Don Hiller, circa 1909
Born in 1909 in Charlevoix, Michigan my grandfather's first three years of childhood were traditional. But in 1912, his mother and sister both died shortly after childbirth leaving his father to raise a toddler alone. Not much is known about who cared for him while his father worked but my guess is that his great Aunt Barbara did at least part-time. Her home was in Lake Odessa, Michigan (also the hometown of my grandfather's parents) and she was unmarried and could have been available on sudden notice. Interestingly, my grandfather has a photo of himself with Aunt Barbara, taken before his mother's death (shown), but I have yet to find one with him together with his mother. My grandfather named his own daughter Barbara, so his aunt must have held a special place in his heart. Don spent his childhood summers in the Lake Odessa area working and playing on the farms of his mother's siblings, rotating through them all during the summer.
Catherine Barbara Hiller & Don C. Hiller, Sept. 1911
His education ended at 6th grade and at some point he joined the United States Lighthouse Service on the Great Lakes working on maintaining lighthouses and buoys.
A sailor walks into a bar.....and meets his future wife. It's no joke, that's how it happened! My grandma, Anne, was working part-time at Frank & Mary's Place (a tavern owned by her sister and brother-in-law) and he was a sailor who....well....enjoyed drinking. They married in July 1935 and by 1936 had a son. When Anne became pregnant again in 1937 with twin daughters, Red's sailing days were over. In an effort to find a career more suited to a family man, he attended technical school and was eventually hired in 1938 as a welder for Allis-Chalmers working for a time building equipment for the Manhattan Project.
"Red Sky in Morning, Sailors take Warning, Red Sky at night, Sailor's delight" Red Hiller, middle, with shipmates aboard the Sumac.
Unlike today's standard, he spent his entire career at Allis-Chalmers eventually retiring in the early 1970's. After retirement, to keep busy, he and my grandma attended church daily followed by lunch with friends afterwards.
I remember my grandpa as a happy-go-lucky, easy-going man who enjoyed a good time, his family and friends, and beer. Always helpful in the kitchen, he was my grandma's eager assistant while making strudel or potica for the holidays or a church bake sale. There were many Yahtzee and card games at their kitchen table and if my grandpa wasn't playing he would always walk in and ask "Who's cheatin' the most?" My grandparents and their homes, Walker Street and 88th Street, have special memories for me that I still recall today.