure if this was before or after the ceremony but, thankfully, dad labeled it for me.

Oh I'm sure Dad wished he had a telephoto lens - somewhere in that crowd of graduates is my mom.

And her graduation photo from The Quad, the Stanford yearbook, in 1950.

After his undergraduate graduation, Dad continued on with his graduate degree and kept at it even after their marriage in September, 1950.  And just like that he was done and then participated in the graduation ceremony on 6 April, 1951.

   Gordon Levy, MBA, 6 April, 1951, Stanford University

They looked so happy (and probably so thankful it was finally over).

Gordon and Gerry Levy, 1951

And proof that the parents all attended.  Fortunately, it's an easy drive from Fresno to Palo Alto.

Sig Levy, Loraine (Gunzendorfer) Levy, Clara (Fitzgerald) Hunter, Shel Hunter

And from the 1951 yearbook.

I think about my parents every day but Labor Day weekend is always so tough.  I'm always so happy when I can remember Dad in my blog.