The "Racine" Family, circa 1942.
My father was 10 when his grandfather died. Although visiting his Mom's family (grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins) in Racine often and seeing photos of him standing beside his grandfather he "doesn't remember him, even when he died". He describes his grandparent's home as an "almost farm-like white house with a painted red foundation" and "at the end of the side driveway sat a small, one car detached garage adjacent to a rather large vegetable garden". Some of the Racine relatives standing in front of the Bowman Home (former home of John's parents) are shown in this photo. That's Great Grandpa Willing at the top left wearing a hat and his wife Elizabeth on the step below. Clockwise, Gil Bowman and Harry Atwell (my grandpa) John's son-in-laws, middle-Hildegard and Marie (my grandma) John's daughters. John's grandchildren starting just below Harry are Marlene Atwell, Mary Jane Bowman, Billy Atwell (my Dad), Judy Bowman and Donald Atwell and Joan Atwell (above Donald).
"The Racine neighborhood was very different from ours. There were no alleys, local businesses or delivery trucks. It was very quiet, like the country". In 1940 the population of Racine was about 67,000 and very different from my father's home in Milwaukee at 587,000. It turns out Dad's childhood memories were right on. "Farm-like" and "country" certainly described John. He had at least two things in common with his own father, a corn cob pipe and farming, providing for his family during the Great Depression by growing/raising most of their food including carrots, onions, beets, lettuce, beans, tomatoes, peas, strawberries, raspberries currants, grapes, chickens and eggs. Despite not remembering his grandpa, I think my Dad captured the spirit of the man. It's possible my Dad might have remembered his grandfather better than he thought after all.
John's biography can be found on the Willing Page. As with his wife Elizabeth's post, I will be relying heavily on material from the memoirs of his daughter Genevieve (Willing) (Dunham) Gorski.
Notes:
Quotations taken from Remember the Good Times, 2004, Chapter titled "Travel and Vacations" a self published book written by my Dad, William H. Atwell.